A New Beginning

 

This little gem painting along with several other new works will be on display tonight for the first time at the Grover Thurston Gallery. My former gallery, Pacini Lubel, has closed their doors in Seattle and are relocating to California. They will continue to represent my work and present it to a new audience in their new Palm Desert location. 

Susan Grover and Richard Thurston have presented the work of fine artists to Seattle patrons for over 21 years. It is an honor for me to be included among the talented people represented here. Please join me tonight for First Thursday gallery walk and my first showing with the Grover Thurston Gallery. They are located at 319 3rd Avenue South, Seattle, 98104 - across the street from Seattle Lighting.

Change in the Wind

I must share with you the work of artist Daniel Wurtzel. His sculptural wind installations involve the manipulation of light weight objects being blown by controlled air currents. The resulting dance of twirling and billowing materials appears to be sublimely choreographed.

 To fully appreciate the magical qualities of this watch the video below....

I chose to share Wurtzel's work because it directly relates to my most recent paintings that focus on the effects of wind and water currents in the landscape. Below is a work-in-progress from this series.

Wind is such an elegant metaphor for change and some big changes are blown' into my studio right now. I am going to make some exciting news announcements soon so stay tuned! To see more works by Daniel Wurtzel visit his website here...

Year of the Dragon

Wishing you the very best in the New Year and what will soon be the Year of The Dragon when the Chinese New Year officially starts on January 23rd.  In the Chinese zodiac the dragon is a symbol for luck, creativity and good fortune. Even those not born under this sign will be influenced by some of the dragon characteristics in the new year. Good reason to feel a little optimistic as we say farewell to 2011 and head into a lucky 2012. 


Here's the zodiac description of Dragons: One of the most showy characters of the zodiac chart, you are imaginative, lucky, full of fun, and energetic. Dragons are the doers of the world. You don't sit around waiting for things to happen, you make things happen. You demand perfection from yourself and from others. Dragons make good talk-show hosts, artists or diplomats.


If you haven't guessed it by now...yes, I am a dragon too! Happy New Year friends!

Dark Nostalgia: A Winter's Tale

Ah...what better way to welcome the arrival of the Winter Solstice than with an homage to the snow globe? But look closely and you will soon discover that these are not the kitschy iconic mementos from your childhood. The sugar-dusted fairytale themes of the past are replaced with the gallows humor of artist team Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz. They are the couple behind this series of dark and intriguing vignettes that draw you into their wintry world...

Happy Solstice! To learn more about the artists visit their website here.

Inspiration...

Ok...so it's just a little teaser from the studio but I can't wait to share more of these images with you as the work unfolds. The finished paintings will be on display in April 2012 as part of my next solo exhibition at the Pacini Lubel Gallery.


In the mean time...I am shining the spotlight today on collaborative artists, Aparna Rao and Soren Pors. They use technology to create interactive works that are ingenious and humorous. My favorite is the installation called Pygmies. Watch the video below to see how this playful piece reacts to sound. For an explanation of this and more works by the high-tech duo check out the TED Talks presentation too.





View more work from Pors and Rao in this TED Talks video...

May you also be inspired...

Giving Thanks

Feeling grateful today for the abundance that surrounds me on so many levels. Thank you to my family, friends and supporters for enriching my life, giving me inspiration and encouraging me to always move forward. May you all have much to be thankful for in your lives.

While I am on the subject of gratitude…I also want to thank all of you who ventured out to join us at Inscape for the Open Studios. Thanks to you it was a huge success and a wonderful day filled with art and conversation. For those of you who missed it don’t despair…there will be a Grand Opening for the Inscape building when all the construction is complete. This should be sometime during the Spring of 2012 and I will keep you posted on the details when the time comes.

The images in this post are all details from the painting above. I featured it because it makes me think of abundance. I’ll be posting more from this new body of work soon. Today I am wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving ~ Alicia

Sticky Situation - The Gum Wall

Ok...this is so gross that it's cool. Talk about your sticky situations. A visit to Seattle's Gum Wall becomes an interactive art experience.  For those of you not familiar with this odd attraction it's located in Post Alley just off of the famous Pike Place Market. As you follow the cobble stone street it leads you to one of the city's quirkiest sites, the Market Theater Gum Wall. Here is where you will find the chewy remains of thousands upon thousands of gum wads all stuck to the wall in a fascinating display of gooey glory.  Since 1993 visitors have stuck their chewed blobs of gum to the  brick wall where some parts are covered several inches thick, over 15 feet high and sprawling for more than 50 feet down the alleyway. Its a wonderful example of spontaneous participatory installation art where each visitor adds there little bit and contributes to this growing mass of gummy art.

Artist Spotlight: Julia Haack

In the spotlight today is Inscape artist Julia Haack . Working in salvaged wood she combines elements of design, craft and fine art to create sculptural works she calls “Wall Constructions’. These pieces have the pop of modern art and the familiar patterning of a vintage quilt.

Haack, pronounced Hawk like the bird, creating in her studio.



This vintage cart holds a load of freshly painted wood.



More brightly colored wood panels stand ready in the studio...waiting to be called to duty.

Here you can see the scale of her work that tends to be large and dynamic.

To see more work by Haack visit her website and  Blog and join us for the Inscape open studios where you can see her work in person. Inscape Open Studios happening this Saturday, November 12th from 11am to 7pm at the Inscape Arts building.

Artist Spotlight: Fred Lisaius

Fred Lisaius is the next artist in the ongoing Inscape Spotlight series.  Lisaius is best known for his distinctive depictions of flora and fauna.

Fred Lisaius in his Inscape studio





Fred's work is currently on display at the Schomburg Gallery in Santa Monica, California through November 29th. A solo exhibition of his newest work will open in January 2012 at the Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle.

Lisaius had this to say about his method...“Experimenting with ideas and techniques is an important part of my time spent in the studio. I like to apply paint in different ways to see what kind of marks and textures I can achieve with each brush or tool. Sometimes the most beautiful marks are made with the most humble tools.”

"ART" OF JUSTICE...On his studio door you’ll find a creative reinterpretation of the Department of Justice insignia left behind by the former occupants.



 a pallet of fresh paint sits ready and waiting



A small work in progress perched in the studio

To view more works by Fred Lisaius visit his website: fredlisaius.com
He will have recent work on display during the Inscape Open Studios Event on November 12th. Still to come...more profiles of the artists who are transforming Inscape.

100 Artists & One Ghost

100 artists at the vortex of creativity...Inscape Arts

More artists spotlights on the way...