The Art Blog

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!

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. W atch 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...

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 Thanksgiv...

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 p arts 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.

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 .

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 pr...

100 artists at the vortex of creativity... Inscape Arts More artists spotlights on the way...

Today’s featured Inscape artist is painter Tracy Boyd . She works with oils and acrylic to produce her powerful  large-scale paintings.   Tracy Boyd in her studio at Inscape Arts. Boyd says “ Painting is a very physical and emotional process for me. Through trial and error, the painting evolves through many phases to completion as I search for and recognize the most damaging, loving, and recognizable “being” in it. ” Check out her website for more information: boyd-art.com Come meet Tracy during the Inscape Open Studios event on Sat Nov. 12th, 2011. Stay tuned for the next artist spotlight.

As we all gear up for the upcoming Open Studios event here at INSCAPE I thought I would take time out to introduce you to some of the other artists that occupy the spaces here. The image above was created by encaustic painter, Patti Bowman , who will have her door open on the 4th floor.   Patti Bowman in her Inscape studio With a style that I would call “earthy urbanism”, Bowman demonstrates an amazing level of control over the typically unruly medium of encaustic.  Her paintings were recently on display at the Tashiro Kaplan building in Seattle.     Patti Bowman - Studio work Patti Bowman - an array of small works in progress.  Check out her website for more images and information: psbowman.com and come see her lovely works in person on Sat Nov. 12th. Building open from 11am to 7pm. Stay tuned for some additional highlights featuring the work of other INSCAPE artists. I nscape Arts 815 Seattle Boulevard Seattle, WA 98134

INSCAPE ARTS | Open Studios... It’s already been a year since I relocated my studio to Inscape and it’s also been that long since the entire building opened up to the general public. So break out your calendars and save the date for Saturday, November 12, 2011 and the Inscape Arts Open Studios event in Seattle. Come see how artists and creative thinkers continue to transform the former I.N.S. Building into Seattle’s next premier enclave of creative enterprise. Look for me in studio 108 on the 1st floor.    Happening right now in the studio… I am finishing up a large commission for the Virginia Mason Medical Center and working on some small experiments with a focus on color. The image above is a detail of the foreground painting shown below. I have always favored an autumnal pallet . Can't get enough of these warm colors and spiked pod forms that continue to fascinate me. More to come... Stay tuned for updates and a look at some of the...

Still on display for a few more days…at Foster/White the work of glass artist Elin Christopherson features an array of blown glass beakers that contain a mysterious fermenting concoction that “burps” through the trumpet like stoppers as the potions produce their own gases. The various liquids themselves are quite beautiful in an array of liquid pastel colors. Each bottle comes with it’s own recipe for the fermenting process. Gallery 206... Touted as Seattle’s smallest gallery and the brainchild of photographer Todd Jannausch is the installation of Gallery 206 . The concept is a phone booth installed in Occidental Park in Pioneer Square. The booth features the work of 206 Seattle area artists and displays visual and audio installations as well as a phonebook containing artwork. Oh.. did I mention that I am one of the artists invited to participate? I’m in the book! You can also catch it on Art Zone from the June 3rd episode. Nancy Guppy features the booth at the very e...

Tonight on Art Zone , Nancy Guppy features a segment on the emerging art spaces at INScape where my studio is located. The video really captures the essence of the building and what it’s like to be a working artist in the former INS building. The show includes some great commentary by my studio neighbor, Michael Cepress , who very thoughtfully sums up my feelings about INScape as well.   There are some quick cameo snippets of me working in the studio: a few seconds in at the opening of the segment and another snippet mid-way through.   Also among those featured are the dancers from Manifold Motion and artist, Michael Harrison . You can view the video below. The show will first air tonight on Channel 21 at 8pm and again at 11:30 with additional repeats and airtime on PBS 9. Check out the Seattle Channel’s website for more air dates. Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

If you have ever wanted to see your ideas transformed into a new media this may be your opportunity to turn your visions into Wearable Art. Michael Cepress is the accomplished clothing and costume designer offering a unique workshop that focuses on the study of the human form as the ultimate armature for your artistic visions. Once you have realized your design he then shows you how to construct your concepts and bring them to life on the body. workshop student working on a wearable art concept There is still space available for his May 28 - 29 Seattle workshop. To learn more check out Michael's Blog. wearable art designs