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Camano Arts Association (CAA) represents many talented artists from the vibrant arts community in Camano Island and Stanwood. We hope this newsletter will provide an interesting source of information about our artists and what they are doing and about art events in our area and beyond.
Enjoy exploring the art links in this newsletter and discovering a bit more about our wonderful community of artists.
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Opal Cocke is our featured artist this month. Opal is a fabric artist and will be on the Camano Island Studio Tour for this first time in 2016.
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"Fishes Can Breathe"- collaged and quilted wall hanging, Opal Cocke
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"When I was eight, I was given the task of threading needles for the ladies who were making quilts in the church activity room. It is a vivid and tangible memory. There were 'pieces' and 'quilters'. The young ones learned to carefully stitch the pieces of fabric together using newspaper templates and choosing a piece of fabric which was heaped on the table, a mountain of colors from worn shirts, dresses, and pants.
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A Stack of Finished Quilts
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Then there were the ladies who sat around the wooden quilting frame. My grandma was a quilter, and my mom was a piecer who would later become a quilter. I was mostly under the quilting frame, watching the tips of needles poke through, followed quickly by a finger pressing it upwards through the layers. I felt the rhythm and cadence, and saw these thread lines grow and turn and start again. I heard all those voices in sing song conversation, maybe a bit of gossip, a parenting hint, a new recipe, or polite chit chat. I can still see the light coming through the layers of fabrics stretched tight on the frame.
Now, so many years later, my memories are embedded in my art. I stitch pieces of fabric together, and I push a needle through the traditional three layers of fabric to create beautiful pieces of fiber art.
Just as my grandmother and mother and all those ladies in the church hall knew so many years ago, there is something magical about stitching two pieces of fabric together. Their goal was to make quilts that would be used on beds to keep people warm. I, too, make quilts for beds,
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Beginnings - A heap of fabric bits and pieces
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but my passion for fabric has taken me beyond the functional quilt to fabric and thread art pieces that can hang on a wall, decorate a table, or placemats that are unique, edgy and colorful. Tiny bits of fabric raw edged and stitched together become representational art...sometimes a birdhouse, a crow, or a fish. And in the center of my studio is a heap of scrap fabrics that not only provide me with visual delight, but are ready to be repurposed into lovely fiber art.
I love the anticipation of starting a new project, wrestling with a concept and bringing it to life on my design wall. I love the simple task of stitching seams and learning new techniques. I may use a pattern as the seed to a design, then create something that sings with my voice.
I want my work to both show my passion for color, fabric and line. I hear my mom's voice telling me to take tiny stitches...even though I know now it is okay to make large stitches with (gasp) black thread. It is okay if the seams aren't straight. It's okay to break these long standing rules to explore the possibilities of thread and fabric. But the traditions of quilting as an art are deeply rooted within me.
A day in my studio starts with the simple routine of making a 'pour over' coffee. With steaming coffee in hand, I sit in my studio, which overlooks the Sarratoga Passage, and do a daily sketch and watercolor, make a journal entry, look at emails, and think about the day's photo prompt. Meanwhile, my eyes go back and forth to the design walls....analyzing and planning my next move on the current project. Every decision involves fabric, color, value, and composition. I love fabric!
The final step in making a quilted art piece or quilt is hand stitching the tiny binding around the raw edges. It is a beautiful slow process in which the thoughts, passions and memories of making this piece are sewn into this quilt forever. Traditionally these wishes and thoughts were passed on to the person who slept under the quilt. I love that sentiment.
My work has been shown in many national quilt shows. My 'Littles' were exhibited at the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum. As a retired teacher, and always the teacher but sometimes the student, I love to give classes and workshops. Many of my quilts and fiber art are in private collections.
My studio is my busy place. It is the heart and soul of my work. But in the end, it is the simple act of running my hands over a completed quilted piece and seeing the colors playing together that is utterly as divine as it was when I was eight, sitting under that quilting frame."
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Molly LeMaster has had two of her driftwood watercolors juried into shows. The first is going into an international exhibition by the Transparent Watercolor Society of America.
The exhibition will be displayed at the Kenosha Museum of Art in Kenosha, WI.
The second piece was selected to be in an upcoming exhibition at the Schack Art Center in Everett.
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Dotti Burton
has been juried into two upcoming exhibits.
The 20th Juried Art Show at the Schack Art Center, downtown Everett, which is to be held
March 10 through April 23 with an
Opening Reception for the public on
March 10th, 5:00 pm to 8:00pm. As the Schack says,
"This biennial collection of Northwest Artists features a well rounded
variety of mediums
to produce an eclectic and stimulating exhibit."
Unclad (back again!) at show at the
Edmonds Yacht Club
March 19 and 20, 10:00am - 5:00pm, is a juried exhibit featuring 90 artists (
$5.00 admission).
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Bobbie Mueller
will have ten watercolors in the 7-artists group show "Twenty Springs" at the Fountainhead Gallery, 625 W McGraw Street, Seattle, on Queen Anne on March 3 to 26. Artists' reception is March 5, 5-7 pm.
During April, May and June, Bobbie will have a solo show for City of Mukilteo at their Rosehill Community Center Gallery, 304 Lincoln Avenue, Mukilteo. Reception is April 7.
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Everett Waterfront, Bobbie Mueller
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Artists Prepare for the 2016 Studio Tour
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Nick Seegert has been busy capturing new images of our beautiful northwest for the 2016 Studio Tour. Here is a sample:
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Morning Tree, Nick Seegert
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"This image was a surprise. I was in Skagit Valley taking pictures of the tulip fields at sunrise. I turned and the sky revealed colors I could hardly believe. This tree silhouetted in the morning sunrise has turned out to be one of my favorites. It is amazing on metal, both in landscape (as shown) or in a portrait format."
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Smooth Landing, Nick Seegert
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"This photo was taken on Lake Goodwin in front of our home. A boat's wake created the ripples that help make this duck's landing so interestingly imaged on the water. The female mallard, stopped in motion, is breathtaking."
Check out Nick's website to see more of what he's been doing and what you can expect to see on the 2016 Studio Tour:
Nick Seegert
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Helen Saunders
reports
that tour guests will see a lot more collage work coming out of her studio. There will be more of the figurative Power Women along with some vibrant surprises.
Adding her printed papers into abstract mixed media pieces is also coming along, she says. This one shows the first with the collaged papers in the shadowbox canvas.
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Sunnyshore Studio
Jason Dorsey is building Sunnyshore Studio (2803 S.E. Camano Drive, Camano Island) to showcase his family's art legacy. The building shell of Sunnyshore Studio is projected to be in place for the 2016 Mother's Day show. Jason and his family are excited to welcome guests for the first time to Sunnyshore Studio. The construction is being done by Spane Buildings.
The Mother's Day show will feature Ann Cory's beautiful acrylics, as the Dorsey's celebrating her battle against cancer. It will also feature the illustrations from the recent children's book "I Remember Fishing with Dad" written by Jason Dorsey and illustrated by Jason and Jack Dorsey.
Stop by on the Mother's Day tour to see the decade old dream of this studio coming to fruition and to view the art of Jack Dorsey, Ann Cory, Jason Dorsey, Jed Dorsey and April Nelson.
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Danny Koffman's mural incorporating images from many of the CAA artists who will be on the 2016 Studio Tour is now complete and installed at the Koffman Gallery at Terry's Corner.
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ART CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
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Matzke Fine Art Gallery Workshops
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Matzke Fine Art Gallery
Memory Book Workshop with Donna Watson.
2 day workshop
Stone Carving Workshop and Retreat
Three day retreat and workshop
April 22nd, 23rd & 24th
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Matzke Fine Art Gallery and
Sculpture Park
presents a selection of paintings and sculptures by the...
"PUGET SOUND GROUP of NW ARTISTS"
OPENING: March 12th March 12th through April 10th, 2016
Meet the 22 Artists at the Party and Potluck
4:00 to 9:00
The Puget Sound Group of NW Artists was founded in 1928. They are committed to supporting the visual arts in the Pacific Northwest.
Participating Artists:
Brandy Agun, Beth Betker, Mary Beneventi, Ned Block, Austin Dwyer, Mark Eaton, Charles Fawcett, Joy Hagen, Linda Hoyt, Hyosoon Jung, Cary Jurriaans, Phil Levine, Darlene Lucas, Joe Mac Kechnie, Ned Mueller, Paul Newman, Jon Pokela,
Christine Sharp, Lolly Shera, Kathy Troyer, Irena Jablonski, Ann Vandevelde, John Ringen and John Ebner.
2345 Blanche Way
Camano Is., WA 98282
Open every weekend 11 to 5
weekdays by appt. 360-387-2759
for directions (1 hour north of Seattle)
"Lorelei", bronze by Ned Block
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Plique-à-jour
A small niche in the history of the Decorative Arts will be explored at the March 2, 2016 meeting of the Camano Arts Association at the Camano Community Center.
Bob Corson will be our speaker at 6:30 PM. The public is cordially invited!
Antique silver, enameled in the 1890s, appears as miniature stained glass windows. This enamel, called plique-à-jour, is considered to be the most difficult but perhaps the most beautiful of all the enameling techniques. Plique-à-jour enamel gave expression to art nouveau ideals popular at the turn of the last century.
Representative Plique-à-jour objects collected by Bob Corson over a period of 45 years will be displayed and discussed.
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