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Dear (Contact First Name),
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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Maureen (Mo) O'Brien is this month's featured artist. Mo uses wood, stone, metal, glass and paint to create art that cuts across the usual genres.
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C
arriage Display, Mo O'Brien
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"Normal has always been boring to me," she says. Her art also has a distinct functional element as well as being beautiful. An example is this recent "Carriage Display" featuring painted wood and veneer, parquetry, galvanized pipe, and image transfer.
Mo worked in the data communications industry, for such companies as Boeing, Cisco Systems, and CSI Digital, for 25 years. But despite this very cerebral career, she describes herself as "a very tactile person" and a "maker."
Her artistic journey started  with decorative painting "where I'd antique a stark white wall or make wooden columns look like marble or stone. After some courses in Faux Effects and Venetian Plaster, I started adding texture, layers and depth to my work. By using layers and every-day objects like feathers, corks, leaves, etc., I was able to get paint and plasters to make a room feel like a place I'd want to be." 
"After obtaining a degree in Drafting and Design Technology, another in Multimedia, and taking courses in auto body paint and repair, I found myself airbrushing motorcycles and using CAD applications to design anything from vinyl stencils to multi-tiered container gardens," she says.
In describing her journey from the functional to the artistic, she says "The challenge of making anything that needs making now becomes a journey in creativity. For me, Art is not just something I hang on the wall or put on the table, it is the wall; it is the table."
She recently completed an intensive furniture making course at the prestigious Chippendale International School of Furniture in Gifford, Scotland, in pursuit of even more skills to put her creative ideas into practice. The course included 1400+ hours of shop time, and she did it in 9 months time (more or less equivalent to a 3 year course of study).
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Pet Owner Station, Mo O'Brien
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Her signature piece is highly creative, but with an equally practical purpose. Her Pet Owner Station perfectly hides away all the clutter that a pet needs - from feeding bowls and food storage, to boots and outdoor clothing for the pet owner. Mo was one of several students who received honors for her work.
The Carriage Display shown at the top was also completed at the Chippendale school and featured Ash, Sycamore, Satinwood, Black Walnut and Rosewood, used image transfers of her photography and was finished with "Faux Polish," a French Polishing technique she developed using varying shades of shellac.
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Haida Eagle Mirror, Mo O'Brien
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Her furniture course included many sub-specialties such as carving and marquetry. The "Haida Eagle Mirror" is an original design she hand carved in lime wood and gilded with 23.5K gold leaf and white gold.
We look forward to many more mixed media creations by this talented artist. For more samples and to contact, please go to www.bench14.com
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Chaim Bezalel and Yonnah Ben Levy, long time members of the CAA, live and make art on two continents.
" 'East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,' wrote Rudyard Kipling more than a hundred years ago.
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Porcelain Lion, Chaim Bezalel
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Yonnah and I divide our year between Stanwood, WA and Ashkelon, Israel, and I used to quote Kipling all the time. Not so much anymore. Stanwood, at the confluence of rivers and sound, is full of inspiration from nature. Ashkelon, which is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world is full of inspiration from culture. Not that either place is devoid of nature or culture.
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Owl Cup, Yonnah Ben Levy, with remains of 3000 year old Philistine cup found in Ashkelon
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We have a studio on either side of the world and sometimes carry or send works in progress. We have hung paintings of Native American dancers in Israel and depictions of antiquities in Stanwood.
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Siren, Chaim Bazalel. being exhibited at University Friends Meeting House
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Presently we are working on a body of work based on classical antiquities, many of them found in Ashkelon. Just last week a 2000 year old carved Roman sarcophagus was unearthed where a new neighborhood is being built. "
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What's brewing at Kaufman Gallery? You probably have noticed the blank white Camano Sign that sits a few feet away from the Kaufman Gallery where Hwy 532 splits just east of Freedom Park.
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Now ........................................The Future
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The sign is soon to be filled with art work when Dan Kaufman's plan to enroll the Mother's Day Art Tour artists is completed. His vision is to have the sign filled with elements of fused glass, metal, ceramics, and paint.
Currently, Dan is inviting all artists on the tour to declare their interest by emailing him at [email protected].
Having this art filled installation welcoming our visitors to the island seems a grand way to say "Art Lives on Camano Island."
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Marie-Claire Dole has been selected as one of the artists to participate in the Invitational Art Exhibition of Art's Alive in La Conner on November 6, 7, and 8, 2015.
"I am working on several Sterling Silver and 14K necklaces with a new approach like this
Fordite necklace.
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Fordite Necklace, Marie-Claire Dole
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I was fooled by the name of "Detroit Agate" and realized when it arrived in the mail that it was not a stone at all! By further investigations I found out that this was a beautifully "recycled" product made from old time accumulation of enameled paint in the Ford factory over years and years that was hardened enough by multiple baking to be cut into cabochons. I decided to make the best of it by making this Ford 1959 motif with my new "stone" called Fordite or Detroit Agate! The head lights are single cut diamonds set in 14K Rose Gold settings and the grille is a Sterling Silver mesh. The bail is also free formed in 14K Rose Gold."
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Nicki Wight
is a new member of CAA and is new to Camano. Welcome Nicki.
"My husband and I moved to Camano Island just over a year ago now and we are loving it here. I love the art community and everyone on the island are so friendly and kind.
I am a retired graphic designer and illustrator. I have been painting watercolors for about 6 years since retiring. My favorite thing to paint are portraits.
I just returned form a workshop in Utah with Mary Whyte. It was fabulous! She is an amazing artist and a wonderful teacher. This painting of beets is one of the paintings I did at the workshop.
It's a different technique than I have been doing, so it was a bit of a learning curve.
I have friends who spent 2 years in Zimbabwe. They took wonderful photos of the beautiful people there and given me permission to paint as many as I wish. This following portrait is of an older "Zim" woman."
Nicki offers watercolor classes at the Guilded Gallery
in Stanwood and private and group lessons at her home on Camano. To see more of her work or to contact her visit her website: Nicki Wight Website
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 Seagrass Gallery will host nationally renowned clothing designer
Teri-Jo Summer on Oct. 13, 2015.
Teri-Jo Summer, of Whidbey Island, Wa., has been developing her talents as a fabric artist, designer, and fabricator of high fashion garments for over 30 years. Among her collectors are many prominent American women and Mick Jagger!
Her guiding principle balances beauty and wearability in original designs any woman can enjoy every day.
Teri-Jo's unique apparel in silk, wool and linen will be featured in a Trunk Show at Seagrass Gallery. Call 360-631-0688 to reserve your space, or e-mail [email protected] for more information. Be sure to visit Teri-Jo's website.
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Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park
presents
Visual Poetry and Abstract Expressionism
Opening Party and potluck, Sat., Oct 10th
4:00 to 9:00
Poetry reading at 6pm
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September, Anne Martin McCool
Acrylic and Japanese paper on canvas 74" x 88"
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Paintings, stone & glass sculptures.
Featured artists:
Lin McJunkin, Tracy Powell, Milo White, Reg Akright, Hiroshi Yamano, Ann Vandervelde
, Anne Martin McCool, Shannon Kirby and Scott Janieson.
Plus, new sculptures in the ten acre park !
The show continues from Oct. 10 until Nov 8th.
2345 Blanche Way, Camano Island
Open every weekend 11 to 5 and
weekdays by appointment.
360-387-2759
Matzke Fine Art
Our mission is to promote, encourage, and serve as an advocate for fine artists.
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CAA Program for Oct. 7, 2015
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CAA Presentation
"The Art of Connecting - How to Leverage your Network for Win-Win Marketing"
Gayle Picken will be our speaker on October 7, 2015,
6:30 pm.
Gayle Picken will share a simple strategy you can start using right now to attract and connect with your ideal clients, help others in your community, and boost your art sales!
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