Little Woods at Cairo Gallery

The fine folks at Cairo are putting together quite an evening that promises to explore relationships between food and art and shelter.

"Influenced by the work of virtuoso magicians and polymaths such as John Soane, Charles Wilson Peale, David Wilson, and Ricky Jay, artists Emma Schwartzman and Michael Getz approached the creation of LITTLE WOODS as an experiential interpretation of the dynamically interdependent relationships of:

the built world vs. the natural world
nurtured vs. manufactured
knowledge vs. magical thinking
transparent vs. opaque

human experience vs. human imagination
mystery vs. revelation

LITTLE WOODS exists in a vaulted forest hovering over drifts of foraged lichen, nests, leaves and woodland ephemera, all found in our Northwest habitat. Within in the sheltered forests are foods that would expect to find if you were frolicking through the trees and ferries and nymphs provided for you a bountiful spread, shifting your senses from what your mind and body desires to what your environment can provide for you

Food and shelter are the foundation of life ongoing and the nexus of conflicting political and economic forces battling over the future of our planet and civilization. Atomized, shut out from understanding or influence of the genuine costs, origins or benefits of most of what we put in and on and around our bodies, we have ceded personal autonomy over our corporal selves to forces indifferent to our individual and social interests. Yet life holds its allure, food and intimacy animate our spirits still.

LITTLE WOODS attempts to wrestle with the desirable and the possible in our navigation of the systems and relationships that sustain us ~ food, shelter, community, fun."

Monday, Nov 30 from 7-10pm

507 E Mercer Street

RSVP here

Gone too soon, Milton!

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." - Kahlil Gibran

NUBE Green

Super sweetheart Ruth True is offically opening up NUBE Green today. Located in the corner of the Oddfellows Building, NUBE (pronounced newbie) Green is a boutique designed for green & sustainable products.

Seattle Metropolitan has a great article about Ruth and the store here. Congratulations!

New Guard Interview

New Guard 2 (image by Viv)

There's been a lot of interest around these The New Guard dinners. Celebrated food blogger Seattle Bon Vivant came to the last one and wanted to know more about the concept. She's put together a great interview that gives you a little more background on the project.

If you don't already know Seattle Bon Vivant (and odds are you do - she won the 2008 Seattle Magazine Reader's Choice award for Local Food Blog), she's keeping us all up to date on the best things via Twitter. She's got a real warmth and love that shines through, even in an electronic format.

Folks have been asking about November's New Guard. For many reasons (including the already gluttonous Turkey Day - how can we compete?), we've decided to take a bye and focus on making December's dinner unforgettable. And I think we might have a crazy good line-up to set the stage for one helluva dark and moody Christmas dinner. If you want to know more, please sign up for the invite list and we'll keep you posted once details get finalized. Currently scheduled for December 22. Hope to see you then!

Other mentions: Kathy Casey, Daily Candy, Seattle Magazine

Sarah's lovely photos.

Also, speaking of interviews, looks like City Arts archive is up. If you want to read their nice feature about me and the artist interviews on this blog, you can check it out here.

The Atlas of Gifted Ideas / call for participation

image via

The Atlas of Gifted Ideas

An atlas is usually a collection of maps, charts and tables, most commonly of the earth’s geography, but there are also atlases of the solar system, moons and planets and things further out. In the end, an atlas is a collection of visual material and text on any subject of interest. We are longing for an atlas of gifted ideas.

Atlas is the brother of Prometheus. Prometheus plays with fire and Atlas has to hold up the skies; he creates space and separates the divine from everyday experience; his duty is not to mix up things and to keep the overview. We would encourage you to play with both of them: to burn your fingers and to walk out towards the divine.

We invite you to participate in a collaborative, artist-powered project called “The Gift Shop” at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, Washington. We are in charge of the space for three weeks, beginning December 18th. During this time ‘The Atlas of Gifted Ideas’ will unfold, with your gifted ideas illuminating the ceiling and walls. With a spirit of generosity and an openness to the contingency of chance we will bring together ideas in the form of drawings and poems: mingle them and give them away like new fortunes.

Please send us your drawing, image or poem to pass on, to position, to communicate, to travel and join ‘The Atlas of Gifted Ideas'.

For drawings and images: send a .jpg file in a resolution which would allow a black and white print 8 ½ x 11”.

For poems, send a simple word document.

The Atlas of gifted ideas will be a world in black and white.

All images/poems must be received by December 11th at the latest. Please send them to atlasofgiftedideas@gmail.com

The opening date of this constellation is December 18 at 7pm in the Gift Shop at the Henry Art Gallery. We would be happy to see you there.

Shaw Osha
Heide Hinrichs

fir shelf with repair by Matthew Cox

fir shelf with repair, 2009, wood and ceramic
18 x 22 1/2 x 18 3/4 inches

"I began making cans a year or so ago. I started turning cans from wood, then began casting them in clay. It wasn't clear to me why I was making cans or where they were going, but the form was so appealingly simple and practical. It is a very familiar form and I thought that was a interesting quality. The wood cans inevitably dry and crack and the clay cans shrink leaving them flawed from their original inception, but you still know it's a can. In the same way you know the large red, white and blue circle over Highway 99 is for Pepsi, even without "Pepsi" written on it. You believe because your brain tells you to trust your eyes.

It wasn't until I started building shelves and cabinets for them that they began to make sense to me. The shelves and cabinets ended up working in the same way a group of pedestals I made last year did. The shelf in this piece is constructed from Douglas Fir, sanded and finished with Tung Oil. However, one shelf bracket is made with plywood as though a repair was done when the original bracket was damaged or lost. It mimics the bracket in shape and color so the difference is subtle. Cans are such a recognizable form that they aren't mentioned in the titles, as if to say: 'They're just cans.' Everyone knows what a can is, how they're used and where to find them. The trick here would be to try to let go of those associations." - Matthew Cox

Brian Murphy / Unzipped

Brian obliging me by holding up the article.

HELL YES! Dear friend/doppelganger/artist extraordinaire Brian Murphy has an awesome article in this month's issue of Unzipped. Here's us having a celebratory drink at Grey Gallery & Lounge. Oh yeah, the article was written by the incomparable Dave White. Congrats Brian!

Sutton Beres Culler artist talk tomorrow

Model For The Mini-Mart City Park (detail), 2008

Image via Lawrimore Project

The fellas of Sutton Beres Culler will be talking about their current show at Lawrimore Project tomorrow at noon. Artist talks can go a lot of different ways but these guys are really great (and very entertaining) speakers. Can't wait!

In anticipation of an upcoming review in Sunday's Seattle Times, LP will be open this Sunday (Nov 22) from 11-5:30pm. Check out Jen Graves' review, too.

Le Classique No. 117 by Brad Woodfin

Le Classique No. 117, 8" x 10"
oil on antique book (in shadow box)

"This painting was done on a book I found in a box on the street I live on. I had the book for months before I painted it. I am probably the last person on earth that would be called a bookworm, but I loved this book when I found it. I mentioned "Les Classiques Pour Tous" to my friend Jerome (who is also referenced partially in the title of another painting in the show , "A Shiny Shiny Mourning"). Jerome knew where to get more of these books in Bordeaux. There is nothing all that magical about this story, but there is about Jerome, and to me, how important the time we spent together was." - Brad Woodfin

A Shiny Shiny Mourning, 8" x 10", oil on panel

www.bradwoodfin.com | www.jacangallery.com

So Long / Brent Watanabe

Collage of So Long by Brent Watanabe (image via)

While bummed I won't be able to make it to Brent Watanabe's talk (7pm) at Jack Straw tonight, I love that Seattle has so much going on lately that we actually have to choose. I'm a big fan of Brent's work (like so many others). Stack:Heap:Loop blew me away so I can't wait to see this new installation.

Gala Bent / The Stranger

Gala Bent is this week's The Stranger cover. I don't have much to add except, HECK YES!! Couldn't happen to a nicer person!

Margie Livingston and Akio Takamori

There are two shows opening up tomorrow (Thursday, Nov 19) that I've really been looking forward to. Both Akio and Margie have been making beautiful work for a while now (25/10+ years respectively) and yet they continually make it feel fresh.

The Queen (2009) by Akio Takamori

Image via JHG

Akio Takamori is showing new work at James Harris Gallery. During a residency, Akio came across photographs by Rigmor Mydtskov which became the source material for his latest ceramic figurines.

The Writer (2009) by Akio Takamori

Image via JHG

Akio's stoneware pieces are full of gorgeous drips and stains that can frequently be overshadowed by his sinuous forms. In this new exhibition, Akio has taken large color photographs that really highlight the surface of his beautiful objects. This is great idea that really shows off his highly developed painting ability. Can't wait to see these in person.

TURN OVER (2009) by Margie Livingston

Photo by Richard Nicol

Riff--New Paintings is Margie Livingston's 4th show at Greg Kucera Gallery. Margie continues to build on her structure paintings, but the new work feels richer and more painterly.

GREEN TO BLUE TO PINK (2009) by Margie Livingston

Photo by Richard Nicol

And what began as a happy accident (as much great art does), has now been developed into a really interesting new body of 3-D work. Since Margie's source material has always been a grid of sticks and twigs, it just makes sense that at some point she would branch away from strictly 2-D work. What's unexpected is just how radical of a departure these new pieces are.

RED OVER YELLOW (2009) by Margie Livingston

Photo by Richard Nicol

Margie's new work would be have been a fantastic addition to Seattle Art Museum's show, Target Practice. In fact, some of her beautiful marbled pieces build a nice bridge between her previous work and Lynda Benglis' poured paintings. I love Margie's updated versions of balls of string, but this time created with poured ribbons of dried acrylic paint.

HORSE DEMO (2004) by Whiting Tennis

Also opening up at Greg Kucera Gallery is Whiting Tennis' show Weekender: A Short Presentation of Recent Work. I know that folks in Seattle love Whiting's work, but he still seems so under appreciated to me. His work is so distinct and does a fantastic job of representing the idea of NW art. I just think he could use a lot more celebrating. So if you want to stand up and holler for Whiting, you'll have an opportunity this Friday (Nov 20) when he and his band play Cafe Venus & Mars Bar.

The Gift Shop with Claire, Sol and Jason

Oh drats! If I wasn't already precommitted to a dinner, I'd be here for sure!

***

The Gift Shop Presents: SOL HASHEMI, JASON HIRATA and CLAIRE COWIE

Sol, Jason, and Claire are bringing gifts back to the Gift Shop! They’re stocking the Gift Shop with presents they have made together and individually, along with contributions from their friends. During the three weeks of the exhibition anyone is invited to make a gift, bring it in, and exchange it for one they find. In the spirit of “white elephant” and “secret santa” games, this encourages speculation, anticipation, excitement (or disappointment?)—challenging each of us to confront our desires and expectations. What are you willing to give? What do you expect and hope for in return? This project examines the celebratory aspect of making art and giving, the element of surprise in getting presents and in collaborating, and the potential for new relationships and dialogue within our community.

The exchange of gifts will begin during the opening party this Friday the 20th from 5 - 8 pm. Anyone who wants to participate can wrap a gift, place it in the gallery, and choose one to take home. The gift exchange will continue during the Henry’s regular gallery hours, Friday November 20th through Sunday December 13th.

The Gift Shop at the Henry Art Gallery

Closed: Mons, Tues, Weds, & Nov. 26th
Thu - Fri: 11 am - 9 pm
Sat - Sun: 11 am - 4 pm

Artist Salon 3 - Printmaking

Sol Hashemi and Jason Hirata were the artists for Salon #3. They did a great job of creating a high energy, high fun workshop in a very unconventional manner.

Start with a nice, clean wall. Make as many holes as you can with anything you can get your hands on - including fruitcake. Make prints and a big, old mess.

As you can see, the prints turned out lovely and folks had some really great ideas. To make interesting prints, many holes were needed. And it was actually really cathartic to stab, kick, hammer, and nail the wall.

You can see the full flickr set here. Big thanks to Jason, Sol and everyone else who braved the rain last night to attend.

Say hello to Sharon Arnold

Undergrowth, 2009

Your art is very time-oriented. Whether drawing hundreds of marks on paper, sewing thousands of stitches, or creating a sea of tiny cuts, your works end up being a record of time.

It is! I feel I'm trying to capture a moment, in a sense - the same way any painter or photographer might, although I understand this is a different way of marking time than more traditional record keeping. I view them as maps sometimes, or coded/decoded language. Each stitch is a moment, a recording, a marker of where I am in that moment. You can see the lines waver in the drawings, or the pattern is more erratic in some places and more uniform in others - those uniform bits are probably the good days - and just as in yoga you know where you are through your breath, this feels much the same.

Footing, 2009

Your work almost seems like a form of meditation.

I feel it can be. When it's flowing, it definitely is. I want very much to find a space where I'm wholly in the present. Everything outside myself is so fast, chaotic, and overloaded with information, colours, graphics, and data. It becomes nonsense at a certain point, like white noise. I feel like I'm translating this noise in a way, and spitting that translation out through the work. It becomes a language. This is my reading of things. This is me slowing down, taking measure of myself and things around me. We all do this, all the time. Our measurements are a personal cartography or journal. This is too - breathe in/out, leave a mark, move forward, repeat.

Footing (detail), 2009

After moving to Seattle from NYC, you curated a group show that brought a lot of different folks together. How important is the idea of community to you?

Community is extremely important - in fact it's critical to survival. None of us can stand alone in anything we do. I came back from New York having had a strong sense of artistic community there, but a feeling it was easy to get lost. My greatest fear in returning to Seattle was that it would be an environment where people were secluded and roped off from one another. I've been proven wrong in the most amazing way possible - here, people tend to be reclusive, that's a fact. But I've returned to a friendly, supportive, vibrant, youthful, exciting art scene that has so much potential to grow and become something great, and I want every single person who involves themselves with art in any way to come to some understanding of that potential. I think it's imperative that now more than ever, we start shaking things up in Seattle, and ally ourselves with Portland and Vancouver to become even stronger and community based. In the end, that community is what will bring outside recognition to artists within Seattle.

20 b/p/m, 2008

You've had a high profile curatorial project (SEAF) and run a great blog, were you ever worried they might overshadow the art?

I worried about that in the beginning, but I think in the end it's the art people will be looking at/for. And I would hope so, too! As much as I love curating and writing, and look forward to doing a lot more of both, the art itself is always first. It's where I find my truest voice, my clarity. I think we can speak volumes with very little, and I wouldn't say I've mastered the art of brevity in any area but it seems I can speak more clearly through my work than anywhere else. The process of making art is a matter of finding truth. Everything else is demonstrating a point of view or perspective, or arranging objects in relation to one another. These things can benefit one another very well when you find a balance between them.

20 b/p/m (detail), 2008

I love your quote, "...form occurs through the self-leveling patterning of many imperfections." Can you expand on that thought?

I think when you get close to anything you see all these scars, flaws, and imperfections. Things look very rough up close, under scrutiny. Sometimes they're ugly, extra-terrestrial, and completely unrecognisable. It isn't until you pull back and look at everything, adjusting your focus that you gain a sense of what we call beauty, symmetry, or completion. This is a place where we find calm, comfort, and recognition. All these stitches and boxes are rough, jagged, and almost cruel to the paper but when you pull back and look at everything it's a field of textures and patterns, like waves. Whether it's purely aesthetic, spiritual, or psychological; or all of it, I think the grounding sense is the same when you have an endless view of repeated objects. It's calming. It can go forever. I suppose that's comforting to me in a world where few things ever do.

Flow, 2006

What's next for you?

What isn't next? I'm excited to be in conversation with a couple of people on various collaborations, and I would love to curate again. And who doesn't want to show their work more, ha! I know I do, so I'm already back to work in the studio.

One of my previous endeavors, an art subscription project I've renamed LxWxH is in the works to be renewed. This is something I'm hoping will gather artists and writers together with people who wouldn't ordinarily consider themselves collectors. With a subscription project, they can place one order at a time when they see art they like, or sign up for a year and take a grab bag of sorts. It's a win/win situation - artists sell their work on a small scale and people get to buy art on a small scale. It's about making the art world accessible to everyone. Believe me, I want art on all kinds of walls outside the galleries! And I'm hoping I can also involve writers or musicians, at some point.

Outside of these plans, I'm opening up wide to every possibility, shenanigan, and hopefully unconventional ways of participating in art, and getting other people to do the same. I want to cause trouble, yell, and create a ruckus. I want to make art and get other people making art. Mostly, I want to find the ways in which these things combined make us all happier people. Imagine that, a city full of happy fired up artists. Wouldn't that be amazing?

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Sharon is currently showing at Vermillion through November 29, 2009.

To read more about Sharon, visit her artblog, Dimensions Variable.