Nov. 8, 2011 Element

This is a sneak peek of a visual element that inspired my team's Prairie Line temporary installation--due to be installed on Tollefson Plaza this Friday. My team members are Janet Marcavage and Bret Lyon. Several other artist teams will be setting up temporary installation at different points along the Prairie Line.

Oct. 22, 2011 Cloud

I'm preparing to do a temporary installation at Tollefson Plaza to celebrate the kick off of the Prairie Line redevelopment project. As part of my visual research I've been looking closely at objects and places related to trains. The back side of a train crossing sign makes a powerful contrast to the billowy clouds.

Oct. 11, 2011 Familiar

These horse chestnuts have so many spikes per shell that they appear hairy. Having fallen off the tree, they have split open and now resemble butterflies. When trying to describe sculpture it is easy to revert to   words for familiar objects. The forms here are an interesting interplay between shape and line.

Oct. 9, 2011 Connections

Tacoma Artist Alice Di Certo has a photo-poster-collage on exhibit at the Tacoma Dome Links station that invites viewers to make connections (with thread & push pins) between themselves and others in the Tacoma community. It's part of the storytelling program, Voices of the City. The work reminds me of how a collection of photos evokes different connections for different people.

Oct. 8, Interrupted

This crumpled chain link (in Pt. Defiance park) is a sculpture of intersecting lines. The repetition of the diamond shapes is interrupted by the stretched and compressed portions of the composition. What is lost in this 2D image is that the sculpture has a scooped/cup shape at the top.

Sept. 25, 2011 Cone

Flat yellow petals radiating out draw the viewer into the "nest" where this sculpture sits. The light green cone shape, with its strong diagonal lines and symmetry, is very compelling. The bright sun highlight on the right and the shaded area give it a sense of volume.

Sept. 24, 2011 Seaweed

The puffy packets of the seaweed leaves overlap one another--they start out paper thin at the base and then inflate at the tips. The color differential between the gray and yellow is subtle, but the negative spaces add much needed depth to the composition.

Sept. 18, 2011 Public Art

For the past few months I've been participating, with other Tacoma artists, in a public art training program sponsored by the City of Tacoma. A recent assignment was to create a "gesture" and put it out for public viewing. My work is responsive to the waterfront and the sound. If you walk the Ruston Way waterfront, keep your eye out for it.

Sept. 16, 2011 Riot

The Art Chantry show at Fulcrum Gallery is a riot of color, images, text, and history. I was amazed at how different each poster was, but there was a similarity to them that I couldn't put my finger on. My favorite part of the show is in the back room where the mechanicals are displayed with the final poster.

Sept. 14, 2011 Sunshine

Sunshine in a jar. Cut up and canned, these peaches expose their inner color. Placed in close proximity, the forms' negative spaces are not very pronounced.

Sept. 11, 2011 Bulbous

One of the things I like about fall is the arrival of the many interesting squash--the bulbous forms are inspiring. They seem to start off creating one shape and then move on to make another completely different shape all the while being one form.

Sept. 9, 2011 Engineering

When I look at this dahlia I imagine rolling up paper to make the cone-like petals.While that would be relatively easy to do, it would be difficult to get the cones shaped and secured in a dome form. Looking closely at flowers makes me appreciate the engineering of botanical objects.

Sept 6, 2011 Petals

The yellow and pink petals of this Dahlia have an almost stag horn quality in some places. Draping over, in and around, spent petals add to the composition. The deep green background really sets off the form.

Sept 2, 2011 Fungus

This fleshy orange fungus reminds me of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen sculptures in that it appears soft and supple. The ridges and crevices, the overlaps, and the upwards orientation appeal to me. 

August 30, 2011 Appreciation

When you love an art object and then you learn about the how it is crafted, your appreciation for the artist increases exponentially. The Tacoma Art Museum had a great lecture about the history and process of creating Pendleton trade blankets this past Saturday. The blankets are part of the Chihuly exhibit in TAM's largest gallery.  The lecture raised issues about globalization, market research, and the appropriation of cultural iconography.

August 16, 2011 Installation

Driftwood, white-brown and craggy, is juxtaposed with the serenity of blue lapping water. This Fox Island scene is a great installation.

August 12, 2011 Focus

The brilliant hot pink petals, a bit out of focus, provide a interesting contrast in color and form to the spindly, ice gray stems. It reads a bit like an abstract painting. The blotches of intense color provide a focus for looking deeper.

July 27, 2011 Pier

The remnants of this pier pierce both the land and water. Blue, glassy water provides a nice contrast to the rough gray rocks. The wood pilings stand by like sentinels.

July 26, 2011 Pattern Wall

A wall of color and pattern dominate the large TAM gallery displaying Chihuly's glass works and personal collections. Seen together, the wool trade blankets are a riot of color, pattern, and line that provoke wonder at the infinite possibilities for creating art.

July 6, 2011 Patterns

The strong patterns of the rectangles, the solid white ones paired with the holes on the beige wall, provide a great contrast in presence and absence, enhanced by the vertical line down the center. The bushes are a powerful contrast (in form and color) to the patterned background.

July 3, 2011 Onion

The glossy purple sphere seems at odds with the thin, white string-like roots that protrude from one end. But this onion combines the forms of a shaft, sphere, and treads to make an interesting sculpture.

July 2, Take Down

Today (Saturday) is the last day that my installation "Composites" will be on view in the Woolworth Windows at 11th & Broadway. All my installations have their own life cycle--tomorrow I'll be un-installing in the early morning.

June 10, 2011 Within

Giuseppe Penone's The Hidden Life Within is beautifully situated in the Frank Gehry designed addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario. This massive tree trunk was carved to expose the interior and is paired with lumber also similarly carved--the entire room reads like an installation. See More details, http://www.ago.net/Giuseppe-Penone-The-Hidden-Life-Within

June 6, 2011 Rainbow

The Rainbow Bridge in La Conner provides an interesting compositional element to the landscape, arching across the channel and touching the sky. The bridge fits the environment rather than dominates it.

June 4, 2011 Graffiti

This intriguing bit of graffiti is found along the Prairie Line corridor. I wonder if the artist is asking themself, or the viewer, this question? Besides the alignment of the letters below the white space, I find the placement of the Y and half of the O in the window depression a nice architectural highlight.

June 2, 2011 Within

The gradation of purple on the inner petals of this iris contrasts to the speckled white/purple on the outer petals. The shapes of the inner and outer petals vary quite significantly. It reminds me of a sculpture within a sculpture.

June 1, 2011 Reflection

By aligning the pier's deck with the land mass of Gig Harbor, the focus becomes the reflection intersecting with the actual pier. The horizontal and vertical lines create a new open block form.

May 31, 2011 Inspiring

http://crosscut.com/2011/03/11/arts/20712/S.A.M.’s-exhibit-of-Nick-Cave--soundsuits-:-a-smiling,-sumptuous-journey/

Nick Cave's 10 ft. high wearable sculptures are an amazing combination of colorful textiles, objects, and forms. 'One of the most inspiring exhibitions I've seen in a long time. Part conceptual art, part sculpture, part performance art

May 28, 2011 Sited

Now that there is access to the beach at Chambers Bay, more areas can be explored. The remnants of a building's walls sit like cards in the sand. This is a very linear sculpture that is perfectly sited to relate to the water, railroad tracks, and pier/walkway.

May 27, 2011 Prairie Line

The Prairie Line that cuts through downtown Tacoma is going to be converted into public space, a place for walking/biking/art viewing. The existing embedded rails have a time-worn monumental quality that could be translated into large scale sculptures.