Communities

The dictionary definition of community according to Miriam-Webster Dictionary is : a unified body of individuals: as  the people with common interests living in a particular area : an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common location. 

Here in Friday Harbor, I helped to establish the Friday Harbor Gallery Association , a loosely [especially for Friday Harbor] group of small business that are all involved in the business of ART. Ranging from a broad smorgasbord of locally based arts and crafts, [Island Studio]  to specializing in the best of Native arts from NW tribes [Arctic Raven] to a talented husband and wife team showcasing their unique artworks [ Gallery San Juan] to a dedicated representative of a way of art not much practiced ie scrimshaw [ Howie Rosenfeld]  and my gallery [Waterworks Gallery] whose mission is to represent artists whose works reflect the Northwest experience.

These diverse organizations are the Friday Harbor Gallery Association, all working to foster the celebration, cultivation and the collecting of artwork, right here in Friday Harbor, San Juan
Island, Washington state.  This service is for the benefit of the local community and visitor.


In this diverse island, there are other communities that gather for a purpose, the theater groups, Island Stage Left and the San Juan Island Community Theater. Both organizations offer a diverse palette rich in both theater, music and Shakespeare for the benefit of the local community and visitor.



Kudos to the Port of Friday Harbor for their support of the burgeoning local music scene by sponsoring a concert series of live music that lasted all summer long down at the Port stage.
This series is for the benefit of the local community and visitor.

Island Rec with their Music on the Lawn series [ waterworks gallery has been a supporter for the past ten years] supported by various business including Islanders Bank, IPS. This series is for the benefit and enjoyment of the local community and visitors.

The reason for this rambling is to show the community as one that comes together for many cultural , and artistic functions and events . 
WE as  a community share these assets with the community.
WE are proud of the resources we share.


My point ? This community has no community meetings spot , has no town square, has no community space to share .
This community has no heart and soul spot.


This community has recently gone through a process concerning a proposed green space and farmers market that was political, contentious and created many camps both pro and con. 
This process was the reverse of  typical political process where a few voices against were able to outweigh the many voices in favor of the project. 
The political process is not at it's finest, not listening to it's constituency.


Irregardless of what you think or feel for the project, what has been lost in my eyes was the ability to create a green space, , a gathering space, , a town square, , a place for people to congregate.

The additional benefits of a farmer's market is the local food distribution, a community kitchen to foster new local products and projects, and perhaps new local business and a most important benefit to this community - a place of gathering , a place for the creation of a community space for this community.


This is about making changes in a community that has a hard time with change.
Change is difficult.



Part of this project is also a legacy project - changing the landscape of of this community to do the RIGHT thing for the future of the community.

In the great depression the WPA fostered and created many buildings that are still  in active use today, many years later. ie the Mt Hood Timberline Lodge. These buildings were done with government monies to keep people and artisans employed. With the state grant that was made available, Friday Harbor had the opportunity to create a legacy for the community.

Let's not loose the momentum to create a community space for our community.!

Plan to attend the Brickwork's Rising Event at San Juan Vineyards on Sunday, September 12, 4-8pm.
If you can make a donation to support this process, with your help we can make a difference in the  landscape of Friday Harbor.

Cheers

Exciting  news about the Brickwork's project  SJI Agricultutal Guild Blog

 

Art Fairs and the Economy of Originality...From One Artist's Point of View

Dona Reed, Printmaker & Gourd Artist at the 49th Annual Anacortes Arts Festival.

Sunday, with the sunny beautiful weather, I hopped on a ferry and went to the Anacortes Arts Festival.
I wanted to show support for a couple of  friends who exhibit at this Arts Festival. Tom Rierden, created the official poster.

As the weather on Saturday had been cold and miserable, artist did not sell alot of work in the rain.
All miserable and wet, who wants to shop?

I wanted to visit the Anacortes's Art at the Port Show Fine Art Show . This is a juried exhibition that attracts artists from all over the region. Many media are represented from painting to textile and wood, steel to the ceramic arts. My hats of to a well conceived show in a large open warehouse space. I wish we had a large public open space like this here in Friday Harbor!


After the show, I walked up and down the street, looking for something wonderful. Something artful,I found the people that import these beautiful tables clothes from France.
I thought this was a bit odd as  I felt the show was all about original artwork and designs.

I mentioned this to my friend, Dona Reed [ pictured above] and this is the reply I got from her.


Hey Ruth,
Thanks for coming to the Anacortes Art Festival....

I have been thinking about your blog about artists and art fairs. If 
you really want to make a point...tell people about you falling into
the trap of coming to an ART fair (or what is supposed to be "hand
crafted" work) and buying something that is IMPORTED.  Jurors for the
fairs are supposed to be screening such work. We artists cannot
compete with manufactured work and the prices that come with it.  the
"Walmartization" of America has distorted peoples concept of pricing.
Why buy a hand screened T shirt (with original designs) for $25 when
you can get one at Walmart for $3. quality and originality means
nothing...


Artists have to watch for people taking photos for fear their designs
will be copied and show up at Target or Walmart.  It has
happened!!!!!!


 The quality of the Anacortes Art Fair has suffered because REAL
artists don't apply anymore. It is known for a low end..street
fair.....fine art need not apply.


Just some food for thought.....Dona

I thought I would share another perspective with you.
This is food for thought.
Cheers
Ruth

The Arts & Community Support

 Happy patrons eating their salads on a sunny Seattle evening.

The community on San Juan Island is very supportive of all the arts organizations on this island.
From Stage Left,  Island Museum of Art, The San Juan Island Community Theater,  The Whale Museum, The San Juan Historical Museum and The San Juan Nature Institute to list a few.
This island is composed of a generous, well educated compassionate and caring artistic community.
Yet all of these organizations struggle to find new ways to help raise funds for their organizations.

Last week, I traveled with Linda Lighton to attend the Seattle Pottery Northwest's Annual Fundraiser, Salad Bowl 2010. This organization Pottery Northwest is celebrating it's 45th year at Seattle Center.
Pottery Northwest is a 501c-3 not for profit organization that develops and promotes excellence in the ceramic arts.

Funds raised at Salad Bowl support the Artists' Residencies Program, helping artist to develop their practice and portfolio by defraying studio costs, materials and exhibition costs; Going Greener by acquiring a new energy efficient kiln to fire larger scale work; and the Professional Artists' Project, allowing artists in other mediums to cross over the bridge to ceramics.

The Salad Bowl fundraiser is held on a summer's evening as a celebratory supper featuring gourmet salads, and delicious deserts from some of Seattle's best restaurants. One should arrive early to choose your personal salad bowl. The salad bowls are created by the students and instructors of Pottery Northwest.

There are large painted platter created for the Salad Bowl auction by area artists [some who have crossed over to to ceramics for this event] Juan Alonso, Charles Kraft,Anne Grgich, Marge Levy, Akio Takamori, Claudia Fitch and many others. These pieces were fabulous, making me wish I had the additional funds to support this part of the event.


I liked the newness of the event, the spirit of the volunteers all pulling together to create an event a FUNdraiser that was fun. Well Done!


How fabulous, what a great group of artists with such lofty and yet functionally adaptable ideas and goals.
Cheers

Shakespeare on San Juan Island

 Island Stage Left's production of King Henry V, photo courtesy John Sinclair

What an amazing week this has been. The weather was summer, flocks of  friends have chosen to show up on the island. After the gallery by day, I am always looking for ways to share island night life with family and friends.

On San Juan Island, we have a treasure called Stage Left whose mission is to provide free professional quality theater to both the residents of  San Juan Island and its visitors.

This year's Shakespeare under the Stars  is King Henry V.

The performances are usually in the evening just prior to sunset. The evening we attended, I remembered to bring my sleeping bag to sit in. Under the stars on San Juan Island, it does Get Cold when the sun sets. That Sunday night the temperature dropped to 49. This has been such an odd summer.

[One can arrive early, bringing a picnic dinner and have a tailgate party. The property that is home to Stage Left has a newly fenced garden. It is a lovely addition to the locale.]

Zipped up in my toasty outfit, hat on my head, I was prepared to be mesmerized by the words of the bard performed on a simply built sturdy stage in the middle of San Juan Island under a moonlight night after a wonderful meal.

The production is an ongoing ensemble cast with each actor playing multiple roles. Costumes are hung on pegs in the rear of the set and are changed repeatedly as actors change their characters.

As with a simplified set, the scenic changes occur with addition or subtraction of  tables and chairs, helping to create the illusion of a palace or a battlefield.

Sitting under the light of a almost half moon was magical.

I found myself closing my eyes and being transported to the days of Henry V .

Politics ruled the day, accented with the human traits of greed and love, etiquette and proprietary, war and peace and of course boy gets girl!

The versatility of this group of actors, the simplicity of the set design, the contemporary and antique costumes all help create the time of Henry V. It is a fabulous production with a stellar cast.

 As it states on the program, "production design elements are kept deliberately simple and concentration is on acting and interpretation. In this way the company is able to focus on the art rather than the administration."

A must see for the summer season of 2010 on San Juan Island! Their spring production of The Clean House By Sarah Ruhl was fantastic.


The show runs a couple of hours without intermission. And the golden buckets await your  financial contribution as we know it is not inexpensive to produce live quality theater. It is marvelous to have such a theater troupe on San Juan Island.

Their website for more info:Stage Left
Cheers

Meeting people at the Museum of Northwest Art

This weekend, I attended the 18th Annual Fundraiser for the Skagit Valley's Museum of Northwest Art.
This museum, located in La Conner was founded by a group of art patrons interested in preserving the rich artistic heritage that draws from the Northwest Mystics and according to their mission statement  is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art by Northwest artists.

Attending both evenings of this fundraiser,[thanks for working Carla] Friday night was the thank you for donating artists and patrons party.We were feted with finger foods and a lovely selection of beverages and desserts. The museum rehangs it's 2 floors of  walls to accommodate the donation of approx 350 pieces of artwork. All works are donated with the hope that these pieces will raise money to help fund this institution work in all areas, including restoration of artworks, exhibitions and educational outreach. The artworks range in price from $ 75 retail to a high of $ 12,000 for the Richard Marquis glass sculpture, pictured on the cover of the Auction Catalog.

Waterworks Gallery had 6 artists participate in this fundraiser. The gallery purchased an ad in the Auction Catalog to acknowledge the representation of these artists to the attendees of the auction. David Eisenhour, Catherine Eaton Skinner, Lisa Gilley, Kathleen Falkner, Sue Roberts and Cathy Schoenberg.
Lisa Gilley demoed the workings of soft pastels. She started a lovely Skagit Valley landscape but due to time constraints was unable to finish.

Saturday night was a bit different, more pressure, more dress up, and way more chatter and buzz. Raw oysters in abundance, yum yum, a lovely red wine worked well with the excitement in the room. The evening involved lots of walking around to both levels of the museum checking out the bids on works that were available. In what seemed like record time, the lots of silent auction were closing. Works were selling for modest sums of money, not top bid or bottom bid most items were sold under retail value. [ Oh to have extra money to bid with !]

Kip Toner from Seattle was the master of ceremonies and the auctioneer. My kudos to the man for studying his materials and for making all feel welcome and involved in the auction process. Pretty young things with large gold decals walked  through the museum rooms selling tickets for a special auction item. For $ 100 donation, you bought a raffle ticket [only 100 were sold] and  if your ticket was picked at random , your prize was to pick any item, regardless of value from the live auction. This item was pulled from the live auction bidding and be yours. Great concept and fundraiser.


The auction began at 7.30, and the result were remarkable. Most items sold , though not at retail value. A few pieces sold way over their value and a few went unsold. Bidding was all over the place, approx 75 pieces were sold in the live auction while patrons munched on a boxed dinner catered by Nell Thorn Restaurant, sipping on donated wines and beers. At the end of the evening , I heard that approx $ 180,000 was raised in the live auction.

The generosity of  patrons, artists and the staff and volunteers created an evening to remember. Congratulations to all. Truly we the community are the beneficiaries in this cultural and artistic endeavor that is the Museum of Northwest Art's Annual fundraiser.

Next year, I want to buy even a bigger ad. I am proud to be part of this community.
Long live the arts!
Cheers
PS If you want to attend next years auction, let me know.

Value & Money

Fascinating to think about the art world and money. 

SO much money.

Such amazing art!

The current record  price for a painting is from an auction sale that occurred in 2006. The painting [pictured above] is No5 ,1948 by Jackson Pollock. The price was sold at US $ 140 million.


The 2nd highest price at auction is for William DeKooning's Woman III [pictured right] was sold in 2006 for US $ 148 million. This DeKooning was painted 1953.

The 3rd highest price was again from 2006, was for Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. [Picture left]. The painting was part of a group of five canvases recently returned to the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. The Nazis confiscated his paintings during the World War II, and after the war, the canvases were placed at the National Gallery of Austria in 1948.

What an amazing art auction year 2006 was.

What were you doing in 2006?

So much money, so much art. 

Did these paintings pass over into the world of cultural icons ie. The Mona Lisa ? Da Vinci's Last Supper?

In 2010 spring auctions, the Pablo Picasso painting, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, sold at auction for $ US 106 million.[pictured left]
 Yes, only US $106 million. This painting was not on public view and will remain in another private collection.
One could only image what a record auction price this painting would have fetched back in 2006.

 
The most expensive sculpture at auction was Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme Qui Marche (Walking Man 1) set a record for the most expensive piece of sculpture was sold in February 2010. It sold for $US 98 million.[pictured below] This bronze is edition of 6 and was cast in 1961.


In most of the above sales, the pieces ended up in private collections. Some collectors loan work to museums and some do not.We may never see some artworks again. For our museum to remain strong , we must remember the importance of financially supporting our museums and the work they do.

Become a member, go to the exhibitions,contribute financially and most importantly, expose and educate yourself to more ART!

Now, in my opinion, the real value, for collectors, is in the art galleries who are surviving this economic downturn. We offer a wide variety of  quality artworks that are both accessible and  have value.

During these hard economic times the antique and Art world has repeatedly demonstrated exactly how  resilient they really are, making it evident in its potential for an area of investment. The type of investment in artwork is one of emotional investment, and perhaps economic investment.
If you had bought that piece of Art  before this economic downturn,  you would still have the artwork!

Remember to visit and support your local galleries.
Cheers

Shoes and toes

The past few days, I have been off island, visiting the studios of gallery artists, taking in a few beautiful gardens on Whidbey Island, and getting to the Bellevue Art Musuem to see the show of Shoes by Beth Levine.

The show is presented in the 2nd floor gallery and divided into various grouping. Looking at her shoe designs from the 1950's to the 1970's, her shoes have a beautiful sculptural quality, as in the shoe above created out of paper in the 1960's. Many of her shoe designs are timeless. With her husband, Herbert, they introduced the stiletto heel into the United States. Beth's love and use of varied materials has placed her as one of the most influential show designers. Beth was the predecessor of comfort and high style for your feet, movement. Looking at her works today, there were a few pairs I would love to own!

Over her long career, Beth popularized such styles as mules, stilettos and fashion boots, and her shoes became favorites among designers and celebrities alike, from Halston to Geoffrey Beene, Marilyn Monroe to Cher, as well as four of America’s First Ladies. A true visionary of the fashion world, she was honored in 1967 and 1972 with the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award, and was the only shoe designer ever to win the award twice. 

Featuring ephemera and over 100 pairs of shoes and boots, this first-time retrospective explores the unbridled energy and creativity behind one of the greatest designers. Bellevue Arts Museum is pleased to be the premier US venue for this exhibition.

The show is up till June 6.Beth Levine Show

[Inspired me to go get a pedicure and paint my toes pink!]

The other event I want to make folks aware of, both on island and throughout the area is the Museum of Northwest Art's Annual Auction Fundraiser.

This Museum located in La Conner, does a great job taking on the task of showcasing art created in the Pacific Northwest'.

 The Mission of the Museum of Northwest Art is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art by Northwest artists.

The date for the Auction is June 19,here's the website for more information:

Museum of Northwest Art's Auction 

A few artists represented by waterworks gallery have been generous in their donations to the museum's fundraising auction, including, David Eisenhour, Lisa Gilley, Kathleen Faulkner, Catherine Eaton Skinner, and Cathy Schoenberg. 

Cheers

Ruth