Elderberry dreams

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T12:26:00.003-07:00

How can you tell it's Easter in Kodiak? By the fresh snow!

We had snow showers all day yesterday, but the snow was melting quickly. The temperature dropped a few degrees last evening, and it snowed lightly all night. This is what I awoke to - 3-4 inches of new snow!

It almost never fails to snow on Easter here. It is beautiful, today especially with the sun shining so brightly. Our daylight hours already exceed 12 hours, increasing several minutes each day. I imagine the children hurrying to find eggs in the snow, their hiding spots betrayed - the snow around them dyed pastel red, blue and green!

Still Settling

2008-03-20T23:23:00.003-07:00

I am still housesitting, and in the meantime, looking for a more permanent place. I had not counted on there being such a shortage of rentals in Kodiak, and on rents being so excessively high! It has been quite the sticker shock for me - to look at 450-sq. foot apartments going for $950/mo., or new, roomy apartments for $1375/mo. ! Maybe I am just picky - but so many places don't measure up to my standards of cleanliness or just decor. Of course, I left my own home that Bren & I decorated with our own hands and invested 'sweat' equity in over the past 5 years. It's decorated in our collaborative style of Asian modern with art work in all the rooms. The other hard part is finding a place with room and light to do my artwork. I need a space where I can make a mess, and where I can 'spread out', and that has good lighting. That is a challenge! I have been feeling increasingly discouraged.

It doesn't help that I am such a creature of habit, and a homebody. I miss my home, and my things - books, masks, art supplies - and most of all, my life-partner and my pets. Until I had traveled back to my home town, and slept in a strange house the first few nights, it hadn't occurred to me that I have never lived by myself. When I went away to college, I had roommates. Then my son was born, and after college, I lived with my mother for 10 years. Then I moved to Seattle and have lived with Bren for the past 11 years. It isn't that I can't stand to be alone - on the contrary, I've always relished my 'alone time' - having the house to myself for a few hours, or getting up early on a Saturday and drinking my coffee while reading or sketching, or just musing.

This is just a different phase of my life. I am too busy now to be lonely - there is always my mother to visit, or errands to run, or another apartment to view. The sun has lengthened her hours in the sky from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The cold winter days have persisted, and the hiking trails remain icy, but I can enjoy a brisk walk after work across the bridge to Near Island, toward the boat harbor.

Settling In

2008-02-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Here is the view from an upstairs bedroom window of my housesitting gig. I took this photo yesterday at sunrise. There were eagles and crows alighting on lampposts and rooftops all around me, but my zoom isn't strong enough to get non-blurry pics of them. It was around 20 degrees yesterday morning.

I'm working on a slideshow of the photos I took yesterday. My nephew Herman & I hiked out at the State Park - Abercrombie. It was snowy & brisk with a wind coming from NW, right into our faces. For some reason, all my photo uploading services are extremely slow the last few days. I'll post the slideshow here when (and if) the pictures get uploaded!

Here's a slideshow of the photos I took yesterday:

The Big Commission - Finished!

2008-02-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

The Sunday before I left for Alaska, my art patron picked up the large commission I had worked on since last August for her. The finished panels turned out great - and my client was delighted with her pieces. The photos don't really do them justice. But here are the finished panels, which measure 2.5 feet x 3 feet each. The panels hang side-by-side, but the column of my blog page is too narrow for the photos to show up that way.

(top) Octopus with 2 Jellyfish; (middle) Hair Seal Inhua, Salmon, and Bubbles with Jellyfish; and (bottom), King of the Salmon with Bubble and Jellyfish. The King of the Salmon piece measures about 26 inches long, and 24" wide; he carries 8 small salmon on the fin-like appendages (they are about 3 inches long). The Octopus measures about 28" across her longest tentacles. The frames around the panels are about 2" deep. The masks are stained with oil-based stain, and the panels are birch plywood, stained with watered-down acrylic, and finished with paste wax.

After Tina picked up her artwork, I began a marathon of preparations to return to my home town of Kodiak, Alaska, where I began my new job on Friday, Feb. 1. I shopped for necessary items on Monday (including new boots for the muck & snow), and spent Tuesday packing. I made it to Kodiak Weds. evening, after an almost uneventful flight. We spent an hour on the tarmac in Anchorage, after a check light failed to come on. We taxied back to the gate, and sat playing trivia games for cans of pop, pretzels, and a few lucky airline miles. Our Alaska Airline flight attendants were great & cheerful, and we finally took off over 1 hour late, and arrived in Kodiak after dusk. I was bummed, as I had chosen a window seat to see the islands as we descended. Of course, all I could see were the lights of town. But my first few days home have been spectacular - sunny, everything sparkling under 8 inches or more of snow. More to come in another post on my temporary new digs, the scenery, the snow, and my new job!

Homeward Bound

2008-01-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

Here's yours truly and my partner, Bren at the Capitol in Olympia on New Year's Day.

For those of my friends whom I've gotten to know through the blogosphere, I want to share the following announcement, which I sent out to my friends and family members earlier this week. It won't make any difference to those of us who only know each other through the vast expanse of the Internet, but is likely to have a huge impact on my blogging, my artwork, and my outlook on life overall.

I applied for a job with my regional Alaska Native corporation, Koniag, just before the Christmas holiday. Last Friday, January 4, I traveled to Anchorage for a second interview, returning home that afternoon. Late Tuesday afternoon, I received an offer from Koniag, which I have subsequently accepted. The position is hareholder Communications Specialist, and is based in Kodiak. I will be traveling frequently (every other weekend) around Kodiak Is. (to the villages), as well as to Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, and to Seattle. I am very excited to return to Kodiak working for Koniag, Inc. I start my job on Friday, Feb. 1, and anticipate arriving in Kodiak a couple of days prior to that. My last day at work here in Seattle will be Jan. 25. I will be making arrangements for temporary housing, and then looking at a more permanent situation after I get settled at my new job.

Bren will be staying here to hold down the fort, as tax season is just starting up, and she already has clients beating down the door! Some time after April 15, she will come to Kodiak for a visit, and we will start planning what do to for our long-term living arrangements.

We are both really excited about this opportunity. When the job posting appeared in the most recent Koniag Newsletter, I felt like it was an answer to my prayers to figure out how to spend more time with my Mom and Dad, who are both in their late 80's. This affords me the perfect opportunity to enjoy their company as well as my other friends & relations (at least them who live in Kodiak), have a good career with challenging new opportunities, and a healthy diet of salmon, halibut, and hiking/beachcombing, etc.

Thanks to you who have supported me in this endeavor, and with whom I've worked in the past! I will be in touch as soon as I have a new snail-mail address, etc. In the meantime, the best way to contact me will be via my e-mail or checking in here at the blog. Here's a link to Koniag's website:
http://www.koniag.com

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-11-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

November Work for Sale

2007-11-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have been busy getting ready for an art sale tomorrow (Sat.) at the Koniag Native Corp. Annual Shareholder's Meeting. These three small masks, and eight little boxes are all done and ready for Saturday. These masks are inspired by old masks that were collected in 1842 by the Russian ethnographer, Voznesenski. The originals are housed in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Koniag Bird Man mask: 7" high, 4" wide, cottonwood bark, roots, acrylic paint

Koniag Sandpiper mask: 10" high, 12" wide (including feathers), cottonwood bark, roots, turkey feathers, acrylic paint

Koniag Happy Fellow mask: 9" high, 10" wide; cottonwood bark, roots, copper wire, duck feathers, acrylic paint

Small boxes. These range from 1" diameter to 2.5" diameter, 2.75" high. Each box has a leather closure and hinges, with a glass bead clasp or button. Some are inset with glass seed beads. All but the obelisk (far right, second row) have painted designs inspired by traditional Yupik paintings. I used either a sun or hand symbol for these boxes.

For all of these pieces, I used acrylic paint rather than oil-based stain with a beeswax finish. The colors are more intense, and of course they dry much faster. I usually use the oil-based stain mixed with tung oil, which allows the wood grain to show through, gives the pieces a more subtle aged patina, and hardens and protects the wood.

The last time I had my work for sale at my native corporation annual meeting, the little boxes were very popular. Everyone enjoys being able to own something that bears marks inspired by our ancestors. The Alutiiq people were expert craftsmen. They made beautiful wooden boxes and bowls for food and tool storage, and adorned them with powerful symbols of protection, or to honor the animals that gave themselves to humans for food and clothing.

Brief Update

2007-09-18T21:52:00.001-07:00

While I was on vacation the first week of September, I completed another mask for the commission. The piece below is the 'Seal Inhua' - unfinished. This mask is dry-fitted together. When it's stained it will be white (it represents a hair seal), with black and a little bit of red. The original mask was surrounded with a white caribou fur ruff. Lacking access to caribou fur, I will replace the ruff with a 'ruff' of white feathers. This mask is about10" long and about 5" wide.

The crack that runs diagonally across the piece is inherent to the cottonwood bark - it is actually the grooves in the front side of the bark that I carved down to. I thought about filling the crack with putty, but the piece isn't unstable - I did insert a dowel through the underside of the crack. The oil stain should also seal the wood and keep it from checking - I've never had problems with the bark doing that. The only other option is to make a new seal.

On vacation, I also completed a partner doll for my friend Rebeca's Baba Yaga. This is Pavel. I finished his clothes last Sunday, and he has now gone to his new home, where he is keeping Baba Yaga company. Pavel is dressed in a Cossack costume, with a green tunic and trim that match Baba Yaga's outfit. I'll have to go visit Rebeca again to take a photo of the two together!

Commission Work

2007-09-05T23:12:00.001-07:00

I didn't take vacation all summer - except the odd Friday off to make a long weekend. So as summer's end crept up on me, I decided to take the first week of September off - since my birthday falls in this week as well. So I've been off since last Friday - not a vacation to travel to any exotic locale - but a vacation nonetheless.

Earlier this summer, one of the managers in my office commissioned me to do some pieces for her office. Specifically, she wants a wall that will instantly take her to the ocean. I've spent much of my time off this past week working on the pieces for this installation. It's a long wall - around 15 feet, and about 4 feet above the tops of some cabinets that will be transformed into the sea. We can't paint the walls, so I decided I'd cut three large panels of birch plywood and stain them for a background for the masks. Each panel will feature a large mask, with some smaller pieces. The first piece I've completed carving is the "King Salmon" (two views below):

The piece hasn't been stained yet. It is dry-assembled here. The big salmon will be blue/black with a white belly. The hoops won't be stained. The long fin-like appendages will be white with a red groove. The smaller fish riding on the appendages will be blue with white bellies. The assembled mask is about 22" long and 18" wide (from the tip of one of the long narrow 'fins' to the other). The story behind the mask is that it represents the King of the Salmon - who 'herds' all of the other fish up the river so the people can catch them, and the fish will be plentiful.

To create the undersea feel, the larger masks will be accompanied by 'Jellyfish' masks and 'Bubbles', below:

These are small pieces - the largest is about 4 inches across, the smallest about 1.5" across. The top row of 'Jellyfish' will be white, with red insets. The 'Bubbles', bottom row, are blue, white and red. The jellyfish are meant to have three white feathers, as do the bubbles, but I may only put feathers on some of them.

The second larger mask, which I finished today, is a hair seal. I haven't taken a picture of it yet. The third large piece will be my original mask - an octopus. That is the only piece my client specified, along with fish and sea animals. She just wants to look at her wall and feel like she's been transported to the ocean.

This is a challenging project. I've never done an installation of masks before. It's quite different from making a collection of pieces that can each stand on their own. But it is fun to work on - and since I'm a child of the sea myself - having grown up on an island - it is easy in many respects for me to imagine the effect and how to achieve it.

My favorite sculpture

2007-07-08T21:10:00.001-07:00

Fellow blogger Marja-leena posited this question on her blog last week. I generally don't have 'favorites' of things, but there is a sculpture in Seattle that I'm very fond of, and feel like it's now living in the shadow of the new Seattle Public Library. Of course, for a while, it was in storage while the library was being built, so I was glad to see it reappear. I have seen other George Tsutakawa fountains, in fact, there is another only a few blocks up hill and south of the library, and there is at least one on the campus at Western Washington University. My 'favorite' of the moment is "Fountain of Wisdom" by George Tsutakawa (of course, it looks much cooler when the fountain is on):

What's your favorite sculpture?

Mermaids and Mobiles

2007-05-27T12:06:00.001-07:00

I started making mobiles a couple of years ago. This February, the agency I work for moved our offices to a new building. I brought in a simple mobile of copper and stainless steel wire, glass beads and beach glass to hang in the cubicle I share. My boss liked it and commissioned me to make a mobile for her daughter's 12th birthday. I suggested a mermaid theme - and she brought in some beach glass from Heather's collection. Here are two views of the finished mermaid mobile:

The mermaid is sculpted out of anodized aluminum wire I bought at Daiso, the Japanese 'dollar' store. Her scales are woven copper wire, strung with glass beads. The mermaid's face, seahorse and fish are cut from recycled tin containers and painted with model spray paint. The other pieces are stainless steel wire, glass beads, beach glass and shells.

I made an earlier mobile with a celestial theme for my friend's baby, Ethan - but won't post a photo until Ethan gets the mobile - don't want to spoil the surprise!

Water and Earth

2007-03-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

I've finished two more of the Elementals boxes. "Water" is below:

"Earth", which has three snakes slithering accross the desert:

Here are "Water" and "Earth" side by side. My camera was giving me trouble getting things in focus.

Here's one more side shot of "Earth" showing the detail of one of the snakes painted on the sides.:

As with "Air", all of the boxes are 6" x6" x 3" deep, and I built them out of 1/4" poplar, with a backing of 1/4" plywood. The sides of the boxes are painted with acrylic, and the background paintings are gouache on Bristol Board. The fish and snakes are carved from cottonwood bark, and painted with acrylic. The edges of the acrylic are nailed down with small #18 brads and studded with glass beads.

It has been very rewarding to work on this series, and perfect work for winter months. My garage shop has been too cold. Bren bought me a drawing table, which is set up in the den, and I have a handy set of Ikea birch plywood drawers for my paints and brushes.

New "Elementals" Boxes

2007-03-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a new series of boxes since early February, based on the theme of the four elements. I built 6" x 6" boxes out of 1/4" x 3" popolar. The first box I completed was Elementals - "Air":

The background is gouache on Bristol board, which is mounted to the inside plywood back of the box. The outsides of the box were painted with acrylic, and then sealed with matte acrylic varnish. The inner sides are covered with foil origami paper. The tree is made of a root, wrapped with steel wire and beads. I carved the little dove out of cottonwood bark. The box is sealed with plexiglass, and held in place with glass beads on wire brads.

The paintings are more inspirations from the Tibetan Buddhist tangkhas, with my own twist.

Here is a shot of 3 of the boxes in progress:

From left to right: Air, Fire, and Water. "Fire" has a carved dragon that's breathing fire. I'm making a rock out of paper mache for him to stand on. "Water" will have three fish carved out of cottonwood bark floating in front of the waves. The fourth box is "Earth" - and I haven't started the painting on that one, or constructed the box. I had originally conceptualized 3 boxes: Air, Fire & Water. Then my partner and a friend both said: "What about Earth?" So I'm working on it! I have carved 3 snakes from cottonwood, and they will get painted. The snake is a symbol for Earth in many American Indian cultures, as well as for Buddhists and Wiccans.

Where has January Gone?

2007-01-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Hey - it's been forever since my last post. But work has been crazy busy lately, and my home life has been hectic too. I have had time to work on some new art though! I made another painting for my sweetie - this one's for Valentines Day. I call it "Heart On Fire"; it is gouache on Bristol board, and is 10"x10".

I started another painting - intending it to be a birthday gift for my son. I had a clayboard panel that I bought at Christmas time at Daniel Smith. I was itching to see how it would handle the gouache - and was sorely disappointed. The newest painting is a dragon - but the clayboard didn't absorb the gouache like paper does. When the first coat dried, and I wanted to apply subsequent coats to make the colors more intense, the first coat just got wet and moved around the board. So I finally had to apply a third coat of acrylic paint over the under coat. The colors turned out to be a good match, though I'm having to mix my own orange and purple - but I had a basic set of acrylics, at least. I really like how the gouache handles on the Bristol board, and the colors get so intense. The matte finish of the watercolor appeals to me more than glossy acrylics. But I guess I can apply a matte medium varnish when I'm done with the painting.

Other news on the art front: I didn't get the TACO proposal. Oh well - I would probably be in a state of panic if I had to fulfill my proposal. I only hope the work they picked is better than the work that was on display last fall when we went to visit! I'm sure other things will come along. And there's always Montana this summer!

Birthday Painting

2006-12-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

My honey's birthday was Friday, Dec. 1. This year, instead of a card, I decided to make a painting for her, that we can frame and keep. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist murals and Tangkas, I used gouache watercolors for this original piece. I call it: The First Sunrise. I finished the painting around midnight Friday. It's 8.5 " x 11", on bristol board.

Saturday, we attended a memorial service for our dear friend John Flunker. He lived a full life (87 years), and he was a wonderful person - full of life, always of good cheer, and ready to dispense advice or tell fascinating stories from his life working as a merchant marine. Your ship has set sail on its final voyage, John. Rest peacefully, dear friend.

After the repast, on our way home, we stopped at Daniel Smith art supply store, and I bought a gessoed panel, to do my next Tibetan-inspired painting! I also bought some more safety-cut 'linoleum' for my holiday cards. I've been working on those this weekend. It's been a tradition for me to make my own block-printed cards (well, for the last three years, at least). I cannot reveal this year's designs until they are mailed off to family and friends. But I'll scan in the designs from past years, and try to post those this week. Hint: they are definitely not traditional holiday cards, but they are from a tradition in my past.

It is so good to be thawed out after our frozen snow last week turned roads into ice-skating rinks. Well - at least I got a snow day out of it!

A (Modest ) Proposal

2006-11-11T00:45:00.000-08:00

To borrow a title from Jonathan Swift. But I won't be proposing a shocking way to abate Irish poverty here! I am submitting a proposal for an art installation in Tacoma. There, an arts organization, TACO, sponsors installations in the old Woolworth's display windows. The building itself is now occupied by the local transit authority. But the cool display windows face three streets in downtown Tacoma, in the heart of the historic Theater District.

My proposal is to install five large (life-sized) figures made of driftwood branches and roots, with heads carved from cottonwood bark. The figures would represent the spirits of my ancestors - similar to the effigees that used to be placed at the Eskimo burial grounds through out western Alaska. Traditionally, the figures represented the departed, and were outfitted with the dead person's tools of trade: cooking pots, harpoons, bow and arrows, shaman's regalia, clothing, toys. While these grave yard figures no longer exist in Alaska, there are wonderful photos of them in the Smithsonian Collection, among others. (see this website for examples - Taos Blue)

Go to my Flickr photo album, in the Artworks Masks set, to see the 15 photos that I'm submitting with my proposal. This is just an example of my work - it won't be the pieces for the installation. I'll be making five new large figures: a hunter, a dancer, a drummer, a shaman, and a child. The proposals are due Nov. 20 - and the artists are supposed to be notified in December whether they get accepted. There are five windows, and installations will be up for 8 weeks. There are several rounds of installations on display over the year. Wish me luck!

Fall Work

2006-10-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

I have been working on some commissions this fall - even though I haven't been keeping up with my blog. I'm posting some photos of the projects that I've been working on.

On the left is the Baba Yaga that I made for my friend Rebeca. I had to borrow her back for the weekend to sew some clothes for her. Now that fall has arrived, she was getting a little chilly! The photo on the right is of the three Babas I've made so far - the middle is for my sister. They are each dressed in traditional Russian peasant-style skirt, blouse and apron.

This is a mask I made on commission from a friend and co-worker. She is called "Evening Star". This is an original piece, with influence from the Yupik traditional masks. I used parrot feathers given to me by my good friend, Fr. Sergios, who has a host of birds in the aviary next to the monastery he has been rebuilding in Calistoga.

Below is "El Sol", in progress. He will join "Evening Star" when he's done. I've got two coats of stain on him so far (orange and yellow), and then he'll need some red parrot feathers. I hope to finish this piece this weekend.

Aside from these projects, my partner and I have been keeping busy going to the gym. We signed up for my birthday in September, and have been going Mon.-Fri. evenings. I go to yoga 2-3 times a week, and we do weight training and cardio the other nights. We both have health in mind for our goals, and a total combined weight loss of well over 100 pounds. We both feel much better, and have lost about 10 pounds each. All my evening time is taken up with working out, so I haven't had any time to blog! I'll try to post more regularly. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Halloween is in the Air

2006-10-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's October - and I have not been posting very much lately. I have been working on some projects, and will post some updated photos of my three Baba Yaga dolls in their costumes (Russian peasant costume, that is). Till then...I've been interested in Art Dolls, and browsed some really cool sites. I'm linking to a few of my faves so far...will also attempt to add them to my "Links" section soon.

"Strange Dolls"

" October Effigies" - the art dolls of Kerry Kate

and these unclassifiable oddities - but beware! this page isn't for the squeamish or those inclined to weep over dead birds, mice, or kittens... "Curiosities"

And just some cool Halloween decore/memorabilia: "Dragonfly Design Studio"

More to come! Happy Fall...

Happenin's

2006-08-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hey - I didn't realize it's been a month since I posted! I have been busy, doing a bit of travelling recently - last weekend - to my nephew's wedding in Albuquerque.

I have made a couple versions of a Baba Yaga doll out of driftwood sticks and roots, and a chair for her to sit on. We have gone beachcombing, done yardwork, all the usual summer activities here in the Pacific NW.

This is the Baba Yaga doll I made for my sister on the left, next to her 'little big'sister on the right. The smaller one is the one I made to go with the hut, in the background.

And this is a bigger Baba Yaga doll that I made for my friend Rebecca. All of the dolls have a chair made to fit them. Also, as you can see, the littlest Baba has a skirt, blouse and apron, which the other two will soon have. This is a typical Russian Peasant style outfit. They are all poseable, with wire joints. The two larger dolls were made with driftwood gathered at Camano Island Beach Park. We went there last month after travelling to the Camano Is. Arts Festival -it was gorgeous weather, and a beautiful park!

Here I am, at Camano Is. Beach, modelling my Montana Peak hat I bought in Bozeman in June. There was some great driftwood here, but there was even more wood at the south end of the park!

Antony Gormley

2006-07-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia had this as a header article today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place it's about the installation art of Antony Gormley. I am fascinated by figurative art, especially when it's on display in public places, such as this. Gormley's figures have an eerie quality to them - especially the iron men covered in barnacles!

I recommend going to the link provided, Gormley's Flash website with more great photos of his other works: http://www.antonygormley.com/

Even if I 'm taking a break (pretty much) from making my own art - I still enjoy looking at the work of others - whether it's in a gallery or from my armchair over the Web!

Beautiful Weavings

2006-07-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

An article in today's Seattle Times Life & Arts section caught my eye. It's about ikat weavings that are on display at 2 local stores. I love ikat fabric, and am going to try to catch this exhibit after work tonight. I wish I had some money right now to buy some with! Check out the article:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2003133412_borneo18.html
I'll post more later if I get there before the store closes!

Phots from Montana Workshop

2006-07-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

The workshop was Sat. & Sun., July 1 & 2. It was a blast! We had six students - all women. As last year, everyone turned out fantastic work! It is so energizing to be around a group of creative people, and in such beautiful surroundings. The Bear Canyon School of Art & Craft is up in Bear Canyon, surrounded by rustling cottonwoods and mixed brush. There are also shrub alder, redbud dogwood, and other native plants, and a stream rushing by a few hundred feet from the school. We had respite from the 85 degree temps in Bozeman up in the canyon, and enjoyed light thunder showers both days.

Below is the group shot on our second day of the workshop. I'm on the right in the plaid shirt. Everyone is holding their pieces.

I've posted the photos from my Montana workshop on my Flickr photo album. Check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elderberrystudio/sets
I'll post later about my trip to Yellowstone on Friday, and upload those pics to Flickr as well. It was a great trip, and full of activity. I had a memorable time - and now it's back to work tomorrow!

It's Official!!

2006-06-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Artworks Gallery in Bozeman has their photos of my masks up on their website! The show opened on Monday, the 19th. It's been almost a month since I mailed all the masks off, but somehow, it just feels more 'real' now that I see the photos of my work on the gallery's web page. I leave next Weds., the 28th, in the morning, arriving at 1:00 p.m. Thank goodness it's a quick hop of a flight - since the travel is on a Dash-8 or similar, via Horizon. I'm used to taking those small prop planes from Anchorage to Kodiak in rough weather, but they are a bit of a squeeze!

I think it's finally summer here in Washington! It's still cool for this time of year - only getting up in the mid-to-high 60's, but it's supposed to warm up to the low 70's this weekend. Not that I mind the temps - it's just been so cloudy, I still look pretty white. Guess my pale skin will shock anyone expecting to see an Eskimo when I do the gallery opening!

Many thanks to you all, my cyber-friends, who have been so supportive! I've been occupied with lots of yard-work and home stuff the past month - kinda my decompression after all the mask-making. But I don't want to just let my blog slide.

Baba Yaga and Her Hut

2006-06-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo (finally) of Baba Yaga and her hut which I made last summer. I have a love of fairy tales, especially illustrated books, and have a collection of Russian fairy tale books, among others. More than ten years ago, I made a large (almost life-sized) figure of Baba Yaga, the archetypal 'witch' from Russian folklore. She was in my featured artist show at our co-op gallery, The Dancing Salmon in Kodiak. My friend in Montana now has Baba Yaga in her dining room. Last spring, I started a series of 'spirit houses', which I haven't yet completed. But I did make Baba Yaga's hut, which stood in the middle of a birch forest, upon chicken's feet so that it could turn in all directions. Baba Yaga had a fence made of human bones, topped with skulls whose eyes shone with a red fire at night. One of the most well-know stories with Baba Yaga in it is "Vasilisa the Fair", about a little girl whose cruel stepmother sends her into the forest to seek fire from Baba Yaga. You'll have to read the story to find out the rest!

My Baba's hut was made from some reclaimed cedar siding, some cedar plank driftwood, cut into shingles, and cottonwood bark. I painted the hut following some fairy tale illustrations. The chicken feet are carved bark, as is Baba Yaga herself, and the crow on the roof. The roof lifts off, and the door opens. She has a table and bed inside, but the interior still needs to be painted, and Baba needs a dress. I also need to fix the front porch, and paint the skulls. I look forward to finishing this project, and picking up on the rest of the series!

Oh - the size: the hut is about 8"x8"x15" high. Baba is 5" tall (excluding her hair). Her arms, legs and neck are jointed with copper wire so she's poseable.

Bon Voyage, Little Ones

2006-05-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

My 'children' are on their way to Montana now. Our den feels empty, our hearts are saddened, and yet full of excitement for the upcoming show. My partner and I pulled an all-nighter Friday night, labelling, wrapping, and packing the masks to send them off on their journey to new lives. Maybe some of you think it's silly to get attached to a piece of art - hunks of wood. But the masks each have their own spirit, and we have enjoyed having them displayed on the wall of our den these last months. The wall is now blank, save for the empty hangers. We will bring down several sets of finger masks I made last year to fill the space. Anyway - we were up till 5:00 a.m. Saturday, then got up around 9:30 to scoot off to the Post Office to mail them. All but two pieces are on the way to Bozeman.

Below is a 'family portrait' of me and my masks, before their departure:

I crashed yesterday afternoon for a nap. Later, we went to dinner, and saw "The DaVinci Code" at the theater. I won't spoil it for anyone - though if you've read the book, there won't be any surprises. The movie was much better than I anticipated, though I think if you haven't read the book, you might miss out on some background material.

It seems so strange to be done with my big project - and have all this time to do simple things, like go shopping for flowers for our porch. The weather has been rainy all week, so we didn't even feel up to taking in Folk Life in Seattle. Of course, I still have some things to do to get ready for the workshop in July. I'll do a slide presentation on Yupik masks for the public (last year it was at the library), and update my handouts a bit. I have some other commissions I've put off since February, so I'll have to pick up where I left off. In all, it's been an intense and enjoyable four months!

Four More Finished Masks Plus three Small Ones

2006-05-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is Dance Object with Sea Animals. The original was suspended from the community house, but mine has been finished to hang against the wall. The finished size of the base is 10", and with feathers, it is about 18" accross. Cottonwood bark mounted on pine, feathers, glass beads, oil stain and acrylic (on pine). The little animals would have traditionally been mounted using bird quills or baleen, so they would bounce or look like they were swimming when the object was raised and lowered. I made the background in my piece to look like the sea, and the black dots represent the holes that led to the spirit world of the animals, as well as the breathing holes in the ice.

This is Two-Faced Mask. It represents the dual nature of man, by showing both a male and female face. It is a shamanic piece, as illustrated by the toothed hat or head ornament. From the hoops hang 'clackers' which would move with the dancer's movements. I hung mine with copper wire, which gives a modern spin to the mask, and allows movement by air, even when the piece is static. The woman (bottom) is adorned with the traditional chin tattoos, and wears beads in her septum. Size: 21" h x 5" w (at hoop). Cottonwood bark, alder root, feathers, copper wire, glass beads.

The Crane Inhua is a crane with it's inhua or human spirit on its belly. A human figure bound in grass rides on her chest - it probably represents a shaman. Size: 12" h x 13" w. Cottonwood bark, glass beads, raffia, alder roots, feathers.

Here are two views of Blue Shaman: closed and open. He is in the act of transforming or travelling between spirit worlds, hence the teeth in his arms and legs. It was known that when a shaman was transforming, you could see into him - his guts and bones would be visible. His belly has doors which reveal a goggled visage - not feminine, but wearing a mustache. On the right inner door are caribou fleeing, and on the left door, two seals. Size: 14" h x 11" w. Cottonwood bark, alder root, glass beads, feathers.

The three smaller masks below are ones left from a sale I did last October at my Native Corporation meeting in Seattle. They will go to the show in Montana as well. First is a Kodiak mask I titled Spirit of Kodiak Winds. It is a simple mask, but the white painted design reminds me of New Guinea masks. There is raffia coming out of his mouth. Size: 5" h x 2" w. Cottonwood bark, raffia.

This happy fellow is a Sculpin (also known as a bullhead or Irish Lord). The spots on masks are believed to represent eyes, stars, snowflakes, or windows to the other spirit worlds. They could be any of these things, depending on the mask. Size: 12" h x 3" wide. Cottonwood bark, root, feathers, brass wire.

Lastly, we have Moon-Dwelling Spirit. The tuunraaq were malevolent or just naughty spirits that lived on the moon. Their faces show the phases of the moon. They were blood thirsty creatures - but mine is vegetarian - his mouth is smeared with berry juice! The spots here represent stars. Size: 12" h x 3" w. Cottonwood bark, roots, feathers, and copper wire.

With these pieces, my total is at 15. I had promised the gallery in Bozeman 15 masks. I have two more in progress, a pair of one-eyed masks. If I get them done, I'll ask the gallery if they can arrive a bit late. Everyone else is going to be packed up and mailed this weekend. It has been intense, and really enjoyable to spend so much time on my masks these past few months. I used to be much more consistent before I moved to Washington. I probably averaged 3-5 new pieces a month back in 1996. But then we had our own gallery, and the Alaskan spirits to inspire me! I think there are spirits here too, they are just more shy, and have had to gradually get used to me. We feel that every time we go walk in the woods, some little hitchhikers come home with us - in the Philippines, they are fairies or brownies. Now, with the new masks, our little fairies or spirits have new homes they can dwell in for a very long time!

Three more new pieces in progress

2006-04-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

I have another three pieces that are ready to stain. First is another dance object, which was probably suspended from the ceiling. I will actually mount these little sea mammals on a larger disk - about 10" accross. I made this first one, then finished the animals, and found they are too crowded. There are a family of three beluga whales, a ringed seal, two walrus heads, and one fish (cod or salmon?). The biggest piece is 3.5" long, the smallest are the walrus heads, which are 1.5" high, and about 1" accross. The original piece this is modeled after was quite large - several feet accross. The circle they all rest on represents the ocean. The rim will be circled with five feathers, radiating out.

Below is a "Shaman Mask". He has doors on his tummy that open to reveal a face hidden behind. This figure is unusal, in that it does not depict the duality of male/female. The face behind the doors is male (grinning) and goggled, which may represent the snow goggles the Eskimos wore to prevent snow blindness when out hunting on the ice and snow. The insides of the arms and legs will be studded with 'teeth', another shamanistic symbol, used to represent the magical ability of a shaman to transform. In the act of transformation, it was thought you could see the insides (bones and guts) of a shaman.

Finally, this is a "Two-Faced Mask". It is also shamanistic, and represents the dual nature (male/female) of man - female visage on the bottom, male above. . The 'tail' or appendage on the head will be studded with teeth, and have to hoops with dangling appendages that would make noise when a dancer moved. This piece measures 20" high and 3.5" accross.

I have started yet another mask, which isn't far enough along to photograph yet. That, and another 2-3 I have planned should put me in the home stretch! I am off every Friday in May, so I have to get cracking and get these all finished!

Finished Birds

2006-04-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to get photos today of the three bird masks, now finished. The first of the birds is the "Snowy Owl Inhua" below. I think I described the mask pretty thoroughly in my earlier post a few weeks ago. But this shows the Snowy Owl with her 'yua' or human being (spirit). She's made of cottonwood bark and glass beads. Size: 10"h x 10"w.

Below is the "Diving Loon" mask. She has a shark fin on her back, protruding from a long toothed mouth-like opening. She has human legs and arms - depicting a shaman in transformation. On the right and left are ulus, or women's knives. They are attached with baleen, which makes them springy. Their curved blades are ideal for fileting and cutting meat. (I use mine for cutting pizza and veggies, as well as skinning fish! ) The toothy mouth and mixture of human and animal parts are typical of shamanic masks. Material: cottonwood bark, spruce and alder root, feathers, glass beads, baleen. Size: 12"h x 15"w.

Below are two views of the "Murre with Kayaker", which isn't a mask, but a dance object or sculpture. It was designed to hang from the ceiling of the community house with gut or twine. I haven't yet figured out how I'll display my piece - I think I'll use some sort of twine, which will require drilling a hole through the head and tail. The murre carries a man in a kayak that looks like a sei whale. The Eskimo and Aleut kayaks did look like whales, with turned up double prows, and often had eyes painted on either side of the front. The man is using a leaf-bladed paddle, and wears a traditional hunting hat (Aleut/Koniag style). These were made of bentwood, and decorated profusely with stylized drawings and designs of waves, sea mammals, hunters, and flowers. Size: 15" long x 17" wide wingspan.

This photo shows the Murre in 'flight' (I just jury-rigged it using heavy monofilament). In this shot, you can see the ulu blade mounted in her belly. I am not happy with the photo, but after I figure out how to hang this piece, I'll get some more photos.

More, more, more!

2006-04-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Seems like forever since I've posted! I have the three birds completed - two are hanging next to their siblings on the family-room wall, the other is still waiting for me to figure out how she should stand/hang. I have an additional three new ones whose pictures I haven't taken yet. They are almost ready to stain. I had to go buy some new tung oil this weekend, as my old bottle had started to congeal. Once it's exposed to oxygen, tung oil doesn't have much of a shelf life. I think I've had my bottle for more years than the ideal time. Then I discovered the white oil paint I've always used for stain contains lead!! I had always had the really small tubes, which either didn't state there was lead in the paint, or I couldn't read the tiny print. So now I have to switch. I've always used titanium white. I think the only other white is China white.

So - I have been working, really I have! I will try to snap some pics tonite of my new stars - the unfinished ones. This coming weekend, I hope for bright, dry weather so I can shoot the three birds (photos, not guns).

Am I crazy yet? I keep worrying about packing the masks for shipping. The gallery owner advised double-boxing, making a pillow to surround each piece with bubble wrap, and filling the empty space of the box with styrofoam peanuts or the other biodegradable stuff.

At least after I get the finished work off in the mail, I can concentrate on slides for the presentation and class. I won't have to prpare any new class materials, as I'll use what I prepared last year.

And it's finally spring here in Washington! We've had flowers blooming - but it has been chilly for this time of year. Today, the temp reached 71 F. I didn't even need my jacket or sweater that I'd bundled up in this morning!

Three Birds

2006-04-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

After some delay - namely, fighting with some cruddy bug last weekend, and the effects of the "Spring Ahead" time change, here are the next three pieces. They are shown dry-assembled - which means they haven't been glued together yet. It makes it much easier to stain them when they are all apart! These three are all birds.

This is not really a mask - it's a 'dance object'. It would have been hung suspended from the ceiling of the kasgiq, or community house, where the dances and storytelling took place. Some such dance objects could be raised and lowered, or made to look as if they were flying/moving. The effect was much like the stage of a play - everything was arranged to set the scene. There were masks hung on the walls, some very large masks that were suspended from the ceiling, behind which dancers would stand, maybe puller strings to open and close jaws, or make wings flap.

Although the book from which I got this piece, Ann Riordan's "Our Way of Making Prayer" identifies it as a 'thresher shark' kayak, riding upon the back of a loon, I don't think that's what either animal is. I believe the bird is a murre - a powerful diving bird that spent its time upon the ocean. Murres are black and white, as this bird is in the original. But they don't have spots, and they have a more compact, streamlined body, and shorter, thicker bill. I believe the kayak is not a 'thresher shark', but a sei whale. Sei whales are common in Arctic waters, and are the smallest of the baleen whales. They were usually gray with white splotches, and have a more streamlined appearance than the larger grey whale. In the original, this kayak/whale is white. The kayaker wears a traditional hunting hat, which were common among Kodiak Alutiiqs, and Aleuts. They were made from steam-bent wood, and decorated profusely with wave and sea-mammal and fish designs, ivory, and sea-lion or seal whiskers. Later hats were adorned with glass trade beads as well. The man holds a traditional paddle, with a leaf-shaped blade.

This is " Snowy Owl with Inua". It is a transformation mask - sporting human-like arms with almost animal-like paws. The yua, or human being is portrayed on the owl's back. You can tell it's a woman by the frown.

This piece is a "Diving Loon" mask. It's also a transformation mask, as shown by the human arms and legs. The loon was a powerful bird because of its ability to travel between the three spiritual worlds: water, air and land. The appendage to the right of the bird is an ulu blade, which is a woman's knife. There is a mate to the knife blade, not shown in this photo, which I think is a skinning or flensing knife. The two knife blades might illustrate the dual nature of shamans and all living beings - male and female.

I put the first coat of stain on these pieces tonight. Hope to have the staining done over the weekend - now that the weather's warmer, things dry much faster!

The First Five

2006-03-27T22:17:00.000-08:00

This is "Toothy Bird" - she's my favorite so far. I had a dream about her the night after I completed her. In my dream, she was talking to me, and told me to make a life-sized loon mask, whose beak could open and close, and reveal its yua, or human being (spirit) inside its mouth. The loon was a powerful figure in Yupik masks - due to its ability to travel through all three spirit worlds: water, air and land. The teeth in her wings and the human face on her back show the viewers that the bird is a powerful shaman, travelling between spirit worlds. Height: about 11 inches, width: 15 in. Cottonwood bark, glass beads, alder roots, duck feathers,copper wire, oil stain.

Seal Mask. This is paired with the mask below. Seals and other sea mammals were thought to have female spirits. The frowning stylized seal face inside the mask is feminine, as it is frowning. Female spirits and women were always portrayed frowning, and males smiling. Cottonwood bark, alder roots, duck feathers, glass beads, copper wire. Height: 9 inches, width 6 ins.

Seal Muzzle Mask. This is the mate to the seal above. She still needs a small kayak with hunter, that will be on the top center of the mask. The first kayak I carved broke. This mask is just a close-up of a seal's snout and open mouth, which reveals a stylized seal face inside. Of course the fish represent the seal's favorite food! Cottonwood bark, alder and unknown root, glass beads, copper wire, duck feathers. Height: 7 inches, width: 5 inches.

"Chalarok" or East Wind mask. He is paired with the mask below. There are a number of masks which represent the winds. Little information was gathered about the mask's meaning by the collector of the original. He is shown with a man - possibly representing a shaman riding on him. The hoops in the masks represent the universe. White feathers represent stars. White dots may represent stars, snow, or spirit eyes. The pierced hands with cut off thumbs represent the tuunraaq, who were helper spirits called upon by the shaman. Tuunraaq dwelled on the moon, and controlled game, birds and fish. It was believed the hole in the palm allowed enough animals and fish to go down to earth so man would not go hungry, but not too many animals so they would all be killed. Cottonwood bark, alder roots, glass beads, copper wire, ptarmigan feathers. Height: 9 inches, width: 5 inches.

"Negakfok" or "North Wind" mask. The tube allows the wind to blow. The dangling objects on his forehead tinkle like a wind-chime. Cottonwood bark, spruce root, alder root, glass beads, copper wire, ptarmigan feathers. Height: 8 inches, width: 4 inches.

The originals, after which these masks were modelled, were all collected in the late 1800's by American and European collectors, most of whom were missionaries. These masks all came from villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The originals were all large full-face masks, which were carved for specific festivals or other ritual performances. Had the collectors not bartered for the masks, they would have been destroyed - chopped up and used as firewood, or set out on the tundra to weather away. Some masks were buried with powerful shamans who created or visualized them.

More Progress and History Behind the Masks

2006-03-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

After my post last night, I kept getting error messages. My partner came home, and wanted to go out and get some dinner, so I had to dash out, thinking my post hadn't 'taken'. I was pleasantly surprised this morning, when I found the comment from Howard in my e-mail!

Actually, I never got to the subject of last night's post - callouses and turpenoid. When I first was invited to do this show last month, I started working on some pieces right away. The gallery wanted 25 masks originally, and I had talked her down to 15 (or more, if possible). I haven't spent alot of time carving lately, and I started getting blisters in my hands from the knives. Of course, I also got a few shallow cuts initially, my hands feeling clumsy. The callouses also help protect my fingers from cuts, since I use my thumb and edges of my index fingers as 'stops' for the blades sometimes, doing the fine detail carving. Despite have my nose full of sawdust, sneezing all the time. wearing band-aids, and having sore hands, I'm loving it!

Because I used oil-based stain for the masks, and was almost out of turpentine, I decided to try the turpenoid alternative. It still smells, but not a s strongly. I find that I'm like Elise, and probably most other oil painters - I love the smell of turpentine! I know it's not good to breathe, but our garage is airy. When the weather is warmer, I open the garage door to let the fumes out. I have tried water-based stains, but they just don't have the richness of color, or bring out the grain like oils do. I just mix oil paint with tung oil and turpentine, and get a stain that hardens and protects the wood, as well as brings the grain to life.

Below are the pair of Seal masks, ready to be assembled. Both will have hoops added, and some details added with paint later. The one on the left is also missing the kayak with it's hunter, which I have to re-do. (that's his little paddle to the lower right of the white mask). The mask on the right is just the seal's snout, with open mouth, revealing the seal's yua or human-being (spirit). All animals, fish, birds, and elements of nature had dual spirits - animal and human. Marine mammals have female spirits, and are depicting frowning, as are women in Yupik art.

These are the ready-to-assemble Negakfok or North Wind, and the Toothy Bird masks. They will also have hoops attached, that encircle the body of the mask, and some details added with paint.

These masks, as well as the three new ones I'm just starting, are all traditional Yupik masks. They are replicas in miniature of masks that were made in the late 1800's and early 1900's, before mask-making and traditional dances and ceremonies were banned by the Christian missionaries. The Catholics, Mennonites, and Baptists, as well as others, all had substantial missionary efforts in Alaska, which strongly affected the Yupik traditions, virtually wiping out their mask-making art. The art forms continued, but a watered-down version for the tourist trade. Fortunately, quite a few collectors realized the value of the masks, and saved them from being destroyed - which the Yupik ususally carried out as part of the ceremony. Masks were either chopped up and burned for firewood, or laid out on the tundra to erode. Shamans were often buried with masks and other ritual objects of their trade. We do owe these early collectors for the several hundred Yupik masks that reside in museums and private collections all over the world today. In the 1980's, mask-making has re-emerged as part of the Alaska Native cultural renaissance that has been going on state-wide.

Calluses and the Smell of Turpenoid

2006-03-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

At last - we found the problem that was making our 'puter so slow! It was the modem (we have cable broadband). This is the second modem (from Comcast) that crapped out on us. So my partner bought a new one, and now we're up and running.

These are boxes of my raw material: cottonwood bark:

Here's a Seal Mask that has been roughed out:

These are Negakfok, the North Wind (top) and Tomanik, the Windmaker (lower left), sanded and ready to stain:

Here is part of the first 5 masks, and their appendages, after the first coat of stain; l-r are Tomanik, one of a pair of Seals, and Toothy Bird:

Busy Busy

2006-03-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

So I've been trying to post from home - but something has got our computer all bogged down. I have some pics of my works in progress to post - hope it will work this weekend! I have been busy working on pieces for my big art show in Montana in June. I have five pieces that are stained, and ready to assemble. Thank goodness tomorrow is my flex day off from work, and I will be able to devote serious time to the masks. I then need to take some photos - my first images are due at the Gallery by April 1 so they can have something for the postcards and ads. Then all my completed pieces are due (which I will have to pack and mail) to the gallery by June 1. Whew! But I'm having a blast! It's so exciting to have a goal to work toward!

New Cultural Arts Center Opening in West Seattle

2006-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

Friday night, my partner and I attended the opening of the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle. We were invited by my friend Charly, who along with husband, has formed a performing arts troupe: "The Cabiri". Among their many talents, they do 'aerial dance' (trapeze), stiltwalking, fire-eating and fire juggling, and are a very talented group. Their performances are interpretations of myths and legends. On Friday, they performed an aerial dance piece - and did a fantastic job (as always).

The arts center is housed in a refurbished school -the building probably dates back to 1900's. It's a handsome brick 3-story building. The upper 2 floors are artist live-in studios. Some of those were open to tours - but only one that we went in was inhabited. The studios are the old classrooms, with old chalkboards left intact, as well as other unique architectural features: coat racks (the primary-school variety, with iron hooks about 3 feet up from the floor), closets, and gorgeous clear-story windows, that are bi-fold and open in. The windows extend from about waist-high up near the top of the loft-style ceilings. The main floor houses a theater, a dance studio, a workshop, media room, and classrooms, all of which are available for hourly or daily rental by the public. It is a testimony to the place the arts have in Seattle.

I wish we had a arts center like this in my neighborhood!

Gallery Show - Commissions Question

2006-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Okay - so now I am really STOKED (as my son would say)!!! I have been asked by the owner of the Artworks Gallery in Bozeman, MT to participate in their June show. She saw some of my work when I was there last June teaching the maskmaking workshop I did at the Bear Canyon Arts school, and has been trying to track me down through my artist friends there. I am super excited about doing a show - of my masks - which will mean making a bunch of new pieces (as I only have 3 masks on hand that aren't spoken for). The owner wanted 25-30 pieces, since my masks are miniatures (ranging from 3" high by 3" wide to about 24" inches high by 12" wide). BUT since I have a full-time job, and can only realistically complete about 3-4 masks per month, I proposed I could provide 15 pieces for the show. Genise is cool with that.

I have only dealt with one gallery that was not an artist-run co-op. The other experience I had was in Port Townsend, WA - and left a sour taste in my mouth for galleries. I guess my real dilemma is related to what Elise was talking about in her blog - pricing and the art market. If the gallery wants 60% commission, and my selling price is $200.00 - that makes the gallery price for the piece $320.00. And then I'm thinking: if someone would buy this piece for $320, why am I dealing with a gallery? Of course I realise they are paying for the advertising, and have an established clientele, and all the rent and overhead, and the opening reception. So it's not like they're doing nothing. Plus - this is the first time I've ever had a gallery approach me to do a show. And it would be great exposure! And don't get me wrong - the Artworks folks sound very nice, and one of the art school business partners has his work in the gallery.

Whew! Okay - I'll stop now. It's not like me to get all discombobulated. I'm a Virgo after all. Grounded, earthy. I'm analytical. I research, research, research, contemplate, then make decisions. And I've already said yes - we just have the details to work out. And I've already started the masks. I have drawings for 7 pieces, and have roughed out 2 of them. I'll post pics soon! And after spending most of President's Day working on the masks, I have band-aids on three fingers - both thumbs and my ring finger! I was so excited to get to work carving, and my knives were so nice and sharp... at this rate, I'd better buy stock in Johnson & Johnson!

Wahoo!

2006-02-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

Also over the last weekend, I heard from my artist friend, Vicki, who lives in Bozeman, MT. She and her business partners have a a one-room-schoolhouse art school up in Bear Canyon. Last year, I went there and taught a 2-day maskmaking workshop - which was a blast! So - they want me to come back again this spring! I am really 'stoked' about it (as my son would say). Vicki's friend Steel sent us 3 boxes of cottonwood bark from the West side of Kodiak Island, where his fishing camp is located. He gathered this driftwood in short time. I had never seen such huge pieces of bark - and I've been gathering and carving it for over 15 years. The students turned out great work, and a good time was had by all.

Teaching is fun, and inspiring in a different sort of way than taking a workshop is. I enjoy sharing my knowledge, and working with people. Plus, I got to meet some cool new people, and visit with my friend, and see some beautiful country! Cowboy up! (that is so not me!)

Forgot to mention in my last post - that while in Fremont, we visited the famed Fremont Troll who lives under the Fremont Bridge. Another couple was there taking their photos with the Troll, and they graciously offered to snap ours. Awww!

Secrets

2006-02-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I promised to post these pics - and since I've posted. Last weekend was so gorgeous here in Rain City, that we just couldn't resist getting out and about. My partner and I went into Seattle on Saturday, and bought some tools at TSI, a local jewellry-making supply store that's been an institution for close to 30 years. It is going out of business at the end of the month :{ Since we were in the neighborhood, we parked and walked around the Fremont area, a fun artsy/alternative place. It is sandwiched along the boat canal between Seattle U. and the U. of Washington. There are fun shops, and we had a great time, and ate lunch at Costa's Opa, a Greek restaurant.

Here is "Secrets" the finished doll I made for my friend Charly. She opens to reveal her Secret interior (which isn't too visible in this pic) - a collage from an Erte print, of a mermaid riding a seahorse.

Sunday was gorgeous again - and we took a trip to the quaint little town of Sumner, with a row of antique shops along its one-block long main street. Then, as promised, my sweetie drove us to Tacoma so I could take some photos along the waterfront and of the industrial area. There is a beautiful old fireboat along the waterfront, up out of the water and on display next to the old firestation. I got some good close-up shots of the red & black hull, lined with rivets. Also some shots of the portholes, door, and rust-stained cleats on the deck, and close-ups of the 3 big screws.

Now the week has turned cold (for Seattle) - temps plunging to the 20's at night, and the weatherman is threatening it will get into the teens this weekend. It's been sunny, but crisp in the day. Just when all the flowering plums and crabapples thought it was safe to bloom!

The Progression of Things

2006-02-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted for a bit because I was busy trying to finish a few projects. Then I had to pack up and mail the box to my son, and some belated birthday gifts to my mother as well. Then, I started working on a birthday gift for my co-worker and friend, Charly, who turned 30 Feb. 3. I didn't get the piece done by Friday, but worked on it all last weekend, finishing it up on Sunday.
Here is "Secrets" in progress, the doll I made for Charly:

Her body is an Altoids tin, spray-painted black. Her arms & legs are copper tubing, her fingers, toes & hair are copper wire. Her head, hands & feet are from a cool piece of copper sheet I found on the beach, with a beautiful natural patina already on it.

Below are a couple of the heart pieces I was working on, but sorta dropped to do the other, afore-mentioned projects. They are wood with mixed media.

And here is my neglected Porthos, totally disgusted with me for hiding in the garage all day and evening, and not giving him any attention. Since I was working with metal that made sharpy shavings, and fumes from spray paint, and a hot soldering iron and torch, the garage -- err, hem -- my 'studio' is strictly verbotten to him while I'm working.

What kind of art am I?

2006-02-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to fellow blogger Greg, I took this Quizilla qizzie thing, and here are the results - shockingly identical to Greg's! (Makes me wonder if anyone gets any other result?)

You are "Primavera". This painting is all

about love...like you. You love Love in all

it's many shapes and sizes. You like to look

on the bright side...and if there is no

bright side you'll just make on up! ...look

kitties...aww

Yourself as Art.
brought to you by Quizilla

Game storage box with hunter's talismans

2006-01-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

I have been busy trying to get the box finished for my son's birthday gift done so I can get it in the mail. I used a wooden box (that cheese had come in) that I got from the Good Will for .69 cents or so. I cleaned it up a bit, then stained it with a turqoise-ish oil stain. The sliding lid of the box was stamped/woodburned with a Kraft cheese logo and information about the product. I thought it would sand off, but that wasn't working. So after much thinking, trying different things, I decided to use some of the Sculpey clay we bought a few years ago, and never did much with. It was white, so I figured I could make an oval big enough to cover the label, and then paint it to look like ivory. Then I decided I would just do a miniature painting on the oval. I selected an Aleut or Alutiiq hunter, from an original watercolor by the Russian Mikhail Tikhanov. The painting was used for the cover art of the book "Glory Remembered - Wooden Headgear of Alaska Sea Hunters" by Dr. Lydia Black. Since I am of Alutiiq descent, and my son is a commercial fisherman in Alaska, and enjoys hiking and hunting, this seemed like an appropriate choice. It's been fun - but of course, I haven't worked on my Valentines for the February Co-op show, which hangs this Friday. Oh well. If I get 'em done, I'll go hang some work!

Rendered in acrylic, my miniature (3 in. X 7 in.) on baked Sculpey, is shown below. I then decided the sides of the box would be painted using motifs from Aleut/Alutiiq hunting hats. The inside bottom of the box bears an imaginary shark/whale. This is the secret, powerful talisman that will protect Alex. He loves to play dice and poker, so I figured he could use the box to store his dice in. The Eskimos and Aluiiq people made beautiful boxes, decorated with animals, fish and mythical creatures. They used such boxes for carving, hunting & fishing tools, and women's sewing gear, as well as food storage.

These are the long sides of the box. The show (l to r) a seal, a hunter in a kayak, a shark or big fish, another hunter in kayak, a small fish, and a sea monster. The wave patterns and stripes, as well as the colors, are traditional hunting hat designs.

These are the short ends of the box. They show, (l to r): a floral motif (could signify the sun, land, or an eye), a seal, an octopus, and medallion again.

Artistic Energy

2006-01-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

So I just today found out about a fantastic opportunity, right in my own back yard (well, in Port Townsend). It is an event called Artfest 2006, and it is a 3-day schedule of artist workshops. There are tons of cool classes to choose from. The one I most wanted to take is all full - taught by Michael De Meng. But another cool mixed-media artist still has open sessions - Keith Lo Bue. Of course the hardest part is deciding whether I can afford to go or not. I blew my art income in October on a new digital camera. And to register for the choices I want, I have to pay in full. It would just be a fantastic way to recharge my creative batteries, learn some new techniques, and meet some new creative people. I know the longer I hesitate, the less likely I'll get to take my first choice workshops. But hey! If you are in the Seattle area, or close enough to drive - do check out the website! I've only been drooling over the Pratt Art Institute catalogs every semester! I gotta take the plunge!

Birthday cards and Valentine's Day

2006-01-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I made birthday cards for my mom and son Alex. They are collages of tissue, an old Chinese newspaper, and Origami papers, with some of my lino-cuts that were test prints or extras.

This is the card I made for my mother, who turned 85 last Monday!

This card is for Alex, who turned 23 today!

I also glued down the series of nine hearts that I made as part of the art work to go in our bedroom...eventually. The hearts were painted in guache on watercolor paper, then cut and/or woven. Each heart square is 3 inches square. Mounted together, the result is one big ten inch square. I truncated the picture, since the whole thing wouldn't fit on my scanner.

I'm also working on some mixed-media pieces out in the shop, but they aren't far enough along to photgraph. Three are mixed-media hearts, and the other is a wooden box I'm altering for Alex to keep his dice in. He's big on gambling games, like dice and poker.

Art Studio Before Cleaning

2006-01-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Fellow blogger Elise suggested in her blog to search Google Images for 'artist studio'. I had just taken some pre-cleaning photos of my messy corner of the garage workshop (I can't justify calling it a 'studio'). So - I decided it was worth a laugh to post those photos here. Sorry - I don't have any after shots - and since it's a bit messed up at the moment with my current projects, I don't anticipate taking any pics of the newly reorganized, though slightly-now-messy, space.

This is the trim I was working so hard to refinish and paint. Boxes of tools and stuff got piled on my workbench - totally preventing any artwork going on there!

The good thing about the garage is the previous owner put in a bunch of built-in cupboards. They are just plywood, and in need of a paint face-lift. Maybe this summer. Actually, we want to tear out some of these cabinets, and put in some nifty quilted stainless-steel cabinets, and a rugged stain-resistant, kind-to-your-feet rubber tile floor.

Art and Food

2006-01-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

I am definitely a sensual person. I enjoy the colors, aromas, and texture of food - and of course, the taste. All day, I had been dreaming of a salad - from a recipe I read in a magazine at the pharmacy a couple of weeks ago. It was young mixed greens, with glazed walnuts, apples, a walnut-berry vinaigrette, and crumbled chevre. During my lunch break today, I went to PikePlace Farmer's Market - just up the block from my office - in search of the right cheese. There's an Italian grocery store with deli that uses a creamy goat cheese on their salad - it has the light texture of cream cheese, and is very mild. But the cheese monger was all out of that particular cheese! So this evening, I made do with a light supper of mixed baby greens, sharp Irish cheddar, toasted pine-nuts, onion, apple, and raspberry vinaigrette, accompanied by roasted Yukon gold potato wedges with garlic.

The Pike Place Market is a feast for the senses. The link above shows the Market at night. It never looks empty like that in the daytime! There are buskers everywhere - singing, making balloon animals, doing magic tricks. The open-air stalls sell everything from mini-donuts to fresh fruits and veggies, fish, roast cashews, honey, art and craftwork. (Here's another link to the Market.)

I started a new group of art work last week. It was originally going to be a series for our bedroom - which so far, is the least-completed feeling room of our home. The theme is love - symbolized by hearts, of course. But after my first two pieces were started, my partner decided they should have more color, and be in a different medium. So I worked all day Sunday on a paper collage piece with gauche - and that met her approval. Now I just have to work on the rest of the series! The other two mixed-media pieces that I began I will hang at the co-op gallery in February - appropriately. It also happens to be the 'vertical show' - which means you can hang as many pieces as you can fit vertically in the alloted space. I'll try to post some photos of the works in progress soon.

2006, So Far - Ramblings

2006-01-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

I'm just taking a break from scraping and sanding down the baseboard and crown molding trim from our family room. My partner's goal was to have completed the repaint of the family room by New Year's day - but that didn't quite happen. She has done most all of the work - I volunteered to do the trim. Because the walls had been heavily patched, and the texture didn't match anywhere, we decided to mix our paint with plaster. We had applied Venetian plaster to the upstairs living room main wall, which had also been badly damaged. We love the look - it looks like marble or limestone. The technique, using less expensive dry wall plaster, worked well down stairs too. Of course, I am itching to get into my 'shop' in the garage and work on some new projects. But since my shop doubles as our work space for the house projects, I am utilizing my patience, (and fulfilling my promise) by finishing the trim. We are being economical and practical by reusing the existing trim, as it is hardwood. Most of the new stuff today is foam. If we were to replace all our trim with like quality, it would be pretty expensive.

The next thing I have to do, after painting the trim, is clean and reorganize my shop. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to work tomorrow on some new art projects.

Last night we watched a couple of videos. I picked "The Snow Walker" which is a Canadian movie based on a Farley Mowatt story. It was really quite good. About a young pilot who finds himself stranded on the tundra with a young Innuit girl. The actress who plays the girl is beautiful. And the scenery is fantastic.

My partner and I talk alot about where we want to travel to. On our list is: Newfoundland, Iceland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, and the Philippines. I'm too scared to travel to the Philippines, since the island my partner is from is the stronghold of the Muslim terrorists. B's relatives who still live there (in Davao), are wealthy landowners, and have body guards to protect them. I'd stick out like a sore thumb there - with my fair complexion, grey eyes and light hair!

Spirit of the Sound

2006-01-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

This is a scanned image of a mask I made (and sold) in October 2005. It is a miniature of an traditional Koniag (Alutiiq) mask. THe collector did not take note of what the mask represented, so I have named it Spirit of the (Prince William) Sound.

Greetings in 2006

2006-01-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and readers! Welcome, 2006! The one resolution that I have for this year, and have for many years past, is to not have resolutions. Oh I do have one pledge to myself and my partner: to lead a healthier lifestyle through diet and exercise. When at 43, your joints and feet ache from taking your daily walk, and you groan and sigh when getting up from your seat, or you can't even get down on your knees with ease any longer, and you have high blood pressure - then there's only one thing to do: heed your doctor's advice. Now - I am not a couch slug. But my lifestyle since moving to the States, and since being bogged down by the Big D (depression, not divorce), and the ubuer-medicines to combat that condition - my girth has swelled to previously-unknown dimensions. Not that I have ever been svelte - at 5'1", I have always had a robust build. But I've always been active and healthy. So my goal for this year is to restore my body to its 35-year old state. And maybe by summer's end - I'll be ready for the next goal: to attempt the rock wall at the Downtown REI. (That, by the way, was my goal for my 40th birthday, but I did not reach the weight goal).

Beyond that - I already have a couple of commissions to work on. And I have a series of pieces I started last spring that I hope to finish. I need to start by reorganizing my shop. My partner has promised to add some shelves for me, clean up our stock-pile of scrap wood and get rid of the junk left over from our condo remodel.

I love the New Year: a clean slate for everyone - sort of like a blanket of new fallen snow that no one has mucked up with their footprints or tire tracks yet. Good luck to you all as we launch into yet another year - and may its yield far exceed our expectations!

New Octopus

2005-12-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

All of the masks in this post are my original designs, inspired by Yupik masks. They are all made of cottonwood bark, which I found as driftwood on the beach.

Here is a photo of the new octopus mask that I recently completed. Unlike the first piece, this one has beads inlaid in the arms, and glass bead eyes.

Here is 'Sol' - she is more of a doll than a mask. She has parrot feathers, copper wire, and glass beads for her hair.

This is 'Magic Woman Three'. She was inspired by the male shaman figures from traditional Yupik masks. In my culture, a shaman could be male or female. She has raffia hair, and glass beads for eyes. She also bears the traditional chin tattoos of Yupik women. Her innards are visible to show the duality of being a Shaman represented. She could be both in the physical world and the Spirit world at the same time. A shaman could travel to the animal spirit world as well, and communicate with her 'spirit-helper' animals, or other spirits. Other depictions of shamans in Yupik art show them with animal and human features, such as bird wings or caribou legs, and with their innards revealed.

Three-faced Mask

2005-12-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

This is my own version of a Yupik two-faced mask collected from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. For some reason, I just wanted to add one more face. In Yupik art, the frowning faces depict women, while the men are always depicted as smiling. Can't imagine why women were always frowning... :{ The images of women also often include chin tattoos - they look like sun rays radiating out from the lower lip, but in soot-black.

Sorry for the Lag in Posting Your Comments, Dear Readers

2005-12-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have been playing with the settings for posts to my blog. I have had problems with spammers posting ads - so when you see there is a delay in your post going up, it's because I chose to have an e-mail go to me to approve the post. I can always delete unwanted posts - but hate to have that spam stuff up there for a day or so until I get around to deleting it.

So - sorry if it is a bother!

Some Older Masks of Mine

2005-12-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to be playing with inserting photos into my blog! Since I am at work (naughty me) , I am limited to inserting the photos that I happen to have stored on my hard drive here (naughty, naughty). They aren't the greatest photos - I haven't Photoshopped them or anything. I had a cool website that I put together when I first moved to Seattle, before my unemployment insurance ran out, and I had to go back to a 'real' job. But the site crashed a few years ago, as did our computer hard drive, and I (dummy) did not have backups of all the meticulously-edited photos of my work that I used on the website.

This is a Shaman mask/figure which I made probably over 10 years ago. He was inspired by a Yupik shaman figure. I have made a number of figures since, which I guess you could call 'dolls'. I have made some female shamans, whom I call "Magic Women".

I made the hand 'masks', below, for a friend who gave them as a wedding gift. I made a similar pair of hands a few years ago, for a co-worker who commissioned them as a Christmas gift for her husband. They are inspired by a pair of traditional Yupik masks which would be held in the hands, upright, like dance fans.

Here is an original piece called "Evening Star". I used parrot feathers sent to me by a friend.

I still make masks, but also have a body of mixed media pieces. Much of my work is influenced by the Yupik and Alutiiq symbology found in the traditional masks. My heritage is Alutiiq (Koniag). I use found materials in my work, ususally cottonwood bark for the body of the piece, and other driftwood, including yellow and red cedar, alder, and spruce root. The feathers are all 'legal'. A good friend of mine has numerous pet birds: parrots, cockatiels, chickens, and he saves feathers for me. I've also aquired feathers from my nephews and friends who hunt, and from dead birds (like ptarmigan) found in the wild. For pieces that I sell, I use store-bought feathers or from domestic fowl.

Octopus

2005-12-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

I recently finished an Octopus Mask very similar to the one above. The one in the picture I created a few years ago. My buddy Vicki proposed a swap - I wanted one of her pieces, she wanted an octopus. So I made a new one for her. It is hanging next to my fireplace at home, waiting for me to pack it safely into a box and mail it off to Montana. I will upload a picture of the new Octopus when I am home (and not at work, blogging, instead of working!). Ugh. Holidays are difficult for concentrating on work.

Bah Humbug!

2005-12-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

Okay - I admit it: I'm a horrible blogger. Or a non-blogging blogger. When I decided to get my own (free) blog - I thought it was a great idea at the time. Why just be a lurker, when I could engage in witty repartee on my own journal? Hmmm... then reality sets in. I don't have time to write in a blog every day. When I do, I can't think of a damned thing to write about. I'd rather just leave comments on other's blogs, thus fulfilling my desire to engage in witty repartee, or dispensing sage advise. Also - I admit - I am loathe to lay bare my soul to prying eyes of strangers. And even more loathe to bare my sould to nosy, judgmental friends. That, and add in the frustration from hours spent trying to figure out how to do simple tasks, such as upload photos onto my blog, and you have a severely unhappy, pissed off even, blogger. And that's just not fun.

I guess my original intent was to have an 'artist's journal' wherein I could share ideas/thoughts/questions about my artwork with interested readers. But I realize that I don't ask people for input about my artwork - I don't like sharing unfinished artwork with anyone, even my partner. But since my 'studio' is in a corner of our 2-car garage, it's not like I can hide works in progress, unless I cover them with a gunny sack or something. I'm not that secretive. I just don't have some burning desire to ask for feedback until the piece is done, or pretty near done. I do like talking with people about my pieces at art show openings. But that's another topic.

So - should I turn this blog into some other type of animal? Should I share juicy stories about my love life? Wax poetic over the beauty of sunsets? Spill my deep dark secrets out accross the Internet? What are you, dear Blog Reader, looking for in a blog?

And if I do spice things up - just remember: it gets a little lonely out here in cyberspace. Especially when all you can hear are the crickets chirping, and the sound of your own breathing.

Fadingly,
Me.

Musings

2005-02-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

If you are an artist,writer, composer, or creative thinker, what inspires you? Do you have a Muse? My 'muse' if you will, is a place. The island I grew up on - Kodiak. My island lies in the Pacific Gulf of Alaska. She is huge, and I could never encompass her entirety in my gaze, even from a plane. Her beaches, forests, ponds, streams, bays, and flowers, plants, fish, birds, and her seasons and weather- from winter winds and rain to soft summer nights - have been the source of my creativity since I was a young girl. She was my playmate, my mother, my solace and love ever since I can remember. I wrote a daily journal, scores of poems, drew pictures, made carvings and masks while I lived on my island, inspired by the fierce breakers, gentle waves, warm winds, soft birdsong, and the spirits of my ancestors who roam the coasts and forest paths.

But I moved away from Alaska 7 years ago, and have since found my creative drive dwindling. There have been other reasons why my creativity has waned, to be sure. But now, even when my energy has returned, along with my health, I still cannot return to my former level of creativity. There are little spurts here and there, but nothing compares to what it was before.

Perhaps its the hustle and bustle of life here - Kodiak is such a sleepy place, where the pace of life speeds up only for the hectic fishing seasons, but most of her inhabitants still shuffle along. There is little traffic to speak of - there being such a little road system. You can drive about 60 miles south of Town, and about 10 miles north. Maybe another 20 to the west. Most of the island is rugged mountainous terrain, home to the giant Kodiak Grizzlies, or rough rocky coast.

Or maybe I'm just a Wild Child - who will never be happy anywhere else - destined to be unhappy, because if I go back, I face my partner cleaving from me, refusing to live on the wild outpost of the Last Frontier, inundated by rain and fog and fog and rain, and wind.

Have you experienced a similar dry spell - especially one you attribute to leaving a place?

Go see some pictures of my former world here:
http://www.geocities.com/elderberrystudio2000/index.html
and here:
http://www.kodiak.org/geography.html

New and Improved

2004-10-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Okay so now I have a little bit of time finally. I have been reading many other artist blogs, so I'm hoping I can use this forum as a way to connect with other artists out there. Thanks to the beauty of the Internet, it doesn't matter if you live in Kodiak, Alaska, or Timbuktu, or Seattle, Washington, or Vancouver B.C. !

I've created a little free web page that's just a photo album, and will upload some pics of my artwork there. You can check out the lame-ola page at: www.geocities.com/elderberrystudio2000/mypage.html
That's just for now, until I can get my arms and brain back around re-creating my website.

Arrrrrrrrghhhhh

2004-10-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Okay so I downloaded "Hello" and "Pikasa" and uploaded all my pics and then tried to post my portrait to this blog...and phhhtt! nothing. So now I have to dink around with all that technical crappola, when all I really wanted to do was post some pics of my artwork to share with my other blogging artist aquaintances, and I can't. Yet.

And I can't really think of anything all witty to say. So I'm just going to go call my mother.

Elderberry's first day

2004-10-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

I've decided to try this blogging thing. Only, right now I have to go cook dinner...so more to come later!