Join us for this special group show of three talented artists and longtime friends: Kathy Youngren, Mary Jane Elgin, and Susan Singleton, with a community show: Friends and Collaborations.
Installation Day: Thursday, August 21st from 10:30am-12pm
Art Opening: Friday, August 22nd from 5:30-7pm
On Display: August 22nd – September 23rd
Pickup: Wednesday, September 24th from 10:30am-12pm
Kathy Youngren:
"I describe most of my paintings as “abstract landscapes”, I choose to mystify rather than clarify my images. I want to engage the viewer as a voyeur, invite them to “come into the painting” and experience a very personal journey. My painting process is a bit of a journey as well. I never really know where I am going when I start and the hardest part is knowing when to stop.
Although I was raised surrounded by my Dad’s very realistic paintings, I was never interested in creating a representational image. I started studying with Terry Johnson about twenty years ago. I learned the formalities of composition, color, visual perspective, edges, values, shapes and light with Terry, but gradually my images became more and more abstract and the process became so much more fun."
Mary Jane Elgin:
"A love of the Natural World and the experience of creating art to reflect it and resonate with it, have guided me throughout my life as an artist. Clay is my vehicle for redefining the empty space in front of me, for materializing a thought and bringing substance to a vision. The relationship of form, the tension and interaction between the exterior and interior spaces of a piece intrigues me. I cut through my pieces allowing the spaces to bleed into each other, revealing a fresh, complex new balance.
Initially I had guidance in ceramics from two wonderful teachers, Ann Sears and Jim Heuston, but through the past twenty years of my exploration into ceramics, I have been largely self taught. These days I learn and take inspiration from my students, particularly from those who have become accomplished ceramicists, who constantly present me with new challenges while pursuing their own artistic paths and help me discover new was of making and looking.
I start each piece by creating its basic form, through hand building or throwing. After it has dried to a soft leather-hard, I draw my design directly onto the clay. I then carve away the negative spaces and start the refining of the design, paying attention to the inside as well as the outside of each piece. Then the piece is allowed to dry fully and bisque. Glaze is applied carefully with a combination of brush work and pouring. Finally the piece goes into a glaze firing in my electric kin or in our group wood fire kiln."
Susan Singleton:
Singleton’s inspiration springs from the natural world with its intricate simplicity, balance, textures, scale and light. Using handmade papers and paint, she builds her artwork as layered architectural surfaces, each piece a unique record marking time, light and air.
Her large-scale Ziggurats and other works of art have been included in Smithsonian Institute artist collaborations, and graced the lobbies and walls of some of the most beautiful hotels, museums, galleries, and private residences around the world.
“It’s good to leave each day behind, like flowing water, free of sadness. Yesterday is gone and its tale told. Today new seeds are growing.” – Rumi
---
Friends and Collaborations is a celebration of the bonds that bring people together – through friendship, shared vision, and the creative process itself. This community art show invites you to explore works that reflect not only the theme of friendship, but also the magic of making something together.
From paintings inspired by lifelong companionship to collaborative pieces like community quilts, the show highlights how creativity thrives in connection. This exhibition is a testament to the beauty of shared effort, and honors the ways art builds bridges and deepens relationships.
Community shows are open to ALL island artists, beginning and experienced alike. The purpose is to showcase island art and celebrate our creative neighbors! To exhibit in a community show, an artist needs to come on the Installation Day (for this show, Thursday August 21st) with artwork ready to be displayed or hung. Limit two pieces of art per artist, please!
For more information, visit:
https://orcascenter.org/event/art-exhibit-kathy-youngren-mary-jane-elgin-susan-singleton/
You may also like the following events from Orcas Center:
Also check out other
Arts events in Eastsound,
Fine Arts events in Eastsound,
Exhibitions in Eastsound.
