Brackenwood Gallery Blog

Lee Wexler A Retrospective of his Art

It is not often you get to know someone after they are gone. Anne and I have just had this experience. A few months ago we contacted Fara Wexler and asked her if we could host a Retrospective of the work of her late husband, Lee Wexler. She agreed wholeheartedly and the journey began.

We first went to visit Fara, who we also did not know, at her home overlooking the ferry on Whidbey. The first thing that struck me was how gracious Fara was and then how much she loved her husband. They were lovers up to the end and you could feel it palpably when you entered the house. We began to tour the different rooms where the art we would be exhibiting was hanging. Each piece had a story behind it and as we went along Fara would fill us in on each one. 

It turns out Lee was painting images of the Northwest before he ever laid eyes on this place! He loved the sea so there were many images of the water with tide pools or sun shining across the water and mountains in the distance. These were amazing to see in the context of their home because you could tell immediately where his inspiration came from by just looking out the window.

But beyond landscapes you could tell people were really important to this man. Not just any people but people who had interesting stories to tell. People waiting at bus stops...each person has a totally different look and demeaner and you begin to wonder... just where they are all going, why does the lady on the bench look so tired? People who survived the Holocaust who don't look sad and defeated and you begin to wonder... how do people who went thru such atrocities still find happiness? A stunning portrait of a beautiful woman "Behind the Bamboo Curtain" and you start to wonder... what happened to her? Is she in a concentration camp or just standing behind a bamboo door? 

As you can tell, our tour was profound, not only because we came away in awe of Lee Wexler the artist but also because we were privy to an intimacy few ever experience between a lovely woman and her beloved husband. These two people were lovers, colleagues and artists that loved life and each other. What a gift it was to get to know them. We are honored and privileged to host this special exhibit. 

I hope you also can come get to know them at the Artist Reception which opens Lee Wexler's Show on January 7 from 5-7PM. Fara will be here along with her son Mark. It promises to be an extraordinary event! 

FUN & FASHION ~ Langley Style!

Merchants in Langley have teamed up to plan a fabulous weekend full of fashion, wine tasting, trunk shows, happy hours and late night entertainment! Come and see what affordable fashion Langley has to offer and have some fun! Whether you have a special occasion to shop for like a graduation or wedding or are just in the mood to see what's up with summer fashion, Langley is the place to shop!

As part of this event, Brackenwood is honored to host Trunk Shows with our local and esteemed textile designers Cheryl Kamera and Carys Ann Hamer as well as our jewelry designer Judy Morgan. Be sure to get to 1st Street by 12:30 to catch the FLASH and the free stellar Fashion Show at the Clyde directly following.

If you live on the island, going to the mall costs a bundle: $14 for the ferry, gas and the hassle of finding parking and traffic coming and going. Shopping locally in Langley is much cheaper and way more fun! Working on this event I have had a chance to learn the efforts that the shop keepers go to in order to keep their costs competitive with stores on the mainland. Most Langley merchants really work on trying to appeal to locals with down to earth styles and prices we can afford.

The town is ready to put on a GREAT FASHION EXPERIENCE for you this weekend so come into Langley and have some FUN! 

 

 

Carys Ann Hamer's Scarf Travels to India!

We  just received a lovely email I wanted to share with our readers. Carys Ann Hamer recently had a show at Brackenwood of her hand dyed textiles. This client purchased one of her scarves and wanted to share with us where she wore it! Its wonderful to know how much her work is being enjoyed all the way across the world!

Dear Carys, I wore your beautiful scarf many many times in India and didn't see anything nearly as beautiful while there - had no need to even look. It is so lovely and feels so good. It has been washed and is waiting for its debut in Seattle. Love, Patti

Here is Patti in her one-of-a-kind Carys Ann scarf. Come in and see our collection of Textile Art at Brackenwood. Both Carys Ann and Cheryl Kamera have a great assortment to choose from for all your special occasions coming up this spring and summer or for that special trip you are taking. Thank you Patti for sharing!

"FRANCY and the WOODWORKERS"!

Hope you can come and see this April Show at Brackenwood Gallery!  “Francy and the Woodworkers” opens on April 2^nd at Brackenwood Gallery with an Artists’ Reception from 5-7 PM. Work by Francy Blumhagen, a mixed media/collage artist, is on exhibit with handcrafted pieces by woodworkers Gary Leake, Sherryl Goldfinger, Jon Magill and Buffy Cribbs. The exhibits continues thru May 2, 2011.

This show, "FRANCY and the WOODWORKERS" is turning out to be just great. As we hang the show we are realizing the interface between the various woodworkers and Francy's lovely paintings. Francy is inspired when she is communing with nature so the tones of the wood look so right with her work. 

Come on in and enjoy the beauty at Brackenwood!

Last week for "Feast for the Eyes"

Hope you all got a chance to see the beauty in the gallery this month. Gail Weir's lovely paintings have gotten a ton of interest and compliments galore.  Someone stopped by today and said she felt like weeping from seeing so much beauty in one place as she strolled thru the gallery. It really is food for the soul!                     

 

 

The Heron and little Kitten keep people coming back to again and again. If you haven't come in yet, get in before next Tues. Gail's work is exceptional and we have really enjoyed it all month.

 

 

Gail's other painting of the "Sheep" is also exceptional and would be great on a cabin wall or guest house.

 

 

 

 

Carys Anne Hamer's gorgeous textiles continue to get a great deal of attention as well. If you have a special occasion coming up, one of her beautiful wraps, shawls, scarves or kimonos would be great to pick up before the summer/event season starts. The colors are perfect for spring and summer. I can just see this beautiful shawl on a mother of the bride or as part of an ensemble for a summer garden party. Just exquisite!

"A FEAST FOR THE EYES" March Show opens at Brackenwood Gallery

Oil painter Gail Weir and Textile artist Carys Ann Hamer are artfully paired in the upcoming show at Brackenwood Gallery named “A Feast for the Eyes”. The opening is on March 5^th with the Artists’ Reception from 5-7PM and extending thru March 28^th.

Gail Weir is a painter who works in a loose style painting images from her rural life on the Kitsap Penninsula. Ms.Weir’s paintings evoke memories of a time gone by where canned food and grazing farm animals were part of the daily scene for most people.  

“A Feast for the Eyes” promises to be in keeping with Gail’s iconic country images that define her current style.

 Gail, a graduate of the Seattle Academy of Fine Art, started drawing at an early age and was doing freelance illustrations as a teenager. Gail’s work is shown in galleries from Vashon Island to Anacortes as well as Brackenwood Gallery in Langley.

Carys Ann Hamer’s wearable art is dyed with natural dyes and also captures a bit of nature. This textile series particularly was influenced by Spring walks thru local forests on Whidbey Island where she now lives. Ferns and fiddleheads peeping up through the soil, piles of old leaves underfoot and spring buds were the inspiration for her lovely shawls and scarves created for this show. 

 

Carys Ann grew up in Wales where she was surrounded by tapestries and coverlets from and early age. She has traveled extensively and lived and worked as a Chemist for many years in Africa and Indonesia. These rich cultural experiences have greatly influenced her sense of color and design. Recently Ms. Hamer visited France to study with Michele Garcia and Denise Lambert where she learned more about dying using woad, the European Indigo, which she is now using on her silks.

We invite you to come ‘feast your eyes’ on the incredible oil paintings and lovely textiles that will be on display for your enjoyment throughout the month of March at Brackenwood Gallery.

 

 

Elizabeth Ford Ortiz, Textile Artist, featured for February at Brackenwood!

Brackenwood is proud to feature Elizabeth Ford Ortiz as our artist for February. The Artist's Reception is February 5th from 5-7PM. Hope you can join us! 

Elizabeth is a textile artist who is well known in the quilting community here on Whidbey. Her work is extraordinary and completely original art. As anyone who quilts knows, one usually uses a pattern to create a quilt. Not Elizabeth. She has a very organic, "free hand" style of quilting that lets the colors determine the design of the quilt. Elizabeth Ortiz has been greatly influenced by indigenous art of Central & South America as well as Africa.

 
The fabric used in these quilts is also unique. Elizabeth personally hand dyes the fabric used to create the quilt. As you can see in the example above there is a tremendous variation of color within each piece of fabric.

Elizabeth starts with plain muslin colored cotton. But once hand dyed, the cotton is transformed with tiny nuances of color into a lush, suede-like fabric that begs to be touched. The color combinations and original designs are breathtaking geometric “paintings”.

Elizabeth’s precise craftsmanship adds to the beauty and longevity of these truly remarkable contemporary pieces of art. 

What is the story behind the painting?

This is a photo of Aleah Chapin in front of one of her paintings entitled “Introspection”. This painting has garnered a great deal of interest and speculation by viewers so I decided to ask Aleah just how she came to paint herself facing backward? There had to be a story about this image and I, and others were curious about what it was. Here's what Aleah had to say about "Introspection"...

“The story behind the painting "introspection" isn't so much a story, but a state of mind that I was in. I was nearing the end of the first semester in school in NYC. I was feeling pressure (perhaps put on myself, by myself) to perform and make something "brilliant", beautifully painted, different from anything I have ever done or has been done, powerful, meaningful and intelligent. I spent hours trying to think of something that would fit all this criteria and still be true to who I am. All night I took photos of myself and by the end of the night I felt bogged, suffocated and lost. I had painted my face too many times and I was tired of it. But it had to be a self-portrait. Finally, in desperation at the end of the night, I decided to take photos of myself exactly how I was feeling at that moment. And so I leaned, collapsed and fell against the white wall. 

Sometimes my mind gets too full of ideas; my own and the millions of other artists before me. I get stuck. This painting was my way of getting un-stuck. Letting go of all the pressure to be "perfect" and just try to be honest with where I am in my art and life at that moment. Sometimes we need those moments of introspection to be able enter the world again.” 

I am grateful for the experience that pushed Aleah to try something different. The outcome is a lovely yet thought provoking piece of art. Come in and see it if you haven’t had the opportunity!

 

 

Warm Whidbey Welcome to New Generation!

Our recent opening for Whidbey Artists: A New Generation was a warm and gala welcoming for this new generation of amazing artist! Here are just a few pictures taken that night.Obviously these are primarily of Aleah because her family brought a camera to record this event. If anyone else has photos, please send them to Brackenwood Gallery! 

This is Aleah Chapin and her mother Deborah Koff Chapin in front of her painting entitled "Introspection"

Two of our New Generation Artists pose together: Aleah Chapin and Lucy Brennan.

Brackenwood artist Pete Jordan, reunited with former student Aleah Chapin. Looks like a lecture or some sage advise!

 

WHIDBEY ARTISTS: A New Generation!

BRAVE THE WEATHER! Come out and see this great new talent. We are so fortunate living here on Whidbey and its obvious these young artists benefited from the immense art talent that lives and works here on Whidbey. The opening tonight, Sat. January 8, 2011 is a lovely show. Full of beauty, joy and a passion for art. 

One of our clients after looking at Ryan Grossman's painting entitled, "Island #1" remarked " I've always wanted to take this view with me. It looks just like the view out this gallery's window looking toward Camano. I could take this painting to town and have that view in Seattle. Its like a lovely little Whidbey window. I love it!"

"Island #1" by Ryan Grossman
I have to agree with her. Ryan did a study of Whidbey Island and its environs. When you look at Ryan's paintings, you can tell he was really in touch with the colors, forms and feeling of the Island particularly in winter. Ryan captures the many shades of grey, the solitude and beauty that we all appreciate about this island. Mr Grossman paints in a hyper-realism way, you almost think its a photograph. But when you step close and really look at the painting, you see all this amazing, yet subtle detail that contributes to its "real" look. His tiny brush strokes, hundreds of them, combine to create a texture on the water or in the sky that is so Northwest. 

It's been a treat to see the work that has come in this week. Each of these artists has their own style and subject matter. 

We have had such a good time putting up the pieces. Each artist has such a unique and personal style.

Some of them are very personal, some have a great sense of humor and others are very intense.

Matt Statz is showing his thesis project for graduation. He had this idea to pick students at random from his college and ask them if he could paint their portrait. He didn't know any of these students but after having then sit for him for 3-4 hours he got to know them quite well. He called it a friendship project because after he painted them he had made some new friends as well as some great paintings.

"Amy" by Matt Statz.

If you haven't yet seen Lucy Brennan's incredible textile people, you must come take a look. The amount of work that has gone into each little being is truly astounding. Lucy's passion for creating characters out of textile is obvious because they each have their own little attitude! I can really see them in a child's room, keeping them company, having a tea party or just snuggling with them. So fun! I also love her study on doubling. Each watercolor is a joyful image of twinness. 

Lucy Brennan's Plush "Play Things"

We hope you can come in and see for yourself the amazing and wonderfully diverse talent this Artist's Island has produced. We are so happy to have these young artists represented at Brackenwood Gallery for this show.