OLD Whidbey Life Magazine

Tag: mixed-media show

  • Rob Schouten Gallery presents ‘Willow, Wax and Wire: New Works by Kathleen Otley’ from June 5 to 29

    Rob Schouten Gallery presents ‘Willow, Wax and Wire: New Works by Kathleen Otley’ from June 5 to 29

    May 27, 2015

    A gentleman perusing Kathleen Otley’s work at Rob Schouten Gallery put his nose up next to a piece and said, “I can smell the bees.”

    Mixed-media encaustic by Kathleen Otley.
    Mixed-media encaustic by Kathleen Otley.

    The great-smelling bees wax encaustics of Otley can be found year-round here at the gallery, which will also feature the artist in the upcoming show, “Willow, Wax and Wire: New Works by Kathleen Otley,” from June 5 to 29.  Friday Night Reception is 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 5.

    With her mixed-media encaustics, Otley uses layer upon layer of the sweet stuff, slathering it generously over a variety of media, which she lays on a block of wood.

    Otley’s smaller pieces feature vibrantly painted birds amid ancient scrolls containing sacred Buddhist writings: some stories, some letters. She acquires the monastic scrolls from the Museum of Tokyo.

    "Infinity," mixed-media encaustic by Kathleen Otley. / Photo courtesy of the artist.
    “Infinity,” mixed-media encaustic by Kathleen Otley. / Photos courtesy of the artist

    Otley dresses up some of these small and affordable bird pieces with nests, dyed willow sticks, stones, fabricated eggs and other earthly treasures. The combination gives her work not only a deep-textured quality, but speaks to the artist’s fascination with the past and what she feels is its vital importance to the present.

     For the featured show, Otley has created larger, more abstract pieces that maintain the same earthly and spiritual quality, but “branch out” with larger pieces of willow, while maintaining the artist’s longtime theme of the shield as spiritual protection — a theme that is carried through to her mixed-media willow shields. Her willow shields will also be on display, along with these new abstract encaustics that revel in earth-toned colors like those of her bird pieces, and lay the Japanese texts underneath bits of sculpted wire and sheaths of blue copper basket-weaves. All of Otley’s work exudes a soft and deep texture that feels antique, nostalgic and a tribute to nature.

    Meet the artist from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 5 during Greenbank Farm’s “First Friday at the Farm.” The Pies Café will be open for dinner, while the galleries and shops welcome visitors to enjoy a little wine and cheese, meet the artists, see some beautiful art, all while roaming around beautiful Greenbank Farm. We’d love to see you!

    Rob Schouten Gallery, a premier showcase for Whidbey Island and Northwest artists, is located at 765 Wonn Road, #C-103 at the historic Greenbank Farm. Gallery Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  For further information, call 360.222.3070 or email info@robschoutengallery.com.

  • Step this way to the Space Museum — expand your mind in Bayview

    Step this way to the Space Museum — expand your mind in Bayview

    Dec. 30, 2013

    Start your mind-expanding new year in Bayview. That’s where objects and imagination entwine to engage your brain and set you on a course of a maverick fantasy made through the reanimation of useful things.

    A solo exhibition titled “Near-Earth Objects: Repurposing the Space Museum” by local artist Richard Evans will be on view at the Bayview Cash Store from Friday, Jan. 3 through Sunday, Feb. 2. An opening night reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3.

    “What if everything we treasure is reduced to rubble? I imagine we would reconsider the value of that debris and start to build anew,” Evans said.

    REEnigma (500x355)
    “REEnigma,” mixed-media by Richard Evans. / Photos courtesy of the artist.

    This special exhibition chronicles the life of space explorer Commander Dexter T. Rose, Jr., an astronaut working under the authority of the National Bureau of International Bureaus.

    Commander Rose, a fictional character created by Evans, is represented in a mixed-media “museum” presentation, where the line between reality and fantasy is at times blurred, if not invisible.

    Rose’s mission to seek out solar winds and non-denominational gases in uncharted space ended prematurely when he was blown off-course by a fractured nano-gasket. Commander Rose was last heard from aboard the Fracking Rover Enigma as he approached Clever Dwarf Four (code name: MaR minus S).

    During his time on MaR-S, Commander Rose became obsessed with collecting discards of an earlier civilization. With these materials he established the first art colony on that planet. Rose’s fragments of a future past on display in this exhibition are vivid reminders of how little we know about life forms in deep space. Replicas of the spacecraft and military equipment commandeered by Commander Rose are also on display, along with items of a personal nature, reflecting on his relationship with Tapioca, the girl he left behind.

    In “Near-Earth Objects,” Evans has provided a serpentine narrative to accompany the found objects of the show’s title. His installations evoke another world ─ whimsical, yet sinister ─ providing a look at what Commander Rose’s journey into deep space must have been like.

    Richard creates (500x364)
    The artist at work in his studio.

    “Near-Earth Objects” is also a harsh meditation on the military industrial complex, the fetishization of technical data, and the manipulations of the entertainment and advertising industries.

    A confessed autodidact and “evidence bagger,” Evans assembles his installations out of repurposed materials from thrift stores, junkyards and clandestine dumpster diving.

    He built 24 new pieces over six months, using objects he already had in his arsenal.

    “I don’t go hunting these days simply because I’ll see too many things that interest me. It steals focus,” Evans said.

    “But you keep working,” he said of building the show. “It’s a little like theater.”

    Guided tours of “Near-Earth Objects” will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11 and Saturday, Jan. 25 free of charge. Docents (whom Evans is more inclinded to call “indocents”) will assist “museum” visitors in interpreting the objects on display, seeking to bring to life the accomplishments and challenges faced by Commander Rose during his time as a space explorer.

    This longtime Whidbey Island resident began making art while pursuing a career as an actor. He played opposite Mia Farrow in the continuing role of “Paul Hanley” on Peyton Place. Major roles in shows such as “Gunsmoke,” “Mr. Novak,” “Bonanza,” “Mod Squad,” and “Star Trek” followed. He starred as Michael J. Pollard’s psychopathic mentor “Goldie” in film pioneer Jack L. Warner’s final movie “Dirty Little Billy,” played George C. Scott’s sidekick “Willy,” in “Islands in the Stream” and co-starred in Robert Mulligan’s crime drama “The Nickel Ride.”

    Evans has written, produced and directed a number of feature films, including “Harry Monument,” “Shadow of Rain” and “Shuffle & Cut (A Question for Godard).” Most recently he directed “Frost/Nixon” at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley.

    Evans’ artwork has appeared on Whidbey Island at Museo Gallery, Karlson/Gray Gallery, Rob Schouten Gallery and at Galerie 1529 in Glendale, Calif.

    The Bayview Cash Store is located at 5603 Bayview Road in Langley.

    “Near-Earth Objects” is presented by Goosefoot, a non-profit community development organization. Visit www.goosefoot.org for more information.

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