July/August/September

2007

Places of Inspiration

Warmest greetings from the mountains of Austria! As I write this newsletter I'm sitting in my room on the fourth floor at the historic castle Schloss Mittersill. My window has a fabulous view looking down valley towards Salzburg. This is a majestic place with its soaring mountain peaks and fertile lowlands. It is a place that renews my spirit and inspires creativity.

I was invited here to facilitate a workshop for international art students and professional artists. This is my third year here as a workshop leader, and I am yet again delightfully surprised both by the energy that is emitted by this community of artists and at the amount of inspiration and growth that I am experiencing personally.

The instructors, facilitators and attendees have traveled from far and wide to gather for a week of instruction, inspiration, and networking. Holland, Germany, England, Scotland, South Africa, Turkey, The Czech Republic, Spain, Canada and The United States are just some of the countries represented here. We are all in this place to experience interaction and community with like-minded people, to hone our skills and to find inspiration for the continuation of our vocation. Amid the awesomeness of the surrounding natural beauty there is serious work taking place in classrooms and workshops.

Traditional boundaries of genre and media are readily crossed in order to find new avenues for expression. Architects are working with paint, painters are working with found objects, and sculptors are working on paper thereby breaking any patterns or habits that produce stagnation. There is an upwelling of creativity here that cannot be denied. Though my head is focused this week on instructing, facilitating and leading, my hands are burning with the desire to create new works. I am inspired.

Recently I installed an exhibition at the Pendleton Art Center, which included a survey of select works completed over the past four years. The combination of oil paintings, collage, bronze wall panels and a blown glass installation made for a visually rich environment.

Even though a span of years separates the pieces, a commonality of themes and images weave the work together. The circular form (now common in much of my current work) is faintly evident in the earliest dated works of this exhibition. Additionally, the vessel (a traditional Chinese ginger jar) and elements of floral images show up from time to time in a variety of the works. These images are "foundational devices" that serve as a place from where I can begin my work. I don't have to reinvent myself each time I approach a new painting or sculpture, but am always aware of the need to approach my familiar themes with a "renewed" vision so as not to be simply redundant or overly comfortable.

Summer Event Feature

ART SPACE 1

August 3, 2007 5:30pm-8:00pm

During the month of August I will be displaying a couple of new pieces art Art Space 1 in downtown Walla Walla. The works that I will be exhibiting are inspired by my recent experiences in Austria. Join me at the gallery on First Friday. 13 1/2 East Main Street, Suite 201, Walla Walla, WA. 509.301.1310.

As I stand here in the majestic mountains of Austria I can't help but wonder about the importance of "place." This is a naturally beautiful region that offers tremendously stunning vistas that inspire awe throughout the day. Living here for ten days affords me the time to consider answers to many of the questions that often surface in my mind. Questions like, "How much emphasis can be given to location in terms of its inspirational value?" and "Is it possible to find this same level of inspiration in seemingly common or familiar places?"

I've come to the realization that where we are physically, may not be where we are mentally. If you're anything like me, you may be in a place, but not fully attentive to your surroundings because of a preoccupation with other details (think cell phone, busy schedule, etc). Over the past few days as I have watched the mountains appear and disappear through a veil of white and grey clouds I have considered how important it is to be focused and attentive to the subtle nuances of everything that surrounds me. The continually changing light and cloud cover creates a densely packed visual display that literally has new highlights every second. I notice the subtleties here because this place is "fresh" to me - it is not mundane or common. But when I am back home in my normal surroundings I might be able to find inspiration there as well. It may mean intentially seeing with "new eyes" all that has become common to me over time. It is possible that I place too much emphasis on seeking the "new" for inspiration, and I might need a restructuring of thought regarding the familiar places in my life. Could this be true for all of us? Take the time to view your common surroundings with "new eyes" and let me know if you find inspiration there.

Only when I open my eyes to the richness of each moment will I be able to see the energy and miraculous wonder of the "common" places. Though it takes intentional effort, this type of seeing and living offers the possibility that each and every place is absolutely important and can offer the opportunity for inspiration.

Broel - FV

Visual Art and Viticulture

During the past month I spent time in Seattle creating new glass elements that will be part of an installation at the Foundry Vineyards (FV) tasting room in Walla Walla. The blown glass "spinners" were also the inspiration for one of their new wine labels. Make sure to check out the Foundry Vineyards web site if you are interested in finding out about the wine release dates or would like specific information about the wines. www.foundryvineyards.com

I am excited about the addition of glass as a part of my available creative "tool-set." The way in which I have approached the development of the glass elements in my work is quite different than the traditional understanding as glass and an art "object." I try to utilize the glass in the same manner that I use paint or charcoal when creating a two-dimensional work. When considering the creation of each piece of glass I try to think of it as an individual element that will work together with other elements to create a larger installation that has strength of design, flow and composition. I am reluctant to create editions of the glass works or to create them as "precious" objects unto themselves because I am more interested in their interaction with other elements to create an environment. That is not to say that I don't consider the detail of each "spinner", but rather that my interest is in seeing the glass as part of the larger collective.

The subsequent text is pulled from "Notes to a Young Painter" by Hiram Williams. I found the words to be thought provoking. It's a different view than is seen in much of our contemporary culture. I hope you enjoy this selection too. Feel free to forward your comments or thoughts to me regarding the ideas in the following selecion.

"The career painter will sooner or later encounter the commercial world, the time when his art becomes a commodity. How tempting it is to follow up the sale of a picture by painting another similar painting in the hope that it too will sell! There is no wrong in the fact that the painting sell, but there is wrong in painting a picture only for sales, because it is at this point that the painter gives up his creative quest with its inherent chances for failure.

The painter's integrity is challenged when he continues to use a "style" he has created in order to reduce the possibility of failure. In no time he becomes his own mannerist, a kind of mimic of his former self. He stops growing as an artist.

The painter's integrity is challenged when he commences to paint in order to be seen, when his works become no more than manifestations of his ego. He commences to play a charade wherein he is "the painter," but a mock one. He has no rapport with his output, and his expression is fallow." (selections from pages 3 - 4, "Notes for a Young Painter")