Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
We’re back in Tacoma again. I found some nice eye candy there and recent rains have had me burrowed in at home.
This is part of the “Seaform Pavillion” by Dale Chihuly on the Bridge of Glass in Tacoma. It is part of an amazing glass ceiling filled with pieces that would turn a typical ocean reef on its head.
On the same bridge is Chihuly’s Venetian Wall, a display of dozens of vases. Aren’t all the colors and forms amazing?
The website for the Tacoma Museum of Glass advertised an interesting exhibit of Dale Chihuly’s Venetians, developed from inspirations on a trip to Venice. I wanted to see the Chihuly “putti,” little cherubs or mythical creatures that adorned some of the work. I wasn’t disappointed, though they generally proved hard to photograph as they adorned vases.
This simple piece showcased the putti better than some. Others had the sweet little cherubs lounging amongst flowers or perched in streamers of glass.
The more Chihuly I see the more I love this work. Photography doesn’t typically do it justice. I decided to move in close to focus on some of the details of this fantastical workmanship. Remember that this medium has to be heated to an almost molten state to be worked into the shapes it presents.
In addition to the shapes, the colors can also be amazing. This exhibit will be at the museum until January 4, 2016.
The Hot Shop in Tacoma’s Museum of Glass is an opportunity for visitors to see art glass in the making. Molten glass is blown, shaped, fired, and refired as artisans create.
There was a crew of four that worked on various pieces of the creation we saw. They shaped pieces, moved it back and forth to the firing oven, seared it with torches, and fused pieces together. A moderator answered questions from the audience and explained the process.
The Halloween themed piece being created was chalked onto the floor of the work area.
This is the best shot I could get of the nearly completed piece. Once finished it was quickly wisked away to an oven where it was slowly cooled for a couple of days.
There is an interesting truck parked near the barn I showed you yesterday.
DH had noticed the painted skull on the side of the truck but as you can see there’s much more.
The whole assemblage seems like a large mixed media art piece. And this year’s apple crop sets it off nicely.
The last Paint the Peninsula competitor that I met on Tuesday was Susan Ogilvie, the winner of the inaugural competition in 2013. Susan is from Port Ludlow, about an hour’s drive from Sequim, and has visited the Dungeness Recreation Area often. She teaches art workshops in the U.S., Canada, and Italy. When I met Susan she was working on her second piece of the day, a pastel.
Here’s the unfinished pastel and the view. Susan had just begun adding color to her work.
Susan showed me this oil painting that she had finished earlier in the day. Artists in the competition framed their finished work. Work completed in the competition is for sale. In previous years painting ranged from $325 to $2,400.
Here’s the camera view.
Over the last five days I’ve provided links to each artist’s website and been impressed with the high calibre of artistic quality and expression. If you’ve got time, scroll around and have a look.
Meet Yer Za Vue – Za to her friends – another of the artists in the Paint the Peninsula competition who I met as she painted at Dungeness Recreation Area on Tuesday. Za lives and works in Portland, Oregon. In addition to her painting and illustration background she is also an animator and worked for Disney for over 10 years.
Here was Za’s canvas as she neared completion.
Za’s work reminded me of the liberty an artist has that a photographer doesn’t…unless, of course, we work obsessively in Photoshop. This was Za’s view. Her artistry included the area but overlooked the parking lot and cars that my camera recorded.
W. Jason Situ is the third plein air artist I met from the Paint the Peninsula competition on Tuesday. Like yesterday’s artist Clement Kwan, he is originally from the People’s Republic of China. He and Kwan are longtime friends enjoying an opportunity to paint together on the Olympic Peninsula. Jason lives in El Monte, California.
Here is the canvas that Jason was working on when we met. I was struck by his mastery of the day’s subtle light and colors.
My camera caught this image from his vantage.
Remembering the events of 9/11 on this anniversary.