THE CONNECTION! -------A Monthly Newsletter for ArtistsConnect in Edmonds, Washington------ June 2006, Vol. 1, Issue 10
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AH SUMMER!!!
Ah...July! The month when summer finally starts here in the Pacific Northwet....I mean WEST! How do the sunny days and warm weather affect you? Do you get up each day with vim and vigor? Or do you melt into your shoes and seek out airconditioned spaces? Not being a big fan of the heat (if I wanted heat, I’d move back to the desert!) I still love the warmer weather and the sun. It seems like such a rarity around here that the gratitude I feel usually overcomes the sweat... I am really looking forward to the mini-critique that we will be having at the July meeting. If you missed the June meeting, Jonlee and Tonnie came up with the great idea of people bringing in a piece or two and having people circulate in small groups to give a critique. Critique can be a dirty word for us artists. We can all probably name someone who was less that positive about our work. But constructive criticism can be such a help - especially when you are stuck - when you know a piece isn’t quite finished - but you don’t know what to do with it to reach that final AH HA! moment when you say to yourself, "It’s done!" One of the benefits of having a critique in this particular setting is that AC is a very postive and supportive group of people. We’ve all been there, and done that, as the saying goes. Another benefit is that it gives us a little pracitce in talking about our art to others. And thirdly, we get to know each other even better! This can only be a good thing! So I encourage you to bring a piece of artwork to the meeting and revel in the positive input and encouragement of your fellow artists. Until next time... - Amy Peacock |
FEATURED ARTIST: KATHLEEN JOHNSON
As a very young girl in Port Orchard, WA, some of my earliest memories are of making art: the feeling of the paints in my fingers, and the surge of creative energy as I saw the effect of my fingers and paints on the paper (and the wall, and my sundress.)
My parents, both artists, encouraged me as a young artist, and when we moved to Seattle I began to take classes at the Cornish School. In my teen years, I made school more bearable by taking every art elective available: Jewelry making, pottery, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, fashion design, painting, and photography. It was in my senior year photography class that I met, Bryan, my husband of 30 years. I majored in art in college, but in my second year I decided to take a break and go back to Seattle (and Bryan) and get a job while I figured out what I wanted to do.
While I was figuring out what I wanted to do, I spent 20 years managing accounting and finance work groups. The promotions came; the jobs became more stressful and before I knew it 10 years had passed where I hadn’t created one painting. Finally in 2000, I decided I had had enough of what I called my "soul-sucking" job and quit. At first it was a bit of a shock; who was I without the 60-hours-a-week job; what did I want to do next? On the way home from the dentist one day, I was saw a weeping willow tree. The way the morning sun was hitting the moss on its limbs sparked something in me. I rushed home and got my digital camera hoping to get a reference photo before the light changed. That is when I "woke up"- once again I felt my connection to the natural world and was filled with creative energy, and once again I was reconnected with myself as an artist.
Over the last 6 years, I have continued to learn Adobe Photoshop and use it along with more traditional tools in the making of my art. I started a business in 2002, Two Crows Studio (www.twocrows-studio.com). I have entered and have enjoyed success in many juried competitions, and have shown in galleries, coffee shops, and in solo and group shows. Happy as I am making and selling my art, I also wanted to make connection with other artists in the community – to talk to others who shared my passion and understood the issues artists deal with every day. Since joining ArtistsConnect last year, I have made new friends and feel very fortunate to have access to such a rich resource of talented people. |
