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ArtEAST project interprets the measure of a life
Local artists use their best work to tell the story of prominent community members
By Chantelle Lusebrink
Sixteen
local artists have taken up the challenge of visually depicting the
lifework of some of Issaquah's most influential citizens for artEAST's
Collective Memory project.
"The art that comes back is
inspiring," said Karen Abel, a spokeswoman for artEAST, an organization
designed to promote the arts on the Eastside. "It is such an incredible
honor to be able to do a piece like this, and they feel a strong sense
of honor to do justice to these people's lives through their own work."
The
show is part of the organization's Collective Works series and strives
to incorporate the mission of encouraging artists and fostering
community.
This year, 17 community members were chosen by the artists for their works, to be unveiled at Tibbetts Creek Manor on Sept. 3.
"I
think it is always great to be recognized by the community we are in,"
said Craig Baker, owner of jazz club Bake's Place and a community
member selected for this year's project. "We are excited about
participating and think it is a great thing."
The artists
contributing work for the show encompass the full spectrum of
disciplines, including glass blowing, paintings and sculpture, Abel
said.
The challenge for many artists is to incorporate the
messages and lifework of influential community members from interviews
with them into their pieces, instead of relying on their own
experiences, she said.
Bellevue artist Judie Hansen, who
interviewed the Bakers at length, portrays them through a musically
inspired acrylic painting.
The conversations she said she had with the Bakers helped her easily form her piece.
"This
was a fairly quick project for me," Hansen said. "Once I heard his
words, it inspired me. He talked about how music is a bridge between
people's experiences, no matter who they are."
Looking back on the project, Baker said his favorite memory was recalling defining moments with his father, who died recently.
"A
lot of what we do has to do with my upbringing," he said. "There is one
picture in the painting she did of my father and Freddie Cole, Nat King
Cole's brother. My father was prejudiced, but having the experience of
having Freddie play his venue and playing golf with him was one that
turned my father's experiences with black people around, and it was
because of music.
"What I love about music is that fact that we
have every kind of person in the room, because music is the common
thread that crosses all those experiences, minorities and economic
classes," he said. "It crosses those and puts us all on the same page
for a couple of hours. That is what I love."
Other artists, like Anne Anderson, saw the project as a challenge that forced her to expand her skills.
Anderson's profile piece is of Jane Garrison, a landscape architect and community open-space proponent.
Originally,
Anderson planned to paint a flower on silk. But after their interview,
she said she knew it wouldn't do, as Garrison is far from a gardener -
she is an outspoken proponent and a visionary for the city.
During
the conversation, Garrison showed Anderson an aerial photo taken of the
city with a sketch of how it should have been developed throughout the
years - areas of dense housing with large swaths of greenbelts.
"It
wasn't parks with mowed grass and swing sets. It was the way it was
naturally when the pioneers came, just wild area," Anderson said. "So,
I took that idea of hers and transformed it into a painting of a sort
of maze or a weaving with one swath of just cars, cars, cars, another
of houses, houses, houses and then the top corner of just a beautiful
greenbelt."
Through the project, Anderson was able to learn
about a woman who she never otherwise would have met, and she said she
gained insight into how important the green movement is.
"I
think the project is wonderful," Hansen said, a lifelong artist who
joined artEAST recently. "I think it should inspire people to get out
there and meet the people in their community they don't know."
Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.
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