Join us at First Thursday, May 2th to meet our guest artists- Adrienne Stacey and Jaimie Barchus.
During the May 2nd, First Thursday from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, enjoy the music by Keith Hinyard, light snacks, and help us celebrate these artists’ fine work.
Adrienne Stacey- Painting and Ceramics
Adrienne Stacey
Looking back at growing up in Kelso, Washington, on the banks of the Coweeman River, I realize now I am a Columbia River Basin native. Mix that up with living in “Weyerhauser” country, born into a strong Catholic family and that the word “redneck” meant “permanently sunburned” from working outside, I see I had a wonderful upbringing.
That wonder soaked in and has come out through my work in clay. Rowing around my dingy, and hiking by myself in the woods alone gave me love of nature. Clay came in seven grade at Coweeman Junior High class (art in the schools is so important!) I fell in love with clay and I think this kind of love is eternal.
In college, I majored in High-fired Ceramics and married Bob Stacey in 1971. He and I quickly became social and environmental justice advocates.
These three strength of my life lessons are deep in me. The umbrella of family, social justice, environmental aspects and clay shape my life to this day.
Bowl and Plate
Jaimie Barchus- Wildlife Illustrator
Jaimie Barchus
Welcome to my first exhibit, [wildlife captured]! While I don’t mean “captured” in a literal sense, I do hope to bring to light the notion of capturing the beauty and essence of wildlife in ways that draws my viewers attention and introduces them to the world of the wild like never before.
All of my pieces have some aspect that is part of my past experiences. “Temptation” was inspired by actual fish I caught at the Lundy Lake resort in California. “Pesky Bandits” came after a racoon [I named Rocko] made a home in a cedar tree outside the first house my husband and I owned. “Spirit of the Wild” takes me back to my childhood days of driving through the neighborhood horse corrals or watching the wild horses run around Walker Lake,Nevada.
As my collection has evolved and moved to other parts of the world, my passion has been driven by pure awe of the magnitude of wildlife in this world. I have also been driven by the movement of wildlife conservation . I have completed a few pieces of highly endangered species in hopes to raise awareness that conservation efforts are more important than ever. It’s
hard to believe that some of the world’s most beautiful creatures could be extinct in such a short amount of time.
My journey to building my exhibit has not always been consistent or easy. In 2009 I put all my art aside and took a 3 year break. Always feeling like an extension of me was missing, I worked my way back into my passion in 2012, and haven’t looked back since.
As an artist, I am constantly on the lookout for anything that may bring me inspiration. The world is so full of wonderful possibilities. We are part of a living, breathing canvas that has the ability to captivate and awe at any moment in time. The endless opportunities to capture the beauty of wildlife of this world is not only exciting, but at times overwhelming. Once a vision is sparked in my mind, I don’t take lightly to my approach in fine tuning every detail in bringing my creation to life.
I spend a great deal of time researching my subject; their habitat, trademarks, personality traits, etc. How can I engage my viewers and help them see the animal for the beauty they bring to this world? How can I capture the essence of the animal and what makes them unique? I’ll
admit, I’m not much a field sketch type artist. I prefer to have a vision and jump right into it and let it evolve as I go.
I have always (and always will) spend most of my focus on the eyes of the animal. So much emotion can be portrayed in how the gaze is captured. In most pieces, the eyes are the first thing I complete because that is what sets the mood for my final result. The eyes truly are the window to the soul.
The Prowl
