Gullkistan and the Residents

Four years later

returning back to Gullkistan in Laugarvatn,

a new location and accommodations

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IMG_1601

Eight residents this time:  some here longer than others

with the stay group of four:

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I have savored my time here.

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To the Westfjords

An unexpected and wonderful trip with Aegir and Linda to the Westfjords,
a rugged, desolate & remote, sparsely populated region of Iceland where
fewer tourists venture. Some highlights below:

Westfjords; our itinerary
Westfjords; our itinerary
Linda on ferry
Linda on ferry
western most point in Europe
western most point in Europe
Latrabjarg Cliffs
Latrabjarg Cliffs
Raudasandur Beach
Raudasandur Beach
Black church
Black church
driftwood
driftwood
Kleifakallinn - varda like sculpture who guards travelers
Kleifakallinn - varda like sculpture who guards travelers
vardans
vardans
varda 2
varda 2
hermit's view
hermit's view
cod heads for the fish soup market in Nigeria
cod heads for the fish soup market in Nigeria
seal by ocean's edge
seal by ocean's edge
camper by glacier
camper by glacier
westfjords view
westfjords view

"A Bed of Verbs" debuts at Codex V

 'Bed' is a charged word; its root, bhedh, means to dig.

A Bed of Verbs, 2014.  A collaboration with artist, Elizabeth Sher. To be shown for its first time at Codex V at the Craneway Pavillion in Richmond, February 8th - 12th.

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 A Bed of Verbs, 2014.  Artist Book with Clamshell: digital prints on Moab Entrada 190 and metal coated papers.  5.25 x 9.75 x 1 inches (closed clamshell box)

 I travelled to Iceland with artist, Elizabeth Sher for an artist residency during the summer of 2012. We were awed by what we saw; the geologic wonders and phantasmal forms gave us a glimpse of what the earth might have been like in its beginnings. Iceland was a "land of the verb" with underground rumblings randomly spewing out steam, lava and rocks through pockets in the earth.

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A land of forces not seen with verbs to describe it: bhedh, burns, chills, churns, coils, cracks, crusts,  cuts, erupts, oozes, pads, posts, roots, scalds, scrape, spews, sprays, steams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revisiting Iceland with Elizabeth Sher

Last summer I spent a month at the Gullkistan artist residency  in Iceland.  I shared the experience with artist and filmmaker, Elizabeth Sher.   She currently is showing work from that experience in her exhibit, Evolutionary Processes, at the Sebastopol Center For the Arts from April 4th through May 10th.  On April 27th, 4:30 - 6, we will talk about our shared experiences, her work and stories that inspired it.  Come hear more! Sebastopol Center for the Arts

282 S. High Street Sebastopol, CA

Hours: Tu - Fri 10 - 4,  Sat 1 -4

707- 829-4797

e-postcard

500 Handmade Books

I am pleased to announce the inclusion of my artist book, Tangled Dreams in the upcoming Lark Crafts Publication, 500 Handmade Books Volume 2.  Some of you may know that Tangled Dreams is one of several projects on which I collaborated with artist Elizabeth Sher.  The book will be released to the bookstores in  September of 2013. Tangled Dreams, 2012 Artist Book with wrap. 8.25 x 8.13 x .33 inches

Tangled Dreams in Wrap

Tangled Dreams

Tangled Dreams Cover

It started with a rusty bedspring that I found in a barn and took into my studio. I noticed the intriguing patterns of its shadows playing against my studio wall and began taking a series of close-up photographs of them.  This humble beginning led to three series of work: mixed media works on paper, an artist book and a video.

Tangled Dreams is one of six Edition Varie.  The artist book is an accordion fold made with digital images of bedsprings layered and manipulated; the images became the basis for an examination of memory, dreams and loss. The book reflects a range of feelings found in our dreams from twists and turns, to torques, coils and agitated sensations.

Materials for the book include acrylic ink on Moab Entrada Natural 190 lb. rag paper, waxed & stained organza silk and Cave paper.

Bless Bless

I'm home now after a memorable and wonder filled six weeks of work and travel in Iceland, accumulating experiences, meeting people and photographing the dramatic land, water and sky scapes.   As I settle back, my mind is still moving with ideas and imagery from the trip. Good-bye residency and good-bye Iceland.  "Bless, bless", as they say in Iceland.  Many thanks to Alda and Kriestvieg from the Gullkistan Residency and Linda and Ægir, friends and tour guides.  You made my trip filled with memories and many inspirations for future work.  I look forward to what will come from this experience and I already can't wait to come back, see you again and continue where I left off!

I will continue to add Icelandic imagery to this blog as I begin to process what I collected.  For this entry, I have posted miscellaneous images that showcase my work and experiences at the residency.

One of my projects during the residency was tracking my walks with a gps device.  I accumulated many tracks which I then printed out to get a sense of what I had.  Lots of words came to mind: scaling, scales, "fisk", a scale of scales, step by step, planes, topography, three-dimensional, planar, linear, line shapes, broken lines, contour, installation, context, meander, wander, lost, found, mapping.

 

I also made a screen out of wire from a rusty fence that I found and cut up on the farm.  Liz and I used it to project our video, Tangled Dreams, for the residents.  I then took many detail shots of it for my photo library.  Interesting to me later when I found some stones with cracks that echoed some of the wire shapes.

 

I also experimented with the ash from the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano on a variety of papers, including brown craft paper and yupo.  Examples follow:

And finally Icelandic kennings haunt me.  I've collected many during my stay and suspect that some  will find their ways in future work and titles.