Check Out Our Art at the Freeland Public Library

April is here! This month you can stop by the Freeland Public Library and see a sampling of the art available from our gallery. Pat Brooks, Moe Jerome, Sue Owen and Craig Sullivan all have pieces hanging in the library. Ed Bennett has a display of his carvings in the showcase in the lobby of the library. Stop by and check it out. The library is located at 5495 Harbor Avenue, Freeland. The library hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11 am to 8 pm, Wednesday from 10 am to 5 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1pm to 5 pm.

You will also have the opportunity to hear Ed explain how he creates his beautiful bird carvings on Saturday April 23rd from 1pm to 4 pm at the library. The program, An Introduction to Bird Carving, will include a demonstration and discussion of bird carving techniques. Participants will be able to ask our expert questions and use the skills they learn about painting on a simple bird cut out.

We are currently seeking new members. We are interested in your work. We have space for fine wall art, mixed media, three-dimensional interior and exterior sculputre, garden art, photography, fiber arts, pottery, jewelry, glass and much more.

Since we are a cooperative gallery started in 1992, we are owned and operated by the artist members. Our jury committee reviews all submissions for membership. This process insures the quality of the work.

We will be jurying new artists' work beginning April 7th. Please call Pat Brookes at 360-221-8351 or Moe Jerome at 360-730-5917 for more information.

There are hopes to reopen a physical location for the gallery this spring. Stay tuned for more details.

Spring is here! As we are busy trying to find a new storefront in Langley, we each continue to produce new art. We are anxious to have our art seen again. I got up at 3 AM today because there were so many ideas running through my head about things I want to create. I made drawings, notes and tried to go back to sleep at 4 AM. At 4:30 I just gave in, got up and quietly tried to paint.

I have added encaustic painting as a way to express myself more freely. Encaustic painting allows me to create a piece in a few days, instead of the months it takes to do a bronze. I tell myself that it's a little like sculpting and casting because it still uses heat, just not a furnace roaring away. The bonus is that I don't have to go up to my cold studio/shop in the middle of the night to work on my art. But they are different kinds of art; I know when I cast a bronze, I am making something that will last a very long time. Encaustic painting is less durable than a bronze, although some have been recovered from Egyptian tombs.

Encaustic painting uses colored wax as the medium. As with sculpture, there are steps involved in the process. First you melt the bees wax and add the pigment and resin. When I prepare my wax, I make little blocks so that when I am ready to use a color I only have to melt a small amount at a time. This is a perfect opportunity to use recycling in your art. Old cans are perfect for this part of the process.

When you are ready to paint, melt the various colors of wax and paint. You can change the results with a torch or some other heat source. You can also gouge, scrape, layer, and add objects to change your painting.

I look forward to sharing some of these creations with you.