Sno Valley Star

I made the papers! The local newspaper that is. I nearly tossed it in the recycling before noticing they'd finally run the story on me. It was an act of pure cabin fever - having been stuck in the house due to an ice and snow storm for a week. The reporter did a nice job of listening to me and applying his engaging writing skills to what he hears. Just click the link above to read the story. All my valley friends have read it but no discounts at the local Starbucks. Of course I would have to actually go inside the place to know if that is true or not.

Artists

Wonderful night at the Issaquah Art Walk tonight. I feel grateful from the positive reception my work received. Thank you to all who came out and supported all the artists taking part. It may look easy for us to put our work out there for public view, but for this artist it is nerve wracking and thrilling at the same time. Tonight the thrill of connecting with people who make art, encourage creativity and simply appreciate with wonder and joy filled my heart and spirit. I suppose that is where the term "swell" comes from. It was certainly a swell evening.

Weekdays

The work week occupies so much time. I wish I had more time for my art. Right now all I want to do is devour the bowl of popcorn I popped (with real butter) and watch Midsommer Murder Mystery. But first I will talk about clouds.

Tonight a variety of clouds filled the sky but also offered open space for pure blue. I sat outside Owijamaya grocery store and ate a couple very greasy and day-old tasting vegetarian egg rolls while watching the clouds. I thought about change, transformation, change of function and change of form and how life mirrors what the sky does so effortlessly. I am sure way up there in the cloud stratosphere there are great gusts of wind pushing and pulling and forcing change to happen. From where I sat it appeared that the changes occurred on drifts and subtle shifts. In some areas of the sky I had to look for a very long time until I noticed any movement at all.

I like to think that my sculptures do this too. They don't change form or function but they do make subtle shifts with light and movement offering new perspectives for as long as you want to look.

The tools I use to make sculptures are a wooden dowel, a spool of wire, wire cutters and my hands.


I create a coil by wrapping the wire around the wooden dowel until it is full. A very clever artist who teaches at an art college in California suggested I shove the dowel into a drill and let the drill do the coil making. Brilliant! And time saving. The coiling is my least favorite part of making the art. It's kind of like filling the gas tank to go on a glorious drive.


After I have a nice long coil (think slinky) I flatten it out so I have a long line of loops (think lasso). Then I start inserting a loop inside of a loop and keep going, letting the form take shape. Sometimes I have an idea in mind. Most of the time the idea has me in mind. 


My early pieces are very much like those of the incredible artist Ruth Asawa. http://www.ruthasawa.com/art.html I learned her technique from her daughter in a workshop at the Japanese American Museum http://www.janm.org/ while I was living in Los Angeles.


My work can be purchased online through my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/TokulCrafts?ref=si_shop


Three of my sculptures can be experienced in person at the Driven to Abstraction show at the UpFront Gallery in Issaquah WA. http://arteast.org/2011/07/sep-2011-exhibit/


I welcome custom orders. I will be continuing to explore what the wire wants to do. The shapes I create will continue to change. 

Why I make Art

Why do I make art? It seems a question I cannot answer as I sit here looking at the blank white emptiness of my blog square. I just do is the only answer that comes to mine. I didn't know I was making art for a long time because most of what I make is utilitarian - serves a purpose. My wire crochet jewelry is meant to adorn. But I suppose the simple act of choosing beads, choosing wire, designing a style and incorporating old techniques in a new way is the essence of art marking. 


The most truthful answer that comes surging to the surface of my subconscious is I make art because I MUST! It is a simple as that for me.