July 2020 Virtual Art Walk at Make.Shift gallery:
“Shift.Show”
Every month in Make.shift our gallery is filled with eye-catching and controversial work from local, regional and international artists, but what about the artists who work hard to make sure we are functioning at full steam? We are fortunate to have so much talent within Make.shift’s community. July is our month to showcase the visual artists that help to form us as an institution. We asked our staff, interns, board members, jury members, gallery attendants, and kzax DJs to submit work that defined their art. We’d like to show the work that they feel most embodies their themes and style to display the range of creativity within our space. Join us art walk Friday so we can show you what Make.shift is really made of!
Carrie Cooper
Jury Member
Carrie Cooper
(She/her)
“Isolated Figure 1”
Wood, linen, embroidery floss, and wire
$350
Carrie Cooper
(She/her)
“Isolated Figure 2”
Wood, linen, embroidery floss, and wire
$400
Carrie Cooper
(She/her)
“Isolated Figure 3”
Wood, linen, and embroidery floss
$300
Artist Statement and Bio:
I am a mixed-media fiber artist working mainly in embroidery, but often incorporating sculpture, painting, print-making and photography into my pieces. The expressive, textural nature of needlework has a unique, communicative quality that I feel is especially conducive to contemporary artmaking. My aim is to help expand the perception of needlework - once considered a domestic craft - to the realm of contemporary art. Most of my work explores the complexity of identity and the difference between the self we present to the outside world and the one we express behind closed doors. I find inspiration in the absurdity of life. Carrie Cooper resides in Bellingham, Washington and holds a Masters in Teaching Secondary Art from Western Washington University. She has exhibited her work throughout Whatcom and King counties and is currently a juror for Make.Shift Art Space in Bellingham.
Spiderleg
Gallery Interviewer
Spiderleg
(They/them)
“Echochamber”
Acrylic
$375
Spiderleg
(They/them)
“Wild Wild Country”
Acrylic
$450
Spiderleg
(They/them)
“Obligatory Self Portrait”
Acrylic
$300
Artist Statement:
I began painting to have a positive outlet during a really dark time of my life. My work is a mixture of moments of chance and cathartic expression. This particular piece, “Obligatory Self Portrait” is a reflection of my addictive behaviors. Once substances, now plants and gardening. I hope to portray an air of playfulness and happiness with this piece because while I have an issue with these behaviors, there are definitely worse ways for them to play out. If I one day do wake up tangled in plants, at least I was trying my best to love things that benefit us all. Also, for better or for worse, this is who I am and I am proud of that.
Gabrielle Olson
Gallery Director
Gabrielle Olson
(She/her)
“Squatters Rights”
Oil, acrylic transfer, caulk, and pulp
NFS
Gabrielle Olson
(She/her)
“Stolen Jungle”
Oil, acrylic transfer, caulk, and pulp
NFS
Gabrielle Olson
(She/her)
“Wasted Infrastructure”
Oil, acrylic, paper, caulk, and pulp
NFS
Artist Statement:
I’m focused on large scale oil paintings and mixed media collage. The themes addressed in my work usually range from wealth distribution to the displacement felt by people without homes. My work often has washed out color palettes. Vivid rust colors are the extent of brightness. I use caulk to build up layers and texture. I am unseduced by flat surfaces and I like most of my work to resemble dilapidated concrete infrastructure, so the caulk is something that is consistent in my work.
I’m originally from Seattle, the city with the third largest homeless population in the country, outranked only by New York City and Los Angeles. The rate has risen exponentially within the last decade with a 4% increase within the last year. I grew up witnessing the rough and sudden change and have seen many loved ones affected by the ever-rising crisis. I’ve seen loss and displacement and have also noticed that as the homeless population rises the more Seattle attempts to ignore the issue. My goal is to remind the country's middle class and wealthy elite of the devastation they are causing and to comment on problematic anti-homelessness rhetoric. I have relied on the guidance of artists like Anselm Kiefer and Mark Bradford so set my style and dictate my approach. I use Kiefer's concepts of tragic, abandoned spaces to let the emptiness of a once-crowded community speak. I rely on Bradford's use of unusual and anti-elitist materials to emphasize that value is not synonymous with currency.
Emily Campbell
Assistant Executive Director
Emily Campbell
(She/her)
“Eggs”
Mixed Media Drawing
$50 or $120 for all 3
Emily Campbell
(She/her)
“Toast”
Mixed Media Drawing
$50 or $120 for all 3
Emily Campbell
(She/her)
“Orange Juice”
Mixed Media Drawing
$50 or $120 for all 3
Artist Statement:
A true escapist at heart. Emily Campbell often pulls real life content into a surrealist environment. In creating new small worlds, the viewer is met with a different take on familiars which in turn asks the question, “What do we know about what we think we know?” Emily hopes this mindset transcends the moment and sparks wonder and curiosity about the world around us.
Frank Stepek and Maren Stepek
KZAX DJ
Franks Stepek
(He/him)
“Black Lives Matter”
Acrylic on Board
NFS
Artist Statement:
I wanted to paint something to support the BLM movement I feel like we have a long way to go in supporting POC and we need to constantly remind ourselves.
Frank Stepek
(He/him)
“Zappa in 79’”
Acrylic on Canvas
$300
Artist Statement:
I love trying to connect art and music and what better way to do this than honor one of my favorite guitarist, sings, song writers, etc. Frank Zappa. I know his style isn’t for everyone but there was something incredible, (if not magical) happening with him and his band around the circa of ‘79. If only I was a little bit older I could have appreciated it in person.
Maren Stepek
“Rainbow Land”
Acrylic on Paper
$5
Artsist Statment:
I love Rainbows and Unicorns
Maren Stepek’s Bio:
I am 8 years old and I go to Parkview Elementary
Frank Stepek’s Bio:
I have been living in Bellingham for five years. Coming from the east coast and moving further and further northwest, the things in my life that haven't changed are my love for art and music and my connection with great venues like Make.Shift. Frank Zappa was a true artist and a hero of mine. 1979 was, in my opinion, the height of his career. Not everybody “gets” Zappa but if you are interested, check out “Baby Snakes” a concert he gave in 1979 where he was absolutely on fire.
Hannah Lewis
Volunteer Coordinator and Gallery Intern
Hannah Lewis
“6x6 Peaches”
Watercolor and paper collage on canvas
$300
Hannah Lewis
“6x6 Pink Squiggles”
Watercolor, oil, acrylic, and paper collage on canvas
$250 each, $450 together
Hannah Lewis
“6x6 Primary Squiggles”
Watercolor and paper collage on canvas
$300
Instagram @bangs_lewis
Karen Hanrahan
Jury Member
Karen Hanrahan
“And Then There was Rape”
Mixed Media Collage
NFS (Fine Art Prints by Request)
Artist Statement:
This collage was created when I was 56 years old. It was the first collage where my subconscious revealed itself around the topic of rape. I was gang raped at the age of 17. I never told anyone. I see in this piece: shame, youth, a suggestion of force and male anatomy, and a place to hide. Sprocket holes frame a series of rape moments in time.
Karen Hanrahan
“From Within”
Stitched Paper Collage
$150
Artist Statement:
I feel to be a vibrant effective leader that one carries equal measures of tranquility and fierceness within
Karen Hanrahan
“Magnolia”
Photography, collage and stitching
$110
Artist Statement:
t took me a year to perfect this quilting technique and apply it to paper. I am thrilled to now add my photography to the mix. These paper quilt squares are tremendous fun to make.
Bio:
Self-taught intuitive artist Karen Hanrahan, uses a digital camera and torn magazine pages to document & narrate the challenges of her life. Her multi-disciplinary work expresses her tenacious spirit by processing personal topics such as rape, loneliness, trauma and poverty. Karen’s work is acknowledged as organic, intimate and visually engaging. Karen was a 2019 Make.Shift juror.
Siri Beckman
Gallery Intern
Siri Beckman
(She/they)
“Homemade Journal”
Paper, watercolor, pencil, ink, grapefruit, fig, marker, thread, and glue
NFS
Siri Beckmen
(She/they)
“Dreaming”
Canvas and acrylic paint
$333
Siri Beckmen
(She/they)
“Nurture”
Fabric, yarn, and thread
NFS
Artist Statement:
Hey, my name is Siri Beckmen, sometimes referred to as "cereal slick kid." I’m a local Bellingham artist originally from Minneapolis, MN. I jump from medium to medium each season, but painting, playing with fabric, and sketch booking have continued to be my favorites. Each one of my pieces begins differently. A blank piece of paper or canvas holds so much potential and I can become easily overwhelmed by the amount of ideas that could come to life; so what do I do? I start. I turn off my mind and let my authentic self come forward to create. This intuitive creating eases me into the grey of winter. Creating art is a space where I can break the rules, it has given me confident abilities in expressing and reflecting. All the bright colors in these pieces remind me to come up for sips of delicious air when I feel submerged in dark underwater caves of shame, depression, and stress. Creating makes space within my life for non-judgement. It helps me confront uncomfortability and acknowledge my ability to hold so much emotion at one time. I believe the way we perceive experiences in the world around us is really a mirror into our deepest psyche. My art is continuously an easy way for me to watch my experience leave my body and land on the canvas for what it is.