The Great Blue Heron can commonly be found in the many coasts, marshes, lakes, and ponds of the Pacific Northwest. They slowly wade in shallow water stalking their prey, striking out quickly at the right moment to stab with their bills. Great Blue Herons are a priority species in Washington and locally the Post Point Heron Colony is protected. This particular Heron was foraging in Birch Bay, where at low tide viewers are likely to see upwards of ten Herons grouped together!

A large striking forest bird, the Pileated Woodpecker stands out with its red crest and bold stripes. They gravitate towards areas with dead trees and downed logs to roost, forage, or nest. The Pileated Woodpeckers is considered a Keystone Species due to its creation of nesting cavities used by other species. The removal of dead trees can really impact their habitat, so consider leaving them on your property to attract this large bird.  

No longer endangered, the Bald Eagle is a pleasant sight to see. In late fall or early winter the Pacific Northwest is packed with Bald Eagles, specifically, in the Skagit Valley where they are on the hunt for salmon. Time your visit right and you could see an upward of 50 feeding, roosting, or soaring! This Eagle is transitioning from roosting to soaring, hopping out of a tree and using its powerful wings to propel itself forward.

The Osprey is a unique and beautiful bird. The majority of their diet is medium-sized fish which they catch with their adaptable talons which they can position differently – three forward and one back or two forward and two back. When flying with a fish, they line up the catch head-first for more agile flying. Adaptably nesting on manmade structures, platforms have been important in reestablishing their presence in areas after losing great numbers due to DDT.

The Killdeer is a common local sight, you may have seen them running along the ground or soaring making their common “kil-deee” call. Nesting on the ground, often in gravel, you may stumble across one of their nests, so be careful! Commonly they use the “broken-wing display” to move you away from the nest, drooping their wings and fanning their tail. In non-breeding season, Killdeer can be found on beach habitats, feeding using visual cues and stirring up prey in shallow water. 

KENDRA ALDRICH STATEMENT AND BIO:

Artist Statement- In my painting I observe, document, and explore, learning about the subject by painting it. I wish to examine the moments that are here today and may be gone tomorrow. Seeking a deeper understanding of the natural world and the intersections of our encounters with it, I hope to inspire people to explore their natural surroundings, learn who they share space with, and become invested in the overall health of the ecosystem. 

Artist Bio- Kendra Aldrich is a fine art painter in Birch Bay, Washington with a focus on animal portraiture. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Western Washington University in 2011, and her Master of Arts in Biology from Miami University in 2021. In her graduate work she focused on nature connection through art, imagery, and inquiry. Through her studies, she gained insight into local ecology, community, and conservation, moving forward she strives to evolve as a wildlife painter and an environmental advocate.

KELL MCDONALD ARTIST STATEMENT AND BIO:

Artist statement: Exploration into how one can exaggerate nature’s beauty in a 2D medium, just as one does when editing a photo to post online. I amplify the painting’s otherness as in painting the water too blue and making it feel over-saturated. I mimic popular hiking destinations in my paintings. I used my paintbrushes as my “photo editing tool” to play up nature’s beauty that I saw around me. My goal with my paintings is to make one want to go outside and see the real thing, because nothing beats the real thing. Hiking lake 22, I was inspired by the lake’s crystal clear reflection, especially when the wind picked up and warped its reflection, inspiring me to recreate what I saw. In my “High on the Mountaintops” painting I was inspired to play with perspective since I had such a tiny canvas, I had to make the most of it.

Artist Bio:

I’m Kell McDonald, a Bellingham-based painter. I started oil painting during the pandemic as a way to pass the time cooped up in my apartment. My work is inspired by the hiking trails in the pacific northwest. Recently began to experiment with portraits that exaggerate one’s facial features.

Follow me on Instagram at @lovely_trees_

Birds are Missing

The bird images in this series repurpose nine photos from a site-specific installation at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that focused on human imposition of value on different species according to our narcissistic views of them. These purebred racing pigeons against a clear blue sky were installed above on the ceiling, while photos of common rock doves (city pigeons) littered the floor in dingy, dark tones.

Although these are hand-reared pigeons, they read well as “every bird”. In these collage prints, I assail the flying birds with swirling elements from Indian Marble Paper and my own ink marks, visualizing them in crisis, in danger.

The title connects my imagined bird-dangers to the drastic drop in bird populations, with an anxious, personal voice… not dry data or statistics… Because I am anxious. We all should be anxious for all the missing birds.

8″ diameter, giclee print on watercolor paper.  Series of 9 in round-cut mats and 10x10” wooden frames.

MIRANDA MAHER ARTIST STATEMENT AND BIO:

Maher settled in Brooklyn shortly after receiving her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art (Detroit) in 1990. Before that she received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Maher’s studio practice has traveled a varied path over her 30-year practice that includes installations, artist books and work on paper addressing human warfare and violence as well as more contemplative explorations of consciousness and embodiment. Her current work centers on ink, gilding and drawing on paper as well as unique and editioned books. 

In 2016 she was awarded studio space in Chashama’s “Space to Work” program and maintains that studio in South Brooklyn’s “Brooklyn Army Terminal”, an industrial building constructed in 1918. For the last 20 years, Maher has pursued her studio practice alongside Japanese martial methods and Chinese meditative and healing arts. In 2013, she retired from training “Amagakure no Sato Ryu” a rigorous Japanese martial art, holding a rank of Okuden Kaiden (black belt), and shifted her focus to Qigong, Taiji, Reiki and Chinese Taoist practices. Currently, she is a teacher of those disciplines and maintains a consulting and healing practice in South Brooklyn. Committed to continuously refining both her artistic skills and her teaching skills, she travels to Italy every year and Japan and Thailand every other year to deepen her Taiji skills and immerse herself in the art history of those places.  

@miranda.maher.art

Miranda-maher.com

Maher’s studio practice has traveled a varied path that includes installations, objects, artist books and work on paper. Often starting with the discomfort of discrepancy, omission or outright lies, she has examined warfare, violence, and sanity as well as our self-involved use of other species.  Recently, she has been delving into more contemplative explorations of consciousness and embodiment with ink, gilding and drawing as well as unique and editioned books. 

SARA DOBBS STATEMENT AND BIO:

I am an artist and a first generation farmer living on Vashon Island, WA. In 2020 my sister and I founded Wilbie Farm, a diversified vegetable farm that uses regenerative agriculture practices to supply food to Vashon and Seattle markets.  My interest in the impact of food production, distribution, and consumption on the individual, community, and environment led me to start farming and also informs my art practice. My pieces in this exhibition explore Pacific Northwest waterways and the environmental impact of human involvement, via fishing, dams, and recreation, within these ecosystems.

TRACY WEBSTER ARTIST STATEMENT:

Inspired by the incredible nature of the PNW, I translate my love for water, mossy forests, and mountains into art and jewelry full of color and texture.

For all sales inquiries please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org

Time goes by. Oh my, does it fly?

But sometimes it creeps along like the slowest of songs, just gotta let it sing.

Pieces started and finished months later, reflections of the great thing itself, growing older and looking back at how we got to where we are now.

Please enjoy this show. Take your time.

To view “The Art of Aging” exhibition, please click here

Email GALLERY@MAKESHIFTARTSPACE.ORG for all sales inquiries

The theme for both of these pieces is the concept of healing ancestral wounds across time and approaches for this process.

Time Heals All Wounds*. A summary of some of the astrological studies I've done in regards to Pluto being the planet that works with long-term wounding. I'm posing the question that if emotional wounds don't get healed in one lifetime, who becomes responsible for the healing? How do we heal the deep emotional wounding that is handed down to us from our ancestors? I tried to portray Pluto as both catalyst and healer; bringing attention to our wounding and also providing the tools to help heal.

Veneration "Chaos" Quilt. Much of what I've learned about ancestral remediation work involves honoring your ancestors by giving them time and attention in your day-to-day, be it altar work or prayer or otherwise, and that by doing this work it is possible to heal wounds that transcend lifetimes. Quilting is an action some of my ancestors spent many days doing. By replicating this I felt I was honoring the work they did in their lives and creating a connection to them across time. This piece serves as a sort of altar to my ancestors, generational healing, and to my own healing and discovery process.

mariesonger.bandcamp.com

Oliver L M

“Echoing Berlin”

(11:17:00)

Digital video

2018

spitfirelynnmccartney.com

@spitfirelyart

Echoing Berlin is a whimsical short contemplating memories of two week's time abroad in Germany as a student, briefly encountering its peoples, cultures, and its deep history.

I look to Dadaist/surrealist film visual sensibility, prioritizing evocations of potential subconscious meaning. Superimposed video clips and photographs create a fluid thread of visual vignettes form non-linear non-narrative recollections of my experiences. Frenetic and hypnotically vibrant scenes pass quickly, brimming with activity, and constant motion. This and personal undefined symbolism of imagery offers impressions about activities occurring within each shifting suggested environment, acknowledgement of historical context, and a sense of their emotional impact upon (and personal significance) to me.

A reflection on blooming vs. growing in the feminine form, and the fleeting and fickle nature and usefulness of blooming vs. the rest of the plant (and human) lifetime.

Inspired by the absurdism of time as experienced through a dream state, when in context with the experience of waking time.

Childhood creations stem from vivid imaginings and are unique interpretations of the broader world. Through exploring the evolution of my art practice from childhood to present day, my work re-imagines creatures and objects that I have previously created. I have found a deep admiration for my artwork as a child and the potential creativity I had within me. Reflecting on my growth as an artist, how my art has progressed, and how I view my art differently now; my present day work takes these images and reshapes them in a 3 dimensional form.  

With emphasis on the art making process, using mixed media materials and intensive fabrication techniques, my work showcases the adult artist I am today and the changing complexity of my work over time. Taking inspiration from artists such as Tom Sachs, known for sculpting everyday objects on a larger, more industrially permanent scale, my re-creations follow the blocky, simplistic style of early childhood drawings yet are composed of similarly heavy materials, such as metal and wood.

“Forever Et Cetera...”

I made this piece in 2016 when I was dealing with spontaneous osteonecrosis of my left medial femur. I was on temporary disability from my job and my insurance wouldn’t ok the surgery my doctor wanted to preform as my treatment plan. I was stuck in a bureaucratic time loop that dragged on for 9 months with no treatment. For the last 6 months in 2022 I’m dealing with a mirror image case spontaneous osteonecrosis in my right medial femur, again trying to solve the puzzle.

-Steeb Russell

“One Day at a Time"

Time goes by endlessly so it seems. But, our lives are made up of individual days. And what we choose do with our hands every single day presented to us, brings the meaning of our lives.

-DEAD BONE DAD

Timelessness is a feeling where time doesn’t exist. A day goes by at the whim of however it lands. No pressure, no place to go, nothing to do by a certain time. No worries.

I created this collage using the creative subconscious mind collage process with the topic of the wonder of time in my mind. I selected a few magazines that I thought might have time pieces in it. I looked for persons within those magazines that might be feeling things time. I pulled from these resources for about 10 minutes. I then created this collage from the images I had pulled. When I create this way I have to trust the process. The images pulled seem to guide the creation into its being. I always feel like the inside of me is crafting what it all might mean. I ask where should I stitch and it tells me. I know when to stop, because it lets me know. It will say to me stop. this is your message.  I see in this stitched collage that time is multidimensional, that it intersects. I see the pressure and the freedom of time. I see how time becomes you, or pulls at you, I see time telling all, I see when time is no longer in your hands or when time is bigger than all of us.

Upon first glance, this may appear to be just another photo of a sunset. The gentle sway of the grass along with the subtle movement of waves creeping in fills me with serenity as the clouds disperse; making room for the sun’s goodbye as the first day of the new year comes to a close. This was a moment in time I wanted to be trapped in forever along with all the emotions of fear, curiosity, and amazement that came with it. As I began processing and printing the photo, I realized that moment had gone away just as quickly as it came.

For me this photo truly represents the passing of time, memories, and the continual pursuit to recapture those moments. The more I studied the print, the less I remembered about the actual event. The texture of the paper along with the grain of the film make me feel as though I am witnessing an event that occurred long before my time. The waves have come and gone, the grass died and grown again, and the clouds moved on to other skies. Perhaps this is how time works: the details quickly become distorted as new memories come and take precedence over the old ones.

This painting is of the Carrara Marble Quarry in Tuscany, Italy. The marble from this quarry is also known as Luna Marble. Its use dates back to Ancient Roman Times. The marble has been used in such famous works as Michaelagelo's David and La Pieta. It also has ties to famous Roman structures such as the Pantheon. The marble and granite from this quarry continues to be extracted and used to this day.

I got lost in this piece because I felt as if it was unfinished and that I could keep extracting structure from it. The unsettled nature of the pandemic left me with anxiety and I channeled it into this painting. I felt as if I was stuck at the bottom of this marble quarry; wondering if we would ever get out. The thought of it being over was a relief but also left me with the question: "where do I go from here?" The only answer was up and out.

MICHAEL DINNING www.michaeldinning.com

When I was a child I was so introverted that I could hardly speak to others. I began drawing before I have memories of doing so, and through my artwork I found my voice. I nearly exclusively drew images of people, attempting repeatedly to get at what makes individuals unique, what defines them, and trying to work out how people see me. I constantly looked inward to find a sense of self that I could project to the world. It seemed to me that identity doesn’t just happen, it is something created by what compels you, by the experiences you have, or want to have, by what brings you happiness, but also by what you fear. Creating artwork, for me, is a way to put out into the world who I am, what I care about, what concerns me and what I love.

Through this immersive introspection I came to regard a sense of place and history as an important piece of that puzzle - if my accumulated personal histories created who I am now, how about the history of my family, or my community? When I travel I seek out the history of the places I go, how people came to belong there, how the history of the place helps shape the character of the people. Regional traditions and personal idiosyncrasies fascinate me. There are certain places in the world which seem to speak to me, and southern Louisiana in one such place. When I create artwork I feel a sort of compulsive rhythm in my body, a creative music that fills my soul and propels my artistic instinct - I rarely feel more alive than when I am in a true creative groove. I know of no place on earth where that rhythm is as close to the surface of life than New Orleans, and I return to that place for personal inspiration as much as I long to return to the city itself.

16 years ago my daughter was born, and then my son three years after that. The nature of my creative impulse evolved from primarily inward looking exploration to incorporate outward facing expression. I feel a need to offer something to the world through my artwork, and to show my kids that art can matter, that you can speak non-verbally in ways complex, thoughtful and sincere, a sort. of visual commentary on life. I want my work to tell an honest story. As importantly, I seek to capture a feeling in my work that goes beyond a particular narrative, to use the combinations of imagery, lighting and construction to hopefully give the viewer a sense of how I feel about the work, about the world, about life. Joy and wonder surround me daily, and being able to recognize and embrace that gives me the ability to express myself, to be able to be who I want to be, to stand out in a crowd

ARTIST BIO: A love of history and a sense of place, the joy of family, the intrigue of music and a sense of social awareness all combine and recombine as central threads in my artwork. These people and things, ideas and affections, build and overlap, creating personal layers within us that define who we are. There is an essence and mystery of life that is defined by the interplay of these layers, and the artistic process is a way for me to give form to those unseen rhythms and intriguing themes that I find compelling. My creative process embraces this idea, as a way to give form to this complexity that lies under our common skin, through the use of artistic layering, targeted lighting and physical depth in each piece. My goal when creating artwork is to present something that is immediately engaging, consistently compelling, and leaves a lasting impression beyond the initial encounter, and I feel that this mixed media approach gives me the best set of tools to achieve this end. Furthermore, each of my pieces tells a story, or has a central theme, and this use of a variety of elements and perspectives gives focus to the artistic expression of each piece. I believe that art should bring a sense of wonder and delight, and reflect the joy of creation experienced by the artist. I also feel that painting and sculpture are, along with the creative vision, something to be built, and the joy of that constructive process is as important to me as realizing a coherent, complex and compelling artistic expression. I love what I do, and I hope this love is clearly present to everybody who views my artwork. A graduate of Washington State University, with a BFA focused on sculpture, printmaking and art history, I switched gears and spent the first part of my creative life in the Seattle area as a painter. Working part-time to gain a toe-hold in the artistic community there, I was able to have a few exhibits, including the good fortune to show with the West Seattle Artist Warehouse in the mid-90s. Nearly 20 years ago I moved to Spokane, married, got a new job and a couple of kids, and largely quit working as an artist. About 8 years ago I shifted gears to be a stay-at-home dad and and full-time mixed-media artist, reembracing my sculptural roots to compliment my painted imagery. The last few years have been by far the most fruitful of my career, showing my work regionally in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana, including solo exhibits in Seattle, Spokane, Yakima, Missoula, Hood River and Lynden. I currently reside in Spokane with my wife, two kids, two dogs, four cats and one rabbit.

For all sales inquiries please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org

"Biome Sweet Biome" is the 4th annual collaboration between local elementary student artists, PNW-based adult artists, and Make.Shift Art Space. 4th, 5th and 6th graders at Samish Woods Montessori and Cedar Tree Montessori created paintings and writing on the theme of “Design your own Biome.” Adult artists were each assigned a students’ painting and writing, and then created a “response piece” to that student’s work in the medium of their choice.

This year’s show theme may feel a bit like art therapy. In the last two years, children have experienced the isolation of quarantine, the uncertainty and concern on the faces of the adults in their lives, nearly an entire school year wearing masks. They express worry about Ukraine, the climate, and the future. These concerns exist alongside the curiosity, adaptability and sense of play that children so skillfully bring to all they do. This project offered them the chance to discuss the concept of biomes: environments perfectly suited to the creatures who live there. Each student imagined a biome with everything they need to thrive and be happy, whether it's filled with friends and books, certain trees and plants they love, their favorite music and food, or mini-volcanos and tiny dinosaurs. Their imaginative, thought-provoking biomes open a window into the variety of ways children process their lives and understand their own needs and preferences.

-Written by Nora Hughes, teacher of student artists

PLEASE CONTACT GALLERY@MAKESHIFTARTSPACE.ORG FOR ALL SALES INQUIRIES

ERNIE//YIN DWYER

COOLIDGE// JESSYCA MURPHY

EMMA//AMANDA RHINE

FINN// KAREN HANRAHAN

RADLER// EILEEN LANTHIER

IONA//OLIVER MCCARTNEY

JACOBO//AIREEKA LAUDERT

NEILAN// STEPHAN HAMILTON

PABLO//SARAH SIMPSON

ZURAI//CASSANDRA HART

CAMDEN//SARAH LANE

JASPER W// ——-

LIAM//CHARLOTTE OLMSTEAD

LUCITA//ALISA NEWHALL

OLIVE// CORY LYKAINA

SOLLY//B. CRICKET

ADA// BLAIR TAYLOR

EMERSON//JADYN COVNOT-MEYER

JOVAN//ALISON WITWER

LOLA// NETTLE ADA

MICAH// GUINEVERE JOHNSON

PHOEBE// RUBY ROEBUCK

SOPHIA// JORDAN CRUMITY

WILLIAM//KAYLEN BARBER

FELIX//MICHELLE SCHUTTE

GRIFFIN//CYNTHIA FRENCH

JAMISON//BLAIRE SEBREN

ZUBIN//IRENE A. LAWSON

IRENE A. LAWSON   she/her

Title        ZUBIN'S DREAM BIOME

Materials    CERAMIC

Dimensions   8X10

Year Made    2022

Price         NFS

Social Media/ website 

@irenealawson

JONAH/LISA CITRON

NOAH//GABI GONZALES-YOXHEIMER

OTTO///J. CADIENNE J.LORENZ

HUCK//HANNAH CWIEK

BENI// JOEY

EKAM//GILLIAN MYERS

SAIGE//ERIN MARTINEZ

ASHER//JABEZ RICHARD

MORGAN//BROOKE EOLANDE

ISABEL//ANONY MOUSE

JANE//FRAME RATE ZERO

ELI//JAYCH

MALCOM //EMILY CAMPBELL

ROWAEN//HEATHER LJUNG

ADDYSON//LYNETTE POLINDER

ARI//KELLY SORBEL

CHARLOTTE//ANONYMOUSE

SAMARA//PAIGE HEINEN

IKER//CASSANDRA HART

BRYCE//KRISTA KELLY

JASPER L//QUIKDRAW

Artist Statement:

In Double Wide, I am allowing the viewer to experience my childhood home as it exists in my rawest, emotional memories. Wood grain relief print panels are arranged to create a theatrical backdrop for heavy metal posters and a window view looking out on a typical night in the trailer park. Papier-mâché creatures hide in corners, magnified from their actual size to illustrate the overwhelming presence these vermin had on me as a child. Personal keepsakes from my original home are juxtaposed with found objects to create a direct connection to a place that now only exists in memory.

In this body of work, screen printing is used to recount visceral, formative experiences, and reconcile issues relating to identity and sexuality. Bold, graphic compositions aid in conveying a complicated personal history with a sense of humor and nostalgia. 

Bio:
Sarah Kindl is a Mixed Media installation artist, with a concentration in Printmaking. She received her BFA from Western Washington University in 2020, and is a current board member at Make.Shift Art Space.

Sarah lives in Bellingham Washington, and spends most of her free time making art with her wife, Jacqueline, and cat, Phibes.

“We had a severe flea infestation in our home. Often my dad would like to catch them and put them on magnifying slides for us to see. The close up image is what I remember seeing.”

“Growing up in Southern California one of the most striking things are the neon signs. I was often taken to convenience stores and these signs are a reminder those times.”

“My pet rat ended up getting an enormous tumor on her chest at the end of her life she was holding on and I could remember staring and her and crying. My dad tried to help by giving her sleeping pills hidden in cheese. While she ate some of it it took her a very long time to die. This is what I remember.”

“I wasn't taken to the dentist frequently as a child and it lead to my back molars to be taken out, which were then extracted.”

“Bar S hot dogs and Country Crock were always in our fridge. No matter what. I see them as symbols of working class americana.”

“Dad would take me for donuts every Saturday morning and frequently when we brought them home, if they were left unattended, there would be cockroaches munching on them.”

“My dad kept girly magazines in the bathroom drawer and one of the earliest times I remember being aroused was finding these magazines. I would hide in the bathrooms for long periods of time reflecting on how girls could actually like each other.”

“My mothers wooden crucifix that hung on our wall next to our kitchen that for the longest time had his arm broken off. Instead of gluing it back on we would just put it behind his head.”

For all sales inquiries please email Emily at Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org This exhibition can be seen in-person at 306 Flora st in Bellingham, WA. 1PM-6PM Thursday- Saturday.

An ode to oneself and others, healing runs through us in times of quiet, motion, humor, expression. Connecting to each other, sharing similarities and differences in the experiences we take on or the pain we leave behind. Together we find ourselves.

Please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org for all sales inquiries

KAREN WALLEN Biographical Statement

About

As a working artist, I paint using various media, including Acrylic, Inks and Collage. I am very excited to present my work to you!

Employing many brilliant hues on Canvas, Paper and Wood, I create in abstract and figurative styles, often with humor or poetry, I explore the issues of daily life with humanity and care.

Working in my home studio, I'm inspired by the colorful hues of relationships between friends and lovers, along the labyrinthine paths of their lives.

Early Career

Literally from early childhood, Karen had pencils, crayons and paint, with pap, glue and scissors handy— (when she wasn’t out exploring in her family’s creek—or climbing trees…). Drew her family, horses, and her natural surroundings incessantly.

As a student and young adult, Karen studied Egypt and envisioned those Ancient eras. Later, during High School years, she hit her stride in Arlington, Virginia emerging herself in the Arts atmosphere of Washington, D.C., visiting the National Museums of History and Art weekly, falling in love with painting and sculpture! Finally, her major in Penn State University’s School of Art and Education, continued her longing to experiment on canvas, as well as in the

classrooms from Pre-School through High School, in Los Angeles, Seoul and Taegu, Korea, then, in Seattle and, finally, ending in Los Angeles, where she now resides. Her concentration, at this time, is Abstract Expressionism with Acrylics and Mixed Media.

Work Process

Donning her blue non-latex gloves, Karen spreads out floor (or porch) coverings throws out canvases or paper of all sorts, and a multitude of hues in acrylic paints! 

She employs her hands, her brushes—and even sticks from her yard to apply her brilliant splashes! Then, as the layers solidify, the images of her figures emerge into clearer pictures of a scene in their lives. Often playful or thought provoking, her style is unique and very human.

www.artworkarchive.com/profile/karenkwallenart

@karenkwallenart

XIN XIN Artist statement: My works capture the healing experiences from personal and cultural traumas. I focus on the loss of identity, generational trauma, depression, and anxiety. In this midst of experiencing trauma, we continue to move forward. That is the beauty of human resilience and perseverance.
I want my art to be a peaceful healing space. I hope viewers can engage with it and realize, “I know that feeling and I am not alone!” Together, we are experiencing these special human emotions. In some ways, we are all looking for some comfort to feel ok.

Bio: Xin Xin is a visual artist who explores healing traumatic emotions through watercolor abstraction. Xin was born in Beijing, China, and emigrated to Washington with her family when she was twelve years old. Xin graduated from the University of Washington with B.A. in Communication and Sales. After 2 years of working in corporate, Xin decided to solo travel the world for four years. Art has been a consistent theme in Xin’s life since she was 3 years old. She continued to explore her artistic skills and pursued art as a way of self-healing.

artxinxin.com/

@artxinxin_

SARAH LANE Artist Statement: As an artist, I follow the call to honor and illuminate life through art.  Whether creating portraits, painting landscapes or rendering anatomical-botanicals in mixed media, I offer gratitude for life and the natural world all around me. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio in a family of artists, and I spent most of my childhood either outdoors, building relationships with plants and animals, or indoors, drawing worlds on mat board beneath my father’s large printing press. Always an idealist, my first goal in life was to “save the world.” I went to West Point and studied English and engineering (and drew in the margins of my textbooks).   Through many careers, self-expressions and life changes, I concluded that perhaps the best way to “save the world” was by bringing beauty into it. I live in Bellingham with my husband, children, dog and chickens. We love the PNW, where our yard has become a garden, and the world has become a studio.  I live in vibrant color and seek to share the beauty of this world and all of its creatures, great and small, through art.

(All pieces are protected by Dorland’s wax medium and are water resistant.)

https://www.sarahlaneart.com/

@sarahsartlife

KATIE SHERMAN Artist Statement:

This series was painted as I was processing my father’s long time battle with cancer and his eventual passing. I watched my dad use humor as his strength left him, laughing at the silliness of life. Being faced so directly with death, I obsessed with my own value and contribution on earth. I painted these to memorialize my dad, my previous selves and move forward in my life. I will often use religious themes to highlight the sinner/savior or madonna/whore juxtaposition that many women grapple with. I don't take myself or my work too seriously. These works are meant to be about rebirth, reflection and growth, while throwing a wink and poke at death.

Bio:

I grew up in the woods of Alaska, learning under my printmaker mother as I experimented with mediums and subject matter. As I developed my skill and foothold, I found focus in recreating emotional human moments with acrylic paint, canvas and a sense of humor. Pop art, religious iconography, and gender roles are consistent themes across my work.  Recently I was commissioned to create a label for the upcoming release of a beer for the art and music venue, The Bobby Motel, in Nashville, Tennessee and was a featured artist of the week on the Teaching Artist Podcast. I feel that choosing a patently uncreative, safe career path has allowed the need to paint and create simmer inside me, continuing my growth through art.

@poorguapo

The parts that make the whole. Individual pieces coming together to make something impossible as stand alone entities. Bits, bobbles, dashes and lines, each holding their own while reaching out to one another. A complete composition fulfilled by multiples. Building off of what was placed before, creating layers of collage these artists find the culmination of fragments.

Please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org for all sales inquiries

SUE ELLER

Artist Statement

I am intrigued by objects discarded and forgotten, perhaps because of their untold stories.  A rusty tool can spark an image of a fully formed piece in my mind, then transform as I bring other elements into the mix. I integrate masculine and feminine objects into my work by juxtaposing rusty tools, vintage collectibles, driftwood, costume jewelry, beach glass and textiles into sculptures and I primarily use rusty wire to connect the parts together. Ranging from obliquely political, to whimsical, to forlorn, my work provides a catalyst for interesting conversation and has been described by others as having the ability to combine humor and; whimsy with the macabre. My hope is that through my work, others will be inspired to see the value in the discards of everyday life so that collectively we can begin the process of unraveling our compulsion to throw away what we perceive to be no longer of use.

Sue Eller
”Zika”
Assemblage
$925
11”h x 38”w x 13”
2018

Artist Bio:

Suzanne Eller is an award-winning artist who spent her childhood exploring the Pacific Northwest beaches and forests. Summers with her grandparents in Northern California’s mountainous rural gold country were occupied with collecting, crafting and roaming the great outdoors. While Sue has no formal education in Fine Arts, she has always been creative. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. She then lived for 30 years in the highly urban environment of Los Angeles, working in the television industry as a music editor. Returning to her rural roots has reconnected her with the land and sea and been the impetus for her self-taught artistic expression as an Assemblage artist, combining found objects, organic elements, vintage items, beach glass, textiles and rusty tools into sculptures. Her affinity for antiquing, collecting and crafting are the building blocks for her work. Suzanne resides on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Her work has been included in several online shows throughout the country and has also been exhibited in a number of juried shows on the West Coast, including the Anacortes Art Festival, Edmonds Art Festival, Collective Visions Gallery (CVG) Show, Northwind Arts Center and the Healdsburg Center for the Arts. Additional information can be found at www.suzanneellerart.com.

LISA HASEGAWA

Kaleidomicroscopics were created during the summer of 2020 when I suddenly found myself with more free time than I’ve had in over 20 years. I spent several days a week in my studio working spontaneously, and began typing patterns onto various transparent papers using different typewriters and colored carbon paper in my collection. I created an artist’s book using these papers for collage, and decided to start a series of small works using a similar concept.

I created a template for the image area on a 5.5 x 5 sheet of cotton paper, then randomly sewed overlapping lines in grey thread to create organic shapes. Using a general palette of three colors, I filled in some of the shapes with watercolor and collaged typewritten papers. I completed one before beginning the next, and changed the color palette for each set of five.

This series is a new beginning for me and has continued to inspire new work. My traditional color choices have mostly been subtle grey tones with bits of red or pink. The Kaleidomicroscopics are richly colorful and perfectly express my creative re-awakening found in listening to the materials during meditative play.

Lisa Hasegawa
“Kaleidomicroscopics iv-viii”
Machine stitching, watercolor, typewriter collage
5.5” x 5”
$450

2020

Lisa Hasegawa
“Kaleidomicroscopics x-xiii”
Machine stitching, watercolor, typewriter collage
5.5” x 5”
$450
2020

Artist Bio:

Lisa Hasegawa is a proud print nerd whose work varies between letterpress, artist’s books, and works on paper. These works on paper combine various media such as collage, watercolor, sewing, and typewriter art. She has over 25 typewriters in her growing collection which allow her to type different fonts, sizes, colors, and alphabets.

Lisa lives in Tacoma, Washington with her partner, turtle, step-dog, and cat. She received her MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and teaches letterpress printing at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. Her artist’s books and prints are collected nationally in both public and private collections. Her work has been published in several books.

Lisa Hasegawa
“Kaleidomicroscopics xvi-xx”
Machine stitching, watercolor, typewriter collage
5.5” x 5”
$450
2020

i. and ii. were the main focus of my 2021 residency; I wanted to explore the combination of letterpress printing and typewriter art. Using the residency’s unique collection of wood type, I printed shapes using all or just portions of letters, numbers, and punctuation. Once each run was completed, I printed the wood type onto sekishu, creating two additional editions of letterpress printing to later be used as collage for the final prints. Dashed and dotted lines were typed using various typewriters, creating new spaces for collaged pieces to reside.

Please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org for all sales inquiries and viewing appointments

A time of great uncertainty punctuated by more uncertainty.

Artists plunge into work with new questions, stirred by isolation, a confrontation of our humanness, foggy memories of what came before.

Coming into the second year of vast communal separation, we find subtle connections between a dispersed but synonymous experience. 

May we look for any brightness peeking in, whether it a glimpse or a clear cascade. 

Please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org for all sales inquires.

Lee Sawyer

Artist Statement/Bio:

My art is focused on the oft-contradictory feelings of being perceived by oneself and others.

A desire to be seen, loved, and supported. A fear of being inadequate, seen through, or misconstrued. Our masks, used to hide from perception obscure ourselves and sometimes they become so multi-layered that even self reflection feels like looking through clouded windows. Masks reveal just as much about ourselves and what we think our place in society should be.

My aim with these pieces is to examine a dichotomy of desiring and abhorring perception of the self. Whether it is an act of self reflection or opening oneself up to be viewed by others, there is a fear laced craving in being seen. That fear arises partially from a past year of physical and often emotional isolation from the pandemic. It also may seep from the dissonance experienced in the various layers of masks worn by ourselves to function in different versions of ourself online, at work, with our loved ones, and alone.

Lee is a Bellingham based artist and full time case manager for disabled adults facing housing instability/homelessness.  She is a primarily self taught artist with an insatiable urge to draw the human form. Painting her loved ones and herself helps the artist to better comprehend her feelings surrounding them. Her most recent art pieces capture Lee's anxiety around isolation, self-sabotage, and death- with a disarrayed mixed media of glass, glue, and acrylic. 

Sophia Lindstrom

Artist Bio/Statement:

I'm a female, Neurodivergent artist based in Bellingham, Washington. My work focuses on visual thoughts: that I have thought through-out the day. Thoughts I have from walking home after long days in the Western Washington University art studios too trying to fall asleep at night while my brain will not turn off. These thoughts include questions about human connection, society’s reactions to death, and the natural world we are connected to. I am traditionally more of a painter, thanks to my artistic grandmother who inspired me to paint. Currently, I have been painting and using mix media elements to create various narratives about my thoughts. I’m leaning into making more graphic details to depict my thoughts.

My current work explores ideas of changed memories, especially due to covid. In recent times, the way I have interacted with society during the pandemic has affected the way I have been looking at the past. Since covid has started, I have been looking into the recent past (1970-2000) a lot more than normal. Reflecting on my new worldview has been affecting my views of the past, where we did not social distance or wear masks. The ways we interact as society has totally shifted. Yet, I change them as I think about them over and over, changing the memory. The current work is based on found photos of families and people I do not know. I have drawn on top of photographs, to place my thoughts and my reaction to them in the past with the current world view. Then I take these changed imagines and paint them. I want to react to situations while keeping them anonymous. Looking at these images strikes me in the way life used to be, with having Christmas as family's or the type of gathering, with lack of face covering. To illustrate my thoughts and my reaction to them in the past with the current world view.

@sophial.lindstrom.art

Matthew James Manowski

Artist Statement:

What I’ve realized, in my concerns with art making, is the way spontaneity blooms or emerges when the ingredients and or/conditions are just so. The process never changes; I collect images or sounds and arrange them in a way without a single idea of the entirety or whole. Cameras are helpful, recording are devices essential. And, this method feels to me like the most authentic way to express a feeling or place a signpost along my path. Even in regards to changing mediums, I let the piece emerge from it’s origin, someplace, that we can never know. This last sentence is the most important for artists: a place we cannot know, though it exists.

About the works featured:

The videos are a culmination and group-led effort from the EchoFluxx Ensemble.

Three videos continuously looped:

1.) Resonate World Micro-Charting Tomorrow 6.0

2.) Version Chemistry 01001110

3.) Zu_Zebalon Remix Vol 3.

These pieces were recorded as the pandemic took hold in the early months of 2021 and into the subsequent summer. They feature: instrumentation, images, voice, and movement that was almost entirely executed without predetermination or arrangement. The post-editing was done by Matthew Manowski. The impetus behind these works was the untimely cancelation of the annual EchoFluxx Experimental Media Festival located in Prague, CZ. It was with due diligence and accord to continue the work that may have been featured if not for a global pandemic. Though the festival resumed in 2021. Given unique circumstances innovative and unique works were possible, using ingenuity and technology.

My thanks to: David Means, Mary Garvie, Michael Karman, Georgia Stephens, Jon Spayde, John Franzen, Gil Gragert, Oskar Kubica, Dan Senn and Tom Kanthak for their contributions. These pieces would not have been possible without them.

Bio:

Matthew James Manowski (b. Wisconsin, 1981) is currently a Seattle-based artist working with painting, video, photography, performance, sound and installation. Manowski’s work focuses in on a variety of topics ranging from ecology, to surrealism, history, memory, sociology and the abstract in forms that are just as varied. These forms may include but are not limited to: modular (remote) collaborations, public performances, painting and sound art experiments.

Manowski performed individually, presenting the piece “Object 2” at the 12th Century Castello de Evoramonte in Portugal in 2017. Manowski has also been exhibited internationally, performing the piece “Light Matter While I’m Here” (2019) at Kvaka 22 in Belgrade, Serbia. He has collaborated with the French print maker Gäelle Pellachaud for exhibition in Portugal for the piece “Áureas (Refleçcoes duma Segonha)” (2018). Manowski was also a contributing artist for the Strange Attractor’s Festival (founded by composer David Means) combining performance and installation for the piece “Medicine Plants/Medicine People” (2012) and “All Souls Day” (2012) with Johnny Rodruiguez. He is the founder of the national, Sources of Light Festival featuring experimental composers and has been exhibited in Seattle, Chicago and Denver. In addition, Manowski was a key contributor for the Mozawa piece (directed by Matthew Ozawa) “A Dream Play” (2017) after securing a High Concept Laboratories sponsorship. He was both a performing artist and the Sound Director for the piece.

Manowski currently works with the international EchoFluxx Ensemble as both the Technical Editor and musical collaborator. Recently he remixed both the video and audio for Georgia Stephen’s piece “Zu Zebalon” (2020-2021) with numerous variations. The work of the EchoFluxx Ensemble has been exhibited in Prague for the Echofluxx Festival and in 2019, the EchoFluxx Ensemble premiered the experimental opera, “Perfect”. The piece was directed and performed by David Means (and cohort), libretto written by Michael Karman. In 2021 Manowski will have two video pieces exhibited for the EchoFluxx festival, featuring works that span collaborative sound experiments and the narrative-driven piece(s) Zu_Zebalon 3.

Matthew Manowski earned his B.A. in Sociology and Intermedia Arts from Metropolitan State University (Saint Paul, MN) in 2010 and earned his MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University in 2015. He has since has worked in numerous cultural and art administrative positions including: Development Associate (2014) Henry Art Gallery, Director of Development (2015-2017) Mozawa, Director of Programs (2018) Zeppelin Station. He is the sole organizer behind the Sources of Light Festivals (2015-current), planning for the 4th installment in summer 2022. He has also held numerous art-residencies including: Chicago-based Comfort Station (2017) where he produced the month-long series Abstr/Action and Senses I-V, Belgrade, Serbia and Estremoz, Portugal.

Matthew Manowski has been a hospitality professional for numerous years, working in restaurants and bars across the U.S. serving the public and remaining connected to the food and beverage scene. He is currently the Bar Manager at Herb and Bitter on Capital Hill, Seattle.