2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Lynn Swan

"Hang up Your Wrap" Crazy Patch 2009

Lynn Hunter Swan was born in Lowell, Indiana, but came to Iowa to attend Drake University where she met and married an Iowa State senior who swept her off her feet and carried her off to a farm in Dickens (northwest), Iowa.  She eventually earned her B.A. from Buena Vista University in Music Education with a minor in Art, where she first discovered a fascination with weaving and design.  Her formal art training added new dimensions to her life-long love of textiles, fibers, needlework and sewing.

red/rust knitted wrap 2010

After semi-retiring from a 28 year career as an interior designer, for many years owner of Lynn Hunter Swan Interiors in Spencer, she is returning to playing with strands of what ever catches her fancy… primarily weavings of miscellaneous fibers and yarns, collages of paper, etc. and also Crazy Patch quilting. 

tan/copper weaving with "bovine ivory" 2009

Her work is currently shown at Arts on Grand, Spencer, From our Hands, Des Moines, the Octagon, Ames, IA and  in Oct., N.W. Iowa’s Artisan’s Road Trip.

Check back again for more news and artists of the 2011 Artisans Road Trip!

2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Barb McGee

This Artisans Road Trip spot light is on artist Barb McGee!  Barb works from her studio and gallery in Peterson, Iowa.  Barb is going to give us a little insight into her selective process in working with a painting.

"For me starting a new painting means finding the perfect photograph or in some cases many photo's.  For my current painting it was a matter of reduction.  At my opening reception at A Piece Of Work in Spirit Lake I stated that I wanted to paint a white shirt.  Now I am not at all sure why a cowboy would want to wear a white shirt but some of them really do.

Last year my husband Don and I went to a ranch in South Dakota for a branding.  I took over a thousand pictures.  I knew I had at least one guy in a white shirt so I started looking to figure out which photo had the most potential.

These are the best ones I had to pick from.  They are very involved photos that are going to make very involved paintings.  My idea of an ideal painting is simple and in your face.  I like to crop and simplify so it was an easy choice for me.  The next step is to examine my choice and see if I can make it better.  I went through several croppings until I found the one I liked best.

Good

Better

Better, but still too much noise under the horses head

Ah Ha, now that is what I wanted :-)  I have my white shirt & ropes and saddle and even a hat, what more could I want????  It doesn't seem to bother me that my cowboy has no head, what do you think of the headless horseman?  Maybe it has something to do with living on Sleepy Hollow Road :-)"

 Watercolor Painting ©Barb McGee

And here is Barb's finished painting!

Stop by again for more interesting artists from the 2011 Artisans Road Trip!

2011 A.R.T. Artist Perry Polson

"Filled with Emerald Green"

art work © Perry Polson

This 2011 Artisans Road Trip spotlight is on Perry Polson, wood turning artist extraordinaire!  Here Perry brings us into his thought process and musings on recent work. -

"Turning many pieces over the course of the year - every one is a bit different. However my latest project landed me in a pile of maple burls that came from Okoboji and the Emerald Hills Golf course. As I shaved away layer after layer of time from the first large pieces, as they spun on the lathe in front of me, I couldn’t help but ponder whether this tree stood and shared the area with the natives who once lived in the lakes area many many years ago (or may have seen arrows whizzing by it - now to have golf balls flying by)! The mind goes where it will as you remove layer after layer of wood as its spinning inches in front you.  With every pass of the tool,  new patterns and figuring is exposed in the wood and sometimes surprises like wire, nails, rocks, one just never knows.   An arrow head stuck in a crotch that had been engulfed by the tree would have been cool!

Things making full circle as they do - a few of the pieces of that tree have found their way back and are on display in the club house at Emerald Hills till August."

Other works of varying styles, and some newer ones can be seen at Perry's shop - Wild Wood Gallery & Turning Lab, 121 Grand Avenue, Spencer, IA 51301

Stop by and visit!

And check back here again for more artists from the 2011 Artisans Road Trip!

2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Mel Myers

This 2011 A.R.T. spot light is on artist Mel Myers! Mel Myers of Clay County Clay fame has ten summer/fall art shows planned including the upcoming one in Iowa City on June 3-4. He will be showing at the Humbolt Art Show on June 18. July 10 is Reiman Gardens in Ames followed by Marshalltown's Linn Creek Art Show on July 17 and Clear Lake's Art Festival on July 23rd. Mel always enjoys Art in the Park at Okoboji on August 6th.

A new glaze experiment turned out successful — a warm, toasty light brown color shows off his carving and works in anyone's home with wood grained tables/furniture. All of Mel's work is decorative, but highly usable —- safe for food, dishwasher and daily use.

Customers are welcome at his studio on non-show dates. Clay County Clay is located at 717 11th Avenue East in Spencer, Iowa. His studio phone number is appropriately 712-580-CLAY (2529).

Check back again for more great art from the 2011 Artisans Road Trip!

2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Glenda Drennen

Our Artisans Road Trip artist spot light this week is on Le Mars Watercolor artist Glenda Drennen.

The allure of watercolor captivated Glenda Drennen from the moment she first tried it nearly 30 years ago. A former public school music teacher, Glenda's love affair with this medium began when she married and left teaching. She is a seasoned artist who has earned signature memberships at both the state and national level in both the Iowa Watercolor Society and the Watercolor Honor Society, Springfield, MO and is a member of Iowa Artists.

"St. Joe's" - Watercolor

©Glenda Drennen

Earlier in her life as an artist, painting hundreds of commissions - usually house or business portraits - was a mainstay in her career. While she now accepts few orders, a recent commission painting, "Old St. Joes - Midnight Mass," was particularly successful. The painting featured a historic church that will soon be razed, and sold at auction at a Pheasants Forever fund raising event for $10,000.

"Too Many House Plants" - Watercolor

©Glenda Drennen 

Glenda uses the unpredictable nature of watercolor to advantage, and her energetic paintings often include surprises and reflect her sense of humor. She prefers to work from her vivid imagination, using little if any source material. Most paintings are started with little if any idea of a subject. Her work has evolved into a strong personal statement that is increasingly abstracted and subjective. While she honors and practices the time-honored tradition of transparent watercolor, she also embraces the use of other water soluble media and collage to broaden the creative possibilities. Her work is complex, rich with texture, and shows a maturity of creative expression.

"Tattered Veils of Fall" - Watercolor

©Glenda Drennen

 
"Tattered Veils of Fall" was one of two of Glenda's paintings recently published in an online  cyberbook, "Walk Into Abstracts 2 - How did they do that?" by Sue St. John. The book features images and single page descriptions of the working process for the work of 26 artists.

Ms. Drennen will be showing her work at A Piece of Work in downtown Spirit Lake during the Artisan Road Trip. Until then, some of her work and her blog (under "news") can be seen on her website www.glendadrennen.com

Be sure and check back again for more news from the 2011 Artisans Road Trip - thank you for visiting!

2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Bill Lieb

Out Artisans Road Trip artist spot light this week is on Spirit Lake sculptor Bill Lieb. Bill discusses his latest public art project -

"I am in the process of constructing another public sculpture. This one is for installation on 4th Street in downtown Sioux City as part of the "Sculpt Siouxland" program, a juried event designed to promote sculpture and downtown Sioux City.  The finished sculpture will be installed May 14 and will be on display there for one year. This is the fourth year I have had a sculpture accepted into this exciting program.

 

The sculpture is an eight foot tall abstract penguin balancing a spinning beach ball on it's nose.  What is a penguin balancing a spinning beach ball on it's nose doing on 4^{th Street} in Sioux City? Good question! It seems there is a new cloud hanging over our lives today. Do you feel it too? It is the realization that everything on our globe is interconnected to everything else and the whole mess is in a very delicate balance. Change in any one area can force changes in other areas. What happens in the Antarctic or in the Amazon or in Greenland can impact change right here in Iowa. And what we do here can effect what happens there. What is the appropriate behavior for us? How should we relate to our environment in a responsible, sustainable way? These are questions raised by the sculpture titled “Do We Care, We Do Care”.  The represents a metaphor for nature and our response to nature.

On the horizontal surface of one of the penguin's wings are the letters of three words cut through the aluminum. Because of the way the words are positioned and viewed, the message is not discernible.  But as the sunlight passes through the cut-out letters and falls on the sidewalk, the words revealed there appear as a bright sunspot message in the shadow of the sculpture. The message "Do We Care" is arranged in a confusing way and can also be read as "We Do Care". The interpretation is up to the viewer.

Short video of the finished piece!

The beach ball is constructed of curved fins that allow the breeze to spin it around its vertical axis. This movement will compel the passerby to interact with the sculpture and, hopefully, walk away with a more enlightened view of the world.

The images I have included are of a model of the sculpture. Construction of the final sculpture is mostly complete now except for final welding and painting of the beach ball, and grinding a finish on the penguin's body." 

That will be fum to see when it's complete Bill!  

Join us again for another artist spotlight on the 2011 Artisans Road Trip!

2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Dennis Dykema

 "Wind Through the Grass"

oil painting © Dennis Dykema

Out Artisans Road Trip artist spot light this week is on Spirit Lake painter Dennis Dykema.  Dennis studied art at Morningside College and the University of Northern Iowa from which he earned a Master’s Degree.  He taught art in the public schools and for 31 years at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, retiring in 2001 to paint full time.  In 2006 he and his wife moved to Spirit Lake where he established a downtown second-floor studio at 1720 Hill Avenue. 

 "A Stream Runs Through It"

oil painting © Dennis Dykema

“I’ve been fascinated with the landscape for a long time and have come to recognize it as the most prevailing aspect of my environment.  In recent years I have begun to explore the landscape subject as it is affected by changing conditions of light and shadow.  At the time of day when these are most evident the subtle interplay of texture and surface, intersect with compositional structure of the subject to make, in my mind at least, a complete experience."

 "Marshland Song vs.2"

oil painting © Dennis Dykema

"Since my move to Spirit Lake I have discovered that the abundant prairie and wetland area comprising the watershed for the Iowa Great Lakes is a rich subject resource for my recent work. While inspiration for my paintings comes from the landscape I continually explore the interpretation of the subject along a continuum from representation to abstraction. I have found that the most inconsequential scene can be a springboard to several generations of paintings, and it is my objective that the works will ultimately stand independent of the subject origin.” 

 "Wetland Shore"

oil painting © Dennis Dykema

Dykema's works are included in many public, corporate, and private collections; among them, the Sioux City Art Center, MacNeider Museum of Mason City, 3M Company of Minneapolis, Norwest Banks of Sioux City and Des Moines, Principal Financial Group, Pioneer Company of Des Moines, Pella Rollscreen, and the State of Iowa.  His studio welcomes visitors but it would be wise to call 712-299-0957 to be sure.   

Check back again for more artists and activities for the 2011 Artisans Road Trip!