Holiday Newsletter 2011
Early Holiday Greetings,
This is our fifth annual newsletter, and it is early this year in order to help promote a special event we are planning for next month. On Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16th, we are hosting our daughter Laura’s first painting exhibition since receiving her MFA last spring from the Baltimore Institute College of Art. We will be combining that show with one of our infrequent open studio tours, to allow local folks to preview two new large sculptures that will be shipping out the following week.
Exhibition of New Paintings by Laura Hudson
Open Studio and Preview of New Sculpture by Georgia Gerber
Saturday, October 15: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday, October 16: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Georgia Gerber Studio
6790 Heggenes Road
Clinton, WA 98236
360-341-6382
gerber@whidbey.com
www.georgiagerber.com
Laura Hudson
Since graduating, Laura has settled into one of six artist’s flats on the fourth floor of an old industrial building in downtown Baltimore. It is a unique situation, because the artists who reside on the floor share not only a communal kitchen and bathroom, but also operate a large, professional art space known as “Gallery Four” (http://galleryfour.net/).
After initial reservations, Laura has grown fond of Baltimore and its accessible, exciting, and a bit quirky art community. It also provides easy access to other major art centers, and she travels regularly to New York. She was recently chosen for a month-long solo exhibition to be held in 2012 at the Arlington Arts Center (www.arlingtonartscenter.org).
In her two-year graduate program, Laura explored many avenues of painting, and in her second year began focusing on the portrayal of social interactions. Her graduate Exhibition consisted of a room full of large canvases filled with near life size figures – with an effect for the viewer of becoming involved in the scene.
Artist’s Statement
Social gatherings such as potlucks and art openings create opportunities for friends and strangers to engage in moments of intimate exchange and occasional improvised play. As an artist I cultivate participatory events in an effort to draw people together, experiment with the framework of interaction, and later extract intriguing scenes that I can represent through figurative paintings of distilled color, space and line. In my effort to obtain compelling images of personal interactions, I organize partially scripted art parties during which I provide a playful theme for interaction and then film the outcome. A strict area of engagement is set by either a preexisting space or a temporary architectural structure that provides a context for what will later become the painting composition. From the video stills, I create installations of colorful, life-sized paintings that represent gathering while framing a new space for interaction. Whether alone or with company, the viewer becomes a part of the painted space.
MFA Exhibition / 2011
New Work
For her show here in October, Laura will be taking over the show space in Georgia’s Studio Gallery, presenting a show of individual paintings that both stand on their own and as a cohesive installation.
Laura’s Baltimore loft
Georgia’s Part
For her contribution to the weekend showing, Georgia will be featuring two major sculptures that will be on their way the following week to the Uline Corporation in Wisconsin. Many of Georgia’s works already grace the Uline campus, but these two recent commissions will be the largest pieces in their collection. Georgia has for years wanted to do an enlarged version of one of her popular Dancing Rabbit Series, and has also thought that the whimsical mice of “Boy’s Night Out” would make wonderful larger than life sculpture. With the aid of some interesting computer technology, we have been able to create these two enlargements and then mold them so that they will be available in limited editions.
Hip Hop - Shown in Clay / 2011 / 53" High / Edition of 9
Boy's Night Out - Shown in Clay / 2011 / 38"High / Edition of 15
Other New Work of Georgia’s
Young Hawk - Shown in Clay
22" High x 12"W x 14"D / Edition of 15
Another new piece, which may be in bronze in time for the show, is “Arctic Mother with Cub”, a continuation of Georgia’s treatment of the soft lines and emotional pull of these beautiful and sculptural animals. They seem to provide the perfect subject to highlight Georgia’s essential style and sensibilities.
Arctic Mother with Cub / Shown in Wax
15”H x 20”W x 14”D / Edition of 15
Three Otters / 2011 / Northwest Maritime Center
Port Townsend, Washington
3' High x 6'4" Wide
The Northwest Maritime Center is a beautiful new facility on the shore of Puget Sound, with a mission to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life. It houses and supports the Wooden Boat Foundation and sponsors many programs for boaters of all ages.
The center is located next to the Port Townsend Harbor, an area well known for its abundance of playful (and trouble making) river otters. We saw a number of them swimming by as we installed the sculpture. The smaller maquette created as the model for this project was molded and made into an edition, shown below. More photos and information available on the main website.
Tufted Puffins / 2010 / Cannon Beach, Oregon
“Tufted Puffins” was purchased by the City of Cannon Beach and permanently installed as a part of their
Public Art Program called “Sculpture without Walls”. We have fallen in love with the town and have had many seaside getaways since partnering with the NW by NW Gallery there.
One Step Ahead / 2010 / University Place, WA
Pictured in its near completion in our last letter, “One Step Ahead” was installed last October. It was commissioned to honor the memory of Terry Reim, a businessman and civic leader of the young city. He helped incorporate the city and started the “Duck Parade”, which is held every spring to celebrate the end of the rainy season. The piece was sponsored by the city and local group called U.P. for art.
Untitled as yet, this over-sized baseball mitt with its cavorting rabbits (shown in clay in the top two photos and partially completed bronze in the bottom one) will soon be installed at the new Sports Fields complex in Woodinville, Washington. Alongside the mitt are two more rabbits playing on a life-size soccer ball. Commissioned by the Woodinville Garden Club with support from the City.
Rachel's 25th Year
Rachel, the Pike Place Market mascot, had an exciting 25th year. In the spring, she was struck by a runaway taxi and knocked from her moorings. We brought her back to the foundry and were able to repair her, all the while trying to maintain as much of her aged patina as possible. She was re-installed in time for her 25th birthday. In celebration, Georgia was asked to ring-in the start of a Market day – a grand tradition she was honored to carry out.
Studio Tours, Outreach Programs, and a Wedding
We hosted a large number of Studio Tours this year, with groups ranging from just a few couples to busloads of folks from the Seattle Art Museum Guild. We also ventured across the water to present programs about Georgia, her art, and the process of creating it. We don’t advertise our tours, it’s all word of mouth – so if you know of any group that may be interested in visiting, please feel free to inquire. Folks always seem to enjoy the education about bronze casting, and seeing firsthand how sculpture displays in Georgia’s beautiful gardens.
One of our largest events of the year was the wedding of some close friends. A beautiful summer day, a great live band, and Randy officiating the ceremony made for a memorable afternoon.
Wrap Up
We may send around another short note before the end of the year, but if not, we wish you a happy holiday season. We hope to see you at our show in October. Please feel free to pass along this letter to anyone you think may be interested.
Sincerely,
Georgia and Randy
Virginia Keck and Georgia Celebrate the end of a long day of molding
Randy performing with his group, "The Rural Characters"