Three-Dimensional World of Stephen Wry's Art

Evening View of the Blue Whole Gallery

Stephen Wry

Blue Meanie

      The visitor who enters the World of Stephen Wry at the Blue Whole Gallery will encounter pieces of pottery that are whimsical in nature.  Each piece allows the viewer a chance to see figures that are bright with color, and have their own distinctive personalities.   The objects are a reflection of Stephens imagination that is free to express itself on its own.  These flights of fantasy become humorus creatures that will appeal to young and old.  They invariably bring a smile to one's face. 

    

Thyroid Dreams

Sun King

  To bring such clay creations into existence Stephen uses a variety of techniques which include throwing, hand building and coiling.  To finalize his figures he uses gas & electrical firings but also Raku, Soda and Pit firings or a combination of them in order to have each piece reach its potential. Such skills he has mastered due to attending California State University in Fullerton, where he majored in ceramics under Jerry Rothman.  He also minored in Art History and graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts. 

Burning Embers

     Yet Stephen does not limit himself to just figures of his own imagination.  He also creates vases that reflect the qualities of specific types of firings or glazes that exhibit textures and colors on distinctive  forms.   This can be seen in the piece to the right that shows the action of fire touching the surface of this aluminum saggared fired clay vase.  

    The collector of art should have both the serious and the whimsical within a collection.  Both have their place and allow the viewer the chance to see them.  Such choices can be made if you visit the Blue Whole Gallery in Sequim to see these creations of Stephen Wry and his three-dimensional World.

Three-Dimensional Art on View in August

Evening View of the Blue Whole Gallery

Wood Workers are the  

Featured Artists at the Blue Whole Gallery

     The Blue Whole Gallery during the month of August will focus on two of its premier Wood Workers Carl Baker and Christian Speidel.  Their artwork will be showcased in the Gallery windows, apart of "Art Walk in Sequim", beginning on August 2, the First Friday of the month.  This is your chance to view their three-dimensional works of Art that are created with the use of lathe turning and sculpting.  The results by both Artists reveals the inner beauty that wood contains.  Distinctive grains, colorful patterns, shapes, natural movement and texture come alive in their work.  Each artist has their own individual look and subject matter and the viewer will be rewarded by both.  This is especially true if you venture into the Blue Whole Gallery during the whole month of August to see their creations.  To give you some perspective on these artists, here is a sample of their work and their philosophy in approaching the medium they work in.
                                           

Carl Baker

Natural Edge Maple Burl Bowl (Dia. 15.5")

                     Carl Baker developed his love for working in wood at an early age.  As with most young junior high students of the 1950's he was required to take shop classes and this is where he developed a love for turning wood as a means of artistic expression.  After doing Military Service in the Navy and entering the work force as a clinical psychologist, his hobby of turning wood was put on hold until his retirement.  Settling in the community of Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State he began to direct his attention to studying form and technique with several of the Worlds best known turners.  His love for wood turning took hold and became his passion.

Butterflies & Flowers Pierced Wood Bowl

   Such knowledge along with traveling to most corners of the World where Art is encourage his desire to seek out his own artistic expression has resulted in his wood turning creations.   Here are samples of his creativity.  The Maple Burl bowl pictured above reveals the woods natural colors, intricate patterns, and shape that is captured by the natural edge of the burl.  Such detail is kept by Carl to emphasize natures intricate patterns.  Then Carl goes a step further by turning wood into a bowl that is so evenly thin and then piercing an edge pattern around it.  To add to the delicate nature and lightness of this piece he air brushed butterflies and flowers on to the exterior surface. 

Candle holders

Bottle Stoppers

  Another of Carl's fantastic creations are Bottle Stoppers. This is where the artist sees wood and its potential to become a utilitarian object.  By turning and sculpting the wood the artist is able to find expression and at the same time explore the wood's inner soul to release its potential. It becomes a work of art that is to be enjoyed by the touch and the eye. Also, Carl created wooden candle holders, as pictured to the right, using such distinctive woods as purple heart and ebony. These pieces and others can be enjoy by you when you visit the Blue Whole Gallery during the month of August.  

Redwood Bowl (Dia. 8.75")

   Christian Speidel, a native of rural Wisconsin, has focused on working with woods, and exotic timber for many years.  He sees the unseen as each piece of wood with its special features begin to take form by his ability to release the image through lathe turning, sculpting and mosaic techniques.  He visualizes the inherent beauty that the heart of the wood contains and hopes to release it so that others can respect the art within.

"Octopus" - Maple (Height 11.75" - length 19.5")

"Diving Frog Table"

  This skill by Christian is especially seen in his rendering of "Octopus" which took him two years to make from a maple stump.  This is no mean task.  It is an example of true commitment to his desire to reveal the character that a piece of wood can dictate to one open enough to see.  Such an inspiration is also viewed in his Diving Frog Table which used the texture of wood and its grain to tell a story and yet reveal wood's natural shapes.  This is everything for Christian for wood must share itself with the artist.  He has achieved that goal in these creative sculptures that the Blue Whole Gallery is proud to exhibit so that the viewing public can appreciate & admire it.

Fish Bowl - Spalted Maple

   Through sculpture Christian is able to explore and express the natural warmth and grain of wood in a unique manner.  Such is the case with this "Fish Bowl" that pictures a salmon vividly centered within the bowl. The carved fish is encased by the woods contours of shape and form and becomes apart of nature's living canvas.

Christian Speidel's "Flying Fish Airlines"

    Another great work that Christian Speidel has just completed for the First Friday of August 2 showing at the Blue Whole Gallery, is his creation of "Flying Fish Airlines" . This work of art shows two Sturgeons below with a Tarpon with wings on top and its propellers are salmons.  The wood is Douglas Fir and the stain is Batik silk stain
 
    It is up to you to take advantage of such works of Art by the woodworkers Carl Baker and Christian Speidel.  Take a flying leap of faith and visit the Blue Whole Gallery in the month of August to view such efforts that these artists want to share with you and allow them the recognition they deserve.

Lavender Farm Festival in Sequim

Evening View of the Blue Whole Gallery

                                                      

    Lavender Farm Festival from July 19 - 21

Fields of Lavender in Sequim

      The month of July is upon us and the traditional community of Sequim will again become the Lavender Capital of North America.  The area will burst with fields of fragrant lavender marking its 17th year.  Lavender farms of the area will host classes, tours, crafts, food and music that will feature this herb with all its attractions both in color, variety and culinary attributions.  Sequim's "Carrie Blake Park" will be host to over 100 Lavender Arts and Crafts booths that feature all the aspects of the culinary and flowering aspects of lavender.

Basket full of Lavender

  Among the Sequim Lavender Farmers that will take part in the Festival are the following:  PURPLE HAZE LAVENDER FARM (purplehazelavender.com) with 12 acres of Organic Lavender Fields with a gift shop filled with their own line of culinary and body care products.  They ask you to join them during the Lavender Festival Weekend  for unique craft vendors, yummy Northwest cuisine and their famous Lavender Margarita!; JARDIN DU SOLEIL LAVENDER FARM (jardindusoleil.com) owned by the Schiefen family invites you to enjoy their first lavender blooms, with a gift shop filled with the aroma of lavender, handcrafted gifts during the weekend Festival from July 19-21 music, food, and activities for the whole family are offered; OLYMPIC LAVENDER FARM (olympiclavender.com) is a certified organic farm with a panoramic view of the Olympic Mountains.  Their lavender studio is offering culinary and body products along with some good food.  This will be the chance to say "Goodbye" to the farmers Mary Borland-Liebsch and Buce Liebsch who after 16 years are retiring. VICTOR'S LAVENDER FARM & NURSERY (victorslavender.com) are Sequim's premier wholesale lavender growers, having propagated over one million plants in dozens of varieties.  During the Festival they will offer a complete line of lavender products along with great Mexican food, and workshops on how to plant and propagate lavender.  WASHINGTON LAVENDER FARM (walavender.com) is an oceanfront lavender farm that Dan and Janet Abbot invite you to stroll its lavender fields and treat yourself to panoramic ocean and mountain views along with  music and a farm store featuring lavender products. LOST MOUNTAIN LAVENDER FARM (lostmountainlavender.com) is owned by Monica and Ray Veihl who will welcome you to visit their specialty farm and experience over 100 cultivars of lavender!  Their Cottage Gift Ship and beautiful orchard offers the visitor the smell and beauty that only lavender can give.  During the Festival and Fair in July great music, vendors and delicious food and wine can be enjoyed all weekend! 

        

     The Blue Whole Gallery will pull its resources of artistic views to show case this special local event and feature the colors, the intensity and vibrant offerings that this herb of Lavender can offer the viewer.  The paintings selected here reveal the area of Sequim and the scenery and landscapes that offer the viewer beauty and color. Here are some examples of the art work by the Artists of the Gallery that will be available throughout the month of July and during the Lavender Farm Festival from July 19-21. The water color picture to the right shows mother and child among plants of lavender with bird bath fountain in a garden setting.  The painting is by Carol Janda who is a signature member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. Many of her paintings reflect the beautiful scenes of the Olympic National Park and Peninsula.

"Lavender Fever"

"Window to the Past"

      Another fine water colorist  is Reggie Consani whose style reflects her preference for painting the action of human figures and local scenes.  Her works are in private and public collections.  Her skills and style originate and came out of the Art Institute of Seattle that placed emphasis on drawing skills and original styles.  Here are two fine examples of her work one showing two children with straw hats holding hands fulls of lavender as they walk among the fields of rows of lavender.  The next picture shows a view from a window of a "Loafing Shed" that was located on 5th Ave on the Old Olympic Highway in Sequim unfortunately this historic building no longer exist but is captured in the expert hands of Reggie for others to see again.  Reggie is leaving the Gallery to be with her daughter in Walla Walla, Washington but her work will remain in the Gallery, a lucky chance for those art connoisseurs to acquire works of unparalleled quality that capture vivid scenes that tell a story or reveal the past as it once was on the Olympic Peninsula.

"Lighthouse"

     The painting to the right is a view of the Spit Lighthouse on the Olympic Peninsula painted by David C. Willis.  David is an Artist, Craftsman and Furniture maker who has attended Pennsylvania Academy of Fire Arts in Philadelphia PA.  He has been painting; building furniture and studying restoration techniques for over 30 yrs.  This rendering is only a glimpse of what he had captured on the Olympic Peninsula and if you visit the Blue Whole Gallery you will encounter more of his work that reveals the quality & vividness of this fantastic area.
     
              

"View from the Cutting Garden"

"Arbor with Clematis"

The work of Lynne Armstrong reflects her skills that she has achieved over the years due to her inner calling to Art and her studies at Cornell University and Stanford resulting in a Masters Degree in Fine Art.  Working in mediums of watercolor, oil, acrylic and clay.  Her pieces are in many private collections in the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.  Her art work is currently represented at the Gallery in Sequim and reflects her efforts to achieve and capture fluid views with bright colors.


  

"Alone in the Garden"

"Johnson Creek in Autumn"

The following artist is Ryoko Toyama.  A watermedia artist whose work shows an active response to the World around her, past and present.  Working in water based media and acrylics she is able to capture color and texture that directs the viewer into her world that she sees and hopes to share.  This world that Ryoko pictures reflects many views of the Olympic Peninsula and gives us and the visitor another aspect of life around us.

     

"Holly's"

    Another Blue Whole Gallery artist is Deborah Sterk.  She has done freelance commercial artwork and her earliest lesson in painting and drawing came from Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting.  Deborah has exhibited in the Midwest and her work is  in numerous private collections.  Recently she received the People's choice at the Small Expression IV exhibit presented by the Northwest Art Center. Using oil based paints Deborah is able to bring out the luster and bright colors that nature allows us to enjoy but at the same time texture is also seen which gives the impression of realism and form.

"Pink Blossoms"

     Pam Walker, a consummate artist who took art and photography at Columbia College while raising her two sons.  Traveling throughout the United States and in Asia and Central Asia her work consists of photos from around the world.  Her art work places emphasis on nature and color captured by both film with digital aspects as well as the use of pastels.  All of these techniques help to render their own distinctive feel and texture.  The selections that are presented to the visitor at the Gallery allow the viewer to enter a world magnified by details but also alive with color.

     I hope this small array of artistic works created by some of the Artists at the Blue Whole Gallery in Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula in the State of Washington will give you an idea of their efforts to render the viewer insights into the surrounding elements that make up the World around us.  It is an invitation to you all to visit the Gallery and enjoy the creative spirit of others.  Wishing you all the best and a Happy Fourth of July!!!