One's Art is where your Heart is!

Evening view of the Blue Whole Gallery

     With the month of February comes a time to focus on feelings for those close to you that you cherish and love.  This view is also seen in the works of artists who put their heartfelt feelings into their work.  As with two veteran artist members of the Blue Whole Gallery, Carol Janda and David C. Willis. Both of these artists explore art in different mediums in order to express their inner most feelings from the heart.  Their works will be featured at the Gallery throughout the month of February beginning on Friday the 7th.

David C. Willis  

"Whole Lotta Love"

David C. Willis

   Artist, craftsman and furniture maker, David C. Willis  sees art as a part of his everyday life revealing his true loves. He chooses many different mediums to express and explore its many facets.   In painting, his techniques and applications run the gamut from oil, watercolor and gouache, to drawing in charcoal, graphite and colored pencil.  All of these elements allow him to create what his heart feels in life around him from realism to the abstract.  This varied approach  can be seen in his oil painting "Whole Lotta Love" that shows a large heart for the night sky above, the bright sun of day giving life to the earth and the forest which are placed on a quilt of multiple hearts.   

 

"Attitude"

Pair of tennis shoes

   David's subject matter is as varied as his selection of mediums.  This can be see in the realistic rendering of a pair of used tennis shoes or in his portrait of a young man's face titled "Attitude". The latter captures a dramatic image of realism in order to reveal a state of mind.  The viewer is left with choices as to the young man's posture and suggestions shown by his puckered lips. 

"Sea of Love"

"Another Heart - Ever Changing Heart"

  
      
      It should be no surprise that when you venture into the Blue Whole Gallery on First Friday the 7th of February and throughout the month you will experience a variety of subject matter in various mediums by a versatile artist David C. Willis.  His art work features all styles from realism to abstract, revealing the degrees found in a serious or fanciful heart and even heart breaking.  But within them all there is Love.
You can contact David at: (360) 504-2146

Carol Janda

Carol Janda

"Mosaic World"

  Sharing the spotlight as featured artist at the Blue Whole Gallery in February is the talented & also versatile member artist Carol Janda.  After many years as an artist, and teacher she has explored colors and textures in both clay and painting.  Both mediums continue to be a driving force and pleasure in her life and reveal her accumulated ideas and philosophy through art.  Carol's years of experience have allowed her to venture into diverse subject matter that continue to challenge her. This chance to explore the great variety that art offers allows her the openness to see and appreciate differences: her's  is a mosaic world of many pieces. 

Square Dragon Fly Vase

"White Sea Gulls"

Flower Maidens

    The spectrum of differences in Carol's heartfelt art work is quite extensive.  Using clay as a medium of expression she focus on images such as dragon flies, figures, owls, frogs and even a praying Buddha. Using a stoneware Art Nouveau glaze or a Shino Glaze the subjects are graphically outlined and allowed to cover the surfaces of her hand built vessels, figures or tiles. Fired at stoneware low temperatures which help to stabilize the forms allowing her workmanship to remain intact and her creations to reveal her inventiveness.  Its an achievement of complete involvement in clay art.



 

"Hurricane Ridge Huckleberries"

"Winter Road"

     This exploration of the clay world does not stop Carol from also picturing the beautiful & heart touching views of the Olympic Peninsula.  She has ventured wide and far in capturing those views in watercolor.  Whether the scene is discovered at Hurricane Ridge or in her own flower garden she makes every effort to give them sensitivity and boldness that marks her style.  To appreciate her efforts and acknowledge her life's work one only need to visit the Blue Whole Gallery where Carol Janda will be one of two featured Artists on First Friday, February 7th and throughout the month.  It will be a visit you will remember and take to your heart. For more information about Carol visit: Claythingsplus@blogspot.com

Art exploration & techniques

Evening View of the Blue Whole Gallery

 Debbie Cain

Endless Opportunities with a Gourd

"Metallica"

Debbie Cain

      Debbie Cain, member artist of the Blue Whole Gallery has explored various surfaces to express her art. But nine years ago she became captivated and excited with the possibilities of using natural dried gourds as a canvas to work on.  Such a medium offered her the challenge of combining carving and wood burning on a natural surface,  revealing a 3D image. That exploration opened a world of opportunities enhancing and incorporating various natural materials along with images she drew and painted on the surface of gourd.  

 

"King of the Wild"

"Swimming Sea Turtles"

     Debbie uses both carving & wood burning techniques to develop images or subjects on the surfaces of gourds.  Preparation of natural dried gourds is only the first step to be followed by hours of carving & surface smoothing along with painting subjects and images on the gourd itself.  To embellish her images she uses natural materials such as pine needles, shells, turquoise stones, feathers, antler along with in laced threads and fibers.

"Twined Gourd"

     For twenty years Debbie was a stained glass artist yet her gourd art has captured her heart because it offers the freedom of imagination without limits.  This freedom can be seen in the fine example to the right where Debbie weaves threads and fibers through out the gourd. It is a skill that must evaluate the thickness of walls and the strength of the gourd itself.

     Besides carving and embedding natural elements into her gourd art she has ventured into creating 3D carvings in several pieces.  Such endeavors have won her recognition in the Arizona Gourd Society competition that resulted in first place and two ribbons in the Yucca Valley Gourd Festival that lead to First Place for creativity and people's choice. 

"Falling Leaves"

      Debbie Cain's creations can be viewed by the public at the Blue Whole Gallery for as an active member of this cooperative Gallery she holds a unique status.  The only gourd artist whose art work is as different from other artists as can possibly be, the Gallery welcomes it wholeheartedly.  So give yourself an artistic adventure and view her works at the Gallery or contact her at her e-mail address dcain0516@gmail.com







                                                       Joyce Volmut

Ornithology Revealed in Wood

Joyce Volmut

    After working in the public health nursing and non profit work in establishing health access in Kansas, Joyce Volmut began to concentrate her efforts on wood carving of animals.  Her abilities won her exhibitions in several art galleries in Topeka Kansas, SouthWind Gallery, and the Topeka Art Guild Gallery.   Now as a member of the Blue Whole Gallery her wood carvings can be seen on the Olympic Peninsula as well.  

"Western Screech Owl"

   

Tufted Titmouse

Grey Wolf

     Although Joyce has concentrated on bird carving primarily she also carves animals.  Using basswood and other found woods she tries to capture the essence of a bird in a realistic manner.  She pays particular attention to facial expression, feather layout and the general demeanor of the bird or image being carved. This is highlighted by her interest in ornithology, the anatomy, behavior and simple beauty of the bird as it performs its daily functions.

Red Shafted Northern Flicker

          Joyce interest in carving birds and animals centers on creating a striking moment in time that the general public can relate to and incorporating a natural habitat into the finished piece.  Her abilities in carving wood makes each piece visually real, her rendering feathers seem soft to the touch and the detail exhibited is remarkable.  This is particularly seen in her Red Shafted Northern Flicker where a realistic pose is captured and its facial expression, feather layout and setting is exhibited realistically, almost convincing the viewer to ask the question is it alive!

Sandering - oil on Basswood/Maple

   Joyce Volmut has  taught bird carving at the Baker Woodcarving Seminar at Baker University in Baldwin Kansas and at the Soldier Creek Studio in Topeka, Kansas.  Fortunately, she now resides on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State and continues to carve her creations in Sequim exhibiting them at the Blue Whole Gallery as an active member.   Joyce can be reached through her e-mail address: joyce.volmut@gmail.com