Harvest Season Close at Hand !

Evening View of the Blue Whole Gallery

Autumn Light  

Ushers in A Season of Color

    Harvest Season is fast approaching the Olympic Peninsula as the month of September begins bringing a burst of Autumn colors and textures. Celebrating this special time of the year the Blue Whole Gallery will showcase, in its spacious windows, the artwork of Ryoko Toyama and Debbie Cain.  
     A highly recognized local artist, Ryoko's paintings reflect her "active response to the world, past and present" and at the same time revealing her feelings and inner most thoughts.  While noted gourd artist Debbie explores art and its possibilities on a three dimensional level, by painting, carving and embellishing on natural gourds in place of paper or canvas.  Both artist's work will be featured at the Blue Whole Gallery starting on First Friday September 4th, from 5 to 8 pm. and throughout the month.

Ryoko Toyama

     

     Ryoko Toyama's creative inspirations come from the visible objects or concepts, animated or lifeless that make up this world.  From such a view point she develops paintings that often take on their own elements with unexpected changes and endings.  Those startling views can be seen in the following works whose vivid colors and movement reflect the unexpected and give a magical sense to their presence.

"Transparent Mother Earth"

"Moonlight Madness"

     Ryoko Toyama, being a multi-linguist and having a 40 year career in library science, she now focuses on making her artistic skills center stage in her life beside being a volunteer interpreter.  She has said that making art is "pure joy" where she has no inhibitions when she is painting. In her home studio she freely expresses her own feelings about the world and enjoys the precious time to think and feel about life itself.  These elements of freedom can be seen in the selections below.

"Cycled Cherished"

"Remember August"

"Reflection 1" - Acrylic (19x14)

     Working in watercolor, mixed media and acrylics, Ryoko delights in filling her paintings with brilliant colors, bold strokes of movement and fluidity in composition.  At the same time, she is not afraid to experiment with new surfaces such as hand-made paper, fabric, wood and metal to make the composition come alive.  Examples of that exploration are seen below.

"Freshwater Bay 3"

"Our Valley 1-2"  (diptych)

    

   Give yourself an artistic adventure and view the selections of paintings by Ryoko Toyama by visiting the Blue Whole Gallery.  Meet the artist who invites you to share her freedom of expression on First Friday September 4th from 5 to 8 pm.   Also, Ryoko's art work will be featured throughout the month.
 

Debbie Cain

 

     Debbie Cain uses her skills as sculptor and painter to portray images of nature on the simplest of natural forms, the gourd.  Turning her studio into a storage area for all the different shapes that gourds form and then preparing them like a canvas to be transformed into a medium of art.   
     One of mankind's earliest domesticated type of plant, the gourd can be archaeologically traced back as early as 13,000 BC.  Through the ages the simple gourd has served as tools, ornaments, musical instruments, containers and an object for creative expression.  
     Debbie begins by using the smooth, three-dimensional surfaces of gourds to sculpt images, cutting away portions of the gourd, and leaving outlines of shapes and designs.  The following are examples of those skills.

Gourd Sampler

 

Autumn Candle

    Besides carving Debbie also paints, and wood burns designs that are colored with stains or dyes giving her images depth and visual reality.    
    In her studio she considers each piece of work as a challenge to create what best suits the shape and form she is working on.   The results are a kaleidoscope of subjects from simple leaves to detailed images of wolves, birds and even sea animals.  This can be seen in the turtle jar and the "Thunder Drum" below which becomes a sounding board when its wire is pulled and let go.


  

Sea Turtle Jar

A Thunder Drum picturing an Owl

  
  To enhance the overall effect Debbie Cain embellishes them with natural pine needles, gemstones, glass and fiber coiling. She also takes great inspiration from southwest American Indian motifs and subjects as the following examples show. 

Gourd 1

Kochina Doll

Fancypants Doll

    To truly enjoy and admire the creative expressiveness in Debbie Cain's gourd artwork you must view them individually.  That opportunity is offered by visiting the Blue Whole Gallery to meet Debbie along with her creations on First Friday September 4th from 5 to 8 pm. Also, her gourd artwork will be showcased and featured throughout the month.

Both Artists welcome your contact.



Ryoko Toyama:  at 1-360-681-6033
                              Blue Whole Gallery


Debbie Cain: at dcain0516@gmail.com
or Phone: 1-360-801-6570