Two exhibitions, “Tiny Shiny Guild” and “Seen/UnSeen: an invitation to presence,” are showing until Sept. 21 at the Carbondale Arts’ R2 Gallery in The Launchpad, at 76 S. 4th St.
Tiny Shiny Guild
“Tiny Shiny Guild” is an invitational show curated by Colorado Mountain College (CMC) instructor Natasha Seedorf and boasts 150 pieces from current and former jewelry and metalsmithing students. The exhibition includes works by Seedorf herself, Andréa Bersson, Jill Collins, Jennifer DiCuollo, Kira Diggins, Carol Gault, Liz Heller, RJ Jensen, Mary Lackner, Sue Leppla, Olivia Pevec, Marie Quinn, Stan Ruther, Drew Sorenson, Morgan Walsh, Julie Wille, Georgine Young and Shauna Young.
“Tiny Shiny Guild” was the name of a now-disbanded jewelry-making club formed in 2011 by Seedorf’s students. The club was complete with elected officers and membership dues used to purchase higher-end jewelry-making tools.
Seedorf, who has been teaching at CMC Aspen since 2009, said the exhibition has been long-awaited. “The astonishing quality of the work and creativeness that comes out of the student’s work is something I’ve always wanted to share with the community, and now I get to do that,” she said.
Seedorf lovingly refers to her return students as “repeat offenders.” One of them is Stan Ruther, who hails from Clovis, New Mexico, and discovered that night classes in jewelry-making became more than just a creative outlet; it also became his social world.
“The art world saved me from that dark shadow that hangs over everybody’s shoulder once in a while,” he explained. His journey as an artist began in 2010 while studying under the tutelage of Seedorf, who, he said, supported his “out of the box” thinking.
One standout piece is a small ring designed by Ruther and adorned with three blue topaz stones. What’s remarkable is the absence of a solder joint on the shank of the ring band. Ruther’s unconventional approach involved using a single piece of wire and a slot to secure it without soldering.
Ruther, who has a background in construction, said the jewelry class led him to discover a wealth of tools and materials in the jewelry-making world. Asked about the difference between construction and jewelry-making, he said, “Jewelry-making is a lot easier on the back,” laughing.
Jeweled bug by Morgan Walsh. Courtesy photo
Seen/UnSeen
A creative collaboration of works by Staci Dickerson, Shelly Franklin and Brenda Peters, titled “Seen/UnSeen: an invitation to presence,” challenges gallery-goers to reconsider the world around them and the often-overlooked details in the unseen.
Originally from Canterbury, England, Peters embarked on her first journey to America in 1972, when she and two friends went on a six-week adventure that included hitchhiking from New York City to Seattle, and then journeying to San Francisco. Peters found herself captivated by the excitement and novelty of America.
She initially anticipated returning to England after a year at Eastern Illinois University, but a chance encounter with an artist from Boulder altered her course. She recalled the pivotal moment when the Boulderite told her of Colorado’s allure, with its radiant and abundant sunshine. This compelling endorsement guided her to make Boulder her home, where she would later meet her husband.
Her surroundings have deeply influenced her artistic evolution. Peters recalled the subdued color palette of England’s light and weather having greatly shaped her work, but after three decades of living in Missouri Heights, the landscape acts as an inspiration in her efforts to capture the ever-changing hues of nature.
For example, she said, “I was walking the other day and saw a field of dry grass, kind of yellow and the sun was shining, so it was a bright yellow, but then the clouds passed over and changed all the colors.”
Franklin, meanwhile, introduces us to a centuries-old Japanese form of design known as ikebana that uses flora and greenery to evoke feelings from the observer, the same way a painting or sculpture would.
Originally from Southern California, she is a long-time Colorado resident who lives in Aspen. Her artistic path began when she was in her 20s and studied floral design at City College of San Francisco.
Her training exposed her to a myriad of influences, from traditional Western styles to European techniques, when an opportunity to learn from a Japanese master botanist led to her study ikebana in greater depth.
Ikebana embraces negative space as an integral element, and the works are composed partly of live materials. The impermanence of her creations adds a layer of depth and appreciation for the moment.
Franklin firmly believes in the therapeutic power of connecting with nature through ikebana and that “art has the power to heal.” Her work invites us to slow down and observe the world around us, appreciating the fleeting beauty of live materials.
Dickerson’s medium is a cold wax resin mixed with oil paint, creating a pliable texture that is spread onto a canvas using palette knives, scrapers and brayers. With several applications, she said, “there’s a history of each mark on the canvas,” sometimes under the layers and remaining unseen.”
“We invite people to take a little closer look. As we all know, in the digital world that we live in, there’s a lot of stuff going through our phones, and we haven’t gotten into that habit of observing the unseen. There’s a lot of things that are not immediately noticed — it’s a lost art,” Dickerson said.
Opening reception attendees admiring the works of Dickerson, Franklin and Peters in the “Seen/UnSeen” exhibition. Courtesy photo
The Launchpad’s gallery is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. You can find additional information at the Carbondale Arts’ website, www.carbondalearts.com