Big and Blue at PSB; Morrison, Boespflug show at Victor’s Ciao; Russian master leads workshop
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Kate Balog
For the past year and a half, Paige Jackson has worked at Pearl Street Bagels and evaluated each art show to come and go.
“It annoyed me as a worker how messy the art would look,” she said. “The art itself was good, but the pictures would become crooked on the bulletin boards and then the bulletin board frames would show. I thought, ‘When I get my show, I’m just going to cover it all. I’m going to change the way it feels in here.’”
Squeezing in time in her studio between her jobs at PSB, Nikai and The Boardroom, she pulled it off and has covered those darn boards. The effect is stark and bold: blue and white.
Jackson graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington State and studied printmaking, bookmaking, video and animation. Evergreen’s unstructured, anti-grades environment encouraged her to experiment and take risks. Bookmaking taught her “not to be intimidated by a lot of space,” which helped her with her current project.
Her show, titled “Blue Ink,” consists of two large format panels and one mural. She first drew whimsical images in acrylic blue ink, similar to Japanese sumi ink, then she scanned these images into Photoshop, manipulated them, and printed them on huge sheets of watercolor paper.
“Panel 1” is a work in progress. It was designed to be interactive, but she recognizes that patrons may be hesitant to pull the “Still Loading” tab. She plans to add to her installation and will make it more interactive as the weeks go on. The photo of her and her cat, C.C., was taken during her “Photobooth Study” at the Virginian.
I mistakenly called her submarine images spaceships. She pondered this for a second then conceded that some of them do actually fly and they are all definitely from the future.
“I tend to draws flat things because I’m not very technically skilled in drawing,” she said in a matter-of- fact, unapologetic manner. Jackson believes art should be creative, free and fun.
Jackson’s inspiration for her swimming cats in “Panel 2” is, of course, C.C.
“Swimming cats is such a free image that uses a different kind of expressive brush stroke. I get so tired of making controlled lines.”
The mural was an exercise in pushing size limits and her comfort boundaries in Photoshop. It’s actually one 17.5-by-4-foot Photoshop document that was so large she couldn’t save it on her computer at Center for the Arts. She posted a note on the machine that said “Don’t close this file” and kept it running for four days.
She scanned in her raw ink drawings and worked them in Photoshop, then brought the finished documents to Colorworld Printing in the Smith’s Plaza, scanned them in at 300 dots per inch, and printed the finished product – a full-color, two-piece document that took up two rolls of paper.
Colorworld had never printed anything so large. In fact, the entire mural was a community collaboration and experiment. Everyone who got involved had to problem-solve and discover their own capabilities or limits, Jackson said.
Check out her work at Pearl Street Bagels and look out for the guestbook that includes blue markers. She hopes people will see her show and say, “Oh yeah! I can draw too,” and add their own version of swimming cats and flying submarines.
•Ciao Gallery in Victor, Idaho, hosts an artists’ reception 6-9 p.m. on Friday to introduce the exhibition of featured artists, photographer Betsy Morrison and painter Emily Boespflug. Drinks and food will be provided along with live music by bluegrass duo Rice N’ Towles.
Professional photographer Betsy Morrison owns Teton Virtual Tours and Teton Valley Photography. The 20-year photography veteran is a graduate of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. Her nature-inspired photos have appeared in Sierra Club books, Audubon calendars, Kodak, Sequoia National Park, Family Circle and the NY Time Magazine Group.
Emily Boespflug lives in Jackson where she teaches art classes for the Art Association at the Center for the Arts. After receiving her BFA from the University of Wyoming, Emily continued with an internship in the School of Nursing to pursue art therapy. She painted murals in homes in Florida for three years and mastered her plein air painting techniques. Today, she continues to work in oil, watercolor and pastel.
A review will follow next week. Contact Ciao Gallery at (208) 787-4841 or visit www.CiaoGallery.com for more information on the reception.
•Simon Kogan, a master painter from Russia, will teach a five-day workshop, “Painting the Language of Color,” at Sulli Studios, next to Idalia Bakery in Driggs, Idaho, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. starting Monday and continuing through Nov. 2. The workshop is provided by Kelly Sullivan in association with the Teton Arts Council.
Kogan earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Moscow. His work is featured in major galleries throughout the U.S. and Europe. Kogan works with oils, varnishes, inks, water colors, tempera and mixed media.
Kogan will teach the “traditional way of painting,” and his class will explore basic materials: colored powder-pigment, adhesive binder, wood, canvas, etc.
The class is for beginner and advanced students and promises to be intensely creative. To register, call Sullivan at (208) 456-5600 or the Teton Arts Council at (208) 354-4278. To view Kogan’s work, visit
www.SimonKogan.com.
•Calling all photographers: The Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Committee has announced its “Scenic Byway Photo Search.”
The committee is looking for photos that represent particular locations, wildlife and recreational opportunities along the byway, which begins in Dubois, travels west to Moran Junction, heads south through Grand Teton National Park and Jackson to Hoback Junction, and then turns southeast to end in Pinedale.
The 163 mile byway takes about four hours to drive, crosses the Continental Divide, and provides public access to the recreation lands of two National Forests, Grand Teton National Park, and the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole.
Along the way are “Portal Sites,” interpretive panels designed to give travelers helpful information about the byway. Photo entries must have been taken in Wyoming and reflect the specific area of an interpretive panel. Panel are located at the Dubois Gateway (Scenic Byway Info Plaza), the Blackrock Ranger District, the Jackson Hole/Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center, the Hoback Junction Info Plaza, the Daniel Junction Information Plaza, and the Pinedale Visitor Center.
Photographers can enter images in three categories: scenic, wildlife, and recreational activities (which should include people). The committee is looking for photos that reflect what can be seen in that particular location.
Winning photographers will receive credit but no payment. The deadline for entering is 5 p.m. on Nov. 16. Contact Sandra Bockman (sandra@jacksonholechamber.com) at the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce for more information on formatting and submission rules.
Photo by KATE BALOGSpaceships or submarines? Paige Jackson wants you to decide. Her “Blue Ink” show hangs at Pearl Street Bagels through mid-November.PERMALINK:
Big and Blue at PSB; Morrison, Boespflug show at Victor’s Ciao; Russian master leads workshop | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat
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