October Art in the Library

October is a very exciting month for Art in the Lopez Library! There will be a dynamic collection of different works featured: Teeny, Tiny Houses by G.G. Kellner, a flock of  “Birds” made by Lopezian artists and shepherded by Carolyn Baldwin and other community members, showings from Lopez Library Artist in Residence, Molly Ware from her “Free Your Creativity” Workshops held this summer, and work by Lopez artists from the upcoming “FantasyCon” convention on the Fantasy genre!

As part of First Saturday Art Walk, there will be artists talks and an opening reception at the Lopez Library on Saturday, October 5th at 5 pm.

Here is a bit more about G.G. Kellner’s current exhibit, *Home*, at the Lopez Library, features ten of her “Teeny Tiny Houses,” each exploring various interpretations of what  home can signify. The collection ranges from the whimsical *Searching for a Home for My Heart * to profound pieces such as *Bereavement*, which reflects on the current loss of habitat and species. Each house is crafted from found objects and mixed media and placed atop a stack of books, further exploring its theme.

 

Kellner is an accomplished artist, poet, author, and educator, she studied at the Marchutz School of Art in Aix-en-Provence, France. Her visual work has been featured in various exhibitions, including The Blue Heron Center for the Arts, The Barnworks, and the International Museum of the Horse in Kentucky.

In recent years, Kellner has focused on completing her book, *Hope, A History of the Future*, which imagines a peaceful, just, verdant future world over the horizon of climate collapse. Published by Sparks Press, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, the book features Kellner’s original block prints. Her literary works, including essays, letters, and poems, have appeared in *Utne Magazine*, *Orion Magazine*, *The Loop*, *The Beachcomber*, *The Nature of an Island* and EveryWriter’sResource.com. To learn more about G.G. Kellner or view more of her work,  please visit [gaylekellner.com](http://gaylekellner.com

“The Birds”

The flock of birds the library is displaying this month began as way to encourage islanders and visitors to come and enjoy the beauty and uniqueness of the Fertile Ground community garden. In July, this past summer, gardeners held a one day “birds in the garden” event.  Community members and gardeners created bird sculptures that were placed among the veggies and flowers for the day. As you will see, most are made of paper mache’.  Visitors wandered the garden paths, stopped by for a beverage and a homemade cookie or two, perhaps painted at the plein air station, and, if they chose, could participate in a bird search! So many visitors, ages 3 to 90, clipboard and pencil in hand, had serious fun hunting and checking off these unique bird creations.
 Fertile Ground, the fenced area in the center of Lopez village, is  part of the 3 acres Sally Bill gifted to the Lopez community. Sally intended the property she bequeathed to Lopez to be enjoyed by everyone. It is open for anyone to come and wander the garden pathways (though not to pick without permission).  Today, all the available garden plots in FG are taken, but there is a waiting list for anyone interested in joining this community treasure.

Read on to learn more about artist GG Kellner.

 Lopez Library Artist in Residence, Molly Ware & “Free Your Creativity” Workshops:

Pieces created during the “Free Your Creativity” Workshops hosted this summer by Molly Ware will be on display this month. Here is the workshop description: What might we create if we could let go of trying to make good art and get better at following our creative impulses? In this project I (and we) will play with freeing up our creativity using abstract painting practices to: make new and unexpected marks, forget about the rules, learn to paint emergently instead of having a plan, and practice working with our rational brain’s judgements and fears along the way.

Molly Ware: “Wild Freedom! That’s what your art makes me want to say.” The fellow artist who’s just uttered
these words to me then turns to the instructor, pointing at a mark on my canvas and asks, “Can she do that?”
This is exactly what I want my art to do: Invite us into possibility beyond internalized limits and watch as our mind grasps for something to hang onto.

Falling in love with experimental, abstract painting is the last thing I ever imagined I’d do. But it’s the best modality for allowing my creative impulses and learning to work with my mind’s judgments, expectations, and dependency on rules. Using large canvas and paper often I begin with eyes closed. The mess of scribble I see when opening my eyes helps me practice painting emergently, reclaiming the “yes within” that Audre Lorde speaks of. I hope my work encourages all who feel drawn to greater creative expression to give themselves permission to express what’s true inside, finding the way back to that wild freedom we once knew before society and learning “the right way” had its way with us.

 

FantasyCon Artists: Nesticia Tijerina, Janna Wiscomb and Book Cover Art from writers Dana Brentson.

FantasyCon will be at the Lopez Library on Sat, 10/19 from 12-9 pm.