Sweetwater Creek Farm Studio Instructors
Sandra Whiting has been a professional artist for over 25 years, working as a painter, printmaker and collage artist. She received her BA in art with an Emphasis in Printmaking from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her work is currently shown in galleries on the West Coast and held in various private collections. Creating handmade books was a natural transition from printmaking and collage. Sandra works with layered images, patterns, colors and textures to create her books. She doesn't just make blank books. She carries her imagery inside the covers as well. She incorporates monotypes, handmade paper, gel medium transfers, and drawings into her books. Her bookbinding knowledge includes the coptic and kettle stitch, the long stitch and the Japanese stab stitch. Sandra and Susanne Newbold collaborate on many book projects, trying out new ideas and stretching the boundaries of bookmaking.
www.sandramwhiting.com
www.sandramwhiting.com
Susanne Newbold Using gourds, leather dyes, acrylic paint, fiber and found objects, she creates unique, organic vessels. Susanne utilizes woodcarving, woodturning, pyrography and weaving techniques into her gourds. Her work is shown in galleries nationally and internationally. As a former chef and culinary instructor, many of the unique designs and embellishments that are inherent in food presentation translate well into this art form. Susanne recently expanded her artistry to handmade books. The textural and organics aspect of working with gourds and food has now found a new outlet with books. She creates three dimensional sculptural gourd books, and is an expert at the Coptic and Kettle bookbinding stitches.
www.susannenewbold.com
www.susannenewbold.com
Dona creates vessels and lamps made from gourds. She uses both two- and three-dimensional media to express her unique artwork based on simplified lines and shapes, repetitive patterns and careful use of negative space. To express the essence of natural subjects that interest me, I use simplified graphic shapes, negative space and texture. In each piece, whether it is 2- or 3-dimensions, I use strong lines and repetitive patterns to create a sense of movement in the composition.
Dona’s work can be found in galleries and homes throughout the country. In addition, Dona exhibits at select galleries and art fairs. For more information on where to see and buy her work go to www.rainshadow-arts.com
Dona’s work can be found in galleries and homes throughout the country. In addition, Dona exhibits at select galleries and art fairs. For more information on where to see and buy her work go to www.rainshadow-arts.com
Award-winning fiber artist Marilyn Moore, explores color and form through her one-of-a-kind wire basket vessels which has led to creating fiber related wire jewelry. Teaming with intrinsic details, each piece reveals another level of exploration.
As a basket artist and teacher, she has shown her work internationally, nationally, and regionally, and has taught at national conventions and conferences.
Her work can be seen in Fiberarts Design Books, three, four, five, and seven, as well as Baskets A Book for Makers and Collectors by Billie Ruth Sudduth, Baskets Tradition and Beyond by Leir, Peters and Wallace, Textile Techniques in Metal by Arline Fisch, Fabulous Woven Jewelry by Mary Hettmansperger, and Contemporary Wicker Basketry by Flo Hoppe and 500 Baskets A Celebration of the Basketmakers Art, published by Lark.
Her work can be found in public and private collections around the country and she has won awards for her work at every level. She holds a BFA with an emphasis in fiber from the University of Washington.
Living in Seattle Washington, she continues to explore the vessel form and has expanded her work into woven jewelry forms. Working with color and color blending are important aspects to her recent work.
As a basket artist and teacher, she has shown her work internationally, nationally, and regionally, and has taught at national conventions and conferences.
Her work can be seen in Fiberarts Design Books, three, four, five, and seven, as well as Baskets A Book for Makers and Collectors by Billie Ruth Sudduth, Baskets Tradition and Beyond by Leir, Peters and Wallace, Textile Techniques in Metal by Arline Fisch, Fabulous Woven Jewelry by Mary Hettmansperger, and Contemporary Wicker Basketry by Flo Hoppe and 500 Baskets A Celebration of the Basketmakers Art, published by Lark.
Her work can be found in public and private collections around the country and she has won awards for her work at every level. She holds a BFA with an emphasis in fiber from the University of Washington.
Living in Seattle Washington, she continues to explore the vessel form and has expanded her work into woven jewelry forms. Working with color and color blending are important aspects to her recent work.
Meredith Macleod has been working as a professional artist for more than 20 years. After receiving her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art she relocated to the Northwest where she found and fell in love with Whidbey Island. Using many printmaking techniques, she has developed a process that is unique to her work. Meredith creates hand carved stamps to build a rich saturation of color and shapes.
Using nontoxic paints and hand-carved rubber stamps she builds layers of shapes and color, simulating a textile or wallpaper mono-print. Her goal is to evoke an interest in something old that can recast itself as new. Please visit her website to learn more about her work.
www.meredithmacleodartist.com
Using nontoxic paints and hand-carved rubber stamps she builds layers of shapes and color, simulating a textile or wallpaper mono-print. Her goal is to evoke an interest in something old that can recast itself as new. Please visit her website to learn more about her work.
www.meredithmacleodartist.com
Mare Blocker
I am a storyteller. The book form has a rich legacy as a vessel for the sacred and the profane, archived, honored and destroyed throughout history. My love of text, image, ink, paper, cloth, thread and touch has drawn me to this form. I honor the preciousness of the one of a kind and the democratization of the edition. I am enchanted with the relative ease of multiples, the ephemeral quality of printed matter and the potential for viewer participation and interaction with the storyteller that the book invites.
For the artist, work is an event of confession, an act of avowal. The knives used in carving, the bones used to fold the paper, the lead type or relief block pressing into the paper’s surface, the needle and thread piercing and joining, the lines drawn, and the hand, the valuable hand, these are the things I believe in. These are the tools I use to follow my curiosity and tell my stories.
I have been drawn to repurposing printed papers from the recycle bins in printmaking studios. I see these papers as a type of palimpsest, they provide a base layer to print upon, as well as a trace of a previous experience to build on. It is through this process of examination, editing and archiving that the storyteller reveals themselves, discovers themselves and transforms, one story, one image, one book at a time.
Short Biography
Mare Blocker has been making limited edition and unique books since 1979 and established the MKimberly Press in 1984. Her work can be found in over 80 public collections and museums including the Museum of Women in the Arts, The Victoria and Albert, The University of Washington Special Collections, Albertson Library, Boise State University, The National Library of Australia, Queensland College of Art and The Library of Congress. Mare is the President of the Book Arts Guild, a regional organization for book artists and enthusiasts, and a board member of the College Book Arts Association.
www.mkimberlypress.com/
I am a storyteller. The book form has a rich legacy as a vessel for the sacred and the profane, archived, honored and destroyed throughout history. My love of text, image, ink, paper, cloth, thread and touch has drawn me to this form. I honor the preciousness of the one of a kind and the democratization of the edition. I am enchanted with the relative ease of multiples, the ephemeral quality of printed matter and the potential for viewer participation and interaction with the storyteller that the book invites.
For the artist, work is an event of confession, an act of avowal. The knives used in carving, the bones used to fold the paper, the lead type or relief block pressing into the paper’s surface, the needle and thread piercing and joining, the lines drawn, and the hand, the valuable hand, these are the things I believe in. These are the tools I use to follow my curiosity and tell my stories.
I have been drawn to repurposing printed papers from the recycle bins in printmaking studios. I see these papers as a type of palimpsest, they provide a base layer to print upon, as well as a trace of a previous experience to build on. It is through this process of examination, editing and archiving that the storyteller reveals themselves, discovers themselves and transforms, one story, one image, one book at a time.
Short Biography
Mare Blocker has been making limited edition and unique books since 1979 and established the MKimberly Press in 1984. Her work can be found in over 80 public collections and museums including the Museum of Women in the Arts, The Victoria and Albert, The University of Washington Special Collections, Albertson Library, Boise State University, The National Library of Australia, Queensland College of Art and The Library of Congress. Mare is the President of the Book Arts Guild, a regional organization for book artists and enthusiasts, and a board member of the College Book Arts Association.
www.mkimberlypress.com/
Polly Adams Sutton
A long-time resident of Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, Sutton typically creates her basketry art from the fibers of native Washington species: cedar bark gathered in freshly-logged forests and sweet-grass collected from Pacific Ocean tide-flats. Sutton has become well-known for using the flexibility of the cedar and sweet-grass fibers to create asymmetrical art ranging from free-form baskets to objective works in the shape of tea-pots.
Her work has been widely exhibited. Twelve times, the prestigious international Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA) Fair has invited Sutton to display her art at their annual Chicago and New York City
festivals. In addition, galleries and museums in 22 states across the U.S. -- including the Jane Sauer Gallery (Santa Fe, NM) and the Cavin-Morris Gallery (New York, NY) have displayed her work.
Shemer Art Museum (Phoenix, AZ) has twice recognized Sutton’s work with their Judge’s Award, and a photo of one of her free-form baskets graces the cover of the glossy“coffee-table” book, 500 Baskets: A Celebration of the Basketmaker's Art (Lark Books, 2006).
The Boston (MA) Museum of Fine Arts and the Kamm Teapot Collection both have added her work to their collections, as have local art museums in Racine, WI, and Edmonds, WA.
Sutton earned a Master of Arts degree in art education from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in art from Eureka College, Eureka IL.
For further information on Polly Adams Sutton and her art visit www.pollyadamssutton.com.
A long-time resident of Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, Sutton typically creates her basketry art from the fibers of native Washington species: cedar bark gathered in freshly-logged forests and sweet-grass collected from Pacific Ocean tide-flats. Sutton has become well-known for using the flexibility of the cedar and sweet-grass fibers to create asymmetrical art ranging from free-form baskets to objective works in the shape of tea-pots.
Her work has been widely exhibited. Twelve times, the prestigious international Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA) Fair has invited Sutton to display her art at their annual Chicago and New York City
festivals. In addition, galleries and museums in 22 states across the U.S. -- including the Jane Sauer Gallery (Santa Fe, NM) and the Cavin-Morris Gallery (New York, NY) have displayed her work.
Shemer Art Museum (Phoenix, AZ) has twice recognized Sutton’s work with their Judge’s Award, and a photo of one of her free-form baskets graces the cover of the glossy“coffee-table” book, 500 Baskets: A Celebration of the Basketmaker's Art (Lark Books, 2006).
The Boston (MA) Museum of Fine Arts and the Kamm Teapot Collection both have added her work to their collections, as have local art museums in Racine, WI, and Edmonds, WA.
Sutton earned a Master of Arts degree in art education from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in art from Eureka College, Eureka IL.
For further information on Polly Adams Sutton and her art visit www.pollyadamssutton.com.
Francy Blumhagen has been painting professionally for over 30 years with numerous galleries in the Pacific Northwest exhibiting her original paintings and collages on a regular basis. She works in a variety of media, including block printing, woodcut, collage, and wax resist. (Refer to the galleries link on her web page for a list of the galleries.)
Francy received her B.F.A. in painting from the University of Washington in 1982 and studied extensively with Jacob Lawrence, Michael Spafford and Norman Lundin. She also briefly attended Mount Hood Community College, Central Washington University, and the Memphis Art Academy. www.salmonberrystudio.com/
Francy received her B.F.A. in painting from the University of Washington in 1982 and studied extensively with Jacob Lawrence, Michael Spafford and Norman Lundin. She also briefly attended Mount Hood Community College, Central Washington University, and the Memphis Art Academy. www.salmonberrystudio.com/
Deborah Mersky divides her time between the Texas Hill Country and Lake Union, Seattle. As a printmaker her work portrays an uneasy moment of time in the natural world. She has designed public art projects that connect people to their local, past and present world of nature. Mersky’s projects can be seen in Seattle, San Jose, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and Austin.
Fired enamel piece Deborah made for a school in Redmond.
