Black & White Photography, Watercolor, Raku

Blue Heron Gallery Opening:
Friday, March 5
6 to 9 pm

Three artistic views

Three accomplished Northwest artists grace the Gallery during March––Suze Woolf, watercolor, Dave and Boni Deal, raku and Matt Vogt, black and white photography.

Seattle native Suze Woolf takes her award-winning watercolor painting to unexpected heights. Her realistic landscapes, primarily industrial sites, create extraordinary visages from ordinary, sometimes obtrusive commercial infrastructures. After painting at Seattle’s Gasworks Park, and decades of studying public access points in and around Seattle, Woolf discovered her fascination for replicating the large, simple forms with watercolor on gesso. Dramatic, especially at night, the paintings capture water reflections of ‘unintentional monuments’ along the Duwamish that could as easily be a scene from a sci fi film. “The forms themselves are compelling… extraordinary examples of complex engineering,” she says. She also painted a series of burned-over forests as guest artist for an art program associated with the Department of Ecology.

Woolf’s background in the high tech graphics world instilled a strong sense of composition and intense work ethic; both are integral to her daily painting regimen.
Dave and Boni Deal have collaborated both professionally and as a couple for more than 35 years. Supporting themselves and their three children solely as clay artists from their rustic home in the Cascades foothills (with no electricity or running water) has offered challenges and afforded a lifestyle that neither would trade. “We have stubborn perseverance,” acknowledges Boni.

Known for large forms and intricate surface design, their love of nature is evident, from stately heron urns to leaf-imprint pots and fern-embellished tiles. Boni says, “Raku has an ancient look and feel to it. We love bringing nature’s beauty into people’s homes. We’re not high production and take a lot of time with each piece. We’ve been blessed but it takes steadfast hard work.” To obtain subtle colorations, copper and iridescence, Dave pulls pieces from the kiln at the highest temperature (1850 F) and places them directly in the reduction barrel, into a nest of materials such as wood curls, fir boughs and straw.

Matt Vogt is drawn to the surreal nature of black and white photography. Vogt’s thoughtful imagery creates atmosphere, haunting and mysterious. He likes shooting in the snow and fog and often captures abandoned items against a stark landscape. He strives to create emotionally charged photographs from life’s quiet moments. Using primarily a 4x5 camera, and sometimes digital, he prints on archival paper.

Attending Western Washington University, Vogt enlisted the mentorship of Gary Meader, well-known Bellingham photographer. In August 2006, Vogt was chosen to attend an expense-paid photography workshop taught by Rod Dresser and Huntington Witherill. Vogt credits his resulting relationship with Witherill as the impetus for his current approach to printing. Also a registered nurse, Vogt recently accepted a job at an Arizona Navajo Reservation Hospital. He looks forward to helping in an underserved area while exploring a whole new topography for his other career, photography.

Hear live music at the opening with Jack Barbash, piano, Steve Meyer, upright bass and Geoff Johns, percussion.

2010 BLUE HERON GALLERY SHOWS

January Penny Grist (Mixed Media Sculpture)
Larry Muir (Jewelry)
February Rob Snyder (Glass)
March Matt Vogt (Photography)
Suze Woolf (Watercolor)
Dave and Boni Deal (Raku Pottery)
April Tapestry Artists of Puget Sound (Tapestry)
May Kira Bacon (Fiber)
Erin Schulz (Classical Realism Painting)
June Quartermaster Press (Printmaking)
July Shelley Hanna (Photography)
Tove Pisarelle (Oil Painting)
Deby Harvey (Mixed Media Metal)
August Don Cole (Acrylic Painting)
Francie Allen (Wire Sculpture)
September Art Auction
October Tile Guild (Group Show)
November Victoria Adams (Oil and Wax Paintings)
December Masters in Miniature (Group Show)