Friday, July 29, 2022

“Outside the Box”

 

“Outside the Box” with Nora Graf, Josh Hunt, and Marjorie Claus

Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery presents a three-member show featuring new work by artists who “step outside” in various ways. Highlighting and complementing diversity in style and media, this show features contemporary work for contemporary tastes.

Josh Hunt, most noted for his raw, bold abstract drawings and paintings pairs up with Marjorie Claus’ new colorful abstract batiks and Nora Graf’s gourds “growing larger!” The combination of these works create a bold statement for contemporary styling. "Outside the Box" colors, textures, designs and concepts go beyond the ordinary.

Marjorie’s large colorful batiks are a throwback to the psychedelic ‘70’s when she studied batik in Singapore and Indonesia for 7 years. Nora steps aside working on her normally smaller gourds in favor of carving, painting and staining the largest gourds she could find. Josh’s work describes his own individuality by their sheer rawness of design and color. Combined, these artists present a collection of work that is bold, colorful and “Outside the Box!”

About her work, Nora Graf states, “This show is an opportunity to try new things that I don’t ordinarily do. I’m working with very large gourds or multiples of smaller gourds. New designs always take a long time to create, and with a large gourd you have a lot more space to cover. It’s a daunting task when you are used to smaller pieces.”

Marjorie Claus recalls, “Image-making and color-mixing are the elements of art that initially attracted me to art as a career. I graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking. Thus began my love of process. Color was my next favorite aspect of art, and when I learned about batik as a colorful process of applying wax as a resist to dyes on fabric, I was hooked! I’ve since added collage to my arsenal of processes, as I enjoy the flexibility and unconventional approach involved in mixing and matching art elements and colors from various sources, both digitally and traditionally.”

Josh Hunt is a self-taught painter, illustrator, and designer. His work ranges from realistic line drawings to abstract painting, often combining the two. His work incorporates themes of loss, anxiety, redemption, philosophy, the esoteric, and pop culture.  Josh states, “Painting is a symbolic relationship. I don’t create things as much as I uncover them. The images I produce are parts of me, hidden, in waiting, and when I find them I also find a part of myself, and so the image, and I, become more alive. I share these images because it’s the most comfortable way for me to share myself.”

Join the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery on two “First Saturday Art walks” in Jerome: August 6 and September 3 from 5-8 pm for a “Meet and Greet the Artists." Snacks and refreshments are provided. The show runs from July 27 to September 27. The Co-op is Open Daily 10 am – 6 pm except on Tuesdays when it is closed. Ground level, 502 Main Street, Jerome.  928-639-4276    www.jeromecoop.com   info@jeromecoop.com Like us on Facebook and Instagram!  










 

 

 

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

“Peace, Love and Pottery”

 

Sarah Harms will be the Featured Artist at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery in June and July and is donating 20% of all sales during the show to the World Central Kitchen, an organization currently feeding hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians since the Russian invasion on February 24. “Peace, Love and Pottery” opens with a reception for the artist during Jerome’s First Saturday “Roam in Jerome” Art Walk on June 4 from 5-8 pm. The show will run from June 2 to July 26 at the Jerome Coop Gallery in Jerome.

Working as a metalsmith for the past forty or so years, Sarah added pottery to her collection of mediums she works in about five years ago. “I had taken both ceramics and jewelry design in high school. My fantasy back then was to have a store called The Jewelry Pot, making both pottery and jewelry. The store never manifested, but the jewelry and pottery absolutely did!”

Last summer, Sarah amped up her pottery production after a long-time friend commissioned her to make a set of eight pasta type bowls. “I made about eighty-five before I was satisfied with a set that was relatively uniform and stacked nicely. As a production artist, I definitely learn by repetition, so when I got an order for four bowls earlier this year, I decided I would attempt to throw five hundred bowls for my upcoming show. I think I’m close to four hundred at this point, and have shifted to candles for the time being, to add a little diversity to the show.”

“The past five years have left me with quite a few failed attempts at creating a decent looking piece of work, so during the June and July events (June 4 and July 2), I will have a collection of ‘Take or Break’ pots. For $10, One can either smash a pot into a garbage can or take it home. 100% of the proceeds from the ‘Take or Break’ will be donated to The Verde Valley Food Project, a local organization feeding folks here in our magical valley.”

In addition to the pottery, Sarah will have jewelry and metal wall art in her show. Most of the work will be peace, love and flower themed. “I really want this show to be about promoting peace and love, and good vibes all around. There is so much conflict on our planet today, a paradigm shift is in order here, and I’m hoping to create a bit of that through my work.”

“Peace, Love and Pottery” runs from June 2 – July 26 at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery at 502 Main Street in Jerome. The First Saturday “Roam in Jerome” art walk reception for Sarah is June 4 from 5-8 pm. The Second “Roam in Jerome” art walk is July 2 from 5-8 pm. For more information about the organizations Sarah is donating to, please visit: WCK.org and verdevalleyfoodproject.org.

The Jerome Coop is open daily 10 am – 6pm except Tuesdays.

www.jeromecoop.com       info@jeromecoop.com       928-639-4276