Friends of the Porkies Folk School Wreath Making Class

Well, what a great time at the Porkies folk School and our wreath making class.  Seven students went home with twig wreaths.

The heating system at the folk school is this barrel stove and it is more than adequate.

The raw material, birch twigs and new this year, Red Osier for wreath making.  Some chose either or, and some mixed the two as seen in these wreaths in process.

The foot operated crimp machine did the hard work of bending the wire frame.  Some of the finished product..................................

One of our wreaths at Artistree Gallery in Land O' Lakes, WI, an artist cooperative where we are member/owners.

Porcupine Mountain Folk School

Wayne and I will be teaching at the Porcupine Mountain Folk School on Sat. December 13, 2014

Students will assemble an All Season Birch Twig Wreath for interior or exterior display.

Class fee $20,  materials $23  with choice of a 12" 14" or 16" wreath frame

Registration deadline is December 1st. and class size is limited

For more information or to register visit   porkies.org

photo left is Birch twig wreath

Top center right, you can just see the Robin's nest
This wreath is for the birds!

Small Study with Big Design

Small Study 6" x 6"
cotton, silk, wild apple wood

Our latest small study....Ta Da!  The inside scoop, it is challenging to work this small.  Challenging in the fine motor skills department and challenging to make something this small have impact in the design department.  The wild apple wood came from our property.  Wayne was the lumberjack (all the Monty Python fans will begin humming now) he produced the lumber from the tree, the frame from the lumber.  Pam designed and stitched the quilt.  This little framed quilt will be available at Artistree Gallery Cooperative.  While we are talking small, our small business is a cooperative. Customers enjoy meeting the artists when they come to the gallery, and they are meeting the business owners.  The artists are the business owners.  Artistree Gallery Cooperative will hold the Holiday Open House on Saturday November 29, which happens to be Small Business Saturday.  Shop small, and support a small business in your community.  

Minimal, and then some.........

Cherry and Red Osier Twig
19" x 21"  

detail 

Red Osier Dogwood grows in abundance near our home.  Bringing the outdoors indoor can be irresistible.  Simplicity in design works well with what Mother Nature provides.

"Bodacious Green" White Pine Table by Wayne Walma
"Backward Glance" Acrylic on Canvas by Marilyn Annin

The Annin /Walma ensemble is available at Artistree Gallery.  Join Artistree on Saturday 11-29-2014 in welcoming the Holiday Season!

Now Open-Reflections & Material Images

It rained really hard all the way down to Three Lakes. Within three miles of Three Lakes, the sky brightened, the pavement was dry, and suddenly, it was our lucky day. Art center staff Jim, Ann and Carol helped us to unload all the while keeping an eye on the sky. All worked diligently for the next three hours.  With Carol's artistic guidance, Reflections and Material Images began to take shape on the walls and pedestals of the Three Lakes Center for the Arts.  Pam attended to the paperwork details, while Wayne was the hold-up, as in holding it up for placement.  Jim and Ann offered expert opinion throughout. The reward was ice cream at Lickety Splits.

The Three Lakes arts community offered a warm welcome. We are impressed with their energy and activities.  We are looking forward to the article in the Villas County News Review written by Gay Scheffen.    

Reflections and Material Images will be on display through September TLCFA.org
See if there is a show or activity you can attend and don't forget the ice cream next door.

Reflections and Material Images: September 2014

We were excited at the invitation to be the featured artists for September at the Three Lakes Center for the Arts, in Three Lakes Wisconsin. Yes, we would be happy to offer a Two Person Show.

Reflections and Material Images will display a sampling of the range of our work.
     *mirrors in classic and sophisticated rustic style and sculpture
     *collaborative framed quilts
     *Pam's "Formation" style design
     *improvisational surprises

In thinking about the show, our thoughts centered on the fiber material we are drawn to-wood and cloth. Non-representative images formed with these materials can activate the viewer's imagination, and sense of appreciation of handmade original objects.  This in the context of the current inundation with mass production.  We trust you will be pleased with what you see.

ART CRITIC

  

A Working Lunch

Wonderful to have friends who are willing to get into the spirit of things over lunch.  A discussion about computers segued into upcoming show in Three Lakes, WI and creating an appropriate and catchy name to describe the focus. Or allow the focus to remain a mystery and build excitement and wonder about what will be shown. No decisions were made, except to have an adventure visiting a historic Irish cemetery.

Irish Hollow Cemetery, Rockland, MI

Photo by Dennis Murphy
Light on a Dulcimer Sunday 80" x 43"
Flame Yellow Birch, Cotton with Hand Quilting, Copper

Bodacious Green at Artistree Gallery

Just delivered to Artistree Gallery...the Bodacious Green White Pine slab table by Wayne Walma. This table is in Wayne's sophisticated rustic style in which he works with the whole tree.  Note that the lines of this table reflect the natural characteristics of the tree.  The White Pine was harvested from our 40 acre woods.  White Pine is a soft wood that, with use, achieves a golden honey color patina. The knots are susceptible to bleeding (think sap) when exposed to higher than normal temperature. Therefore, this table is not destined for strong, direct sunlight.  Do appreciate the patina and richness as the wood ages and gathers nicks and bruises that come with human interaction.

"Bodacious Green" 52" L x 21"W x 29" H
White Pine and Milk Paint
The Fourth of July Farm by Pam, & a jaunty Sunflower art quilt by Toni Bergeon graces the tabletop.  The center of the sunflower is beaded by hand!

We were amused to receive our copy of American Craft, the publication of The American Craft Council, with "Bodacious Bespoke Bikes" inside the issue.  Looks like Wayne is not the only one working in a bodacious manner.
americancraftmag.org

What to do on a "Fall" day in July

Fifty three degrees this morning, a rainy drizzly day-good day to saw into a cherry burl.  It's always just like Christmas, you never know what you get until it's open.  This one looks like a keeper.  Now a year wait while it air dries and then it may tell me what it wants to be.   Lots of potential in this one.

Also a good day to glue up a frame that has been waiting for a long time.  My attempt to design a miter joint other than the traditional straight diagonal corners.  The experiment hopefully will give the frame some pizzazz and will provide a template for some liberated quilting.  Watch this space.

  

From the Workshop

Wayne presents another new piece to be offered at Artistree Gallery Cooperative.  Notice the interesting corner joints of the frame.  Guided by the grain of the wood, free form cuts with the saw makes interesting lines in this piece.  Milk paint adds a splash of color.

Abstract Image #71
22" W x 18 1/2" H
Cherry

  

New Art with a Bang

Three new pieces debuting on the Fourth of July at Artistree Gallery in Land O' Lakes, WI.  See if you notice any themes.  

Fourth of July Farm 10" H x 9 1/2" W
A nice Wisconsin Farm.  Cotton & Walnut 

Knee High (by the 4th of July) 10 1/2" H x 9 1/2" W
How sweet it is!  Cotton & Tiger Maple

Fireworks Overhead 20 1/2" H x 11 1/2" W
Bang, Ohhhhh. Cotton & Hand Quilting

Pam will be working at Artistree on the Fourth.  See these new pieces and the beautiful work of our colleagues at the gallery.  Have a safe and happy holiday!

Downtown Art Place Fundraiser

We have a "Foot in the Door" at the Downtown Art Place in Ironwood, MI.  The mission:  complete an artwork on a 12" x 12" wood panel without altering the size or shape; any media can be used.

Downtown Uptown, Pam J. Beal
Cotton,  Handquilting, Ink, Milkpaint

Abstract Image # 111, Wayne Walma
Cherry, Milkpaint

The purpose:  Silent Auction fundraiser for the Downtown Art Place, a non-profit organization promoting and sustaining the creation and appreciation of the visual arts in the greater Ironwood area. Visit the  DAP to enjoy and bid on this artwork.  Meet and Greet with the artists on Saturday July, 19th, 5 pm-7pm.   www.downtownartplace.com  Facebook:  Downtown Art Place

Just in from the Jury

Wander over to www.pambealartquilts.blogspot.com to see the outcome of the AQS entry, Playing It, a quilt by Pam J. Beal.

Playing It, in process on the design wall

Great Lakes Trading Co., 2014

First day on the job.  This is the third summer working at the Great Lakes Trading Company in     Silver City, MI.  Time for review of the register and business procedures. Catching up with Jackie and the girls.  Jackie McMullen is the owner and the girls are a new puppy and an old friend.  Excited to walk around and appreciate the new artwork and collections all waiting for our summer visitors.  All the while knowing Lake Superior and it's icebergs is just across the street.  

Porcupine Mountains

Mahogany Mirror 21" x 21 1/2", by Wayne Walma
The mahogany was repurposed from the remodel of the Houghton National Bank.  A nice piece of history.

detail of the unuusual joint

These welded ravens caught my eye

 

Two of our Artistree Gallery colleagues have joined us this season.  Look for original watercolors by Wendy Powalisz and Karen Lenhart at the Great Lakes Trading Company.

Spalted Trio

Moss 19" x 19" x 2"
(sold)

Flight In 24" x 16" x 2"

Copper Drift 14" x 14"
(sold)

We felt a touch of Spring today.  Friends are busy at their sugar bush.  Celebrating Maple syrup and Spring in our neck of the Northwoods, we share this trio featuring Spalted Maple.

Preview...........

Upper left of "Playing It"  37" x  48" by Pam J. Beal

Hand quilted in a floor frame.  More on that later.

"Playing It" is entered into the American Quilter's Society Quilt Week, Grand Rapids, MI August 20-23, 2014.  Solids stage free form hand quilting, play with line, and improvisation on familiar forms.  "Playing It" is orchestrated for harmonious disarray.  Now it is up to the jury!  

Curly Maple Frame

One of Wayne's recently finished frames, 27" x 41 x 1" overall, opening size of 18.75" x 30".  Wood is highly figured Curly Maple with linseed oil and beeswax giving it a smooth hand rubbed satin finish.  The frame is now handed off to Pam.  Already she has some ideas for a piece that will compliment the frame. Wayne sees the frame's Japanese influence calling for a subdued moon with wind blown long grasses.  What will Pam see?  Watch this space....

American Basswood Hollow Log

A unique one of a kind American Basswood Hollow Log is now displayed in our home gallery.  Basswood is known as a bee tree for it's very early season nectar source, and for it's commonly found hollow structure utilized by wild bees for hives.  The four shelves are raw edged White Pine.  The attached base is Hemlock. All locally sourced wood.  Dimensions:  6' 2 1/2" high X 34" wide X 18" deep; base is 40" wide X 21 1/2" deep.  Email Wayne for more information.

Making the Cut, Invitational Exhibit: Bonifas Arts Center, Escanaba, MI

Selected works by Wayne Walma, Mass City, MI; Marjorie Tucker, Boston, MA; Kristin Shields, Bend, OR; Judy Rantz, Northport, MI; Gwen Marston, Beaver Island, MI; Karen Duling, Laingsburg, MI; Cindy Bowker, Bozeman, MT; Pam Beal, Mass City, MI.