Visit with Pam

Quiltmaker Pam Beal has a blog to highlight the quilt work and events.  Don't miss the Small Strip Study class she is teaching at AQS QuiltWeek in Grand Rapids, MI August 12-15, 2015.

www.pambealartquilts.blogspot.com

Madrona Confetti 10 1/2" x 18"

Madrona Confetti was inspired by a trip to Northwest Washington State, Oak Harbor.  The Madrona tree attracted our attention with it's fascinating peeling bark.  It reminded us of the white and yellow birch in our neck of the woods, Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.

Sky High the Raven 18" x 14"

Bark Pocket Maple frame by Wayne Walma

Spring Cleaning and Set Up

 Artistree Gallery Cooperative....cleaned and rearranged.  Ready to greet you!

Behind the scenes look into a working gallery.  Good company makes for pleasant work.

MORE WORK ARRIVING AT ARTISTREE GALLERY

Presenting more new work for Artistree Gallery 2015

WALL BROOCH

SPLASH O' COLOR QUILTS

IN LAND O' LAKES

FRAMED SMALL STUDY

PIECED & APPLIQUED TREES

WALL BROOCH

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!  ARTISTREE GALLERY COOPERATIVE

DOWNTOWN LAND O' LAKES, WI  May 1st--Dec. 31 Mon-Sat. 10am to 4pm, Sun 10am to 2pm
January--March Wed-Sat. 10am to 4pm, April by appointment.

ARTISTREE GALLERY

SOON TO ARRIVE AT ARTISTREE GALLERY: Land O' Lakes, WI -- May 1st.

Small Study Quilts mounted on standing dead red pine log rounds.   These little works 5" x 5" offer a nice organic presentation.

Also coming soon.  More photos of Wayne's Wall Brooch pieces.  Stunning sculpture for your wall.

Delivery to the DAP in Ironwood,MI

"Hey Wayne, if you set the Gnome Chair next to the stool, I'll bet the stool will look like a table."  Ha, ha a gnome banquet in the making.  I'm easily amused!

Look!  A gnome arrives.

Yet another guest.

The Gnome Chair and Yellow & White Birch Stool are being delivered to the Downtown Art Place in Ironwood, MI.  (Gnome and big white dog not included)  Visit the DAP to see other items by Wayne and regional artists.

New Work New Season...continued

March came in like a lamb, not going out exactly like a lion, more like the lamb is dragging it's tail.  We just had a rain, sleet, snow shower move through.  Hence shop time!  Introducing three new pieces in the Wall Brooch series: all approximately 22" x 22"

PENDULAR
Cherry, Birdseye Maple

THE BASS PLAYERS SHIRT
Walnut, Maple

EQUINOX APPROACHING
Birdseye Maple, Cherry, Copper

WHAT'S HE GOT IN MIND WITH THIS?
Corrugated Roofing, Cherry, Walnut Blocks, Copper, Milk Paint

New Work New Season

Wayne has been busy with new artwork.  Here is a preview of what Wayne calls Wall Brooches.

Then he made a trio of benches so he could take a seat and relax.

May 1st. is the start of the 2015 season at Artistree Gallery in Land O' Lakes, WI and Wayne is ready!

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.