Artist: Barb Bishop-Sand

Piece Description: The piece, “Owl Insight” was inspired by a great horned owl that I observed while hiking up M. St. I stood for twenty minutes watching this magnificent creature while it was resting in the early morning. I was able to sketch the owl, the only movement he exhibited was rotating his head at least 90 degrees in both directions. Later I delved into indigenous tales of the power of owls and what characterized them: patience, determination, wisdom, and a connection with the afterlife. Those are qualities I tried to interpret. 

Artist Statement: Thanks to the support, technical ability and artistic gifts of teachers in printmaking, I have been able to experience a wealth of knowledge and skills. Working At Kirkland Arts Center for the past five years has allowed me to exhibit my work in several art shows in Washington. I primarily work in intaglio, and relief printmaking is a new skill set for me. It is wonderful to carve into wood or linoleum block to achieve texture and line.

Medium: Relief Print

Measurements: 6" x 9 1/2"

Artist: Charles (C.) Bigger

Artist Statement: For many years now, I have been altering and texturing the surfaces of my thrown vessels. I find the act of manipulating the surface texture to be a far more satisfying process than applying a glaze to a smooth surface. There are so many different ways to texture the surface of the work that the possibilities seem almost endless. After texturing, the glazing process takes on a whole new way of relating to the surface of what has been made. From a simple overlay of glaze on top of the texture to multiple applications of stains, and or glazes, with wiping and scraping between application, intricate surfaces can be created. I hope you enjoy the work as much as I did when I made it.

Medium: Ceramic

Measurements: 8" diameter x 9.5" tall

Artist: Emma SanCartier

Artist Statement: Emma's work focuses on fantastical representations of the natural world, and how we look for meaning and connection through stories in myth and folklore. Often playing with opposites, Emma’s work can be both dark and playful, beautiful and unusual. Despite consisting mainly of strange flora and fauna, there is still a deeply human element to her work that resonates with people on an emotional level.

Medium: Watercolor and pen and ink on paper

Measurements: 9" x 12"

Artist: Eva Funderburgh

Piece Description: Arboreal was a temporary public art installation in 2020, funded by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. As part of the "Arts Interruption" project, Eva Funderburgh created nineteen site-specific sculptures. These wire mesh beasts were placed along the Licton Springs and North Seattle Greenways, creating a 2 mile walking loop. The beasts, hidden in trees and perched on utility poles, helped to connect the community and encourage outdoor movement. This particular beast, the birdwatching beast, was posed leaning out to eyeball a local bird feeder. This sculpture is constructed of weather-resistant plastic coated wire mesh, with reclaimed plastic strapping accents. It would be well suited for outdoor installation.

Artist Statement: My work deals with the overlap of humanity and the natural world. I use my simple, emotive animal forms to examine human motives and emotions. Storytelling and the idea of myth plays a very large role in my work, but equally so the notion of biology. Humans (and their cities) follow the same biological imperatives, the same drive for growth, as flowers, insects, or cancers. I try to examine this notion without pronouncing a moral judgment on it. Hence, my beasts may sometimes carry entire civilizations on their back, though the question of symbiote or parasite is left open. I also use biology in my work to examine some of the more base aspects of human nature as my creations hunt, eat, and squabble over prizes. Like the natural world, we can all be beautiful and absurd at the same time.

Medium: Wire mesh and recycled plastic

Measurements: 36" x 30" x 24"

Artist: Evelyn Hirata

Piece Description: “Into the Woods” reduction linocut print was inspired by my walk on New Year’s Day 2022. It had snowed the day before, there was a blue sky and the snow on the trunks reminded me of the sugar on frosted cinnamon rolls. What could be better, a beautiful day and the thought of delicious treats!

Artist Statement: Evelyn Hirata lives and works in Redmond. Across her career, which spans over three decades, Evelyn has worked with the vocabulary of graphic design, painting, photography, and printmaking. On Zoom, she has discovered a new community of artists to work with, and cherishes her roots at Kirkland Arts Center. She has recently gone back to a class there to make art with people who live nearby and whom she has known for many years.

Medium: Reduction Lincoult Print

Measurements: 9" x 11"

Artist: Hanako O'Leary

Piece Description: A red demon figure is flanked by five green men. They are walking through a purple cloud. The demon caries a bat while each man around the demon figure carries a paper fan with an image of the COVID 19 virus painted on it. They are walking through an abstracted yellow tori gate.

Artist Statement: This work was created in April of 2020. The image is based off the tradition of Setsubun, a holiday practiced in Japan to celebrate the incoming new year. The head of each household or village dresses as an, ”Oni,” or demon. Members of the household or village throw soy beans at the demon yelling, “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!” Meaning, “Demons get out, fortune come in!”

Medium: Painting: casein paint on paper

Measurements: 11" x 8.5"

Artist: Jen Mills

Piece Description: "Gift" captures the moment where one form interacts with another; one gives, one receives. We do this everyday - with ourselves and with each other.

Artist Statement: Jen Mills draws inspiration from the objects we use everyday - bowls, vases and vessels - exploring the connections we all have with the mundane. Forms repeat, patterns emerge, and conversations build through slight variations in form. en has an MFA in Ceramics from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and a BA in Religion and Art History from the University of Puget Sound. She is a recipient of an Artist Support Grant from Jack Straw Productions, and has been a visiting artist and lecturer across the country. She has taught at Kirkland Arts Center, Pottery Northwest, Seward Park Clay Studio, Rain City Clay and South Seattle College.

Medium: Ceramic and wood

Measurements: 21" x 12" x 10"

Artist: Joanne Bohannon

Piece Description: Why wouldn’t I want to build a Frenchie head? They are such goofy looking pooches.

Artist Statement: I have combined my 30 years of graphic design/art direction experience with ceramics and painting /illustration. I have been working in ceramics for many years and find it to be an endless source of excitement, creativity and frustration. All of my artwork has a personal narrative driving it. Like a personal tragedy, a garden mishap or a cat too full of mischief and just about anything that strikes my fancy. My work has been shown at Silverwood Gallery on Vashon Island, Kirkland Art Center, Columbia City Gallery and Smith & Vallee. My formal art education includes: course work at Solano College, and studying at Cornish College of Fine Arts with an emphasis on illustration and design.

Medium: Ceramic sculpture

Measurements: 8" x 6" x 5"

Artist: Joanne Shellan

Piece Description: Often I try to lean my representational work towards abstraction. I did a whole series of paintings in which each piece started off with an abstract underpainting in acrylic and then figures painted on top in either acrylic or oils. It was challenging trying to make it all fit together and led to some unusual visuals. I chose to highlight a couple walking their dog as a subject because dog ownership is our society's new form of socialization as well as giving people a shared purpose and I find that interesting.

Artist Statement: Joanne Shellan's paintings have won dozens of awards and been featured in many solo as well as group shows. Shellan's work was featured in the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, the Museum of History and Industry, Evergreen Hospital, Strom Jewish Community Center and is represented by many fine art galleries including: DragonFire Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR; Art on the Boulevard, Vancouver, WA; Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Winslow, WA; Gallery West, Bellingham, WA.

Medium: Oil/Acrylic on 12" x 20" Panel

Measurements: 20" x 12" x 1"

Artist: Megan Prince

Piece Description: Relationships compel interdisciplinary abstract artist Megan Prince to create; relationships between people, to belongings, and to the earth. We are all tied together by relationship. Her work points to the similarities we all share and the intrinsic desire we have of being together. With the works on paper, Communities, Prince explores aloneness, solidarity and togetherness. In Communities, the artist plots soft graphite stars on the mixed media works behind organic black forms in oil pastel, signifying our immediate people groups, and semi-circles of blue gouache, representing our earth. Each element points to levels of togetherness; we are not only in community with each other, but connected across our world and in the larger universe too.

Artist Statement: Megan Prince interweaves advocacy and the zero waste movement in her interdisciplinary visual arts practice, exploring the nature of relationships between hope, love, and fear in the ever-changing world. In 2002 Prince received two bachelors’ degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle in Painting and Interdisciplinary Visual Arts, and a minor in Dance. She moved to Brooklyn, NY where she received an MFA from Brooklyn College, CUNY in 2008. After having three children in close succession, Prince embraced parenthood full-time, moved back to Seattle, and delved into advocacy work and social and environmental justice. Influenced by this outward focus, Prince’s art practice has pivoted to reflect how relationships exist in the world, creating art that is invitational and accessible. Prince lives with her husband and three young children while sustaining her home studio practice.

Medium: Gauche, oil pastel and graphite on Rives BFK paper

Measurements: 13" x 13" (framed)