The daily Astorian., May 04, 2017, Page 11, Image 21

MAY 4, 2017 // 11
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His book, “The Contemporary Shot
Glass,” traces the history of the shot glass
and contains photos of more than 70 shot
glasses created by 40 artists.
His ideas for his shot glasses – often
decorated with lifelike eyes – and other glass
creations in the shape of sea creatures origi-
nate from a variety of sources.
“I often dream when I am awake,” Mazet
said. “My ideas come from the constant race
in my head, an addiction that is compulsive
and taken from the world around me: paint-
ers, potters, tattoo artists, Mother Nature,
sci-fi and so on.”
Painter Josef Kote also pays attention to
the random impressions he absorbs.
“I am inspired by visuals and sounds that
linger in my mind long enough to acknowl-
edge,” said Kote, who paints cities, portraits
and marine life. “Something very simple,
like the way the light of dusk falls on an
object or a face can trigger that.
“Particularly in nature there is a lot to
pull from so far as color and the nuances of
energy and vibes in a landscape or city,” he
said. “Working as a full-time artist, I can’t
wait for inspiration to find me; I have to seek
it out.”
He seeks to capture everyday life, wheth-
er it is in his paintings of the city or in the
marine art that will be displayed at Modern
Villa Gallery. This is Kote’s first Spring
Unveiling.
“The mundane and the extraordinary can
be both a source of beauty and inspiration;
it all depends on how you see it,” Kote said.
“Sometimes ideas about how to express
something I have seen or felt will sit with
me for awhile, and other times they will
emerge almost immediately.”
ANIMAL EXPRESSION
Cowboy artist Tolley Marney calls that
inner whisper “compulsion.”
“I have to do it,” said Marney, whose
horse sculptures are available at Northwest
By Northwest Gallery. “The compulsion is
fed by my need to communicate and express
myself through what I can make with my
hands.
“Instead of words forming themselves in
my mouth, I am more at ease with the shapes
and colors around me forming themselves
into something that transmutes through my
hands into the shapes and colors of steel and
wood.”
The biggest challenge to his art, he said,
is fear that he won’t be able to complete
the sculpture that he started or that “what I
see in my mind won’t come out through my
hands the way I want it to happen.”
A former blacksmith, Marney has devel-
oped a lifelong relationship with horses.
“Every time I build a piece, I’m explain-
ing life to myself. In a way, I’m looking for
belonging and connection and the meaning
of life as I create,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter how many pieces
I make, when I’m done with a piece, no
matter how much I love it, I feel like I am
lacking, like I have more questions. As
though the piece I just finished created new
questions in me that compel me to sculpt
again to seek those new answers.”
For Brin Levinson, whose acrylic and
oil paintings of urban scenes often contain
incongruous birds or wild animals, the small
details – the “cracks and moss” – he captures
in photographs form the impetus for his
dreamlike work.
“I started painting the city, but I wasn’t
interested in telling the story of people,”
Levinson said. “I added animals to the
scenes so there could be a narrative and an
interesting juxtaposition.
“The animals are curious about where
they are, it’s a foreign place that needs to be
figured out. They’re innocent and relatable.
The urban landscape is a contrived system
and a labyrinth of obstacles that animals
don’t understand. They point out the absur-
What: Spring Unveiling
When: Friday, May 5, through Sunday, May 7
Where: Galleries and restaurants throughout Cannon Beach
Who: Fifty artists will unveil new works in 11 galleries.
Thirty chefs will create menu items to pair with a specific
artwork.
Events: Artist demonstrations run from 10:30 a.m. Fri-
day to 3 p.m. Sunday. Gallery receptions and coffees run
throughout the weekend; 30-year anniversaries are being
celebrated by Northwest By Northwest Gallery 5 to 8 p.m.
Friday and 10:40 a.m. Saturday, and by Jeffrey Hull Gallery
5 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
“Crimson Jewel” by Melissa Cooper.
“NW Squall” by Hazel Schlesinger.
dity and impermanence of the reality that we
exist in.”
This is Levinson’s first time showing at
Spring Unveiling, where he will be repre-
sented at Archimedes Gallery. He will show
some medium-sized pieces that remind him
of the water, wind and the coastal air.
‘THE SMILES OF LIFE’
Hazel Schlesinger’s original inspiration
came from Seaside School District art
teachers Carla Babbey and Linda Camp-
bell. The painter was born and grew up in
the Cannon Beach area.
“They pointed the way for me,” she
said about her teachers. “I have painted
with several master artists from around the
world, but Linda and Carla were the two
that inspired my direction. Schlesinger’s
oil painting, “NW Squall” at Northwest By
Northwest Gallery, was created following
a “stormy April walk on the beach,” she
said.
“I paint images or scenes of thought-
ful places. Places one might want to visit
or be in at the moment to ponder to stay
awhile or to just be,” she added. “I would
like to think I paint the enjoyment, the
beauty and the smiles of life and not the
negatives that can ever so frequently be
found in our world.”
“Spring Abundance” by Ann Cavanaugh, soon to be
on display in DragonFire Gallery.
Joanne Shellan’s painting “Kitchen Dance” is being used in
Spring Unveiling’s Chef’s Table promotional material.