Shannon Amidon and Jellyfish
By Victoria Veedell
Shannon Amidon is a
photographer not bound by traditional conventions; she uses her
photographs as the foundation for her assemblage and mixed media works.
Primarily self-taught, she has been working seriously on her craft for
7 years. She credits her husband for encouraging her to take the leap
into becoming more professional in her career as an artist. For her,
that means sharing her work with the public by exhibiting her work in
venues throughout the Bay Area and participating in open studios. A compelling aspect of
Shannon’s work is the process she goes through in creating a new body
of work. She believes in total immersion and saturation through
research. When she has exhausted all aspects of the research she then
feels worthy and prepared to complete the project. Each series begins with
extensive research in a subject that interests her. The most recent
being the Lucid series in which she delves into her fascination with
jellyfish. She read many books about jellyfish and spent many hours at
the Monterrey Bay Aquarium learning from the staff and taking hundreds
of photographs of the creatures. Once she had the
photographs and the idea for the body of work, she began to think about
the best way to achieve the images she had in mind in keeping with the
flowing images she saw at the aquarium. She wanted to keep a connection
with the feeling of what she saw. At this point, she began
researching what technique would be the best way to convey these
feelings. After much experimentation she struck on the photographic
Xerox transfer on birch wood. She felt this was the best in keeping
with the organic softness and graceful lines of the images. In his juror statement Dan Keegan, Executive Director, San Jose Museum of Art
writes, “There is something about the fleeting nature of the Xerox
transfer that makes it feel as fragile as the creature the original
photograph captured -- ghost-like, semi-transparent and abstract.
Flower Hat Jelly is an extraordinary image – phantom spirit of the
ocean, dissolving, coalescing, and riding a current, morphing and
alive.” It took her two years to
complete Lucid, which consists of 30 images all photographic Xerox
transfer on wood. Shannon feels that working on Lucid was the most
rewarding artistic experience she has had to date. It taught her a
great deal about herself and the way in which she works. You can see
images from this series on her website www.shannonamidon.com.
This is Shannon’s first year to participate in
open studios. As a volunteer for the SVOS, she is finding it to be a
wonderful experience and looks forward to meeting visitors in her
studio and talking about her work. Her studio is located in San Jose
and will be open the first weekend in May. Shannon Amidon also offers creativity
workshops for young women to help them explore different ways in which
to express themselves creatively, whether it is through found object
art, music, dance and even cooking. The idea is to provide young women
with the resources to give them direction and help them realize that
the possibilities of living life creatively are endless. See more of Shannon's work at: www.shannonamidon.com.
JoAnne Horsfall Beasley and the Trinity Alps
By Victoria Veedell
Jo Anne Horsfall Beasley has been working on images
based on the Trinity Alps of Northern California for over 20 years.
However, in recent years she has expanded her scope to include local
scenes, and travel landscapes of Hawaii and Ohio. She works with oil
pastel and pencil on paper. Her work is fueled by the countless hours
walking and hiking in the Trinity Alps and the many photographs taken
to use back in the studio. The studio is where she can focus her
particular vision. The garage of her Palo Alto home was remodeled into
her studio and she tries to spend at least 4 hours working every day.
Her work is very
beautiful; the bold images draw you in with their vibrant colors and
energy. Looking closely at her paintings you will see the detail and
influence of oriental rugs. Several pieces have shimmering skies or
rocks made with metallic or iridescent oil pastel. Her paintings are
usually made up of several sheets of paper joined together in a grid.
This method of working allows her the flexibility to change the
composition while she is working by adding more paper. She experiments
with different textures and colored papers. One of her most
memorable art making experiences happen when she made a piece for an
exhibition entitled, The Garden of Earthly Delights”. The title was
inspired by the Hieronymus Bosch painting of the same name. She spent
some time researching the theme and thinking of how to mesh it with the
way she works. She made a triptych with one of her landscapes in the
middle as “the garden of earthly delights” and on the left panel is a
field of cobra lilies portraying heaven and on the right panel is an
image of a forest fire to portray hell. The three panels together make
a visually excited piece full of expressive color and movement. This
piece was memorable for her because of the connection made with
intellect in the research and the process she went through to make "
The Garden of Earthly Delights".
Jo Anne Horsfall Beasley
moved to California from Boston in 1974; she grew up in Ohio. She has a
BFA and an MFA in Painting from Cornell University. She has
participated in many exhibitions throughout the Bay Area. See more of JoAnne's work at: www.soarts.com.
Dana Kawano, Remarque Loy and Tranquility
By Victoria Veedell
Remarque Loy was born in Guyana and moved to the United
States in 1970. As a teenager, he was encouraged to create art by his
art teachers and won awards in local and statewide competitions. After
high school, he spent six years in the Army acquiring technical and
computer skills. Upon completion of his military service he studied art
at North Hennepin Community College and the Minneapolis School of Arts
where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts. He has been living in
the Bay Area for six years.
Dana Kawano, a third
generation Japanese-American, is from Sacramento, CA. Unfortunately,
when she was young she found no encouragement from her family for her
desire to pursue a career in art. She was told that it is impossible to
survive as an artist. Eventually, after 14 successful years in the
high-tech business world, she decided to break free and follow her
passion. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business information
and Computer Systems. Remarque Loy and Dana
Kawano met almost four years ago and were surprised by the many
similarities the found in their philosophy and art. They were both
working with similar themes, styles and even color palette. Since their
initial meeting they have been working in collaboration in a genre they
call Transfigurism. “Transfigurism fuses traditional and digital
techniques to create original, one-of-a-kind pieces. Unlike pure
digital art, Transfigurism brings digital art of age, breathing into it
an organic life-like warmth.” They start with a photograph or object
and scan it into the computer to manipulate the color, size or
composition. When they are satisfied with the resulting image they then
print it out and heat transfer it to whatever surface they decide is
appropriate for the image. The artists use various supports for their
images including birch wood panels, shipping pallets and salvaged
doors. After the image is transferred they then enhance the color and
surface texture with oil paint. Finally, they coat the entire image
with an advanced varnish to protect the surface for permanence. After a trip to Cambodia,
they began working on a series called Doorways of Tranquility. The
stone carvings of The Buddha, temples, and doorways inspired them. In
this body of work the artists are promoting the possibility of
tranquility in everyday life. They use photographs taken during their
visits to Cambodia. On old doors, palettes and a variety of supports
the artists have applied their technique using images of the Buddha,
people they encountered on their travels and flowers. Encountering an
installation of Doorways of Tranquility, promotes a calming effect
within the viewer as you sense an essence of enlightenment. The artists
have committed that half of the money made through the sale of art in
this project will go to fund the education of selected children in
Cambodia.
See more of Remarque and Dana's work at: www.doorways2.com.
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Shannon Amidon and Jellyfish
