ICARUS WING AT THE BAINBRIDGE ISLAND MUSEUM OF ART

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SHANE MILLER AND CYNTHIA SEARS

I am so pleased to announce that my Icarus wing, titled IF FOUND RETURN TO ICARUS, is on display at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art from October through January. This is just the second round of exhibits in this wonderful new museum which is just a delight to explore.

The 20,000-square-foot art museum includes a reception area with a two-story atrium and grand staircase, seven formal galleries, two classrooms, a 95-seat auditorium, conference room, community gallery, bistro, museum store, and a green roof garden and patio. The focus is on contemporary work by artists from the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas and the western Puget Sound region. We are so fortunate to have this museum in our own backyard and as an artist, I am so proud to be a small part of the whole.

This past Friday I traveled to Bainbridge with my friend Linda Jarvis and her sister, Wendy. We wanted an art day and none of us had yet seen the newest exhibition at the museum....so it seemed like the perfect place to go. Cynthia Sears, one of the founding board members of the museum, treated us to lunch in the newly opened bistro on the lower floor. The food....the conversation....the sharing of stories was just delicious. It was the kind of exquisite day that transforms into a long term memory. I managed to get my photo taken with Cynthia beside the Icarus Wing. She is a wonderful supporter of art and artists in general and it is because of her purchase that my Icarus Wing has a home in the museum.

On the first floor we were delighted by the work of Richard Jesse Watson. His exhibit is titled INNER ZOO : OUTER ORBIT. He is a children's book author and illustrator of the highest order. I loved his obvious imagination ...his found object sculptures ... and especially his industrial looking easel that is on display complete with goggles hanging from several rear view mirrors attached to the easel. I am a goggles girl all the way and I am pro almost anything with an industrial vibe ... so getting to see where he actually creates was a high point for me. Beyond his exhibit were the works of many more artists ... some new to me and some I have the pleasure of calling them my friend. Having a piece of my art here among all this incredible talent feels somehow beyond a dream. My work is among sweet company.

After lunch we wandered upstairs to the Sherry Grover Gallery and the newest exhibit called CHAPTER TWO. This space is all about artists made books. Cynthia has a large eclectic collection of artists made books and it is intriguing, to say the least, to get to spend a little time with them. It was fun to see Linda discover that she had two pieces of her art on display. A surprise to us all. And our mutual friend, Donna Snow, had her magnun opus book on display called FIGMENTOSUM OCEANUM. It is a large book with many two sided lose pages and could have been a real challenge to display but , of course, they pulled it off beautifully. My newly acquired photo etched book called A BOOK IS LIKE A GARDEN YOU CARRY IN YOUR POCKET was also on display.


I am newly intrigued with the whole idea of artist made books and to have one of my first attempts in this collection is thrilling. It, too, is in incredibly good company. Many of the books on display I have only previously seen in commercially printed books such as the LARK 500 HANDMADE BOOKS. To have the chance to see these books in person and to get a glimpse of the binding ... the content ... the craftsmanship ....well, all I can say is that it is a rich experience.

Also upstairs were the incredible paintings of landscape artist, Gayle Bard. After walking just a few paces into her exhibit we all realized that we were almost whispering ... there was such a feeling of reverence. Her work is large and meditative and memorable.

So, in the end, a good day was had by all.