Art from the heart: Valentines from local artists
| Friday, Feb 11 2011 06:40 PM
Last Updated Friday, Feb 11 2011 06:57 PM
About the art
Liz Sherwyn, "I love you, my deer"
I'm a big fan of puns. And I want love to have a humorous edge, because it can be a very serious thing. This particular work is cut paper. The design is created with a piece of cardstock, an X-Acto knife, and a steady hand. It is very delicate and often frustrating work, but it can be meditative and the end result is absolutely worth it.
Lila Martin, "My Love 4 U"
It focuses on all the parameters of love: the words that describe my feelings for my sweet husband. I spent a lot of time thinking of all the different ways love can be described and then placed those words around the outsides of five diminishing sized valentines. I placed the largest valentine, then a smaller valentine on top of it, etc. until I had the smallest valentine in the middle saying: "my love 4 U."
Alison Beitzell, "Grow Old With Me"
My painting is inspired by a goal and a fondness for the elderly. I think everyone wants to find their one true partner in crime. Some of us are lucky enough to find them. If we stick through the bad and work out the snags, I think we're rewarded with a best friend to hold our hand til we're old, when all we really have left is one another.
I have an extreme respect for the elderly. It breaks my heart to see them alone, but it's so great to see an old couple, like in my painting, and just say, "Wow ... I hope my husband and I are still there (in love) in 50 years!" And what's really awesome is that I know we will be!
Yvonne Cavanagh, "When Birds Begin to Pair"
When I was asked to create a piece of art about Valentine's Day I did a little reading about the holiday. I found that during the Middle Ages it was thought that the middle of February was when "birds begin to pair." I really liked the sentiment of birds pairing and thought it was too cute to pass up. I created a linoleum block print with the image of two birds facing one another sitting on a teacup. Tea time is a ritual in my family and so is significant in many of my relationships with family and friends.
Nicole Saint-John, "The Shared Heart"
I call my painting "The Shared Heart." If you close your eyes and listen to your heart it will tell you to share your love with other people. Valentine's Day is a good reminder for me to show my friends and family how much I love them.
Images
Nicole Saint-John's work "The Shared Heart."
Nicole Saint John, artist.
Lila Martin's work "My Love 4 U."
Lila Martin with her work "My Love 4 U."
Alison Beitzell's painting "Grow Old With Me."
Alison Beitzell with her painting "Grow Old With Me."
Yvonne Cavanaugh's "When Birds begin to Pair."
Yvonne Cavanagh with her work "When Birds begin to Pair."
Liz Sherwyn with her Valentine offering.
With Valentine’s Day just days away — and couples already celebrating — we decided to show a little love for the local arts scene. We asked five artists to create a small “valentine” for us and share their thoughts on the holiday and the love of art.
What's your take on Valentine's Day?
Nicole Saint-John: Growing up in Germany, Valentine's Day was not commonly celebrated, but in recent years Germany adopted this celebration from the U.S. with all the common Valentine's paraphernalia in the stores. I prefer a personal handwritten letter to any prefab Hallmark card, but I admit I love the giant peanut butter hearts.
Lila Martin: I try to convey to my husband in a daily fashion how much I treasure him, how I know he sacrifices his health by working hard to support me and my illnesses. Valentine's Day is just another vehicle to remind him how much I love and appreciate him.
Alison Beitzell: Valentine's Day is awesome. There is nothing better than elementary school valentines! I am lucky to have little ones in school and think school parties and paintings they bring home are where it's at.
Liz Sherwyn: I've always been confused by Valentine's Day. When I was a kid, Valentine's parties were always opportunities to destroy self-esteem. There's this huge amount of expectation, whether you're in a relationship or not.
I think it's a beautiful idea -- to have one single day that celebrates the love you feel for certain people in your life, but there are flaws in the holiday. I feel love for my boyfriend, friends and family every day, and constant love is absolutely better than a box of chocolates.
Yvonne Cavanagh: I really enjoy Valentine's Day. I learned from a friend of mine that Valentine's Day can be a day to show the people in your life that you care about them (parents, family, friends, co-workers) not only your spouse or partner. I can't find anything wrong with a holiday about expressing love.
Instead of telling us the craziest thing you've done for love, tell us the craziest thing you've done for the love of art.
Saint-John: For the love of art, I have done many crazy things: I spent a summer fire-breathing for tourists to support me and my starving artist friends; balanced on high, unsecured ladders to set the right lights for exhibitions; endured pain in order to dance in pointe ballet shoes. The list is long, but probably the craziest thing of all is that I still work in the arts business and still do this with the same love in my heart I felt 35 years ago. A love with no regrets, something I can't say about some of my past relationships.
Martin: The craziest thing I did for art is to drive through Italy for 28 days and paint every day. I rented a car at the Milan airport and didn't know how to put it in reverse. I had to push it sometimes to turn around. I finally wound up on a one way street outside of Verona, going the wrong way with a bus coming up at me from the side and couldn't reverse it. A charming Italian man came up and said in perfect English, "You have to push down on the gear shift ring and then it will reverse." I did and it worked. I was so embarrassed.
Beitzell: I once had a bidding war with someone on eBay for the most God-awful ugly sketch of the Virgin Mary I'd ever seen. I was obsessed with getting it. I lost out at about $60. I still have the picture I printed of it. It looks like my neighbors' baby drew it. I'm weird like that, though. I appreciate art "good" and "bad," when I realize that I can not do it myself. For whatever reason that may be.
Sherwyn: I was discussing this with a fellow art friend and we decided the craziest thing we do for art is art itself. I will gladly stay up until 4 in the morning working to get pieces done for a show. I will dig through a Dumpster or comb an abandoned construction site for inspiration. Deciding to be an artist, making art, studying art, and having faith that it will be a healthy, sustainable life is the craziest thing that I do for the love of art.
Cavanagh: How about the craziest thing I have done for art education? I volunteered five months ago to be the chair for the California Art Educator's State Conference, which is coming to Bakersfield Nov. 3 to 6. I had never attended this mammoth four-day conference before taking on the job and now I am in charge. (I did attend the conference in November in San Jose so I now know what it's all about).
It is a huge task, but I am very excited for the opportunity and am looking forward to November when over 200 art educators will descend on our town for the sake of art education.
What are you working on now? Where can we see your art?
Saint-John: I am in the process of creating a new body of works for a solo exhibition with the title "It Ain't Over Until the Fat Lady Sings." You can find more of my works at the Icehouse and Metro Galleries.
Martin: I'm working on an large 36-by-36-inch abstract expressionist piece and it may be done by the end of February. I have several of my landscapes at the Bakersfield Art Association's Art Center on 18th and Eye streets downtown and will have a show of my more contemporary pieces at Dagny's Coffee Shop in April.
Beitzell: February has been good so far. I've got the Winescapes project coming up at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. I am working on an April Fools' Day-themed painting for The Gold Tooth Gallery, an April 1 show. I've got a few simple nudes in the works for my aunt, Toni Solano, who will have them in her massage room at Serenity Spa. (Get your loved one a gift certificate to see her and then you can check them out!) Claire Putney and I are also working on a project together that is proving to be a learning experience for me. I have to say I'm pretty blessed. I am on a good track!
Sherwyn: I currently have a few pieces of art and a number of prints up at Cabinet of Curiosities a new tattoo shop/gallery in Old Town Kern. I also have been developing my website and blog and will begin selling my smaller works through Etsy. For more information, visit my website lizsherwyn.com.
Cavanagh: Right now, in addition to work in on planning the state conference, I am about to begin painting a six-liter wine bottle for the Bakersfield Museum of Arts annual fundraiser Winescapes, being held in April. I also currently have pottery for sale at Metro Galleries and at the Padre Hotel (in Farmacy) with the current exhibit "conTEXTual."
