Page 17 - the NOISE July 2013

A detail of Joni Pevarnik’s new stoneware & porcelain
pieces are at the Artists’ Gallery this July.
the paintings measured in her home the window depth for the painting, only to find that it was two dimensional.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have traveled far and wide,” she says. Over the years, Ms. McKee’s travels have taken her to China, all over Europe and twice to Russia. The inspira- tion of her travels is apparent. One window looks out into a Chinese garden where an old man sits on a bench playing an instru- ment, while his bicycle rests against the building wall; a basket of birds tied on the back of the bike.
Ms. McKee tells me how her travels have in- spired her window paintings. “The windows have been a big theme for me, the first paint- ingIdidwhenIwentbacktoworkonmy Masters was of my classroom window. When I did finally get to Europe, the windows were a big attraction to me. They were so different from anything I’d ever seen. I was there in the winter when it was cold. You got that feeling of being inside and protected, but you’re still open. You’re safe from the elements, but you still aren’t trapped inside. The architecture is so symbolic of how people live their lives. I think that is what has attracted me. In Russia they have a storm window and lots of insula- tion space and a solid window inside. Up in the glass there is a little window within the window that you can open to let in the fresh air.”
“Usually the picture is in my mind ... vague- ly,” Ms. McKee tells me of her process. “Then I maybe go through photographs and see which ones fit what I’m thinking of. I’ll draw out the framework and sketch roughly what I’m going to do. The painting sort of grows on its own.”
The paintings of Joan McKee can be seen at Prelude, at the Coconino Center for the Arts July 27 through September 7. Brandy’s Restaurant will also be displaying Flagstaff
Open Studios artists July 31 through Sep- tember 3. The Flagstaff Open Studios will be on August 24 and 25, and soon brochures and maps can be found at the Artists’ Coali- tion of Flagstaff’s Gallery, 111 E. Aspen and at many locations throughout town. Flagstaff- Arts.org
aRt in the paRk
Summertime in Flagstaff brings many fun events to our town, and for the seventh year the Fourth of July weekend welcomes Art in the Park 4th of July Arts & Crafts Festival.
With over 80 artists juried into the show, I was only able to interview a few, but they of- fered a glimpse into their own personal art worlds.
Ceramic artist Marcia Burns tells me about herself. “I began my ceramic career in Northern California over 35 years ago as a functional potter,” she says. “Later on I discovered hand building at college and fell in love with the technique. I started out by making the reptiles of the Southwest, then the reptiles of the world. After moving to Flagstaff 30 years ago, I started rendering the landscapes of the Southwest out of clay. Then on to other critters of the world and plants and landscapes of other regions, es- pecially the tropics. I have traveled all over the world photographing and studying strange and exotic fauna, in particular lizards. I love the natural world and its inhabitants and enjoy interpreting them out of clay. I have been a tour guide in the Southwest re- gions for 12 years. I balance out the season of guiding with being in the studio in the winter months.”
Ms. Burns builds her pieces by hand, never using molds, and then fires the pieces to high bisque, and paints them with acrylic paints.
Kimmberly Ioane tells me about her Raku
>> Continued on paGe 18
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • JULY 2013 • 17