Priscilla’s Blog » Campbell Steele Gallery, Marion, Iowa

Roadtrip

March 3, 2011, 6:23 am

It was a remarkable afternoon. In the balmy temperatures of a Thursday in the midst of February – a sixty degree day not a week after we had endured cold in which the daily high did not rise above minus eight- I stood in one of the galleries at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. It is there that the iconic pieces of the University of Iowa art collection are presently installed. Intimations of spring had heightened my own senses, and my eyes took in the visual feast with gusto. Diebenkorn, Calder, Gottlieb, and yes, Pollock (to name only a few) all looked fabulous. The “gateway to Iowa” location on the riverfront seemed to welcome visitors- disabusing those, whose knowledge of Iowa might be limited to pigs and corn, of the notion that that is all that Iowa has to offer.

Ocean Park 17 by Richard Diebenkorn / 1968 / 80 x 72 in from the collection of the University of Iowa Museum of Art

Pausing in front of Ocean Park, #17, I recalled a student’s observations about the work of Richard Diebenkorn. I had shown images of his work to my Drawing I class. Reverentially turning the over-sized pages bearing color reproductions of the California painter’s art- I attempted to share my admiration, only to look up to a circle of nonplussed expressions. A year later, one of those same students wrote about seeing Ocean Park, No.17: … “I never understood what was so great about his (Diebenkorn’s) work… my thinking changed when I saw this painting…” This young woman described perfectly what the moment of seeing an art object rather than a reproduction can yield: “subtle, atmospheric blocks of layered color…dematerializing in some spots- adding an exciting element to the entire painting.”

Kimberlee Rocca’s foil stamping

You can’t beat the real thing and the rich, material evidence of its facture. Layers of paint, the gliding, stabbing, or staccato mark of a pencil tip across paper, and the deeply embossed lines of an intaglio can be our most direct connection to the thoughts of the artist. Campbell Steele is the only gallery in the region that exhibits original work exclusively. Today, as I look around the gallery taking in Kristin Quinn’s complex, vibrant paintings, Kimberlee Rocca’s T-A-L-L, foil-stamped sheets of aluminum, and the radiant surfaces of Gerald Patterson’s glass platters are all a testament to the power of the art object.

Gerald Patterson’s glass platters

A stalwart and really friendly crew will be here to greet you while Craig and I visit (the real thing!) our kids in Cincinnati, Brooklyn, and Boston. We’re on abbreviated hours: 12- 4, Tuesday through Saturday until March 17th.

Kristin Quinn’s complex, vibrant paintings

Try a road trip yourself, and see the fantastic presentation of the University of Iowa Museum of Art’s collection in the galleries of the Figge Art Museum. Ta-ta-for-now!

Posted in Announcements, Art History, Artists, Asides, Gerald Patterson, Kimberlee Rocca, Kristin Quinn, News | Comments (1)

Native son

February 8, 2011, 8:26 am

“…it is the complex, flesh and blood man who has been removed from sight, while his all-too-familiar imagery has remained uncannily resistant to change. If we are to summon Grant Wood from behind that darkened Gothic window, we will see this painting— and all his remarkable work—- deepen before our eyes.”
- R. Tripp Evans, Grant Wood: A Life

Grant Wood, Portrait of John B. Turner, Pioneer, 1928-1930, oil on canvas, 30 1/4 x 25 1/2 in., Collection of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

I must have walked past Grant Wood’s sallow-faced portrait of John B. Turner hundreds of times at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art before I stopped and genuinely saw the intensity of the old man’s gaze. It was a “Whoa!” moment. I recalled that confrontational portrait while I considered the truth in R. Tripp Evans’s quote.

The demands of the holiday season had subsided in the gallery, and I had allowed myself to start the book that had been a Christmas gift. A day later, I finished it. For me, it was simply riveting. Since then, I have spoken with many people who have questioned the validity of the author’s homoerotic interpretations of Wood’s imagery, and I don’t dismiss their skepticism. I, however, enjoyed the frank insight of Evans’s writing. From his depictions of the child in an isolated rural household, to a man sharing a tightly knit family circle with his mother and sister, and eventually as an uneasy academic in an unlikely marriage, the author endows this familiar artist with a depth of humanity that matches the ambiguity which makes American Gothic or Woman with Plants the oddly compelling works that they are.

It’s Grant Wood’s birthday this Sunday, and Bonnie and Roger Schmidt and Craig and I are hosting a brunch at the gallery to benefit the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art that will celebrate the imminence of Valentine’s Day and the birth of this native son.

There are still a few tickets left. Did I mention that we have some delightful jewelry, pottery and glass that we’ll gift wrap – just for your valentine? Read on!

Posted in Art History, Artists, Events, Grant Wood, Holidays | Comments (2)

Winter weather

January 21, 2011, 8:13 am

I’ m going to be brief.

It’s important to remember that complaining about weather – however hot, cold, icy, rainy or snowy – is pointless. In direct defiance of repetitious weather advisories forecasting ungodly cold, I have installed new work by Marcia Wegman and John Beckelman; displayed new pots by Sarah German; surrounded myself with blooming, or about-to-bloom, amaryllis plants; and, I have spent the past five days drawing their spectacular flowers.

The contrast between John’s richly textured, contemplative abstractions and Marcia’s naturalistic drawings of the southwestern United States heightens an appreciation of their distinct qualities and their coloristic harmony. The delivery of all of the work left in her studio heralds the move of Sarah German from Iowa to Austin, Texas. Pots and paintings all look fabulous in the front gallery, while I’ m pretty certain that I look a bit silly amidst all the nodding blooms of my studio amaryllis plants. Leonard Cohen’s evocative lyric that describes “the cave at the tip of the lily” always comes to mind as I use charcoal to explore the tonal beauty of these flowers’ heavy blossoms.

Amaryllis drawing, in progress

That’s it. There are so many reasons to visit Marion’s Uptown, and Campbell Steele is just one of them. Bundle up, and come on over!

I lied. That’ s not quite it. Craig has likened my early morning studio garb to that of a Taliban fighter. All that I lack is a gun – this, despite recent efforts by Marion City Council to assure my 2nd amendment rights. My fashion choices will change as the cold moderates.

Working on amaryllis drawings in my studio

Posted in Announcements, Artists, John Beckelman, Marcia Wegman, Marion, Priscilla Steele, Sarah German | Comments (3)

“Good to go!”

January 12, 2011, 6:22 am

As I ran along the snow-covered trail, I took account of two marked changes in my morning routine. Because he was having some “geezer issues” attended to, Buddy was with our veterinarian Dr. Bock, who thought that Bud’s swift recovery from said issues could be expected. It was odd to be running solo- even more so because I was running at a time when, for the past fifteen years, I have been beginning the spring term with students at Coe College.

I have had the pleasure of teaching with the remarkable team that is Coe’s Art Department, and working with a generation of students notable for its variety and quality. When I concluded my final critique, I considered the sea change it would mean for me. Much as I enjoyed (and seemed to be pretty good at) teaching, I have worked all of my life to be where I am right now: our children are educated and independent (and, I hope like the dickens, happy), I am working in my studio, and Craig and I are using our (for the most part) complementary aptitudes for “growing” the gallery.

So, everything seems new! I have lined up a number of projects on my table with some vigorously blooming amaryllis bulbs dominating the studio clutter. Drawings and photos of progress will soon follow.

Just called Dr. Bock, Buddy is “good to go!”

Posted in Asides | Comments (9)

Merry Christmas!

December 20, 2010, 10:07 pm

Driftless / Intaglio Etching / Larry Welo

Standing just inside the back door of our large family kitchen, and steadying herself on the back of a chair, my Grandmother Gill (who never drank) raised a glass of sherry aloft and wished the happy, assembled company “Merry Christmas!” She was dressed for the blizzard that had engulfed northern New Jersey that Christmas eve (sometime in 60’s), and she and my grandfather had had quite an adventure in making their way to our home that day from Philadelphia. They had almost not come at all, and only through fierce pouting and moping had Gertrude Gill convinced Bud that they “had to go to New Jersey for Christmas”.

They made it through the storm until my grandfather’s Buick got hopelessly stuck in a snow bank on the gravel road about a mile from our house. Skiing out into the night to the rescue, my dad and brothers, with my seventy-something grandmother, freed the biggest of all Buicks from the snow drift and pushed it until its hulking mass, driven by my implacable grandfather, gained much needed traction on the final hill to our home.

The urgency in getting to our house was simple. Nobody ever made Christmas more special than my mother. Our house was transformed throughout December- a marvel of lights, greenery, great smells, and music. May each one of you have a place, in your memory or actually, that is as precious! Merry Christmas!

Posted in Announcements, Asides, Holidays, Priscilla Steele | Comments (3)

Doing just a little bit more…

December 14, 2010, 6:44 am

Standing back and regarding her handiwork, the woman who has ministered to all the medical needs of our family for the past 20 years, proclaimed, “Well, if you can live with those bunions, the scar that you’re going to have on that knee won’t present ANY problem!” The subject of her statement was my own knee, stitched and criss-crossed with super-glued adhesive strips (and my hapless feet).

We do a little bit more in these fast paced days of the holiday season. Last Friday, before opening the gallery, I had been sandwiching in a run with my pup, Buddy, while checking off an ambitious list of errands. With a bundle of bittersweet in one hand and Buddy’s leash in the other, I took a spill on some unforgiving asphalt and totally re-arranged my morning’s schedule.

Ceramic bowls and Steins by Marck Nystrom

Everybody’s trying to do a bit more to make sure that all is in readiness for you here at the gallery. Marck Nystrom dropped off his functional pottery with the best batter bowls and steins EVER! Sheryl Ellinwood sent more of her intriguing fused glass tiles. Amanda Barr came bearing her funky, funky porcelain. There are more accordion-fold albums and Coptic stitch journals from Campbell Raw Press, and new brass filigree jewelry arrived from Fairfield’s Dania DeBortoli. Starting Wednesday, we’ll be open until seven each night of the work-week. And, we’re open seven days a week through Christmas Eve.

Oh, my knee is now fine. The bunions- well they may be the “worst” that my physician “has ever seen”, but as I reminded her then: they run every morning. Come on in for a visit!

Posted in Artists, Asides, Dania DeBortoli, Holidays, Maggie Campbell, Marck Nystrom | Comments (0)

Thieves Market … or “Mom! We made thirty-six hundred dollars!”

December 6, 2010, 11:20 pm

In her high-pitched, four-year-old, most excited voice, Maggie Campbell crowed to me through the phone receiver, “Mom! We made thirty-six hundred dollars!” The year was 1984. I was in Omaha, and I had sent Craig and Maggie off to the Thieves Market in Iowa City with a Datsun pickup loaded with my engravings. I was about a week away from delivering Willa Campbell into this world, and a good Thieves Market couldn’t have been more timely.

A wonderful artisan bazaar in Iowa City, that is now one of an assortment of artist-driven sales, the Thieves Market has always occupied a sentimental spot in my memory. Our young family was supported by such events, and the bustle and anticipation that the holiday market elicited in the early days of December are a delightful part of our family lore.

Mary Weisgram’s outstanding ceramic work

It was with such fond thoughts that I made my way in the waning light of this past Sunday’s afternoon to, once again, the Thieves Market. Though I was worried that she might just despair of my arriving to pick up the promised wares before she had to leave for home, Mary Weisgram had saved for me all of her work left from the market for the gallery- and I was determined to get it! I arrived in the flurry of artists tearing down booths and loading vehicles. Making my anxious progress to where Mary’s booth has been over a number of years, the passing voice and fleeting figure of an acquaintance announced, “Priscilla! Your potter is waiting for you!” Indeed she was, Mary stood amongst Rubber-maid containers packed with the full range of her gorgeous, functional stoneware and porcelain pieces. Joining the hurrying folks all about me, I hauled the bounty for the gallery out to my car, and headed home in the darkness of a snowy evening.

A small poetic detail- in the warmth of my studio later that evening, Craig asked me to look at a picture that was on the computer monitor. Glancing up, I was greeted by the sight of a 30 year-old Maggie, with Charlotte in her arms, in front of a display of Campbell Raw Press’ hand-bound books and letterpress cards at a sale in Brooklyn,
New York. Mary’s work, Maggie’s and so much more await you here, and if you buy it, we’ll cheerfully gift-wrap it!

Posted in Artists, Asides, Events, Holidays, Maggie Campbell, Mary Weisgram | Comments (0)

Stan Fellows

November 29, 2010, 10:41 pm

Heading Off / Stan Fellows / Watercolor on paper / 16 x 20 / $395

“Oh look, this isn’t right.” And with that statement, I watched Stan Fellows’ thumb smear the color that he had just brushed in as a reflection in a bottle. He was painting during our Music in the MUD event on Saturday night, and in smearing the color, Stan let it merge with a deeper hue in the background. He tweaked the reflection with some blue, and there it was- the illusion of glass refracting the space beyond it.

Stan’s spontaneous use of all of the elements of his process and medium are a delight for me to observe. And though I had been working, truly, every waking moment of this past weekend, the pleasure that I shared with those around me as he painted the casual scene that was playing out in front of us with the performance of the John Shultz Organization was exhilarating. Surely some life lesson can be gleaned from this –something as simple as “work with your mistakes, the result is sure to be richer”.

Stan’s watercolors are installed in both the front and middle galleries at Campbell Steele. On Thursday, we’ll have available his charming “The Cuckoo’s Haiku”- the illustrated book of Michael Rosen’s poems. Come and get it!

Posted in Artists, Events, Performers, Stan Fellows | Comments (0)

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2010, 9:55 pm

Holstein / 7″ x 8″ on Scratchboard / Thomas Agran

In the gallery, this is the season when artists make certain to deliver work in a timely fashion. It’s a busy, happy time- a harvest of work done in solitude. Amy Plymat’s painted silk scarves are piled beside Thomas Agran’s beautifully rendered scratchboards of classic, commercial livestock breeds. (Never has a sow enjoyed more graphic glory!) Greg Souther’s distinctive jewelry awaits display beside a holiday tree hung with Maras Glass Studio’s blown glass ornaments. Gordon Kellenberger’s jewel-toned landscapes are lined up against the wall ready to be inventoried, and Stan Fellows’ brilliant watercolors of horses are settled on exhibition shelves. Each piece mirrors the decisions of the artist- moments (or a lifetime!) of quiet reflection distilled in color, form, line and media. It’s a rich harvest that surrounds Craig and me right now. I hope you’ll stop by. Maybe show us off to your holiday visitors this weekend.

Now, enjoy the holiday that has such reasonable expectations: making and sharing good food with good friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted in Artists, Asides, Gordon Kellenberger, Greg Souther, Holidays, Maras Glass Studio, Stan Fellows, Thomas Agran | Comments (0)

Being a biped

October 27, 2010, 8:49 pm

I get up quite early in the morning- I always have. The mystery and quiet of the darkness at dawn has ever held me in its thrall. Lately, I have used this time to watch the flickering images of a video on my computer monitor: making her steady, but teetery, progress down a Brooklyn sidewalk, one year-old Charlotte Campbell-Raw tries to wave and walk as she grasps her dad’s hand, and succumbs to laughter at the surprise of not being quite able to do both at the same time.

Though Craig and I have had the good fortune of visiting Charlotte and her dad and mom often in her young life, the happiness we share with our entire family in watching this dear little girl grow is overwhelming. So, it is with great anticipation that we’re awaiting Maggie’s and Charlotte’s arrival this week for an opening on Friday, November 5, featuring new (holiday) letterpress work by Maggie; delightful, new paintings from the quirky, inner life of Sharon Burns Knutson; and new drawings by myself. The fun starts at 5 p.m.

Coptic Stitch Journal by Maggie Campbell, Blackberry Jam Sandwiches by Sharon Burns-Knutson, Songbird by Priscilla Steele

Without a doubt, Charlotte will regale all those who attend with her latest skills in bipedal mobility.

Posted in Announcements, Bunja Sako, Mary Weisgram, News, Sharon Burns-Knutson, Steve Aitchison, Steve Maxon, Uncategorized | Comments (1)