Steampunk's Metal Urge Artist Exhibition
Steampunk Vapory Lounge would like to Invite you to Join us for the kick off night of Metal Urge at our shop. The month long event will begin October 4th 2014 at 7 O'clock pm. We will have artwork on display from 3 well known Northwest metal works artists.
This event is free to the public. We will have hors d'oeuvres and drinks available at Happy Hour prices during the opening show. Feel free to invite your friends and family to join us for this grand occasion.
The three artist who will be displaying their artwork from 10/4/14-11/20/14 are:
Bill Dawson
People often ask me what sort of artist I am. I tell them that I don’t know, but I’m a completely unreconstructed one. At an early age I was fascinated by the work of Georgia O’Keefe and Frida Kahlo, and started oil painting. When I was five or six and spending the winter in Mexico I asked if I could go and visit the artists. In the Sonora Desert it looked to me as if burnt ranch could be just over the next sandstone hill, and Frida did live in Mexico. I was given a firm “no” but came back to their work in college, going to visit favorite paintings in museums.
I’m not so much interested in whether a piece of art is representational or metaphorical, realistic or abstracted; rather I look for an underlying creative honesty. So much of art today is contrived and self-conscious, almost self-absorbed, to the point that it seems only to seek reaction, rather than to also create expression. It is this underlying honesty of expression that I try to make the foundation of all my efforts: in my artwork, in my outlook, in my life. I try neither to force my subject, nor my materials, and I think that I speak most truly when I let my work speak through me.
Peggy Foy
Peggy Foy is a Seattle metalsmith and enamelist. Her work features layered colors and textures of metal, usually forged and fabricated from raw sheet and wire. She loves making objects that look like artifacts or talismans with some secret, hidden meaning, or that include working mechanisms. Art Nouveau is also a strong influence and swirling, graceful lines play a notable part in her work.
Artist Statement
I am interested in the preciousness of jewelry and small objects, and playing with the concept of items of value. I enjoy working with materials that are themselves considered precious and luxurious; I also love finding beauty in "non-precious" items and elevating them through skillful craftsmanship or clever placement alongside items of material worth. However, to me the most interesting idea is the value derived from meaning. Commemorative objects, religious and personal symbolism, and personal history all come into play; pieces with a deeper meaning take on a kind of talismanic quality, and these objects often have more personal significance than any monetary value can match. I draw on many sources for the vocabulary of my own symbolism, including ancient cultures, world religions, Art Nouveau, Science Fiction and Steampunk, and the forgotten, arcane mysteries of the occult. I love making physical objects that look like they are out of another time or another world.
Esther Ervin
I was born and raised in a semi-rural environment in Somerville, New Jersey and eventually moved on to receive a BS in Biology from the University of California at Irvine, with undergraduate credit from the American University of Beirut, in Lebanon. After graduation, I and lived three years in Colombia, South America, as a Peace Corps volunteer.
(Photo Credit: Martin Ranger)
After Peace Corps, I earned an MFA in Bio-Medical Illustration from the University of California at Long Beach, and eventually furthered my artistic studies as a PONCHO Artist in Residence at Pratt Fine Arts Center, and was also awarded the Gregory M. Robinson Scholarship. The following year I was awarded a residency at the James W. Washington and Janie Washington Foundation in Seattle. My eclectic range of work has been shown in numerous invitational and juried exhibitions since 1978 and has received a variety of awards.
Much of my metal work is suitable for any gender, made from sheet metal, re-purposed hardware, and other re-purposed objects. The selection created for Metal Urge is primarily cold-connected.
Artist: Bill Dawson
Artist: Peggy Foy
Artist: Esther Ervin
The art will be available for viewing during normal business hours Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm Fri-Sat 11am-12am and Sun 11am-7pm for the duration of the show. We are located 759 St. Helens Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402.
If you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork please contact the artist directly.
Contact Information for Artists:
Bill Dawson-
bill.metalsmith@gmail.com, or a letter to 3403 Steamboat Island Rd. NW, PMB 527 Olympia, WA 98502
Peggy Foy-
Esther Ervin-
Brought to you by:
October 4th - November 20th 2014
759 St. Helens Ave
Tacoma WA 98402
PH: 253-503-6611
