Sea Stack Survey Artists

Artists

	Ingrid Nickelsen	A sea stack painting of Yulpits, the 'pilot rock' off Trinidad Head, by the late Ingrid Nickelsen has been generously donated to the Westhaven Center for this exhibit by Liz Pierson of the Ingrid Nickelsen Trust. Ingrid painted the coastal rocks extensively, capturing their complexity in a simple essence of spiritual brilliancy. Before her life ended on a wilderness painting trip in 2005, Nickelsen observed “There is something about certain configurations of land, water, and sky, which set them apart. Such sites are honored in a myriad of ways. In a spiritual context they are considered sacred, in a secular one they are set aside as a park and in a personal one they carry unique meaning for the individual.” (Laura Oppitz, "The Legacy of an Intrepid Spirit" published in Ingrid Nickelsen, A Life's Work [First Street Gallery, Humboldt State University, 2006]) 'Yulpits', the 'pilot rock' off Trinidad Head, oil on canvas
	Augustus Clark	"Art has been my all-consuming interest for the better part of my life. I have been painting and studying art since I was two years old. I received a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Art from UC Santa Cruz, where I studied with...Eduardo Carillo, who was a galvanizing force behind my becoming a professional artist... I studied classical techniques at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut, but for the most part I paint on my own. While painting in Humboldt County for these past ten years, I have learned from a number of great local artists. I consider myself lucky to live and work here, where there is such a rich and diverse art community."
	Victoria Dodge
	Libby George	The piece in this show is a mono print. I have started printing again because of the new nontoxic soy inks. The print making process used to be extremely toxic but now is quite safe. I paint on a piece of plexiglass, lay paper over the painting, and then run it through my hand crank etching press. The trick is to paint the image in reverse (very important).
	Suk Choo Kim	Photography has been Suk Choo Kim's passion since 1968. He makes images to record his experiences, reflect on his environments and express his emotion as a visual diary. While he was going to university as an engineering and mathematic major, he took photography classes and attended workshops provided by the Friends of photography in Carmel, California. He spent two summers (1971,1972) in Carmel volunteer working for the Friends of photography so he can be close to the visiting photographers and work for the masters who lived in Monterey area such as Wayne Bullock, Brett Weston, Morris Bear and Ansel Adams. He latter got a master’s degree in photography, so he may teach. He lives and work in Arcata, California as a business executive and an engineer, but he spend every evening making images. 'Trinidad Coast', photograph
	Julian Lang	"I am indigenous to this place here. I've known the coast since I can remember and in fact I have my own names for a few places above Trinidad. There is a place, a sea stack cluster, that has always "spoke" to me: Wilson Creek, just north of the mouth of the Klamath. The rocks seem to be huddled there, a group of people, speaking to each other. Sometimes the tide reveals them head-to-toe and other times they are poking out of the crashing incoming waves. The old Indian name of the place is Omen (prounounced like Amen, the prayer word). It marks the boundary between the Tolowa and the Yurok along the coast. I often forget about it until I suddenly realize that Omen is about to come into view and I get excited with anticipation. Sure enough, there it sits, a spectacle. It's beautiful when driving by before 8am. It's beautiful in the afternoon. It's beautiful at sunset. Sometimes Omen is dark and ominous and other times it is bright with a blue, blue sea."
	Jim McVicker	"All of these works were painted along the Trinidad coast on location. I always work from life and find our coastal areas some of the most thrilling landscape to work with." Houda Point, Winter Light, 8x16, oil on linen
	Libby Maynard	Times of challenge offer the chance to make decisions in balance and grounding, choosing whether to continue to carry my baggage or leave it behind. What is increasingly clear is that my work is a way for spirit to manifest in the world. My work includes artwork and community work, and the process is much the same for both. When I create, I start with a concept and a general visualization. It is a trance state process that puts me in touch with the universe and guides me to create what needs to become. I think of myself as a vehicle for the universe to create through, although I have free will and the ability to make choices. Through this process, I have found that my work has a strong spiritual connection for me and others. I strive to give form to spirit, substance to energy, and coherence to the ramblings of the universe. Peace. Libby Maynard is the Executive Director of The Ink People Center for the Arts and co-founder of the organization. As well as a professional artist, she has over 30 years of nonprofit administrative experience. She received her BA, K-12 Lifetime Teaching Credential, and MA in art from Humboldt State University. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout California, and is in collections across the nation. Maynard is a consultant in nonprofit management and program development. Raison d’Etre: The arts and culture provide a fundamental organizing force that molds people into civil communities.
	Jerry Martien	The offshore rocks and sea stacks are part of our everyday lives on the north coast. Over the years they become like familiar friends. About twenty-five years ago, when I lived in Trinidad, they began to remind me of some of my human friends, and one day that realization came out as: They were once like us, like we were. A part of the continent. Those lines began a suite of some dozen poems that I think of as my first real book. In the winter of 1983/84 I had them typeset and 150 copies printed at Bug Press in Arcata. Over several weeks I sewed the cover and pages together and presented them to friends as winter gifts. Through the years, and in other locations, that booklet grew into the larger collection Pieces in Place. But now that many of those old friends are gone, these poems have themselves become like the rocks along our coast, standing out there in memory. Maybe this is the point we're all working toward: to discover the essential likeness of our art, our selves, and the place we live.
	Mathew Mossman	"Sometimes I like to imagine what it must've been like around here thousands of years ago." 'Whale Bones at Trinidad Beach'24" x 48"acrylic
	Teresa Oates	"Although for decades I lived within miles of the Atlantic Ocean, I never felt moved to paint the coastline until coming west and experiencing the dramatic impact created by the combination of ocean, headlands and sea stacks amplified by transitions of light and atmosphere." 'Sunlight and Boulder at Trinidad', 12x9", oil in linen
	Kathy O'Leary
	William S. Pierson	My photographic work is more life driven than directed by my mind. I enjoy my life and wherever I find myself, my eye is always looking for where the light has revealed an object or scene that may become a new work of art, or even a break through in my way of seeing. Those magical moments of comprehension are what I live for but I am really only along for the ride. I usually don't go out to make photographs, they make me. They make me whole. My photographs are the only way I know how to describe the magic of the artistic process. It give gives me the chills just to write about it. That is the power of art and thankfully, an important part of my life.
	Annie Reid	The rocks off our coast are a constant in my life. From them, I've learned patience and the passing of time. For this exhibit I painted the wild Fritillaria lilies that grow on a rock I visit annually. Though unique in so many ways, the Fritillaria is indicative of the rugged delicacy required to live on this shoreline. 'Fritillaria at Old Home Beach', oil on canvas
	Lyn Risling	"My art speaks of renewal, transformation and new beginnings, as well as a continuation of old tribal beliefs and traditions, interwoven with the natural world." Risling received a national “Community Spirit” Award” in 2004, from First Peoples Fund, which honors four Native Artists annually, for their work reflecting a commitment to their culture and Native communities. Risling had her first solo show in 2005 at the Carl Gorman Museum at UC Davis, covering a span of 30 years of work. Her art is well known in promotional and educational materials for various Native American organizations throughout the region. Currently Risling has work exhibited in “Sing Me Your Story, Dance Me Home,” a show of California Native American artists, which is on a three-year tour throughout the State. She has been teaching Native American Art at the American Indian Academy at McKinleyville High School under at grant from Native Cultures Fund. Last year she and her students completed a collaborative art project consisting of large art panels focused on the importance of Salmon to local tribal communities which was exhibited at Potawot Health Village.
	Larry Ulrich	Larry Ulrich began his career in photography selling at street fairs and craft shows throughout the West Coast. When he discovered that publishers would buy his images for books and calendars, he quit lugging around prints and frames to shoot stock images fulltime. Teamwork is essential to Larry's photography. His wife Donna travels along as a second set of eyes and chief field critic. They have been making a living with a camera since 1972, often traveling 200 days a year together. Larry and Donna have traveled many places, but the Trinidad coastline is the first thing they see when coming home. www.LarryUlrich.com 'Camel Rock from Houda Point Beach'