the sage continues..

... at cellar46 on mercer island.

current show [may15-july15]:
citrine

paintings inspired by the tuscan daydreams and landscapes -real or imagined
www.studiojennifercarlisle.com 

fund raiser [june 6, 2010 5 -7pm]:
for cancer awareness at cellar46

You might notice a “for lease” sign in the window…

Yes. It is true. White Sage Studio is moving to smaller digs and pop up installations.

While it is the right concept and the right location, evidently it isn’t the right time - at least that is what Erin's Vedic Astrologer said.

Erin will be spending more time with family and curating art for fundraisers and corporate installations. While, Amber will continue designing for ARM ARCH Inc and  Free Time Industries.

Thanks for the great response to our ideas and installation. We will continue our blog and website to continue showcasing local artists and designers.

As it hits the road - you never know where you might find it!

new images from primitive hut

display window featuring s/s2010 laser nature [prices range from $30-$300], 32" hand-male Polish Makora glass vessels [$1,200 each], archival platinum print by jeffery babbidge [$300], {far4} porcelain baby squash [$30], and shell chandelier by m. culbert [$400].

come in to see more!

come swing with me!

salvaged wood and rope swing 4'1" wide - collaboration between evs boats and arm arch inc $300

photo by aaron piazza

“PRIMITIVE HUT” EXHIBITION OPENING APRIL 9

 free time industries - photo by kyle johnson

Primitive Hut explores how humans interact with, and interpret nature in fundamental and sometimes "primitive" ways – guided by desires for comfort and pleasure, and/or striving for an understanding of the natural world. 

Contributing artists and designers include Adele Sypesteyn, Jennifer Carlisle, Free Time Industries, M. Culbert, firesteel, IMPERFECTIONS [and DIVINE IMPERFECTIONS], and MeyerWells.

Primitive Hut will officially open on Friday April 9, 6-9 pm, with a party for contributing artists and friends, featuring music by SPORTS, the band. White Sage will also be participating in the Ballard Art Walk the following evening, also 6-9 pm.

new victorian

march 12 - april 7 white sage is currently exhibiting art and design centered around the theme "new victorian". the victorian era was hyper-charged when it came to showcasing  objects and art of note - multidimensional aspects of an individual were often showcased through the display of  specially selected possessions. therefore, interior design was lead by themes and objects which had cultural, scientific, and/or technical significance.

you can read more about the era in my previous history lesson.

many thanks to our friends and supporters throughout seattle, ballard, and the pacific northwest, the generous beauty by the contributors of the show,  and the [ever so talented] mr. kyle johnson for taking these these striking photographs of white sage.

for specific pricing or press inquiries, please contact me directly: amber r murray 206.834.5969 armarchinc@gmail.com

contributing artists and designers:
"wallflower" by jordan landin - wallpaper for hermitage
porcelain by {far4}
birds by cody blomberg
troll club! by shellly watson
furniture by meyer wells
drawings by frank correa
platinum prints by jeffery babbidge
laser nature and cocoa beach party by free time industries
pedestals and frame lights by iocoli & mcallister

designer bio: troll club! by shelly watson

photos by kyle johnson

shelly is from montana - from the woods basically. growing up, her mom wove baskets; dying her own reed and incorporating things like moss, willows, and antlers. a lot of the colors and patterns shelly uses are inspired by her reed craft [which are dyed with kool-aid]. shelly's grandpa made metal sculptures, and grandmother makes pottery. shelly has been surrounded by craft and creativity her entire life, and nurtured throughout her creative journey.

shellys now i lives in olympia. when she is not making jewelry for white sage, she plays in a keyboard pop band called razzm'tazz, sings karaoke on tuesdays and thursdays, and recently went to penland school of crafts where she took a jewelry course taught by arthur hash [it is in that class learned a lot about soldering and working with materials people usually don't make jewelry with, hence the plastic melty beads]. 

she and her sister went to a one room school house for grade school and started a "troll club". they would meet every thursday. shelly was the secretary - she kept a file on each troll which housed only their lengthy criminal records. it was a really fun period in her life, and that's why she decided to call her jewelry line line troll club!

dankendanken

images from ashley's felt class at the field house!

notes on being a SAM volunteer

I am a SAM volunteer now [started on Tuesday] and suggest it to anyone who wants to spread creativity, culture, and beauty in our fair city. I will be keeping museum information at White Sage to sign up, be informed, or donate - in addition to updating my experiences and thoughts here:

The most amazing [and unexpected] thing about being stationed at the Neukom Vivarium is that I get to learn about local plants! Come by and I will tell you more, but this is the first moss I have learned how to identify...ever.

Oregon Beaked Moss: Eurynchium oreganum

This moss is found in mats and is green to yellowish-green in colour. The stems are from 6 to 30 cm long but occasionally up to 45cm, the branches are regularly pinnate (a ‘herring bone’ pattern of branching) and between 1.3 and 2.5 cm in length. The main stems are generally not divided, although sometimes they have one large division. The broadly heart-shaped and sharply pointed leaves have distinctly toothed edges. The leaves are slightly pleated. The stem leaves have margins that extend below the line where they are attached at right angles. The operculum is pointed downwards and the beak curves upward. The stalk of the sporangium is 2 to 2.5 cm long, and the capsule is reddish brown.

A little more about the Vivarium:

"Neukom Vivarium is a hybrid work of sculpture, architecture, environmental education and horticulture that connects art and science. Sited at the corner of Elliott Avenue and Broad Street, it features a sixty-foot-long "nurse log" in an eighty-foot-long custom-designed greenhouse. Set on a slab under the glass roof of the greenhouse, the log has been removed from the forest ecosystem and now inhabits an art system. Its ongoing decay and renewal represent nature as a complex system of cycles and processes. Visitors observe life forms within the log using microscopes and magnifying glasses supplied in a cabinet designed by the artist. Illustrations of potential log inhabitants-bacteria, fungi, lichen, plants, and insects-decorate blue and white tiles that function as a field guide, assisting visitors' identification of "specimens." Neukom Vivarium is the artist's first permanent public art work in the United States."

IMPROMPTU! picnic news

There will be NO PICNIC this Sunday because Ashley Halvey is showcasing “Age-Old Wet Felting Techniques" at the Filed House down the street. Her line of sustainable, all-natural, traditionally produced felted rugs is called Danken. She will be back having picnics with me the following Sunday

Since this is the case …you MUST come by and visit me THIS Sunday, as I will be very lonely and sad without her.

Menu and images from March 7^th picnic:

NASH FARMS miner's lettuce/chickweed (satin flower)/arugula and scallion tossed with Regina Olive Oil with TALL GRASS baguette, GOLDEN GLEN CREAMERY butter and BOISTFORT VALLEY radish

artist bio: Jeffery Babbidge

platinum archival print $400
by Jeffery Babbidge
5" x 5"

Babbidge is currently a student at the Divers Institute of Technology to become a commercial diver.  He received his BFA from the Oregon College of Art & Craft in 2007 - he has been specializing in 19th century processes, and well skilled uses of film capture photography however, for over a decade.  Influences on his work are endurance athletics, adventuring, and exploring - this can be seen in the "super-saturated-investigative-nature" [as I call them] photographs on display at White Sage Studio until April 8th.

The process:
Platinum printing is a 19th century “printing out” process - meaning it is contact print only.  It dates back to the 5th of June 1853 with William Wilis being credited with its invention. Platinum by it's self is very cool and grainy, so a 50/50 mix with Palladium to warm the image is used.  The “cocktail” is 50% metal salts and 50% sensitizer's - the sensitizer is used to control the contrast of the image.  This cocktail is very sensitive to other metals, so the paper has to be of good quality and very clean. Coating can be done with a glass rod or brush – printing out is like baking a cookie, in that a “printing out” frame is used so that one can check on the image between hits of UV light.

Babbidge prefers this technique for many reasons; one being its organic nature throughout process and in final product itself.  He is known to make these on a bright sunny day out in a field [when he has a tent near by to work the chemistry inside of before and after exposure]. The images themselves are archival, and will not  fade if properly cared for [meaning just don't ruff it up too much].

monocle loves ballard [so do we]

 

monocle

i am officially obsessed with cody arcangel

cory arcangel is currently exhibiting at MoCA, The Sharper Image. If you are the designer type, you will cringe when you visit the MoCA website... arcangel infected the site with comic sans... the worst font EVER.

5 sweet reasons to come to ballard

1. PEACH TART at Fresh Flours

2. PASTEL DE TRES LECHES at Señor Moose

3. CUPCAKE HAPPY HOUR at Cupcake Royal

4. ME at White Sage

5. MEDLEY DE PLATANOS at La Isla

...need I say more?

why you should buy art

... AND... I will give you a "high-5" and let you roast smores in the white sage backyard. thank you william powhida.

firesteel now available at white sage

daniel williams is a seattle architect, planner, author, and creator of the firesteel product line.
his life-long passion has been product design - he holds 5 utility patents.
he has recieved national awards for his design work and is internationally know for his work in sustainability.

each fire pit breaks down into three steel pieces, making it easy to move, clean, and impress your friends at the next outdoor party you have.... or take the 19" to madison beach one evening and be the envy of all the pretty hipsters.

steeldesigns

steeldesigns_pit_38
1/4" cor-ten steel:
38"x38"x10"
123 lbs
$1225.00

steeldesigns_pit_48
1/4" cor-ten steel:
48"x48"x14"
180 lbs
$1625.00

optional cooking grate $280.00
optional gas burner $310.00

steeldesigns_firebowl_19
1/8" cor-ten steel:
19"x19"x5"
9 lbs
$149.0

basics:
sent by surface freight - three steel sheets with slots for interlocking with one another. this material rusts naturally when exposed to the elements.

what you missed at the art walk...

...don't worry folks, I got your back. I went to the downtown art walk last night with my buddy Jordan Evans and here is my report: 

Stopped by Design Commission Gallery and caught the new show by local poster artist [and micro-celebrity] C.M. Ruiz "happy home" and a live show by Olympia [you can see me chatting with the lovely Lacey Swain in the background]... all worth checking out. I especially admire the wallpaper installation by C.M.

"A Series of Human Decisions" by Bill Jacobson was by far my favorite show at the G. Gibson Gallery. As Jordan noted "they are all funny" - they are also all beautiful. Jacobson catalogs humorous decisions people make via object placement. For all you architecture nerds, check out the image of John Quentin Hejduk's "Bye House". 

 Also worth seeing is "Search for Landscapes" by Vesna Pavlovic and Nicholas Nyland at SOIL Gallery and Sheila Klein's work at PUNCH gallery.

you are invited!

event calendar

 panorama of the white sage back yard - new home of IMPROMPTU! sunday picnics.

march 7 - first IMPROMPTU! picnic in the white sage backyard
11-3 eat a fresh salad in the sun with us made from ingredients from the ballard farmers market

march 12 - new victorian opening
6 - 9 

march 12 - ballard art walk
6 - 9 

march 14 - IMPROMPTU! picnic in the white sage backyard
11-3 eat a fresh salad in the sun with us made from ingredients from the ballard farmers market

march 21 - IMPROMPTU! picnic in the white sage backyard
11-3 eat a fresh salad in the sun with us made from ingredients from the ballard farmers market

new victorian - a history lesson

illustration of crystal palace by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins

march 13 - april 9, white sage will be bringing in new wallpaper, porcelain, and art centered around the theme "new victorian" - below is a quick history lesson about the period [thanks to wikipedia], so no one will be lost when we start conjuring old Ballard ghosts, beefing up our bug collections, and pairing indonesian textiles with danish modern furniture - the victorian era was all about showcasing the multidimential apects of an individual through the display of objects!

opening celebration march 13 6-9pm

The middle of the 19th century saw The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World's Fair, and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was the Crystal Palace, a modular glass and iron structure - the first of its kind. It was condemned by Ruskin as the very model of mechanical dehumanisation in design, but later came to be presented as the prototype of Modern architecture. The emergence of photography, which was showcased at the Great Exhibition, resulted in significant changes in Victorian art with Queen Victoria being the first British Monarch to be photographed. John Everett Millais was influenced by photography (notably in his portrait of Ruskin) as were other Pre-Raphaelite artists. It later became associated with the Impressionistic and Social Realist techniques that would dominate the later years of the period in the work of artists such as Walter Sickert and Frank Holl.

First ever photograph of Queen Victoria (with Bertie), 1844

Popular forms of entertainment varied by social class. Victorian Britain, like the periods before it, was interested in theatre and the arts, and music, drama, and opera were widely attended. There were, however, other forms of entertainment. Gambling at cards in establishments popularly called casinos was wildly popular during the period: so much so that evangelical and reform movements specifically targeted such establishments in their efforts to stop gambling, drinking, and prostitution.

Another form of entertainment involved 'spectacles' where paranormal events, such as hypnotism, communication with the dead (by way of mediumship or channelling), ghost conjuring and the like, were carried out to the delight of crowds and participants. Such activities were more popular at this time than in other periods of recent Western history.

darwin's finches [photo courtesy of robert siegel]

Natural history becomes increasingly an "amateur" activity. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds, butterflies, seashells (malacology/conchology), beetles and wildflowers. Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building the large natural history collections of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Even later communication methods such as cinema, telegraph, telephones, cars and aircraft, would have an impact. Photography was realized in 1839 by Louis Daguerre in France and William Fox Talbot in the UK. By 1900, hand-held cameras were available.

The Victorians were impressed by science and progress, and felt that they could improve society in the same way as they were improving technology. The model town of Saltaire was founded, along with others, as a planned environment with good sanitation and many civic, educational and recreational facilities, although it lacked a pub, which was regarded as a focus of dissent. During the Victorian era, science grew into the discipline it is today. In addition to the increasing professionalism of university science, many Victorian gentlemen devoted their time to the study of natural history. This study of natural history was most powerfully advanced by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution first published in his book On the Origin of Species in 1859.

Victorian decorative arts refer to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the Middle East and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era.

Windrush; pattern sketches by William Morris (1834-1896)

Interior decoration and interior design of the Victorian era are noted for orderliness and ornamentation. A house from this period was idealistically neatly divided in rooms, with public and private space carefully separated. The Parlor was the most important room in a home and was the showcase for the homeowners; where guests were entertained. A bare room was considered to be in poor taste, so every surface was filled with objects that reflected the owner's interests and aspirations. The dining room was the second-most important room in the house. The sideboard was most often the focal point of the dining room and very ornately decorated.

Wallpaper was often made in elaborate floral patterns with primary colors in the backgrounds, such as red, blue and yellow and overprinted with colors of cream and tan. This was followed by Gothic art inspired papers in earth tones with stylized leaf and floral patterns. William Morris was one of the most influential designers of wallpaper and fabrics during the latter half of the Victorian period. Morris was inspired and used Medieval and Gothic tapestries in his work. Embossed papers were used on ceilings and friezes.

technical process

a lot of people have been asking about the technical specifications of the artwork from "ballard ship scapes" - so here it is:
- the prints were made by bay printing
- they are archival prints without glass
- the surface is ultra-hard and scratch-resistant
- they are waterproof/weatherproof
- they can be cleaned easily with any commercial glass cleaner
- printing is a sublimation process where special inks are heated, turn to a gas, and sublimate onto aluminum sheets that have been coated with a white or clear surface

sunday at white sage by brandon page

Brandon Page