Heartfire

Terri Hamilton-Gahart

Beads
I have been creating with different mediums throughout my life. My Granni introduced me to beads and I spent hours in the back room of her house looking at, touching and stringing them. In 1999, I sold my first piece of jewelry to a friend who also encouraged me to start a business. I chose the name Heartfire to express my passion about and love of beads, especially gemstones that come from the “heart” of the earth. For me, assembling the patterns and colors of the beads is a consuming passion, literally the fire of my heart.

Glass
Working with kiln formed glass satisfies my creative need for engagement and transformation. Working alone in my studio cutting and assembling the pieces of glass engages the colorful images derived, on many occasions, from my dreams. Once the glass enters the kiln, the collaborative process continues where the glass transforms from pieces into a unified whole. The work holds all time perspectives for me; during creation, the present moment is experienced, while the piece before firing holds the past and its form suggests the possibility of the future. In my creations, I strive to hold the paradox of movement in a static piece, the tension of randomness and order, and the excitement of the interaction of the color combinations.

Shane Weare

SHANE WEARE (b. Lyndhurst, England, 1936)

Went to Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall, England. Received an A.R.C.A in 1963 from Royal Collegeof Art (London). Taught at many colleges including central School of Art and Design (London),Universiy of California (Santa Barbara, California), Central School (London), and recently retired fromSonoma State University (California). Weare is in many museum and corporate collectionsincluding The Art Institute of Chicago, British Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Library of Congress,Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Stan Sommer's Trace Monotypes

Stan's "Twin Raptors" monotype is done in the 'trace-monotype' method. Stan draws on the back of the paper over an inked plate. The hard pencil picks up the ink only where the pencil or other object went over the paper. Stan first prints backgrounds for this transfer using the traditional monotype methods. Using this printed paper gives the object depth.


What is left on the plate after the transfer is also interesting and can be printed as well.

Karen Sommer's Monotypes

View Karen's new textures series of Monotypes at the upcoming Art on the Ridge. There are 14 images from this series and each one is composed of rich layers and depth of color.













What is a Monotype?
To make a monotype, the artist paints or draws on a flat plate of almost any kind, metal, and plastic are often used. Oil based inks are used for the monotype and can be rolled or painted onto the smooth surface plate. Using various tools, ink is removed from the plate to help form the image.


When the plate is done, it is printed onto paper using the pressure from an etching press. Some ink remains on the plate after printing. If the plate is reused with this residual ink, it is called a "ghost print". The artist can use a a portion of the ghost and rework the plate, applying more ink and producing another unique image.


The monotype process offers many variables to give the artist options for expression: photo transfers, collage (chine colle), or reprinting on the previously printed image. Monotype allows the artist to work quickly and with great flexibility.


Monotype became an accepted art medium in the nineteenth century when printmaking became generally accepted as a primary medium.