saving the world

'Horsetails' 16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 The horsetails were our handy tools when we played outside as kids.

  

I usually used them as swords.  

They worked well.

soft green

'Forest Life' 16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

I remember, as a kid, 

always having to touch the moss as I'd walk in the forest. 

  

I would imagine wrapping myself

in sheets of soft green moss, 

curling up and taking a nice long nap. 

details

'An Organic Matter'  16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

It's usually overwhelmingly green in the forest.

Sometimes I have to stop and look in order to see.

another story

'Under Story' 24x48" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

It is a slow start to Spring:

cold and record rainfall here.

It is good for our water supply and the under story

which, in turn, 

is good for us.

 

shades of grey

'Winter Woods' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

It's been a long winter.

I appreciate the cold, white light but

I look forward to Spring and a little more color.

Life during wartime*

"Pay Close Attention"  12x12" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

I didn't see her at first.  

Then, the weird feeling stopped me and I backtracked.  There she was sitting quietly, majestically.  

Non human beings are innocent and have no voice.  

It is our duty as stewards of the earth to speak for them.  

*'Life During Wartime', Talking Heads

a day in the life

'A Day in the Life' 12x12" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

.

It is early. 

Fog horns sound in the distance.

Hawk lands on a pole and

surveys the field

planning her strategy for the morning kill.

It's a daily thing.

Hope Springs Eternal*

blank slate, as they say

 New Year

my favorite holiday

it is so hopeful

clean up time

This last year was not so horrible

personally

Some good things happened.

I'll have to work harder this year

more obstacles 

I can do it.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never is, but always to be blessed:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man *

stranger in a strange land*

'Cosmos' 20-24" chain, colored pencil, mica, paper, sterling silver;  Kathleen Faulkner

  

 2016 is coming to an end.

Soon it will be a new year

filled with uncertainties.

I distract myself with art and good sci-fi.

 

Earth is starting to feel claustrophobic.

The cosmos calls.

*'Stranger in a Strange Land'  Robert Heinlein

 

deep in it

'Northwest is Best'  16x20" oil pastel on panel;  Kathleen Faulkner

These are dark times.

I look out to the west

dark clouds have lifted over the Olympics

To the east, the North Cascades shine

  beneath the dark, brooding sky

 

  It brings to mind a line from a poem, as it often does,

and  'I am blinded by it's splendor'.*

*'What is the Beautiful'  Kenneth Patchen

Life in the Skagit

'Heading Out' 16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

No matter which road I travel around here, 

there's always something to see

and it's always different.

a glimpse

'High End' 24x48" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 

Summer is coming to a close but 

it's been a good run this year.

Soon these mountains will be covered in snow 

and this area will be 

inaccessible.  

A tradition

 STEAMROLLER Printmaking, 2016 has now come and gone. 

It has been an Anacortes Arts Festival event in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

It's becoming a tradition 

silk ready to lift off lino, Kathleen Faulkner

 

Printing a 3x4' linoleum block is not easy.  

This year we worked with white silk.  Wind was a factor but:

Three days, ten artists and volunteers per day

and good teamwork got the job done!

My print, 'Baker's Dozen' 4x3' woodblock ink on linoleum,  printed on silk.  In the background: Dee Doyle's two herons print;   Kathleen Faulkner                                                                                            

weather or not

'Morning After'  24x36" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 

La Nina is expected.

 My sweater keeps me warm 

on this chilly, wet July day.

Looks can be deceiving

'North of Here'  18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 

The mudflats call to me.

Like a meditation, I gaze out at them and time stands still.

From where I stand, they look so firm and steady

but I know that if I were to walk out there 

I'd sink to my hips. 

Fly by Night

'Fly by Night' brooch with converter,  2x3" sterling silver, colored pencil, mica;  Kathleen Faulkner

I put the umbrella in it's stand and began to open it.  

I saw something small and furry in the folds.

As I got up close for a better look it suddenly hissed.  

I was taken aback

 and then it flew away.

Small, mysterious bug eating mammal

Our world is a better place with this little bat in it.

where the rings are the thing

'Greetings from Saturn'  earrings 1.5" diameter, sterling silver, colored pencil, mica;  Kathleen Faulkner

I have been working on my jewelry show coming up at Facere Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle. It is called Nocturne and will be featured June 15 through July 5, 2016.  

  
It is about life and events that happen in the night. 

I've been at it awhile.

The longer I work on it, the farther out into space I go.

Our newest gallery

'Into the Woods'  54x38" oil pastel on paper;  Kathleen Faulkner

Occasional Gallery Presents:
 

ENVIRONS

Featuring work by Pacific Northwest Artists

Julie Alexander

Amy Bay

Carol d'Inverno 

Kathleen Faulkner

Helen Gable

Cable Griffith

Aaron Haba

Karen Hackenberg

Alfred Harris

Justyn Hegreberg

Evan Clayton Horback

David Kane

Ken Kelly

Perry Kopchak

Margy Lavelle

Steven LaRose

Fiona McGuigan

Jef Morlan

Serrah Russell

Peter Scherrer

Emily Wobb

Opening Reception April 9, 2016, 2-5pm

Open weekends and by appointment through May 8, 2016

16788 Peterson Road, Burlington, WA

360-333-4648

occasionalgallery@gmail.com

 

 

 

rumblings in Paradise

'Hunting Season'  24x36" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

The slough in Edison is full of ducks during hunting season.  

They know the safe places.  

Hunting season cramps my style, too.  

No walks on the dike.  

One can hear gunshots in the distant fields.

Camo and over sized trucks show up everywhere.  

I'm always happy when the season is over. 

near Blanchard

'There's this Place' 24x36" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

We all have those places where we go to think.

Birdsville

'Heading Home'  8x8" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

February is Bird month in the Skagit.  

The birders come from everywhere to view the spectacle.

One day I counted 28 eagles while slowing to a crawl to drive around the huge flock of snow geese along the road.  

I smiled all day.

A Bird's Life

'Baby Contemplates'  16x14" oil pastel;

Kathleen Faulkner

It is a cold, foggy morning that chills the bones.

I walk faster to warm up

all the while watching the baby heron contemplate.

It's a New Year

'Girl with Pacific Frog Prince' shadowbox 6x6" graphite,
gouache, paper, wood, glass;  brooches: 'Pacific Frog Prince'
1.5" diameter, sterling silver, paper, gouache, glass lens, 'Orb'
1"diameter, sterling silver, paper, gouache, glass lens

Please join us for 'Bewitched,  Bothered and Bewildered'

This jewelry show at Facere Jewelry Art Gallery in Seattle is opening February 3, 2016 from 5 to 8pm 

and running through the 23rd. 

Also, Guy Anderson and Skagit Women Print and Friends 

at Schack Art Center in Everett, WA on now and running through

February 27th.

Solstice is almost here

This is my year round christmas tree.  Kathleen Faulkner

I always felt bad at the end of Christmas.  The tree would die.  

I preferred the lovely christmas trees to live and grow.  

My solution to the issue was a light/ornament filled kitchen lit up all through the winter.  

No muss, no fuss, no dead tree yet an abundance of light! 

Happy, Merry Everything!

Cheers to the Light!

Life in Edison

gouache drawings on wood, approx 6x4";  Kathleen Faulkner 

One can always find something good in the free wood bin at Smith Vallee Woodworks.  I check often.

  These small gouache drawings are done on some of that free wood.  They are part of the Objectification 8 show at Smith Vallee Gallery in Edison through December.  

'On Any Given Day, 22x32" oil pastel, charcoal;  Kathleen Faulkner

Down the street, i.e. Gallery hosts the LUMMI Show. It's a Beauty that includes 13 artists' works on view through December 27th.

'Afterlife'  16x20" oil pastel, charcoal;  Kathleen Faulkner

Across the street, Shop Curator is currently showing a few of my oil pastels.  

Edison is only a couple blocks long but it's packed with art, food and fun.  

Please support your local artists, galleries and small businesses.  

Happy Holidays!

make love not war

'Mistletoe' ornament for Holiday Show at Facere Gallery
1.25" diameter, sterling silver, paper, gouache, mica;
Kathleen Faulkner

In Norse mythology,  Baldur, god of the summer sun and son of Odin and Frigg, was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe.  Frigg brought him back from the dead.  Crying with happiness, her tears became the white berries that can be seen on mistletoe today.  Frigg then declared mistletoe a symbol of love and that no harm should befall any who stand under it, only a kiss, a token of love.

just a thought

'Flora' necklace 18-22" long  sterling silver
paper, ink, graphite, watercolor, mica;
Kathleen Faulkner

It is the Season.  

Today is 'Black Friday'.  

People are rushing in hoards to the big box stores.  

There is an alternative:

Support your local artists, craftsmen, galleries, 

independent book stores and shops.

Consider spending locally and let's keep the money in our communities.

  Here's wishing you a stress free and joyous Holiday Season!

Cheers!

Field Work

'Field Work' 36x32" oil on canvas;  Kathleen Faulkner



There are a lot of contributors to the well being of a field.
good dirt full of life
rain
sunshine
temperature
tending


The same holds true for most things.

Cloud Catcher

'On Any Given Day'  18x32" oil pastel, charcoal;  Kathleen Faulkner

As one travels north along the water around here one can see Lummi in many different poses.  Usually there is a cloud capping the top.  Sometimes fog turns it mysterious.  Whatever the weather, that volcanic looking mountain is always there.

i.e. gallery presents:

LUMMI INVITATIONAL

The singular power of Lummi Mountain 

and how its presence plays out in the art of northwest artists

Ed Kamuda

Clayton James 

David Kane 

Toni Ann Rust

David Hall
Louise Kikuchi

Max Emminger

Chris Wardenberg-Skinner

Jef Gunn

David Blakesley

Karen Hackenberg

Margy Lavelle

Kathleen Faulkner

November 20th - December 27th, 2015

Artist's reception

Saturday, November 21st, 5-8 pm

i.e. 

5800 Cains Court

Edison, WA 

The ocean's rainbow

'Pearl' earrings 1" diameter, sterling silver, paper, gouache,
watch glass lenses; Kathleen Faulkner

It is said that health and longevity follow those who wear pearls.

 The oldest known gem is a pearl dating back to around 520 B.C.  It is on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris. 

Knights going into battle would wear pearls as a symbol of strength and spirit, courage and protection.

The sheen is called orient luster.

a lush organic gem