Woodinville Fields Installation

2011-10-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Installation at the Woodinville Sports Complex went well yesterday. This sculpture was commissioned by the Woodinville Garden Club and the City of Woodinville. It is located at the SW corner of the fields, on 131st Ave NE. We'll add photos of the completed installation as they become available.

Though it would be more interesting to leave the sculpture exposed
during the trip, we always cover the pieces so as to not distract
other drivers.

The City supplied the lifting equipment, in this case a large
backhoe. The weight of the sculpture is about 550 lbs.


The sculpture was bolted to a platform to secure it for the final finish and the trip to the site.

Virginia and Randy removing the bolts. The City had
poured the concrete sitework about two weeks earlier.

Arlo was helpful, as always.

Drilling installation holes into the concrete slab.

Screwing in the 1 1/8" Stainless installation
rods. More photos to come soon.

Holiday Newsletter 2011

2011-09-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Early Holiday Greetings,

This is our fifth annual newsletter, and it is early this year in order to help promote a special event we are planning for next month. On Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16^th, we are hosting our daughter Laura’s first painting exhibition since receiving her MFA last spring from the Baltimore Institute College of Art. We will be combining that show with one of our infrequent open studio tours, to allow local folks to preview two new large sculptures that will be shipping out the following week.

Exhibition of New Paintings by Laura Hudson

Open Studio and Preview of New Sculpture by Georgia Gerber

Saturday, October 15: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Sunday, October 16: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Georgia Gerber Studio

6790 Heggenes Road

Clinton, WA 98236

360-341-6382

gerber@whidbey.com

www.georgiagerber.com

Laura Hudson

Since graduating, Laura has settled into one of six artist’s flats on the fourth floor of an old industrial building in downtown Baltimore. It is a unique situation, because the artists who reside on the floor share not only a communal kitchen and bathroom, but also operate a large, professional art space known as “Gallery Four” (http://galleryfour.net/).

After initial reservations, Laura has grown fond of Baltimore and its accessible, exciting, and a bit quirky art community. It also provides easy access to other major art centers, and she travels regularly to New York. She was recently chosen for a month-long solo exhibition to be held in 2012 at the Arlington Arts Center (www.arlingtonartscenter.org).

In her two-year graduate program, Laura explored many avenues of painting, and in her second year began focusing on the portrayal of social interactions. Her graduate Exhibition consisted of a room full of large canvases filled with near life size figures – with an effect for the viewer of becoming involved in the scene.

Artist’s Statement

Social gatherings such as potlucks and art openings create

opportunities for friends and strangers to engage in moments

of intimate exchange and occasional improvised play. As an

artist I cultivate participatory events in an effort to draw

people together, experiment with the framework of interaction,

and later extract intriguing scenes that I can represent through

figurative paintings of distilled color, space and line. In my

effort to obtain compelling images of personal interactions, I

organize partially scripted art parties during which I provide a

playful theme for interaction and then film the outcome. A strict

area of engagement is set by either a preexisting space or a

temporary architectural structure that provides a context for

what will later become the painting composition. From the video

stills, I create installations of colorful, life-sized paintings that

represent gathering while framing a new space for interaction. Whether alone or with company, the viewer becomes a part of the painted space.

MFA Exhibition / 2011

New Work

For her show here in October, Laura will be taking over the show space in Georgia’s Studio Gallery, presenting a show of individual paintings that both stand on their own and as a cohesive installation.

Laura’s Baltimore loft

Georgia’s Part

For her contribution to the weekend showing, Georgia will be featuring two major sculptures that will be on their way the following week to the Uline Corporation in Wisconsin. Many of Georgia’s works already grace the Uline campus, but these two recent commissions will be the largest pieces in their collection. Georgia has for years wanted to do an enlarged version of one of her popular Dancing Rabbit Series, and has also thought that the whimsical mice of “Boy’s Night Out” would make wonderful larger than life sculpture. With the aid of some interesting computer technology, we have been able to create these two enlargements and then mold them so that they will be available in limited editions.

Hip Hop - Shown in Clay / 2011 / 53" High / Edition of 9

Boy's Night Out - Shown in Clay / 2011 / 38"High / Edition of 15

Other New Work of Georgia’s
Depending on how much room Laura takes, Georgia will also be showing a selection of her newest sculpture, including a wax of her most recent piece, an exciting and dynamic “Young Hawk”. We expect the bronze version to be available by December.


Young Hawk - Shown in Clay

22" High x 12"W x 14"D / Edition of 15

Another new piece, which may be in bronze in time for the show, is “Arctic Mother with Cub”, a continuation of Georgia’s treatment of the soft lines and emotional pull of these beautiful and sculptural animals. They seem to provide the perfect subject to highlight Georgia’s essential style and sensibilities.

Arctic Mother with Cub / Shown in Wax

15”H x 20”W x 14”D / Edition of 15

Three Otters / 2011 / Northwest Maritime Center
Port Townsend, Washington
3' High x 6'4" Wide

The Northwest Maritime Center is a beautiful new facility on the shore of Puget Sound, with a mission to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life. It houses and supports the Wooden Boat Foundation and sponsors many programs for boaters of all ages.

The center is located next to the Port Townsend Harbor, an area well known for its abundance of playful (and trouble making) river otters. We saw a number of them swimming by as we installed the sculpture. The smaller maquette created as the model for this project was molded and made into an edition, shown below. More photos and information available on the main website.

Tufted Puffins / 2010 / Cannon Beach, Oregon

“Tufted Puffins” was purchased by the City of Cannon Beach and permanently installed as a part of their

Public Art Program called “Sculpture without Walls”. We have fallen in love with the town and have

had many seaside getaways since partnering with the NW by NW Gallery there.

One Step Ahead / 2010 / University Place, WA

Pictured in its near completion in our last letter, “One Step Ahead” was installed last October. It was commissioned to honor the memory of Terry Reim, a businessman and civic leader of the young city. He helped incorporate the city and started the “Duck Parade”, which is held every spring to celebrate the end of the rainy season. The piece was sponsored by the city and local group called U.P. for art.

Untitled as yet, this over-sized baseball mitt with its cavorting rabbits (shown in clay in the top two photos and partially completed bronze in the bottom one) will soon be installed at the new Sports Fields complex
in Woodinville, Washington. Alongside the mitt are two more rabbits playing on a life-size soccer ball. Commissioned by the Woodinville Garden Club with support from the City.

Rachel's 25th Year

Rachel, the Pike Place Market mascot, had an exciting 25^th year. In the spring, she was struck by a runaway taxi and knocked from her moorings. We brought her back to the foundry and were able to repair her, all the while trying to maintain as much of her aged patina as possible. She was re-installed in time for her 25^th birthday. In celebration, Georgia was asked to ring-in the start of a Market day – a grand tradition she was honored to carry out.

Studio Tours, Outreach Programs, and a Wedding

We hosted a large number of Studio Tours this year, with groups ranging from just a few couples to busloads of folks from the Seattle Art Museum Guild. We also ventured across the water to present programs about Georgia, her art, and the process of creating it. We don’t advertise our tours, it’s all word of mouth – so if you know of any group that may be interested in visiting, please feel free to inquire. Folks always seem to enjoy the education about bronze casting, and seeing firsthand how sculpture displays in Georgia’s beautiful gardens.

One of our largest events of the year was the wedding of some close friends. A beautiful summer day, a great live band, and Randy officiating the ceremony made for a memorable afternoon.

Wrap Up

We may send around another short note before the end of the year, but if not, we wish you a happy holiday season. We hope to see you at our show in October. Please feel free to pass along this letter to anyone you think may be interested.

Sincerely,

Georgia and Randy

Virginia Keck and Georgia Celebrate the end of a long day of molding

Randy performing with his group, "The Rural Characters"

Pictured

Current Work, News, and Announcements

2010-08-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

These postings will periodically be incorporated into the main website.

Latest Edition to the Dancing Rabbit Series

2010-08-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

Country Dance
Shown Here in Clay

Bronze / 2010 / Edition of 15

19"H x 12"W x 11"D

Available Fall, 2010