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Iskra in A Wing and A Prayer at Museo Gallery

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A Wing and a Prayer at Museo Gallery

I am excited to be part of A WING AND A PRAYER opening at Museo Gallery January 20th, with artists Elena Korakianitou, Michael Dickter, Faith Scott Jessup and Jean Whitesavage.

“A celebration of our ultimate optimism for our world, our embrace of transformation, and a recognition that we may need a little divine help along the way.  Opening on a significant day both politically and astrologically, January 20th,  Museo hopes that this show will encourage peace and hope.”

Museo is open 11-6 Thursday through Monday.
Tuesdays & Wednesdays by chance, or by appointment.

The show will continue through March 1st.

MUSEO GALLERY
215 First Street | P O Box 548
Langley, WA 98260
360.221.7737
museo@whidbey.com

I will be showing my recent series of limited edition images based on statues of angels, some available framed or mounted on panel, and others available unframed at the gallery or through the Gallery website. The language of statues is one of many ways I’ve explored the distance between sky and earth. This piece, a variation on the myth of Icarus, will be available at the gallery to see in person.

Icarus 3 by Iskra
Icarus 3, © Iskra Fine Art, variant edition print, several sizes, available to see now at Museo.

If you have the time to make a day of it I suggest a walk on Double Bluff. Eastern clouds may take their shape from the land, but island clouds listen only to the sky.

Cloud forms at Double Bluff Whidbey Island by Iskra
Cloud Forms, Double Bluff ©Iskra Fine Art

Iskra Fine Art #100DayProject and the Garden Show at Museo

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The Space Between Train Collage

(See the Motion version on Instagram.)

It has been only 20 days since I last wrote here, and yet in that time the world is completely changed. Millions of people across the globe are now confined to their homes as modern life as we have known it shuts down in the face of the corona virus. The profound sense of isolation in the studio, combined with the media’s constant drumbeat of dystopia pushed me for several weeks close to despair. Forced to look at the books on my shelves (and consider reading them) I came across Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being. In it, the draft of a calligraphic treatment of a quote: A single metaphor can give birth to love.

With galleries closed and shows delayed or cancelled, and with a sense of life or death urgency and helplessness heavy in the air, motivation for working in the studio has been in question. But the quote, and its tissue paper flourishes, lingered in my mind. I think it was its echo that led me to realize that this is the time, after years of thinking about it, to take on #The100DayProject. Under house arrest in my pajamas, there is no escape. And certainly nothing to lose.

The One Hundred Day Project was first introduced in 2007 by designer Michael Bierut as a challenge to his graduate students at Yale. The outlines were simple: “Do a design operation that you are capable of repeating every day. Do it every day for one hundred days.” The project was brought onto social media by Elle Luna in 2014 and has become a platform for reinvention with global reach through Instagram.

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Iskra in Under the Influence, Opening December 5 at SAM Gallery

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Plum Wine Iskra SAM Show
“Plum Wine,” limited edition print on panel, 24 x 36 © Iskra Johnson
You are invited to the opening of

Under the Influence

at SAM Gallery
December 5, 6 – 7:30 PM
Seattle Art Museum, 1300 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

Artists influenced by Asia are featured in SAM Gallery’s final show of the year. I am excited to be part of this group of artists including Deborah Bell, Alfred Harris, Laura Van Horne and Junko Yamamoto. Each of us is influenced by Asia in very different ways, involving surface, paper, collage, markmaking and photographic innovations. Join in this festive opening and celebrate the Asian influence on Northwest Contemporary art.

My work in this exhibit will show a new way of presenting my work on panel. The limited edition prints are meticulously mounted and sealed in layers of cold wax medium, which creates a subtle hand crafted sheen. Without traditional framing the work becomes an immediate experience of surface and color, unimpeded by reflections. The surfaces are hard to photograph, but here is a capture in the studio showing “As Above So Below,” one of the works that will be shown. If you would like to preview and reserve before the opening I will have these pieces in the studio through next Tuesday before they are delivered to the gallery. Give me a shout and I would be happy to show you in person. There will be an edition of 5 available for each piece, framed traditionally in plexiglass and brushed silver, or mounted in cold wax on panel. All sales through SAM Gallery.

Archival print mounted on panel by Iskra
Print mounted on panel with cold wax
“The Heron,” archival pigment print mounted on panel © Iskra Johnson

 I look forward to seeing you to celebrate the launch of the winter holidays!

Invitation to Seattle Arts North Studio Tour, October 12 & 13, 10-5 PM

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Summer Storm Archival Print by Iskra
“Summer Storm,” Archival Pigment Print on German Etching © Iskra Johnson

 

Please join Laura Brodax and me at Modern Glaze, in our first time as part of Seattle’s

Arts North Studio Tour
October 12th and 13th, 10 AM – 5 PM
Studio 10 | Modern Glaze
14800 Westminster Way, Shoreline, WA 98133

Visit 10 North Seattle Studios in one weekend, and see a wide range of beautiful art, glass, jewelry and ceramics from some of Seattle’s best artists. Click these links to download the Studio Brochure or Map.

I will have a wide selection of prints, framed and unframed, as well as mixed media work on Venetian Plaster. Laura will be showing her highly collectable ceramic ware and photographic works. We are both photo based artists, but we have taken the medium in very different directions. I love the opportunity for our work to be shown together, and look forward to meeting new friends and old.

Brodax blue platter Arts North Studio Tour

Brodax Modern Glaze platters
Laura Brodax Ceramic Ware at Modern Glaze

 

Arts North Studio Tour: Save the Date!

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Modern Glaze studio North Seattle Arts Tour

Please save the date for the Arts North Studio Tour in Seattle this October 12th and 13th!  Ceramic artist and photographer Laura Brodax has opened her new (and spectacular) studio space at the edge of the Broadview neighborhood, and will be hosting me as her guest artist for our first time on this tour.

Check out Modern Glaze on Instagram to see what the fuss is all about. I have admired Laura’s photography and ceramics for many years, and it is an honor to show with her. I will be displaying unframed prints of various sizes as well as some larger framed works and mixed media panels. Below are some of Laura’s ceramic works incorporating her photography, collage and serigraph.

Laura Brodax Ceramics
Laura Ceramics, courtesy of Modern Glaze

 

Iskra Studio Sale 2019
“As Above, So Below,” archival pigment print, ©Iskra Johnson

Be sure to visit the Arts North Studio Tour website and Facebook for a preview of work and a map of all 10 studios. Modern Glaze is located at 14800 Westminster Way N, Shoreline, WA 98133. Tour hours, 10-5 October 12th and 13th. I hope to see you there!