Mike Fagan and Suzzann Macleod

Suzzann Macleod and Michael Fagan

Today's visit takes us to Magic on the Mesa, the studio of ceramicist Michael Fagan.  This year, Mike will be joined by photographer and sculptor Suzzann Macleod.  Mike and Suzzann will be showing the second weekend of the art tours.

Mike Fagan with a pot, still hot from the pit fire

Fagan is a southern California native, born in Englewood, CA.  He and his wife Cyndie lived in La Quinta before moving to Yucca Valley a year and a half ago.  As Fagan eloquently puts it, "we traded the high life and low country for low life and the high country and are the happier for it."  Fagan and his wife are avid collectors of American paintings and pottery from the first half of the 20th century.  It is Mike's love of the simplicity of the Arts and Crafts movement in the country that inspires him.  Fagan never thought he had talent to create art on his own.  In fact, his move to begin making pottery began when he found he couldn't afford to collect the pottery of the Arts and Crafts movement, so he decided to make one of his own.  That vase became the first in a long line of clay vessels.  Fagan has been making pottery for about 7 years.

When Mike and his wife moved up to the high desert, he was able to learn about traditional pottery making techniques from Tony Soares.  Even though Mike learned techniques from Soares, he has developed his own style.  He claims the pots tell him what they want to be.  Fagan digs his own clay, processes it at his studio and makes the vessels using traditional techniques:   by pinching and with a paddle and anvil.  The rock or anvil is on the inside and the stick is used to pound on the outside to shape the clay around the rock.  Once the pot is completely formed, Fagan will pit fire it.   The colors of the finished pottery come from different colored slips rather than glazes.  ("Slips" are just watered down versions of the same clay used to make the pottery, and the color comes from different minerals in the clay itself.)  I was fortunate enough to be there when Fagan removed two vessels from the pit fire.  This is always an exciting moment in the process of making pottery.

Mike, lifting the cover of his pit fire.

Hot out of the fire.

The straw bale studio

Fagan loves the process of making something using only earth, fire and water.  He considers playing in the dirt a zen experience.  He talks about coming full circle - he played in the dirt with toy cars and trucks as a boy, and now that he is retired he is once again playing in the dirt, making pottery.  To fire his pots, Mike will use dead Joshua Trees from his property, various hardwoods, and sometimes even charcoal.  Fagan adds caliche to the clay to get the red color many of his vessels have.  (For those of you unfamiliar with caliche, it is a desert gardener's bane - a concrete hard layer of calcium carbonate found in the desert that is nearly impossible to dig through.)  It is a pleasure to meet an artist who literally uses the desert to create art.

Suzzann Macleod, holding one of her sculptures.

Suzzann Macleod is another California native.  She was born in Redlands, while her family was visiting an aunt who lived there.  (They lived in Joshua Tree at the time.)  Her father, a civil engineer, worked in the Salt Mines, and liked to race cars on the salt flats.  Her family vacationed in Northern California, and in 1964, Macleod moved with her family from Joshua Tree to Smith River, California, which is near Redwoods National Park.    In Smith River, her family had a seven acre farm.  She learned how to can food from her mother, who was a nurse and a veteran of WWII.  Her father loved the fishing near Redwoods National Park, and she remembers he used to smoke the salmon that he caught.    Macleod is a descendant of the Keys family; her mother is the eldest Keys daughter.  Suzzann is writing a Keys Ranch cookbook, and she and her brother are in the process of creating a film documentary about the Keys Ranch.

When she was 12 years old, Suzzann was given a camera for a vacation the family was taking to Crater Lake and Yellowstone.  That was the beginning of her life as a photographer.  Most of Macleod's work is now digital, but she still uses film, especially for black and white photography.  Many of Macleod's photographs are of the rusted cars on the Keys Ranch.  She worked for Joshua Tree National Park for a while, giving tours of the Keys Ranch.  Many of her photographs from the Ranch and the park were taken while she worked there.  (Who better to give tours of the Keys Ranch than a descendant of Bill Keys himself?)   She continues to take photos in the Joshua Tree National Park and surrounding areas.  Macleod is also interested in macro shots.  She has a love of texture and patterns.  She photographs the designs found in peeling paint, rusted old cars, and in particular, the glass in old cars that have sat out in the intense desert sun.  The abstract qualities of this sun-baked glass hold her interest.

Suzzann is also a sculptor.  She has worked in bronze, copper and steel.  She had a friend up north who had a foundry, and the first time she saw the melted metal, she was hooked.   She loves to weld, and hopes to have some smaller metal vegetables for the art tours.  Suzzann uses recycled metal and found objects in her metal sculptures.  She is planning to have framed prints of her photographs along with note cards and unframed prints.  You will also be able to look through a catalog of her other photographs.

Macleod's bronze and copper pea pod.

This is the first year on the Art Tours for both Suzzann Macleod and Mike Fagan.  Your visit to Magic on the Mesa is sure to be a rewarding one.

written by Karine Swenson

Vigall Arts, Barbara Wells-Roberts and Arts Contemporary

Ric, Tim, and Molly Vigallon

This year, there will be a number of venues on the tour where you will get to see several different artists who are showing together.  One venue where you get more "bang for your buck" is the studio of Vigall Arts.  The metal art created by the Vigallons is distinctive.  The Vigallons work as a contemporary artisan workshop.  Ric Vigallon, his brother, Tim, and his daughter Molly all contribute to the creation of the distinctive metal sculptures that Vigall Arts is renowned for.  Ric's wife Susan is primarily the business manager, keeping track of the books, upcoming shows, and correspondence.   It is not often that you see a family working together as a team, and it is something that sets the Vigallons apart.

The beautiful colors and patinas of Vigall Art.

The metal sculptures made by the Vigallons are primarily representational sculptures.  The specialty of the studio is wildlife, especially aquatic wildlife.  The colors, textures and patinas are what really sets these metal pieces apart.  The sculptures are all created from Stainless steel and aluminum.  Dyes and acid are used to create distinctive finishes that gleam in the sunshine.  Most of the sculptures are hanging sculptures that can be displayed outside, where the translucent qualities of the colors can be fully appreciated.

The Vigallons work seven days a week.  They truly love what they do, and are happiest working for themselves.  They travel throughout California, Nevada and Arizona, selling their art and doing commissions to make their living.  Ric Vigallon has been doing his metal sculpture professionally for about 16 years.   Prior to working as an artist, he worked in a sheet metal fabrication shop, where they made metal casing for computer cases, medical equipment and the like.  When he was laid off from the fabrication shop, it was a blessing in disguise, because that is when he first began working for himself, making metal sculpture. 

When you visit the Vigallons' studio during the art tours, you will probably have a chance to see demonstrations of some of the processes used in the creation of one of these special sculptures.  One of the things that makes the Open Studio Art Tours so special is the opportunity it presents for us to have an insider's look at how and where art is created.  This is something that no other art venue offers.    

Ric Vigallon using a plasma cutter to cut out a seahorse.

Molly, polishing the surface.

Treating the surface with dye.  (I can't remember whose hand this is - Tim?  Is that you?)

Barbara Wells-Roberts

Barbara Wells-Roberts, holding one of her handmade quilts.

Wells-Roberts is a photographer and a quilter, but her creative interests also include jewelry-making, painting, and sculpture.  She was an art major in college, and taught art for many years before she and her husband retired in the desert.  Now she finally has the time to pursue the things that have always interested her.  Barbara's quilts are mostly her original designs, although she does sew some of the more traditional patterns.  She has sewn since she was a child.  Her mother taught her to sew.  Now she is an award-winning quilter, creating quilts that are considered "innovative quilts."   In her quilting, as well as in her photography, it is color that is exciting for her.  She enjoys exploring color and the way the different colors interact.  Intense color especially motivates her.

Wells-Roberts' photographs are primarily photographs of the desert and photography of China.  The photographs of China were mostly taken when her husband worked in China.  They lived there for three years.  She has been taking photographs all her life.  She sells notecards of her photographs at Purple Agave in Morongo Valley.

Young Coyote by Wells-Roberts

Arts Contemporary

Arts Contemporary is representing the work of two artists,  William Allex and Vida Allex.  Their son, Chris, wanted a chance to show the art of his parents, who are now deceased.

William Allex, an artist who worked primarily in oil, grew up in Philedelphia.  The influence of abstract expressionism is evident in his paintings, which have strong landscape and figurative elements.  William earned a BFA and MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts/University of Pennsylvania, and has work in the collections of General Motors, Century Paramount Hotel and even Kaiser Foundation.  Both William and Vida Allex have had their work exhibited widely in New York and California.  They worked on their art independently, but frequently exhibited together.   They are both represented by Abney Galleries in New York City.

Vida Allex worked in acrylic painting, poetry and wood sculpture.  She was born in New York City and was also influenced by the Abstract Expressionists.  Vida was self taught.  She was involved in theosophy and mysticism, and her art is a reflection of this.  Her intent with the sculpture was to define man in relation to the universe.  Chris Allex hopes to have a book of Vida's award-winning poetry ready in time for the October Art Tours.   William and Vida Allex lived in Apple Valley for over twenty-five years.   There will not be originals for sale during the Art Tours, however, limited prints of the work of these two prestigious artists will be available.

This group of artists at Vigall Arts will be showing the first weekend of the Art Tours, October 23rd and 24th from 9 to 5 pm.  

written by Karine Swenson

Liz Lawliss Jorgensen and Jenifer Palmer-Lacy

"Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.
If we were born to paint, it's our job to become a painter." - Steven Pressfield, The War of Art.

This week's visit takes us first to the beautiful home studio of Liz Lawless Jorgensen.  Jorgensen's studio space is every artist's dream, with a studio space detached from her house, another workspace inside, and a third easel set up outside with a blank, large scale canvas propped upon it, waiting for the next creation.  Jorgensen is a native of the desert.  She lived in Palm Springs and Indian Wells before moving up to Yucca Valley eight years ago.  Jorgensen worked for eighteen years as a graphic designer in the low desert, with clients like Sun World, the Palm Springs Desert Museum (now the Palm Springs Art Museum), country clubs and other corporate clients.  Her experiences as a graphic designer helped her utilize her artistic talents in many different ways, from painting murals, designing ads, logos, and even creating museum shows.  One museum show she designed and created work for was an exhibition about the wind turbines at the Desert Museum in the 90's.   Most of what Liz has learned about drawing and painting she learned on the job, while working as a graphic designer.  She did not study art in school, although she did have one painting class in college that was influential.  While working as a graphic designer and raising her children, Liz did not paint much on her own.  It was in 1996 that she was finally able to do art for art's sake.    

Liz is well traveled, and has a passion for ethnic people and tribal costumes.  She has had a strong connection with Africa ever since childhood.  Even though she has never visited Africa, it is a life-long ambition of hers to travel there.  When she was about four years old, she remembers dreaming that she was sitting on a river bank with her arms crossed in front of her, and as the dream progressed, she realized she was in Africa.
Jorgensen's passion for Africa is evident in her paintings.  The first artwork she remembers doing in Junior High had zebras in it, and she remembers doing pen and ink drawings of other African wildlife.  Now she loves to paint African people.  Her watercolor paintings are skillfully rendered portraits, landscapes and birds.  She carefully researches the costumes and other details, because authenticity is important to her.  Jorgensen's acrylic paintings are vibrant contrasts to the careful detail of her watercolors, where the figure is treated with more freedom and exuberance.  When you look into the faces of the people she paints, Jorgensen wants you to believe you are seeing her, looking through their eyes.

Like many of the artists we have met on this blog, Jorgensen does not limit herself to painting alone.  She also has explored sculpture, and has created a series of carved concrete lizards.  Each lizard is carefully mounted on a rock in the most convincingly lifelike manner.  Jorgensen explained that her family seems to produce two artists every generation.  She knew she was an artist from an early age.  Liz is one person who seems to have succeeded in being who she was meant to be, and her work clearly shows it.   This will be Jorgensen's first year on the Art Tours, and I encourage you to drive the few blocks from Hwy. 62 to have a look.  Jorgensen will be showing the second weekend of the tours.

Our next visit today was to the homestead cabin studio of Jenifer Palmer-Lacy.  Jenifer will also be showing the second weekend of the art tours this year.  In addition to being a painter,  she also makes papel picado, which is Spanish for "cut paper" or "perforated paper."  Cut paper is a traditional Mexican folk art, as well as an ancient art form in China and Japan.  Jenifer cuts the paper by hand with an exacto knife, and most of her cut paper pieces are portraits of people.   The other impressive feature of Palmer-Lacy's papel picado is the size of her pieces.  Not knowing much about papel picado or of Palmer-Lacy's art, I was expecting small, delicate works of cut paper, but she had several pieces that may have been 2 or 3 feet across.  Palmer-Lacy spray paints many of her finished papel picado works, which is also a departure from the traditional art form.  In the traditional Mexican art form of papel picado, the artists would use scissors and fold the paper to cut the designs.  More recently, a hammer and chisel are used to cut tissue paper, and several sheets of tissue may be layered and cut at one time with this technique.  It is a treat to see one artist's own twist on this traditional art form.

In addition to her papel picado, Palmer-Lacy is also a painter, working in acrylic and luminous paints.  (Luminous paints will glow in the dark.)  Her paintings mostly focus on the desert landscape, and are done in plein air.  Palmer-Lacy usually begins her paintings with prisma color pencils.  Once her drawing is complete, she will use water to darken the painting before adding acrylic paint on top.  Jenifer grew up in Houston, Texas, and even though she began her college education in Idaho, she actually did not complete her degree until she was 52 years old.  She earned her BA in art and interdisciplinary studies from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and has gone on to earn her Master's in humanities.  Her house in Joshua Tree, which is not far from her studio, was a gift to herself for completing her degree.  Palmer-Lacy is not a full-time resident of Joshua Tree, but does manage to come out on weekends from the home she shares with her husband, a musician, in Silverlake.

Jenifer currently has a show of her work at the Adult Center in Griffith Park, and it will remain up until the end of August.  For the Art Tours, Palmer-Lacy is planning to have live music in addition to an interactive piece of art.  Visitors will have an opportunity to contribute art of their own to a "Peace" banner made by her son, Charlie.  There is much more to Palmer-Lacy than her art, as I discovered today.  She is an accordion player, and worked as a disc jockey for Pacifica radio in Houston for ten years.  Jenifer is also a newcomer to the art tours.  I am excited to welcome both of these fascinating artists to the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours this year.

written by Karine Swenson

Ellie Tyler, Cheryl Kandel and Terry Rothrock

This morning, I traveled just one block to visit the sparkly new studio of my neighbor, photographer Elle Tyler.  Tyler will be opening her studio to two other artists - Cheryl Kandel and Terry Rothrock.  This diverse group of artists will be showing both weekends of the tours this year.

Ellie Tyler, a longtime desert dweller, is a landscape photographer.  Tyler is one of the few photographers shooting with film, rather than a digital camera.  Tyler believes patience and truth are important to her work, which is why she prefers to shoot with film.  She likes the sharpness and clarity of film photography, and says she knows when a photo is film rather than digital.  She believes film will always be around because of the richness and color quality of the final image.  Tyler's first publication of her photography was in 1981 in Wyoming.  She counts this as the beginning of her life as a photographer.  (She and her husband lived in Wyoming prior to coming to the desert.)  She loves to photograph natural subjects.   She just wrote a book, which she hopes to have ready in time for the Art Tours.  In her book she writes, "...it is in nature that I find connection to order, beauty and meaning."   She has a masterful way of handling negative shapes in her work.  She focuses on placement and making order out of chaos.  Tyler likes to take photos that give a sense of place, but aren't necessarily site-specific.  She is always seeking a new way to shoot well-known, frequently photographed locations.   Tyler likes to wait for God to "paint" the natural world and then be a witness to this masterpiece.

Relationship

El Nino

In addition to her photography, Tyler has recently begun creating collages from natural objects like leaves, bark, moss, and twigs.  This new work came about after she moved into her new studio this past February, because now she says she "has room to play."  The "natural treasures" are a way for her to arrange and play with color.  She has even begun to combine the photography with the found natural objects, and it will be exciting to see what new things she comes up with for the Art Tours.

Ellie has been on the Open Studio Art Tours for six years.  She has exhibited her work in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico.   Her photography has been published in Sierra Club books, National Geographic Books, Sunset Magazine, and Wyoming Wildlife Magazine, to name a few.  She is also a member of the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA).  Tyler has taught photography through the 29 Palms Art Gallery, and now that she has her own studio, she is considering teaching again. 

Ellie Tyler

Cheryl Kandel is an artist with multiple facets.  She runs her own business, called Stitch Art Studio, specializing in embroidery digitizing.  She has been in this field since 1991.  She and her husband are "escapees" from L.A.  They have lived in Joshua Tree for seven years.  They felt like they had been "pushed out" of L.A. by the crowds, traffic and other problems of such a big city.  Before they moved here, they had come to Joshua Tree National Park several times a year to camp.  Kandel had spent three summers in Denali National Park, working for a back-country lodge.  It was ultimately these summers in Alaska that finally prompted the move out of the city.  Joshua Tree feels like a world away from L.A., but they like that they are still close enough to see their families.

Marina del Rey, a fully stitched landscape.

Kandel's embroidery art is an extension of her business, because she utilizes the digitizing software and embroidery machine to create her own original designs.  She has won awards for her embroidery designs, and has been featured on the cover of Stitches magazine.  The embroidery designs she creates are often mandalas, but she also has done fully stitched landscapes that are amazing.  (see above photo)  In addition to her embroidery art, Kandel also paints Joshua Tree landscapes in acrylic on canvas.  Kandel is strongly influenced by expressionism and the Fauves, and her strong color palette is indicative of this.  She loves the juxtaposition of boulders and trees in the Joshua Tree area, and is inspired by the serenity she feels in the Park.  The uniqueness of the Joshua Tree draws her, and she loves it when there are clouds in the sky.  (Which any desert resident can tell you is not an every day occurrence!)   Kandel also considers photography to be a hobby, and uses her own photos as reference material for her other art.

Kandel has been an artist all her life, and even went to a private art school in grade school.  She was always doing crafts as a young girl, and fondly remembers winning an award for art in kindergarten.  She has a BA in illustration from Cal State Northridge.  This year marks Kandel's third year on the Art Tours (she tends to participate every other year).  She has shown her paintings at the 29 Palms Inn and will have a show of her work at Crossroads next year.  You will find denim jackets, purses, hats, and patches with her embroidery designs at Joshua Tree Outfitters year-round.

One of Kandel's embroidered mandalas on a pillow.

Cheryl Kandel in front of her recently completed studio.

The third artist showing with Ellie Tyler and Cheryl Kandel will be a ceramicist named Terry Rothrock.  Rothrock currently resides in Idyllwild, but was a resident of the desert for many years.  He teaches ceramics at Idyllwild Arts Academy.  Rothrock shows his wheel-thrown ceramics at the Joshua Tree National Park Art festival every April.  He was not at the studio today, so I did not get a chance to meet him, but you will not be disappointed in his ceramics, which he creates with his wife Chinlee Chang.

 

written by Karine Swenson

Vera Topinka and David McChesney

This week takes us to the studio and residence of Vera Topinka.  Topinka will be showing with fellow photographer David McChesney this year.  It just so happens that these two photographers are neighbors in Joshua Tree, so it made sense that they pair up and show together for the Tours.  The work of these two photographers blends beautifully.  Topinka focuses primarily on portraits of people, while McChesney's photographs are portraits of wildlife.

Vera Topinka has been in the High Desert for nearly five years, coming from Marin County ( in the bay area of San Francisco.)  She grew up in small towns in Idaho and Oregon, having immigrated from Germany shortly after the war.  Topinka has been a professional photographer for about 25 years, with a portrait and wedding business being the primary focus.  She is inspired by light, beauty, and the expressions of people.  Topinka feels fortunate to have stumbled onto something that will never grow old to her, since there is always so much to learn.  The camera she had at the beginning was "crappy," and since she wasn't able to capture what she saw with it, she was spurred on to get better and better photographs.  Vera considers herself to be mainly a portrait photographer.  She loves it when she can really capture what she calls the "deep essence" of a person; that quality which shows through when people are just being themselves.  Often, her favorite shots occur when the person is not aware of being photographed.  Like most photographers, she does shoot whatever captures her eye, and of course the desert has been a source of inspiration for her.  Topinka often uses metal, bits of cholla skeletons, tin cans, and old wood to frame and display her photographs.   She says the idea came about as a result of living in the desert.  She finds the "funky junkiness" of the desert beautiful, and has found a unique way to incorporate it with her photography.

Topinka has had an ongoing show of portraits at the Wonder Garden Cafe for the last year, which was just changed to represent all new work.  Two years ago, she had a show at True World Gallery in Joshua Tree, and has also showed at Starbucks in Yucca Valley.  For the tours this year, she will show new portraits in addition to smaller works with other desert-related photos on metals that people might like for their homes.  Art, for Topinka, is important as a means of expressing feeling, beauty, weirdness of mood, color and inspiration.  She loves to look at art, or listen to art as a means of being inspired by others.  She feels its one of the deepest kinds of communication.  Topinka enjoys biking, running and hiking as ways to open her up to the natural world.  As she elegantly puts it, the exercise "centers me and helps me create my life, which is my most magnificent artwork."

McChesney has been visiting the desert since he was a baby, as his grandparents lived in Snow Creek.  He bought a home in Joshua Tree in 1998 and visited on weekends from Orange County.  He finally made the desert his full time home in 2008.  (A move he does not regret!)  Spending time in Snow Creek as a youngster, his grandmother would put food and water out for the wildlife.  This is where his fascination with wild animals first began.  When McChesney was a teenager, his parents divorced.  As he puts it:  "They split up and I got the camera!"  That was the beginning of his foray into the world of photography.  He first photographed rock and roll - capturing the likes of Bob Dillon, the Who, and other famous acts while working for KROQ radio in Pasadena.  It was in 1973 that McChesney began to visit National Parks, which led him into becoming the wildlife photographer he is today.

McChesney is drawn to the grandeur, waterfalls and wildlife in our National Parks.  He has traveled to 54 different National Parks, from Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands to Alaska.  In addition to the wildlife he has captured through the lens of his camera while traveling to other places, he has photographed 120 different species right outside the window of his house here in Joshua Tree. This makes our desert the ultimate home for McChesney.  The neighborhood where he and Topinka live is only 1 mile from Joshua Tree National park, providing them proximity to an abundance of desert fauna.   McChesney feels that a lifetime of loving nature and the wildlife in it are what have driven his passion.  He loves the lessons he learns every day, living here and observing nature.

McChesney, like many of our creative minds, has another outlet for his creativity besides his photography.  He also plays the harmonica.  Performing for 30+ years as "hurricane" David, he was crowned a National Harmonica Champion in 2008.  There is certainly more to this artist than meets the eye.  McChesney has written and published a coffee table book of his photography, called Muir Roots: at One with the Wild.  The book is available at several locations in the Morogo Basin, including the Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center, Hi-Desert Nature Museum and California Welcome Center.  He is also releasing three new lines of bird cards this year, "American," "Gulf Coast," and "Desert" Bird life.  The "Desert Birdlife" cards will be released in November during his birdlife exhibit at the Covington Park Gallery in Morongo Valley.

Vera Topinka and David McChesney will be showing both weekends of the October Art Tours this year - October 23rd and 24th and October 30th and 31st. 

 

written by Karine Swenson