GALLERY ROUTE ONE:
THE BOX SHOW
Each year Gallery Route One in Point Reyes Station organizes The Box Show, featuring the work of approximately 150 artists, each of whom takes as her starting point a wooden box provided by the gallery. The works are auctioned off to support the gallery and its many worthwhile programs.
2023
"Rift: Living on the Edge"
As residents of this area are keenly aware, the Point Reyes National Seashore lies on the eastern edge of the Pacific Plate, just across the San Andreas Fault from the North American Plate. Locally Tomales Bay and Olema Valley are the visible trace of the San Andreas Fault. Experts estimate that the Pacific Plate slides northwestward about two inches in a normal year—and we live in anticipation of the next big dramatic shift between these massive plates.
In this sense the locals here live very literally on the edge. My contribution to this year’s Box Show was inspired by the San Andreas Fault running beneath Tomales Bay. A large part of the piece was created using a technique called on-edge construction, but with a twist. Normally on-edge construction involves laying glass in a tight formation, so that there is no slippage. For this piece, slippage was the point. Therefore, I laid the glass loosely and at an angle, so the heat of the kiln, much like the heat of the magma that moves the tectonic plates, would create a dynamic, almost chaotic appearance.
The hand-pulled murrine at the top right of the piece were designed to suggest the waters of Tomales Bay, although some viewers have interpreted them as stone clasts from the Point Reyes conglomerate.
Overall, this piece aspires to evoke the beauty, depth, and precarity of life on the Pacific Plate.
Rusell Linscott expertly constructed the wooden stand out of the box provided by Gallery Route One.
Materials: Bullseye glass, wood
You can bid on "Rift: Living on the Edge" or any of the other entries for the duration of the show (August 5 - September 9, 2023) at Gallery Route One at Point Reyes Station.
2022
"Foggy Morning—Chimney Rock"
My aim in this piece is to strip down a beloved scene—Chimney Rock as seen from Drake’s Beach—to its essence. This work addresses the tension between the calm surface of the landscape and the complex ecosystem both veiled and nurtured by the cooling morning fog. Underlying the serenity of this image is the troubling realization that the fog is a lesser-known casualty of climate change. A 2010 research study performed by UC Berkeley scientists showed that on average fog along the west coast has decreased about 30% in the past 60 years. Just as the landscape itself shines subtly in diffused sunlight, this artwork will show its true colors in natural lighting.
Special thanks to Russell Linscott for expert woodworking, and to David Hattery, whose photograph in a 2011 blog post, Sailing Mahdee, provided the initial inspiration.
Materials: Bullseye sheet and powdered glass, wood, paint
You can bid on "Foggy Morning—Chimney Rock" or any of the other entries for the duration of the show (July 16 - August 20, 2022).
2021
"Deep Appreciation for Point Reyes"
In 2021 I was invited to participate in the Box Show for the first time. The inspiration for my piece was the beautiful Point Reyes landscape. This piece is a departure from my usual work: I layered eleven sheets of glass, each printed with glass powder, then fused them together to create a deep image that invites the viewer in.
No artist stands alone, and this particular work would not have been possible without Spencer Pittenger (coldworking) and Russell Linscott (woodworking).
You can bid on "Deep Appreciation for Point Reyes" or any of the other entries for the duration of the show (July 24 - September 11, 2021) here.
