Ely’s manuscripts reflect uniqueness
Timothy C. Ely’s work hovers between alchemy and fine art.
His unique manuscript books, when simply viewed as objects, are visually stunning and exquisitely crafted works of art.
Behind their striking physical forms, buried deep in the content of their pages, lays Ely’s longtime fascination with astronomy, sacred geometry, particle physics, UFOs and a contemporary interaction between Eastern and Western thought.
“Four Fictions,” an exhibition of his recent work, opens Monday for a three-week run in Washington State University’s intimate Gallery 2.
Trained as a bookbinder, Ely calls his work “a combination of conceptual art and traditional bookmaking techniques and materials.”
His art is “an expression of his imagined landscapes and invented languages, an internal universe that gives his books an evocative, extraterrestrial character,” according to his resume posted on Garage Annex School for Book Arts’ Web site (www.garageannexschool.com).
He received a Master of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Washington in 1975 and since then has been making one-of-a-kind manuscript books and teaching the art of the book. He’s lived in Colfax since 2001.
The internationally exhibited artist is represented by Granary Books in New York City. His books are in public and private collections around the globe.
Ely will talk about the art of creating manuscript books and his own work in a free public lecture next Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by an artist’s reception.
Gallery 2 is in Room 5072 of the Fine Arts Center on WSU’s Pullman campus.
The free gallery is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. For more information call (509) 335-8686 or go online to www.finearts.wsu.edu/galleries/.
EWU’s ‘Two by Two’
Opening today in the Eastern Washington University Gallery of Art is the “Two by Two: small-scale ceramic sculpture biennial.”
Each object in the juried show is no larger than 2 feet square.
The exhibition illustrates “the diversity of visions within the ceramic community,” says gallery director Nancy Hathaway in a news release.
“The artworks selected for the exhibition offer insight into themes being explored by contemporary ceramic artists today while providing an opportunity for the Inland Northwest to experience ceramics as sculptural media,” Hathaway says.
The pieces in the show reflect a variety of styles from figurative to abstract, as well as a diversity of processes and materials including porcelain, stoneware and earthenware.
EWU ceramic faculty members Sandra Trujillo and Lisa Nappa selected the works for the show. The exhibition essay was written by ceramic artist Curtis Stewardson.
The exhibition features work by 20 artists from throughout the United States.
The Pacific Northwest is represented by Alex Kraft of Helena. California artists include Una Mjurka of Sanger and Helen Otterson of La Jolla.
From Illinois come pieces by Melody Ellis of Edwardsville; Yoshi Fujii of Carbondale; Erin Furimsky of Bloomington; Shane Harris of Champaign; and Joseph Madrigal of Normal.
Other Midwest artists include Eric S. Phagan of Madison, Ind.; Mika Negishi Laidlaw of Mankato, Minn.; David S. East of Columbia, Mo.; and Diane King of Fort Atkinson, Wis.
New York artists are Shane M. Keena of West Henrietta, and J. Solomon Kleinman of Brooklyn.
From the South are works by Jeffery Kaller of Columbus, Ga.; John Utgaard of Murray, Ky.; and Sally Brogden of Knoxville, Tenn.
Rounding out the show are objects by Ray Chen of Portland, Maine; Marilyn Andrews of Plainfield, Mass.; and Miranda Howe of Roswell, N.M.
The biennial opens today with a reception in the gallery from noon to 1 p.m. The show is up through March 21 and can be viewed weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The gallery is in the Art Building, in the center of the fine and performing arts complex on the college campus at Seventh and I streets in Cheney. All of the events are free and open to the public.
For more information call (509) 359-7070 or go online to www.ewu.edu/x24865.xml.
Colfax visiting artist
John Elwood steps into the spotlight next Thursday at 7 p.m. in the “Meet the Artist” series at the Whitman County Library in Colfax.
Elwood is one of the region’s “extremely talented, hidden masters,” says Ann Marra of the Colfax Arts Council.
The musician from Elberton, Wash., uses his woodcrafting skills to build instruments such as banjos, mandolins and mountain dulcimers.
“He gathers his wood locally as much as possible, preferring to season it himself,” writes Marra in an e-mail. She adds that he “draws inspiration for an instrument’s details from waterfowl and sea life.”
Each commissioned piece is customized to the player’s hand size and musical style, and then decorated with unique woodcarving and inlay motifs.
During the informal presentation Elwood will talk about his craft, show instruments he has made, perform some of his music and “chat a bit about songwriting.”
The event is free and open to the public at the library, 102 S. Main St. in Colfax. For more information call (509) 397-4366.
Sandpoint March shows
Two new shows will be opening next Thursday in Sandpoint:
•Wine Sellers by the Lake, 302 N. First Ave., is hosting a group art show during March.
There will be work by Whitney Davison, Rory McCambly, Matt Donahue, Robens Napolitan, Bruce Johnson, Jeremi Ossman, Tom Kramer and Diana Schuppel.
An opening reception is next Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.
• Just a block away at the Art Works Gallery, 214 N. First Ave., will be the work of photographer Mathew Hall.
In his artist’s statement, Hall says he “seeks out wild light, in wild places, with wild people, to best express the power of the untamed.” His work will be up through March 31.
Art a la Carte
Next Thursday, WSU’s Art a la Carte, an informal brown-bag lecture series, features artist George Wray (www.georgewray.com) talking about “Light, Texture and Space.”
On March 8, ceramic artist Marilyn Lysohir (www.marilynlysohir.com) recalls “High School Portraits, 1968, Good Girls, Sharon, Pennsylvania.”
The free talks begin at noon in the Bundy Reading Room in Avery Hall, on the north side of WSU’s Pullman campus next to Bryan Hall (clock tower).
Other galleries
• Donald Clegg, a Spokane watercolorist and author, is the subject of a “Northwest Profile” segment airing today at 7 p.m. on KSPS-7 public television. It repeats Sunday at 11:30 a.m.