Artist credits talent to parents, faith
“I like the feel of something in my hands and then being able to see it be completed,” says Clark Fork, Idaho, artist Lane Russell. “I like container forms. It doesn’t have to hold anything. It can be aesthetic rather than utilitarian.”
Her dark eyes exude a passion for expression that reflects and radiates from the art she creates – whether an oil painting, a woven bowl or an enameled sculpture.
“My folks are both artists. So I came by it naturally,” she says.
Russell started by sculpting clay and painting. Eventually, she began working with natural weavings.
“I learned from an old sourdough back in the Salmon River Mountains how to make containers out of willows and all kinds of bark,” she says.
Russell continued her education at Idaho State University in Pocatello, earning a Master of Fine Arts in 1993.
While she was in graduate school, Russell learned to be a metalsmith, and creating containers from metals became her signature form.
She often will leave the metal rough for additional texturing or reflection in the finished product. Her enamel pieces are coated both top and bottom and may be fired in a kiln up to 10 times at temperatures reaching 1,700 degrees before they are complete.
It is not uncommon for the firing process to destroy the finishes, causing the whole work to be thrown away and a new one to be started from scratch. According to Russell, multiple firings on copper and silver no longer are commonly done, but she uses the technique to create her own unique style. In a process she calls “firestorming,” the fire chemically alters the metal, creating a stable patina on her sculptures.
Russell’s inspiration comes from observing, reading and meditating until an image develops. For her metal pieces, she forms a miniature of what she envisions before creating the full-sized work.
Russell also attributes her creative workings to her deep faith. She speaks of the spiritual aspect her paintings have for her, but she recognizes they may draw an entirely different perspective from another person.
Through April 10, several of Russell’s creations are on display in the lobby of the East Bonner County Library in Sandpoint. She purposely has left off the name of each piece so as not to influence a viewer’s perception of the work.
The three oil paintings are particularly interesting both for their vivid colors and the explosion of impressions they create, giving them an almost living feel. The paintings produce a sensory reaction – the red so warm as if it might give off heat. The blue painting reflects light in such a way as to produce subtle feelings of calmness or peace.
Also on display are enamel sculptures – some burnished to a high gloss, others beaten to a muted gleam. The 4-inch ceramic tiles and the bowls feature striking colors. The naturally woven baskets with their earthy-brown coloring richly complement and round out the sampling of artwork.
“Sometimes I’ll start with just a flat piece of metal. I just like the way it feels and all of a sudden I’ll cut it out – if I want it to start round, and then I’ll just start raising it on the stake and it takes on a life of its own.”
Russell refers to the “voice” of each piece she creates – the particular way a work of art affects a person.
While she claims no one item sticks in her mind as a favorite, some of the enamel containers – bowls she has done – were especially satisfying.
“My favorite ones are the ones that have the veins in them – the deep wrinkles – because that’s like us. The beauty is in the living of the object.”
Russell’s works are in private collections throughout the United States, Asia and Europe. Some of her more popular pieces were fashioned from high-grade stainless steel originally destined to be part of a nuclear power plant.
Interior decorators in Southern Idaho are an outlet for many of her baskets. Russell will design a piece on commission to meet the needs or tastes of a particular client.
Currently, she is working on a large body of oil paintings plus some enamel sculptures. Giclees, museum-quality prints of her paintings, also are available for sale.
Beginning in 2006 and again this year, Russell is participating in the Artists’ Studio tour. During the last two weekends of July, the public is invited to take a self-guided driving tour and meet the various artists residing in North Idaho, explore their studios and capture a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes work of creating.
For Russell, being an artist involves all the senses, and she enjoys producing an eclectic body of work to share with the world.
“I just like to bring out the expressions of my heart,” she says.