Call to Artists: Icicle Prize in Recycled Art!

Icicle Arts is pleased to announce the 2011 Icicle Arts Festival, featuring the Icicle Prize in Recycled Art, sponsored by the Icicle Fund. This juried exhibition will be installed by Icicle Arts on the grounds of Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort and Barn Beach Reserve in Leavenworth, Washington. Eligible artwork must be made entirely or mostly of materials from the trash. Eligible artists must live in Chelan, Douglas, Grant or Okanogan County.

Entry forms are available at iciclearts.org or by calling (509) 548-2278. Artists of all ages may submit artwork in the following categories: 2-dimensional (grand prize $250, second prize $100), 3-dimensional (grand prize $250, second prize $100), installation (grand prize $250), wearable (grand prize $250, second prize$100, third prize $50), senior student: age 11-18 (grand prize$50, second prize $25), junior student: age 10 and under (grand prize$50, second prize $25). Guest judges are regional professional artists who use recycled materials as their primary art medium, not residing in the four counties. Confirmed judges include Marita Dingus (represented by the Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle), Maria Ruano (of Bedrock Industries Seattle), and Diane Kurzyna aka Ruby Re-Usable (Olympia), and Ross Palmer Beecher. Other judges will be announced soon. The deadline to enter artwork is August 15; artwork will be installed August 26 and 27 and remain on display through the month of September.

Icicle Arts is also inviting portfolio submissions from photographers residing in the four counties who are interested in photographing the exhibit for a $500 stipend. Photographs will be published in a full-color exhibit book, available for purchase at the festival, and on print/web media, with credit to the photographer. Application materials are available at iciclearts.org or by calling (509) 548-2278 and applications will be accepted until August 15.

Icicle Arts Festival dates are September 2-11, 2011 and events include a special exhibit of guest judge artwork at Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center with an opening on September 2 during Wenatchee First Friday, an art walk and reception at Sleeping Lady on Friday, September 9, workshops by guest judges at Barn Beach Reserve in Leavenworth on Saturday, September 10, a Songwriters’ Showcase performance featuring 2010 Icicle Prize grand prize winner Beth Whitney along with Icicle Prize second and third place winners Brian McMahon and Sandy Vaughn on Saturday, September 10 at Icicle Creek Music Center’s Canyon Wren Recital Hall at 7PM, and the Main Stage Event: “Trash to Fash” Runway & Awards Show at Icicle Creek Music Center’s Canyon Wren Recital Hall on Sunday, September 11, at 4pm.

Tickets to the Showcase and Main Stage shows are available through iciclearts.org and are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. There is a special $10 rate for students and seniors 65 and over (in advance and at the door). Seating is limited at the venue, and advance purchase is recommended. For more information on Icicle Arts Festival visit iciclearts.org or call (509) 548-2278.

Lance Dooley featured at Icicle Arts Gallery next!

Icicle Arts Gallery presents “Hand, Heart, and Head,” featuring figurative sculptures and drawings by East Wenatchee artist and Wenatchee Valley College faculty member Lance Dooley. The show opens on July 19 and will be on display until August 22. A “Meet the Artist” reception will be held on Friday, July 22, from 5PM to 7PM with free admission, refreshments, and local wines. The gallery is located at Barn Beach Reserve - 347 Division Street in downtown Leavenworth. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11AM to 4PM and by appointment.

Lance was born in 1968 to a family of traveling Americans in Thailand. His family then spent 7 years in Tehran before returning to the father's hometown in Oroville, Washington and then moving to East Wenatchee, WA where he graduated from High School with the “Artist of the Year” award. Lance served for four years in the United States Army, mostly in Wurzburg, Germany where he enjoyed touring the countryside and central Europe in his old beat-up 1979 Mazda and learned to speak German. After finishing military service in 1990, he attended and graduated from Wenatchee Valley College where he was awarded the President’s medal. He continued his education at Washington State University and graduated Cum Laude from the Electrical Engineering program. Lance then worked in Seattle for a number of years, while pursuing his artistic studies. When he bought his first house in 1999, he finally had his own art studio and began participating in regional art shows and embracing serious training in the visual arts. The rich infusion of cultures from different countries imprinted Lance and he always dreamed of going to the best art school in the world and developing the necessary skills to visually articulate facets of the society he lived in and other wanderlust adventures and experiences yet to come. That dream came true when he went to The Florence Academy of Art in the renaissance city of Florence, Italy and graduated in 2008 from the sculpting program directed by Robert Bodem. 

Lance is a student of nature and strives to represent that which is in front of him in a naturalistic way by drawing upon his classical training. His subject is the human form and he works extensively from live models. Lance minimizes projecting himself onto his work and attempts to capture the forms and emotions that emanate from each model he works with. Each person carries a lifetime of unique experiences and Lance’s goal is to illuminate this to the viewer. His mediums are charcoal on paper and sculpted clay that is molded and then cast into plaster or bronze. Each project is started with a series of drawings and charcoal studies in order to grasp the character of the model. When a pose and theme is selected, the project transitions into the sculptural phase, which entails creating a metallic armature that mimics the pose and gesture of the model. Clay is applied to the armature in a way to maximize the gesture and rhythms of the forms of the body. Surfacing of the clay varies from smooth to rough and textural, depending upon the feeling to be conveyed. The end result of the project is a representation of the model that often has lifelike qualities of its own, encouraging a high level of connectivity between the sculpture and the viewer. The sculptures fall into several themes such as; historical figures, religious/spiritual figures, fantasy subjects and commissioned pieces. In particular, a lifelong project is the study and investigation of entities known as angels, demons or fairies and how they may be one and the same entity that carries different names or labels in different societies.

Icicle Arts is accepting applications from artists interested in exhibiting their work in 2012. For more details and application information visit iciclearts.org or call (509) 548-2278. Icicle Arts Gallery is a program of Icicle Arts, North Central Washington’s arts alliance since 2004. To learn more, join as a member, and support the arts in North Central Washington, visit iciclearts.org or call (509) 548-2278.