The Hanging Man

Red Crow Interview with Gabe Cano

Name: Gabriel Cano
Occupation: Co-Owner of Specialty Color Services Custom Photo Lab/ Artist
Location: Santa Barbara


How did you first become interested in Photography?
Ever since I was nine or ten years old I was fascinated by how a camera worked especially the sound of the shutter. The more I started to find out about photography like the idea of printing in a darkroom, the more I became interested. I started taking photography courses as a sophmore in high school. My studies continued from there.


How long have you been taking pictures?
About 19 years now.

What are your artistic influences?
I think the biggest influence on my work would be music. In fact I discovered music before I discovered photography. It's always been an important part of my life. Music has always been an escape while photography has always been more my dialogue. Photographically, I've found the work of Duane Michals to be quite a big influence on me. Luis Gonzales Palma was somone I looked at for inspiration as well. Most recently Masao Yamamoto, Jack Spencer and Keith Carter are photographers I consider to have very meaningful work.

What have you used/learned from another artist lately?
By nature, I tend to like and make things complicated. Masao Yamamoto has taught me how being understated can be so much more powerful and memorable. Simplicity sometimes reveals something completely more significant and accessible and in turn more honest. I guess with age I'm learning to let go a little bit. I think by looking at his work I was able to take that rationale and use it in my own work. The interesting thing to is that when I look at my work as a whole now, the complexities do reveal themselves still. So I guess by looking at the work of Yamamoto I was able to be more intuitive and instead of trying to communicate, I simply let go and let the work come out and start my own dissection of the work after it was done instead of before. I let myself be.


What are you trying to communicate with your art?
I'm looking to make images that look like what I feel like. So it's really less about subject and most about mood. Regret, longing, nostalgia, mystery are all very powerful feelings that I have always been drawn to and try to capture in my work. I like the idea of making work that is very accessible. It's important for me to make work that is both aesthetically beautiful but also thought provoking, meaningful and most importantly very personal to me.

Your photographs have such an ethereal quality to them. Can you tell us a little about your approach to the landscape?
With the landscapes I am looking for something very specific. I'm fortunate enough that the area I live in has many places nearby that have the qualities I love. I don't like grandness. Not in the work anyways. What I look for is more of the non-landscape type of landscape. I like areas that look uninhabited however show traces of life. I look for very simple composition but most importantly, I'm looking for gorgeous morning light.


Was the “path’ series all done in a single shoot or over several days?
Was it a single location? The path series was done at several locations over a course of several months actually. I started shooting in the Ojai, CA area and then worked my way up a bit to Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey area.


What do you dream about?
My dreams get recycled quite a bit. I tend to dwell on things so most of the time I'm dreaming about whatever I'm dwelling on, or something related to it. I often dream of going somewhere, usually at some point in the dream I'm either lost or didn't do something well enough, or let someone down. You know, happy things. My most vivid dream is being lost as a kid in this city, and for some reason I go in this doorway which ends up being some sort of cliff that I'm hanging onto.

We have a large 38”x48” print on canvas here at the shop and the path in the image is calling for us to walk down into it. Yet, I find that the much smaller pieces invite the same reaction. Does print size matter?
Yes print size is always an important aspect of my work, and it either works really very small so that the viewer can't just glance at it, instead has to get up close and intimate with the image, or very large so that it puts the viewer in a scene.

My favorite print that we have here at the Gallery is of a bare branched tree and a man hanging upside down in the trunk. He blends into the bark as if the tree and man are ONE. Could you elaborate on the history of this photograph?
For this image, a friend of mine asked to create a dream that he had for the cover a CD. The idea morphed from what he described as somewhat of a pleasant dream into more of a nightmare maybe. The image took some time to create actually, and we struggled sometime to find a tree that would work, however I became so consumed with this project that I started to dream the scene in my own way which was more of a nightmare. In my nightmare there was a battle going around the tree, with canons, rifles and horses. And at some point in the dream this man gets hung upside down.

The time of day that the photograph was taken is very important. Since so much of this image was inspired from dreams I wanted to illustrate or convey a moment in a person's psyche when you just awaken from a dream and you're not quite sure how much of it was a dream and how much of it was real life. That moment where the dream you just had starts to fade and reality starts to creep in. That's why that first morning light was so important and the man is fading into the tree. The dream is getting washed away in a sense.

What do you shoot with?
I shoot with several different cameras. Most of the work that I'm showing here at the Red Crow Anthologies was shot either with a Hasselblad or a Polaroid Land Camera that I broke and made into a pinhole camera.

And our completely RANDOM question to end it all: In honor of our upcoming poetry readings what is your favorite poem of all time?
It's a refrigerator magnet poem that my friend created. It went like this. "You-and-me-beneath-the lake-come-to me-boy-it's-only-water" That grouping of words holds magic.

Christmas in Grass Valley

Wanting to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS here in Nevada County. May your stockings be full of Love and Joy. from everyone at the Red Crow.

Stay tuned for an interview with Photographer Gabe Cano on boxing day.

Barack and the Queen

Even though the snow kept many of you away on our first opening, it was a roaring good time and a few key invitees made their way through the cold and sleet to enjoy some free wine!

In all seriousness....we will be having an  encore opening sometime in January so STAY tuned!

Gallery OPENING

We are having our first official opening this Thursday Evening from 6-9 PM. Feel free to stop by anytime & bring a friend! It's the Winter Landscape show. We'll have a great selection of unique holiday gifts and original art appropriate for the season. If you have any questions call 530.272.4154

Red Crow Interview with Beth Cyr

Name: Beth Cyr
Occupation: Jeweler/Metalsmith
Location: Athens, GA

How did you first become interested in making jewelry?

Oddly enough, in high school I started making beaded and hemp necklaces (it was the 90's), though I didn't really think of making jewelry as a living. I was just making them for fun and selling them to my friends b/c they liked them and want one too! I had planned on being a photography major when I went to college. Life didn't go quite as planned. To make a long story short, in my distraught emotional state, a good friend of mine pointed out how great I had done in the metalsmithing class we took together. So I decided that would be my major! I had loved working with the torches and the hammers. I also have a really practical nature, so it seemed more 'marketable' than being a painting major. I also work much better 3 dimensionally than 2 -so there was really no looking back.

How long have you been making custom pieces?
I've been doing custom metalwork since I was in school, so maybe about 7 years ago? A friend of
mine was a fireman and wanted me to make a piece for a fellow fireman that was retiring. I think that was the first custom sterling piece that I did.

What are your artistic influences?
Sometimes I feel like I am influenced by too much!! Its easy to say nature. Trees and leaves are most dear. I go through different phases though where I am influenced by different things around me. I like going to the library and checking out a bunch of books on a particular subject - usually science related. Bugs, weather, outer space, geology, people and relationships and the human body, but I always come back to trees, leaves, vines, flowers, plants in general!

What have you used/learned from another artist lately?
A good friend of mine, Christine, creates amazing jewelry. She has been going through some
restructuring of her work. She created a mini collection of 3 rings that were all really beautiful and simple. I have been feeling similar in wanting some change and being tired of some things I've been working on. So I created a mini collection of 3 rings, quite different from hers, but I was just really inspired by her drive and the way the three rings went together. Within a week or so I sold one of the rings!

What are you trying to communicate with your art?
I want people to feel something when they either look at or wear my jewelry. Being in nature makes me feel connected and at peace. I hope that people feel something similar to that when they look at my jewelry. I hope that it brings the wearer much happiness, either in the way it makes them feel to wear it or the compliments they receive! What woman doesn't want to be
complimented?!

We have sold several pieces from your ‘Organic Vine’ and it seems people are almost instantly drawn towards the pendants and the earrings. Is there a specific story behind the vine pieces that we could share with your admirers?
I wish I had some really great story behind it. I don't know that I do. Its been sort of an evolution or I guess you could say it has 'grown' in to something all on its own. I try to not come up with an idea and execute it - I much prefer to just having things happen. One of the first similar pieces I created was using regular sterling silver (which doesn't fuse all that great). It had a patina and sold within 30 minutes of listing it. That particular piece reminded me of an old garden gate
that had lots of vines growing up and over it. When I started experimenting with argentium sterling silver - the way the collection is now really came to life. I use a lot of circles and the collection is basically lots of incomplete circles fused together to create a look that reminds me of brambles. It also is similar to laying on the ground and looking up through the branches and leaves. Once I started noticing how popular the collection was, I've continued to experiment and branch out and try new things with it. I'm still working on the cuff bracelets which are gorgeous, but need some tweaking to really be as sturdy as I would like them to be. The rings are fun, especially the wider they get. But the earrings and pendants are by far the most popular, so i continue to make more of them.

The more I grew as an artist and started having interest in perhaps doing wholesale - I wanted to create collections that were never the same twice.I was very resistant to recreating something over and over again. I like the idea of one of a kind pieces for everyone. And with this collection, I feel like I can get that. Depending on the day or the batch of silver I am using, the pieces might look a bit more airy, other days, they are more compact or dense looking. It makes it fun for me and it makes me happy knowing that every customer truly has a one of a kind pieces.

I know nothing about making jewelry so this may sound like a silly question, but how hot is the metal when you work with it? Do you wear a cute little pair of goggles?
Depending on what I am doing the metal ranges any where from around 1000 to 2000 degrees (depends on what metal, if I'm just soldering or fusing or if I'm casting the metal has to be completely molten) Most of what I do, I don't need tinted goggles. But I wear glasses - so most of the time I don't bother putting my contacts in and just wear 'real' glasses as protection. I do have an oxy/acetylene torch and if I'm using that I wear dark tinted glass to protect my eyes, though
I would say they are far from cute! :)


What is your dream metal to use?
I've worked with platinum once and really enjoyed it. Gold is a lot of fun, but there are things i can do with Argentium Sterling silver that I can't do with anything else. So I really suppose it depends on what I am doing. I haven't worked with 24k gold, so maybe I should put that in my 'dream' category. I think it would do some really lovely things when meeting with my torch!
Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry that you wear?
Hm... I have two pairs of earrings I wear a lot. One is a pair of organic vine earrings that have a patina. Most people seem to prefer that collection all shiny, but I particularly love the pair I have with the patina. I also have a little tiny pair of earrings that are kind of hard to describe in words.
I don't make them very often, though i don't know why. They are the one pair I can grab in an instant and throw in. Which is usually what happens most days! I tend to stay pretty simple with what I wear.

One of my favorite pieces here at the shop is ‘Stick Necklace with Handmade Chain’. Could you tell me a little about this piece?
I had a good jewelry customer request one, so I cast about 10 different sticks and made a
couple different necklaces for her to choose from. They are fun to do, but quite time consuming, so I don't make them very often. Each twig is one of a kind so every one turns out a little different.

And our completely RANDOM question to end it all: In honor of our upcoming poetry readings what is your favorite poem of all time?
My favorite poem of all time is Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. I had to memorize it in 7th grade and have loved it since then. Perhaps the only poem I actually learned and didn't just memorize and forget. I love the imagery AND the content. I think its quite the perfect poem and could write an essay about why its my favorite!

--
Beth Cyr Fine Art Jewelry
www.bethcyr.com
706.208.0084

The Road Not Taken

Beth...Thanks for the great interview and insight! it makes your jewelry even more special. And because Robert Frost is one of my all time favorite's too. We'll include your favorite poem here:

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost 1920

Grass Valley

A few of you may stumble upon this blog who've never been to Grass Valley. So I figured I would include a couple informational links for those who haven't been here.  We're about an hour outside of Sacramento to the North East. It's a picturesque little town with a big Gold Rush History. I moved here a little over 3 years ago along with quite a few other Bay Area transplants (it seems we meet one every day). The Gallery is fitting in well with it's neighbors, adding to the choices that bring people downtown. A local Nevada City guy created this new website that allows you to view some of America's most charming towns...it's called In Town Live  and I'm glad to say that both Nevada City and Grass Valley are featured. We're right down Highway 49. We've got the Yuba River, tons of Lakes, great places to eat and shop. Come visit! & while you're in town, come by The RED CROW anthologies too. 

Drenched in Light

Red Crow Interview with Jennifer Phillips

One important part of the RED CROW mission is to share our wonderful artists with those who come into the Gallery. Our first online interview is with Jennifer Phillips. & We'd like to thank her for giving us her time and thoughtful answers. ENJOY!


Name: Jennifer Phillips
Occupation: full time artist/painter
Location: Seattle, WA

How did you first become interested in painting? How long have you been painting?
There are so many ways I could answer these two questions... The simple answer is a little over 16 years now. The real truth is though, that I have been painting and exploring my creativity since I was a little girl. It is an honor to say that I blame my parents for my current artistic bliss!

My mom and dad always encouraged me when I was young to creatively express myself. I also grew up around a father that was a full time illustrator working from home. So naturally, I always wanted to be like him when I grew up! I chose to go to school for illustration in 1991 at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and it was there that I was exposed to all the wonderful techniques that art had to offer. After graduating, I illustrated for a couple years, but I quickly learned that I enjoyed painting for myself rather than trying to please a client for a particular ad or editorial piece. So my career turned a different path towards fine art after that and I have been at it ever since!

What are your artistic influences?
I tend to "drool" over the work of the following artists on a pretty regular basis... George Inness, Edward Hopper, Wolf Kahn, Jim Dine, John McCormick, Lyle Silver, Marc Bohne, and the list could go on and on.

What have you used/learned from another artist lately?
I recently went to a lecture that an artist friend of mine was giving and walked away with one of the most inspiring pieces of advice... It was during a time that I was really struggling with my art. He said (and I roughly quote), "In life and art, if you are having a difficult time and what you are going through is really bringing you down, and you feel like quitting, DON'T! Never stop, never give up, keep on going. It is during these times when we struggle with our selves and our artistic process, that we have a major break through! If you "throw in the towel" when times get rough, you rob yourself of this break through and you may never know what you could have discovered if you had just stuck with it! Literally that night, I spent several hours with my painting, and ended up with a whole new technique!

What are you trying to communicate with your art?
Whether it is a large piece or a miniature, I want the viewer to experience a sense of serenity and sometimes a little whimsy. Often we move through life not taking a moment to stop and enjoy the world around us. My images are a result of a moment in time when everything seems to slow down around me and I can actually begin to see... moments of calm allow me to find things in the landscapes that normally would get over looked. Like taking time to stare a a tree and wonder what it would say if it could talk? They have such history - they have been standing there forever!

We have quite a few of your miniature paintings and your ‘landscape in a pocket’ paintings here at the shop. What makes a piece ‘miniature, besides size?
Something precious, and intimate. The word miniature to me is an understatement... my new motto is small is the new BIG!

Do your landscapes exist in the real world?
All of my work is highly influenced from my local surroundings, the many road trips I have taken through Eastern Washington, and the Midwest. When I sit down to paint my miniatures I am often in my studio, painting from memory. During the warmer months I often venture outside with my little canvas's to paint in the moment... you can see me live in action this past summer on my blog or just click on this link HERE The larger works you can find on my website are both from life and creative brain. Washington is so full of beautiful landscape and greenery, that I can't help but be inspired by nature that surrounds me!

Do you paint what you see outside your window or are they purely imagined?
There are several locations that I frequent for inspiration. I travel outside when the weather is good, to sketch or paint "en Plen Aire" (outside) or to journal a bit about what I am looking at. Sometimes shooting a few photos to capture the moment and take back to the studio to continue a larger painting.

en Plen Aire

What is your idea of perfection?
I think I am a perfectionist when it comes to presentation. Mom always said, "Presentation is everything", in her song-like voice... with that said though, nothing is actually perfect in this world, it's all relative. With my work, I often fight myself on the perfectionist issue. It can really be debilitating, I want my painting to turn out exactly as I imagine in my head EVERY TIME. But that is not always the case. Not every painting is a success. What I choose to take away from my experience though, is that I learn more about my process with every unsuccessful painting and use this knowledge to create the next!

Your work and presentation is so meticulously done. Each painting is a true gem and very tactile. I’m curious to know if your studio is organized or in disarray. Are you detail oriented by nature, or only with art?
Ironically this question comes at a time when my studio is in the most disarray from a recent move. I love STUFF. And after working for an art supply company for over ten years, I accumulated A LOT of it. My studio is two stories and since the move I have managed to organize my work area on the second floor so far. The first floor (my soon to be frame shop) is a mess... boxes everywhere and a narrow walkway between them. I would have to say I have an organized mess!

Knowing myself, I would have to say I am pretty detail oriented in all aspects of my life. Not obsessively though. It is important for me to keep an organized studio for the very least, to enable me to find materials when I need them in a pinch. I can't stand having to climb over things to get what I need. That doesn't mean though, that my studio would look organized to anyone else, it isn't "Martha Stewart", but it works for me!

Jennifer's Studio

One of my favorite pieces here at the shop is ‘Drenched in Light’. Could you tell me a little about this painting?
This scene is a classic example of the imagery I experienced during several trips I made through Eastern Washington. A simple view from my driver's side window. Warm yellow fields with the afternoon light splashing across it. I love finding breaks in the landscape where one group of trees would end and reveal another open field in the distance. Or how there would be a little cluster of brush in the middle of a field almost abandoned in a way... or maybe this small cluster of trees just stands there as if they own the land they stand on.

And our completely RANDOM question to end it all: In honor of our upcoming poetry readings what is your favorite poem of all time?

Not sure that I can list just one poem of all time, but Shel Silverstein played a huge role in my childhood and this one really sits nicely with me... now that I am older and really relate to it on an adult like level. I can't wait to read his books to my future kids one day...

LISTEN TO THE MUSTN'TS by Shel Silverstein:

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child, Listen to the DON'TS Listen to the SHOULDN'TS The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS Listen of the NEVER HAVES Then listen close to me-- Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be.



Winter Landscape

The show at the RED CROW for the months of December, January and February is themed around the winter landscape.  Although our theme will stay the same for two months at  a time, we are getting new work in daily. We have the perfect collection of winter holiday gifts...all handmade and original pieces. Box up a landscape as an unexpected present. Happy Holidays.

We're OPEN

The Red Crow opened for the first time last night and what a night it was! Popcorn, art, music and Cornish Christmas. We got such a great response from locals and visitors and would just like to say THANK YOU to everyone who came through our store. We'll be open from 11-6 Monday through Saturday and on Sundays from noon until 4pm. Also by appointment. 

Cornish Christmas

The sign is UP!

The RED CROW will be OPEN on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28th

The Red Crow Anthologies sign is up in the window. We are going to be OPEN for the first time on Friday the 28th of November just in time for the annual Cornish Christmas celebration here in Grass Valley. We have several featured artists already on display and will be doing some interviews with each of them over the next couple weeks, so be sure to check back soon. For a snippet of what's going on this week: Gabe Cano sent some wonderful landscape photographs, moody and rich!  Jennifer Phillip's oils are absolutely GORGEOUS and will make the perfect & thoughtful holiday gift. Beth Cyr from Athens, Georgia provided a wonderful collection of nature inspired jewelry. Suzanna Scott graced us with a couple of assemblage pieces from her doll house series. And our own Linda Galusha painted a few winter-y scenes on old fence boards. 

Stop by on Friday evening for some inspiration, gifts and POPCORN! Rain or Shine.

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide our customers with an individual & emotional experience when they walk into our retail gallery. Using both visual and tactile stimulation, we strive to showcase artworks that make an irresistible connection to our buyers. Our philosophy expands on the idea that through collaboration and collection, we can enthuse the community and support the handmade movement.