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by Sue Snively from the Chaffee County Times, 2006 There is a gallery at 321 West Main Street in Buena Vista, Colorado that from the perspective of quality art could be on the streets of the San Francisco Art District or on the avenues of an art conclave in Manhattan or even within the art district of Paris or Madrid or London. It is the Trembling Aspen Gallery and is owned by local resident Malcolm Goggin who has served as curator and director of the business since 2002. There is a reason for the outstanding presentation of the gallery and its work. Malcolm chooses local artist that exhibit there, with care, looking for top quality work and for a varied portfolio, so to speak, in terms of art media. There is the refined jewelry of Leah Cerise and Columbine Quillen; the abstract acrylics of Ben Strawn, the delicate fiber art of Jude Silva, the vibrant oil paintings of Roberta Smith and the very intense, interesting fabric art of Grace Weaver; the list could go on, as others that exhibit there, also show the high quality of those mentioned. An exhibition called "Turn and Shoot" featuring two artist icons from the Arkansas Valley opened July 3 and will continue through the middle of August. Both are known nationally and worldwide for their unique and profound work. One is wood turner Robert Gray and the other is renown black and white photographer, Dan Downing. To exemplify their remarkable talent, it is best to look with each, at a particular piece of their fine art. Wood Turner, Robert Gray and his work There is the delicate, but yet sturdy artistic appearance of the unique aspen vessel produced by Robert Gray. This viewers eyes are drawn to the piece, first because of the overlapping handle above the vessel's opening. It, in itself shows extreme craftsmanship and talent. Then there is the very thin appearance of the aspen wood and the extremely shiny almost satin like finish on the piece. The later two elements are what set Gray's work apart from other wood turners. On the thinness of the wood, Robert explains that he keeps the lathe turning and turning until he gets the wood as thin as it can be without breaking. In reality, he says: "You should see my junk pile. Even with all the experience I have had, I often take it one step beyond finality and break a few pieces." The outstanding finished is acquired, by using up to 12 coats of a polyurethane substance. He just keeps applying it with the vessel turning on the lathe until he is satisfied with the appearance. Robert Gray who has degrees in Forestry and Industrial Arts from the Colorado State University and was an officer in the U. S. Navy during the Viet Nam War, moved to Buena Vista in 1972 and established and taught a woodworking and shop class for the Buena Vista Public Schools. Following that, he opened the Wood Shop in town, making and selling mostly custom cabinets and furniture. After 12 years in the shop, he and his wife Marjie who taught American government and history at the Buena Vista High School for 30 years, opened the Trembling Aspen Gallery. They certainly contributed to making it a "class act" gallery. After 10 years, they sold it to Goggin, so Gray could concentrate solely on crafting and marketing his very artistic vessels. The marketing has paid off. Gray sells all over the world and is now able to get what his talent, time and reputation is worth in terms of price. Robert gets his carefully selected Aspen wood from dead trees only, either relying on friends who have trees around or collecting in the national forest with his Forest Service Permit. Gray says that the dying process causes the colors to come forth in the wood, whereas in a live tree the color is pure white. With the help of a chain saw he cuts 100 plus pound blocks of wood, brings them home to dry, a process that takes up to a year. When they are sufficiently cured, a process that helps the stability of the vessels Gray creates, he puts them on the lathe and turns them into a rough shape. At this point he can visualize what he wants to do and can determine the shape of each vessel as "the color and grain dictate its potential to me". He works with with the particulars of the piece such as the knots or the block of color produced by a fungus. Then he begins turning and shaping in earnest. "I work into the core of the wood blank, and the inner tree is revealed. It excites me to discover the grain and color and the patterns of the wood." As mentioned above, he gets the wood as thin as he can without breaking it. With most of his vessels, he makes two pieces that he glues together. The glue line in most of his pieces is practically indistinguishable. Bowls and plates take just one block of wood. He creates all shapes and sizes, some very simple and some extremely complex (some even including off center openings) as the one featured above. No one piece is a like. After the shaping process is done the finishing process as described previously begins. The finality of each piece is best experienced by viewing his work. This can be done by visiting his web site at www.robertgraystdio.com or taking in the show at the Trembling Aspen Gallery in Buena Vista. Dan Downing and his photographs One can hear the falling water and see the quiet light of the sun filtering through the trees on the rocks beside the water and almost touch the shadows created by the dancing interplay of light and dark within this very dramatic black and white photograph of a waterfall in the woods along a mountain trail. It is the work of the photographer mentioned above, Nathrop resident Dan Downing. In this, as with all of his work, Dan uses the elements of light and shadow to compose and then capture the scenes he photographs. He wants his photographic compositions to create strong feelings in those who view them and to have a overall universal appeal. On the latter, he states: "I want my photographs to appeal to someone on the streets of Thailand as well as to mainstream America." Because of the universal appeal of nature, he generally chooses it as his venue and looks for scenes that will create drama and emotion in those who view them. Dan's interest in photography began as a small child as he watched the image appearing on small photographs that his father developed in his mother's kitchen. As he states: "Watching the image appear on the blank sheet of paper as the pungent aroma of the chemistry filled the room was magical. I think I was hooked for life right then and there." In 1980 he purchased a portrait studio and began making his living as a photographer. In a short time his work was recognized in Kansas, his native state. He has been honored by having his work included in several exhibits at the national level and was featured in "Professional Photographer" a journal for those in the profession. Today, he does mostly landscapes and micro landscapes (using details of larger scenes), although he is beginning to include people in some of his work. The new style has been recognized and exhibited in the United States and Europe. Downing states that some places, like people, are naturally photogenic. He will frequently view natural settings and make mental notes and guess how the scene will look during certain times of the day; then he will go back and will photograph if it is what he wants. Sometimes, however, that right sky, right lighting, right tree just pops up in front of him and he gets out and shoots it. On this note, Dan quotes famous photographer Freeman Patterson, "The perfect picture is always right in front of you; you just have to find it!" Dan does most of his own developing, after using an old time view camera and 4"by5" film to capture the initial picture. He bases the processing on notes he takes during the capture process. Then he manipulates during developing, the lightness and darkness of the picture to bring out the optimum within the contrast range of the paper he will be printing on. The shorter the developing time, the less contrast there will be and vice versa for longer developing time. Through this he gets the original negative. He then sends it out to get a drum scan that is done to his specifications. The file comes back and it goes into his computer where he further enhances it with digital manipulation techniques and finally prints it on 24 inch wide, 39 feet long rolls of first class printing paper. The process, both with film developing and digital developing is slow. With either, he can do,at most, 4 prints a day. On the enhancement of scenes beyond the initial capture, Dan states: "Most of the photographs are not close to the original scene, but all enhance rather than diminish the initial photograph. I want my photos to be believable and not to be overdone. To experience the full value of Downing's photographs and Robert Gray's Vessels take advantage of the ÔTurn and Shoot' show at the Trembling Aspen Gallery. Remember, it is on now and will run through mid- August. For more information call the gallery at 719-395 4800 or visit their web site at http//www.tremblingaspen.com. |
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