A Virtual Art Walk with Northwest Artists
Northwest Artists: A Collection of Works by Notable Northwest Artists
Written by Diane Schulstad
Seattle, Washington
Have you ever participated in an “Art Walk?” It’s quite an experience! One is presented with an intriguing opportunity to meet local artists and discover the philosophy inspiring the art presented. Oftentimes, with an understanding of the compelling drive behind the creation of the artwork, you are allowed to subsequently perceive it through a more inquisitive and fascinated mind’s eye. This is your chance to interweave the artists’ thoughts with your own. After all, art is always ultimately an interchange of thought between artist and observer; understanding the artistic intent enriches the process.
But you needn’t actually go on a literal hike to experience that fusion of ideas. Instead, you might wish to let your mind meander leisurely through the glossy, full-color pages of a newly-published artists’ profile book: Northwest Artists: A Collection of Works by Notable Northwest Artists. As you view the selections in this hard-cover book, you have the opportunity to be introduced to over 150 Northwest artist—through reproductions of their art, stories of their lives, glimpses of their passions.
The book was published as a labor of love: it’s a community effort of the participating Northwest artists. The effort was championed by Cameron Blagg III (who masterminded the concept and organized the project), Cameron Blagg I & David Bartholet (artists who inspired through ideas and served as sources of contacts) and Leta Brown (who single-handedly accomplished the painstaking job of page layout and design). This staunch team has devoted the past two years to the trials of coordinating and producing the book.
Cameron Blagg III is the son of his namesake, artist Cameron Blagg (venerated as a Western artist who lives the life of a remote mountain man). A rugged, self-reliant lifestyle in the Cascade Mountains inspired Cameron Senior’s art; depictions of Native Americans, cowboys, mountain men, wildlife, Western landscapes are dominant themes in his paintings and sculptures. Cameron III had long been exhibiting and promoting his father’s art and was always thinking of creative ways to present the art to the public. “I wanted to do a book on my dad's work—something to give to good customers, to create interest, to tell a little more about his history. I wanted to take articles done on my dad and put them in a format that people could bring home and read. When I got the idea, I was at the J. Contway show in Great Falls, Montana. I couldn't sleep all night. My uncle, Ed Baker, hooked Leta Brown and me up. Leta was a single mom working at a print shop and he figured she was perfect for the job. He was right.
The idea for Northwest Artists came to me after we had printed our first newspaper. The press was rolling and I turned to Leta, the layout genius, and said ‘The next thing we need to work on is a book.’” That book (the revelation in Cameron’s mind) would feature Northwest artists; it could serve to exhibit and promote their art.
Leta was skeptical of Cameron’s enthusiasm: “I laughed it off at first and told him ‘yeah right.’” Cameron, undaunted by Leta’s initial doubtful reaction, pitched the idea to his father and another artist, David Bartholet. “Dave is an old family friend; he and my dad have been doing shows together for around 30 years. I knew he had other artist friends. Dave and my dad loved the idea.” Cameron Senior had participated in an artists’ profile book fourteen years previous, and felt it had been a worthwhile venture, particularly since it had introduced his art to gallery owners previously unaware of his work.
It took a little convincing before Leta could be swayed. Faced with the united ardor of Cameron Senior, Cameron III and Dave Bartholet for the concept, she agreed to participate, although with a certain amount of trepidation: “Quite honestly, I was a little apprehensive that we would be able to pull the project off.” Although Leta had worked in print media for years (she had been employed by The Silverton News Appeal, Western Oregon Web Press and the printing services department of LBCC, so was a seasoned pro with print media), producing a book was a formidable undertaking. “I had never handled anything of this magnitude and neither had Cameron.”
But fortune favors the bold, and the instigators boldly went forth. Rousting the artists to pre-sell pages in the book was the first task at hand. Artistic friends of Cameron Senior and Dave Bartholet were contacted first, using the swift call-and-response method of email. The idea was explained, and widely accepted. Within the first week of contact, twenty artist pages were pre-sold. After this initial email call, word-of-mouth spread the news (with the added boon of various newspapers taking an interest in reporting the story): by that time, even unsolicited artists were clamoring to participate. The artists finally chosen to be represented in the book were selected by a jury process. Professionals were preferred--those taking the gamble to survive solely through producing and marketing their art. “If they made their living with their work, it speaks well of their talent and determination,” Cameron III explained.
The groundwork was complete; yet the hard work had only just begun.
Leta’s contribution to the hard work involved consulting with the chosen artists about their desires for the appearance of their pages, and making sure that all publishing deadlines were met by staying in continual contact with the artists. The pages are not laid out with a cooker-cutter template; each artist’s layout was particularly designed with the artist’s wishes in mind. As you can imagine, individualizing the lay-out made the production time- and energy-consuming for Leta: “Most of the artists left the design up to me. Some of the artists had websites that I reviewed, trying to glean their ‘style.’ Each artist sent me the artwork they wanted submitted, plus a short bio. A few artists pre-designed their pages and simply sent those to me for placement into the bigger book. I learned a lot! My style grew with every page I completed. I was able to take all of my years of printing experience and graphic design and truly create a book that showed off all of my talents.”
The book premiered at the Ellensburg National Art Show in May. Leta felt as if she had given birth, the creative process had been that demanding: “This project took nearly a year of my life. I sacrificed family time, social time, some work time and even laundry and dishes time. Many days I worked all day at my job, visited with my son before bedtime and sat up on my computer till 2 or 3 in the morning. Although it was a lot of work, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I am honored that these fine group of artists entrusted in me the ability to make their work shine.”
And the art work does shine through the pages… vibrantly, with brilliant colors and panache. After the design and layout was complete, the book was sent off to be printed: 11,000 copies were published! Each artist received 50 to 300 books, to do with what they will—to sell at festivals and shows where their art is exhibited, to wholesale to local bookstores, to bid on Ebay… whatever grassroots process may serve to launch the book (and therefore the collective artists’ visions) into the mainstream.
With the book finally a reality, the fruition of Cameron III’s initial concept had the potential to be realized: “My main goal is to help artists compete with the artists who've signed up with big publishers. It is a sales tool also, for me, but the book helps to give credibility to guys who can't get their own book… yet. We all know much work it is to make your living selling at shows and galleries and I hope this helps make the process easier.”
As always, though, it is the unexpected boons that really bring the impact of a project home. Cameron III related two such stories: “One guy in the book called his estranged son to ask if he could give his grandkids a book (they hadn't talked for years); that opened up a connection and they have been hanging out ever since. Then there is Gary Herron's story. He has MS now and can't create his artwork anymore, but he would load up books and take them to the local mall. He has been able to tie in sales of work he had previously done with sales of the book. He told me that he really needed a boost and this book changed his life.”
Of course, the project has been receiving accolades from the artist participants and those that purchase the books from the artists. “It really makes me feel good that the project has been so well received in its first three months,” Cameron III admits.
He feels so good, in fact, that a second edition is already in the planning phases! The jury process is in place at this very moment! (No rest for the weary… one hundred and forty pages are already spoken for! Although, Leta needs at least six months to recuperate before throwing her efforts back into the fray.) The next artists’ profile book will be called Artists of the West, to include “our friends who we see at The Colorado Indian Market, The Phippen Show, The Rough Rider International Art Show, all five shows in Great Falls during Charlie Russell's birthday, etc.” |
