June 2022 at the Gallery
Volume 13, Issue 6
Artist of the Month:
Kathleen Jaeger
Multi-media artist Kathleen Jaeger will be featured at the Kailua Village Artists Gallery throughout the month of June. Working primarily in mosaic and acrylic painting, however, she may also be seen, pen in hand, creating quite detailed drawings. Her style is largely creative, playful, and imaginative, regardless of the choice of media. That selection is often dictated by the image in her head, whether it begs for a more structured or spontaneous approach.
“Creating art gives me joy.” Kathleen says. She has been told numerous times that the feeling is transmitted through the finished product. Overheard at a recent show a gentleman remarked to his wife, “...it is both whimsical and elegant at the same time.” Others have said “They make me happy.”
“Since it is in the creative process itself that gives me joy, I decided early in my career to not have reproductions made of my completed work. Each piece of art I offer to my customers is an original, unique piece with its own personality. I am always delighted when something that gave me such joy as it was being created, moves on to give joy to others.”
While working in mosaic, Jaeger uses primarily stained glass as her tesserae as she creates both wall pieces and three-dimensional work. Painting with acrylic gives her the opportunity to work in a more spontaneous way than is possible with her other mediums using vibrant colors and playful images.
Kathleen will be at the gallery 10-5 on Thursday, June 2, Wednesday, June 15, Thursday, June 23, and Tuesday, June 28.
Kathleen holds a BFA from Phillips University and a MsEd in Special Education for Emotionally Disturbed Children and Youth from the University of Kansas (Go Jayhawks!). Additional post-graduate coursework through the University of Missouri, Kansas City, enabled her to become a registered Art Therapist with the American Art Therapy Association. With this foundation she spent her mainland career working within the public schools teaching art and as art therapist in alternative settings for special needs students, specifically behaviorally disordered/emotionally disturbed populations. Upon her retirement she and her husband, Bill moved to the Big Island.
Click here for more about Kathleen Jaeger and examples of her joyful art.
KVA Welcomes New Member Artist
Debbie Slay
Kailua Village Artists Cooperative is thrilled to introduce our newest member artist, Debbie Slay. Inspired by the abundant natural beauty of Hawaii, Debbie’s works reflect her love of local landmarks, the sea, and the flora found in and around Kona.
Debbie fell in love with watercolors in 2009 after taking a class in her home state of Georgia. Work and family left little time to explore and it wasn’t until she retired and moved to the Big Island in 2014, that she could dedicate herself to her craft. Now, she paints nearly every day and can give herself over to her love of color. All of her paintings are originals and range from greeting cards to large scale paintings.
Debbie, a natural introvert, says that selling and promoting herself is the hardest part of being an artist. She would much rather the work stand on its own and that people buy what speaks to them.
Art Journeys
with Shannon Nakaya:
Hidden Treasure
Spending real time in an art gallery is an opportunity to become more familiar with the art contained therein. Occasionally I find a tiny unexpected treasure worked into a piece of art. An "accent" hiding in plain sight and unnoticed by all but the most attentive observers. It might be part of the artist’s “signature” or style, or symbolic and full of hidden meaning, or sometimes I think the artist is just seeing if anyone is paying attention. Regardless of motivation, there is a bit of a thrill in discovering these secrets gems.
Rather than handing out a treasure map, I’m going to post images of a few hidden treasures I’ve discovered in our KVA Gallery and invite you to come find them in person. Maybe you will discover a few more in the process.
Kathleen Jaeger transmits happiness and joy through art.
Several years ago I was commissioned to mosaic the top of a lanai dining table (photo attached). When I was pondering how to treat this small table and chair set I decided to recreate the feel of that mosaic using acrylic paint to stand in for the mosaic tesserae. I imagine it being used as a centerpiece for a lovely gathering providing a space for those who could not be in attendance to “join in on the conversation”.
"Fourteen (Wildflower) Beauties" is one painting in a series aimed at capturing the pure unadorned essence of the subject. Some of these paintings appear deceptively simple with Jaeger's signature black outlines; but if the first sensation you have when seeing the painting is, "Happy Flowers!" then she has achieved her goal.
I like incorporating Scrabble tiles within mosaic, and the “Beach” arrows have become a favorite. I usually make these in pairs with the arrows pointing in different directions. Some people have commented that as much as they love the piece, they don’t have a beach anywhere nearby. Another customer from Kansas or Oklahoma or somewhere back there bought one for that very reason. They were planning to make sure it pointed their way back to Hawaii. I love hearing how people display and enjoy my work.
This piece came about during conversations about collaborative works between myself and KVA member artist, Shannon Nakaya. Over the years the two of us have explored how the hardness of mosaic and the softness of origami can live together and highlight each medium in a different way. For this one, I asked Shannon if she could make a few origami butterflies. Within a couple days I had a box full of various sizes and colors of butterflies. It is hard to tell in the photo, but the largest of the butterflies are on coiled wire and flit around the flowers. Another KVA member artist, Tamisha Lee, ran my cut petals through her kiln to soften the edges. This piece represents a melding of creativities, and the fun part of being in an art co-operative.
