Stellar Radiance, MoNA’s 33rd art auction theme, featured an abundance of local artists, with “local” being anywhere from Burlington to Seattle with more than a nod to Skagit Valley greats Guy Anderson, Clayton James, Lanny Bergner, Todd Horton, Art Hupy, and so many others. About 80% of the more than 200 pieces were created by local artists, according to MoNA’s Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Northwest Art Christian Waguespack.
Membership and Development Coordinator Erica Dudrow said the latest tally shows 750 people contributed more than $400,000 through bids, donations, and raffle tickets during the fundraising event.
Carrie Dedon, assistant curator at the Seattle Art Museum, selected some 200 pieces out of the 700 that were submitted.
Todd Horton, a featured artist, lives on Samish Island near Edison and is co-collaborator at the Chop Shop in Edison with Pieter VanZanden. In his bio, Horton says his paintings are inviting and beautiful; that his process of creating and then destroying them creates “magical poetical realism,” making us more sensitive to the world around us.
Photo by Nancy K. Crowell/La Conner Community News
Horton’s “Topographia 40,” created from canvas, rope and river silt was created by leaving the canvas in a riverbed, very nature-centric, and an example of creating abstraction from realism.
Prior to the auction, Waguespack gave an in-depth look at the exhibits. He picked several of his favorite pieces and explained how each was created.
From Horton and Vanzanden’s Chop Shop in Edison was a cake, sliced and ready to serve made from simple cedar, burned wood, joy, and reverence. “Just stupid enough to be genius,” Waguespack said.
Lanny Bergner, internationally renowned mesh sculptor and an Anacortes native, used a propane torch to shape thin strands of industrial-woven stainless steel that were then pulled into three-dimensional geometric shapes into seemingly fragile light baskets to create “Flora Meshell #4.”
“Cascade” was a piece formed from glass and steel by Aaron Loveitt of Canopy Gallery in Bow-Edison, who is a metal worker and blacksmith by trade. “Aaron is very concerned about incorporating authentic work with nature,” Waguespack said. To create this piece, Loveitt put molten glass into a riverbed of rock to create the natural flow of water over rocks.
Originally from the East Coast, Loveitt landed in the Pacific Northwest after receiving his BFA from Alfred University in New York State. He says he is “in constant awe of this remarkable landscape” here.
“Art is a practice, like yoga,” wrote Cathy Schoenberg of Anacortes, whose foray into flower paintings shows how “practice, like yoga” just makes you better. Schoenberg has been in the Skagit Valley since the 1980s.
Preston Singletary, featured in both the auction and the permanent collection, is an exceptional multi-talented glass artist, musician, painter, film documentarian, and, this year, the set designer for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty featured on PBS. Singletary is heavily influenced by his Tlingit ancestry of strong women. According to his bio, “Their influence shaped my identity and instilled in me a profound connection to my heritage — one that continues to guide my work today.”
Lisa McShane, a Samish Island resident, is actively involved in climate change policy work in Olympia. Her piece, “Winter Storms on the Island,” highlights her work about water and light on water. “All low-tide landscapes are most severely impacted by climate change,” Waguespack noted, referring to her work.
The highlight of the auction was Guy Anderson’s showstopper, “The Sacrificial Horse,” originally donated to establish MoNA in 1981.
Anderson was one of “The Four Mystics” from the original Northwest School of Modern Art in the 1930s. “This painting has an important component … it was purchased at the very first auction to establish this auction. And it came back again,” Waguespack said.
Board Member Terrance Carroll won the Golden Raffle award. The winner could choose from an original artwork valued up to $10,000. Carroll chose self-taught Camano Island artist Jared Rue’s work.
MoNA is temporarily closed until June 28 while preparing for the exhibit, “Through the Light.” A soiree, open to the public, will be held June 28, 5- 7 p.m. Until then, the store only is open.
Judy Booth wrote for The La Conner Weekly News for years. She writes because she loves words and the creativity of writing. Judy has lived in La Conner since 1979.
Correction, June 17, 11:22 a.m.: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Pieter VanZanden’s name. La Conner Community News regrets the error.
