A Self-Guided Walking Tour Through the Anacortes Public Library Art Collection

[About the Artist]

Anacortes-based artist Lanny Bergner creates mixed-media sculptures and installations for public spaces. Born in Anacortes, he was an apprentice to Skagit County-based sculptor Philip McCracken in 1976. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a Master in Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. 

The ethereal quality of Lanny’s work is in contrast to the mundane materials he uses to construct them. They are created using industrially woven bronze, brass, aluminum and stainless steel mesh, silicone, wire and glass frit. Using only a linesman pliers and cutting shears, he employs inventive yet simple joining techniques to transform mesh into semi-transparent organic structures, vessels and geometric constructions. 

[About the Art]

Forest Sky is a sculpture consisting of sixteen blue elements suspended in an evenly spaced circular pattern.  Each element has an upper section of radiating branch-like projections of screen and wire.  These projections overlap and visually connect the “sixteen elements” creating a lace-like organic forest canopy.  The elements hover below and around a larger central elongated sculpture.  It is made of hydrocal, surfaced with silicone, with glass frit pressed in.  The branches are made with frayed screening wrapped with heavy gauge wire.  The large central sculpture is covered in crushed blue glass, dichroic glass, and frit.  Branch-like projections radiate out from the entire surface of the form. 

[Notes from the Artist about the art]

“Forest Sky” was a commission I did at the library in my hometown of Anacortes. It was inspired by nature.  Imagine you are walking in the woods and see something that catches your eye.  You look up and see the sky through the branches of the trees.  It is a dream space, floating somewhere between the natural and manmade world. It is a space of balance and hope.

[About the Artist]

Sabah Al-Dhaher was born in Nasriyah, Iraq.  At the age of fifteen, he was accepted to The Fine Arts Institute-Basra in Iraq, where he lived and received his training in classical art.  Sabah fled Iraq in 1991 due to his involvement in a failed uprising against the regime of Saddam Hussein at the end of the first Gulf war.  He spent two and a half years in a refugee camp in the desert of Saudi Arabia and in 1993 he came to the USA as a political refugee.  Sabah has been creating and exhibiting his work throughout the Northwest since 1995. Sabah's story has been chronicled in various media including The New York Times in an article by Timothy Eagen, "My Saraab", a documentary by Sarna Lapine, and featured in the book "100 Artists of the Northwest".

[About the Artist]

By any artistic standard, sculptor Phillip McCracken is a living legend.  With a career spanning five decades, he belongs to an elite group of pioneer artists who have defined a Northwest style of art. 

Philip McCracken was born in Bellingham.  He began his career in England under the mentorship of the late sculptor Harry Moore.  He later found inspiration and influence from West Coast artists Mark Tobey and Morris Graves. 

McCracken’s metal sculptures, for which he is best known, are simple yet complex studies of forms and shapes which he interprets from his surroundings.  Under the surface of the wild creatures, which are often his trademark, one can glimpse the human forces and predicaments which he so aptly portrays.  The expression of his work ranges from tenderness, to impish humor, to stark and terrifying.

His work is found in many private and public collections, and he is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Governor’s Award, Washington State Artist of the Year 1964, Governor’s Arts Award, Washington State Arts Commission 1994, and Cornish College of the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award 1999.  He and his wife Anne live on Guemes Island, where he is surrounded by the forces of nature from which he draws the themes of most of his sculpture.

[Notes from the Artist]

“This piece is not about the big bear, the killer whale, and the eagle.  Instead, it honors the small creatures not often found in traditional totemic forms.  They are some of the small beings found here that I am very familiar with and have a particular fondness for.  I am at peace with the thought that we are all a part of this great continuum.”

[About the Artist]

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Anne Schreivogl received her formal education at Western Washington University and the Seattle Academy of Fine Art (now known as Gage Academy) where she attended as an arts grant recipient of the Anacortes Arts Foundation. 

As a spontaneous, creative and intuitive artist, Anne seeks to transmit the joy she sees and feels in everyday activities onto canvas. In her studio, her whimsical work is primarily in acrylic, though she also paints Impressionistic-style plein air oil landscapes. She always carries a pen and sketchpad whether she is studying in France, teaching English in Japan, or traveling by bicycle across the U.S.  She finds great inspiration living locally on Fidalgo Island with her partner, artist Alfred Currier.

[About the Artist]

Dederick Ward, who maintains a studio in Anacortes, turned to full time painting in 1989. He developed as a self-taught painter during a 28 year career as a geoscience information professional in Colorado and Illinois. His earlier career shows its influence in his work. His oil paintings are of western geology, waters and atmosphere, and sometimes include aspects of time and evolution. He received the Top Festival Fine Arts award as well as the T-Bailey Corporate award at the 2014 Anacortes Arts at the Port Festival.

[About the Artist]

Alfred Currier spent his formative years in southern Ohio. He taught figure painting at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art, Chicago, the Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS, and conducted several plein air painting workshops throughout the United States and Europe.

The University of Washington Press, in association with Marquand Books, published Alfred Currier: Impasto, a book written by Ted Lindberg, former Curator for the Vancouver Art Museum. Al was the cover artist for American Artist Magazine as well as the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles over the years.

Residing in the Northwest region of the United States, Washington State artist, Alfred Currier, paints vibrant landscapes in oil impasto from the studio he maintains in Anacortes. Plein air painting provides most of his inspiration. He often uses the migrant workers in the tulip fields of the Skagit Valley as part of his motif. Currier has traveled widely, painting on location in Greece, France, Italy, Holland, Argentina, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, as well as the continental United States.

Currier received his formal education at Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio and the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he earned his degree in Fine Art. His works can be found in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. He maintains his studio and residence in Anacortes, Washington.

[About the Art]

“Harvest” is an impasto painting, very quintessential of the artist’s major works. 

[Notes from the Artist]

For me, art has been an obsession as well as a passion. Passion would be for the love of it. Obsession means you have no choice.

My work takes on two different faces, plein air and impasto.   The plein air aspect keeps my technical painting skills freshly honed giving me the tools in my tool box. Impasto studio painting, on the other hand, is my more creative side as it allows me to explore texture and color from imagination. My impasto oils have afforded me my own voice in this world of art.

Plein air is controlled by the subject in front of me while my impasto is controlled by the muse with-in.

[About the Art]

The Baidarka, or Aleutian Kayak, was the watercraft created by the native Aleut people of the Aleutian Islands.  The Aleut people were surrounded by treacherous waters and required water transportation and a hunting vessel.  Due to the geography and climate of the Aleutian Islands, trees and wood were in scarce supply and the people relied primarily on driftwood to create the framework of the kayak, which was covered primarily with the skins of seals.  Two types of boats were created, one with a covered deck that was used as a hunting kayak, and another that was open and capable of carrying goods and people from one island to another.

The prominent feature of a baidarka is its forked (bifurcated) bow.  Very lightweight and maneuverable, it was made out of seal skin sewed only by Aleut women only.  It was treated as a living being by Aleut men, and it was taboo for women to handle them once completed.

[About the Art]

This is a whimsical representation of a singing bird; body in the shape of a chocolate drop, no wings, long legs, 5 fingered hands in place of normal bird feet, natural steel-gray.

[Notes from the Artist]

From Caroline Spehar: Singing Bird was made for our children.  We were artists in Chicago, our family loved Sesame Street, and so the bird was made for our own nest- for our children, and for lots of other children in the neighborhood. 

[Notes from the Artist]

"My work is often a direct reaction to the landscape whether at home or traveling. I am looking for emotion and spirit in the physicality of paint. Color often comes first before the composition is formed and my process is highly intuitive. The more abstract pieces often have a basis in landscape but I am looking more deeply into subconscious expressive images. I work with various media – experimenting often and following the path each painting wants to take."

[About the Artist]

Mr. Stark was an internationally recognized pen and ink artist for over 45 years.  He learned his pen and ink drawing technique while a student of zoology at UCLA and first put his drawing skills to use as a medical illustrator for Los Angeles’ Cedars of Lebanon Hospital Research Department.

Mr. Stark’s drawings have been shown at Seattle’s Kirsten, Stonington and Penaca Galleries as well as the Frye Museum.  His work has been described as unique storytelling rather than just visual expression.  He loved to share the places and people he experienced with the gallery viewer.

Mr. Stark lived in Anacortes and is survived by his two sons.  He was on the Anacortes School Board for 12 years and the Anacortes Arts Festival for 14 years.  He was director for Anacortes Youth Arts and Fidalgo Artists for Youth, both after school arts programs for children.  Michael has been honored as Anacortes Patron of the Arts for his years of support of art education for children.

[About the Art]

The family pictured in this drawing is one of our own Library employees!  When Michael exhibited this picture at one of the local elementary schools she exclaimed, “That’s my family!  That’s my husband, my child, and my dog!” It was unusual because normally Michael chose his subjects from around the globe, not in his hometown.

[About the Artist]

A non-traditional approach to an old art tradition is what makes the limited edition etchings by Yvonne Davis so distinctive.

"When you become a printmaker, you are touching the past." says Davis. "I enjoy felling close to the history of art. It is a technique developed years and years ago and is still being executed in the same basic manner. The first dated etching goes back to 1513 and it is a medium that was used by great masters."

Yvonne Davis' images are achieved through a combination of fine intaglio techniques and masterful hand coloring. At Davis' own atelier, Crossroads Studio, each original print is executed on the very finest all-rag etching paper. Great care must be taken at each stage of the tedious process to produce a high quality work of art. Once the etching is pulled and dried, the hand coloring of each individual print begins. Yvonne primarily uses watercolors, sometimes colored pencils, to achieve her elegant results.

Yvonne was raised in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, which she again calls here home. In her twenties, life led her to distant lands and extended residencies in both Taiwan and Germany. She view her talent an inherent gift, and it was during this period that the seeds of creativity took root.

Her many achievements may be reflected in the numerous one woman shows to her credit and the popularity of her work with collectors throughout the world.

[About the Artist]

My images are most often a combination of traditional painting techniques and photography. In my current work I am exploring encaustics. I fuse layers of melted beeswax on the photo, along with oil paint, oil pastels, and mica powder for added texture and translucency.

[About the Art]

May have been a sketch in prep for the sculpture that is located at the Post Office. His works are very recognizable.

[About the Art]

This artwork is in two parts: a forest of books underneath the stairs, and newel posts at the top and bottom of the stairs. 

The forest of books is a thicket of metal tendrils, sprouting letters and words as well as little stands, almost like hands, offering forth books.  This forest wraps around under the stairs, twining up to touch the sides of the staircase.  It contains several small benches to sit upon while reading.  (It also acts to prevent people from walking under the stairs and hitting their heads on the underside of the stairs, a function required by the ADA.)

[Notes from the Artist]

Books become part of the artwork, and the artwork becomes part of the library.  The two begin to interweave.  Nestled into the winding stems are soft and comfortable places to sit, cozy yet exotic, surrounded by the forest of words.  Growing in the forest, like fruit on trees, are real books – displays that can change according to the season or event, random or themed.  Some of the forest is chaotic, just jumbled letters suggesting the idea of alphabets as the building blocks of words.  In other places, recognizable words or phrases pop out.  The branches are metal, but bent and curled in soft and flowing forms, sprouting branches and letters, stems and words.

Flanking the stairs at the foot and mezzanine are two pairs of newel posts.  Made of similar elements and materials as the forest of books, these posts anchor the stairs at top and bottom, with quotations wrapping around them, winding up like ribbons. 

[About the Art]

Oberon’s Secret was inspired by Japanese calligraphy.  Painting it was a spiritual exercise that took 3 months.

[Notes from the Artist]

“I put on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and my headphones and used a small brush,” he said.  After completion, DeLlamas held an open studio and found that children were particularly drawn to the piece.  They found a variety of shapes in the work – horses, bears, mermaids.  He decided that it should go somewhere that youngsters could see it, so he donated it to the library in honor of the late Susan Woolsey.  “Susan was all about children,” he said. 

[Notes from the Artist]

It is impossible to assign a single meaning to the sculpture, but it is possible to offer some interpretations.  The two cedar forms, one dark and one golden, could represent states of being. with the passage of the spirit in the form of a bird indicating the journey from one state to another, from darkness into light, ignorance to wisdom, birth to death.  The information and energy emanating from the golden form spatters the awakening spirit’s head and the leading edges of its wings as it approaches the dawning of a future state”.

[About the Artist]

Anita was introduced to looms and weaving by her mother in law, Marcelle Mayer, a well-known weaving instructor.  Following 6 years of learning about the craft through self-study, experimentation, and selling, Anita’s focus on garments began in 1972.  Anita’s work has been included in local, national, and international shows, she presents lectures and workshops throughout the United States and Canada, and is a frequent contributor to national magazines. 

[Notes from the Artist]

I was in Chicago on September 11, 2001, mentoring the women participating in the “Cycles and Circles” project when we all learned of the horrendous events of that day.  That night I sketched in my journal the piece you see here.

Wanting each person on each flight (commemorated by four circles) to be honored and remembered, I wrote their names repeatedly on hand-dyed fabric, tore it into strips, and ryaknotted it on the loom.

The colors go from purple into gray and finally into gold, which represents the continuation of life.

In my 30 years as a fiber artist, this is one of the few times when my work went directly from the initial design to the final piece.  I found solace in the creation of “Prayer Flags 9/11”.

[About the Artist]

Michael Laboon, a local artist living in Anacortes, was inspired by the 1950’s glassware and dishware designs to design Atomic Fish.

[About the Art]

Anacortes is closely tied to the maritime community and the rich ocean environment. This 11-foot mosaic has over 60 feet of hand cut tile with gold and mother of pearl lusters. The artist wet cut each tile with custom design, then cleaned, fired, glazed and fired again. Some tiles go through additional firings such as the rich gold tiles you see.

[About the Artist]

Mark Bistranin was raised in Colorado surrounded by the beauty and serenity of the Rocky Mountains.  In high school he was selected to represent his state in a national academic competition for art in New York, where he won the prestigious Gold Key award.  Bistranin continued his studies in Fine Arts at the University of Denver and Gunnison College, and then spent 15 years in Montana where he studied with various artists.  He moved to Skagit Valley in the late 80s and draws inspiration from the light and reflection unique to the Northwest.  In Spring 2009, Bistranin was accepted into the Puget Sound Group of NW Painters.

[About the Art]

Best of Show at 2018 Anacortes Arts Festival and later purchased by the Johnny Campbell Foundation for long term loan to the Library.

[Notes from the Artist]

“These Madronas have meant so much to me. First to just see them out there at Fort Worden during a Yoga retreat, they were stunning in their configuration and spectacularly lit by morning & evening light.  This followed by the satisfying work of putting them on canvas and living with them over hours and days was a deep pleasure.”  

[About the Artist]

University of Washington professor emeritus, painter, entomologist, amateur ornithologist, world traveler and newlywed in his mid-seventies are some of the words that describe Alden Mason.  He was born in Everett, reared in Mount Vernon, and educated in Seattle. As is typical among artists, Mason’s extensive education, curiosity, and experience have liberated rather than formalized his approach to making art. 

Born in 1919 in Everett, nationally recognized artist Alden Mason grew up in the beautiful natural surroundings of the Skagit Valley.  Alden attended UW, majoring in Zoology until he turned to art.  He received a BFA in 1942, an MFA in 1947, and joined the faculty of the School of Art in 1949, retiring in 1981.

When in the late 1970s his method of making luminous washes from oil paint and turpentine produced fumes adverse to his health, he turned to acrylic.  Since this medium could not replicate his former transparencies, he filled plastic squeeze bottles with a range of hues and began “drawing” his paintings with lines, squiggles, and spirals of color.  The effect is similar to a rich woven or needlepoint finish in which figures and ground share equal weighting.

Mason’s revealed world is a self-styled, boldly child-like and cartoonish bestiary which acts out quasi-narratives which may be based on fact and myth, waking and dream-time, realism and abstraction. 

[About the Art]

This painting was commissioned by the Seattle-Tacoma Airport and was originally installed there.  When a new work by Mr. Mason was commissioned by the airport and Garden Zipper was offered for sale, Richard and Margaret Aiken purchased it and displayed it prominently in their home until their passing. 

[About the Artist]

Max Benjamin is considered one of the foremost painters in the Northwest.  He was born in 1928 in San Diego, California.  He moved to the Northwest in the early 1950's where he attended the University of Washington and studied with the renowned Walter F. Isaacs. In 1959 he moved to Guemes Island to devote his full energy to art.  

His work is characterized by brilliant color, bold lines and shapes.  Taking clues from his surroundings, he uses his palette to explore and balance the roles of participant and observer, creating thought-provoking images with great depth and intensity.

[About the Art]

This powerful three-piece painting is the first work by the internationally known artist to be permanently displayed and publicly owned in Anacortes. 

[Notes from the Artist]

This triptych started as a single piece which was purchased by the Anacortes Arts Festival and loaned to the library.  Benjamin was pleased with the arrangement but felt more was needed.  “I felt the space was too big for the piece.”  He approached the Arts Festival and Library Board and proposed that he add two more parts. 

Now a completed triptych, the piece on the left makes a statement, the middle piece is more dramatic, and the third is a release.  Together, they form “a complete visual environment.”