So pleased to show at Don Dexter Gallery in Eugene! I, we all, would love to see you.

 

Finding the Thread - member exhibit - Gallery 114, July 2 - August 1st

 You are invited to our bi-annual Gallery 114 Member Exhibit: 

Opening First Thursday, July 2nd, 5-8pm.

 See sixteen different artists (of which I am one), a fascinating variety of work and approaches.

I will be exhibiting new works on paper and a fresh painting, (acrylic on panel) of the creek, on a beautiful summer's day.

"What a day"... just like the gorgeous days we often enjoy in the Pacific Northwest.

Come by, come down - Thursday 5-8:30 pm (though this Thursday 7/2, I will be there noon-2:30 as well!) 

 

 

Time to announce -

So pleased and honored to receive an Individual Fellowship Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. 

This grant is an affirmation of my efforts and provides extra resources for me to learn and grow. 

Announcement 

I have already been more generous to my practice with purchase of art supplies and pushing myself to explore new materials. Also, I signed up for a class to dust off my printmaking skills and hope to find an Artist in Residence location, as another way to grow.

This grant will spread beyond this year in terms of opportunity for me.

Huge thank you to the Oregon Arts Commission for the money but also and more importantly for spreading the word about my work and it's local efforts. I have learned so much by through this work and am pleased to lead the effort to rename the creek flowing through the Bird Alliance into Forest Park, running along side Lower Macleay Trail.

The creek was descriptively named Balch, as that name was one the maps when the land was surveyed and handed out during the Donation Land Act of 1850. Dan Balch lived there only 6 years, before murdering his new son in law, after opposing the elopement of his step-daughter. 

Lots of dark stuff there. 

But who wants the name of a convicted and hanged premeditated murderer on a creek in a public park? 

In consultation with the various local tribes (Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and the Chinook Indian Nation) kulla kulla was suggested. 

kulla kulla (lower case on purpose) means bird in chinuk-wawa, the first language of Oregon.

If you want to help me in this endeavor, and I do need help by writing a letter of support, please use this link to copy and paste this template. 

You can send it to me as a pdf or in the body of an email, via kullacreek@gmail.com. 

I will add it to my letters of support. But we need 100 letters, so get writing...please.

A genuine thank you to everyone especially the Oregon Arts Commission,

Nancy 

 

Some more photos from Riparian Reflections

 Here are a few more photos from the exhibit, which reminds me that I should assemble the video overview. 

Thanks again to Julie Johnson and Lisa Conway! Awesome artists to team with!

Maybe later today - but in the meantime...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FYI - Read the official proposal for renaming Balch Creek to kulla kulla Creek

 Not a hard read and you might find it interesting.

Here you go:

kulla kulla Creek 

(not capitalized as per the conventions of the chinuk-wawa language) 

And come by Gallery 114, 1100 NW Glisan St, PDX. The show comes down on the evening of 9/27. 

 

interview on KBOO radio

 Joseph Gallivan did a good job interviewing me about the current exhibit - Riparian Reflections.

listen here if you'd like - 

interview begins about 4 minutes into the show.

Thanks Joseph and KBOO

click here: Art Focus 

 

It's UP - Riparian Reflections - Come on down! Gallery 114, 1100 NW Glisan St. Thursday-Sunday noon to 5- or by appointment

 So proud of the work and the opportunity to challenge myself and get my thoughts about kulla kulla Creek coalesced. 

 Come see!

 

You are invited to our art exhibit running the month of September, and to the  Opening Reception, Artist Talk, kulla kulla Creek renaming update, and/or the Wrap Up. (lots to choose from ;) Gallery hours are Thurs-Sun, noon-5 and by appointment! And I will be hosting every Saturday afternoon - 2:30-5pm, so come by for a viewing and a chat. Showing with Lisa and Julie, both responding to the flow and strength of water has been exciting. I have continued my work questioning the

human geometric overlay of mapping and measuring of the land.  A simultaneously elegant organizing system for what appears to be chaos, but is actually nature, with its own intricate organization.  Think of how much we have learned and how much our society has changed in the last 175 years. Come by,  you will find beauty and hope in all this work, because naturally occurring water is an amazing and resilient part of our world! I hope to see you.  Nancy

 

Getting Ready !

 

SAVE the DATE - Riparian Reflections - September 4th - 27th at Gallery 114

Riparian Reflections - Opening Reception September 4th 5-8 pm

Artists' Talk - Saturday, September 6th, 3-4:30pm 

Artists' Meet & Greet, a wrap-up reception - Saturday, September 27th 3:30-5:00 pm

 

Gallery 114 member Nancy Helmsworth with guest artists, ceramicist Lisa Conway and 

plant-based fiber artist Julie Johnson create work inspired by water. 

This promises to be an engaging exhibit, with multiple mediums with complimentary energies.

 

Nancy Helmsworth continues her work inspired by kulla kulla Creek, flowing alongside 

Lower Macleay trail in Forest Park and within the Bird Alliance of Oregon. 

 

She works to integrate the human history of the area, the desire to measure and control, 

as it collides with the beauty, resilience and powerful persistence of any body of flowing water. 

The more humans try to dominate nature, the more they interfere with the natural systems. 

In their desire to possess and extract, they simplify and destroy. 

 

 

 Nancy Helmsworth - Water worn stones creating the pool in the late summer, 36"x36"

acrylic paint on panel. 

 

 

Lisa Conway’s ceramic sculpture references water and nature from an intimate and sensual standpoint, 

rooted in our own physical bodies.  She is inspired by the ability water has to calm and slow the 

world around us, even as water itself as a material is continually in motion and in transition. 

 

Water can feel incredibly strong and even muscular, while still being utterly transparent and 

ephemeral. 

 

 

 Lisa Conway, “Body Water Drop”, 12x15x12.  Ceramic and glaze

 

Julie Johnson's sculptural works are made with plants she gathers in both urban and wild settings.

Each plant represents a particular place, season and ecological role. Her inspiration for this work

is kulla kulla ("bird" in chinuk-wawa) Creek Watershed of Forest Park - it's riparian areas, water flow

and quality, and some of the human influences in this uniquely urban setting. 

 

 

 Julie Johnson, “Turbulence”, 15”d x 11”h, wild willows, sculptural random weave basket.

 

Come see us - it should be a delightful show - 

Gallery 114

1100 NW Glisan St.

Thursday - Sunday noon-5pm and by APPOINTMENT  - contactgallery114pdx@gmail.com 

 

 

 

   

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New work in the "can" - you do know that means the photo film "canister" ...right?

 Working diligently to get ready for my September show at Gallery 114. 

My work was photographed by Dan Kvitka in October and I thank the Ford Family Foundation for the funds to pay for that documentation and that done by Stephen Funk, last spring at the 3/24 Mt. Hood Community College Exhibit.

Here are a few of the new images, supported by this grant.

First- are 4 of the larger "anchor" paintings for my exhibit. These are all 36"x36".

Then after making all these I made a series of smaller paintings that refer to other aspects of each larger painting.

Now to play with them in relation to each other via photoshop, which is how I will plan the layout for my exhibit. Just experimenting with arrangements - I can scale everything to the dimensions of the display space - so can get a pretty accurate feel for the set up.

MHCC:

 

Summer at the Bird Alliance of Oregon

Balch to kulla kulla creek

I continue to take my inspiration from Balch Creek in Forest Park, Portland, OR. 

As I find my imagery in the almost infinite views of this creek, I strive to capture the tension of the beauty and strength of nature with the intrusion of humans. We come to land, we measure and scheme on how to exploit. 

Are we bad? 

Let's say we are individuals, family-groups who are only trying to survive, but somehow balance gets lost time and time again. 

Anyway, I am pushing on to have this creek renamed to kulla kulla creek, "bird" in the chinuk-wawa language, the first language of the Oregon people, used by all the tribes in the region and beyond. 

Dan Balch was a colonist who received his land for FREE in 1850 via a Donation Land Claim. He and his family settled, but before long, in 1858, Dan murdered his son-in-law in a drunken rage, not approving of his daughter's elopement. 

 Dan was the first white man to be tried, convicted and hanged for murder in the state of Oregon. 

Continuing to refer to a creek with murder's moniker, is an insult to the original people whose land was stolen and to all people striving to live in a civilized society, past and future. It's not funny, nor quirky...it is unjust and was an act of violence that ended an innocent persons' life.

Here is a video of a portion of my kulla-kulla creek series.  

There is an abrupt spot where the creek is unceremoniously culverted into the storm sewer to be fed into the Willamette River, via a pipe, a mile down the way. 

 The painting is of the culvert, flanked by the diagrams of the newly engineered trash rack. 

The flowing silk ribbons represent the wild beauty of the creek, and contrast with the black burlap representing landscape cloth and the lights-out dark of entering the culvert. 

Movement vs static. 

 The bird sculptures remind us the creek is to be renamed kulla kulla, but also point out how humans appreciate nature but simplify it, losing so much of the intricate beauty. 

The complexity of nature is actually beyond us, but we honor these motifs as reminders of what is out there. 

Here you go:

more about the Map

 

 

Updated version of the Balch Creek Map

 

 

detail of the Balch property section of the area

 

 

 

 Detail of the tags reminding us that moving folks off the land is something that our society still does today - sadly.

Detail of Map - section with the Gunter chain - used to measure/map the plots of land across Oregon, Washington and Idaho...and across the whole country.

 

The show is up Nature, Once Removed

 And it's really dramatic, if I say so myself.

Lisa Conway and David Cohen are exhibiting some amazing pieces. The space is large and beautifully lit, so there is plenty to take in and enough room for the large work.

Here are some images:

a new arrangement idea and a few new paintings to capture other ways of experiencing the creek

detail

 

Balch Creek Map is continually getting refined as my understanding expands.

 

 

Getting ready - Nature, Once Removed @ Mt Hood Community College

 Yep - final touches and hanging hardware...preparing to deliver my work next week for this 3 person show at MHCC.

Please come by anytime or to one of the 2x, yes 2 Receptions:

March 7th 11:30-1:00 - (a Thursday)

March 9th, 1:00- 3:00 - a Saturday ;)

I am showing with David Cohen and Lisa Conway - 2 awesome artists.

We are putting together a strong show for you - definitely worth the beautiful drive to the gallery.

Also please let me know if you might want to visit the gallery another time and if I can, I will meet you there.

Rethinking Balch Creek, closes today 12/2/23.

 Thanks Gallery 114 for the opportunity to put up a comprehensive exhibit featuring the Balch Creek as it flows along Lower Macleay Trail. And for the chance to talk about the renaming effort about the creek.

Simple version: Dan Balch was a white colonizer who was given his land for free during the period of 1850-1855, when the US Government was trying to get the land settled by White Men as they actively displaced the Native People. The stealing and redistribution of the land was through the system of the Donation Land Act.

Anyway here is a link to a more fleshed out explanation:

 

But as the exhibit images may be removed soon, I wanted folks to see the paintings.

Can you really enforce a boundary on flowing water? acrylic on panel, 36" x48"

 

Flowing dipping and spraying over the basalt, acrylic on panel, 30" x 30"

Next to the rush, quiet pools may form, acrylic on panel, 36"x36"

Catching the rush, turning the corner, slowing the pace, acrylic on panel, 36" x36"

Towering trees tumble, acrylic on panel, 30"x30"

The creek narrows and picks up speed, acrylic on panel, 24"x24"

The engineered disappearance of a living creek, acrylic on panel, 30"x30"

Map of Balch Creek and surrounding area, mixed media, acrylic on panel, nails, thread, key tags, 10'x6'