Museum Preparator David Miller installs a story pole

Museum Employee and Professional Artist David Miller Brings Prehistoric Creatures to Life

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David Miller, American, b. 1957; Quetzalcoatlus, 2002; Oil and acrylic on illustration board, 16 x 12 in. Courtesy of the New York State Museum, Albany.

On a Thursday afternoon in October, Museum Preparator David Miller sat at his desk in the attic of Old City Hall and thumbed through the many binders of his old paintings.

He was searching for a piece he had created many years ago. With each turned page he uncovered a new prehistoric creature like some sort of artistic archaeologist.

Finally, he came across the piece he was looking for. It depicted the prehistoric flying beast Quetzalcoatlus as it soared above a North American forest millions of years ago. The piece, titled Quetzalcoatlus after the creature it depicts, was notable because one block away a reproduction was on display at the Lightcatcher building as part of the Museum’s exhibition Endangered Species: Artists on the Frontline of Biodiversity.

“I think it’s an effective drawing. The forced perspective really shows you the immensity of the creature,” Miller says.

Getting the immensity of the creature was essential. Quetzalcoatlus, with an imposing 52-foot wingspan, was the largest flying animal to ever exist, after all.

Miller originally painted Quetzalcoatlus in 2002 for a book on Pterosaurs. The painting ultimately didn’t get published. In 2004, he took the piece to the Paleo Art Show at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science where the piece was awarded Best 2D Artwork.

Bringing creatures to life

Quetzalcoatlus isn’t Miller’s only dinosaur painting. In fact, much of his art career is centered around creating scientifically accurate depictions of prehistoric animals.

His interest in painting prehistoric animals goes back to his childhood. When he was younger, he drew dinosaurs and World War II fighter planes. After high school, he attended Montserrat School of Visual Art in Beverly, Massachusetts, and the Art Student’s League.

“When I was in school I thought I was going to be a so-called fine artist,” Miller says. “But I quickly discovered that I didn’t have much to say; there were people that were better that could say what had to be said. So, I wanted to serve science as an illustrator.”

His first step into the world of prehistoric painting began after he found an anthology on vertebrate paleontology. The book described the taxonomy of different animals and showed illustrations of their skeletons. Miller says he became interested in the prehistoric fish and took a shot at painting them. Those paintings were included in a book called Discovering Fossil Fishes published in 1995. After that, everything fell into place.

David Miller works on a drawing in his workshop in the Whatcom Museum.

Miller says scientific accuracy is his primary goal. In this work, it’s everything.

To illustrate his point, Miller recounted the story of a painting he created for the Florida Museum of Natural History in 2004. The museum flew him to Florida so he could snorkel in the environment he would be painting. Afterward, he spent hours working with an expert on mollusks to make sure every detail was correct.

“The level of accuracy was exacting,” Miller says. “Everything had to be right. I can’t tell you how many scans I sent to him and how many times they came back with red ink.”

David Miller joins the Museum

In 1992, Miller moved to Bellingham with his wife. The next year, he began working with the Whatcom Museum after he offered to paint a dinosaur for an exhibit.

The Museum continued hiring him for projects over the years, including two massive 80-foot murals. One, created in 2001, depicts African, Asian, and American rainforests. The other, created in 2006, depicts marine and harbor habitats.

David Miller installs a piece in the Family Interactive Gallery.

In 2012, he joined the Museum full time as a preparator. In this role he handles everything from hanging artwork to creating object mounts, painting backgrounds and lighting displays.

“[The most satisfying part of the job is] being alone in the shop working on a project that I helped conceived of or am really passionate about that takes problem-solving skills and attention to detail,” Miller says.  “To me, I can’t think of a better job. If I’m not painting, I’d rather be doing something like that.”

Miller still spends much of his personal time drawing but doesn’t currently do contract work. He says he doesn’t have the time for it.

He then grabbed another binder from the corner of his desk and cracked it open.

“I just seem to keep having to draw,” Miller says. “I miss those days where you get in the car going out to FedEx, and in the back of your car is a painting that you’re going to send out and get paid for.”

Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

Woman standing in front of a painting

Madeline von Foerster: Painting Humanity’s Role in Species Destruction

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In fourth grade, Madeline von Foerster was asked to do a report on an animal for class. She opted to do her report on an extinct animal. At the time she was also developing a passion for art. So, it’s no surprise that years later she would create art that highlights the plight of endangered and extinct animals.

The work of Madeline von Foerster

Von Foerster has built a career out of using her paintings to comment on the role humanity plays in the destruction of animal species. Two of her paintings, Carnival Insectivora and Reliquary for Rabb’s Frog, were included in the Museum’s exhibition Endangered Species: Artists on the Front Line of Biodiversity.

Carnival Insectivora highlights endangerment of the infamous Venus flytrap. Reliquary for Rabb’s Frog highlights the extinction of the Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog.

“In both cases, I wanted to create a tribute or a shrine to threatened or extinct species, and also address humanity’s role in their fate,” von Foerster says.

The Venus flytrap is being petitioned for endangered status. It grows in the Coastal Plain and Sandhills of North and South Carolina. These habitats are quickly being destroyed by fire suppression techniques, commercial logging, and residential development, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog became extinct in 2016 after the last known specimen of the species died at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Von Foerster’s painting honors that final frog by placing it in an ornate silver and gold container.

Von Foerster says the container is meant to resemble a monstrance. The Roman Catholic Church uses the highly decorated container to display the wafer a priest or bishop has blessed.

“I want my paintings to make visible the consequences of our actions/inaction. They are meant to inspire a different worldview, one of reverence for and partnership with the natural world,” von Foerster says. “Our lives are so enmeshed with the destruction of nature that it is scarcely visible to us. It will be very apparent to future generations, however, who must live with the results.”

The Mische technique

Von Foerster works in a painting style called the Mische technique. The style was developed more than 500 years ago by Flemish painters and requires the application of many alternating layers of oil and egg tempera. The tempera allows her to paint fine details while the oil layers help with blending.

According to von Foerster’s website, “the two media offer unparalleled luminosity, as light travels through the oil glazes and reflects off the highly opaque tempera beneath.” A demonstration and basic walk-through of the technique can be found on her website.

“It permits the finest of detail,” von Foerster says. “Oil glazes in combination with the tempera under-painting create a luminous ‘glow’ unmatched in other media.  It’s laborious, but I love it.”

Von Foerster isn’t kidding when she says the paintings were laborious. Each of the two paintings took more than two months to create.

The hardest part was the metal container in the Rabb’s frog painting. She describes it as her “problem child.” Her initial idea was to paint it gold. But after painting a large portion of it, she realized the brown tones in the gold made the frog disappear. Because of this, she repainted it silver. In the end, von Foerster says the painstaking process was worth it.

The preliminary drawing and sketch of Reliquary for Rabb’s Frog is now part of the Museum’s collection. Learn more about Madeline von Foerster at madelinevonfoerster.com.

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

Image credit: Madeline von Foerster stands next to her painting, Carnival Insectivora.

The making of Reliquary for Rabb’s Frog. Photos courtesy of the artist.

A sketched outline of the piece.

Applying layers of tinted egg tempera to the painting.

More layers of egg tempera and local glazes.

Applying final details with oil paint.

 

 

Cruise ship at sunset

History Sunset Cruises: Local History with a Waterfront View

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This summer, hundreds of people will board the 100-foot Victoria Star for the Museum’s 35th annual History Sunset Cruises. Those aboard will learn about the history of Bellingham from a waterfront perspective thanks to local historians Doug Starcher and Brian Griffin.

History Sunset Cruises

During a cruise, attendees get great views of parks, industry, and neighborhoods from Bellingham Bay. Starcher and Griffin tie their knowledge of local history with up-to-date facts. Their narrative of history, trivia, and current events gives guests a new understanding of the area.

Griffin is an active participant and supporter of local art and history. Recently, he sat down to talk about his time volunteering for the Museum, including the History Cruises, which he has hosted for the past 10 years. Griffin said he enjoys telling people about local history while cruising on a boat because of the visual nature of the experience.

“I am able to point to things as I tell the story. It’s easier to tell a story when it’s in front of you,” Griffin said.

Local historian Brian Griffin narrates a History Sunset Cruise.

Griffin has authored multiple books highlighting local history including My Darling Anna, Treasures from the Trunk: The J.J. Donovan Story, Boulevard Park, and Fairhaven: A History, which are available at the Museum Store. After staff read his books, the Museum invited Griffin to narrate the history cruises. In addition to volunteering his time to host the cruises, Griffin is also a volunteer docent at the Museum. In that role, he leads tours of Old City Hall and the People of the Sea and Cedar exhibit at the Lightcatcher building. He also served as a member on the Whatcom Museum Foundation Board of Trustees.

In 2013 Griffin helped curate an 11-month-long museum exhibition about local businessman J.J. Donovan called Treasures from the Trunk: The J.J. Donovan Story. He later went on to write a book about Donovan, inspired by the exhibit.

The Museum appreciates Griffin’s storytelling and looks forward to another year of history cruises together.

The details

Cruises take place Tuesdays, July 10 through September 11. San Juan Cruises’ Victoria Star leaves from the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven, 355 Harris Ave. The boat has indoor and outdoor seating on two levels, a snack bar, and a full bar with a selection of beers, wines, and cocktails. Restrooms are available on board. Guests are welcome to bring food and beverages (non-alcoholic) for a picnic-style dinner while cruising. Each sailing boards at 6:15pm, with a prompt 6:30pm sailing, and an 8:30pm return.

Tickets are $35 general; $30 for Museum members; $28 per person for groups of 8 or more people (registered together). Purchase at brownpapertickets.com/event/3380820, by calling 800/838.3006 ext. 1, or by visiting the Museum Store located at 250 Flora St. Proceeds benefit Whatcom Museum exhibitions and educational programs. For more information about the history cruises visit www.whatcommuseum.org/history-sunset-cruise.

–Written by Christina Claassen and Colton Redtfeldt

Whatcom's newspaper war

Whatcom’s Newspaper War  

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The years from the 1890s to the 1910s were a turbulent time for America’s journalism industry. William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were in a fierce circulation war that had pushed the United States into the Spanish-American War. But journalism’s mighty waves weren’t a faraway thing. In fact, Bellingham was the scene for its own newspaper war.

From 1903 to 1911, two of Bellingham’s largest newspapers, The American Reveille and The Bellingham Herald, were in a seven-year circulation war that cost their owners, two wealthy publishing tycoons, tens of thousands of dollars.

Background

On June 15, 1883, Will Jenkins and Thomas Nicklin published the first edition of the Whatcom Reveille. On March 11, 1890, William Vissener, a Kentucky-born Civil War Colonel, and E. G. Earle, a local business man, printed the first edition of the Fairhaven Herald.

The two papers were in different towns at the time. The Reveille was in the Sehome area and the Fairhaven Herald was in Fairhaven, but it wouldn’t be long before the two worlds collide.

Early office of the Reveille Printing at C and Dupont Streets

Both papers served the community without much competition. The economic boom in the area ensured that both papers were prosperous. The good times didn’t last, though, and all the papers in Whatcom felt it. By the beginning of 1891, Fairhaven’s economy began to crash and the newspapers took most of the financial blow. This depression allowed the Fairhaven Herald, which had fared better than other papers, to buyout some small papers in the area.

As the economy improved, both the Fairhaven Herald and the Daily Reveille survived the depression and continued printing daily papers. A thriving economy brought the towns of Sehome and Whatcom closer together and talk of unification started. This meant that the paper’s markets started to merge. The stage was set for a show-off between the papers. All it took was the money and drive from two wealthy men to set it off.

Whatcom’s Newspaper War

The first signs of conflict came in August 1903 when Samuel A. Perkin, publisher of The Tacoma Daily News and Ledger, saw the chance for profit in Bellingham. He bought a majority of the Fairhaven Herald’s stock. With a majority share, Perkins was able to call the shots. During the buyout, the paper’s name was change to The Bellingham Herald.

Perkins wasn’t the only man to see an opportunity for profit in Bellingham’s newspaper market. In September 1904, the founder and publisher of The Seattle Times, Joseph Blethen, formed the American Printing Company in Bellingham. On Sept. 10, he published the first edition of the Puget Sound American. In an editorial, Blethen wrote that the Puget Sound American would be a “larger and more aggressive newspaper than was ever published in any similar city in Washington State.”

The Fairhaven Herald Building, built 1890 at the southwest corner of Larrabee and 14th Streets, Fairhaven.

So ensued a long battle between the three newspapers. Every so often, each paper would change their masthead slogans with phrases that asserted themselves as the best paper in Bellingham. A March 17, 1906 slogan from the Puget Sound American read “The American is the Only Bellingham paper that dares to print the news.”

In December 1906, the Puget Sound American bought The American Reveille for $100,000.

The newly consolidated paper ran under three different names. The morning edition was called The Reveille, the evening edition was called the Evening American, and the weekly publication was called The American Reveille.

The two remaining papers, both backed by funding from their wealthy owners, fought for dominance of the newspaper market. Often, both papers were running at a deficit. However, their owners kept investing to keep them operating.

On June 14, 1908 the Reveille, in an attempt to secure its legitimacy, called on its long history in the Bellingham community by printing its Silver Anniversary edition to celebrate 25 years of operation. The special edition included phrases that called for hope of a better future in Bellingham. Twenty-thousand copies of the newspaper were printed and distributed, costing the company $2,000 (about $49,825 today).

In response, The Bellingham Herald printed a special 76-page Christmas edition that December.

On May 23, 1909, the Reveille moved into the Triangle Building on the corner of Magnolia, Commercial, and Champion streets. Then, on Jan. 1, 1910, the Herald succeeded in obtaining the franchise for the Associated Press Sunday morning news. This, along with other factors, spelled the end for the Reveille, and the end of the newspaper war.

Decline & Aftermath

On Nov. 22, 1911, Blethen sold the Reveille to a syndicate of local businessmen. In an editorial written in the last edition of the paper, he said he had hoped the paper would have turned a profit sooner. There is some speculation about why the businessmen purchased the newspaper. The common consensus is that the acquisition of the paper was part of a large plan to spur Bellingham’s economy by making it the terminus of a rail line.

The syndicate of businessmen made Frank I. Sefrit — a previous manager of papers in Portland and Salt Lake City — publisher of the paper.

Whatever the reason for the sale, many people in the community here happy that the newspaper war was over. The war had given Bellingham a bad image.

In a statement, Sefrit explained how “for years Bellingham has suffered immeasurably from the strife that has been engendered by, and between, the daily newspapers of this city. This warfare had given the impression…that the people of this city and county are hopelessly divided on everything tending to the up building of the community.”

In a Nov. 22 editorial in The Bellingham Herald, the editors wrote that the “newspaper war has become a stench in the nostrils of everybody.”

On March 13, 1927, the Herald ran a story reporting that the Reveille was being absorbed and the paper would “commence an ‘all-day’ service consisting of morning (except Mondays), evenings and Sunday edition superior in character to those which The Reveille has ever attained.”

The history of Bellingham’s early newspapers is full of competition and acquisitions. But it was the feud of two major newspapers, each backed by wealthy outside men, that divided the community, just as the feud between Hearst and Pulitzer divided the nation.

Sources & Further Reading:

Cutter, William Richard. American Biography. Pub. under the Direction of the American Historical Society, 1916.

National Register of Historic Places, Bellingham Herald Building, Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington, National Register Number #13001032

Sampler, Rhio. “Bellingham.” Bellingham Newspapers, 12 Apr. 2008, wagenweb.org/whatcom/news.htm.

Van Mierte, E Rosomende Ellis. The Abstract + Brief Chronicles of Bellingham Bay WA. 1st ed., Threshold Documents, 2012.

“VII: The History of Newspapers.” History of Whatcom County, by Lottie Roeder. Roth, W.C. Cox Co., 1974, pp. 584–590.

About the Writer

Colton Redtfeldt is an intern at the Whatcom Museum. He is also a student at Western Washington University where he studying journalism. This piece is part of a larger research project.

 

Museum and Library Bring Art to the Heart of Science, Tech, Engineering & Math

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Looking for a way to beat the summer heat? The Bellingham Public Library and the Whatcom Museum have partnered to offer free activities throughout the summer for children ages four and older that are aimed at making learning fun.

Held in the Lecture Room of the Central Library, four activities will be offered by staff from the Museum’s Family Interactive Gallery. The free events will focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) concepts using hands-on activities. All events are on Wednesdays from noon to 1pm.

Photo courtesy of Bellingham Public Library.

“We want to inspire the imaginations of all ages and facilitate learning,” Susanna Brooks, the Museum’s Director of Learning Innovation, said. “One way we do this is by placing Art at the heart of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Our partnership with the library furthers our commitment to reach a wide variety of learners.”

On June 20, attendees can learn more about Pablo Picasso’s Cubism style of painting. Participants will create a self-portrait by studying their face in a mirror and then using geometric shapes to draw a portrait.

On June 27, participants can test their vision accuracy by playing a “Penny Cup Game,” in which they will attempt to toss coins into a cup with their eyes open and closed.

Kids can test their secret agent skills on July 18 by learning Morse code, which uses dots and dashes, as well as learning how to do “Mirror Writing.”

Photo courtesy of Bellingham Public Library.

Finally, on August 1, attendees will be able to test their math skills with fun money games such as “Dollar Dash” and “Coin War.”

“The library is thrilled the FIG can showcase their innovation at the library and provide families with fresh STEAM ideas and activities,” said Bethany Hoglund, Bellingham Library’s Head of Youth Services.

For more information about programs offered at the Museum’s Family Interactive Gallery, visit www.whatcommuseum.org/events/. For a schedule of summer programs and story times at the Bellingham Public Library, visit www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/kids-teens/kids/childrens-events.

Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

 

 

 

Photo by Mary Randlett

5 Women Artists in the Whatcom Museum’s Collection: Mary Randlett

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Mary Randlett, Photograph of artist Helmi Juvonen, 1983. Whatcom Museum #1986.0017.000001.

This is the final installment of our 2018 #5WomenArtists articles, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ challenge, “Can you name five women artists?” The Museum featured five female artists from its collection throughout the month of March—Women’s History Month. Share our posts with your followers on social media and tag your posts #5WomenArtists. This week we feature the life and work of Mary Randlett (1924 – 2019).

Mary Randlett early years

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s the case, Mary Randlett has spoken hundreds of thousands of words about the Pacific Northwest and the people in it. Through her powerful photography, Randlett has captured the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Born in Seattle on May 5, 1924, art has always played a central role in Randlett’s life. Her mother was active in the arts and crafts movement, and Randlett had contact with early Northwest artists such as Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, and Mark Tobey from a young age. At the age of 10, she received her first camera, a small Kodak. Within a few years she had produced her first photo album. She continued to take photographs throughout high school at Queen Anne High.

It wasn’t until college that Randlett really developed her photography skills. In the basement of Whitman College’s darkroom, Randlett experimented with different development techniques. In 1947 she graduated with a bachelors in political science.

Her career

Following graduation, Randlett worked at a small Seattle store. She was fired after she spoke up about female wage discrimination and demanded a pay raise. After this, she apprenticed with fashion photographer Hans Jorgensen in Seattle. In 1949, Randlett took photographs of Slo-Mo-Shun IV, the world’s fastest boat at the time. The photos gave her a great deal of publicity and helped launch her career as a professional photographer.

Mary Randlett; Photograph, 1968. Whatcom Museum #1976.0022.000001.

In 1963, Randlett started a project taking portrait photographs of Northwest artists. During the project, she photographed Theodore Roethke, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and University of Washington professor. Her photos of Roethke were the last photos taken of him before he died two weeks later from a heart attack. They gave her further acclaim, thus securing her career.

A year later, Randlett entered an agreement with the University of Washington Press to take photos focused on Pacific Northwest landscapes, art, artists, and architecture for their publications.

“I still get chills when an image appears and I’m able to catch it on film,” said Randlett in an article on Whitman College’s website. “I suppose I like to shoot landscapes most of all. The coastal light in the Northwest — there’s nothing like it.”

Throughout her life, Randlett also took photos of artists such as Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, Jacob Lawrence, and George Tsutakawa, as well as writers such as Tom Robbins, Henry Miller, and Colleen McElroy.

Her impact

Through dedication and her creative spirit, Randlett forged a prolific career in photography. So prolific in fact, that Don Ellegood, former director of the University of Washington Press, called her “beyond question the leading photographer in the Northwest.”

Randlett’s photography will live on in history, showing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. But above all she fought the discrimination that has been prevalent in the workplace and art world. She challenged the status quo and demanded an equal place.

Female artists have played a vital role in the formation of art throughout history. Often those contributions are forgotten or overshadowed. Yet their work serves not only as a history lesson but as inspiration for many young women now and into the future.

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

5 Women Artists in the Whatcom Museum’s Collection: Dale Gottlieb

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Dale Gottlieb; Tuskegee Airmen, 1995; Hand-knotted wool rug, 8 x 5 ft. Purchased with funds donated by Chuck and Dee Robinson, WM #2004.28.1

Inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ challenge, “Can you name five women artists?” the Whatcom Museum is highlighting five female artists whose work is featured in our collection throughout the month of March—Women’s History Month. Follow us on social media and share our posts with your followers, or tell us your favorite women artists. Don’t forget to tag your posts #5WomenArtists.

Dale Gottlieb

Dale Gottlieb was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1952. From an early age she was frequently exposed to the art world. Almost every Saturday morning she would go to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It was at this museum that Gottlieb became heavily inspired by African art. She also drew inspiration from her environment growing up. Raised in Brooklyn during the 1950s, Gottlieb was constantly surrounded by people with a range of religious beliefs, races, and sexual orientations.

Up until the 8th grade, she attended Brooklyn’s Ethical Culture School. This alternative school emphasized a curriculum based on philosophy and humanitarianism.

Gottlieb attended the School of Art and Design at Alfred University, in New York, in the 70s. At the age of 20, she postponed her studies for a couple of months to travel to India and stay at a Hindu ashram. While in India, she was deeply touched by the spiritual rituals. She considered staying, but eventually decided that continuing her work as an artist was her true calling. She returned to Alfred University and finished her degree with honors in 1975.

Her art

Using what she had learned from her experiences, Gottlieb began to paint. As time went on, she refined her style and discovered new mediums. In 1990, Gottlieb met a Tibetan Buddhist named Lobsang Tenzing. He and his family create hand-knotted rugs using a traditional Tibetan carpet technique. In 1993, the two began collaborating to make a variety of artistic rugs. Gottlieb would create the designs, and Tenzing and his family would weave the rugs and send them to Gottlieb. The entire process could take up to three months.

“It blew my socks off!” Gottlieb said when she saw the first rug, according to the book Story Rugs: Tales of Freedom. “I thought they were wizards—it was so beautiful…when you know that you’re looking at eighty knots per square inch, and then you look at how large an eight-by-ten-foot rug is, it’s amazing to realize the effort and skill that’s gone into it.”

The collaboration between Gottlieb and Tenzing continues today, more than two decades later.

In addition to her Story Rugs and paintings, Gottlieb has also written, as well as illustrated, 28 children’s books. She has created illustrations for publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Sports Illustrated and Esquire.

In 2003, the Whatcom Museum curated the exhibition Story Rugs: Tales of Freedom: the work of Dale Gottlieb. Gottlieb lives in Bellingham and continues to create her art and rug designs. Her pieces tell a story of happiness, pain, and triumph that extends through history. They demonstrate cooperation and collaboration. Above all, they depict the human experience for all that its worth.

For more information about Gottlieb’s work, visit her website, http://www.dalegottlieb.com/.

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

5 Women Artists in the Whatcom Museum’s Collection: Doris Totten Chase

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Inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ challenge, “Can you name five women artists?” the Whatcom Museum is highlighting five female artists whose work is featured in our collection throughout the month of March—Women’s History Month. Read on to learn about Doris Totten Chase.

Doris Totten Chase; Sun Disc, 1980; Silkscreen print, 22 x 30 in. Gift of Doris Totten Chase, Whatcom Museum # 2003.51.12.

Doris Totten Chase early years

Doris Totten Chase was an influential figure in early computer-generated art. Her early experimentations helped defined the future of the medium and expressed themes about the lives of women.

Chase was born in Seattle on April 29, 1923. In 1941 she graduated from Roosevelt High School and began to study architecture at the University of Washington. Soon after, she met Elmo Chase, a lieutenant in the US Navy, and dropped out in 1943.

Chase’s introduction to the art world came after the birth of her first child. After suffering from an emotional breakdown, Chase decided to explore new interests and discovered a talent for painting.

She originally studied oil panting under prominent Northwest artists like Jacob Elshin, Nickolas Damascus, and Mark Tobey. She found her first success in 1948 when one of her paintings was accepted into the Seattle Art Museum’s Northwest Annual Exhibition.

Chase continued to work in the Pacific Northwest and make a name for herself. Gradually, she shifted mediums, going from oil painting to cement work to outdoor sculptures. Her artwork began to include interactive elements that invited viewers to move the art around for further exploration. One of her more recognized pieces was the sculpture Changing Form, in Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. The sculpture, which was made at a time when sculpting was considered a man’s art, became one of Seattle’s most widely recognized pieces of art.

Her video work

Doris Totten Chase; Late Autumn, 1997; Glass and metal, 14.75 x 20 x 2 in. Gift of the artist in honor of Mr. & Mrs. Arch Talbot, Whatcom Museum # 2003.51.9.

In 1969, acclaimed dancer Mary Staton used one of Chase’s circular sculptures in a dance routine. This inspired Chase to collaborate with Boeing on a project dealing with a medium she had never used before: video. Using Boeing’s mainframe super computer, Chase created Circles, a video depicting multiple multi-color hoops transforming and multiplying on a black background.

Later, she used parts of the video to create Circles 2. It depicted a woman rolling around in multiple multi-color hoops while classical music played. The video garnered acclaim at the 1973 Sundance Film Festival.

Wishing to focus more on her video work, Chase moved to New York City in 1972 and rented room 722 at the Chelsea Hotel. The room had been the residence for many famous artists and authors, including Janis Joplin, Mark Twain, and Dylan Thomas.

During her time in the city, Chase continued to work on computer-generated videos. Most of her early work involved integrating dancers with her sculptures, then using computer-generated effects to create a dreamlike atmosphere.

Chase also created videos that explored themes such as feminism. One of her most widely regarded works is By Herself (1985). The piece is a series of 30-minute video dramas regarding older women’s autonomy. Other works exploring similar themes include Table for One (1985), Dear Papa (1986), and Sophie (1989). Dear Papa won first prize at the Women’s International Film Festival in Paris in 1986.

In 1989, Chase returned to Seattle. She continued to create videos until she passed away on Dec. 13, 2008.

Chase left a lasting legacy in the world of art. Her early explorations of computer-generated video art helped pave the way for future artists.

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

 

 

 

5 Women Artists in the Whatcom Museum’s Collection: Maria Frank Abrams

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Inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ challenge, “Can you name five women artists?” the Whatcom Museum is continuing the tradition it started last year and highlighting five female artists whose work is featured in our collection throughout the month of March—Women’s History Month. Read on to learn about Maria Frank Abrams.

Maria Frank Abrams, (1924-2013); Untitled, 1977; Graphite on paper, 13.25 x 21.25 in. Whatcom Museum #2008.78.3. Gift of the artist.

Maria Frank Abrams early years

Maria Frank Abrams’ life was one of tragedy, perseverance, and beauty. Her powerful paintings were seen by people around the world and touched the hearts of those in the Pacific Northwest.

Born in 1924 to a Jewish family, Abrams grew up in Debrecen, Hungary. At 5 years old, she began to paint. However, her life was forever changed when, at the age of 19, her family was taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland in 1944.

According to the Washington Jewish Museum, Abrams was able to find pencils and paper during her time in the camp. Women in the camp would ask her to draw what they looked like before the war. From this experience, she said she was able to find some sort of reality in the “unreal tortured world that we lived in.” By the end of the war, she had lost 33 relatives. Only one cousin had survived.

Abrams immigrated to the United States in 1948. Continuing her work as an artist before World War II, she decided to study art at the University of Washington (UW) on a Hillel scholarship. It was during her time at UW that she developed her artistic style. Oil paintings were her preferred medium. The cool hues of paint that covered her canvases often depicted landscapes and geometric patterns.

Her career

Following graduation from the university, Abrams created a successful career for herself. The Otto Seligman Gallery, a former Seattle-based gallery, invited Abrams to show her work. Her art was particularly sought after by distinguished members of the local art community including her early mentor, Mark Tobey, and Richard Fuller, the founder of the Seattle Art Museum.

Maria Frank Abrams, (1924-2013); City Structures, 1959; Tempera and ink on paper, 21 x 24 in. Whatcom Museum #2008.78.2. Gift of the artist.

During her career, Abrams received many awards and showcased her artwork in exhibitions at the Seattle Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Oakland Municipal Art Museum, and others.

In both 1966 and 1975, Abrams was included in the Governor’s Invitational Exhibition, which was shown in Kobe, Japan, and throughout Washington. She died in 2013, at the age of 88.

Abrams drew inspiration from the Northwest landscape, expressing the beauty of her new homeland, but she also combined imagery and family ephemera into her art, representing her Holocaust survival and experience. According to her obituary in the Mercer Island Reporter on April, 8, 2013, Abrams once explained that her much of her inspiration came from the “subtle, ever-changing hues of the light over Lake Washington.”

“The Northwest affects my work very, very much,” she said. “Most of my work is inspired by the landscape around me, and by the colors around me.”

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

Ella Higginson

5 Women Artists in the Whatcom Museum’s Collection: Ella Higginson

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Inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ challenge, “Can you name five women artists?” the Whatcom Museum is highlighting five female artists whose work is featured in our collection throughout the month of March—Women’s History Month. Read on to learn about Ella Higginson.

Ella Higginson

Whatcom Museum #1968.24.208

Ella Higginson was a prominent Bellingham author whose books, essays, and poems are regarded as iconic to early Pacific Northwest literature. Her writing, which detailed the vast wilderness landscapes and inherent beauty of the region, introduced many readers to the Pacific Northwest for the first time.

Higginson was born in Council Grove, Kansas, but her family soon moved to Oregon. As a young girl, Higginson showed a talent for the written word. When she was 14, she published her first piece of work and by her late teens her work was being published in newspapers around Portland.

In 1885 she married Russell C. Higginson, and in 1888 they moved to Bellingham. Soon after they moved, Higginson began to make a new literary life for herself.

Her career

In 1889, some of her poetry was published in national magazines such as Collier’s Once a Week and Harper’s Magazine.

Her career really started to take off in 1894 when she won McClure’s Magazine’s writing contest for her short story, “The Takin’ In of Old Mis’ Lane.”

Following the contest, Higginson released multiple books of poetry and continued to write until her declining health slowed her down. Some of Higginson’s most significant works include A Bunch of Western Clover (1984), When the Birds Go North Again (1902), Mariella of Out West (1902), and The Vanishing Race and Other Poems (1911).

In 1931, the Washington State chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs named Higginson the first honorary poet laureate of Washington State, securing her legacy in Northwest literary history.

Outside of her literary accomplishments, Higginson was a strong supporter of the arts, education, and women’s rights. Through her efforts, she helped establish the city’s first library. She also helped elect the first woman to the Washington State House of Representatives, Frances Axtell.

Higginson’s impact on the Bellingham community is still felt by many people today, and it distinguishes her as one of Bellingham’s most successful female literary artists.

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

 

Four-Leaf Clover

I know a place where the sun is like gold,

And the cherry blooms burst with snow,

And down underneath is the loveliest nook,

Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith,

And one is for love, you know,

And God put another in for luck—

If you search, you will find where they grow.

But you must have hope, and you must have faith,

You must love and be strong – and so—

If you work, if you wait, you will find the place

Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

 

Published in When the Birds Go North Again (The Macmillan Company, 1898). It is in the public domain.

Long-time Educator, Mary Jo Maute, Retires After 21 Years

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For 21 years, Mary Jo Maute taught the history of the Northwest Coast people to thousands of Whatcom County children, brought art to families experiencing homelessness, inspired high school students, and taught adults painting and art techniques through various workshops. Last month, Maute, an education and program coordinator at the Museum, retired from her position, but her legacy will remain. Before leaving, Maute reflected on her time and experiences at the Museum.

Q&A with Mary Jo Maute

How long have you worked at the Whatcom Museum, and what role(s) have you had?
Twenty one years ago, we moved to Bellingham from Montana, where I had served as the Curator of Education at the Yellowstone Art Museum. We were drawn here for this job at the Museum.

Mary Jo Maute teaches an ArtFUNdamental program to elementary school children.

My role has been planning and presenting programs that relate to the permanent and special exhibitions, most often working with school groups to enhance the school curriculum. The school program that has kept me the busiest since day one is the People of the Sea and Cedar tour and workshop. Pretty much every 3rd grader in Whatcom County and many from Skagit, Snohomish, and Island Counties benefit from this program. One would think that running this remarkable program for 21 years would become tiring, but I love working with children and everyone has a good time.

I’ve also coordinated a variety of public programs, including talks by artists, curators, and historians, Family Activity Days (now Community Art Museum Day), Brown Bag lunch programs, Artful Pairings (opportunities for adults to get creative and learn interesting techniques while sipping wine), and concerts, which provide the community with opportunities to engage with our local arts and culture.

“I can say with certainty that Mary Jo is a beloved art teacher, a well-respected colleague and friend of this community!” –Susanna Brooks, Whatcom Museum Director of Learning Innovation

This past spring marked the 20th anniversary of the high school Art Career Day, a special project of mine. Art Career Day builds the next generation of artists, educators, and lifelong creative learners. This conference brings together 130 Whatcom County high school students and their art teachers for a day at the museum meeting with regional artists and college art department representatives.

I’ve also been the education department’s liaison with the museum intern program through Western Washington University’s (WWU) Anthropology Department.  It’s been a real joy to give college students a taste of what it’s like to work in a museum and engage with school groups and the public.

What has been one of your favorite programs offered at the Museum?
I like most when I can use the exhibitions as a springboard for a creative collaborative project. A few examples are:

  • Kuntz and Company dance inside the Lightcatcher gallery featuring Leslie Dill’s installation, 2012.

    Partnering with Pam Kuntz, WWU Dance faculty and artistic director of Kuntz and Company during the Leslie Dill installation in 2012. Together we explored the idea of creating a dance performance in the gallery. There were many fascinating rehearsals as the site-specific dance was choreographed. The result was two sold out, spine-tingling performances with an original score and outstanding cast of student and community dancers.

  • Being part of the Vanishing Ice exhibition planning team with our Curator of Art, Barbara Matilsky, and educator, Chris Brewer, as well as numerous community organizations who offered an array of programs on art and science all helping to expand awareness of climate change during the Vanishing Ice exhibition in 2012-13. I invited WWU fiber arts professor Seiko Purdue to come up with a project. The result was a beautiful display of hand-dyed bibs with heart-felt messages that fluttered on the courtyard wall during the exhibition.
  • Make.Shift Art Space provided a venue for regional artists to riff off a theme from a few Whatcom Museum exhibits. I thought it would be cool to invite artists to create a unique piece inspired by work from the Museum’s photo archive collection. Jessyca Murphy at Make.Shift agreed and the result was the juried exhibition Making History: Art from the Archive. Many artists enjoyed the challenge and had a great time perusing the photo collection with Jeff Jewell.

How has the education program changed through the years at the Museum?

Hand-dyed bibs with heart-felt messages fluttered on the courtyard wall during the “Vanishing Ice” exhibition in 2013.

The new People of the Sea and Cedar exhibition is an excellent example of how educators and community members can support exhibition planning and design to make the museum experience accessible to all ages, backgrounds, and learning styles. With thanks to Lummi and Nooksack elders, the exhibit includes language interactives and videos showcasing Lummi and Nooksack weavers and carvers, and it presents the tribes as vibrant, living cultures.

Visual literacy and creativity are 21st century skills that have changed through time. Museum educators must engage young people in activities that empower them to respond in their own way to the art and artifacts they find in the galleries.

Could you guesstimate how many Whatcom County school children you’ve interacted with through the years?
More than 100,000 students, parents, and teachers from every corner of Whatcom County and beyond.

Mary Jo Maute talks about birds with local elementary school students in the Syre Education Center.

What will you miss most about working at the Museum?
I will miss delving into new exhibitions and developing programs for school kids and adults that teach art skills, visual literacy, and instill the pleasure and excitement of learning in a museum setting. It feels good to know you’ve ignited a spark in some young person that might set them on a lifelong journey as an artist, historian, bird-lover, or culture vulture. I’ll miss working as a team with the education, curatorial, marketing, development, and information attendants to plan cool programs and welcome the community into this wonderful, warm, inspiring place of lifelong learning.

“Interning for Mary Jo gave me a chance to gain skills in building avenues for young people to experience art and culture. Mary Jo has a talent for creating opportunities for people to connect with art on a uniquely personal level.” –Lily Dittrich, former Museum intern

Do you have a favorite story about a visitor or student?
Occasionally a teacher will share, “While you were teaching, I observed a child who has shown little interest in school and has rarely raised their hand. During this experience, I see them thrive.” I know the meaning of that experience. That spark was ignited for me when I first visited the Albright Knox Art Gallery and had an AHA! moment looking at Seurat’s Etude pour “Le Chahut,” with its distinct dabs of oil color creating form and emanating light energy. These moments are why I am here today.

Mary Jo Maute (center) with her daughter, Iris Maute-Gibson (left) and retired Museum educator Chris Brewer (right). They are in costume for the Museum’s Victorian Secrets program in 2013. Photo by Roger Dollarhide.

What do you look forward to in retirement?
I look forward to traveling, auditing classes in other subjects of interest, working out at the YMCA, walking the many community trails, and volunteering for community nonprofits. I also look forward to continuing my professional arts career.

Would you like to add any other thoughts or comments?
I feel so fortunate to have found a career that weaves together several of my passions, as art, museums are a place of lifelong learning, and enrich the lives of our youth and community. After 28 years in the museum education field, it is time to pass the torch on to the next generation of educators. I cherish the friends that I have made at the Whatcom Museum including fellow staff, volunteers, interns, teachers, artists, musicians, history buffs, and bird-lovers.

Kids painting at tables in the FIG studio

Partnership between Whatcom Museum and Bellingham Public Library Lets Anyone Enjoy Art, Nature, and Northwest History

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The Whatcom Museum and Bellingham Public Library (BPL) have teamed up to offer complimentary Museum passes to library card holders.

About free Museum passes

The Museum passes are available for free to library patrons. A pass allows entry for up to four people into all of the Museum’s buildings. That includes Old City Hall, the Lightcatcher building, and the Family Interactive Gallery (FIG). While there, visitors can take advantage of the exhibitions and programming that regular admission offers.

Bethany Hoglund, Head of Youth Services for the Library, says the partnership is important because it removes the roadblocks that prohibit some people from accessing arts and creative spaces. She says it helps further the library’s vision of being a place where everyone can find engaging activities and offerings.

“I love that this partnership with the Museum can be a natural extension of the public library, and vice versa,” Hoglund says. “Both have resources and materials to ignite creativity, challenge perceptions, and to explore.”

Last year, BPL distributed more than 380 Museum passes to people throughout the community. From those passes, the Museum welcomed about 650 visitors. Passes are now offered on all days that the Museum is open, Wednesday through Sunday. The Whatcom Museum and the Bellingham Public Library look forward to another successful year of the program.

“The more agencies within a community work together, the stronger the network of support and services for citizens becomes,” said Hoglund. “Partnerships such as this provide the opportunity for agencies to learn more about each other and learn from each other.”


Get a pass

To get one of these passes, library patrons will need to go online and register from the library’s website. Each family can receive one set of passes every 60 days. The passes are available only for the day selected during registration. There are a limited number of passes available per day. More information can be found on the library’s website: www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/.

To sign up, go to the link below and select Register Online. From there, select the day you’d like to visit the Museum. After that, fill out the form at the bottom of the page. You’ll recieve a confirmation email. Bring your confirmation—either printed or as an email on your phone—to the museum for entry.

www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/using-the-library/free-passes-to-whatcom-museum

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant

Guests read about the Hall of Birds

Community Partnership: Audubon Society

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Sometimes two organizations come together to better achieve their missions. The Whatcom Museum and the North Cascades Audubon Society (NCAS) are an example of this. Through an ongoing partnership, the Museum and Audubon Society have produced a variety of events, and an exhibit, that have informed and inspired people throughout Whatcom County.

Museum and Audubon Society form partnership

The partnership began in 2013 when the Museum opened an exhibit in the Syre Education Center that showcased its collection of taxidermy birds and Native American artifacts on a limited basis. Shortly after the exhibit opened, Museum staff invited NCAS to help assist with programs about the birds. NCAS agreed, and representatives spent time each month volunteering in the exhibit to answer questions.

A collage of birds set up in the “John Eden Hall of Birds” exhibit.

Then the Museum decided to move its founding collection of taxidermy birds from the Syre to Old City Hall in 2016-17 to create the John M. Edson Hall of Birds. The North Cascades Audubon Society played a key role in the exhibit development.

“When planning began for moving the birds to Old City Hall, knowledgeable NCAS birders joined in and we discussed key birds to move and important themes for the exhibit. These became foundational to the new exhibit,” said Chris Brewer, a previous Museum educator involved in getting the Audubon active at the Museum.

The Hall of Birds showcases more than 500 mounted birds and helps visitors learn about migration, conservation, and more. The North Cascades Audubon Society is still involved with the Hall of Birds exhibit. Every fourth Sunday of the month from 1:30-3:30pm is Audubon at the Museum. There, volunteer experts from the Audubon Society answer questions about the exhibit and birds in general.

Beyond the Hall of Birds

The North Cascades Audubon Society holds monthly meetings in the Rotunda Room of Old City Hall. Educational presentations are on the fourth Tuesday of every month. The programs are open to the public and highlight a diverse range of topics.

NCAS has also been a key financial contributor to many of the Museum’s programs. It helped fund four summer camps in 2015 and 2016, providing scholarships for four children as well as purchasing materials. NCAS also co-sponsored two presentations by well-known bird photographer Paul Bannick. During the Vanishing Ice exhibition in 2013-14, NCAS helped facilitate family educational events.

The Audubon Society does a lot of work for the community outside of the Museum. It continues to support scientific research about local wildlife and the environment. It has also provided grants for more than 30 college students who have completed work on 31 research projects. NCAS also served as Whatcom County Coordinator for a five-year, state-wide study on seabird mortality. Through all of these actions, the Audubon Society continues to provide opportunities for the public to engage with the natural world.

“Audubon is not only a birding organization, but an educational and conservation oriented [organization] as well,” said Pam Borso, current president of the North Cascades Audubon Society. “The Museum has provided us the opportunity to further our presence in the community.”

The Whatcom Museum thanks the North Cascades Audubon Society for their contribution to the community, and to our visitors.

–Written by Colton Redtfeldt, Marketing Assistant