Gail Ramsey Wharton
I was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where the stage was set for my lifelong interest in poetry and art. An M.A. led to an 18-year career as a Marriage, Child, and Family Therapist. I spent most of my creative life in the area of visual arts, exhibiting and teaching art in many different locations in the Midwest and the Bay Area. In 2001 I moved to Lacey, Washington, where I was invited to join a group of poets in Olympia, called Fusion. Through this group, I met many local poets and became a member of the Olympia Poetry Network. Arts Olympia is another local organization where I met many of my fellow local artists and friends. My poetry is sometimes influenced by my artwork and, conversely, my artwork is frequently derived from my poetry.
I taught collage and mixed media at SPSCC for several years. I have shown my work at numerous galleries in the Olympia/Lacey area, and in juried exhibitions at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Gallery and Leona Fuller Gallery at SPSCC, and the Art Gallery of Tacoma Community College. THIS OLD WORLD is my first show at the Childhood's End Gallery.
My collages have been variously described as mysterious, unsettling, busy, and comic. All of these descriptors seem to fit at one time or another. The commingling of absurdity, comedy, and melancholy, for instance, is a part of my take on life, as well as my artistic intention.
The artist who influenced me the earliest was Hieronymus Bosch. Hannah Höch, Max Ernst, and others of the Dadaist movement also exhibited a knack for combining elements in surprising ways that created in me a strong affinity for their work.
In terms of process, most of my pieces are multi-layered/mixed media on a substrate of Bristol Board. I sometimes scratch or sandpaper my surfaces, using glazes to enhance the textures and unify the colors. Usually, I set up my workspace the night before so there's little prep time when I begin working late the next morning. I o en listen to music when I work but nothing that distracts my focus. Low-volume, minimalist-patterned compositions by John Adams, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and others of that ilk, are o en the right fit. Other times I prefer silence, especially if the only sound is rain falling on my studio skylight.
For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed foraging in junk stores, thri shops, garage sales, etc., with a particular fondness for old books and. magazines, photos, postcards and all manner of ephemera, (especially those tinged with little darkness.). It wasn't until later in my creative work that I began using these materials as sources for mixed media artworks. Connecting previously unrelated things is the subtext of most collage art, and this, in combination with my love for surprise and novelty, is what continually motivates me as an artist.
I taught collage and mixed media at SPSCC for several years. I have shown my work at numerous galleries in the Olympia/Lacey area, and in juried exhibitions at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Gallery and Leona Fuller Gallery at SPSCC, and the Art Gallery of Tacoma Community College. THIS OLD WORLD is my first show at the Childhood's End Gallery.
My collages have been variously described as mysterious, unsettling, busy, and comic. All of these descriptors seem to fit at one time or another. The commingling of absurdity, comedy, and melancholy, for instance, is a part of my take on life, as well as my artistic intention.
The artist who influenced me the earliest was Hieronymus Bosch. Hannah Höch, Max Ernst, and others of the Dadaist movement also exhibited a knack for combining elements in surprising ways that created in me a strong affinity for their work.
In terms of process, most of my pieces are multi-layered/mixed media on a substrate of Bristol Board. I sometimes scratch or sandpaper my surfaces, using glazes to enhance the textures and unify the colors. Usually, I set up my workspace the night before so there's little prep time when I begin working late the next morning. I o en listen to music when I work but nothing that distracts my focus. Low-volume, minimalist-patterned compositions by John Adams, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and others of that ilk, are o en the right fit. Other times I prefer silence, especially if the only sound is rain falling on my studio skylight.
For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed foraging in junk stores, thri shops, garage sales, etc., with a particular fondness for old books and. magazines, photos, postcards and all manner of ephemera, (especially those tinged with little darkness.). It wasn't until later in my creative work that I began using these materials as sources for mixed media artworks. Connecting previously unrelated things is the subtext of most collage art, and this, in combination with my love for surprise and novelty, is what continually motivates me as an artist.
