Caught In The Moment

An Article From The Martin Gallery

LIBERTY GARDENS
Pinewood Preparatory School
Summerville, SC

Martin Gallery is honored to procure the artwork for Liberty Gardens at Pinewood Preparatory School of Summerville, SC. Liberty Gardens is a sculptural tribute to those who have shown political and social courage, focusing on world leaders in the constant struggles for peace and freedom. The gardens will be dedicated to local hero, Frances Suddeth Josephson, who showed courage when she defied gender stereotypes to become a WWII code breaker. Her work helped end the war and save thousands of lives. Liberty Gardens celebrates the local and the distant, the domestic and the international, all the while showing our future leaders that the choices we make matter, and that we can matter, too.

Oregon artist, Kris Parmele, is working to sculpt a series of six busts, and also a portrait of Frances Suddeth Josephson, all to be installed in Liberty Gardens. To date she has completed the renderings of Mother Teresa and Winston Churchill. Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Albert Einstein are all planned to be a part of the final installation. Each sculpture will be cast in bronze in a limited edition of 12.

For information on how to sponsor a sculpture, or to purchase one for your own collection, please contact the gallery.

martingallery@mindspring.com

An Article From Yoshida's Fine Art Gallery

PRESS RELEASE
Media contact: Kristina McMorris
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
503-872-8485
kristina.mcmorris@yoshida.com

CLICK HERE for a Printer Friendly version!

BRONZE SCULPTURE BY PORTLAND ARTIST TO BE PERMANENTLY PLACED IN AMERICA’S OLDEST CATHEDRAL

Art buyer donates “The Blessing” in memory of her late father

Portland, Ore. (April 18, 2006) – When Boring, Oregon artist Kris Parmele completed the casting of her sculpture featuring Mother Teresa with a child entitled, “The Blessing,” she had envisioned her artwork providing inspiration by gracing the interior of a local church or hospital. Far from the realm of her imagination was the sculpture’s ultimate placement in such a prestigious facility as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The neoclassical Minor Basilica, now designated a National Shrine and National Historic Landmark, is located on a hill above Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. This first great metropolitan cathedral constructed in America following the adoption of the Constitution will celebrate its 200^th anniversary and grand reopening on November 4, 2006, after undergoing an extensive two-year restoration. In honor of the rededication, Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. has proclaimed 2006 “The Year of the Baltimore Basilica.”

On May 29, 1996, Mother Teresa of Calcutta graced the Basilica with her presence by receiving the renewal of vows of 35 of her Missionaries of Charity. Thus, when Antoinette Amato of Tacoma, Washington spotted the sculpture at Yoshida’s Fine Art Gallery (206 NW 10^th, Portland, Ore.) in early April, the thought of donating the art piece to the Basilica in her late father’s name seemed a perfectly fitting gesture. “The Blessing” is currently in transit to its new home, where Parmele hopes it will touch the hearts of viewers as greatly as the real-life subject, Mother Teresa, touched those of millions of people around the globe, crossing over racial and religious barriers.

To view an image of "The Blessing," visit: http://www.yoshidasfineartgallery.com/index/artists/2/22/

Artist Kris Parmele

Kris Parmele, an Oregon native, has been honing her artistic craft for more than 30 years. In all of her pieces Parmele strives to be technically accurate, believing attention to detail is fundamental for penetrating into and drawing out the essence of the humanity she desires to capture. Her development of facial expressions and physical movement in both clay and bronze results in delightful, contemporary personalities with stories to tell. It is Parmele's vision that individuals viewing her sculptures will be mentally stimulated and emotionally impacted. "The Blessing," a spiritual masterpiece, will undoubtedly accomplish both for future visitors of the Basilica.

Cathedral History

The Basilica’s cornerstone was laid in July 1806, after which it has become a symbol of the religious freedom upon which this country was created. In a newfound nation, Bishop Carroll appealed to his parishioners and the population of all religions for their support and generosity, resulting in an outpouring of gifts from around the world.

As the country’s first archdiocese, two-thirds of U.S. Catholic dioceses can trace their heritage to this location. Under its auspices also came a series of other firsts, including the first order of African-American nuns. Since 1976, the Basilica has seen visits by Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, as well as hosted the ordainment of Father Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus.

Two Americans guided the Basilica’s original design and architecture: John Carroll, the country’s first bishop, later Archbishop of Baltimore, and cousin of Charles Carroll, who signed the Declaration of Independence; and Benjamin Henry Latrobe, an architect of the U.S. Capitol and father of American architecture, who was inspired by President Thomas Jefferson. Carroll, founder of Georgetown University, is buried in the Basilica crypt along with James Cardinal Gibbons and other Baltimore archbishops.

About the Gallery

Yoshida's Fine Art Gallery features more than 5,000 square feet of original artwork by more than 40 premier artists. Accenting the artwork are antique Chinese collectibles ranging from 80 to 300 years in age, each personally selected by Linda Yoshida, Gallery Director, during her annual visits to Shanghai. Yoshida’s gallery has been named "The Best of the West" in national publication Southwest Art Magazine in three consecutive issues and continues to claim exclusive art décor rights to several designer homes at the annual Street of Dreams and Parade of Homes.

Yoshida’s Wine Bar & Bistro

A unique feature of the Yoshida Gallery is Yoshida’s Wine Bar & Bistro, offering much sought after wines, assorted beers and live jazz music. A diverse retail section includes both imported and domestic wines, and special requests are encouraged. Indoor and outdoor seating available. Call for private bookings. For more information and an updated calendar of events, visit www.yoshidawinebar.com.

Located at 206 NW 10^th Avenue in Portland, Ore., Yoshida’s Fine Art Gallery, Wine Bar & Bistro is part of the Yoshida Group, a conglomeration of 18 diverse companies headquartered in Portland, Ore. Products range from Jones Golf bags to Prison Blues® garments. Open 7 days a week, gallery hours are 10am-6pm Monday through Saturday and 12pm-5pm on Sunday. For more information, visit our website at www.yoshidagallery.com.

An Article From The

"Time-Release Talent"

But she didn't pursue it after high school, despite the urgings of an art teacher. Instead, she graduated early, and kicked loose of ties and expectations. She worked five years as a gardener for a prominent restaurant family, learning as much about how to proceed in life as about how to care for orchids. Later, in what she describes as a total flip, she spent 18 months doing secretarial work for the Port of Portland.

Marriage and children followed. Her art was always there, within her, but she kept its demands at bay. She kept a hand in, for sure, occasionally taking classes, sculpting something or encouraging her children, but she was hesitant to pursue it. It wasn't until 1998 that she decided to make the jump.

Part of the delay was "just life," she says.

"When you're younger, you feel like you have an unlimited amount of time," she says. "You get busy with life; it's so easy for everything else to crowd it out. You think, I'll have time for that, it's just around the corner, but I've got to do this first."

But she also was fearful of exposing herself through her art, and still is.

"Once you move forward, you're out there," she says. "I try to step out of that and push myself."

ContinueÞ

Each clay piece is a hand-made original, which has been repeatedly fired at 275°F as separate components are incorporated into the work

The clay figure taking shape in Parmele's studio is a Japanese mask maker, a master craftsman bent over his work. She experiments with him, suddenly deciding to give him a beard, cap and ponytail. "I like the thought of him looking older; his personality emerges," she says. "I love it when what I see in my mind starts to take form."

It's another case of art imitating life: Her bronzes emerge from a multistep process. A silicone mold is made of the sculpture, and sculpturing wax is poured into the mold. After fine-tuning, the wax model is dipped in a slurry of plaster and sand, building up a quarter-inch shell. The wax is melted out, and bronze is poured into the shell. Afterward, the plaster shell is chipped away, and the bronze piece is ready for tooling and a patina finish.

She grew up Kris La Ford in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, the youngest of three children in an intense, emotionally driven family. She discovered a gift for sculpture in high school, where she enjoyed stunning and delighting people with bizarre, flowing creations.

It was her intent, she says, to capture the love and compassion that flowed through Mother Teresa from God.

"Her hands show the wear and tear of a life of service -- loving the unloved," Parmele writes in a note. "She believed that loneliness and feeling unwanted was one of life's greatest abuses."

If someone now approaches the sculpture and feels that character, that emotion, Parmele feels she has succeeded.

"I enjoy drawing that out," she says.

"When I started in 1998, I wanted to prove I was a great artist," she says. "Now I'm letting the creativity flow through me; I'm not so uptight about being perfect. I'm more loose, more open to what comes my way."

"It's a journey; some are faster than others," Parmele says with a laugh. "I've always been the queen of the last minute."

An Article From Yoshida's Fine Art Gallery

Kris Parmele of Boring, Oregon has discovered that working with bronze gives her imagination free reign for creativity. “The possibilities of form are limitless given the strength and malleability of this medium, while the variations of patina are inviting. It’s classic beauty brings pleasure and ignites inspiration, for generations….as its’ value increases.” Works of art made in bronze will truly survive into the future providing a window of understanding for the viewer about a particular place in time and culture….as an artist, these qualities stimulate her.
 
Kris strives to be technically accurate, believing attention to detail is fundamental for penetrating into and drawing out the essence of the humanity she desires to capture. Her attention to detail in regard to developing facial expressions and physical movement results in turning clay and bronze into delightful, contemporary personalities with extensive stories to tell.

It is her vision that individuals viewing her sculptures will be mentally stimulated, emotionally impacted and pleasantly surprised.

Recently, Kris trained in patina application and is now putting the finishing touches on her own creations. A new addition to her figurative bronzes, which include “Left Behind” and “The Blessing,” includes the “Kazoku (Japanese family) Collection.”

News Update