An exhibition of photographs from the portfolios of Whidbey locals, David Welton and Don Wodjenski, at the Lasher Gallery at WICA, March 1 - 31. Please join us for an opening reception March 2 from 5 - 7 pm, part of Langley's First Saturday Art Walk.
FREE and open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 - 5pm.
DAVID WELTON - Artists gathered into a community set the stage for all to discover their aesthetic potential to awaken joy and wash away the dust of everyday life, nourishing a kinder and more gentle world. These images of Whidbey Islanders living artfully, dressing in imaginative costumes at parades and celebrations or re-enactments of historic events and times, or experiencing the beauty of our environs confirm the process.
My passion for photography began with my grandmother’s Sunday after-dinner travel slide shows, and was extended with her gift of a Kodak Starflash camera for my eighth birthday a long time ago. Although my career path was medicine I never turned away from the photographic arts and I have made it my mission to document life on beloved Whidbey Island, as experienced in the first years of the 21st century.
DON WODJENSKI - As a photographic artist and arts educator for many years, I seek engagement with people of all ages about Art, creativity, and personal fulfillment through the arts. With my current series, Artists of Whidbey Island, I am able to share time with quality local artists as they engage in the design and development of a piece of work.
About once a month, since February 2015, I have photographed artists working in their studios. Although the theme is not original to me, I had not seen a series devoted to Whidbey Island artists. The local press, regional and national publications have spotlighted deserving individual artists, but no one had concentrated on the quality and diversity of art produced throughout the area. In 2016 I wrote a half dozen feature stories for Whidbey Life Magazine around the subject of Art and the local practitioners I had been photographing for the series.
The artists featured in this collection warmly welcomed me into their studios. We would begin with the usual questions of what expectations I had and how I wanted them to appear. In each session I put them at ease by talking with them about their current work and their approach to the process of making art. Soon we were both at work, they on a current piece and me behind the camera. During a typical photo session, these individuals and I shared art making experiences and philosophies. Excellent conversations led to relaxed apprehensions and as difficult as it is to ignore being photographed, each artist eventually eased into periods of concentrated work and focused silence. Those were the times this project was meant to reveal.
For more on the Artists of Whidbey Island series and my other works, please visit www.wodjenskicreative.com
My book, Artists of Whidbey Island: Vision-Space-Work-Resolution is available through a local branch of Sno-Isle Library.