Giovane Cedar Art
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  • PAINTINGS 1
    • The Frog Poet
    • Ginkgos & Waxwings
    • Eagle's Pride
    • I Heard a Loon Calling
    • Spring in Bloom
    • Hiding in the Tall Grass
    • Flower Moon in May
    • When the Wisteria Blooms
    • Snow on the Beach
    • It Only Takes One
    • Scattered Fans
    • White Circle of Silence
    • Northwest Rain Kosode
    • In the Spirit of Serizawa & Kubota
    • On Eagle's Wings Ema
  • Paintings 2
    • Autumn Moon by the Sea
    • Down by the Stream on a Lazy Summer's Day
    • With Hope and Hard Work
    • Towhee & Currant in Spring
    • Sparrow's Hop Hideaway
    • Windswept Pine Near the Shore
    • Sparrow's Spring
    • Autumn Grasses (Oribe Tribute)
    • A Tribute to Itchiku Kubota: Ozette Sunset
    • Cathedral of the Trees
    • Tree of Life II
    • Baillie Scott Trinity
    • Raven's Forest
    • Eagle Embraces Her
  • Paintings 3
    • Curious Crow
    • Goldfinch & Thistles
    • Hydrangea's Final Bloom
    • Pine Island
    • Autumn Friends
    • Maple Leaves in the Stream
    • Plum & Full Moon in Spring
    • Chickadee in the Quince
    • The Four Guardians
    • Circle About the Moon
    • Eelgrass Nursery Rhyme
    • Bluebird & Bamboo
    • Capercaillies Under Scots Pines
    • Cedar Green Man
    • Cats United
    • Serizawa's Kimono
  • Paintings 4
    • Hummingbird & Fuchsia 4
    • Blood Moon in January
    • Yellow Flags by the Pond
    • Falling Leaves--Washed Away
    • Goldfinch Dream
    • Camellias in Bloom Woodblock Print
    • Autumn Carpet
    • An Eala Bahn (The White Swan)
    • Two Eagles Entwined
    • Horse Ema
    • Lucia's Maple
    • Eagles Spring Dance
    • Watts Chapel Tribute Memorial
    • Voysey's tree
    • Hot Otter Love
  • Blog Page
  • Other Work
    • Paintings 5 >
      • č’u•? is Seal
      • Loons & Horses
      • Elk Along the South Fork
      • Spirits of Ozette
      • Lingcod Guardian
      • Plum Blossoms in Spring
      • Hops & Butterflies
      • Journey Home From Ozette Island
      • Tsooes Sunset
    • Trays >
      • Dragonfly Tray
      • Kaiseki Tray
    • Boxes >
      • Rose Tree Box
      • Celtic Bread Box
      • Creature of the Box
      • Skagit Valley Chest
      • Kells Cats Chest
      • Miyamoto's Rice Box
    • Karakami Square Series >
      • Karakami Square #1: Cherry Tree
    • Screens >
      • Eagles 2-Panel Folding Screen
      • The Four Seasons Screen Series >
        • Fall Screen: Canada Geese & Maples
        • Winter Screen: Eagle & Pine
        • Spring Screen: Cherry Trees & Finches
        • Summer Screen: Swallows & Willow
      • Frog's House Screen
      • Waterfall Screen
    • Peacock Sconces
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  • Kingfisher on a Branch
  • Chickadee in Snow
  • Dogs of the Sea
  • Two Herons
  • Red Tail Soaring
  • Trees
  • Hummingbird Wars
  • Plum Tree on a Snowy Night
  • Bookend Swans
  • Dream Birds
  • Realm of the Whales
Picture
FROG'S HOUSE SCREEN
 ACRYLICS ON PHILIPPINE MAHOGANY W/ RED OAK FRAME
(WINTER 2011)  
     It was early November and the weather was surprisingly mild.  We heard the frogs (wa•q’it in Makah) singing from the wetlands around town and it sounded to me as if all were being invited to come home to the “Frog’s House”.  I was reading Edward Malin’s 1999 book Northwest Coast Indian Painting: House Fronts & Interior Screens and was in the proper frame of mind to think this way.  House fronts and interior screens have always been extremely influential in my development as a painter.  These works of art that were lucky enough to survive the vagaries of time are some of the most amazing displays of the painter’s ability to design and execute on a monumental scale.  Within their cultural context they hold great significance to the owner’s rights and privileges and stress to all viewers his high status and position.  They also act as a physical gate between worlds and as such hold great power.  Although many groups designed wonderful house fronts and screens, those from the Tsimshian seem to speak to me the most strongly.  Tsimshian house fronts were laid in a vertical fashion before being painted and I chose that orientation as well for my boards.  In my painting, the central circle containing the frog body symbolizes the entry to the house.  Such entry holes acted as a pathway to another realm and, according to Malin, forced a person entering by them “to stoop, enforcing this sign of respectful humility” (Malin, 1999, page 53).  Malin goes on to cite Joan Vastokas as saying such openings “represented the point of passage between sacred and profane worlds” (Malin, 1999, page 54).  Thus by entering Frog’s House through this opening, one enters the supernatural realm where human and animal spirits coexist.  As a former biology teacher I also wanted to represent the intersecting circles of predator and prey in the frog’s home, the wetlands.  Thus dragonflies and herons come to accept and honor frog’s invitation.  The dragonflies were inspired by a gold, enamel, & bejeweled necklace designed in 1900 by Rene Lalique and displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I painted the designs on two boards of Philippine mahogany (Shorea ssp.) obtained at the Re-Store in Bellingham, WA.  They were once part of a shipping crate.  In the Arts & Crafts tradition, I made the frame out of red oak using pegged, hand-joined, mortise-and-tenon construction methods.  The frame symbolizes the structure of the house itself.  I used the Japanese technique (shou-sugi-ban) of charring and oiling the oak to finish the frame.  I intend this to act as a fireplace screen during the warm months.

​DIMENSIONS:     LENGTH:  50 inches

                             HEIGHT:  30 inches


                                                            PRICE $1,200

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