Brian Fisher Print, Paint and Sculpture Blog

Winged Zetes and Kalais were twin sons of Boreas, the North Wind and Oreithyria, daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens.  They were also two of the most important heroes chosen by Jason to accompany him on his epic quest for the Golden Fleece. Upon the arrival of the Argonautika at the Bosporus, Zetes and Calais drove the Harpies, sometimes referred to as the hounds of Zeus, away from King Phineas who had been cruelly punished by the Gods for misuse of his prophetic gifts.  Like the modern day Julian Assange , Phineas had revealed too many details about those who rule to go unpunished.  Once the Harpies were banished a thankful Phineas rewarded Jason and his crew with the secret to safe passage through the Clashing Rocks. My Monotypes, Zetes and Kalais, are each 6 x 6 in.  They are currently on exhibit at Archangel  Gallery.

Asterion , Monoprint, 27.5 x 20.25 in. The  rust prints I have been working on inspire me to make simpler compositions when printing with the etching press. I am experimenting again with printing dry pigments into ink made heavy with Setswell Compound and Burnt Plate Oil.  I enjoy the rich play of complimentary colors and the textural results when I throw chunky pigments into the ink. At left is my Monoprint, newly completed, for submission to the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, June 16-24, 2012. It is named Asterion and is inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’s wonderful short story, La Casa de Asterión and is of course about the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Shelter Monotype Collage Many thanks to my family, friends and patrons for your help and support.  My Vashon Island Holiday Studio Tour was successful and fun for me because of your appreciation and response. Once again I had so many interesting conversations around art, art making, myth and its relevance. Those conversations have already generated new ideas to explore and a book list to keep me busy reading for the next several months.                 Happy Holidays!

Seasonings Greetings Seasonings Greetings!  A couple years ago I ran across some Salt and Pepper shakers on ebay and immediately recalled my Grandmothers personal collection of Salt and Pepper shakers.  They filled two, corner, curved glass fronted mahogany curio cabinets. Grandma's collection numbered in the hundreds! When I asked why she collected shakers her response was "Well I had some shakers and someone saw them and gave me a couple more and someone else saw those and suddenly I had a collection." It is not my intention to collect any  more than the somewhat campy/kitschy eight featured at left as a Christmas card collection, but collections do take on a life of their own. I have photographed all eight pair and  made my, predominantly Japaneese 50's - 60's vintage shaker, collection into a boxed set of "Seasonings Greetings" for the 2011 Vashon Island Holiday Studio tour.  

Ltd. Edition Angel Prints The second weekend of the Holiday Studio tour begins tomorrow.  I began resetting my studio this morning and took some photos to share.  I don’t know how many angels it takes to make a “host” but here is a whole wall full.  The were created as limited edition digital prints from Monotype collages and they proved quite popular last weekend. Thank you everyone that stopped by December 3-4.  I really enjoy the varied conversations around art and myth that occur during the studio tour and this year I have received some great book recommendations relating to myth.   I am looking forward to another great weekend of seeing patrons and friends!  Here is a link to a map of the 2011 Vashon Island Holiday Studio Tour. Feature Wall

I am still framing work for the Art Tour and just finished this piece.  Tomorrow I will begin hanging artwork and the transformation of my studio into a gallery.  I am looking forward to the weekend! Above, is Rite of Passage (14.5 x 36 in.), my Monotype with silver leaf mounted to panel.

Hylas and Hercules . Monotype on Panel, ( 5.5 x 5.5 in.) Here are two more images that reference “The Argonautika” by Apollonious of Rhodios. These images are Monotypes and each will be exhibited in my studio during the 2011 Vashon Island Holiday Studio Tour .  Everyone is invited.  There is always something new and always, always, much that is unique and fun.  The tour is free! Portage , Monotype, (5.5 x 5.5 in.)

Medea , Monotype, (13.25 x 17.75 in.)  “Behind every great man there is a great woman,” or so the saying goes.  In the myth of The Argonautika, Medea is the heroine behind the hero and is absolutely devoted to Jason, though she also desires power in her own right.   She is the most complex character in The Argonautika and not everything works out well for those she perceives as a threat or for those who have wronged Jason. Because of Euripide’s characterization of her in his play “ Medea ,” she will forever be maligned and remembered for “doin’ it for herself.”   However, without Media, there is absolutely no “winning” of the Golden Fleece for Jason.   Only Media’s magical knowledge and sacrifice of political allegiance, position and family make Jason’s Quest for the Golden Fleece possible.

 The Monotype,  Medea ,  will be exhibited in my studio, 23520 147th Ave SW, Vashon Island WA., Studio  #11, during the 2011 Vashon Island Holiday Studio Tour.

Ariel, Giclee Print, (8.75 x 6.5 in.) Jophiel , Giclee Print, (8.7 x 6.5 in.) I have completed ten collages created from monotype papers around the subject of Angels.  These images will be exhibited as an editioned series of Giclee Prints in my studio during the 2011 Vashon Island Holiday Studio Tour.   Above and below are four of the ten images. Winged beings have played mythic roles in many cultures through time. Zetos and Kalais, the winged sons of Boreas, God of the North Wind, were two of Jason’s companions in the Argnautica.  Though Hermes, Zeus’s express messenger, wore his wings on his boots, his Olympian compatriots Nike and Cupid wore theirs where we have come to expect, sprouting from their shoulders.   That’s generally where you will find them attached in depictions of Valkyries in Norse tradition, Faeries in Celtic myth and of course to Cherubim, Seraphim and depictions of Angels in contemporary Jewish and Christian tradition. The Engl

Iapetos (12 x 12 in) Oil on canvas over panel In our science based epoch Iapetos (Iapetus) is best know as a moon of Saturn.  Like so many astronomical names (place and product names as well), Iapetos is of Greek origin and the deep past.   When Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Astrologer and Astronomer to the Sun King,  Louis the XIV of France, identified four of Saturn’s moons in 1671 he named one of them Iapetus, a brother giant of Titan Cronus or as the Roman world would have known him, Saturn.  Science may be all about the measurable, knowable, search for truth but as Sir Isaac Newton said “In order to see beyond the horizon, one must stand on someone else’s shoulders” and so will every generation who looks out and forward, be they giants of science and reason, or the generation of Olympian Gods that followed the mythic giants of the Golden Age. A detail of my oil painting Iapetos appears on my invitation to the 2011 Vashon Island Holiday Stu

Through time animals have been the source of many of human kinds most powerful symbols. My Monotypes Totems and Animalia are two from a series that explores symbols or totems as subject. A totem is something that serves as a symbol for or emblem of an individual or group. Frequently the totem is of the natural world and there are many examples of plants and animals as totems. Finally, the totem has mythic association with the individual, family or group. Though the word totem is Ojibwe in origin and Native American animal totems immediately come to mind, totem like beliefs and totems as symbols are culturally prevalent throughout the world.   My previous blog about Io and Argus referenced Hera’s symbol or totem, the Peacock and how he got his tail.  Here are a few more examples of symbolic animal association in Greek myth and contemporary belief. Posidon’s totem would be the Horse, Athena’s the Owl, and moving across cultures Hindu Goddess Saraswati's animal s

Io and Argus, Monotype, 7.5 x 7.5 in. In my previous blog about the ship and ship builder Argo I referred to one of  Hera’s symbols or totems, the Peacock.  This blog is about my Monotype Io and Argus and one of my favorite stories in Greek myth. Zeus the father, or Zeus the philanderer, depending on your point of view, undeniably loved women (we will leave Ganymede for another blog).  His conquests, be they goddess or mortal, populated Olympus and the Heavens with demigods, nymphs and heroes.  Io, was one of  his loves.  She was a princes of Argos, and priestess of Hera.  It was perhaps in that capacity that Zeus first saw lovely Io, wooed and pursued her.  In order to deceive his, justifiably jealous wife, Goddess Hera,  Zeus cloaked the earth and his liaison with Io in clouds. The clouds however only served to rouse Hera’s suspicion and through the Cumulus, Cirrus and Stratus she descended to find Zeus standing next to a lovely white... heifer.  Guilty Zeus, sensing Hera’