Brian Fisher Print, Paint and Sculpture Blog

Brian Fisher, "Kodama"  Monotype print with gold leaf, 12 x 12 in. Indigenous cultures around the world revered special trees or rocks or unique aspects of their homelands.  Japanese myth speaks of Kodama, deities who dwell within or among the trees and groves they protect.  One of the oldest references to the Kodama is the book Wamuryorui Jyusho or Japanese Names for Things; written 931 – 938 CE.  In this dictionary Kodama are defined as spirits of the trees . Early Japanese lore described the Kodama as either invisible or indistinguishable from trees but over time Kodama took on human aspect.  There are stories of Kodama falling in love with humans and assuming human shape to be with their beloved much like the Greek myths of Dryads, humans and gods. My monotype "Kodama" was made for exhibition at Roby King Galleries November 3-27, 2017 where Denise Kester and I will display our individual interpretations of myth in print and paint.

My Monotype Print "Animal Parade" with several other animal themed rust prints and collographs  are currently part of the Vashon Heron's Nest exhibit "Coyotes, Cougars and Bears, Oh My!" You may love or fear the wild but you have to deal with it when you have chosen to live on Vashon.   This mercurial subject is explored this September by Margaret Tylczak, Paula Allegrina and Brian Fisher at the Heron's Nest Gallery, 17600 Vashon Hwy SW Vashon Island, WA.

I’m a bit obsessed with all things Labyrinth.  The Minotaur and the Labyrinths' physical geometry have been elements of personal curiosity and visual exploration for many years.  I am not sure why this particular Hero's Journey appeals to me but I return to it over and again.  Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “La casa de Asterión” is a compelling contemporary and sympathetic take on this ancient story.  The tittle of my Rust Monotype “Monster” references Asterion, the Minotaur,  as  Borges describes him, “a prisoner of his own loneliness, his otherness, his condition of monster”. “Monster” will be exhibited in the 2017 Expressions Northwest at Northwind Arts Center, 701 Water Street, Port Townsend, Wa.  The exhibit opens 11:30 August 3rd and closes at 5:30 on August 27.  The Exhibition’s junior, Susan Warner will speak on August 5 during Port Townsend's Art Walk Evening.

"Art for Sale" Donna Romero and I share a venue during the Vashon 1st Friday Art Walk, August 4th, 6PM-9PM courtesy of Rachel Waldron at Waldron Design Studio (17530 Vashon HWY SW).  You will find us a short flight up the stairs in the former law offices of Bergman and Pageler.  So, if you want to buy our wares, follow us and climb the stairs, "Art for Sale"

I'm matting and framing today in preparation for the second weekend of the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour.  The first weekend was well attended with good sales!

Brian Fisher, Sacred Circles- Mallorica, Pazzi, York, digital collage The circle is said to represent wholeness, softness, completion, inclusion, the life cycle, heaven-hell and eternity. That’s a lot to embody for a seemingly simple shape! Circles are sacred symbols for a reason.  Circles are a natural, physical phenomena that best describe our round planet circling the light of a round, life-giving sun.  Earth’s cycle, as circle, occurs over, over and again in the myriad planet, star, relationships of our expanding universe.  Scientists who look at the spiral building blocks of nature, our DNA, find stacked interlocking circles. From the whorls of our fingertips, the irises of our eyes, to our cells and the egg that gave each of us life, we are manifestations of the circle. My images about circle reflect the symbolic nature of the shape.  Their names reference the sacred sites, temples, cathedrals that more often than not were built and built again upon already sacred sites.

Brian Fisher, "The Green Man", Monotype Print with Gold Leaf, 10 x 29 in. The Greenman by XTC   Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman He wants to make you his bride Please to bend down for the one called the Greenman Forever to him you're tied And you know for a million years he has been your lover He'll be a million more And you know for a million years he has been your lover Down through the skin to the core Heed the Greenman Heed the Greenman Please to dance round for the one called the Greenman He wants to make you his child Please to dance round for the one called the Greenman Dressed in the fruits of the wild And you know for a million years he has been your father He'll be a million more And you know for a million years he has been your father Run to his arms at the door Lay your head, lay your head, lay your head, lay your head on the Greenman Lay your head, lay your head with mine Lay your head, lay y