Who says you can’t eat ice cream inside a fine art gallery? The Finer Arts Gallery is hosting its popular “Art Affaire & Ice Cream Social” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, August 16. Guests can mingle inside the spacious gallery and indulge in refreshing ice cream with a variety of flavorful toppings. While the gallery features more than 50 diverse artists, two wood artists are being highlighted in August: mixed media artist Joel Stevenson and mixed media artist Audrey Geer.
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Ice cream and artists’ dreams
Visitors to the gallery will find diverse paintings, drawings, sculpture, mixed media, photography, glass, wood, fiber, ceramics, jewelry and other original art. The Finer Arts Gallery is located inside the historic Treehouse building, 6137 E. Cave Creek Rd., in Cave Creek. Admission is free.
Joel Stevenson inspired by “the dances through daily dilemmas”
Mixed media artist Joel Stevenson recently created an abstract wood sculpture after watching his wife cooking. Her movement around the kitchen and activity mixing ingredients and cooking at the stove inspired him to capture the unique energy of her twists and turns, or as he describes it, “the dances through daily dilemmas.”
Stevenson, a new artist to The Finer Arts Gallery, grew up in Iowa and initially wanted to pursue a career in forestry. After working in a related field in Flagstaff, he realized he wanted to explore his options. He began experimenting with photography and then embarked on his artistic journey, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Washington.
While working in property management in Southern California, Stevenson spent his free time creating art. He started experimenting with wood sculpture 15 years ago, and credits his father-in-law — a woodworker — with giving him some tools and sharing valuable woodcarving tips.
“I’ve always been fascinated with wood and how you can shape it into something very different to what it started out as,” Stevenson says. “When I was serious about photography, I would often assemble a few photos together. I also experimented with mirrors, breaking them up and reassembling them, but not in the same order. I started doing the same thing with wood…building a piece up layer upon layer and then reducing it. I was interested in the image, but the object itself became more important.”
Working with redwood, pine, walnut, cherry and ash wood, he captures movement and energy through the woods’ contours, colors and grains.
“I am often so focused on the energies coming from the piece, I get lost in the moment. I call it a collaboration with the wood; The wood tells me how to sculpt and whether I need to go in a different direction,” he says.
A Chandler resident who also paints with oil pastels, Stevenson is exhibiting abstract wood vessels and wall art sculpture at the gallery.
Emerging artist Audrey Geer discovers her passion for wood mosaics
Mixed media artist Audrey Geer, of Scottsdale, never thought she would become a selling artist. Born in a small African village called Ayale, she wasn’t exposed to art. There were no crayons, and she once got in trouble for decorating her math book with smeared sunflowers.
When she moved to the United States 12 years ago, everything changed. She was exposed to all types of art and began drawing, painting, and then experimenting with wood.
“I have always been curious, and I love to experiment with different techniques and materials,” Geer says. “Art brings out so many emotions, and I express that through lots of texture and color. I want my work to be felt physically, not just emotionally, and because of that I always try to add texture to my work.”
A self-taught artist, Geer recently graduated from Grand Canyon University, where she studied marketing and advertising. She credits her father, the owner of a furniture company, with giving her the confidence to experiment with wood.
“My father owns a furniture company and a woodworking shop, and I started playing around with the wood scraps and began to put them together like a puzzle. He encouraged me to create wood art and join him at shows where he exhibited,” she said. “At the time I was not thinking about mosaics, and it took two years to come up with the idea and refine it.”
Geer’s innovative wood mosaics blend the rich textures of mesquite and oak. While the process is meticulous, she often takes a spontaneous approach to the design. In her piece, “Light House,” for example, she placed wood strips in different directions to show the chaos of the stormy sea and sky.
“Once I lay down the epoxy, I need to work quickly. The entire process is very thrilling, almost like being on a rollercoaster. And, if I make a mistake, I embrace it and let it be. It becomes part of the final piece,” she said.
A new artist to The Finer Arts Gallery, Geer is exhibiting several wood mosaic wall art pieces.
“It’s exciting to be in the art world full-time and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the other gallery artists,” she said. “I have so many ideas, and I hope to create larger, free-standing wood sculptures soon.”