LODGE(d) 2.0

Originally created as a horizontal installation at the Museum of Northwest Art,  LODGE(d) 2.0 now nestles comfortably in its vertical incarnation at Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park.

Always looking up!

LODGE(d)

LODGE(d) at the Museum of Northwest Art, Surge Festival on climate change, artists and scientists joined forces to start a multifaceted conversation on rising sea levels. Barbara De Pirro & Lisa Kinoshita created a life-size beaver dam, in tribute to an engineering species so important in conservation (it channels water in such a way as to expand wetlands, recharge groundwater, stabilize sediments, and provide cooler habitat for young salmon) that the Fish & Wildlife Service and US Forest Service are reintroducing it to Methow Valley. On Sept. 28, they deconstructed LODGE(D), moved it to the Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park on Camano Island, and rebuilt it in an entirely new configuration...

The inspiration behind LODGE(d), our life-size beaver dam, a tribute to this a superlative engineer.  The North American Beaver is a vital partner in environmental restoration; it channels water in such a way as to expand wetlands, recharge groundwater, stabilize sediments, and provide cooler habitat for young salmon.

An excellent documentary!

Surge at Museum of Northwest Art

LODGE(D)  detail      Barbara De Pirro

Artists: Barbara De Pirro and Lisa Kinoshita
Site-specific installation

For this event I have collaborated with Lisa Kinoshita artist / author, Dr. Greg Hood senior research scientist with the Skagit River Systems Cooperative and Dr. Dave Peterson research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, and co-director of the University of Washington's Fire and Mountain Ecology Laboratory.

Our installation, Lodge(d), is an artistic interpretation that examines the effect of climate change on wildlife/habitat through the prism of one species, the North American beaver . 

“Wildlife biologists recognize the North American beaver as a superlative engineer. Today, the US Forest Service is giving this industrious, once-abundant species a key role in habitat restoration by reintroducing it to wild places in Washington. This installation, Lodge(d), is an artistic interpretation of a beaver camp made from intertwined natural and synthetic materials that mirror the similarly entwined stories of humans and Castor canadensis.


The presence of beaver colonies has been shown to help mitigate the effects of environmental degradation and to even slow the effects of climate change. A keystone species, it modifies entire landscapes by engineering dams, lodges, channels, canals, ponds and moist meadows, in the process creating beneficial consequences for a host of other species, including humans. Remarkably, the natural consequences of beaver hydraulics (e.g., damming, flooding and redirection of water flow) include restoration of wetlands; improved water quality; stabilization of sediments; recharging of groundwater; and lower-temperature ponds (refuge for Chinook salmon and other fish stock). Once numbering in the hundreds of millions and hunted to near extinction, the North American beaver is increasingly valued for adding overall diversity to river ecosystems.” 

Surge Festival

SEPT 26-27

Panel discussion: September 27, 3pm 

Closing reception: September 27, 4-6pm

In partnership with the Skagit Climate Science Consortium and the Skagit Watershed Council, MoNA presents a two-day event highlighting climate change, storm surge, and the impact on Northwest coastal communities. Environmental scientists have partnered with artists and educators to offer new perspectives on these issues.

More details & a complete list of other projects: 

http://www.monamuseum.org/event/surge

Museum of Northwest Art

121 South First Street 

La Conner WA

(360) 466-4446

Metamorphosis at Meydenbauer in process...

"Metamorphosis" in process, a glimpse from the inside out....

Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, WA 

"Metamorphosis" (detail)      Barbara De Pirro  

"Metamorphosis" (detail)      Barbara De Pirro  

"Metamorphosis" (detail)      Barbara De Pirro  

"Metamorphosis" (detail)      Barbara De Pirro

"Metamorphosis" (detail)      Barbara De Pirro

 

Anacortes Arts Festival

"Flourish"      Barbara De Pirro

Here are some images of my recent installations at this year’s invitational exhibit, “ Anacortes Arts Festival” as part of ”Arts at the Port”. "Flora, Flourish 1 & 2, Metamorphosis, Roots & Vines", all five were created using hundreds (into the thousands in some cases) of reclaimed & re-invented plastic bottles, bags & caps.  It was a wonderful experience with an incredibly supportive community!

"Flourish"      Barbara De Pirro

A 13 foot waterfall of 3,000+ reclaimed plastic caps.

"Flourish 1 & 2"      Barbara De Pirro

"Flourish 2" (detail)     Barbara De Pirro

"Metamorphosis" (foreground) & "Flourish" (Background)

Plastic bottles & caps re-invented...

"Roots & Vines"     Barbara De Pirro

Plastic bags crocheted, synthetic materials into organic forms...

Thank you Anacortes Arts Festival for the invitation to share my art with your community & beyond! It was a pleasure getting to know ALL of you and... an honor to now know that "Entangled" holds a special place in your permanent collection, GRAZIE!

"Zeitgeist"- Anacortes Arts Festival

"Metamorphosis"      Barbara De PIrro

I will have four installations in this years invitational exhibit at Anacortes Arts Festival, Arts at the Port "Zeitgeist".
I hope you can join us!

Arts at the Port  in the waterfront Port Transit Shed, is the crown jewel of the Festival.   It consists of three unique exhibitions, centering around the theme   "Zeitgeist, the spirit of our time".  

The Allen Family Focus Gallery  is an invitational show showcasing five outstanding regional artists - Barbara DePirro, Craig Dunstan McGrail, Scott Kolbo and Robin & John Gumaelius..

The Juried Exhibition was selected by Stefano Catalani, the Director of Art, Craft and Design at the Bellevue Art Museum.   This show includes both 2D and 3D work, from around the country, representing a wide range of style and mediums.

New this year, the Museum of Northwest Art is curating the Youth Art Exhibition.   It will highlight work from the MoNA Link program from students kindergarten through high school.

Arts at the Port opens on Saturday, August 1st from 6 – 9 pm 
It will be open from August 3 - 6, 9 - 5 pm 
Then of course during the festival itself August 7-9.

Anacortes Arts Festival
August 7 - 9 PM
WEBSITE

Flora"      Barbara De Pirro

"Roots & Vines"      Barbara De Pirro

 "Flourish"      Barbara De Pirro

"Flourish" is "On the Fringe"...

More reasons to head to Oregon!

"On the Fringe"

Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, June 26, 27 & 28, 2015.

'Flourish' will be installed at one entry into the 'Lakewood Center for the Arts' & Janice Arnold's incredible felt art will be installed at the other.

More details HERE

and the process....

Final preparations for the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts!

750 bottle caps & a smattering of toys are strung!

3,000 plastic bottle caps (& counting) X 4 drilled holes each = one crazy-CAP-lady!

A view of my fully loaded car ready to head to Oregon. No its not an "Art Car" but rather an "Art Transporter"! Ahhh and yes even an open spot to squeeze in my luggage & I still can actually see out the back & side windows, well sort of...

'Nests' in Port Angeles

'Nests'    Barbara De Pirro

Art Outside 2015

Opening June 20

PAFAC

1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Port Angeles, WA

'Nests'  (detail)  Barbara De Pirro

and so it began...

I received a large donation of green plastic banding, so of course I needed to weave it! New nests to add to my 'Forest Weavings' collection, now installed within Webster Woods at Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. 

Prior to installation they rested happily on my studio walls...

'Nests'    Barbara De Pirro

'Roots & Vines'

'Roots & Vines'  (detail)    Barbara De Pirro

“A mysterious unexpected form has taken root, its fibrous tendrils clinging to the surface, reaching outward into the landscape.  Inspired by nature’s ability to regenerate, De Pirro developed methods that mimic these plant structures, using an invasive fiber as her medium.  She collected hundreds of post consumer plastic bags from the local communities, cut them into strips; and then painstakingly crocheted individual vines that were woven into this sinuous form.”

Saving the Environment: Sustainable Art

April 23 – May 30

Schack Art Center 

2921 Hoyt Ave, Everett, WA 

WEBSITE

'Roots & Vines'  (detail)    Barbara De Pirro

'Metamorphosis: Light & Movement'

“An installation comprised of a series of cellular forms, pulsing with movement, each representing a metamorphosis, a transformation from the humble into the exceptional, a promise of new life.  As nature creates life cell by cell, so De Pirro created these sculptures.  Reclaiming hundreds of plastic bottles, she began by hand cutting each into individual shapes then meticulously stitched them together to create an organic structure.  Joe Walker weaving his digital magic, projects imagery into the surface, creating the illusion of life within.”

Saving the Environment: Sustainable Art

April 23 – May 30

Schack Art Center 

2921 Hoyt Ave, Everett, WA 

WEBSITE

Sustainable Art Exhibit

'Roots & Vines' (detail)    Barbara De Pirro

Saving the Environment: Sustainable Art

April 23 – May 30

"As we all look for ways to be better stewards of the environment, the artists participating in Saving the Environment: Sustainable Art are turning to junk stores, second-hand shops, trash bins and surplus venues to satisfy their urge to create and save our beautiful planet...Though these artists come from widely diverse backgrounds, they all share a common bond: they take throwaways and transform them into objects of renewed beauty, utility and meaning."

Schack Art Center 

2921 Hoyt Ave, Everett, WA 

WEBSITE

'Metamorphosis'    Barbara De Pirro & Joe Walker

An installation comprised of a series of cellular forms, pulsing with movement, each representing a metamorphosis, a transformation from the humble into the exceptional, a promise of new life.  As nature creates life cell by cell, so De Pirro created these sculptures.  Reclaiming hundreds of plastic bottles, she began by hand cutting each into individual shapes then meticulously stitched them together to create an organic structure.  Joe Walker weaving his digital magic, projects imagery into the surface, creating the illusion of life within.

NWDC at Northwind

For sixty years, Northwest Designer Craftsmen has promoted quality in Craft and stimulated public interest in Craft. Artists jurying into NWDC are from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. Members work professionally in clay, wood, metal, fiber and/or mixed media. Pieces range from the traditional to the innovative, exploring and respecting materials and process.

April 3 – 27
Opening Reception:  April 4, 5:30- 8:00
(During the Port Townsend Art Walk)

Northwind Arts Center

701 Water Street, 

Port Townsend, WA

360-379-1086

WEBSITE

'Quill'   Barbara De Pirro

Crocheted Fiber & Acrylic

Shadows & Reflections

'Breath', 'Disperse', 'Entangled', 'Shadows & Reflections'  

Barbara De Pirro

Blue Whole Gallery presents guest artist Barbara De Pirro  showcasing ‘Shadows & Reflections’ in the front windows for the month of March.  In addition to her extraordinary exhibit, Barbara will offer an art talk and in April a workshop.

March 6 - 29

Opening reception: 

Friday , March 6, 5-8 pm.  

Everyone in the community is invited.

Art Talk: 

Wednesday, Mar. 25, 6:30 pm  

Blue Whole Gallery

129 W. Washington St.

Sequim, WA

(360)681-6033

Meaning of Wood: Seattle

Washington Convention Center

North Galleria, Floor 2

Seattle, WA

JAN 15 - MAR 29

7 AM - 10 PM Daily

Curator Statement

"There are probably as many paintings, photographs and sculptures of trees as there are trees. But many trees meet fates not so frequently portrayed: harvested and shipped to other markets, conserved for biological benefit and recreation, subjected to forest fires or windstorms and so lost to the use of humans and other species, milled and turned into functional products, and so forth.

The Meaning of Wood provokes thinking beyond individual tree portraits into the process and significance of trees becoming wood. It is a paradox of our language that “woods” means a living forest and “wood” means the material of products and commerce. Our language is permeated by tree metaphors – a problem has its “roots,” software programs have “branches,” railroads have “trunk” lines, we ourselves are “stiff as boards” or we “slept like logs.....”

--Suze Woolf