Artist Reception for Jason Becker, Julie Tarm & Stephen Gibson

Artist Reception for Jason Becker, Julie Tarm & Stephen Gibson

Artist Reception for Jason Becker, Julie Tarm & Stephen Gibson

January 19, 2023
, 5:00 pm

An artist reception will be held for Jason Becker, Julie Tarm, and Stephen Gibson on Third Thursday, January 19th from 5 pm to 8 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Wine and refreshments will be served.

 

Jason Becker Bio
I’m Jason Becker, a former art teacher, current graphic illustrator, artist, and generally all-around curious and inquisitive human being.  Taking things at face value is not really in my DNA, so I am constantly questioning my external environment, and the landscape of my consciousness.What is real?  What is illusion? Do we have more than five senses? What is life all about?
It is unclear to me if there are any hard and fast truths of the cosmos, but I am certainly on the path of learning all I can about this life before I transition into the spirit world…where I know I will be held by the universe in all its wonder.

My art is a very deep and personal manifestation of how I see and experience my place among the stars.  I am very inspired by nature with a profound love for animals and wild places on this earth.  More than that, I am inspired…no, inspired is not a powerful enough word…I am moved, compelled, guided, by some very deep and spiritual force that has led to some profound and extremely enlightening shifts in my being.  I must create…the universe wants me to, as if my creations are a way for the universe to, in some small way, know itself.

The process of composing my work and bringing it from the realm of muse and ideas, and into the physical world is a real meditative experience for me.  As I sit in a mostly darkened room, I am filled with light as I draw, as if the connection between my consciousness and my right hand is not my own, but the will of the universe passing through me, and if I am lucky, something pertinent and beautiful results.

I understand this may all sound strange.  Believe me it feels strange to me.  But I couldn’t be more in love with what pushes me to create.  I couldn’t be more in love with the process nor more in love with this life I am creating.

I have traveled around the world over the years, with each journey adding to the encyclopedia of experiences and concepts in my head.  The most profound trip of them all being to the jungle of southern Mexico in the past year where I spent time with a Shaman who blew my world into a billion pieces, leaving me with a sense of inner peace, I once thought unattainable.

The resulting effect of that journey is what you see before you on the walls of this space.  My desire is for these pieces to be thought provoking, intriguing, and perhaps leaving viewers with more questions than answers, not just about art, but about their own consciousness…because after all, what fun is life if it is predictable, known and safe?

There is no past. There is no future. There is only this very moment.  It is always now…
Be fully in this moment as you quietly walk this space and peer into each one of the works before you.

What do YOU see?  What do YOU feel?  That is what matters most.

Julie Tarm Bio
I need to experiment, and art fulfills that need. Through ceramics and metalsmithing, I conduct my experiments in manipulating nature with chemistry, physics, and color.
My pottery journey began at the Hutch Rec as a teenager. I fell in love with the feeling of earth between my fingers. I later explored other mediums like tie-dye and batik.
My first art teaching gig was for Delos Smith Jr. at the senior center teaching tie-dye. He would bring me sweatshirts to dye for him and I was touched that he always seemed to be wearing one of them whenever I saw him. Delos and I both adored the colors orange and turquoise. Yes, I have orange shoes!
I’ve always been captivated by the colors and art of the Southwest —Tucson in particular—where part of my family comes from. Turquoise was always part of their wardrobe and led to a rock-collecting addiction and eventually to silversmithing.
After being introduced to silversmithing at CityArts in Wichita where I now live, I fell in love all over again. I work mostly with Sterling Silver and semiprecious gemstones. My workbench is presently covered in Golden Hills turquoise, Ivory Creek variscite, White Buffalo turquoise, Rosarita, and always, Opals.
While jewelry keeps me busy and pottery keeps me grounded, teaching helps me view new things through my student’s eyes. It has been a pleasure teaching pottery for over a decade. My latest ceramic inspirations include: marbling (slipcasting or agateware), mould making, trying new clays, slip transfers, overglazes such as gold luster and digital decals, things to hold my jewelry and things to hold my plants.
Stephen Gibson Bio
The ability to overcome adversity is essential in what it means to be human. We need the dark in order to know when we are in the light. Being born into foster care when my mother was only 14, experiencing homelessness more than one time in my life, running out of foster care at the age of 17 while also trying to understand what I was going through and where I was going. Life has always felt like I was floating from one circumstance to the other, but art has always been there. Art has always been like a home to me. Terrible things happen to everybody everyday and everyone has their own story. It doesn’t take away from any one persons given experience, but further adds to the fact that we are all in this together. Compassion for one another is more important than any ounce of pride. Through my experiences, I wish to be able to provide a home for everyone. I want to provide that place to feel safe even if it is as simple as a conversation or as intricate as one of my pieces. The goal I have is to give you a space to pause and collect yourself. A place where you can forget about the outside troubles. A place where you feel seen and heard, we all deserve to feel real. No matter what color, religious background, or financial upbring, I hope to be able to find the middle ground in all of your hearts.
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