February 2017 ART NEWS from Diane Jacobs

In Honor of my dad

In this email:

My dad passed away in his home at the age of 90 surrounded by love from his family and the support of hospice on the last day of 2017. Dad died with dignity – he gave us the gift of being able to say goodbye. He was a genuine person with a compassionate ear. I always felt supported and loved. Dad was very creative – he enjoyed welding, glass blowing, creating stained glass, and wood turning.  We had many collaborations where my pop helped me realize a project by contributing his wood working sensibility. I miss him and cherish all our memories of being together.

I am super excited to be working in this building the month of February as an artist-in-residence at Leland Iron Works in Oregon City. Here is one of the many extraordinary sculptures by Lee Kelly on his beautiful property. I will be twisting wire for my upcoming installation For the breath of a poem to get started. The seclusion and support of the Hallie Ford Foundation’s generous stipend will allow me to dive into new artistic territory. I look forward to sharing more images on Instagram and in my next newsletter.

For the breath of a poem will run April 12 – May 12, 2018 at the Sesnon Underground Gallery at UCSC in Santa Cruz, CA. Please come to the opening reception on Thursday April 12 from 5 – 7 PM. The installation is a celebration of Kathleen Flowers’ poetry. I will be visually contextualizing several of her poems from her chapbook Call if Gladness. 2018 marks the 10th year anniversary of Kathleen receiving the first ever In Celebration of the Muse Chapbook Award from Poetry Santa Cruz. 

Besides wire, plant material, and glass I will be incorporating ceramic sculpture. These pieces are works in progress along with the apples and clay letters.

$PEAK OUT update: Reluctantly we decided there was no way to be ready for a September 2018 showing of $PEAK OUT at Paragon Gallery.

However there is exciting new momentum created with my Applied Linguist collaborator extraordinaire, Janet Cowal – and her PSU students Mika Sakai and Kristina Holmes. Mika created a FaceBook page SPEAK OUT. Please like us and follow us. Kristina will be strategizing a fundraising campaign to purchase a laser cutter for the project. Stay tuned – more to come. 

Now is a perfect time to get involved with this public engagement project.Our voices must be heard!
Until next time!
Strength, love, resistance
diane