Artichokes in August: Inside the Thistle

“Artichokes in August: Inside the Thistle” 2018

As I weave my way through my travels this summer, I have been happily come in contact with other artists who are exploring their part of the world in various ways. On a recent trip to the timeless village of Inverness, located on the cape of Point Reyes Seashore, fate brought me to the doorstep of local painter and educator Inez Storer.

We enjoyed a lengthy discussion about her multi-media process and shared stories about my mentor and teacher Jack Welpott, who used to work and live right down the street from her studio, as well as John Gutmann who had started the Fine Art Photography department at my alma mater San Francisco State University where she first started teaching back in 1969. I showed her images I have been working on from various series when she noticed the woven apples and artichokes.

She quickly drew the parallel between the images and the monumental grid work Chuck Close has created over the years. I hadn't made that connection before but I immediately saw why she had drawn that conclusion. The grid created by the woven pattern certainly echoed in his work and the photo realism of Mr. Close's paintings paralleled with this series. But it is the movement around each corner of the grid that I hope to explore further and perhaps exaggerate in the future.

It was a thrill to meet and talk with Inez. Her perspectives and observations where keen and inspiring.     Traveling has a way of opening you up to the world, to new people and new ideas. When we are receptive enough to allow connections to be made, that is when we really get inside the thistle.

Julie Green
August 11, 2018