New batiks from Olympia’s Lisa Kattenbraker.
Subtle details in bold, brilliant design that accentuate her characters, is what captures the hearts of those who take in the cotton batik “paintings” from Lisa-Telling Kattenbraker. Though ultimately “faceless”, the human figures that Lisa often incorporates in her batiks, is anything but emotionless. The strong use of color, pattern and background content, lead the viewer to looking past the simple figures and discover what is happening around them. The saturating, warm hues of the sun’s embrace, tiny hearts dancing, a bouquet of freshly picked posies in one hand, and a bucket of stars in another, all creating a story that surrounds the simple silhouettes, most certainly represent love and acceptance.
Batik, a centuries old art form, is a process of using wax and dye on fabric. Anywhere wax (locally harvested beeswax in Lisa’s work) is applied, the dye is unable too be absorbed into the fabric, “resisting” the color, therefore, much premeditated thought goes into each little detail for Lisa’s pieces. Ironically, her characters do not start black, rather she allows every color she uses to be absorbed into the figure, which becomes black as each color is concentrated on the area left”open.”
The sweet sentiments of love in each of Lisa Kattenbraker’s original batiks or prints make them an ideal Valentine’s Day gift. Childhood’s End Gallery has a fantastic array of hand made gifts and goodies in that will surely suit the tastes of your Valentine, whether its a first date, or a lifelong partner. As with any items $25 or more, we will gladly gift wrap at no additional cost.
Also on display in the gallery are Northwest themed watercolors from Julie Creighton.
If you are planning on popping in to pick up a Valentine’s Day gift, allow some extra time and we will wrap up your purchase while you take in the exhibit!
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