Artist Practice by ARMBRUST DARCH & KEYSER

Kayla White

Pushing the envelope: To attempt to extend the current limits of performance. To innovate, or go beyond commonly accepted boundaries.

Three established artists, Matt Armbrust, Kayla White and Donna Keyser, present their daily practice of creating new work. Each artist has made 1-10 new pieces a day for two months all uncensored are on display at Confluence Gallery September 28- November 2, 2013. This is a great insight into the process of making art and exploring the roads not often taken. Notebooks sketches paint studies as well as finished work will be on display.

Kayla White grew up in the Methow Valley, WA she draws her inspiration from the outdoors and the history of the valley. Her experiences as a farmer’s daughter and through stories told of her ancestors who homesteaded here she explores ideas of home, work, play and the significant role that our physical surroundings have in our experiences, memories and perceptions of things. She explors the blurred line between what is real and imagined, present and past, and the tangible and intangible wherein representational forms are painted in heightened colors with bold brushstrokes until they almost become abstract. Kayla’s work suggests narratives that address larger ideas of human experiences and perceptions of the physical world.

Donna Keyser

Matthew Armbrust recieved his B.A. in Music from Central Washington University (CWU). While in attendance at CWU, he studied the violin under Carrie Rehkopf and Heather Netz of the Kairos String Quartet. Likewise Matthew is a ceramicist with a focus on functional ware. At the center of Matthew’s work is a drive to beautify and bring appreciation to the pieces of our lives that are important, but typically conceived of as mundane. While Armbrust is currently pursuing an Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) under the instruction of Stephen Robison at Central Washington University, he remains connected to the Methow through family and friends. One current local venture is the Spartan Art Project, a Spartan travel trailer that Armbrust and two other Methow artists are converting into a safe place for artistic experimentation. The trailer will serve as both a formal exhibition gallery and an interactive space for producing art.

Donna Keyser is a local painter, designer and curator. She lives in Twisp and works from her studio at TwispWorks. She graduated from Cornish College of the arts where she studied printmaking, video art and painting. Her work explores visual, metaphoric and religious visions of paradise.