Creekside Art Gallery Blog

KANGAS ARTICLES & BOOKS.  Gene and Linda Kangas have written over 160 Articles and a dozen Books and Exhibition Catalogs during the past 35 years.    We are archiving complete articles including photographs and excerpted book and catalog texts with photographs to Creekside Art Gallery Blog.   Each can be downloaded and printed out for your convenience.  Please come back to look for more on a monthly basis!

Subjects include Waterfowl Decoys, American Historic and Contemporary Folk Art, International Folk Art, Biographies of Artists and Collectors, and Contemporary and Antique Woodturning including 19th and 20th century Peaseware.

Books & Catalogs Available for Purchase:  We are happy to personalize autographed books and catalogs; most are also available discounted in multiples.

Want your book, article or catalog written?  Contact us at  Creekside Art Gallery.

Much like the grass–roots effort of Fall 1997 that produced OUT OF FOCUS, turners’ first Internet salon de refuse, PATHWAYS was an independent venture. It received support from a variety of private and public sources, and suggests the potential of what can be accomplished by a few dedicated individuals with vision and enthusiasm. For the first time, practitioners were offered an exhibition opportunity with distinct categories which acknowledged the variety of attitudes and avenues within the field. Sculpture was recognized as having distinct and separate intentions from other work which addressed utility, scale, material, or the major vessel types. The Peaseware component of the exhibition presented a portion of the field’s past in the belief that history helps to nurture contemporary investigations; an attitude that was integral to the American Association of Woodturner’s 1997 TURNED FOR USE exhibition, and is very much a part of the Wood Turning Center’s mission. This catalog continued the interest in documentation via the affordable black/white format which was established by the two previous AAW exhibitions while it raised the standards for size and presentation quality and adds a distinctive color component. More »

New World Folk Art evolved from art faculty discussions concerning plans to commemorate the Columbus Quincentenary at Cleveland State University. Unlike the last observance, which brought forth the influential Columbian World Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the current anniversary has stoked bitter controversy. Native Americans feel that there is little to celebrate. Many Americans look upon some aspects of this country’s history less positively than their ancestors and regard the future with increasing uneasiness. In light of these circumstances, the art faculty sought an idea that would recognize these feelings and still pay homage to the native-born and immigrant people of the New World. Various concepts were suggested until the importance of interactions between cultures and their effects on folk imagery were decided upon as the focus of this exhibition.

Centuries before Christopher Columbus voyaged to these shores, ancient cultures prospered all across the North American continent. Much was learned by native people as they adapted to their environment and innovated methods to improve their lives. One of the eventual results of contact with new foreign settlers was a cross-cultural sharing of ideas and technologies. The exchange of knowledge benefited both, and each new cultural influx added to an already rich and complex history. More »