Paloma and her dragon friend Wings celebrate Hawthorn – Art by Jane Valencia (c) 2012
Art Showing by Jane Valencia
Into Forest Halls: Kid-Inspired Art From The Heart Of Our Nature
At the HUB 070 Gallery – November through Year End (Located in the Spinnaker Building in downtown Vashon just north of Chase Bank and across from Vashon Market)
17710 100th Ave SW,Vashon, WA
First Friday Gallery Tour Opening: Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, 6-9PM
Come enjoy harp music and micro-magical tales from artist Jane Valencia, good island company, yummy forest-and-garden inspired snacks, and nourishing and delicious herbal beverages as you browse an enchanted forest of nature-rooted, kid-inspired art that speaks to the heart of our true nature.
About the show:
Step into forest magic in this showing of whimsical nature-rooted and kid-inspired art that speaks to the heart of our true nature.
Featured in this showing of watercolor and colored-pencil drawings and fanciful photography are several pages from Paloma And Wings, an herbal comic for kids, which was published for two years in the internationally acclaimed herbal journal, Plant Healer Magazine.
As a harper and storyteller, an instructor with the Vashon Wilderness Program, and a children’s fantasy book author, Jane Valencia draws upon her love of imagination, music, magical lore, the natural world and her joy in adventuring with kids in the outdoors to create her art.
Head on over the water for a fun and magical once-only evening featuring Deb Knodel & Jane Valencia (aka the Celtic harp duo Spookytree) and Steve Baughman, Celtic guitar. In a warm, intimate setting we’ll play solos, duets, trios, and offer a story and a song or two.
We currently live in two different states, so it’s pretty rare that we perform together in concert. Still, we play together whenever we can. We practically have a telepathic connection when we play our harps (I kid you not!). That many years of harping together and being practically like sisters will do it to ya!
Steve Baughman is an incredible Celtic guitarist. We met him many years ago at Valley Of The Moon Scottish Fiddle Camp, then in the Santa Cruz mountain redwoods. We played together in a 7-piece group called the Celtic Light Orchestra, and teamed up and performed together in various concerts. This concert is part of Steve’s Pacific Northwest tour. Deb is making a special trip here just so we can all perform together again!
Here is Steve playing a gorgeous version of a Breton tune, Dans Keff Avec. Imagine that the second guitarist is actually a harper — and that a second harper is also adding harmonies and playing too.
If you come to this concert, you won’t have to imagine the harps with the guitar playing this beautiful piece — you’ll hear it for yourself!
We have plenty of magic brewing for this concert, of which I will likely give you glimpses of in upcoming blog posts. Trust me when I say of this event: Not to be missed! We plan to make it an absolutely wondrous way to start your week!
When: Monday, October 6, 2014 – 7PM. We plan to start as close to 7PM as possible, so encourage you to arrive by 6:45PM to settle in.
Where: Vashon Cohousing Common House, 10421 SW Bank Road, Vashon, WA (please park on Bank Road and walk up the driveway into the cohousing area. A mosaic map at the end of the lane will point the way to the Common House.).
How Much: Pay What You Can. Suggested: $12/person; $25/family; $5/seniors and youth; Ages 5 and under – free! No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
We’ll be sharing some edible goodies and an herbal-infused beverage I’ll concoct. If you feel inspired, please bring a snack or drink to share as well.
Space is limited, so you’re encouraged to get your tickets in advance. Tickets are available at: the Vashon Book Shop and at Brown Paper Tickets
We’re looking forward to sharing this evening with you!
When I took up the Celtic harp in 1987, I knew I’d embarked on an amazing journey. The harp to me was the quintessential magical instrument (and that’s saying a lot, because for many years previously oboe had held that enchantment in my heart). Celtic harps appeared in Arthurian legend-derived tales. The Celtic harp was enjoying a renaissance in Celtic folk music, finding its voice in the hands of harpers like Alan Stivell and like Maire Brennan of Clannad.
I took up the harp, found some harpers with which to play (the South Bay Folk Harp Society, which morphed through a couple of incarnations to eventually birth the Harpers Hall & culinary society, a folk harp group which I helped to found and which is still thriving today).
Within a couple of years I formed a musical partnership with Debra Knodel. We produced a few CDs, performed nationally–including partnering onstage with Celtic harp luminary Kim Robertson and with Celtic harper & storyteller Patrick Ball. We also created bardic performances, and these shows were enjoyed by young and old alike, and we enjoyed our own modest circle of fame.
Eventually, life and different directions led us to focus elsewhere, though Deb and I continue to play harp together now and again (look for our upcoming performance with Celtic guitarist, Steve Baughman in early October!). Deb continues to play harp and perform in California. I do the same up here, but not so much in the past decade or so on the big stage.
During the “young” part of my harp journey, I lived and breathed and loved the harp. I practiced furiously and worked hard, and stretched myself creatively and musically. My world revolved around the magic of the harp … until … it didn’t.
Maybe it was because I was a mom with a young child. Maybe it was just time to adventure into other realms. Whatever the reason, there was a funny stretch when I didn’t play much harp — and actually physically couldn’t play much harp! My hands during that time felt stiff and clumsy. I was bewildered by my inability to play accurately. Since starting the harp, I’d always improvised (it was how I could keep up with players who were more experienced). But now I turned desperately to improvisation to help me bridge the gap between what I longed to be able to play and what I actually, at the time, could play.
In time facility with my hands returned, and I found that my fingers were more relaxed than they’d ever been. And in the process, I’d developed some improvisational skills that felt distinctly my own.
Going through my sheet music, bringing back all those incredible tunes. Photo by Jane Valencia (c) 2014
In the past year, I’ve returned to working on music in a more active way, and realizing that in 27 years, I’ve met a lot of really amazing tunes and songs! At my bookshop gig the other night, I realized something else. Not only did I have a (potentially) huge repertoire of music (if I took the time to work a chunk of it back up), but in addition to stories I’m telling already, I have a mountain of stories to go along with the tunes I play.
And I have a bundle of questions I’d love to ask my audience in relation to those tunes and tales and the magic within their own lives.
Suddenly I’m pulling music binders out of storage, and yanking mp3s out of my archives. My harp and myself are enjoying a good workout. I have gigs in the next couple of months, and ideas for a new harp adventure I might try.
Oh, and have I mentioned yet that I’m “expecting” a new harp this month? A large lovely wire-strung Luna by Triplett harps. I’m a little nervous (Will I love, love, love this harp as much as I love my other harps? Will I get used to the slightly larger spacing or will it bother my hands? It’s a big, heavy harp — compared to my others. How’s that going to work for me?). But I have to trust how I felt playing a Luna at the Harpers Hall Retreat From The World weekend last Feb. It was amazing!
Ahhh, no such thing as too many harps ….
Once again, I am truly a harper.
As if I had ever truly stopped.
What passion have you parted company with, only to find that it has knocked again on your door, making sweet and total sense again in your life? Tell me about your magic!
Today our ducklings took their first swim. I too feel like a duck returning to water! Photo by Jane Valencia (c) 2014
