'Screamer'

Jim Christiansen's Comments:

The collaborative project has been a very interesting experiment. Both of us have long had a certain attraction to elements of each other's work. Additionally, our individual styles are quite different.

We were both anxious to see what a collaborative project might look like. We began by swapping emails with descriptions that might fit the proposed work. We wanted the piece to express some of our deeper feelings.

Beginning was the hardest part. Finally Gerrit took the first step. A very nicely turned wooden egg arrived in the mail. I could do with it what I wanted. It took a while because I wanted to do something original and complimentary to the egg . I came up with a stylized female form holding the egg in sort of a ceremonial fashion.

The piece went back to Gerrit . He added the golden orb and painted the exterior of the figure. I had made a face on the figure resembling the characters in the famous painting called "The Scream". We nicknamed her the "Screamer" but decided to add masks. I have made a number of African theme pieces in the past so it seemed appropriate. Gerrit added the mask on the back of the head and did the final finish work. As of now, we are still trying to come up with a name for the piece.

We are looking forward to seeing what kind of response it gets in the AAW auction. We had a great time doing the piece and hopefully we will be able to do more in the future.

Contact Jim - jim.christiansen@kestrelcreek.com

Gerrit Van Ness's Comments:

When visiting Jim last winter, I proposed that we get together to do a collaborative project for the AAW auction this year. Jim thought that this was a good idea too, and would be a fun, if not educational exercise. At that time, I was only thinking of who could "outweird" the other with our additions to the "whatever" that we might develop. In our discussion about the project, we didn't discuss what we might do, but I was to start it off.

Knowing that neither of us is at a loss for creative juices, I also thought that it would be just like Christmas every few weeks, seeing what addition to our little project was made by Jim.

I thought an egg form might be a good starting point, since there would be limitless possibilities for the exterior support structure, as well as what might be installed in the interior. I also thought that a more serious statement could be made with the piece (social comment with some humor)? On my arrival back home, an egg was turned and sent to Jim.

A wonderful female form arrived a few weeks later, with my unmolested egg. A little paint, an interior for the egg, and back to Jim. The final work involved installing masks for the head. I carved and painted a mask for the back of her head, not realizing that Jim had carved and shipped two masks (one was still balled up in packing material).

This was a fun project, with the end result being different and pleasing. It will no doubt raise some interesting questions from viewers, and it will be interesting to see the response she gets at the symposium in Pasadena.

Contact Gerrit - van_ness@earthlink.net