It is not often that Centrum has the opportunity to host a Port Townsend visual artist in the residency program… an artist who lives here surrounded by the inspiration that others travel in search of. So we are thrilled to welcome Helga Winter. Helga is best known for her wood turnings, which she patterns, paints, and dyes. Her Centrum residency project focuses on a new direction for her work… "flat pieces" like the ones recently shown at Artisans on Taylor. Helga will be in residence through the month of January 2010.
I'm going to include a few images here, just to whet your appetite. You can better appreciate the scope and beauty of Helga's work at her website
Helga talks a bit about her work and why she does it…
Being a wood turner of green woods allows me to look deep inside the tree and carry on a dialogue. The green wood is still full of movement, wanting to take back its own shape after I turned it into something that is momentarily round. Then I step aside and let the wood seek its own perfection.
The drying process is delicate, referring to a sense of mystery, balance and the fragility of life. Sometimes cracks occur, sometimes fluid movement results. After the drying is completed it is my turn to respond to the new shape, the cracks, the imperfections, so that they will reflect the reality of a less than perfect world instead of being viewed as flawed.
I use dyes and patterns to invite a closer look and investigation: Is it glass? Is it wood? Is it a gourd?
The patterns originate from memory, dreams, imagination. The vessel, when given a new appearance, allows a quiet conversation to take place: Who am I really? How does my appearance, my attitude effect my inner being? Do they enhance the self or cover it up? Through these processes I strive to show the pureness of the wood – the essence of being.