Opening reception October 7, 2005, from 5-7pm.

Page by Lani Davis, from Art of Being a Woman journal.  

In April 2004, a simple gift from Sherry Henrickson to Kate Vikstrom sparked a creative outlet for 25 local artists. The gift was True Colors: a Palette of Collaborative Art Journals by Kathryn Bold. In examining the collaborative goal of this art journal project, Hendrickson said “Kate and I thought, ‘hey, we can do this here’.” Shades of Hue and Me: Collaborative Art Journals is the unexpected culmination of over a year’s work in art journals created out of friendship. 

The group began as 12 women, led by Kate Vikstrom, and developed into a second group led by Lani Davis. Both groups collaborated in the completion of the journals in a round-robin exchange, where each artist created a cover and a few pages inspired by a theme or color, such as sepia or journeys for example. However, the artist had no influence over the finished product beyond the basic idea. “You then have to release it and enjoy what you receive,” says Henrickson about the other members’ interpretation of theme with their page contributions. What develops out of this exchange is unique and transcends the act of making to become something larger, something more spiritual.

Starting with the familiar, each artist gradually took more risks and employed a variety of techniques. “Many of them are not even bound journals,” says Henrickson. Some hang like Venetian blinds and others are free standing as boxes. From fiber work to collage, to photo transfers and three-dimensional objects, these works are as multifaceted as the process and the women who created them.

In the hearts of the art journal group, the spirit of the project is best articulated by author Rebecca Wells, “I am given a gift, I am helped to hand it to you…in the form of a book. As you read, you keep the gift moving, and then hand the gift back to me – the gift of having been met, of having been seen, of having been listened to.” Henrickson says, “this has become our ‘mission statement’ as we passed these books from artist to artist…and it continues with the people who come to share the show!”