Lucia Douglas Gallery Exhibit May 5, 2007

(FREE)

For the month of May, Lucia Douglas Gallery presents an eclectic mix
of established and new gallery talent.

Bellingham native Dale Gottlieb presents paintings from two new series in gouache on wood,

which highlight her lyrical and graceful use of line. Dale uses the term "Abstract Sleep" to describe

one group, which depicts people doing things while asleep. She explains, "Sleep has been a prominent

subject throughout my life. I've learned a lot about myself through dreams and have sometimes

received important messages--some I've listened to and others I wish I had paid better attention to."

The other series features icon-like portraits of people as well as hands, to which she has always

been attracted. In addition to the new paintings, Dale also shows four of her most recent Story Rugs,

which are the result of a long-standing collaboration with Tibetan carpet makers.

Martin Grey Gottlieb makes his debut at Lucia Douglas with a series of photographs

that explore and embrace the creative possibilities inherent in the digital medium.

Although he makes his living as an actor in Los Angeles, Martin has enjoyed a life-long passion

for photography and recently began shooting the world around him. In this series of work,

Martin captures moments from everyday life, some poignant, some funny,

some simply beautiful. At times, he presents the image exactly as he photographed it,

but at other times he uses his computer to play with focus or color, creating a dreamlike mood.

His photographs feature settings from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to Bellingham.

Martin is Dale Gottlieb's brother and is pleased to share this exhibition with her.

Rob Beishline also enjoys his first exhibition at Lucia Douglas with a series of figurative ceramic pieces.

A full-time art instructor at Whatcom Community College, Beishline creates intimate

figures with richly textured surfaces. While much of Beishline's work has narrative influences

such as Renaissance paintings, Biblical stories, and literature, he presents the bodies as fragments,

only telling a partial story. Beishline invites the viewer to complete the narrative.

Rather than glazing the work, Beishline pit fired these pieces. As he explains, "Pit firing is a process

that reveals history: the marks of flame, passage of air, and residue of fuel.

The fired surface suggests a history for the figures, a adding a layer to the story behind the piece."