By Margie M. Palmer
Four prominent Uptown artists will be adding their unique flair to the 11th annual ArtWalk @ Liberty Station.
Kate Ashton of Hillcrest, Gregory Bada of City Heights, Michael Carini of Old Town and James Yuransky of Normal Heights will be a part of the family-friendly event that will be held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13-14, at Ingram Plaza in Liberty Station.
Ashton is probably best-known locally as the proprietor of Art on 30th, a community art space in the epicenter of North Park’s arts district that is comprised of galleries, studios and class space.
The painter, who said she is always and only painting the autobiography of her life as an artist, will be showing new abstract works that she is finishing.
“When I show up at my easel, I look for the colors that look good to me on that particular day, just like going to our closet and looking for a certain piece of clothing that feels good to wear on a particular day,” she said. “Expect to see unique color combinations in my newest works … fresh and previously untapped.”
Bada’s medium of choice is printmaking. His deep love of drawing, he said, is what attracted him to the genre.
“When creating my pieces, whether it’s engraving or etching, you literally are seeing the direct result of my hand. To me there is a certain raw vulnerability in this and printmaking allowed me to take this love for drawing to another artistic level,” he said. “Printmaking is very process-heavy as there are many, many steps you must take to get the finished image. I like to call printmaking part drawing, part blacksmithing and part self-punishment.”
A lot can go wrong along the way, he added, but he finds the spontaneous uncertainty to be exhilarating.
“I find the work meditative, the journey rewarding and the level of detail you can achieve highly satisfying.”
Carini, a Point Loma native, describes his style as “acrylic alchemy,” a transformation of the soul.
“It is about harnessing all of the pain and struggles of your life and utilizing them as a sacrifice of equivalent exchange in the transmutation and/or creation of something beautiful and positive,” he said. “It is about hope, growth and love.”
The painter said he’s most inspired by “the hope of having hope when it feels as if all hope is lost.” He also looks at the creative process as a dance, song or dialogue, with both he and the painting working together until the dance ends, the music stops or the conversation ceases.
“Painting is my vessel of communication, and the only way in which I feel I can truly communicate with the world around me … a world I don’t fully understand,” he said. “I am never fully controlled, though I am never fully in control either. The painting and I are partners. It is a relationship of balance.”
Yuranski, a self-described Zedist, will also have works on display. He’ll also be doing an interactive piece that will use small, multi-sided geometric objects people will paint, to create a larger 3D work.
He coined the term Zedism to describe his unique style, he said, adding his works are distinguished by both the use of a geometrical Z-axis projecting from the canvas plane and the incorporation of imagery within that projection.
“Doing a live painting with others is a direct connection into the human creative process. It taps into something very primal; sharing, community, building, improving, beautifying our world — these things make us feel more secure, connected and valuable to our community,” he said, adding that the 16-by-4-foot mural will be painted with the help of volunteers “and a hopefully a steady stream of Artwalk @ Liberty Station attendees.”
—Margie M. Palmer is a San Diego-based freelance writer who has been racking up bylines in a myriad of news publications for the past 10 years. You can reach her at [email protected].
