ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Get to know Abbie Birmingham, a featured artist in our current exhibit, The Paths We Take.
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Favorite Seattle Park?
• Lincoln Park
Favorite beach/waterfront spot?
• Alki
Favorite museum/galleries (aside from CCG!) that gets your creative juices flowing?
• J. Rinehart Gallery, Davidson Gallery, Smith and Vallee Gallery (Edison, WA).
What is your secret/hidden/useless talent?
• This may not be such a secret, but I have at least the external appearance of remaining calm.
What was your first concert? Best concert?
• First concert: Rolling Stones at the Boston Garden, 1969
• Best concert: Dire Straits at Seattle Center Arena, 1985
Are you an avid collector of anything?
• No, but I’m an avid birdwatcher.
What is your favorite quote?
• “Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says “Oh no! She’s up.” Joanne Clancy.
What is the last book you read?
• A Brief History of the Dead, Kevin Brockmeier.
Favorite studio tool?
• My Takach etching press.
Favorite artists?
• John Singer Sargent, Jonelle Johnson, Kathy Colwitz, Dawn Emerson, Kris Ekstrand, Jim Dine, Richard Diebenkorn, Mary Cassatt, Julie Mehretu, Andy Goldsworthy, Alice Fox, Helen Terry, J.M.W. Turner.
What is your favorite medium, and why?
• I love both printmaking and book arts. I began taking printmaking classes at Pratt about 15 years ago and was immediately hooked, for its layering, multiple techniques, serendipity and active movement of hands and body. Making artist books incorporating my prints is a natural extension and allows story telling in 3 dimensions. Adding text, finding a book structure and pacing that enhance the story and use of print imagery are all creative challenges I really enjoy.
Where do you find inspiration?
• My work is deeply place based, derived from my surrounding environment, both built and wild. The wild places recharge my spirit and inspire me with silence. The built world inspires me with its stories of human habitation imbedded in structures and pathways. And through every environment I’m wayfinding with maps, real and imagined.
What’s coming up for you?
• I have a lot going on this Spring and Summer, in addition to The Paths We Take, my current show at Columbia City Gallery, I’m doing the Mercer Island Art Walk the first Friday in June. I’ve also had work accepted into Schack Art Center’s 23rd Annual Juried Exhibition and a show called “Block, Paper, Stone: A Printmaking Party” at The Confluence Gallery in Twisp.
Website: abirminghamprints.com
Instagram: IG: @abbie.paper