Judith writes:
While putting together this summer summary, I was reminded of an old French maxim, "reculer pour mieux sauter" that translates as: “Step back, the better to leap forward.” This 'leitmotif' describes a fundamental aspect of the creative process that includes time stepping back, reviewing the past, looking at the old in new ways, until a surprising discovery (the leap forward) is made (the great 'AHA' moment).
Richard and I have been blessed with long and productive creative careers and Gallery Route One has been such an important part of our development. From our first show of One Year, One Beach in 2001 and throughout the years, we are grateful for the many wonderful opportunities to show and share our work as a result of our special association with Mary Mountcastle Eubank and Zea Morvitz (Project Space Program) and Toni Littlejohn (Artists in the Schools).
Here is a resume/ list of all of the exhibitions, experiences and ways that GRO has had an influence on me and our art life. In addition to the shows, over the years we participated in The Box Show and The Wild Book Show, fund raisers for the Gallery. Because this was the pre-cellphone camera era, we did not then take as many pictures as we do today. The hyperlinks will take you to posts with more info and more photos. This list still a work in progress. As I dig through old files and find images and information, I will fill in the gaps. For now:
2000 Nature Books Tobacco Quipu (JSL)
Nature Books on the Marin Report, CH 31
2001 ON THE EDGE: intersections and interactions with Gallery Route One and
the Point Reyes National Seashore, an interdisciplinary project that had
multi-venue exhibition sites, and a panel discussion.
ON THE EDGE on the Marin Report, CH 31
One Year One Beach: Disposable Truths, an exhibition showcasing what two people (Richard and Judith Lang) collected from Kehoe Beach in one year. This story became our life story as we continue today to collect plastic from that one beach.
Jetsam and Wet Ink, an Artists in the Schools (AIS) project in collaboration with the California Poets in the Schools. With Toni Littlejohn, Judith coordinated a show of poetry and artwork with 47 fourth and fifth graders from West Marin School at the Ken Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach. The student artwork was created during a field trip to Drake’s Beach where the students molded plastic beach litter into colorful bas-reliefs. Robin Jacobson guided the poetry that was inscribed onto pieces of white scraps of plastic and onto white plastic foam containers. Claire Peaslee served as project naturalist.
2000 The Box Show Gallery Route One, Point Reyes, CA
2001 The Box Show Gallery Route One, Point Reyes, CA
2002 Turning the Tables: food, farms and sustainability with Gallery Route One,
Artists in the Schools and Marin Organics
Turning the Tables on the Marin Report, CH 31 Marin Report, CH 31
More about worms and The Worms Have Come to Dinner an interdisciplinary Artists In the Schools (AIS) art project sponsored by Gallery Route One for West Marin School that culminated in an exhibit at Toby’s Feed Barn, September 2-29, 2002.
Wall Street Worms at Toby’s Feed Barn (JSL)
Second Helpings at Cafe Reyes (RDL & JSL)
Concurrent exhibition: ECO-02, art and the environment Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael
2002 The Box Show RDL ???
JSL Masking Tape Box
2003 Wild Book Show JSL A Can of Worms
The Box Show JSL Omphalos (beach plastic box)
2004 Wild Book Show JSL Apertures
RDL Bear Valley Trail
The Box Show JSL Lookin Over, Looking In
RDL Cement Suitcase
2005 California Current: a confluence of art and the ocean from British Columbia to
Baja with Gallery Route One, Falkirk Cultural Center, and The Bay Model California Current on the Marin Report, CH 31
This interdisciplinary project explored the bounds and boundlessness of the seas; the living presence of the ocean from a metaphorical as well as a management perspective. In exhibitions and events presented at Falkirk Cultural Center and Gallery Route One, artists were invited to respond to such issues as the maintenance of the healthy seas, oil drilling, international fishing regulations, chemical pollution, marine debris, coastal development, global climate change, AND celebrate the unfathomable depths of the ocean, the restorative quality of sea breezes and the pleasures of a walk on the beach.
With Toni Littlejohn Judith developed Oceans Away, a multidisciplinary program that brought poets, naturalists and artists into the West Marin School classrooms in a project that culminated in a mixed media installation at Toby’s Feed Barn in Point Reyes Station that included poems, video, and sea worthy representations.
For younger students there was a field trip to Duxbury Reef in Bolinas with naturalists and educators to explore the tide pools and the older students visited the Point Reyes Lighthouse for a direct observation of maritime history.
In a simulation of an underwater environment the students created their interpretations of the ocean, with plants and animals of the Northern California region and replicated a shipwreck dating back to 1579 when Sir Francis Drake sailed the coastline. Wave ocean poems, a ship log and a fish/kelp forest.
2005 Wild Book Show JSL JuNK STuMP
RDL Bear Vally Trail - Winter
2006 Wild Book Show the ocean says…
2008 Wild Book Show collaboration with Jackie Kirk and Barbara Swift Brauer
The Box Show
2009 Wild Book Show Food and Farming 3/20- 3/23 with Geo of Hope
Through the years we have amassed quite a collection of toy soldiers. Wracked by a long life at sea, some of the faces are gnarled, chewed on, abraded by the sand. When we looked into the tiny faces we were amazed by their expressions. Each soldier is a poignant reminder of the ravages of war and the extremes to which nations will go to preserve dominion over the petrochemical world. In The True Cost of Plastic we presented large-scale photographs of toy soldiers and a re-enactment of a battle scene. March 22- April 28
Field trip 7th/8th graders with Wendy McLaughlin, April 28
2016 Commons Dilemma
The Ostrich Feather Wedding Dress Project was organized by Lorna Stevens and Joanne Easton in conjunction with their exhibit Commons Dilemma. Research into the history of the ostrich and use of their feathers as adornment led them to acquire on E-Bay an ostrich feather wedding dress. They were fascinated by this gown and offered it as a launch point for a group project. Each artist borrowed the dress for one week and created an art work in response. November 4 - December 11.
2019 UNTAMED-Jewelry Outside the Box
curated by Judy O'Shea
totem/foam bracelet, window web
2019 Eco Echo: Unnatural Selection
Eco Echo: Unnatural Selection presented a group of artists who respond to aspects of our ecological environment in unexpected and diverse ways. Each artist is grappling with some ecological concern, creating echos which are celebratory, poignant, beautiful, complex, and provide opportunity for audience examination and reflection.
Eco Echo artists: Anne Beck, Barbara Boissevain, Ginger Burrell, Judith Selby Lang, Richard Lang, Kent Manske, Michelle Wilson, Nanette Wylde
ART ON THE EDGE: From Extraction to Restoration and Regeneration
2021 Artists Exchange ZOOM discussion 8/18/21 with Shelley Rugg, Pamela Blotner, Jane Ingram Allen. Artists’ Exchange is a monthly event for artists and art lovers; a resource for artists to learn from other artists and hear about opportunities in the arts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okhKjntGPW4
