Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Among watercolors on display at Aegis Gallery by artist Yoju is "Water Movement," which shows the importance of the liquid in life.

Art exhibits combine ancient and modern

By Suzy Ramirez

Two people on the frontier of artistic expression and creativity, artists Yoju and Linda B. Spencer, are currently displaying their original works this month at two Saratoga galleries.

Both artists draw on ancient methods of art combined with a modern sensibility. The focus of their work remains on creating images that stimulate the imagination and awaken the unconscious thought process.

The galleries, Aegis Gallery of Fine Art featuring "Watercolors by Yoju," and Gallery Saratoga featuring "Encaustic Art" by Spencer, held a joint reception in honor of the two local artists and the month-long display on Aug. 2.

Yoju, originally from Tokyo, has been painting since she was 8 years old, when an art teacher taught her how to do "Suminagashi"--literally "spilled ink." The Japanese artist came to Saratoga nine years ago and has been a member of the Aegis Gallery for two years.

"When I begin to paint, I have an image in my head--landscapes, something from nature," Yoju said. "Sometimes I get a nice shape and paint from playing with the shape."

The medium Yoju uses is an ancient Japanese type of printing that captures the flowing liquid patterns of Suminagashi. It is soft, quiet and elegantly decorated, often with collage. The patterns never appear twice, as each is a momentary pattern captured from the artist's movement of colorful ink floating on water and transferred to rice paper. Images range from the abstract to very distinct fish, nature scenes and faces.

Traditional Japanese themes are present in many of Yoju's Suminagashi patterns. "Offering" is a bright bouquet of colors designed as flowers, which are often prayed to in traditional Japanese homes for safety. "The prayers were something my mother would do and I do when I return to Tokyo," Yoju said. "It's not something the younger generation does."

In "Water Monument," Yoju provides a comfortable feeling for admirers while looking at the blue and green shades of spilled ink. A Japanese poem painted over the abstract water focuses on Buddhism and the idea that water is never steady.

"Everything is always changing," Yoju said.

The encaustic artwork of Spencer is a technique from ancient Greece using individual applications of hot, resin-reinforced, colored beeswax that fuse together as they are applied.

Ground pigment is first added to individual portions of the molten mixture to produce the needed color palette. The mixture cools to create a permanent surface that will not deteriorate or yellow over time. The colors can then be buffed to create a brilliant, enamel shine or left alone for a matte finish.

In the encaustic design "Stock Market '97," colored beeswax in blue, green and purple is splashed across masonite to create an image of the chaotic stock market. Orange-pink splashes create the upward lineage of the market.

"I wanted to create something that showed how crazy the stock market has been in the last few years," Spencer said.

"A Well-Played Hand" is an original encaustic design with an added collage of playing cards revealing a full house. The description next to the piece reads, "Life is a game and can even be a gamble."

Spencer said everything in her life revolves around symbols, and she presents these symbols in her work for individual interpretation. "Art is different for every person," Spencer said. "It doesn't always tell you what it is--you say what it is."

Early childhood trauma has been the inspiration for Spencer to create her art work, especially the abstract work that she has crafted from an inner essence. "Abstract art has helped me to release tension rather than build it," Spencer said with a smile. "I use art as a healing mechanism."

Both featured artists' works can be viewed and purchased at 14531 Big Basin Way in Saratoga. Yoju is at Aegis Gallery in Unit #2; Linda B. Spencer is at Gallery Saratoga in Unit #3. For information on gallery hours, call Aegis Gallery at 867-0171 or Gallery Saratoga at 867-0458.

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