Community Articles (listed by posting date)
General News · 9th July 2025
Kristen Scholfield-Sweet
Here is a second look at Cortes Island Root Drawings, by John Mottishaw at the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery.
These are my favorite first impressions when looking at art.
Ah…hum…huh…mmm…ah….what? … Hum…ah!
Art that makes me question the very definition of art deserves first impressions from my senses rather than from verbal explanations. And yet
questions also rush forward . Who decides what is art: the artist, the setting, the viewer? If I trip over roots on a forest path are they just part of a tree? If I find roots in a gallery do they become an art material?
Truly see what is, without bias
When we first receive visual information, our mind wants to connect this to something already known: a named sound, a recognized pattern. This first
response is at core a survival mechanism. “I know what this is so I know what to do.” I found my first response to these root drawings was to try and
“name” them: an eyeball, a boat, a portrait. Take a second look. How does it feel to name something? Is there a small rush of relaxation? How do we
truly see what is—without bias—is this even possible?
Art materials are not neutral
Many artists are not able to trace the history or manufacture of the materials they use. Is red iron oxide actually made from rust? What is the
connection between Alchemy and the invention of colour chemistry? Who first developed synthetic pigments? Take a second look. What do you
think makes an art material? How does it feel to look at materials that seem to be unaltered except for their arrangement in a untypical context?
But are these roots unaltered? Do the twists and layers invite you deeper and deeper into the artist’s process?
Art is about the maker
The aim of art is to express who we are. This is not a field of competition but an unfolding of evolution. Different works are different snapshots of who we are in the moment of creation. Take a second look. What does this art express? Technical skill, precise focus, transformation? When we truly see what is, we see the artist.
Enjoy your own creative unfolding in the presence of these root drawings, by participating in the literary Friday, July 11, at 7 pm in the Old
Schoolhouse Gallery.
Cortes Island Root Drawings, by John Mottishaw,
continues Saturday and Sunday, the 12 th and
13 th, from 2-6 pm each day.
These are my favorite first impressions when looking at art.
Ah…hum…huh…mmm…ah….what? … Hum…ah!
Art that makes me question the very definition of art deserves first impressions from my senses rather than from verbal explanations. And yet
questions also rush forward . Who decides what is art: the artist, the setting, the viewer? If I trip over roots on a forest path are they just part of a tree? If I find roots in a gallery do they become an art material?
Truly see what is, without bias
When we first receive visual information, our mind wants to connect this to something already known: a named sound, a recognized pattern. This first
response is at core a survival mechanism. “I know what this is so I know what to do.” I found my first response to these root drawings was to try and
“name” them: an eyeball, a boat, a portrait. Take a second look. How does it feel to name something? Is there a small rush of relaxation? How do we
truly see what is—without bias—is this even possible?
Art materials are not neutral
Many artists are not able to trace the history or manufacture of the materials they use. Is red iron oxide actually made from rust? What is the
connection between Alchemy and the invention of colour chemistry? Who first developed synthetic pigments? Take a second look. What do you
think makes an art material? How does it feel to look at materials that seem to be unaltered except for their arrangement in a untypical context?
But are these roots unaltered? Do the twists and layers invite you deeper and deeper into the artist’s process?
Art is about the maker
The aim of art is to express who we are. This is not a field of competition but an unfolding of evolution. Different works are different snapshots of who we are in the moment of creation. Take a second look. What does this art express? Technical skill, precise focus, transformation? When we truly see what is, we see the artist.
Enjoy your own creative unfolding in the presence of these root drawings, by participating in the literary Friday, July 11, at 7 pm in the Old
Schoolhouse Gallery.
Cortes Island Root Drawings, by John Mottishaw,
continues Saturday and Sunday, the 12 th and
13 th, from 2-6 pm each day.
