The Writing's on the Wall Exhibit



Illuminated Manuscript page 5 of Rain water harvesting. Egg tempera on paper. By MF Dondelinger

 Exploring relationships between humans and nature through

60 illuminated manuscripts, icons, drawings and paintings

September 2- October 1 

Opening Reception
Friday, September 2, 2011
5-7 pm
**Artist Talk 7 pm

Gallery One
408 North Pearl Street
Ellensburg, WA 98926

3-day Iconography Workshop
September 9-11
Call Gallery One to register
For a complete listing of Iconongraphy workshops in the Northwest please click here.

Hospice House of North Idaho Commission Complete

This painting was installed for the dedication of Hospice House of North Idaho in Coeur d'Alene. It was placed in the Bill Wassmuth Meditation Room.

(pictured above, Jeri Sahlin)

Holy Darkness, 3 x 6 ft

Egg Tempera on Claybord Panel

 Holy Darkness, detail

Having a "The Creation of Man" moment.

Northwest Tour and New Mexico

MF Dondelinger offers 5 Iconography Workshops

Pre-registration is required at each location. Class size limited.

New Mexico

Silver City, June 10-12

Leyba & Ingalls Art-Contact Diana at leybaingallsart@zianet.com

Washington

Ellensburg, September 9-11

Gallery One-Contact Renee at renee@gallery-one.org 

Seattle, September 16-18

Britt's Studio-Contact Britt at britt@withbritt.com

Idaho

Coeur d'Alene, September, 23-25

Allen and Mary Dee Dodge Studio-Contact them at art@allenmarydee.com

Montana

Missoula, October 7-9
The Art Ranch-Contact Mary Frances at info@themaryfrances.com

A Commission in Progress

Study, Holy Darkness, 1.5 ft x 3 ft, Egg tempera on panel

This painting is a study for a larger panel of 3 ft x 6 ft . When the larger panel is complete it will be installed in the Bill Wassmuth Meditation Room at Hospice House of North Idaho. The dedication of the new building will be in July 2011.

Students Work and Learn in Intensive Iconography Workshops

The results of a three day intensive workshop with students in Seattle.

Students relax towards the end of the workshop.

A student learns to make egg tempera.

A demo shows students the next step in the journey of writing an icon.

A student practices petite strokes before placing them on her icon.

Join me in Seattle

MF Dondelinger to teach an

ICONOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN SEATTLE

March 4-6
For information about this and other workshops please contact me at info@themaryfrances.com

I had so much fun teaching a private intensive iconography workshop several weeks ago that I am going to teach another workshop limited to 8 students in Seattle. Artist Brittany Faulkner has graciously provided her studio for the class. (Directions provided upon registration)

Student and artist Gay Marks works on

her icon in an earlier intensive  workshop.

 

Email here for more details on the class and registration.

I hope to see you there!

A Nice Review

The Tucson Open Studio Tour resulted in a nice review by Charles Spillar of the Tucson Citizen.  It starts out like this:

Recently during the Open Studios Tour I discovered a rare talent creating true iconic masterpieces as good as many I have seen in my visits to European museums and historic churches...

To see the entire review complete with photos, please click here.

Save the Date....2010 Tucson Open Studio Tour

Please join me in my Tucson studio (and 220 other artists in their studios!) for the
Tucson Open Studio Tour
November 13 & 14, 2010
11 am - 5 pm

I will be giving a demonstration on both days.
Saturday at 11 am a demonstration on making egg tempera
Sunday at 1 pm a demonstration on water gilding gold leaf


For general information about the event please click here.

2010 Tucson Open Studio Tour

A complete listing of locations, artists and demonstrations will be available mid-October.

Art and Music

MF Dondelinger demonstrates the application of gold leaf on a traditional orthodox icon and discusses the similarities and differences between iconography and classical music with her brother at his Salon.  Photo by Pam Ingalls.

Twice a year my brother, Michael, hosts a Salon in his Seattle studio. He is a classical pianist and uses this event to introduce a small, intimate audience to new pieces he's practicing. He also invites other musicians, writers, artists and dancers to participate. He encourages questions and observations from those present. It's quite lively and I always learn something new.

His Salons are a great way to connect art and people and to learn more about each other.

Classical Pianist Michael Dondelinger discusses the music of Mozart and how the approach to performing it is similar to the approach of iconography. Photo by Pam Ingalls.

Returning to the Past

MF Dondelinger speaks about her piece SACRIFICE:Modern Icons, Endangered Species with students and community members at a gallery walk at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

What a treat to return to North Idaho College, the educational institution I attended before Seattle University, for the show Three Women, Three Friends, Three Painters. It is sponsored by Citizens Council for the Arts.

Pam Ingalls, Louise Lamontagne, and I are exhibiting current works at the NIC Corner Gallery which are on display until September 24th.

Starting in 1986 and continuing for ten years, the three of us exhibited works at the juried exhibit Art on the Green, an arts festival held on the college grounds. Now we return to exhibit together once again.

Pam Ingalls speaks about her series of portraits of people from around the globe.

The Jaguar, Endangered

Jaguar, Egg tempera, 23 carat gold, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper platter. 12" x 10"

MF Dondelinger

 

The Traditional

 Blue Madonna and Child, Egg tempera, 24 carat gold on wood panel. 
MF Dondelinger

Just completed...This Madonna and Child was commissioned by St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho. Sold

A Special Visitor

What a treat to have my dear friend and colleague, Louise Lamontagne join me in the studio. She set up a make-shift encaustic work space and created some fantastic landscapes! We were working in the two oldest forms of painting: encaustic and egg tempera in the same space. Very cool. To see more of her impressive works check out her website at www.louiselamontagne.net

Louise melting wax with a heat gun while I worked on commissioned icon.

Close up of a work in progress. Amazing what Louise can do with a little wax and pigment!

Some Diversions

Javelina Sketch, Egg tempera and transfer on claybord, 6" x 6", MF Dondelinger

The Javelina Sketch was accepted into the
Southern New Mexico/El Paso Juried Exhibition at the
Preston Contemporary Art Center
March 5-28

Artist Reception March 5th 6:30 - 8:30 pm
1755 Avenida de Mercado
Mesilla, New Mexico 88046
575.523.8713

Flying Monkey and Octopus, Egg tempera on paper. MF Dondelinger. In private collection
Created for very special friends.

Elvis:The billy who came to visit, Egg tempera on Claybord, 8" x 10", MF Dondelinger

Elvis won the
Award of Merit
at the Arizona Edges Juried Exhibition
at the Tubac Center for the Arts.

Endangered flowering plants in New Mexico

Kuenzler Hedgehog Cactus, Egg Tempera, 23 ct. gold leaf, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate, 10" diameter. MF Dondelinger.  Sold

Pecos Sunflower, Egg tempera, 23 ct. gold leaf, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate, 10" diameter. MF Dondelinger.
Sold
 

Sacramento Prickly Poppy, Egg tempera, rabbit skin glue, 23 ct. gold, acrylic on paper plate. 10" diameter. MF Dondelinger. Sold

For those of you in Grant County, New Mexico, I can hear your disbelief that the Prickly Poppy is listed as endangered! But it is in Otero County just east of Grant County.
To purchase any of these pieces please click here.

Endangered Species in the Southwest

Mexican Spotted Owls, Egg tempera, 23 ct gold, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate. 10" diameter. Sold

Pai Striped Whiptail Lizard-Arizona, Egg tempera, 23 ct gold, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate. 10" diameter. Sold
Ords Kangaroo Rat, Egg tempera, 23 ct gold, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate. 10" diameter. Sold

Mexican Gray Wolf, Egg tempera, 23 ct gold, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate. 10" diameter.

Mexican Long-Nosed Bat, Egg tempera, 23 ct gold, rabbit skin glue, acrylic on paper plate. 8" diameter. Sold
To purchase any of these pieces please click here.

Arroyo Toad - Endangered

Arroyo Toad, Egg tempera, 23 Ct Gold, Rabbit Skin Glue, Acrylic on Paper plate. 10" diameter. MF Dondelinger.
Sold

Modern Icons

In her Tucson studio, MF Dondelinger prepares paper plates using rabbit skin glue to size them and then paints the backs and front border with acrylic paint to further protect the surface from the elements.

Charalito Chihuahua Chub, Egg Tempera, 23 Ct. Gold, Rabbit Skin Glue, Acrylic on paper plate, 8" diameter, MF Dondelinger

Sold

Developed at the Jentel Foundation residency in Wyoming in the fall of 2009, this new series focuses on the cornacopia view of nature combined with principles and the materials of traditional iconography. The images feature plant and animal life listed on the U.S. government endangered species list. They employ the same materials that would be used for traditional icons: egg tempera, 24 carat gold leaf, rabbit skin glue. However the surface is deliberate and intentionally disposeable, compostable and biodegradeable -paper plates - instead of the long lasting 1" thick poplar wood panels typically used for icons.

As San Francisco writer Tony Tulathimutte observed, "The use of paper plates as the support medium is an intentional and conspicuous departure from traditional iconography. An orthodox icon commemorates the noble sacrifice of the devout, and so is created with tremendous care using precious and long-lasting materials. On the other hand, the sacrifice of animals by humans could hardly be called noble—it’s a tragic waste, and the use of the plates highlights the role of waste itself in that process. They’re cheap, convenient, and disposable, but to throw them away would be to destroy something precious and unique. When extinction is the subject, the sacred remains sacred, but nothing is permanent and nothing is redeemed."

Canary in the Coal Mine

Egg tempera and 23 carat gold on claybord, 8" x 10", Sold

Awarded time at the Jentel Artist in Residency Program

From Sept 15-Oct 13th I was in the Artist in Residency Program at the Jentel Foundation in Wyoming. Many ideas were worked through during this time and it has set the course for the next couple years of work integrating the antiquity of the traditional iconography and the modernity of my conceptual paintings. Stay tuned!

Transformed

"Untitled" Dry Point, Egg tempera on paper, 18 x 14", $300.

To purchase click here.

"Monkey Mind", Dry point, Egg tempera on paper, 18" x 14" , $300.

To purchase, click here.

Open Studios

Silver City artist Ann Lowe and MF Dondelinger will

open their studios
Saturday, November 8

from noon to 6 p.m.

to preview their most current works.

Mary Frances will bring back works from her recent residency in Seattle with printmaker Steve MacFarlane where she learned dry point on plexi-glass. She returns to imagery of women in boxing gloves.

Ann has continued her abstract oil paintings in the "Marginalia" series which are based on her doodles and inspired by the odd drawngs found in the margins of medieval manuscripts.

Change of Mind, drypoint on paper, by MF Dondelinger

Transformation, oil on canvas, by Ann Lowe

Lowe's studio: 1316 West Street
My studio: 1207 Alabama
For more information contact me.

Double click on images to enlarge.

Don't forget, with the holidays coming up, now is the time to pick up some fun, artful and affordable gifts. Ann will have her Imagination Story Cards ($15.95) and Mary Frances will have her Erasers available for purchase ($4.95 set of five).

Personal Responsibility

Another illuminated manuscripts complete. Through the words of St. Teresa of Avila, this one speaks of personal responsibility to live one's life with intention. To enlarge, double click on image. 18" x 13", egg tempera and 24 c. gold on papyrus paper. Sold

Fanaticism

Just to bring a little perspective to the religious world...

To enlarge, double click on the image.
Sold

Illuminated Manuscripts

I have created some illuminated manuscripts for the upcoming icon exhibit "Little Altars and Conversations with God" which will open November 6 at J.Crist Gallery in Boise, Idaho. These manuscripts are in Greek, Latin and English and written on papyrus paper (13 x 18).They are made with calligraphy ink, gold leaf and egg tempera. Below are two manuscripts. One of the prayer Hail Mary in Greek (sold) and another of the prayer Our Father in Latin (sold).

Sold

Sold

Madonna and Child

Madonna & Child (in white robe), Egg tempera and 24 carat gold on 1" solid wood panel, 36" x 24". By the hand of MF Dondelinger. Sold

Such a tender connection between mother and child in this icon. That's what attracted me to it. The oldest image I've found like it is from the 15th century. However, the reference I used is from a modern Russian iconographer and he's added some playful elements on the Christ child's white robe which I've kept true to his version. What a joy it was to create this image.