30 years of marriage and mixing mediums, ideas comes to life at Carbondale Clay Center
Steve and Wewer Keohane met 30 years ago at a dream retreat in Red Feather Lake, Colorado. Steve said dreams play a large part not just in their personal relationship but also when it comes to artistic collaboration.
Both Steve and Wewer said their creative process or inspiration is meant to be shared and this is why they ultimately create art.
“We just feel the honest sharing of what comes through us is the most we can share with other people,” Steve said.
The Mixed Media Marriage exhibit is a celebration of the shared lives of two artists and closes on Jan. 30 at the Carbondale Clay Center. Wewer said she has spent more time as a professional artist than Steve, but that the exhibit shows individual work from the two of them as well as pieces they worked on together and celebrates their 30th anniversary as a married couple.
“Even when it’s his work or my work we’re always giving each other input or encouragement,” Wewer said. “Oftentimes we’ll come out of the closet having gotten dressed to go somewhere and we’ll have the same color shirt on or something.”
The couple knows how to lean into each other’s frequencies in a comfortable way and, although their backgrounds and preferred mediums vary, both their talents together are undeniable in the exhibit with clay elements but of course, also mixed mediums.
“I started out with photography and digital graphics but then I kind of evolved into jewelry making and wood carving … and lately I’ve been getting into throwing clay,” Steve said.
Wewer said she mainly works from her dreams when it comes to creating art and said one piece of the exhibit in particular, “Breakfast in Japan,” grew from a dream where she was traveling with Steve in an unconventional way.
“Several years ago I had this dream of Steve and I being in New Zealand and getting on this antique red train and going under the ocean on the train to go have breakfast in Japan,” Wewer said. “The main material was actually me recreating images from old discarded Japanese erotic art books … I cut out all the erotica and I used the pattern of the swords for sort of a bouquet.”
The couple previously owned a gallery together and would enter their work together in art fairs. Mixed Media Marriage will continue to be open to the public through this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for viewing. The center also has the exhibit online for a virtual experience, but both artists agreed it is hard to duplicate the feeling of observing art in person.
“For us, it really shows the life of two artists over the last 30 years and how it continues to collaborate and inspire us and hopefully inspire other people …You can feel the energy of the art if you stand in front of it,” Wewer said.
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