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A world made of paper

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Sherri McDonald says she's an artist with a paper problem.
"I have an addiction to paper - I make books or do art so I can buy more paper."
Luckily, McDonald's paper landscapes and her company, Paper Mountain Studio, have been well-received, allowing her to keep the addiction alive. Her intricate landscapes are made using scraps of colored and textured paper that are bound by non-toxic adhesive. Two of her pieces, "Blueberry Hill" and "Douglas Harbor," were selected for the All Alaska Juried Art Show in 2008. She has a show at Annie Kaill's opening Dec. 3, for Gallery Walk, and is working toward a solo show opening March 4 at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center.
When she isn't preparing for a show, McDonald is known as "Wild Bird" on Juneau's Roller Derby team.
Drawn to paper
McDonald received her undergraduate degree in art at the University of Minnesota, with a focus on printing and papermaking. After graduating, she apprenticed for three months with Japanese-style bookbinder Karen Saro in Washington state, whom she met at a Saturday market in Oregon.
"I fell in love with bookbinding during the apprenticeship and the craft - it just connected," said McDonald. "It's the physical act of tearing the paper and laying it down that connects to me, I guess I'm more of a physical artist."
She began creating landscape collages for her book covers, but soon became hooked on bigger works.
"That's when I started to challenge myself and do more complicated collages."
McDonald said the art form combines aspects of two- and three-dimensional work.
"Paper is like sculpture and drawing at the same time," she said. "It's two-dimensional but at the same time there's a three-dimensional quality to it because you are cutting and shaping it. It's very forgiving - you can layer it."
Creating space
After apprenticing with Saro, McDonald moved to Austin, Texas to work in a hand bindery. She met her husband, Mick, in Austin, and he got a job in Juneau two days after their wedding. While shopping for houses, McDonald and her husband agreed they had to find a home with a studio and a garage.
"We weren't going to stop until we found a place that would offer both," she said.
They found a place with a large basement crawl space on Douglas Island that fit the bill, but it took another two years before renovations began and about eight more months before they were complete.
"It was just a basement when we moved in. It was very dungeon-esque with dirt floors, visqueen, plywood and a single light bulb."
The project accelerated when her father, who came out to help during the birth of their second child, ended up doing electrical work and installing sheetrock. They used gravel to raise the floor, put in floor heat and concrete and had stairs put in.
Now the studio has a large window overlooking Gastineau Channel providing natural light.
"It's great as a landscape artist to be able to look out at a gorgeous landscape that's constantly changing."
McDonald says she uses her art to deal with the dark winters and wet weather.
"Part of the reason I do the art I do is to help me get through the winters, and a view helps me see the beauty during weather that normally makes me depressed. If you capture that weather in art, then it becomes something different, it isn't your enemy as much."
Having a separate studio also allows her to flourish in a home with two young children.
"I like to come down and work on things and then leave things and know that I will find things exactly as I left them. I don't have to clean stuff up every time I walk away."
The creative process
McDonald says her time in her studio is not always productive. She sometimes procrastinates by pacing, checking e-mail, and figuring out music to play while she waits for inspiration to strike.
"In the beginning of a project you are filled with uncertainty, you don't know exactly what you want to do, whether it is going to be a good choice and worth spending any effort on or not. At a certain point you just have to say, 'Okay, go for it.'"
Once she has an idea, she starts to give it form before it eventually takes off.
"When it starts to come together - after making critical early moment decisions which are the hardest - if you make good choices, then it starts to take on its own life. Everything seems more clear, where you are going to go next ... it's just a flow from the brain to the paper or to the art."
The challenges
Although McDonald's art is primarily done in her studio, where she has a 16-drawer flat file filled with all types of paper, she has gone out with Juneau's Plein Rein artist group - with mixed results.
"Any bit of wind blows the paper away, if it's raining it gets wet. But there's a certain aesthetic to an immediate application of when you are looking at something and doing it right away that you can't really get in studios."
For those who are stuck or just starting out on their creative journey, McDonald suggests seeking out an encouraging person. For her, it was Rie and Juan Munoz, who bought McDonald's first prints to resell in their gallery. Their belief in her helped her accept that she was an artist, a major epiphany for her.
McDonald has learned that when she creates art that speaks to her and isn't created with a profit in mind it turns out better.
"For me it's really rewarding to create something that's not expected with paper, constantly trying to make it look like something beyond just a piece of paper - more of a painting. That's the challenge for me."
To read more about Sherri McDonald visit www.papermountainstudios.com.
Courtney Nelson can be reached at nelsonfamily@acsalaska.net

Tersteeg exercises her creative muscles in new show

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Alice Tersteeg has been exercising her creative muscles lately. Last month, the local artist and former University of Alaska Southeast professor of art was featured in exhibits at both the Canvas and Annie Kaill's, in two shows that highlighted her extensive influence on the arts community of Juneau. The Canvas show, which included Tersteeg's work, featured pieces by many of her former students in a variety of media, from silk screen prints to etchings. The Annie Kaill's show featured art from Tersteeg's personal collection, and was organized to raise money to help pay for large medical bills her husband incurred before he succumbed to lung cancer in July.
This month she headlines a second show at Annie Kaill's, this time featuring her own original work. The show opens Friday with a First Friday reception also celebrating the downtown gallery's 35th anniversary.
Born in northern California, Tersteeg earned a degree in art from the University of California Chico, then received her masters in fine arts from Syracuse University - in spite of her father's wishes.
"I was always interested in art and I knew it was all I wanted to do, but my father thought it wasn't a very practical career - that didn't deter me at all," said Tersteeg.
University days
Tersteeg paved the way for many more people to tap into their creative energy by creating new art degrees at UAS, including an associate of arts degree and certificate in Northwest Coast Art. It's the accomplishment she's most proud of.
"I was working to support the Northwest Coast Art program, which I started in 1983 with Dr. William Demmert," Tersteeg said. "Members of the community had come to the university to ask if the classes could be offered on a more regular basis because they were hit and miss, so we started the program."
With her help, UAS went on to offer bachelor's degrees in art, as well as degrees with an art emphasis, for a total of five art degrees.
"To me that was my biggest life goal, to provide that many opportunities for students."
The importance of art
"I think they are making a huge mistake when they start cutting art programs and music programs. These are areas of creativity that are absolutely essential for people to grow," Tersteeg said. "If you go through your life without creating artwork or always listening to other people's music instead of creating your own music, then you may be doing a disservice to yourself - there may be a lot more creativity inside you that never comes out."
While doing art is often perceived as relatively expensive, Tersteeg believes making different choices can lead to more creative endeavors.
"If you spend your money on expensive cars or expensive sound systems or talk on the phone a lot, what do you have to show for it when you are finished? If you are spending money on art supplies, you are doing yourself a lot of good for your own mental health as well as developing the creative muscle."
Early years
Tersteeg moved to Sitka in 1973 after doing graphic design in Chico. She worked for eight years at Sitka's community college before taking a job at UAS in Juneau in 1981, where she fell in love with the setting. She's lived here 35 years.
"It was the setting and the personality, and it's the size city and state where you think you can make a difference."
Tersteeg met her husband Roger, who'd moved to Juneau from Minnesota, on a blind date set up by one of her students, Joanie Dahl, who was a model for one of Tersteeg's drawing classes.
Although Tersteeg sticks primarily to landscapes and wildlife, she did a show last year titled "Chrome" which showcased her appreciation for Harley Davidson motorcycles the Pandhandlers biker club, which she says collects toys for kids and coordinates other charitable fundraisers.
Her husband Roger was a mechanic in town and he loved restored cars and liked to attend car shows like "Dip Sticks" in Juneau, which got her interested.
Lessons
Tersteeg recently suffered a huge loss - her husband died of cancer. Roger was a smoker and Tersteeg urges people to do whatever they can to help their loved ones stop smoking and to prepare for financial strain of potential illness.
"Discuss medical coverage early and often," Tersteeg said.
Her husband's Social Security did not cover the costs of emergency transportation because he was covered under Tersteeg's insurance at the time. When she retired, he was no longer fully covered.
She also advises people to look into emergency Medevac insurance with ground transportation, such as the one offered through Apollo MT for $100 a year. Airlift Northwest is another option for $79 a year that covers entire households but they don't offer coverage for ground transport. Without the insurance, the air and ground emergency transportation can cost over $50,000.
Tersteeg has been through some stressful experiences, but is doing better.
"I have a wonderful support system of friends and I would never move anywhere else because I have such wonderful friends here. There's no way to explain how important that is."
• Courtney Nelson can be reached at nelsonfamily@acsaalska.net.