Artist Rob Roys: 20 years of productivity and counting

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

I met with Juneau's abstract artist Rob Roys in his downtown studio to talk about his art and paintings. With a view down Seward street, the studio above the Lisa Davidson boutique downtown feels like an inspiring place to create. Previously it was the creative home of John Fehringer, and then Jane Terzis, who used it for over 20 years.

Roys often plays music and warms up to painting by reading or sketching, then begins work on several different pieces simultaneously. When he is in high production mode, he'll spend up to 30 hours a week in his studio.

Roys says he's always wanted to be an artist and, aside from second grade when he sold a rooster sketch to a teacher, he created his first legitimate piece of art in 1992.

"It wasn't really derivative of anything that I'd been taught to do," he said. "It was personal, but had universal qualities to it. It looked like a painting and had brush strokes. It was the first time I thought I'd done something that was good," said Roys, who'd had an art studio since 1988.

Referred to by many as an abstract artist, he describes himself as "an Alaska modernist currently working in the figurative idiom," a description that confuses even his wife, Pagan Hill.

Early years

Before settling on acrylic paint as his medium, Roys tried many different art forms. He broke his hand many times playing sports, so he was steered toward hand-building activities. Being a ceramics major at UAF seemed logical.

"I couldn't control pencils very well, but I could control clay," said Roys, who eventually dropped out after a tumultuous time.

"When I encountered ceramics academia it was all about the wheel, if it wasn't about the wheel or the ceramics dogma at the time it wasn't considered anything worthwhile."

Upon his return to Juneau, an artist group called "Arts R Us" emerged and Roys tried different mediums like painting, drawing, and collage, showing pieces at local cafes.

Portfolio Arts eventually hung an 18" x 12" painting by Roys in their front window and someone bought it.

"It felt pretty good, it was pretty awesome because it was a real painting. I had just done it and hadn't really thought about it as a product," said Roys, adding that he would have been happy if someone just liked it but wouldn't have cared if they didn't.

Since then he thinks he has gotten better at painting, but believes people have also gotten used to seeing his work.

"Once they understand, it's a bit more approachable. If they see something they don't understand, they immediately don't like it."

Critics

At one of his first art shows over 21 years ago, Roys had someone write in his comment book, "Someone is wasting nice white pieces of paper."

Roys said the offhand remark really influenced him,

"I haven't ever wanted to waste white sheets of paper," he said. "I took it very personally, but at that time I needed criticism."

Roys says he feels it was a sign of attitudes of the time.

"At that time people thought you should kick younger artists as hard as you can and as viciously as you can because it will make them tough, and if it makes them quit doing art, well, good, then they shouldn't have been doing art in the first place. What I really learned was that wasn't right - it's better to be supportive and helpful to young artists."

Roys thinks this attitude has been changing.

"Critiques are so nice now - before people were mean to each other and now it's 'what's good about it?' Some people need to get kicked in the teeth once in a while though, as long as it's honest and constructive."

Art and money

"If you are trying to make a living at art, there are much better ways to make money," said Roys, who has a day job working for the state as a procurement specialist. He says his job isn't reflected in his work but did try to use it before.

"One time I tried to do a piece that tried to communicate the dismal situation of an office job and it was horrible - it was really awful, awful stuff. I keep thinking I'll revisit it but nobody wants to see people sitting in cubicles."

In contrast to the Renaissance days when artists could just create and not worry about money, Roys says today's artists are different.

"For modern Americans who are really trying to do real art they have to have some other source of income, that's just the way Americans are - we have jobs."

"A life in the arts is very rich. You won't be rich monetarily but you'll be rich in friends and culture and life experience."

Juneau

Roys was born in Cordova and moved to Juneau when he was two. His father was also a painter and worked for the state.

"All my art is really about Juneau when it comes down to it," Roys said. Motioning to a painting in progress of a woman lying on a rug, Roys explains the meaning.

"That's somebody I've known for years - I've seen them grow old, go through relationships and have children."

In addition to people, Roys likes to draw pictures of spots in Juneau that have special memories or meaning for him.

He said he just knows when he's going to turn a sketch into a painting.

"Sometimes when I'm drawing, I just know that I'm drawing in a zone - I'm warmed up, everything is just perfect, everything is just right, my pencil is at the right sharpness ... so that's part of it, when I feel like I'm in the zone," said Roys, whose current projects include sketches from a life-drawing class he has been running.

He also gets his inspiration from headlines, the news, and, as a self-described "troubled teen," he also gets ideas from his past circle of friends that "had pretty bad life circumstances." "Apologies and Accusations" was the title of one of his art shows at KTOO that he says was "pretty therapeutic."

Intentions

For Roys, painting is not a hobby, it's a passion. Roys has his eyes set on the all-Alaska juried show, which he hasn't been selected for - yet.

For people viewing his art, he wants them to experience whatever they want.

"I don't care what they think, because the most important thing is what I think, but I really want them to enjoy it. It's my way of contributing to the world."

"Art should try and make things that make the world a better place. Art makes peoples lives richer and better."

In search of holistic healing in Juneau

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

For a small town, Juneau has a robust holistic health care scene. As treatments that promise to cure ailments without medication often are discounted or misunderstood, I decided to go in search of the basic philosophy and benefits of naturopathic healing in Juneau. I found disease prevention, and even cures, can be as obvious as finding the right mix of diet, exercise and sleep - naturally.

Diet

David Ottoson, the owner of Rainbow Foods, a downtown natural foods store, said he and his family have been using naturopathic doctors as their primary care providers for more than 25 years.

"I believe in 'first, do no harm,'" he said. "I want the gentlest, most side-effect-free treatment as a first resort, and if that doesn't work, then I bring in the big guns."

He says for optimum health, he tries to be careful about what he eats and tries to stick with organic fruits and vegetables, and grass-fed game.

"I try and eat grass-fed animals with no antibiotics and junk that they feed animals in commercial operations," said Ottoson, who carries grass-fed bison at his store.

Naturopathic doctor Kristin Cox, of Rainforest Naturopathic Medicine, said the top ailments she treats in local patients are food-related digestive problems like constipation. She also hears complaints of fatigue, depression, anxiety and insomnia.

Cox says most of these problems stem from dietary and nutritional deficiencies, and many of them can be fixed with simple adjustments. Cox also notes that vitamin D deficiency is a big problem and many ailments stem from a low-functioning thyroid, especially in women.

"Many people are eating something that doesn't agree with them, or they have a nutritional deficiency," Cox said.

She has had success with many patients by using an elimination diet to determine which food is causing the problem. Cox said she's had many patients who were treated with surgery and pharmaceuticals for a simple food allergy.

For example, She had a patient with acute abdominal pain who'd already had three organs removed and a complete hysterectomy before Cox saw her. Cox determined her pain was from a wheat allergy.

Diet also is a focus at the SEARHC medical clinic, where Stephanie Zidek-Chandler is the health promotions and injury prevention manager.

"I'm into prevention, so I encourage diets that are rich in fruits and vegetables, and getting out in the sunshine to get vitamin D. There are really basic remedies that help support health," she said.

Data shows that heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the primary health problems for SEARHC patients.

"Most of our lifestyle-related diseases involve stress, diet and exercise, and having an imbalance there," Zidek-Chandler said.

Diet has also made a difference for Bret Schmige, who is married to naturopathic doctor Emily Kane. Schmige said he has felt a lot better since meeting Kane and changing his diet.

"I really appreciate eating a lot more vegetables now. Bachelors don't tend to eat very well," said Schmige, who also said his energy level is now much better now.

Exercise

Kane encouraged Schmige to exercise and stretch more to take care of back problems for which most doctors would have prescribed drugs.

"Naturopathic doctors look for alternatives to pharmaceuticals. (My wife) always tells me her healthiest older patients are the ones that are not on medications. It's just so easy to go to a doctor and complain about something and have them put you on medication. That should be the last resort," Schmige said.

Rainbow Foods' Ottoson also values exercise.

"I like to get up and move around and do something every day, and I meditate."

Ottoson also avoids prescription drugs but sees them as a necessary evil.

"There are instances where they are extremely valuable, but I think they are over-used."

Energy work

For treating lifestyle stress that affects your well-being, energy work is a drug-free option. Massage, acupuncture, reiki, healing touch, chiropractics, physical therapy, occupational therapy, meditation or counseling can all enhance your health, and, in many cases, can be prescribed and covered by insurance.

Bartlett Hospital is an indication of changing attitudes. It has offered healing touch for about 10 years now with much success, according to Bartlett nurse Mary Donlon.

"Healing touch is energy work used to try and remove energy blocks that can cause illness," said Donlon, who said it is often used after surgery and can be requested by patients.

A whiplash injury from car accident years ago left me with chronic pain in my neck. Juneau's occupational therapist Linda Newman treated me with a cranio-sacral treatment that released the memory of the accident that I had stored as a knot in my neck for more than 15 years. Bartlett is offering this treatment now as well.

Instead of running to Western medicine for quick fixes like medications and surgeries, which are often recommended to save time and avoid lawsuits, why not start with a naturopathic doctor who can take a look at your complete picture and guide you to optimum health - naturally? I found it takes being proactive with our own health, which includes clearly communicating symptoms and health history.

"If people can get connected to a program or a personal system or something that results in them taking action, they can improve their health and decrease their risks for so many diseases and just enjoy life to the fullest for a lot more years," Zidek-Chandler said.

Rapper Murs performs tonight

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Tonight the rapper Murs will be performing at Marlintini's Lounge for the first time in Juneau. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and local rap and hip hop performers Astronomar, Judo and Phonetic will open the show at 9 p.m. Tickets are available for $25 at groovetickets.com.

Anchorage's Heather Prunty, who founded Synapse Productions in 2001 in Girdwood, arranged to have Murs perform three dates in Alaska. Prunty has been dedicated to bringing a hip-hop scene to Alaska for almost ten years.

"I brought the first hip-hop show to Juneau in 2007, with Del the Funky Homosapien, followed by Chali 2na, Zion I and the Grouch, then I brought Swollen Members there last year," said Prunty, who sees it as a win-win because the rappers can see the beauty of Alaska.

Murs, now working independently, is originally from the hip-hop group Living Legends that formed in Oakland in the early '90s. Living Legends was created so the artists could create, promote and perform their music independently. After many years together and over 300,000 units collectively sold, they have gone on to work on their own projects.

Murs, Nick Carter's performing name, is an acronym for "Making the Universe Recognize and Submit." He's now signed to the independent label Record Collection. In 2003 he released his first debut solo record "The End of the Beginning."

A messy business

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

When the Glacier Valley Elementary School wanted to enhance and expand their Art is Elementary program (www.jsd.k12.ak.us/~heagyl/ArtIsElementary/Art_is_Elementary.html), specifically the after-school clay studio program, they turned to the Canvas. They wanted to bring private lessons to children who might not be able to afford it and get a fire kiln. Thus began a collaboration between the Glacier Valley Clay Club and The Canvas.

The idea of partnering with the Canvas was sparked when Susan Sielbach, librarian and art teacher of Glacier Valley Elementary, contacted Canvas program developer MK MacNaughton to ask her a few questions about the school's recently installed kiln. Sielbach asked what type of clay and what tools they would need once the kiln was installed.

"The kiln itself was funded through Glacier Valley's Capital Improvement Project and was installed in the summer of 2009 during the renovation," said Sielbach.

This got the two talking about a partnership, and they were able to get funded through a grant.

Sielbach and Glenda Lindley of Glacier Valley Elementary partnered weekly with The Canvas and local clay artists who provided professional development. MacNaughton made sure Glacier Valley had potters and teaching assistants every week.

"During this time the Canvas artists Saran Arnston, Dana White and Gina Frickey, modeled lessons for the students and provided training in the operation of the kiln for the staff," said Sielbach, who, along with Lindley and the students, learned the proper techniques in hand-building with clay. The adults also learned procedures needed in preparing clay, glazing, loading and firing the kiln, and proper technique for teaching students this art form.

The Clay Club had 47 students ages 6 through 11. Students in other Glacier Valley classes gave-week unit on hand-building with clay.

This collaboration was beneficial for both the Canvas and the Clay Club, MacNaughton said.

"The Glacier Valley after-school Clay Club offered a unique opportunity to offer training to the Glacier Valley staff from an experienced pottery teacher from The Canvas, as well as an opportunity for an adult artist who experiences a developmental disability to gain experience as a teaching assistant. The model worked well to support everyone involved, and most importantly, the students had the opportunity to enjoy learning about clay. It was a wonderful collaboration!" she said.

The Clay Club was supported by a grant from the Arts and Education Initiative, sponsored by the Rasmuson Foundation and administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts.

"The students got messy, playing in the clay," Seilbach said. "Many wonderful clay pieces were created and everyone involved learned something new." "Seilbach said she hopes to continue the partnership during the 2010-2011 school year.

Feng Shui, personal directions: Feeling lucky?

By Courtney Nelson | Straight Talk

My last column, "Feng Shui for life," encouraged readers to pick a space that needed energy work and to clear the clutter and grime, inviting prosperity with Feng Shui. This second part will touch on personal directions, bad "sha" energy and adjustments.

Lucky numbers in the east and the west ideally, placement of a building, rooms and furniture should be based on best directions. A personal kua number, stemming from the Feng Shui Eight Mansions and determined by year of birth, determines individuals' luckiest directions, the way sleeping heads should lie, office locations, and oven and front-door placement. When it's not possible to accommodate all household members, place the major bread winner in their ideal locations first.

Determining kua numbers is simple but different for men and women (www.trustyguides.com/feng-shui4.html). For women, add the last two digits of the year you were born (subtract one year from your birth if your birthday is between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20) and keep adding the digits of the sums until there is only one digit. (For example, a person born in 1983 would add 8 plus 3, which equals 11, then add 1 plus 1, to get 2.)

Now add 5 and continue adding until there's one digit. On the last step, men should subtract 10 instead of adding 5. Whala - your kua!

One, 3, 4 and 9 are east people and 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 are west. To complicate the matter, the numbers also have water, earth, wood and fire element associations and trigrams.

Start with bedroom basics

The head of a bed should be placed against a wall to reinforce security. Avoid placing it under a window. Ideally you can use your kua number to determine the top four directions your head should face. If those directions aren't practical, then do sleep experiments to determine where you sleep best.

There should be only one door to a bedroom so chi energy can be absorbed instead of continuing through another door. Mirrors should not be visible from the bed. A-frames should not pass over the bed because stagnant chi accumulates in them. And don't hang lights or pictures over the bed head, because they are subconsciously threatening and reduce sleep quality.

Most importantly, upon waking, do you see an inspiring painting or breathtaking view or do you see a pile of clothes that need to be darned and a cluttered dresser? Adjust to inspire.

House compatibility

What direction does your front door face? If it faces southeast, northeast, southwest or east, then it's an east house. If it faces north, south, west or northwest, it's a west house. If you and your house belong to the same group, then your basic house Feng Shui is in your favor. Some people instinctively use another entrance that's more compatible with their direction.

Inside the house there are lucky directions associated with people's lives. Recognition and fame in the south, marriage prospects and marital happiness in the southwest, children in the west, mentors in the northwest, career prospects in the north, education in the northeast, family relationships and health in the east, and finally wealth and prosperity in the southeast. Determine your room direction placements and try to arrange accordingly.

Secret or poison arrows

"Secret arrows," are unseen energy lines that create disharmony. They are strong attacking energy in the form of pointed or sharp edges, pointing at your personal energy field. A neighbor's satellite dish can be a secret arrow if it's directed at your house or your most vulnerable spot: your front door. A church steeple, electrical pylons, roof lines or any set of parallel straight lines can cause problems. Furniture and framed photos can create disruptive secret arrows.

At the intersection of Egan Drive and old Glacier Highway is a huge radio tower creating secret arrows. The arrows are directed directly at the spot I, and many others, have lost control of our cars. I ping-ponged from the guardrail to the ditch when I entered the secret arrow energy line and was shaken to the bone. I'm just sayin' ...

Many secret arrows can be softened or deflected quite easily with mirrors, plants and crystals. Take a look outside your front door. Can you see any secret arrows directed at you?

"Killing Breath" - too much of a good thing

If chi is off balance in either direction, the life force energy can turn into a destructive element called "sha," or "killing breath." This can happen in your home or in the larger city.

I looked at accident locations in Juneau over the last 10 years and found Back Loop Road, Mendenhall Road, Egan and Glacier Highway are accident hot spots likely due to long stretches of road where chi moves so swiftly it turns destructive.

Gentle meandering Old Glacier Highway along Twin Lakes for example might be a better travel choice.

Stagnation

Stagnation is created by sharp corners and angles and the United States designs things on square grid patterns which is problematic. Juneau recently put in the roundabout on Douglas Island to improve the flow and ease of traffic, which is more in line with Feng Shui's circular patterns.

Round objects are also good inside the home as opposed to sharp angled furniture. Angles can be softened by plants or other elements.

Avoid the "T"

If your house is positioned at the top of a "T" with cars driving toward your front door, consider an adjustment. This is practical because if they don't brake or turn adequately, they will end up on your property. Consider moving or protecting your house with a fence or row of trees.

Buckingham Palace, for example, is placed at a "T" intersection but has a statue and roundabout that deflected the channeled energy flow coming down the mall. That is until they "pedestrianised" it, and energy flowed directly into the palace. Some people believe the popularity of the British Monarchy went down after this, and Prince Charles and Princess Diana broke up as well as all the Queen's children's marriages.

•••

Feng Shui can be used as a tool to access the mysteries of the universe by studying the environment, seasonal changes, tides and vibrations of nature.

And it's a fun way to look at your environment.

• Contact Juneau resident Courtney Nelson at nelsonfamily@acsalaska.net">nelsonfamily@acsalaska.net if you would like a part three to the series covering Trigrams, elements, sexagenary year, the 12 earthly branches and more.

Disclaimer: Courtney Nelson is not a Feng Shui master, so take this column with a grain of salt and a shot of tequila.

Rachael Juzeler takes us inside the historic home that inspires her art

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Rachael Juzeler, multimedia artist and Quality Assurance Analyst for the Alaskan Brewing Co., knew she wanted to buy her home before she'd set foot inside.

"The realtor hadn't shown up yet so I walked underneath the house and I saw the post and beams were all original, old-growth timber and that's when I knew I had to have it."

According to articles from 2003 in the Douglas Island News, Willette Janes, who has since passed away, determined the house was built as early as 1910, making the historic home a landmark, 100 years old this year. Sitting on the upper corner of St. Ann's Avenue on the Treadwell side, it was one of only three houses that survived the Douglas Island fire of 1926, during which St. Ann's Hospital, schools, businesses, private homes, and Tlingit Alley on Sandy Beach all perished.

The location of the home has been a source of inspiration for Juzeler's art, which covers a wide range of media and often incorporates unusual materials. Rusty nails, for example, are featured in many of her art pieces.

"I've always been drawn to the color of rust - my whole life," said Juzeler. "I really like decaying organic patterns."

Her Sandy Beach location bordered by the Treadwell mining ruins has lots of decaying and rusting things from gold mining days.

"Pots on the beach, rusty gates, old tricycles - they all inspire me."

Preserving history

Juzeler bought the house in 2001. In the 91 years prior to her purchase, there were only three families associated with it. It was owned by the Brown family from Scotland as early as 1914; David Brown started the annual Robbie Burns Day. Brown was married to Agnes and they had three children, Etta, David Sinclair and David Alfred.

As early as 1920, Etta Brown married the head linotype technician for the Empire Printing Company, Arthur Bringdale.

To Juzeler's delight she found some Empire newspapers from 1923 under her kitchen floor when she tore up carpeting.

"There was obviously a kitchen fire that left a hole in the floor, and they used newspapers as insulation along with a tin and some plywood for a quick fix."

Brown worked for the Treadwell Gold Mining Company, the biggest in the world at that time. In 1917 three of the four Treadwell mines, tunneled to depths as low as 500 ft. below sea level, flooded and then caved, causing a splash that shot over 200 feet in the air. Brown went to work for the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company (AJ) after that and eventually moved.

In 1925 the Alaska Douglas Gold Mining Company sold the house to one of their managers, Englishman Frank Pearce and his wife Margaret, for $1. Pearce also worked for the Treadwell mine and then moved to the AJ mine. The couple had two daughters, Margaret and Mary Ellen. Margaret lived there until she died around 1990, and her husband Donald Murray lived there until about 2000.

The hills in Treadwell were nicknamed for the majority of nationalities that lived on them. Juzeler's house sits on "Belgian Hill." The Treadwell post office used to be directly across the street.

Juzeler has discovered many exciting clues that help paint a picture of the home's history.

On her woodworking room wall she found the signature of the man who built the home.

"I knew what it was right away - the calligraphy, the lead pencil, the placement," said Juzeler. She framed the signature in the builder's honor.

Wallpaper left over from a two-room addition and remodel done by the Pearce's in 1926 was left on the wall for nostalgic reasons, Juzeler said.

"it was similar to my grandmother's, in her home in eastern Washington."

Burning and building

Juzeler creates art all over her house but her primary tool is her fire-pit. "I burn big pallets in my front yard fire-pit, collect the burnt nails in a bucket, soak them in water until they're rusty, and extract them with a giant magnet."

"I'm always building things," she said.

She also uses a kiln, cooks wax on the stove, and works with felt on the floor. Last year she had a solo show at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum that features large-scale textile projects, felted vessels and resin-covered shadow-box style three dimensional works that incorporated metal objects such as bullet casings. This year she was featured at the Plant People with a new series of work that incorporated paper, wax, wood and wing nuts.

"I usually try and contain the work to one room, but before a show, I take up all the rooms."

This is fine with Tiffany Rutherford, who rents a room from Juzeler. "It's exciting because the house is full of energy, and Rachael is being creative all over the place. Every time you come home a new piece of art is done and you can sit and listen to her brainstorm about her new projects."

This is the first time Rutherford has lived in a 100-year-old home and she loves it. "It's quirky - the wood creaks. There are little hidey holes like under the stairs. It would be a great place for little kids to play hide and seek."

Sometimes Rutherford feels like she's not alone. "Every once in a while a presence is felt - the room will get really cold - sometimes when I'm home alone at night something is moving around and it isn't the sleeping cat and dog."

Rust-colored beer

When she's not at home creating rusty art, Juzeler is assuring the quality of rust colored beer based on a Gold-Rush era Douglas City Brewing Co. recipe. That beer, brewed up by Marcy and Geoff Larson in the 1980s, has turned into the flagship beer of the Alaskan Brewing Co., Alaskan Amber. Juzeler also comes up with her own flavors, such as the original rough draft, Ginger Shandy.

Juzeler's realtor said there was rumored to be a still in the basement that had to be dismantled before the Murray family could get a loan.

Juzeler plans on restoring the home as close to the original shape as she can. She's currently rebuilding the front porch so it looks like the original structure and color.

"That's why I painted it red with green trim, but I'm taking a little liberty with the tone of the color," she said. She is also in the process of placing it on the national historic register.

Her wood floors are original and the worn patterns on the floor also tell a tale of life in the house: Gold miners picking up mail from the post office across the street and heading back to Belgian hill to have a beer.