Don Myhre ~ Washington

Myhre: "An artist might choose a medium such as oil or bronze with which to work. My media are stuff and things. I make mixed media constructions by combining, arranging, and attaching various elements. The elements might be wood, metal, plastic, or found objects - both natural and manufactured. The resulting works reflect my interest in concepts of reality and perception. My conceptual concerns are balanced by attention to design, selection of materials, and craftsmanship.

"I made my first artist's book in 1985. Since then most of my work revolves around the book form. This form brings with it historical and metaphorical connotations as well as physical and tactical qualities. Equally important are the elements of sequence, progression, and surprise. Think of my books as handheld, hinged sculptures.

"My constructions reflect my thoughts and feelings as well broader ideas. Besides the form of and imagery in a piece, the craftsmanship and materials also contribute to its content and meaning. While the content and meaning may be personal or obscure, my hope is that viewers will - through contemplation and reflection - discover their own interpretation and understanding of the work."

Kimono shaped Books by Myhre
Prickly books by Myhre
Metal and wood visual puns
Totally wood sculptural books

Clearly Cut
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2004. One-of-a-Kind.

5 x 4 x 1.25" closed; 8 x 4" open. Two hinged pages. Sculptural book of fiberboard, metal cookie cutter, and metal.

On the front board is a metal cookie cutter shaped like a Christmas tree sitting on tan fiberboard; on the second board is a tan fiberboard shape that could have been cut from the cookie cutter sitting on a piece of metal.
$150

Becoming Africa Becoming
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2000. One-of-a-Kind.

6 x 5.5 x 1" closed; 10.75 x 5.5" open.. Two hinged pages. Sculptural book with found metal object, fiberboard, and acrylic.

Page one is a found metal object, which looks vaguely like Africa, attached to white fiberboard. On the back of that page the shape of Africa has been carved out . Attached to the second board is a (molded) wooden object in the shape of the found metal object of page one.
$350

The Mountain: Shared Secrets
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1998. One-of-a-Kind.

4.5 x 7 x 1.6 closed; 4.5 x 14 x .8" open. Two hinged wooden page. Photograph dry mounted on the top of the second board.

Inset in an opening cut from the front board – proscenium arch? window opening with sill? – is a photograph of Mount Rainer. Dry mounted on the second page is the negative image of the Mount Rainer photograph. On the reverse side of the second page the wood grain resembles a mountain with a knot much like the mouth of a volcano at its top.
$400

Reverie & Remembrance
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1996. One-of-a-Kind.

.5 x 5.25 x 1.625" closed; 6.5 x 10.5 x 1" open. Two hinged pages. Sculptural book made with acrylic, metal, paint, and photograph (dry mounted on museum board).

On page one is a photograph of a castaway piece of concrete with metal screwlike projections, the whole thing overgrown with grasses and weeds. Framed in a wooden arch on page two is its (very) abstracted twin: a triangular white wood block out of the top of which a thick the shank of a thick screw protrudes.
$350

Kimono Books: In this section are books constructed using the T-shape associated with the design of a Japanese kimono.

Don Myhre: "I often stick with or return to an image, a theme, or a material to create a loose series. My unique books are strictly one of a kind - I don't make more copies or duplicates. Too many ideas, too little time!

" The kimono photos are dry mounted on museum board, which is attached to a wood base using PVA. All the photos used in the books are traditional darkroom (silver gelatin) prints on fiber based paper. As with many of the photos in the pieces, the Blackberry Kimono image is a multiple photograph made with 2 or more exposures on the photo paper."

Aggregate Kimono
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2000. One-of-a-Kind.

5.75 x 4.625 x 1.25" closed; 5.75 x 9.2 x .6.25" open. Two wood blocks hinged. Photographs dry mounted on the top of both boards.

A t-shaped opening has been cut in the first page. Inset in the opening, the t is formed by a layer of smoky plastic (the cross piece) and a diamond-patterned plastic grating (the vertical member) over the image of what appears to be an aggregate surface. On page two the T is formed by photographs of two different aggregate surfaces.
$210

Diamond Kimono
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1996. One-of-a-Kind.

6 x 4.375 x 1.25" closed; 6 x 8.75 x .6" open. Two hinged wooden pages. Found metal objects. Photographs dry mounted on the top of the second board.

The front board has an opening cut in the Kimono T-shape. Inset in the T are two pieces of metal: the cross piece has a raised abstract shape (a propeller or very abstract bird?); the vertical piece is a diamond-shaped grating. On page two a photograph of page one with heightened contrast takes the place of the objects.
$210

Marquee Kimono
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2002. One-of-a-Kind.

5 x 4 x 1.5" closed; 5 x 8 x .75" open. Two hinged pages. Wooden sculptural book made with acrylic, metal, mirror, paint, and photograph. Photographs dry mounted on the top of the second board.

On the front board a mirror and piece of white plastic form the Kimono T. Inside, mimicking those shapes, a t-shaped composite photo parallels those initial shapes. The cross piece, in place of the mirror, shows a reversed section of movie marquis advertising Harry Potter and Frida. The parallel between the autobiographical image (a literal look at oneself) in the mirror and the mirror image of a marquis advertising two quasi-biographical films is going somewhere. The space occupied (on page one) by the white plastic is taken over by a black photo (the negative) compounding the motif.
$210

Poplar Kimono
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1994. One-of-a-Kind.

6 x 4 x 1.5" closed; 6 x 8 x .75" open. Two hinged pages. Wooden sculptural book with dry mounted photographs of poplar trees.

Inset in a rectangle cut from the front board is a T shape. The cross member is a consistent light gray; the vertical member is a severely cropped photograph of barren poplar trees. The second page reveals a more expansive picture of those poplar trees, alongside an empty highway, their tops thrusting into a gray sky.
$210

Fragment of Desire
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1998. One-of-a-Kind.

4.75 x 3.75 x 1" closed; 4.75 x 7.5 x .5". Two acrylic hinged pages, one black, one white.

Page one is black acrylic onto which is riveted a piece of metal into which slits have been punched with the punched metal fashioned into rows of thorn-like protrusions. On these thorns a black-and-white photograph of a rose bloom has been impaled. The second page is composed of two clear acrylic pieces between which a Polaroid transfer of the same rose has been placed.
$200

Revealed Defenses Relieved
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1993. Edition of 10.

3.75 x 4.5 x 1.5"; 9 x 3.75 x .75" open. Two hinged pages made of wood.

Photograph dry mounted on the top of the second board. Inset in a rectangle cut from the front board is a metal grating in which slits of metal have been punched, creating slivers of metal that have been bent, forming a rough surface of raised triangles. The second page contains a photograph of a prickly pine cone.
$200

Twosome
By Don Myhre
Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2009. One-of-a-Kind.

4.25 x 2.625 x 1.875" closed; 4.25 x 5.5 x 1". Two metal and plastic hinged pages: Materials: coin; fishing weight, screws, fiberboard, and acrylic.

An oval-shaped sculptural book of metal and acrylic in which Myhre's fascination with parallels and opposites (shapes, materials, colors, positives, negatives) gets full play. The title is a simple visual joke: a coin imbedded in page one displays a value of 1; a fishing weight attached in the recess of page two has a 1 embossed on it. That twosome is evident, but the binary comparisons-and-contrasts don't stop there.
$200

April in Paris
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2008. One-of-a-Kind.

4.25 x 2.875 x 2.5" closed; 4.25 x 5.5 x .9" open. Two metal and plastic hinged pages. Materials: French coins, springs, fiberboard, acrylic, metal.

An oval-shaped sculptural book in which Myhre's fascination with parallels and opposites (shapes, materials, colors, positives, negatives) gets full play. The title is a wretchedly wicked pun: the first page includes a French coin and a spring - hence, April in Paris.
$200

High Low/Up Down
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2008. One-of-a-Kind.

4.8 x 3.75 x 2.25" closed; 4.8 x 7.75 x 1"open. Two hinged wooden pages.

Each page has a rectangular recess in which sits an inset block of cedar. On the first page the block sits partially jutting out on a small lip and its grain is strikingly concave; on the second page the block sits slightly recessed in the recess and its grain is convex.
$375

Wink
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2003. One-of-a-Kind.

3.5 x 3 x 1.25" closed; 3.5 x 6.25 x .5" open. Two hinged pages of wood.

Two cedar-shake pages. Page one has a relatively smooth surface into which a small rivet has been planted. Page two is much rougher and contains a natural "wink" where the wood fibers have contorted.
$150

What Knot
By Don Myhre
Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 2002. One-of-a-Kind.

4 x 3 x 1.5" closed; 4 x 6.5 x .75" open.Two hinged wooden pages.

Page one is natural wood with a naturally rough knot, and the foredge is deckled, that is unplaned. Page two is fiberboard in which a smooth wooden plug, forming an unnatural knot, has been inserted. All sides of the fiberboard page are planed smooth, completing the series of oppositions.
$150

Blackberry Kimono
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1994. One-of-a-Kind.

5 x 4.25 x 1.625" closed; 5 x 8.5 x .8" open. Two hinged pages made of wood and fiberboard. Photographs dry mounted on the top of the second board.

Two pieces of different pressed board are inset in the front board forming a T. On the top of the second board two photographs of a blackberry bramble mirror this T.
(SOLD)

Repentance & Recrimination
By Don Myhre
Kirkland, Washington: Don Myhre, 1993. One-of-a-Kind.

6.125 x 4.5 x 1.5" closed, 9.2 x 9 x .7" open. Two hinged pages made of wood. Photograph dry mounted on the top of the second board.

Inset in a rectangle cut from the front board is a piece of metal from which slits have been punched, with the punched-through metal fashioned into rows of thorn-like protrusions. The second page contains a photograph of a seedpod opening.
(SOLD)