Featuring new works by East Bay Artists
Josie Iselin & Ginny Parsons

Seaweed collecting was a popular hobby for Victorian ladies in Alameda and a new exhibit brings us back to that pursuit. Rhythmix K Gallery presents Happenstance, a two-person exhibition featuring new works using chance by fine art photographer Josie Iselin and environmental painter Ginny Parsons, from September 8th through November 4th. A reception will be held on September 16th from 4:30 – 7:00 and a workshop on October 14th from 11 – 1:00.

While Iselin’s process involves scanning seaweeds that the ocean sends her way, Parsons finds elements that are washed up by happenstance, exposes them to the sun and uses those sunprints in her paintings.  Both artists are deeply committed to their natural surroundings and the chance findings that bring wonder and inspiration to their artwork. They will conduct a cyanotype/sun-print workshop where families place the flotsam of the beach onto photosensitive paper and watch the magic of science.

Josie Iselin is a San Francisco photographer, writer and book designer. She has created seven books over the past ten years and is currently focused on understanding the seaweeds she encounters on her regular beach walks or reef excursions. Her 2014 book An Ocean Garden: The Secret Life of Seaweed combines portraits of marine algae with lyrical passages about the life history of these seaweeds. Her new work pushes beyond the straightforward portraits to energetic abstracts using algal elements. She has also created a series of seaweed curtains allowing light to come through the seaweeds in the gallery as it might below the ocean surface. Her work is on view at www.josieiselin.com.

Parsons, a self-taught artist who has been painting for over 30 years, works out of her Alameda studio. “I live two blocks from San Leandro Bay and often walk along the shoreline,” she says. “lately I’ve been struck by the health of the salt marsh and wanted to celebrate that progress. I use whatever washes up on my walk, collaborate with the sun and glue those sun-prints into my paintings. Like the Victorian ladies used to glue seaweed into scrapbooks. We are always looking to nature for sustenance.”

Parsons teaches an art camp for children and is represented by Gray Loft Gallery. Her website is www.ginparsons.net.

Alameda Magazine, October 2017. The Fine Art of Flotsam. By Anneli Star Josselin Rufus.