{"title":"Mill Studio Press","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"letters-to-isabella-1","title":"Letters to Isabella","description":"\u003cp\u003eMarley Kaul's stunning new book \u003ci\u003eLetters to Isabella: Paintings by Marley Kaul\u003c\/i\u003e presents seventy-seven egg tempera works each accompanied by a letter written to his granddaughter. It offers beautiful full color reproductions of his paintings and is an intimate look at his artistic process and the unique personal and professional influences reflected in his work. In 2003 Marley learned he would become a grandfather. He thought about his granddaughter to be and wondered if he would still be around years from now to tell her about himself in person or if she would have to speculate about his life and art after he was gone. He decided that in case he was unable to be there when she grew up he would compose a letter to her so she could read it later and know a little more about him. As time went on Marley got to know his granddaughter quite well but he continued writing her the letters filling them with his advice insights and descriptions of his painting techniques. These letters and the colorful egg tempera paintings they refer to come together now in this vibrant art book. This fine art book features 77 vivid color plates on the highest quality archival paper. (168 Pages with lay-flat Perfect Binding PUR)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMarley Kaul\u003c\/strong\u003e is considered a contemporary master in a medium valued for its crisp vibrant colors and its luminosity. Tempera is one of the oldest mediums in painting and consists of dry pigment water and egg yolk.\n\u003cp\u003eThough Kaul's subjects center on his home in Northern Minnesota: the wildlife outside his kitchen window the birds lighting at his backyard feeder and other domestic subjects his artistic concepts have revolved around ecological issues and what he witness every day in his yard garden and community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn and raised on a farm in Good Thunder Minnesota Kaul earned a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Oregon. From 1967-1997 he taught painting and drawing at Bemidji State University.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis paintings are in collections including the North Dakota Museum of Art Plains Art Museum Minnesota Historical Society 3M Collections Tweed Museum of Art the Anderson Center and Weisman Art Museum.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarley paints daily in his studio near Lake Bemidji.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"THE BOOK OF LOVE...inspired by his granddaughter a Bemidji painter offers life lessons and lyrical observations of rural Minnesota in a beautiful volume.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eMary Abbe\u003c\/strong\u003e art critic \u003cem\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e 12\/08\/15\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eLetters to Isabella \u003c\/i\u003eis a stunning and deeply felt book beautiful in both writing and image...\" \u2028\u003ci\u003e- \u003cb\u003eRobert Hedin \u003c\/b\u003eis the author translator and editor of twenty-four books of poetry and prose including The Light Under The Door. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Marley Kaul is a contemporary egg tempera master... His work in both content and energy emphasizes his connection with natural forms and poetic metaphor.\" \u003ci\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaurel Reuter\u003c\/b\u003e is the Founding Director and Chief Curator of the North Dakota Museum of Art. Reuter and has curated countless exhibitions ranging from \"Light and Shadow: Japanese Artists in Space\" (1992) to \"The Disappeared\" (2005). Publications include \u003cem\u003eWhole Cloth \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMarking the Land: Jim Dow in North Dakota.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Marley Kaul has taken a unique approach to the identity issue─theme and critique─central to contemporary art since the nineties. He has pierced a hole in the blatant strident political side of \"identity\" and has brought us personally home to a place of the heart. Through his stewardship of his rural land and knowledge of plants and animals he has offered metaphors about the principled practice of art and life and the changing aspects of growing and seeing.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e -\u003c\/i\u003e Sarah Clark-Langage\u003c\/b\u003er is the retired longtime director of Western Gallery at Western Washington University Bellingham Washington and is the author of \u003cem\u003eSculpture in Place: A Campus as Site Isamu Noguchi and Skyviewing Sculpture \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCritical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A unique and absolutely fascinating art book \u003cem\u003eLetters To Isabella\u003c\/em\u003e presents and showcases a truly impressive body of work and commentary. Very highly recommended for personal community and academic library Contemporary Art collections it should be noted that \u003cem\u003eLetters To Isabella\u003c\/em\u003e would also aptly serve as an example or template for other artists to similarly present their own life work and insights to a grateful and appreciative readership.\" -\u003cstrong\u003eHelen Dumont\u003c\/strong\u003e Reviewer \u003cem\u003eMidwest Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mill Studio Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41321560309910,"sku":"9780692502310","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_bb4a3843-2096-4089-bf13-9407644e9862.jpg?v=1642156481"},{"product_id":"we-sit-paintings-by-marley-kaul-poems-by-taiju-geri-wilimek-1","title":"We Sit: Paintings by Marley Kaul, Poems by Taiju Geri Wilimek","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this book a visual artist and a writer offer the fruits of contemplative practice. Marley Kaul a painter for over 50 years offers 20 images of egg tempera paintings made during a year long period of meditative reflection after receiving a serious medical diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis in 2016. Taiju Geri Wilimek living in the aftermath of a 1998 cancer diagnosis offers poetry that could only have been written after a long period of healing enabled by the study and practice of mindfulness meditation and the teachings of zen. Kaul and Wilimek friends for decades share a pull toward the investigation of life and death through meditation and art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"I was born and raised on a farm in Good Thunder Minnesota. My rural upbringing allowed for observation of all living things, gaining insights about death, birth, growth, and family beliefs.  I became an artist, and educator, and a parent. I earned a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Oregon, and taught painting and drawing at Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the 1970’s while in graduate school, I discovered meditation and Buddhist philosophy.  Both have remained important to me and resurfaced in a new way recently when I received a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis that forced me to confront my mortality. I allowed many visual constructs to influence my “new” method of working. Symbolism, symmetry, color and size of work began to assert themselves. In less than a year, I completed the “Meditation Suite,” the series of 20 egg tempera paintings included in this book. Each has a basic title, and each can serve as a prelude to meditation or prayer.” - \u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMarley Kaul\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Although I have degrees in both Philosophy and Social Work, I have been most profoundly influenced by my everyday life. Becoming a mother, raising two daughters with my husband, and forming soulful friendships have all been essential to the depth and quality of my life. In my early 40’s I was confronted with my mortality with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Giving birth and facing death have been the most physically challenging and mind-clarifying experiences of my life. I am compelled to fully occupy my life, vowing not to waste it.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI work as a Clinical Social Worker in private practice. Studying, practicing and teaching mindfulness meditation in both secular and Buddhist contexts has informed and sustained my work. Writing poetry has been a lifelong practice that, until now, has been a quiet, personal way to explore being human. The book We Sit brings my contemplative practices into fresh open space, the space of shared reflection.” - \u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePoet Taiju Geri Wilimek\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I am blown away by this book, its beauty and the peace I feel looking at it.”—\u003cem\u003eSusan Gilmore, professional photographer\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"What a beautiful book! Every spread, left and right, offers its own meditation. Even the poems' shapes tell stories. It's only right to slow down and pay attention. I savored each painting and poem multiple times.”—\u003cem\u003eShannon Pennefeather Gardner, editor\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e“Exquisite healing.”—\u003cem\u003eMartin DeWitt, artist; formerly the director and curator of the Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota Duluth; and the founding director andcCurator of the Fine Art Museum, Western Carolina University.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eWe Sit \u003c\/em\u003eshares a beautiful journey into the great matter of life and death. It brings a bright light to bear on the inner experience of anyone considering these matters. I join Marley and Geri in this inquiry with a sincere sense of depth and warmth.”—\u003cem\u003eShoken Winecoff, abbot, Ryumonji Zen Monastery\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Mill Studio Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41321622962326,"sku":"9781732389403","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_e33c46bd-330d-4b77-8a40-70f3dc99fdee.jpg?v=1642159897"},{"product_id":"for-now-poems-by-taiju-geri-wilimek-paintings-by-marley-kaul","title":"For Now: Poems by Taiju Geri Wilimek, Paintings by Marley Kaul","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this book a visual artist and a writer offer their second collaborative reflection on mortality. \u003cem\u003eFor Now\u003c\/em\u003e offers images of egg tempera paintings made by master painter Marley Kaul and poems written by Zen practitioner Taiju Geri Wilimek, following the publication of their 2018 collaboration, \u003cem\u003eWe Sit\u003c\/em\u003e.  Kaul has continued his exploration of mortality with a brilliant and complex visual vocabulary that distinguishes him as an artist and a thinker. Taiju Geri Wilimek offers poems that share intimate moments of realization, enabled by the study and practice of mindfulness meditation and the teachings of Zen. Kaul and Wilimek, friends for decades, offer their work in painting\/poem dyads that are discursive, rather than illustrative.  The artists share an interest in aesthetic and contemplative practices that give rise to vivid and intimate encounters with life in its depth, beauty and brevity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeri Wilimek\u003c\/strong\u003e, MSW; LICSW is a Clinical Social Worker in private practice, a wife and mother of two grown daughters and grandmother to five grandchildren. She is an ordained teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, where she is known as Taiju.  While she does not use her Buddhist name in personal, social or professional circles, she uses it in this book to signify the influence of Zen practice on her awareness and conduct in everyday life. Wilimek’s poetry has been published in Buddhadharma, an internationally circulated journal for Buddhist practitioners.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMarley Kaul\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in and raised on a farm in Good Thunder, Minnesota. His rural upbringing influences his art and his writing. At the University of Oregon, he earned a Master of Fine Arts then taught painting at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. Kaul’s paintings \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ereside in numerous private and public collections. His interest in meditation resurfaced after receiving a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis forced him to confront his mortality. He continues to paint as a meditative practice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Beautiful. Solid. Simple. Clear. Concise. Such colors.”—\"Kainei\" Edward Espé Brown\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e, A\u003c\/span\u003en American\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e Zen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eteacher and writer. He is the author of\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Tassajara Bread Book\u003c\/em\u003e, written at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center,as well as other cookbooksthat are still influential. \u003cspan\u003eBrown leads the Peaceful Sea Sangha in Farfax, Marin Country, California\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand is a member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The new book, \u003cem\u003eFor Now\u003c\/em\u003e, by Marley Kaul and Geri Wlimek is a masterful duet, offering a calm and even stoic simplicity in its pairing of poems and paintings. That deft simplicity shields from ready view two lifetimes of steadfast, complex inquiry, meditation and craftsmanship. Here, within these covers, they make it look deceptively easy.”—Lynn R Miller, Painter, farmer and author. He is the founder, editor and publisher of Small Farmer’s Journal (established in 1976).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The book \u003cem\u003eFor Now\u003c\/em\u003e is profound. Profound in the implications of its title, and profound in the artworks and poems depicted. Its joyful presence has entered my life at this time of deep solitude during the Pandemic Winter. The book’s exuberant paintings and thoughtful poems promote an experience of quiet contemplation. These are “slow” works, meant to be lingered over or returned to often. The artist and poet have given us a masterpiece from their long lives of paying attention to the wonders around them.”—Dyan Rey, \u003cspan\u003eNorth Dakota-based artist and arts educator. Her artworks are in many private and public collections.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mill Studio Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41321698918550,"sku":"9781732389427","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_6ce5cace-787e-44c0-a9fe-96f55e9cb68b.jpg?v=1642162867"},{"product_id":"marley-kaul-paintings-2","title":"Marley Kaul Paintings","description":"\u003cp\u003eMarley Kaul may be one of the most devoted master painters you have not yet heard of. Or he may be an artist and a teacher-philosopher you have admired and learned from during his long life as a painter. This book serves as his final exhibition. A dazzling celebration of color and artistic expression, the retrospective presents more than 300 images of paintings created from 1961, before Kaul became an art professor, to 2021, the year he died. Kaul's body of work includes paintings rendered in acrylic, casein, oil, gouache, watercolor, and egg tempera, done on canvas, paper, and wood panels. His wife, art curator and weaver Sandra Staehle Kaul; son Stephen Kaul; and daughter, Allison Kaul DeLeone, organized this collection of artworks and writings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book introduces Marley Kaul by sketching his biography and his painting process. Artist Lou Ferreri offers his view of Kaul's process, observed in the days when they shared a studio at the University of Oregon. From there, the book unfolds chronologically--from mid-20th century to early 21st century--with each chapter showing paintings from particular periods. Throughout the arc of his artistic life, Kaul wrote about his paintings and his craft. Each chapter includes a number of those insights, instructions, and musings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarley Kaul, Paintings\u003c\/em\u003e is a synthesis of all that he accomplished as an artist.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mill Studio Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":50310392348989,"sku":"9781732389434","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9781732389434ita_459017a6-28b8-422a-b465-24b7f2afe550.jpg?v=1746461592"}],"url":"https:\/\/itascabooks.com\/collections\/mill-studio-press.oembed","provider":"Itasca Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}