Bellingham illuminated: Artists drive creations with 'steampunk'

Alana Coleman sheds light on virtually every subject, while fellow Bellingham artist Karin Mueller keeps her eye on the clock.

Coleman is known for cobbling together bits and pieces of everything from musical instruments to industrial pipe to create her signature light fixtures and lamps.

Mueller adheres to a similar aesthetic, combing local flea markets and garage sales for vintage tin, for her equally imaginative altered art pieces.

“I find the tossed and rejected. They are reborn into assemblages, shrines, clocks, fabric collages and more,” Mueller said.

Coleman’s pieces would easily be at home on the set of Batman or Sherlock Holmes, combining a modern aesthetic with an old world charm. But don’t call her pieces “whimsical.” Coleman prefers the adjective “steampunk” to describe her designs.

Steampunk can be described as various modern utilitarian objects that have been modified by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical style.

Working from her eclectic compound complete with a talking pink-and-white Mollucan cockatoo, her dining room table – along with just about every other flat surface – is covered with scrap metal, plugs, wires and screws, awaiting her magic touch.

A recent piece constructed for the Appliance Depot’s Revival Art Show, for example, featured dryer parts, tempered glass and sparkling chandelier lights. Coleman joked about the trial and error it took to learn to drill tempered glass, saying many pieces broke before she was able to get it right.

From her home workshop to local restaurants and Seattle Art Fairs, Coleman’s pieces receive rave reviews from customers and admiring fans. Featured in the window of Bellingham’s local RE Store on Meridian Street, window shoppers enjoy the unique display that tempts them to buy their own cast-offs.

Sharing the “light” and space in the RE Store window, Karen Mueller’s charming time pieces combine turn-of-the-century craftsmanship with modern technology – think Metropolis meets Blade Runner. Common household objects – old teapots, dented canisters and appliances – are transformed from junk to “crunk” objects.

While both women have featured their work in display windows, holiday festivals and fashion shows, they agree Bellingham’s art community is lacking in unity.

“Bellingham’s art scene needs more solidarity,” Coleman said.

They believe local artists need to work together to create more opportunities for each other and raise interest in the local art scene.

Coleman, in fact, recently hauled some heavy pieces all the way to the eclectic Seattle-area community of Fremont in hopes of selling her creations at a higher price point, rather than have them languish unnoticed in Bellingham.

Similarly, Mueller is looking to the online market for sales. Her Etsy website (an online marketplace to sell handmade goods) features a teapot/clock garden and personal shrines devoted to Frida Kahlo and various vintage Hollywood starlets. A link to her Etsy address is on her personal website at: www.rejectart.weebly.com.

Coleman also has turned to the Internet in hopes of bringing her revamped pieces to light. Take a look at www.mrjacks unlimited.com.

Both women are committed to raising interest in recycled art, in the ultimate “going green” expression. Despite their woes regarding the local art community and economy in general, they remain upbeat and on the hunt looking for that next trash to treasure.