The Sweeper, from Like Mother, curated by Kelly Lyles The big sleep of winter seems to have abruptly ended this week, with 70 degrees predicted Sunday! Along with the bloom of forsythia and plum there are 3 spring exhibits ahead.  Like Mother No. 11 at Kirkland Art Center I hope to see you at the opening of the newest (11th!) iteration of Like Mother at Kirkland Art Center Friday March 22nd, from 6-9. Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 11-4, Saturday 11-2. Address: 620 Market Street, Kirkland WA 98033.  This version of the exhibit includes several new artists. As interesting as the ..read more

The New Year has come in with a roar of ice, snow, rain and broken pipes. It seemed fitting to learn to mix the colors of January, although washing paint out of my brushes has been difficult with frozen pipes! Above is the first spread of my new industrial sketchbook, through which I hope to learn to paint some of my many obsessions: backs of trucks, kiosks, factories and scaffolds and the ever changing sky which they reflect. To move myself from the digital world fully into the work of paint I have joined the #InsightCreative30DayChallenge2024, brilliantly guided by Cheryl Taves. I met Chery ..read more

New Minimalist Modern Art for Interiors I have long been in love with the idea of the Kakemono, or hanging scroll, that brings elegance to a vertical space in the home. These new pieces are created with washes of ink with brushes and other studio tools. The washes and calligraphic markings are then blended and composed digitally in improvisational sequences that suggest landscape, the memory of place and the moods of weather. A muted monochrome palette gives them a photographic feeling, and as with photographs they can be printed in warm tones or cool. The Kakemono form lends itself best ..read more

A Moment of Refuge, Seattle Japanese Garden ©Iskra Johnson October in the Pacific Northwest is a moody season. The rains have come, and the fugue state of grayness that leads to indoors brooding requires acts of increasing will to resist. Sunday I felt myself on the cusp of succumbing to what the Buddhists aptly call The Third Hindrance of Sloth and Torpor. Seattle’s caffeine economy is built on what may seem like indulgence: yet consumption of caffeine is actually the first step in Spiritual Effort. I dutifully poured three cups of tea and purified my mind. Once prodded out the door and feeli ..read more

From the Gardener’s Almanac of Irreproducible Phenomena: The Hydrangea As the autumn rains come, I notice the squirrel’s moods are completely unaffected. The squirrel has never bothered to look up, whisker the the winds of change and pause for melancholy. His job is to keep his head down, dig up every newly potted bulb and chrysanthemum and shred the babytears growing between the pavers – and he does not stop to admire the hydrangeas. Praising flowers with long and homely names is my occupation. The delicate colors of Hydrangea macrophylla normalis are welcome distraction from the calamities ..read more

Painting Change, work in progress. Acrylic ink on panel.A visit to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and a walk through change In most museums sunlight is an unwelcome visitor. Light degrades what it warms. It is known to singe manuscripts until the edges crumble; it fades brocade and upends the narrative as the sword above the stag’s head turns from bloody to gray. Perhaps (though the back of the tapestry tells another story), it was not a hunt scene after all? History embrittles until truth hovers on the cusp. Conservators learn: all interventions must be reversible. Do no harm, operate like a s ..read more

Duo (Yes/And), one of the new minimalist prints just off the press and in my shop. It was great to see old friends and new at the opening of Intersect at SAM Gallery. Thank you to all who came to the opening and also those who have gone at other times and sent me your lovely notes! The show continues Wednesday through Sunday 10-5 through the end of the day Sunday August 27.  The opportunity to talk about my work and explain my process at the gallery gave me a lot to think about. These last quiet days of August are a good time to reflect on what led me to work in this medium and to explai ..read more

I am excited to show a new abstract body of work created from my calligraphic brush painting. It is an honor to show with Alfred Harris, a longtime favorite Northwest artist whose work always surprises. I look forward to seeing you August 5th! Waterfall 1/1, Mixed Media Archival Pigment Print on German Etching, 24 x 35 INTERSECT AUG 5 2023 SEATTLE ART MUSEUM SAM GALLERY 2 PM – 4 PM Join us as we celebrate the opening of Intersect at SAM Gallery. Artists Alfred Harris and Iskra Johnson combine techniques and materials which are altered, layered and built up to cre ..read more

Landscape Reimagined Opening Saturday May 6th From 5-7 PM Featuring Iskra Johnson, CA Pierce & Danielle Bodine Museo Gallery, 215 First Street, Langley, WA, 98260 I hope to see you Saturday night for the Langley Artwalk and the opening night of Museo’s May show! I am happy to be in great company, with CA Pierce’s gentle atmospheric landscapes and Danelle Bodine’s mixed media sculptures.  The gallery will have additional unframed prints from the new Sunset Suite and botanicals that have not been shown outside of my studio. The Sunset Suite is a series of 7 prints, each one unique. As ..read more

I loved the Viaduct, a fact that is documented by acres of elegies, eulogies and shrines made in its honor. As one of its passionate defenders, I mourned when it came down for the as-yet unproven benefits of a “park” and an “underground tunnel.” The viaduct’s mood range was immense. Beneath its clumsy mastodon pillars one could wallow in the dank smells and charcoal smears of pure grime. Above, given a tenth of a gallon of gas and any class of car, a million dollar view rolled out from sea to shining sea and a white-capped mountain. It was our last glimpse of The View, as contrasted with our ..read more