Papers & Brass of the Past –

Papers & Brass of the Past

Collage & Artifacts by Donnalynn and Mark Chase

Donnalynn and Mark Chase enjoy collecting old things. They share a fascination and respect for obsolete mechanisms and ephemera; specifically scientific instruments and books. For over 20 years, they have channeled their passion for antique objects and collecting into their art making. Mark prefers creating artifacts from brass and minerals that artfully represent antique scientific instruments and models, while Donnalynn works primarily with antique and vintage papers.  “Papers & Brass of the Past” is their first exhibit together showcasing Mark’s sculptures and a new collage series by Donnalynn.

Mark is self-taught artist who has been influenced by years of working in aerospace industry with precise and articulate requirements. Brass, bronze or copper and beautiful minerals are the dominate materials in his objects d’ arte. Now retired here on the coast, Mark is continuing to make one-of-a-kind “new” designs of ancient models embodying the marriage of art and science. This exhibit will be presenting many different versions of his planetary visions.

Over 60 new six inch square collages made on used game boards with antique and vintage images will be shown by Donnalynn. This series, “WTF?”, started in January 2018, in response to her need to have more fun. She wanted to make a collage a week to guarantee her “fun” and to have a new body of work for this show. This series reflects Donnalynn’s year in quirky vignettes and strange snapshots. For fun, she challenged herself to create images that seemingly do not relate to each other; to create something not known to her. The fantastical juxtapositions are meant to encourage the viewer to look closely and question what they are looking at. Is anything really what it appears?

Collage came naturally to Donnalynn through her obsession with collecting books and all kinds of ephemera.  Since having to pack all her collections for the move to The Sea Ranch, she now focuses on how to incorporate her “stuff” into new projects. Hunting for that perfect old book or antique ephemera is still one of her favorite things to do. A unique quality of Donnalynn’s art work is that she very rarely uses photocopies or digital resources as she prefers to use the original paper materials.

Mark has received many awards in the last few years, including first prize for sculpture in Art in the Redwoods and inclusion in the annual Gualala Salon. Antique celestial models and instruments inspire the majority of Mark’s work. He started to make armillary spheres and orreys when it became apparent that he couldn’t afford to purchase authentic specimens to grace his own growing collection. Within a few years, Mark had established a on-line presence that was selling armillary spheres to hotels, businesses, schools and individuals all over the world.

Currently, both Mark’s and Donnalynn’s art is on display at Discovery Gallery in Gualala.