Julie Anderson Bailey

Juror's Choice

Julie Anderson Bailey

Biology Rising, 2022

Mixed media paper, sculpture installation, 5 ft x 40 ft x 2 in

-12000

On display at the Downtown Eugene Public Library

Artist Bio

As an artist, playing with color, texture and form surprises and delights me. I'm constantly innovating with new materials. I began exploring the form with clay in the late 1990s at Maude Kerns Art Center, then moved onto printmaking and painting, taking many classes and workshops along the way. I showed my work in galleries and boutiques across the country. While living in Bend, Oregon, I managed the non-profit Mirror Pond Gallery for Arts Central, and helped launch the A6 Printmaking Studio with Patricia Clark, a dear friend and mentor who encouraged me to dive deep into works on paper. I have been balancing careers in technology, startups, writing and art for the past 25 years. Most recently, I spent 7 years at Hewlett Packard and HP Inc. in Product Development and Product Marketing, leading teams through innovation and corporate culture change and launching their global employee hackathon program to drive creative thinking and problem solving. As of 2018, I am making art full time and live in both Eugene and Roseburg. I teach at WhitPrint, the Arts and Business Alliance in Eugene and Umpqua Valley Arts. I was a volunteer board member for Lane Arts Council for the past 4 years.

Artist Statement

In this body of work, I'm exploring the nature of life at the cellular level and humanity's interdependence on the natural world and each other. We are balancing hope and heartbreak as we adapt in this time of global pandemic, division and climate change. These disruptions to our daily life force us to learn new ways to co-exist in community. The Rise of Biology: In nature, freshwater volvox algae form "daughter colonies" inside their mother cells and work together to move up towards the light to survive. I believe humanity is in the middle of a Volvox moment. We have to collaborate to solve problems, get through pandemics, demand social justice, deal with climate change and accept our loneliness, grief and anxiety as we keep moving towards the light. We have to work with Mother Earth and with each other for the best results. I choose to live with hope as a strategy because it makes me feel better, but hope mixed with action is essential.

"Biology Rising" window installation: these tissue paper and wire circles were made with hand-pulled monotypes (on a gel pad) on vintage sewing patterns, then dipped in beeswax. They are inspired by Volvox, freshwater algae that form daughter colonies and work together to survive. Hung in windows, the light and shadows change throughout the day.

For more information visit juliejulie.co

Juror's Choice Award Statement

“A masterful blending of traditional methodologies with contemporary concepts pushes the boundaries of materiality and the monumental. Overlapping of pieces evokes a sense of light, process and the rise of biology. The artist’s sculptural piece uses unique methods of repetition and representation to reimagine the role of mentorship and collaboration between human beings and how their relationship with nature has the potential to be a future of cooperation and regeneration.”  - Mayor's Art Show Jurors