Dialogues

A new popup exhibit by Don Dougan, Marti Forkner and Micah Goguen May 3-30. Meet the artists at an opening reception on First Friday at Macon Arts Gallery 5-8 pm with light refreshments. Artist Talk May 16 at noon. Free and open to the public.

This collaborative body of work culminated at a gallery reception when artists Don Dougan, Marti Forkner and Micah Goguen connected in conversation. The topic of an art process that involved several different approaches cultivated that evening between the trio. Being newly acquainted, they decided that evening to begin a process in which they each started a series of three works which they began calling “seed pieces”. The artists made their first impressions on the substrates and after a decided period of time, rotated the pieces among themselves. Meeting at the time checkpoints allowed everyone to share their thought processes and give insights into how the other artists influenced the next phase of the works. Additional pieces were created as the body of work followed the energy that the process fostered.

Don Dougan Bio

As a child Don began collect and draw rocks, fossils, and seashells. These activities grew into an interest in paleontology and archaeology, but it was the modeling of clay dinosaurs and making of wooden boats that lead him to become a sculptor. He learned to work wood by helping his father in his garage woodshop, and by high school Don had started teaching himself to carve both in wood and stone, and at university he continued the auto-didactic exploration of working stone as the school he attended had no stone-carving sculpture faculty. Don also worked for a collector of antique hand tools for many years, and through his work in researching, writing, and displaying thousands of those tools for the collector Don developed an avid interest in the many types of hand tool and their traditional — and not-so-traditional — usage. When the collection became the core of a history museum in North Georgia Don had the additional experience of learning to display and present the collection in a more-formal manner to a different standard for the public. Each of these learning experiences has come-out in his artwork and in the tool-making he often does to create some of the works that require that ‘one-off’ approach. Though stone is a primary material in which he sculpts, other materials and found objects are also worked in conjunction with the stone to explore the potential expressiveness of each combination. His work is firstly about the material — through the direct interaction of his hands with each material he delves into what those materials can express about his perceptions of the world. The auto-didactic learning process is also an essential part of his work — he tries to explore something new in each new piece; whether it is a new material or combination-of-materials, a new tool, a new approach or technique, or a new premise or idea. Don has given workshops and taught university-level classes in sculpture and stone-carving in several schools in the metro-Atlanta area, as well as in Italy and in Finland. His work has been exhibited widely in the Southeast region, across the nation, and internationally

Micah Goguen Bio

Micah Goguen grew up in Central Georgia and obtained his Bachelors in Art and Art History and his Masters in Art Therapy from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. Micah continued studies in figure drawing and painting at Kennesaw University and lived in the Atlanta area for 7 years producing and showing art at local venues. Residing currently in Macon, Ga., Micah focuses primarily on bringing art to the community and using art as a form of communication for those struggling to understand and cope with life situations.

Stationed primarily at The Perry Art Center in Perry, Ga. and Middle Georgia Art Association in Macon, Ga. , Goguen produces work while teaching art to both adults and children. He also volunteers time at the local community center and works with adults in alcohol and substance recovery as well as uprooted and traumatized children. Goguen also teaches a variety of classes at Kudzu Art Zone in Norcross, Ga. and leads workshops in the Southeast United States. Using mural work, art for entertainment and art therapy for healing, Goguen collaborates with school systems, local shops, and non-profits to help unify and most importantly “spread a message”.

Micah’s own artwork conveys his interest in people as he uses oil paints to mostly create expressive portraits. Bold color choices and organic movement signify his style and you can most often expect a large confrontational composition that forces the viewer to take notice and interact. Micah works in a range of media and teaches workshops in Oil and Acrylic Painting, Ceramics, Textiles and Drawing. He is working on several mural projects and also founded a group of artists which hang and display art in privately owned local businesses. Goguen teaches about 50 students atelier style in weekly classes in the Middle Georgia Area. The overall vision is to focus and rededicate back to a buy local, shop local mentality that strengthens community through unity and purpose.

Marti Forkner Bio

I can tell you where I’ve been, but I no longer define myself by my past, other than to tell you that I’m a natural born artist.
I live in Florida, but my heart resides in the desert and the mountains. I love rocks and trees, bones and sky, clouds and dreams, and storms.
Where a writer expresses with words, I express my story with paint on canvas, the story between the lines, the unseen made visible, an intuitive creation that has energy of its own. My desire is that my work resonates with the viewer in a way that elicits feelings that create change in the thought process. I want the viewer to be a participant in the journey that I record, to be moved by a desire for more, not to just see from one point to another, but to receive a craving for exploration that involves questions, memories, and a connection with something familiar. I am interested in what is beyond the everyday physical reality of form and color. I am interested in the intension of shape and line in nature, the acknowledgment of subconscious realities, communication with universal knowing that connects us all. I simply write the conversation with paint, the conversation that I see, feel, and hear. I seek those who hear the creations I offer.