Gallery Madera has gathered many of the Northwest’s best woodfired ceramic artists together in one comprehensive showcase for their second annual “A Path of Flame” exhibit. For this show 14 local artisans and two painters, Kristin Gehrels and Amy Royce, created new works for the cause, all to celebrate the sometimes time consuming yet impressively exquisite tradition of kiln-firing with wood.

Creating art from wood fire and kilns is a challenging and extensive process, yet one that has been practiced, honed and admired for centuries. Those who can appreciate the gentle variance of tones that pottery takes on after days under fire, or the seasoned, dexterous hands of those that form and shape these wonderful pieces of art, can find beauty in the imperfect currently on display at Gallery Madera.

The exhibit offers up a cohesive collection of both functional and decorative ceramic pieces, pleasing both purists and the contemporary fans.

For the production of the works exhibited, three kilns were utilized from locations in Washington and Oregon, which are Hikarigama - “Illuminated Kiln” in Elkton, Ore.; Santatsugama - 3 Dragons Kiln in Seabeck, Wash., and Harstine Island Wood Kilns in Mason County, Wash.

The painted art pieces adorning the walls of Gallery Madera for this particular show are extremely complementary to the ceramic work in their utilization of bright colors, mixed media and encaustics. Royce’s encaustic paintings bravely mirror and mimic skin, bones, and bodily tissue. Taking on various textures and shapes through melted beeswax, resin and paint fused together, patterns of circular shapes are made to appear like spinal discs, major bones and ribcages. Mixed with bright, bold and neutral color schemes with paint drips, Royce’s work appears true to nature and expounds upon bodily changes due to age and trauma.

Gehrels’ acrylic and mixed media pieces are large and take on one bright color such as blue or pink to immediately draw the eye in, and retain the viewer’s focus with central boxes composed of another darker color off to one side. Lines and patterns abound, and strings, beads, and other found objects take refuge underneath the paint strokes while simultaneously adding depth to the works.

The woodfired pieces clearly dominate the show and command visitors’ attention.

Bordering more on the whimsical and specialty decorative side with her work, artist Eva Funderberg with her beast-like creatures attempts to bring viewers back to their childhoods and to a time when life was not so serious. According to her artist’s statement, Funderberg desires for those viewing her art “to be brought back to a world of emotions and possibilities.”

“Antlered Beast” is a piece that looks most like a rhinoceros with antlers attached, and that has large, squared teeth that form a silly grin. A bird’s nest filled with eggs sits on its backside, and perched birds with open beaks surround it. The creature’s back is bumpy, perhaps wart-covered, and looks as though dirt has accumulated all over. His four stumpy legs form a stance that would appear to give the beast an odd gait when he walks.

Another piece, entitled “Moon Beast,” is a circular planet or animal, and the true identity is left for the viewer to decide. The piece has four feet as well, with craters and discolorations over its surface that give it a textured appearance. With the sharp teeth the piece possesses, the beast might be confused for a piranha. Three stars that look like childhood jacks surround the moon, and they each take on their own unique coral, grey and gold color schemes.

Artist Coleen Gallagher takes very well known traditional ceramic pieces - vases - and puts her own slight personal touch to them by decorating them with objects of nature. Grass, a praying mantis and a dragonfly each adorn their own vase, and are painted on with such skillful hands that the images appear to be etched or carved into the pieces rather than painted in tiny black strokes. The vases each seem to have odd-shaped openings with non-traditional widths and no necks, and vary slightly in size.

Flawlessly combining function with chic decoration, Terry Inokuma’s woodfired and stoneware lamps are gorgeous to observe and contemplate. The lamps, which vary in size but only slightly in their square-ish shapes, all take on nature scenes and elements featured in the center of the pieces where light shines through. Herons, salmon, Ginko plants, and peony buds are prominently featured on these luminarias, adroitly carved out of the ceramic. A wavy, combing texture adorns the tops of the lamps, and stumpy legs let the lamps stand tall. The pieces are shiny and polished, with their natural earthen tones varying from gray stone to sand, with details in the nature scenes sometimes shaded blue.

“A Path of Flame 2009” is exhibiting through April 4. Gallery Madera is located at 2210 Court ‘A’ near Tacoma Dome. Normal gallery viewing hours are Wednesday through Friday from noon-4 p.m., and Saturday from noon-5 p.m., and by appointment.

For more information, visit the gallery’s website at www.gallerymadera.com or call (253) 572-1218.