Local artist Lunel Haysmer’s assemblages are on exhibit during October at the Hart Gallery adjacent to the Ferndale Reparatory Theatre.   Lunel received her degree in Cultural Anthropology from San Jose State University where her focus of study included symbol systems from around the world and cross-comparative studies in ritual.  She is an avid fan of Science Fiction and is currently teaching a Sci-Fi class through HSU’s OLLI program.  Lunel is also a yoga instructor, and she and her husband, Phil, own Many Hands Gallery in Old Town Eureka.

Lunel has been exploring assemblage’ art for several years.  Lunel says that she is pleased she has a use for all the unusual things she collects.  She describes an assemblage’ as a three dimensional artistic composition made from odds and ends including found objects and recycled materials not originally intended for use in creating art. Early European artists were creating assemblage’ art at the beginning of the 20th century. 

“Lunel uses found objects familiar to us all, juxtaposing them with fabric, metal, bones, and computer generated art to gift us with a fresh take on something we think we already know,” indicates one local collector.  Her work has been described as, “Rich and complex, but at the same time accessible, Lunel’s dynamic and balanced compositions make us laugh out loud or start in surprise.”  Yet another collector describes Lunel’s assemblage art in this way:  “Lunel takes the bits and pieces of human debris, isolates them for a moment, finds their beauty, and then combines them in ways that make deeply personal statements while at the same time pointing to the boundless mystery in which we all live and breathe.”

Lunel says she tries to avoid too much description and focuses on just “having fun creating.”  “I don’t always know how a piece begins, she says.  “Sometimes an idea or concept is the prime mover for a new piece; other times, odds and ends just seem to jump out of their boxes onto my composition.”  When asked what some of her favorite objects are, she indicates she loves bones, broken mechanical parts, and rusty things.  Her well-organized, compact studio is packed floor to ceiling with boxes labeled:  “Sewing Machine Parts, Broken Eggs, Lace and Buttons, Bones and even Body Parts.”