In loving memory of Merrily

To know Merrily Tompkins was to love her- there was no way you could not.

Merrily unexpectedly passed away on April 21 due to complications from pneumonia.
Her friends, family and the greater art community are grappling with the loss of this extraordinary human. Merrily adored her friends, her pets, her community and her children. Her twinkling eyes, kindness, sharp wit and irreverent sense of humor are deeply missed by all who knew her but most of all by her three sons, Riley, Elroy and Arlo.

Friends of the family would like to help support these wonderful boys in dealing with funeral and legal/estate expenses they are now faced with. We are asking for your help and kindness in relieving this burden. Please donate what you are able.

For those of you who don’t know Merrily, the featured video of Artzone with Nancy Guppy gives you a glimpse of this delightful woman.

I remember the first time I met her. I went to her funky little house on a veterinary call and didn’t want to leave. Books and knick knacks were everywhere, she told me stories about different art pieces, trinkets,  found items and photographs.  She took me out to her studio (“mind the dog poop” she’d always say if we were crossing the yard) and I marveled at the old signs adorning her back porch, a wheelchair and a lounge  resting in the overgrown grass and her creative studio space, stuffed with every sort of found item from the last several decades that one could imagine. It was magical.  Merrily made everyone feel welcome and special, she was truly one of the warmest and most genuine
humans I have ever had the pleasure to know and I deeply regret not carving more time out to spend with her. She was an incredibly creative artist, known for her whimsical small metal works ranging from jewelry to sculptures, frequently with an interactive component. Her work has been displayed all over the world and she was a prolific Seattle area artist before moving to Ellensburg.

You may recognize her work from the Seattle City Light Project, Big Tesla. 

 
From the project description:
“Though it’s a larger piece from Ms. Tompkins, Big Tesla still shows her love of visual puns and her remarkable eye for turning commonplace craft into art–if one believes in such a separation–both of which qualities typify her smaller work as well. In the middle of intricate mosaic work, one can espy beads, broken mirror pieces, opaline and old dinner plates, all inserted with the unpretentious playfulness so admirable in Pacific Northwest artists like Chuck Greening.  But more than just another decorative piece of sculpture, Big Tesla also serves as a planter, where plants may take root in Tesla’s fertile brain.  Ms. Tompkins has said that she always thought of the open sculpture as a
metaphor.

‘Having grass grow out of the top for hair seemed like a logical way to relate the piece
literally to the landscape. As the piece evolved, I realized that making the grasses seem
to emerge from Tesla’s head was also a kind of visual reference to his enormous,
ubiquitous contribution to the domestication’ of electrical power.’”

Merrily, there will never be another like you.  Thank you for being your beautiful self.