All in the family: James C. Christensen joins forces with 2 daughters for art show

Part of it, he says, "is because they blog. They blog worldwide" — Barney at churningsandburnings.blogspot.com; McPhie at tendernessandtoil.blogspot.com — "and now it's like they have best friends all over the world. They have a tremendous following. They put their lives out there. They talk about canning peaches. It's a way to connect with people that also helps people connect with their art."

Barney and her father get to interact frequently because they practically live across the street from each other. Christensen will come and look at one of Barney's paintings for the show that she is struggling with. "You don't need to change it," he will tell her, "you just need to change the way you look at it. You're going with the medieval fear-of-void concept. Just pick a light source and add some shadows." Then, he adds, "Tomorrow, she'll come over and fix my painting."

For McPhie, who lives in Arizona, the constant interaction is a bit harder. "But I get to come spend a month each summer," she said in a telephone chat. "I get to paint in my dad's studio. I get to go shopping with them for art supplies. That's the most fun thing — to stand in front of a wall of colors and say, 'Have you tried this one?' or 'You've got to see what this one does.' Of course, it was more fun when Dad paid for them all."

It was only when she got married and began to deal with in-laws, McPhie jokes, "that I realized how odd my family was. Do you know there are people who go to Europe and only go to one museum? I always thought museums were the only things in Europe."

But growing up, "I had a lot of influence, a lot of appreciation. I had classmates who had parents who didn't see the value of art. I never had to worry about that. And I kind of fell into it naturally. I also had Cassie to look to; I learned a lot from her experience as an artist and as a mother."

And while there never has been any rivalry, says Barney, with a grin, "We have learned that if you have a good idea, it's better not to tell anyone about it, or they'll grab it. We do overlap a lot. Sometimes, we simultaneously paint a unicorn tapestry. It's so bizarre."

But even then, they do it in their own way. "Cassie paints something, and I come over and it means something different to me," says Christensen. And that, he says, is the pure joy and extreme value of art. "It can have a lot of meanings. It's open-ended. It has the potential for people to find their own meanings in it."

And that's exactly, he says, what the song of "Hortus Conclusus, or The Enclosed Garden" is all about.

If you go …

What: Hortus Conclusus, or The Enclosed Garden, featuring art of James C. Christensen, Cassandra Barney and Emily McPhie

Where: Art Access Gallery, 230 S. 500 West

When: Sept. 18-Oct. 7; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,

Also: Opening reception, Sept. 18, 6-9 p.m.What: Hortus Conclusus, or The Enclosed Garden, featuring art of James C. Christensen, Cassandra Barney and Emily McPhie

Where: Art Access Gallery, 230 S. 500 West

When: Sept. 18-Oct. 7; Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Also: Opening reception, Sept. 18, 6-9 p.m.

e-mail: carma@desnews.com