Capitola Wine and Art Festival

September 15, 2019

A really fun Art and Wine Festival is happening this weekend, Capitola’s 37th annual! I was delighted to take it in Saturday morning, taking the shuttle from the Target mall (because Capitola weekend traffic on steroids- or Chardonnay). Before checking out the chock-a-block booths filled with art: glass, metal, leather, fabric, stone and paint or curated. (the gallery where my work is on exhibit) I made sure to get my toes in the sand and ocean waves!

Blown glass

Art Tents

With Melissa Kreisa and Theresa Nelson, the amazing women who are curated. and my newest little painting.

My little florals hanging with Ursula O’Farrell’s figures.

My Shell Grave and a few Birds and Teacups. (bit backlit)

Gail Ragains and Lorraine Lawson

Melissa Kreisa and Jay Ruland

Jay Ruland, Dee Hooker, Jane Ferguson

Jane Ferguson

Russell Powell with Theresa and Melissa.

Russell Powell

Melissa Kreisa (detail)

Gail Ragains (detail)

Noelle Correia

Carrie Clayden (detail)

Dee Hooker

Lorraine Lawson (detail)

Dee Hooker, Jeff Owen?

Good day for a hat!

Can you spot the handstand?

Red Wheelbarrow 2017 Launch and Reading

December 13, 2017

What a transporting evening of poetry and prose at the Launch Reading for the Red Wheelbarrow 2017 National Edition last night! So excited to be with curator and artist Sara Cole and editor Ken Weisner holding my very own copy of Red Wheelbarrow 2017!

The book, the painting, the artist, the curator and the microphone, warming up and ready to go!

Joe Miller of Works/San José hosting the launch and reading.

Rob Pesich of the Poetry Center San José and Ken Weisner, editor of the Red Wheelbarrow and a faculty member of the Creative Writing Department at DeAnza College.

Artist and poet Sara Cole was the Art Curator for this beautiful edition of the Red Wheelbarrow , she selected works curated for an upcoming show Repository, a group show of Bay Area Women.

Congratulations to Partridge Boswell from Vermont who read his poem “Pop a Wheelie” which took 1st place in the inaugural Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize!

Lauren Goldstein, from New Mexico (Poetry Prize Finalist) reading “Elegy with Feathers”.

I’m happy to report that poetry is alive and well, heartbreaking, hilarious, tender and kicking! Go get some! Go write some!

Fade – Reception

December 7, 2017

I had such a wonderful time at my Fade reception at Vargas Gallery last night! I was told that it was the best attended solo show in the history of Vargas Gallery (since 1986)! A BIG THANKS to everyone who came out – artists, friends, curators, students, collectors and faculty! I feel very honored to show in this space and to have such a great community come out and support me! A special thanks to Lynne Todaro for inviting me to exhibit this work which spans a decade, to my collectors who lent back some key pieces for this show and to Ashley for her help with the install and staffing the show! All the albino deer cookies were snapped up and three more paintings were sold!

An albino deer cookie and it’s inspiration, Bed of Ghosts.

With George Rivera (Artist, Instructor, Curator), Kristin Lindseth-Rivera (Sculptor, Instructor), Marianne McGrath ( NUMU Curator) and Lynn Todaro (Sculptor, Instructor, Director)

With Tamera Avery (Painter), Kathryn Arnold (Painter), Rozanne Hermelyn Di Silvestro (Painter, Graphic Designer), Karen Gutfreund (Artist, Curator) Susan Kraft (Painter) and Hadi Aghaee (Painter) to mention a few.

I love it when people take a pic with a painting, it is such a compliment! This student had an interesting take on the deer in the nest feelings like birds eggs – such a great fragility association!

Tamera Avery & Kathryn Arnold at the Fade Reception – Vargas Gallery.
I know both of these wonderful artists through the Triton Museum of Art. Tammy has two fabulous figurative paintings in the Salon currently, one (which I’m personally in love with) took first in painting! Kathryn had a stunning solo show, monumental assemblages of abstract painting on sheaves of paper inspired by specific selections of poetry and prose as I remember….how great to see and gab with you both!

Loved seeing my collectors David and Carol Ann!

My dear friend (and collector) Judy who has to be one of my biggest supporters!

Hadi was sweet to help me carry in my albino deer cookies!

Suki Ma has one of my Bird and Teacup paintings and kindly shared the reception with her Art Experience group!

Show continues at Vargas Gallery in the Gillmor Center of Mission College through to the 14th!

Fade Reception Date

November 15, 2017

Yay!

Director Lynne Todaro and I settled on a date for my Fade reception at Vargas Gallery, Wednesday, December 6 from 4-7 pm. Perfect timing for students, between classes and between holidays. I’m delighted to hear that the show, which began Nov 8, has been getting a great response and I am looking forward to entertaining visitors at the reception! I hope you can join me if you are in the area!!!

These are some of the “artist with her work” shots taken at the exhibit to come up with a show promotion…

Such a lovely space! Vargas Gallery is located in the Gillmor Center in the middle of the Mission College Campus. Gallery hours are Monday & Wednesday 11 am – 2 pm and Thursday 3:30 -6:30 pm.

Installing Fade my Solo Show at Vargas Gallery

November 8, 2017

I was so delighted to throw together a last minute solo show for Vargas Gallery at Mission College! I’m calling it Fade – it’s a collection of my Fade to White work, exploring albinism and leucism in our flora and fauna, laced with larger pieces I’ve done over the years that touch on themes of vulnerability and tenacity, beauty and mystery.

The show will run November 9 – December 14 (Reception TBA) Thanks to Director Lynne Todaro for the opportunity and to Ashley at the gallery for her help setting up!

The Day I Saw That Night in Toronto

August 8, 2017

The one show I had to see while in Toronto…That Night in Toronto!

Curated by The Jealous Curator (AKA Danielle Krysa), this exhibition of 10 Canadian artists pays tribute to the poetry / lyrics of the Tragically Hip with 20% of sales to be donated to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research! As Daniella Krysa notes, “This show is a heartfelt tribute from one group of Canadians to another – and simply our way of saying, “Hey man, Thanks”. The show at Mayberry Fine Art was slated to run July 1 − 31 but I believe may have been extended…

I have been a big fan of The Jealous Curator’s blog and podcast, Art for Your Ear so I was pretty thrilled to hear that this show she was curating my actually concide with a family vacation in the vicinity. I was stoked to see her playful mixed media collage in person and see a show curated with her fresh and distinctive eye! I didn’t get a shot of everything in this fascinating show but a pretty good representation, where possible I have included lots of links to the artists websites.

Danielle Krysa – Tired as fuck I want to stop so much I almost don’t want to stop – found image and gouache – 2017 (detail)

Danielle Krysa – Culled and wooed, bitten, chewed, It won’t hurt you if you don’t move – found image and gouache – 2017

Sara Genn -We get to feel small – oil on canvas – 2017

Ben Skinner – If Only We Had Nothing To Say – mixed media – 2017

Annyen Lam – In my head the game goes quiet – lithograph, monoprint, handout paper – 2017

Don Proch – The Gord Landscape with Passing Comet and Jean Jacket Collar – mixed media – 2017

Sean William Randall – I Thought of Leaving it Behind – acrylic – 2017

Meghan Hildebrand – After a glimpse over the top – acrylic on canvas – 2017

Sarah Gee Miller – What Blue – acrylic and styrene on panel – 2017

Jay Dart – Lookin’ Fer A Place t’Happen – graphite and watercolor on paper – 2017

Joe Fafard – Doves of War – laser cut steel and powder coating – 2017

Ben Skinner – All Of My Heroes Are Women – mixed media – 2017

(with reflection)

My daughter who was tagging along also loved the show…now I need to introduce her to the band!

Mayberry Fine Art is a lovely gallery, just across the street from the Art Gallery of Ontario, where it turns out we even had time to take in the Georgia O’Keefe exhibit and at least 4 of the group of 7!!!

For more on the show here is a link to a video of the show and a CBC Radio review on John Power’s Q.

Oh yes, and here’s the song, That Night in Toronto by The Tragically Hip!

Kim Frohsin – Studio Visit

May 11, 2017

I am absolutely smitten with Kim Frohsin‘s work! I first encountered her figurative drawings in More Than Your Selfie at New Museum Los Gatos last year and then I fell in love with her figurative painting at Connect and Collect at the Institute of Contemporary Art in San Jose (even making an early bid on her piece which I sadly did not win) in October. This year I was able to catch her show at Thomas Reynolds Gallery in San Francisco and then actually be in a group show with her, Honoring the Legacy of David Park, at Santa Clara University which ran in April! When I finally got to meet her in person at the show’s reception, I jumped at the chance to arrange a studio visit – which just took place last week on one of those rare, exceedingly hot days in the city.

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Kim Frohsin moved to California in 1979, studying at San Diego State University, San Diego and l’Institut pour les Etudiants Etrangers in Aix-en-Provence before earning her BFA at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Her current studio is in the historic Noonan Building of Pier 70, San Francisco in the actual studio of early abstract expressionist, Frank Lobdell! Her work is widely collected and has been acquired by the San Jose Museum of Art, the Crocker Art Museum and the De Young Art Museum!

Frohsin has an amazing facility with the figure, her lines are fresh and gestural, poses dynamic and creative, her process is unique and absorbing and her commitment is full on!

Each painting in this series, Wigs, Silhouettes & Suspension, begins with a drawing from life upon which areas are masked off with razors and tape, paint is applied with a palette knife and pigments are rubbed on. No brushes. Sometimes the initial drawing is glimpsed here and there. There is such an immediacy and vitality to the work, in composition, application of material, juxtaposition of color and the way it is used to express shadows and highlights. I was delighted to delve into a trove of these gorgeous paintings, do a little shopping and a whole lot of coveting!

It was fascinating to get a glimpse of the diverse bodies of work represented in her studio, both archived and current, and hear her talk about her process and experience.

I was quite overwhelmed by each unearthed piece!

Equine.

Candy.

Toy car mixed media painting.

Self-portrait on a stack of books. You can learn so much about an artist from her studio. Kim’s is full of interesting books and photos and quotes (and a few wigs and hula hoops).

I thought that Egon Schiele might be one of Frohsin’s influences and was intrigued to find this lovely photographic overlay of the artist over a picture of the Austrian artist on her studio wall.

Cross Walk – Acrylic, pencils, and ink on Paper

Kim has this photo of Frank Lobdell tacked up at Noonan building, can you guess the other two artists?

I brought back with me Kim Frohsin’s gorgeous book Figures with Edges 2007-2008 (thanks Kim!) and am pouring over it at home! It can be ordered (along with Two Minutes and Counting and Portraits of Numbers: 2010-2014) directly from her website using this link.

Fur Feathers and Fins Reception

March 18, 2017

Fur, Feathers & Fins is currently showing at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, California, where I have three of my Birds & Teacup paintings. Juried by DeWitt Cheng, curator, critic and teacher, this exhibition explores a variety of approaches to depicting animals and our relationships to them from the purely representation evocations of them in their natural habitat to the utilitarian, metaphorical, symbolic, playful and even removed. I can’t help but think about this subject matter in terms of the Anthropocene, how do we look at animals now that most of their worlds are impacted if not threatened by ours. Is the new wild, one of suburban back yards, zoos and laboratories? Something I think about anyway – Elizabeth Kolbert’s, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History is a great book on this subject! This show wraps up March 30, here are a few pictures from the opening reception, with links to artist’s websites, if available, when you click on their names.

Devan John, Gallery Manager of PAL announcing the awards.

First place went to Janey Fritsche for her oil on cradled panel, Sea Shepherds.

Second Place was awarded to Ellen Kramer for her photograph Discarded.

Third Place was given to Maura Carta‘s oil on panel, Nose-less Bunny.

Honorable Mention for Ann Sismore’s photograph God’s Got Your Back.

A second Honorable Mention for Bob Carlin‘s digital print under resin, Blue Footed Boobie .

A third Honorable Mention was awarded to Beka Brayer for her one of her Waiting for Wings mixed media assemblage pieces, details shown here.

Me with three of my Birds & Teacup paintings, Tea II, Petunia Tea I and Anemone Tea I.

Kathy Kleinsteiber and her acrylic portraits of animals.

May Shei – Joyful Moment – Watercolor on Rice Paper

(detail)

Judy Kramer, Insect Photography – Fur Feathers and Fins

Linda Maki – Fish on Lahina Wharf – Oil on Canvas

Leah (Jay) Jakusovszky – Amphibian Illustrations

Oleg Lobykin‘s Sea Foam sculpture and a crow painting by Janey Fritsche.

Detail from Peter Koronakos‘s assemblage Penguin.

Jihoon Choi with his painted steel Pink Rhino and Yellow Giraffe.

I was delighted to become familiar with Jihoon Choi and his fantastic work!

To hear the Artist Talk he gave click on this link for the video I shot: Jihoon Choi – Artist Talk

Jihoon Choi photographs of his scupltures in Bay Area locations.

Jennifer Lashbrook Demo at JCO’s

February 12, 2017

The Art Docents of Los Gatos were treated to a demo by Dallas artist, Jennifer Lashbrook and her “Swatch Paintings” at JCO’s Place on Friday. Lashbrook creates collages using paint swatches that she gets by the forklift load and through an extensive process of sorting by value and hue builds a palette for her pixelated images, squares of color fixed with rubber cement and clear acrylic onto gridded panels. This series at JCO’s were all famous, recognizable images from art history and part of the fun is the process of recognition, but she also does landscapes and portraits which can be seen on her website .

Owner of Jco’s, Julie Jenkins greeting the Docents.

Jennifer Lashbrook walked us through her exacting process.

Girl with a Pearl Earring (Vermeer) – 36 x 36 – paint swatch (paper)

Paint swatch sample names can be playful, and witty and very literal, the pearl earring is actually “pearl”.

Frida with begonias – 48 x 35 – paint swatch (paper)

Quickly scanning a Frieda, I find “Adobe Straw”.

Marilyn (Andy Warhol) – 36 x 36 – paint swatch (paper) detail, I wonder what her swatches say?

Julie Jenkins atop a ladder catching the Docents on their phones… Up close these pixelated collages dissolve into a grid of colored squares, the analytical brain clicks in, categorizing the material and reading the chips. The more distance you can create between yourself and the piece, the more the image resolves before your eyes. Your spatial, arty brain clicks in and starts seeing the big picture, “connecting the dots” and filling in the blanks. The same effect can be achieved by squinting or looking through your smart phone. Super fun!

Holiday Party at Gallery 24!

November 30, 2016

Our Holiday Party at Gallery 24 is tomorrow night from 6-8:30 pm!

Everyone is welcome to stop by for a cup of good cheer and festive nibbles! We have a tree covered with tiny paintings and you can see the work of the following artists, many who will be present!

Shannon Amidon
Debbie Baker
Andy Ballantyne
Marie Cameron
Noreen Christopher
Gary Coleman
Nancy DeWeese
Vernon Dittenbir
Chris Dok
Marilyn Dorsa
Joan Drennan
Danielle Dufayet
Lance Glasser
Georgesse Gomez
Scot Grabowski
Veronica Gross
Mary Ann Henderson
Ellen Howard
Yao-pi Hsu
Phyllis Ann Jenkins
KevinKasik
Ellen Kieffer
Katy Kindig
Carolyn Larsen
Lorraine Lawson
Belinda Lima
Vincent Liu
Ed Lucey
Will Maller
Betty Turrentine McGuire
Maralyn Miller
Susan Miller
Linda Mitchell
Sandi Okita
Donna Orme
Sam Pearson
Judith Peterson
Leslie Rock
Michael Rogan
Julia Munger Seelos
Pat Sherwood
Linda Smythe
Lucas Stamos
David Stonesifer
Pat Suggs
Jeanne Tillman
Janet Trenchard
Karen Van Galder
Julia Watson
Alice Weil
Colleen Wilcox
Tonya Zenin

We’re at 24 N Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Los Gatos, California.

(artwork by Janet Trenchard)

Down the Rabbit Hole – Anne & Mark’s Art Party 2016

September 27, 2016

What a party! The food, the fun, the friends the fashion the frolicking the theme (falling down the rabbit hole into a world of wonder) and yes, booze, but at its core, Anne and Mark’s Art Party is all about the art – visual, musical, spoken and dance, SO many artist and SUCH great work! Artists emerging and established, local and international, street meets museum! As an exhibiting artist this year I am so grateful to Anne Sconberg and Mark Henderson and Georgie Huff and to the vast army of volunteers and contributors who made this all possible…and it’s not over yet!

The gallery is open this week, Friday and Saturday from 11am-5pm ($10 admission) and a Closing Bash ($29 admission) Saturday night, October I, complete with a Pivot to Fashion Show that is not to be missed! It’s a good thing because you can’t see everything in one visit! Check out https://artpartysj.com/ for more information! FYI This post is link rich – click on the artist’s names for websites where available!

Bill Gould‘s installation over the gateway to Anne & Mark’s Art Party clattering in the breeze like a river rucking over stones.

Exhibiting artist Holly Van Hart and company in front of a sculpture installation by Tulio Flores and Linnae Asiel of Asiel Design.

Live painting!

So delighted to have six of my Florilegia – illuminated mixed media assemblage paintings on exhibit in my own little “gallery” in the south-west corner of the Main Gallery. Here I am with Purity and Oblivion.

Pano of my “gallery” Secret Lover, Mature Elegance, Happy Marriage, Purity and Oblivion.

With Bryan Callanta – the man who knows galleries and shirts and also the man I have to thank for my great little gallery!

With artist W.M. Vinci – the Mad Hatter with the sublime taste and the fab footwear!

Goldfish heels! Swoon!

Fabulous Steam Punk art lovers.

Susan Kraft and her encaustic paintings.

NUMU curator, Marianne McGrath.

Sieglinde Van Damme and her digital prints from scanned Chemograms with gallerist Jack Fisher.

Jay Ruland‘s gorgeous dying rose scanned prints.

Lovely White Rabbit & Mad Hatter!

Christopher Elliman‘s mixed media Systematic Deconstruction.

Tessie Barerra-Sharaga‘s mixed media installation.

Exhibiting artist Holly Van Hart with her abstract landscape oil paintings on canvas.

Samuel Price‘s mixed media collage.

Will Marino‘s wound and folded paper, Shadow (Fig Tree)

Jody Alexander and her Keep installation of discarded library books, and vintage linen and book skins, boro technique worked textiles.

Lisa Wangness‘s mixed media collage Sin / Without.

Dotti Cichon‘s digital photography printed on silk.

Exhibting artist Sara Friedlander and her American Women: Birds of Im/Migration
Mixed media digital collage and paint on wooden panel

Sara Friedlander‘s American Women: Birds of Im/Migration: Ethel on Her Way Home From School – Mixed media digital collage and paint on wooden panel.

George Rivera‘s dramatic oil on canvas figurative work.

Karen Gutfreund‘s bold text pieces.

Exhibiting artist Laura Jacobson with her prints and ceramics.

Rose Sellery – Baby Shoes!

Rose Selery‘s Pins and Needles dress (detail).

Exhibting artist Rose Sellery and her Rags to Riches sculpture with JR

Rose Sellery‘s Rags to Riches

Laura Scandrett‘s Untitled – Photochemicals on Photo Paper.

Cristina Velázquez‘s installation.

Exhibiting artists Kent Manske and Cristina Velázquez.

Marc D’Estout – Pinhead

Tim Craighead – Without Constantini and D. Brent Stephens – El Triunfo

Khaled Akil‘s Requiem for Syria 1- Digital print from painting and photography — with Anne Schonenberg and exhibiting artist Mary Wold Souza.

Exhibiitng artist – Guru and Angel – Mark Henderson.

Robert Larson‘s mixed media paintings – I love the one with the cigarette packaging!

Lorraine Lawson – mixed media on canvas (left)
Mary Wold Souza – oil on canvas (far wall)
Kim Pourciau – wedding china sculpture (center)
Patrick Wädl Hofmeister – mixed media on canvas (right)

Margaret Niven‘s mixed media trees flanking Stan Welsh and Margitta Dietrick Welsh’s mixed media, sculpture, photograph with drawing on far wall

Della Calfee‘s photograph On the Inside.

Robert Ortbal‘s A to Z sculpture.

Robin Lasser‘s photograph & fabulous party goers

Awesome aqua!

Brian Coleman‘s Neon lovliness!

Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian‘s gouache on paper.

Green fairy lights – Joe Miller – mixed media install, Exhibiting Artist Jane Peterman Trace and her acrylic Trace Memory

Wild orange!

Exhibiting artist Mandy Spritzer and her metal pieces

Exhibiting artist Danielle Dufayet and daughter.

Danielle Dufayet‘s acrylic paintings.

David Middlebrook with his missed media sculpture and the lovely April Gee.

David Middlebrook‘s sculpture and Gail Ragains abstact figurative paintings in oil.

Cool vibe – bass and piano.

Indian classical dance with Abhinaya Dance Co.

Best of friends!

Great sax with a jazz-funk-rap group.

Shovelman! I bought his Dirty West CD SOOOO good!

Late night in the VIP lounge.

One final blast of fire before I called it a night.

Social Justice in Moraga

August 31, 2016

Long time no see – but just because it was summer vacation and I was far to busy for blogging, doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot happening behind the scenes that I’d love to share and I’m going to see if I can catch up! As usual, the post is loaded with easy links to click on where text is bold.

Yesterday, for instance, I took in my painting, La Niña to Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art in Moraga, California for Social Justice: It Happens to One It Happens to All, an exhibition curated by Gutfreund Cornett Art. I’m standing in front of the exhibition banner featuring one of my favorite pieces from the show, Xian Mei Qiu’s The Bird Cage (I can’t wait to see the original photograph on plexiglass in person!) The show opens Sunday, September 18 with a 1:15 pm Artist Talk at the Soda Activity Center and runs through to December 18.

The art in the exhibition is extremely moving and powerful (as can be seen in their online catalogue), juried from artists across the country and beyond!

The exhibition catalogue can also be ordered through Amazon (I’m on pages 34 & 35).

Saint Mary’s College mission styled campus is stunningly beautiful, its white stuccoed architecture gleaming through its green and flowering landscape, nestled into the golden hillside east of Oakland – a gorgeous setting to look at some of the darker themes we need to pay attention to in our world.

This the the Soda Activity Center (up behind the church) where I’m told the Artist Talk will be held. There is free public parking directly in front of this entrance and the Museum is just across the way where a reception will be held in the pretty courtyard. I hope you’ll consider making the trip to experience the work first hand and to hear the artists tell their sure to be fascinating stories!

teamLab at Pace

May 27, 2016

While I was picking up work from the Pacific Art League’s Figures and Faces show, which just wrapped up, I remembered that Pace was only minutes away and I was curious if the Pace Art + Technology exhibit with teamLab was still on. As luck would have it the show runs until July and I made it under the wire of their Memorial Day Weekend hours restrictions. What a show of digital and light based work!

This one seemed like a cosmic, electronic, floating sugar cube with it’s sparkling, ever-changing light display.

There were two of these floral digital displays which would grow and evolve and shed their petals. These ladies were not touching the screen but checking to see it their proximity would alter the events on the screen – it’s hard to tell whether this is so of is coincidental. It was beautifully ethereal!

In this room full of digital displays scored to music we were all mesmerized by the unfolding imagery.

In this installation of hanging lights, lined with mirror at the periphery, color shimmered and pulsated and we were offered glimpsed of ourselves and others though the glowing, twinkling curtain. It felt like an Indian wedding place to me and I had a craving for kulfi.

This digital piece was like a perpetual wave tank designed by Hokusai.

This was such an engaging piece, comprised of a number of digital panels it told the story of a man who chopped down a tree an released something terrible. The traditional imagery from the fable kept morphing and dissolving before out eyes. Utterly fascinating!

This piece showed the evolution of life from a branching armature into a blossoming ecosystem as it spun knit’s virtual digital axis. Gorgeous!

In the adjacent pavilion the younger set were trying their hand (and feet) at the interactive fun.

I think in the midst of that dark, disorienting maze I missed a few exhibits – I can’t wait to go back with my family!

To visit teamlab on Artsy clime here for the link: www.artsy.net/artist/teamlab

Charlotte Kruk – Open Studio

May 13, 2016

Sweet!

I finally got to meet Charlotte Kruk, at her open studio last weekend! I first saw her work through Image magazine (the M&M Toreador and Flamenco Dancer couture) and then I saw Let Them Bake Cake (the Marie Antoinette inspired convection made of sugar and flour bags and all the cake making ingredient trappings) at the Triton Museum of Art. I’m such a big fan of her fun and fabulous wearable art made from colorful candy wrappers and the like – it’s full of joy and playfulness!

Turns out her studio is just as playful as Charlotte Kruk’s work. She’s having more open studios this weekend and next from 11-5 Sat & Sun so don’t miss it! Check this Silicon Valley Open Studios link for directions.

I couldn’t wear Let Them Bake Cake home but I took a little sugar with me anyway!

Figures and Faces

May 7, 2016

The Figures and Faces exhibition on at the Pacific Art League of Palo Alto untill the end of the month looks great! Juried by Lynne Todaro (sculptor and director of Vargas Gallery at mission college) selected a wide variety of media with diverse approaches but all very emotive and expressive!

Lynne Todaro, director of Vargas Gallery at Mission College and sculptor in some opening remarks.

First place was awarded to GayLynn Ribeira for her oil Stages.

She could have picked up a co-first for her second piece, Memory!

I was awarded second place for my oil, bugatha1!

Here I am with juror Lynne Todaro, so honored that she chose three of my portraits for the exhibit, bugatha1, Tiny as the Universe and Eden!

The gallery manager Stephanie Amon asked me to give an artist’s talk about my People in my Neighborhood series.

Third place went to Tanya Larin‘s oil Christoph Köln at the Age of 50.

Cherryl Pape received an honorable mention for her graphite drawing Omonike seen here with her lovely model.

Jiajun Lu , was also awarded honorable mention for his ceramic sculpture, S.J. in 3D.

Connecting with Ganesha, an archival pigment print was awarded an honorable mention.

Archival pigment print.

Maura Carta and her self portrait in oil.

Maura Carta and her handsome model.

The man and his portrait!

Carol Bower and Her pastel Kami

Weijue Wang and her Graphite powder on paper, Now You See Me.

“la Dance” Revisited: This Side / The Other Side archival pigment print photograph by H. Dogus Akaydin.

Venus and the Dark Veil of Censorship an Arista print digital photograph by The Antic Staatsoper.

Judy Kramer with her digital photograph and her darling model.

The Age of Wisdom, oil by Ayelet Gal-On.

Lamentation: A Sculpture for my Mother the Dancer by Ciaran Freeman a steel, nylon, spray paint and wood sculpture.

Ciaran Freeman gave a talk about his concept, research and process. His sculpture is much like a drawing in the third dimension welding together lengths of steel like individual lines from a pencil. He had looked toward Martha Graham and her work with jersey for insights into his mothers dancing practice and designed this sculpture for her.

Dave Woodard was the final talk of the evening. He told us the fascinating story behind his terra cotta sculpture with fishhooks, Dream of a Spontaneous Utterance. It was literally based on an actual dream he’d had after saying some things he’d regretted to a friend! How fabulous to dream in metaphor like this!

He had me at fishhooks!

Gordon Smedt – Fresh Paint

May 6, 2016

Great reception last night for Gordon Smedt‘s Fresh Paint exhibition at JCO’s Place! His new work was all done simultaneously, each piece sharing something in approach, handling an vibrancy! Smedt’s work, always painted so beautifully, is engaging and fun but often with a an underlying layer that says something about us and our culture.

My Body My Business

March 8, 2016

In honor of International Women’s Day I’ve been wearing My Body My Business pin which Michele Pred gave me (there’s a pink one for my daughter too)! Michele has been working with this theme in her art and her advocacy. She recently produced My Body My Business prints and t-shirts (a portion of the proceeds going to support Planned Parenthood) and in Her Body Her Business she mailed t-shirts to all the presidential candidates…..I’m still watching for Trump or Cruz to slip one on!

Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia

February 18, 2016

I was so happy to hear that a new exhibit of one of my top favorite painters, Pierre Bonnard, was opening up at the Legion of Honor! He’s known as one of the Nabis, a Post-Impressionist movement where the the flattened perspective of Japanese art, the stylization of Art Nouveau, the use of pattern as a decorative element and the exploration of non-local color were early hallmarks.

I love this big, beautiful, blown-up photograph of Pierre Bonnard in a room full of very intimate, tiny photos of the artist and his wife. So interesting to see these mysterious little moments emerge from the darkness in such contrast to his small and very large canvases that are flooded with light and color!

You can clearly see the decorative stylized elements in his early pieces, Woman in Dress with White Dots, Seated Woman with Cat, Woman in Cape, Woman in Checkered Dress 1890-91. Close up you can see the simple laying in of paint stokes over the tan substrate.

Woman in Checkered Dress (detail) 1890-91 distemper on paper mounted on canvas

Seated Woman with Cat (face detail) 1890-91 distemper on paper mounted on canvas

Seated Woman with Cat (detail) 1890-91 distemper on paper mounted on canvas

Here in this detail from this 1895 oil painting, In the Garden loose, gestural strokes are applied to a green ground.

In this detail from the 1892 painting, The Checkered Blouse, bits of the canvas can be seen under thickly applied daubs of paint.

This wall sized oil on canvas, On the Boat from 1907 features both the light filled, almost patterned landscape and the face in deep shadow in the foreground.

Charming duck detail.

This detail of the birds in the trees shows how loosely the paint is applied.

One of the most arresting pieces in the exhibit, Nude in an Interior from 1912-14 uses elements of the interior (walls and tables) to radically crop the figure in a daring and partially voyeuristic manner. Color pulsates and shimmers with its mix of varied hues.

Pink Nude, Head in Shadow from 1919 just glows in juxtaposition to the deep shadow across the face. I’m in love with that lavender pink stipe against al those shades of pale yellow and mint.

In Nude in the Bathtub from 1925 we are introduced to one of Bonnard’s most celebrated motifs, the bather and bathtub, seen here in an almost bird’s eye view. I could look at all those gorgeous mottled pastels forever…

In The Bath from 1925 we again see the play of the color of flesh as seen through water.

In the Work Table dated 1926-1937 we see the up tilted perspective on a domestic scene with pattern color and pets – classic!

The Boxer (Portrait of the Artist) −1931 is a bit of a departure, the lack of a setting allows the viewer a deeper focus of the figure’s expression and gesture, the face again thrown into shadow and surfaces loose and luminous.

Yellow Harmony from 1934 achieves an almost abstract quality, it’s supersaturated color dematerializes the figure which is absorbed into the composition as just another structural element.

Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia is a major show of more than 70 works that span his prolific career, this post only represents some of my favorites, I hope you’ll take in the exhibit before it closes May 15 and spend some time with your own picks!

Jody Alexander – Keep: Modern Library

January 11, 2016

Shakerag Hollow, Kyoto, Santa Cruz

Jody Alexander‘s Keep: Modern Library, on exhibit at the R. Blitzer Gallery in Santa Cruz, is a thoughtful and finely crafted transformation of the skins of vintage library books which have been withdrawn from circulation into textile inspired two and three dimensional art pieces that could only come out of an intimate knowledge and a deep understanding of our emotional attachment to these books as objects and our response to the ongoing process of their obsolescence.

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - book skin swatches - photo Marie Cameron - 2016

Book skin swatches and call numbers.

The very “skinning” of the book covers seems to me a redemptive process, hanging on, not to the words and ideas of the books themselves, which may have become outdated or superfluous, but to the remnants of our collective physical experience of them, the bits of gilded fonts becoming abstract “art marks”, the texture and feel of the linen, the retro hues, faded and worn over time, stained with our handling – soil from our carelessness, oil from out fingers and maybe even our very DNA. These books have been stamped with the library’s own lexicon of call numbers, due dates and recommendations: KEEP, REQUIRES FURTHER CLEANING, DISCARD. Librarian’s knowledge.

Spilled Hot Chocolate

Skins are incorporated into swaths of stained, stamped and elaborately stitched European linen, inspired by the symbols Alexander discovered in a library cataloging book (which acted as her muse throughout the project) and by the utilitarian Japanese technique of boro, or “rags”, where that which is ripped or damaged is mended to further it’s life.

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - Higbee (detail 2) - photo Marie Cameron 2016

Close up detail from Higbee showing some boro techniques.

In her talk and book, Keep, Alexander shares a quote from Kei Kawasaki that refers to the philosophy behind boro… “there is an old Japanese saying that you shouldn’t throw away any piece of cloth big enough to wrap three beans”.

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - Three Bean Rule - photo Marie Cameron - 2016

Pigments and the three bean rule.

Alexander’s process (which had even involved dragging some of her work through mud and lakes as farflung as Shakerag Hollow, Kyoto and Santa Cruz) results in sublime abstract textiles that practically breathe with new life. Beyond a tribute to their past as well loved library books, they have morphed into another artistic plane that somehow says something touching and meaningful about out better natures.

I can’t help but think of the metamorphosis of a butterfly, but where focus is on the cocoon that is shed and honored and transformed once more…

91385 Maxwell Bias.

Maxwell (detail)

This last Saturday the Jody Alexander gave a talk about her work at the gallery to a large and engaged crowd (where I gained all this insight into her art and her process).

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - Talk 3 - photo Marie Cameron - 2016

Keep Talk

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - Talk 5- photo Marie Cameron - 2016

Keep Talk Audience

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - Talk 4 - photo Marie Cameron -2016

Full House

Empty dress hanger, Stack of vintage books, Alexander’s first textile book for Keep.

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - with Shannon Amidon - photo Marie Cameron - 2016

Jody Alexander with Shannon Amidon, both members of Bay Area Book Artists.

Jody Alexander - Keep Modern Library - R. Blitzer Gallery - Talk 2 - photo Marie Cameron - 2016

Viewing Installation

Essential

Higbee (detail)

Main Stacks

Main Stacks (detail)

Jody Alexander and Marie Cameron - Modern Library - photo Shannon Amidon 2016

Me with my copy of Keep and artist Jody Alexander in her fabulous dress.

There’s a lovely, signed, limited edition book, Keep, inspired by the exhibit -10% of the sales from this book will be donated to the Santa Cruz Public Library for the acquisition of books for the children’s collection – that’s just how Rydell Award Recipient, Jody Alexander rolls! You can get yours at www.jalexbooks.com.

Interfaith Dialogue

December 8, 2015

Islamic artist Nabeela Sajjad hosted an Interfaith Dialogue over tea last week with an inspiring group of women. We hope to work collaboratively on art that will reflect the cultural diversity of our community, break down some prejudice and bridge some divides. It’s so important to come together as a community at a time when ignorance, fear and misinformation is running rampant. I can’t wait ti see what will unfold!