Sebastopol Gallery - Art Through Two lenses

Art Through Two Lenses

Joann Lustig and John Hanses 

are members of the Sebastopol Gallery 

and will be featured from 

Jan 2 through Feb 20. 

Reception Jan 15, 5-7 pm.

By Teri Sloat
Seduced by nature at an early age, John was 5 when his family moved to a small ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. The property was surrounded for miles by forests and orchards. Hiking, climbing, hunting, and traveling through the woods to a friend’s were the norm.

In the early 1980’s, Hanses began exploring photography in different forms: experimental, landscape, black and white as well as 35 mm SLR color. He then focused on black and white with an old Speed Graphic 4x5, press style camera. Converting a bedroom to a dark room, he began processing film and printing the black and whites himself. Then, in 1985 he shot a bit of color through the 4x5 and found his passion-the color landscape.

John says his first full digital darkroom was about 10 years ago and he has recently upgraded it with state-of-the-art equipment, scanning the film with an Imacon X5 scanner, and printing the hi-res images on an Epson 9900 inkjet printer. All the printing and framing is done in his studio and shop with the help of his wife.
 
John takes pride in printing on bamboo paper, framing his art with no-added-formaldehyde wood, painted with 0 VOC paints.

THROUGH THE JEWELER’S LOOP: Jewelry designer, Joann Lustig colors her world with gemstones by creating fine gold jewelry using the lost wax process. She sets the stones in the wax and they become part of the design. There are no prongs and no geometrical, hard-edged lines, which makes for a smooth, streamlined, flowing look. Her work is very abstract.

When Lustig met her husband, he was a leather worker who would soon shift careers into jewelry design and eventually share his knowledge with Joann. Together, they built a business with Lustig learning by working on all the elements that her husband did not want to do ( a fact she would discover later to her amusement). She added her eye for color and shape to the designs, adding stones, while her husband would have been happy with no stones at all.

Sadly, Joann’s husband became ill and this duo’s business became just one individual’s work. But before he died he taught her all there was to know about jewelry design. And while she felt the weight of carrying on alone to create the work she and her husband had created together, she has created works of art that are sold from the east to the west coast.

Joann said in an interview, “I feel fortunate to get to do this. I tend to set up displays by birthstones, and use a lot of sapphires since I like the color...and they come in every color. Creating my rings, pendants, and earrings isn’t just jewelry-making. I think of it like painting. When I look at all the different vials of gemstones, I think, ‘What do I want to paint today?’”

Sebastopol Gallery 

150 North Main St. Sebastopol 707. 829.7200 
Open daily 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.  

Email: sebastopol-gallery@sonic.net