KRCB Auction Annie Murphy-Springer Painting

Annie Murphy-Springer 

Auctions at Painting

to Benefit KRCB

One of my absolute favorite people on this planet is Annie Murphy-Springer of Bodega. Her watercolors glow with rainbow colors. She teaches and inspires people with her watercolor classes and has extended her classes to videos on a KRCB program - The Wonders of Watercolor. In order to support KRCB, she has offered one of her watercolors for auction to benefit KRCB. Learn more about Annie and her paintings below....

A Message from Annie about her painting being auctioned on KRCB,

HI THERE !
  On Dec. 3 rd, Susan Ball (another artist) and I were invited to paint LIVE on KRCB TV channel 22 between segments of Bob Ross's life story. We painted "beat the clock" style, creating finished paintings in less than 2 hours......what fun!

   My painting is of the scene I see from my studio in Joy Woods, Bodega, Ca...............watercolor on a new surface, called YUPO,which is very exciting to work with...........the pigment slips and slides, moves, merges, repels, etc. until I say "STOP" with my brushwork.

   KRCB is auctioning off both paintings until Dec. 29th, with the high bid amount for my painting going directly to fund my series THE WONDERS OF WATERCOLOR !

   So, if you or anyone you know might be interested in acquiring this unique painting, please go to KRCB's website by clicking on the link below. You will see the image, 11" x !4".

http://krcb.org/component/option,com_bids/Itemid,100648/id,286/lang,en/task,viewbids/

   Even if you are not interested at this time, I would really appreciate it if you would forward this to your friends...................many, many thanks

   Meanwhile, have Happy Holidays, and a very happy, healthy and Peaceful New Year!

Best Wishes, 

Annie

------------------------------

Here's a link to Annie's web site so you can learn more about the magical world she paints for all of us to enjoy...as Annie says, "Those who collect my art tell me that my paintings make them feel happy. They respond to the color, freshness, exuberance, and sometimes whimsy of my art.

    Painting is a joyful experience for me, and I love teaching others to find similar joy." - annie murphy springer

http://www.anniemurphyspringer.com/index.php

and a link to a YouTube video of Annie so you can see her in action and learn about who she is and what inspired her to paint. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVz7FMxM4Iw

I have featured Annie several times in my paper because she inspires joy and creativity. Enjoy!

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Aerial Photos at Petaluma Airport

Visions From Above Aerial 

Photography Exhibit at Petaluma Airport 

Visions From Above, a one day reception and sale of prints created by leading aerial photographers from around the world takes place at the Petaluma Municipal Airport, Saturday, October 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free event is sponsored by the Lagunitas Brewing Company, which is providing its renowned India Pale Ale for event attendees, by the Professional Aerial Photographers Association, the Petaluma Arts Center, Warren Percell Studios and Aerial Archives.


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Rik Olsen hits the Road in San Francisco

Sonoma County's Rik Olsen pulling up fresh print

The San Francisco Center for the Book’s annual Roadworks Street Fair is a day-long arts festival showcasing printmaking and the art of the book. Using a three-ton construction steamroller and an unlikely letterpress bed- the street- a team of artists and printers print large-scale linoleum carved block prints. In addition to the steamroller printing centerpiece, there are artists vendors, and organizations presenting an assortment of fine and affordable wares. In 2010, Roadworks attracted more than 5,000 attendees.

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The JOY of Learning - Sonoma County Gazette

Summer is coming to a close and leaves are falling into - and filling - my gutters. Another year when I promise myself to put up gutter guards. All this means is that it’s time to switch our thinking to getting ready for winter wet and cold.

If you have school-age children, your energy focuses on getting them settled into another school year, or as in the case of my grand daughter - starting kindergarten. I miss all that because my daughter moved too far away for me to participate, but I can still clearly remember her first day of school. My parents came here to visit so they wouldn’t miss it. I wish I could do the same for Destiny...that’s her on the cover with the book we bought together when I was visiting this summer. It’s one of her favorites and my chance to share my love of insects with her.

I was fortunate to have a father who read to my sister and me every night before we went to bed when we were young. He started me out with the love of reading. It’s why I chose this month’s theme, The JOY of Learning.” I believe that the greatest gift you can offer a child is a passion for learning and the ability to read. These two skills carry a person into life with wide-open opportunities to explore new subjects.

Please follow the stories submitted by readers to inspired learning....ENJOY! ~ Vesta

LOOK What I Did!

Finding JOY in a Sense of Accomplishment

By Vesta Copestakes


Good Teacher...Bad Teacher
What makes teachers bad? They discourage the desire to learn. They fill children’s heads with so many rules they take the fun out of learning. They tell a child that they have no talent in the one thing that brings joy. They test and test and test until a kid doesn’t care any more about what s/he does or does not know.

Here’s a little tale about a student who was discouraged when she was a child and later triumphed as an adult. That’s what I want to accomplish here. Get over it. The teacher was WRONG!

Annie’s story…
I was in the 3rd grade and every Friday, an “art teacher” came to our classroom, drew something on the chalkboard and ordered us to copy EXACTLY what was on the board. Those who didn’t succeed were struck with her ruler on the hands.

One day she stopped at my desk and screamed in anger “ You will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER (3 “evers”) be able to do ANY art! You are the WORST student I have ever had!”....followed by the requisite blows. The tragedy was that I BELEIVED HER for 50 years!

Then one day my friend Terry Dolan Magill, a wonderful watercolor artist and teacher said “hey Annie---let’s go paint!” Out of my mouth burst from my inner-most soul....”Oh NO, I can’t paint! I’ll NEVER be able to paint!”

Terry calmly said “bullshit,” led me outside her home in Valley Ford, handed me a brush, paints, water, and paper, and said “PAINT”! So I did.

My biggest regrets are that I avoided any opportunity to experience the joys of making art for all those years, and also realizing how many children had been hurt by such cruel teaching.
My biggest JOY lies with having hit the ground running at a late age and I absolutely revel in the privilege of turning “non-artists” into artists How wonderful that is!

Silence the Criticism
When people tell me they can’t write, I tell them to get the teacher off your shoulder. Write like you talk...forget all the rules about grammar, etc.. What you want is to give your heart and your head free reign,…you can edit later.

And that’s what the best writing teacher I ever had instructed me...“stream-of-consciousness” she called it. Unfettered by thinking about WHAT you are doing WHILE you are doing it. Silence every person who ever told you you can’t do something - including yourself! and just do it.

Inspiring Teachers
The best teachers are ones who get you excited about learning. In the land of words, reading teaches best. The more you read, the better you write because you experience over and over how sentences communicate well. Lucky people are those who learned to read & never stopped reading for fun.

 Annie Murphy Springer is one of those inspiring teachers…she knows what it’s like to be shut down and what it feels like to be set free. Her water color students are often people who never touched a paint brush in their lives and Annie makes them believe they can create art.

Whether it’s writing, creating art, playing music, building, gardening, crossing a line you were once afraid to approach...you gain a sense of “Look what I did!” even if there’s no one around to see. The biggest challenge is starting. Once you’ve begun you wonder what took you so long.

Annie has classes all the time and is starting a series at the Sonoma County Museum starting September 14. Jenn runs classes in her store constantly and has parties to warm people into the concept...try it...you’ll like it.

“I keep those paintings I did in Annie’s class as a wonderful reminder of that experience. When I look at my crude work, I remember and feel the pleasure of doing it.” ~ Linda Curry

Annie Murphy Springer 
The Wonders of Watercolor
anniems@sonic.net
(707) 876 3211
anniemurphyspringer.com

Another inspiring teacher is Jen Balletto of Glass Fusion Studio in Sebastopol. Her students glow with a sense of accomplishment and take the thing they made home with them, use it in their daily lives and feel that thrill of accomplishment over and over.

“So much fun learning. It is a totally mesmerizing experience, and the social aspect is precious. The ability to start a creative venture that leads into more with the passion growing is fantastic.” ~ Linny

Jen Balletto
Glassfusion Studio
6906 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol
707.829.3855 • glassfusionstudio.com

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New Gallery V in Valley Ford Debuts August 20

Introducing a New Art Venue

Gallery V: Contemporary Art

Announcing a new rural art venue just off Highway 1 on the Sonoma/Marin coast, Gallery V celebrates contemporary visual, ceramic, literary and movement art. Its debut group exhibit, “CONFLUX” a flowing together, or into each other, as rivers or their tributaries; a confluence Featuring the work of emerging and established artists: Chiyomi Longo, Shane Weare, Sally Weare, Hiliary Williams, Sieglinde Van Damme, Sebastian Moh, Colin Lambert, Martha Grover, Shannon Sullivan, Cathy Richardson, and Pamela Holmes...

Show runs Aug. 20-Sept. 30, 2011

OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday, Aug. 20, 5:30pm-9:30pm

Opening reception features:
Solo cellist Sebastion Plano will provide background music. Poetry-music duet, Terry Ehret and Cailtin Moe will perform during an interlude, at 8pm.

Terry Ehret has published three collections of poetry. Literary awards include the National Poetry Series, California Book Award, and the Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize. From 2004-2006 she served as poet laureate of Sonoma County. Her newest collection, Night Sky Journey, will be released this fall by Kelly Cove Press. Caitlin Moe is a graduate of Mills College with degrees in vocal music and biology. She and her husband Tim Sullivan compose music and perform locally.

EXHIBIT DESCRIPTION
The works in “Conflux” present a range of styles, subject, media, and with half the artists being originally from outside the U.S., a range of voice stemming from diverse cultural experience. On view are cast bronze figures, ceramic tea bowls, sculptural porcelain dinnerware, collage paintings, etchings, screen prints, intricately detailed narrative drawings, alternative process photographs, video with stills bracketed with provocative text, and mixed media prints that defy categorization.

On view are motion bound bronze figures, elegant ceramic tea bowls, surreal biomorphic ceramic / mixed media and porcelain vessels, abstract collage-paintings, playfully composed screen-prints, intricately etched mindscapes, narrative mixed-media prints, video with “stills” employing provocative text, and multi-layered print abstractions.

The works in “Conflux” create trailheads into philosophical, psychological, cultural and literary inquiry. If we sense a common thread, it may be in the recognition of a collective mind that enacts a mostly hidden narrative beneath the surface of objects, places, time and events, emerging as abstracted artifacts of dream, memory, brokenness, continuance, innocence, playfulness—however the viewer imagines these works, they’ve been brought forth into the light for us to ponder.

Located in Valley Ford, a tiny northern California coastal town, Gallery V is a fine art gallery just off the main highway 45 minutes north of San Francisco. It features some of the best painters, printmakers, sculptors, ceramicists, new media artists, and crafts- persons on the West Coast, and beyond. It alternates group shows with shows dedicated to specific artists.

Primarily focused on contemporary, conceptual/new media and ceramic art, the gallery cultivates a thread of internationalism due to the potential the Internet and social media have brought to bear upon art markets.

Gallery V spearheads what is becoming an increasingly strong trend in the art market, both nationally and internationally, by featuring the work of artists, from emerging to mature, who have developed outside the mainstream and who have held onto their outsider status in order to develop their own unique personal vision. Gallery V recognizes the place these artists have in the scheme of things and advocates for them.

In addition to the actual gallery space, Gallery V makes use of the virtual marketplace, through its gallery-v.com website, social media, and through developed third party virtual sites, with a view to sharing this work with the international art world online. Gallery V has a special interest in ceramic art, and intends to contribute to its evolving status as a fine art medium; and more broadly, to breaking down distinctions of art versus craft.

The gallery welcomes blended approaches—the crossing of traditional boundaries in style, media, and discipline. We encourage conceptual works, in which materials serve an idea and interdisciplinary projects, such as those blending art with science.

Valuing education and seeking to promote not only visual but literary, ceramic and movement arts in our community, we host workshops and events, teach classes, and support regional visual, literary, ceramic, and movement educational efforts.

To learn more about Gallery V, for artist bios or interview requests, contact Centa Theresa
707.876.3525 (gallery)


Gallery V
14875 Valley Ford Estero Road, Valley Ford
EM: info@gallery-v.com
www.gallery-v.com
Gallery Hours: Thursday-Friday, 10am-6pm; Saturday-Sunday, noon-5pm; by appointment.

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VISUAL ARTIST AWARDS - NOMINATIONS OPEN

The Arts Council of Sonoma County announces the nomination phase for the 2012 Sonoma County Artist Awards for Emerging Visual Artists (EVA). From now through August 1, 2011, the Arts Council of Sonoma County will be accepting online nominations for the prestigious awards program that will honor three artists with a $2500 unrestricted cash award.

The awards are designed to recognize and award excellence in both artistic merit and body of work and will be given to individual emerging visual artists residing in Sonoma County, particularly artists who are expected to have a significant impact on art in the future. We welcome nominations from artists, representatives from arts councils, art organizations, galleries, museums, as well as from individual patrons, collectors, and community members. Artists may also self-nominate.

Deadline: Nominations must be submitted by Monday, August 1st, 2011.


Online Nomination Site: http://artscouncilsc.com/scaa/(Click on EVA Forms)

Criteria: SCAA for Emerging Visual Artists awards artists in the “visual arts”, which includes 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works such as: assemblage, electronic media, fiber, film, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, site-specific installations, etc. We seek artists of extraordinary talent and commitment to their craft at the emerging stage of their career. Nominated artists must meet the following criteria:

Sonoma County residents
18 years of age or older
Must NOT have gallery representation
Must NOT have had a solo exhibition at an established art institution such as a gallery or museum
After the nomination deadline of August 1, 2012, each nominated artist will be notified of his or her nomination and encouraged to apply. Then a Screening Committee, which consists of 5-7 art professionals, will review and select the top 25 finalists. Three esteemed jurors from outside Sonoma County will then select the 3 winners to receive the award.

ABOUT THE SONOMA COUNTY ARTIST AWARDS PROGRAM
Sonoma County Artist Awards is a program of the Arts Council of Sonoma County. It debuted as a biennial program in 2006 for Emerging Visual Artists (EVA) and expanded to be an annual program in 2009 with the inaugural Performing, Music, and Literary Artist Awards (PMLA). EVA awards are in even-numbered years, and PMLA awards are in odd-numbered years. The program was initially funded by a grant from the Irvine Foundation Communities Advancing the Arts Initiative, in partnership with the Community Foundation Sonoma County, from 2006–2011. The program was modeled after the prestigious Eureka Fellowships award of San Francisco’s Fleishhacker Foundation and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s SECA Award. The program expansion to include performing and literary artists was modeled after USA Artists, a National Artist Fellowship awards program. To support up and coming artists and build a broader arts sector for Sonoma County, the 2012 awards are designed to recognize and reward excellence in both artistic merit and body of work for individual artists working in Sonoma County, and in particular, artists who will have a significant impact on the arts in the future. A dedicated website may be found at www.artscouncilsc.com/scaa

PAST AWARD RECIPIENTS
2010 Emerging Visual Artists award recipients:
Tramaine de Senna (Sebastopol), Laine Justice (Healdsburg), Andrew Sofie (Calistoga)
2008 Emerging Visual Artist award recipients:
Sarah Frieberg (Petaluma), Geirrod Van Dyke (Santa Rosa), Julie Cavaz (Sonoma)
2006 Emerging Visual Artist award recipients:
Catherine Richardson (Santa Rosa), Todd Barricklow (Santa Rosa), Seth Minor (Camp Meeker)
2011 Performing, Music, and Literary awards recipients:
Eliot Fintushel, Performing Artist (Santa Rosa), Steve Pile, Music Artist (Santa Rosa), Joan Frank, Literary Artist (Santa Rosa)
2009 Performing, Music, and Literary award recipients:
Robin Beeman, Literary Artist (Occidental), Jim Corbett, Music Artist (Sebastopol), John Harden, Performing Artist (Santa Rosa)

ABOUT THE ARTS COUNCIL OF SONOMA COUNTY
Founded in 1984 as a nonprofit community benefit organization, the Arts Council believes that a vibrant and diverse arts and cultural sector is invaluable to our community, enhancing the lives of every individual and strengthening the connectivity of a community as a whole. Our three core initiatives are advocacy, re-granting and collaborative programs. We advocate for the arts and arts accessibility countywide. We promote collaboration, raise the visibility of the arts, and re-grant funding to artists, art educators, and art organizations, to provide broader services to our community and tourist base. Since 1984 the Board of Supervisors has reauthorized the Arts Council of Sonoma County as the State/County arts and cultural organization representing the arts in Sonoma County. The Arts Council provides leadership in support of the growth and accessibility of all art and artists in Sonoma County. For more information, please contact Jennifer Sloan, Executive Director at (707) 579-2787 ex 106, jsloan@artscouncilsc.com. Sites: artscouncilsc.com, SonomaArts.com


Elaine Gutsch
Membership & Visual Arts Program Manager
Arts Council of Sonoma County
T: 707.579.2787 x105 | F: 707.542.3412
egutsch@artscouncilsc.com | www.artscouncilsc.com
community web portal: www.SonomaArts.com
Community Benefit Organization/Non Profit 501c(3)

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Artist Profile – Amber Moshin

Serendipity plays a huge role in many lives but there are those rare few that make their chances a true adventure.   Did Amber Cartwright ever imagine while working in her Orange County coffee shop that she would one day be traveling in Burgundy sampling the greatest wines in the world with her talented husband, Rick Moshin? 

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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

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Santa Rosa Arts District

Sonoma County is home to artists from all over this planet. It's one of the most outstanding aspects of living here - beyond the beauty of our landscape and climate! Here is a link to the Santa Rosa Arts District - that also lets you sign up for information on a wide variety of topics that pertain to living in our central city - Santa Rosa. So much to learn - so much to do....

The City of Santa Rosa - click here....

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Artist Profile: Margaret “Maggie” Bolt

Each morning I stand at my kitchen sink taking in the weather pattern over the garden. Whether the day is dreary rain or sunny skies, I can move my glance to the consistency and serene beauty of a Maggie Bolt ceramic wall hanging that occupies the space between the two windows. The impressions in the striations of beige, brown and ecru are of Chinese characters, a warrior, a parasol, a maiden and markings that evoke rays of sunshine and bursts of light. The supporting structure is a braided cord attached to an aged chopstick. The vision is calming, provoking, inspiring. Was Maggie’s intent to create a focal piece for my morning sink side meditation? I really doubt it. But I do not doubt that her natural talents brought together the elements that resonated within her soul and she created something amazing with her full intent.

To visit Maggie’s studio is like stepping into a fairy land of beads, trinkets, swatches of paper, fabric, notecards, wall hangings and light. She immediately apologizes for the state of disarray – she is doing inventory for the upcoming Art @ the Source. Do I believe for one minute that this is not its normal state? Calm art among chaotic inspiration seems to be a familiar theme for artists. Despite Maggie’s claim that she is not a formally trained artist, she exhibits all the traits of the most educated – compultion, proliferation and individuality.

Growing up in Southern California, Maggie visited San Francisco at age 16 to attend her brother’s wedding. She attended Pasadena Junior College after high school but could not erase the lure of Northern California and soon moved to San Francisco. It was not long before she met Geoff Bolt. Geoff has his own story but for this brief mention, he is a well known local wood turner and sculptor. Each year they would venture to Kennedy Road to purchase their Christmas tree until one year they decided that this was where they wanted to live. Moving from San Marino to San Francisco to rural Sebastopol was quite a shock. Snakes in the garden? Septic systems? Life in the country had its challenges.

While Maggie had always participated in crafts – be it flower arranging in San Gabriel to art classes at Pasedena JC – moving to the country added a different dimension. She made wreaths of grape vine cuttings before you could buy them for $1 at JoAnn’s and she drew on the inspiration of the setting. Her son, Dennis – also a local artist – recalls his mother during his childhood as having a glue gun in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She took a clay course at SRJC where she experienced pressing things into clay. That lead to print making and then, of course, one must use the excess from the prints in collage and notecards. When Dennis left for college, he challenged his mother to enter the Sonoma County Fair competition. She was delighted when her humorous painting of a fish received a third place and she was awarded $100. Maggie now had the taste of public appreciation and she was hooked. The detached studio was built and a career was launched.

I asked Maggie about the deep Oriental influence in her art. I was surprised to learn that she has never visited the Far East. Well, physically she has never visited. She recalls a sixth grade social studies project on China that introduced her to the style of Chinese art and culture. With that simple introduction, a profound understanding of Chinese design was tapped. Anyone who questions the value of elementary education enrichment programs should hear this story. What a testament of early exposure to other cultures!
Today you will find intricately carved pendants incorporated in the wall hangings. Fish continue to be a recurrent theme. I picked up a 7” round hanging with fish swimming in circles at Bodega Artisan Coop one day. Such a find! Great for any bathroom. Maggie continues to evolve her style which keeps me coming back to see what is next. Do not miss the opportunity to experience her talent the first two weekends of June during Art @ the Source.

Maggie participates in Art @ the Source with her friend and fellow artist, Janet Charnofsky (Artist Profile – May 2006), at 10430 Mill Station Road. That is where I purchased my kitchen hanging some years ago. It is a great studio to visit with displays from Maggie, Janet and Dennis. You can see Maggie’s art year round at Local Color in Bodega Bay, Bodega Artisan Coop in Bodega and Dolphin Gallery in Gualala. Do not miss Art @ the Source. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet local artists and learn their stories. I will be posting some of my older Artist Profiles at www.MyWineCountryVillage.com in the coming weeks so that you can learn about artists before you meet them. Have an inspiring tour of West Sonoma County Artist.

You can email your comments to shulaproperties@gmail.com. Read what other things Barbara is up to at www.MyWineCountryVillage.com.

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Art of Sonoma County - Artists at their Source

Art of Sonoma County

By Kate Vassey
Our county is rich with art. Visual artists are perpetually inspired by the abundance of beauty found here in every season and passionately engaged in their art making whether it be in a solitary studio, collective, workshop or class. Most towns in Sonoma County have numerous venues for art to be created, exhibited and enjoyed by all ages. Popular annual events such as Art at the Source and ArtTrails are the mainstay of exhibited art in our county and have an enthusiastic following. The Sonoma County Gallery Group (SCGG) is a resource for locating galleries and artists year round. Arts Councils in various towns now offer web sites with updated information as to artists and exhibits in the area. The Gazette frequently features bios of local artists and monthly updates our arts calendar to include as many groups, individuals, and events as we can possible fit into our paper.


The rains have left our wild open spaces lush green, teeming with life and vivid colors. It could not be a more ideal time to experience Art at the Source Open Studios, which takes place Saturday and Sunday June 5 & 6 and 12 & 13. This highly anticipated event sponsored by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts is a unique opportunity to meet Sonoma County artists working in their studios, learn more about their methods and materials, and marvel at their accomplishments.

Art lovers and visitors to Sonoma County have found this yearly event to be an inspiration for their own creative journeys and also an opportunity to purchase unique art objects for their home or as one-of-a-kind gifts.

Among the 130 artists taking part this year there is a striking diversity in the styles and materials being used, which range from traditional painting, jewelry, ceramics and glass, to techniques that would be considered unique or out of the ordinary.

Traditional painters include Marcy Basel, who writes, “I find inspiration for my work from the untamed landscape and magnificent wilderness areas. My paintings are about the spirit of the place. The land reveals itself in unexpected ways. Each landscape has an atmosphere and mood, which portrays a presence of light and color.Painting for me, is about discovery and exploration, which coexists in nature and can be revealed as both realistic and abstract. I use sketches, memories, photos and my imagination to create a painting. The landscape is an ineffable manifestation of God where nature coexists peacefully.”

Painter Terri Sloat is another welcome addition to Art at the Source this year. You can read about her love affair with art and view her work in the adjoining article.

Join Lorraine Chapman for a demonstration of silk painting at her studio. Painting on silk, which has made its way from India to Java to Europe and eventually to the United States, uses wax resist techniques and various colorants that have been documented back to the second century A.D.



Here is a sampling of some of the more unconventional artists you can visit:

Jim’s Bronze Plus foundry is located in the industrial northeast section of Sebastopol, founded in 1989 by Jim Pollare. It is one of the few foundries in California that specializes in fine art bronze work, small to monumental in size. Jim’s personal work ranges from bronze replicas of vegetables grown in this region to more intimate pieces like shrines with an oceanic theme.

Working in ceramic, Gerald Arrington crafts stoneware teapots, fountains, and vessels that are “dead ringers” for natural river rock, driftwood, and natural elements shaped by natural forces.

Creating whimsical sculptures of fish, frogs, dogs, rabbits, and birds with re-purposed materials, Nancy Winn builds the body of her work with wire, crumpled newspaper, shredded paper, old postage stamps, maps, or even sheet music. Her use of materials is humble, but “green” and the final result tells stories beyond their origins.

Inspired by French Canadian quilts made by her family, Jehanne Hale quilts use sheets of golden beeswax assembled in ways similar to fabric quilts. She came to work with beeswax through lost-wax casting and fell in love with the saturated yellows, oranges, and browns of the honeycomb.

Joy Stockdale has developed an innovative process of polychromatic screen-printing that results in a limited edition from the original painted screen with no color registration. She makes wall hangings from these printed silk panels. The resulting work is strong yet delicate and marvelously detailed, like the canopy of a tree or a flock of birds. She is author of the book, “Polychromatic Screen Printing.”

Tim Fleming is not only an experienced fine art photographer; he also creates images of stunning clarity and beauty using everyday objects scanned onto a high quality flat-bed scanner. His scanner art uses current technology but “has the glow of 17th century European tapestries.”

An accomplished musician, Roger Dixon also finds artistic expression sculpting with PVC pipe. He continues to experiment with designing, cutting, and painting his sculptures that can be displayed either indoors or an outdoor setting, some reaching a height of 6 feet.

Nash Kunkle, “Metal Smythe,” finds something magical about working with metal and fire. Whether it is annealing copper, hammering red-hot iron, or pouring molten bronze into a mold, the results bear witness to the process and touch primal chords in the viewer long after the fire is gone.

The Sebastopol Center for the Arts will host a preview exhibition featuring artwork by all participants from May 21st – June 13th with artists’ reception May 21st 6:00-8:00 p.m.

More information about participating artists and their work, studio locations and maps can be found on the official web site, www.ArtattheSource.org, and also in the free color catalog available at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts as of April 30th.

Destination Art 2010

By Heidi Schmidt
One of the best places to begin your enjoyment of the arts in Sonoma County is the Sonoma County Gallery Group (SCGG) Map and Gallery Guide. Serving as the best year-round resource for locating over 60 member fine art and artisan galleries, museums, community arts organizations, and art related businesses, the SCGG Web site (www.scgg.org) where you will find free maps for your self-guided tours.

For example, head north and you’ll find a condensed array of fine art galleries in Healdsburg chock-a-block full and close to city culture and fun. Head east along Scenic Highway 12 to the town of Sonoma and there you’ll find gallery jewels mingled with tasting rooms and wineries or concentrate on the wild-west Sonoma County and winding through the redwoods to the ocean discover unique fine arts and artisan galleries while enjoying the views.

Head south toward San Francisco Bay and find a stimulating concentration of art galleries in Petaluma along side nightlife and musical performances par excellence.

If you edge your way north up Highway 101 deep into redwood country, stop in to the galleries just north of the border in Gualala.

By checking the Web site you can plan ahead to visit a gallery during an art opening or be spontaneous and go visit on your lunch or a day off. Most galleries are open year round and easy to get to. Visit the Web site for a preview of each of the galleries on the map and check the calendar for gallery receptions and events and their time and locations.

The Sonoma County Gallery Group Map and Guide is available at galleries in Sonoma County or can be downloaded as a PDF from our Web site or can be mailed to you at your request. www.scgg.org.

NOTE: I'll be out getting the print edition on newsstands for the next few days - I'll add more material form this collection of stories a piece at a time - thanks for your patience. - Vesta

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Rik Olson with Painting in Progress

I once made the decision that all interviews must conclude before 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The light is better in the morning – I am awake – and most artists have something to say prior to tea time. Alas, the only time to schedule was in the evening. At 6:20 P.M. in the pouring rain, I entered the driveway of Rik Olson – pitch black with only faint streams of light through the trees, I see a figure approaching my car with a welcoming smile. Thankfully, Rik gives good directions and has great signage or I would have buzzed right past the Vinegar Lane sign and ended up in Occidental. Most thankfully, my artist is Rik Olson – easy going, hospitable and uberaus talented.

Why do I use the German word “uberaus” to describe Rik? Because it fits perfectly.
Many of you already know Rik’s work. He is the informal trademark of The Sonoma Gazette. Take a look at this paper – front to back. All of those wonderfully detailed depictions of trees and landscapes and fruits are from the steady hands of Rik Olson. You have seen Rik’s signature style on Sebastopol Apple Blossom posters and the Sierra Club logo. In fact, once you start looking, you will notice that his stamp is well spread around Sonoma County and throughout the world.

While Rik is known for his woodcuts and scratch board prints, he is also a painter, a woodturner and a connoisseur of printing presses. His workshop has an antique printing press with the requisite cabinet of typeset, a modern Apple computer and everything in between. An etching press from Bologna, Italy sits near an old Sharp copier that with modification can pass as a print making device. If it has to do with printing, Rik either has it or knows where to get it.

So who is this person and how did he end up out on Occidental Road? Rik grew up in the town of Clayton in the northern shadow of Mt. Diablo. His first award in art was in third grade in the Walnut Creek Art Festival. The certificate hangs in his studio amongst his diplomas and many other parchments of distinction. Rik ventured to the great city of Oakland to attend the California College of Arts and Crafts (which is now known as California College of the Arts – CCA). After graduation in 1967 with a BFA in Illustration, Rik was drafted into the US Army and served two years in Germany as a Military Policeman. While in Germany he sought out a print shop to hone his skills and met his wife, Brita. Recognizing that he had a good thing going, on discharge he stayed in Germany and spent the next 8 years teaching Art & Crafts for the US military in Germany and Italy. He worked in a print studio and had 3 art shows in the Palozzi Strozzi in Florence. He took in the European experience and enjoyed the life of an expat artist. This is the life of dreams for a young man from a one-street American town.

But all things must come to an end. Rik and Brita returned to his native Northern California and settled in South San Francisco. Rik continued his prolific contribution to proving that illustration is a true artform. He studied wood engraving under John DePol and Barry Moser and drew inspiration from the 14thcentury printmaker, Albrecht Duerer and Oakland Arts and Crafts era printmaker artist William S. Rice.

With his great talents and engaging demeanor, Rik successfully participates in the upper circles of his chosen craft. He has illustrated over 200 books and is currently working on a rendition of Herman Melville’s Norfolk Island and the Chola Widow from the Encantadas with Nawaken Press. Rik is an active member of the San Franciso Center for the Book (SFCB), a place to learn the many arts of the book. He teaches workshops each month on methods he utilizes in book illustration such as linoleum prints and wood engraving. Each September for the last six years, a group of artists make 3’ by 3’ linoleum cuts and take their work to the streets – literally! A San Francisco street to blocked off to traffic and a steamroller is the press for 3 to 6 prints each. The event is called ROADWORKS and the prints made are sold at auction to support the work of SFCB. Rik is a favorite at these events, returning each year to wow the crowds. Rik is a member of the Graton Gallery in Graton and Local Color in Bodega Bay. Beginning on February 28, Rik will have a 2 month exhibit at Sonoma Academy, complete with a lecture to the student body, faculty and friends on March 10. Look around and you will find Rik’s art and if you are lucky, you will run into Rik. You can learn more about books and locate Rik’s workshops at www.sfcb.org. Or check out Rik's website at www.rikolson.com. Rik participates in ArtTrails and Art at the Source. However you find him and his art, you will be thankful for the experience.

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Sonoma County Artist Awards for Performing, Music and Literary Arts for 2011

The Sonoma County Artist Awards for Performing, Music and Literary Arts for 2011 is a long way away as regards the actual giving of the award, but the process begins in 2010 and the application process and more have changed. Artists OF ALL KINDS need to be aware of these changes so they can prepare their work for the application process.

These awards are for Sonoma County artists only!

Firstly, everything is going virtual. Nominations, applications, submissions and judging. (It is possible that there will be a gathering in Santa Rosa for conference of many of the judges either in person or, for some, via Tele-Conferencing, to finalize their decisions.) There are several reasons for this and the biggest one is convenience for all.

The second is that we have a greater chance of not losing anything. Not that we did last time but you never know.

Thirdly we wish to expand the outreach for applicants, nominators and judges and to make the ability for their participation more convenient.

Finally, for those artists who already have much of their work memorialized online in social networks or sites such as My Space,Vimeo or You Tube, Music or Literary sites etc, artists will be allowed to reference them via URL rather than duplicate a submission. They will be asked to date stamp such references or performances.

The most important change is that we will no longer be asking nominees to submit hard copy such as DVDs, CDs or print material. That is, there will no longer be a need for an artist to create or copy any print material and submit it via the postal service with all the inconvenience that implies. Those whom we invite to be nominators will be asked to nominate on line, again saving time and lessening the inconvenience of submitting hard copy nominations. All artists' videos, audio and print material may be submitted via an online application form.

To that end I am asking you to spread the word among your respective artistic communities and to take note yourselves, that should the possibility of a $5,000 award appear enticing, artists should begin to think of memorializing their work on video or audio or by transferring it to digital. For Musicians from all genres that may not be a hard thing to do. For Performing artists, such as Theatre people, Dancers, Opera or Musical Theater performers, Street performers etc, recording their work on video or audio is getting to be far more common. Of course, getting the relevant permissions, will be a pain, but a pain worthwhile if an artist becomes a finalist. Last year many videos were submitted on DVD and I'm sure that followed the rules of the game. For Literary artists, without making any presumptions, many writers already have their work in digital format and therefore it shouldn't be a problem.

The rules, regs and restrictions for the awards will be posted online on the Artist Awards website early in 2010 and an email will go out to well over a hundred Sonoma County artists, organizations and commentators inviting them to nominate one Sonoma County artist from the categories defined. Those nominated artists will then be invited to apply for the awards. There will be a $25 submission/application fee, also payable online, to cover the costs of administering the awards program. By making the submission process an online experience the cost on postage, time and inconvenience will, we believe, be alleviated.

Finally, this award is the largest single monetary award, given out to any single artist, from each of the three categories, from any Sonoma County Arts organization. Based on a peer recognition process, the Arts Council and Community Foundation Sonoma County administer this program to encourage and promote the county's artists and to reward overall excellence, as suggested by the nominators and as adjudicated by the independent panel of judges. No member of the Board or Staff of either Arts Council of Sonoma County or Community Foundation Sonoma County will be allowed to apply for an award or have any influence or input in the final adjudication of the three winners.

So to summarize, The 2011 Sonoma County Artist Awards of $5,000 each to one Sonoma County artist each from the Performing, Music and Literary disciplines will be an all online affair. We ask that you spread the word within your community of artists to record their careers on video, audio and digitized formats to enable them to apply for this award. The award may be used in any way the winning artists deem useful and is not a grant for work to be produced but a recognition of the excellence of the artist. Many of you will be invited to nominate such an artist you think merits this award so, until then, please enjoy your festive season, keep healthy and we'll be in touch in the new year.

Thanks for all you do.

John

ps. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 707-579-2787. The council offices will be closed from December 24th until January 4th 2010.
--
JOHN A MORAN
Performing, Music and Literary Arts Manager
The Arts Council of Sonoma County
404 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA
t:707.579.2787 ext 102
f:707.542.3412
c:707.548.4148
jmoran@artscouncilsc.com

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Artist Char Banach - Gracie, My Companion, My Friend

By Char Banach, Artist
I’ve attempted to capture her life look in this painting, one of a series I call Amazing Gracie. Some are fun and whimsical (think Gracie with a red holiday nose) and another carries a mug shot board identifying her as busted for chasing birds or her sister, my other English Spring Spaniel named Delilah. You can view all the Gracies as they emerge on my website, http://www.charbanachart.com/
From the Amazing Gracie Series
Original Acrylic on Canvas, 18” x 24”
Limited Edition Artist Enhanced & Numbered Giclèe on Canvas Or Velvet Paper
Amazing Gracie Series Paintings Also Available As Greeting Cards

Gracie is a sympathetic soul, often showing concern for her fellow housemates, a sort of dog vet who cares about her family. She inspired me to create Gracie, Dr. Dog.

Gracie is a nine-year old English Springer Spaniel who watches over me as I paint in my studio in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley. She patiently nestles into her spot and stands guard for hours on end, quiet, deeply thoughtful and loving without hesitation or conditions.

With her old-soul face but boundless Springer Spaniel energy, she brings a laugh at just the right time when I’m faced with a problem on the canvas before me. Loyalty in such animals is but a cliché, but her sense of duty and appreciation moves far beyond such simple sentiments.

There is joy in sharing the most important things in your life, and I hope you’ll want to take Gracie home with you too, there to watch over you, keeping an eye out for that moment when you, too, need some special love and attention.

About the Artist
Educated in Environmental Design at Northern Michigan University with further art studies at the University of Wisconsin.

California Art Teaching Credential, Dominican University, California.

Displayed in private collections in California, Idaho, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona. Frequently represented in Northern California.

www.charbanachart.com CharBanach@comcast.net
Char Banach ∙ Windborne Farm ∙ (707) 570-2098 ∙ or ∙ Fax (707) 570-0398

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essensual exhanges - ArtSpace404 Sonoma County

ArtSpace404 is pleased to announce its seventh exhibition, Essensual Exchanges: Field Notes on the Confluence of Land + Water in Sonoma County, as a continuation in its mission to present contemporary and experimental art exhibitions to the community.

Essensual Exchanges is an intimate and experimental investigation examining the natural world of water, plant and land systems in Sonoma County. Artists Sasha Duerr, Corey Hitchcock and Catherine Richardson create individual and collaborative chorography through empathic and intuitive connections to potent places. Each artist presents her field notes and particular methods of mapping, tracking, and relation to the local terrain, mirroring the intricacies of the landscape in their visual works.

The work in this show reflects the visual interpretation of insights gained from onsite studies and observations, and is a partnering of each artist’s involvements with the natural world. With Sonoma County as a common ground for artistic inquiry, natural water sources, dramatic and breathtaking coastlines, fertile agricultural changes, and historical settlements inform and inspire the work on view.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Originally from the Dales and Moors of Yorkshire, England, Catherine Richardson currently resides in Sonoma County. The contours, open spaces, and stone walls in England provided early exploratory interest in and a direct experience with the land. Her relocation to America provided clarity in the understanding that land-spaces were the invitation for a life-long dialogue and an interface for creative realms. Sonoma County now serves as a constant point of reference and site for inspiration in her work. Richardson is a recipient of the 2006 Sonoma County Artist Awards for Emerging Visual Artists and holds an MFA from John F. Kennedy University. She is a member of The B Club – a collaborative group of five artists working collectively on mail-based art produced in editions called The Pollination Project, as well as other site-specific projects. For more information visit www.cjrich.com or www.thBclub.com.

With an MFA in Textiles from California College of the Arts where she currently lectures, Sasha Duerr works with organic dyes, alternative fibers, and studies the creative reuse of materials. Her work is a cross-pollination of textiles with a consideration and sensitivity towards environmental systems inspired by ecological principles found in permaculture. Duerr also works with regenerative design for food, clothing, and shelter. Duerr’s installations and textiles investigate nature and nurture, and are dyed with a revival of nontoxic, organic place-based recipes. In 2007, Duerr founded Permacouture Institute with the Trust for Conservation Innovation to encourage the exploration of fashion and textiles from the ground up. Duerr’s extensive work with plant-based dyes and ecological principles through local land-based sources and community informs her art and practice. Her first book, Cultivating Color will be released in the fall of 2010. For more information visit www.permacouture.org.

San Francisco native Corey Hitchcock currently resides in Sonoma County and holds an MFA from John F. Kennedy University. Hitchcock’s work in drawing, painting, and printmaking, for which she received the 2002 Cadogan/Murphy Fellowship Award, now serve as “blueprints” for her interactive installation projects. Her work explores cosmological mysteries relating to the relationship between man and reality. Hitchcock’s interdisciplinary work earned her a residency at The Lab in San Francisco, CA, where her work and studies culminated in an exhibition of “The Wicked Engine of Connected Desire”, a social sculpture and performance piece. Hitchcock is a member of the artist collaborative The B Club. For more information visit www.hitchcock-presents.com or www.theBclub.com.

HOURS + ACCESSIBILITY
ArtSpace404 is located at 404 Mendocino Avenue, Suite C in downtown Santa Rosa, CA. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 12:00pm to 4:00pm.

MISSION
ArtSpace404 is a contemporary, experimental art venue produced by the Arts Council of Sonoma County located in downtown Santa Rosa. ArtSpace404 serves the community by promoting artists and organizations through creative uses of the gallery space, showcasing “excellence” through various media to be experienced by the public. ArtSpace404 promotes the accessibility of art for everyone through outreach and added programming. For more information, please visit www.artspace404.blogspot.com or call (707) 579-2787 x103.

.........................................................................
Nicole Lee, ArtSpace404 Exhibition Director
Arts Council of Sonoma County, 404 Mendocino Ave., Ste. C, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
p. 707.579.2787 x103 f. 707.542.3412 e. nlee@artscouncilsc.com
artspace404.blogspot.com artscouncilsc.com sonomaarts.com

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Longboard Vineyards Presents: "Mavericks - Everest of the Seas"

Come late October Sonoma County will not only welcome a new crop of world class wines, but the award winning photography of some of Action Sports best lensmen. “Mavericks – Everest of the Seas” comes alive again just in time to set the stage for another epic Big Wave Season.

Mix two of Northern California’s finest institutions – big wave surfing and the wine country – and you have what promises to be an amazing weekend at the Longboard Vineyards Tasting Room in Healdsburg October 23 – 25.

Relive heroic battles between man and wave as seen through the eyes of the cutting-edge photojournalists who risk life and limb to document the wave's intense man-against-the-sea drama and obsessive lifestyle of Maverick's elite riders.

Oded Shakked, a longtime surfer who founded Longboard Vineyards, will be unveiling his latest release, The Peter Mel/Mavericks Cabernet Sauvignon. This signature wine will be blended by not only Shakked but guest vintner, Peter Mel.

Mel, one of the most respected names in Big Wave Surfing is known as perhaps the most skillful surfer ever to ride Mavericks. The famed spot off the Half Moon Bay. In October of 1998 he was whipped into to what is now considered the biggest wave ever ridden… Mel along with the featured photographers, surfboard shapers and wine makers will be on hand for the Friday night reception. The reception will begin at 5pm and run until roughly 9pm. (after party tbd)

Longboard Vineyard has always had a soft spot for surfers. It’s a place where you can hangout at a redwood-surfboard bar, or sample one of its award winning wines while kicking back on a comfortable sofa watching surf movies. For this harvest weekend event Shakked has enlisted “Mavericks: Everest of the Seas,” the heralded collection of Mavericks surf photography from Frank Quirarte, Doug Acton, Seth Migdail and Ed Grant.

“Everest of the Seas” first made its debut recently at the Coastal Arts League Gallery in Half Moon Bay, drawing large crowds and an enthusiastic response. It just finished a one-month highly successful run at San Francisco’s world class Museum and Gallery, SFMOMA.

“Everyone who sees the exhibit is just blown away,” said Grant, the curator of the Coastal Arts League Gallery. “Both surfers and non- surfers can’t help but get caught up in the energy and stoke that surrounds Maverick’s, the surfers and photographers who put it on the line every time they go out there.”

The event also represents a high point in the career of Oded Shakked, who was born in Israel and grew up near a beach just north of Tel Aviv. Immersed in surfing from the start, he made several trips around Europe’s Atlantic coast while discovering, to his delight, that “it was easier, cheaper and safer to drink good red wine than bottled water.” His twin loves of surfing and wine brought him to California, where he studied winemaking at UC Davis and became enamored with the people, climate and rich soil of Sonoma County. He founded Longboard Vineyards with the motto “Wine, waves and soul,” making it a highly unique fixture in wine country.

The October 23-25 weekend will also feature the sale of surfboards and memorabilia, along with Acton’s acclaimed book, “Inside Maverick’s.” Admission is free.

Opening reception sponsored by Maverick Events and Longboard Vineyards
Peter Mel, Mavericks photo - Doug Acton/insidemavericks.com

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Bas Molenkamp: Creating Abstract Landscapes with Youthful Exuberance

Bas Molenkamp is young, creative and passionate. What a delight to interview! Right at the start he has a fresh, new story to tell. I met Bas in his home on West Street in Sebastopol. The easel set up in the corner of the living room seemed as natural as the sofas around the fireplace.

“When did you start painting?” I asked.
“A couple of years ago,” he replied.
“How did you get started?”

His eyes lit up and he began his story.

Bas Molenkamp is Dutch. He met his wife, Alia, while traveling in India. They traveled together until their joint resources were spent. They arrived in Berkeley, Alia’s family home, and prepared for a less nomadic future. Wanting bucolic surroundings, they began their journey northwards with Mendocino the chosen destination. A stop in Sebastopol to have lunch at Food For Thought (that is now Whole Foods) altered their plans. They were so impressed with the friendliness and casual acceptance of them by Sebastopolians, they settled right here.

Now the story up to this point is not all that unusual. Boy meets girl – okay, not usually traveling in India – boy marries girl – this has some practical side effect, like being able to stay in the US – couple visits Sebastopol – what better place to settle down and have a family. Once established in Sebastopol, Alia became a masseuse and eventually started painting. Bas worked in construction until he was injured, then at the Wild Flower Bakery in Freestone and last went to massage school when Alia became pregnant with their child.

The first time Bas ran his hands over a human body with the intention of relieving stress, he knew that this was the profession for him. The tactile sensation of detecting the sinuous path of muscle and tendon with the fluidity of oil on skin brought a peace within that made the massage a healing for both masseuse and his subject.

Bas attributes his frugal nature to his ancestry. He cannot bear to see anything wasted. As Alia painted, she would leave large blobs of paint on her palette which would eventually dry up – never to be used. One day Bas decided that he would help her out and prepare a canvas with what was left on the palette so that it would not be wasted. He was hooked by painting with the first stroke of the brush. Bas relived the same epiphany that massage had delivered. Alia never got to use that canvas and Bas has been painting ever since.

Bas paints landscapes. They are what I would call “abstract” landscapes as they come from his imagination and draw upon the observer’s. The enthusiasm of youthful exuberance jumps off the canvas as he plays with the nuances of color and form. He uses words such as “delicious” and “dancing” to describe the creation of his images. He experiences a “roar of wanting to go to the canvas” - “a shift in the brain” when a brush is in his hand. Have I already said that he is a delight?

Bas cites Matisse and Renoir as influences in his craft. His results are very different and modern when compared to these masters but the emotion is evident. Bradford Brenner, the nationally acclaimed Sebastopol artist, is a neighbor and friend who has taken an interest in the progression of Bas’ painting. Brenner’s influence is evident and his helpful comments are acted upon.

The first public showing the paintings by Bas Molenkamp is October through January at the Prudential California Realty office at 7300 Healdsburg Avenue in Sebastopol. The Opening Reception is Friday, October 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Marcy Basel, previously featured Artist Profile, will be sharing the walls. Bas offers massage at Osmosis in Freestone or at his home in Sebastopol. If you cannot make it to the opening of his show, please stop by the Prudential office anytime during business hours.

You can email your comments to bshula@comcast.net. Read what other things Barbara is up to at www.MyWineCountryVillage.com.

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Sonoma County Artist: Fran Nielsen

Fran Nielsen has lived her life in Sebastopol. She apologizes for this fact but knows that she is a fortunate person. Her father lived his life in Sebastopol and her grandmother ventured from far away Healdsburg. How more local can someone be?

Fran works in her home – right off the kitchen in a space designed for creating. The work that goes on in this studio is as integral a part of Fran’s being as the life she has built as a wife, mother and grandmother. Fran downplays her accomplishments as an artist and is quick to tell that she has no formal training and just does what comes naturally. She mentions that she only began focusing on paintings in the last three years but “focus” is a critical word here. Painting is a profession that she has progressed towards all her life.

Fran loved animals as a child and began her drawing forays by painting horses. Not the easiest subject for even the most schooled of artists – she recalls that they looked similar to dogs! Once in high school, her talents were tapped to design and build sets for school productions.

Becoming a wife and mother became her most important role as time went on but all of those lifelong friends could not forget Fran’s artist abilities. Fran did graphic design for an apple business, designed the original logo for Lucas Wharf Restaurant in Bodega Bay, drew pen and ink mementos of houses for real estate agent gifts and provided portraits of children for doting parents. She naturally became the Art Director for the California Junior Miss Pageant which was held in Santa Rosa. For ten years, Fran designed and created the musical production stage sets for the pageant.

Along the way Fran found a new outlet by making cloth dolls with carved faces. She and her sister worked home shows with a line of Father Christmas and angel dolls. The dolls provided a medium for carving, painting, sewing and ornamentation - a combination of beautiful and intriguing components which yielded a desirable product. While the public clamored for decorative soft dolls, Fran’s son wanted to adorn his walls with paintings by his mother. The tradition of painting a picture for her son began in the 1990’s and continues today. Fran started adding paintings into the mix of offerings at the home shows – and they sold. She was asked to put her dolls in Jessal Gallery in Napa and she parlayed that invitation to include some paintings – and they sold! In 2006 Fran’s emphasis changed to painting.

The Art Workshop of Western Sonoma County (AWS) is an active group of over 100 local working artists. It began in 1965 and continues to be the second oldest art group in Sonoma County. With that legacy, it is not surprising that Fran is very active in this group. She is currently the Recording Secretary and she participates in most of the activities. AWS meets the third Thursday of the month, Noon to 3 PM, in the dining room of the Sebastopol Veterans Memorial Hall, S. 282 High Street, Sebastopol, CA. After a light lunch and business meeting, a local artist provides a demonstration or critique. Fran is a self admitted goal setter and she uses the inspiration of this forum to try new things. She is fascinated with the contrasts for shadows and sunlight. She loves the drape of fabrics and the color variations imposed by glass. She is always looking for the next challenge.

Fran paints in a style of realism. Her medium is acrylics on canvas. She finds the preciseness of clean lines and architectural perspective naturally appealing. While her subject matter is recognizable as local landmarks and known views, Fran makes her paintings more likeable by altering the composition - remove the extra building, change the plants in the foreground, the addition of an animal. The showing currently at the Prudential Real Estate office in Sebastopol is made up of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, Russian River appellation vineyards, Carmel courtyard and kitchen vignettes. Some are stylized – some are like photographs – all are beautiful.

Fran’s works can be seen regularly in many local venues. All of her entries to the Harvest Fair have brought ribbons. The Apple Blossom crowd has voted her painting the people’s choice two years in a row. Maybe it was the apples on the table that brought the support but more likely it was the serenity that the painting evoked. You can see Fran’s paintings for the next three months at Prudential California Realty at 7300 Healdsburg Avenue in Sebastopol and most of the time at Graton Ridge Cellars on Hwy 116 between Sebastopol and Forestville. In September, paintings will be in Bank of the West in downtown Sebastopol. Two warnings – come prepared to buy and don’t expect to come back later and find the same painting. These paintings sell!

You can email your comments to bshula@comcast.net

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