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Bay Area Clay at Arts Benicia

Matt clay faces with a folk art and political flavor carved into a tall column, pale colors and dark shadows in the revices
Detail of “Cliffhanger”, 2017 by Mark Messenger

The ceramics show at Arts Benicia closes on November 19 and features many notable pieces worthy of a trip, for those who will travel over bridges. The center is open Wednesday–Sunday 12 noon – 5pm and the show is called “Bay Area Clay: A Legacy of Social Consciousness.”

The exhibition features well-known local artists and some wonderful work by: Robert Arneson, Stephen De Staebler, Viola Frey, Arthur Gonzalez, Michelle Gregor, Marc Lancet, Mark Messenger, Richard Notkin, Lisa Reinertson, Richard Shaw, Ehren Tool, Monica Van den Dool, Stan Welsh, and Wanxin Zhang.

I’ve always loved the work of Ehren Tool and this show features a wall of his cups on the left wall once inside the gallery. Two of my favorites include one with a quote by environmental campaigner and scientist Dr. Vidana Shiva, and there are several great ones featuring Trump imagery.

Matt cup with text impressed in We are either going to have a future where women lead the way to make peace with the earth or we are not going to have a future at all."
Cup by Ehren Tool

 

A detail of 8 cups on simple wooden shelves. One features an image of Trump holding a severed head of the Statue of Liberty, another a screaming Trump face. The other cups are subdued and have images of war impressed into them
Cups by Ehren Tool

 

I am new to the work of  Mark Messenger and loved the large central column by him that anchors the show. All pieces are worthy of spending some slow art time to absorb the rich imagery, appreciate the technical skill and enjoy the beautiful compositions and satisfying ideas on view.

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Visitors engaging with the column by Mark Messenger

 

Visit the Arts Benicia website for more information. The center is located at 991 Tyler Street, STE. 114, Benicia CA. and is free but as usual, donations are welcome for this artist run space. Telephone: 707-747-0131, email is info@artsbenicia.org.

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Community of Practice

Big shout out to local artists Sue Fox from Textile Dream Studio and Corbett OToole for all they do. I’ve just completed a wonderful 12 x 12 challenge with Sue, Corbett and 10 other women artists over the last 12 months. We’ve all traveled together and shared our process, our products and ourselves once a month. Their expertise and wisdom are a dynamic force in the world and we are all so grateful to them.

Much of the Farming Series has been made during this process and as the year drew to a close, the work started to become more sculptural. The gate motif is still making its presence felt and I’m more than ready to do some full on, in your face color. The piece in this photo is also within the 12 x 1 2 inch format, and made of 12, 12 inch square pieces of plastic bubble wrap and re-cycled batting, sewn together to make a cushion. The sculpture makes a crunching sound when pressed, and reminds me of the daily endeavor of reducing the amount of plastic in my life.

Image shows: square white cushion with 8 small red prayer flags sewn to bottom edge. A white gate symbol is stenciled onto a fragment of red silk fabric song with three vertical black lines and hints of blue and yellow paint.
Farming Sculpture No. 1, mixed media (including plastic, paint and silk cloth, 12 x 12 inches

The small red fabric prayer flags are torn rectangles from an old red silk dress. The white gate motif and black vertical lines were applied with a stencil. Image shows: square white cushion with 8 small red prayer flags sewn to bottom edge. A white gate symbol is stenciled onto a fragment of red silk fabric, placed in the middle of the piece with three vertical black lines and hints of blue and yellow paint around the edges.