Social Commentary Archives - CreativeSonoma.org

Zyssa Morales Artisan, Ceramics, Fiber Art, Illustration, Jewelry, Mixed, Other, Painting, Visual Arts, Woodworking My name is Zyssa Morales and I am a craft artist. I was born in Ecuador but have been raised in the United States. I’m passionate about art and would love to use it to bring awareness to social and environmental issues.

Kalia Mussetter Artisan, Children's, Fiber Art, Literature, Mixed, Non-Fiction, Other, Other, Painting, Performance Art, Poetry, Teacher/Instructor, Theatre, Visual Arts

Pieter Myers Printmaking, Visual Arts

Pieter S. Myers received his Degree in studio arts from Colorado College with a specialty in printmaking at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. Principal influences include photography study with Ansel Adams, portrait study with Joyce Tenneson, and photogravure training at Crown Point Press in San Francisco. Pieter employs the classical tradition of copper plate photogravure, using innovative darkroom and intaglio printmaking techniques. Classically trained in both etching and fine art photography, Pieter concentrates on contemporary portraiture, figures, and images of people, also incorporating satire and social commentary. Each print is hand- pulled by the artist in limited editions. No computer imagery is used.

Evelyn Nitzberg Illustration, Other, Painting, Visual Arts I'm a Sonoma County, California Artist. I grew up on a chicken ranch through the 1950s. My NYC parents came by train to Petaluma in 1949 on their honeymoon. They tell me that I started drawing when I was only two years old...and I never stopped making art. Aside from working in the family business, growing up in the country was a mecca for exploration and discovery. I spent many happy hours alone, drawing and constructing things, or with my siblings running through the fields, thrilling over pollywogs, climbing trees, digging through the owl pile in the barn looking for mouse bones to glue to my grandfather's thrown away cigar box tops. In college I majored in Painting and Drawing at San Francisco State University; toward the end of my undergrad days I learned as much as I could about Printing Technology. I spent ten years working as a Photolithographer in Bay Area Print Shops. I also wound up painting a 4'x16' mural depicting the history of printing technology in the U.S. It was presented at the St. Francis Hotel in SF during the 125th anniversary convention and was published across the U.S. and Canada. In the 1980s I worked as part of a team of field biologists censusing Gray Whales in Bajia Magdalena in the Lagunas in Baja. As a result of these incredible adventures with Ron Patterson and Ron LaValley I wound up working as a freelance Biological Illustrator for the local community college. My artistic bent has taken me in many directions: muralist for the ITU in SF, illustrator of CD covers for NY Sticktet player, Steve Adelson, logo designer for the band Signia (2004), flyer design for Norman Greenbaum of Spirit in the Sky, T-shirt and fabric design, many commissioned paintings for clients in L.A., Chicago, SF, NYC, Marin County. I currently continue to oil paint and teach in my rural studio. I love to paint very special biographical personal pieces for clients. I still love the creative process! In 2015 I earned the esteemed status of Signature Artist with Society of Western Artists for having earned 150 points over a three year period for having been juried into shows at 5 points each for bi-monthly shows and 30 points each for the annual exhibits. I have exhibited and won awards for my paintings since I was 17 years old. And I won the Petaluma Art Association annual scholarship when I graduated from Petaluma High School in 1970. My exhibit resume is extensive and includes Award of Merit at the State Fair in Sacramento, all First Place Awards, Best of Show Overall and monetary award at the Cloverdale Citrus Fair, numerous First Place Awards with San Francisco Women Artists and Society of Western Artists whose annual juried in exhibits honored me as an artist in print in the annual catalogs in '13,'14,'16. I continue to teacher Drawing and Printmaking with Petaluma Adult Education, at the Petaluma Art Center and in my studio. I taught for Sonoma County Schools for more than 20 years.

Erin Rose Opperman Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Mixed, Other, Painting, Photography, Visual Arts

Here’s the important stuff: I have a strong, varied background in visual arts with a photography degree from Sonoma State University as well as a degree in graphic design + branding from San Francisco’s FIDM. For nearly three years I had the pleasure of working in-house, as Art Director at an award winning advertising agency, The Engine is Red. I focused on brand strategy, marketing concepts, and fully custom digital experiences. I collaborated within a team to create concepts, strategies, and results. And I led a team to ensure ideas were upheld, best practices were met, and expectations were always surpassed. I now work freelance to serve my own clients as Erin Rose Creative. I offer agency-quailty creative services without the agency price or hassle.

Here’s the fun stuff: I’m an inexplicable mix of a wildly punctual, reliable, detail-oriented, deadline driven professional AND terrible adult person who can’t make a bed or cook a meal to save her life. I’m quirky and fun, but smart, focused and I get things done. I’m obsessed with Palm Springs, anything ‘70’s, and if I could create my own version of Mt. Rushmore it would include Bowie, Warhol, Kahlo, and Frances McDormand. I've formally studied photography, painting, and design. Which leads me to be a multidisciplinary artist with a wide body of works, across a multitude of media types. I highly suggest following me on Instagram. I'm fun.

Michael Palace Artisan, Woodworking My art is an homage to our connection with nature. I make alters to the natural world. It is a way to acknowledge our life and the planet into which we are inextricably woven. We tend to view ourselves as separate, so we don't hold the earth as something loved, something sacred to us. My art is so that we have a place to honor our lives and that which connects us to the awe all around us. My art uses recognizable forms and icons, like the tree. Trees are a symbol of life, an emissary of nature, and a material of construction. I create using trees that have been killed and cast aside as firewood and landfill. I believe that there is always more than one point of view on any given object, and that those views may be both opposing and correct. This is the basis of the concept of a paradox. I see my art this way: the wood is medium and messenger, a victim and a champion, alive and dead. When a piece has been created, the wood has also been transformed from “garbage” to art. The judgment of what is valuable has been altered. The trees body has become a shrine and is integrated back into life as a reality and a symbol

Brooks Palmer Acting, Children's, Composition, Directing, Fiction, Film Office, Folk Art, Illustration, Improvisation, Instrumental, Literature, Media, Music, Non-Fiction, Painting, Performance Art, Puppetry, Storytelling, Talent, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Theatre, Video, Visual Arts, Vocal I'm a creative artist who loves to work in many fields. I write short humorous stories. I paint surrealistic art. I perform quirky improvisational songs and short stories on stage. I draw funny words-of-wisdom cartoons. I write books of surreal fantasy humor. I perform my As You Are show for eager audiences. I don't question my creativity. When it shows up, which is often, I put it on paper, or record it, or perform it. I love to put what I do out into the world, whether it's on stage, or online, or published as a book, or on a gallery wall. I love to uplift people with my creations. I hope my art makes people feel good about being alive, and inspires them to be creative in their own way.

Jessica Yoshiko Rasmussen Arts Administration, Mixed, Visual Arts I'm an interdisciplinary artist. My work ranges from assemblage to interactive installation art, from conceptual work to jewelry making. My perennial interest in discarded materials often drives me to incorporate objects that have a history and which carry meaning into my work both symbolically and energetically. I run a small art business, Va Va Vortex - a monthly art subscription service. I mail subscribers one work of art each month, usually accompanied by a mini-art history lesson that relates to the piece. Monthly installments are also posted on instagram: @VaVaVortex

Janeane Rose Sanborn Photography, Visual Arts Janeane Rose Sanborn As an artist, I am fascinated by the emotions explored in transformation and my work follows along general themes of journey, awakening, healing, and acceptance. Images I create are usually set in nature, utilizing the elements of the landscape to illuminate the subject. It is my intention to capture mood through natural lighting, movement, or props that symbolize the story I am telling. In the editing room, I can take an image and add elements to strengthen a concept, with the use of color toning, texture, and image compositing. When I am creating a particular composition, I am exploring the emotion that I feel as I envision the possibility of relating to my audience. Connection to my audience is what inspires me to create; to tell a story that compels the viewer to be curious about the deeper meaning and to participate in a fluid way. I want the viewer to find a bit of themselves that perhaps they hadn’t known. I am passionate about being an artist that nurtures and invites others to join the journey to a place of openness, with strengthened resolve toward compassion for ourselves and others. I recently became an exhibiting member of the Arts Guild of Sonoma and was chosen to exhibit my image "Awakening" in a juried exhibition for "she", with Juror Joyce Tenneson.

Linda Schroeter Painting, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts Artist Bio: Linda J Schroeter (b. 1963, Australia) is a representational oil painter based out of Geyserville, Sonoma County. Linda has always had a passion for drawing and painting and has been drawn towards realism through inspiring Dutch masters of light such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. Her most current body of work continues her exploration into important visual vocabulary in Western art, working in traditional methods inspired by nature and natural light. Her paintings all have a significant symbolic meaning and together form an allegorical visual treat for the viewer’s intellect to decipher making her paintings interact with both the artist’s intention and the viewer’s analysis. Notable Accomplishments: Art Renewal Center Associate Living Master American Woman Artist Associate with Distinction Australian Governor Generals Award for Art Excellence

Cathleen Swanson Ceramics, Dance, Folk Art, Improvisation, Media, Mixed, Painting, Photography, Recovery Fund Grantee, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Video, Visual Arts I am not limited to one medium nor style. My art is an exploration, an adventure and a spiritual journey. I love to share art-making with others. The Spirit Houses are made by hand from clay.

Therese Van Wiele Painting, Visual Arts I've been painting for 45 years with just a bit of formal art instruction. I paint representational "landscapes with a twist." Every painting I do has a story within it or something unusual about it that viewers can find if they are inclined to look for it. I describe my paintings as not merely "pretty pictures," although at first glance they might be considered pretty. Yet they always have a deeper story, or personal meaning, or something hidden within the painting that viewers can interpret or discover for themselves. I like to create art that leaves people wondering and curious about what is really going on within the pretty picture. Each painting I do has a reason to exist. I frequently don't find the reason myself until I'm almost done painting it. Then it tells its me its story. I'm always glad to provide an explanation of why it exists or the meaning behind it, or, of course, a viewer can interpret it for him or herself. Over the years I've had my work accepted into several juried art shows. I've displayed and sold much of my artwork in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota where I used to live. I moved to Petaluma 7 years ago and am now trying to re-establish myself as a known artist in Sonoma County. I currently have 2 paintings on for sale at Gallery One on Western Ave. in old downtown Petaluma.

Barbie Watts Artisan, Creative Sonoma Grantee, Functional Art, Illustration, Mixed, Multi-Media, Other, Other, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts Living through some iconoclastic times, I feel like the truth seeker and the magician, asking viewers to see what I see in my drawings, paintings, sculpture, video’s and writing about it all. I grew up in a family of exceptional people. Trained in painting and ballet from a young age, I would move on to different mediums and styles of art for the the rest of my life. I would pour myself into every style, medium and philosophy I could afford. Having to find alternative sources for the necessities of, say, painting, I scoured alleys and dumpsters at businesses, looking for and finding paper for drawing or mat board, wood for stretching canvas, sometimes the canvas. I also found canvas and more, not at the art store, but discount fabric stores or hardware store. I still reuse today, making paper mache containers, boxes and pencil cups, using plastic clamshells, soup cans, as molds. Old aluminum foil makes great armatures for my smaller pieces, the mermaid candlestick holders or boxes and such. Water is my current interest and being able to make air to water collectors in a way it would catch the public s attention. I think there power in having some control over those things that are normally out of our control, like the drought in California. Water from Air collectors on’t depend on anyone or any company, to work. They can be made from the simplest materials. WHY aren’t there more?

Asherah Weiss Arts Administration, Creative Sonoma Grantee, Folk Art, Illustration, Improvisation, Mixed, Multi-Media, Muralist, Other, Other, Other, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Puppetry, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Theatre, Visual Arts Asherah Weiss is an educator, community artist, and organizer. Since graduating from California College of the Arts in 2011, she has helped start many projects that bring people together around arts and placemaking, in Sonoma County and the Bay Area, including the PLACE for Sustainable Living in Oakland, and womb space collaborative arts in Santa Rosa. Her belief in the democracy of the arts has inspired her to bring creativity to people of all ages and abilities, including as a credentialed art teacher at Healdsburg Junior High through the first school years of the pandemic. In 2022, she co-created the globally known project Peptoc, a hotline and series of posters with uplifting messages from kids (call 707-8PEPTOC), and is now continuing the project with Jessica Martin in the form of a book full of young people’s wisdom and humor from around the world. Her excitement lies in what creativity can do for the world— making things more collaborative, sustainable, beautiful and meaningful. Current Projects include:

Co-creator of the Peptoc Project, currently taking submissions for a book of uplifting messages from young people around the world. See peptoc.net
Programs Director at Artstart
Coordinator of Earth Protector Parade at the 1st Climate Fest on April 22nd, 2022 in the Healdsburg Plaza
Artist in Residence at West Side Elementary School

Niki Wildflower Artisan, Creative Sonoma Grantee, Design, Fashion Design, Fiber Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Mixed, Other, Painting, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts Niki Wildflower is a nomadic Artist who currently resides in Petaluma California. She has been influenced by muralists, agitprop art, graffiti and 90’s riot grrrl bands with a focus on women’s rights. Motivated by body-positive activism and our culture’s idea of beauty standards, she chooses to depict female figures as monumental and sacred because of society's poor representation of women. She hopes to capture the strength of softness and the beauty of large women who are unapologetically themselves. As a graduate of Central Connecticut State University her background has been a mixture of easel paintings, life drawings, and murals that specifically concentrate on figurative work. Her figures show closed female forms juxtaposed open and confident power stances, representative of the inner battle women face each day as well as the destruction of female egos. Confident figures challenge today’s beauty norms by portraying large dominant women gazing back at the viewer - a concept of looking and being looked at. Her murals and paintings are the culmination of her art education and experience and are the framework of Niki Wildflower’s dexterity. Her subjects include 2nd and 3rd wave feminist icons, models from multiple social media platforms, and people from everyday life. The struggle to incorporate text and street art aesthetics is unified by her experimentation with spray paint and stickered lettering. Working on a large scale provides a mural-like ambiance that exempli

Richard Wizardsky Audio, Design, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Media, Mixed, Painting, Photography, Visual Arts

I have been illustrating and painting all my life and have been painting on glass for about 20 years.

I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania USA. I graduated with a triple majors in Graphic design, Illustration, and 3 dimensional design. With that education I embarked on a carrier as a graphic designer for Mellon Bank, Bd&E, A.Magazine, In Pittsburgh newsweekly, and produced and Edited Further Magazine,and then short stint into movie graphics for Disney and Lions GateFilms. I have been showing in galleries since 1989 from One Taste Gallery in San Francisco, a group show at the Buddha"s Palm Gallery, Coffee Bizarre, Frame of Mind Gallery, Main Street Coffee,Coffee Bazaar and Slice of Life, Peace in Medicine Gallery, The Pine Cone, Aubergine Emporium, Tiny Town, Hardcore, Guyaki to name a few in West County.. Then in Pittsburgh At Lascquax Gallery, The Beehive, City Books the Zenith Gallery, the Pittsburgh regional history museum as well as the Bloomfield Gallery, my works also adorn Theresa Heinze's foundation for fine arts, More recently showing at Tiny Town, hardcore, Guyaki,Fat heads Gallery , Polk street Gallery, Aubergine after Dark Emporium, Live painting at Festivals and local concert venues such as hop Monk and Lupin Lodge. I focus my artistic sights on the Images and objects of nature, using vivid color to convey their most exuberant form. Through my art I hope to bring people closer to the spiritual relm of the natural world they are immersed in.

Artist Highlights

ArtWanted.com Gallery: Fine Art
Represented By: FurtherImages
Past Clients: Mellon Bank, Disney, Inn Pittsburgh Magazine, Further Images and words, Film Joey coyle, Heinz Foundation, DDf&m etc

Ron Zak Mixed, Photography, Visual Arts Ron Zak is a photographer, teacher and traveler based in Sonoma who works to reveal moments of irony and interconnectedness in his images of diverse cultures and environments. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Zak served in Vietnam from 1965-67. He then left the Steel City to attend college in San Francisco. He earned a Masters in Art from SF State University in 1976 and presented his first solo exhibition titled “The Human Condition” at SFAI’s Walter and McBean Gallery. In 1979, Zak moved to Sonoma and started doing photography for newspapers and magazines. He went on to start Zak Photographics, which specialized in advertising, book illustration, fashion and portraiture work. He is well known for his photo ad campaign used for decades by Gundlach Bundschu Winery. His teaching career began in 1979 at Napa Valley College where he mentored many students who became professional and established photographers. From 2005-2017, he lead the photography department at Solano Community College and for the past thirty years Zak has coordinated travel courses for photographers to such locations as China, India, Cuba, Indonesia, Burma, Argentina, Paris, New York, and Vietnam. The travel study program was inspired by his own experience as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia (1989). Ron Zak has exhibited frequently throughout Northern California and Pittsburgh and has work in many private collections, at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa Valley Museum, and the Skopje Museum of Contemporary Art in Macedonia.

Martín Zúñiga Mixed, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts Between the freeways of 5 and the 99, there are rows of fields as far as the eye can see. The sun is high and hot, the fields are lush, and they are filled with thousands of farm workers. Their faces, arms and legs are covered to protect from the sun and the toxic pesticides used on the crops. The work is backbreaking, and yet, they are almost invisible. Martín Zúñiga, from Michoacan, Mexico, had his first introduction to the United States in these fields and is the product of this experience. An autodidact in work and art, Martín has learned his craft by doing. After the fields, Martín worked in construction, learning the skills he would soon transfer to his art – welding; framing; understanding the strength and qualities of wood, metal, paint, plasters, lighting. Martín’s experience as a migrant, as an undocumented worker, as a Mexican-American in the United States, as a man who speaks in an accented English, and as a target of undeserved police attention, shapes his art. However, his art claims and celebrates a new world, one that recognizes and honors his roots. Martín completed a series of public art pieces in downtown Salinas (Central Coast) and downtown Selma (Central Valley), celebrating the cities' workers and their contributions to the unique character of small, rural cities. More recently, Martín has taught and led art workshops at the Museum of Sonoma County, the Restorative Justice Program, and in Roseland Unified Schools.

CREATIVES

Artist Highlights