Recovery Fund Grantee Archives - CreativeSonoma.org

Peter Alan Mixed, Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts Peter Alan, visual/conceptual mixed media artist was born and raised in Southern California, completing his under-grad at Sonoma State University in Studio Fine Art, History and Psychology. Then he lived in Italy to experience the concepts of art history, while receiving a mentorship from a local native Roman painter (name, non-disclosure agreement). Since then Alan has held a number of painting studios making art for galleries, non-gallery venues and private collectors mostly in Southern and Northern California. Principles and elements of painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture all come together into one application. Mostly on paper or on plywood panel, a wide-range of content goes through a vigorous and rigorous process. With oil paint, plaster, charcoal and collage, Alan develops richly dynamic surfaces using additive and deductive "marks" – an image, a scrape, a slash of paint, etc. Tinkering with anything art-makeable at reach, his concepts range from layered portraits, figures, dresses, fingerprints, Americana icons, walls with journal-entry-like stencil and text. Overall, Alan's style falls inside Traditional and a Contemporary Art. With figurative academia and unconventionality of the avant-garde experimentation Alan brings forth boldness, sensitivity and playfulness with a dark spin. 2018-2020, Alan created artwork from the remnant ash and debris collected from his Glen Ellen home/painting studio lost in 2017 Nuns Wildfire. As a revisit to the Jasper John's "flag" motif, the American and also the California flag depict a kind Symbolism of his content of loss, but now transformed into his most dynamic creative process. The ash, strips of charred wood and other remnant “found objects" integrated with collaged ink-jet images printed on emergency assistance organizations' handouts as well as pages from his journal/sketchbook, Alan offered up inspiration and healing for his community stricken with the aftermath of one of the worse National wildfire on record.

Catherine Altamura Instrumental, Music, Recovery Fund Grantee, Vocal I started playing the guitar at age 5. My early training was heavily influenced by Spanish and Latin American composers, as I studied extensively with guitarists from Spain, Greece, and North America. I began my studies at the San Francisco Conservatory when I was in high school, and gave my first solo concert when I was 17. I continued my private studies there through my 2nd year in college. I also had the immense privilege of performing in several Master Classes with my most significant mentor, Christopher Parkening, whose influence led me to many years of disciplined study of guitar technique, and to strive for excellence in musicality as well as in life itself. My musical career has taken many turns through the years, teaching and performing in several different venues, namely Acoustic, Classical, and Inspirational. The past 10 years have been devoted to the writing and arranging of the pieces for my 2 recordings, Luminaria and Splendor. In these recordings I have combined all the years of study in guitar technique together with the life experiences which give the music depth and passion, and utilized the gift of 6 and 12 stringed guitars, as well as full orchestra and selected solo instrumentalists to enhance the beauty and the creativity of the music. It is my great pleasure to share this music with audiences of all types around the world.

Gary Bayless Artisan, Jewelry, Recovery Fund Grantee Owner, manager, designer and manufacturer of fine jewelry.

Madalyn Berg Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts Madalyn Berg graduated with Honors from Oberlin College, where she was awarded degrees in Studio Art and Biology. A Bay Area native, Madalyn’s work is a reflection of the environment in which she grew up; a home that was deeply immersed in nature. Madalyn became interested in ceramics at a young age, and her interest in ceramic sculpture broadened to encompass other sculptural and installation media at Oberlin. Madalyn’s interest in biology is critical to her work. For her, the connection between art and biology is observation, and as such, she is interested in using her work to encourage people to be more attentive to the inner and outer worlds they live in. While often coming from a place of science, Madalyn’s art is deeply personal, often directly referencing her own health struggles. While her previous work has explored our physical bodies, nature, and how each engages the other, Madalyn's more recent work is more focused on the body as a site of trauma. She investigates how illness and medicine have taken her away from her body and from nature. At the same time, she is running a project called The Community Medicine Cabinet. Part social practice art, part herbal medicine this project endeavors to hold space for healing. It tries to be an answer to some of her other work.

Rudolf Budginas Music, Recovery Fund Grantee Rudolf's music is an entertaining classical/rock/jazz/latin show that expands the borders of classical music with a surprising mix of genres for all generations. Piano virtuoso Rudolf Budginas plays classical "hits" accompanied by a live band. A new way to experience classical music through impeccable artistry, audience interaction, and dazzling wit. Rudolf is a brilliant, internationally-renowned concert pianist, whose deft fingers have delighted audiences from Denmark to Japan and a dozen countries in between. He has acquired a numerous international awards and honors and has a movie star-like personal charm, charisma and perhaps most importantly, a sense of humor, which allows him to connect and interact with his audiences.

Allegra Burke Artisan, Fiber Art, Jewelry, Mixed, Multi-Media, Printmaking, Recovery Fund Grantee, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts, Woodworking A self employed working artist since 2003, I am also an instructor, problem solver and creative. I work in a variety of mediums: Sculpture, Collage, Printmaking, Fiber art, Kanoko Shibori, Shifu, Book making, Boro, Tapestry, Assemblage, Encaustic, Felting, International mail art, Marbling, Block printing, and Mono printing. I have taught at the SRJC, Riley St, and by request to various art groups.

Loren Butchart Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts

Loren Butchart is a tattoo artist in the Sonoma County area. Butchart also produces a podcast entitled Brave Castle Cast, which can be found on iTunes:

"Brave Castle is a podcast dedicated to discussing the pursuit of creativity with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and multi-perspective thinking. Makers, Builders, Artists, Writers, Thinkers, and Adventurers. Anyone I have access to who use their short time in existence to plant their flag as high as they can on the mountain of success, what ever that may be. This podcast is to be long format discussions into the lives and ideas of people that I respect. People of thought and action. My interests lay all over and I collect weirdos as friends. This podcast is a place to show case them, their work and their unique perspectives of the world. Brave Castle is a spelunking mission into conversation."

Santiago Castillo Music, Recovery Fund Grantee The consented BANDA LA CONGORA available for any type of event. Hire: 707 343 5297 or 707 343 6918. La consentida BANDA LA CONGORA nos ponemos a sus disposiciones para cualquier tipo de evento. Números para contrataciones 707 343 5297 O 707 343 6918

Douglas Cross Music, Recovery Fund Grantee Douglas Cross is a singer/guitarist who came of age in Detroit's urban folk music scene in the 60s and 70s...performing with his 12-string guitar from street corners and college concert venues to coffeehouses, bars and military competitions while serving in the Navy. Throughout the years he has entertained audiences in the US, Canada and Iceland. Douglas has an extensive Folk/Pop/Americana repertoire with influences from artists such as John Denver, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, the Beatles and many others. He is a regular performer at Bay Area farmers markets, cafés, wineries and community events.

Helena Donzelli Artisan, Other, Recovery Fund Grantee Helena E. Donzelli Artist/Humanitarian Helena Donzelli spent the first many years of her career in the high tech industry in Silicon Valley. She has varied experience in ranging from recruiting, to Marketing & positioning then leaving the industry with her last position as a technical due diligence specialist for high tech investment and venture capital firms. During her time off, she persued her passion in the world of visual arts with plans of leaving high tech and creating for a living. In 2011, she moved to Sonoma County to bring this dream to fruition. Utilizing her background in Interior Design, she purchased furniture retail store in Healdsburg, Ca. Initially, She sought out training by Annie Sloan who lives in England and has a line of paint created just for furniture. She was also educated and trained to offer classes at the store teaching the chalk painting technique on furniture. She also offered custom painted furniture pieces as well as retail stock on the floor, all hand painted. After closing the store in 2014, she continued to teach classes in furniture painting for Benjamin Moore, local retail locations, in her local art studio and at Art Escape in Sonoma, Ca. Helena’s current creative venture was born out of losing her own home in the Northern California wildfires. She decided to make art out of the survived objects and posted her ideas on Facebook. Within 24 hours, she had 14 messages from other survivors asking her to make them art out of the charred objects. That was the beginning of her new business “Ressurected” in Sonoma- she acquired a warehouse as of January 1, 2018 and has been creating art for fire survivors as well as for retail sales. Helena also was commissioned to do an art installation at a new restaurant in Kenwood as a tribute to the community. Since the fires, She has been featured in Press Democrat, Sonoma Magazine, North Bay News, San Francisco Chronicle, Sonoma Index Tribune, Sonoma Sun, Kenwood Press, Chanel 13 CBS News Sacramento, KTVU Chanel 2 News San Francisco, Chanel 5 KCBS News San Francisco & KCBS Radio San Francisco.

Erick Dunn Mixed, Other, Recovery Fund Grantee, Sculpture, Visual Arts Using my skills as a professional in the visual effects industry, I have been molding and casting nature and creating nature based art for nearly a quarter of a century. My designs are not only inspired by nature, but derived from actual specimens collected, molded and organized by category before being recombined, remolded and reformed into new creations. My approach to art is like as a scientist, conducting experiments and collecting data to come up with theories as to why I love doing this so much. It gives me the greatest joy and satisfaction to create something new in collaboration with our Mother Nature. She has created for us an infinite sea of diversity from which to be delighted and inspired. I feel it is the least thanks I can give to create something back for her in appreciation for this wonderful gift we call life!

Gilham Erickson Artisan, Other, Recovery Fund Grantee The Stone Carvers Guild is a group of independent working professional carvers based throughout the United States. We are working to ensure that carved stone will continue to play an important role in our built environment throughout the 21st century and beyond.

Brian Fies Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts Brian is the creator of "Mom's Cancer" and "Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow," both published by Abrams. Also the web comics "The Last Mechanical Monster" and "A Fire Story." His work has won numerous awards, including an Eisner and a Harvey award.

Kerstin Fletcher Children's, Illustration, Instrumental, Literature, Mixed, Music, Other, Painting, Photography, Recovery Fund Grantee, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts I LOVE drawing and painting with all mediums. From pencil to watercolor, acrylic, or oil, I thrive on capturing light and life. Always looking for new challenges and beauty to capture, I can be found outside at sunrise painting in “plein air” or combining illustrations for a new story for my children. My faith fuels me to seek to paint light and life. I want to truly see, and communicate what I see to others. Raised in a bilingual household with strong ties to Europe, I am mostly self-taught. My life has brought me to delight in traveling, be an avid reader, mother of four, pastor's wife, violist, gardener, and extremely motivated to squeeze every moment out of every day.

Rachel Forbis Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts Rachel Forbis is a conceptual artist from Northern California who focuses on engaging her viewers with each piece she completes. She thrives on creative interpretation while widening her range of artistic abilities. She is a UC Davis Graduate with a degree in Interior Architecture and an emphasis on Fine Art. She lived in Taiwan and has traveled to various surrounding Countries, exploring and expanding her creative world. With a passion for numerous medias and styles, she has found her expertise doing custom artwork for her clients and is always looking for new explorations of subject matter. She has a love for fine detail that is evoked in all her projects. Rachel sells both original artwork and prints from her own inspirations, as well as welcomes commissions that are purely customized. If you live in Sonoma County, you can book a free consultation where she will go to you and discuss your interests.

Christopher Frost Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts I like physics, philosophy, abstraction, talk about the universe, art about these subjects, art about art, random conversation with strangers, puzzles, pattern. I'd like to open a "student studio" some day.

Bill Gittins Painting, Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts Widely recognized for his vibrant “Colorist” oil paintings, Bill Gittins has logged many hours capturing the beauty of his surroundings in colorful, textural excellence. Painting both en plein air and in studio, his paintings are a visual delight; filled with robust, clean hues and distinctive dynamic brush and palette knife work. With a Colorist style that blends traditional with impressionism, and an impasto-like application, his superior handling of the medium results in paintings that convey complexity and movement. As the viewer, you will experience each new discovery for yourself, and be immersed in the moments that captured Bill’s attention. Taking his cues primarily from the elements of Land, Water and Sky, Bill challenges himself to transform his subjects from vistas remote and unaccustomed, to enticing scenes, immanent and familiar. Offering an invitation to enjoy and to feel at-home, each painting beckons you to linger and find welcomed repose. As a metaphor, pathways, and waterways, often leading you into Bill’s work are an artistic element of his process, rich in symbolism and intrigue. Embarking on each piece, he sees his palette as the trailhead for the adventure that awaits the viewer. As he departs and places those first applications of paint, the journey to another wonderful destination begins.

C. Pat Haley Painting, Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts I see Art as a reflection of life. As an artist I enjoy observing and photographing people in their everyday life. While walking through the streets of Mexico, I am impressed with the Mexican people; their culture, character and zest for life. I have been working on a series of paintings \"IMPRESIONS de MEXICO\" (\"IMPRESION of Mexico\") are my works completed the past couple of year while living and experiencing daily life in Puerto Vallarta. I sincerely hope you enjoy viewing and are somehow touched by my works.

Marsha Klein Painting, Recovery Fund Grantee, Sculpture, Visual Arts I have been making art for over 40 years, large format oil paintings and sculptural ceramics. Studied art in my native New York City and at the University of California, Berkeley: ceramics with Peter Voulkos and Ron Nagle, and Painting/Drawing with R.B.Kitaj. I have maintained my own art studio in Sonoma since 1973. My ceramics have been exhibited nationally, the paintings mainly in California. I have been an artist- in- the- schools and community for over 35 years, and designed /directed several large community mural projects.

Evan Koch Artisan, Design, Functional Art, Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts My name is Evan Koch. I am a 40 year old man with Asperger's Syndrome who has come up with some neat board game ideas that I am hoping to market. I am working with the Sonoma County Share Exchange and Local Works in this project. I hope you find the website and the games enjoyable!

DENNIS KOHN Photography, Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts

DENNIS KOHN, professional photographer, teacher, world traveler, image maker, pioneer, environmentalist, and student of life, is as diverse as his background indicates.

Graduated with Honors from Pennsylvania State University in l969 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dennis continued his education through l971 with graduate studies in photography. In 1975, to follow his destiny, he left teaching to open the first DENNIS KOHN STUDIOS in New Hope, Pennsylvania. After a split in a business partnership, the first studio was closed and DENNIS KOHN STUDIOS in Laguna Beach, California was born. Several years later, Dennis would re-locate to the Bay area where he has been working for the past 30 years. In l982 through l985, Dennis returned to teaching by offering weekend photographic seminars to places as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Monterey and Carmel. These workshops taught the "Art of Photographing the Landscape".

DENNIS KOHN currently sells Photographic Art worldwide to individuals and corporations through art consultants, galleries, and prestigious outdoor art shows throughout the western states, as well as his own studio/gallery in Santa Rosa. Dennis has won numerous awards for his images: from the white-washed villages of GREECE, the remote villages of rural CHINA; to the wonderful waters of TAHITI, and the history of two European countries SPAIN and PORTUGAL; and the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of TURKEY. Dennis' latest collections include images of the Buddhist monks and remote villages of THAILAND, and the rich history and multi-religious temples of ISRAEL and images of the wonderful Himalayan Mountains of NEPAL, and most recently extensive travel through some of the most sacred places in INDIA.

In addition to his worldly travels, his renown work of the SAN FRANCISCO landscape as well as his work from YOSEMITE, LAKE TAHOE and the SONOMA and NAPA WINE COUNTRY have made him a prominent figure in the Bay Area's extensive photographic world. The latest ARCHITECTURAL ABSTRACT COLLECTION, sponsored by one of the countries premier photo labs, BAY PHOTO, has been a major departure for Dennis from his landscape work. The Dimensional Overlay images that he produces are unique and have been featured in many of the trade magazines. Awards have been received from Professional Photographers of America (PPofA), Travel and Leisure Magazine, as well as awards of recognition and purchase awards from shows as: LA QUINTA ARTS FESTIVAL, BEVERLY HILLS, AFFAIR IN THE GARDENS, CHERRY CREEK ART FESTIVAL and the prestigious SAUSALITO ARTS FESTIVAL.

David Lear Recovery Fund Grantee, Theatre David Lear is a founding member of the Loading Zone, a collective of actors and playwrights. While living in New York City, he worked as technical director at Playwrights Horizons and Roundabout Theatre. After moving to Sonoma County in 1990, he graduated from Sonoma State University and began designing and directing for Actors Theatre. He became the artistic director at the 6th Street Playhouse in 2005, and then the technical director for the next seven years. In 2008, he organized a fundraiser performance about the life of Vincent Van Gogh that started Jim Jarret as the artist; the event netted the 6th Street Playhouse $32,000 over the course of one weekend. Currently, Mr. Lear works with Cinnabar Theatre in Petaluma as scenic designer, and with Main Stage West in Sebastopol as both scenic designer and stage director.

Mary Neuer Lee Artisan, Jewelry, Recovery Fund Grantee A metal smith all of my adult life, I have earned Jeweler's Certificates from the Santa Rosa Junior College and Revere Jeweler's Academy as well as a being a Certified PMC Artisan. Recently I completed a year long accreditation program with Hadar Jacobson and am now certified to teach her methods in the base metal clays. I have studied many metalsmithing disciplines at the Mendocino Art Center, the Richmond Art Center, the Arrowmont School of the Arts, TN, and with many individuals including Jim Binion, Yvonne Giambrone Martin, Jack de Silva, Florence Resnikoff, Linda Weis and many others. My work has been included in two of Hadar Jacobson's Metal Clay Handbooks and in the 2010, 2011 and the 2012 "PMC Guild Annual: Exceptional Work in Metal Clay". In the everchanging and new world of Metal Clay I earned my PMC Certification with Senior Instructors Sherry Fotopoulos and Sherry Viktora and worked with Metal Clay instructors Linda Kline, Holly Gage, Barbara Becker Simon, Lisa Barth, Terry Kovalchik, Wanaree Tanner, Carole Wood, Leslie Tieke and many others. I continue to take as many workshops as time and money allow. I can never decide which I like best; creating, teaching or learning!

Claudia Meglin Crew, Dance, Film, Film Office, Media, Multimedia, Other, Production, Recovery Fund Grantee, Video Claudia is a filmmaker, creative director and project manager for social and cultural change. Claudia is a certified somatic coach and has an Integral MBA in Creative Enterprises for Social Transformation.

Julie Montgomery Painting, Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts "In the end, Montgomery's art achieves a transcendental effect by establishing a connective bridge between the artist, the world and the viewer, and the sure but mysterious spaces linking them." - Josef Woodard, SB Art Critic

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