Visual Arts Archives - CreativeSonoma.org

Susan Bercu Mixed, Visual Arts I am a visual storyteller creating three-dimensional assemblages that use recycled materials. My themes include our existential threats: science denial, global warming, assaults on our US Democracy and basic human rights. “Cast-Offs” Streamers is my current endeavor funded with an artist grant from Creative Sonoma’s ArtSurround. The intention is to create awareness around energy consumption and over-consumerism where our cast-offs are sent to the landfill. Everyone in the community is invited to collect and donate their plastic and metal waste for their new artistic lives in a collaborative hands-on creative project. The streamers are hung from the trees in Helen Putnam Plaza, Petaluma. “Art With Conscience” is my art website: https://www.susanbercu.art/. My need as an artist to create order out of chaos is tested in these hyper-chaotic times. The narrative leads me through a range of media where I rotate between 2-D and 3-D artworks. I paint and draw. I construct assemblages using recycled materials. I am compelled to sound the alarm about the universal threats and disasters...to implore members of our global community to act with conscience. My childhood fascination with President Abraham Lincoln culminates in "Strange Fates of Lincoln: A Portable Museum". https://www.lincolnstrangefates.com/ These bizarre but true events surrounding Lincoln and his family are chronicled in tabletop exhibits that I built from cardboard and illustrated with my drawings and paintings.

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.

Tenisha Bernal Children's, Illustration, Literature, Visual Arts

Tenisha Bernal is a children’s book author / illustrator and a former elementary school art docent who taught herself how to draw by recreating her favorite comic strips from the Sunday paper.

Tenisha describes her art as a simple yet fun style for children of any age.

Tenisha is represented by Jen Newens at Martin Literary Management

Suzanne Biaggi Sculpture, Visual Arts I have been creating gardens in the greater Bay Area since I opened my landscape design studio in 1984 after receiving an MA in sculpture in 1981 from San Francisco State. It began as a design/build practice then it slowly evolved to a design/project management studio. In 1995 monumental stone sculpture became a major element in some of my gardens. When sculpture is combined with landscape I view them as one, being inseparable. My design practice is about maintaining the flow of nature whether in a sculpture, garden, or the marriage of the two. In 2008 I had the opportunity to attend the Bioneers Conference, which dramatically affected my way of thinking, living, creating, and designing. In the winter of 2010 after concentrated study I became certified in Permaculture Design. My design practice has changed into one that is committed to deep ecology using permaculture systems that emphasize soil building, water conservation, plantings that sustain each other, use of local materials, and conservation of energy. The design studio has received several awards of excellence from the San Francisco Landscape Garden Show for its innovative designs. SCULPTURE I stand at a distance and discover what my work is about when a piece is completed. When I am in the process of working on something I function on a non-verbal level. The thread that connects my work is about exploring the relationship between opposing forces; it seeks to discover the frontiers where they merge. The medium I use for this exploration is monumental stone either basalt or granite. Sometimes I examine the relationship of water and stone. The solid and the liquid; the effect they have upon one another; how the yielding liquid wears down the solid; searching for the boundaries where they meet. At other times the stone appears to be water through the method of carving and reflection of light off the polished surface; the boundaries become blurred. My work is contemplative, collaborating with the stones…choosing areas where I alter the stone. In doing this I attempt to create a harmony between the alteration and the original stone… to add a new history to the old. As I go into the stone I am exposing the interior of the stone. The frontiers where the explorer and the explored meet becomes exposed. My work is also about site; a collaboration between man and nature. I see no distinction between the sculpture and the site; they are interdependent. Besides taking into consideration all the elements that exist at the site including physical, spiritual, intended use, etc.; there is often the additional collaboration between the client, architects, engineers, contractors and the sculptor. This combination of ideas and energies can lead to very powerful results. The influences on my work have been my travels. Japan, Mooria, and Italy in particular. Japan because of the aesthetic – simple, elegant, wabi sabi; Mooria because of the ancient stone worship sites; and Italy because of the Mannerist gardens blurring the line between object and landscape.

Kirsten Bjøre Guerrero Multi-Media, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts Kirsten Bjøre Guerrero (she/her) is an artist and educator who places the highest importance on supporting social and emotional connections through making. She loves developing new techniques and creating functional art objects. She is an advocate for issues of art education, mental health, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ community, and creative entrepreneurship. She has worked in a wide array of media and accepts commissions on a limited basis. Please visit cabracreative.com to learn more. As a founder of the art collective, WonderStump, Kirsten finds joy and collaboration in all aspects of the arts. WonderStump encourages visual artists, performance artists, musicians, writers, production artists, and creatives of all types to come together to create magical things! Kirsten is also a member of the Arts Alive collective, working collaboratively to elevate the vibrant arts scene in downtown Petaluma. Kirsten currently serves as the Head of Engagement and Programming at Life On Earth Art. Her work involves forming community partnerships and developing curricula for combined methodologies of healing, artmaking, and activism-- to further the mission to unite, create, and heal through art. Please contact Kirsten to learn more about Life on Earth Art and how you might become involved. Kirsten was born and raised in Southcentral Alaska, spent 15 years teaching in public schools in San Antonio, Texas, and now lives in Sebastopol, California with her partner and their two amazing children.

Jen Black Design, Graphic Design, Jewelry, Painting

Hi, I’m Jen Black and am the owner and creative force behind Jen Black Design and Alchemy + Herbs Healing.

After spending 15 years working for a mix of advertising agencies, boutique design firms, and in-house design departments I ventured out on my own in 2016 and haven't looked back. The majority of my career was spent in print design but I’ve handled everything from print production, photography, and project management to web design, social media, and large 360 shopper marketing campaigns. I work with a wide range of clients in various industries, from small startups to established companies. No matter what stage your brand or business is in my goal is always the same, to provide exceptional service and an end product that you can’t wait to share with the world. I would love to chat with you about how we can work together to grow your business! Art and healing are two of my passions so I like finding unique ways to combine them into products for the mind, body, and spirit. I create one-of-a-kind Reiki-infused wearable art and paintings along with a line of personal care products and ritual tools. Feel free to browse my online shop and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions!

Jorge Bolaños-Santillan Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts Teaching Artist Jorge Bolaños-Santillan offers residencies for older elementary age students called "World Healing Arts: How Other Cultures Express Emotions Through Art." Jorge was born and raised in Mexico City. He was educated as a cultural anthropologist and worked creating oral history workshops with indigenous communities as well as videography and visuals arts projects. He moved to Sonoma County and worked has recently begun working as a Community Couch in the Life Skills Department at Becoming Independent. He also participates in Raizes Collective, a non-profit that promotes art in the Latino and immigrant community.

LIA Bonagura-Transue Painting, Visual Arts Lia Bonagura-Transue was born and raised in New York City to artist parents. She attended the now famous High School of Music & Art in NYC, studied Design at the California Institute of the Arts and completed her formal education in Illustration and Painting at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. After a ten year reign as founding director of the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Lia found her way back to her true passion…painting. Connecting with her deep design & illustrative roots while painting with oil on canvas, Lia infuses highly personal yet commonly shared content with carefully composed, balanced, but often stark graphic representations of our shared reality. Painting about our mutual experiences in this manner exposes the viewer to a deeper, emotionally charged & individualized message.

Ipolani Bovee Folk Art, Illustration, Mixed, Other, Visual Arts

Ipolani Bovee

Artists Bio

Ipolani Bovee is a native Hawaiian artist born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ipolani has demonstrated an eloquent talent in her pursuit of art focusing on watercolor, digital art, as well as pen and ink. Her artistry consists of a profusion of personal expression, art for art’s sake and the natural world around her.

Her influence of personal experiences and environment have allowed her to transcend in her talent of line drawing, hatching, shading, stippling and blending techniques.

She is married with 3 children and currently resides in Cloverdale, California where she owns and operates KO Studio Art and Tattoo.

Jesus Bravo Artisan, Functional Art, Furniture, Sculpture, Visual Arts As a child, and first generation immigrant in this country I was never completely sure about my future. After graduating high school, I applied to SRJC and selected the welding program. Although I had a wonderful education and certification, I was unable to secure a job in the field due to my immigration status. After fifteen years of being undocumented, I had the opportunity to acquire U.S. citizenship. After I landed my first welding job, it was at that shop where I learned to create metal art, or what I like to call forever art. I would stay after work and began to put my skills to the test, spending long hours and weekends to create my own style which is highly influenced by Mother Nature, my ancestral roots, and indigenous tribes around the American continent and the world. I began making simple yard art, while continuing to develop my skills. I then started making various furniture pieces, doing larger jobs such as gates, planter boxes, and repair jobs. With these projects, I continued to develop my style of art, including original art and commissioned pieces. Every day was and still is spent practicing, evolving, and pushing my skills to become a better fabricator and artist. This is what I call BravoSculpt. In the South Central Mexico, the town I was born and raised in is very close to a sacred Mexica location ca led Malinalco. Since it was so close, it was a place we frequented as a family throughout my childhood. Malinalco has influenced and inspired my work because it is a place of rich history where I have learned, and continue to learn about the rich heritage left by our ancestors– a location of the monolith Cuahucalli, where the Mexica eagle and jaguar warriors were Trained and Initiated. Communities need to heal from ongoing traumas and I believe culture helps us heal, including art. I also believe that knowledge is power, and as I continue to learn more about my own culture, it helps me expand knowledge of other cultures and communities. I began attending several cultural events around the Bay Area, including Dia de los Muertos at various locations, Mexica New Year in San Jose, and Carnaval in San Francisco. These events have heavily influenced me and my art, as they highlight many BIPOC communities. It is at these events where we experience a sense of community and a sense of belonging. Al participants and attendees, including myself, learn so much from each other– it is truly beautiful and inspiring. These events include ancestral ceremonies, dances, altars, among other traditions that have taught me many ways to celebrate all of our ancestors. In my daily life, I like to incorporate traditional, ancestral ways of giving. And through my art, I aim to share the knowledge I am acquiring. In addition, I have had the great pleasure to collaborate with several local community projects through incredible nonprofit organizations and community groups including Sonoma Immigrant Services, Art Escape, the Springs Municipal Advisory Council, and El Verano Elementary School.

Deb Breton Painting, Visual Arts Deb Breton is an abstract expressionist artist working in Sonoma County, California. She creates vibrant paintings using acrylics, oils, and collage. Her abstract artworks evoke the viewer's imagination, while her portrait work celebrates the human spirit. Painting intuitively, she allows the artwork to flow from her subconscious mind onto the canvas. "Every gestural mark, brushstroke, and drop of paint is an expression of emotion. And it's this energy in these paintings that I share with you." I'm an avid fruit and vegetable gardener, animal lover, birder, cancer survivor and meditation enthusiast. Notable clients include Warner Bros Studios, Dali Museum and Nestle

Monica Bryant Illustration, Mixed, Painting, Photography, Visual Arts Monica Bryant is a mixed-media artist. She was born in Kansas, received her BA in Art from the University of Hawaii and her MFA from UC Berkeley. In 2004 she was awarded a fellowship at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York. Bryant is a credentialed Art Teacher who chaired the Art Department at Ursuline High School in Santa Rosa, CA for nine years. After Ursuline closed in 2011, Bryant instructed drawing and color theory at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in San Francisco. She also became the art teacher at Brush Creek Montessori School in Santa Rosa until June 2014. Bryant is a Sonoma County Art Trails Artist and her work has been exhibited nationally and in Singapore. Influenced by her international travel experiences, including the three years she lived in Singapore, Bryant created distinctive remixed photographs of South East Asia in the 60’s. The photographic mixed-media works were exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Caffe Museo, October 2005. Bryant’s past work includes a large rebar and fiberglass apron, papier-mâché objects and paintings and drawings. In a newspaper article years ago, Khysie Horn said “Bryant is a conceptual artist who invites reflection and introspection”. In 2002 Bryant was the lead artist for the mural on the Press Democrat Building entitled The 50 Who Shaped Sonoma County in the 20th Century. https://www.monikaiart.studio/

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.

Cade Burkhammer Artisan, Audio, Ceramics, Design, Fiction, Functional Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Instrumental, Interior Design, Literature, Media, Mixed, Multi-Media, Music, Other, Other, Other, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Video, Visual Arts Cade Burkhammer, born April 21st 1973, has been painting and exhibiting paintings and playing music since he was 13 years old around the country. Painting styles include surreal oils, abstract acrylic and latex, experimental and controlled mixed media, watercolor illustration, original Photoshop photography, ceramics, bronze sculpture, writing, landscape design, gardening, science, healing arts, bardic meditation, drumming, piano, DJ... Cade is the creator of 'The Wise Fool Tarot', a self-published independent manifesto that took 15 years of research, meditation, painting, writing and raising funds for printing and distributing. This year will be Cade's second tarot release collaborating with another author. His third oracle deck is in the making. Cade is the creator of 'Wrecords', a series of recordings and sound collages in the vain of Vicki Bennett and Philip Jeck, which is the musical accompaniment for the video series 'Recycled Memories.' A multi-media event featuring video and sound collage of noisy vintage meditation of the forgotten past and dreamy future combined with live drums, piano and sometimes female vocals.

Reena Burton Illustration, Mixed, Painting, Visual Arts Born and raised in beautiful Sonoma County, CA. I studied Fine Art in college, and fell in love with youth work and community arts. I worked for many years in non-profits and schools teaching art and community building skills to children and youth. I also have a deep connection to spirituality. I studied theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and worked for a time in youth ministry, teaching young people skills to access their creative and spiritual voice. I am constantly searching for new ways to express my art, and my works range from painting, drawing, mixed media, and collage. My pieces call from my life experiences, world events, and social issues. Most commonly featured themes are relationships, spirituality, intersectional feminism, self-love, green witchcraft, body image, gender norms, sexuality, and social justice. I am an amateur seamstress, a green witch, and love painting small (and occasionally big) faces. I love to run, swim, snuggle with my family, practice yoga, play in the dirt, walk barefoot, and take long baths. Things like crystals and flowers make me really, really happy. Rom-coms and British mysteries are my sweet spot. Also am a bit of a nudist. When an opportunity presents itself, I can transform into a mermaid fairly quickly. I live in Graton, California with my family: partner Zeb, son Emmett, and (very) large kitty Charlie.

Mark Bush Audio, Composition, Fiction, Instrumental, Literature, Media, Music, Non-Fiction, Other, Performance Art, Photography, Poetry, Visual Arts, Vocal Musician performer songwriter composer Artist rocKabilly poP coWboy punK jazz PoetrY

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."

Patti Buttitta Artisan, Design, Functional Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Mixed, Other, Other, Other, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Visual Arts Patti Buttitta, artist and graphic designer— Patti draws on her background and experience as an artist, illustrator, writer and printmaker. She enjoys the challenge of complicated projects, but relishes the simple and immediate. She is known for innovative graphic design ideas, including logos, brand packaging, catalogs, books, publications, newsletters, direct-mail marketing campaigns and websites. She has achieved stunning results within limited budgets. Clearly communicating and concisely articulating concepts, she works with clients, colleagues, vendors, suppliers and other professionals to bring creative concepts to life. Her illustrations have complemented her many design solutions for wine labels, food packaging, marketing materials and brochures. Patti has turned her attention to website design, applying the same sense for clear communication and satisfying visual organization.

Nicoletta Camerin Photography, Visual Arts

I am a creative individual with an educational background in both Humanities and Design and a solid business management expertise. I am driven by my passion for creating beautiful images that not only arise an emotional response but also tell a story. I am passionate about preserving memories and representing someone’s story through images. With my camera, I can be bold, observe reality undisturbed and I can get closer to people: my camera is not only my creative outlet but also my way in into people’s true selves.

Teresa Camozzi Mixed, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Visual Arts Bio : TeresaCamozzi Multimedia California artist Teresa Camozzi, born in Rabat, Morocco, immigrated to the United States when five years old. Her artwork evokes the complexity of the Islamic, while her immigration shades her political view. Studying in San Francisco's Academy of Art, her mentor was Ernst Posey. Known internationally for large-scale permanent public artworks, she combines representational and abstract images via conventional art methods (photography, drawing) and computer technology. One example is a seven-story installation near Shanghai, China; another is at Miami International Airport. She earned the National 2009 Americans for the Arts Award for public work in Plano, Texas. She is currently engaged in creating and exhibiting her documentary series about the 2020 Pandemic. Healdsburg CA Februrary 2021

Katerina Capetanos Mixed, Painting, Visual Arts I am a self-taught encaustic artist living and working in the Sonoma Valley. I'm inspired by nature, bright color and movement. My artworks are described as abstract, fantastical botanicals. I use encaustic paints and mixed media to create bright, colorful "botanical," paintings that I create using my imagination.

Mari Capon Acting, Artisan, Arts Administration, Ballet, Ballroom, Children's, Choreography, Dance, Directing, Fiber Art, Fiction, Folk Art, Hip-Hop & Funk, Illustration, Improvisation, Improvisation, Latin, Literature, Media, Modern, Muralist, Music, Non-Fiction, Other, Other, Other, Painting, Performance Art, Poetry, Printmaking, Puppetry, Sculpture, Storytelling, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Theatre, Video, Visual Arts, Vocal Mari has been professionally involved in the arts world for over twenty years. As a child, she was a creative dancer at Virginia Tanner's Children Dance Theater, and she oil painted and sang in choirs. As a teen she acted, and was a make-up artist, poet, essayist, and ballroom dancer, and in young adulthood, she was a tango dancer and professional performing artist as an Art Model for artists working for Disney, EA, and countless Universities, Ateliers, Institutes, and Studios, and especially enjoyed set, costume, and lighting designs for painters and illustrators. Upon realizing that she most enjoyed coaching artists through their process, she began teaching, first creating art curriculum for a K-12 after-school program while becoming bilingual in Peru, before returning to the U.S. to become a certified cognitive movement, creative dance, and preschool music instructor. She began providing, teaching, and consulting for bilingual preschools and Summer Camps, tutoring, and coaching gymnastics, and continued to teach the arts and sports. She also taught inclusive sex education and spiritual development for children at interfaith, non-denominational churches, and facilitated somatic processing, while attending weekly classes in various forms. As an undergrad, Mari authored an Interdisciplinary Arts Curriculum Program for Pre-K through 12th Grade and became credentialed. She will research, publish, and offer her program while continuing to teach Interdisciplinary Arts.

Carol Carey Mixed, Visual Arts

Carol (C.J.) Carey was born in Key West, Florida and raised primarily in Texas. She attended the University of Oklahoma where she received her B.A. degree in History. She studied law at the University of Tulsa, earning her J.D. degree in 2002. She is currently a first grade teacher as well as a license attorney in Oklahoma. Art has always been a factor in her life as several of her siblings are artists. When she was a teenager, her dream was to be a fashion designer so she spent hours drawing clothing designs.

Ms. Carey is self-taught and began working in decoupage before picking up a book on mixed-media. She started experimenting with various mediums until she developed a style that is uniquely her own. Her work is usually a reflection of the Steampunk phenomena and incorporates those ideas into interesting settings. She uses modeling paste for texture as well as paper, acrylic paint, ink, and stains. She always finishes her work with a layer of mica dry pigment so that the work seems to glow under light. She is currently working on a "MacBeth" piece for a Sacramento Fine Arts Center exhibition.

She has exhibited at the Sacramento Arts Festival, the Petaluma Art Center, and High Hand Gallery in Loomis, CA. She will be back at the Sacramento Arts Festival in October 2020.

Ron Carter Architecture, Artisan, Audio, Ceramics, Children's, Creative Sonoma Grantee, Design, Directing, Fashion Design, Fiction, Film, Functional Art, Furniture, Graphic Design, Illustration, Instrumental, Interior Design, Jewelry, Literature, Media, Mixed, Muralist, Music, Other, Other, Other, Painting, Photography, Poetry, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Theatre, Video, Visual Arts, Woodworking

My Path... Divergent visions gave rise to my creative present. A present refreshed by art as life and livelihood.

Experiences like the ‘Tubbs Fire’ that hit Santa Rosa serve to strengthen the ‘artist within me’. It foements subjective creative moments that utilize my past, present - and my future as focal lenses. Spontaneously, I chose The San Francisco Art Institute over The Rhode Island School of Design and the School of the Art Institute at Chicago for my formal Art education. I received my BFA in Interdisciplinary Art and Public Art. I’ve studied stone sculpture for 10 years with Master Sculpture-Ante’ Marinovic, one of Croatia’s premier stone sculptors and is considered a Croatian national treasure. I explore the collaboration between artist, media and tool in such a fashion as to give rise to multiple layers of compressed info within each piece I create no matter if it is a purely visual work or an interactive space or environmental art form. For me, art screams out into all aspects of my life. As an artist in western society, dogma and bravado go hand in hand with economic choice. Art is my life. If it’s not nailed down or permanently affixed, it’s in trouble of becoming art resource material. Well, upon further review, even that won’t deter me from considering an objects use in an art piece.

Joann Cassady Artisan, Ceramics, Design, Graphic Design, Sculpture, Visual Arts JOANN CASSADY, Ceramic Sculptor As an artist, my life has gone full circle. After art school and a career in commercial graphics, I left the industry to follow my heart back to early childhood, playing in the backyard, squishing mud pies through my fingers. This time around, clay has replaced the mud but the pleasure I get from holding the earth in my hands is just the same. And with the clay has come a passion for a firing technique called “Raku” which in Japanese means, “pleasure" or "enjoyment”. For the past twelve years I have traveled to Mexico to study pottery with Juan Quezada, considered a National Living Treasure in his country. Working with Juan and my many other friends in the pueblo of Mata Ortiz has been a wonderful learning experience. I have discovered new methods of working with clay using only the most basic of tools and from these experiences, grown steadily as an artist. Even more than that, however, getting to know the Mata Ortiz community has been the cultural event of a lifetime. More recently I have been able to work collaboratively with Jerardo Tena, who is one of the finest painters in the pueblo. Annually I sponsor him and together we give workshops sharing the techniques of Mata Ortiz with colleges, art centers and community centers around the Bay Area. Now I look for what I can do next and challenge myself to create something different today than I did yesterday. I'm drawn to create shapes that are simple and elegant and in their simplicity, capture your eye’s attention. Then, in contrast, are my whimsical Raku Fish, each one an original and each one with it’s own personality sure to bring a smile to your face. My pieces are all original, all made by hand using coils of clay and pinching techniques and then fired by Raku or Pit Firing techniques. Molds are not used in my process and there are no short cuts. The clay and the process can be unforgiving, even humbling at times, and not all pieces reach the intended end. But when they do, the magic in that moment is the inspiration that drives the process and fuels my passion to do it again. It's a joy. Joann Cassady • Whimsical & Sculptural Raku & Pit Fired Ceramics 245 Theresa Court, Healdsburg, CA 95448 • 707 431-8319 • www.imakepots.com

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