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CREATIVES

Entrepreneurs.  Innovators.  Interpreters of life’s jagged edges and silken pathways.  Soothsayers and sorcerers.  These words and more define the creative individuals who have chosen Sonoma as their home.  Explore their methods and mediums in these pages and be inspired.

Are you a creative professional in Sonoma County working to satisfy your artistic expression and make a living with your work?  Register HERE to have your own page included on CreativeSonoma.org.

Melissa Masters
Melissa Masters Music, Painting, Visual Arts, Vocal I work as an expressive arts therapist/art therapist. I offer workshops in my studio in Sonoma. As a creative I have an interest in all the expressive arts and primarily focus my time on painting wall hangings that include painted symbols and sacred geometry. In the past I have worked mostly as a landscape painter. I love doing mural work and have done this work in the Bay area ...and also painted furniture. I am a vocalist and write love and new thought themed songs that have a celtic sound.
Spring Maxfield
Spring Maxfield Artisan, Arts Administration, Ceramics, Fiber Art, Film Office, Mixed, Multi-Media, Other, Other, Talent, Theatre, Visual Arts, Woodworking Spring Maxfield is the Founder and Executive Director of Santa Rosa Urban Arts Partnership in Northern California. She works to create space to provide relevant, community driven arts and cultural programming. Her engagement activities and curatorial work has taken place in public spaces, underground galleries, wineries throughout Sonoma County, and established art institutions. Spring has served as a longtime participant and on the production team of Maker Faires both in the Bay Area and NY. She also cofounded the wildly popular Great Handcar Regatta arts festival, which drew crowds of up to 25,000 to Santa Rosa between 2008 and 2011. She regularly serves on a number of grassroots, city government, and private art foundation committees, using these roles to support and cultivate artists, creative businesses, community groups, and arts programming. She holds Bachelors’ of Arts in Art History and Art Practice and a Master’s degree in Museum Studies. When not busy engaging her international arts community, Spring can be found in the garden at her urban homestead with two daughters, and her husband—artist Todd Barricklow.
Tim McGee
Tim McGee Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Visual Arts Over 20 years experience in design and illustration; both traditional and digital techniques for commercial, web and publishing projects.
Christopher Mckee
Christopher Mckee Artisan, Ceramics, Functional Art, Furniture, Illustration, Mixed, Other, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts, Woodworking more to come
Colton Measles
Colton Measles Design, Functional Art, Interior Design, Other, Sculpture, Visual Arts, Woodworking   Colton Measles is a 30 year old artist and wood carver from Colorado and recently moved to Sonoma County in mid December of 2017 to pursue and further his work as a professional decorative woodworker. Coltons work has developed through the creation of stand alone visual art pieces crafted from wood such as scroll carvings, high and low bas-relief, engravings and fully relieved sculpture. Colton has studied extensively and has a close relationship with Craig Hone of Provo Utah, the only professional wood carver and artist to win both first and second place prizes in the Northern Nationals Carving Competition and also a two time winner of the Dixie Invitational as well as winner of the Carvers Cup Competition in Park City UT. (Craig's work can be seen at craighonestudio.com) Colton has also been instructed in the creation and application of custom wood stain glazing techniques for bas-relief and sculptural wood carving and fine wood finishing by Robin Coalson, another friend and teacher. (Robins work can be seen at robincoalsonstudio.com and some of her work is on display at the D'Artagnan Vineyards in Sacramento California.) Colton was born and raised in Durango Colorado, where he developed skills in wood carving and sculpture over the course of four years, having been a student of art and artists of other mediums since his youth. Immediately before moving to the Sonoma County area from Colorado he had been working as an artist and woodcarver full time for three years in a wood shop and studio attached to his former residence. Colton has a background in construction and loves applying his craft to interior, and, although less often, exterior architectural carving. He was at one time commissioned to create four separate stand-alone art pieces for the Durango Dharma Center; A nonprofit meditation community closely linked with the Spirit Rock Meditation and Retreat Center in Woodacre California, just north of San Rafael. One of these pieces was a high relief carving including highly relieved birds and lotus flowers in a wonderfully harmonious and flowing design layout and two were functional and decoratively carved wooden boxes for the collection of donations. The fourth was a decoratively carved stand for a Tibetan singing bowl. (These pieces are on constant display in their current location and can be seen on Colton's Instagram page @truenaturecarving) Colton's art is influenced by many traditional mediums. He has studied acanthus scroll and the systems of its design as well as Celtic knot work and depicting all ranges of natural vegetation with a focus on realism. Colton enjoys utilizing design themes from traditional oriental carpentry, in furniture as well as architecture, in his work and has dedicated much time to the study and creation of anatomically correct creatures of all sorts, including fish, birds, animals and insects. Colton is inspired by ideas of cooperative pursuits with other artists and crafters, and by benefit work and his door is open to all inquiries of the kind. His contact info is included in his profile here on creativesonoma.org
Adrian Mendoza
Adrian Mendoza Photography, Visual Arts An award winning California photojournalist now working as a public relations photographer for a community college. Specialty in college and university promotional capture - with minimal oversight - on tight (often daily) deadlines for social media and brochures/catalogues. Considerable experience in aerial (non-drone) photography of architecture, infrastructure, vineyards in Sonoma and Napa Valleys, multi-year documentation of the California Delta and related conveyance channels (i.e., sloughs, canals, reservoirs, etc.). Concurrent with my reality-based imaging is a passion for digital image processing in Adobe Photoshop.
TumbleWeed Expressions Meryl Juniper
TumbleWeed Expressions Meryl Juniper Artisan, Ceramics, Holidays Shop Local, Mixed, Muralist, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Visual Arts While following the seasons within her Expressive Arts Inspirations, Meryl intertwines over 4 decades of Multimedia Arts Educational Experiences and Community Arts Activism. Meryl ignites and delicately encourages artistic expression and a sense of humility and humanity, while inspiring hands-on, process based learning, along with a curriculum integrated focus. In this we weave a healthy approach, revealing and enlivening the naturally creative self.  Simultaneously, Meryl thrives within her close to 5 decades of experience engaging a life within: Multimedia Visual Arts and the Performative realms of Nature Based and Street Performance Ritual, Improvisational Movement, Dance Theater, Improvisational Vocal Play, Song Writing, Movement Infused Personal Storytelling and Somatic Movement Practices. Moreover, Meryl commits, inspires and dedicates her artistic being to Community Arts Production, Process and Presentation.  Lastly, Meryl’s instinctive devotion to the natural world and the offerings of Eco Somatic Engagement, allows her to share the wisdom gleaned and harvested from all her experiences living close and being inspired by the earth, while continuously extending a steadfast faithfulness to the practices of Expressive Arts, Natural Medicine Making, Farming, Holistic Nutrition and Parenting, while moving within a Heart Centered Living Folks Arts Tradition.  
Karen Miles
Karen Miles Acting, Ballet, Choreography, Dance, Film Office, Improvisation, Music, Other, Other, Other, Performance Art, Talent, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Theatre, Visual Arts, Vocal Combining the arts with movement and meditation has the profound ability to build a community of resilience, authenticity, and compassion.   I believe in creating a sacred space for curiosity and play, for learning and growing, for creative expression and supportive listening. I am an actress, singer, dancer, yoga instructor and teacher.  I work with students from K-8 grades, as well as adults. I am currently co-directing the after school Performing Arts program at a local elementary school.  My partner and I also have a Stagecraft class we offer to get students/parents involved backstage.  Other programming includes Art & Yoga, Creative Movement, and Explore Yoga Path.  All can be modified children and adults.  I have an extensive background in dance and the performing arts, I am a certified yoga instructor, a CA certified substitute teacher, and a PCS art docent.  My mission is for all my students/clients to walk away feeling creative, empowered and emboldened to share their gifts with the world.
David Minard
David Minard Audio, Media, Photography, Video, Visual Arts

David L. Minard is a multi-talented bay area native. He is the owner of Z9 Media, a creative service company providing still photos, video, and audio engineering services.

He has been professionally recording sound since 2010 for both music in-studio and video productions. While possessing a Bachelor's degree in Recording Engineering from Ex'pression College, David is also a musician, himself (drums, singing, beatboxing).

David has recorded content for companies such as The Gap, Google, AOL, LEVI's, Funny or Die, Whole Foods Market, and many local businesses and spent 5 years as the lead recording engineer at Live Musicians Co-op's "4 Legends Studios."

His photographic style is clean and based in reality. He strives to capture the sincerity, beauty, and excitement of human nature. He specializes in solo portraiture (including headshots) and community event photography. Visit http://www.Z9media.com to see David's work.
Taryn Moller Nicoll
Taryn Moller Nicoll Arts Administration, Illustration, Mixed, Painting, Printmaking, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Visual Arts
Taryn Möller Nicoll (MFA'17, Louisiana State University) is a visual artist and instructor with ten years of experience in art education, curatorial practice and public program development.
     In her studio practice, Taryn explores the intersection of fine art, medical science and the human body. She seeks refreshed investigations into notions of the good and the beautiful and, for her, that entry point is the human body; that ‘envelope’ rendering us equal: equally fragile, equally resilient. Her works have been exhibited at venues such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Johns Hopkins Welch Medical Library, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, and the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge.
     Taryn has taught foundations, studio art and art history courses at Nova Southeastern University and Louisiana State University. Additionally, she has delivered artist lectures at academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Maryland; the University of Dresden, Germany, and the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
      Prior to relocating to the North Bay in 2022, Taryn was the Chief Curator for the City of Pembroke Pines in Florida. In this role, she directed exhibitions, cultural events and art education initiatives at Pembroke Pines' cultural institutions, including the Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery, Studio 18 Art Complex and the Charles F. Dodge City Center.
Julie Montgomery
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
Teresa Moore
Teresa Moore Choreography, Dance, Mixed, Multi-Media, Other, Painting, Visual Arts Teresa Moore's oil on canvas works stage strong, independent women in a cocktail palette of boozy yellows, gaudy greens, and lusty reds. These noirish, sultry-eyed femme fatales dance and drink, smoke and smooch, flirt and linger as they live for the moment in their own sublime yet wistful worlds. Self-taught and painting mainly with her fingers, Moore creates an atmosphere of night life, good times, and fleeting romances. Her images bring to life a world at once sensuous, sophisticated, sometimes sweet yet always alluring. Cabaret girls, lounge lizards and circus performers recall a risque lost generation, that in this age, can only exist within the confines of a fertile imagination. And these decadent dames get around. Moore's work is exhibited and collected worldwide. Moore's fiery independence shows through in these characters, who all seem to have their own checkered pasts, drawn from deep within the artist's own fantasies and realities, past and present.
Zyssa Morales
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.
Kathy Murphy
Kathy Murphy Media, Photography, Production, Video, Visual Arts I came to Sonoma, via Tomales, from Africa where I was a video editor for a commercial production house for many years. Making the move from there to here has been quite a journey and now I find myself on a different road, producing, filming and editing videos about the aftermath of last year's fires, as well as other human interest stories. It's a change I welcome. The people I've met have been inspirational in their perseverence and determination, making me equally determined to tell their stories as best I can. You can find some of these on www.vimeo.com/kathymurphy My other joy is gardening and flowers and capturing other gardens and other flowers in both video and photographs, sharing my experiences in my gardening blog, www.groundcoversandgardening.
Kalia Mussetter
Kalia Mussetter Artisan, Children's, Fiber Art, Literature, Mixed, Non-Fiction, Other, Other, Painting, Performance Art, Poetry, Teacher/Instructor, Theatre, Visual Arts    
Pieter Myers
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.

Eileen Nagle
Eileen Nagle Acting, Artisan, Children's, Choreography, Directing, Fiction, Film Office, Folk Art, Improvisation, Jewelry, Literature, Non-Fiction, Other, Other, Other, Other, Performance Art, Poetry, Puppetry, Storytelling, Talent, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Theatre Eileen Nagle M.Ed is an elementary/ middle/ high school teacher who specializes in Children's Theatre. A native of West Sonoma County, Eileen writes and directs children's plays and teaches acting classes. Shakespeare for Children; Musical Theater, Improv and Playwriting all for children are at the center of her creativity. She would love to go to your space and direct during school,  after school drama clubs, teach playwriting and work with the home school community, having homeschooled her own children. At the university level she taught teachers how to integrate the arts into their regular lesson plans; enhancing the enjoyment and retention of the core subjects. Eileen leads workshops for adults and older children to teach Script and Text Analysis based on Character Roles, a way to look at your own or other's work and  evaluate how sound the structure of the story is. Playwriting/ Screenwriting At the University level Eileen taught Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication and Theater For Elementary Teachers courses. She was  the Outreach and Workshop Coordinator for the Noorda Theater for Children and Youth. Eileen would love to partner with home school groups, afterschool programs; mixed adult children groups would be fun.  She has worked in most locations so a 'stage' is not necessary. The time of day and week is workable.
Katie Nealon
Katie Nealon Creative Sonoma Grantee, Design, Graphic Design, Literature, Poetry, Printmaking, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts folding bones press is one woman creating hand-made, letterpress printed goods in sonoma county, california. katie is a commercially trained printer, published poet, and lover of lead type.
Evelyn Nitzberg
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.
Sandra Novia
Sandra Novia Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts Sandra Novia is an artist and art instructor, living in Sonoma County for 23 years. In addition to teaching, she is a commercial and fine artist. Sandra works as a graphic designer, color consultant, and is currently providing team building and group art workshops throughout Sonoma County. Her educational programs also include teaching in local public schools and art centers, Sonoma County Public Libraries, Sonoma State University Excel programs, as well as providing private classes for home schooled students and private students. She passionately has dedicated over 20 years to ensuring that art education is firmly planted in the educational programs of our school systems and her community. An East coast native, she received her formal education in Boston, the south of France, and San Francisco focusing on design, drawing, and sculpture. She founded two galleries for emerging artists and owned a sign design business for 20 years. Her love of art has encouraged her to travel to different parts of the world, experiencing some of history's most amazing art and enthusiastically shares those experiences with her students. She has participated in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts integrative art program provided by the JFK Center for the Performing Arts and is currently a teaching artist in the Creative Sonoma Arts and Trauma Program for one year.
Patrick O'Rourke
Patrick O'Rourke Recovery Fund Grantee, Visual Arts Patrick O’Rourke is a contemporary artist from Northern California, crafting beautiful landscapes and creative textural images. He paints a richly diverse subject matter, but draws primary inspiration from the oak studded hills, rolling vineyards, soaring redwoods, and rugged coastlines of Napa and Sonoma Counties.This artistic process began as a child under the influence of his mother, a life long artist working in oils and pastels. Patrick has worked in all mediums throughout his life, but now devotes himself to acrylics on canvas. His work can be found in the homes of fine art collectors throughout the world.  
Rik Olson
Rik Olson Illustration, Visual Arts A California native, Rik received his B.F.A. from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. He has studied under such masters as Barry Moser, John DePol, Richard McLean, and Ralph Borge. He has lived, studied and exhibited in Italy, Germany and the U.S. His influences include the years he lived in Europe and currently the beautiful countryside of Sonoma County, California. He enjoys pushing the envelope in printmaking and has recently been working on editions of multi-color linoleum cut prints. He recently took part in a fund raising event where the works of ten artists, whose over-size prints were printed by an actual steamroller, were featured.
Erin Rose Opperman
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.

Brooks Palmer
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.
Eileen Parent
Eileen Parent Mixed, Other, Painting, Printmaking, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts Eileen Parent is an abstract printmaker living in Sonoma County, C.A. She was born in upstate New York and grew up surrounded by nature. Her artwork is influenced by her surroundings and her curiosity to explore the organic shapes and patterns she finds in nature and urban environments. She uses line and mark making to create a response to these patterns. She is interested in time, repetition, intuition, and the documentation of our physical presence. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in painting and drawing from UC Berkeley. While experimenting with different artistic mediums she was drawn to the process of printmaking. She fell in love with printmaking’s traditional techniques and historical background and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking from Sonoma State University. She has exhibited her work in Sonoma County and the greater San Francisco Bay area. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the California College of the Arts and is currently a lecturer in Art Studio at Sonoma State University.
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