CREATIVES

Ruth Donovan Design, Functional Art, Graphic Design, Holidays Shop Local, Illustration, Mixed, Multi-Media, Other, Painting, Performance Art, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts I am a local artist and cofounder of The Beluga and Bee Studio located in Santa Rosa's Railroad Square District. For the last decade I have been heavily involved in Sonoma county's art community. I have dedicated my time and studio space to host group art shows for other up and coming local talent. This is important to me because I was taken under the wing of a retired photographer, Ron Emanuel, when I first moved to Sonoma county. I feel inspired to pay it forward to other aspiring artists.  Community and active support are key to a healthy art community.

Sara Downing Design, Functional Art, Furniture, Interior Design, Photography, Sculpture, Visual Arts  I have spent the majority of my artistic career in photography, music and design+build fields. The majority of my photographic work over the last 25 years has been commercial in nature, with a focus on portraiture and architecture. Currently, my focus is designing and executing 2 and 3 dimensional large-scale photographic image installations for both residential and commercial applications.  My work tends to reflect painterly and abstract forms and I often concentrate my efforts on textural worlds distilled from the often-labeled mundane. I aim to surprise audiences with a new way to experience photography in a physically immersive construct. The more I walk this earth the more apparent it is to me. Tapping into which thoughts and actions bring me joy conversely allows me to more fully identify that which I should let go. What works for our STUFF also works for our psyche. To cut through the din of external voices telling us any number of things; to come to rely on one's own gauge to determine what feels good, what feels nourishing, what feels inspiring.

What whispers to you?

What is worthy of your attention?

What makes you feel good?

Simmon Factor Mixed, Painting, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts

Poetic narrative art in mixed media, featuring surreal and playful juxtapositions, patterns-painted and collaged, strong forms and colors.

Art studies and degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Northeastern Illinois University. Successful career in graphic arts and design. In 1993, he started Village Art Supply in Santa Rosa, California, a rich resource to the Sonoma County artist community and thousands of students, artists, and crafters.

After selling Village Art in 2012, Simmon continues to create, exhibit and teach at Chroma Gallery which he and Robin Factor founded in 2014. Most of these works are available for sale or as Giclee prints.

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.

Anna Friesen Mixed, Painting, Photography, Visual Arts I imagine observe photograph collect then follow intuitive leads to usual and unique materials to express my feeling responses to the natural world

Philip Thomas George Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Painting, Visual Arts   I am moved by life around me, daily, in almost any place. Watching a young boy climb a tree or an elderly woman slowly cross the street with her patient dog — either scenario has the power to pull feelings out of me. My goal as an artist is to recreate what moves me, in the way that I see it or imagine it, in order to stir up the same emotions in my viewers and make a connection through something shared visually. Sonoma county provides a plethora of opportunities for observing people, animals, and nature which all aid in inspiring me to take action and create. My background is in UI design, but last year I took the leap into what I feel is my true calling and passion — creating artwork. If you'd like to work with me or hire me, please feel free to contact me.

Scott Gibson Media, Photography, Teacher/Instructor, Video, Visual Arts Landscape/Nature/Wildlife. Ground-based and aerial/drone. Stills and Motion. Assignments, Commissions, Prints, Licensing, Photo Products. Award-winning photographer Scott Gibson creates the images for Gibson Outdoor Photography from his picturesque base in Northern California's Wine Country. From there, he travels the region, the western United States, and the world to capture images to educate, entertain, and inspire viewers. A serious hobby photographer for decades, Scott has spent recent years carefully refining his craft. His artistic eye helps him see and feel what others miss and his deep technical training helps him capture and share these experiences in his photographs. Scott's search for the next great image often provides opportunity for adventure. He is particularly proud of the acclaim for his images from an ascent of 14,505 foot Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada mountains – camera in hand the entire 22 miles. Willing to go 'all in' to get the shot, Scott camped for days in the Oregon wilderness to capture the August 2017 total solar eclipse. His FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot certificate supports capturing fresh aerial points of view. His award-winning images are featured in private collections, winery publications, popular photo products, and stock photo services.

Alan Hall Composition, Instrumental, Mixed, Music, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Teacher/Instructor, Visual Arts

Alan Hall

Musician, Composer, Drummer, Mixed-Media Artist, Band Leader of "Ratatet"

I started my life as a professional drummer at 13 years, a visual artist 20 years later, now I'm also an active composer and band leader of my own neo-jazz sextet, Ratatet.

In addition to being an active performer and artist, I teach drum lessons, workshops and ensembles at schools and Jazz camps throughout the Bay Area. My teaching is based at California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley and Cal State East Bay in Hayward.

My art work is in several private collections on East and West coasts and can be viewed at my art website: www.amiguelart.com

My compositions can be heard at www.ratatet.com and www.jazzdrumming.com.

Music and Visual Art are two different modes of expressions for me. Both seem to function as positive feedback loops for me, and I hope, others. I'm striving to integrrate the two art forms in both a personal and social context.

Jenny Harp Artisan, Mixed, Printmaking, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Adults, Visual Arts, Woodworking I am an artist and educator living and working in Sonoma County. I have been a professor of studio arts at Sonoma State University for 8 years teaching drawing, fundamentals, and printmaking. I also teach workshops within the community. My creative work includes many different mediums and explores color, texture, limitations, and mark-making.

Peter Hassen Mixed, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Video, Visual Arts Peter Hassen is a visual artist based in Sonoma, California. His work focuses on themes of nature, science and spirituality. Working in a variety of mediums, such as painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking, Hassen seeks to create dialogue between these themes, and raise questions about our societies, cultures and their commonalities. Peter earned his B.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has exhibited his work, ranging from sculpture, painting and installation, in national galleries and public lands for more than two decades. From 2012-2014 Peter activated his Values Project series in the cities of Napa and Sacramento. Over 800 value words where stenciled in public parking lots in Napa and Sacramento in collaboration with city governments and local organizations.   In 2021 Peter's monumental metal sculptures from his Cycles series were exhibited by the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art in the Sonoma Plaza.

Ash Hay Film, Media, Other, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Visual Arts My art is diaristic and centered in the body; how it communicates with the earth, itself, and bodies around it. In my work, I explore ideas of gender expression, body acceptance, and radical softness. Fatness, my own and others’, comes up often as I am continually confronted with how fat bodies are treated and how they navigate this world. My use of large soft sculpture, techniques of paper layering in my paintings and works on paper, and a color palette rooted in the color pink, all support my overarching theme of softness as power. I am influenced heavily by the works of Loise Bourgeois and Kiki Smith as well as the lineage of fiber artists and crafters in my own family.

Dustin Heald Audio, Composition, Crew, Film, Film Office, General Services, Instrumental, Media, Multi-Media, Music, Other, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Technical, Theatre, Visual Arts, Vocal Located in California's North Bay Area, Dustin Heald is a multifaceted artist specializing in Music, Makeup Effects, sculpture, Special Prop fabrication, and character design. Dustin has experience working in film, television and theater, as well as mask making, casualty simulation, and hair work. He has worked on projects in LA, Pittsburgh PA, Cairo Egypt, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Dustin is a singer/songwriter who plays guitar and drums. He is involved in various collaborative projects with other artists as well as producing his own original material.

Chris Henry Mixed, Painting, Visual Arts

Chris Henry’s paintings tell a story; they are mysterious, challenging and as diverse as the collectors who own them. He can be trusted to always offer art that is unique, textural and intriguing. Bringing a well-seasoned life experience to the easel, he knows that paint is a form of language and he uses this language to speak of beauty, peace and transcendence. And, understanding that the work will also have its own voice, he is able to surrender to that voice. There is a sensitivity and reverence to honoring this creative process and the results are compelling, color-drenched compositions with delicious surface texture and lasting allure. Born and raised in New Jersey. Henry graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, PA in l981. He has exhibited in many solo and group shows in California, and his paintings can be found in private and public collections throughout the US and internationally. He resides in Sonoma County with his wife and two cats.

Michelle Hirsch Creative Sonoma Grantee, Mixed, Visual Arts Mixed Media Artist: I experiment with found material in my mixed media works. My recent collages and installations have incorporated materials such as syringes, bandages, masks, tree wound sealer, flagging tape, Venetian plaster and charred trees from the wildfires. There is always strong research component behind my work. I immerse myself in the environment for site specific projects.  I work intuitively and projects will morph depending on material constraints and the direction of my research. As an immigrant, I am interested in the falsehood of the Other.  The recurring themes in my body of work are related to identity and healing.

Christine Hourscht Children's, Illustration, Mixed, Painting, Visual Arts

Living in a small town in California, Christine Renee Hourscht is surrounded by nature’s beauty.

She likes to hike among the trees, admiring flowers, birds, and other animals.  She is also enchanted by the ocean, lakes, insects, sky, and fresh air.  It fills her with colorful inspiration.

As an artist, Christine is passionate about the beauty of life and lives in gratitude.  Her artwork portrays this with whimsical movements, shapes and colors.  Her philosophy is to “Live to love” and “Every breath we take is precious.”  Her artwork is a way to share moments in time.

Aim Hover Illustration, Mixed, Other, Painting, Visual Arts Artist Statement My works are a representation of my ever persistent dream states and my desire for connection. My aim is to allow viewers to confront their own emotions, while discovering the emotional layers of my work. I desire to alleviate, even a little bit, the existential loneliness in the world and fuel personal connection through my unique artistic expression. Biography My name is Aim Hover. I was born in Greenbrae, California, in 2001. I am based in Sonoma County and I typically work in Northern California. I am an expressionist and I mostly paint. I work in acrylic, oil, and spray paint. One of my first experiences as an artist was when I was 2 years old, left alone for only a few seconds with finger paint nearby. It wasn't long before I covered the walls and myself in green paint. It's safe to say I have always had a curiosity for color and artistic expression. My art is currently influenced by Pabo Piccaso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bud Snow and several music artists; including Aaron May, Ron Obasi, J Cole, and Freddie Gibbs. I am also influenced by the East Bay, taking as many trips as I can up there to gather influence spilled all over city walls and faces. My work contains lots of faces, most non-intentionally looking like my partner Izrael Brown, a clothing designer and graffiti artist who I am constantly inspired by. While I did go to an arts-centered k-8 school and attend two art classes at Santa Rosa Junior College, I am mostly self-taught. 

Lindsay Hunter Artisan, Design, Fashion Design, Fiber Art, Functional Art, Furniture, Media, Mixed, Multi-Media, Other, Other, Other, Sculpture, Teacher/Instructor, Video, Visual Arts LINDSAY HUNTER Santa Rosa, CA nutbarstudios@gmail.com SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS • Successfully promotes own business, stays in budget and executes projects on time. • Develop and implement K-9 enrichment programming: classroom, after-school, homeschool, county library, and summer camp; kid's area manager for large public events. • Demonstrated instructional and classroom management experience providing interesting and thought-provoking lessons supporting a personal mission of excellence. Provides a caring, safe and supportive environment for student learning. • Workshop presenter at reMAKE Education. • Network with businesses and community leaders and recruit volunteers for events. • Warm effective communication with both children and adults from diverse backgrounds, in person and written. • 10 years consumer product design and development, mostly for leading fashion manufacturers: Levi’s and Esprit, from initial concept through preproduction. • Initiated and created product concepts, materials development, textile patterns, garment styling and presentation materials. • Managed development of logo and graphics, hired artists, directed art concepts and approved final artwork for production. • Traveled throughout Asia and US working with sample and production manufacturers ensuring excellent products. • Researched market trends, analyzed competitor’s products for style, fabric, fit. • Conducted focus group research and marketing studies to identify target consumer. • Presented findings and product line concepts to Executive Management in order to advise and influence them on fashion trend direction and product design selections. • Nominated for Outstanding Faculty award at FIDM. Twice recognized for initiative, leadership and team building at Levi Strauss. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY 09/04-present Nutbar Studios Owner • Rincon Valley Education Foundation After-school Enrichment Program Provider • Whited Elementary Digital Storytelling Instructor • Rincon Valley Unified homeschool and Instructor Lego Robotics Trainer • Sonoma County Library Enrichment Program Provider • Sonoma State Excel Kids Summer Program Provider • Workshop Presenter at reMAKE Education • Levi's (Leipheimer) Granfondo Kid's Area Manager • The Great Handcar Regatta Kid's Area Manager • Gaia Online Merchandise Developer 01/13-06/15 Paraeducator Rincon Valley Unified 08/12-06/13 Science Facilitator, Noon Duty Rincon Valley Unified 03/03-08/04 College Instructor Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, SF 02/02-02/03 Administrative Assistant Feldenkrais Resources, Berkeley 04/01-11/01 Office Manager VoiceWare Systems, San Francisco 06/99-12/00 Student UC Berkeley Extension, Berkeley & San Francisco 09/94-03/99 Apparel Designer Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Arts – Emphasis in Product Design and Fashion San Francisco State University Project Management Certificate University of California Berkeley Extension PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT • SCOE Teaching and Learning Institute 2015 • Lego Learning Symposium at SCOE 2015 • SRJC Basic PC Repair and Maintenance Workshop 2014 • RVUSD Technology Summit 2013 • SCOE iPad Symposium 2013 • California Association for the Gifted Symposium 2013 AFFILIATIONS • Northbay Maker Educators • 180 Studios Community Maker Space

Sarah Hylton Artisan, Creative Sonoma Grantee, Improvisation, Mixed, Other, Painting, Sculpture, Teaching Artist for Adults, Teaching Artist for Youth Expressive Artist and Arts Facilitator specializing in a whole person-centered approach for creating art. An avid painter, dancer and ceramic sculptor; often found dancing while painting. Sarah’s paintings have been featured in galleries, juried exhibits and are in private collections. She is currently represented by Lori Austin Gallery in Sebastopol, CA. She began receiving awards as a child for her original artwork though has always resonated with the outsider and naïve artist. She is a self-taught artist and process oriented. After raising her artistically talented son, as an only parent, she is whole heartedly devoting herself to her own creative process and arts based restorative community projects. She is a 2020 Creative Sonoma Pop Up Art Grant recipient. Her current projects include the Hexagons Of Dignity Tapestry and the Art Tent. The community mural installation on the Art Tent is postponed due to Shelter In Place.

Leslie Ihrig Functional Art, Furniture, Illustration, Painting, Teacher/Instructor, Teaching Artist for Youth, Visual Arts I am an artist living in Petaluma, CA. I taught in Petaluma schools for 23 years. I am, currently, on the Board at the Petaluma Arts Center. My passion is painting and finding ways to connect arts to education. Years ago, I was a furniture design coordinator and a visual merchandising manager for Macy's California. I have a BA in Art from San Jose State University and a teaching credential from Dominican University (San Rafael). I always worked art into the curriculum, using integrated strategies in my classroom in all subject areas - ELA, math, science, history, and, of course, fine art. I incorporated VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies) throughout my curriculum, as well. My work has been sold at Studio Gallery in San Francisco and at the Petaluma Arts Center. I have also shown my work at the Cabrillo College Gallery, Aqus Cafe, and I have greeting cards available at Vibe Gallery in Petaluma. I painted a piano for the Friends of Petaluma River Project (Petaluma Pete) and participated in the Black Lives Matter street mural in Petaluma. My work includes portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alexandria Ocasio Cortes, Greta Thunberg, and other important figures as well as commissioned portraits. Please visit my website to view my work.

Suzanne Jacquot Painting, Visual Arts DIALOGUE WITH NATURE ARTIST STATEMENT I am a native Californian artist, who creates abstract paintings inspired by nature.  My paintings depict feelings, moods, and energy I experience while exploring the diverse terrains in Sonoma County.  I am influenced by nature’s inherent cycles of birth, growth, dying and decay where I find beauty in the forms and palettes that mutate throughout the year.  In response, my paintings are multilayered fields of color, shapes and gestural marks.  While walking in Nature, I am touched by the vulnerability, resilience, preservation and change of all of life and the underlying deeper truth of a constant stream of energy which never changes and which unifies everything. My paintings explore connection, relationship and belonging.  In a world where individual desires are primary, often self-serving and without contemplative thought, I want my paintings to help the viewer pause, reflect on our interdependence, and create a deep gratitude and love for the world and being alive.   RESUME SUZANNE JACQUOT, MFA, AT ABSTRACT ARTIST, MENTOR 4404 Ross Road Sebastopol, CA 95472 707 953 3373 www.SuzanneJacquotArt.com www.LivingYourWildCreativity.com  Education BA---University of California, Berkeley, CA, psychology and design MFA---Mills College, Oakland, CA, photography and ceramics AT--- Art Therapy certificate, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA 2014     Six Month Professional Mentoring with Nicholas Wilton, Sausalito, CA Summary of Recent showings and events: 2023-- Solo Show: Fulton Cross Art Gallery, Dialogue with Nature Image Winery Wine Label for White Burdundy Reserve Group Shows: Small Works Jen Tough Online Gallery on Artsy Image Winery Wine Label Show Ruby LivingDesign, Menlo Park, CA 2020-Present-- Solo Shows: Ekimo Winery, Sebastopol, CA La Crema Winery, Windsor, CA 2020-2021-- Group Shows: Lyndon House Art Center, Athens, GA, Expressing the Inner World 2019-- Group Shows: Turner Center for the Arts, Inside Out, Valdosta, GA Lori Austin Gallery, Abstract *: 6 Perspectives, Sebastopol, CA Anderson Art Center, Anderson, South Carolina Ruby LivingDesign, Mill Valley, CA ArtPic Gallery, Los Angeles, California 2019---Solo Shows: Lori Austin Gallery, Sebastopol, CA, Ektimo Winery, Sebastopol, CA 2018---Group Shows: Inside Out, USCB Center for the Arts, South Carolina North Charleston City Gallery, South Carolina ArtPic Gallery, Los Angeles, California 2018---- Solo Show, The Rellik, Diana Williams, curator, Benicia, CA 2018---- Solo Show, Ruby LivingDesign, Sally Cote, curator, Mill Valley, CA 2018--- ACS Magazine, article, curated by Renée LaVerné Rose, www.acs-mag.com 2017---- Group Show, Women in the Abstract, Jen Tough Gallery, Vallejo, CA 2017---- Solo Show, Shige, Colin Talcoft, curator, Cotali, CA 2017--- Collaborative work at Ruby Living Design, Mill Valley, CA 2017---- Solo Show, Viva Mexicana, Sebastopol, CA 2016--- Solo Show, Hole in the Wall, Sebastopol, CA 2016--- “Abstract Art, Breaking the Rules of the Times”, Lecture, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art 2016--- “Hundred Years of DADA”, Group show, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 2016--- Triton Hotel, Group show, San Francisco, CA 2016--- Hole in the Wall, Solo Show, Sebastopol, CA 2015--- Shige Solo Show, Cotati, CA 2015--- Interviewed by Minkoff Chatoy of KOWS 107.3 fm radio 2015--- Owner, www.LivingYourWildCreativity.com   YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj8AS-8g0n4c8- x6BpcNf6Q/videos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzannejacquotart/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzanne.jacquot/, https://www.facebook.com/Abstract-Art-Sonoma-Suzanne-Jacquot- 196611543707071/?ref=pages_you_manage Blog: https://www.livingyourwildcreativity.com/blog

Sue Kearney Graphic Design, Mixed, Other, Painting

They say it’s good to have an artist statement. Here goes:

 

My work is all variations on a theme, and the theme is flow. Flow and restraint. I’m better at the first than the second. Finding my way to creating the art I envision (and have rarely achieved) is what keeps me coming back to the art table, again and again.

 

#fluidity #flow #fluidartbysuekearney #abstractartbysuekearney #collage #chainpull #greetingcards #frameable #handmade #madewithlove #followme  #fluidart #fluidartist #acrylicpour #paintpour #pourpainting #fluidacrylics #abstractart #originalart #giftidea #creative #instagramart #simplifyyourlife #simplicitea #collage #acrylicskins #leadfollow #makeamark #makeyourmark

Jacqueline Kramer Illustration, Music, Painting, Visual Arts, Vocal Jacqueline Kramer graduated from Bennington College with a degree in painting and sculpture where she focused on large color field stain paintings and sculpture made from found objects. Her first one- woman show, which exhibited her rendition of the Zen series, the “The 10 Bulls”, was in 1979 in Napa, California. Her watercolors and mixed media paintings, of eucalyptus and local flowers, are in personal collections. Jacqueline taught art at the Julie Nation Fashion Institute and color line and design through the Santa Rosa Junior College. She lives and paints in Sonoma, California. I am interested in making art that sheds light on the beauty and interconnectedness of life, especially in places where beauty and interconnectedness is hard to find. My work is informed by my Zen Buddhist practice, by a response to what is happening in the world and by expressionist and color field painters such as Monet, Van Gogh, Rothko and Chagall. Using color, line and design, experimentation and a determination to bring about work that has depth and significance, I am interested in inspiring others to look at life around them with fresh eyes.  

Angela Lam Fiction, Literature, Non-Fiction, Painting, Visual Arts Angela Lam is a visual artist specializing in acrylic landscapes and a published author of novels, romances, and memoirs.

Jennifer LaPierre Design, Interior Design, Mixed, Painting, Photography, Visual Arts

Artist ~ Designer

Laura Leipzig Arts Administration, Dance, Fiber Art, Visual Arts Laura is passionate about bringing accessible, hight quality, visual and performing arts to to her community. As Education Outreach Manager at the Santa Rosa Symphony, she brings music education opportunities to schools throughout Sonoma County. Her past positions have included Education & Program Manager at the Museum of Sonoma County,  Program Manager at Chalk Hill Artist Residency, Gallery Manager at the Arts Guild of Sonoma, and Teaching Artist with the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. Before pursuing a career in non-profit arts, Laura managed a custom frame shop and art supply store where she first discovered her love of supporting the local art community. She holds a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from San Francisco State University's College of Extended Education, and a BA in Studio Art (photography concentration) with a Minor in Dance from Sonoma State University. Laura has been performing as a member of Healdsburg based, UpSide Dance Company since 2016. In 2020 she discovered her passion for weaving and fiber arts. She primarily works on a 48 inch, 4 shaft floor loom and is an active member of the Redwood Guild of Fiber Arts.