Mixed media works within 10"/20"/20" opened as the annual members' exhibit at the Petaluma Art Center today, illuminating the plethora of ingenuity in artistry that abounds in naturally inspirational Southern Sonoma County and the Bay Area beyond.
Small Works in Hard Times features an eclectic range of unique pieces produced by Bay Area multi media artists such as Mike Hardin (1935 Trolley - photo # 1), Petaluma's Gail Foulkes (Sonoma oil -photo #2), Diana Marta (For our Mothers, mixed media with grandmother's blanket - photo #3).
Many of these original works are for sale, providing Art Center visitors with a terrific holiday shopping opportunity and although the exhibit runs until the New Year, purchases will be available to take home, wrap and be hidden under the tree from December 15th.
For those who are particularly fond of art depicting the Petaluma area, look out for several lovely Shollenberger Park works including a vibrant watercolor of the area by Pat Spiz. Terry Murphy's Blackberry girls brings the Sonoma County landscape to life in delicious hues of the golds and greens we are so familiar with, while Petaluma photographer Terry Hankins' Book and Trunk photo shows the well-known Argus camera man in his own light as a still life and portrait photographic artist.
In keeping with the theme of Small Work in Hard Times, artists Judie Cosmo Peterson and Michele Flannery's 'Foreclosure, Left Behind" watercolor on graphite and "Demise of Business" collage and acrylic are a poignant reminder of art as an excellent medium of recording an era.
One of the most outstanding pieces on display is Hella Merrill's Tomales Bay Patina on brass, rather like standing on a bank by the bay in awe of the slowly setting November sun brushing the waters with a murky, golden wash.
What's more, the Art Center exhibits are free to attend and a welcome respite whilst red-light stop-starting across town. Pull into the ample parking lot (from East Washington) next time you are down near Lakeville between East Washington and D Streets and take a time-out from your errands to get lost in the art of extraordinary, ordinary people whose holidays will be all the brigher for a hard times sale!
Artists in the area are invited to a salon series at the Art Center November 19th, December 3rd and December 17th. Share your experience as an artist here in Sonoma County and hear how others are handling the economic pressures of today's environment. Art in Hard Times Here and Now addresses how art contributes to community, the economy, youth, society in hard times, what resources are available to artists in the area for inspiration, creation of art, marketing and sales while looking closely at how artists have been responding and overcoming a recession-hit marketplace. Suggested donation per session - $3.
Petaluma Art Center is located at 230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma and is open Thurs.- Mon., noon to 4:00 p.m. (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays).Call 707 762 5600.
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