
SMALL WORKS
August 1-28, 2020
This annual, jury-free community exhibit of 12x12” artworks is a celebration of tiny experiments in color, shape and materials by artists of all ages. Grab a small work while it’s hot!
Due to COVID-19 restrictions for Butte County, the exhibit is online.
To purchase artwork, please email Gallery Director, Cameron Kelly at ckelly@chicoartcenter.com .

Nicolai larsen, "Amazing Stories", acrylic on canvas, $250. With all the time "at home" I've reverted back to my childhood (or so my wife says). It was all science fiction and
dinosaurs back then. AMAZING STORIES was the very first sci-fi magazine published.This painting is a humoristic tribute
to that genre. I really miss the art center!

Annai Smith, "Morning Poppies 2", oil painting, $170. Mid-morning light blankets the field of poppies. My artistic eye not only takes in every detail of beauty and color but analyzes the many pleasing compositions of the scene. I can't help myself. It's and innate desire to gather the scatterings of nature's bounty and arrange them to my liking. I AM AN ARTIST!

Carolyn McLeod, "White Bud", Photograph on 12" x 12" wrap canvas, $150. I often walk by a Magnolia tree in my neighborhood and stop to take photos. I am intrigued by how sculptural Magnolia blossoms are. This particularly bud is particularly so and seems to mysteriously float in space as if from another world.

Annai Smith,"Morning Poppies 1", oil painting, $170. Living far from family can be hard as well as a blessing. This particular painting was inspired by a quick trip to visit my son and daughter-in-law expecting their first baby, my first grandchild. The poppy field was so full of vibrancy and life. Photographing my beautifully pregnant daughter-in-law amongst the flowers was an opportunity to combine both beauty and life into a memorable portrait. Painting the poppies was my way to immortalize that beauty and life.

Cris Guenter, "Morning Walk", oils, NFS. With the pandemic limiting interactions with others, my morning walks have taken on greater significance. This local scene is part of my early morning walk. It is near the big roundabout and Wildwood Park across from the Elks Lodge. The morning sun casts delightful shadows that dance on the sidewalk.

Lisa Freeman-Wood, "Embroidery - Pink and Taupe Free Form", NFS. I decided to pick up embroidery again when the Stay at Home order came. I had done some embroidery as well as sewing, and macrame when I was in my 20's. I ordered a kit with lots of thread in many colors and the things I'd need to get started again. I worked my way thru a couple of samplers and decided to do something different. I did not draw this design and it was not originally for embroidery but I thought it would be interesting to do. It is not perfect but it was fun to do and I learned a lot. I pinned it to a canvas I had.

Mary Elizabeth Collins, "Inner Healer", Acrylic, and photo borders, $90. No matter what a tree (bark and leaves) experiences through the seasons, there is a magnificent life giving chemistry deep inside and under the soil, as it communes with other trees and a myriad of life forms. On trees, I often find vaginal images, created by life's adventures within and outside of their bark. Trees constantly remind me to celebrate my female, life giving, sustaining nature. These vaginal shapes also remind me to travel within myself to remember where I emerged, that my essence is life giving.

Mary Elizabeth Collins, "Dance of the Ancient Olive Tree", Acrylic, Photo border, NFS. I relish seeing our human selves in trees. The grey and white knees,bones and feet at the base of some old olive trees in my apartment complex,dark red violet olives strewn around the base and beyond, led me to see an ancient female dancer. It has been my desire for sometime to celebrate the connections I feel between trees and me. This and my " Inner Healer" painting in this exhibit, are my first efforts to portray a bit of my relationship with trees.