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January 2021 | Member Showcase

November 11, 2020 by Cameron Kelly

Chico Art Center kicks off our 65th year with artworks by artists that support our organization with their membership. Whether an artist is a novice or pro, it is always a courageous and generous act to make one’s personal creation public for all to see. Visitors have a chance to see what studio artists, both regional and national offer up.

Call for Art

Deliver one artwork January 2-3, 2021 | Entry is free with $40 membership | Pick Up January 30-31

Become a member or renew today!

View Last Year's Exhibit

November 2020 | The Art of Remembrance

October 11, 2020 by Cameron Kelly

The Art of Remembrance

November 7- December 13, 2020

Open

Fridays, 12:00 - 4:00PM

Saturdays - Sundays, 10:00AM - 4:00PM

This community call for art exhibit honors those that have passed in portraits and a community altar. This exhibition expands on the tradition of Dia de los Muertos, by including art historical and contemporary genres of portraiture and welcomes all cultural practices of remembrance.

Bring an "ofrenda" or offering for the community altar. This is something to entice the spirit of a loved one back for a visit. Your offering can be a photo, poem, note, flowers, sweet treat, miniature beverage or something that the special person loved or shared with you. Or, simply add their name to the ribbon wall.

Article: Day of The Dead Traditions Around The World

Article: The History of Momento Mori Art

View Last Year's Exhibit

DYLAN TELLESEN, "Tania", mixed media on canvas, NFS. This portrait of Tania Heyman was commissioned in 2019 by her husband and two children; Nathan, Alexis and Nicholas. Not only does the portrait beautifully capture Tania, its creation was a therapeutic process for the family. All three family members, in separate sessions, worked to create the underpainting using colors, images and words that were meaningful to them and Tania. If you look closely, there are areas where the underpainting shows through. Working in this manner made this project that much more emotionally intense for the family and artist. Tania experienced a sudden onset of mental illness in 2012 and ended up taking her life at the age of 44.

DYLAN TELLESEN, "Sarah Kane", mixed media, $2,000. Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright who is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological—and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of extreme and violent stage action.

DYLAN TELLESEN, "Kurt Cobain", mixed media, $2,400. Best known as the guitarist, primary songwriter and frontman of the rock band Nirvana, Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, Cobain's compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was often heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in the history of alternative rock.

HEATHER BENNETT, "Steve", mixed media on board, $50.

ALBANY COYLE, "Erin", acrylic, NFS. The subject of my piece is my sister 'Erin', who passed on 11.11.19 in Paradise CA. 'Erin' was a light to all who knew her, gave unconditional love, fought adversity with such courage and strength, she was a beautiful example for everyone who faced struggle. She taught me to be myself, not hold back and strive to make every day matter, as it did for her. I have depicted her in "festival gear" as she loved music, dance, freedom, and know she would be proud of this piece, which was part of the healing process, still ongoing. I hope her smile lights up the room as it did in life.

REBECCA SHELLY, "Her fight is now ours!", colored pencil, spray fixitive and thread on fabric, $600.

REBECCA SHELLY, "Her fight is now ours!" (verso), colored pencil, spray fixitive and thread on fabric, $600.

LUCKY PRESTON, "Family Mask", bronze, NFS. This is a remembrance of my past generations. Hand sculpted in clay. The ceramic piece survived the Paradise fire of Nov. 2018.

MARK GAILEY, "Sal Casa", graphite on white paper, NFS. This, of course, is a portrait of Sal Casa, the local Chico art icon and mentor to many. I drew this portrait from life, as Sal posed for us at the end of one of his evening Chico Art Center figure drawing classes. Sal had great features to draw and I felt that I got a pretty good likeness of him in this portrait. Several of my other attempts to draw Sal over the years fell short, but this one seemed to work out.

MARK GAILEY, "Joe", graphite on paper, NFS. This is a portrait I did from life in 2009 of a long-time older Chico figure model named Joe. It was the best likeness I had done of Joe and the contrast of the drawing seemed to be sharp enough for display. A whole generation of our older Chico artists should instantly recognize Joe from his years of posing for figure drawing sessions. I imagine it's been a year or two since I heard that Joe had passed. Time passages, as they say.

JIM LAWRENCE, "The Raven", acrylic on canvas, $200. I had a friend in high school who people would describe as "dark" or just "weird". I went to a catholic school and he was the only person of color that attended that school. We called him "The Raven". He was really a very sensitive person and sadly did eventually die of an overdose. Life is not fair.

CHRISTIAN GARCIA, Beautiful Ascension spray paint, acrylic, paint pen. $550.

CHRISTIAN GARCIA "Un Mundo, Una Vida, Un Amor", spray paint, acrylic, watercolor, $365.

EMMANUEL GARCIA, "Death in the Mirror", pyrography, $60.

TEAL BUEHLER, "Dog", acrylic on canvas, $150.

TEAL BUEHLER, "Cat", acrylic on canvas, $150.

TEAL BUEHLER, "Hummingbird", acrylic on canvas, $130.

MADISON CANNAUGHTON, "Descanso en Paz", paint markers on cardstock, $50.

ROBERT ELESHA, "Rosé Muertos", ink, $10.

CYNTHIA SCHILDHAUER, "Remember", painted picture frame, $50.

CHRISTINE CONNERLY, "Light Will Come", mixed media, $85. In September while I was meditating, I had a vision of a figure standing in in a dark tunnel like space looking out on a rectangle of golden light. In many ways 2020 has been like a dark tunnel full of grieving for the loss of lives, natural places, homes, and civil discourse. Making art has given me a vision of light that will come again in the future.

ERIN WELLS, "Participantes del desfile del dia de los muertos ceramic on wood", $125. Many of us choose to celebrate our heritage and past family during this time of the year... My family is very northern European, but we do have our heros and they can be part of the ofrenda of our more Mediterranean Brothers and Sisters. I love to honor the dead with a bit of humor and a more relaxed vision of life beyond.

LYDIA CHAUVIN, "Simony's Lizard", ceramic, NFS. While this piece honors the extinct and endangered reptile species, it was inspired by Simony's lizard (Gallotia simonyi) which inhabits the Canary Islands and is listed as critically endangered. What remains of this species of lizard is confined to a mere handful of cliffs, though efforts are being made to reintroduce them to other suitable habitat.

Community Altar

CAROLYN MCLEOD, "Face in the Wall", photograph, $150.

LYNN JACOBS, "Sacred", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, $325. When we began our lives as adults, we forged strong friendships. We went “back to the earth, figuring out how to live as our great grandparents did. Over the years we moved to different places, raised children and chose different versions of our lives. Still, our friendships lived on beneath all the changes, despite only rarely ever seeing one another. Now, close to 50 years later, we really only see each other at Celebrations of Life, as one after another life comes to an end here. After a painful recent loss I took stock of all who have gone and I realized that now I am the person losing their youthful companions. I’m becoming the elderly one who has fewer and fewer friends left. When you are young you don’t imagine this will ever be you, but if you are fortunate, it will be. This canvas is a tribute to my friends and family members who have gone ahead to prepare the way. I never imagined how much I miss you.

CAROLYN MCLEOD, "Mini Skull", acrylic and pen & ink, $100.

LEILANI SILVERMAN, "Dia De Los Muertos", charcoal, sharpie, watercolor, $25.

ERIN WELLS, "Distant Cousin, Erik the Red", ceramic and copper wire, $400. Many of us choose to celebrate our heritage and past family during this time of the year... My family is very northern European, but we do have our heros and they can be part of the ofrenda of our more Mediterranean Brothers and Sisters. I love to honor the dead with a bit of humor and a more relaxed vision of life beyond.

JADE PRESTON, "Confusion", pastel on scratchboard, $25.

LISA FREEMAN-WOOD, "Remembering Tina", collage, NFS. My sister Tina was a storyteller, a writer. She wrote magazines and newspaper articles, essays, and books. She came from a large family and raised 2 sons. Some of her happiest times were when she was in Alaska. Tina was drawn there because our grandmother lived there all our lives. Although Grandma Val lived so far away, she sent chatty letters, magazines, photos, a box of feathers, and artwork, some paintings she did as well as work by local Native Americans. Grandma Val was a writer too, having worked at her dad’s newspaper as a photo-journalist and continuing years of journals chronicling life in Alaska. Tina went to Eagle, Alaska, a tiny village on the Yukon River on the border of Canada to take down the oral history of the Native Americans that lived there so their stories wouldn’t be lost. She lived there for several years, learning and adapting to the living in the wild. She moved to Anchorage, with her sons near, she continued to write extensively about Alaska and the indigenous people. The Storyknife is used during storytime to draw pictures. Having read Grandma Val’s Alaska journals Tina wrote an essay titled The Good Stuff. Here is the final section, “ Life did not have to be a thrill a minute, I realized. In her celebration of the simple, the everyday, the beautiful, Val had shown me the real good stuff; by showing me how she lived her life, my grandmother had shown me how to live my own life. Pay attention, I learned, to small things around you; be thankful; immerse yourself in your surroundings; accept that some days will glide by like water, and other days will fight back like an unwieldy chunk of wood that resists being fed to the fire; don’t limit yourself to sticking to what you already know; keep striving; look forward to old age, for it brings satisfactions of its own. And above all keep your eyes open and your pen ready.” Tina took her own life when her mental pain became too much to bear. She was loved. She is remembered.

MICHAEL STERLING, "Richard Silvera", collage, NFS.

EMMANUEL GARCIA, "Time of Death", mixed medium, $300.

SALLY CARTER, "Remembering Marilu", acrylic collage, $100. I recently learned of the passing of my old coming of age friend. I could find no obituary so produced this work as a memorial. She loved the natural world so I felt that was fitting adornment.

OPEN CALL for ART

This is an open call for art (no juror). Exhibit artwork honoring the dead. All media, styles and subject matter welcome (family, friend, animal, public figure, etc) by artists of all ages. Invite friends to add a photo or offering to the community altar. For questions contact the Gallery Director at ckelly@chicoartcenter.com

Drop Off Artwork: Saturday, Oct. 31, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm & Sunday, Nov. 1, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Art Entry Fee: $10 Students/$25 CAC Members/$35 Non-members for up to 3 artworks
*Our volunteers will be on site to accept entries on the drop-off dates only. No early drop-offs.
Pick-Up Dates: Friday, Dec. 18, 12:00- 4:00 pm, Saturday- Sunday, Dec. 19-20, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Requirements & Terms for Entry:

A completed entry form.
Attach your name (and title if submitting multiple works) to the front. We use this tag to match your artwork with the wall label once it is hung. Do not attach this entry form to the artwork.
Title or price changes after the time of the drop-off are not allowed. All info for wall label is taken from this form.
Framing and hanging hardware is not required if artwork can be hung from stretcher bar.
A donation of 30% to CAC is suggested on all sales in this exhibit.
Artworks may not be removed prior to the close of the exhibition, nor will sold artworks be released early.
Works submitted must be completely dry.
Work determined by the director to be too fragile for safe handling and/or display will not be accepted.
Works not picked up after 60 days will be considered abandoned and may become property of CAC.

Artist’s Waiver
By entering this exhibit, you agree to the following:

The Chico Art Center (CAC) shall not be liable to any participating artist or to any third party for losses, damages, consequential damages, or any injury that may result from participation in the exhibition. The artist agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold the CAC and the City of Chico harmless against any and all claims, demands, damages, fees, costs, and action of any kind asserted by or on behalf of any third party(ies) arising from the artist’s participation in the exhibition. Permission is released to the CAC to use images of entered artists and their artworks solely for purposes of documentation, education, and future publicity. Permission to sell displayed Artwork: I give Chico Art Center permission to sell my artwork displayed in the gallery. I understand payments will be made payable to me and I will be responsible for reporting the sale of my artwork. No tax will be collected.

FILL OUT YOUR ENTRY FORM HERE

October 2020 | Open Studios Art Tour

October 1, 2020 by Cameron Kelly

Open Studios Art Tour is an annual Butte County tradition. Artists share their private studios with the public to explore. This event series is produced solely by Chico Art Center (CAC) volunteers as our major fundraising project of the year. Your participation and patronage pledges your commitment to visual artists in your region and helps make CAC's programming possible all year. Many thanks to our sponsor, Heithecker Financial and local businesses advertising in the Tour Guide Booklet. We hope you'll support local artists and businesses with your patronage.

VIRTUAL ART TALK

Sunday, November 15, 4:00 PM

Join us for four, 15 minute presentations by selected artists from Open Studios Art Tour. Each artist shares how they develop their visual ideas, their inspirations and current projects.

This zoom talk is hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

Click here to watch the recording

VIRTUAL RECEPTION

Friday, October 30, 5:00 PM

Connecting Art Patrons with Northern California Artists.

Look at art + crafts
Learn about creative processes
Visit artists studios
Collect Northern California Art

Join us for a tour of the ChicoOSAT.com website and watch artists Cris Guenter, Marvey Mueller, Geralyn Sheridan and Ellen Hedfield give live demonstrations.

This zoom event will not be recorded.

The Virtual Tour is Live

OCTOBER 1, 2020 – JULY 31, 2021

ABOUT OSAT

Visit ChicoOSAT.com all year for artist updates of available artwork and in-person Studio Visit availability. With COVID-19 still active, we have adapted this year’s Open Studios Art Tour (OSAT) to accommodate required safety measures.

OSAT is an annual Butte County tradition. This event is produced solely by Chico Art Center (CAC) volunteers as our major fundraising project of the year. Your patronage pledges your commitment to arts and culture and helps make CAC’s programming possible all year.

Many thanks to our sponsor, Heithecker Financial and local businesses advertising in the Tour Guide and ChicoOSAT.com. We hope you’ll support local artists and businesses with your patronage.

Visit www.ChicoOSAT.com here!

BENEFITS

Instead of having the traditional tour for only two weekends, as we have in previous years, we encourage you to visit ChicoOSAT.com all year, from October 1, 2020 – July 31, 2021 for artist updates and Studio Visit availability.

STAY SAFE

It will be important to practice social distancing, use masks and hand sanitizer for both visitors and the artists while visiting Artist Studios. Artists may make special requests when scheduling appointments with visitors.

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Chris Kaufman/Appeal-Democrat
Waif Mullin, of Chico, with his bird Pappi, will have a show of his pastel work at The Theater Gallery on Plumas Street in Yuba City.

How can I purchase a Tour Guide?

Purchasing a tour guide gives you preview information about a majority of the artists, how to contact them, and which artists welcome in-person Studio Visits. Purchase Tour Guides for $15 at the following locations:

Chico

Oroville

Broken Color Gallery
1360 Montgomery Street, Oroville
(530) 534-5474 – please call for hours

PROGRAM SPONSOR

Sept 2020 | Flora: The Other Endangered Species

September 7, 2020 by Cameron Kelly

My chosen plant is endangered San Francisco Lessingia Germanium. It is native to the sand dunes of the San Francisco Presidio and the sand dunes on San Bruno Mountain. I had a very small part in helping to restore its dune habitat at the Presidio when the only expertise needed was muscle. In the painting the Lessingia are entangled and competing with a fanciful arrangement of colorful but invasive flora. I included the Myrtle’s Silverspot Butterfly also endangered because it thrives around Lessingia but its larvae are very vulnerable to the pesticides sometimes used to help keep invasive vegetation at bay. I had to add the graceful but very invasive “Naked Ladies” (Amaryllis Belladonna) because to me they signal “August,” grateful to see something predictable about 2020.

Linda Larson (San Francisco), Intertwined, 2020. Oil on panel, 24x18 inches

September 5, 2020

Focusing on native, threatened, and endangered plants, this exhibition helps us think about how important biodiversity is to the health of the regions we live in. Increasing awareness and knowledge of plants, plant life cycles and how to use them effectively in our lives is essential. How do we grow our future? Many regions need replanting after wildfires. Each artwork will be accompanied by the artist’s statement about the status of the plant and its habitat.

Due to fluctuating COVID-19 Guidelines for Butte County, our gallery has remained closed. The exhibit will be online only.

Generously Sponsored by Ann & Tony Slocum

Jurors

Adrienne Leigh Edwards, PhD, is a Botanist & Plant Ecologist at CSU, Chico.

Joani Bosque worked for Hedgrow Farms, a native seed nursery and is currently planting a pollinator garden at the Feather River Nature Center & Native Plant Park.

For purchases or questions, please contact Cameron Kelly, Gallery Director at ckelly@chicoartcenter.com

Zoom Reception Saturday, September 26th at 5:00 pm

Jurors, Adrienne Edwards, Botanist and Joan Bosque, Permaculturist respond to selected artworks
Cash prize winners announced and invited to speak about their work

Watch the recorded Zoom Reception here

Shannon Keller (California), The Live Forever, 2020, 22 x 30 inches, pencil on paper, $800

Erin Hunter (California), Upper Bidwell Wildflowers (for Desi), 2016, 11 x 11 (unframed), NFS

Joan Keesey (California), Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), 2013, Watercolor, 18 x 21 inches, NFS

Joan Keesey (California), Plummer's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus plummerae), 2011, Watercolor, 18 x 20 inches, NFS

Erin Hunter (California), Smith's Blue Butterfly and Coastal Buckwheat, 2011, acrylic, 8x10 inches, $900

Joan Keesey (California), Matilija Poppy, 2014, Watercolor, 19 x 22 inches, NFS

Erin Hunter (California), Floral Compass, 2017, acrylic, 24 x 24 inches (unframed), NFS

Rebecca Botelho (California), Lilium occidentale I, 2020, watercolor on paper, 11 x 13 inches, $250

Rebecca Botelho (California), Astragalus tener var. titi I, 2020, watercolor on paper, 11x 13 inches, $300

Keith Buswell (Nebraska), Siena, 2019, etching, 20x19 inches, $650

Keith Buswell (Nebraska), Orvieto, 2019, etching, 20x19 inches, $650

Keith Buswell (Nebraska), Pisa, 2019, etching, 20x19 inches, $650

Lauren Eisen (Colorado), Containment, encaustic, paper, grasses, smokebush on wood panel, 12 x 12 inches, NFS

Lauren Eisen (Colorado), Firelight, 2020, encaustic, metal, paper, grasses, clematis pod on wood panel, 12 x 12 inches, NFS

Lauren Eisen (Colorado), Ring of Fire, encaustic, paper, oregano, smokebush on wood panel, 12 x 24 inches, NFS

Linda Larson (California), Intertwined, 2020. Oil on panel, 24x18 inches, $1100

Helen Klebesadel (Wisconsin), Fringed Prairie Orchid, 2016, watercolor on canvas, 20x16 inches, $1200

Emily Suñez (California), Rise of Parish's Daisy, 2020, Oil on wood, 16x16 inches, $750

Gracie Gomes (California), Limnanthes Douglasii, 2020, colored pencil, 11x14 inches, SOLD

Dolores Mitchell (California), Stream of Gold, 2019, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches, $585

Helen Klebesadel (Wisconsin), Disappearing Prairie II, 2019, watercolor on paper, 40x30 inches, $6000

Marily Geary (California), Mending the Mountain, 2019, fiber, 52 x 40 inches, $2700

Saskia Krafft (California), Santa Barbara Island, 2020, pencil on paper, 11.69 x 16.53 inches, $650

Judy Kane (California), San Mateo Thornmint, 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, $220 As a gardener, I regard any kind of mint the way you regard someone with no respect for boundaries. Liable to run roughshod over any kind of delineation. So if I had the opportunity, would I invite this plant to my garden party? Probably not. But fighting the loss of the species, the encroachment on its environs by development, is always necessary and the right thing to do.

Meghan Lacombe (California), Veiny Monardella, 2020, Oil Paint, 20x20 inches, $175

Carolyn McLeod (California), Cleveland Sage, California Fuchsia, and Pipevine Swallowtail, 2020, Photograph, 13 x10 inches (framed), $150

Lori Harrington (California), The Button Willow 2020 Photograph, 8x10 inches, NFS

Carolyn McLeod (California) Crysalis and Coulter's Matilija, 2020, Photograph on wrap canvas, 12 x 16 inches, $150

Carolyn McLeod (California), Coulter's Matilija Poppies, 2020, Photograph on wrap canvas, 12 x 16 inches, $150

Helen Klebesadel (Wisconsin), Prairie Milkweed Flower, 2016, watercolor on canvas, 20x24 inches, $1800

Marvey Mueller (California), Plummer's Mariposa Lily, 2020, Watercolor, pen & ink, 16x20 inches, $250

Alicia Escott (California), Collaborations with Wildflower Seeds: Metabolic Rifts and Domestic interiors, 2020, found plastic, soil, wildflower seeds, water, life force, NFS

Alicia Escott (California), Installation from Now the Totality Hits Us First, 2019, mixed media, NFS

Alicia Escott (California), Collaborations with Wildflower Seeds: Metabolic Rifts and Domestic interiors, 2020, found plastic, soil, wildflower seeds, water, life force, NFS

Julie Nagle (New Jersey), Blaze, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 5' x 6', $7000

Julie Nagle (New Jersey), Summer, Snow Mountain Ranch, Colorado, 6 x 8 feet, $9000

Patti Lloyd (California), Deep Roots, 2020, mixed media, $150

Sawyer Rose (California), Blue Sky, 2016, oil on panel, silver solder, copper, 45 x 45 x 1.5 inches, $4800

Sawyer Rose (California), Queen of Flowers 2013, oil on panel, silver solder, copper, 16 x 16 x 1.5 inches, $950

Sawyer Rose (California), Thicket, 2014, oil on panel, silver solder, copper, 21 x 21 x 1.5 inches, $1000

Robert Allen (Maryland), Earth Freshener, 2015, Latex paint and silkscreen ink on rigid polyurethane foam with applied pine scent, 74 x 44 x ¾ inches, $1425

Erin Wells (California), Buckwheat Endangered, 2020, Acrylic and Mixed media, 20 x 16 inches, $180

Julie Nagle (New Jersey), Afterimage, 2020, acrylic on un-stretched canvas (pins directly to wall), 8 x 12 feet, $20,000

August 2020 | Small Works

August 12, 2020 by Cameron Kelly

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!

Gitta Brewster, "Coronaria Covidii", Papermache and Acrylic on Canvas, $150.

Brittney Apel, "In Bloom", Ink, $50. A fluid ink canvas piece to remind us to flow and bloom together.

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.

TK Frankenber, "Hand in Hand", 100% Wool, Knitted Shadow Mosaic, 12" square, $60 Knitted Shadow Mosaics are interlocking and inverted motifs in opposite and reversing shades. Walking through a local gallery provided the inspiration.

Carolyn McLeod, "Yucca Light", photograph on Archival Velvet Fine Art Paper, $150. I took this photo of a Yucca plant in my neighborhood. What interested me was the shape of the flowers and the way light fell on the petals.

Richard Robinson, "Cheers", collage, $125. There's a beauty in the simple and ordinary. Pleasure sitting with a friend or family member enjoying an ale or coffee together. Maybe discussing life and living, or maybe just appreciating the small things in our world.

Richard Robinson, "Three fish" Collage, SOLD.

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.

Alice Figueroa, "Second Chance Bonsai," watercolor/nature, $200. This sweet bonsai wasn't strong enough to survive the heat of the campfire but it lives on in art.

Nancy Beliveau, "Kitty Glitter", mixed media, $50. Orange cats have special personalities I think. With this in mind I added glamour with jewels and swirls. Cats were once worshipped and I have a feeling they still think they are worthy of adoration.

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.

Amanda Jordan, "I’d rather be...", mixed media on canvas, SOLD. I asked friends what they would rather be doing then wearing masks - this was one answer (kissing).

Judy Kane, "All the Colours", acrylic on canvas, $220. I’ve been thinking (like everyone) about healing the Planet. Applying Love and Science to every situation. Might be a good place to start.

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.

Rosemary Redmond, "The Year of 2020", oil on canvas, $75. COVID-19 has been so all-encompassing on my life and lives of everyone I know that I could not resist a painting about the virus itself--as it changes and mutates, and moves from one place to another.

Carla Resnick, "Retrieve", acrylic and ink on canvas, $285.

Maggie Wisdom, "A Visit From Squeaky", acrylic, $60. Inspired by a friendly visit from a neighborhood cat.

Sue Warwick, "View Out My Window", mosaic, NFS. I am lucky enough to live by Bidwell Park. My studio window faces that park. I see the seasons change through that window. I captured the ginkgos from the Esplanade and the almonds all around us.

Mariam Pakbaz, "The Permeable Chamber", mixed media, $250. This miniature space is ready to accept its tiny occupant. The Permeable Chamber is set up for noninvasive sleep experiments and maximum dream access.

Erin Wells, "S T O P", acrylic, SOLD. Too much going on. We are all seeking a break. One way to find our comfort zone is to Stop accepting interruptions.

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.

Dan Fregin, "Piper Cub in a roll", 1 of 3, house paint, $300 for set. Rolls were not very exciting but you could not use much rudder to counteract adverse yaw from about 60 degrees of roll through about 240 degrees or you would end up with some nose-down yaw.

Dan Fregin, "Piper cub at top of a loop", 2 of 3, house paint, $300 for set. The terrain looks really close for coming inverted over the top of this loop. But it reminds me of my Cub (1975 to 1983) with a 65 horse Continental and a wooden prop - It would climb at least 50 feet in successive loops.

Dan Fregin, "Piper Cub in a spin", 3 of 3, house paint, $300 for set. You had to hold full rudder into spins because it had so much wing that it would fly itself out of the spin. Normal pitch is around 65 to 75 degrees down to keep one wing stalled.

BLAST ART After School Program

July 22, 2020 by Cameron Kelly

BLAST ART

Students created personal narratives in sketchbooks with images and text as they thought about what it means to live in their community and its context for their personal stories. Artist Cameron Kelly provided the driving vision for this project in collaboration with Courtney Boyden, one of the existing BLAST after school coordinators and Jennifer Spangler, Arts Education Coordinator at Butte County Office of Education (BCOE). Building on student interest for an outdoor sketching program that Boyden started, this year-long after school program helped students use art

as a way of seeing their world. This partnership between Chico Art Center, the Chico Unified School District After School Program, and the Butte County Office of Education (BCOE) was funded by a Youth Arts Action Grant from California Arts Council with additional support from California County Superintendents Arts Initiative. For more images visit chicoartcenter.com

The Train Car Gallery

May 27 - November, 2020, Chico Art Center

The Gratitude Flower

December 11, 2019, Chico State Arts Collaboration Space, Arts Building for an Honors Course Gallery Walk.

Lily Derecktor Gaul, an Honors student and Early Childhood Development Major at CSU Chico, helped conceptualize and produce this project. Students were prompted with three questions. Who and what are you thankful for? What helps your gratitude grow? What do you hope to have or achieve in your future?

Derecktor Gaul says about her motivation to teach, “Children, like flowers, are delicate and need to be watered with hope. Children’s dreams and ideas are what keep the world spinning. The art they create and the words they write are signs of development and improvement. As impressionable as they are, it is important to indulge and protect their imaginations to keep them as authentic as possible. Children are beautiful because of the authenticity of their honesty and hope which is shown in all that they create. When they come together and work on a project their art is enhanced. The Gratitude Flower is a demonstration and reminder of the hopefulness and authenticity children bring into the world.”

Dia de los Muertos Art & Altar Exhibition

November 1-22, 2019, Chico Art Center