Members of the Bay Area Woodturning Association are working with the Beads of Courage Program, a resilience-based intervention designed to support children and teens coping with illness. Children tell their story using colorful beads that serve as meaningful symbols honoring their courage. Larry Batti’s 7” x 9” turned wood container, entitled Beads for Courage Box, is made with colored pencils and hard wood. He will donate it to a child so they may save the beads they receive.
Art Gallery at the Orinda Library: Ceramics, Paintings & Exquisite Turned Wood
The Lamorinda Arts Council presents ceramics by Brad Krebs, paintings by Joseph Loria and Silvia Villanueva Mallon and turned wood by members of the Bay Area Woodturners Association during April in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library.
Meet the artists at a reception on Saturday, April 9 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Ceramicist Krebs of Pleasant Hill has collected ceramics from artists such as Rowena Brown and Mary Fischer for many years. While on an extended hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, Krebs spent a lot of time in reflection. He then decided to take advantage of the nearby Walnut Creek Center for Community Arts ceramics programs. That was about six years ago, and he hasn’t stopped yet.
“I chose to focus on a simple house form because of my interest in architecture. My intent is to explore the house form in as many ways as possible,” said Krebs.
He focuses on materials, design, additions to clay and the meaning of the house. Look for over 200 ceramic pieces on display from this prolific ceramicist. Follow him @krebs.brad.
Loria’s theme for his exhibit is “Stories We Tell Ourselves” because, “My focus is on people and places – how I represent that is an intuitive leap.” Some of his favorite artists are Philip Morseberger, Grace Hartigan, Leland Bell, Richard Diebenkorn, Camille Claudel, Max Beckman, Mia Lin, deKooning and Matisse.
A Lafayette resident, Loria uses bold, colorful, structural forms to do what he loves best, communicating via the visual language of art. The Bridge is a 60” x 48” painting on canvas made using oil stick, spray paint and tape. The forms in this work repeat as if you are in the white boats sailing in front of the bridge. Learn more about his artwork on Instagram @joeloriaart or visit www.joeloriaart.com.
Mallon grew up in Rubielos de Mora, a small village in Spain, which was home to renowned artists Salvador Victoria and Jose Gonzalvo. On her first trip to Madrid to the El Prado and Thyssen Museums, she was drawn to a collection by Kandinski. Now living in Oakland, Mallon is most inspired by her neighbor and friend, artist Elaine Toland.
Mallon plays with texture and color via a topcoat of epoxy that protects the paintings, livens up the colors and reflects light in unique ways throughout the day.
“Each time I look at one of my paintings, it looks different,” she said.
Of the seven paintings in this show, Neila is a large expanse of acrylic color, 40” x 60” of luminous cloud-like shapes. View more of her work at http://www.dirty-canvas.company.site.
Kim Wolfe organized the Bay Area Woodturners Association (BAWA) exhibit. BAWA is a non-profit organization which provides a place for woodturners to share and learn, in addition to educating the public about the art of woodturning.
BAWA’s Beads of Courage Box exhibit displays 20 – 30 small wood boxes created by woodturners.
“The boxes turned and decorated by our members are donated to local hospitals for distribution to children undergoing medical treatments,” said Wolfe. “These wonderful pieces of art become a sacred vessel for the children to house the numerous beads they receive.” Professional medical practitioners give colorful beads, representing courage during their treatment period, to the children to support them through their ordeals.
You can view the group’s work at @bawa_woodturning; more information about BAWA and the Beads of Courage Program can be found at www.bayareawoodturners.org.
Joseph Loria’s, The Bridge, is a 60” x 48” painting on canvas made using oil stick, spray paint and tape. The forms in this work repeat, as if you are in the white boats sailing in front of the bridge.
To learn more about the Lamorinda Arts Council, visit www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs April 1 through 30 during library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Sun.
Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library, or visit www.ccclib.org. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org or call the Lamorinda Arts Council at 925.359.9940.
Matthew Felix Sun’s theme for his solo show in the Art Gallery at Wilder during April is “Transience.” Boyhood, his 28” x 22” oil painting, was conceived during the pandemic when introspection was the norm. The smiling face of this boy looks up at us as if the world were brand new as he transitions from boyhood into adolescence.
Art Gallery at Wilder: Transience – Paintings of Disquiet and Uncertainty
The Lamorinda Arts Council’s featured artist in the Art Gallery at Wilder for April is painter Matthew Felix Sun. Meet him at his reception Sunday, April 3 from 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Viewers can see his virtual exhibit at www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries and a video preview of his show at www.youtu.be/M1iNAyeEKZ0. For directions to the opening, visit www.lamorindaarts.org/current-exhibits-wilder/.
Sun has loved drawing since childhood. He said he found reproducing images that interested him on paper or canvas endlessly fascinating. The 10 pieces he presents in this show are oil paintings he worked on over the last two years.
“I strive to discover and capture what is hidden, emphasizing the unspoken over verisimilitude,” said Sun. “This tendency comes from my years growing up in China where much is hinted at, but rarely spoken aloud. These experiences sharpened my awareness of the invisible burdens born by people everywhere.”
“Transience – Paintings of Disquiet and Uncertainly” is an exhibit about Sun’s ideas and experiences while living through the pandemic. This surely is a theme about which many people can relate.
His work, in collections in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and China, has been selected for exhibitions in San Francisco, New York and Seattle. To learn more about his work, visit http://www.matthewfelixsun.com or follow him on Instagram at @matthewfelixsun.
The Wilder Art and Garden Center is located at 20 Orinda Fields Way. The exhibit runs April 2 through 30 and is in-person on the reception date, but otherwise accessible by appointment with Curator Aniston Breslin. Contact her at wildergallery@lamorindaarts.org. Questions? Call the Lamorinda Arts Council at 925.359.9940.
Elana O’Loskey can be reached at business.orinda@gmail.com.
