Here it comes…the Fourth Annual Masters of Santa Cruz Art Show at Stockwell Cellars in Santa Cruz: a loose affiliation of local artists riffing on the works of the famous throughout art history. I’ve participated in every one of these and they are unfailingly interesting, expressive and SO original!

We’ve done the Mona Lisa by DaVinci, American Gothic by Wood and The Flower Carrier by Rivera. This year we opened it up to ANYTHING by Picasso. I can’t wait! The show’s up for two months which includes TWO First Friday receptions, with the excellent Stockwell Cellars wines and food trucks to boot.

I have changed my mind several times in the past year and have now settled on a pensive scraffito mosaic harlequin (seen above!) based on Picasso’s 1901 painting titled “Seated Harlequin”

I never miss participating in this exhibit. The responses to each year’s theme are always delightful and sometimes profound. This year just might be one that hits both qualities especially well. Here’s the proposal’s description:

“Mirrors” is an interesting word. It is a noun as well as a verb. As a noun, it refers to a
reflecting surface that produces an image of whatever is in front of it. As a verb, “Mirrors”
is present tense, and means to represent something honestly or to give a representation
of something that is similar to something else.
Hold your mirror up to consider how language, culture, personal identity, politics, and
customs, are reflected in today’s society.

My piece, as it’s coming along, is a knitted porcelain star in a circle, surrounded by a curling silver metallic coil, mounted on a black and yellow caution striped wooden support. I’m titling it “Beware of Charisma Mirrors” which refers to the illusions of greatness that emanate from the “famous” which may or may not be projections from us onto them that mirror back on us. Got it?

A great stop in downtown Davis, CA all year round, the Pence Art Gallery, going strong since 1976, is a great supporter of ceramic art, especially during the annual California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art each April (organized by the nearby John Natsoulas Gallery.) In that vein, I am thrilled to have my work represented in their gift shop along with several other regional ceramic artists of note. Enjoy your visit!

Derik Van Beers has provided a sweet spot in Oakland’s Art District for ceramics for quite awhile now. He offers world-class monthly solo shows in the front section of his studio space as well as in his Small Works Case in the hallway of a conglomerate of art galleries in the same building. My work is has been in the case for several years now. Take yourself out to a lively art scene and check it out!. There’s a map to the Saturday Art Walk with lovely nearby eateries and, er, drinkeries.

Many Hands has carried my work for 4-5 years now. I always keep them well-stocked with my latest work, even when I’m doing other shows or Open Studios. I am their most local, local artist as my studio is nearby. They are open seven days a week, 10-6, right near Gayle’s Bakery and some other nice shops in Capitola. Stop in! Lots to see.