PUBLISHED BY THE MENDOCINO ART CENTER

Spring 2012COMPLIMENTARY

MendocinoArtsART AND CULTURE IN MENDOCINO COUNTY

Taste of Chocolate, Wine & Ale

Saturday, May 26, 1:00pm – 4:00pmMendocino Art center

Join us for the afternoon!Fine Wine • Micro-Brewed Ales • Decadent Chocolate • Artisanal Treats • Fabulous Silent Auction

Advance Tickets: $25 u At the Gate: $30A fundraiser for the Mendocino Music Festival and Mendocino Art Center

707 937-4041www.mendocinomusic.com

707 937-5818, ext. 10www.MendocinoArtCenter.org

Blooming Every Day!

45052 Main Street, Mendocino, CA 707 937-3132 • www.thehighlightgallery.com

For the Art Collector and the Craft Lover

GALLERY OF DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS

www.gardenbythesea.org | 18220 North Highway 1, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 | 707-964-4352

2 Mendocino Arts Magazine

The Mendocino Art Center Needs You!Support the Arts by becoming a Member,

and give yourself the gift of art…Become a Mendocino Art Center member – and a “MAC Insider” – with newly added benefits for joining, and please consider joining at the highest possible level. Your membership directly supports the Mendocino Art Center, bringing vital cultural programs to the community, including unique gallery shows, youth programs, low-cost open studios, art fairs and musical concerts, world-class art workshops taught by some of the country’s finest instructors, exhibition opportunities for local and national artists, and Mendocino Arts magazine.

Benefits at all levels:10% discount on each workshop registration. 15% discount for ❖Mendocino County MAC members.Artist exhibit opportunities in the gallery and gallery shop. ❖

Special artist invitations to participate in Members’ Juried Exhibits. ❖

Members only discounts at participating businesses — lodging, art supplies, etc. ❖

Mailing of MAC publications and event information. ❖

Waiver of $25 per workshop non-refundable registration fee. ❖

Discounts at Suburban Propane, CALSTAR and REACH. ❖

For details: www.MendocinoartCenter.org/membership.html

Individual $50 ❏

Household $90 ❏

Student $25 ❏

Senior $25 ❏

Supporter $150 ❏

Sustaining $250 ❏

Patron $500 ❏

Champion $750 ❏

Business Partner $100 ❏

Business Web Site ❏Sponsor $500Zacha Legacy Society ❏$1,000Zacha Legacy Society ❏$2,500

individual MeMBer: $50All of the above.HouseHold MeMBer (maximum two members): $90All of the above.student (12+ with student ID): $25All of the above.senior (70+): $25All of the above.supporter: $150All of the above and recogni-tion in a Mendocino Art Cen-ter publication.sustaining: $250All of the above and invitations to special gallery events.patron: $500All of the above and your name on a gallery plaque.

CHaMpion: $750All of the above and a com-memorative tile with wording of your choice on the Zacha Tile Walkway.Business partner: $100Listing on the Mendocino Art Center Web site.Business WeB site sponsor: $500Listing on the Mendocino Art Center Web site home page.ZaCHa legaCY soCietY: $2,500 and $1,000 annual giftsAll of the above and name included on the annual Zacha Legacy Society wall; plus invi-tations to events with VIP privileges and invitations to enticing quarterly member evenings.

MeMBersHip Categories:

Sign me up to be a Mendocino Art Center Member today!

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Address

City

State Zip Phone

E-mail___ Check (payable to Mendocino Art Center)___ Bill my q Visa q MasterCard

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Authorized Signature

Mail to: Mendocino Art CenterP.O. Box 765

Mendocino, CA 95460

Spring 2012 3

Editorial: From Our Board President 5

Tom Macomber: History Transformed into Art 6

Lisa Orselli: Ancient Medium, Modern Sensibility 8

Artists in Residence 10

True Colors: Natural Pigments and Paints 12

April–June Workshops at MAC 14

Meet Lindsay Shields, Executive Director at MAC 16

Let’s Meet Some of MAC’s Instructors: Seamus Berkeley, Bill van Gilder, Deborah Lozier, Robert Rhoades and Nick Taylor 19

Encaustics: A Hot Topic 23

20th Annual Garden Tour 26

Mendocino & Lake County Gallery Guide 30

Mendocino & Lake County Restaurant Guide 38

Gallery of Artists 42

Calendar of Events 46

Poetry by Armand Brint 48

Table of Contents Published by the Mendocino Art CenterVol XLIII, No 1, April 2012

Mendocino Arts promotes the arts by offering space to artists, writers, craftspeople and performers and by providing information on arts and entertainment in Mendocino County. Submissions of unso-licited non-fiction articles, photographs or artwork for consideration in Mendocino Arts must include a SASE or we cannot be responsible for their return. We welcome announcements of upcoming events to be included as space permits.

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4 Mendocino Arts Magazine

ROOTS OF MOTIVE POWER, Inc.See restored and working steam machines:

· Historic Logging Equipment · Steam Engines and Caboose

Mendocino County Museum

Browse in our Museum Shop 400 East Commercial Street, Willits, CACall 707-459-2736 for more informationEmail us at Museum@co.mendocino.ca.us

Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00am–4:30pm

www.MendocinoMuseum.org

Discover unique artifacts and exhibits that reflect our heritage: Frolic Shipwreck, Wine History, Stagecoaches and Wagons, Traveling Exhibits and much more.

SPECIAL EXHIBITS: 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge Photographs of Local Railroads from the Early 1900s

Spring 2012 5

PUBLISHERMendocino Art Center

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERMike McDonald

EDITORPeggy Templer

ART DIRECTION / GRAPHIC PRODUCTIONElizabeth Petersen, RevUp Creative Media

SALESCOAST: Steven P. Worthen – 707 964-2480,

707 813-7669INLAND: Jill Schmuckley – 707 391-8057

LAKE COUNTY: Linda Kelly – 707 367-9038GALLERY Of ARTISTS ADS: David Russell – 707 513-6015

SPRING DISTRIBUTION – 15,000SUMMER 2012 DEADLINE – April 13, 2011

MENDOCINO ART CENTER STAffEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Lindsay ShieldsCOMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Mike McDonaldEDUCATION DIRECTOR: Karen BowersGALLERY DIRECTOR: Jessica JadeBOOKKEEPER: Virginia NeiraREGISTRAR/CASHIER: Michele Cheyovich,

Kath Disney NilsonMASTER ARTIST STUDIO INSTRUCTOR: Blago StojanovskiPROGRAM COORDINATORS: Ceramics/Artists in Residence — Derek Hambly fiber Arts — Nancy Collins fine Art — Arlene Reiss Jewelry — Nancy Gardner Sculpture — Gert RasmussenfACILITIES: Gabe Arreguin

MENDOCINO ART CENTER BOARD Of DIRECTORSPRESIDENT: Liliana CunhaVICE PRESIDENT: Patrick KellerTREASURER: John CornacchiaSECRETARY: Dale Moyer

MENDOCINO ART CENTER45200 Little Lake Street • P.O. Box 765

Mendocino, CA 95460707 937-5818 • 800 653-3328

fAX: 707 937-4625register@mendocinoartcenter.org

www.MendocinoArtCenter.org

Mendocino Art Center Mission Statement:The mission of the Mendocino Art Center is to be a vital cultural resource, providing a broad range of the highest quality educational and exhibition opportunities in the arts to all people.

founded by Bill Zacha in 1959 as a nonprofit organization to support, foster, advance and promote artistic awareness and participation.

COVER IMAGE: Lisa Thorpe, Tree of Life, 8”x10”, collaged map, stamps, art papers on wood, encased with a skin of encaustic medium topped with gold leaf.

MendocinoArtsART AND CULTURE IN MENDOCINO COUNTY

From Our Board President…

I t’s spring! A time of new growth on the planet and so it is with the Art Center. We are delighted that Lindsay Shields has agreed

to join our staff permanently and is our new Executive Director. With her leadership, the Zacha Legacy Society has come into being and in the summer we will be honoring our first inductees. A grant-seeking program started by Lindsay during her consultancy with us is moving forward. Most recently we received a $1,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Mendocino for a new computer for the gallery. We are very grateful for the continued support of our local businesses and Rotarians.

The most exciting news in the education department is that this summer we will be offering five classes for academic credit through Woodbury University in Southern California. Each class is comprised of two workshops. Accreditation is provided by NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design) and WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges). These ten workshops will still be available as stand-alone offerings to those who do not desire credit. An additional cost will be added to the class fee for those attending for credit. More information regarding these classes is available in our summer catalog and on both the Art Center Web site (www.mendocinoartcenter.org) and the Woodbury University Web site (www.woodbury.edu).

If you plan to be in Mendocino for Memorial Day weekend come to the “Taste of Chocolate, Wine and Ale” event. The Art Center is partnering with the Mendocino Music Festival to bring to town purveyors of the best wines, chocolate, ales and artisanal foods for your tasting pleasure. You can’t miss us – we’ll be in the Festival tent on the front lawn of the Art Center. Visit our Web site for updates on this and other new events.

I hope you will join us for what promises to be a very exciting year of new class offerings and events.

~ Liliana CunhaBoard President

SPRING 2012

Chuck BushJanis PorterEileen RobbleeNick Schwartz

Marge StewartBob TreasterLucia Zacha

6 Mendocino Arts Magazine

By Jessica Jade Norris

Above: Tom Macomber with his Western Bench sculpture. Anna Macomber photo.

It’s a cold, crisp morning driving out to Kelseyville. Wide open spaces with oak trees sit next to bits of industry and family farms. A loaded hay truck

pulls out in front of me and escorts me down the road to the Macomber ranch, while tiny wisps of hay collide with my windshield. The property is a peaceful, country setting, decorated with strategically placed farm equipment, historical findings, and of course, Tom Macomber’s fantastically whimsical art sculptures. The road curves around a large red barn and riding area, where Tom’s wife, Anna, keeps her horses. Further up the hill is the absolutely gorgeous home that took them eight years to complete.

Tom is standing outside of the garage in front of his Model A car, and greets me with warmth and enthusiasm. Without delay, we walk around the yard for the tour and Tom explains to me where all of the various yard treasures came from. Most of his antique collectibles are from Lake County

and include just about everything you could imagine – old wood burning stove parts, wagon wheels, water pumps, rock crushers, buggy axles, mining carts, an assortment of gears, brackets, horseshoes, recycled woods, a pulley driven drill press, and more.

Down the hill within walking distance is Tom’s workshop, and his area of inspiration. The entire outside space is lined with tables and flat surfaces that have piles of sorted metals for welding. It’s an incredible feeling to see it all as a group and realize how important these parts once were. Tom takes scraps and pieces of what has been left behind and welds them back together in imaginative ways that are fun and comical. He explains, “The process of creating my metal sculptures begins when I am mentally and physically rested. I am usually inspired by something I want to create. I sketch it out or find a picture and then go to my scrap iron (pile) inventory. Sometimes, I get inspired just by searching

Tom Macomber:

H i s t o r y t r a n s f o r m e dint

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rt

Handcrafted Faucet Flower Bouquet. Anna Macomber photo.

Top: Discarded scrap metal that Tom turns into his one-of-a-kind sculptures. Above: Grasshopper Wine Holder. Larry Wagner photo.

Spring 2012 7

through the misfit metal and come up with some really great original creations. Putting it all together, I start at the bottom and work my way up. I cut and pre fit all pieces then grind all the rust and dirt to bare metal where I need to weld. Sharp and rough edges must be ground smooth. I use a MIG wire welder that has gas and argon mix and an oxy-acetylene torch to heat and bend the metal. Occasionally I use an air plasma cutter. Once the basic sculpture is created then I look for interesting items to dress it up and add to its character. When I am satisfied I give the bare metal a salt bath to promote rust so the welds match the whole sculpture. When dry, I put a protective finish coat to seal and give the piece a finished look. Then the fun part, picking a name and giving the creature life!”

Tom was born in Fresno in 1941, and was raised with his two brothers in Clearlake and Berkeley. He graduated from Berkeley High in 1960 and spent six months in the Army Reserve, after which he moved back to Clearlake. At that time, they were just starting the Konocti Harbor Inn, and his soon-to-be boss asked him, “Can you read a tape measure?” He was a quick study and got a union job doing commercial and industrial carpentry.

Tom and Anna were married in 1975. They were a great team and built a successful business together buying and selling fixer-upper houses. They also bought and sold antiques, and had their own antique shop in

Middletown. Collecting, refinishing, and appreciating antiques was a favorite pastime. They purchased the Macomber Ranch property in 1980 and completed their dream house just in time to welcome their son, Forrest.

Tom had lots of work in carpentry over the years and was running a successful business. Everything changed in 1996, when Tom survived a near fatal heart attack and radical surgery to repair the damage. After 30 years of carpentry, he was forced to retire. With lots of support from his family, he began his cardiac rehabilitation and slowly started to get his life back. Not his

old life, but a new one, with a greater appreciation for the smaller things. He had accomplished everything that he had wanted to do in his trade. Now he had to “throw his watch away.” No more stress or fast paced living.

With this new lifestyle came a new philosophy and the fulfillment of his dream to create sculptural art. “I just love creating, it’s a great feeling. I believe that we all have our niche, and we can find that niche if we just open up our mind. Since rehabilitation, I don’t look at time as money anymore. I don’t keep track of my time when I am working on my art. I laugh and have fun with it. We are only here for a short while.”

Tom is 70 years old and still enjoys making his art. His work is in private and corporate collections all over the world, and can be seen at the Mendocino Art Center.

Tom at work in his shop. Anna Macomber photo.

Left to right: Horn Director. Larry Wagner photo. Kenmore Kat – inspired by an old Kenmore sewing machine. Anna Macomber photo. Three Stooges Shovelback Bird. Larry Wagner photo.

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L isa orselli fires up her torch and points the hot blue flame at her lat-

est work. “Fuse it or lose it,” she murmurs. A shimmer of liquidity passes across the waxy

surface, and the power of the medium becomes clear. Lisa digs down through the beeswax, chips of wax flying, to re-veal colors from below, then re-torches to smooth and blend. “In ‘regular life’ I plan,” Lisa confesses, “but with encaus-tics, I can challenge myself to make jumps and see what happens. Meditation, part of my yoga practice, has taught me to see the space between myself and my thoughts, and that helps me keep the critical voice at bay as I work.”

Art entered Lisa’s life in ninth grade. “My best friend and I had a wonderful teacher who encour-aged experimentation with blind contour drawing [sketching with-out looking at the paper], col-lage… I was drawn into the prac-tice of making art, right up until my work became ‘not right’ dur-ing life drawing class in college.” Art faded behind life, and Lisa came away from University of the Pacific with a degree in English. In her twenties, she began her life-long practice of yoga.

“I found my art again when

my kids were in junior high. I took a class at CCAC from another wonderful teacher, Liz Sher. She told us not to erase and never let us crumple, but urged us to try to do more with whatever wasn’t working, to resolve it out of chaos.

“In 1990, when my daughter was 17, she and I went to study in Florence for half a year, she at the American High School, and I at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute. When I found the painting class full, I decided to study print-making in a studio once used (we were told) by Donatello with another wonderful teacher,” Peruvian born Lucy Jochamowitz. “She taught us to embrace our mistakes,”

Lisa reminisces. “I discovered that print-making, scratching through shellac onto a metal sheet, enhances otherwise sketchy drawing skills.” Back in the U.S. with a new medi-um to explore, Lisa completed her BFA at CCAC and joined a group of artists sharing gallery space. She continued to visit Mendocino for classes at the Art Center, where she enjoyed staying in and walk-ing the village while immersing herself in art. When her husband retired in 1997, they relocated. “I felt uprooted,” Lisa remembers.

“I had to leave my press behind,

By Michael Potts

Ancient Medium, Modern Sensibility

Before and After, 12"x12", encaustic on panel with encising. Above left: Red Cosmos, 12"x12", panel, encaustic and paper.

Larry

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Spring 2012 9

along with my gallery group, all my friends, and the buzz of my birthplace. Berkeley is a hard place to leave.” Classes with Bob Rhoades at College of the Redwoods, and Bill Martin’s weekly figure drawing studio at the Art Center, allowed Lisa to “stay oiled,” but it was yoga that provided perspective. In 2000, a fellow yogi suggested teacher training classes with noted instructor Rodney Yee. “At the class, every time I lay on my back, I started crying,” Lisa recalls. “Yoga works with our bodies, but its practice opens up much more. During meditation, I could watch my mind jumping hither and yon. Thus I came to understand that a discerning mind is great in art and life, but a critical mind is a hindrance. Each of my teachers offered the same wisdom: persevere through the rough spots, breathe, stay focused and calm, and keep at it until the chaos resolves.”

In 2004, a friend urged Lisa to try an encaustics class with Sandi Miot, a Novato-based visual artist whose work seeks “to make order out of chaos.” Lisa remembers thinking, “This is fun! The techniques mimic printmak-ing. Encaustics is a seductive medium: you build and fuse, scratch through it, stick things in it... Of course,” she adds, “once you start, challenges emerge. There’s technol-ogy – heaters, tools, waxes, pigments. I still feel like I am just beginning.”

Lisa teaches yoga classes and takes courses while pursuing her encaustic work. “I understand now the importance of ‘practices’ in my life. When I stick with it, doors open, and I discover more ways to make something I haven’t seen before.” Lisa also teaches occasional encaustic classes at Racine’s in Fort Bragg.

Lisa is a member of the Artists’ Co-op of Mendocino, upstairs at the west end of Main Street, where doing the gallery payroll makes her think about the business of art. “What little business sense I have tells me that most artists work out of devotion to our medium and some kind of hope that someone will see our work, appreciate it, and possibly even buy.

“In yoga terms, I see that my work comes in cycles. I just finished a flurry of work to fill my wall at the gallery. This weekend I’m assisting Rodney Yee, who is teaching at the Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco… and I’m working through another intensive yoga program with a teacher in New Mexico. Being pulled in so many directions means that my time for art bounces around. The constant is that I am always grateful when I get to my studio. I am so happy when the wax melts and I can continue the adventure.”

Lisa Orselli in her studio. Larry Wagner photos.

Keeping Track, 9"x12", encaustic on panel with scraping and layering.

Paris Map, 9"x12", textured encaustic on panel.

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MAC Artists in Residencep

By K. Andarin Arvola

Derek Hambly, director of the Ceramics and Artists in Residence programs, tells us “the AIR program is over 40 years old. Our artists are usually at a crossroads of profes-sional development. They are geared toward goals such as preparing for studies for a post-bachelor or MFA program, or to developing a body of work for exhibition purposes. We cater to this, more so than treating this opportunity as a retreat. We’re extremely interested in artists who are produc-ing work and contributing to their field/medium at a high caliber of professionalism.

“As we move forward in the development and refine-ment of our campus, our program will become a staple in the arts for those who are in pursuit of artistic growth.”

Each year the Mendocino Art Center’s residency program culminates with an exhibition of the partici-pating artists’ works created in the MAC studios. This year’s exhibit, featuring artists from across the coun-try as well as from Taiwan and Holland, will be held April 5–28, with the opening reception on April 14, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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Charlie WilliamsWilliams lives in Gainesville, Florida. “I’m interested in the ever-surprising challenges of sculpting the human figure. Predominantly representational, my residency project involves creating solid aluminum and bronze figurative sculptures. These are produced from concept design to forging and chasing the final product. All the bronzes were

made by lost wax casting and the aluminums were sand/Styrofoam casting. I work mainly in stone but also enjoy drawing and ceramics.”

Alicia Reyes McNamaraOriginally from Chicago, McNamara says the four years she spent living in Central America and Europe are her inspiration. “These memories, whether embellished, diluted or sincere, remain as truths in a history, the fine line between memory and imagination within personal mythologies; my goal is to memorialize e v e n t s r e m e m b e r e d . . . Ceramics is a fusion of all my loves; I can bring everything in my background (sculpture, textiles and painting) into play. I can use textiles through paper clay slip dipping, painting through glazing and surface design and sculpture through my figurative forms and installations.”

Nikki Couppee“My current work talks about the different functions jewelry performs in society. It can define social status, question value and be a redeemable investment. Given to mark a special occasion, jewelry can perform on a psychological level with the transference of deep feelings onto the object. I create opulent jewelry reminiscent of royal jewelry but made of quotidian materials instead of gems and precious metals . . . I insert an element of decay; by allowing the mild steel to rust naturally against the stainless, thereby adding a layer of impermanence which challenges market value and forces one to reflect on its potential changes over time.”

Saskia Konig“I was born in the Netherlands and became fascinated by Belgian Blue stone. This material reveals hidden treasures from millions of years ago: fossils of shells, little sea ani-mals and plants. My leading theme was water: streaming, Charlie Williams

Alicia Reyes McNamara

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flowing water of river and sea; water as a symbol of life.Last year, due to our removal to the forest, trees

became my chief theme: their meaning and connection with people. For me they are creatures with experiences and memories; that is what my tree sculptures repre-sent.”

Wei Jane ChirWei Jane Chir presents in a left-to-right long scroll, a slow, river-like narrative titled “One’s Special Tea.” The scroll includes ten ancient Chinese pictures and introduces the different teas, linked by theme. Photography is used to integrate the artist’s own woodcut. “Drinking, collecting, and growing my own tea was a personal hobby. I took my wood block print work and used a modern medium to bring tea into the digital age. It’s not only my own special tea book, but the special tea book of many people.”

Jazmyn Azure“I combine ceramics and photographic imagery on sculp-tural forms to express my reflections of social, economic and political trends. Through the manipulation of earth, fire, color and imagery, my intent is to provide a more journalistic and neutral perspective that may open the viewer to discovering their own point of view. After extensively researching and evaluating topics, I utilize social interaction to compile a multitude of perspectives around a single idea.”

Deborah FellDeborah Fell’s medium is quilting. “As I studied the surrounding beauty of the Mendocino coast, it felt as if I were witnessing con-versations everywhere . . . between the cliffs crashing against the waves, the sun setting in the distance, the dance of tiny beauty being

constantly washed ashore.”Her series is entitled “Mendocino Coast Conversations.”

Once that concept solidified, “the painting, images and design components overflowed.” She included text to bring in a strong design component as well as emphasiz-ing the interactive coastal conversations and allowing the “conversations” to become tangible.

Tim Ayers Ayer’s work is a union of slip cast, an historically industrial technique, and the tradition of wood fire. The marks of wood firing are unlike any glaze or brush stroke; wood embers and fly ash melt and drip, salt fluxes the silica present in the clay. Flame causes the clay body to flash in a beautifully irregu-lar fashion. “I create ceramics that reflect the control and the sophistication of modern industry, yet through atmo-spheric firing, my art still resonates with the chance and irregularity of nature.”

Hannah Plotke“These recent works are about the idea of bedazzling something to death, the way a little girl holds a puppy too tightly. A reverse elitism in cahoots with mainstream culture; the viewers are complicit in their own kitschiness. I include figures and portraiture, pattern, objects and adornment, contemporary artifacts, clothing, jewelry and artwork to create a quilt-like environment, a snapshot of a psychological, personal and visceral state of mind. The pattern serves as a way to talk about design, advertise-ment and tapestry in a metaphorical sense; and to relay a feminist perspective.”

Deborah Fell

Tim Ayers