Welcome to the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library

We are pleased to invite you to view original artwork both in person and in our online gallery which includes photos and video.

Gallery Hours/Location

Visit the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way during normal library hours, Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. Call 925.254.2184 for more information or visit http://ccclib.org. For more information about the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library, contact Curators Maggie Boscoe and Bill Carmel via email at gallery@lamorindaarts.org or call 925.359.9940.

Online Art Gallery at the Orinda Library

To visit the current online gallery including photos and video click here.

Online Art Gallery at Wilder

To view the current online exhibit at the Art Gallery at Wilder, click here.

November 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents paintings by Nicole Reader, photography by Farzeen Taban, woodturning by David Fleisig and hats by Denise Goodman in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during November. Learn more about these remarkable artists on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 3 – 5 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

13 paintings of local artist Reader are at the library, with the theme of “Looking Out, Looking In”. “I use acrylic paints on canvas to make realistic figurative art,” Reader explained. “I base my paintings on photographic references, but I re-envision photos rather than just copying them. Without sentimentality, I paint figures and settings that capture an authentic memory, a passing emotion, or a fleeting moment in time. In my paintings I walk a balance: I pin down precise and specific realistic details, but I also incorporate the magic of mood and atmosphere.” The exhibit shows acrylic paintings of contemplative people turning their eyes elsewhere. The figures in the paintings are focused on their own environment – internal or external, rather than acknowledging the viewer’s gaze. Some are perched on literal overlooks, dramatic landscapes opening up before them; others barely look off the edge of the canvas, their vision turned inward. “Even when they’re in action – as they walk, sing, row, or listen to a story – the people here appear introspective, lost in their own thoughts and emotions,” she explained. For more about Reader and her work, go to www.nicolereader.com.

Taban’s exhibit “On the Road” showcases his travels around the U.S. and Canada. “I was born to a family of art lovers,” he said. “Every form of art was revered,” he explained. “In this nurturing environment I was taught to appreciate the beauty we encounter every day and to share this with others. In my youth I discovered photography as a hobby. It seemed an ideal method for capturing the beauty of the world.” “Appreciating the beauty of life, giving and receiving love is not accidental. It is something that hopefully we learn early on in our lives, and we must practice each day,” he advised. See his photos at www.farzeen.com.

Local artist Fleisig returns for another woodturning exhibition. “I’ve been thinking about this one differently, he said. “You typically start out doing a vase or something like that with a single piece. And it’s usually ‘round and brown’, but then I started getting interested in starting with a single piece of wood and constructing something using many pieces of wood. Then I started incorporating color into my pieces along with texture and carving too. I also started incorporating epoxy into some pieces. Sometimes I incorporate all of them.” “Woodturning is more than just ‘round and brown’,” he explained about expanding the definition of his craft by following a path in a trajectory moving in a different direction from traditional woodturning by incorporating more colors, textures and approaches. “When I retired, I picked up woodworking. I built a deck, then tables and chairs and about 10-12 years ago I got turned on to woodturning. I find it endlessly interesting and challenging,” he said. He’s a volunteer woodturning teacher at Campolindo High School where six lucky students study woodturning with him. Maybe they’ll be as lucky as three of his former students who won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes in woodturning at the California State Fair? “There’s very little limit to what kids can learn and do if they have a mind to, and I enjoy it a lot.”

Alameda hat maker Goodman brings her fun-filled approach to hat-making this month to the library. “A hat is the most enjoyable part of the outfit as it’s the ‘icing on the cake’”, Goodman said. “Hats invoke a feeling of what is to come. Hats give a glance into a personality. Hats convey playfulness, decorum and fashion. Hats are just fun!” Goodman has always loved wearing hats and is an active member of the Red Hat Society(RHS). To learn more about RHS, go to www.redhatsociety.com.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs November 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 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.

October 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents abstract clay monoprints by Pamela Stefl Toki, photography by John Brown, books and collages by Suellen Cox and watercolors and Chinese brush painting by Linda Kam in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during October. Learn more about these extraordinary artists on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 3 – 5 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

East Bay artist Pamela Stefl Toki is sharing her abstract clay monoprints with us this month. She says that “In a life and culture where so much is scheduled and predetermined, the making of art becomes sacred and soulful, revealing deeper aspects of myself. Sharing this with others completes the journey- in this great mystery of life.”

Shift, her 84” x 42” metal-infused piece from an original clay monoprint, will be installed outside of the Orinda Library for a year right before the indoor exhibition on October 8^th.

Toki explained that the meaning behind Shift is “Referring to the new reality that we are all undergoing, with many changes and challenges, including the potential opportunities for growth, healing, deeper reflection and humanity’s shift into raised awareness.” “I think of my art as a reflection of something that wishes to emerge,” she said. See more of her work and read about her artistic vision at www.pamelastefl.com/gallery.html.

Local photographer and Treasurer for the Lamorinda Arts Council John Brown is revealing his new exhibition at the Orinda Library. Brown explained “My pictures will be in four categories:  people, places, animals, and black and white. As I did parks last time, I am trying to show a variety of work.”

“I think of myself as a nature photographer. This is very broad, rather than limiting.  I explore nature in the wild, the nature of people, the nature of animals and the nature of cities and communities,” he said. See more of his diverse photography, including nature photography, California and a wide assortment of others at www.johnsbrown.com.

Orinda artist Suellen Cox worked at the Saint Mary’s College Library in Moraga for four years, Prior she was a tenured librarian at California State University Fullerton. Cox is blending her library experience with her artistic talents to showcase her Books and Collages collection at the Orinda Library.

Cox related that “I’ve spent my life in libraries—a well-ordered life—surrounded by books in an often chaotic, usually messy, yet always infinitely interesting world. Now retired from academic librarianship, I try, through my artwork of artists’ books, mixed-media collage, and assemblage, to bring a sense of symmetry, harmony, and discovery into our world. My work is quiet, observant and reflective. It tells a story.” Learn more about how Cox uses her art to tell stories at www.suellencox.com.

Orinda artist Linda Kam will be exhibiting her botanical watercolors and Chinese brush painting this month. Kam taught art for 17 years in the Orinda Union School District where she introduced a variety of art mediums to her students. After retiring from teaching, she eventually returned to her original love – painting and drawing.

A member of the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists (NCalSBA), her botanical art portfolio is comprised of watercolors ranging from edible fruits and colorful flowers to succulents and seed pods. You can see Kam’s beautiful watercolors and learn more about her at artzlinda.wixsite.com/mysite/home-page and also at the NCalSBA site http://www.ncalsba.org/wordpress/ncalsba-main/gallery/kam/.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs October 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 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.

September 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents artwork from “The Seven” a group of local artists who came together to display their eclectic show in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library. Their theme, “What’s Next …” describes their commitment to discover what is hidden within their life experience to share with the world via art. Several have come to this “edge” of discovery preceded by decades of work. Now that they have the time, they are excited to reawaken their creativity. Indeed, their output is prolific – 100 artworks from different genres fill the gallery during September. The show runs throughout August in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Saturday September 10 from 3 to 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

The group consists of Cindy Baker, Kath Balamuth, Jules Campbell, Susan Erickson, Christina Finnie, Pam Jameson and Jim Jordan.

Baker, of Martinez, loves the hard edges of printmaking, especially the experience of making multiple identical prints. This experience introduced her to the beauty of paper in its many iterations such as art books. Balamuth likes to create a story with a series of paintings. This way she can delve into the subject matter rather than just scratching the surface. At present she is working on small images inspired by nature. She uses Photoshop to combine photos to make the image she is trying to create; this becomes her model. Her media is acrylic and sometimes collage from her studio in Orinda. Visit Balamuth’s website at www.kathbalamuth.com.

Campbell, who lives in Lafayette, creates map-like compositions using layers of paper, string, rope and other materials. Her favorite tool is the sander. She piles on layers of color and collage on panels, sands them back, adds more layers, and then sands again until the art pops out. Visit www.julescampbellart.com to peruse her work. Erickson uses different paints, papers and mediums for her mixed media pieces. Sometimes a word, number or symbol in various sizes and colors add mystery, meaning and maybe a special memory or feeling to her piece. See what she’s up to at www.susanericksonartist.com.

Finnie’s new works have taken off with a wild abstract playfulness that bespeaks her resilient personality. Her current work references artists David Hockney, Peter Doig, and Joan Mitchell. Jameson is showing a series of landscapes depicting environments in Northern California. Jordan, who resides in Pleasant Hill, uses the human figure as his primary, but not exclusive, focus for his art. His media includes acrylics on canvas and pastels on paper. View more of his work at www.jimjordan-art.com.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs September 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library and Gallery are closed all day Wed. Mar. 30. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

August 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents Ceramic Vessels to Inspire, Woodturnings, Fabric Art, Photographs and Paintings. The show runs throughout August in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Saturday August 6 from 3 to 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Jeannine Calcagno works out of her studio in Santa Cruz and is showing a dozen ceramic pieces from her own collection as well as 25-30 pieces other pieces.  She said, “I hold to the philosophy of William Morris, ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’” For 50 years she has made pottery that people use in their homes. Her style pairs a glossy décor with the raw texture of stoneware clay for both decorative and functional pieces. “I keep things fresh by using new materials and firing techniques,” she said. View her YouTube video about colored clay slip decoration at https://youtu.be/MvKDvI9q4kg or visit www.calcagnopottery.com for more about her work.

Rick and Tina Nelson live in Walnut Creek and are longtime members of the Oakland Art Association (OAA). Rick volunteers as OAA President and is displaying 10 woodturning pieces. See more of his woodturnings at www.oaklandart.org/. Tina Neslon is captivated by the texture and creative possibilities demonstrated by other fabric artists. View a YouTube video of her work at www.youtu.be/uIuevq4KEoo or visit www.oaklandart579.org/.

Wenda Pyman lives in San Francisco but worked in Berkeley for 22 years and knows the East Bay well.  For her, photography is a means of self-expression, but she also seeks to convey a sense of place for the viewer. She wants to draw the viewer into the scene and experience that awe and oneness with nature that speaks to her. Visit  www.wendapyman.com/ For more information and follow her on Instagram  @wendapymanphotography.

Nancy Vachani, of Orinda, is showing about 20 works, mostly oil paintings but also some drawings. She said,  “My theme, ‘On Being Human – a Global Milieu’ is basically about our human condition with all the beauty as well as the troubling problems.” To learn more about Vachani’s work go to www.instagram.com/vachaniart/.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs August 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library and Gallery are closed all day Wed. Mar. 30. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

July 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents Lords of the Garden Drawings, Juxtamorph Sculpture, “You Are Here” Paintings and Photos from the Road Less Traveled. The show runs throughout July in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Saturday July 9 from 3 to 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Carla Gelbaum creates large-scale acrylic paintings exploring the juxtaposition of seemingly improbable past, present and future moments with the people and places she cares about. Her current series entitled “You Are Here” borrows a familiar phrase from maps. In in her case, this refers to merging different places, people and times into the present moment within her painting. The butterflies hovering in her 36” x 60” “You Are Here 1” acrylic painting set a tone of wonder and delight. Gelbaum, of Moraga, explains, “My paintings contain images of impossible encounters and of settings that blend my dreams and memories in order to manifest a new reality that dares to be both nostalgic and full of enthusiasm for the future. My paintings are made with love and deep appreciation for all the people in my life, past, present and even future!” Keep up with her creative activities on Instagram @carlamakesart or www.cwgelbaum.com.

Tim Hancock of Lafayette is a longtime freelance illustrator, art teacher and advocate of “tradigital” art. “Tradigital” art combines traditional media such as pen and ink drawings with the use of digital software such as Procreate. His signature anthropomorphic illustrations, drawings and sketches are familiar to many. Who else would create “Sir Grasshopper Bopper,” a rabbit who walks with a carrot cane? He is exhibiting prints of his pen and ink drawings. Follow Hancock @Timhartccc on Instagram or visit www.timhart.org . 

Karl Stinson of Walnut Creek is a “Road Less Traveled” type of traveler who revels in taking photos of people on the streets of the world. He is displaying a collection of 48 8” x 10” color photographic prints entitled “People of the World.” His photograph, “Custodian, Amber Fort, Jaipur, India” conjures up robes dipped in saffron draped over a gracile citizen. The two main messages about his exhibit are, “The world is full of fascinating, colorful, friendly people,” and “Keep on traveling.”

Andrew Werby is a sculptor who lives in Berkeley and works out of his studio in Oakland. His ongoing artistic project grew out of a hands-on approach to the art of bronze casting which he began as a student at UC Berkeley. Instead of creating models in clay and turning them over to technicians for mold making and casting, he learned how to do this work himself. His graceful steeple-like 10” x 4” x 4” SLD (Selective Laser Sintering) 3D print titled “Rubrum Viridis” reminds one of intricate lacework. His exhibition of 20 pieces spans the development of his “Juxtamorph” process from bronze casting into other media such as ceramics, wood and 3D printing. He says, “As people puzzle over the various forms and textures in my work, I want them to realize these things are all around us in nature exuding natural beauty. This beauty speaks to us even if we are not listening.” Learn more about Juxtamorph art at www.juxtamorph.com/

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs July 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library and Gallery are closed all day Wed. Mar. 30. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

June 2022 In-Person

Oakland Arts Association: “A Few Good Artists.” Maya Angelou said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Members of the Oakland Art Association (OAA) fulfill this creative promise because they ‘keep using it.’ The Lamorinda Arts Council presents artwork from many of the SO creative OAA members during the month of June in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor from 3 – 5 p.m. on Saturday June 4.

The OAA is celebrating 65 years as a nonprofit organization funded by its members and patrons. Their two-fold mission is to offer public venues for members to show and sell their art and to support art education in the East Bay. According to Jenifer
Kolkhorst, curator of the show, “This is our favorite place to exhibit, and everyone is excited to be here. We really value our opportunity to show here – it’s a real gem in Orinda.” At press time the list of artists showing work was incomplete but includes Rohilah Cohen, Marie Cotter, Jenifer Kolkhorst, Julia Montrond, President Rick Nelson, S. Newman, Rosemary Therkelson and Nancy Vachani. The juried show includes 2D and 3D artwork encompassing many genres including ceramics, portraits, figurative and abstract paintings. Therkelson’s 22″ x 30″ “On the Windowsill” watercolor breathes spring bulbs and flowers into life.

Kolkhorst said, “I joined OAA back in 2007 after seeing their show at this Gallery. I had a favorite artist in that show, saw how great the Gallery was, and the work from the Oakland group inspired me to join.” To learn more about the Oakland Art Association visit www.oaklandart.org/, call 925.989.0183 for art sales information and email Kolkhorst with general questions at jkolkhorst@comcast.net. To learn more about the Lamorinda Arts Council go to www.lamorindaarts.org.

May 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents “Reading the Tablet” by Francesca Borgatta; “Out of Africa” photographs by Maggie Boscoe, David Fleisig, Pam Hall, Jeff Halliday and Maureen Rosati-Wee; and watercolors by Anne Fallin. The show runs throughout May in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Saturday May 7 from 3 to 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Francesca Borgatta of Oakland describes her show as “Reading the Tablet.” “A library holds a collection of books, meant to be shared. I hope this presentation will cause people to think about the act of reading, not just as words, but as a means of communication. The audience is asked to make an interpretation of the tablet based on the conjunction of word and image,” she said. “Untranslated,” a 42” x 18” tablet portrays messages in Farsi to be fathomed while musing over its intricate hand-fashioned frame. “My story tablet with characters, ‘Blue Dream,’ has imagery depicting the stages of an adventure by tracing its pathway on the surface.” All the tablets are bas relief sculpture with mixed media assemblage.

The “Out of Africa” show was organized by Maggie Boscoe, who is a Lamorinda Arts Council board member and a longtime curation team volunteer for the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. The exhibit includes photographs by Boscoe, David Fleisig, Pam Hall, Jeff Halliday and Maureen Rosati-Wee. Group members roamed far from home to assemble this exhibit of photographs, a mixture of animals, landscape scenes and exotic birds taken mostly in African National Parks.

Anne Fallin of Walnut Creek describes her artistic style as contemporary realism. Fortunately for us, the 24 watercolors she is exhibiting display a wide variety of subjects. “I love the challenge of creating a strong design with any subject imaginable,” she said. Some of her favorite artists are Karl Larsson, Will Bullas and Pam Glover (1924 – 2010). She painted and studied with Lundy Siegrist (1925 – 1985) for a long time, which is how she met Pam Glover. It’s safe to say that at 80 years of age she knows how to play with watercolors in just about every way imaginable. Her bold sense of design provides a structure for her explorations of brilliant color. Her 20” x 24.5” watercolor, “Candy-Striped Dahlias,” is bursting with color and depth of field. One of her cousins, Clyde Smith, is a renowned portrait painter in New York. “We grew up together and he had quite an influence on me,” she said. She likes experiencing artwork and exhibits through books and printed materials as the lack of distractions allows her to concentrate fully on the details of the artwork. Visit www.annefallinwatercolors.com to learn more about her striking watercolors.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs April 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library and Gallery are closed all day Wed. Mar. 30. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

April 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council (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 in their honor on Saturday April 9 from 3 to 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Ceramicist Brad Krebs of Pleasant Hill has been collecting ceramics from artists such as Rowena Brown and Mary Fischer for many years. “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. His focus is 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.

Joseph 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. Loria, of Lafayette, uses bold, colorful structural forms to communicate 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.

Silvia Villanueva 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, she 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 says. Of the seven paintings she is showing, Neila is a large expanse of acrylic color, 40” x 60” of luminous cloud-like shapes. View more of her work at www.dirty-canvas.company.site.

Kim Wolfe organized the Bay Area Woodturners Association (BAWA) exhibit. BAWA is a nonprofit organization that provides a place for woodturners to share and learn in addition to educating the public about the art of woodturning. Their 140 members live throughout the Bay Area; meetings are held in Pleasant Hill. Members include professional craftspeople, woodturners and hobby enthusiasts. View their work @bawa_woodturning; more information about BAWA and the Beads of Courage Program can be found at www.bayareawoodturners.org.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs April 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library and Gallery are closed all day Wed. Mar. 30. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

March 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council (Council) presents the 19th Annual High School Visual Arts Competition (HSVAC) is both live in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library for the month of March and virtual on the Lamorinda Arts Council (Council) website from April 2022 to April 2023.  Join the students at their awards ceremony on Thurs., March 10 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Event Co-Chair Pat Jensen said, “HSVAC ignites and rewards artistic expression for local high school students in a variety of categories. The competition provides students with an opportunity to exhibit their work and see what other students are doing.” 

The exhibit showcases original art in four categories: 2D, 3D, Photography, and the Lamorinda Arts Alliance Digital Art category. All work is by high school students who live in or attend public or private schools in Orinda, Lafayette, or Moraga, including all schools in the Acalanes Union High School District. This includes Acalanes, Campolindo, Las Lomas and Bentley High Schools plus the Acalanes Center for Independent Study. The competition features cash awards, merit citations, an in-person art exhibit in the gallery as well as an online public exhibit of entries on the Council website.

Event Co-Chair Olga Larner said, “We thank the many volunteers who are helping us honor the young artists in our community and celebrate their talents.” Professionals with experience in practicing, teaching or representing the categories judge the competition. Their criteria is creativity and originality, content and degree of expertise in the chosen medium. A total of $3,000 in cash awards will be awarded for best in show, first to third place and up to 3 honorable mentions in each of the four award categories. 

For details concerning this exciting event visit www.lamorindaarts.org/vac/. These student artists spent time during COVID-19 expressing themselves through a variety of amazing art forms. The Council invites you to stop by and take a look. 

Art pickup after the show at the Gallery is on Thurs. March 31 from 3 to 6:00 p.m. The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs March 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. The Library and Gallery are closed all day Wed. Mar. 30. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

February 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council (Council) presents K-8 student artwork from Orinda and Moraga schools as part of the Arts Ambassadors (AA) exhibit in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during February. Instead of a public reception to award AA ribbons, David Wilson, art educator at Del Rey Elementary in Orinda, will award ribbons to students who have submitted artwork in the gallery in their school classrooms. In Moraga, visual arts educator Moose Wesler will do the same for K-8 students in their school classrooms. To learn more about AA 2022 go to www.lamorindaarts.org/student-exhibits/.

Wilson, an art educator at Del Rey Elementary School, is the organizer of K-8 Orinda student artwork submitted for the 2022 AA exhibit. He said, “The art teachers in Orinda are thrilled to have students’ work up in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library February 1 – 15. It has been a challenging few years for our students, families and staff. Art has been a beautiful refuge for our students. As art teachers we have been moved and delighted by the creativity and joy that our young artists have brought to their work in our classes. We are amazed and moved by what they have created.” He, like Wesler, has a long history of supporting the display of the AA program.

Moose Wesler, an art educator from Moraga, teaches visual arts including animation and video. She not only organized the artwork from K-8 Moraga students, but is a longtime supporter of the Council’s AA program. Wesler also teaches printmaking at the Center for Community Arts in Walnut Creek and has exhibited her prints in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Wesler said, “I think that these years of COVID have shown us how important art is to people. . . Teaching art online, as I did, was a release for many of my students. They were able to use the time to create in a relaxed atmosphere, away from the ongoing stresses. My admiration for the creativity of children continues; and each assignment brings out the individuality of every student. That’s what I love to see.”

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs Feb. 1 through 28 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 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.

January 2022 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents the work of the Boscoe Family, Carol Lee-Chung and Lance Jackson at an in-person and virtual exhibit at the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library from January 3-31. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Sat. Jan. 8 from 3 to 5 p.m. where light refreshments will be served. All COVID-19 precautions observed for your health and safety. View and purchase their artwork online at www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries.

Three members of the Boscoe family – George, Maggie from Orinda and Sara from Los Angeles – are displaying 40 8” x 10” photos of their feathered friends. George’s photos were taken as far away as the Tambopata Scarlet Macaw Project in the Peruvian Amazon. Maggie took up birding as a hobby during the pandemic. She joined the Mt. Diablo Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and www.Ebird.org. Their photos include local species you may see in your backyard. Sara discovered LA county is a birders paradise because of the diversity of species. View her 2020 video exhibit at https://youtu.be/lKIJ9uTxpoU.

Carol Lee-Chung can often be found in her Orinda garden where she grows an impressive list of subjects for her botanical watercolors such as: artichoke, orchids, tulips, dahlia and fig to name a few. She began a few years ago by studying with well-known botanical artist Catherine Watters and hasn’t stopped. Never short on inspiration, no matter the season, her garden provides all the botanical materials she needs to execute her detailed, delicate watercolors.

Lance Jackson, also from Orinda, trained as a painter/designer at Washington University and Rhode Island School of Design. Unique to this show is a selection of digital art he is exhibiting for the first time on the wood walls in the gallery. They depict recent news events such as “Science March, April 22, 2017.” This whimsical 24” x 71” digital print commemorates an international series of marches held in Washington, D.C. and more than 600 cities worldwide. A non-partisan event, it emphasized that science upholds the common good and was also a call to action for evidence-based policy in the public’s best interest. Attendance was estimated at 1.07 million across the globe. Jackson’s acrylic paintings on the white wall include the 16” x 20” “Doggie Diner,” an homage to the 30 Doggie Diners that once dotted the Bay Area. The original can be found at Sloat Blvd. and 45th Ave. near Ocean Beach in SF and became SF Landmark #254 in 2006. The brand name is now used for hot dog sales in Oracle Park, home stadium of the SF Giants. The 22 works on the wood walls include Orinda landscapes, Orinda Theatre, drawings and a possible projected Orinda future. Jackson also wants people to know he is interested in drawing and painting portraits. “Drawing is a form of communication,” he said, “the image is a possible form of dialogue, the beginning of a conversation.” Learn more about his work at www.lancejackson.net.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorindaarts.org. This exhibit runs Jan. 3 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 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.

December 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents a gallery filled with artwork from 36 members of the Lamorinda Arts Alliance (LAA) during December. Their in-person and virtual exhibit is on view in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Saturday Dec. 4 from 3 – 5 p.m. where light refreshments will be served. Also enjoy jazz by the Nika Rejto Duo with Robin Lewis playing seven string guitar and Rejto on flute and vocals. Expect to hear jazz tunes including Brazilian Samba, the American songbook and original music.

Ruth Stanton and Sharon Tama organized the event. Stanton said, “Behind every great artist, there is almost always an artistic great who was a formative source of inspiration. For Georgia O’Keeffe, it was Arthur Wesley Dow. For Claude Monet, it was Eugene-Louis Boudin.”

The LAA’s “Inspired by the Greats” theme provides local artists the opportunity to pay tribute to influencers they count as “great.”  Stanton explains, “An influencer could be an architect, artist, musician, photographer, sculptor, literary figure, teacher, or friend.” Tama said.

The 80 pieces of original art in the exhibit showcase many types of media including printmaking, stoneware, welded steel, photography, collage, mixed media, oils, acrylics, watercolors, and colored pencil. Each artist is displaying a statement describing who has inspired and influenced their work. If holiday shopping is on your mind, all artwork in the gallery for sale can be purchased online through the Lamorinda Art Council’s website.

The Lamorinda Arts Council curates monthly exhibits at this gallery; for more information go to www.lamorinda arts.org. This exhibit runs Dec. 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sun. and closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Dec. 31. Call 925.254.2184 for more information about the Library or visit www.ccclib.org/. Email the curators with questions at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

November 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents artwork from Dina Asna, Raymond L. Haywood, Lesley Jensen and Joan Yao at the in-person and virtual Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of November. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Sat. Nov. 6 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Asna combines her love of painting with her jewelry designs. “I express my emotions through painting and as a designer transform them into earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings,” she said. Her handcrafted, handmade jewelry is inspired by her journeys throughout three continents where she travelled, worked and lived. After traveling the world she settled in Moraga. Visit www.din-art.com to learn more.

Haywood, who lives in Berkeley, is showing a seven year retrospective about the evolution of his abstract paintings. He moved from small, intimate 8” x 8” panels to 60” x 60” panels. His subject matter moved from pure surface abstraction to abstract expressionist landscapes and seascapes. For Haywood, painting is a mode of communication utilizing vivid, dynamic color and gesture to provoke emotional responses to the work. He said, “How you feel after reviewing my paintings is as important as the craft of the messages embedded in the work.” For more of his work visit www.raymondlhaywood.com. Catch his show at the Mercury 20 Gallery through Nov. 27, 425 25th St., Oakland 94612, www.mercurytwenty.com.

Jensen has been a ceramics teacher for 35 years and said this has impacted her work immensely. “Encouraging my students to explore the possibilities in this wonderful medium has allowed me the freedom to also embrace exploration,” she said. Her show of 20 pieces reflects her intrigue and deep interest in the ceramic processes of raku and pit firing.

Joan Yao, also of Moraga, counts her artistic life as beginning when she met the granddaughter of the renowned world-class artist Chang Dai-chien (1899-1983).  Originally known as a guohua or traditional Chinese painter, by the 1960s he was also a celebrated modern impressionist and expressionist painter. Mr. Chang traveled the world and even gifted Picasso with a special set of brushes. “It was truly Mr. Chang’s character that influenced me the most. His tenacity in believing in himself, his relentlessness of never giving up and his free spirit encouraged me to be the artist and art educator that I am today,” she said. To learn more email Yao at joanyao1128@gmail.com.

This exhibit runs November 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 am – 8 pm, Fri. – Sat., 10 am – 6 pm, closed Sun. If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit or getting in touch with any of the artists, email curators at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

October 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents artwork from John Toki, Loralee Chapleau, and Aiko Kobayashi Gray at the in-person and virtual Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of October. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Sat. Oct. 2 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Toki’s career as a public artist runs from 1982 to the present. He will display photos and models of his many projects, Visit www.johntoki.com to learn more about his artistic contributions in the SF Bay area and beyond. At 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 Toki will host a 30 minute presentation about the historic value of public art, its educational value for young students (like students in Orinda), engaging in the process of making art for public viewing and the intrinsic value of art in society.

Chapleau has dabbled in acrylics on and off since high school in the 1980s. “I began painting with oils in 2009. My drawing background is expressive, dating back to Professor Luis Gutierrez at San Jose City College in the early 1990s. Whenever I get a creative block or am trying to begin a new piece, I hear his voice in my head saying, ‘Draw with your left!’ That voice is louder than ever lately,” she said. Go to www.loraleecs.wixsite.com/loraleeart to see examples of her work.

Kobayashi will exhibit 10 large tapestries with the theme, “The Experience of the Journey.” Her weaving recalls memories and reflections of certain travels such as the desert winds from Andalusia or riotous colors from Guatemala. Playful images of children and animals are seen throughout her work. Learn more about her work at www.aikokobayashi.com.

This exhibit runs October 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 am – 8 pm, Fri. – Sat., 10 am – 6 pm, closed Sun. If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit or getting in touch with any of the artists, email curators at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

September 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents artwork from Kath Balamuth, Lassie Colebourn, and Yuka Yoshie at the in-person at the Orinda Library during the month of September. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Sat. Sept. 11 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Balamuth, of Orinda, has enjoyed creating art well into her eighth decade. “I still love to create. I make an effort to paint every day. The discipline that making art requires keeps me grounded and the process of art brings me joy. I can’t imagine not doing art,” said Balamuth. She is showing about 20 artworks with the theme, “Old Soles” because images of old shoes allowed her to explore painting ordinary objects as art. She thought about how we are all like shoes as we age. “We become old souls and shoes become old soles, but we are still loved,” she said. View more of Balamuth’s work at www.kathbalamuth.com.

Colebourn, of Walnut Creek, is part of the eight-member group, Bay Area Studio Artists or BASA. They paint together, work together, challenge each other and have their own shows during the year. Colebourn’s normal style is influenced by her floral design business, beautiful garden and greenhouse – colorful and all about looking at plants close up. Her theme is “Beyond the Garden” for her show of 16 artworks. Visit www.bayareastudioartists.com/925-2/ to see more of her work.

Yoshie, of Orinda, defines lace tatting as a form of looped and knotted lace needlework made from thread, a form of lacemaking. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, accessories, earrings, necklaces and decorative pieces. Her theme is “Tatting Symphony” because she is both a music teacher and a lover of lace tatting. See more of Yoshie’s lace tatting at www.etsy.com/shop/jazzycclef and Instagram @jazzyclef.

This exhibit runs September 1 through 30 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 am – 8 pm, Fri. – Sat., 10 am – 6 pm, closed Sun. If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit or getting in touch with any of the artists, email curators at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

August 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents artwork from Marie Cotter, Hallie Strock, Carol Tarzier and Mike Yashar at the in-person and virtual Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of August. Meet the artists at a reception in their honor on Sat. Aug. 7 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Cotter enjoys plein air painting and said the California hills any time of year offers different light, making everything very interesting. “The light and the sky here is always different and that is exciting,” said Cotter. For Cotter, the most important thing about painting is showing that beauty is all around us.

Strock focuses on composition and color. Working with linoleum block prints requires planning a design with a balance between the block printed areas against the color areas. “It’s almost like solving a puzzle,” said Strock, continuing, “I seem always to want to return to trees.” www.halliestrock.com/home.

Tarzier’s exhibit features figurative, still life and landscape paintings. Tarzier sees painting as endlessly challenging so that a receding goal-line of success and satisfaction with her own work has kept her going. She now feels reasonably at peace with her painting as communicating “something of what I perceive.” She added, “And that’s almost enough.” www.tarzier/com/wp

Featuring a theme of “Landscapes in Pastel,” Yashar says the most important thing about his artwork he wants people to know is, “It is the color and light that like a musical score when placed and assembled together with an artistic vision that produces an enchanting visual symphony.”

This exhibit runs August 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 am – 8 pm, Fri. – Sat., 10 am – 6 pm, closed Sun. If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit or getting in touch with any of the artists, email curators at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

July 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council is delighted to invite you to attend the in-person artist reception on Saturday, July 10th from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. Join us outdoors on the patio adjacent to the Gallery to view the July exhibit in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library and meet the artists. Artworks from 40 artists previously sequestered in studios since March 2020 have finally escaped into the light. The Lamorinda Arts Council invites you to view an entire gallery of inspiring artwork in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of July. This is the first post-COVID-19 exhibit where the whole gallery is open to the public. In a special tribute to the reemergence of local artists, The Orinda News features a slideshow of 25 artworks curated from artworks on display at the gallery in their online edition. Access these photos at www.theorindanews.com/orinda-library-gallery/. The exhibit runs from July 1 to 31 and can also be seen online at www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries/.

The 40 featured artists at press time included: Suzun Almquist, Julie Bradner, Barbara Brady-Smith, Eddie Brooks, Loralee Chapleau, Lassie Colebourn, Marie Cotter, Jeanette Crawford Baird, George Ehrenhaft, Claire Finne, David Fleisig, Sylvia Fones, Therese Gladstone Gordon, Lisa Gunn, Irene Herrera McDonough, Karen Hildebrand, Lance Jackson, Kimiko Kogure, Brad Krebs, Alecia Larson, Margaret Mason, Sara Michael, Robin Moore, Felicia Morris, Tina and Rick Nelson, Denise Nomura, Jane Raymond, Ellen Reintjes, Iris Sabre, Maria SantoStefano, Ruth Stanton, Karl Stinson, Mary Claire Stotler, Hallie Strock, Joanne Taeuffer, Sharon Tama, Taki Tu, Marcy Wheeler and Polly Ziolkowski.

This exhibit runs July 1 through 31 during normal Library hours in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thur., 10 am – 8 pm, Fri. – Sat., 10 am – 6 pm, closed Sun. All libraries are closed Mon. July 5. If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit or getting in touch with any of the artists, email curators at gallery@lamorindaarts.org.

June 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council is delighted to invite you to attend our first in-person artist reception since March 2020 this coming Saturday, June 19 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. Join us outdoors on the patio adjacent to the the June exhibit in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. You will find artwork on all four wood walls indoors near the entrance to the Orinda Library and in the adjacent three-shelf glass case. All required COVID-19 restrictions are observed in the Gallery and at the reception for your health and safety. The exhibit runs from June 1 to 30.

Karen Hildebrand has been a ceramic/pottery enthusiast for many years. You’ll find nature themes in her work since she often uses botanicals taken from her garden for surface treatments. The 40 pieces she is showing include high fire functional pieces as well as decorative vessels. Follow her on Instagram, @kehilde.

Wendy Liang‘s exhibit of watercolors is entitled “The Peaceful Life.” She says watercolor is her favorite medium because its transparent and fluid qualities give her freedom to create the mood and atmosphere she desires. Keep up with Liang at her personal website, www.wendyliang.com or on Instagram, @wliang009.

“Reframing Aging” came about when Nancy Rubin and Cynthia Overbeck Bix were discussing how attitudes toward older people often did not include terms such as “vital, creative and joyful.” To challenge these attitudes, they interviewed some amazing men and women ranging in age from 70 to 96. Rubin handled the photos and Overbeck did the writing. Former UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Russ Ellis is featured in the exhibit as is Jeanne Bamberger, Sue Bender, Troy Duster, Lisa Esherick, Pat Sakai, Peter Sussman and Steve Toby. For more information about “Reframing Aging,” email Rubin at
nancyrubin17@gmail.com. Rubin and Overbeck are two of over 300 volunteers who are part of Ashby Village. The organization is a vibrant nonprofit that connects members with each other and with the resources they need to stay active, independent and fulfilled. Find out more at www.ashbyvillage.org.

May 2021 In-Person & Online Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council is pleased to announce the reopening of a partial area of the art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Stop by to view oil paintings by Sydney Ann Chaney-Thomas and Lisa Gunn during May. As COVID-19 restrictions have recently changed, you are invited to view a limited exhibit of their original artwork on the two wood walls near the entrance of the Library while adhering to current health guidelines.  View their artwork in the online gallery at www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries/. 

Chaney, of Moraga, was born in Germany; both her parents were painters, so she began at an early age. She is not only a lifelong painter but also the author of three books, founder of Ocean SF (a sustainable clothing company), a lifestyle blogger with over 1500 followers, and mother to daughters Paris and Siena.  Her theme for the exhibit, “Sail Away,” reflects her love of sailing as part of the Bay Area sailing community. “I hope my oil paintings reflect the adventure and freedom inherent in sailing,” she said, “and bring awareness to the pollution and conservation issues facing our oceans.” There are many sailboats in this exhibit but there is also a 12” x 30” oil painting, San Francisco From the East. It gives you a panoramic view of this iconic vista. Her style is unmistakable; she simplifies forms into geometric shapes in a pleasing and melodic way. Subjects relate to each other like clouds in the sky or waves in the ocean. To learn more about Cheney’s many activities visit https://sydneychaneythomasartwork.wordpress.com/.

Gunn, from Orinda, is a longtime plein air painter who captures scenes from the beautiful California countryside in oil. She aptly describes her work as ‘California Impressionism.’ Also a classical pianist, she adapts musical principles such as texture, tone, and color into her oil painting techniques. “Values are transferable from the ear to the eye,” said Gunn. She enjoys capturing qualities of light and works most often with a palette knife. Striving to create a bond between herself and the viewer is what she aims for. “I don’t show every detail, but paint as though it is a musical moment for me. I pick my subjects with great care, like a composer, and paint only what I find expressive or wonderful,” said Gunn.

April 2021 Virtual Exhibit

Lamorinda Arts Council President Denise Nomura is featured in a solo show for the month of April in the virtual Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. “Seeking Nature’s Deep Calm” is her chosen theme for the 12 pieces she is showing. Nomura wants people to know she is still learning and evolving as a painter, like many of her fellow artists. With each painting she gains more knowledge and confidence. Visit www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries/ to view her work. Nomura, of Moraga, was introduced to the world of art at a very young age by her grandmother, an accomplished painter. As a child she loved the process of mixing paint to create new colors and even loved the smell of the paint. To this day, it still brings her grandmother to mind. She has no formal academic training, but has taken many classes. “My real passion was launched in Japan when I learned sumie and nihonga water based painting,” she said.  After seven years in Japan she returned to the U.S. and tried oil painting for the first time; she really fell in love. Her focus continues to be capturing moments of time in the natural world. Since she often travels to Tahoe, you will see oil paintings of the lake, rocks and sky with an emphasis on clouds. She admits to a total obsession with clouds at the moment.

“Photographs of nature were not enough for me; I work to replicate what I experience in nature on canvas. I paint soothing, calming scenes so that I can come back to them again and again to receive those messages,” said Nomura. Of late, she’s been commissioned to paint lots of little furry animals. She says, “It’s so much fun to see the delight in people’s eyes when they view their little friend on canvas.”

March 2021 Virtual Exhibit

The High School Visual Arts Competition showcases and acknowledges art in four categories: 2D, 3D, Photography, and the Lamorinda Arts Alliance Digital Art category.  All work is by high school students who live in or attend school in Orinda, Lafayette, or Moraga, including all schools in the Acalanes Union High School District.  The competition features cash awards, merit citations, and an online public exhibit of entries on the Lamorinda Arts Council website. View the online galleries HERE of 175+ student artwork! Save the date and join us via zoom for our annual Live Artists & Awards Recognition Show held online on March 11, 2021 at 7pm.

February 2021 Virtual Exhibit

Our February exhibit honored the educators who mentor the K-8 student participants in Arts Ambassadors (AA) programs. AA artwork fills the entire Art Gallery at the Orinda Library every spring. COVID-19 restrictions prohibit this year event and as such, the Lamorinda Arts Council celebrates the art educators who make it all happen. During the month of February the art teachers from each school who nurture young artists of all ages and abilities will be showcased. These teachers are supported by educational organizations such as Lafayette Partners in Education (LPIE), the Moraga School District and Orinda Network for Education (ONE, formerly Educational Foundation of Orinda, EFO). Volunteers from these organizations work with teachers, students and parents to make the Art Ambassadors program possible.

January 2021 Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council proudly presents photographs of rare and protected animals taken on safaris in Africa, mostly in national parks, to welcome the New Year. All Council art exhibits are virtual until COVID-19 restrictions change. The five local photographers who roamed so far from home are Maggie Boscoe, David Fleisig, Pam Hall, Jeff Halliday and Maureen Rosati-Wee. Their exhibit includes the exotic animals, birds and landscapes each photographer encountered on their travels. View the exhibition video HERE.

Maggie Boscoe, of Orinda, organizer of the show, is also a 13 year volunteer curator of the Art Gallery of the Orinda Library. “So many people I met had such enthusiasm for their trips to national parks in Africa that I had to see the beautiful vistas and precious wildlife for myself,” she said. Her photograph, I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar, is so named because it recalls an unforgettable moment involving a lion on safari.

David Fleisig, who lives in Berkeley, has been on three African safaris. He says each time he is enthralled by traveling off road to view the abundant wildlife in its natural environment. His Serengeti Cheetah (Acinonyx jubutas) photograph was shot in the vast savanna of Serengeti National Park which spans 12,000 square miles.  This large cat is capable of running up to 80 mph because of its light build, long thin legs and long tail.

Pam Hall, also of Orinda, photos are of things she knew would hold her interest upon returning home such as the rarely seen Golden Cat (Caracal aurata). The only forest-dependent wild cat in Africa, it is about twice the size of a domestic cat, a sturdy, powerful animal with stout short legs and large paws. They visited the following national parks: Hwange, Zambia, Kafue, Botswana and Okavango Delta. “It was very easy taking photos because our excellent guides knew how to find the animals; so we stopped at particular places. We got used to taking our cues from the animals who would indicate when our time was up, such as sticking their head in the jeep. That was the signal to move on,” Hall said. 

Jeff Halliday’s photos focus on African bird life. When you view his African Darter photograph showing the water bird drying its 47 inch wingspan, you’ll understand why. It is also dubbed “snakebird” (slanghals in Afrikaans) because it typically swims underwater with only its neck and head sticking out. This gives the bird the appearance of a swimming snake. 

Maureen Rosati-Wee of Orinda visited Africa because of her admiration for what the people of Botswana have done for their country as far as preserving wildlife. She returned with her entire family so they could share the experience. “I love the Okavango Delta in Botswana because of the care they have put into their natural resources, wildlife and endangered species,” said Rosati-Wee. Her panoramic photo, Zambezi River, is near one of her favorite camps because of its unexpected beauty. “The colors on the river change constantly throughout the day,” she said.

December 2020 Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council proudly presents plein air paintings from The Glover Group in the virtual Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during December. All Council art exhibits are virtual until COVID-19 restrictions change. The 19 artists showing work in this virtual exhibit include: the late Maureen Angelo, Flora Baumann, Dana Beebe, Julie Bradner, Claire Finne, Sylvia Fones, Therese Gladstone Gordon, Renie Herrera-McDonough, Susan Kendall, Alecia Larson, Janet Mardirosian, Margaret Mason, Allyn Morton, Iris Sabre, Mary Spain, Maria SantoStefano, Mary Claire Stotler, Taki Tu, and Polly Ziolkowski.

This exciting exhibit celebrates their ten year anniversary as a group. They met as students of the late, great plein air artist Pam Glover. Locals will remember Glover’s quarter century tenure teaching plein air painting at the Orinda Community Center. Her love of plein air painting still ripples through the arts community. The group is also known for some playful rule-breaking as far as styles because they strive for freshness and immediacy. By observing social distancing and wearing masks, painting outdoors continues unabated for most of the group throughout the pandemic. They consider themselves fortunate to have so many beautiful locations in California to paint plein air. “Painting outdoors with fellow artists satisfies our need to be together as artists and helps preserve our sanity,” says Maria SantoStefano, organizer of the exhibit. Oil paintings dominate the media, with some pastel work. Because they paint with intense color and identify as colorists, their work delights the eye, a hallmark of plein air painting. For ten years a core group has painted together at least once a week; other members join in as is convenient. Both personal and professional connections are enjoyed, members belong to the same galleries, show together in different venues and some even take the plein air class at the Orinda Community Center.

November 2020 Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council has reconfigured all its art exhibits to be virtual until COVID-19 restrictions change. A new feature offered by the Council is the ability to purchase exhibiting artists’ artwork online during their scheduled exhibit month. The November exhibit features the artwork of John A. Barry, Christian Ehrhorn, Judith Feins, and Denise Goodman-Lachowsky in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library.

Barry of Danville, invented trAction painting when he was riding his bicycle through a puddle on the Iron Horse Trail and watched closely as his bicycle tire lay down a line of water on the pavement. He realized then that he could create paintings by using bikes, skates, wheelchairs, etc., as his “brushes.” His theme is “trAction Painting,” is seen in The Red, White and Blue Rolls Over the Orange-Brown Shirts, a 9 ft. x 5 ft. acyrlic on canvas. “I have no aptitude for representational art so trAction painting enables me to focus on process and (sometimes) performance.” Learn more by watching his virtual video HERE and on his website www.traction-painting.com.

Ehrhorn of Orinda can be visited at his establishment Christian Ehrhorn Fine Arts Gallery, 39 Moraga Way in Orinda. He explains, “My artistic renderings begin when I heed unusually attached sensations that arrive when I observe people and places, and objects related to both. I most enjoy these moments when I am not confined by what my mind thinks is worthwhile but instead by what feels right during the time my artwork is formulated and executed.” Highway 1 is also one of the 877 artworks on display at The de Young Open through Jan. 3, 2021, artwork #493. Learn more about the de Young Open HERE and see more of his work on his website www.christianehrhornfineart.com.

Feins , a resident of Orinda, is thankful for its supportive arts community and states, “Although we’re a small town, there’s a lot of appreciation, involvement and creativity that remains vibrant even in challenging times.” She hopes her paintings bring pleasure and inspiration to others. One look at her paintings and we can see her assertion, ‘I love to paint the brilliant tranquility of light on water,’ is real. “I’m fascinated by all that I see in the natural world. My passion for portraying that beauty is the force behind my paintings,” she said. Edge Illuminating is also one of the 877 artworks on display at The de Young Open through Jan. 3, 2021, artwork #464. Learn more about the de Young Open HERE and see more of her work on her website www.judithfeins.com and exhibit video HERE.

Goodman-Lachowsky, who lives in Alameda, has always loved wearing hats and is an active member of the Red Hat Society (RHS). The group counts 35,000 members, including international locations. She likes RHS because it is fun and filled with the pleasant social interaction of connecting with old friends and making new ones. When RHS announces a theme event, she makes a hat according to the theme and often gifts it to a new member. She scours garage sales, consignment and thrift stores for materials. Part of the fun is competing in and winning a hat contest like, “Most Bling.” She encourages women of all ages who are interested hats! Explore more on her website www.redhatsociety.com.

October 2020 Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council has reconfigured all its art exhibits to be virtual until COVID-19 restrictions change. A new feature offered by the Council is the ability to purchase exhibiting artists’ artwork online during their scheduled exhibit month. The October exhibit features the artwork of Dina Asna, Loralee Chapleau, Ann F. Fallin, and San Francisco Peace and Hope (SFPH) in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library.

Dina Asna of Moraga is drawn to paint watercolors to transfer what she is feeling onto paper. Applying color is the most exciting part of this process for her. She said this requires letting go of perfectionism. Her theme for this exhibit is ‘Be Happy!’ Her life’s journey has been ‘do not worry about what is missing or about your flaws.’ Asking herself, ‘what makes you happy’ often has become a way of life. “I believe we can heal a lot of wounds using art,” said Asna. She is delighted when people experience the cheerfulness in her artwork. Whether you are viewing Feather Friends, Forest Friends, or Joy Birds, all of which are 9” x 9” watercolors on paper, I don’t believe avoiding cheerfulness is possible. See what she is up to HERE.

Loralee Chapleau of Danville is often inspired by the ever changing beauty of the seasons. She paints in oils and acrylics with an expressive style, using vivid colors, energetic brushstrokes, and favors large pieces. Her theme for this virtual exhibit is ‘Recollections: Experiential and Imagined.’ Sometimes she paints from direct observation on location, but more and more she draws on past experiences and memory to create large semi-abstract pieces. Chapleau understood by reducing the literal elements in an artwork the viewer’s brain would fill in their own experience, which adds another layer of our understanding of abstract art. Chapleau calls it a very pleasurable way to experience art, whether you are the viewer or the artist. “We enjoy it because our mind actively experiences and participates in the artwork,” said Chapleau. Chapleau wants viewers to know she strives to present emotion with every stroke in her paintings. Visit her website HERE for more of her work.

Ann F. Fallin of Walnut Creek began as an oil painter but switched to watercolors in 1980; thus
her exceptional skill is evident in every painting. “Through painting I like to communicate the upbeat and the positive,” she said. Her goal is to share her enthusiasm for the subject – which can be anything from a landscape, portrait (human or animal) floral or still life – in hopes of causing the viewer to become positively involved with her work. Some of the most difficult aspects of painting watercolors are what she loves. “I love the battle to gain control over the medium, which often decides what it’s going to despite the painter’s plans. I love the transparency of watercolor, the endless effects it produces, its versatility, and how much just plain fun it is to paint with,” said Fallin. She describes her work as contemporary realism. According to Fallin, jumping around from subject to subject keeps her work fresh.

The voices of San Francisco Peace and Hope (SFPH) reflect a hopeful vision in their literary journal devoted to poetry and art during these challenging times. This is accomplished through online and print publications encompassing art and the spoken word. There are also face-to-face get togethers, now gone virtual, and a blog. It all began informally when 9/11 occurred and Hack started a blog. She realized a tribe used to expressing their creative voices through the spoken word, poetry, visual art, dance and more could articulate a singular, much needed mission. SFHP’s mission was and is to examine global change while celebrating the eternal, changeless aspects of life. Viewers of the virtual exhibit will see photographs and a video of written and visual excerpts of Light The Sky. The library said, “If you are seeking a glimpse of what humanity can be this weekend, this is the book for you.” Noted illustrator Elaine Drew created the book jacket. It can be found in public libraries, bookstores and online. To learn more about this nonprofit organization go HERE.

September 2020 Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council has reconfigured all its art exhibits to be virtual until COVID-19 restrictions change. A new feature offered by the Council is the ability to purchase exhibiting artists’ artwork online during their scheduled exhibit month. The September exhibit features the artwork of Dalia Alekna, Linda Kam, Felicia Morris, and Jane Raymond in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library.

Dalia Alekna of Walnut Creek is showing etchings, monoprints and pastels. Her lifelong love of art in many mediums came from her mother, who studied art in Lithuanian and won a national prize as the best female artist. Alekna notes how ubiquitous pigments are in the art world; the same pigments are used to make pastels, oil, acrylic and watercolor paint. Pastels are made from pigments mixed with gum Arabic and have a higher pigment concentration than any other artistic medium which creates rich, luminous colors. Working in more than one medium at a time helps to keep her artwork fresh; once in a while she takes workshops just to try something new. “I work alone in my studio like many artists, which can get lonely. That’s why I’m involved in three galleries – Moraga Art Gallery, Valley Art Gallery and Blackhawk Gallery. Being with other artists and seeing their work helps me keep ideas flowing,” she said. A longtime hiker, she loves nature and landscapes and often can be found in the foothills of Mt. Diablo. She said she feels like she lives in paradise when on one of these walks. See more of her work HERE.

Linda Kam of Orinda also developed a fascination with art at an early age. Her father was a professional artist and talented cartoonist. He guided her into the world of art and she has lived in that world ever since. After a 17 year career teaching art at Wagner Ranch she now has time to devote to her personal passion – botanical art. Her theme, “A Diverse Collage of Botanical Watercolor Paintings,” consists of 20 watercolors. The delicacy of Red Impression belies the deep radiance of the red pigments on its petals.“Since sheltering in place I have had plenty of time to think and plan what subjects to paint next.” When a viewer tells her it appears they can pick the flower or fruit right off the paper, she said she has achieved her goal and that makes her happy. View her virtual exhibit video HERE and see what she is up to on her website HERE.

Felicia Morris of Orinda said creating beauty through the visual arts has been a passion throughout most of her life. “As time has gone on, my focus became inspirations from paintings and symbols shown to me while sleeping. These gifts of the spirit can encourage self-awareness while giving expression to nature’s beauty,” she said. Her 16” x 20” acrylic painting, Mary in Orinda, portrays a peaceful mantle of blossoms and flowers that Mary spreads in the Orinda hills. She quotes Meher Baba as one of her inspirations, “Art is one of the sources through which the soul expresses itself and inspires others.” Now she creates smaller works which sometimes include playful drawings. Recently she painted three small signs to encourage herself and others; one said, “Be brave, be happy.” She said she loves giving such gifts during these hard times because they make it easier to keep going on, even in small ways, because they can uplift people’s spirits.

Jane Raymond has a Masters’ degrees in Biology and Architecture, and claims that both inform what she sees, and does as far as creating. You’ll find Raymond seeking beauty in the real world via subject, balance and harmony while composing her oil paintings. For a time she sponsored a dressage-trained horse and then studied, trained and taught dressage for many years. “Dressage is a subtle art seeking harmony balance between horse and rider,” she said. Now she works in life drawing using charcoal to quickly capture form, gesture and likeness. She then works in oils or watercolors, rarely in acrylic or graphite. Working on portraits in a group with models is part of her lifelong fascination with portraiture.

August 2020 Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council’s scheduled August virtual exhibit features the artwork of George Boscoe, Maggie Boscoe, Sara Boscoe Bain, Lance Jackson, and Jacqueline Proulx in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library.

George Boscoe raises exotic parrots. Some of you may have met “Venus,” a talkative female blue-fronted Amazon parrot, who has accompanied him more than once to artist receptions in the Gallery. George’s most recent bird expedition took him to the Tambopata Macaw Project in the southern Amazon basin in the Peruvian region of Madre del Dios.

Maggie Boscoe’s theme for her bird photographs is ‘The Beauty of Birds.’ Perhaps the word exotic could be inserted as her photos are either from Costa Rica, Africa or the Galapagos Islands. Maggie’s interest in photographing birds began on a family trip to Costa Rica. Next she brought her birding camera to Africa where she photographed exotic birds only to be found in that far-away locale. The cliché, ‘birds of a feather stick together,’ certainly applies to the Boscoe family of Orinda. Each family member is showing bird photographs of widely different species. All use a Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80 which they describe as a good all-around birding camera as it has a decent zoom but is still light enough to carry. Maggie Boscoe is the curator of the Art Gallery at Orinda Library.

Sara Boscoe Bain’s birding interest was sparked by a family birding trip to Costa Rica. Upon returning home to Los Angeles, she began using her Panasonic Lumix on birding trips while home schooling her two children. Sara and her children discovered together that L.A. County is a birders paradise because of the diversity of species matched by varied topography. Their neighborhood has birding hot spots within a mile or two, there are desert locations and mountains to explore. She has plans to learn more about pelagic birds – birds who live in the open sea. View her virtual video exhibit HERE.

Lance Jackson of Orinda has been drawing and painting since childhood. He trained as a painter/designer at Washington University and Rhode Island School of Design. “My father used to draw caricatures which we all found enjoyable; I continue with it since it is a skill requiring practice. Something akin to playing music; it is habit forming as well,” said Jackson. A freelance artist and illustrator, he is also an adjunct professor at both UC Berkeley Extension and City College of San Francisco. By all accounts Jackson is known for pushing the limits where technology and unbridled creativity meet. His focus for this virtual exhibit is current Orinda details such as flowers from Safeway, fast food examples, two landscapes and the Orinda Theatre. “I like to think that my work remains fresh depicting recognizable places and current events. Of course I could be wrong. ‘Everything has been done before and yet everything is new.’” Jackson also wants people to know he is interested in drawing and painting portraits. “Drawing is my way of communicating,” he said, “the image is a possible form of dialogue, the beginning of a conversation.” Learn more about his work at www.lancejackson.net.

Jacqueline Proulx of Walnut Creek grew up in Quebec and has been in love with ceramics since she was 16. At that time she enjoyed visiting ceramic studios and artists, craving this kind of life, dreaming of being able some day to throw those magnificent objects on the wheel. At about age 50, when she was close to retirement, she had her own studio in Montreal. When her two grandchildren were born she moved to Walnut Creek to be near them and her daughter. She keeps her work alive by taking classes and experimenting in different studios exploring things like soda firing and hand-building huge 24” and 30” vases, bowls and vessels. She often works in high-fire porcelain in small, elegant things but also makes sturdy stoneware in earthy tones with bright colors. Porcelain’s primary qualities are translucency and whiteness. Proulx’s intention in creating ceramics is to make people feel good about everyday objects in such a way that some kind of beauty comes through in her work. View her video which gives you an idea of what these look like, https://youtu.be/5zL-U6eYH80. For more of her work go to www.clayandfire.org.

July 2020: Walk the Park & See Some Art

The Library Gallery will not be open to the public due to the shelter-in-place order regulations. The Gallery Curation Team, working with the City of Orinda, is pleased to announce the “Walk the Park & See Some Art” taking place on Saturday, July 12th from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at the Orinda Community Center Park, 28 Orinda Way. Enjoy some outdoor exercise while viewing the artwork of artists from the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library: Maggie Boscoe (April 2020), Bill Carmel (July 2020), David Fleisig (April 2020), Jeff Halliday (April 2020), and Teresa Onoda (June 2020). Strict safety guidelines requiring all visitors to wear a mask and maintain a minimum of 6 feet between others will be followed.

Please see below for information about our four originally scheduled July exhibitors, Bill Carmel, Marie Cotter, George Ehrenhaft, and Hallie Strock.

Bill Carmel, MFA of San Ramon is also a member of the Lamorinda Arts Council and co-curator of the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. He says he loves to draw, and painting is an extension of drawing. His exhibit includes four large giclées of paintings on vinyl and a few drawings. The large paintings are from his ongoing “Tattoo Series” because, “It’s as if the canvas and my skin are the same.” These paintings begin as abstractions and as the work progresses the association of random marks and shapes coalesce into things that contain meaning, similar to seeing shapes in the clouds. He enjoys the process of chaos becoming recognizable. See more of his work at www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/bill-carmel

Marie Cotter of Berkeley paints using watercolors and acrylics and also works with pastels. She began painting at nine years of age, took lessons in oils, painting all the way through college in oils. “Art is a self-generating engine that keeps me tuned; I paint every day because I need to self-express. I work at not being attached, the hardest lesson of all. It’s the doing that’s important, not being attached to the work,” Cotter says.  View Cotter’s virtual exhibit HERE.

George Ehrenhaft of Moraga is a prolific painter of watercolors, more so during Sheltering in Place. “During the last three months I’ve done 30 paintings,” he says. He is showing about 24 watercolors, most are outdoor scenes in Lamorinda as well as paintings from other California locations such as the coastline, Yosemite and San Luis Obispo. View more of his plein air watercolors at www.mesart.com/indexps.jsp?artist=3939

Hallie Strock is a painter, printmaker and mixed media artist who loves working in her studio in the Berkeley hills. She is exhibiting a large group of linoleum block prints, hand painted with watercolor. She says she never thought she would enjoy printmaking as it is a fussy process. But she has found endless interest and challenges in the process, especially how it pushes drawing further. She loves the unmistakable graphic look of block prints and the opportunity to interpret lots of subjects. See what she’s up to at www.halliestrock.com/home. See her virtual exhibit HERE.

Selected works from these artists can be viewed by clicking the image below.

June 2020 Exhibit: Gallery Closed Due to COVID-19

It is currently unknown whether the gallery will be open to the public due to the shelter-in-place order regulations. The June exhibit features John Brown, Tina and Rick Nelson, Teresa Onoda and Karl Stinson. If the building is open in June in time for the artists to hang their show, the exhibit will go forward. If not, the exhibit will be rescheduled. Go to www.lamorindaarts.org/gallery-2 for updated scheduling. If permissible, an artist reception is scheduled 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. June 14.

Brown, of Orinda, photographs primarily landscapes and is exhibiting 25 photographs which include animals, sunsets, and sunrises, people, places, things, black and whites and several photographs from film. See what he is up to at www.johnsbrown.com.

Tina Nelson is showing approximately a dozen works she describes as “Painting with Wool.” Using 465 colors of wool from Washington, Tina often works from photographs hand stitching vibrant modern colors of wool onto linen. View Tina’s virtual exhibit HERE. Rick Nelson, president of the Oakland Art Association, is showing about a dozen wood-turned pieces, which is different from his usual medium photography. Rick’s preference is for segmented wood turning where he concentrates on the shape, design and technique of what he is creating. His focus of late is developing different techniques to give illusions to his pieces. View Rick’s virtual exhibit HERE.

Onoda, of Moraga, is a landscape painter, meaning nature provides her a continually changing set of surprises, choices and challenges. In her exhibit “Bay Area Beauty” she encompasses coastal area, rivers and streams, farmland, orchards and vineyards. View Onoda’s virtual exhibit HERE  and more of her work at www.onodaart.com/.

Stinson photographs people he meets while traveling internationally as a life-long passion. Stinson’s exhibit, “People of the World,” consists of 48 of his favorite color photographs. Stinson says, “Each of my photographs comes with a story so I’ve included written stories next to about a third of them.”

May 2020 Exhibit: Gallery Closed Due to COVID-19

Because of Governor Newsom’s Shelter in Place (SIP) order to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 virus, the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will be closed until the order is lifted. The scheduled May exhibit featuring Dina Asna and Jeff Sully has been postponed until further notice. Asna, of Moraga, paints watercolors with subjects from nature retaining the originals and offering prints. She then interprets the sensibility from each painting into themed jewelry collections. “My jewelry is created to carry a message; we all have what we need but we forget to tap into it,” she said. While we are unable to gather to view her artwork at this time, consider visiting her shop for a full range of Asna’s creations HERE. Sully, of Richmond, has been influenced over time by a wide variety of art forms such as stone tool-makng, wooden masks and Dadaists. In the meantime view a wide range of his work at www.jeffreysully.com.

April 2020 Exhibit: In-Person Gallery Closed Due to COVID-19; Virtual Exhibit of BASA

Because of Governor Newsom’s Shelter in Place (SIP) order to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 virus, the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will be closed until the order is lifted.

April Gallery: “Out of Africa” Photographs and “Inspired By” Paintings
The April exhibit has been rescheduled as follows: The “Out of Africa” photography exhibit is rescheduled for January 2021. The Bay Area Studio Group (BASA) exhibit is rescheduled for April 2023. However, the talented members of BASA have created a virtual exhibit of their artwork prepared especially for this show – go here to view it. The artist reception will be rescheduled some time in the future, please visit our website for up-to-date information. Maggie Boscoe curated the “Out of Africa” photography show which includes photographs by Boscoe, David Fleisig, Pam Hall, Jeff Halliday and Maureen-Rosati-Wee. These photographs portray exotic birds and animals with a few portraits and landscapes.

Bay Area Studio Artists’ (BASA) theme for their exhibit is “Inspired By”. BASA members have been showing work and painting together since 2010. Their eclectic subject matter ranges from figurative to landscape, from realism to expressionism. Boring is not in their vocabulary. They have created a virtual exhibit to give art patrons a taste of what they are “Inspired By”. Go here to view it.

March 2020 Exhibit: Gallery Closed Due to COVID-19

Because of Governor Newsom’s Shelter in Place (SIP) order to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 virus, the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will be closed through April 7. When the order is lifted the current exhibit of Lafayette/Moraga Arts Ambassadors student artwork will be taken down and returned to the students. At that time Arts Ambassadors ribbons will be provided along with each student’s artwork.

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents Arts Ambassadors at the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of March. The Arts Ambassadors program showcases artwork from the Lamorinda K-12 schools. The Educational Foundation of Orinda (EFO) showcases 150 artworks from Feb 27-Mar 11 and invites you to the reception and awards ceremony on March 4th from 4:30-6:30pm. The students from the cities of Lafayette and Moraga students showcase from Mar 12-26. These two exhibits are a wonderful way to provide the public an overview of student work from the art programs in the public schools in Lamorinda.

February 2020 In-Person and Virtual Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents the High School Visual Arts Competition at the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of February. The show highlights art work in 4 categories – 2D, 3D, Photography, and the Lamorinda Arts Alliance Digital Art category, from high school students who attend schools in Orinda, Lafayette, or Moraga, or who reside in Lamorinda and attend schools outside the area. The exhibit runs from Feb. 4-27. Join us at the artists and awards reception on Tuesday, February 11th from 7-8:30 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

January 2020 In-Person Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council kicks off the New Year with the artwork of the F-15 Photography 
Group, Alex Meckes’ mathematical origami and ceramics by Ian Clark, Diva Fontinelli and Angela Lusk of the Rossmoor Ceramic Arts Club at the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of January.

Mayeri, one of eight members of the F-15 Photography Group, curated her group’s show. Genres include travel/people, birds, architectural and nature abstracts, botanicals and florals. Meckes is a junior at Miramonte High School; his work explores the natural connections to mathematics origami has in terms of folding. Clark, Fontinelli and Lusk’s ceramics fill the large glass case and include Clark’s experiments with creative glazes.

December 2019 Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council presents the oil paintings of Judith Feins, 2D and 3D artwork from members of the Oakland Art Association, painted wine bottles by Kath Balamuth and nature-rich photographs by Farzeen Taban during the month of December.

Feins of Orinda has worked in oils for two decades now and says, “watching the play of light in the sky over the earth adds another dimension and layer of enjoyment to life.” “Radiance” is her theme, meaning she works to capture light in the landscape on canvas. The Oakland Art Association‘s juried show of 2D and 3D artwork encompasses many genres including ceramics, portraits, figurative and abstract paintings. Learn more at www.oaklandarts579.org. Balamuth of Orinda focuses this exhbit on painted wine bottels, which was inspired by her visit to SFMOMA to experience Rene Magritte: The Fifth Season last year. See what she is up to at www.kathbalamuth.com. Taban of Benicia considers photography the ideal method for capturing the natural world and it’s beauty. He is fascinated with light and says, “the study of light alone could happily occupy the rest of my days.” Taban often juxtaposes viewpoints only nature offers in the ever-changing mantle of disguises we know as seasons. Learn more at www.farzeen.com. You are invited to meet the artists and discuss their work while enjoying light refreshments at their reception on Sunday, December 8 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. 

November 2019: “Teachers Have Class” Exhibit

The Lamorinda Arts Council is honored to feature the work of current and retired teachers who are also artists during the month of November. Eighteen teachers from Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda elementary and middle schools, the Acalanes Union High School district or those who have participated in the Arts Ambassadors and Visual Arts Competition programs held at the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library are participating. There are paintings, ceramics, watercolors, photographs and more to be seen.

You are invited to meet the following teacher/artists at their reception on Sunday, November 10 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. where light refreshments will be served: Maggie Boscoe, Susan Dannenfelser, Carla Gelbaum, Tim Hancock, Lesley Jensen, Linda Kam, Larysa Larson, JoAnn Lieberman, Aram Muksian, Denise Nomura, Nichole Reader, Lois Reynolds Mead, Kristen Theurer, Pam Toki, Pauline Tsui, Moose Wesler, David Wilson and Kim H. Wong.

Pam Toki  “Interior Connections”
61″ x 36″

October 2019 Exhibit

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature artwork from five members of the Three-Eight Art Studio during the month of October. The artists’ reception takes place on October 6, 2:30-4:30, with light refreshments served.

Three-Eight Art Studio is a group of East Bay Chinese American artists who say that whether they create art or simply get together, it’s all in the name of fun. According to members of the group, the numbers “three” and “eight” mean fun, whimsical and crazy (in a good way) in Chinese popular culture. The entire gallery will be filled with sixty pieces of artwork from the group all within their theme of “Color Melody.” What you will see is an example of how whimsy translates to different art forms.

Doris and Wang Hai Chen of Berkeley are displaying paintings and Chinese ink drawings on rice paper. Doris’ 23” x 34” watercolor on paper, Dahlia Flowers In a Vase will appeal to gardeners everywhere. Wang Hai’s 27” x 32” acrylic on board work, Yaya’s First Astonishing, pulls us into the world of a very young girl discovering something wonderful.

Celia Huddleston of Antioch works as a Chinese brush painting teacher when she is not creating her own work. She is showing watercolors and Chinese ink drawings on rice paper. Her 25” x 52” ink and color on rice paper, Dominica Republic portrays a North American wilderness scene seen through a traditional Chinese aesthetic. It appears Canada is chilly no matter your aesthetic.

Beichen Li of Oakland is a prolific acrylic painter. Her portfolio includes a variety of series: musical instruments, abstract works, portraits, architectural and travel works. She often uses photographs from her travels as a source for her paintings and likes using vibrant colors. Her 30” x 40” Rapid Transit evokes a bumpy ride on a city street. See what she is up to at www.beichenlifineart.com

Lucia Tsang of Walnut Creek creates both utilitarian and artistic ceramics. Tsang knew from a very young age that she wanted to be an artist. She says, “Art has nourished me at every stage of my life. I am inspired to make sculpture by the moments in life that move me including the birth of my grandchildren, the death of my father, the internal life of trees. I create my pieces with a deep appreciation for my five thousand year rich cultural heritage.” When you view the 16” x 8” x 8” figurative sculpture, I dream, I fly, I think you will agree that Tsang has “translated whimsy into art” because the expression on the girls face is pure joy. www.meirung.com.

September 2019 Exhibit

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature the work of nonstop sisters-in-art Mei-Rung Huang and Mei-Yu Lo, and Wayne Wright during the month of September. The artists’ reception takes place on September 8, 2:30-4:30, with light refreshments served.

Mei-Yu Lo of El Cerrito teaches adult watercolor and acrylic painting classes at the El Cerrito Community Center when she is not doing her own work. She is showing two groups of paintings in this show. The first group is a dozen acrylics on canvas – most are landscapes and the second group includes twenty recontextulized ladies that are mostly giclée prints on archival paper done in collaboration with her husband, Wayne Wright. Wright is exhibiting 15 single page post-modern book prints. Lo tries to communicate fashions, styles, attitudes, emotions and moods in her paintings. See what she’s up to at www.mei-yu.com.

Mei-Rung Huang of Orinda, studied painting with different masters to learn a variety of different Asian brush painting styles and after coming to America she discovered Western painting and ceramics and ever since has developed passions for both. In this show she focuses on ceramics by filling the glass cabinets with 50 pieces such as teapots and cups, vessels, bowls and containers. She says she is directly influenced by her Chinese background because her work depicts Asian figures directly or incorporates Asian shapes into her more geometric works. Keep in mind the balance, fluidity and grace of traditional Chinese art as you view Huang’s ceramics. To view more of Huang’s work go to www.meirung.com.

August 2019 Exhibit

The Gallery this month features wood turning, paintings and award winning high school art.

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature the work of multiple artists during the month of August. The artists’ reception takes place on August 4, 2:30-4:30, with light refreshments served.

David Fleisig, of Berkeley, shows his pieces turned on a wood lathe. He stands in front of a fast spinning lathe with a sharp gouge tool, and his minute movements determine the shape of his wood pieces. He also incorporates colored epoxy into these pieces.

From Lafayette, Chung Ae Kim shows original paintings and giclee prints on the theme “Memories of My Lifetime of Travels”.  Different cultures, architectural styles and other historical times all reflect in her work.

Laurie Mansur, from Concord, is showing works of oil painting that are 8″ x 8″. She has worked in oil for about ten years and is a student of Patsy Taylor. Her inspiration is the American Southwest.

The ten paintings Patsy Taylor, of Concord, shows explore family connections. She creatively combines content from different sources and she tries to express the space between abstraction and realism.

This month, included in the exhibit will be two award winners from the High School Visual Arts Competition that the Lamorinda Arts Council sponsors in February. Larkin Stephanos won overall in three competitions: The Council’s High School Visual Art Competition, California Art Education Association’s (CAEA) Northern California Level competition and CAEA’s State Level competition. Her winning entry, Book Jacket, received a $1000 cash award. Shae Silva won second place in the Council’s High School Visual Art Competition.  She is also winner of the prestigious CAEA Northern California 2019 Ruth Jansen Prize for her achievement in the visual arts.  She received an award of $100 for Zebra on Cardboard.

July 2019 Exhibit

Paintings, book illustrations, and painted wine bottles are in the Gallery this month.

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature five artists during the month of July and the artists’ recption takes place on July 7, 2:30-4:30, with light refreshments served.

Elaine and Rob Drew work together on book projects. Rob wrote Tales in the Night Sky (a family guide to star gazing) and Elaine illustrated it. Elaine is exhibiting watercolors and prints that went into illustrating Rob’s book and also gouache paintings that illustrated her own book, Courting Trouble.

Kath Balamuth‘s work will include paintings from her series “Succulent Succulents” and a series of painted wine bottles.
“21st Century Flâneurs,” is a show of paintings that are artists Jeanette Baird’s and Joanne Taeuffer’s glimpses of life in today’s world.

The paintings in “21st Century Flâneurs” depict the life Jeanette and Joanne catch sight of as they follow the path of the 19th Century French Impressionist flâneurs. The impressionist flâneur was someone who strolled through the modern world and observed and recorded that world.

The two artists bring individual points of view to their observations and work. Jeanette is often searching for beauty and calm, while Joanne seeks out quirkiness and color. The two visions complement and contrast with one another throughout the show.

June 2019 Exhibit

Ceramics, Photographs and Paintings are in the Gallery this month.

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature four artists during the month of June.

A mix of ceramic, glass, and encaustic works by Andrea Ciak from Oakland show the ways she explores color, pattern, texture, and visual depth.

Photographer Jennifer Dzendzel of Orinda shows more than twenty photographs of landscapes and nature-themed images. Creative portraits are also included.

With vibrant, bold colors, Carla W. Gelbaum, from Moraga, paints from her imagination. Her rendition of universal themes in bright acrylic colors expands on her theme of “Visual Sonatas” from her recollections and dreams.

Michelene Insalaco, from Orinda, is showing eleven pieces that emphasize words that relate to constitutional rights and violence that jeopardizes freedom and peace.

May 2019 Exhibit

In the Gallery this month—Paintings, Ceramics, and Wood!

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature five artists during the month of May.  Join them Sunday, May 5th, 2:30 to 4:30 PM for an artist reception where light refreshments will be served.

This month the glass cases will feature work by Kate Chenok and Kim Wolfe in a combined exhibit they call “Two Women Who Play With Fire.” Chenok works in sagger fired clay and Wolfe uses pyography on her turned wood pieces. In a separate exhibit, Ellis Sjoberg’s wood pieces balance function with artistic expression and he uses a variety of woods to create his art pieces.

The walls feature work by Arno Kober, chef at Shelby’s Restaurant in Orinda, who showing large acrylic paintings. His paintings make versatile use of vivid acrylic colors. In addition, Bill Carmel, shows contrast in the work he has chosen for this show. His works revolve around paintings without words, local landscapes, and fractal patterns. These contrast with a commissioned portrait he is showing.

April 2019 Exhibit

Photography and Printmaking in the Gallery this month!
Reception Sunday, April 7th from 2:30 to 4:30

The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will feature three artists in April. A printmaker and two photographers will hang and display their work during April. Join them Sunday, April 7, 2:30 to 4:30 pm. for an artist reception where light refreshments will be served. Guests will also have an opportunity to meet “Venus,” a Blue Front Amazon Parrot photographed in the exhibit, at the reception. She is owned and handled by George Boscoe, husband of Lamorinda Arts Council gallery co-curator Maggie Bosco.

Moose Wesler‘s prints will be featured in the two glass cases in the gallery. Wesler teaches art at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School and printmaking at Center for Community Arts in Walnut Creek. She is exhibiting 40 works, mostly etchings and block prints.

Barbara Brady-Smith of Lafayette is showing about 20 avian photographs. Her photos of birds are breathtaking in their detail, clarity and color. She describes this as “freezing the wings of a bird in flight.”

Wenda Pyman, of San Francisco, has been a member of the Moraga Art Gallery for fifteen years. Her theme for the 20 photographs she is showing is “Intercepting Light.” Her large photographs show the way light and shadow play together pulling the viewer right into the massive scene.

February/March 2019 Exhibit

High School Visual Arts Competition

Exhibit runs February 14th through March 14th

Reception: Wednesday, February 20th from 7 to 8:30pm
Light refreshments offered, and awards will be announced

This annual exhibit showcases and acknowledges the 2D, 3D, and Photography/Digital Designs created by local high school artists who live in or attend school in Orinda, Lafayette, or Moraga, or Acalanes Union High School District, including Las Lomas High School.  The exhibit is accompanied by a competition and features cash awards and merit citations.

February 2019 Exhibit

Lafayette/Moraga Arts Ambassadors

Exhibit runs February 1 – 13

Reception: Monday, February 4 from 4 to 6 pm
Light refreshments will be served

This annual exhibit features the work of elementary and middle school students from Moraga and Lafayette.

To learn more about this exciting event, read this article in the Orinda News.

January 2019 Exhibit

Three Painters Usher in the New Year

The works of Francesca Saveri, Pam McCauley, and Joan Yao are presented in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library during the month of January.

Francesca Saveri, a native Californian, is showing twenty abstract paintings done with encaustics (beeswax, damar resin and raw pigment). Saveri’s work and life celebrate color and she sees color as a tool for well-being.

Pam McCauley was surrounded by art as she grew up in Lafayette. Her dozen works are on the theme of “Now and Then”. These are current work mixed with earlier work and will include portraits and still lifes.

Joan Yao of Moraga is a native of Shanghai where she studied calligraphy and Chinese brush painting before coming to America. She displays forty works related to nature and displaying this venerable tradition of art making.

Contributed Photos

December 2018 Exhibit

Artwork to Welcome Winter

Artists Reception: Sunday December 2, 2:30 to 4:30 pm
Light Refreshments will be served

The works of Lynette Ley, Rita Sklar, and Joel Tesch are presented in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library during the month of December. Ceramics by Terry Mar will also be displayed.

Lynette Ley learned to cherish and appreciate the beauty of plants when young and has transferred this love to her botanical art. Her theme is “Stories in Art” depicting simple subjects and nature.

Rita Sklar originally learned art from her mother but then gave it up for awhile. Once she returned she branched out into mixed media, collage and acrylics. She is showing more than twenty-five small paintings.

Joel Tesch is showing large and small works that derive from photographs. One of his themes is “Wild Skies Series” which are large and emphasize dynamic contrast and saturated color. He also has a series called “Icon Series”.

Terry Mar has worked in ceramics for almost forty years. He was drawn to the raku process because of it is spontaneous and creative. His theme for his more than forty pieces shown is “Raku-Abstract Colors and Texture on Ceramics”.

Contributed Photos

November 2018 Exhibit

Creative Strokes Collective

Artists Reception: Sunday November 4, 2:30 to 4:30 pm

The works of Linda Darsow Sutton and members of the Creative Strokes Collective (CSC) are presented in the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library during the month of November.

Linda Darsow Sutton is showing work divided between watercolors and oil paintings on the theme of water. She helps her students learn how to work with color do what they want it to do in their paintings. The show highlights Sutton’s versatility as an instructor, as each participant has a different style of painting.

The Creative Strokes Collective is a group of six painters who joined together in Linda Sutton’s watercolor class. The group has been painting together once a month for six years and each has their own style. The members with work being shown are Barney Howard, Chris Kutzscher, Neanna Miles, Anne Murray, and Alix Watson (who organized the show) showing watercolors. Bob Segerdell is showing both watercolors and oil paintings.

Light refreshments will be served at the reception on November 4th.

For images of this month’s work, click the thumbnail below:

Contributed Photos

October 2018 Exhibit

Majestic Photographs, Nature Inspired Ceramics, Paintings of Succulents and Abstract Rhythms

Artists Reception: Sunday October 7th, 2:30 to 4:30 pm

The Lamorinda Arts Council is delighted to present the paintings of Kath Balamuth, Ruth Kolman Brophy and Friends, Sergiy Pechersky’s photographs, and ceramics from Ellen Sachtschale, Julie Langley and Miriam Jewell during the month of October at the Art Gallery in the Orinda Library.

Kath Balamuth calls this exhibit her Succulent Succulents Series; she says that succulents are easy for her to work with because they offer her all the elements of art she enjoys: form, color, texture, scale, value, line and shape.  Ruth Kolman Brophy and Friends (Lynn Glenn, Tina Pressler and Elise Marshall) have an apt theme for the work they are showing – Abstract Rhythms. Each of them explores creating abstract art in a different way – some works combine figurative elements and some do not.

Sergiy Pechersky‘s work focuses on Yosemite and the Eastern Sierras.  An accomplished photographer who has exhibited extensively, he is showing about a dozen photographs.  Ellen Sachtschale, Julie Langley, and Miriam Jewell create and fire ceramics in the studio they have been sharing for the past three years.  Their theme for the 30 works they will be showing, Nature Pottery, arose out of their shared fascination for the myriad forms occurring in nature.

This is an eclectic collection of work that is not to be missed!

For images of this month’s work, click the thumbnail below:

Contributed Photos

September 2018 Exhibit

Story Characters, Paintings, Art on Silk & African Wildlife

Special Demonstrations at Artists Reception: Sunday September 9, from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

In addition to light refreshments, this month’s special artist reception will include demonstrations by three of the artists of how they create their work.

A variety of works will grace the walls of the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library during the month of September.

Shirley Sanderson will exhibit twenty-six framed photographs on the theme: “Under the African Skies.” Most of the photos are from the safaris she has taken, and she hopes it will inspire the viewer towards conservation efforts.

Natasha Foucault has chosen to show fine art and wearable art in this exhibit. She travels to search for subject matter and then photographs it in order to paint.

Lara Horoupian shows about twenty works in mixed media that include acrylics, liquid ink, and Japanese origami papers. Her theme for the show was “always beginning with female energy, leaning towards the Earth and nature.”

Francesca Borgatta‘s work relates to the theme of “story characters.” Her work ranges from small figures, tiny landscapes, and dioramas to large expressive characters made from found objects. She has been active in the East Bay Creative Reuse for twenty years and delights in using found objects along with natural ones in her work.

For images of this month’s work, click the thumbnail below:

Contributed Photos

August 2018 Exhibit

Oakland Art Association

Artists Reception: Sunday August 5  from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Light bites will be served

The Oakland Art Association (OAA) is a non-profit group of fifty-five artists and art supporters from Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Watercolors, oil paintings, photographs, collage, acrylic paintings, pastels, ceramics, drawings and prints (including etchings and aquatints) will be shown. Over 80 works in genres from portraiture, landscapes, abstraction, still life and figurative will be on view. To learn more about OAA go to https://www.oaklandart579.org/.

To view images from this month’s exhibit, click the photo below:

Contributed Photos

July 2018 Exhibit

Batik Inspired Paintings, Artwork from London to the Redwoods

Artists Reception: July 8, from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Light bites will be served

Kabir Adejare‘s paintings demonstrate his symbolic lexicon in a batik process. June Felter is showing both watercolors and acrylics and has had a long life involved in the art world as a figurative painting exhibiting throughout the Bay Area. June’s daughter, Susan Felter, is also exhibiting this month.  She is showing photographic work that represents emotional storytelling. Fred Lee creates digital paintings that are printed as giclees. Natalie Wheeler is also presenting the art work of her grandmother, Bessie Samuels, who painted all of her life. The work gives a window into the faces and fashions of the world in the 1950-60s. There are ten oil paintings and a variety of black and white photos on display.

Contributed Photos

June 2018 Exhibit

Contra Costa Camera Club

Artists Reception: June 3  from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Light bites will be served
Music by the Fretful String Band

Filling the entire gallery will be the members of the Contra Costa Camera Club. The CCCC is now 70 years old and has 84 members. Works will include nature and landscapes, photo journalism, portraits, architecture, and images manipulated with photoshop. The artists come from all areas of our county.

Contributed Photos

March 2018 Exhibit

15th High School Visual Arts Competion

Artists and Awards Reception: Wednesday March 7th, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Awards announced at 7:45 pm
Featuring light refreshments and performance by the Stanley Middle School Jazz Band

The 15th Annual High School Visual Arts Competition exhibit is now on display until March 26 in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. The work comes from High Schools in the Acalanes Union High School District plus the private schools in the area, and features the work of over 200 local students.  Pieces are adjudicated by professional artists, and awards are given in the categories of 2wo-dimensional, three-dimensional, and photography/digital design.

Contributed Photos

February 2018 Exhibit

“The Art of the Print” and Magpie Multimedia Art

Artists Reception: February 4 from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments

The Gallery at the Orinda Library this month will feature a selection of prints that were gifts from the Print Makers Society of California to its members during the first half of the twentieth century. Long before digital printing, printmaking societies were popular to showcase their member artists’ work. Often a yearly member gift was made of a selected print.

The prints shown in this exhibit range from lithographs to etchings, aquatints, and a mezzotint. Some annotation about the artists is provided and the artist’s reception will include a demonstration of linocut printing. The collection belongs to Lamorinda Arts Council Board Member, Lois Reynolds Mead, and the demonstration is courtesy of Moose Wesler, a local printmaking artist and teacher.

Addditionally, the artist collective Magpie, that includes Priscilla Birge, Barbara Hazard, Joanna Katz, Diane Rusnak, and Sarah Whitecotton will be exhibiting approximately eighty works of art. Works range from nature-inspired abstract mixed-media works on paper to acrylic on canvas. Water media paintings and digital art are included. There will also be mixed-media collage.

Contributed Photos

January 2018 Exhibit

“Art from Night Dreams,” Dream Art Books, Ceramics & Landscapes

Artists Reception: January 7 from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments

Diane Rusnak is showing her paintings of mysterious dreams. On display are about twenty of her acrylic paintings and some of her art books exploring dream subjects. Diane’s art work will allow you to peek into her dream world.

This month the gallery also shows the work of Lana Rak who works in many genres. These genres include still lifes and cityscapes. Lana’s work also includes plein air paintings in oil.

Barbara Stevens Strauss is showing a variety of her ceramic work. Included are raku-fired, pit-fired, and high-fired ceramic art objects with oxides.

Contributed Photos

December 2017 Exhibit

Paintings & Much More Light Up Holiday Gallery in December

Sunday, December 3: Two Receptions

  1:00 to 2:30 pm “Homage to my Grandmother” Art and Wine Talk about Pam Glover

      2:30 to 4:30 pm: Artists Reception Honoring Barney Howard, Fred Lee & Helen Ann Licht

The late Pam Glover‘s paintings and prints will be on display in the gallery this month.  Pam Glover taught a well loved plein air painting class through the Orinda Community Center for twenty-five years.  Janine and Anne Marie Glover Ehrentraut are presenting her work, accompanied by an art and wine talk by Janine about her grandmother, this Sunday, December 3rd at the library at 1:00 pm.  A cashier will be available during the reception that follows to process sales of the art for take home that same day.  To preview the works that will be available for purchase (or to purchase in advance for carry out that day), click here.

The rest of the gallery this month will be equally rich and exciting:

Included in this month’s exhibit is Helen Ann Licht of Lafayette. The theme of the paintings she has included are “Travels with an Artist.” As Helen Ann says, her work is “colorful, whimsical, taken from my imagination and based on my travels.”

Barney Howard of Walnut Creek will show watercolors and acrylics that he has drawn from his imagination. He will display thirty works that show a wide variety of subject matter.

Fred Lee of Orinda is showing ten digital paintings that showcase his love of innovation. He worked as an engineer but now, over eighty years old, he continues to innovate in his artwork.

The work of all the artists will also be for sale, by arrangement with the artists.  Meet them all during the regularly scheduled monthly artist receptionon Sunday December 3 from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Contributed Photos

November 2017 Exhibit: Diablo Weavers Guild, Botanical Art, Ceramics & Paintings

Sunday, November 5: Artists Reception from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments

The November exhibit will feature work from the Diablo Weaver’s Guild, botanical art from students in Catherine Watters‘ classes, Karen Hildebrand‘s ceramics and Angelica Semame‘s paintings.

The Diablo Weaver’s Guild began in 1952 and emphasizes cooperation and mutual assistance. Their programs center on the art and craft of weaving and member’s work ranges from the creation of everyday textiles to art pieces for the wall.

Catherine Watters of Orinda teaches botanical art classes at the Orinda Community Center and other venues. She has put together an exhibit that showcases work by twenty of her current and former students.

Karen Hildebrand of Pleasant Hill uses a wide variety of techniques in her ceramics. She uses different clays, glazes and surface treatments. She combines throwing on the wheel with handbuilding.

Angelica Samame of Lafayette has been painting for 17 years. From Peru, she weaves colorful experiences about women’s lives onto canvas.

Contributed Photos

October 2017 Exhibit: The Rule of Three — Photos, Miniature Cottages, and Turned Wood

Sunday October 8, 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm: Artists Reception with Berkeley Fine Art Photographers, Bay Area Woodturners, and Jackie Smith

Berkley Fine Art Photographers formed in 2010 so that photographic artists would have a way to meet regularly to share and discuss work, encourage creativity, and exhibit in local venues.  The group embraces digital and traditioal photography, with emphasis on the photographic print as an essential of the process.

Bay Area Woodturners was formed in 1989 and now consists of 150 members. According to member Anna Duncan, “Woodturning is the craft of using a lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation.”  She hopes that viewers will come away from the exhibit with an appreciation of the beauty and functionality of artwork derived from trees.

Jackie Smith has been making miniature cottages out of a variety of materials for over 25 years.  She recently began to experiment with recycled aluminum cans, using bold, bright color combinations.  She has 50 miniatures on display in the exhibit.

Contributed Photos

September 2017 Exhibit: 2D Artwork and Saggar Fired Clay Vessels

Sunday September 10, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm: Artists Reception with artists Lisa Gunn (oils) Dee Tivenan (mixed media), and Three Eight Art Studio

Orinda resident Lisa Gunn has a theme for her show, The Garden.  Five of her abstracts portray a garden at different locations and times of day.  She says that her extensive background in music and work as a music teacher enhances her paintings.

Dee Tievenan is showing over 10 works created in her Orinda studio. Building the structures of her paintings using multiple layers, she combines different mediums including watercolors, pastels, oils, and acrylics.  Her work as a pyschotherapist focuses on feelings and this strengthens her ability to paint from an emotional perspective.

Three-Eight Art Studio is a group of seven artists who have been meeting for six years to share their Chinese heritage and love of art.  Six group members are exhibiting 25 works.  They include watercolors by Ricky Chang, acrylic paintings and ink drawings by Doris Chen and Wang Hai Chen, acrylic paintings by Shungwha Chow and Beichen Li, and clay works by Lucia Tsang.

The above details have been excerpted from Elana O’Losky’s article in the September issue of The Orinda News.  For the full article, click here.

June 2017 Exhibit: Botanical Art from Alcatraz, Photography, and Glass Art

Saturday, June 3: Artists Reception and Special Presentation by artists Lyn Dahl, Sally Petru and Catherine Watters about their Alcatraz Florilegium project

Presentation in the Orinda Library Auditorium at 3:00 pm, followed by Artists Reception from 3:30 to 5:30.

This month the Lamorinda Arts Council presents drawings and paintings done by members of the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists (NCaLSBA), Lucy Beck’s photographs, and Cindy Whitchurch’s glass art through June 30 at the Orinda Library Art Gallery.

Beck is showing about 20 works, most of them botanicals. Much of her work has a painterly quality because she often prints her photographs on Japanese Washi paper.

Whitchurch is exhibiting 35 pieces which display her technique of giving fused glass the look of blown glass.

The botanical artists of NCaLSBA visited the island of Alcatraz to obtain plant samples to create the drawings and paintings  that comprise the florilegium that they are displaying. A florilegium is a collection of drawings of the plants that exist in a particular location.  On June 3^rd at 3:00 pm, three of the featured artists, Lyn Dahl, Sally Petru and Catherine Watters, will host a presentation about the project that includes a question and answer period. The artists put in 50-100 hours for each of their 127 drawings and paintings of “survivor plants” on Alcatraz. These plants date back to the Victorian era when the island was first used by government. Volunteer gardeners took ten years to clear weeds and debris from the old gardens that revealed a legacy of floral beauty for all to enjoy.