Williams Gallery WestPress Release August 2002 |
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Williams Gallery West 40680 Highway 41 Oakhurst, CA 93644 |
phone (559) 683-5551 web-site: www.galwest.com |
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“California
Ceramics” Second
Annual Ceramics Show and Sale
Opening:
Saturday and Sunday September 21st and 22nd, 2002 10
AM to 8 PM A select grouping of works will continue on
display from September 23rd, 2002 through January 2003 Williams
Gallery West is pleased to announce our second annual exhibition of
California Ceramics, featuring art pottery and utilitarian ware by
contemporary California ceramic artists.
The
show will open with a two day weekend indoor-outdoor ceramics sale at
the gallery featuring a large selection of art pottery and utilitarian
ware by California ceramic artists Jackie Butts, Sandie Kinzie, Adrian John Castelo, Ken Foster, Kris
Kessey-McDonnell, Mark Eaton, San Joaquin clay association artists Rami
Hanna, Amy Morgan, Rita Watkins, and Tiwi Wood, and others.
A select grouping of works will continue on display at the
gallery from September 23rd, 2002 through the Christmas holidays.
The
show will also feature ceramics created by clients of the Heartland
Opportunity Center in Oakhurst. Local
artists Frankie and Richard Powell, Gloria Garland, and gallery owner
Jon Bock will be working with the staff at Heartland to teach the basics
of pottery making to developmentally challenged adults, and to help them
to complete a body of work for the show.
Heartland has been creating beautiful ceramic wind chimes for
many years as a means of fundraising for the center, and has the kiln
and supplies for creating pottery already in place.
The project is designed to provide a productive and
rewarding activity for Heartland’s clients, and to offer them an
opportunity for creative self expression. ABOUT
THE ARTISTS Adrian
John Castelo Madera
artist Adrian Castelo is constantly experimenting with new ideas,
glazes, and forms. His most
striking works include hand-constructed vases and teapots with delicate
leaf-like elements, wrapped like layers of an onion around a solid body.
These organic constructions veil the classic form of the vessel
with sculptural details that give each piece a unique character and a
life of its own. Mark
Eaton Visalia
artist Mark Eaton has been creating art pottery since the 1970s.
With two art degrees, and more than two decades experience as a
teacher and working artist, Eaton has a deep understanding of what it
means to survive as an artist. Eaton’s
work ranges from utilitarian ware to high concept works influenced by
ideas and styles that have intrigued him over the years.
His current works include extruded stoneware vessels influenced
by Japanese pottery, with formal elements that remind the viewer of
baskets or teapots. Ken
Foster Oakhurst
artist Ken Foster creates hand painted utilitarian porcelain in a
variety of forms and styles. Ken has been a professional potter since
the 1970s, and owns and operates Oakhurst Pottery, a small community
pottery studio in the California foothills just south of Yosemite
National Park. Ken's ceramics are inspired by his desire to
create works of art that are both beautiful and functional. His
pieces combine bold color and intuitive graphic style with floral
designs inspired by nature. Kris
Kessey-McDonnell Springville
artist Kris Kessey-McDonnell creates unique stoneware vessels in a
variety of forms inspired by the natural world. Kessey-McDonnell
teaches ceramics at Cal State Fresno. Her work is widely shown in the
USA, and is in public and private collections throughout the United
States, Australia, and Norway. Whether
working in sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, or photography, Ms. Kessey-McDonnell’s
work stems from an acute sensitivity to nature and natural things.
As a curious person, she loves experimenting, and her work
reflects this, evolving with each new day.
Ann and Ralph Mendershausen Mariposa artists Ann and Ralph Mendershausen work together to create art pottery using a wide range of techniques. Ann's works include Raku fired vases, art tiles and mosaic constructions, and sculptural ceramics with topical and animistic themes. Ralph creates small scale slab constructions, utilitarian stoneware, and larger sculptural works. Ann teaches ceramics at Madera City college, and has shown widely in California and the Southwest. Cindy
Searles Santa
Cruz artist Cindy Searles creates finely crafted hand carved and painted
porcelain vases. Cindy's designs focus on floral and animal forms.
Frogs, Turtles, butterflies, and irises are common subjects in her work.
Each piece is elegantly carved in bold, deep relief. Some are
painted in several colors and fired for a beautiful glossy surface.
Others are monochromatic, fired with uniform blue-green glazes
influenced by the Arts and Crafts style. Tiwi
Wood Born
and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, artist Tiwi Wood now makes her home in
Fresno California. Tiwi holds a Masters Degree in linguistics from
Fresno State, where her love for ceramics was ignited while studying
under California ceramic artist Jim Shepard.
Tiwi creates salt-fired stoneware sculptural and utilitarian
works, often with applied and incised animal and floral elements.
The forms she creates are traditional, but are constructed with
an organic freedom that adds a wonderful asymmetry to the work.
Gallery
Info Williams Gallery West opened its first showroom in Oakhurst, California in 1998. In July 2001 the gallery relocated to its current location in the Houchin building on Highway 41. The gallery maintains a permanent inventory of American and International fine art, folk art, vintage prints, photography, jewelry, pottery, and art glass, and features a number of special exhibitions each year. Currently on display are pastel works by California artists Deborah Eddy, Anne McClure, Mary Offermann, and Michelle Marco. The gallery is owned and operated by 13 year Oakhurst resident Jonathan Bock, and is located at 40680 Highway 41 in Oakhurst, next door to Days Inn, and across the street from Adriannes. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, Noon to 6 PM, and by appointment. The gallery can be visited on the Internet at https://galwest.com |
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