Art Center Ukiah

Member Ann Maglinte to be Presented Award on Oct 25

Adriana Dakin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:55:31 -0700

The Corner Gallery artist cooperative congratulates Ann Maglinte as the 2009 Mendocino County Art Champion in the category of Artist!

Come to the presentation of awards and public reception:
Tuesday, October 27th at 10:30 am
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors Meeting
County Administration Building, 501 Low Gap Road, Ukiah

The Arts Council will host a public reception in Conference Room B, nearby the Board of Supervisors chambers, immediately following the awards presentation. Please join the Arts Council on October 27th in recognizing the contributions of these exceptional individuals and organizations!

Willits artist, musician, and educator Ann Maglinte is being honored for her artistic excellence in painting, drawing, and sculpture, her tireless promotion of the arts countywide, her service as a teacher, and her leadership and collaboration with others in creating the First Fridays Art Walk in Ukiah. Ann has taught art privately as well as in local charter and public schools. She has served in two schools (La Vida Charter School and Sherwood School) as an artist-in-residence. She is a recipient of multiple grants including a California Arts Council grant to teach history through the arts, and a Get Art in the Schools Program (GASP) grant to present arts programming in Mendocino County public schools. Ann is co-owner and art designer for the business Midnight Moon, which she and her husband started in 1975. She is a founding member of the Ukiah Art Center/Corner Gallery, as well as a member of the Northcoast Artists Gallery in Fort Bragg. She is also a new commissioner for the Willits Art Commission (Willits Center for the Arts). Ann is being honored for her work as an artist and performer and for her contribution to the community through teaching, exhibiting her own work and the work of others, and through her activism promoting the arts.

The Mendocino County Art Champion awards are annually presented in October to coincide with National Arts and Humanities Month. National Arts and Humanities Month is a coast-to-coast collective celebration of culture in America, dedicated to giving millions of Americans the opportunity to explore new facets of the arts and humanities in their lives and encourage them to begin a lifelong habit of active participation. To learn more about National Arts and Humanities Month, visit the website for Americans for the Arts at or the website for the California Arts Council .

Other recipients of the award are: Helen Klembeck in the category of Individual Patron; Harvest Market in the category of Business; and Dana Gray Elementary School in the category of Education. Nominations for the Art Champion awards were received from members of the community and the winners were selected by the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Mendocino County.

For more information on the awards, click here or call (707) 961-5449.

Nancy McHone Featured at First Friday, October 2nd

Adriana Dakin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:04:00 -0700

The Corner Gallery is happy to feature the work of Nancy McHone in October, with the opening reception at the First Friday Artwalk on October 2nd, from 5 to 8 pm. At the reception, Simaine Wine will pour and appetizers will be served.

Artist Statement

I am a sculptor who makes armatures from wire, foamcore board, canvas and found wood and then lays a skin of paper and glue over them. While most of my work is wall-hung, this recent series (called Rural Weave) has many free-standing pieces. A basket-like nexus of warp and weft creates an interdependence of parts that are painted with the spirit of wood as textures, branches, leaves and stems interwoven. These artworks are containers of this spirit and an associative memory of my rural lifestyle.

As part of a group of artists I call Mendocino County Ruralists - mostly urban people whose art chronicles their relocation to Northern California in the 1970’s as part of the back-to-the-land movement - I helped support a family and rural homestead through private and public art making, community arts organizing and teaching. For me, art is therapeutic and this intention is the source of its value. An ethical purpose makes it visually engaging and that is why my artwork recalls the multiple strands of my life as a ruralist. My “extroverted” art (masks, figurative and still life) reflects commitment to home and community, and my “introverted” art (non-objective based on natural forms) patterns a personal response to the world of nature that surrounds me. Each piece is a reminder of the moment that created it, but all are linked through their shaped and layered surfaces which parallel the layers of my life. Early experiences with theater design taught me to make forms that were held together with a glue soaked cloth called Celastic. This translated into a personal art medium that has always involved sculpting base shapes and covering them with my version of papier mache – materials devalued in the art world but accessible, cheap and plentiful for me.

My work is real in itself rather than a representation of reality. Outlines re verify the constructed shapes; surface texture and brushstrokes, and value added with glazes of transparent and opaque color all emphasize the 3D of real and invented shadows. I create variety in a more physical, satisfying way by bending forms to an internal feeling for the shape of things rather than what would come from observing the real variety of nature and humans. I am making art to restore health – metaphors for an increasingly unpredictable world as “topographies” exploring asymmetrical balance. These are surfaces on which I can have some impact in a world in which I have trouble trying to do so.

First Friday Featuring Ree Slocum and Katie Gibbs, Sep 4th 5 to 8 pm

Adriana Dakin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:31:32 -0700

This month we feature the work of metal sculptor Katie Gibbs and photographer Ree Slocum. Come talk with them at our reception on September 4th, from 5 to 8 pm, while listening to guitar music by Michael Guleff and tasting wine poured by Mendocino Wine Company.

Katie does metalwork and is currently working on a very large steel garden gate with the design of a Valley Oak. She is also making steel garden sculptures. Her current sculptures are of sylvan creatures who might be hiding in the oaks. She works with steel plate and tube, and cuts the design with a plasma torch, sometimes grinding and welding. Most of her work is done for a specific site, and she enjoys working on commission.

Ree Slocum's photographic flower images have been shown in shows and galleries in Northern California since 2004. Her work is in private collections in many countries around the world. Ree's use of natural light and color tantalize the imagination...one is drawn into the heart of a flower, and the image is continually unfolding, as the flower is frozen in time.

Classical Guitarist Michael Guleff will play at the opening with selections from the baroque and classical period as well as some contemporary work. Michael has a Masters Degree in classical guitar and teaches world music for Mendocino College.

All Mendocino Wine Company wines are inspired by (and essentially connected to) Mendocino County, the place and its people. Paul Dolan along with Tom, Tim, and Tommy Thornhill Jr. have come together to create Mendocino Wine Company, which acquired Parducci Wine Cellars and is developing several new brands and wines consistent with a theme of sustaining what's best, and creating what's next.

Girls Night Out this Thursday

Adriana Dakin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:34:16 -0700

Art Center Ukiah will be open late for Girls Night Out, this Thursday, August 20!

Some things shouldn't be done alone:

Tandem bicycling
Tea for two-ing
Double date-ing, and most importantly ...
Shopping.

On August 20th from 5-8pm, downtown Ukiah will be hosting Girls Night Out, a time for you take a step back, forget about the dry cleaning or that meeting at work, and just have fun with the girls.

Designed especially for the ladies (guys welcome), Girls’ Night Out features extended shopping hours, discounts and specials at Downtown Ukiah’s boutiques and restaurants. Look for the pink balloons outside all participating restaurants and shops. In addition, Girls’ Night Out is a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters and a basket of goodies donated by the downtown merchants will be raffled off at 7:45 PM. The first 100 participants to purchase a raffle ticket will receive free shopping bags with coupons and goodies, available at the Main Street booth located at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center on School Street.

For over 35 years Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mendocino County has been making a difference in our community and world. Volunteers, mentors, sponsors, donors, associates and other participants in this program help our young people by providing friendship, mentoring, guidance and other kinds of nurturing support.

Research has demonstrated that children who are supported, encouraged and guided are far more likely to lead responsible, satisfying lives. Children who grow up without assistance from caring others are more likely to have major problems as adults such as low income, crime, drugs, violence and unhappiness.

A special thanks to Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Bob Mirata State Farm Insurance, Mendocino Radiology, Ukiah Valley Medical Center, Mendocino Bounty, Creative Workshop, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Eagle Distributing, Shoefly and Sox and all of the participating Merchants for their donations to the Girls’ Night Out Program. More than 20 shops will be open late on August 20th, each shop providing their own twist on Girls Night Out. So relax, grab the girls and we'll see you on the 20th. For more information call the Main Street Program at 462-6789.

Writer's Read Open Mic on July 30

Adriana Dakin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:55:15 -0700

On Thursday, July 30, Writers Read will have an open mic night. Poetry, prose, songs and dramatic readings are welcome. Readings are limited to 6 minutes per person, but there should be time for at least two rounds.

The reading begins at 7PM at the Art Center Ukiah Annex, 203 S. State Street, Ukiah. (The Annex is next to the Corner Gallery at the intersection of Church and State in downtown Ukiah.) Refreshments available. Donation requested. For more info: (707) 463-6989 or (707) 462-4557.

Upcoming Writers Read (monthly last Thursday readings at Art Center Ukiah Annex, 7 pm):

Thursday, August 27: Featured reader Claire Blotter, followed by open mic.
Thursday, September 24: Featured reader Armando Garcia-Davila, followed by
open mic.
Thursday, October 29: Featured reader Chris Olander, followed by open mic.
Thursday, November 19: Featured reader Robin Rule followed by open mic.

For information on these and other Northern California events, check our events page, or www.coloredhorse.com and www.poetryflash.org.

Featured Artists Myers, Spencer, and Wilson in August

Adriana Dakin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:27:51 -0700

Join us on the 7th for the opening reception of our show featuring Cynthia Myers' handblown and etched glass, and the assemblage art of Susan Spencer and Michael Wilson.Their work will be shown in the Corner Gallery throughout August. Pouring wine for the First Friday reception, we'll have our local Chiarito Vineyard. Playing music for the evening is Michael Barrish, a life long musician.

Cynthia Myers creates exquisite sand-carved art glass in her studio on the beautiful Mendocino Coast of California. The designs feature floral and animal themes. Each image is etched accurately with meticulous attention to the intricate details of the design. With an eye for subtlety and detail, Cynthia employs a shadowing technique that gives her artistry depth and dimension. All pieces are hand blown, individually drawn and sandblasted, signed and dated.

Working under the studio name Art Avenue, Michael Wilson and Susan Spencer are long-time residents of Anderson Valley, CA. Their primary artistic focus is in assemblage. They can be found haunting second hand stores, antique alleys, garage sales, and the internet to find just the right "stuff" to include in their work. Their studio is on their ranch outside of Philo. This month, they will show some of their latest works in assemblage.

Chiarito Vineyard is a small award-winning boutique winery in Mendocino County. Best use of the land is made by tending vines well-suited to the distinctive terroir and creating limited production wines. Inspired by his Italian-American heritage, John Chiarito subscribes to old, sustainable farming techniques. The saying that he lives by is fatto a mano, "everything by hand", and John Chiarito’s allegiance to that philosophy can be seen in his wines, vines, buildings and food. Chiarito Vineyard was also the first in the US to officially produce Nero d'Avola and Negro Amaro Italian varietals.

Musician Michael Barrish has been writing songs for 30 years, covering a variety of styles, from cowboy to blues. He is a past winner of the Best Performance Award for the West Coast Song Writers in San Luis Obispo County. He performs his own material in a wide variety of venues, including Farmers Markets. He recently put on the first singer songwriter festival in Lakeport, a success with 11 local acts and fundraising for the local radio station.

Ceramic masks by Susan Blackwelder and baskets by Denise Roumbanis in July

Adriana Dakin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:51:13 -0700

On July 3rd, join us for our opening with featured art — ceramic masks by Susan Blackwelder and baskets by Denise Roumbanis — as well as wine pouring by Nelson Family Vineyards, and music by Don Haupt. The art will be on display throughout the month of July.

When Susan and her family settled in Ukiah, she began taking art classes at Mendocino College. She was ready to fulfill the creative dream she had as a child of wanting to be an artist. She found that she enjoyed the challenge of capturing the likeness of a subject in watercolor. When she started exploring ceramics with teacher Mac Magruder, making masks out of clay seemed like an obvious direction. Susan is showing masks from her own collection and from private collections of her work. Her drawing and paintings will also be shown in the gallery.

Denise has been a resident of Mendocino County for twelve years, but began her study of baskets when she lived in Sonoma County. She studied pine needle basketry with Native American artist Lucy Parker, daughter of Julia Parker, both well known Pomo basket makers who live near Yosemite. She enjoys any basketry that uses the coiled method, and likes experimenting with varied materials such as tules, wild iris leaves, redwood bark, and any other natural material that she can gather. She will be showing a collection of fifteen baskets. Denise hand dyes some of her materials, and also embellishes the baskets with feathers and beads.

Hanna Vogel, a ceramic artist, will be a guest artist featured inside the gallery.

At the Annex of Art Center Ukiah, Nelson Family Vineyards will be pouring wine and sharing one of their featured performers, Don Haupt, from their first ever Blues Festival, Reds, Whites, and The Blues on July 4th. He is an incredible performer and not to be missed. Music from 5:30 – 8:30; donations appreciated.

For over 50 years, the Nelson Family has been farming vineyards in there fertile valley hidden in the Hopland Hills. The old tractor once used to till the rugged soil, now stands as a symbol of there passion for sustainable farming and belief that great wine is born in the vineyards. The once working sheep ranch and orchard operation of 1952, has contributed in creating the unique biodiversity that exists in the Nelson Family Vineyards today.

Keeping strictly to the tradition of the self accompanied blues-singer, Don Haupt packs the sound and energy of a full band into a one man show. Whooping vocals and a hefty hand on the guitar playing backed by a right foot not just tapping but stomping the stage so hard it is felt through the floor clear into the back row. The songs are old standards from the 20s and 30s, dusted off and polished clean again. Songs like Son House’s “Preachin Blues” and Robert Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside Blues” are performed with conviction enough to turn any venue into old-time swamps of Louisiana juke joint.

Paulo Ferreira and Theresa Whitehill Featured in June

Adriana Dakin — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:01:07 -0700

The Corner Gallery is pleased to present two guests, Paulo Ferreira and Theresa Whitehill, in June as our Featured Artists. The opening reception will take place on the First Friday artwalk — June 5th from 5 to 8 pm. Graziano will pour wine to celebrate the event. Caterer Tony Berno will serve appetizers and may perform some "live" assembly of some of his sophisticated appetizers as "food art." Ferreira and Whitehill will show their letterpress broadsides (see image at right) and paintings.

Paulo Ferreira: Artist
A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Ferreira has lived most of his life abroad—England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and the United States. His work encompasses oil painting, often incorporating encaustic and marble dust; assemblage; and bronze, marble, and ceramic sculpture. Ferreira’s professional experience includes interior and graphic design, theater production and management, marketing, studio photography, and commercial illustration. His work has been exhibited in San Francisco’s Vorpal Gallery, the Mexican Consulate, the Mendocino Art Center, and other venues in northern California, Ibiza, New York, and Lisbon. Read more about Paulo here.

Theresa Whitehill: Poet
Born and raised in California, Whitehill studied poetics with William Everson at UC Santa Cruz in the mid-70s, and Book Arts under Kathleen Walkup at Mills College in the early 80s. She has lived in Mendocino County since 1984 and is well known to Mendocino county poetry audiences. Évora a Doce, her poem about Portuguese soul and food, was published as a limited edition letterpress broadside by Alice Waters and Richard Seibert in 1997. In the spring of 1998 she served as Poet-in-Residence at Stags’ Leap Winery, and went on to write and design an estate book on the winery’s history, winemaking, and culture, a project that resulted in the five-volume Stags’ Leap Winery: A Guide to the Estate. She is currently serving as Poet Laureate for the City of Ukiah. Read more about Theresa here.

Colored Horse Studios was founded in 1993 by husband and wife partners, poet and designer Theresa Whitehill, and artist Paulo Ferreira, as a venue for their literary, artistic, and commercial design work. Their studios are located in Ukiah. The letterpress broadsides of Colored Horse Studios and Whitehill’s poetry are in the collections of the Getty Museum, the John Hay Library of Brown University, the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, Stanford’s Special Collections Library, the New York Public Library, the Special Collections Department of UCLA, the San Francisco Public Library, Mills College Special Collections, and City College of San Francisco, as well as many private collections. Read more here.

Young Artists Learning Pastels and Watercolor

Adriana Dakin — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:30:00 -0700

After being two of the featured artists on Friday evening, founding members Carol Heady and Minnie McQueary led an afternoon art lesson for young artists on Saturday, May 2nd.

Carol gave a demonstration to both adults and children on "Pastel Animal Art", while Minnie showed wet watercolor techniques to the children. They all learned "hands on" about applying color to different types of watercolor paper and the addition of salt technique to give their artwork both depth and design.

Much was learned in this on going series of demonstrations and lessons!

First Friday Ukiah! Artwalk Featured Artists, Brown Chicken Brown Cow Music, and Scharffenberger Champagne May 1st

Adriana Dakin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:59:31 -0700

This Friday, May 1st, from 5 to 8 pm the community is invited to enjoy featured art by potter Adriana Dakin, wood worker Sun Wolf, illustrator and painter Carol Heady, and painter Minnie McQueary. We have a special treat — champagne pouring by Scharffenberger Cellars and live oldtime fiddle music by Brown Chicken Brown Cow String Band (you can hear great pieces on their webpage)!

Adriana has created a dinner setting for the occasion — matching handmade plates, mugs, casserole, bowl, and salt woman.