A native of the Central Coast, Anna has lived all around the Bay Area since attending Sonoma State University for her BA in Art History. In that time, she has worked for several nonprofit arts organizations in the areas of exhibition, fundraising, operations and education programming, and completed a Museum Studies graduate program at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley.
A serial dabbler in many art media including ceramics, bronze foundry, steel sculpture and printmaking, her most recent works combine mixed water-based media, sculpture and found objects. Anna is excited to add more skills to her toolkit through taking classes at the RAC!
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Q. What do you find most inspiring about working in studio art?
A. The best part about this job is seeing students learn and build their skills, and then seeing the amazing work they create with those skills. I am continually inspired by their creativity, ingenuity and passion. Don’t be surprised to see me pop my head into the classroom – it’s the best part of my day!
Q. Tell us about your personal art practice? What artists and styles inspire you?
A. I’ve worked with a lot of different media, depending on what I have access to at the time. I was wholly devoted to sculpture in college, but since then, until starting here at the RAC, I haven’t had access to the equipment and studio space to do it. Because of this, I shifted towards working on 2-D surfaces, which are a lot easier to manage on the kitchen table. I credit Stella Zhang, an artist I used to work with at another organization, for introducing me to the idea of using cheap, hardware-store materials in fine art. Now I buy the extra-large tubs of spackle. I’m most inspired by the weather-worn surfaces I see in the old parts of cities, and the surprising forms of biology under the microscope. My most jaw-dropping moment was seeing Jay De Feo’s “The Rose” at the SFMOMA.
Q. What do you like to do when you’re not at the Art Center?
A. We just bought a fixer-upper house in Vallejo, so most of my time outside of the RAC is devoted to that project. Plumbing for Dummies is my bedtime reading. We do also try to make a little time each week to explore somewhere we haven’t been in the Bay Area. We’re new to the East Bay, so the list is long!
Q. What’s on your bucket list?
A. One of these days, I am going to properly learn to play my bass guitar.
Q. If you could meet one artist, living or not, who would it be and why?
A. I learned the hard way that you should never meet your heroes, but I’d take that risk for David Bowie.
The Art Center will be closed to the general public from Saturday, December 23 until Tuesday, January 2, 2018. Our administrative offices will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2018.
Studio Art classes will resume on Monday, January 8. You can register online for Winter classes here: http://richmondartcenter.org/class-catalog/
Are you a painter, weaver, printmaker? A metalsmith, illustrator, ceramicist?
Make an end-of-year donation to directly support your favorite Studio Arts program at the Art Center.
Thank you for all you do! Your programs have inspired and enriched my life. ~ Jeanne H.
Each year, thousands of students deepen their creative experience through our Studio Arts program. We offer courses that encourage our students to express themselves and their ideas, where they can discover unknown talents and learn new skills.
Keeping our studios maintained is a year-round operation here at the RAC. If you have enjoyed and benefitted from the incredible teachers and classes here, please consider making a donation to support your favorite studio.
We’ll make sure your money goes to support your area of interest. Just indicate in the Comment field where we should direct your money and benefit your favorite Studio program.
Thank you for your commitment to and generosity in keeping the Studio Arts alive and well in the Bay Area!
Giving a gift membership is a great way to share your love of art with someone who matters to you. Members receive automatic discounts on classes, workshops, and juried shows, a chance to show art in our Annual Members Show, and free admission to other local and national arts organizations.*
Call us at 510.620.6772 to purchase a gift membership andreceive a 10% discount through Friday, December 22.
A gift of donation will help the Art Center provide:
Free enriched art experiences for over 1,800 underserved students participating in our Art in the Community program at schools and community centers throughout Richmond.
Free admission to attend our regionally acclaimed art exhibitions.
Free admission to our family day events, talks, and performances held throughout the year.
Scholarships for youth and adults who could not afford but wish to participate in our robust Studio Art program.
Thank you so much for all you do to support Richmond Art Center.
A reception to celebrate Ed Lay’s life will take place on Saturday, November 18th from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Richmond Art Center. Please join us for a reception in the Art Center’s main gallery, with the RAC community and students, friends from ACCI Gallery, and Ed’s family and friends.
Ed was our Head Metals Studio Instructor, and he passed away on November 1. Ed taught Metals at the Art Center for the past 8 years, and prior to teaching with us, was a student for 17 years. Ed was the heart and soul of the Metals program. An humble person, patient and thoughtful instructor, Ed drew the best from each of his dedicated students, many of whom studied under him for several years.
If you have images of Ed to share during the event for a special slideshow, please email them to julie@richmondartcenter.org by Wednesday, November 15.
We extend our deepest sympathy to Ed’s family and our community of students for whom Ed was a treasured friend and mentor.
The hearts at the Richmond Art Center are broken today, as we share the news that Ed Lay, our Head Metals Studio Instructor, has passed away.
Ed taught Metals at the Art Center for the past 8 years, and prior to teaching with us, was a student for 17 years. Ed was the heart and soul of the Metals program. An humble person, patient and thoughtful instructor, Ed drew the best from each of his dedicated students, many of whom studied under him for several years.
We extend our deepest sympathy to Ed’s family and our community of students for whom Ed was a treasured friend and mentor.
We will announce memorial plans and remembrances for Ed as soon as we have more information.
Please take a moment to watch this short video about Ed, filmed recently by Richmond Confidential.
We are working with local artist Joani Share, Creative Sonoma, and the Napa Valley Arts Council to collect new and gently used art supplies to donate to artists who have lost their homes and studios in the recent wildfires in the North Bay.
We encourage you to bring any art supplies you would like to offer, including drawing pads, drawing paper, charcoal paper, oil paint, oil pastels, a variety of drawing pencils, and paint brushes. Printmaking materials, ceramics, tools, and fabric paint and textile arts materials are also welcome!
To donate
Bring your art supplies to the Front Desk during regular business hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
We will also be collecting art supplies at our Closing Reception, on Saturday, November 11 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm.
Joani shared her thoughts about the donation drive with us: “The news of the fires that spread so quickly through Napa and Sonoma were so upsetting to watch on the news. As an artist, I would be so distraught if my entire body of work and all my art supplies went up in flames in just a matter of minutes. I tried to put myself into the mind of the artists who lost everything in the inferno, so at the meeting of the Concord Art Association which was held a day after the fires began I asked my fellow members to bring new or gently used art supplies to our next meeting. I didn’t have a name yet for this campaign, but when I got home, it was clear- it had to be called “stART over” – because that is what the artists who lost everything would be doing. I contacted the largest art organizations in that area, Creative Sonoma and the Napa Valley Arts Council, and both were happy for the help, and were willing to distribute the supplies to the artists in need.
I am just an artist, one of many in this community. I wanted to do something to help other artists besides giving cash (which I am sure is also needed), but having actual art materials on hand without having to go out to purchase them will allow the creative process to begin faster and help with the healing that will be a long haul.”
Fall Family Day:
Saturday, October 28
12:30pm to 3:00pm
Free!
The annual celebration welcoming family, honoring Dia del los Muertos through artmaking activities, and sharing a Community Altar takes place on Saturday, October 28, 2017.
The Richmond Art Center once again offers its popular Fall event, Fall Family Day, welcoming the community to this all-ages, free event to make art and celebrate family with a special Community Altar. The event will take place at the Richmond Art Center, located in Civic Center Plaza, 2540 Barrett Avenue, in Richmond from 12:30 to 3:00pm on Saturday, October 28. The Exhibition galleries will also be open to visitors, to experience the current Fall collections, which include Joan Brown: In Living Color; Earth, Wind, and Fire; and Pogo Park.
The planned artmaking activities are free, and children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult. The day’s activities include:
Little Piñatas with Isaías D. Rodríguez, the Little Piñata Maker
A piñata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States.
Metal Nichos/Milagros with Malena Lopez-Maggi
Nicho art originated as a popular adaptation of the Roman Catholic retablo tradition of painting patron saints on wood or tin. Unlike the large, flat panels of retablo, nichos are small and built in shadow box style. Common structural conventions include hinged doors, carved borders, and multiple panels. Within the box there is a key object or central figure for whose honor or memory the nicho has been created. Nichos are usually painted with striking colors and are decorated with all variety of images and objects from religious and popular culture, especially depictions of the Virgin Mary, saints, the sacred heart, figures from loteria, Dia de los Muertos characters and objects, and folk heroes. They can act as shrines, protection, or devotional objects.
Paper Flowers with Lisa di Prima
Why marigolds? It is believed that the spirits of the dead visit the living during the celebration. Marigolds guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and scent. Marigolds, or flowers in general, also represent the fragility of life.
Community Altar
Building a Dia de los Muertos altar is an important part of celebrating Mexico’s most famous holiday, Day of the Dead. Traditionally, families will build altars in their homes during the weeks leading up to November 1st, as a way to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed to the other side.
Together we will remember our loved ones and those who are no longer with us, in creating a Community Altar. We invite you to be a part of the Richmond Art Center’s Community Altar, please bring pictures, objects, fabrics or an altar offering. Items should be limited 16 inches or less and no flames/candles will be lit. All items for the altar must be properly labeled with your first name, last name and phone number. Drop off for the Community Altar is between Tuesday, October 24 and Friday, October 27, 9am-5pm, to the Studio Education Office. All items should be picked up by Friday, November 3. Questions? Call the Education Office at 510.620.1245.
Screen Printing Bags with Joyce Shon
Have fun learning the basics of screenprinting on fabric with our longtime teaching artist Joyce Shon.
Our hearts are with all of those affected by the tragic, ongoing fires in the North Bay and all that has been lost.
One of our extended RAC family, artist Clifford Rainey, lost his home and his studio in the fire. Here he is, standing in front of one of his pieces currently on display in our Fall Exhibition: Earth, Wind, and Fire. This large glass installation is titled “No Man Is an Island.” The very works in this current show address, investigate, and reflect a vision of the environment, nature, and human nature as played out in an ecology of imminent concern.
Please join us in helping Clifford overcome this tragic loss. We are donating our exhibition proceeds this Fall to him. Please visit our touching and relevant exhibition, and leave some money for him in the donation box. Our galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10am to 5pm.
A native of the Central Coast, Anna has lived all around the Bay Area since attending Sonoma State University for her BA in Art History. In that time, she has worked for several nonprofit arts organizations in the areas of exhibition, fundraising, operations and education programming, and completed a Museum Studies graduate program at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley. 
Giving a gift membership is a great way to share your love of art with someone who matters to you. Members receive automatic discounts on classes, workshops, and juried shows, a chance to show art in our Annual Members Show, and free admission to other local and national arts organizations.*
A reception to celebrate Ed Lay’s life will take place on 
We are working with local artist Joani Share, Creative Sonoma, and the Napa Valley Arts Council to collect new and gently used art supplies to donate to artists who have lost their homes and studios in the recent wildfires in the North Bay.
Fall Family Day:
A piñata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States.
Building a 
Our hearts are with all of those affected by the tragic, ongoing fires in the North Bay and all that has been lost.
