Teaching artist Tatiana Ortiz shows us how to make some cute holiday art projects!
Evergreen Macramé (starts 0:27)
Materials Needed: Wooden bead, any color yarn/string, scissors, piece of paper, pencil
Snowman Jar (starts 3:39)
Materials Needed: any size jar, paint (white, red, black, orange), paint brushes, scrap paper, optional- candy!
Holiday Pop-Up Card (starts 5:12)
Materials Needed: colored construction paper, glue, scissors, crayons or markers
Hello Friends,
Thank you for being an important part of Richmond Art Center’s vibrant and creative community. We really appreciate your generosity — especially now when your continued financial support is so vital to keep Richmond Art Center running.
For 85 years Richmond Art Center has been sharing and nurturing creativity in Richmond, CA. We are the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, a showcase and hands-on learning center that gives wide-ranging audiences the opportunity to create, see and learn about art. And this last year was momentous. After an eighteen month closure of our facility due to Covid-19, in September we successfully reopened for classes, exhibitions and some fabulous community events (see below for some highlights of 2021).
But these successes came at a cost. Richmond Art Center continues to take a financial hit with reduced enrollments, limited capacity for community activities, and shortened gallery and studio hours. We have ambitious plans for 2022, but with Covid-19 numbers currently increasing, we know we need to be poised for whatever comes our way.
Can you help? Please consider making a donation to our Annual Fund.
Your donation, whatever the amount, will support our efforts to sustain our current activities, develop new programs, and be ready to tackle our next challenge.
We look forward to seeing you back at Richmond Art Center in 2022. Until then, we hope you stay safe and well.
With gratitude,
José Rivera
Executive Director
Carlos Privat
President, Board of Directors
Ways to Donate:
Other ways you can support Richmond Art Center:
About: Pretty Fun Designs creates jewelry that reflects an eclectic mixture of frivolity, power and elegance. The items are consciously designed, hand-assembled, and energy-charged. Feel & look great wearing Pretty Fun Designs.
Website: www.prettyfunjewelry.com
Pretty Fun Designs will be a vendor at the Holiday Arts Festival from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, December 4 at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond.
CLICK HERE to return to the participant listings.
About: Hello, I am an artist who illustrates the living world. I create watercolor and digital art highlighting the biodiversity of California.
Online Store (third party): www.etsy.com/shop/JuliaBeery
Julia Beery will be a vendor at the Holiday Arts Festival from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, December 4 at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond.
CLICK HERE to return to the participant listings.
About: I combine hand blown glass and wood to make unique creations. I use wood sourced from tree jobs and that I find on hikes. Some pieces I carve and/or burn for desired effect.
Website: eyesfortrees.wixsite.com/gallery
Eyes for Trees will be a vendor at the Holiday Arts Festival from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, December 4 at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond.
CLICK HERE to return to the participant listings.
About: Necklaces, scarfs and purses and bags are the major items I create in textiles, using my own designed fabric. Pillows, table cloths and abstract work you can use as interior design.
I am showing at ETSY and the East Bay Open Studios regularly.
Online Store (third party): www.etsy.com/shop/ArtsyKaethi
ArtsyKaethi is an online only participant in the Holiday Arts Festival.
CLICK HERE to return to the participant listings.
“It gave me a sense of hope and that my circle of support was widening at a time when we were all feeling increased isolation.”
By Laura Kamian McDermott
In Summer of 2019 I dropped off my “Studio Ceiling, Giant Trade Center” tapestry at the Richmond Art Center for their annual Members Exhibition. I was elated to hear from the curator on the eve of the opening that this tapestry had earned me a 3-person exhibition to be held in the Summer of 2020! The other artists chosen were Steven Morales, a Richmond-based mixed-media artist who is influenced by materials and themes in his architecture practice, and Oakland-based ceramicist and painter Leslie Plato Smith whose work focuses on climate issues.
Leslie, Steven and I started having rotating potluck dinners at each other’s houses to get to know each other better and talk art. In January of 2020 Amy Spencer, the RAC Exhibitions Director, came to our studios to choose work for the summer show. Then came March 2020…
Throughout the shutdown, all four of us kept in touch, checking in on each other, our families, our art practices, and how we were all coping. It was comforting to have these brand-new connections in my life. It gave me a sense of hope and that my circle of support was widening at a time when we were all feeling increased isolation. Big thanks to Amy, Leslie, and Steven for staying in touch!
Fast forward to Fall 2021… We are cautiously entering better times! The galleries at the Richmond Art Center are now open and they are offering some in-person classes in addition to the online classes they hosted throughout the pandemic. Our show, now titled “Opossum Magic,” based on an opossum trapped in Leslie’s studio, is one of 4 shows on display during this tender moment of reopening. The theme of our show centers on our shared use of materials and inspirations from our everyday life in our creative work. My “Jagged Skyline of Car Keys” series, based on keys from my junk drawer, is on display as well as several other tapestries. Also included is a large-scale felted I-Cord (knitted tube), hung in the abstract gesture and knotted shape that the felting process helped set it into. I also updated my Armenian Alphabet series, spelling out some new words related to our shared pandemic experience and re-opening: “Breath, shunch”, “Community, hamaynk”, and “Connection, kap.” My work is interspersed with Leslie and Steven’s throughout the gallery. All our works are full of rich textures and vivid colors, a great celebration for the RAC’s re-opening! We were able to hold a Covid19-friendly reception on October 16th, making use of the outdoor courtyard. It very nearly felt like a normal reception and was so good for the soul. Thank you Care and Dance for coming out! Throughout the show I’ve been meeting friends and family, some of whom I haven’t seen in over two years, at the gallery for intimate small group visits. It has been a sweet and hopeful way to re-gather. As of this writing, two of the key skyline pieces have sold from the RAC show, and I’ve also sold a few pieces off of my website and Instagram earlier in the year. Priorities shifted during the past couple of years, and I’m glad to see personal art purchases bringing joy and comfort into people’s homes.
Opossum Magic is on display through November 18th. I hope those of you who are nearby get a chance to see it in person! Let me know if you are planning a visit, I’m 10 minutes away and may be able to meet you. And check out the three other exhibits while you are there:
Time and Again, Rigo 23’s large scale sculptural tribute to Leonard Peltier: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/time-and-again/
Summer Rites, Richmond Youth Photographers: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/summer-rites/
Works From Home, Richmond Art Center Student Showcase: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/student-showcase/
Laura Kamian McDermott wrote this piece for the Tapestry Weavers West newsletter. Thank you for sharing it with us also, Laura! tapestryweaverswest.org
Top Image: Leslie Smith (left), Steven Morales (center), and Laura Kamian McDermott (right) at Richmond Art Center. Note, masks were temporarily removed for this photo. Please wear your mask at RAC. 🙂
Marisa Burman
About: My ceramic work is primarily thrown on the wheel and hand-painted with underglaze. It is made from very durable porcelain clay which is food safe, and microwave and dishwasher friendly. I often color the clay itself using powdered mason stains. Then I paint on top of that colored background and fire the clay in a high-fire reduction kiln. I like to imagine each piece after it leaves my studio and continues its life in someone’s home. It brings me endless satisfaction to share with others and communicate through clay. I believe that daily rituals with handmade vessels can enrich our lives with joy, meaning, and community.
Please contact me via email if you have any questions or want to connect! marisa.burman@gmail.com
Instagram: @marisaburman
Marisa Burman will be a vendor at the Holiday Arts Festival from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, December 4 at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond.
CLICK HERE to return to the participant listings.
ISSUE 30
Feliz día de los Muertos | Get Creative, Give Creative | Don’t Miss Out | Upcoming Classes
Open Studios Invitation
Feliz día de los Muertos
Remembering Our Loved Ones
It’s Día de los Muertos and we remember friends and family members who are no longer with us.
Thank you to everyone who came to our Día de los Muertos Family Day celebration on October 23. It was a wonderful day of community and creativity. We’ve shared some photos from the day on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/RichmondArtCenter
If you missed the event there’s still time to get creative for Día de los Muertos! Check out this short video (https://richmondartcenter.org/video/art-activities-for-dia-de-los-muertos/) by RAC teaching artist Tatiana Ortiz. She’ll teach you how to make papel picado and a simple marigold watercolor. Or download this Ofrenda Activity (https://richmondartcenter.org/instructables/ofrenda-activity-for-dia-de-los-muertos/) by Vero d. Orozco.
Image: Community altar at Richmond Art Center
Get Creative, Give Creative
59th Annual Holiday Arts Festival
Get creative and give creative this holiday season
Online and In-Person* Activities | Starts November 4
Richmond Art Center invites creative gift-makers, holiday shoppers and art lovers to experience the 59th Annual Holiday Arts Festival! With the Arts & Crafts Hub, Ceramics Sale, and free gift-making workshop series, the Holiday Arts Festival has something for everyone to get creative and give creative this holiday season.
Stay tuned later this week for an e-announcement with everything you need to know about the Holiday Arts Festival this year!
More info: https://richmondartcenter.org/haf/
Don’t Miss Out
Time and Again
Exhibition Closes November 20
Gallery Hours: Thursdays 10am-2pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm*
Time and Again centers on Rigo 23’s monumental sculptural tribute to Native American activist Leonard Peltier.
See what people are saying about this important show: KALW (https://richmondartcenter.org/in-the-news/kalw-artist-rigo-23-honors-incarcerated-native-activist-leonard-peltier-with-a-12-foot-statue/) , Richmond Pulse (https://richmondartcenter.org/in-the-news/richmond-pulse-richmond-art-center-amplifies-calls-to-release-native-american-activist-leonard-peltier/) , Richmond Confidential (https://richmondartcenter.org/in-the-news/richmond-confidential-richmond-art-center-opens-doors-to-free-event-for-indigenous-peoples-day/) , Indybay (https://richmondartcenter.org/in-the-news/indybay-time-and-again/) , Native News (https://richmondartcenter.org/in-the-news/native-news-california-art-center-hosts-controversial-leonard-peltier-exhibition/), KPFA (https://richmondartcenter.org/in-the-news/anthony-gonzalez-interviews-rigo-23-on-kpfa/)
Image: Recent visitors to Richmond Art Center
Learn more: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/time-and-again/
Open Studios Invitation
Meet Our Teaching Artists
Three of our Teaching Artists are participating in East Bay Open Studios! Lauren Ari (https://eastbayopenstudios.com/artist/lauren-ari-2/) (Richmond), Jennifer Linderman (https://eastbayopenstudios.com/artist/jennifer-linderman/) (Oakland) and Jill McLennan (https://eastbayopenstudios.com/artist/jill-mclennan-jmac/) (Oakland) are hosting in-person open studios this weekend Saturday, November 6 and Sunday, November 7, 10am to 5pm. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative processes of these three wonderful artists.
Image: Artworks by Jill McLennan
Learn more: https://eastbayopenstudios.com/welcome-to-ebos-2021/
*In-person activities are subject to change as we see further developments in the Covid-19 pandemic. Mask wearing and signing a Visitor Waiver is a condition of entry to RAC. We track attendee numbers in the courtyard and galleries to ensure spaces do not get too crowded. Read more about Richmond Art Center’s Covid-19 safety measures HERE (https://richmondartcenter.org/about/covid/) .
Top and bottom banner image: Alebrije workshop with Rachel-Anne Palacios at Fall Family Day
Have something to share? Please email us at admin@richmondartcenter.org
Richmond Art Center invites creative gift-makers, holiday shoppers and art lovers to experience the 59th Annual Holiday Arts Festival!
The Holiday Arts Festival is a beloved tradition at Richmond Art Center for over half a century. In 2021 we’re getting into the holiday spirit over two months – November and December – with both in-person and online activities that celebrate the joy of making, discovering, and gifting arts and crafts.
Online Artist Listings
November 4 – December 31, 2021
The Arts & Crafts Hub is an online space for Bay Area artists and makers to share and/or sell their work during the holiday season. It is a retail space for holiday arts and crafts shopping, but it is more than that too! Hub launches November 4!
Artists, click HERE to register your listing in the hub.
In-Person Ceramics Store at Richmond Art Center
Thursdays and Saturdays, 10am-2pm, November 4 – November 20, 2021
Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA
Our popular Ceramics Sale is back in-person this year with an opportunity to shop local and handmade for your holiday gifts! Stop by Richmond Art Center anytime during gallery hours from November 4 through to November 20 and purchase beautiful and usable ceramics such as plates, cups, bowls, made by our students, teachers and friends. The Ceramics Sale will be set up in our galleries and new pieces will be added weekly.
All sales benefit Richmond Art Center.
Free Workshops Online and In-Person
Workshop announcements and registration links coming soon!
Is there anything more special than receiving a holiday gift that is handmade by the person giving it to you? This free workshop series is designed for folks who need a nudge towards starting their holiday craft gift projects.
