Artists share art-centered practices to ground and refresh during stressful times.
At Richmond Art Center we’ve been thinking a lot about the upcoming 2020 election; how the lead up to it and aftermath are going to be stressful for so many people. To encourage folk to look after themselves during this time we’ve invited artists to share some simple ideas and reflections on the theme of creativity and self-care.
Please enjoy the Creative Self-Care series. Five videos will be released 1 by 1 as we head towards Election Day; accessible here on our website and social media. Follow us on Instagram: @richmondartcenter, Facebook: @richmondartcenter and YouTube and, if you feel inspired, share your own stories of creative self-care! #creativeselfcare #richmondartcenter
Calling Artists and Makers! | Free Drawing Class | Creative Self-Care | Día de los Muertos | Classes Starting in November | Remembering Betty Ann Barnett | Renewal Fund
Calling Artists and Makers!
Artist Registration Now Open
The Holiday Arts Festival returns in 2020 with a hybrid online and curbside event!
Artist Registration for the Online Arts and Crafts Hub is now open. This online directory for artists and makers is a space to share and/or sell work during the holiday season. But it’s more than just about retail… All artists are welcome to post their work in this non-juried, creative space!
Arts & Crafts Hub Early Bird Registration Deadline: Wed, Nov 4, 11:59PM
Join teaching artist Yael Levy for this Halloween-themed drawing class featuring a live model in costume (students are welcome to dress for the occasion too!). All ages and levels welcome. Saturday, October 31, 1-4pm
Heading into a stressful 2020 election, we’ve invited artists to share some simple ideas and reflections on the theme of creativity and self-care. The Creative Self-Care videos will be released on our website and social media. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube and, if you feel inspired, share your own stories of creative self-care! #creativeselfcare #richmondartcenter
Traditionally a Día de los Muertos altar is an intentional space dedicated to a person or people that have passed away. Use this activity sheet to create your own altar in memory of someone that has passed. You can include anything you want to celebrate them; photos, foods they like, flowers, etc. There is no right or wrong way to use this template to remember a love one!
Come dive in for a fun under sea adventure! Experiment with drawing, painting and sculpting. We will use salt clay and household items to make fabulous sculptural art.
Kids Class (7-12) | Thursdays, 3-4pm, 11/5 – 12/10
En este proyecto pintaremos un exvoto. Un exvoto es una pinturita donde cuentas una anécdota, deseo o leyenda. Tiene sus propias características y un estilo llamado Rasquachismo o Kitsch. Esta clase será en español.
Edades 10-16 | Sábados, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, 14 Nov – 5 Dec
Dive deep into one of the most quintessential and complex ceramic forms — the teapot. Learn the construction process and discuss ideas on how to successfully connect form and function.
After a full and loving life, Betty Ann Barnett passed away on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at her home in Point Richmond, California. Passionate about theater, dance, music, history, and art, Betty was an art docent for 15 years at the Oakland Museum, board member of the Richmond Public Library, and former Richmond Art Center Board President.
Artists share art-centered practices to ground and refresh during stressful times.
At Richmond Art Center we’ve been thinking a lot about the upcoming 2020 election; how the lead up to it and aftermath are going to be stressful for so many people. To encourage folk to look after themselves during this time we’ve invited artists to share some simple ideas and reflections on the theme of creativity and self-care.
Please enjoy the Creative Self-Care series. Five videos will be released 1 by 1 as we head towards Election Day; accessible here on our website and social media. Follow us on Instagram: @richmondartcenter, Facebook: @richmondartcenter and YouTube and, if you feel inspired, share your own stories of creative self-care! #creativeselfcare #richmondartcenter
Video 1: Jennifer Lugris
About the Artist: Jennifer Lugris was born in North Bergen, NJ in 1986. She earned her MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2018. Her paintings have been exhibited and published internationally, and have won several awards. Solo exhibitions include Verge Center for the Arts, Richmond Art Center, Merced College, and Maturango Museum, among others. She currently lives in Sacramento, CA with her family, dogs, cats, and chickens. www.jenniferlugris.com
ISSUE 7 Civic Center Art Tour | These classes have space for YOU | See and Make Art | Art Boost!
Ever wondered…
Video by Francisco Rojas-Meraz
Civic Center Public Art Tour
Ever wondered about the public art around Richmond’s Civic Center? Take this new video tour and learn about some of the amazing works on and around our facility. Video features works by AGANA, Lukaza Branfman-Verissmo, Marion Coleman, Daniel Galvez, Ross Holzman, RYSE Youth Center, and Andree Singer Thompson.
Curiosidades de México I : Calaveras y Papel Picado
Esta clase será en español. Construiremos una calavera de papel y cortaremos nuestro propio papel picado, perfecto para decorar nuestra casa para el Día de los Muertos.
Edades 10-16 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, 24 Oct – 25 Oct
Two-day workshop: learn to make tiles and Cuerda Seca decoration. In Spanish Cuerda Seca literally means “dry cord” and refers to a ceramic technique using dry lines to delineate pools of glaze.
Adult Class (Ages 16+) | Saturday, 10/24 and Sunday, 10/25, 10am-12pm
Using techniques such as illustration, collage and watercolor, we will explore some of the uses of safe, gentle plant medicines that can be found in our neighborhoods, gardens and kitchens.
Making art accessible to everyone is at the heart of Richmond Art Center’s mission. If you need a reduced rate for your class sign up for an ART BOOST! We offer need-based scholarships for eligible children, teens and adults.
Did you see Jos Sances’ lifesize drawing of a whale at Richmond Art Center last year? ‘Or, the Whale’ is now on view in Kansas and we’re excited to share that this Friday, 9/25 at 3pm pst the Lawrence Art Center (in partnership with Richmond Art Center and Vessel Gallery) is hosting a live virtual conversation between Sances and Moby-Dick scholar Elizabeth Schultz!
In this very special virtual event, Sances will be joined by internationally acclaimed Herman Melville scholar/ KU Professor Emeritas Elizabeth Schultz for a conversation exploring the themes represented in the artwork as well as its connections to the literary masterpiece, Moby-Dick.
The Fall 2020 session brings over forty classes, including old favorites and beloved teachers, as well as new offerings for kids, adults and families!!
Be creative using your whole body! The class starts by making a custom hoop, then instructor Tania Pulido will teach you the basic movements of hoop dancing.
All Ages Class | Wednesdays, 7-8:30pm, 10/21 – 12/2
Recreating the traditions of a stitch circle online with teaching artist Jocelyn Jones, students will meet over zoom and receive beginner embroidery instruction while experiencing a social setting.
Adult Class (Ages 16+) | Fridays, 5:30-7:30pm, 10/9 – 12/18
Mixed media class that is also an introduction to herbalism. Using illustration, collage and watercolor, students will explore some of the uses of safe, gentle plant medicines. Instructor: Jade Fair
Artist Charlyn Griffith-Oro wants to explore science fiction and multimedia making with YOU! This class incorporates guided meditation, prompted sketch journaling, collage and sculpture based making.
Making art accessible to everyone is at the heart of Richmond Art Center’s mission. If you need a reduced rate for your class sign up for an ART BOOST! We offer need-based scholarships for eligible children, teens and adults.
ISSUE 5 Art Lives Here: New Artworks Unveiled | Classes for At-Home Creativity | See and Make Art: Let’s Get Mucky | And Other News
Art Lives Here
Image: Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo’s banner and Agana’s mural now adorn RAC’s facade Photo by Francisco Roja @pac_pops
Two New Artworks Reflect Community on RAC’s Facade
Art Lives Here is a series of RAC commissioned projects designed to support artists and build community connection during shelter-in-place. Two new projects from the series were unveiled this month…
For This is life long work (2020), a 13 foot high banner by Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, the artist collaborated with RAC staff and teaching artists through a discussion on community care. The resulting conversation shaped Branfman-Verissimo’s work.
Richmond-artist Agana spent two days creating her site-specific mural that now adorns the columns flanking RAC’s Barrett Street entrance. After five months of RAC’s facility being closed to the public, it was so exciting to have an artist working onsite again!!
Remake your clothes!! This is a great online class for sheltering-in-place creativity! Rag Lab online workshops explore ways to create interesting garments using pre-worn clothing and found materials. Get yourself a new wardrobe without even leaving the house! Instructor: Vida Vazquez
Adult Class | Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30pm, Aug 25 – Sep 8 | Sign up for one or all classes!
Learn to render animals using techniques with media including pen and ink, watercolor brush markers, acrylic markers, colored pencils, wax pastels, and paint. Great for students wanting to try new media! Instructor: Jennifer Linderman
Adult Class | Thursdays, 1-3pm, Aug 27 – Sep 24 | Sign up for one or all classes!
Family MAKE is a family-friendly online space for exploration and creativity. This week teaching artist Lauren Ari will lead participants through a short drawing activity. Bring plain paper and a pen or pencil.
Save the Date! Registration for Online Fall Art Classes will open September 14.
Free Arts Kits are Coming… Staff are working hard developing youth arts kits that will be distributed for free at a community event. More info soon!
We cleaned. The month RAC’s entire 24,000 square foot facility was professionally fogged and cleaned. We’re ready to open as soon as it’s safe to do so.
*Staff Pick* In the community… Bridge the Ballot is an hybrid live/virtual exhibition on view Bridge ArtSpace (Sep-Nov). Join curator Jenny Balisle, Claudia Jiménez and the artists for a virtual reception and panel discussion on September 25 at 7pm.
ISSUE 4 Collaborate with Artist Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh | Art is Wellness Events and Classes | A Moment to Reflect Together
Special Project
Image courtesy of Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh
Collaborate with Artist Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh
During shelter-in-place RAC is working with artists to build opportunities to make meaning of our experiences through art.
Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh is an artist (and Teaching Artist at RAC!) whose current work is focused primarily on the shifting urban landscape. Oni-Eseleh’s project with RAC aims to capture brief moments from people’s lives to create a physical record of our time apart.
She invites the Richmond community to share images with her via Instagram @disfordiletante which document some of the simple, candid moments of this time.
Oni-Eseleh says of her project, “My hope is to create a larger ‘snapshot’ of these times that goes beyond the news, to show how connected we still are in our day to day.”
Explore the wide world of mixed medium sculpture with hands-on projects inspired by the work of prominent artists in paper, textiles, cardboard, and recycled materials.
Teaching Artist Erin McCluskey Wheeler invites participants to collect a few pencils, crayons, or pens, to join her to play The Doodle Game! All ages and families welcome!
New to drawing? This class is geared towards ABSOLUTE beginners, and is a great opportunity to jump in. La maestra habla español. Teaching Artist: Rebeca García-González
Introducing… Date Night! Bring a date or a pal and join artist Vida Vazquez for a night of socializing and art-making. Sliding scale/pay what you can to participate. Materials list coming soon.
Adult Meet-Up | Thursday, July 23, 7-8:30pm
Stillness, Slowness and Introspection
An Invitation to Reflect Together
As we sit with the historic and current realities of systemic oppression that the Black Lives Matter movement has called global attention to, we invite our community to take a moment for time to reflect and process.
As we sit with the historic and current realities of systemic oppression that the Black Lives Matter movement has called global attention to, we invite our community to take a moment for time to reflect and process.
We are saddened by the death of artist Clayton Bailey on Saturday, June 6 at age 81. Known for his innovative and irreverent ceramic and metal sculpture, Bailey was a lead figure in the Funk Art and Nut Art movements. He lived in Port Costa for many years, and from 2013 until recently ran the Bailey Art Museum in Crockett.
Bailey first exhibited at Richmond Art Center in a group show in 1970. He went on to be included in exhibitions every decade at RAC until 2009, when he participated in a two-person show with his wife, Betty Bailey, called Robots & Watercolors. This exhibition was organized by Richmond-artist John Wehrle and featured over thirty of Bailey’s metal robot sculptures displayed beside Betty’s whimsical watercolor paintings. Betty died in 2019.
A Statement by John Wehrle
In art and life Clayton Bailey was generous to a fault. His eccentric creations, whether ceramic or metal, were always exquisitely crafted and whimsically logical.
Clayton’s work personified a serious quirkiness that was emblematic of a rich vein of irreverent humor that found fertile ground in Northern California.
I first became aware of Clayton’s work viewing Dr.Gladstone’s ceramic discoveries at the de Young in 1975. I was working under the CETA program and painting my first mural there. The elaborate comic nature of Clayton’s installation was delightful and memorable.
Years later, our artistic paths crossed again when Jeff Nathanson included Clayton and myself, along with other Contra Costa artists in the introductory North by Northwest show at Richmond Art Center.
For RAC’s 50th anniversary exhibition in 1996, Jeff commissioned Clayton to make a commemorative edition of “Dr. Gladstone’s Snake Oil” ceramic jugs as a part of the celebration. I still treasure mine.
Dr. Gladstone’s Snake Oil by Clayton Bailey
And Clayton and I both owned 1950 Bullet Nose Studebakers, albeit at different stages of our lives.
So it was an honor and a privilege when Clayton agreed to exhibit his robots along with Betty’s drawings at RAC in 2009.
Robots and Watercolors, Richmond Art Center, 2009
Clayton’s robots exist in a world, inspired by Captain Marvel and Studebakers, where a brighter future of robot butlers is just around the corner. In today’s world of plastic and pixels these robots propel a metal flea market past into the future. The pleasure of Clayton’s work lies in the recognition of the alternator or the teapot transformed into an anthropomorphic dog or tipsy ballerina. They ultimately speak as much to the human condition as to the world of technological wonders.
