This fun book form uses no glue whatsoever but still has a very sturdy body that will hold up to being tossed in a backpack or dropped on the floor. Learn to sew a multi section book using precut watercolor paper and create a wrap around cover to hold it all together.
Learn to use an unlikely material for the pages of a sketchbook: packing paper! This material is amazing for drawing, sketching, and painting with opaque media. Paint pens, acrylic paints, and gouache pop off the page in beautiful contrast and typically do not bleed or come through he opposite face of your page.
We are so grateful to our community! Despite the devastating loss of three major donors last year, we’re happy to announce that we reached our End-of-Year Appeal fundraising goal and raised over $80,000. Thank you to everyone who contributed!
On December 23, Rigo 23’s statue of Leonard Peltier—that was previously exhibited at Richmond Art Center—was stolen from a U-haul in Oakland. Thanks to alert community members – extra special thanks to Darby (pictured above) – most of the statue was recovered a few days later.
Anna Kingsley is an artist from Oakland, California. Since 2011 she has owned and operated Brick Factory Designs, a letterpress studio and bindery, and has happily produced customs designs for even happier clients. We spoke with Anna about her work, as well as the classes and workshops she’ll be teaching at Richmond Art Center this winter.
Can you please introduce yourself to our community?
Hello! I’m Anna and I’ve been teaching adults and children for over fifteen years. I started as a teacher for students with intense learning and behavioral challenges and later moved into teaching art. During the school year I teach origami at five different schools in the East Bay. I also run a small letterpress and bindery and print custom posters, announcements, broadsides, and more. I have three young adult children. Our family is very queer / trans.
What has your artistic journey been like?
Art is a meditative process for me. I have ADD and repetitive motions help me focus.
I have always been a dabbler and creator. As a child I drew, painted, made my own books, and built magical sculptures. As an adult I do the same but with more skill and experience. I studied Photography and US History for my BA.
What projects are you currently working on?
At present I am gathering print samples to photograph. This year has been busy and I haven’t had a moment to document my projects. I am also slowly working on cataloging the pigments I produced last summer. Some via chemical reaction (laked pigment) and some purely soil and mineral based sampled from local trails.
What do you like about teaching?
To be honest, a huge flex of mine is being able to help three students out at the same time with three separate issues while five other kids are scrambling for my attention. I love almost everything about the act of teaching. The community: spending time together with a common goal. Teaching is humbling. In order to teach , you also must remember what it is like to be a student. Those moments where you reach a learner who continually refused to believe they could complete a complicated project. Keeping my brain in shape when I have to change tactics mid lesson for half the class because my original way was not working for them. Teaching has zero down time. You are always ‘on’, and while this exhausts me sometimes, I apparently enjoy the sprint.
From my understanding, you have taught at Richmond Art Center before. What is it about RAC that keeps you coming back?
I love the staff at the RAC. They haul a** to get things done. The studio spaces work nicely with my classes and the age diversity of the student population is great.
Can you tell us about your class offerings this winter quarter?
So, I’m teaching two multi-session classes and three one day workshops. All printing and book binding. The workshops are fast paced and go less in depth because more of the prep will be done for you beforehand. The bonus is that you get to take home a beautiful and functional book after just three hours. My intro to books and printing is a much more leisurely paced program. Beyond the specifics of ‘what’ and ‘how’, we will also have a chance to discuss the ‘why’ of certain techniques. This is really important for artists because we all have our own ways of getting to the same solution. Having a deeper understanding of factors such as paper grain, ink additives, and thread tension will allow a student to make better choices in future projects.
Is there anything else you would like to share? About your classes, yourself as a teacher, or as an artist?
Come take a class with me. I’m good at what I do and I love seeing the creative light turn on inside someone who has not had time to prioritize art in their lives. Also, I’ve been told I’m hella funny.
Richmond Art Center will be at the West Contra Costa Education Fair this Saturday! Come speak with over sixty local schools and connect with community organizations to learn about opportunities for youth in West Contra Costa.
We’re looking forward to new adventures together in the New Year.
And if you can, please consider supporting our End-of-Year Appeal. Your donation – any amount – will support Richmond Art Center’s free gallery admission, exhibitions, education programs, and community outreach.
UPDATE 12/27 6PM: Most of the Leonard Peltier statue has been recovered. HOWEVER, THE STATUE’S LEFT ARM/HAND REMAINS MISSING. If anyone has information about its whereabouts please contact Oakland PD or leave tips on RAC’s voicemail: 510-620-6772
UPDATE 12/31 2PM: The missing hand has been found! Rigo 23 share’s the story on instagram HERE.
A Message from Richmond Art Center’s Board President
Hello RAC Community,
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment it occurred. Perhaps it was when a beautiful new mural returned life and color to the Community Gallery’s long corridor? Or when the Board of Directors was able to meet in person after two years of isolating zoom calls?
No matter when, there came a time when everyone at Richmond Art Center sensed a new optimism on the corner of Barrett Avenue and 25th Street. Under the watchful gaze of Guillermo the Golden Trout, we had survived the pandemic! But victory had come with a steep price: the galleries had been closed for two years, in-person classes canceled, and many staff members laid off as financial resources dwindled.
Our optimism was fueled from many directions: the arrival of a new executive director who led the charge to increase the flow of funds into RAC, including two PPP grants from the federal government. Also, special Angels among our friends and supporters made significant donations that enabled us to renovate the interiors of galleries and classrooms. New staff members were added slowly as budgets permitted, and program offerings expanded.
But our spirits were darkened when we lost 23% of our income in July when we learned that two major funders would no longer be contributing to our annual budget. With this devastating news, the Board of Directors estimated that it will take a further eighteen months to complete the full recovery of RAC operations, staffing and programming.
Our goal of returning Richmond Art Center to full operational capacity by the end of 2023 is focused on these tasks:
Education: Expanding our current capacity to deliver once again a full roster of classes both at the Center and through our community outreach programs.
Infrastructure: Maintaining our efforts to execute necessary upgrades in the physical plant and utilities of the Center. Next May, we will celebrate the 25th birthday of RAC’s iconic sculpture Guillermo the Golden Trout by honoring its creator Andrée Singer Thompson and restoring the artwork.
Programming: Returning to the practice of medium- and longer-term planning in support of our mission; and to continue increasing diversity and bilingualism in our outreach and programming.
WE ARE THE RICHMOND ART CENTER!
We teach art! We create art! We show art! We work in service to Richmond and the East Bay!
PLEASE HELP US COMPLETE THE RENAISSANCE AT RICHMOND ART CENTER. YOUR DONATION WILL HELP TO RESTORE RAC AS A JEWEL IN THE HEART OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND’S CIVIC CENTER.
It is Día de los Muertos and we are remembering friends and family members who are no longer with us.
Thank you to everyone who came to our Día de los Muertos Family Day event on October 15. We came together for community and creativity in celebration of our loved ones. It was a beautiful day!
Class Registration Opens Wednesday, October 26, 10am
Winter classes are now posted on our website (don’t worry if the class says ‘Fully Booked’ this will change once registration opens). Browse listings now and plan which class or workshop you’ll sign up for. And don’t forget to get your scholarship applications in early for classes starting in January!
Artist Hector Munoz-Guzman Teaches New Class for Youth
We spoke with teaching artist Hector Munoz-Guzman about his artistic development, current projects, and the class he will be teaching at Richmond Art Center this semester.
As a new teaching artist at Richmond Art Center can you please introduce yourself to our community.
My name is Hector Munoz-Guzman. I am a painter and mixed media artist, and I’m from South Berkeley.
What has your artistic journey been like?
In high school I studied digital media at The Youth Institute in downtown Berkeley. This program introduced me to a lot of different media: drawing, collage, digital art. I also took IB Studio Art with Kimberley D’Adamo. This is where I really started to think seriously about what art I create and who it is for. The work I created in IB Studio Art got me accepted into Parsons School of Design. I later transferred to RISD [Rhode Island School of Design] where I started focusing on large scale paintings. I continued to make mixed media work as well.
I was raised by a single mom who was an immigrant from Mexico. So art didn’t seem like a possibility for a career. But I developed a tag – Gold Rust – that’s about finding the beauty from the limitations you have. I take this into my art practice; being resourceful with materials, making something out of my experiences.
Recently I was awarded a Civic Arts Grant from the City of Berkeley. With this award I’m creating a 7 foot by 24 foot mural depicting me and my family growing up in South Berkeley. I want to honor my family and the place that I grew up.
Artwork by Hector Munoz-Guzman
What other projects are you working on?
My work will be in a number of exhibitions over the next year. I recently did a studio visit with a curator from MACLA [Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana] in San Jose who is going to include three of my paintings in a show there that will open in December. I’m also going to be exhibiting my work in galleries in San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2023.
In the past I have exhibited at Fall River MoCa in Massachusetts and Bureau Gallery in New York.
What do you like about teaching?
I feel like teachers can be extremely impactful on their students. I’m still in contact with my teachers. They gave me a safe space to feel creative. And I was then granted the opportunity to study at renowned art schools. So I just want to use what I’ve learned and give it back to my community.
Can you tell us about the Mixed Media Illustration class you are teaching at Richmond Art Center this semester?
It’s a class for youth between the ages of twelve and seventeen. The emphasis of the class is using mixed media for personal expression. I will support students with skill development using different media – crayons, pencils, collage, paint – and help them find media they feel comfortable with. But the main focus of the class will be encouraging students to explore and develop their own narratives, characters and subjects. Students will develop a body of work that is connected to where they come from; that tells their stories and expresses the ideas that are important to them.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about the class?
I just want to offer a space for students to feel they are making work that is important to them. That they are making work for themselves first.
Artwork by Hector Munoz-Guzman
Visit Hector Munoz-Guzman’s Instagram account @hectorfmunoz to see more of his work.
Mixed Media Illustration will run on Thursdays, 5pm-7pm starting on October 26 and running through to November 16. CLICK HERE to learn more about the class. (And don’t forget we have needs-based scholarships available!)
