"Burst", Art by Ange McLane

Art Opening Karaoke Party Friday August 26th, 6 to 9pm

Show runs through September 17Th, 2016

noun

an instance of breaking or splitting as a result of internal pressure or puncturing; an explosion

inspiration: Magic Realism

baseline: the mundane

uniting factor: explosive color

Ange McLane

Born in Mexico City to a Mexican mother and an American father, Ange spent her early adulthood in Texas, and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006. She started photographing a myriad of subjects when she was eight years old, and has been painting, drawing, and writing poetry and short stories ever since. Ange studied Liberal Arts at the University of Saint Thomas, Human Resources Management at Rice University, Fine Art Photography at the MFAH Glassell School of Art, and Digital Photo-Montage as well as Experimental Film at the San Francisco Art Institute. She has participated in multiple photo exhibits, and directed short film projects. Ange is currently collaborating with Dimitri Moore in multiple short film projects and a web docuseries. Ange’s mission in life is to remain incorrigibly curious and never stop expanding her knowledge base, to encourage and inspire others to be the best version of themselves, and to promote compassion, kindness, and understanding in order to create a better world. casiopeanin.tumblr.com, instagram.com/casiopeanin

The Mechanics of Texture

Encaustic collages by Shelly Gerrish and kinetic sculpture by Benjamin Cowden

Opening party Friday December 17^th 6 to 9pm,
With music by the Michael LaMaccia group

Show runs Dec 13^th through Jan 29th

About the Artists:
Shelly Gerrish:
Shelly's love of photography took off when she began to travel 17 years ago, realizing that it's the little details of a place that make it so special.  In her latest work, she brings together these soulful details in encaustic collages that translate into intriguing, textured compositions.  Adding the elements of wax and quirky adornments to her images, they ultimately melt together to create one single, multi-dimensional story that viewers are invited to interact with and interpret through their own perspective.  Each piece is left with a one-of-a-kind stamp of personality that pulls it together, and binds it as one.  Intertwined with her encaustic creations are photographs from her many travels, displayed using alternative framing experimentations that she unearthed from local, Bay Area resources such as Urban Ore and S.C.R.A.P.
You can find more of her photography work at capturaphoto.com , where her passion is to bring adventure to portraiture, merging personality with landscape.
Benjamin Cowden:

Benjamin Cowden began working with metal during an undergraduate anthropology project in Cameroon in 1997, where he studied how Baka Pygmies turned worn machetes into utility knives. He later worked with street-jewelers in Costa Rica, learning small metals techniques, before taking a more formal route to education by attending

blacksmithing workshops at the John C. Campbell Folkschool in North Carolina. Benjamin was an Artist-in-Residence at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee from 2001 to 2003, during which time he focused on utilitarian forged ironwork, including furniture and kitchenware.

Cowden began earnestly making sculptures in 2004 when he entered the Master of Fine Arts in Metals program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Focused on creating touchable, interactive objects, Benjamin began working with mechanical devices and small, playful machines which address human experience. He now lives in Oakland California, where he continues exploring diverse themes through mechanical metaphor.  To see more of Cowden’s art visit: twentysevengears.com

About the opening night music:

Special musical guest Michael LaMaccia on guitar, featuring Niels Myrner on drums and Doug Miller on Bass.

A gifted guitarist and prolific composer there is always a buzz in Michael's music with a feeling of freshness and passion.  Bridging musical worlds together Michael creates a sound that is personal and unique drawing from experiences of Jazz, Brazilian, African, Latin, Classical, and Pop.  Follow his music at michaellamacchia.com

“Homage to the Ordinary” A group show of collage, sculpture and photography by Tauna Coulson and Tempe Sikora

A minimalist view of travel

Artists Tauna Coulson and Tempe Sikora guide you through their personal discovery and celebration of the beauty within the ordinary. Their artwork will be presented through collage, sculpture, photography, and infused with the DJ music of g Dub.

“Homage to the Ordinary” is a collection of work from two artists, and friends, whose approach to art  attempts to capture the overlooked elements around us, transforming fragments into a delicate, bold,  harmonious whole. Coulson and Sikora welcome you to explore their personal, elemental, and sometimes whimsical perceptions of life.

About the artists:

Tauna Coulson

A graphic designer by profession, Tauna Coulson is no stranger to visual intrigue. With her extensive knowledge of grid theory, visual hierarchies and composition, Coulson illuminates a sensitivity and feminine beauty unique to her art. Between a discernible fascination with color and line, and a 3-dimensional aspect of her work, one finds it hard to define as merely collage.
 
This exhibition, Coulson's first public show, has previously been enjoyed only by friends and family in her home. You're invited to view her many years of material and inspiration.
www.coulsondesign.com


Tempe Sikora

“I’ve always been drawn to nature, especially the variety and beauty in its minutiae. The drive behind my work is a desire to capture the fleeting moment or oft-overlooked element, so it can speak out directly and unfiltered to more souls than just my own.

Perhaps my inclination to focus on details and things closer-up comes from my natural near-sightedness? Even once my vision was corrected, I still found myself fascinated with isolating or zooming in sharply on an element, to highlight its peaceful or energetic essence. But in a few recent pieces I’ve intentionally countered that tendency by shooting out of focus, playing against detail.” - Tempe Sikora

Originally from Connecticut, Sikora has lived in San Francisco since 1996. Her passion for the natural world is currently leading her career towards ecological architecture and natural building.
www.rarestbloom.com

About the music:

DJ g Dub (Greg Weber) will be unleashing some of his own new tracks the night of the opening. His work is an eclectic blend of Latin, Afrobeat, Hip-Hop and Electronica dance music.