article by Laura Fogg

The winter holidays are upon us, and once again it’s the season of shopping! Everyone is looking for a unique, unusual and possibly spectacular gift for that special person in their life. Art Center Ukiah is once again hosting “Give Art! Gifts from Home” to delight shoppers and make them glad they stayed in Ukiah to make their purchases.

The gallery space will be filled with a lavish display of smaller art pieces- jewelry, woodcraft, scarves, woven articles, whimsical ornaments, glassware, ceramics and small paintings to name a few. Some artists are returning by popular demand, and others will be showing their wares for the first time.

A seasoned favorite in the show is Laura Buckner, aka Happy Woman Jewelry. Even though she recently broke her arm…“the NON dominant one,” she grins, “the pieces are all done and just need to be put on their cards. I have a lot of people who can help do that part.”  Laura elaborates, “I plan ahead and have been working on these pieces for the last 6 months. My goal is to have 50, and I’m delighted that I will be able to do that, even though I can’t get much of anything else done for now.”
When asked about her unique found-art jewelry, Laura explains, “I got a Victrola when I was a child and that started me on the antique path, which later became a major focus in my jewelry. I love the treasures and the treasure hunt. I love putting bits together in a new way. Some of the jewelry is made with disparate elements that suddenly tell a story when I put them together.” Laura laughs, “I get to go to all the yard sales I want now. I love the upcycle aspect, especially these days. I totally buy into the motto ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle!’”

Laura ended the conversation with “Please put this in the article… I have some really cool treasure in here. I’m using some of my favorite antique pieces from my collection.”

An artist showing her work for the first time is Sulin Bell. Known locally for her fabulous catering, she experienced a change of focus after the pandemic. “When everything shut down,” she says, “I had the opportunity to concentrate on the art that I had neglected for many years.” Sulin is an accomplished silk painter, and has created pillows, scarves and other small objects for the show, all with a dragonfly theme.

Other participating artists include Virginia Macintosh, Jacquie Lolich, Susan Blackwelder, Jill Millward, Darrell Carpenter, Jean Kennedy, Meelah Dorhosti,  Barbara Stanger, Catherine Skreehot, Colleen Schenck, Rachel Lahn, Katie Gibbs and Laura Fogg.

The First Friday opening celebration for “Give Art! Gifts from Home” will be on Dec. 1 from 5-8 p.m. The Corner Gallery is located at 201 S State Street in Ukiah. Live music will be provided throughout the evening by Midas Well, otherwise known as Chris Gibson and Char Jacobs.

Corner Gallery in Ukiah presents new front window show

article by Laura Fogg 

read the full article with images

December is the much anticipated month when the artist members of the Corner Gallery get to celebrate themselves in the gallery’s front windows. Each artist will hang one or two of their favorite, mostly new pieces. There is no theme to the show, but the intention is to have a vibrant and colorful display of the best each artist has to offer.

Nancy Little is working on an exciting new project for the show. She is making a series of small pieces using a “Neurographic” art process. “They are cheerful and affordable,” Nancy says, and I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with them.”

The obvious question is “What is Neurographic art?” Nancy explains, “Neurographic art has algorithms that are used in therapy which combine drawing, visualization, and movement to help individuals improve their neurological and cognitive functions. It was developed by doctor and artist Dr. Alan Brown and is often used to assist patients recovering from neurological conditions and injuries, such as stroke or traumatic brain injury.” Nancy continues, “The process is simple and anyone can do it. You basically draw intersecting squiggles with a felt pen and fill in the sharp corners where the lines intersect to make the resulting shapes rounded. Then you color the shapes in, and you can repeat the process with finer lines. The fun part is all the amazing shapes that seem to jump out of your subconscious.”

The Corner Gallery’s newest member, Meelah Dorhosti, will also be showing her brand new work on neurographia. “I caught the bug from Nancy Little,” she smiles, “and I’m finding that it really inspires me. I haven’t done any drawing lately, and after creating a large piece of neurographa I started seeing these surprising and unexpected images. I went over them all with linseed oil which did an amazing thing to the oil pastels that I had used. Now I’m going off in my own direction and dreaming with prismacolor pencils and prismacolor watercolor pencils to enhance the imagery. I guess I can say that I’m really tripping out on this technique.”

Meelah continues, “All of my work to date that has been wall art has been very detailed and realistic. I’ve been wanting to get more abstract but when I start drawing I get very reality-oriented even if I don’t want to. This dive into neurographia is giving me a freedom that I don’t find in drawing. What I’m doing is not really a part of neurographia, but I’m loving it.”

Besides Nancy and Meelah, there will be work by the twelve other gallery members in the front windows… none of which will be neurographia. Do come enjoy the show.

Elliot Little, one of the long-time gallery members, points out that the December front windows could be available next year to any local artist who would like to rent them and benefit from the great exposure. He points out, “With dark falling early and colder weather, the front windows sparkle with clear lights and are visible for hours after the gallery closes. And the art in them is the first thing visitors see when they enter the gallery.”

The First Friday opening celebration for this member show will be on Dec. 1 from 5-8 p.m. Live music will be provided by Midas Well, otherwise known as Chris Gibson and Char Jacobs. The Corner Gallery is located at 201 S State Street in Ukiah.