Events & Other Offerings
A Yearlong Street Novena for Racial Justice
In action and prayer,…
July: Acknowledgement of Systemic and Entrenched Racialized Injustice
August: For Equality in Access to Healthy Foods, Healthy Living Conditions, and Medical Care
September: For Economic Parity
October: For Protection of Voting Rights
November: For Police Reform
December: For Reform to the Criminal Justice System
January: For Equity in Education
February: For Safe Working Conditions and for Equal Educational and Employment Opportunities
March & Beyond: For Integral Ecology / Environmental Justice
The Art of a Community
The Art of a Community, Arts Benicia’s 33nd annual arts showcase, opens Saturday, January 25, 2020, and will be on view through Sunday, February 23, 2020. Opening reception on Saturday, January 25, 4:00 – 6:00 pm.
I have one piece in this show, alongside hundreds of wonderful works by local artists.
I love many things about Benicia, the gifted, generous arts community being one.
Also not to be missed: through 2/13 is a stunning retrospective of Lee Wilder Snyder at the Benicia Library.
Restorative Practices for Parishes, Schools, Families, and Beyond
While many people are familiar with restorative justice as an alternative or complement to the criminal justice system, conflict and harm can happen anywhere community is present. Moreover, restorative practices not only focus on conflicts and harms but also on community-building, and can be used in any number of venues, including parishes. Based in indigenous practices, restorative processes are also compatible with such Gospel values as reconciliation, compassionate action, and healing justice. But, how do we engage restorative practices while still holding ourselves and one another accountable? How do we not only heal harms, or make them as right as possible, but also work at building safer, healthier, and more life-sustaining communities?
In this session, we will explore general principles of restorative justice; key practices, such as “circle” processes; and ways of putting them to use, in parishes, schools, families, and beyond.
Epiphania Sacred Arts, 20th Anniversary Open Studio
Epiphania
Sacred Arts
20th Anniversary Open Studio
Sunday, January 5th, 2020
Noon-5PM
In the Valona Building
628 2nd Avenue, #101
(across from Toot’s, entrance on Ceres)
Crockett, CA 94525
510-507-1165
Art "in the Gift": An Inventory of Wonders
"In the gift culture, the more you give, the richer you are."
Charles Eisenstein
Art is a gift and the wonders I have "inventoried" in paint are also gifts. In fact, it's all gift. Although I have priced each artwork (based on time, materials, etc.), if you come to this Sunday's open studio and would appreciate having one of my paintings, I ask that you give freely, according to your means and your gratitude for the artwork.
Seed-Bombing Novena
The start date of this fall's Seed-Bombing Novena is Thursday, September 26, to conclude on Friday, October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Ecology.
Enchanted Realm: Metaphors of Natural Design
Two of my pieces have been selected for this group show, juried by Sarah Barsness.
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 1, 6:00-8:00 pm
Family Art Day: Sunday, June 2, 1:00-3:00 pm
Artist Talk by Nathan Lynch, Chair of Ceramics, California College of the Arts: Thursday, June 6, 6:30 pm.
This exhibition and associated public events seek to capture and explore the ways that birds influence our understanding of our place in the world. To understand ourselves and our surroundings, humans think in metaphor and view the world through an imagined lens. As the enchanted realm of birds provides a natural metaphor for the innate desires and aspirations of human existence, so too does it inspire the creation of art. The sheer scale of birds in nature, found in every earthly domain no matter how inhospitable, and their remarkable mechanisms of adaptation to land, air, and sea, contribute to our fascination.
About the Juror: Sarah Barsness was born and raised in the American West. Her photographs, installations and mixed media pieces – which incorporate photography, printmaking, fabric, and other media – have been exhibited in the Bay Area, throughout the USA, Greece, Mexico and Japan. She is a past Affiliate Artist at the Headlands Center for the Arts, and a former Artist in Residence at Recology – the San Francisco “dump”. She is an alumna of the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, where she also taught for many years, and received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Previously she was a full-time faculty in the School of Photography at the Academy of Art University and she currently heads the department of photography at Solano Community College.
Phone: 707-747-0131
Benicia Open Studios
My recent work on display with Sabine Thompson, at her studio at 940 Tyler Street, #26 (in the Arsenal).
Preview Exhibition, April 27 through May 5, featuring works by artists and galleries participating in Open Studios weekend.
Gallery hours:
— Wednesday through Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm
— Saturday, May 4, 11 am to 5 pm
— Sunday, May 5, 11 am to 5 pm
Benicia Open Studios will take place on Saturday & Sunday, May 4 & 5.
Event hours: Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm
Benicia Open Studios is Arts Benicia’s most highly attended annual event with more than 2,000 visitors! Well known for its vibrant artist community, each year scores of artists open the doors of their studio spaces throughout Benicia’s Historic Arsenal District and all over town, providing a unique glimpse into their creative world.
Visitors can ride a SolTrans Shuttle — click here to preview the schedule — free of charge between the Arsenal and downtown and explore artist studios on Jackson and Tyler Streets in the arsenal, see glass blowing, tour galleries and other venues on First Street, speak with artists about their work, watch demonstrations, and purchase original art.
A full-color, informative catalog containing artwork images from participating artists, studio locations, way finding and Open Studios maps will be available in the Arts Benicia gallery during Open Studios weekend. Some artists will be in their own studios, while others are being hosted in businesses such as Ironhorse Home Furnishings in the Arsenal, and the Collektive, in downtown. Many are represented through galleries. Preview the catalog here.
If you have questions call the Arts Benicia office: 707-747-0131, Wednesday – Sunday, 12 – 5 pm.
940 Tyler Street, #26 (in the Arsenal).
We Are the Bridge: Interfaith Art Exhibit
Osher Marin JCC
San Rafael, CA
September 2016-January 2017
Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California,
Oakland, CA
May-June 2015
Finding Common Ground through Sacred Words: Interfaith Art Exhibit
Opening, May 11, 2013, 5-8PM
Sacred Snapshots
We invite you to join us for Sacred Snapshots, on April 20, 2013, at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. Sacred Snapshots is a day-long event celebrating spiritual practices from a range of religions and traditions.
Altared, Altered Books: A Compassion Practicum
Altared, Altered Books: A Compassion Practicum
Saint Mary's College of California Library
January 28 - February 28
This exhibit is an outgrowth of the January Term course “Altared, Altered Books: A Compassion Practicum,” that I taught at St. Mary’s last month. The course was based on the recent publication, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, by religious historian Karen Armstrong. As indicated by the title, in this book Armstrong proposes a program of twelve concrete steps as a means for developing a more compassionate life. She encourages that the reading of her book and the practicing of the steps take place in a reading circle, in community. She also recommends that the group focus on one step a month, over the course of a year.
Although this course introduced the text in its entirety, in order to encourage students to commit themselves to a lifetime of learning and practicing of compassion, and out of respect for the incremental process of transforming our “hearts and minds,” the class focused on the first step: “Learn About Compassion.” Actions for this step include: studying religious or secular traditions, others’ as well as our own; and, keeping a journal.
The journals in this class were creative, non-linear, and tactile: each student created a personal altar using discarded books and other reclaimed, recycled, upcycled, and everyday items; natural and found objects; photos, keepsakes, ephemera; and, various creative techniques for book arts / altered books.