The Crocker is proud to present a unique selection of encaustic and cold wax work provided by the members of the Sierra Wax Artists group. Encaustic is the ancient and luminous fine art of painting or sculpting with layer upon layer of molten bees wax and resin while cold wax uses oils and cold wax medium to create mystical, matte films of color and depth. The group includes artists from all over Northern and Central California and promises to be a most beautiful and unique display of contemporary work. The museum has remained temporarily closed due to the global pandemic. This exhibition is currently installed and awaiting reopening instructions. Please check Museum website for up-to-date hours: www.crockerart.org

Danville's Village Theatre Art Gallery presents California Dreaming: Finding Beauty in My Own Backyard curated by Shelley Barry, Principal at Slate Contemporary Gallery. For those of us lucky enough to call California home, we are fortunate to be surrounded by the natural beauty of our great state. California presents opportunities for daily awe in every direction we look: from the majestic mountain ranges to the roaring sea, the redwood trees, the deep valleys with flowing rivers and an explosion of color in the wildflowers that grace the green hillsides, to dramatic deserts spotted with cacti and boulders, we are in no shortage of beauty here. The gallery is temporarily closed. Visit the gallery website for updated opening schedules and the virtual exhibition.   

Hello from the studio, and happy "making the most of it" days! That of course means different things to each of us. Maybe it actually means a little bit of everything to all of us? From the longest, loneliest (6 months long) Sunday ever. Deep dives into ourselves and our communities. Demand for the just and equitable society all deserve to 'finally' exist in. To reinventing connection, productivity and even success. With luck we also get to experience the quiet that comes with letting the dusty ways of our old lives settle around us, and walk away form the parts we're ready to shed.

Some things always remain ... Ideas still continue to surface. Conversations still continue to happen. Children still continue to grow. I still continue to draw inspiration from even the darkest days with the deepest wildfire skies ...

I'm really thrilled to share the MAPC Journal is out in print and I'm excited to be a part of it. It's full of contemporary innovations with the traditional, even ancient, techniques of printmaking. A meeting point I'm endlessly fascinated with. The journal is always available to the public for digital download and all are invited to read and enjoy.

The new face of professional practice has opened up a few exciting opportunities I wouldn't have been able to access in the normal-days. Like so many others, I'm enrolled in online classes, attending virtual conferences, and forming a few web based courses of my own. While I'm eager for cool afternoons, clear skies and group hugs, there are some aspects of our new digital community I hope not to lose.

*Hope, health and hand washing*

      Karen