On May 13th prepare to be blown away by the talented artists of the Pacific Community Charter High School as they display an end of the year retrospective at the High School Art opening from 5:30-7:30pm at the Gualala Arts Center.

This exhibition highlights an eclectic array of artistic disciplines including: painting, sculpture, photography, community art, ceramics, collage, printmaking and drawing. Under the instruction of PCCHS art teacher Nicole Ponsler, the students explored painting through various forms including still life, Impressionist strip painting, and silk painting.

For weeks at a time the students were covered in clay, plaster dust and clear packing tape as they explored both additive and reductive sculpture, using packing tape to make molds of their bodies. These unique and powerful life-size sculptures will be displayed as an installation during the High School art show. Throughout the year, students have explored making known objects abstract through photography, collage, and drawing.

To bring the holiday spirit to Point Arena the students painted eight, double-sided 2.5' x 6' banners, which were hung in Point Arena. The show will highlight all of these projects, including a large-scale public mural created by PCCHS students. Prepare to be amazed!

The same event will host the unveiling of the mural to be permanently housed directly behind the amphitheater at the Gualala Arts Center, funded by a grant from the Rural Mural Project. Rural Murals receives funding from the Office of Drug and Alcohol Prevention Services in Ukiah, and funds four grants to non-profit recipients in Mendocino County every year. Arts teacher, Nicole Ponsler is acting mentor for this project, and has mentored three previous Rural Mural teams. The grants allow high school aged students to work on a six-month mural project including team-building activities, and arts oriented workshops, in addition to large-scale mural production. During this process students are entirely responsible for the mural's conception, preparation, actualization, and ultimate public unveiling including press releases, photo documentation, etc.

PCCHS students chose to do a mural relating to disasters and community rebuilding. The mural consists of two, 4' x 8' panels that will be permanently housed adjacent to the 2001 Rural Mural at Gualala Arts. The leftmost side of the panel depicts our coastal community after the 1906 earthquake, while the right side illustrates victims fleeing a tsunami. Where the two panels meet, a crumbling wall is depicted, with a window through which you can see a man and a woman patching crumbling stucco. The weathered walls peal away on either side to reveal the impending disasters.

The community is warmly invited to attend the fantastic High School Art Show in conjunction with the Rural Murals unveiling ceremony at the Gualala Arts Center on May 13th from 5:30-7:30pm. See you there!

Gualala Arts Center is located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, and is open from 9 am to 4 pm weekdays, and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information.