Gualala Arts Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961
Paula Strother
In her first two-person show at The Dolphin gallery, Santa Rosa artist Paula Strother will present a cross section of her very prolific oeuvre.
Strother says she pays particular attention to the effect light on her subject matter and many pieces suggest the soft tones of late afternoon, filtered light shining through an unseen window, or distinct clarity of a landscape.
Regardless of subject matter, she says her preferred medium is acrylic paints because of the qualities it provides, allowing for texture or watery, softer tones. Acrylics also enable her to work spontaneously, making quick adjustments to achieve the desired effect. Strother mostly works from photos.
After graduating from college Strother did commercial art projects in advertising, but later became interested in art therapy, especially geriatric art as a way for the elderly to express past experiences. Eventually, she obtained a teaching credential and spent twenty years in the classroom. The Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce recognized her as Educator of the Year in 1998.
Eleven years ago Strother retired and felt freed from overseeing students, and now hardly a day passes when she is not painting, she says. Her works include landscapes, still lifes, portraits, abstracts, black and white images – in short, whatever appeals to her in the moment.
Strother has appeared in numerous juried and non-juried shows in the Sonoma County area. She is a member of the Petaluma and Sonoma County Arts Councils and the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.
She shares a studio with this month’s 3-D artist Rebeca Trevino above the Fulton Crossing Gallery located where River road meets Fulton Avenue. Her web page -http://paulastrother.weebly.com- provides more information on her shows and has a virtual gallery of her work.
Rebeca Trevino
This month’s three-dimensional artist, Rebeca Trevino, offers visitors to The Dolphin a change of pace from more conventional displays of ceramics, glass, or even basketry. Her chosen media is a variation on colleges or dioramas using found objects arranged in diverse patterns that evoke surprising responses in the viewer.
Trevino calls her work “Obtainium Art” and it begins with any number of materials stored in her Santa Rosa area studio that she has collected during her many scavenger trips. She finds her treasures at garage sales, flea markets, second-hand stores, through donations or even in dumpsters. The important thing is that they appeal to her and are rescued to serve a new purpose.
Placing discarded, forgotten, or rejected objects in a new context gives them new life, Trevino says and her instinctive juxtaposition of objects in a new pattern makes her work distinctive and each construction has its own personality.
Anyone looking at Trevino’s work is immediately aware that a backstory exists to the items — sometimes they suggest a playful innocence, other times a sense of mystery. “My hope is that the objects I use will make the viewer look and look again. I absolutely love working with art materials that have a story to tell, a past, a history,” she says.
Trevino’s life-long passion for found items began as a little girl, when she decorated mud blocks with marbles, coins, broken pottery and other bits found on the family farm in south Texas. Her work has been shown in galleries across the United States from California to New York. Rebeca’s work can be found in private collections across the country and abroad.
Visit rebecatrevino.blogspot.com to view more of her work and the responses from those who see it.
Rebeca’s studio is located at Fulton Crossing, 1200 River Road, Santa Rosa, CA
Studio visits may be arranged by appointment 707 235 8807
