Siobhan Elder and Cynthia Myers

About Cynthia Myers

This will be Cynthia Myers second two-person show at the Dolphin Gallery and again she is showing with artist Siobhan Elder, who also creates functional art.

Myers will display a wide variety of sand-carved and etched glass pieces using techniques honed through more than 25 years of working in this medium. Her creative process begins with the design of the blown glass she uses from three glassblower artisans in the U.S. She first adheres resist tape to the surface of the glass and carefully draws her designs taking into account how the pattern will reflect light. Next, she cuts out the pattern of areas that will be sand blasted or etched. With experience acquired over many years she etches in the design one detail at a time inside the studio’s sandblasting booth.

“My work is meant to be more than a functional object such as a wine goblet, a vase or even a glass front door,” says Myers. “Each is a personal statement meant to reflect the taste of the owner and to provide artistic pleasure to the viewer. Each completed piece captures and bends the light to produce its own luminous effect.”

Besides her own creations Myers offers custom-designed artwork for both commercial and residential setting. In the home clients can commission front doors, windows, shower and tub enclosures, transoms and other architectural features. Her commercial work could include reception areas, conference rooms, and other glass enclosed areas.

Myers’ work is found in collections across the United States and in both Europe and Japan, on display in a number of galleries including ones in Mendocino, Half Moon Bay and Cambria. Her web site – CynthiaMyersGlass.com – provides numerous examples of her commercial projects, commissions, and Art Glass Series.

About Siobhan Elder

Siobhan exhibited with Cynthia Myer at the Dolphin in 2015, but her work is known far beyond our community.  Her painted silk scarves can be found in galleries and boutiques from New York’s Park Avenue to California’s Laguna Beach.

Her work for this collection is called “Atmospheres”.  She says it grew out of her desire to capture the unique light that happens here on the north coast. “Thirty-plus years as a professional textile artist have found my work being sold worldwide on wearable items from hand painted silk neckties to scarves. This collection marries the wearable aspects of my work with the fine art background that is the base of my work as an artist. These pieces are designed to be experienced as wall hangings and/or worn as scarves and wraps.”

Siobhan’s career in silk began early.  As she tells it, “thirty-six years ago, I was taking a break from putting myself through college when I met a silk painter in Cedar Keys, Florida, and I worked in her studio for a few days.”  That’s where the magical relationship with silk began.  After receiving a degree in fine arts, with a specialty in fiber arts, from Montana State University, Elder returned to her hometown of Jackson Hole, where she earned money taking photos on the ski slopes while painting silk in every spare moment.

Several years later, she moved to southern California and built up her business, so much so that she was eventually able to create and sell her silk works from Montana and remain near her favorite ski slopes.  Fourteen years ago, however, Siobhan fell in love with the Mendocino Coast and  left the Grand Tetons, hanging up her skies to pursue silk painting here. She has lived on the Mendonoma coast ever since, where the colors and rhythms of the ocean, river, and forests inspire her creativity

Siobhan is passionate about her silk paintings, which her joy — as well as the people who wear her work.

“I paint because I am an artist and I am still giddy every morning when I go to my studio.  I paint because I am filled with gratitude that my time is spent creating something that can make someone else feel special,” she says.

The process of creating Siobhan’s hand-painted scarves is a laborious one, since each piece goes through thirteen different steps on its way to completion.  Throughout the process, Siobhan strives to infuse her scarves with love and empowerment as a gift to the women who will wear them.

This passion for the work she does led to the project  Empowerment through Accessories, in which she began teaching people going through chemotherapy to paint scarves they could then wear.  A traumatic brain injury two years ago, however, left her with chronic headaches and diminished her ability to teach.  So now, she says, “The Empowerment project has morphed into the Silk-Ribbon, which keeps my creations flowing to those in need.”   Read more about this project and see examples of Siobhan’s elegant painted silk scarves at www.siobhansilks.com