Jane Head & Walt Rush Opening Reception: Saturday, February 4, 2012, 5:00 p.m. Exhibit remains through February 29 Dolphin Gallery

Both artists who are featured in the February show at the Dolphin Gallery share an artisan background and a strong connection to the natural settings found along the Mendonoma coast. Visitors can meet them at the opening reception on Saturday, February 4 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The show runs through Wednesday, February 29.

About Walt Rush

Walt Rush's original creations and imaginative reworking of family jewelry pieces have delighted local patrons for many years. A self-taught silver and goldsmith, Rush has designed commissioned pieces and done custom work for over thirty years.

Usually he starts a piece with a general concept in mind, but he allows the materials to dictate the final product. The environment in which he works and the personality of the individual also help shape the outcome. Rush says, "I believe jewelry should be an adornment of the human body, just as a painting is to a room. My pieces are specifically designed for today's artistically minded consumers."

Rush enjoys reworking pieces that have been languishing in the family jewelry box. In consultation with the client, he will shape the valuable materials into a customized new piece of artwork retaining the jewel and producing a contemporary design suited to the tastes of the individual. Besides creating original wearable works of art, he also performs a variety of other services including repairs for jewelry, flatware and frames for glasses.

South Coast residents are quite familiar with the work of Walt Rush. He is an annual participant in the Studio Discovery Tour, Art in the Redwoods, and Festival of Trees. He also can be found working as a docent every Thursday at the Dolphin Gallery where he can be consulted for a variety of jewelry-related repairs and commissions. Born in San Francisco, he moved to Ohio as a child and started his business there. Eventually, he returned to California and now resides in Irish Beach.

About Jane Head

Since her last show at the Dolphin Gallery in October of 2007, Jane Head has explored new concepts. Her current exhibit, entitled "Going, Going, Gone," focuses on the concept of extinction. On one level she looks at the extinction of animal species, but on a deeper level she explores our endangered social and political world through the pieces she presents.

Before arriving on the Mendocino coast ten years ago, Head worked in the San Francisco area decorating interiors. She has hung wall papers and painted on walls, cabinets, columns, fireplaces, cabinets, floors and ceilings. She studied marbleizing and wood graining techniques in Yorkshire under English master William Holgate. This background helped her develop her preferred medium of Venetian plaster and acrylic glazes that is used for pieces in this show.

As a young child in her native England Head first discovered her artistic talent. Her first project was a nature mural in collaboration with classmates on a 12 foot canvas when she was seven. Before emigrating to California she received a Foundation Art Diploma at Banbury College.

The one constant that informs her work is a bond with her natural surroundings. She draws inspiration from the sky, the landscape and the ocean. Like the settings that motivate her, she likes to work on large surfaces with bold and broad strokes.

A mixed-media piece that measures 48" x 60" called "It's Heaven Here" won first place in the 2006 Art in the Redwoods (AIR) show. Her 2011 AIR entry, "Point Arena Safari," was voted most popular work in that show.

The Dolphin Gallery is located at 39225 Highway One in downtown Gualala, CA
(behind the post office on the south side). Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-3896 for more information.