Arna Means Retrospective

Opening Reception: Friday, December 7 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit remains through December 30, 2012
Gualala Arts Center

In December, Gualala Arts will showcase a retrospective exhibit of local artist Arna Means. The exhibit, entitled "Then and Now," will include some earlier works to present day.

Arna Means has been creating and teaching art for many years and has shown her work in local venues and beyond. She has won many awards in printmaking and other media such as painting and collage.

The opening reception will be held on Friday, December 7, 2012 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Gualala Arts Center. As well as art, there will be food, wine and music. She has assembled a large body of work including paintings, collages and over fifty etchings and prints. She looks forward to sharing it with everyone.

One of the things that is so great to Arna, living in this beautiful community for the past 26 years, is the support that she and other artists get from Gualala Arts. She loved watching the Arts Center grow and expand from the building across from the airport to the beautiful space it is today. She is deeply indebted to Gualala Arts for being there. It has given her a life beyond teaching that keeps her creating and exhibiting the many pieces of art done over the years.

Her artistic life began when she was about 5 years old. A talented next door neighbor, a few years older than she, spent hours teaching her to draw and they would make paper dolls and gift cards and landscapes. She also loved the funny papers and would study them carefully, marveling at how they could capture an idea with such simplicity.

She never lost the thrill of doing art and went on to study it in many media and to teach it for many years in the California Public Schools. Now, retired from teaching, she has more time to devote to doing art. She has a small etching press and has studied etching under several masters over the years and really enjoys the beauty of the print. She also loves to draw and paint and has a large body of work in all media.

Having a retrospective at Gualala Arts Center of work from then to now gives Arna a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Her goal for those who come to view it is to get a sense of her history, but more importantly, it is to reach out and connect with her audience. She hopes those who see her exhibit get some of the pleasure of seeing it as she had in making it.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.