​Lida Penkova has gained fame in Humboldt County for her unique art pieces. Her unusual process of linocut with colors added by acrylics and colored pencils always tells a story, sometimes from mythology, sometimes from real-life moments of a Mexican market or a surf day at a Trinidad beach, and sometimes from her own imagination. This month she is focusing her work on October's Day of the Dead.

Penkova, born in Czechoslovakia and living in countries around the world, was deeply affected as an artist by sixteen years of living in rural mountains of Mexico where she encountered folk art. The style she has developed is perfectly suited to illustrate the many ways that the dead are honored in October's Mexican tradition.


​Her lively scenes show altars adorned with flowers, candles, favorite dishes and drinks for deceased loved ones, families visiting the graves of relatives to honor them, the sugar skulls and skeleton toys sold in outdoor markets and at street stalls, marigold flowers in vases or spread out on pathways or hanging on strings to embellish homes and streets for the remembrance of those who are gone before us.

Donvieve creates amazingly lifelike masks that “gently challenge personal barriers and speak to people's inner places.” She uses only natural and recycled materials such as leather, fibers, metal, clay, and wood to achieve her three-dimensional expressions. “I am committed through my work, to build a deep appreciation of our connection to all things and cultivate awareness of how we each impact our planet and care for one another.”

When Donvieve traveled to countries such as Bali, Mexico, Central America and Europe, she worked with native mask makers, developing deep appreciation for the art of varied exotic cultures. Donvieve generously shares her skills and her ecological consciousness with students in a variety of venues, from high school to university and with private organizations such as the Ink People. 
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When teaching, Donvieve works to help her students become more interested and sensitive to different cultural groups and to what each group considers beautiful and valuable as they observe the world around them.

     ​Oceana Madrone’s work directly and honestly reflects the emotional and meaningful aspects of life with an emphasis on healing through the beauty and joy of art. This season she is especially excited about beads, their colors, textures, sizes, shapes and sparkle. She finds herself adding them to every one of her fantastic creations, sewn to quilts, dolls, jewelry, dream catchers, and wound around boxes, bottles, driftwood, and more.  Madrone started her first adventure with beads at the age of twelve, with her first bead loom and two pounds of beads. That is a lot of beads for a twelve-year-old!

    In her own words, "My art is a mirror of my life. It reflects who I’ve been, who I am and who I hope to become. My art is my effort to create order out of chaos and to transform pain and survival into strength and beauty. Art doesn’t make the hard things in life go away.  It does help me to find joy and continue on my path of healing and discovery. I love the color, textures, and sparkle of fabric and beads. I create images of beauty and magic. Life is a magical gift. There is beauty all around us if we take the time to see it and appreciate it."

     Tom Kingshill is a local woodworker inspired by the great variety of wood in our surrounding landscape. He uses foraged sections of local trees and with a lathe creates decorative vessels for the home. He specializes in natural-edge bowls. These vessels challenge the artist to practice a fine-tuned discernment of formal qualities of design while leaving the edge of the piece wild. 

     The elements of smooth, machine-like precision and natural, raw undulations of the untamed surface of a tree come together to form an utterly unique bowl.

  Born into a family of carpenters, Kingshill learned at an early age the woodworking techniques he has spent his life exploring. His biggest challenge is finding the wood he needs to create his art.

​As he says, "There is always the fear that someday there won't be beautiful burls to work with. The joy of wood turning is finding a redwood burl and discover the beauty as I turn. The bowls you see in these pictures are second-growth redwood burl, a growth on the outside of the tree, somewhat like a wart.  The grain is going in all different directions so you have no idea of the beauty of what you have until you are done."

​     Colleen Clifford's skilled glass work is light and flowing, usually treating subjects in nature. This past year, Clifford has been concentrating on stained glass images inspired by our vast ocean. Her lines create the pattern, and the chosen glass colors create the underlying depths and reflective nature of wate. She creates these wave windows in ever-changing perspectives to express the light and texture found in the endless variety of ocean wave scenes.

    Clifford describes her fascination: "Part of the ocean's beauty is its constant rhythm; the ever-surging power of waves and tides. At times serene, at times stormy, the water ebbs and flows, lifts and drops, laps and pounds. I hoped to tap into that dichotomy of strength and serenity with my current work of different types of wave patterns."
 
     Clifford's delight in the ocean's variety is also reflected in her work with glass boxes and small mandala ornaments. The mirrored bottoms of these boxes reflect the rich, luminescent textures and colors of the glass she selects, and a simple wave on top brings a bit of motion to this precious piece of home decor. ​

    Lisa Landis has been living in Humboldt County since 1973 and has always been creating art of varying mediums. Born into a family of artists, she has six siblings that are also professional artists.  She started painting in pastel in 2005, and has studied as "artist in residence" in the Corbiere region of southern France, won "First Place" in the Pastel division at the El Cerrito Art Association's annual show.

    ​Having shown her work locally since 2012, Landis joined Trinidad Art's cooperative gallery last fall.  Her landscapes are inspired by and beautifully interpret the overwhelming beauty of our area.

   Says Landis, "I am influenced by California's rugged coast and the abundant beauty of Humboldt County, including the mountains, rivers, wetlands and backroads. When I'm painting I'm lost in the landscape and completely drawn into my attempt to express it."

   ​One of her pieces has just been accepted in the 32nd annual International juried exhibition of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.  It will be on display in Morro Bay from August 16 -September 16. ​

Trinidad Art Night Reception: Friday, July 6th, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Wine will be poured by Rescued Pals Rescue. Music TBA.

​   Her work has been included in exhibits including 'California Species' at the Oakland Museum of Natural History; Yosemite Renaissance at Yosemite National Park. She has won numerous awards including Best of Show from Redwood Art Association and the Morris Graves Museum. She is the recipient of artist-in-residencies at 'The Lake’ from the Morris Graves Foundation. Her Trinidad Studio is available by appointment throughout the year.

   Drew Forsell is a local jeweler whose work is inspired by the sea and life here on the North Coast, such as California’s giant kelp forests, bioluminescent jellyfish, waves and eddies, octopus arms, the sand and the sun.

 This year, Forsell's travels outside the U. S.  have given him new inspiration. In the beautiful little beach town of Zipolite in Southern Mexico, he met a wire and stone artist whose work fascinated him. At the end of the visit, this artist smiled broadly and gifted Drew with an unusual stone he called Punka or Garden Quartz, saying that this was a very special stone that had been waiting for his new American friend.




His interest piqued, Forsell learned that it's official name is lodolite. Its multitude of inclusions and mineral deposits give it the look of gardens, or to some, coral reefs and billowing clouds. In metaphysical circles, these stones are said to possess magical qualities and are referred to as the "Shaman’s Dream Stone." Forsell has been collecting them ever since he returned from Mexico and will have a display of lodolite pendants wrapped in sterling silver at the Gallery show. 

Trinidad Art Night Reception: Friday, June 1st, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Wine will be poured to benefit EPIC, the Environmental Protection Information Center.
Music by JD Jeffries.

   ​Amanita Mollier's BFA was in Photography at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, but a series of chance encounters has led her to painting on silk, the medium where she now specializes. She creates wall hangings with seascapes and landscapes that reflect the beauty of our area.

​   For the opening, she will hang three large, fully framed pieces. This year Mollier has been working on incorporating the human form into her pieces. She also designs and creates wispy, multi-hued silk scarves.

​   In silk painting each fabric takes colors differently. Even the order the colors are applied to silk changes the effects dramatically. Mollier’s experience of light in her photography brings added life to her paintings. Mollier says her work gives her peace of mind, altered sense of time, creation of beauty from nothing, and joy brought to others’ lives. ​

   Patti Demant prints scarves and clothing with actual leaves that transfer their shapes and colors onto natural fabrics such as silk, wool, and cashmere. Her pieces are soft and inviting, almost as if one had been able to drape the spirit of the forest floor around one's shoulders.


     Demant's botanical printing is an ancient fiber art from Australia. Fabric is wrapped around leaves, such as eucalyptus, alder, maple, oak and black walnut, and bound around copper pipes. Immersed in mordants such as iron and vinegar, they simmer for hours, and are opened the next day. The result always offers surprises and delights.

​Afternoon Reception: Sunday, April 15th, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Music by Howdy Emerson

​     Patricia Sundgren Smith will be showcasing a large, Asian-inspired collograph, as well as four linocuts. She created the collograph “Red Bamboo” by printing a plate onto which various items were glued, resulting in a 3D effect. She enhanced the print by adding layers of Japanese papers and blind embossments. Her linocuts on display continue the Asian theme with depictions of koi, dragonflies and Japanese umbrellas.

   
    Diane Sonderegger: "As a way of getting through the rainy gloomy Humboldt winter, I have been making things that remind me of spring. Easter bunnies, little turtles, slugs and assorted wine stoppers. No serious message here. Just have a good time!



    My work these days is all high fired stoneware or porcelain. Not much raku going on. Just a different way of firing and glazing that I want to explore. So be a little frivolous and enjoy these pieces."

​ Vicki Barry: "Upon my discovery of alcohol ink, my creative mind was captured by the impulse to seriously paint with them and to begin showing my work. This is an endlessly inspiring and beautiful medium. My work has been described as happy, bright, vibrant and cheerful!

     "Because of their brilliance, alcohol inks lend themselves well to floral paintings. I find flowers and foliage beautiful in their variety and color. I enjoy the shapes and contrast of shadow when painting these subjects.

​Rick Gustafson is an Impressionist Photographer who lives and works in Eureka, California. A native of California, his colorful abstractions are created by using in-camera blur techniques. These techniques include manual exposure settings as well as perfected movements of the camera while the shutter is open.

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​Lisa Landis: "I grew up in a family of artists, so I have always been conscious of design. The need to express myself creatively has manifested itself in many forms all my life, but until I picked up a pastel stick, I realized that of all the things I've done, the process of painting with pastels is the most gratifying.

   "I am inspired by California's rugged coast and the abundant beauty of Humboldt County, including the mountains, rivers, wetlands and backroads. When I'm painting I'm lost in the landscape and completely drawn in to my attempt to express it."

​​John Wesa: "The thing I find most exciting about serigraphy is the self-publishing dynamic. I produce multiples, yet they are all originals and individual. When a good one takes off it can acquire a social life of its own. It can pop-up anywhere in the world. They can acquire a kind of currency that represents a shared value and experience. If I can produce something that makes everyone richer, that’s exciting!"

Afternoon Reception: Sunday, January 28th, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Music by Margaret Kellerman