BOLD BOTANICALS
Indoor and Outdoor Art Exhibition
April 14 - May 27, 2023
More than 30 ACCI artists will be exhibiting in our biennial Bold Botanicals show which runs from April 14-May 27. Garden and botanical themed pieces will be displayed in the gallery’s rear exhibit space as well as the garden. The Opening Reception will be on Saturday, April 22 from 3-6pm.
Once again ACCI is collaborating with the Berkeley Garden Club (BGC) to present the Art & Plant Street Sale event (11am-5pm) on Saturday May 6, and our collaborative event with the Berkeley Garden Club: the Art in the Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, May 20 from 10am-3pm. Various ACCI member artists will be exhibiting outdoors and in seven local gardens on the tour.
Live demonstrations are also planned, so please check back soon for the schedule and more details.
Once again ACCI is collaborating with the Berkeley Garden Club (BGC) to present the Art & Plant Street Sale event (11am-5pm) on Saturday May 6, and our collaborative event with the Berkeley Garden Club: the Art in the Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, May 20 from 10am-3pm. Various ACCI member artists will be exhibiting outdoors and in seven local gardens on the tour.
Live demonstrations are also planned, so please check back soon for the schedule and more details.
Below are the artists who participated in 2021...2023 roster coming soon!
Nessy BarzilayCeramics
My garden totems, are created from different pieces threaded together, like beads in a necklace. For me they are the jewels of my garden. In them I combine my love of jewelry and my passion for gardening. I use higher fire with a combination of shiny and mat glazes so my pieces will stand out in the garden.
I try to create my art just as nature creates itself. It evolves, and nothing looks quite the same. |
Suzane BeaubrunMixed Media
Living and creating as a multi-media artist in Oakland California, my jewelry and sculpture are reflections of the unique urban beauty of the bay area. Either working with precious metals or incorporating materials I’ve harvested from the city streets, my work celebrates the natural and manufactured beauty surrounding and weaving through the Bay Area.
Wall hanging (right): copper, resin eye and faux amber beads. Necklace (below): bicycle inner tubes, bottle caps, safety glass. |
David M Bowman StudioMetal
Nasturtium by David Bowman: Patinaed brass. David's Nasturtiums were some of his first non-functional tabletop and wall art designs. He recently started making them again and Bold Botanicals 2021 will be their first showing in decades. They started from a candlestick design, but adding more and more parts in an organic, chaotic pattern created large, botanical forms equally suited to grand centerpieces or wall art, indoors or out. The name came naturally, as - especially when patinaed in our blue-green verdigris patina - the resemblance to the abundant ground-covering leaves of enthusiastic nasturtium plants are immediately obvious.
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Claudia CaughrenPhotography
The work is comprised of 4 framed pieces showing the progression of a representational photograph into an abstract image. Each piece is a 10" x 10" print, framed to 16" x 16" approximately.
The first image is the photograph of a lotus. The second image is a sort of collage created by duplicating and rearranging parts of the lotus. The third image is the result of extensive color manipulation on the preceding image. This has resulted in a semi-abstract version. Parts of the lotus are still identifiable. The fourth image was produced by continuing the manipulation performed on the preceding image. The result here, however, is a full transition to abstraction. The image is no longer easily recognizable as a flower. |
Margaret DorfmanMixed Media
Glass Serving Ware made from fresh, locally sourced oranges. The slices are fused into glass, becoming functional, food-safe, and waterproof. The vibrant colors and structural complexity of the oranges are permanently preserved. This piece can be used as for display or will beautifully serve anything from your kitchen or garden. Plate measures 15" x 11.5".
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Mayumi FujioTextiles
This is a hand dyed silk scarf using only natural dye and real plants. Each piece is dyed by hand and then applying a technique called botanical printing (or eco printing) which uses real leaves and flowers to transfer color and shape onto natural fiber. All the plants are sustainably and ethically harvested in the Bay Area. The pillowcases are hand dyed using only natural dye and real plants and then sewn into a pillowcase.
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Geraldine GaNunCeramics
This ceramic piece (left) was inspired by my travels to Japan. Its shape reminds me of some of the unique architecture you can witness there. My use of the deep rich color blue is reminiscent of indigo dye, one of the oldest dyeing methods so widely used in that country. Made with earthenware clay and fired at both mid range and low fire temperatures, it is embellished with both sgraffito carving and decals.
This ceramic piece (below) is a functional vase and also a stand alone piece of art inspired by the beautiful and bountiful state of California. It depicts, in a somewhat abstract way, the ocean, the warm sunshine, the mountains and other flora and fauna. Made with earthenware clay fired at a low temperature, it is also embellished with sgraffito carving and decals. |
Kevin HarrisTextiles | Watercolor
Kevin Harris is a printmaker, textile designer, and watercolor artist. Working both in editions, and layered monoprint collections, his contemporary screen-prints focus on semi-transparent, overlapping color layers, and constructed shapes. Drawing techniques, such as ink, and watercolor washes, paper-cutouts, photography, and digital processes are built into his prints. Textural surfaces, impressions of landscapes, and everyday elements tell much of the artworks story.
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Michele HausmanFine Art
Created with inspiration from my garden, these oriental poppies arose from a small plant, giving pollen to the bees and enjoyment for my vegetable garden. The colors of the poppies glowed in the afternoon sunlight. The reds and pinks were complemented by all the surrounding greens. Oil on Panel 18" x 14".
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Kurt HeffronCeramics
Vase (left): French Curve Series. Midrange stoneware, 4" wide x 10" High Acidic Chartreuse Green Glaze.
Vase (below): Flower Sprigged Series Midrange Stoneware, 5" wide x 7" high Licorice Black Glaze. |
Jennifer JohCeramics
The strange but beautiful shapes and textures of cactuses (right) are the inspiration for this piece. 5.5” X 5.5” X 14”H.
The unexpected shapes and colors of wild mushrooms are always a wonder for me, and an inspiration for this piece (below). 4” X 11” X 18”. |
Kathy KearnsCeramics
She works in a variety of styles, taking inspiration from the rich history of ceramics. Her California Craft Style has a mix and match approach and is inspired by the colorful ware of mid 20th century California art pottery. Archetypal Vessels and the Aegean Wave Collection are informed by her study and fascination with ancient pottery forms, especially those from her ancestral home in Greece.
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Karen MasonFine Art
Overwhelmed by the grandeur of surrounding poppies, this little Blue Bird does not yet know that the admiration is mutual among the field of swaying flowers. I use layers of resin which helps provide depth so viewers can walk into the painting, starting with the opaqueness of the center subject and then discovering the translucent oil layers in the flowers. Mutual Admiration Blue Bird (below): Oil, Ink & Resin on Board, 16" x 16".
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Kirk McCarthyTitanium
Recycled Titanium metal. The colors are the result of different oxidation layers interacting with electricity. I control the electricity similar to how water color artist paint on paper, only with the water being charged with electricity. I'm inspired by Alexander Calder, the mobile artist. Size: 12" X 12" and 18" high.
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Jon OakesGlass
Yellow glass spears of various sizes ranging from 12 to 44 inches tall, each has a red tipped top flower on the top. In the center of the arrangement is a molded red centerpiece. This arrangement measures approximately 12 inches wide on the bottom diameter and approximately 3-4 feet wide in diameter on the top of the piece . All of these pieces are inserted into the ground easily in a few seconds and the placement can vary depending on the arrangement wanted. There are 22 long spears and one center red ball shaped piece.
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Gina PapenPainting
Spring Lilacs (left) is a 12" x 16" watercolor, done from life. I enjoy the challenges of rendering nature in a realistic way, adding additional color tones to highlight the composition. Over the years, I have done watercolor in various places, as the materials are so portable.
Three Golden Oranges is a 24" x 24" oil painting on canvas. The original inspiration for this work was from a smaller still life of three oranges, which I expanded upon. By adding more color to the work I was able to create an effect that extends past the original representational view. |
Susan PressSculpture
With the base of a tree and weaving vines and leaves coming around and from her body, this figure (right) is also home to three visiting blackbirds. Made from mid-range fired clay with cold finish. Standing sculpture (below) of part plant, part woman appears to be growing and reaching toward the light. Made from mid-range fired clay with cold finish.
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Judy RosenfieldGlass
Leaf mosaic coffee table/bench (below): A stained-glass leaf mosaic design covers this galvanized metal piece, which works as a bench or coffee table and can also serve as a plant stand. The top is edged with strips from the cooled-down liquid edges of large hand-rolled sheets of stained glass which I slice off to save for special occasions. They create a distinctive border that reminds you of how glass is made and are less sharp than cut glass. 47 inches long, 19.5 inches wide, 14 inches tall.
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Russell RyanFine Art
This piece (right) is based on a painting I saw in a museum of a woman with a large white ruff. I drew the ruff and then brought it into PhotoShop and manipulated it to create this flower. Oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches.
This painting (below) is a still life of a deer jawbone I found in the woods when I was a child and have always kept around. I finally decided to do a painting with it. I set the still life up with some poppies and an iron rabbit I bought in Japan Town. Oil on panel, 16 x 20 inches. |
Suzanne SaulFine Art
Suzanne Saul, a native of Oklahoma, spent many years sharing her love of art with students in Southern California before moving to the Bay Area. Her life has encompassed many artistic explorations. Selecting her media according to the statement she wants to convey, she may make use of anything from plastic fishing worms and materials derived from nature, such as pine needles and tree bark, or take the more traditional approach of applying acrylic paint to canvas. Her environmental concerns may drive her to comment on current social issues, many times through satire.
The horizontal and vertical elements of 'Cafe Grosbeak' (left) create a sort of enclosure for the gathering of the Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks. These birds are a bit humorous and lend themselves to be included in a geometric centered painting. The colored shapes act as perches for the cafe location. |
Mary K. ShislerPhotography
Tulip Tree (right) is a image of a stem of Tulip Tree flowers. The lovely orange yellow of the flowers enriches the eye. Archival inkjet print on William Hahnemuehle Paper, 28" x 22". Below is a flowering branch of the Jacaranda tree. The dramatic black background enhances the brilliant purple of the blossoms. Archival ink jet print on William Hahnemuehle Paper, 28" x 22".
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Valerie SobelFine Art
The Art of Balance (left): The idea of these wild blossoms was seeded by an architectural photomontage that caught my eye in a magazine. Once the structure was “planted”, I went to town playing with contrasts, particularly that of the sobriety of the leaves and pods versus the all outness of the seeds and flowers. One can well imagine how austere that plant must have seemed during its dormant stage, and how surprised onlookers might have been as the exuberant bloom sprang out. A metaphor to depict how human beings, who seem withdrawn during harsh times, only need a ray of warmth to display their cheerful side. Watercolor and acrylics on canvas, 28.5” x 24”.
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Bay Blown GlassGlass Sculpture
Glass is best in the garden. The ultimate glazed pots are glass Flower Pots. Utilizing traditional terra-cotta pot styles, these hand blown glass pots shimmer in the sun and are stunning on a windowsill. Enjoy a lush living room, create bedroom greenery, or fill your kitchen with fresh herbs in these unique planters. No need for a separate tray to retain water, as there are no holes in the bottom. For drainage concerns please place a few pebbles in before planting. Each piece is hand crafted and will contain variations. Guaranteed to compliment any plant and give a modern refresh to an old favorite.
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Jacqueline ThompsonCeramics
I am a painter that uses clay as the canvas. I have always loved the motion of flowers and how they interact. The artwork of William Morris has inspired me and gave me an appreciation of the form of plants that he used in his textiles from which I get my designs.
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Rachel TiroshMixed Media
At My Front Yard: mixed media, paper, acrylic paint on cradle wood, 14" x 11" x 1.5". My work starts by laying in the larger shapes which define the composition and set the movement to the piece. I add texture and color to generate tension within the elements. The process only stops when the painting reveals its nature and is pleasing to my eye.
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Kim WebsterGlass
A Canadian transplant, award-winning artist and avid gardener, Kim uses traditional glassmaking techniques in unconventional ways to create the plants and flowers of her imagination. Winner of Oakland’s 2019 Mayor’s Award presented by Libby Schaaf for her installation at the Gardens at Lake Merritt Autumn Lights Festival. Kim’s pieces quietly light up at dusk to welcome the fairies and lure sleepy gardeners out for another look. You’ll probably find Kim poking around in there too!
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Left: Just like Peas in a Pod: Blown glass peas in forged metal pods, and the peas light up at night! Above: Agave Fit for a Princess: Blown Glass with LEDs and mosaic base. This piece is inspired by the painterly Agave victoriae reginae, or Queen Victoria Agave. The mosaic tiles are flecked with real gold!
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Melissa WoodburnSculpture
Inspired by my low water pollinator garden, this piece (right) is called "Monarchs In The Garden." It is a wall hanging ceramic sculpture with underglazes and glazes. It measures 7h x 9w x 2d". "Ginkgoes in the Garden" (below) is part of my Heart's Desires series. It is a wall hanging ceramic sculpture with underglazes and glazes. It measures 7h x 9w x 2d".
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Eko WrightJewelry
Anthea Necklace Modern rustic flower necklace inspired by wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic of imperfect simplicity in nature. Fabricated through hammer work to make ruffled edges with an organic look. Oxidized sterling silver and garnet. 1-1/4” x 2-1/2” (center piece) with 18” - 21” chain.
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