The Main Gallery: Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery in Redwood City, CA SF Bay Area

Erna Metzger

themaingallery — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:25:45 +0000

In the course of doing much figurative work, combining painting and drawing elements, I “discovered” the world of paper, with its myriad of textures, colors, translucencies. These papers are incorporated into recent mixed media work along with other items such as silk, thread. I begin a work with a vague idea, perhaps a theme, often figurative. Papers are collaged,colors applied, layers added. Something emerges, disappears and then maybe resurfaces. The relationship between background and foreground is dynamic and it is this relationship which intrigues me and then propels me to the finished work.

Transparency remains an important theme, with many rudimentary marks showing through. All layers of the work act together serving as a metaphor for our public and private lives.

These glimpses of worlds underneath are central to my current work. The history or the process of the work has become as important as the final piece. It is my hope that each passage or layer of the individual work might trigger a connection to the viewer and his/her own life.

Mainly Clay

themaingallery — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:45:58 +0000

The Main Gallery is excited to announce their annual Mainly Clay show, which opens February 15^th and runs through March 18^th. This year the gallery’s three-dimensional artists, Pixie Couch, Doris Fischer-Colbrie, Stephanie Harper, Nina Koepcke, Andrea Rosenman, Vicki Wilkerson, Susan Wolf and Susan Yamaguchi have come together to bring you exciting new work. Andrea Rosenman, a fiber artist and Stephanie Harper, a glass artist add a touch of something different than clay, thus “mainly” clay! The gallery, located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City, will host a reception with the artists on Saturday, February 18^thfrom 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Here is a small sampling of what you will find from the galleries three-dimensional artists for the Mainly Clay show:

“For amusement I have been playing with animals in utilitarian ware and in wall pieces. Some have taken the form of cake testers and others appear on platters. Birds populate wall pieces. All aim to delight,” states Doris Fischer-Colbrie. In addition, Doris’s constant exploration of surface treatment of vase forms continues.

By pressing clay bits onto cardboard boxes she uses for molds, Pixie Couch says she makes “boxes from boxes.” After making two of the same box, the pieces are joined together to make a closed box form. A hole in the top and feet are added and “voila” they become small vases, making wonderfully unique gifts.

Couch is also continuing her wall angel series, stretching out clay for wings, and incorporating the human face into the pieces. Couch exclaims, “I have a new lovely white matte glaze that I’m using for my functional bowls, cups and plates. It gives the brushwork decoration a soft, pastel quality.”

Although Susan Wolf doesn’t think of it as a theme, most of the work she presents for this show has to do with butterflies. The Rain Forest Exhibit at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco inspired Wolf and “she knew she needed to do something with butterflies.” Wolf goes on to say that when she makes butterflies out of clay, “they are far more earthbound than I had hoped, but then, clay is about as far away from butterfly wings as one can get. I’m getting some of the colors that I want, and at the moment I am trying to finish a set of teapots with butterflies, that, I am hoping, will convey some of the lightness!”

Nina Koepcke has several themes and sources of inspirations for The Mainly Clay Show; Nursery Rhymes, word play on themes and titles, combining earlier work with new elements to refocus the meaning of the original pieces, and combining found objects with clay images. These lively playful pieces will add that “bit of whimsy and joy” to help remind us to never stop “playing”.

Don’t miss seeing a sampling of some of the Peninsula’s best three-dimensional art at The Main Gallery!

New Year, New Work

themaingallery — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:50:39 +0000

Redwood City, CA –Please join the Main Gallery artists in celebrating the New Year with a sneak peek at their latest work. The New Year New Work show opens January 11th and runs through February 12th. The gallery, located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City, will host a reception with the artists on Saturday, January 14th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m..

Ceramic artists, Pixie Couch, Susan Wolf and Doris Fischer-Colbrie have been working on new clay pieces for the current show, New Year New Work show and the Mainly Clay show, which will showcase many new ceramic pieces by the galleries ceramic group and is scheduled to open February 15th, 2012.

Learn more about our exhibit

The artists are excited to ring in the New Year and share some of their newest work with you! Here is a small sampling of some of the work you will find:

The unique square vases by Pixie Couch are made by stamping and pressing clay within small cardboard boxes. They are wonderful vessels for the safekeeping of those special cherished treasures.

“Seashells” are the continuing theme of Susan Wolf, she is exhibiting a couple of wall pieces that are elongated snail shells of smooth unglazed sculpture clay, one red and one green—“More or less!” Wolf states. For the Mainly Clay show in February Wolf is hoping to have some small butterfly wall plaques of porcelain along with some small cup sets, stoneware jars with painted birds and “perhaps” teapots.

Doris Fischer-Colbrie’s circular ceramic vases explore different surface treatments and use heavily textured glazes. These easy-to-use, dramatic vases have an earthy, raw feel that will enhance any living space. Colbrie exclaims about the Mainly Clay show in February, “I am excited about the new angular vases made from a very coarse clay that I’ll be presenting.”

Having recently found lost poetry written by her mother and grandfather, Belinda Chlouber has monoprints inspired by her grandfather, Arthur Carlos Sweet. “Youth: Love and Loss” utilizes images evoked from the poetry and intertwines bits and pieces of text throughout the work. The work is haunting yet beautiful in its portrayal of youthful love. Also exhibited is a piece inspired by a short story that Chlouber’s mother, Carla Chlouber, wrote, “Woman Not Born Beautiful.” Chlouber states, “In my new work, I want to reach back into the past and create what I call ‘generational art.’ In going through my mother’s papers I realized that I am far more connected as an artist to my ancestors than I had previously thought—that life and art continue across generations.”

This is just a sampling of what to expect with many other new pieces by the galleries artists so come enjoy an evening viewing art celebrating the New Year at The Main Gallery’s reception on Saturday, January 14th from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Stephanie Harper

themaingallery — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:03:50 +0000

Susan Yamaguchi

themaingallery — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:52:04 +0000

Tony Williams

themaingallery — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:36:57 +0000

Nearly twelve years ago, after having spent many years exploring metal sculpture (fun, but too much like my job) and poetry (enlightening, but accessible to so few) as paths to sate my creative desires and establish my place in the world, I found digital photography. This new technology freed me: it freed me from the darkroom; it freed me from the economic and physical limitations of film; it allowed me to be the master of my product. Most importantly the digital milieu permitted me to go out into the wide world, engage its never ending grandeur, record it as I see it, and return with beauty to share.

http://pbase.com/anthonyduanewilliams

Artists

themaingallery — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:10:29 +0000

Clay

Mixed Media

Painting

Photography

Printmaking

Textiles

Andrea Rosenman

Karen Truesdell

themaingallery — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:19:18 +0000

After receiving my BA in biology from Stanford, I took a year off to apprentice at a local pottery and have been working in clay ever since. I went back to art school (San Jose State and the Corcorran) between lab and teaching jobs and now work as an artist/potter. The science background actually has been useful both in glaze chemistry and in anatomy for sculpture as well as inspiration for odd swimming and flying things.

I started out in high fire reduction and while teaching at the Palo Alto Cultural Center produced a series of raku pots. I’m now enjoying cone 6 oxidation. It offers the durability of high fire and the expanded range of color of lower temperatures and no billows of dark smoke. Decoration is done both under and over the glaze, using slips, vitreous engobes and stains in combination with a few glazes. I’m continually experimenting.

Functional work is with a white stoneware and is completely lead free and dishwasher safe. I find it more of a challenge than sculpture, which is why I work a way at both.

My sculptures are fired at cone 6 (2200 F) using terra sigillata, vitreous engobes, glazes and stains to decorate. Most can be outside in our mild California climate. The parts are first thrown and then manipulated. The figures are of a pottery tradition, expanding from the inside, rather than carved away. They evolve as individuals during the working process much as a character in a story comes to be.

I have shown locally for over thirty years and am an exhibiting member of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists.

Email Karen Truesdell: ktrues@caweb.net

Sherry Symington

themaingallery — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:15:34 +0000

In my paintings, I explore feelings through abstract figures and symbolism. Rather than relying on traditional transparent watercolor technique, I apply the paint thickly to create intense colors and textures reminiscent of oil or acrylic painting. Yet watercolor allows me the freedom of quick-drying layers that can be scratched for an interesting effect, and the option to blend wet-into-wet.

My paintings always have something to do with emotions–not about a particular event, person, or time but rather the range of feelings we all experience–sometimes leavened with a touch of humor. Ideally, when you look at my paintings, you become part of the creative process. My goal is to create work that is open to interpretation, yet evocative, so that you’ll resonate with the images in a way that is truly your own.

Saelon Renkes

themaingallery — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:04:11 +0000

My photos are, more than anything else, about the kind of world I want to live in. A world with quiet places of beauty, places of wonder, places that make me want to drink them in deeply. A world with great diversity in all its forms of life, both plants and animals (including a wild variety of humans). I’m in love with the real world, and with all the real people and real shapes within it. I’m fascinated by the emotional range of the human temperament, and by finding it’s reflections in the poses and expressions that people take on of their own accord.

My training includes formal classroom work, workshops and lots of private study, and my subject matter includes the grace and variety of the human form, landscapes, and floral images (especially wildflowers). I use a wide variety of films and camera formats, do all my own processing and printing, and often work on the images (handpainting) after printing as well. I’ve been widely exhibited and published, and I also teach workshops regularly.

Email Saelon Renkes: saelon@saelon.com

The Main Gallery: Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery in Redwood City, CA SF Bay Area

Erna Metzger

Mainly Clay

Flower Plate by Pixie Couch

Is the Cake Done Yet? by Doris Fischer-Colbrie

Woven by Stephanie Harper

Mmmm by Nina Koepcke

New Year, New Work

Necklace by Elfi Altendorfer

Green Relief vase by Pixie Couch

tall

Lips by Belinda Chlouber

Red Snail by Susan Wolf

Crawl-Swirl by Doris Fischer-Colbrie

tall

Morning Glory by Robert Terrebonne

Poppy and Pod by Irene Carvajal

tall

Stephanie Harper

Susan Yamaguchi

Tony Williams

Artists

Clay

Mixed Media

Painting

Photography

Printmaking

Textiles

Karen Truesdell

Sherry Symington

Saelon Renkes