A Walk Through the Cypress, by Elizabeth Monks Hack, Cypress Gallery Reporter
When you visit the Cypress Gallery this month, be prepared to experience delightful, tactile, opulent eye candy! Our front gallery room features “Expressions,”a display of 252 miniature artworks mounted on twenty-one black rectangular boards. Having the appearance of exquisite boxes of chocolates, each one is a little jewel, or delectable petit-four. Gallery artist (and treasurer, historian and publicist) Kathy Badrak initiated an art challenge to gallery members awhile back. Inspired by a public exhibition that presented artwork on a myriad of Post-it Notes, she suggested we all try our hand at making art on a 4” by 4” canvas. The rule was “Anything you want!” and the hope was that we would collectively produce a show of great diversity and creativity. That certainly happened, with some artists getting so enthusiastic over the project they submitted multiples, like a dozen.
The paintings are precious in size and generous in creative bounty. Some artists made smaller versions of their own style, while others veered, nay zoomed, away from what they usually produce. The small size seemed to stimulate the right side of the brain and expand boundaries. Some works are three-dimensional, bearing little sculptures, found objects, beading and relief work. Others are realistic: a tiny bird, a single strawberry, a precise landscape. Every type of abstraction is represented – pours, splats, shapes and pattern. A sign on the wall asks that viewers not touch the artworks, because that is exactly what these works stimulate us to instinctively do: touch, feel, explore! Just as you do when looking at jewels, or a box of chocolates!
The artworks in the main gallery features works just as colorful and inviting, only larger. My favorite this month is “Quiet Beauty” by Linda Gooch, a square large format, close-up of a pink rose, that draws the viewer into its center. Sensitively rendered in watercolor, it is an object of meditation, a place of calm. Julia Nash has a striking early modernist portrait on display, called “The Melting Gargoyle,” which disrupts conventional notions of color and perspective. The mysterious “Night Stalker” by Mikel Nacarrato depicts a lioness setting out on a twilight hunt in an orange and blue-violet world.
Last month our committed gallery members engaged in some significant community outreach. Sonya Cross, a 3rd grade teacher from Fillmore Elementary called to ask if the we gave tours. Ms. Badrak answered the phone, and said “YES!” because when opportunity knocks, that is the proper response. She assembled a team of nine, and they prepared a program for over 60 school children, broken into four groups, in which they toured two murals, toured the gallery, learned about art and gallery etiquette, and did a take-home art project in the gazebo. Teachers, we are open for business next year! And it is free.
July marks a “Life Event” for the Cypress Gallery. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary! To prepare for the festivities, artists Linda Gooch, Vicki Andersen and Annie Thompson have painstakingly, lovingly restored the picturesque murals on the outside of our building, which had faded over time. The Chamber of Commerce came for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark this milestone. A reception to celebrate the “Expressions” show and the anniversary will take place on Saturday, July 13, to which the public is invited. A children’s art day, and a scarf-dyeing class are also planned later in July.
We invite all of you to share in our celebration of creativity this month. Enjoy the amuse-bouches of “Expressions,” shop for gifts and perhaps take home a bona fide treasure. Contact the gallery for information on hours and events. Find us at www.lompocvalleyartassociation.com, on Facebook, and at 119 East Cypress Avenue, Lompoc. Phone (805) 737-1129.
The Cypress Gallery is operated by the members of the Lompoc Valley Art Association, a 501c(3) non-profit organization, committed to expanding and supporting access and exposure to the arts in the Lompoc and Santa Ynez Valley.