After our show "Ride & Walk4 Art" left the gallery, this is what it looked like. Just a nearly empty room and some random litter on the floor. 

But that was before Monday, when these three ladies (Clockwise from top left: Gayle Lorraine; Sarah Switek; Dereen Deschryver) descended and started designing the layout. They spent hours hanging artwork. We fed them doughnuts.

This is what I saw when I walked into the gallery this morning. Joyous art everywhere, every piece placed to make every other piece look its best. 

The gray panels are new to the gallery. They give us more space to hang art, plus they give the gallery a polished, professional look. 

Take some time and visit us at the gallery and see this smashing show. Help support local artists and enjoy the wonderful art. You might see something you'd like to take home!

We're throwing a reception for the artists Sunday, April 30, from 3 to 5 p.m., but the gallery is also open during the week and on most weekends. 
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Gallery Hours 
(it's always a good idea to call ahead to make sure someone is there)
Monday - Thursday: 11am - 5pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - 3pm

We hung over 100 artworks out to the Calaveras County Airport on Saturday April 22 to help them celebrate their annual Fly-in, and the show was great. We really nailed a landing. You can see this show in the galley starting March 26th through May, with a reception on Sunday, April 30, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

People loved seeing the artwork, with pieces like "Checking In" and "Dream of Hawking" by Marlene Bradford describing different aspects of the show's theme, "Flight."

Board member Sarah Switek was the curator and coordinator for this show. She led a team of volunteers, arranged for publicity and artist outreach, and was in charge of organizing and hanging the show. Thank you Sarah!

Gayle Lorraine brought her artist aesthetics and expertise in creating exhibits that show off the art in the best arrangement.

Board member Dereen DeSchryver was indispensable with organizing things, and casting her artistic eye on the display as she helped hang it.

The striking ceramic piece "Ascension," by Nancy Thompson fascinated the crowds.

We had a table with supplies for making paper airplanes and gliders that Board President Cynthia Przybyla taught us to make. The kids really enjoyed flying them, but not as much as the grownups did! There were several impromptu distance competitions throughout the day.

John Dettrick led the Calaveras Community Band with a rousing rendition of Rubber Duckie.

Students at Toyon Middle School, led by teacher Autumn Hesser, created some really fabulous artwork.

Many contributing artists came out to see the show. Nancy Shaw said her cat was the inspiration for her sculpture "Lily's Tenth Life."

Rosanne Ingalls stands next to her painting, "Wings of Innocence." 

Allison Blansit with her painting "First Flight."

Marlene Chapple with her encaustic painting, "He's Feathering Her Nest." 

We couldn't have done this show without the help of volunteers from Americorp, Dani Hodge, Kelie Reimer, Anisha Borthakur, Carter Whitestone, and Matt Derynioski.

Thanks to all our volunteers for this show, especially Ann Dasch, Steven Hall, Ruth and Arvid Morrow, Fara Roberts, Bob Switek, Nancy Thompson, Don Urbanis, Mitchi Watanabe, Penny West, and Rob Williams,. 

This sculpture, "Dragonfly" by Will Mosgrove captured the essence of art, creativity, and flight. Which is exactly what this show is about.

We are all a-flutter getting ready for our upcoming show Flight.  Featuring the work of artists from around the Mother Lode and beyond, the exhibition celebrates interpretations of flight that include a pelican flapping through the sky, chocolate Labrador retriever leaping after a Frisbee, a dragonfly made from rusty saw blades, and a ceramic sculpture of a woman with a hawk. There's all that and much, much more.

The response from artists has been tremendous for this show; over 50 artists have submitted their work and art is stacked all over the gallery. Artist Anne Cook from Mokelumne Hill said, "It's such an inspiring theme." Board member and Coordinator Sarah Switek, who is curating Flight, says we have a wide range of artwork.  “It’s an artistic interpretation of flight,” Switek said. “It could be anything from natural flight to mechanical flight. It could even be an abstract interpretation. We have some thought provoking pieces.”

“Flight is viewed as something of beauty, a wonderment,” Switek says. “But you see it every day, all around us. It’s a good theme for artists to explore.” 

Flight will open on April 22 as part of the Calaveras Air Fair 2017 Fly-in and Open House at the Calaveras County Airport, just outside the town of San Andreas. Switek hopes that it will help pull together the community, and make people aware of the Council and of the airport. “I think people are going to love seeing it. It’s a win-win situation for the airport show, the community, and area artists,” she said.
 
After the Air Fair, the artwork of Flight will move to the Council Gallery Store at 22 Main Street where it will be on display April 26 through May 30. There will be a public artist reception Sunday April 30..

Susan Conner has been remarkably successful in the five years since she started seriously shooting pictures. She has won multiple awards, shown in group exhibitions, and has had a solo show with Amador County Arts Council. She recently worked on images about the Delta that were for the Bay-Delta Science Conference, and this spring two of her photos won awards at the Tuolumne County Arts Alliance’s annual InFocus Photography Competition and Exhibition.

Susan exhibits with the Arts Council regularly. Look for her amazing image of birds winging over their own reflections in our upcoming show, Flight.
 
Conner’s advice to beginning photographers? Get out and shoot. “You want to become a better photographer? Go shoot images and look at what you shot. You can pull up the information, ask yourself why did I like that? Think about what kind of artwork you like, what kind of photographs do you like? What is it about that photograph that you like. You can go shoot in that style to help you get started. Sooner or later, your voice, who you are, will start to come through.”
 
You can see more of Susan’s wonderful images online:
www.susanseye.com
​Her instagram feed: @susan___conner

There's a slide show of her work below. It takes a while to load, so go pour a cup of coffee and when you get back, have a look. It's worth the wait.

Susan participated in our first series of homecoming vignettes for our ❤️Art Beats for Veterans, and kindly allowed us to use her images on our website. Thank you Susan!

Don't forget that we'll start accepting entries to the show "Flight" next week. Read below for the particulars.

The next gallery show will be 
Flight
All art should be about flight, by plane, kite, bird, bug, bee, angel, devil, soaring heart, or any other creative interpretation of flight.  
Artwork will be displayed at the Calaveras Co. Airport annual Airfair 2017 event, to be followed by a one month gallery show at the Calaveras County Arts Council in San Andreas. 
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Important dates at the gallery:  
April 17-19 Accepting artwork at the gallery
April 22  Artwork displayed at the Calaveras County airport during Airfaire 2017
April 23-May 30 Artwork displayed at the gallery
June 1-3 Pick-up artwork at the gallery

Theme:
The miracle, mystery, and mastery of flight.
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Please respond with size and number of pieces: 209/754-1774 or arts@goldrush.com

Members of arts councils in the Mother Lode: Free
Non-members:$20

Each artist may bring up to 3 pieces; all media accepted. All work must be original and created by the artist. Art must be wired and ready to hang. Wrap all artwork with reusable material to protect it during transport, and label artwork and packaging. Please place label on back of artwork with artist name, artwork title, and price. 

Sunday was a fine day for creating art behind the gallery. Laundry appeared on the staircase behind the  Calaveras County Museum, and volunteer Robert Mierzwak brought a beautiful 48-star flag that made the scene absolutely striking.

 These were our main actors, a group of top-notch actors who volunteered their time to dress in period costumes and stand in the sun all morning. Thank you! You were all super professional and patient beyond measure. Top row from left: Alex Atherton, Gillian Garrett, Kristina Gianelli. Bottom row from left: Jared Bisbikis, Cecilia O'Geen, Emily Buss. 

Jared Bisbikis, Cecilia O'Geen, Emily Buss portray the family of a returning soldier. That wonderful cape—a vintage woolen cape—that Ms. Buss is wearing is courtesy of the Calaveras County Museum. The folks at the museum were more than kind to lend us this cape, as well allowing us the use of the stairway for our vignettes.

Robert Mierzwak and our own executive director, Kathy Mazzaferro, took a turn, posing in costume for the artists.

Mr. Mierzwak played the part of a World War I doughboy, as well as setting up a display about America at war. He passed out red poppies, the traditional flower to remember Flanders Fields and those who died there. We want to thank him for his time and the fabulous stories he told about his character, Fritz the soldier.

Mr. Mierzwak brought many collectibles for display, including this German military pickelhaube helmet. 

These were some of our artists who came out to draw and paint the scene.  They got started on what promises to be excellent works of art, and we are looking forward to seeing what they create. 

We'll meet again on May 7 starting at 10 am to recreate homecomings from World War II. If you're an artist, writer, or musician, you'll enjoy this opportunity to work from live models in period costumes and historic items. If you're a veteran interested in creating art of your own, we'll have free drawing supplies for you at the gallery. Or just come down and tell us your stories.