Cover to Page 9 - Mendocino Art Center

Spring / Summer 2013
COMPLIMENTARY
MendocinoArts
ART AND CULTURE IN MENDOCINO COUNTY
PUBLISHED BY THE MENDOCINO ART CENTER

NEW AD COMING
Taste of
Chocolate, Wine & Ale
Sunday, May 26, 1:00pm – 4:00pm
MENDOCINO ART CENTER
Join us for the afternoon!
fine Wine • Micro-Brewed Ales • Decadent Chocolate
Artisanal Treats • fabulous Silent Auction
Advance Tickets: $25 ◆ Day of Event: $30
A fundraiser for the
Mendocino Music Festival and Mendocino Art Center
Sponsored by
Pamela Hudson Real Estate
707 937-4041
mendocinomusic.org
707 937-5818, ext. 10
MendocinoArtCenter.org

Mendocino County Museum
Discover unique artifacts and exhibits reflecting
our heritage. Wine History, Stagecoaches and
Wagons, the racehorse Seabiscuit, the Creamery,
and much more.
Special Exhibit through August
THE TELLING LINE
Illustrations of industrial history
and children’s books by David Weitzman
GALLERY OF DECORATIVE
AND FINE ARTS
September exhibit on Singing the Golden State
2ND ANNUAL WILLITS
KINETIC CARNIVALE
Coming September 7 & 8, 2013
Grand Ball on September 7th
Celebrate steam history with
Handcar Races, a Country Fair, and
Steam-Up with ROOTS OF MOTIVE
POWER.
Browse in our Museum Shop · Local Arts & Crafts
400 East Commercial Street, Willits, CA
Call 707-459-2736 for more information.
Special tours are available by reservation.
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00am–4:30pm
www.MendocinoMuseum.org
For the Art Collector
and the Craft Lover
45052 Main Street, Mendocino, CA
707 937-3132 • www.thehighlightgallery.com

Support the Arts and give yourself
the gift of art . . .
The Mendocino Art Center Needs You!
unique gallery shows · low-cost open studio sessions
art fairs and musical concerts
world-class art classes taught by renowned instructors
exhibition opportunities
Mendocino Arts magazine
Your membership brings vital cultural programs to the
community and economic opportunities to artists.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS AT ALL LEVELS
• 10% discount on each class registration.
• 15% discount for Mendocino County members.
• Artist exhibition opportunities in the gallery.
• Artist opportunities in the gallery shop.
• Invitations to participate in Members’ Juried Exhibits.
• Discounts at 13 participating local businesses.
• Mendocino Arts magazine and event information.
• Waiver of $25 class registration fee.
• Discounted CALSTAR ($30/year, regular rate $45) and
REACH ($35/year, regular rate $50) memberships.
• Special rate for Suburban Propane (up to 20% off
residential propane per gallon prices).
ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
• Sustaining and Patron members are invited to special
gallery events and listed annually in Mendocino Arts.
• Annual Zacha Legacy Society member names placed
in the Zacha Legacy Society gallery window.
• Permanent Legacy Society members giving $25,000 or
more are listed in the gallery in perpetuity.
BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
• Business Partners are listed on the MAC website.
• Website Sponsors receive logo recognition on the
Mendocino Art Center home page.
For details visit
www.MendocinoArtCenter.org/membership.html
YES! I want to ❏ Become a Mendocino Art Center Member
❏ Renew My Annual Membership
❏ Individual $65
❏ Household (maximum
two members) $100
❏ Student (12+) $30
❏ Senior (70+) $30
❏ Sustaining $250
❏ Patron $500
❏ Business: Partner $150
❏ Business: Web Site
Sponsor $500
❏ Annual Zacha Legacy
Society:
❏ $1,000 ❏ $2,500
❏ Other __________
Name
Address
City State Zip
Phone
E-mail
❏ Check (payable to Mendocino Art Center OR
❏ Charge my ❏ Visa ❏ MasterCard ❏ Discover
in the amount of $
Account #
Exp. Date
Authorized Signature
I am also interested in:
❏ Volunteering ❏ Sponsoring an exhibit ❏ Bequests, living
trusts, memorials, building fund or the MAC Endowment fund
Mendocino Art Center
P.O. Box 765, Mendocino, CA 95460
707-937-5818, ext. 10 • 800-653-3328, ext. 10
2 Mendocino Arts Magazine

Table of Contents
Published by the Mendocino Art Center
Vol. XLIV, No. 1, May 2013
Editorial: From Our Board President . . . . . . . . . 5
6
Sunshine Taylor: artist/dancer . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Nick Schwartz and the Flynn Creek Pottery . . . . . . 8
Walt Rush: Waiting for the Wings . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mendocino Open Paint Out: a plein air festival . . . . . 12
10
Coloratura Soprano Marja Liisa Kay . . . . . . . . . 14
Meet MAC’s Instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Mendocino Coast Garden Tour . . . . . . . . . . . 22
12
Summer Classes at the Mendocino Art Center . . . . . . 24
On Exhibit at the Mendocino Art Center . . . . . . . . 26
Mendocino & Lake County Gallery Guide . . . . . . . 30
Glass Artist Kale Haschak . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
22
Mendocino & Lake County Restaurant Guide . . . . . . 38
Gallery of Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Events Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Poetry: Henrietta Bensussen . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
34
Mendocino Arts promotes the arts by offering space to artists, writers, craftspeople and performers
and by providing information on arts and entertainment in Mendocino County. Submissions of unsolicited
non-fi ction articles, photographs or artwork for consideration in Mendocino Arts must include a
SASE or we cannot be responsible for their return. We welcome announcements of upcoming events
to be included as space permits.
Spring/Summer 2013 3

54 rd Annual
Summer Arts & Crafts Fair
Saturday & Sunday, July 13 & 14
10am–5pm
Clockwise from top left: Cynthia Myers,
Wendy Newell, Jima Abbott, Valerie Adams
Over 50 Juried Artists
Paintings • Photography • Glass Works
Ceramics • Jewelry • Sculpture • Wood
Textiles • Garden Art
I
Live Music Both Days • Festive Food & Drink
FREE ADMISSION
MENDOCINO ART CENTER
45200 Little Lake Street at Kasten Street, Mendocino
707 937-5818 • 800 653-3328 • MendocinoArtCenter.org
FAMILY
HANDS
• Discover
• Decorate
• Design
A gallery of unique furnishings for your home!
Lighting • Art Rugs • Furniture
Gifts from around the globe
Corner of Franklin and Redwood,
Fort Bragg
707 961-0236
4 Mendocino Arts Magazine

MendocinoArts
ART AND CULTURE IN MENDOCINO COUNTY
SPRING/SUMMER 2013
PUBLISHER
Mendocino Art Center
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Mike McDonald
EDITOR
Peggy Templer
ART DIRECTION / GRAPHIC PRODUCTION
Elizabeth Petersen, RevUp Creative Media
SALES
COAST: Steven P. Worthen – 707 964-2480,
707 813-7669
INLAND: Jill Schmuckley – 707 391-8057
ANDERSON VALLEY: Liz Petersen - 707 964-2965
Gallery of ARTISTS ADS: David Russell – 707 513-6015
SPRING/SUMMER DISTRIBUTION – 17,000
FALL 2013/WINTER 2014 DEADLINE – July 15, 2013
MENDOCINO ART CENTER STAFF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Lindsay Shields
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Mike McDonald
EDUCATION DIRECTOR: Karen Bowers
GALLERY DIRECTOR: Megan Smithyman
BOOKKEEPER: Virginia Neira
REGISTRAR/CASHIER: Marja Kay
PROGRAM COORDINATORS:
Ceramics — Nick Schwartz
Fiber Arts — Nancy Collins
Fine Art — Arlene Reiss
Jewelry — Nancy Gardner
Sculpture — Keith Middlesworth
FACILITIES: Gabe Arreguin
MENDOCINO ART CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT: Liliana Cunha
VICE PRESIDENT: Patrick Keller
TREASURER: John Cornacchia
SECRETARY: Dale Moyer
Chuck Bush
Stephen Dedola
Janis Porter
Nick Schwartz
Lucia Zacha
MENDOCINO ART CENTER
45200 Little Lake Street • P.O. Box 765
Mendocino, CA 95460
707 937-5818 • 800 653-3328
FAX: 707 937-4625
register@mendocinoartcenter.org
www.MendocinoArtCenter.org
Mendocino Art Center Mission Statement:
The mission of the Mendocino Art Center is to be a vital
cultural resource, providing a broad range of the highest
quality educational and exhibition opportunities in the arts
to all people.
Founded by Bill Zacha in 1959 as a nonprofit organization
to support, foster, advance and promote artistic awareness
and participation.
COVER IMAGE: John Hewitt, Noyo, 22" x 30", watercolor
From Our Board President…
As usual, the Art Center is a beehive of activity. Right now the buzz is all
about the rebuilding of our administration offices, which is scheduled for
completion about the time you receive this magazine. Then we begin the
process of all the finish work: painting, carpeting, built-ins and furniture,
all to be completed before summer classes start. Wow! Check the Web site
for the date of the ribbon cutting.
In February we held our first MAC Academy Awards fundraiser and
presented the first MACA (Mendocino Art Center Award) to Marge Stewart,
former board member, jewelry and fine art coordinator, graphic artist, and
staff person extraordinaire. Congratulations, Marge, and thank you for your
many contributions to the Art Center.
We are proud to announce the resumption of the Mendocino Art
Center Sunday Afternoon Concert Series. Dr. Marja Liisa Kay, mastermind
and coordinator, invites us to join her on the first Sunday of every month
for an adventure in the world of music. Enjoy everything from classical to
contemporary, vocal jazz to strings to piano. Dr. Kay is an extraordinary
contemporary vocalist, musicologist, and Art Center Registrar. Please come
by and meet her in the business office when you register for a class, renew
your membership or buy event tickets.
Our summer calendar of events begins on Memorial Day weekend
with the second annual A Taste of Chocolate, Wine and Ale followed by
the Mendocino Coast Garden Tour, the Summer Arts & Crafts Fair, and
ending in September with the first Mendocino Art Center Open Paint Out.
The Paint Out promises to be a most exciting event, with eight celebrity
artist judges participating in this week-long plein air festival. Join us, and
experience for yourselves the magical quality of light that we enjoy in one
of the most beautiful coastal environments in the world.
Information and applications for all our events and classes are available
on our Web site at: www.MendocinoArtCenter.org. Please come by;
we’d love to see you!
~ Liliana Cunha, Board President
Spring/Summer 2013 5

Sunshine Taylor . . .
artist / dancer
By Debbie L. Holmer
ccording to
Sunshine Taylor’s
biography, she began
painting in watercolor
in 1981, while living in northern Vermont. A native
Californian, Sunshine returned to her home state in 1989.
After 20 years of creating watercolors, she has now added
a new direction and is working in acrylics, which are providing
her with a brilliant avenue for her love of color.
Sunshine created the 1998 poster for Art in the
Gardens, the 2005 “Winesong!” poster, as well as the
Mendocino Art Center’s 2006 “Mendocino Coast Garden
Tour” poster.
She lives in a magical little compound in Caspar – her
home and studio are adjacent to Caspar
Gardens – a healing kind of place. I love
spending time in Sunshine’s studio. It’s
filled with light. Her paintings, both
complete and in-process, are everywhere,
family pictures abound and are
tucked into little nooks and crannies,
and there’s an especially comfy, cozy
chair, just right for this interviewer.
Sunshine grew up in North
Hollywood, graduated from North
Hollywood High School, and attended
Santa Monica Junior College.
Sunshine moved here in 1989 with
her first husband. Now married for
13 years to Glenn Rude (they met in
a dance class, of course), Sunshine is
Photo: Larry R. Wagner.
Luscious, 7.5" x 5.5", acrylic.
Greeting the Sun, 14" x 11", acrylic.
busy not only with her art but also with swing dancing.
She refers to her husband and dance partner as “fabulous
and enthusiastic. We are avid Lindy Hoppers! It’s like living
my childhood all over again!” And she continues painting
through all of it.
What led Sunshine to become an artist? In her early
20s, Sunshine received a set of watercolors as a gift, and
she’s been painting ever since. “Living in Vermont, there
was lots of time in the winter, so I would
paint and paint and paint. I started selling
my paintings early on and joined a
local painting group.” Sunshine continues,
“I’ve always wanted to express
myself. I started drawing rainbows, little
things, then started with watercolors.”
Although she has studied with a number
of noted artists, including Robert
Burridge and Bob Rhoades, she is primarily
self-taught.
Although Sunshine has gone from
watercolors to acrylics, she still loves
both. “I go back and forth, and have
separate work tables for each.” And
these days, she loves the combination
of watercolor with acrylic ink
6 Mendocino Arts Magazine

Waiting for the Honeymooners, 14" x 20", watercolor.
backgrounds. “With the inks I can get the depth of color,
combining them both and adding textures at times. I get
most excited about that.”
Her paintings dance; you can actually see the movement
of the flower or leaf or whatever it is she has painted.
Her paintings are happy and joyful, just like the artist
who paints them. Her colors are brilliant – again, just
like Sunshine! Her inspiration comes from “Life! That’s
what it’s all about.”
The body of Sunshine’s work has always been about
personal exploration, and she is constantly trying something
new. Both her watercolors and acrylics are well
received in this community and elsewhere. Sunshine’s
work is represented by the Prentice Gallery in Mendocino
and the Mendocino Art Center. Her work is also widely
collected on both the East and West Coast, Canada, and
Photo: Larry R. Wagner.
Europe.
What does Sunshine recommend for the young artist
starting out? “Just do whatever is in your soul and get it
out; whether it’s on paper, cardboard, canvas, express it,
and don’t let anyone hold you back.”
In her spare time — oh, that’s right; she doesn’t have
any spare time! However, when she’s not painting, she’s
practicing dance steps, or gardening, especially in the
summer. Sunshine also loves to travel.
What does Sunshine want viewers to see when they
look at her work? “I want them to feel good and see the
beauty in the world and how that comes through to me
and out through my paint brush. The best that I can do is
put positive energy into this world. I want to give people
the gift I’ve been given of creativity and create paintings
that make not only me feel good, but others also. And the
same goes for dancing; when I look around the room and
see people with smiles on their faces. There is a lot of good
in the world. It’s an amazing, beautiful place.”
What’s Sunshine’s idea of perfect happiness? “Dancing
all night long with my husband, Glenn – especially at the
Sacramento Jazz Festival over Memorial Day weekend.
We’ve been doing that festival for 11 or 12 years. However,
anything that Glenn and I do is perfect happiness to
me.”
Sunshine Taylor has managed to combine her passions
for art and dancing into a marvelous mix, making
life joyful not only for her but for all of us who have the
privilege of seeing her art work or watching her perform
a new dance step.
Visit Sunshine's blog at sunshinetaylorgallery.blogspot.
Above it All, 7" x 9, watercolor and acrylic ink.
com
Spring/Summer 2013 7

By Peggy Templer
Right: Commemorative Jug, 16" x 8" x 8",
anagama-fired porcelain.
Nick Schwartz was a disaffected Manhattan teenager,
“uninspired and depressed,” when he fortuitously crossed
paths with an art teacher who took him to see a film of two
clay artists doing a wood firing. Nick’s whole life changed
at that moment, and ever since he has been on “a path of
bliss,” guided by “one great mentor after another.” Nick
received a Special Talent Scholarship to attend Eckerd
College in Florida, and while there was invited to Japan to
be a woodfiring apprentice. Nick says, “I witnessed many
people discovering the seduction of the wood-fire process,
some of whom were brought to tears by the metaphors of
the fire and how they related to their own lives. There is
something inherently human about gathering around a
fire, bellies full, feeling the warmth and comfort, playing
music and talking to one another.” (Clay Times, Summer,
2011)
On the recommendation of instructor/mentor Brian
Ransom, Nick came to the Mendocino Coast in 1999,
opening the Red Room Gallery across the street from
Mendosa’s Market. He also received a grant to build a wood
kiln in Albion. Not long after, he established Flynn Creek
Pottery in Comptche.
Flynn Creek Pottery
developed simultaneously
with one of Nick’s
other interests, the Flynn Creek Circus. His partner at the
time was a classically trained trapeze artist who wanted
to establish a circus. They invited circus performers to
come to the property in Comptche to train. Nick served
as Technical Director, trapeze artist, strongman and sharpshooter!
They began making reusable ceramic cups and
bowls to sell at circus performances, thereby eliminating
much of the trash usually associated with concession
stands. The pottery was a big hit and “always sold out,”
so Nick began building a ceramics facility to produce
them. Thus Flynn Creek Pottery was born, which is the
embodiment of his passion for woodfiring and for the
strong sense of community engendered in that technique.
Flynn Creek Pottery now boasts a residency and visiting
artist program, provides studios and housing in a communal
setting, and facilitates research into atmospheric
kiln firing processes.
8 Mendocino Arts Magazine

Nick with his wife, Jessica Rae Thompson.
The centerpiece of Flynn Creek Pottery is a large anagama
kiln. Nick explains that an anagama is a Japanese
style kiln which uses firewood as both a fuel source and
a surface treatment technique, creating an aesthetic all its
own. An anagama firing is a long, slow process, requiring
7 to 10 days, 24 hours a day to complete, ample time
to foster that sense of community so important to Nick’s
vision of the artistic process.
Nick says of the results from an anagama firing, “I
consider the finished product a result of everything that
occurred at the kiln site during the firing. In other words,
the finished product resonates
deeply with the human spirit, and
speaks of tectonic forces and our
relationship with the natural world
as well as with each other. For me,
firing the anagama is a celebration
of that which makes us human,
and a testimony to our capacity to
work together to accomplish great
goals.” (Clay Times)
Nick makes two different lines
of pottery. One is wood fired, functional
ware such as jugs, mugs,
and bowls priced to sell or trade
locally. The other line is for serious
collectors, museums and galleries.
These pieces consist primarily of
sculptural vessels, monumental
vessels and pots reserved for ceremonial
use, such as a formal tea
ceremony. These pieces are produced
in the anagama kiln and
Bottle, 16" x 6" x 6", anagama-fired porcelain.
are unglazed (enhanced only by what the anagama kiln
firing process produces). Nick shows his work at TRAX
Gallery in Berkeley, and Prentice Gallery locally. In May
he is part of a four-person exhibit at TRAX also featuring
Judith Duff, Jack Troy, and John Dix.
Nick has a long association with the Mendocino Art
Center. His mentors had told him about MAC and he
sought it out immediately upon his arrival on the north
coast, introducing himself to Ceramics Director Kent
Rothman. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work at
once, helping to rebuild and refurbish all of MAC’s kilns,
and providing materials and supplies along with other
much needed improvements. He also began teaching
ceramics workshops at MAC in 2003, which he continues
to do. In 2009, Nick joined the MAC Board of Directors.
Today, Nick is also serving as the Coordinator of the
Ceramics Department, which he calls a “labor of love.”
Nick says, “The Ceramics program at MAC is doing
better than ever now. We even have a satellite intensive
workshop scheduled that is a pairing of MAC and Flynn
Creek Pottery.” As a teacher, he encourages his students
to “embrace serendipity and irregularity – and accept not
being able to totally control the process. It is the process,
not the artist, that determines the final result. We’re just
along for the ride.”
Nick is married to ceramist Jessica Rae Thompson, a
collaboration he describes as a
“creative union.” Jessica is a professor
of ceramics at the College
of the Redwoods. Together, Nick
and Jessica and friends are trying
to make Mendocino County
a vital ceramics community,
and are exploring all avenues
to accomplish that. “We’re well
on the way,” Nick says. “Word
spreads fast.” One thing they
hope to eventually create is a
vocational program for production
potters. Nick says enthusiastically,
“Ceramics is very strong
on the Mendocino Coast and it’s
exciting to be a part of it.”
For more information on Nick
Schwartz and Flynn Creek
Pottery, visit flynncreekpottery.
com
Spring/Summer 2013 9