BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT EARTH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                                                                                                                           

Media Contacts:

Beth Rohlfes or Barbara Dolder

rosecurator@surewest.net, roseart@surewest.net    

(916) 783-4117

BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT EARTH

Artists Interpret Nature’s Landscape

ROSEVILLE, Calif., March  25, 2010—“Brilliant Earth,” an exhibit showcasing five artists’ unique interpretations of natural landscape through sculpture, photography and video, will open at the Blue Line Gallery on April 17, 2010, to coincide with Earth Day celebrations in Roseville.

The “Brilliant Earth” exhibit explores the beauty and complexity of the earth’s landscapes through an exciting combination of visual media, from ancient geodes to contemporary video.  It features the work of Granite Bay sculptor Judi Stickney, who works in a variety of stone as well as bronze, and Auburn sculptor Deanna Marsh, whose work includes metal and kiln-formed glass landscapes and landscape tapestries with glass beads and wire weaving. The featured photography pairs the work of David L. Robertson of Davis and Christopher Schiller from Redding, in thirteen combinations of color and black and white.  Digital video projections by Chicago video artist and educator Kevin Evensen present glimpses of nature set to music.  

Education components for “Brilliant Earth” include school tours and evening lectures. Docent tours will be available for grades 1-6 beginning April 20. On April 22, 7:00-8:30pm, gemologist Jim Hutchings will share information on gems and gold in the California landscape and in jewelry. And geologists Jan and Terry James of Jacobson James Geology will be guest speakers on May 20, 7:00-8:30.

In addition to the evening reception, opening day April 17^th will feature family friendly activities, 10am-5pm, as part of Earth Day and Art and Antiques weekend celebrations in downtown Roseville.

WHO:                    Blue Line Gallery

WHAT:                  Brilliant Earth: Sculpture by Judi Stickney and Deanna Marsh; Photography by David L. Robertson and Christopher Schiller; Video art by Kevin Evensen

WHEN:                 Opening April 17. Family activities, 10-5; evening reception, 6:30-9:00 p.m. 

                                Exhibiting April 17 – June 12, 2010; Tues-Sat, 10-5

WHERE:                Blue Line Gallery, 405 Vernon Street, Suite 100, Roseville

WHY:                    To reconnect with our “Brilliant Earth” through art

COST:                    FREE admission; artwork for sale

-more –

ABOUT JUDI STICKNEY

“My quest for unusual stone, minerals, and gems has been like an evolving journey,” said local sculptor Judi Stickney, “with good friends often leading the way.”  Stickney partnered with one of these friends, artist Deanna Marsh, to develop the idea for the “Brilliant Earth” exhibit.  While Stickney has been carving stone in Sacramento only since 1994, her finely polished sculptures use ancient gems and minerals that have taken centuries and even millennia to form.  Her style, she says, “incorporates balance and motion with fluidity from one viewpoint to another so that predictability is challenged.”  Stickney also makes bronze castings of some of her designs. The artist studied under two accomplished sculptors, Saim Caglayan, a Laguna stone sculptor, and Tony Amato in Vista.  Her work is held in private and corporate collections in Northern and Southern California and across the country. She has been represented in local galleries, as well as in LaJolla, Carmel, and Laguna; and has received top awards and participated in numerous exhibitions, most recently the Crocker Art Museum Invitational. She is a member and former board member of Roseville Arts, has juried local art exhibitions and has participated in local studio tours since 1994. More at: www.sculpturebyjudi.com.

ABOUT DEANNA MARSH

“Working in steel, copper, aluminum, and kiln-formed glass, I seek to reconnect the viewer of my landscape sculptures with the brilliance of the natural world,” writes Deanna Marsh.  Inspired by her own emersion in the natural environment, Marsh also creates landscape tapestries. She received her B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design and more recently, studied metalsmithing at Sierra College. She maintains two studios—one for her glass and tapestry work at OLAS (the Old Library Art Studio) in Auburn, California, and one for metal sculpture at home, surrounded by rolling foothills and her farm animals.  She is a dedicated advocate for the preservation of the environment as well as for growing a healthy art community in the region. In 2007, she received a grant from the Placer Community Foundation to prepare seminars for Placer County Artists. She is a member of Roseville Arts and an active leader and participant in two annual studio tours, the Loomis Art Loop on Mother’s Day and the Placer Arts Autumn Art Tour every November.  Her interior and landscape sculpture commissions include commercial and residential installations throughout North America—in homes, gardens, office buildings, hospitals and places of worship. More at:  www.central-park-studio.com; deanna@central-park-studio.com.

ABOUT DAVID L. ROBERTSON

David l. Robertson has exhibited his photography widely in Northern California over the past few years, including exhibits at the Pence Gallery in Davis, Viewpoint Gallery in Sacramento and Lincoln Arts Gallery. His work has been accepted into numerous juried exhibitions, among them the Roseville Arts 33^rd Juried National Open Show at the Blue Line Gallery and the City of Davis Fourth Annual Arts Show, in which he was winner of the Juror’s Choice Award.  Robertson’s photographs have been published on magazine covers, CD covers and event posters. More at www.photographybydlr.com.

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER SCHILLER
Christopher Schiller was born and raised in Oregon, the son of a forester. His childhood in Oregon fostered both an affection for trees and a desire to explore contrasting landscapes. He has been photographing the American West for over 20 years, seeking out places and views rarely or never photographed before.  A graduate of both the University of Colorado at Boulder and Stanford University, Schiller has exhibited his work throughout Northern California over the past ten years and has participated in exhibitions at Viewpoint and Asylum Galleries in Sacramento, as well as at University of the Pacific in Stockton and in Colorado. More at: www.schillerimages.com/about.htm.

ABOUT KEVIN EVENSEN

Kevin Evensen is a multi-disciplinary video artist and educator based in Chicago, Illinois.  With a degree in Education from Northern Illinois University, Evensen worked with a variety of age groups from pre-school to adult, in addition to providing curriculum consultation for private schools in Chile and Guatemala and art instruction to students in the Ottawa Elementary School District in Ottawa, Illinois.  Since earning his Master of Fine Arts at NIU, Evensen’s artwork has incorporated various aspects of digital video and sound into projections or installations, while maintaining a focus on the conceptual aspects of defining extended moments in time. He has participated in world-wide solo and group exhibitions and his work is included in museum, public and private collections throughout the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. He has worked with a number of musicians and composers including Larry Austin, Steve Duke, Patrick Godon, Jacqueline Peatry and Paul Wertico. The artist currently lives outside the Chicago area with his family, including his wife Linda and their four children. More at: http://www.kevinevensen.net.

ABOUT  THE  BLUE LINE GALLERY

2009 VOTED #1 ART GALLERY IN THE SACRAMENTO REGION—KCRA  A-LIST

& FAVORITE ART GALLERY IN ROSEVILLE, GRANITE BAY, ROCKLIN—STYLE MAGAZINE

Roseville Arts’ Blue Line Gallery is a non-profit community center for the arts.  Further information may be obtained on the website:  www.rosevillearts.org or by calling (916) 783-4117. To set up an interview or to request high resolution photography, please contact Veronika Nagy at roseart@surewest.net

# # #