Curator's Note - January 2011

A new year! And the opportunity to welcome you to a host of new art experiences at the Blue Line Gallery! 

In the spirit of new beginnings, this year’s exhibition schedule kicks off with one exhibit dedicated exclusively to photography, another show titled “New Beginnings” that celebrates 41 of our member artists and a third show featuring emerging artists from Roseville’s Cooley Middle School. We will try to revive that freshness repeatedly throughout the year with an array of themes and art media, traditional and out-of-the-box experiences.

Those of you who have been around our halls for awhile may recall the annual photo show we hosted for many years. In the interim since the last of those, some eight years ago, photography has become more widely accepted as a legitimate art medium. Now photographers are encouraged to enter our open shows. Digital photography and the varying degrees of computer manipulation are also recognized as acceptable processes with intriguing artistic possibilities. The Photography Exhibition opening January 15 includes an eclectic mix of traditional and new technology and a full range of themes.

Our photo juror, Lewis Kemper, specializes in nature and outdoor photography, having launched his career in the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite some 30 years ago. Showing mastery of both traditional and digital formats, Kemper’s work is used internationally for editorial and commercial uses and appears extensively in publications by The Sierra Club and The National Geographic Society, among others. In 2003 he was named to Canon USA’s elite group of photographers, The Explorers of Light.  Kemper is also a respected author and teacher.

2011 offers generous opportunities own the works of our ever-expanding and evolving list of member artists, starting with January’s “New Beginnings” in the WestPark Gallery. Our second annual Juried Membership Show, with 50 pieces chosen by CSUS professor Elaine O’Brien, will show in March, and a display dedicated to “Vistas” will follow in February.  And there’s more coming later, including some summer surprises.

Finally, the children’s gallery will bring an exciting array of featured schools from Roseville and the greater South Placer region. March features our 30-somethingth annual high school show--always an impressive testament to the value of arts education in our schools.

You are invited to come see all this and more! Whether you step into the Blue Line to support an artist in your family, to purchase artwork for your collection or to be curious and appreciative, we welcome you. 

Thank you for your ongoing support! 

Beth Rohlfes

Curator's Note - November 2010

My husband Larry and I enjoyed a visit (my first) to Las Vegas this past weekend and had a great time, even as we gained a new appreciation for the Blue Line Gallery. We spent one day hiking up and down the strip, side tripping into each of the major casinos to catch summary impressions of their grandiloquent, individual personalities. We searched out the Dale Chihuly glass installations and enjoyed rare moments of quiet at the Bellagio’s fine art gallery--even found a David A. Carter pop-up book in their gift shop! Finally, we escaped into one amazing, not–to-be-missed show—Cirque du Soleil ‘s “The Beatles:  LOVE.” After this adventure in sensory overload, I return to the Blue Line with new appreciation for its calm, clean space and the opportunity it offers to focus on one thing (or two or three) at a time!

Thankfully, you can join us for just the right amount of sensory stimulation here at the Blue Line in November. To catch the complementary threesome (“Black & White” and “Mask Invitational,” along with the Chris Daubert installation) in tact, be sure to visit before November 13.

Daubert’s “Transfiguration” installation, I’ve decided, is nothing but magical! Seventy-five 2^nd graders discovered that last week as they toured the gallery. If you saw the installation early on, you are in for a treat this month as the work is completed and the 4500 corresponding nodules on each of the three walls harmonize into a delightful symphony of movement, sound a light!

Not to miss is Daubert’s lecture this Thursday evening (Nov 4, 7pm) on “Site-specific Installations.” It promises to be informative and well delivered, with the additional chance to see the magic at work after dark.

3^rd Saturday, November 20^th, will reveal a whole new list of sensory experience at the Blue Line Gallery. We participate for our second year in the city’s Holiday Parade, 3-5pm, on Vernon Street. Festivities continue with a 6pm tree lighting on Vernon and activities for families until 8pm. The gallery will roll out its free children’s art activities, 1-4pm, plus cookie decorating, 6-7pm. Last but not least, our 3^rd Saturday reception will introduce enticing new exhibits in the Member’s and Children’s galleries:  “It’s the Journey Not the Destination” and a showcase of work by advanced art students at Granite Bay High School.

And don’t forget to get your tickets now for our December 5^th Green Tea and Fashion Spree event-- bigger and better than ever this year!

Mark your calendars . . . and I’ll see you at the Blue Line soon!

Curator's Note - October 2010

The Blue Line Gallery is abuzz these days with visitors excitedly making their lists and checking them twice for this year’s LOTTERY FOR THE ARTS. As good as Christmas--better odds than your typical lottery!  You’ve got to stop in to see the amazing variety and depth of artwork donated by our generous and supporting artists for this year’s event. Larry and I will be here with our lucky ticket on October 8^th. We hope to see you here, too! (or we can be your proxy). Remember, EVERYBODY WINS!

And if you need additional  motivation to buy your Lottery ticket--something more than how amazingly fortunate you will be to take home a great piece of art:  Think about the fabulous educational programs you will be supporting.

·         Our exhibitions serve all ages - I can’t tell you how many high school students visited this past week to fulfill classroom assignments  .  .  .   Recently, a young mother visited our Children’s Open Show with her two young sons, ages 6 and 7. Both boys had entered work that was recognized by our juror, Linda Green, as outstandingly imaginative and finely rendered. I chatted with the mom and her young artists about their work and the awards (one brother won something, the other did not), and then I observed with delight as the mother walked the boys around Vern Peasenell’s show, engaging them in conversation about what they were observing and what they thought the artist might be trying to communicate .  .  .  And I thought, what a gift we are helping this mother give her sons. They will appreciate and enjoy visual art, yes. Even more importantly, they are learning to learn from art: how to observe, how to evaluate, how to develop their own thoughts about what they’re seeing, how to imagine and how to understand humanity .  .  . Sigh.

·         Our school tours are teaching students eager to learn about the art, the artists and the process of creating. 

·         Our Saturday afternoon children’s art activities, with projects aligned with California’s Visual Arts Content Standards, are drawing in children and families eager for the creative experience.

·         Our new after school children’s art studio has potential to serve even more children.

All these wonderful programs need enthusiastic leaders!  If you are interested in volunteering, give us a call. Check out member artist Ursula Johnson’s note on volunteering on our blog (find it in left column on our website home page).

Speaking of serving, if you tuned in to KVIE’s Art Auction last Saturday you may have seen how our generous member artists are contributing to the broader Sacramento arts community. Thank you again to Imi Lembrock-Hirschinger, Jim Hirschinger, Joe Strickland, Myron Stephens, Judi Stickney and Mya Louw for offering their fabulous artwork as the face of Blue Line Gallery.  I was extremely proud to be on air with their work representing our gallery and supporting the great programs we all love on KVIE.

I am always jazzed when I get out of the office, but especially when I make time to visit artist studios. Last week I had the pleasure to join Chris Daubert in his studio in Dixon. The energy in that shed was truly electrifying in more ways than one, as Chris and his assistants were putting finishing touches on the massive and meticulously designed wiring project that will come together as an electronic audio and visual installation at the Blue Line beginning October 16^th.  We are all in for a huge treat! Blue Line fans can see my photos of that visit on our Facebook page.

In closing, October is the month to be at the Blue Line Gallery! Between the Lottery for the Arts, all the amazing kids’ stuff going on and the fabulous exhibits opening--WOW! Be sure to mark you calendars!

See you at the Blue Line!

Beth Rohlfes

Curator's Note - September 2010

I’ve got my Lottery for the Arts ticket. How about you? I’ll be making my list and checking it twice (and more!) for my pick of the amazing work donated to the event by more than 100 generous and talented artists. You can be a fortunate collector, too, and take advantage of the great raffle and auction items offered at the event on October 8th. Be sure to preview the artwork on our website now and in the gallery beginning September 28.

Before the Lottery work fills the Blue Line though, three exhibits await you here through September 18 . . . Have you seen Vern Peasenell’s ghostly white sculptures? They look like plaster but are really Styrofoam shaped with a hot wire, then coated with endless coats of sealant. The resulting forms and shadows are stunning . . . Abstractions, Alice in Wonderland, metalics, depth and shadow --see it all in the impressive Mixed Media exhibit in our WestPark Gallery . . . What do you suppose children these days consider scary? Come and see our Children’s Open Show.

If you’re a parent of youngsters, be sure to schedule creative times for your children at our Family Arts Festival at Kaiser on September 11, our after-school Art Studio Classes coming soon (Tuesdays, 4-5:30pm) and our regular Saturday hands-on activities, every Saturday, 1-4pm.

You may have read Chris Daubert’s name in a recent Bee article about the newly-renovated Kondos Gallery at Sac City College. As a long-time instructor and gallery curator there, Daubert has been largely responsible for the Kondos Gallery’s expansive permanent collection of work by Sacarmento artists like Wayne Thibeaud, Fred Dalkey and Gregory Kondos, not to mention the student works of now established artists like Mel Ramos and Kirk Fishback. We’ll have an opportunity to experience Daubert’s fine-tuned installation work this October, when the Blue Line Gallery is honored to present his “Transfiguration: An Electronic Audio and Visual Installation.”

Did you know that Roseville Arts member artists volunteer their time to manage those wonderful exhibits you enjoy in our back gallery? Kudos to the 2009 panel : Miranda Lema, Colleen Giorgi, Mike Smith, Pat Abraham, Cathy Rowe, Dennis Latona, Nancy Longhorn and Pam Wilkinson. . . And a big thanks to Suzanne Goodwin for her dedicated leadership of the artists’ group, spearheading artist meetings, critiques and the NEW life drawing.

See you in the gallery!

Beth Rohlfes

Curator's Note - August 2010

In your summer wanderings, I hope you’ve had the chance to experience the exciting range of activity happening at the Blue Line Gallery--from fabulous exhibitions to lively kids’ art camps to crazy creative fun with our “Mile of Tape” adventure during Roseville’s Downtown Tuesday Nights.  You can still catch the tail end of all this through August 14. Then we’ll turn you right around into three great new shows opening on the 21st.

Our “Juried Membership Show” is one of those summer shows you must see!  This amazing exhibit of work by 50 member artists opened in June to a large and receptive crowd and has enjoyed continuous praise from visitors and collectors alike.  Thanks to all those who participated in the call to artists for this show and to our honored jurors, Pamela Skinner and Gwenna Howard, who took on the daunting task of narrowing down the entries for this first-ever, fully-juried membership exhibit. The results are stunning!  Congratulations to everyone who helped make this show a success.

Also through August 14 you can still enjoy work by Native American children and examples of kids’ work from our summer camps. Participating families have expressed a real hunger for more of the same, so watch for our introduction of after school children’s art classes this fall.

Did you know that an important element of our exhibition goals is to provide inviting options for our member artists to show and sell their work and to compete for exhibitions and awards? You will see this reflected in our new Artist Auxiliary. This enhancement to our membership options distinguishes fine artist members from our general membership through a list of unique benefits and opportunities. These include participation in our online artist directory, exclusive exhibits and savings on other exhibit entry fees, lower gallery commissions on sales, teaching opportunities and discounts on artist workshop fees.

Hope to see you at the Blue Line Gallery on Saturday, August 21, for the opening of three new exhibits. Explore with me the meanings and visual sensations of Vernon Peasenell’s large-scale sculpture and oil paintings, the “Mixed Media” show by seven of our member artists and children’s expressions of what scares them most in our 8^th annual Children’s Open Show.

One last thought . . . In July, Newsweek referred to the drop in creativity in our elementary school youngsters, based on a credible and proven testing process. You all know the priority the arts need to play in our lives or you wouldn’t be reading this. Let’s make sure we set an example by dedicating time to be creative and to experience the arts in its many formats!

See you at the Blue Line,

 

Beth Rohlfes, Curator

P.S. Be sure to mark your calendars for October’s “Transfiguration” installation by Chris Daubert. This will stretch your minds in ways you cannot imagine!  Opening October 16^th.