Live Drawing at BridgeHead Studios

Join us on May 14th at Bridgehead Studios in Alameda and see works by five local Artists: Pons, Mark, Heather, Graham & Kathe.

Step in the entry room and view pieces from all the Artists. Then take a seat in the Mini Theater to enjoy Pons Maar's latest work of moving stills exploring the "Alameda Point". Hanging with the studs you'll find Mark Knot's Black & White Linoleum Prints mixed in with his "Adults Only" Pen & Ink drawings. Stroll through the Illuminated Hallway, Heather Piazza's whimsical creations will be full of color. Followed by the Photo Delights of Graham Bird where a few of his erotic photographs will be displayed. Past the bar and into the Back Gallery, Kathe Welch's large drawing is featured along side a few prints and never before shown Calendar Series. During the Open Gallery evening Kathe will draw two new oversize pieces, each 4 foot by 10 foot, for you to enjoy.
Meet the Artists, drink some wine and enjoy a fun evening...

More about the Artists:
Pons Maar: Moving Stills - Photography
Mark Knot: Prints and Pen & Ink Drawings http://www.markknot.com/
Heather Piazza: Paintings, Prints & Drawings http://www.heatherpiazza.com/
Graham Bird: Photography http://www.brearleyphoto.com/
Kathe Welch: Live Drawing during the Opening: Prints and Pen & Ink and Graphite Drawings on display http://www.kathewelch.org/

Up stairs Artists Luis Solonzaro, & Eric Neimann will have Open Studios.
On your way out don't forget to pick up your Estuary Art Attack Mapso you can visit other Open Gallery's each 2nd Friday!
http://www.estuaryartattack.com/

Skulls of Walnut Hill

In 1976, Kathe Welch and her expedition team set out on their third attempt to find a dragon. The team traveled deep into the pine forest on the western edge of the world. They made camp under an unusually large and oddly placed Walnut Tree and settled in for a long season of discovery. The first several weeks of the dig left them exhausted. They suffered through daytime temperatures that reached 114 degrees and night time raids by large roving packs of small cats. The team persisted and their efforts paid off as they followed up on local rumors that dragon bones had been found in the region.
On the 26th day of the dig, the crew stumbled on the largest cache of bones ever found. Though proof of Dragons eluded them they did find a pile of tiny skulls believed to be from travelers from distant planets.

Read More...www.kathewelch.org/skulls.html

in reference to: Kathe Welch: Skulls of Walnut Hill (view on Google Sidewiki)

Skulls of Walnut Hill

In 1976, Kathe Welch and her expedition team set out on their third attempt to find a dragon. The team traveled deep into the pine forest on the western edge of the world...

The Result



Read the whole story and see a video of the discovery here.
Or better yet! go to the opening at the Lab in San Francisco this Weekend and get your own skull.

Four Oceans Press 2010 Print Makers Calendar

Four Oceans Press 2010 Print Makers Calendar is an awesome collection of the work of print-making artists.

This Calendar showcases the work of some of our favorite artists.

Annamie Pretorius,
Kathe Welch,
Leigh Beatty,
Guadalupe Victorica Reyes,
Kimberly Landers,
Senol SAK,
Heather Piazza,
Maria Regina Pinto Pereira,
Mark KNot,
Ellie McGuire,
Orla Harte,
Shelley Hagan,

More information can be found at http://www.fouroceanspress.com/calendar_classical_elements.html

in reference to: Kathe Welch: 2010 Print Makers Calendar (view on Google Sidewiki)

2010 Print Makers Calendar

Our Second annual Calendar is back from the printer and ready to be shipped to art lovers everywhere... The Calendar can be purchased at Four Oceans Press.

Four Oceans Press 2010 Print Makers Calendar is an awesome collection of the work of print-making artists.

This Calendar showcases the work of some of our favorite artists.

Annamie Pretorius,
Kathe Welch,
Leigh Beatty,
Guadalupe Victorica Reyes,
Kimberly Landers,
Senol SAK,
Heather Piazza,
Maria Regina Pinto Pereira,
Mark KNot,
Ellie McGuire,
Orla Harte,
Shelley Hagan,

More information can be found here.

Two days left to Draw...

Art House Co-op in Atlanta, Georgia. The Sketchbooks have to be in Atlanta by February 15th and I don't want to miss the deadline and miss the show.



The Art House Co-op in Atlanta, Georgia invited artists from around the world join in a sketchbook marathon...The books will tour for several months.

The rest of my drawings, are on my website! Guess I better get back to work now?

Sketch Book Project

The Art House Co-op in Atlanta, Georgia invited artists from around the world join in a sketchbook marathon...The books will tour for several months. I hope the come to the San Francisco Bay Area so that I can see what everyone else did...

Check out the rest of my drawings, as I add them!

Hand-Pulled Prints Show Closing Reception

An early drawing for my print Blumen.

Hand-Pulled Prints Show Closing Reception at Creative Framing & Gallery in the beautiful Oakland hills...

A bunch of my prints as well as work by Heather Piazza is on display until January 17th, 2009 (most prints are also available unframed).

Saturday, January 10th, 2009 from 4 to 6 pm.

Click here for a map.

An close up of my print Blumen.

Hand-Pulled Prints Show Closing Reception...

You are invited to the Hand-Pulled Prints Show Closing Reception at Creative Framing & Gallery in the beautiful Oakland hills...

Art work by Kathe Welch and Heather Piazza is on display until January 17th, 2009 (most prints are also available unframed).

So, don't miss out!!!

This Saturday, January 10th, 2009 from 4 to 6 pm

Join us for a fun time with lots of art work on the walls, yummy things to eat and wonderful wine to wash it all down!

Creative Framing & Gallery is just off HW 13 at the Joaquin Miller and Lincoln exit - up the hill - two doors down from Round Table...

Feel free to call Heather (510)482-1200 during shop hours (Tue. - Fri. 10am - 6pm and Sat. 10am - 4pm) for directions...

Creative Framing & Gallery, 5015 Woodminster Lane, Oakland, CA 94602

http://www.heatherpiazza.com/creative_framing.html

We will also have our new calendars on display and for sell - only $16 dollars for a whole year of inspiring ART...

We hope to see you all there :)

http://www.fouroceanspress.com/calendar_four_seasons.html

As always, Thank you again for your interest and continued support in my Art career...

Check out my continuously updated website and see all that is new and what is still to come in 2009...

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!!!

The Doors of Perception...

The Doors of Perception...

I have been so focused on getting my house back together, I have not had much time to draw or print. Today was the first day back to school. The kids were squirrely, but not bad. Still it was a very busy day with a lot of things to take care of. I always think I might be able to get some of my own work done while the kids are there but it never happens that way.

I have a couple of stories I have written and plan to illustrate. I was able to reread one of them during my lunch break and get a start on the storyboard for the illustrations....

Briefcase full of Printing Ink

I found my Briefcase full of Printing Ink. I moved over Thanksgiving break into my first home. Over the last six weeks I have been putting my house back together... I thought I would be done sooner, but it is surprising how long it takes to put a home back together. My apartment was just over 600 square feet with a one car garage that I used for my studio space. My house is nearly 1500 square feet plus a full basement which I will convert to a painting studio - see previous post - but that will take time...

Most of the rooms look like normal rooms and the house is fairly livable now...

The house was built in 1906 and has a formal living room and dining room. Since I don't need both, I am using the living room for my Printing and Drawing studio. The 'Formal Dining Room' is my living room - complete with giant couch, mid-size TV and well stocked Bar. The front room of the house is where I will likely spend most of my time. I have a drafting table set up in one corner and my proof press on the other side of the room. I have several prints that are in various stages and I am anxious to get back to printing.

I have been off work for two weeks, but tomorrow is my first day back. I miss my students and I am sure that it will be a very busy day, but when I get home tomorrow night I am hoping to get back to carrving on linoleum.....

Painting studio - Coming soon....

This is the basement in my 'new' (102 years old) house. Eventually this space will be finished and I will use it for large paintings and sculpture, as well as a dirty room for making things with my table saw.

I have my printing and drawing studio upstairs in the main living area and I hope to get back to printing in the next few days...

2009 Print Makers Calendar

The Four Oceans Press 2009 Print Makers Calendar is here. This is our biggest project to date and we are really excited about how great it turned out.



The front cover.

The Calendar highlights the work of 12 awesome Print Makers. The prints are all part of our Four Seasons Exchange Series.

Kimberly Landers

Mark Knot

Mary Grassell

Heather Piazza

Alynn Guerra

Jacqui Dunham

Laima Rozkalns

Hilary Williams

Diane Cutter

Woody Miller

Melissa West

Kathe Welch




The back cover of the Four Oceans Press 2009.

Sign-ups are now open for the Air Exchange which in due in April... and the Road Trip Alphabet which is due in June 2009.

Welcome

This is a close up of my sculpture "Welcome" which I made for the ProArts Box Art Benefit Auction 2008.




This is the full sculpture. It is 23" x 23" and hangs on a wall. It is part of my wire sculpture series.


This is the first in the series....

Steam Roller Prints, RoadWorks at the San Francisco Center for the Book

RoadWorks at the San Francisco Center for the Book on September 20, 2008.


The Print shown at the end of this video was made in collaboration by three artists: Kathe Welch (me), Mark Knot & Heather Piazza. We talked about the image, I drew it and we all cut it out. It was very exciting to be a part of something this big. When our print was pulled, Heather followed it to the drying table to get a better picture and an art lover bought it right away...

Read a full review of the event on my website.


Or Learn more about the San Francisco Center for the Book.

Two big shows . . . This Month

I am pleased to announce that my Art will be shown in two locations this month. I have work on display at Creative Framing in Oakland and at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts in Alameda.

My art buddy, Heather Piazza and I will be participating in the ProArts East Bay Open Studios event this weekend (June 7-8th) and next (June 14-15th). Both Heather and I will be at the Gallery from 11:00 to 6:00 all four days. The artwork will be up the entire month of June. The show will be at: Creative Framing & Gallery, 5015 Woodminster Lane, Oakland, CA 94602 (510 482-1200). More information and a map can be found at www.heatherpiazza.com/creative_framing.html.




Additionally, I have three prints hanging at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts as part of the 'Schisms' show which runs through June. Please join me at the First Friday Gala Opening - June 6, 2008, from 7-9PM. The Frank Bette Center is located at the corner of Lincoln and Paru in Alameda. More information can be found on their website (at www.frankbettecenter.org).



‘Parking Lot’, Relief Print on display this month at Frank Bette.

More Art News:
We have also been working diligently on Four Oceans Press Hand-Pulled Print & Photography Exchanges. We have opportunities for many artists to participate and are actively seeking more artists to get involved in the Artistic community we are creating. We are nearing completion of our Third Hand-Pulled Print Exchange – Spring. We are in the middle of two more Print Exchanges & our first Fine Arts Photography exchange.

Framing a picture-perfect job for local Artist

Article on Heather Piazza of Four Oceans Press from the Oakland Tribune.

Dave Newhouse: Art's a frame job
05/26/2008 06:28:38 AM PDT

The artist sees beauty in a painting, but so does the framer. Heather Piazza understands this comparison fully because she is both painter and framer.

Piazza makes a living framing paintings and photographs, but she sees herself first as a painter. Either way in her mind, it's all art.

''The framing enhances what's in the picture,'' she said. ''Depending on the colors you pick in the frame, you can create different moods or enhance various elements of the artwork.''

Why would the greatest artists — Picasso, Rembrandt, Matisse — even want a frame when
they obviously felt their paintings were classics?

''To hold it all together and pop it out from the wall,'' Piazza pointed out, ''and to give it something to showcase it, so that it stands out.''

Indeed, a memorable painting without an appropriate frame would be like an expensive suit without just the right shirt and tie to set it off.

Piazza, 33, grew up in Modesto and has been a custom framer for 14 years, the last 5-1/2 years at Creative Framing & Gallery in the Oakland hills. Dave Sommers has owned the store for 33 years, but Piazza is the store's manager and its only employee.

Get the picture? Piazza is a one-person show. She refers to Sommers as ''semi-retired.'' He takes care of the books, and she takes care of customers.

''I really love helping customers,'' she said, ''and helping them pick stuff that's going to be on their wall for a long time. And I pick up ideas from them for my own art.''

The framing shop is open Tuesday through Saturday. Piazza paints after work and on days off. She also uses her workplace to showcase her art. On June 7 and 8, and June 14 and 15, she will join Kathe Welch, both members of Four Oceans Press Artists and East Bay Open Studios, in exhibiting their paintings at Creative Framing, located at 5015 Woodminster Lane.

Piazza describes herself as an ''eclectic artist.'' She paints, she makes printings, she does sculpted glass and photography.

''I'm a Renaissance woman — in art and in life,'' she said. ''I can do most things for myself, and I'm not scared to try new things.''

She could decorate wedding cakes as a girl or fix the plumbing. Sky-diving and bungee-jumping are still on her list of adventuresome things to do.

Obviously, she doesn't think in black and white, whether it's art or exploration.

''All of my work is very colorful,'' she said of her paintings. ''I love color, and it's always really bright. I almost call it childlike, because it's very vibrant, happy and fun.''

A painting takes time, but so does framing.

''When someone comes in with their piece of art,'' said Piazza, ''I ask them a few basic questions to get to know them and their style. That gives me an instinct of what would look best on their art.''

If that instinct doesn't happen, she'll then experiment with different samples to figure out the customer's style. Basically, she prefers Earth tones for ''casual'' individuals, and gold, baroque frames for ''elegant'' people. She has a ''95 to 100 percent'' success rate in pleasing others.

''People say I have a really good eye,'' she said.

She does remarkable work. I know; I'm a regular customer. I have a hobby of collecting restaurant menus from my travels. She has enhanced them — with frame or frameless. She's artistic even in matting, including a tattered poster I have from a 1930s Oakland boxing show.

Piazza wants to be remembered, though, for her paintings, not her framings.

''I would love to be a full-time artist because I like to create art,'' she said. ''And I'd like people to enjoy my art. I'm not at a point where I've sold a lot of it yet.

''But I would frame my own art.''

Why would she trust anyone else?


Dave Newhouse's columns appear Sunday, Monday and Thursday, usually on the Metro
pageof the Oakland Tribune. Know any Good Neighbors? Phone 510-208-6466 or e-
mail dnewhouse@bayareanewsgroup.com

12 Days of school left..

12 Days of school left...Then I can do MY art full time!

I love my 300 students! I have so much to teach them, but I have so much of my own work that I want to do. Having a full time job makes it difficult to find the time I want to do my own art. I spend my days teaching children to explore and experiment, but what I want most is to have more time to do that myself.

My Art buddy, Heather and I co-founded Four Oceans Press last year and have been working to build it so that it fulfills our vision of what a press should be. I keep hearing my uncle's voice in the back of my head saying, "...How are you going to make money with that?..." Well I know that we are not there yet, but we are convinced that we are headed in the right direction.

It has been nearly a year since we started our first exchange and since then we have added several more and got to work with and for over 100 artists from around the world. We are building a community of artists who are working for the same things we are trying to achieve - we want to spend our days creating art, helping, teaching and making our own decisions about how we will spend our time.

We are closer everyday. It has been an amazing process and we have learned so much, but we both feel like Four Oceans Press is just starting out and there are so many directions to go.

We only wish there were more hours in the day...

Thirsting

Thirsting
8 x 8
Linoleum Block Print
This is my print for BarenForum Exchange #36

Ridiculously busy ...

I have been ridiculously busy at school (work) for the past few weeks and I feel like a slacker for not posting here. But I have been working quite a bit.

My work has been on display at Creative Framing in Oakland. Several Linoleum and Wood Block prints are hung on the walls and a big lithograph is in the window. I think they will be up for a few more weeks.

I am actually in the middle of several projects. I have at least three print half-way cut and I hope to finish up soon so that I can print them...

I just finished Baren Exchange #36. I will post it here soon. I also recently finished my spring print for the Four Oceans Press Spring Print. I am working on ideas for my Summer Print [For which signs-ups are still open - by the way!]

Four Oceans Press also started a new exchange, at the suggestion of our friend, Graham. The Fine Arts Photography Exchange is currently accepting sign-ups. We have a few people who have been in our print exchanges, some old friends and a few new friends in this exchange.