A-E Source: Mare Island Spring Show returns alongside 'Blue Skies'
May 5-Mare Island Art Studios is gearing up for its annual Spring Show, a group show featuring a variety of works from Mare Island Art Studios members.
The exhibit, taking place in the Tim Rose Gallery, features art from more than a dozen artists, including Carl Theodorski, Sherry Tobin, Mark Martin, and Jason Perry.
"It was so much fun working with (Theodorski) because he has so much experience," said Tobin. "I'd love to work and do more shows with him because it was a lot of fun."
The show is "liberally interpreted" to what artists feel at the time, meaning there is no specific theme artists need to follow.
"My favorite quote, and as (Barnett) Newman once said, is, 'Aesthetics is to artists as ornithology is to birds,'" said Theodorski, artist and show and exhibit producer at Mare Island Art Studios.
Theodorski is also on the gallery and installation team and the site liaison .
For Tobin, the process of building the show and piecing together artworks from various artists was challenging but fun.
"It was challenging trying to put each piece together, what would go well with whose art. We are all different people," Tobin said. "We don't force our members to follow any rules. It's what people are working on at the time."
Tobin is a mixed-media Mosiac artist who prefers to make art that is more "lighthearted and silly."
Her pieces incorporate thrifted and unorthodox materials such as door handles and glass fragments. In the past, she's used salt and pepper shakers and even toilet handles.
"I like lighthearted, whimsical, silly things. I love darker stuff, but there's enough of that in the world right now," said Tobin. "People will ask me what my art is supposed to mean, and whatever (interpretation) they come up with, it could be better than what I thought.
"I could tell the feeling that I had while I was making it."
Concurrently in the Small Gallery, Donna Wallace-Cohen will present her "Blue Skies No Candy" exhibit.
Wallace-Cohen, previously known in the 1960s as Donna Herrick, created rock posters for bands like Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead's 1967 show at the Whisky A-Go-Go in San Francisco.
Her latest exhibit will feature acrylic and ink political pieces that are "cartoonish" takes on events happening around the world.
Her pieces include depictions of a clown and his "buffoons," politicians, and historical figures such as George Washington.
Theodorski came up with Wallace-Cohen's exhibit title based on the 1976 novel written by former New York magazine critic Gael Greene. Theodorski and Wallace-Cohen have known each other since the early nineties.
"A lot of her art has blue skies, but they're not sweet," Theodorski said with a smile.
One of her pieces, "Alaskan Peace Summit," features a cartoon depiction of the Trump-Putin meetup in Alaska last year in August.
The painting features a speech bubble with the words "Cancel lunch!" said by Trump.
"Apparently, the morning did not go well, so Trump canceled the lunch," she said. "Imagine the poor cooks."
She previously lived in Vallejo for eight years between 2000 and 2008. She feels "honored" to exhibit at Mare Island Art Studios.
Wallace-Cohen said that audiences are allowed to "feel however they want to feel" when they look at her art. She hopes that each visitor will take their time observing and leave the interpretation of each piece up to them.
"They are paintings you're meant to spend time with if you feel like it. If you don't, that's fine too," said Wallace-Cohen. "I'm happy painting what I feel. Always. I try not to think too much about it these days. This is my outlet."
For the Mother's Day opening reception, visitors will receive the opportunity to view and step inside the WEE COUNT (With Early Education Cultivating Our Urban Neighborhoods Together) bus outside of the Mare Island Art Studios building.
"I'm very much a part of the community," Cynthia Allen, founder of WEE Count, said. "When people see the bus, it's like seeing the ice cream truck or the old bookmobile. If you can't bring the library or schools to the kids, you bring the bus."
WEE COUNT is a 40-foot school bus converted to a mobile classroom designed to support and prepare underserved children for kindergarten.
The event outside will feature live music from the Feral Katz Quartet, along with snacks and drinks for visitors.
Although both exhibits were available to view last Sunday, the official opening reception for both the Spring Show and Wallace-Cohen's exhibit will take place on Mother's Day, Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m.
Mare Island Art Studios is open every Sunday in May from noon to 4 p.m.
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