`DREAMS OF PEACE; HOPES FOR OUR FUTURE'
Part 2
The centerpiece of the “Dreams of Peace, Hopes for Our Future” April show at Art Center Ukiah will be an installation on a large round table in the center of the room. Loosely based on Judy Chicago's infamous “Dinner Party,” this work is the result of months of collaboration among three selected art classes at Ukiah High School.
Jim Persky's advanced ceramics class spent the month of February creating 20 bisqueware plates in two sizes, which were fired and then handed over to Rose Easterbrook's advanced art class to be painted with ceramic glazes.
Rose explains, “The students came up with their own responses to the theme to achieve a totally collaborative idea for the `Peace' theme. First we talked about the history and significance of Judy Chicago's “Dinner Party” and that got the discussion rolling.” She continues,
“The idea of gathering at a table (it had to be a round table) was pivotal. That is where peace is happening, where we break bread and share meals. I asked the students who they imagined would be there for this dinner party? How do they each see it?”
The students brainstormed as a group during class and chose the main idea for the installation. They self- selected into
pairs, to create 10 place settings as well as writing statements to explain their thoughts on the topic.
Maleah Walley explains, “In class we brainstormed what we wanted the theme to be. `Aspects of Humanity' was my idea and the others liked it. With that topic we figured we could all make place settings which could reflect our hopes for the future.”
The aspect of humanity that Maleah and her partner chose for their plates was science and technology. Maleah continues, “I believe that technology has become intertwined with humanity. Newer generations are dependent on technology, so in the future the use of technology will either become more heightened or more distant. My plate
shows how life and science have interacted with each other.” This is the first time Maleah has had her artwork displayed in public, but probably not the last. “I want to be a filmmaker so I'm looking forward to having more work be public,” she says. “Art is a vehicle for me to get my message out.”
Josie Bogner, who partnered with Maleah on the aspect of science and technology, admitted “I had a hard time with the painting because of the glazes that I'm not familiar with. But I wanted to get over that hurdle so I could focus on how nature and modern science can work together in the future instead of tearing each other apart. I wanted to get that message across.”
Another student, Lucille Shakman, chose a theme of war and peace. “I immediately was very excited because I instantly knew what message I wanted to convey. I'm a passionate person, so with this project I definitely wanted to go all out
with planning it. It was fun working collaboratively, but we had to plan and compromise.”
Appreciation of nature was the aspect chosen by Lucy Talso and her partner. “It was hard to come up with a specific focus for our plates since nature is so big,” Lucy explains. “I chose to do a calm scene instead of creating chaos by trying to represent all aspects of nature.
“I enjoyed seeing everyone in our class working together on their collabora
tions. Everything came out because we were all working on different aspects of the same issue.”
Tiby-Ann Owen was one of the people who spearheaded the whole project and came up with the original “Peace” theme. “My plate is about life in Mendocino County,” she says. “I wanted it to be a homey scene that I could relate to.”
Tiby's partner, Marin, showed the broader aspect of the whole world in her plate. “I showed a connecting path between the U. S. and Mexico,” she explains. “It's full of symbols. Our local area is so diverse, so I wanted to keep the message broad as opposed to too specific. I wanted to focus on being inclusive.”
Hailey Bridge did a couple of plates with people. One, called “Body and Soul,” depicts two people who are the same person but at different stages. “One is sad,” says Hailey, “and the other is happy. Just because somebody looks happy on the outside, they aren't necessarily happy on the in
side. Basically people can heal and grow in a positive way… or revert or devolve into old negative ways. My message is to shine light on stuff that isn't always talked about.”
Hailey continues, “I really enjoy doing art, and a lot of my drawings relate to me, whether or not they look like me. I can express stuff through my art that I haven't got words to express.”
Hailey's other plate depicts her Black great-grandmother, who had a hand in raising her. “I showed her with two powerful historical Black leaders,” Hailey says, “to show how strong she was. This felt like a good way to honor Black History Month.”
Once all the plates were painted with glazes and refired, they were moved on to their third station… Katrena Dursteler's Advanced Fashion Design class. There, the students spent the last few weeks before the show opening looking at the place settings and reading the individual statements that the artists wrote about each pair of plates. The fashion design students used their
sewing and design skills to create placemats and napkins to go with the specific themes and colors of each place setting.
“Dreams of Peace; Hopes for Our Future” is generously sponsored by Ukiah HIgh School Retired Educators: Bob Bender & Beverly Spence, Jerry Garcia, Phil Gary, Glenn Gawel, Jim & Mary Hatfield, Holly Rodgers and Ron & Francine Selim.
The First Friday opening is on April 5 from 5-8 p.m. at the Corner Gallery. Live music will be provided throughout the evening by “Midas Well” aka Char Jacobs and Chris Gibson. The gallery is located at 201 S. State St. in Ukiah.
One additional bonus for April is a second twinned basket class taught by Corine Pearce. It's free and open to anyone over age 8. All materials will be provided. The class will be on Sunday, April 14 at the Corner Gallery from 9 a.m.noon. Please come to the gallery to sign up in person or call 707- 462-1400 during business hours, 11 a. m.- 5 p. m. Tuesday- Saturday.