The Artists
(page 2)



John F. Johnson is the founder of Doublejay Visions Art Studio in Roseville. His work is described by the Digital Fine Art Society of New Mexico as Integrated Digital Art. He combines digital photography with digital collage and photopainting to create truly unique works of art. John's art is produced on archival quality paper using pigmented ink, which should last a lifetime if cared for properly.
Visit John's web site



Joanne Johnson's artistic talents include pastels and watercolor, as well as wood sculptures. Her paintings include local landscapes, still life and floral that combine softness with a high level of detail. In her wood sculptures she uses the ancient art of intarsia, which is the making of decorative and pictorial mosaics by laying precious and exotic materials into or onto a ground work of solid wood inspiring both marquetry and inlay. Much of her work reflects her appreciation of the unique charm of the foothill area.



Dorene Kidd, a founding member of the Auburn Old Town Gallery, considers herself very lucky to have been raised in the country outside of the Gold Rush town of Auburn. She began drawing at a very young age and always knew that she wanted to be an artist. She is a self-taught artist that draws just what she sees. Dorene has tried her hand at many different mediums, such as ink, watercolors, oils, colored pencils and using beads to draw a scene. She has won several awards and her work is part of private and corporate collections here and abroad.

Read the article about Dorene that appeared in the Auburn Journal.
 


Stacey Lamothe creates unique hand crafted jewelry and accessories. Her ever evolving line started with copper and sterling pins depicting her dog, Frankie, and has grown to include a dozen dog images, a couple of cats, a few chickens, a horse (of course), and a handful of tiny houses. Stacey uses copper, sterling and patterned brass in her pieces. The patina process she uses coaxes the richness out of the copper and makes each piece unique. The contrast between the warm red-brown of the copper and the cool crisp sterling makes these wearable treasures noteworthy. The designs are all unique and images amusing. There are messages on many pieces and a sense of humor to all. When she’s creating in her studio, time is not relevant. She states “when I finish a piece and it can make me laugh, elicit a fond memory or inspire, then I know I’m on the right track. When I see this happening to others, I know I’ve done my job!”
Visit Stacey's web site
 


Don Lawson specializes in woodcarving and woodturning. He has taught these crafts for many years and is a member of the American Association of Wood Turners, the National Woodcarving Association and the CA Carving Guild, as well as local woodworking clubs and artist associations. He recently served as president of the Gold Country Wood Turners and is an active mentor and demonstrator. His work has won numerous awards and has been displayed in professional exhibitions, galleries and fine craft stores in Northern California.

Don's work incorporates the natural elements of the wood, grain, figure, color, texture and voids into the design and flow of the project. These features add interest, uniqueness and excitement to the finished project. He likes to add little surprises: a semiprecious stone, a piece of moss or a band of inlay to make the work special and personal. Fine woodworking should produce an emotional response and a desire to touch and feel.
 


Stephen Gage Lentz forms each piece into a unique work of art using his imagination as he works the metal and wire together. He has begun incorporating glass into some of his pieces, feeling that when glass is added, it brings out the emotions that are hidden in the metal. Stephen loves “the fact I can help the metal find a life of its own, whether it’s steel, copper, brass or found metal.”
Visit Stephen's blog
 


Lorelee Love has been working with clay for nearly 20 years. She has taken many art classes in places ranging from UNR in Nevada to numerous colleges here in California. She started as a painter but has found working with clay to be her love. Her creations are wheel thrown or hand built. Lorelee's signature pieces are her Raku fired vessels with carved leaves. She mixes her own glazes and applies them only to the leaves; the unglazed portions of the vessel smoke black, creating a striking contrast. Her studio in Granite Bay is open by appointment.


Christian Valley ceramic artist Anita Posey Lowe works with many shapes, whether hand-built, wheel thrown or a combination of both, she plays with the forms to perfect concepts that reflect her personality and each ceramic piece is one-of-a-kind. Her specialty items are bowls, cups and casserole dishes that are food, drink, microwave dishwasher and oven safe. She notes that her glazes are lead-free and safe for food and drink. Among her favorite items are small scented pots that are great gifts to use as car or room fresheners.
Visit Anita's web site


Eileen and George McDavid have enjoyed pottery for many years, bring the beauty of Raku for all to see. Raku firing is a low fire using all four elements of the universe to one pot and shows the reflections of the earth though the coppery glazes. Working our hands in clay has helped us centered our lives and we urge all who desire a grounding point in their lives to dig your hands into clay, it really works.
 

Michelle MacKenzie has flourished as a working artist after departing her career as a gallery owner. She produces large colorful abstract canvases with textured impasto surfaces. The depth and complexity of each piece is a result of multiple layers of paint as well as an infusion with collage elements of metal or paper or her own writings. Demonstrating her versatility, Michelle also creates serene watercolors of Koi, mixed media collage, as well as smaller paintings and watercolors that feature word affirmations.
Visit Michelle's web site


Rebecca Martinez often creates necklaces in sets of two or three companion pieces. “Some days you feel more flamboyant than others. Wearing all three necklaces is appropriate on those days,” she explains.

Using polymer clay to create her beads gives Ms. Martinez many options for color and texture combinations. She includes beads of glass, wood, pearl, bone and semiprecious stones from her bead “stash” in her jewelry also.

A resident of Colfax, she works as a designer for Blue Cat Studio, Inc. Her hobbies include sewing, fabric dyeing, karate and beekeeping. Her work may be seen at Colfax Cloth and on the PlacerArts art registry.

 


Linda Miller loves painting and miniatures, but she also enjoys paintomg large canvases and walls. Fine detail and brilliant colors are always a part of her work whether it's a 1"x1" pin or an 8'x10' wall. Some of her favorite subjects are flowers, birds, landscapes, ocean scenes, dogs and cats.
Visit Linda's web site

 
 



Judith Monroe creates mixed media artworks, combining photography, painting, and collage to produce vibrant landscape imagery. She fills her unique works with texture and details, often including stories and writing from her own journals that pull viewers into a shared experience. Monroe’s unique creative process has been featured in national media and her artworks are included in public and private collections throughout the U.S.
Visit Judith's web site

 




Shannon Jane Morgan creates beautifully colored hand blown art glass vases, fairy balls, pumpkins, paperweights and more.

Shannon also makes hand blown glass cane which her mother, Gail, strings together with Swarovski crystals and sterling silver findings to create one of a kind bracelets, earrings and necklaces.
Visit Shannon's web site
 


Heidi Murray chose clay as her medium because it is very tactile and its flexibility allows her to create detailed and flowing forms.

The intent of her work is to create balance and a flowing line, so that the work is visually pleasing. Her work is classical in the sense that she uses symmetry with varying degrees of structure to allude to emotional states, which are subdued but complex.

She renders figures of women because her perceptions and emotions are intimately
connected to that identity.

 


Barbara Newell lives in the community of Lincoln Hills in Lincoln and her studio is open by appointment. She has worked in clay for 25 years and her work has been exhibited locally and nationally. The textured areas of her forms are made by an original carved woodblock design impressed into a clay slab. The slab is formed and shaped over a hump mold and the hand built section is joined with wheel thrown sections. After bisque firing the piece is fired again to a temperature that is compatible with her choice of glaze. The natural beauty of the desert, the mountains and the lakes where she has lived influences the colors and textures.
Visit Barbara's page on the PlacerArts Registry


Janet & Rick Nicholson's dedication to glass blowing is evident in the excellent quality of their work. The emphasis in their small studio in Auburn is on creativity and innovation. Each piece is a free-hand expression of the excitement and risk-taking only found in an experimental glassblowing studio. Originally from Hawaii and Ohio, respectively, Rick and Janet settled in Auburn, California in 1982. Their work involves sculptural lighting and elegant, asymmetrical platter, bowl and vessel forms. Many works have been commissioned for hotels and private residences internationally. Rick's current studies in metals have allowed the work to expand into large scale sculpture. The marriage of glass, metal and light have presented exciting new challenges for future projects.
Visit Rick & Janet's web site
 


David Andrew Ottman is a digital photo artist. Some of his work is traditional photography. His specialty, however, is High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery. Combine the HDR technique with David Andrew's years of experience and unique artistic interpretations, and the final products glow with life. The images are frequently confused with hyper-realistic illustrations. David Andrew's style is distinctive. His primary subjects are Northern California scenes.
Visit David Andrew's web site
 

Mary Prantil was born in the Midwest but was drawn to the over two-hundred acre piece of land she now lovingly tends in the Sierra foothills. The forest inspires her work and allows her to raise and breed her own llamas and goats, creatures that pull together her love of art and nature. Her dimensional work is soft to the hand and full of texture with sophisticated color combinations. “Nature is unlimited inspiration and working with my ‘kids’ is a special gift. The color palette of the wool is so fine and unique to each that my wool is processed individually so as not to lose it’s special gift to the eye. If I need a color that is not in my herd, I blend to create the desired subtle tone. Working with animals, wool, dyes and leather is where I find my joy.”





Marsha Rafter creates unique works of art with intricate shattered glass mosaic pieces from recycled sliding glass doors. Using materials such as paint, fabric, ribbon, patterned paper, colored foil, drawings, photographs, and printed text, she creates a collage on a wooden or hand-crafted clay base. Each piece is then completed with a cover of clear tempered glass applied to its surface. The glass adds another dimension to each piece - the colors sparkle and textures and patterns dance. The thick pieces of shattered glass often contain webs of internal fractures, giving the art an unusual and extraordinary refractive quality. The way the play of light on the surface of the glass draws the eye to the piece and then subsequently into the depths of the piece to see what lies beneath the surface, keeps Marsha endlessly intrigued with the process and the possibilities.
Visit Marsha's web site
 
____________________________________________________

to Artists, page 1   3

 


Home       Artists       Events       Contact Us       Links



(530) 887-9150

  

©Auburn Old Town Gallery, 2003 - 2010. Last updated June 2010
Website designed and maintained by Ann Ranlett
www.annran.com or