The Artists
(page 3)





Newcastle resident Ann Ranlett is an award-winning artist & illustrator who focuses on animal & nature subjects rendered in ink on scratchboard, watercolor, pencil or mixed media. Ann enjoys the challenge of capturing texture and tone in shades of black, white & grey for her scratchboard drawings. To take a break from the time-consuming, monochrome works, Ann creates "Paintings with Petzazz" - brightly colored animal portraits in watercolor on Yupo (a synthetic paper). Ann also accepts commissions for pet portraits and nature illustrations. Visit Ann's web site


Elaine B. Rothwell is known for her etchings. In her etchings, she uses visual puns, figure-ground ambiguities and enigmatic images to present the viewer with two things simultaneously or familiar images in unlikely settings. She was first known for her series of etchings using chess imagery and hidden chess positions. Her latest etchings "Seasons of Romance" and "Moons", can be seen at the Auburn Old Town Gallery and many of her etchings can be viewed on line at www.artbyrothwell.com. Although the subject matter of Rothwell's etchings is playful her involvement in the process by which they are executed is a devout labor. She makes all her own plates, employing traditional techniques as well as experimental methods.
Visit Elaine's web site

Read the March '07 article about Elaine that
appeared in the Auburn Journal
 




Jewelry artist Christina loves all forms of art. She is always looking for ways to create unique pieces and bracelets are her favorite design projects. She worked as a bench jeweler for ten years and now enjoys the freedom of creating her own designs. She relishes the feeling of starting with a piece of wax and carving just to see what appears or forging metal to find its purpose. She typically uses silver for the way it enhances her designs. Her love of travel and the art of the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs influences her work. Her jewelry reflects what she sees and how she feels at a particular time.




Merridee & Keith Smith use silk as their canvas. Educated as scientists, both have applied that training to an appreciation for the wonder of the world and the ability to observe closely. Merridee is inspired by nature and her particular passion is painting flowers. She says, "Silk painting is an excellent medium for capturing the colors, patterns and iridescence of flowers. While I strive to accurately render the line and structure of the plant, I do not attempt to make a copy. I apply colors using liquid dyes that flow across the silk. Brilliant colors move and blend in ways that can be unexpected and beautiful. It feels as though the dyes, silk and I are collaborating on the final painting. It can be an exhilarating experience.”

Keith became enthralled with the use of wax on silk and the Indonesian copper printing blocks known as ‘tjaps’ when he met Indonesian artists at the World Batik Conference in 2005. Since the conference he has been avidly collecting tjaps, and has become skilled in the use of wax, tjaps and dye to create bold, colorful designs. Both Keith and Merridee enjoy using traditional techniques and tools of Indonesian Batik to create modern and almost abstract effects.
Visit Merridee & Keith's web site

 


Pam Snyder paints in oil on copper. Copper’s inherent qualities have always held an attraction for her and its luminescent, reflective quality delights the eye. Copper as canvas has a rich history as far back as the late 1500’s. Pam's objective is to present her world view by combining the rich palette of oil hues with notes of burnished copper dancing throughout the painting. Through the use of explosive color and the play of light on form, her goal is to impart these defining observations of nature and share them with others.

Pam has studied under well-known Sacramento artist and colorist Gary Pruner, who helped her with fine tuning her ability to observe and imparting his theory of color. She has also been influenced by Sacramento artists Fred Dalkey, Frank Zamora, and Michelle LeCompte. Studying with Placerville artist Jim Estey has brought fluency and expressiveness to Pam's work.

 


Jay Stargaard’s sculptures are created out of stainless steel, copper, bronze, and some mild steel most of which are recycled metals. She specializes in fabricating butterflies, dragonflies, fairies, wishing bowls, flowers, and hearts. Every piece of art has its own energetic essence allowing each piece to be distinctly different. “The beauty of Nature and forms I experience in my dream-states inspires my work. I quest to develop new ways to mix the elements of metal, wood, rock, and water to express my appreciation of nature. My passion for tig welding sculptures is driven by the possibility to create a more beautiful place that inspires joy and reflects one’s own grace, love and fascination.”
Visit Jay's web site
 



Bookbinder Judy Thompson creates custom books and paper art. Most of the decorative papers used in her work are original hand-marbled or hand-made paste papers. She specializes in design binding - creating book covers based on themes and ideas expressed within the text of the book. She also does limited restoration and repair of damaged books.

Judy's one-of-a-kind design bindings have been displayed throughout the United States in Guild of Book Workers exhibitions and she has won many awards in juried shows. One of her bindings is on permanent display in the Museum of Bookbinding in the Czech Republic.

Judy enjoys bookbinding because it brings together her talent in art and design with her love for precision hand craftsmanship.

 



Monica Turner captures her fascination for wildlife in her watercolor paintings and photographs. Trips to Africa have provided her with unique subjects for her realistic paintings.
 



Fused glass artist, Dianne Van de Carr loves everything about glass, the colors, textures and versatility. She creates whimsical wall art, coasters, ornaments and jewelry. Much of her work in made with Dichroic Glass, a "space age" glass that has metals vacuum deposited on the surface creating wonderful reflective qualities. The combination of technical challenges and unlimited artistic possibilities keeps her excited about her work.
Visit Dianne's web site


Jane Welles is an artist who enjoys painting the landscape on location, using oil, pastels, or watercolor. This award-winning artist was an art major at CSUSJ and is a co-founder of the Nevada County Plein Air Painters, a group of artists who enjoy getting together to paint outside.
Jane paints on location because she feels it makes a difference in capturing the quality of the light. Her inspriation comes from the quiet contemplation of nature and being in close harmony with her surroundings. She hopes she can share this love of the outdoors with others. Jane loves living in Nevada County because there is so much in the area to paint.


Linda Whiteside has been involved with the arts most of her life and has been sculpting for the past 13 years. She works primarily in clay and draws her inspiration from nature, the human spirit, and cultural differences. She makes her home in Folsom and has shown her work extensively in the greater Sacramento area and throughout the State.

Linda and Lana Federico combine their talents to produce unique, free form, Raku-fired art. Visit Linda & Lana's web site


Kenn Womack is a retired professional now living in the Gold Country. Throughout his career he pursued a variety of artistic disciplines as a means of obtaining relief and balance from occupational pressure and stress. In addition to being a successful jeweler and school-trained engraver, he has pursued the art of Pysanky and built examples of historic period muzzle loading firearms. Kenn has taken up woodturning as a way to make something of many interesting or highly figured pieces of wood that would have burned, wasted or otherwise lost. Initially using hardwoods from discarded pallets, end cuts and trim from small mill operations, his interest in woodturning has extended itself to locating, rescue and salvage of material for use on the lathe.

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