**CANCELLED** Mistakes, Deconstruction & Surprises: Exploring Creative Process – Opening Reception

We are observing the shelter-in-place order which will continue through April 7th or until it is extended, rescinded, superseded, or amended.

Art is among the most inclusive of all languages — images have the power to connect people regardless of common background, language or belief system.

The process behind artistic creation, however, is not a traditionally shared language.

Our society places disproportionate value on a finished product, yet often neglects the importance of the process in between the start and the grand finale.

And yet, it is often the process itself—filled with surprise, mistakes, bursts of inspiration, failures, experimentation, doubt, and hesitant new directions—that is the most instructive and important component of creation.

The first line of the Torah (the Jewish sacred text) focuses explicitly on creation. “Bereishit bara Elohim et ha’shamayiim v’et ha’aretz” (In the beginning, G-d created heaven and earth). In Jewish texts, humans are perceived to have been made in the image of their creator; thus it is often concluded that humans are intended to be creators themselves.

In the spirit of this concept, the Osher Marin JCC is pleased to present a group exhibit that explores the messy and engaging process of creation.

The three artists exhibited, Nancy Bardach, Lauren Bartone, and Cindy Ostroff, are all local, and employ processes that are alternately simple and complex.

The exhibit celebrates this progression with a selection of completed works that are paired with elements of the process itself (mistakes, text descriptions, and alternate endings for the finished work). The exhibit’s purpose is to draw the curtain aside and invite the community in, to explore different ways of creating, to ask questions, and to ultimately celebrate that learning is a lifelong endeavor for us all.