Theatre Gallery

Caroline Dahl:  Day of the Dead Tree of Life

[Pictured: Day of the Dead Tree of Life #3, portion]

Caroline Dahl Artist Statement (excerpt):

This is an exhibition of narrative hand embroidery and applique,  occasionally including beading and/or piecework, that largely reflects my travel experiences in Mexico.  I use exclusively DMC cotton floss on cotton muslin.  The show, with a few exceptions, contains work that I do while on the road, working as a piano player

Working with my hands is a meditative, introspective process I find comforting, while coming up with images and working out construction issues is exciting for me.  The reflective, solitary nature of embroidery is a perfect foil for the energetic, public act of playing music.  I feel like one pursuit enhances the other. I choose to make mostly humorous, diary-like work, often including text or titles in the pieces, as it seems an accurate reflection of my life, which is very often, just silly...

Crescendo Gallery

Ben Parker:  Wall Sculptures

Ben Parker Artist statement

I have always been fascinated with light and shadow and transitions between them, abruptly at corners and gently around curves. Shadow and light, yin and yang.  That’s what led me to wall sculpture: painting with lighted contours instead of pigment and brush.

I chose wood as my medium because I could replicate a virtually limitless palette of shapes and sizes.

I added in the concept of randomness – as anyone who has explored this concept knows, this is easier to talk about than to achieve.

It has all been a deeply satisfying body of work.

Ben Parker grew up in Seattle, settling in California in 1947 and Mill Valley in 1955.  Now, at age 97 he has been retired for many years from Fibreboard Corporation’s Creative Design Center on the San Francisco waterfront.  He has dabbled in several creative endeavors such as film, writing – with an unproduced play and a published book to show for it – plus painting and design.  A while back he explored wall sculpture in wood, several examples of which are on display here.  There won’t be any more of these; that particular creative itch has been scratched.