The Mendocino Coast has a long history of creativity and has attracted artists since the 1960s. First, College of the Redwoods and now Mendocino College are institutions that have promoted and supported the artistic community. We have the good fortune to have many artists, talented in their own right, teaching at the colleges and in turn these artists have inspired their students to pursue an artistic practice.
Mina Cohen, our curator, chose four artists whose artistic practice is quite varied. All are instructors either here on the coast, inland, or at Art Explorers.
Mina writes:
“All these artists work in different media and different styles, so the challenge is creating a cohesive show. Often, even though we don’t think the works will fit together, miraculously, as in this show, they play off each other in unexpected ways. That’s the surprise that always materializes. As an instructor myself I am amazed at the commitment and caring with which our teachers share their expertise and inspire others.”
Sarah Logan is a Northern California-based interdisciplinary artist working in wood-fired ceramic sculpture and drawings on paper. Her artwork is influenced and motivated by curiosity around natural phenomena. Logan’s hand-formed ceramic sculptures serve as a conduit for the appreciation of the overlooked and unseen aspects of the natural world around us. She currently teaches ceramics at Mendocino College, Coast Center.
Solange Roberdeau was born in Albion, CA and lives and works here on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. She grew up in this community and has returned to share her creative energy. She teaches printmaking at Mendocino College, Ukiah, and works as the gallery coordinator and a teacher at Art Explorers in Fort Bragg, CA. Roberdeau speaks of her love of materials—the beauty of raw ink, paper, metal—and the ways living by the sea influences her work.
Rebecca Wallace is an artist and muralist living in Northern California. Her paintings explore the overlap of internal and external spaces. Incorporating multiple mediums as a means to expand the picture plane, she creates paintings that suggest glimpses into invisible realms, metaphysical realities and internal landscapes. Wallace currently teaches art classes at Mendocino College, Coast Center.
Collyn Ahrens is a ceramic artist who teaches at Mendocino College, Coast Center. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Mendocino Art Center. She writes:
“My forms flux between figurative and quotidian objects, to investigate animacy and the desire to see oneself in material. I make a reparative effort toward reshaping anthropocentrism by dissolving the separations of human from non-human and by celebrating the vibrancy of matter.”