Individual and Collaborative —The Art of Meilander and Rhine
This July, the Coast Highway Art Collective will open its doors to feature a new exhibit by long-time Gualala artists, Jim Meilander and Joan Rhine. Their show, “Joan Rhine and Jim Meilander Together : Individual and Collaborative Art,” is available for viewing at the Collective from July 1 to 25. An opening reception and a chance to meet the artists is on Friday, July 2 from noon to 5:00pm.
Meilander works with many diverse materials using a wide range of techniques: hand-papermaking, collage, printmaking, painting, drawing and sculpture. Meilander says his abstract imagery is a playful personal synthesis of real and imaginary images. He's inspired by his natural and man-made physical surroundings, by objects used in work and play, and by pure fantasy.
In his recent handmade paper/mixed-media works, Jim has limited his palette to black and white, at times accented with color. He draws upon a number of different techniques in the same artwork. His artistic process begins with his making sketches. Then, he creates a painting using a palette of pigmented abaca and cotton paper pulps, and paper made from plants growing in Mendocino County. He embeds collage elements into the paper and welcomes the varying neutral shades obtained from the natural colors of plant fibers in handmade papers and found materials. After the paper has dried, he continues to develop his design using acrylics, print media, collage, drawing materials and encaustic. As he works on the pieces, he allows for spontaneous images to develop.
Meilander received his degree in art from Ohio University. He settled in San Francisco, where he established Submarine Paperworks in Hunters Point Naval Shipyard with his wife, Joan Rhine, in 1984. In 2000 he moved to Gualala. In addition to art-making, he has designed and fabricated specialized papermaking equipment. In 2016 he finished restoring a 1966 Voith Valley (Hollander) Beater.
Among his many honors, Jim won the Collage Award at “Gualala Salon, 2021,” Best of Show in 2018 “Putting it All Together” with his artwork Presence and Absence, First Place in Collage & Mixed-Media at Art in the Redwoods, Gualala Art Center, in 2008 and 2012 and First Place in Printmaking in 2015.
Recent exhibits in California include “The Art of Paper” at Ukiah’s Art Center and “Expressions in Handmade Paper 3” at the Morris Graves Museum in Eureka. Jim is an active member of the international papermakers’ organization “North American Hand Papermakers.”
Rhine’s creations include abstract wall pieces and sculpture in mixed media, and jewelry. Her most recent work is evolving in two separate, yet related, directions: mixed media artworks featuring handmade paper and her Joan Rhine designs… Jewelry collection using precious metals, semi-precious stones and beads.
Joan states that there is a symbiotic exchange of ideas and materials between her bodies of work. Color and texture in her jewelry first appeared in her artworks; jewelry materials have entered her wall pieces and sculpture in her uses of wire, gold leaf and beads. As she puts it “I enjoy exploring the versatility of metal and paper, and how they can be perceived as both hard and soft, and contrasting simple shapes with rich texture, controlled forms with random elements, shiny surfaces with matte, and geometric elements with organic forms.”
Joan’s expressive jewelry pieces are unique, each one completely handmade one-of-a-kind or in small editions. Her contemporary jewelry designs are light, comfortable to wear, and flatter the wearer.
Recent sculptures combine copper and her custom handmade paper with mixed materials. Much of her work is inspired by her surroundings, as she walks on the beach or in the forest absorbing natural forms, textures and colors: “Landscapes, skies, even man-made structures along the coast and through the countryside stimulate my imagination.”
John Rhine, who grew up in New York City, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Cooper Union and her Master of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking from Pratt Institute. In addition, she studied hand papermaking at Dieu Donne Paper Mill in New York and jewelry with Charlene Modena at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University. “I continue to learn at every opportunity”, she says. Joan’s professional career includes working as a graphic designer, art instructor, fine artist and jeweler.
Rhine now offers workshops in hand papermaking at her studio in Gualala. Her works have been widely exhibited in northern California, from Morris Graves Museum in Eureka to Ukiah’s Art Center and Gualala Arts Center. Her work can be seen at The Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay, Red Stella in Gualala and Mendocino Gems in Mendocino. Winner of numerous awards, Joan took First Place in jewelry and ornamentation at Art in the Redwoods, Gualala Arts Center in 2012, 2015 and 2019. She is an active member of the international papermakers’ organization “North American Hand Papermakers.”
They also regularly show their artwork at their studio and at Discovery Gallery during the annual North Coast Artists’ Guild "Studio Discovery Tour”.
The Coast Highway Art Collective is regularly open Thursday through Sunday from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Masks and social distancing are still in place for the safety of all of the guests, artists and staff. The gallery is located at 284 Main Street, Point Arena, next door to the Redwood Credit Union. More information is available at www.coast-highway-artists.com.
Images: Top left: Meilinder and Rhine. Top: "Zendo" by Meilinder. Above: "Fun With Geometry " by Rhine.
