Coast Highway Art Collective in January: Ever Changing, Always Interesting
By Rozann Grunig
At the Coast Highway Art Collective, the members strive to create an ever changing and dynamic space for visitors. Art displays change regularly as works are sold and replaced, new artists join the group and artwork is moved to new locations to better group complimentary pieces. Members leave from time-to-time for various reasons, but their influence on the group and the space lingers long after their works are gone.
The Collective currently has five new members, bringing exciting and interesting pieces with them. In January, the group welcomes Don Antram, painter; Sarah Alice Britton, jeweler; Linda Green, painting and sculpture; Jacqueline Mooney, glass and Patty Paolone, glass.
Antram had a mural and faux finish business in Sacramento for many years. In 2008, he moved from working with oil paints to watercolors and acrylics, working in a very realistic style. Then, in 2010 he began studying with abstract artist Sondra Hersh , soaking up her knowledge and style, fusing that with his experience to create a style all his own.
Britton’s jewelry incorporates texture and maximizes movement both literally and visually. Influenced by the industrial world that surrounds her, she combines both soldering and cold connections in her creations, celebrating the mechanics of the pieces.
Green works in both oils and ceramics. Her oil pieces start with a textured surface, adding layer upon layer of oil paint and thin washes to build up the image that emerges. She says “In paint or in clay it is the progression of building and taking away until I find the balance in motion.”
Mooney always loved glass objects, and started taking classes when her daughter got a job at a local stained glass and fused glass shop. Fused glass offered her so many different techniques and possibilities, and dichroic glass was perfect for making jewelry. Most of Mooney’s work was functional art until recently, when she started working with enamels and painting with frit.
“Nature is a frequent theme in my art pieces, Mooney says. “I love combining different techniques and challenging myself. Nothing makes me happier than having someone else find joy in something that I've created.”
Paolone began fusing glass in 2000 as a hobby, eventually buying her own kiln and starting her business, Hobbigon Wild. She says she finds working with glass very relaxing, but exciting at the same time, laying out new pieces and trying new techniques.
The Coast Highway Art Collective is located at 284 Main Street, Point Arena, the little red building with the big yellow sun, located next to the Redwood Coast Credit Union. Regular hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11:00am to 4:00pm. Visit the website at www.coast-highway-artists.com for information about the collective’s artists, upcoming events and how to join. To find out more about becoming a member of the Collective, contact Ling-Yen Jones via the website above.
