Mendings and Marvels

June 14 - July 12
ARC Gallery, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, June 14, 7:00-9:00 PM

Mendings & Marvels' theme not only centers around the reuse/repurposing of materials and the reimagining of older artwork, but also includes themes around mending — whether literal, spiritual, or reacting to the present moment. 

Artists often reflect their ability to mend and their desire to remake their emotions,  experiences, and our world into the artworks they create. Mending or remaking ideas or objects also imbues them with new life. It’s a mystical, alchemical, and sometimes prescient process that has far-reaching results.

NCWCA is proud to present NCWCA Member artwork in various media that interprets the idea of mending, reusing, reimagining, and responding to the present moment. Artworks range from the repurposing of found objects, including artworks about the environment or recycling, to conceptual works exploring the remaking of ideas and emotions, mendings of the mind and planet, and marvels of revelation. 

Jurors:
Laura Abrams, NCWCA Professional Development Chair
Marguerite Elliot, NCWCA Board Vice President
Anne Giancola, Visual Arts and Education Manager Livermore Valley Arts, NCWCA Member


CURATORIAL TOUR AND IN-PERSON ARTIST TALK
Sunday, June 22, 1:30-3:30 PM

ONLINE ARTISTS' TALK
Thursday, June 26, 7:00-8:00 PM

“Golden Grasses”, oil on paper mounted on wood panel, 10” x 10”

About Golden Grasses
When I first read the call for Mendings and Marvels, I thought of it through the lens of “reduce, reuse, recycle.” That led me to dig through my storage racks—past works that never quite came together, blank canvases waiting their turn. I made the decision not to buy any new materials for this piece, but instead to reuse what I already had.

Golden Grasses is painted on top of an older work I made during an artist residency in Iceland. It’s a work on paper, later mounted to a wood panel. You can still see traces of that earlier painting—cool blues peeking through beneath the surface. Over that, I layered a new scene inspired by the Bay Area, specifically the golden grasses that blanket the hills of Marin and the Presidio in late summer.

This painting is both a visual and material transformation—moving from the icy blues of Iceland to the sun-warmed golds of California. It’s a way of honoring both landscapes while giving new life to something that was already there.