JOURNALISM
ACCESS: An Ordinary Notion
An exhibition of artworks inspired by Alice Paul and the Equal Rights Amendment Northern California Women's Caucus for Art Saturday, June 15 - Saturday, July 13, 2024 Arc Studios & Gallery in San Francisco, CA ![]() A Conversation with Molly Gonzales
Advocacy Manager, Alice Paul Institute By Sherri Cornett April 25, 2024 "The parallels between Alice Paul and Molly Gonzales are palpable, as if I were getting a real time connection to Alice’s world. Both pursued several educational paths and were curious and motivated to acquire knowledge and skills to support their passions for human rights. . . Alice had 3 law degrees! Molly studied gender, sexuality, and women’s studies and political science and non-profit management and women’s history and became an archivist! Both started their advocacy work as young women. Beyond the museum in Alice’s family home in southern New Jersey, her history and archives, the Alice Paul Institute offers leadership development and civic engagement opportunities for all ages. It is an ever-evolving institution that holds itself as a model of adaptive use of a historic site. Molly’s path provides inspirational guideposts for other feminists and this conversation was both exuberant and hope-inducing! Check out the many links for further information. " [Full article downloadable below] ![]()
![]() "A Conversation with Deborah L Hughes
President & CEO Susan B. Anthony Museum & House By Sherri Cornett "Though there are now informative and engaging books and podcasts (see links) about Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), the depth and breadth of Anthony’s contributions, as with so many women who helped form this country, are not easily found in text books. For a more complete understanding, folks from all over the world make the pilgrimage to the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, New York. The Anthony Museum’s President and CEO Deborah L. Hughes shared that their mission is directly tied to a reflection Anthony made when talking with family about her eventual demise: “When I am gone, let there be no tears. . .pass by, and get on with the work.” The inspiring stories and history, which Deborah shared with me below, make evident that this directive, Susan’s legacy, and the programs they have birthed, continue to influence and activate children and adults to envision and work for a more just and equitable world for all. We encourage you to learn more and find your own spark of motivation. As Susan proclaimed, “Organize! Educate! Agitate! must be our battle cry.” [Full article downloadable below] ![]()
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Voices from the Valley
An occasional series of conversations between Sherri Cornett and Billings-area leaders who are committed to creating a vibrant community for all. ![]() Voices from the Valley: Mehmet "Mo" Casey
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News June 24, 2018 "Having lived his whole life in Baghdad, Iraq, Mehmet “Mo” Casey’s path to leaving the deteriorating conditions there came through a Fulbright scholarship to teach Arabic at Rocky Mountain College. He is currently an international admission and advising specialist at MSU Billings and had much to share about the journey of assimilating into a new culture." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Taylor Tellez
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News June 17, 2018 "As a master’s of education student at MSU Billings, Taylor Tellez’s main message is to be unapologetically yourself. He and I talked about identities and labels and the growing number of circles in Billings that support such discussions." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Vallmontana-mint.com/lastbestnews/2018/06/voices-from-the-valley-sonia-davis/ey: Sonia Davis
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News June 10, 2018 "Sonia Davis is a co-founder of Billings SURJ, a chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice, and the Senior High School speech and debate coach. She spoke compassionately with me about white people addressing injustice, and about mutual respect, standing up for each other and the wisdom of youth." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Abena Lane
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News June 3, 2018 "Abena Lane’s full birth name translates as “pure strength warrior.” This quality is woven into her military service, her faith and the way she talks about representations of black culture, reaching out a hand and Montana Interfaith Network, a group of spiritual leaders that stands up against violence and injustice." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Patrick Scott-Wilson
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News May 27, 2018 "Patrick Scott-Wilson is currently passionate about three things: how stories told through theater create culture, discovering how to be an ally to those facing injustice, and how these support each other. He started Sacrifice Cliff Theatre with his husband, Shad Scott-Wilson, six years ago. They are currently assessing what it means to be a theater company in Billings in the 21st century." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Tyson Middle
By Sherri Cornett Last Best News May 20, 2018 "Tyson Middle is inspired by art and trains, by the young people he mentors and by his 3-year-old son, Jaxon, who joined us for this conversation.Tyson and his mother co-own Underground Culture Krew, where he sells high-end spray paints to crafters, painters and graffiti artists. He grew up in Billings and Greybull, Wyoming, developed his work ethic on his family’s farm, and earned a psychology degree from MSU Billings." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Marci McLean
by Sherri Cornett Last Best New May 14, 2018 "I caught Marci McLean briefly at home between travels as executive director of Western Native Voice, which promotes Native education, advocacy, leadership and community engagement. Our conversation wandered through our connections to family, the land, the power of words and forgiveness." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Gwen Kircher
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News May 7, 2018 "Gwen Kircher’s life experiences have given her much to share. Our conversation flowed quickly, from being good neighbors to policy making, to history, race and class. All of these topics appertain to her roles as the current chair of the Montana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a past member of the Billings Human Relations Commission." ![]()
![]() Voices frommontana-mint.com/lastbestnews/2018/04/voices-from-the-valley-fitzgerald-clark/ the Valley: Fitzgerald Clark
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News April 30, 2018 "Contemplative, modest and a self-described introvert … Fitzgerald “Jerry” Clark talked with me about courage, the power of our youth, embracing change and looking at our own frailties." ![]()
![]() Voices from the Valley: Claudia Stephens
by Sherri Cornett Last Best News April 23, 2018. "Sitting down with Claudia Stephens, the strategic planning specialist for Ag Worker Health & Services, I feel, immediately, her earnest attention. Listening and being heard were some of the themes of our conversation, as were neighborhoods and the influence of mothers." ![]()
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A Conversation With Series
Interview articles with artists with studios at Arc Gallery and Studios in San Francisco. Published in the Arc Gallery and Studio newsletters. A Conversation with Quin de la Mer
By Sherri Cornett Arc Studios & Gallery Newsletter October 2024 "As a twelve-year-old, Quin de la Mer had a near-death experience during which they felt a complete union between their whole self and the generative Cosmos and Void. Since then, they have found it easy to expand the boundaries of physicality and to commune with the unseen, the micro and macrocosms, and the beings that inhabit those spaces while remaining connected to this world. These experiences and collaborations inspire them and are the basis for all the work they create." ![]()
A Conversation with Heather Robinson
by Sherri Cornett Arc Studios & Gallery Newsletter March 2022 "Easing into the multi-leveled positivity of Heather Robinson’s website, I find a lightening in my soul, a happy, pleasant distraction from the larger world. One of her many creative skills is the creation of multiple, digital entry points to view the colorful beauty of her paintings. Though she claims to be initially quiet with people, she is, essentially, an exuberant optimist. And, that comes through in her work. I am also impressed to learn that her work is connected to the Pattern and Decoration (P & D) movement of the 70s and 80s – the art criticism of which has grown more positive in tandem with the rise of multiculturism." ![]()
A Conversation with Angela Han
by Sherri Cornett Arc Studios and Gallery Newsletter February 2022 "As Angela Han effortlessly and rapidly moves our conversation from one of her research paths to another, I find myself happily anticipating my own explorations into her links to more information. Her magic is that she weaves her ideas and use of palette knives and color shapers into the beautifully detailed, lyrical scenes of her oil paintings. They invite us to let our imaginations run wild. The Nine Guardians of the Water, which is inspired by Chinese mythology as well as Susie Ibarra’s composition Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change, asks us to consider how we can be guardians of water. The 27 Black Women in the Arts Project, which she spearheads for the Northern California Women’s Caucus for Arts (she is also on its board), was created to honor Breonna Taylor. And, this is just a brief sampling of her work." ![]()
A Conversation with Priscilla Otani
by Sherri Cornett Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter March 2021 "I am fascinated with Priscilla Otani’s mix of intelligence, social conscience, desire to lift others up and humor –a humor which she calls sophomoric, but always brings out a chuckle in me and . . . how this all plays out in her art." ![]()
A Conversation with Pamela Mooney
by Sherri Cornett Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter February 2021 "As we near a year of the pandemic chaos, confusion and grief in our world, Pamela Mooney’s paintings – their softness, the often muted and pastel color choices and, in her portraits, the demeanors of her subjects – draw me in and away from those outside or personal experiences." ![]()
A Conversation with Brent Harden
by Sherri Cornett Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Cosmic playground, distorted reality, metaphysical worlds, energy . . . these are the words that pulled me further into Brent Hayden’s website and, once I saw his large scale 2- and 3-D collages (one wall piece is 8 x 6 feet!), I wondered about how they wove together with his life." ![]()
A Conversation with Debra Reabock
by Sherri Cornett Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Inspired by Escher, Dali, Magritte, and Warhol, Debra Reabock started taking photographs as a way to find relief from the stress of her corporate job. Her passion is transforming every day surroundings - modern, urban architecture and nature - into abstract geometric shapes and forms, so that viewers look at them in new ways. Despite, or, surprisingly, because of the increased isolation of the pandemic, she found that these "new abnormal" times have engendered opportunities for collaboration and new ways to present her photographs." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Rachel Leibman
by Sherri Cornett Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Rachel Leiman's art is as surprising and original as when I first talked with her in 2018. This month we can see her exciting new work in Uncommon Threads, an exhibition in the Project Gallery at Arc, which she curated with works by other artists." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Denise Tarantino
by Sherri Cornett October 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "As an artist continuing to work through the pandemic, Denise Tarantino has found new tools and methods to keep her moving forward, to maker her photographs reflect the enforced changes in her life – through the cancelled exhibitions, the challenges of online exhibitions, with reduced contact with collectors and her limitations stemming from health issues." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Joshua Coffy
by Sherri Cornett September 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "When Joshua and I talked in 2018, he focused on his light-hearted and whimsical paintings. I wondered if word ecents of 2020 had affected a change in his approach to art. True to his upbeat nature, he has not only stayed also true to his style, but he has added innovative new avenues to broaden exposure to his work." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Dianne Hoffmann
by Sherri Cornett August 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "As a self-described imperfect perfectionist with a dark sensibility, Dianne Hoffman also has a clever sense of humor. She enjoys seeing the glimmering sparkle in her viewers' eyes as they make sense of the metaphors and details in her assemblage vignettes. If she feels she doesn't have a needed element, which are mostly donated to her by her supporters, she pushes her imagination to figure out an alternative idea that is still multi-layered and intriguing. The resulting euphoria further drives her determination to succeed, which was evident in how she rose to the challenges of presenting the recent project Awakened By The Midnight, A Bay Area Dark Art Exhibition at Arc Gallery, for which she was curator and producer." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Debra Cook Shapiro
by Sherri Cornett July 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Painter and art instructor Debra Shapiro learned to meet virtually through Zoom several years ago when she joined a mastermind art business and marketing group, but it was not until the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders that she began using it to keep her students painting. In our conversation, she shared the highlights and challenges of this new way of teaching." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with JL King
by Sherri Cornett July 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Though the Covid-19 crisis challenged the art practices of many artists, JL King has found that painting helped her to stay productive and busy. The crisis did affect her more indirectly, as physical exhibitions were replaced by online versions. To engage virtual visitors more deeply, artists have been asked to create video tours of their work. JL, or Jen, as she is known more casually, was one of these artists. She and I talked about this process, symbolism and a new style in her work." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Nathalie Fabri
by Sherri Cornett June 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Literal bright spots in these months of pandemic fear, Nathalie Fabri's colorful and happy urban landscapes bring light and lightness to my soul. Like the empty streets in cities around the world earlier this year, her paintings and murals are devoid of human figures, but not devoid of hope. The playfulness and outsized floral-patterned overlays create environments that invite the viewer into a place of joy. "Welcome, welcome in, welcome back . . ." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Stephen C Wagner
by Sherri Cornett June 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "When Stephen tells me that he believes art provides an inexhaustible resource for exploration, reflection, and understanding, I focus on "inexhaustible" . . . for that is how I would describe his multi-faceted commitment to the world of art. He creates art. He has exhibited and sold works in galleries and art centers from London to Chicago to California. He lectures on professional development for artists. He has taught youth art classes. He has sat on advisory boards. He donated a private collection to the Smithsonian . . . And, he is a managing partner at Arc Gallery and Studios. ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Dan Louth
Arc Studio #205 By Sherri Cornett May 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Jean Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Mark Rothko, Joan Miró, Banksy . . . When Dan Louth told me that these were the artists who inspired him, I went on a journey of discovery through his oil and acrylic works. Though unique in their own ways, I could see a freedom of style, a feeling of abandon, and a joyful use of colors in his abstractions, all of which could be tied back to this lineage. As a child, Dan had been an avid art lover and channeled his creativity into making posters for his room. Though his adult path took him into software engineering and fatherhood, he made ample time for visits to museum and galleries in the Bay area. Twelve years ago, he transitioned out of his software company and focused on painting." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Bonnie Levinson
By Sherri Cornett March 2020 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Bonnie Levinson's first encounter with a "real artist" - a remarkable conversation and interview with Mark Rothko galvanized her childhood interest in the arts into a career of arts investigation, arts education, curatorial work, museum administration, and, eventually, an art practice. Even more astonishing is how this interview came to be. After a life changing experience in front of Rothko's work at MOMA, and in response to a twelfth-grade assignment to interview the person she admired most in the arts, Bonnie simply found his name in the NYC phone book, picked up the phone, called him and was invited to his studio. Rothko's words about the power of art as a personal experience continued to resonate deeply within her throughout her career, culminating in a decision to start her own art practice with mixed media, photography, painting and performance. That early interview is described in her audio performance, Sun on Your Back, and became the centerpiece of her one-woman show, You Complete the Picture. ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Sasha Merritt
By Sherri Cornett November 2017 Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter "Talking with Sasha Merritt about her art is a journey of verbs (reflect, push, pull, mark, wonder, explore, loop, examine, reveal), light and texture. For her sculptures, she often works in rounds, meditatively increasing and decreasing the shape as the work demands, using both crochet techniques and finger looping to manipulate the brass, copper and steel wire into her ethereal hanging sculpture. She paints with abandon, letting the colors and drips lead her, building layer upon layer, with thick glazes, adding tissue paper and found objects for extra texture. Or, she might intently study the forms of her subjects, working the minute detail of each petal and feather." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Amy Ahlstrom
by Sherri Cornett Arc Gallery & Studios Newsletter September 2017 "As a child, riding the train to Chicago from her home in Waukegan, through the poorest and richest neighborhoods, past burnt-out, abandoned buildings and the fanciest of shops, urban quilter Amy Ahlstrom was instilled with a love of cities and their diverse, visual richness." ![]()
![]() A Conversation with J.L. KIng
by Sherri Cornett July 2017 Arc Gallery and Studios Newsletter "Second generation San Francisco artist J.L. King remembers the smells of turpentine and paint while growing up with her artist parents. She didn't intend to pursue an art career - she equated that with hardship and poverty. She wanted to be happy and being an artist did not seem the road to happiness. But, she remembers always being creative. Around 2005, she began taking classes to learn techniques - as an "enthusiast", still not a career artist. In 2014, her path changed. She had accumulated skills that led to her investing more time into art making and, after a few exhibitions to toughen herself up, she began, ironically, she says, to feel happy as an artist, one who could not stop making art. ![]()
![]() A Conversation with Joshua Coffy
by Sherri Cornett June 2017 Arc Gallery and Studios Newsletter "The whimsical animals and nature scenes in Joshua Coffy's acrylic, prints and mixed media works have their roots in the small rural township of Tuscarawas, Ohio, where he and his two brothers could be found, almost daily, fishing, hunting, hiking and playing. Add in a captivation with Georgia O'Keefe's skull paintings, engendered from a move to New Mexico when he was thirteen and which inspired him to first take up painting, a fascination with scientific illustration and design, and his extensive photo reference library and we see the building blocks of his intriguing and detailed work. ![]()
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Earthwards
Editor and Writer: Sherri Cornett bi-monthly, 8 page newspaper June/July 1991 -December1992/January1993 Published by Earth Mercantile, Portland Oregon To help make saving the earth a way of life, each issue focused on an environmental issue and its related organizations as well as products reviews, events and workshops. |