William Shakespeare never had a play actually published in his lifetime. They existed, often in pieces, in hand-scrawled scripts and in the memories of the actors who performed them. If not for Shakespeare’s friends and colleagues’ efforts to preserve his work, high school drama students would have a lot of free time on their hands and community theaters would have big holes in their season schedules.
Playwright Lauren Gunderson (the Christmas in Pemberley series) won the 2018 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award for The Book of Will, her historically-based look at the long-shot effort to keep Shakespeare’s work available for the ages. Healdsburg’s Raven Players has a production of the play running through May 29.
After being exposed to a butchered version of Hamlet (“To be, or not to be, ay, there’s the point…”), members of Shakespeare’s theatrical troupe, under the leadership of Richard Burbage (Robert Bauer), decide something must be done. Burbage’s untimely death leaves it to John Heminges (Steven David Martin) and Henry Condell (Craig Peoples) to come up with a preservation plan. They decide to do something never before done—publish a book of plays. All they’ll need is money, a publisher and a written record of all the plays. They lack all three.
How they accomplish this seemingly impossible feat makes for a very entertaining evening of theatre. Director Diane Bailey (with a Covid-necessitated assist from Martin) gathered many of the Raven regulars, added a few newcomers, placed them on a simple set that’s evocative of the time and let Gunderson’s amusing and oft-emotional script do the talking.
That script was well-delivered by leads Bauer, Martin and Peoples. Bauer does double duty as Burbage and William Jaggard, the less-than-honorable publisher with whom they must deal. Solid support was provided by Nicholas Augusta as Shakespeare rival/friend, Ben Jonson; Bill Garcia as the more honorable son of Jaggard; and Aimee Drew as Heminge’s daughter, Alice.
Bailey makes effective use of the Raven space, but transitions between scenes were inconsistent and could be tightened, as there are no set changes of which to speak. The play runs two-and-a-half hours, inclusive of an intermission.
Fans of Shakespeare (or Shakespeare in Love) will find The Book of Will a nice addition to the folio of Bard-related popular entertainments.
‘The Book of Will’ runs through May 29 at the Raven Performing Arts Theater, 115 North St., Healdsburg. Thursday–Saturday, 7:30pm; Sunday, 2pm. $10–$25. Proof of vaccination required. Masks recommended. 707.433.6335. raventheater.org
For many, knowledge of sculpture starts with Rodin’s “The Thinker” and ends somewhere near David’s fig leaf. Fortunately, for nearly two decades, the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail has expanded local appreciation for the discipline with its biannual public art exhibit.
The Sculpture Trail’s 2022-24 season, which was installed in late April, brings nine new pieces installed along and nearby Cloverdale Boulevard.
“Being an artist, but especially a sculptor, venues are hard to come by,” says artist Bryan Tedrick, who has participated in the event since its inception 19 years ago. “The logistics of moving heavy objects, preparing sites to place them, and maintaining public safety are not simple tasks.”
Over the years, the event has seen an increase in funding, publicity and access to heavy equipment to aid in transporting and installing the artwork, which Tedrick credits to local arts maven Joyce Mann, who retires from her tenure with the Sculpture Trail this year.
“The satisfaction for me of the Sculpture Trail is seeing families walking down the streets and stopping to admire and discuss the sculptures,” says Janet Howell, who runs J. Howell Fine Art in Healdsburg and is taking over as lead chair for Mann. “Nineteen years ago, Joyce Mann had the vision of bringing public art to our small community, and I hope Cloverdale can continue with this tradition for many years to come.”
Among this year’s new works are Tedrick’s “Thistle,” “Salvaged Horse” by Pierre Riche, “Lips” by Beth Hartmann, ‘The Disc” by David Mudgett (which took “Best of Show”), “Icarus,” a joint piece by Hector Ortega and Taryn Moore, Peter Hassen’s “Cycles2: Science” (which garnered an honorable mention), “Hekate” by Stan Huncilman, Peter and Robyn Crompton’s “Celestial Poodle,” and first place winner “Being” by Diego Harris.
The works were judged by gallery owner Danielle Elins and Todd Barricklow, a lauded Sonoma County artist.
“As a Sonoma artist, it is particularly gratifying to share my work locally. The public exposure guarantees many will see my work,” says Tedrick. “While actual sales of work may be limited, it is at least an opportunity that wouldn’t exist otherwise, and hope springs eternal.”
The Sculpture Trail was made possible by a grant from Creative Sonoma and a bevy of local “sculpture sponsors,” from local businesses to individuals. A “People’s Choice Award,” sponsored by the Cloverdale Nursery, will be announced at a reception June 4. The public is invited to vote for their favorite works at cloverdalesculpturetrail.org.
“The impact that public art has is not always immediately recognizable, but has a way of imprinting on one’s environment and mind like an old majestic tree,” says Hector Ortega, one of the artists behind “Icarus.” “Normalizing the arts and making a visual impact to better our built world is something that the Sculpture Trail does for its community.”
A reception for the artists is scheduled from 5 to 7:30pm, Saturday, June 4 at Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, 209 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale. cloverdalesculpturetrail.org
The news team for the North Bay Bohemian and Marin County’s Pacific Sun won nine awards in this year’s California Journalism Awards contest, including two first-place and four second-place awards.
“As always, I’m extremely proud and impressed by my team, who—every week—answers the call to bring vital and interesting stories to our loyal readers. It’s an incredible feat in this day and age and especially gratifying to see them get the recognition they deserve,” said Daedalus Howell, editor of the Bohemian and Pacific Sun. Both papers, which competed in the category for weekly newspapers with circulations between 11,001-25,000, are owned by Weeklys, a chain of Bay Area newspapers.
Nikki Silverstein, writer-at-large for the two papers, won first place in the Coverage of Local Government category for her reporting on the arrest of Jeremy Portje. Silverstein was the first to write about the Sausalito Police Department’s decision to arrest Portje, a freelance journalist filming at a city-sanctioned homeless encampment as part of his work on a documentary about homelessness in Marin County.
Silverstein’s reporting quickly drew attention from the San Francisco Chronicle and national press freedom advocacy groups.
“[The stories offer] a chilling lesson about how some overzealous members of law enforcement can manipulate circumstances to create false narratives, while disregarding First Amendment rights,” the judges wrote.
In the same category, Bohemian reporter Chelsea Kurnick and news editor Will Carruthers took fourth place for their five-part series on the intrigue surrounding the April 2021 vandalism in Santa Rosa.
“This story has everything, from a severed pig’s head to pig’s blood to mysteries to thorny First Amendment issues,” the judges wrote.
In the In-Depth Reporting category, Peter Byrne’s 2021 stories on the Point Reyes National Seashore for the Pacific Sun won first place. Chelsea Kurnick’s Bohemian series on the numerous allegations against West County restaurateur Lowell Sheldon won second place in the same category.
Will Carruthers’ Bohemian and Pacific Sun series on Press Democrat owner Darius Anderson’s behind-the-scenes work at the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit won second place in the Investigative Reporting category.
“What appears to be a serious conflict of interest and questionable business dealings is laid out in this story,” the judges wrote.
Carruthers also won second place in the Agricultural Reporting category for his series on the Petaluma Creamery’s unpaid debts to the city of Petaluma, as well as the owner’s history of code violations. After Carruthers broke the story, the Petaluma Argus-Courier and Press Democrat also wrote about the Creamery’s struggles. The company ultimately reached an agreement with Petaluma to comply with safety requirements and pay off its bills.
Nikki Silverstein took second place in the Columns category and fourth place in the Enterprise category for her reporting on the Marin Housing Authority’s management of Golden Gate Village, the county’s largest public housing complex.
“Nikki Silverstein’s Golden Gate Village series turned the tide on Marin Housing Authority’s attempt to gentrify subsidized housing and dislocate generations of Black families,” the judges wrote.
Lastly, Chelsea Kurnick won fifth place in the Feature Story category for her coverage of World AIDS Day.
Links to some of our winning articles are available below. A full list of this year’s print winners is available here.
The Green Music Center at Sonoma State University is set to present its 2022 Summer concert season—Summer at the Green 2022. This new season features indoor-outdoor concerts from a range of popular artists including R&B/pop icon Patti LaBelle, multi-platinum hitmakers Andy Grammer and Fitz & The Tantrums, Latin music icons Los Tigres del Norte, powerhouse folk duo Indigo Girls, and the acclaimed folk/Americana groups Punch Brothers and Watchhouse.
All concerts take place in Weill Hall with seating both in the hall and on the outdoor grass and terraces of Weill Lawn. Lawn tickets are $30 ($15 for kids 12 and under).
Patrons are encouraged to pack a picnic, or enjoy the wide variety of concessions available before and during performances including meals, snacks, beer, and wine.
4th of July Fireworks Spectacular Santa Rosa Symphony Michael Berkowitz, conductor & Transcendence Theatre Company
Monday, July 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $30-$60
The biggest fireworks display in Sonoma County returns with a bang! Join us for a family-friendly celebration featuring Sonoma County’s own Transcendence Theatre Company and Santa Rosa Symphony in an evening of show tunes and patriotic classics, followed by a spectacular post-concert fireworks show! Bring the whole family—lawn tickets for kids 12 and under are half price! Families, make sure to arrive early and check out our Kids Zone beginning at 4:30 p.m., complete with carnival games, bounce houses, and face painting plus food, music, and more!
Supported in part by Sonoma Cutrer, Clover Sonoma, and Exchange Banks
Patti LaBelle
Thur, July 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $30-$110
Beautiful simply does not describe the incomparable force known to the world as Patti LaBelle. Over a distinguished career, the soulful songbird’s name has become synonymous with grace, style, elegance, and class. Belting out classic rhythm and blues, pop standards, and spiritual sonnets have created the unique platform of versatility that she is known and revered for.
Supported in part by Sonoma Cutrer, Redwood Credit Union, and The Press Democrat
Free Community Concert Presented by the Green Music Center and Santa Rosa Symphony featuring Villalobos Brothers and the Santa Rosa Symphony Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor
Sun, July 24 at 7 p.m.
Free tickets available beginning July 12 at 10 a.m.
Enjoy live music and warm sunshine at our Free Community Concert! A collaboration between the Green Music Center and Santa Rosa Symphony, the Community Concert is a favorite, annual tradition. This year features a leading contemporary Mexican ensemble—the Villalobos Brothers.
Supported in part by Balletto Vineyards and Redwood Credit Union
Los Tigres del Norte La Reunión Tour
Sat, July 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $30-$105
One of the most popular and influential bands in the history of Latin music, Los Tigres del Norte have been superstars for five decades. The band has sold over 40 million albums worldwide, while notching 24 #1 albums, more than 50 #1 singles, and placing more tracks (66) on the “Hot Latin Songs Chart” than any other artist or group.
Supported in part by Exchange Bank
American Acoustic: Punch Brothers and Watchhouse Featuring Sara Jarosz
Sat, Aug 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $30-$95
Craft Beer Festival
5-7:30 p.m.
$30
Punch Brothers and Watchhouse join forces this summer for the American Acoustic US tour with Sarah Jarosz. Punch Brothers’ Chris Thile says: “It took five years, but I’m elated to announce the second traveling edition of American Acoustic for this summer. Joining my fellow Punch Brothers and me in front of a pair of large condenser microphones will be our dear friends, Watchhouse and Sarah Jarosz, for a collaborative evening of music that traverses our respective catalogs and celebrates being together.”
Craft Beer Fest
Pair your American Acoustic experience with our 5th-Annual Craft Beer Fest! Featuring unlimited tastings of stellar brews. The Craft Beer Fest will kick off at 5 p.m. and go until 7:30 p.m. Only $30 in addition to your show ticket.
Supported in part by Cartograph Wines, Willow Creek Wealth Management, and Oliver’s Market
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial In Concert Santa Rosa Symphony
Sat, Aug 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $30-$95
Director Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming film is one of the brightest stars in motion picture history. Experience all the mystery and fun of their unforgettable adventure in the beloved movie that captivated audiences around the world, complete with John Williams’ Academy Award®-winning score performed live by a full symphony orchestra in sync to the film projected on a huge HD screen!
Fitz and the Tantrums and Andy Grammer The Wrong Party Tour
Friday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $30-$105
Fitz and the Tantrums have quickly grown from independent upstarts to bonafide hitmakers. The LA-based band recently released its much-anticipated, fourth full-length album All the Feels, featuring singles “123456” and “I Just Wanna Shine.” All the Feels follows the band’s 2016 release Fitz and the Tantrums, which spawned the group’s biggest hit to date, “HandClap.”
Multi-Platinum troubadour Andy Grammer’s numerous hits include the quadruple-platinum “Honey, I’m Good,” platinum singles “Keep Your Head Up,” “Fine By Me,” “Don’t Give Up On Me,” “Fresh Eyes,” “Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah).”
Opening the night is genre-crossing singer, Breland. His high-profile collaborations include country superstars Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, and Lauren Alaina.
Supported in part by The Press Democrat and Exchange Bank
Indigo Girls
Thur, Sept 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $30-$95
Released in 1989, Indigo Girls’ eponymous major-label debut sold more than two million units under the power of singles “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears” and turned Indigo Girls into one of the most successful folk duos in history. Over a thirty-five-year career that began in clubs around their native Atlanta, the Grammy®-winning duo has recorded sixteen studio albums (seven gold, four platinum, one double platinum), sold more than 15 million records, and built a dedicated, enduring following.
Supported in part by Sonoma Cutrer
Movies at the Green
Brought to you by Bank of America
with additional support by Sonoma State University Involvement
Lawn tickets only $5 per person | 12 and under free
Encanto
Sat, July 9 at 5 p.m.
The Mighty Ducks
Sat, Aug 27 at 5 p.m.
Sing & Sing 2
Sat, July 23 at 5 p.m. | 7 p.m.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Sat, Sept 10 at 5 p.m. | 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE GREEN MUSIC CENTER
Nestled in the foothills of Northern California’s esteemed Wine Country, the Green Music Center (GMC) at Sonoma State University is a focal point for arts in the region. It is comprised of the spectacular 1,400-seat Weill Hall, an acoustically exceptional venue with a modular rear wall that opens to terraced lawn seating, providing picturesque views of the surrounding countryside, and the 240-seat Schroeder Hall, a cathedral-like recital hall designed specifically to accentuate instruments, organ and voice in a small, intimate setting. The Green Music Center presents year-round programming of top classical, contemporary, jazz, and world music artists and is home to the Santa Rosa Symphony.
View a complete listing of the Green Music Center’s upcoming events at gmc.sonoma.edu. Weill Hall | Schroeder Hall Green Music Center | Sonoma State University 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928
After a two-year pandemic-induced delay, Matilda the Musical finally hits the stage at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. The musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale of a gifted little girl navigating a treacherous world runs through May 22.
Matilda Wormwood (Gigi Bruce Low, alternating with Anja Kao Nielsen) is a miracle child, though her loutish parents (Shannon Rider and Garet Waterhouse) refuse to acknowledge her. Upon Matilda entering school, Miss Honey, her teacher (Madison Scarbrough), immediately recognizes her gifts and tries to advance Matilda a few grades. The school’s tyrannical headmistress (and former champion hammer thrower) Miss Trunchbull (Tim Setzer) will have none of it. Trunchbull takes sadistic pleasure in disciplining the students, or “maggots” as she refers to them, but she may have met her match in the rebellious Matilda.
Dahl’s children’s stories are chock full of villainous adults offset by one or two kindly grown-ups. Cartoonish cruelty is also a hallmark, and it’s manifested here with activities like Trunchbull swinging a student around by her pigtails, forcing another to eat an entire chocolate cake and dragging students off for a session in the dreaded “chokey.”
Director Sheri Lee Miller endured many challenges in getting this show on the boards, so its raggedness in some areas is somewhat understandable. Low gives a technically strong performance, but it appears as if Miller was unable to coax any of the layers of character out of her that would induce an audience to embrace, sympathize and root for Matilda beyond what the script demanded. It was left to her “classmates” to bring range and energy to the show. Other young performers like Tyler Ono as the cake-challenged Bruce and Molly Belle Hart as Matilda’s new best friend, Lavender, were able to rally the crowd to their side.
Among the adults, Waterhouse and Rider were amusingly grotesque as the parents, and Scarbrough and Gina Alvarado as a friendly librarian brought heart to the show. Setzer, and the audience, reveled in the glorious comedic nastiness of Trunchbull.
Tim Minchin’s music and lyrics were drastically underserved by significant sound issues at the opening night performance, an aberration at this usually reliable venue that they will hopefully correct. Far too much of the singing was unintelligible.
In Matilda the Musical, children should be seen AND heard.
‘Matilda the Musical’ runs through May 22 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. Fri, 7pm; Sat & Sun, 2pm; Thurs, May 19, 7pm. $12–$36. 707.588.3400. spreckelsonline.com Unvaccinated individuals must mask.
I passed by a martial arts studio one day, peered inside and was shocked to see a recreation of the battle of David and Goliath, for there were two young boys in full headgear and pillowy boxing gloves sparring away like a couple of tousling puppies.
Now here’s the twist: one kid was the archetypal bully, towering six inches above his opponent and fortified with plenty of meat, while his opponent was the archetypal scrawny pipsqueak. It was a matchup straight out of Hollywood—and perhaps your most traumatic childhood memories—but there was the tiny one doing flying Superman punches and taking knocks on the head like it was just a game of tag. I found the little one’s courage astonishing, for not only was he fearless, but there was no anxious adult ego holding him back. He simply did what kids do when faced with any activity: he played.
Learning things through spontaneous play is a vital life energy of which kids are masters. In a cruel reversal, the more we mature in other aspects of life, the more we lose that golden key we had as children: the ability to learn and experiment in a judgment-free state of mind. When we take on new skills as adults, whether for work or play, we often succumb to paralysis by analysis, berating ourselves with self-criticism driven by an insecure ego terrified of how we must appear in the eyes of others and especially ourselves, since we are always our own toughest critics.
So-called “divine play” is the primary energy of the divine child archetype, the most important energy driving our early years. The Jungian psychologists and myth experts Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette have written, “The Divine Child within us is the source of life. It possesses magical, empowering qualities, and getting in touch with it produces an enormous sense of well-being, enthusiasm for life, and great peace and joy.” Losing touch with it, on the other hand, blinds us to the possibilities of life, so that “we are never going to seize opportunities for newness and freshness.”
In the Wisdom Tradition, the entire construction of reality, from the heavens to the Earth and all the humans who inhabit it, has been called one vast dream of the cosmos, and all of us merely materialized thought-forms living inside the dream. In Hinduism, the universe is called the cosmic dance of Shiva, an ever-changing tapestry of energies one can liken to creative play. So cast off self-conscious concern over outcome and play the game of life spontaneously. You’ll be in harmony with all this is and ever will be.
When not properly stowed, writers go bad. Not their writing, but their souls. We curdle easily and need to be handled with kid gloves—scratch that—thick rubber gloves—and kept in a cool, dry place, preferably not too bright and not for too long.
Many of us are peripatetic. How do you know if your writer is peripatetic? A) They use words like “peripatetic” and B) They can’t stay in one place more than a couple of hours before their minds turn in on themselves and start plotting—and not novels. But schemes, evil plans, ways to impress their will upon a world that never understood them or their genius.
This writerly tendency toward megalomania (guilty) can be addressed in a couple of ways. Booze is fun but unproductive. Changing where one works every couple of hours is productive but unfun. Hopping from cafe to cafe used to work until these so-called “third spaces” became corporatized birthing centers for abominations like the frappuccino.
Also, many writers with megalomania also suffer a comorbidity known as misanthropy. We can only be around people so long before our inner villains start plotting mass extinction events. Fortunately for me (and humanity), co-working spaces offer an alternative.
Insert the record scratch here. Yes, co-working spaces—just like the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed—but without all the tequila and emotional manipulation. Most days.
From Keller Street Cowork in Petaluma (my usual) to CraftWork Healdsburg and Venture Pad in San Rafael (this paper has memberships to both) coworking spaces aren’t mere “rent-a-desk” operations or upmarket alternatives to Starbucks. They are what’s saving the world from people like me.
For example, laughing diabolically at one’s designs for revenge is frowned upon at most co-working spaces—though, theoretically, you can use one of the soundproof phone rooms if you really must manically cackle at your coming misdeeds. Likewise, many of the conference rooms available have glass walls, so whatever evil machinations you scrawl on the whiteboard will be seen by any number of would-be heroes. Co-working is preventative medicine for supervillains.
In fact, co-working is reminiscent of a college study hall (I bet), wherein everyone abides by a code of relative quietude and mutual respect for space. Which is good since two or more evil geniuses in conversation is tantamount to a criminal conspiracy.
So, this is how I work now—moving from space to space, hiding in plain sight, passing as a creative entrepreneur as I write my screeds and manifestos, like some alien anthropologist visiting the people zoo. I co-work so I can co-exist.
This year, legendary Sonoma County artist Mary McChesney will celebrate, if all goes well, the 100th anniversary of her birth. It probably won’t be a very festive occasion, since Mary is in a “rest home” in Petaluma, and as one dear friend put it, “sadly not clear in her mind.”
Longtime Sonoma County librarian Karen Petersen is working overtime to save Mary’s papers, place them in the history room of the Sonoma County Public Library and acquire some of her stunning artwork. She also would like to find someone who might save the space on Sonoma Mountain where Mary and her husband, Robert, made art together for decades. The gorgeous property is on the market for $1.3 million.
Some years ago, Gretchen Giles wrote a piece about the couple that was titled “True Bohemians.” It was subtitled “Artists Robert and Mary McChesney found peace outside the limelight.” They also found the inspiration to paint, sculpt and befriend fellow artists such as Hassel Smith, Agnes Martin and Richard Diebenkorn.
Santa Rosa art dealer Dennis Calabi has been Mary’s number one fan for decades. He still is. Her work is for sale at the Calabi Gallery on 10th Street, not far from Old Courthouse Square. In a world in which art and artists are too often forgotten, it would be a crying shame if Mary’s and Robert’s landmark studio, and Mary’s papers, were lost forever. Isn’t there someone out there who cares about the preservation of art? And isn’t there a painter or a sculptor who would like nothing better than to move into the McChesney’s home, which has been remodeled and turned into a living and working space?
Several years ago, I visited Mary in the Petaluma facility where she was living and where I found her as feisty as ever. Some of her drawings were on a wall. One of them said, “Take it easy, but take it.” Another said, “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even.” If anyone out there would like to make sure that Mary’s work isn’t forgotten, they might contact in**@***********ry.com.
New gallery’s May Day show focused on labor’s role in society
The founders of Sebastopol’s new Rabbit Hole Art Gallery and Studios displayed work exploring comfort and conflict in an art show earlier this month.
On Sunday, May 1, friends and visitors strolled into the Gravenstein Highway studio to browse and buy from the assembly of drawings, paintings and digital collages by Occidental-based artists Melissa Jones and Sam Roloff.
The art show is one of the first events hosted at the gallery since it opened in March this year.
Roloff founded the gallery in 2022, and together, he and Jones worked hard to remodel the place. Jones became the first artist to exhibit her work alongside Roloff’s in a show there.
“We’re pretty new, so we’re really just trying to get on the map in this area,” Roloff said of the “diamond in the rough” gallery. He shared that they intentionally lowered the price of their art on May 1 so it would be more affordable.
The date happens to commemorate both ancient European festivals surrounding the start of summer and International Workers’ Day. Though the show wasn’t advertised as such, multiple pieces offered commentary on labor issues in the distinct styles of the two artists.
Jones teaches art at Windsor High School and makes folk art that speaks to the struggle of grounding oneself in the richness of ordinary life in the midst of a demanding and chaotic capitalist society.
She painted a maypole dance that mingled the meanings of both holidays—the change of season and the celebration of workers. The piece depicts people twisting through the air around a maypole alongside messages like, “WORK,” “SHOP NOW” and “PAY UP.” At the base of the pole stands a girl with a sign reading, “STRIKE FOR CLIMATE.”
As a worker herself, Jones said the everyday rush of hyper-productivity and consumerism keeps people from slowing down to address other major issues at hand. “We gotta change the shit we’re doing, but we’re totally swirling in survival,” she said.
Other pieces of her art explore the working class life, motherhood, feminism and the value of domestic labor and other tasks traditionally considered “women’s work.”
“About 10 years ago, I started doing drawing as a meditative practice and trying to come to peace with my life as an ordinary life, as a schoolteacher and a mother, and kind of learning how to let my ego rest, and the struggle with the ego of that,” she said. “I would just pull from my ordinary life experience, and the drawings are really simple and oftentimes they don’t have a lot of layers and depth. But I’m just looking at one thing and saying, ‘This. This. Is what I’m looking at today.’”
Several digital collages and paintings by Roloff, a full-time artist and the brother to Matthew Roloff of the reality tv show Little People, Big World, explored the power dynamics and conflicts present in the modern world.
Roloff’s art often emphasizes the power of ordinary people uniting as a collective against institutional forces.
In one such piece, a battle unfolds near a European-style cafe. Police fight with a group of protesters dressed in yellow vests emblematic of the French working class protest movement, and ordinary people appearing as sheep and ballerinas—compliant in the eyes of the government, but beautiful in their movement.
“It looks like an army, and it demonstrates that the people have more power than they think because the photos don’t lie,” he commented.
Roloff said that because the mainstream media does not tell the story of organized labor in full, “there is a certain amount of responsibility for the artist to kind of help elevate things and bring them into people’s living rooms, if you will.”
He noted that while many countries celebrate the international labor movement on May Day, the U.S. holds its Labor Day holiday in September, “and it pretty much just turned into a barbecue weekend.” Roloff called this an effective, movement-stifling way of removing the context of the holiday.
Jones and Roloff share a disinterest in creating another gallery defined by exclusivity and big-budget art. They priced their works between about $50 and $1,500, save for a piece going for around $2,000 at the most, Roloff said.
“I’m a strong believer that if somebody wants my art, I want them to have it. I don’t want them to feel like, ‘Ooh, I can’t have it.’ It’s complicated because you don’t want to undervalue your work and have people think you’re undervaluing your work,” Jones said.
Plenty of visitors who stopped by on May 1 were artists themselves. Kristen Tucker of Santa Rosa purchased a limited series print from Roloff about Occidental.
“[It was] really cool and kind of spoke to the craziness of Occidental and the randomness that you’ll find there,” Tucker said, adding that the piece had a remarkably modest price tag.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “The one piece I was looking at was like $400… Typically, a piece like that you’d see for like $1,400… So it’s nice to have an affordable and accessible artist that just wants to be part of the community.”
Mark Grieve, a Marin County artist, said when he looks at Roloff’s digital art, “I kind of feel like I’m watching a surreal version of the news.”
He described Jones’ art as raw and bold, with “wonderful honesty about her work that you can see in the way she uses her color.”
To see more of Jones’ work, follow @jones.drawings on Instagram. Roloff said his paintings will be in the upcoming season of Little People, Big World on TLC, coming out this month.
The Rabbit Hole Art Gallery is open most days from 11am to 7pm.. Those planning to visit can take their chances on Gravenstein Highway South in Sebastopol or call ahead at (503) 975-5256 to make an appointment.
3a. Are all NBA basketball courts the same size? Or does each home court have slightly different dimensions?
3b. If your answer to part (a) was: all the same size, then what is the standard length and width of NBA courts?
4 What female recording artist had seven consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard singles chart from 1985 to 1988?
5 How many of these metals—iron, nickel, cobalt, copper—are attracted to magnets?
6 A jogger runs uphill at 4 mph and back downhill at 6 mph. If the whole round-trip takes her one hour of running time, how far did she run altogether?
7 Greek philosopher Plato claimed that … what?… was the Mother of Invention?
8 What are the westernmost and easternmost U.S. cities on the nation-crossing Interstate I-80?
9 In what animal category is the Great Bustard, found mostly in Asia and Africa, at the top of the list?
10 Name ANY year during which each of these people was alive.
10a. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 10b. King Henry VIII 10c. Cleopatra (and what actress played her in this 1963 film? See visual.)
BONUS QUESTION: Arrange in order, earliest first, the order in which the phrase, “In God We Trust” first appeared on U.S. coins, paper currency and stamps, if ever.
You are invited to a LIVE Trivia Cafe team contest at the Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley, on Sunday, May 29, at 5pm, hosted by Howard Rachelson. The contest is free, with a food and drink menu available. ho*****@********fe.com
ANSWERS:
1 California Poppy or Golden Poppy
2 Three
3a. All the same size
3b. 94 feet long and 50 feet wide
4 Whitney Houston
5 All but copper
6 4.8 miles. Since Time = Distance/Rate, if the distance each way is D, then D/4 + D/6 = 1 hour gives the solution. Email me if you want more explanation.
7 Necessity
8 San Francisco and New York City (actually Teaneck, NJ, just across from NYC)
9 Heaviest flying bird, up to 20 kg.
10a. Mozart 1756-1791 10b. King Henry VIII 1491-1547 10c. Cleopatra 69 BC-30 BC (played by Elizabeth Taylor)
BONUS ANSWER: The phrase appeared on a two-cent coin in 1864, on some stamps in 1954 and on paper currency in 1957 (Eisenhower).
William Shakespeare never had a play actually published in his lifetime. They existed, often in pieces, in hand-scrawled scripts and in the memories of the actors who performed them. If not for Shakespeare’s friends and colleagues’ efforts to preserve his work, high school drama students would have a lot of free time on their hands and community theaters would...
Public art in Cloverdale
For many, knowledge of sculpture starts with Rodin’s “The Thinker” and ends somewhere near David’s fig leaf. Fortunately, for nearly two decades, the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail has expanded local appreciation for the discipline with its biannual public art exhibit.
The Sculpture Trail’s 2022-24 season, which was installed in late April, brings nine new pieces installed along and...
The news team for the North Bay Bohemian and Marin County’s Pacific Sun won nine awards in this year’s California Journalism Awards contest, including two first-place and four second-place awards.
“As always, I’m extremely proud and impressed by my team, who—every week—answers the call to bring vital and interesting stories to our loyal readers. It’s an incredible feat in this...
Sponsored by The Green Music Center
The Green Music Center at Sonoma State University is set to present its 2022 Summer concert season—Summer at the Green 2022. This new season features indoor-outdoor concerts from a range of popular artists including R&B/pop icon Patti LaBelle, multi-platinum hitmakers Andy Grammer and Fitz & The Tantrums, Latin music icons Los Tigres del Norte,...
After a two-year pandemic-induced delay, Matilda the Musical finally hits the stage at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. The musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale of a gifted little girl navigating a treacherous world runs through May 22.
Matilda Wormwood (Gigi Bruce Low, alternating with Anja Kao Nielsen) is a miracle child, though her loutish parents (Shannon...
I passed by a martial arts studio one day, peered inside and was shocked to see a recreation of the battle of David and Goliath, for there were two young boys in full headgear and pillowy boxing gloves sparring away like a couple of tousling puppies.
Now here’s the twist: one kid was the archetypal bully, towering six inches above...
When not properly stowed, writers go bad. Not their writing, but their souls. We curdle easily and need to be handled with kid gloves—scratch that—thick rubber gloves—and kept in a cool, dry place, preferably not too bright and not for too long.
Many of us are peripatetic. How do you know if your writer is peripatetic? A) They use words...
This year, legendary Sonoma County artist Mary McChesney will celebrate, if all goes well, the 100th anniversary of her birth. It probably won’t be a very festive occasion, since Mary is in a “rest home” in Petaluma, and as one dear friend put it, “sadly not clear in her mind.”
Longtime Sonoma County librarian Karen Petersen is working overtime to...
New gallery’s May Day show focused on labor’s role in society
The founders of Sebastopol’s new Rabbit Hole Art Gallery and Studios displayed work exploring comfort and conflict in an art show earlier this month.
On Sunday, May 1, friends and visitors strolled into the Gravenstein Highway studio to browse and buy from the assembly of drawings, paintings and digital collages...
1 What is California's state flower?
2 How many teaspoons make up one tablespoon?
3a. Are all NBA basketball courts the same size? Or does each home court have slightly different dimensions?
3b. If your answer to part (a) was: all the same size, then what is the standard length and width of NBA courts?
4 What female recording artist had seven consecutive...
