By Anna Pier
Welcoming nearly 200 guests to the Opening Reception of the new exhibit at the Sonoma Community Center, Etched in Sonoma:A Living Legacy, curator Simon Blattner said, “Everything about this show makes me feel good.”
All the works exhibited were printed on the Griffin press that Blattner donated to the Community Center to create a print studio. Co-curator Barbara Wells spoke about the privilege she had had of meeting artists who show their art and share their stories. She concluded, “Curating is storytelling,” as she invited guests to enjoy the new exhibit.
The works on view reflect the history of etching in Sonoma, and the ongoing vitality of the art. The exhibit brings together prints created by artists connected to Blattner’s former press, Eastside Editions, alongside those produced more recently by artists connected to the Community Center’s Print Studio. Blattner commented that having the Eastside print studio by his home had been such a joy that he regrets its closing, but he is delighted with the continuation of the tradition at the Print Studio.
Present at the opening among the artists displaying their work in the show was Jean (Jeannie) Schulz, widow of the famed Peanuts cartoonist, Charles Schulz. She has two zinc intaglio prints in the exhibit, both from plates she made in a printmaking class at Santa Rosa Junior College in 1974-75. The artist relates that, thankfully, she had stored the plates from that class at the Charles M. Schulz Museum; otherwise they would have been lost in the 2017 wildfires that destroyed the Schulz home.
After a long search for a place to print again with her plates, “to recapture the magic of printmaking,” Jean Schulz was delighted to find the Print Studio at the Sonoma Community Center. Studio Director Kelly Autumn worked with her as she created on the Griffin press the two Artist Proof editions on display. Director Autumn was excited to point out that the blue in the etching with Chine Colle of a bird in flight, titled “Free,” is the color of Peanuts’ character Lucy’s dress.
The exhibition features prints made on the Griffin press by artists Dennis Ahearn, Kim Anno, Chester Arnold, Kelly Autumn, David Best, Mario Teleri Biason, Hannah Day, Jessica Dunne, Brett Grunig, Art Hazelwood, Frances McCormack, Jenny Robinson, Jean Schulz, Toru Sugita and Don Williams. It is on display at Gallery 212, Sonoma Community Center, from May 1 – May 24.
Photo: Art teacher Owen Tuttle by Anna Pier
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