October/November Arts Visalia Press Release Form and Function: The Woodworkers Exhibition with 2-D Artist Mikayla Gutierrez and Opening Reception at Arts Visalia In October 2018, Arts Visalia is pleased to present both the annual 3-Dimensional Form and Function Exhibition, entitled The Woodworkers, and 2-Dimensional artist, Mikayla Gutierrez. This exhibition runs from October 3rd through October 26th. The opening reception is free to the public and will be held on First Friday, October 5th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and is sponsored in part by the Bueno Beverage Company, Lagomarsino Group and Royal Pacific Transportation. The woodworkers are compiled mostly of a group of woodturners based in the Central San Joaquin Valley since 1997, called the Sequoia Woodturners. The club meets on a bi-monthly basis and is a member of the American Association of Woodturners. Demonstrations take place at the meetings to promote the free exchange of ideas and designs and improve woodturning skills. Other woodworkers featured in the show are Bill Bishop and Ron Zanini. Bill Bishop was introduced to wildlife carving in 1983 after attending a fund-raising dinner sponsored by Duck’s Unlimited in which he saw his first duck carving. He was so impressed with wildlife sculpture he began studying books on the subject acquiring a great admiration for this form of art and eventually took to wood carving professionally. Using natural wood, Bill brings out the beauty and grain, creating unique and stunning pieces of art. Ron Zanini has been making decorative wood boxes since he retired from teaching in 2002. He has worked on more than 400 boxes and has collected various woods of walnut, pecan, buckeye, sycamore, peach, orange, and mulberry that sit waiting for his next masterpieces. The faces of these wooden boxes are inlaid with tiny little pieces of different woods glued to one another to create diversity in color and impact for the viewer in Ron’s own designs of birds, flowers, feathers, trees, and bears. Young artist, Mikayla Gutierrez, is from Visalia, California. Inspired by her deepest emotions, she has always used art as an outlet for expression. Many of her works contain feelings of bright colors and deep beauty through the culmination of imagination and reality and the expression of cultural ideals, reminiscent of Latino Folk Art. Her works are done in oil and acrylic paints. Oil helps her create soft, visual experiences for more fantasy-like ideas. Acrylic, creates fast paced ideas that are less perfectly realistic and represent life’s messy moments. Even though she follows a feeling and doesn’t yet understand her work before she creates it, many of her works are self-portraits which represent her own bewilderment of life, the discovery of personal power, and love for deep and colorful feeling. Mikayla is this year’s Taste the Arts featured artist and we are honored to showcase her work at Arts Visalia. In November, Arts Visalia will host Sequoia High School for its second year, displaying the works of multiple arts classes that consist in totality of approximately 140 students, instructed by Sarah Coker. Sequoia High School offers a fresh start to students in an accepting and non-threatening atmosphere, as well as success in earning a living through vocational and career preparation. This exhibition will offer collaboration with students who feel misrepresented and suppressed in society. Arts Visalia’s adult and children’s art classes have resumed this fall and continue through December. Adult participants can look forward to oil painting, watercolor, figure drawing, cyanotype printmaking, relief printing and pencil drawing. Participants in our children’s classes will learn about different techniques utilizing drawing, sculpture, and paper. For more information and class descriptions, please go to artsvisalia.org, call us at (559) 739-0905, or visit us at the gallery at 214 E. Oak Ave., Visalia, CA 93291.