“Fertile Ground” is the theme presented by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference which takes place March 16-19 2022 in Sacramento. Myself along with 7 other ceramic artists will be exhibiting our works in Roseville, at 316 Vernon St, through Blue Line Arts which is one of the NCECA hosting galleries. A shuttle bus is available during the conference with Blue Line Arts as one of its stops that it serves for the greater Sacramento area.

Artists represented in this exhibition of the Sierra Foothills Clay Arts are:

Chic Lotz – https://www.chiclotzpottery.com/home.html

Deborah Bridges – https://www.studiobridges.com/

Andrew Sellery – https://www.facebook.com/clayworkbyandrewsellery/

Amanda Paoletti – https://www.asifstudios.com/amanda-paoletti

Rene Sprattling – https://www.asifstudios.com/rene-sprattling

Claudia Jeffers – https://www.claudiajeffersart.com/

Risa Roseman – https://www.asifstudios.com/risa-roseman

Jennifer Rugge – https://jenniferrugge.com/clay-sculpture/

We live and maintain our studios in Nevada County, in the Sierra foothills. Through the established organization, Artists Studios In the Foothills (ASIF) owned by Amanda Paoletti, we have gathered together to share and exhibit our clay works. We each bring to this group a variety of unique skills, techniques and approaches to clay forms and processes. Enjoy the video. All are welcome to visit the gallery exhibitions.

Dates to Remember:

Saturday, March 5 – Friends and Family Soft Opening 1-5 pm; Art Demonstrations 11-2 pm.

Thursday, March 17 – NCECA Reception at Blue Line Arts and Sierra College Gallery (diagonally across the street from Blue Line, 316 Vernon St.) 5-9 pm.

SFCA Exhibition is up February 19 – May 31 open 9 am – 5 pm, closed Sundays

Posting has been a challenge.  The day after Christmas we lost power.  My studio stood silent while we worked to clear snow and build fires in the fireplace to keep warm.  Internet has been down as well so I decided to put a blog post together and visit the Library to get access to the internet to post it to my website…already an adventurous opening to the New Year.

With so much snow and rain this winter already, I enjoy the silence and mystery of frozen white-scapes meandering through our woods, and then, setting up quietly to create different pieces of art in my studio.  Less time is spent in the field collecting and making pigments.  But it is a good time to pit-fire outdoors to add color and textures to clay surfaces.  This year there are several opportunities to share my Art and I look forward to seeing what develops in the studio, from clay sculptures to natural pigment paintings. 

January offers the annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival from the 13th to the 17th in Nevada City, California with its celebration of Art interpretations expressing a variety of perspectives on environmental activism. I have entered pieces in two categories, sculpture and painting. 

One of my paintings entitled “Remember: Hope from Our Ancient Ancestral Roots”, received one of the festival’s “Judges Award”.  It is exhibited along with other award-winning artworks at Fable’s Coffee, located at 233 Broad Street, where the artists also will talk about their work on Saturday, January 15, 9:45-10:15 am.  All artists accepted into the Festival are also included on the Wild and Scenic Website in the Artists Pages and Gallery of the Virtual Art Exhibition and is available until January 30.  

             Remember: Hope from Our Ancient Ancestral Roots

Cave painters recorded the animals that surrounded them, and reindeer were a popular and important subject…possibly the hope of more to come and to survive more than a lifetime.

Other accepted Art include:  Bearing Hope, Hope for the Mountain Lion, Of Wild Horses, Stories of Hope Come to Be

February will be a busy time packed with more painting and organizing of sculptures for two major activities in March.

The first is Thursday March 10 when I will be doing an artist talk for the Sun City Artists Group about my art processes and techniques through demonstration and examples.

Then March 16-19 brings the internationally known “National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, 2022” (NCECA) conference to Sacramento.  Our local group of artists, Sierra Foothills Clay Arts, will be exhibiting clay sculpture and functional ceramics at 316 Vernon St. in Roseville, across from Blueline Arts who will be organizing, hanging, and handling all sales of our works.

Of Wild Horses:   Red ochre, wire, black iron oxide and pit fired

April is a travel month this year.  We hope to be able to visit family and friends in the east, and check out some art possibilities… ochre stops, artists and galleries.

Enjoy the adventures waiting to be… Let life inspire, lead and find magic all around.

Jennifer

Ancient Reindeer roamed and traveled over grasslands, through forests and across snow covered terrains…keeping watch, following past trails, holding together to find food, water, and best places to shelter. It is amazing and a lesson for us all how these ancient creatures survived throughout time, just like other incredibly adaptable animals, including man. Such resilience, determination and instinct! I am increasingly in awe of a piece of cave art “the Swimming Stags” of Lascaux in France. The reindeer are drawn showing mainly the heads of each as if to be crossing or passing over an area where the whole animal cannot be seen. The colors of the cave walls are subtle shades of light to deep browns to black lines, yet the deer are distinct and appear to be moving with a driven motive to keep going forward. Therefore, several paintings and clay sculptures have emerged from this influential cave art as well as its significance.

Here I brought in the subtle colors tweaked with a bit of turquoise and red ochres. Papers, washes, and palette knife along with charcoal add to the layers over the wood surface creating different textures. With determination and focus the ancient deer “cross over”.

Small Works Gallery

New on the website is a “Small Works Gallery” with affordable original Art. Enjoy a stroll through the gallery pieces. See what captures your interest, tells a story and brings attention to a message or a resonance with-in. Find the signs, the subtleties or details. Some have 3-d reliefs. Enjoy!

Holiday Shows at ASIF Gallery, Grass Valley

This year I am participating in a “Small Works” Holiday Show, ASIF Artists’ Studio and Gallery. Both paintings and clay sculptures will be available here from November 13- December 18. All Art works are 12×12″ or smaller. All are welcome to come to the two openings: November 12, 5-7 pm and December 4, 11 am – 4 pm.

I have been working diligently in my studio this past spring and also had the pleasure of participating in on-line Art shows and events.  In April I added another gallery to show my work, the “Bronze, Silver and Gold Gallery,” located in Cambria, CA which is right on the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  It is a beautiful area and a great destination to visit.

Here are my Upcoming Events for this Summer and Fall:

1. Blue Line Arts in Roseville, CA, “Eco-Centric” Art Show    

Front window gallery at 405 Vernon St. #100                               

Opening Reception June 19, 5 – 8 pm through July 10.

2. Nevada City Winery:

This exhibition is all new work, both paintings and sculptures reflecting our ancient ancestors and early signs and symbols of languages; in natural earth ochres and mineral paints; pit-fired clay sculptures.

3. Nisenan-CHIRP Uba-Seo Gallery, “Visibility Through Art”         

 225 Broad St. Nevada City, CA.  July 10 to August 29    This is a project containing 12 wood panels covered with handmade papers that are painted with ochres and charcoal. Each 10×10″ panel has a number and animals written in the Nisenan language.  Prints will be available at the opening and during gallery hours. This photo shows work in progress.  All sales go to the support of the CHIRP foundation (California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project) chirpca.org

4. Open Studios Art Tour – October 9, 10, 16 & 17… more to come.

I enjoy sharing my artwork and my processes.  Please identify yourself when you may visit any one or more of these events.  I always enjoy hearing from you and celebrating with my followers, collectors and fellow artists.

Be safe. With kind regards,

Jennifer

Jennifer Rugge Fine Art  ruggej@aol.com

540-222-8071, and please leave a message.