Author: Jenni Ward

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Artists Sharing Artists: Christa Assad

Christa is one of the nine artists participating in Sticks + Stones | Palos + Piedras exhibition at Earth Art Studio. She is showcasing 5 acrylic on plywood paintings of bones she found in the desert. She also has a selection of her wood fired wheel thrown pottery displayed for sale.

About the Artist:
Mexico beckoned and Christa Assad relocated her home and studio south of the border in 2017. She was captivated by the small Pueblo Mágico of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, with its colorful decorations dangling across the narrow streets, and one long dirt road out to her new land. Her desert hideaway now houses the only wood kiln in Baja, and there she enjoys experimenting with local clay and found treasures from her hikes in the dramatic landscape. She balances her time between potting and painting, beach combing and exploring cities on the mainland.

Assad’s work is in the permanent collections of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University Museum, and The Penn State Fulbright Scholar Collection, and is included in Garth Clark’s Shards, Kevin A. Hluch’s The Art of Contemporary Pottery, and Lark Books‘ 500 Teapots and 500 Pitchers. Her paintings can be found locally at Galeria Militar in central Todos Santos as well as by appointment at her studio in Las Playitas.

Works for Sale at Earth Art Studio:

Cráneo I, 12″ x 12″, 5800mxn
Cráneo II, 12″ x 12″, 5800mxn
Cráneo III, 12″ x 12″, 5800mxn
Set of 3 Cráneos, 12″ x 12″, 15,000mxn
Mandíbulas, 24″ x 24″, 15,000mxn
Tres Amigos, 24″ x 24″, 15,000mxn

About the Art:
“My daily walks through the desert with my two Baja-born and rescued dogs is always what I call a ‘sniffari’ – an adventure full of scents. The dogs in particular have an excellent nose for deteriorating animals and bones. My infatuation with skulls and jaw bones has manifested quite a collection, and with collecting came creating paintings of the found objects. This series includes representations of deer, goat, and sea turtle skulls, and a conglomeration of cow jaw bones and teeth. I enjoy the intricacies of each skull and jaw bone and find the cow teeth especially amusing. I hope to inspire the viewer to take a closer look at the simple beauty of bone shapes and the subtlety of their colors, as well as their symbolism of death, decay and the return to the earth.”

– Christa Assad

christaassad.com IG: @christaassad

Earth Art Studio believes in supporting working artists! Purchasing art work and/or contributing a donation for your visit to the sculpture trail helps keep our creative community thriving and making more art!

Currently, the studio is only open for scheduled events and by appointment.

Please contact us if you’d like to visit!

Mujeres y Mycelium

Led by participating artist Natalia Szalc, the women of the Fungi Nipple Collective brought their orange glow to our slice of desert last Sunday. Complete with dance, soundscapes, poems, films and food and drinks all of which celebrated the connection of women and mycelium. The Fungi Nipple installation is comprised of hundreds of handmade clay forms that seem to be sprouting up in the arroyo. Here’s a few scenes from this pop-up event…

About the project: What do mushrooms and women have in common? They both play a significant role in the creation of life on Earth: populating, nourishing, cultivating, and communicating. Similar to the mycelium network, women serve as facilitators of communication and builders of connections. They pass down valuable knowledge through generations and share supportive information that uplifts one another. The Fungi Nipple ceramic installation is a collaborative effort between myself and a group of women who create these pieces together to form a swarm of Fungi Nipples. The number of pieces reflects the vital role that women play in our world as creators of life and growth. A woman embodies Mother Nature herself, with a sacred connection to the earth and clay. By honoring and respecting the womb, we honor and respect the feminine – embracing the deep, mysterious realms of inner wisdom, feminine power, intuition, and living in harmony with the cycles of birth, growth, decay, death. and rebirth. This installation aims to recognize women as the creators of life and their profound connection to Mother Nature. What better way to establish this connection than through a simple acknowledgment? Acknowledgment can serve as a potent tool for building trust, shifting attitudes, and fostering collaboration. This installation is designed to spark conversations about the power and practice of acknowledgment, aligning ourselves with the essence of Mother Nature. – Natalia Szalc

photo credits: Fungi Nipple Collective members

Reminder: Fungi Nipple Performance this Sunday!

REMINDER:

Sunday April 27th | 4pm – sunset

Please join us for a pop-up performance by the Fungi Nipple Collective as a part of the exhibit Sticks + Stones | Palos + Piedras at Earth Art Studio. Food + Drinks available by ComidaViva, Mezcal Luna Maguey + Tierra Santa.

The studio and sculpture garden will be open for touring during the event.

a feast of flowers is D.O.N.E.

I can’t believe that I’m actually able to write the title to this blog post but it’s finally true. A Feast of Flowers has officially been installed on the newest section of the Coastal Rail Trail at the corner of California & Bay Streets on the westside of Santa Cruz. Here’s a few process pics of the installation…

day 1 : 3 stems get installed
day 1 : 3 stems get installed
day 1 : 3 stems get installed
day 2: all 6 stems are installed
day 2: flower #1 gets transported
day 2: flower #1 gets unloaded onsite
day 2: first flower getting placed
day 2: second flower getting placed
day 2: third flower placed
day 3: fifth flower being placed
day 3: last flower leaving the studio
day 3: final flower being placed

Once landscaping is complete we’ll get some better shots of the installations but until then, enjoy this photo that was a long time coming.

If you want to read about the whole journey of making these pieces, click here!

About the project: A Feast of Flowers will be six ceramic and steel sculptures inspired by the umbel flower structure of fennel plants. Placed staggered along the sides of the trail and silhouetted against the sky, the installation will create a sense of whimsy and wonder for the thousands of patrons who use the trail as well as bring an awareness to our connection with nature.

My inspiration for this particular installation comes from my exploration of the natural world, and my curiosity about identifying plants, especially the edible ones. As an amateur forager, every hike in the woods has become like a trip to the grocery store for me. Fennels are one of the most recognized edibles that grow in California, available for the taking, yet there is a tendency to not trust the wild plants. This disconnect we humans have with nature, the loss of knowledge about native plants and how that relates to the global issue of food insecurity are all concepts explored with this project.

It is also my hope that whimsical oversized flowers will create a fun and dramatic impact for the area, will draw locals and tourists alike outside to connect with nature, learn about local plants and of course take a moment to stop and smell the flowers.

This project is sponsored by:

A Feast of Flowers | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

Fungi Nipple Collective Performance

Pop-Up Event: Sticks + Stones | Palos + Piedras

Please join us at Earth Art Studio for a special performance in the arroyo with participating artist Natalia Szalc and the Fungi Nipple Collective. With Marcela Magdaleno Deschamps {monologue performance}, Marsseia {soundscapes}, Aya Xerena {poetry} & Rubi Olvera {film}.

Sunday April 27th | 4pm – sunset

The studio and sculpture garden will be open during the event.

About the project:

What do mushrooms and women have in common? They both play a significant role in the creation of life on Earth: populating, nourishing, cultivating, and communicating. Similar to the mycelium network, women serve as facilitators of communication and builders of connections. They pass down valuable knowledge through generations and share supportive information that uplifts one another. The Fungi Nipple ceramic installation is a collaborative effort between myself and a group of women who create these pieces together to form a swarm of Fungi Nipples. The number of pieces reflects the vital role that women play in our world as creators of life and growth. A woman embodies Mother Nature herself, with a sacred connection to the earth and clay. By honoring and respecting the womb, we honor and respect the feminine – embracing the deep, mysterious realms of inner wisdom, feminine power, intuition, and living in harmony with the cycles of birth, growth, decay, death. and rebirth. This installation aims to recognize women as the creators of life and their profound connection to Mother Nature. What better way to establish this connection than through a simple acknowledgment? Acknowledgment can serve as a potent tool for building trust, shifting attitudes, and fostering collaboration. This installation is designed to spark conversations about the power and practice of acknowledgment, aligning ourselves with the essence of Mother Nature.

remember that public art project??

Nearly 5 years in the making from application to installation, this project is finally coming to a close!

A Feast of Flowers, is going to be installed in the coming days at the entrance to the newest section of the Coastal Rail Trail at the intersection of Bay and California streets on the westside of Santa Cruz. These sculptures have been in my Santa Cruz studio awaiting transplanting for over a year and it’s finally going to happen. I’ll be posting photos as things develop but as of right now, the foundations are poured, the anchor bolts are going in soon and after testing the concrete for strength, we will start transporting the sculptures to the site to install. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes as planned!

If you want to read about the whole journey of making these pieces, click here!

About the project: A Feast of Flowers will be six ceramic and steel sculptures inspired by the umbel flower structure of fennel plants. Placed staggered along the sides of the trail and silhouetted against the sky, the installation will create a sense of whimsy and wonder for the thousands of patrons who use the trail as well as bring an awareness to our connection with nature. 

My inspiration for this particular installation comes from my exploration of the natural world, and my curiosity about identifying plants, especially the edible ones. As an amateur forager, every hike in the woods has become like a trip to the grocery store for me. Fennels are one of the most recognized edibles that grow in California, available for the taking, yet there is a tendency to not trust the wild plants. This disconnect we humans have with nature, the loss of knowledge about native plants and how that relates to the global issue of food insecurity are all concepts explored with this project. 

It is also my hope that whimsical oversized flowers will create a fun and dramatic impact for the area, will draw locals and tourists alike outside to connect with nature, learn about local plants and of course take a moment to stop and smell the flowers. 

This project is sponsored by:

A Feast of Flowers | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture


mil gracias!!

Mil gracias to everyone who came out to celebrate the opening of Sticks + Stones | Palos + Piedras at Earth Art Studio last Saturday! Over 100 visitors walked through the desert exploring the sculptures and a special thank you to all of you who purchased art!

✨And to all the artists- you are truly amazing!! ✨

Missed the event? We have a line up of pop-up events coming up over the next few weeks, or make an appointment to come and get a curator tour of the show!