I think Bakersfield is hitting the big time after years of effort. The arts district downtown is lively and fun. Saturday I walked around downtown in spite of temps in the 90s and dropped in to the Surface Gallery across from the historic Fox Theater.
SURFACE gallery
One of the co-owners, Yvonne Cavanagh, turns out to be the daughter of someone I have known for a long time! She is also a wonderful ceramicist and heads the art department at Bakersfield High School (Once a Driller, always a Driller). As I walked through on Sat. morning, the joint was jumping. Liz Sherwyn was conducting a very well-attended class, and I took a look at the new show featuring Portland artist Michele Maule.
michele maule works on exhibit
Tonight Mark and I went to an opening at Valentiens – Bakersfield’s premier restaurant. They don’t have a web site but you can check out the reviews on yelp. So we went to see the work of Jen Bowles, which was very exciting. Also, enjoyed the great wine and cheese hors d’oeuvres! And found Yvonne Cavanagh there with ceramics and purchased a bowl.
Jen Bowles
So this was pretty cool. Lots of art in two days and all of it good. How refreshing!
Valentiens also had a couple of works on display by Brent Eviston, the art instructor at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. They, too, were very exciting.
Plus – yesterday morning I had a nice chat with Don Martin at the Metro Gallery, where I have a show opening on the first Friday of October – Altered Landscapes.
Metro Gallery
I’m pretty excited to be showing at such a beautiful gallery. In addition, Don holds many events there, so the art is seen by all kinds of people.
Metro Gallery
Besides all this, the Bakersfield Museum of Art, the Younger Gallery, the Arts Council of Kern, and The Basement are all fantastic. Bakersfield, I’m proud of you! We’re more than a place to stop on the way to somewhere else. If you are passing through, stop – eat at Valentien and check out the galleries. You can check out my gallery too – right here!
