Art Exhibit: Tidal Effects

RECEPTION: Saturday, September 7, 2024 4-6 pm: Meet artists Marsha Connell and Tosya Shore to hear about their artistic inspirations and celebrate the show. Refreshments will be served. Sonoma County artist, Marsha Connell, presents Tidal Effects, new oil paintings from observation (en plein air) and memory recording the connections between seen and unseen forces that shape the coasts of Northen California. Every day this landscape of water, earth and air changes, as does the artist, and the viewer. Scenes move between representation and abstraction, shifting shape, color, edges, pattern. “Dragons’ Veins” teems with vibrational forces - sand, sun and shadow dance at the edge of the sea. Looking down on the shore in “Ocean Never Rests” we are anointed with water, taste the salt, smell the sea, the ocean pulsing, breathing, never resting. Underneath are the San Andreas and sister faults, Rogers Creek and Maacama, connecting power spots with dragons’ veins, keeping Santa Rosa, Ukiah, the Bay area, awake. Connell hopes that “My art be solace and joy, touch the heart and heal the soul – oases for the spirit in this world of planetary crises.” Marsha Connell’s life as an artist/teacher and artist-in-residence reflects a commitment to both personal creative work and to the community. With a longtime base in the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Art Department, she also taught at Sonoma State University, California Arts Project, K-12 public and private schools, and numerous workshops. A grant recipient from the Pepperwood Foundation and the California Arts Council, Connell held leadership roles and participated for years in Art Trails Open Studios, Art at the Source, and this year’s new Santa Rosa Open Studios. Her work has been exhibited and collected at numerous galleries and venues across the country and internationally. Meet the Artist: Connell will be hosting the Gallery Aug 28 and September 8, 11 am – 6 pm.