First Friday's Art Receptions

December 2005 Artists

Wendy Adler - Wood Sculptures

Created by modifying gourds and other natural objects, Adler makes unique sculptures that transform the original subject into something completely different. Of Hawaiian descent, Adler also is a skilled Hula Dancer.

Donald Carlson - Pen & Ink

Donald Carlson was born in New York on Long Island. During the summer months his parents made weekend trips to the shore and he came to love the ocean at an early age.

He paints from his home studio in Laguna Niguel, California from slides adding his own interpretation of what he sees - having spent countless hours surfing and watching the ocean.

Presently he is a painting instuctor at the Kirk Miller Art Studio in Tustin, CA.

Barbara Hendricks-Jones - Jewelry

Art Plaza Studio Artist

Elaine Hughes - Oils

Elaine Hughes is a Southern California native that paints along the coast in Huntington Beach, California. She often portrays families and children as her subjects and uses a palette knife rather than a brush to instill texture in her paintings.

Her work is featured in Laguna Beach's art festivals as a prominent member of the Laguna Beach and Orange County art community.

www.elainehughes.com

John Inserra - Digital Printmaking

John Inserra is an artist that has enjoyed a career in graphic design since
1990 and commercial photography in previous years. After many years as a
designer and art director; his attention has returned to drawing, painting
and print making. Early experience with silk screening has led him to
creating prints on the Macintosh Computer with an electronic drawing
tablet. All images have been hand drawn. This method is very similar in
process and result to the print making methods with traditional media but
allows freedom from the toxic materials traditionally used while allowing
for more flexibility to make changes and corrections to the image before it
is finalized.

In a recent and rare interview with the celebrated photographer Henri
Cartier Bresson before his death (who had long since given up photography
in exchange for drawing) said that "photography was just another way of
drawing - but drawing is the main thing". Inserra got his start in
creative life as a photographer and gave it up for many years to draw,
paint and make a living in the commercial art world. Now he has come full
circle, and is making "drawings" in new ways - for that, is his "main
thing".

To see more of his work, please visit www.johnnyi.com

Rey Isip

His creative painting process starts executing empathic line images which later develops into integral layers of color and texture. This accounts for the visual fluidity seen in his painting style.

Rey’s work is been simply described as personal visions in the world of “Contemporary Fine Art Images”. Painting concepts include diverse visual subject interpretations from still life, landscape, and music, to non-representational abstracts. All of this includes not losing touch with his automotive subjects.

Scott Mantecon - Photography

Scott prefers to work outdoors on location and shoots images that appear before him naturally. He excels in using natural light to capture the beauty of the subjects he photographs. Along with his photography, Scott owns and operates a custom picture framing business in Dana Point.

An Art Plaza Studio Artist

Laurie Meinke - Printmaking

Laurie grew up in Southern California but traveling has been an integral part of her life, including to China, Australia, Europe and South America.

She received a B.A. degree from UCLA and has studied art in many cities including NYU, Cleveland Art Institute, Otis Art Institute, Saddleback College and the Printmaking Center of Santa Fe. 

Currently, she has a monotype in a Memorial Portfolio to 9/11, curated by the American Print Alliance, which has been traveling around the U.S. since September 2002.

Timothy O'Leary - Photography

These fine art images are created for home or office decoration .The artist creates with standard digital photography it is then digitally enhanced this leaps photography to true illustration. These fine art prints add color for your environment. The colors in these prints are rich and you really feel the flavor of the Southern California lifestyle!

www.topimagery.com

Sherry Salito-Forsen - Glass

I design and build custom leaded glass windows and also create fused glass masks, platters, bowls and jewelry.

The use of glass as an artistic medium is a timeless tradition that I carry on today; Using techniques that are hundreds of years old melded with modern methods, materials and design sensibilities, I create both leaded and fused glass forms for your pleasure.

I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it!

more info>>

Laurie Smith - Bronze Sculptures

Laurie discovered the Laguna Beach School of Art in 1979 and was introduced to live model sculpting. Initially, this preferred medium was a hobby that filled stolen hours for a busy wife and mother. Over the years, she attended local community college classes and artist workshops, where she had access to models and learned essential artistic techniques that enabled her to discover the dramatic effect of completing her sculptures in bronze. She has processed many of her pieces herself, working from clay or wax to the final bronze patina. When using a foundry, she participates in all aspects of the process, taking personal responsibility for the outcome.

Sculpture has united Laurie’s natural mechanical ability, her aptitude for perceiving spatial relations, and her observations of life, allowing her to recreate the human form in interesting, realistic ways. Earned confidence, early retirement, and independence now allow Laurie to passionately apply herself and her time to creating lasting works of art. Sharing these works with others makes the creative circle complete. Laurie is proud to also present her recent series of bas-reliefs preserving family memories – hers and those of others.

more info: http://www.lauriesculpts.com/

Elena Simona - oils

I am inspired by life and I carry my inspiration to the canvas. I define myself as a contemporary figurative and still-life artist who is passionately in search of ideal harmonic images full of femininity, beauty and love. My paintings can be described as expressionistic.  I use the dramatic contrast of strong vibrant colors in combination with soft pastels, to express the symphony of the painting. In this expression, the colors and shapes occur naturally.

The elongated ethereal faces that appear on the canvas create an exaggerated sense of Romanticism. I love to paint large eyes with the soulful expression of mystery, enchantment, serenity and spirituality.  The images are gentle and delicate, full of elegance but with deep emotions. They are timeless and ageless.

Richard Trujillo - Woodworking

Award winning lathe artist, Richard Trujillo, started working with wood and other natural materials alongside his father. While building furniture and other functional pieces, Richard studied the grains of different woods to discover their harmonic placement within each piece of work. Equally important was his attention to the finishing and polishing processes which enhances and exposes the natural beauty of the wood.

Richard uses many exotic and domestic hardwoods for his unique turned works in wood. Recently, he began turning and incorporating metal, as well as, other organic substances in his lathe art. His first efforts combining wood with steel were awarded first place in a prestigious competition. Also noteworthy was the award he received for finishing and polishing, since this was the first time that a lathe artist had been honored.

Richard begins turning after carefully selecting the piece of wood and he soon sees what the wood lends itself to become. The thickness or thinness of each piece is dictated by the wood chosen and its inherent qualities. Over half the time spent making each piece is devoted entirely to the finishing and polishing process.

Only when the wood is finished inside and out is the piece signed, numbered, and marked with an inspirational symbol. Richard takes care in creating works of art that are one-of-a-kind and that convey his vision of nature to all who enjoy his work.

See more of Richards work at: www.richardtrujillo.com

Cliff Wassmann - Photography

Photographing the Dana Point area Wassmann has captured the beauty of the town like no other. Using large and medium format cameras, his images have unique clarity and depth.

Just returned from Tuscany and the coast of Italy, the November First Friday exhibit will feature a preview of work from that trip as well as selected local imagery. More Info>>

An Art Plaza Studio Artist