ACCV Artist Spotlight | ACCV

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The Arts Council of Conejo Valley is "The Voice of the Arts"

ACCV Artist Spotlight
Featuring Local Artists in the Conejo Valley

The Technique + Form Exhibition examines how an artist’s process of applying and manipulating materials affects the outcome of the composition. Many artists begin with a clear vision of their desired outcome, while others flow with the mystery of inspiration and imagination. Take a moment to read each artists description of their unique processes.

Debra Sokolow

Director of Exhibitions, Arts Council of the Conejo Valley

The following Artists all exhibited in the "Technique + Form" exhibit displayed
at the Thousand Oaks Hillcrest Center for the Arts

Mimi Lieberman - Brilliant Blooms Wet Felted Wool

I feel that flowers are nature’s way of blessing this earth with universal beauty. In this work I was trying to capture the joy found in a simple bouquet. A wet felted work involves moisture, heat and friction. I started this project by arranging layers of wool perpendicular to each other and adding ribbon, yarn and silk to complete the design. Soapy water was then applied to the surface and the felt was formed into a cylinder and rolled 200 plus times. The agitation forces wool fibers to shrink and interlock. Once bonded, the felt was put in hot soapy water, then rubbed and beaten. The goal was to further compress and facilitate shrinkage. Afterward, I rinsed out the soap and laid the finished felt on a table to dry. The process is physically demanding but very rewarding.

Ashley Shellhause - Fragment No. 1

Fragment No. 1 is my first foray into what I consider true mixed media. I’ve used metal leaf, wax, oils, and acrylics in the same piece before, but all those materials still felt like “paint” when I was using them. In this piece I used newsprint to create texture, something I’ve wanted to try since I first learned about Jasper John’s encaustic pieces. This piece started as a failed painting in a completely different series of work.

Bente Christensen - Rebirth Series

I created this series to express the feeling of renewal that comes from overcoming life's many challenges. During the pandemic, we all experienced isolation and the limitations it brought to our daily lives. It was a whole new world that came with many restrictions. After a severe winter, spring always comes and new life emerges. For the fortunate ones that weathered this winter storm, we're seeing renewal, a much more hopeful future where we can reconnect with one another and shake off limitations. My abstract forms and the color pallet symbolize the start of a rebirth, evoking new growth, freedom of movement and hope of a bountiful future.

Carol Roullard - Blue Vortex

Cholesterol crystals photographed through the microscope. First, none of the crystals actually have color. The colors I photograph are generated by applying polarized light via the microscope. Think of it as a rainbow. The light hits the water particles in the sky and is refracted to display colors. A similar principle is utilized with polarized light. All of the crystals have depth and edges; they’re not smooth. When the polarized light from the bottom of the slide goes upward and hits the crystals, it refracts in different directions. My microscope has a filter above the crystals that groups most of the colorful refracted light back together so it continues up the eyepiece into the attached camera. I can also turn the polarized filters to change the colors. Sometimes, I also use what is called a first-order red plate to affect the colors.

Jennifer Miller - And So It Goes

I had a canvas painted and just sitting around for months, as I was trying to decide what to do with it. One day I noticed a bunch of wire strands on the floor and they seemed to make the shape of a trunk, and I started playing around with trying to do a tree. Once that was taking shape, I started adding some leaves, just a couple to begin with, and then more and more, using pieces of dried paint. I like the movement of the falling leaves, and in this painting, although not true in nature, those leaves land and start more trees. The cycle of life.

The following Artists all exhibited in the "The Gift of Art" exhibition

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