SLOMA presents ARTalk with Carol Sauvion of PBS series Craft in America 

Craftwork

You say “craft,” and I think, “Ah yes, the macaroni and cheese.” Or, given a little more time, I’ll muster, “Ah yes, the macaroni and cheese that you can also make necklaces out of.” This is not the kind of craft that will be on display at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art’s latest exhibit, Dimensions, sponsored by Central Coast Craftmakers.

The biennial exhibit will feature the finely honed, master class work of artists from all over California. Made from varied materials such as wood, paper, clay, glass, and metal, the show’s 81 pieces were selected by juror Carol Sauvion from more than 200 entries. A potter and crafts enthusiast herself, Sauvion owns the Freehand Gallery in Los Angeles and created the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated PBS series “Craft in America.” As part of downtown SLO’s Art After Dark, Sauvion will be speaking at the museum about the exhibit and about the finer points of fine craft. “The arts are essential to our well being as a nation,” Sauvion said in a quote on SLOMA’s website, “and I’m gratified that California continues to be the home of artists who produce works that inspire and challenge.”

SLOMA’s ARTalk with Carol Sauvion will take place on Sept. 5, at 2 p.m. Admission is free. The full exhibit, Dimensions, opens on the same day, and will be on display through Oct. 12. For more information, go to sloma.org or call 543-8562.

Island of misfit toys

Imagine a set of porcelain dolls designed by Tim Burton and the Grimm Brothers, with the bunny from Donnie Darko and an anthropomorphic cat in bright, pink patterns. These are the sculptures of artist Ginny Bayly, who, along with Chloe White, will be featured in a new exhibit at the Steynberg Gallery in SLO, The Two-Headed Nightingale.

Both White and Bayly’s work defies easy description. Their sculptures evoke surreal, bizarre, and sometimes haunting images like White’s gray-faced alien clothed in a frilly, white Victorian-style dress, or Bayly’s fanciful and eerie human-animal hybrids. According to the listing on Arts Obispo’s website, “These anamorphic sculptures make use of an unlimited range of materials to invite the viewer into a sublime pareidolic moments in the artists’ minds.” In other words, they’re eclectic, intriguing, and definitely worth checking out.

The Two-Headed Nightingale exhibit will open as part of Art After Dark on Sept. 5, at the Steynberg Gallery, located at 1531 Monterey St., in SLO. For more information, visit sloartscouncil.org or call 547-0278.