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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Friday, February 24th 2017
Artists' Studio in the Foothills GALLERY & MUSUM EXHIBITION RECEPTION: 
Rocks, River & Trees, Oil Paintings by Jill Mahanna - And 
FCAM/Foothills Ceramic Art Museum's Paquime Reborn: Mata Ortiz & South West Pueblo Pottery Exhibition Reception & Lecture with Musical Guests Gregory Young & Chris Coey

Artists' Studio in the Foothills (ASiF)
Visual Arts Center of Nevada County
940 Idaho Maryland Road, Grass Valley, CA 95945
530-274-7000 / 530-210-3162  www.asifstudios.com

Contact: Amanda Paoletti, Owner, Director
530-210-3162 amandapaoletti.asif@gmail.com   
Please Request additional photos/JPG images!


On Friday, February 24th from 5 - 8pm the Artists' Studio in the Foothills (ASiF) invites the public to a wine and food reception featuring a solo exhibition of oil paintings by ASiF resident Artist, Jill Mahanna and a new exhibition in the Foothills Ceramic Art Museum (FCAM), Paquime Reborn: Mata Ortiz & Southwest Pueblo Pottery Exhibit. 

The event will feature a lecture given by FCAM founder Kenneth Underwood at 6pm and live music by Gregory Young and Chris Coey starting at 5pm.

GALLERY EXHIBITION...
Oil Painter, and ASiF Resident Artist, Jill Mahanna's vibrant landscapes evoke the vitality of the natural world. Her large-scale paintings are at once a unique depiction of our forests and rivers, rocks and flowers and also an honoring of the land we live on. 

Each painting is a study in color and movement. Rapid brushstrokes and use of diagonals build form and create space that lead the viewer into the work. Eyes and imagination follow the paths through the woods, up the river, behind the rocks, in a compelling dance with nature. 

Jill's work beautifully conveys the vibrant, powerful, joyful aspects of nature and what can be found in our own backyard if we take the time to see.

MUSEUM EXHIBITION...
This exhibit features the ceramic art of over 45 artists from Mata Ortiz, Mexico and the Acoma, Laguna, Isleta, Jemez, Hopi, and Navajo peoples.

Mata Ortiz is a little village in Chihuahua, Mexico near the ancient Paquime ruins. Paquime was "a towering capital, a focus of religious, political, commercial, and cultural power throughout the whole Gran Chichimeca between approximately

A.D. 1000 and 1400." (from The Many Faces of Mata Ortiz, by Susan Lowell) The hills surrounding Paquime were rich in clays, so the people made pots for every use. They decorated them with elaborate, fine-line patterns and figures.

In the 1960's in the nearby villlage, Master Potter Juan Quezada recreated the ancient process of Paquime pottery. Hetaught his friends and family. Soon they were innovating new designs and methods. Today there are hundreds of artists
in Mata Ortiz making museum-quality pots that have commanded the attention of art lovers and anthropologists worldwide.

The peoples of Southwest America have their own traditions of pottery making, from the fine-line geometries of Acoma to the pine pitch, fire cloud traditions of the Navajo. All are celebrated in this exhibit.

LIVE MUSIC & LECTURE INFO...
Starting at 5pm, musical guests Gregory Young & Chris Coey will play a mix of jazz and blues classics and originals on electric guitar and vintage electric piano.

A lecture given by FCAM founder Kenneth Underwood on the Pueblo Pottery exhibition will begin at 6pm.

FCAM's Pueblo pottery exhibit and Jill Mahanna's solo show will be on display through April 1st. 

Museum / Gallery Hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11am to 4pm


PRIVATE STUDIO EXHIBITIONS:
Yvonne Bartlett - Mixed Media
Eileen Blodgett - Acrylics, Watercolor & Printmaking
Odette Brush - Watercolor
Christoph Dierman - Oil Painting
Barbara Harris - Mixed Media, Encaustics & Printmaking
Sally Herring - Acrylics & Printmaking
Betsy Hufnagel - Encaustics, Printmaking & Mixed Media  
Betsey Marie Leach - Graphic Design
Jill Mahanna - Oil Painting
Susan Michalski - Mixed Media & Encaustics
Jean Patterson - Mosaics
Lin Schiffner - Printmaking & Fiber Arts
Shauna Smith - Various Media
Cathy Tardif - Acrylic Painting
Cabrina Channing - Metal Arts & Jewelry Making
Mark Wilcox - Oil Painting


The Artists' Studio in the Foothills (ASiF), a 4000 square foot - fully equipped studio art center that opened its doors in 2008, offering classes and workshops in a variety of media for all ages, private and shared studio space for working artists, and a gallery to promote local and visiting artists. Their mission is to nurture the creative spirit of the community, providing a place where are can be made, displayed and appreciated.

ASiF is home to over 20 studio artists and instructors, offering classes for adults and children in drawing, painting, printmaking, encaustics, mosaics, jewelry, metal arts, pottery, sculpture and mixed media.

The Artists' Studio in the Foothills (ASiF) Visual Arts Center of Nevada County is located at 940 Idaho Maryland Road, in Grass Valley. For more information go to www.asifstudios.com or call 530-274-7000.   
 
KNOW & GO:

Who: Jill Mahanna & Ken Underwood/Foothills Ceramic Art Museum (FCAM) &              Musical Guests Gregory Young & Chris Coey

What: Reception, Oil Paintings, Pueblo Pottery Exhibition, Lecture & Live Music

Where: ASiF Studios, 940 Idaho Maryland Road, Grass Valley, CA  95945  

When: Friday, February 24th, 5 - 8pm

Contact: Amanda Paoletti, 530-274-7000 / amandapaoletti.asif@gmail.com

Website: www.asifstudios.com
Artists' Studio in the Foothills - Nevada County Visual Arts Center
940 Idaho Maryland Road, Grass Valley, CA  95945  530.274.7000 
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