Photograph by Paul Myers

Los Gatan Jeanne Tillman has contributed several pieces of cast paper art to the group show at Aegis Gallery in Saratoga. This piece is 'Wild Iris Vessel.'

Artists 'Foolin' Around' at Aegis Gallery

Nearly two dozen artists have their work on display

By Shari Kaplan

April Fool's Day might be past, but at Saratoga's Aegis Gallery, the idea will last--at least until the end of this month, which is the duration of "Foolin' Around," a group show highlighting the works of the cooperative gallery's nearly two dozen artists.

"Jesters, fools and playful things. Sensual creations with an imaginative twist--that's just a hint of the fun and creative art featured in the show" is the intriguing way the show has been promoted by Los Gatan Gerri Russell, gallery publicist. Russell is also a part of the show with her whimsical multimedia art masks.

While not actually hedonistic or foolish, the exhibit does contain a light-hearted array of new crafts and artwork in all mediums, sizes and shapes. The joy of spring is also a theme found in many pieces.

Some artists have taken the show's title literally, including Saratogan Ronnie Rabedeau and Jacqueline Butts of Ben Lomond. In Glass Blower Fooling Around, Rabedeau uses color photography to capture an artisan firing a fancy little vase, while Butts' Fooling A-Round is a tall terracotta vessel with three frolicsome fish swimming around its base.

Even more fanciful are the large sculptures by Saratogan Starr Davis. In Cactus Garden Sculpture, she uses beige glazed stoneware in looping shapes to represent cacti. In Spiral, she combines stoneware with a tall curlicue of metal ductwork that looks like it's about to fling through the window next to its display stand.

Los Gatan Jeanne Tillman also makes three-dimensional art, but her medium is paper. Joining her usual spheres and leaves made of hand-cast paper and natural fibers are delicate cast paper eggs in a variety of pastel colors--a unique addition to the traditional Easter basket.

Two painters, Kay Duffy of Saratoga and Tom Keenan of Los Gatos, offer variations on the same theme: carousel horses. Duffy's watercolor is in shades of black and white with a bit of gold for accent, while Keenan's photograph shows a colorful horse illumined by the flashing lights of the merry-go-round.

Continuing the happy theme are Nancy De Weese of Los Gatos and Peninsula resident Bonnie Epstein; both women celebrate the arrival of spring on their canvasses. In Bee Hives at Novakovich Orchard, De Weese captures the brilliance of the local orchard's trees in bloom. Likewise, in Hakone Weeping Cherry, Epstein recreates the pendulous flowering branches of a tree at Saratoga's Hakone Gardens. Elsewhere in the gallery, De Weese uses her watercolors to depict three tasteful nudes: two women and one man.

Some paintings are better looked at than described, including Tomato Queen by Saratogan Mary Ann Henderson, Mussel Tango by Starr Davis, Fool in Love by Saratogan Ellen Kieffer and Weather Report by Virginia Fordice of Boulder Creek.

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Aegis Gallery of Fine Art is at 14531 Big Basin Way, unit 2, in the Saratoga Village. For gallery hours or more information, call 408.867.0171 or visit www.aegisgallery.com.

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