Photograph by Paul Myers
This handmade, recycled paper vessel is one of many items by Los Gatos craftswoman Jeanne Tillman in the 'Present Art' show at Aegis Gallery of Fine Art.
Aegis Gallery prepares for holidays
By Shari Kaplan
While some people wait until the last minute to do holiday decorating or shopping, the two dozen or so member artists at Aegis Gallery of Fine Art in Saratoga have, as usual, completed their decorating early.
Not only do their creations--in every possible medium--provide a seasonally festive display for the gallery's front room; the arts and crafts also offer gift-giving solutions for anyone looking for something a little different.
One of the gallery's most prolific artists is Jeanne Tillman of Los Gatos. Part of her contribution is a collection of vessels and leaf shapes of recycled, hand-cast paper in various colors and patterns. She crafts them in her mountain studio with a process she has fine-tuned over the years.
They appear extremely fragile, but looks can be deceiving--especially in the case of her vases, bowls and other vessels, which are adorned with beads, marbles, ribbons and seedpods. Also an accomplished weaver, Tillman has added something new this year: three-dimensional triangular ornaments in different sizes, covered in tightly woven threads and yarns.
Janett Peace of Sunnyvale also creates ornaments, but her medium is glass. Hanging brightly in the gallery window are her blown glass spheres covered with spots, swirls and flecks of all colors. Nearby are Peace's blown glass paperweights, all the more fanciful because of the tiny air bubbles she often catches in just the right positions.
The glass on Pat Puder's wooden trinket boxes is not blown, but fused. Taking their once-ordinary lids, the Saratogan attaches shiny pieces of glass in shapes and colors that give the boxes a beach or nautical theme.
The great outdoors is a favorite of many gallery painters, including Kay Duffy, Starr Davis and Mary Ann Henderson of Saratoga, Ed Lucey of Los Gatos, Bonnie Epstein of Mountain View and Britta Ottersgard of San Jose. Their mediums differ--watercolors, pastels and acrylic paints--but their inspirations are similar: from landscapes to seascapes and everywhere in between, these artists love to capture nature.
Los Gatan Nancy Jo Lopp takes this one step further with her Highland Lavender farms. After cultivating the fragrant herb on her mountain property, she dries the tiny flowers and tucks them into gift sachets, held by purple mesh and tied with purple ribbon. Lopp is also an experienced photographer and is exhibiting some of her Polaroid emulsion transfer, depicting seasonally appropriate angels.
Rounding out the exhibit are boxed holiday greeting card sets by several gallery artists; functional and decorative pieces of stoneware, ceramic and porcelain; large and small photographs; mixed-media masks; and whimsical mixed media dioramas.
"Present Art" is on display through Jan. 3. The Aegis Gallery of Fine Art is at 14531 Big Basin Way in the Saratoga Village. For gallery hours or more information, call 408.867.0171 or visit www.aegisgallery.com on the Internet.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
