Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Handblown glass ornaments by Janette Peace of Sunnyvale are among the items on display at the Aegis Gallery in Saratoga.
Seasonal show comes to Aegis Gallery
By Shari Kaplan
As it does every holiday season, one of downtown Saratoga's best-kept secrets for eclectic, artistic gift ideas puts on a show that lures curious passersby and serious shoppers alike.
The venue is Aegis Gallery, an artists' cooperative at 14531 Big Basin Way, Unit 2, and this year, the annual holiday show is titled Artistically Gifted. Through Dec. 29, in the gallery's main room, the show is comprised of art and craft items in all mediums and many mixes therein.
A striking example is The Pagan Family Christmas Special by Los Gatan Rob Voice. It resembles a wood-framed window around which hang garish Christmas lights whose "lights" are plastic barbecues, T-bone steaks, pink flamingoes and strange creatures. Beneath the window is a sign: "Who Do VooDoo? You Do!" This refers to pseudo-voodoo dolls that are hanging, each of which are fashioned with bones and clay, wearing variously colored clothes stuffed with lichen and have things such as acorns or coins for eyes.
The bones come from Voice's collection, obtained from dead animals in the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as from roadkill. Flesh-eating dermestid beetles strip the bones for him, after which he further cleans them with bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Voice created a whole exhibit of bone art two months ago at Aegis Gallery, titled The Bone Yard.
Nothing else in the exhibit is as outlandish, but all works are unique to their creators. Janette Peace of Sunnyvale, a new member, has contributed a multitude of delicate glass Christmas ornaments in the shape of orbs, ovals and teardrops and in many colors and patterns. She also creates blown clear glass paperweights that contain colored glass, fashioned to look like flowers.
Hanging near Peace's ornaments are those by Santa Cruz Mountain resident Jeanne Tillman, whose signature medium is handcast, recycled paper that she forms into many shapes. These include egg-shaped ornaments covered with cording and shiny thread and square gift tags with images of angels, wreaths and Santas.
Nancy Jo Lopp, a fellow mountain resident, reprises one of her favorite gift items, as well: dried lavender tied into fragrant bundles, grown organically on her own property. Lopp also offers color photographs and Polaroid emulsion transfers of guardian angels.
Saratogan Judith Marshall also uses several mediums. One of her contributions are holiday-themed greeting cards with original drawings, tied in packs with green and red ribbon. She also crafts petite gift cards in the shape of books, covered in festive material. Each opens like an accordion. And for something completely different, Marshall takes smooth black river rocks and partially wraps them in intricately designed papers in the style of Japanese worry stones.
Paintings are also part of the exhibit. Some, such as Saratogan Kay Duffy's watercolor Winter, are in keeping with the seasonal theme, but others are not. These include Heirlooms, a bright pastel by Saratogan Mary Ann Henderson of a veritable cornucopia of red, orange, yellow and green heirloom tomatoes; and Tea Pears, a watercolor by Bonnie Epstein depicting juicy green pears beside a silver pot of tea.
Aegis Gallery is open Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call 408.867.0171.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
