Chasing the First One:
A mini retrospective.
"Chasing the first one,” is the result of a breakthrough painting or creation from the combination of the media, style, and feel, that I am searching for, that then drives me to create a second, third, and sometimes thirty-fifth piece. This becomes the series and then the magic happens, as the series starts to communicate a message.
This mini retrospective represents one sample from several different series of works.
I am a realistic style painter proficient in all media. My focus for the last decade has been in kiln-formed glass, but I am moving my skillset into digital media, illustrator, photoshop, and web-design.
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Parallax Series:
"Wisdom"
Wisdom- Oil on linen, 5.5 feet x 5 feet, from the Parallax Series 1998.
The wise owl holds court over the others in the environment. Inspired by a dream, the owl spoke to me, as it was sitting on top of the large blade of grass.
The Hale-Bop comet is in the night sky. The other characters have been put in to warn us that their respective environments are being destroyed by our choices to ignore the delicate balance in life.
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Bliss Series:
"Collective Soul"
Collective Soul- Oil on board, 22" x 24", from the Bliss Series 1996-2005.
Over the life of this series the three figures of past, present, and future started as three separate images that over time merged on top of each other fanning out becoming a grouped image.
Abstractions start occuring in the overlapped body parts that I found interesting. The outside design evolved into a womb like shape enveloping the three in the center.
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Contours Series:
"Uplifted In Bliss"
Uplifted In Bliss- Pastel on embossed paper, 11" x 14", from the Contours Series 1999.
Looking to work smaller I continued the fluid line movement into a series of embossed paper works, to where I would color over the sections in dry pastel pencils.
The finished pieces were mounted and floated into clear acrylic frames to protect the finished drawings from touching.
Many abstracted works came out in this series that have gone on to many collectors.
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Attachment to Symbols Series:
"Ancients"
Ancient Symbols- Oil on board, 22" x 30", from the Attachment to Symbols Series- 1997.
The figurative works style of wet on wet and scored, moved into an interest of the attachment that we as people, have to symbols.
Symbols are powerful and have been lifted and reused in a negative way.
This series was a statment about that and I used the symbol of a cathedral window as a symbol of how religiously we anchor our feelings to marks on surfaces.
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Ceramic Sculptures:
"Feminine Forms"
Feminine Form 5- Ceramic sculpture, 55" x 30", 1990.
Large hand built vessel, then carved with soft lines and curve. Some cut outs and piercings are around the surface.
This was created at CSUS, in the ceramics department.
Peers said that it looked too phallic, so I carved the proper feminine shapes on the other side.
It won an award and the gallery assistants called it the 'Ovary'.
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Kiln Formed Glass:
"Aboriginal Travels"
Aboriginal Travels- Fused glass bowl, 30" x 30", 2012.
Triple layered fused glass, with two slumped glass lines, that have dichroic strips set in-between the lines, that are tack fired onto the surface of the bowl.
The whole piece is then fired in a slumping mould. All together about 4 firings go into making this bowl.
Inspired by Aborignal map symbols, the glass is an irridized cherry red that reflects a rainbow surface.
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Early Years
I drew my first portrait of at five, won my first art award at ten, and was interviewed on Channel 13, in Sacramento, California. Art is my life and calling, my first love. My ideas come from dreams, doodles, and memories.
I cronicle stories in my large canvases, and through symbols. I am an inventive artist inventing different styles and I study the art masters, combining their styles with my style to create a new look.
Prof. Years
My work has been shown regionally in northern California and on the East coast. I’ve been in the Feats of Clay at the Gladding McBean factory, in Lincoln, and won an award for a pair of black clay boots.
I’ve shown at the Pence Gallery in Davis, and have been invited to place a piece in the auction at the Mondavi Center, in Davis. I’ve shown at the Sobon Winery and was invited to represent them in the KVIE art auction.
I’ve won numerous awards and have shown in many galleries in Sacramento, Lincoln, Nevada City, Grass Valley, and Colfax. In early 2000, I was invited by KVIE to appear in a group photo of prominent local artists. (I’m in the row with my CSUS professors.)
Now
I am currently working in both kiln formed glass and digital media. My small architectural glass works are listed in Etsy, and eBay.
The background image on this page is an example of a digital painting that was created from earlier this year. I have glass and digital portfolios online in Artrepreneur, Facebook, and at www.sherylrivera.com.