Artist Installations

January & February 2023 artist is Jolie Margulies.

 

January 2020 - Speakeasy member Sarah Field is a tumbling tumbleweed from Temecula, CA since 2008, by choice of wind direction.  She graduated from Cal State University - Channel Islands.  She paints what she feels and imagines.  Sarah has a fascination with Sci-Fi (think Blade Runner, Star Trek, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy).  This is her inspiration for the outer-worldly creation you will se on our Artist Gallery wall.  

Sarah works in digital design and  lives in Oxnard, CA  with the love of her life R. Dennis.  Stop by to experience some of her work.

 

August 2019 - Extended through September!!

Michael Cormier

 

Michael Cormier grew up in eastern Canada with a great love for sports and the beauty of nature. As a child he often copied cartoons and drawings of sports figures that he found in local newspapers. During his early school years he won several blue ribbons in city wide art contests.

 After one semester at the Halifax College of Art and Design his wanderlust led him to California. Once settled in Los Angeles, he began to frequent the local bohemian hangouts, becoming involved in the coffee house poetry reading scene. This led to his meeting muckraking, itinerant journalist, Lionel Rolfe, who eventually commissioned Cormier to illustrate the book, The Menhuins, a Family Odyssey (on the life of Rolfe's uncle, Yehudi Menhuin, the most famous child prodigy of the 20th century). Shortly after, Michael enrolled in life drawing classes at Otis Art Institute and Los Angeles City College where he began to develop his own distinct style.

 Around this time, Mr. Cormier began to delve into yoga practice and philosophy, eventually leading to a commission from the Sivananda Yoga Ashram to paint a billboard on the famous Sunset Strip advertising the Ashram. In the following years he received various large scale commissions and in 2010 he had a solo exhibit at the James Gray gallery in Santa Monica's renowned Bergamot Station, with several hundred people in attendance. Michael continues to develop and explore new areas in the wonderful world of art.

 

May & June 2019

Kent Kahlen

Kent Kahlen has been creating glass sculptures in his Orange County studio since 1995.  His passion for glass, however, came long before Kent Kahlen Studios opened its doors.   Kent saw glass blowing for the first time in 1988 at a junior college.  He remembers it as a magical experience and one that completely changed his focus. 

For Kent, the making of glass sculpture is a meditative process.  He is inspired by the transformative process; the evolution of the medium from its raw state of sand into a translucent, crystalline, glass form.  In his sculptures he focuses on the relationships between form and space to create works that convey a harmonious, cohesive and fluid design.

Kent’s work can be seen in private collections globally or at his glass blowing lab and studio in Orange County.  For more information, or to schedule a private event you can contact Kent at: info@kahlenstudio.com.

 

 April 2019

Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey

When Clarissa was five, she knew she wanted to be an artist.  Her parents, both physicians, thought that was a terrible idea.  Not practical.  That did not deter Clarissa.  She is primarily a self-taught artist.  She had studied under a few wonderful So Cal artists such as Fusionartist Rassouli, watercolorists Joseph Stoddard and the late Tom Fong.

Inspiration for her paintings comes from nature, travels, emotions, and the human condition.  She does not have pre-conceived notions about what to paint, except for what color or colors she wants to use.  She paints in the moment and lets the imagery be revealed.  She prefers using acrylic and watercolor.  Occasionally she will incorporate paper and use other mediums to create texture in her paintings.  Clarissa wishes to bring beauty and serenity in the collector's home, work space, or whatever they choose to hang her work.

She was born in Detroit, Michigan and currently resides in Altadena, California.

You can find Clarissa on Instagram at ccr_sunshine and Etsy at ClarissaRamseyStudio.

 

February & March

 

Susan Slade

Susan Slade creates art in a personal response to current happenings and political references.  They can be created for their sheer beauty or are chosen for their specific symbolism, and story telling traits.  Susan has mirrored her grandmother's quote, "Live Life, You Can Sleep When You Are Dead.". 

Susan fell in love with landscape photography when she was living on Maui.  Her work includes photography, installation and public art.

Susan obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and in the summer of 2010, Susan participated in a sculpture/installation art residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York which inspired to follow her dreams.  

You can find Susan on Instagram at MauiBluePhotography