Congradulations to our stone artist, Jack Richardson, who was awarded First Place in the Craft category for KVIE's Public Television Art Auction for 2008 in Sacramento, California. Way to go Jack! You can see more of Jack's work in the 'sculptural objects' category of our website.
 
Mowen Solinsky Gallery artists Gerald and Kelly Hong, John Mowen, and Steve Solinsky also have work in the art auction. Tune in to KVIE in September and bid often!

Phil Borges
global photography
and
John Mowen
new bronze
 
Friday, May 9th
&
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Nevada City resident and nationally known fine artist, John Mowen will be one of two featured artists for a two day opening and reception at the Mowen Solinsky Gallery in downtown Nevada City on Friday & Saturday, May 9-10th, 2008.
 
Brought in especially for this show are Mowen's limited edition monumental bronzes. The Gallery will also have a selection of his original stone & bronze sculptures on display.
 
"What began as an exploration into stillness and simplicity evolved into what I have observed as an interface between the creative and the sacred. The greatest blessings of this work come from connecting to others who also feel that our passion and where we go inside ourselves connects with what we do in the world and is vital to the survival of the soul," says Mowen.
 
International artist Phil Borges' unforgettable photographs, as well as signed editions of his award winning books, Tibetan Portrait; Women Empowered; The Gift; and Enduring Spirit will be available for sale. His award-winning books have been published in four languages. Among the many awards he has received was the honor of a Humanitarian Award, the Lucie, at the 1st Annual International Photography Awards in 2007.
 
Borges' subtly toned images tap into the human spirit of his subjects and his photographs are collected and exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide.

Top image: "Rufo" from Women Empowered - Inspiring Change In The Emerging World by Phil Borges. Rufo spends her day collecting water and firewood, herding goats, and helping her mother cook. Her mother can afford education for only one of her seven children, so every morning Rufo accompanies her sister to school, says good-bye, and then returns home to her daily chores in Yabelo, Ethiopa.

West coast woodturner and Mowen Solinsky Gallery artist Jerry Kermode was recently honored to have his hand-carved wood turned vessels received into the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The pieces were gifted from the private collection of Timothy Y.C. Choy, and avid collector of Kermode's work, and acquired in honor of James and Cherye Pierce.
 
"I have a love affair with trees," says Kermode, "Their continued growth is as important as the joy of turning. I search out recycled trees and logs from sustainable harvesting operations. The vessel begins with the study of tell tale signs in each log that may reveal hidden beauty. Carving each piece on a lathe, I use the grain of the wood and its character traits as my guides."
 
See more of Jerry Kermode's work in the 'wood' section of our gallery webpages.

Penn Valley travel photographer a winner
By Pam Jung, pamj@theunion.com
December 27, 2007
The Union Newspaper
 
Richard "Rick" Murai of Penn Valley recently won a photography competition in Europe for the picture of an 84-year-old Cambodian woman, a snail gatherer up to her neck in water.
 
He won the One Shot category in the international Travel Photographer of the Year competition, one that attracted more than 13,000 entries from 51 countries and a panel of renowned judges.
 
"I didn't realize it was that big when I entered it," said Murai. "Europeans are really big on competitions rather than being exhibition based, as we are in this country
 
He won a fancy camera with all the fixings, including software.
 
His reaction? "I was surprised, excited and honored," he said, "but I also felt good going into it. I never enter contests because of how flighty they are. In 95 percent of contests, you lose copyright. I entered this because of the terms - very professional - and because it was targeted (travel based). It validates what I do."
 
For 20 years, Murai, 55, has been a travel photographer. Southeast Asia is his focus. He spends about six weeks a year during breaks from his teaching job at Yuba College visiting such countries as Tibet and Cambodia; in fact, he hopes to make his third trip to that country and to Bhutan in the near future. While the cultures and people interest him, it's sacred sites that form the foundation of his many years of work.

In addition to teaching photography at the college level, Murai gives tutorials in his home studio. While the photographer still uses film as his main capture medium, as of six years ago he started using digital scanning and large-scale, dedicated grayscale digital printers for his prints. He says it's like painting with light electronically.
 
"This has revealed a new emotive quality that I never got in the dark room. It offers great control and great productivity."
 
Murai's work may be seen at the Mowen Solinsky Gallery in Nevada City. He's also entered another photography contest, so stay tuned.
 
For a little more about the woman in the winning picture: She spends seven hours a day immersed in water harvesting snails because her whole family was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, and this is her only means of support. All her belongings are in the boat behind her.
 
Although the judges of the photography contest never knew the backstory to the image and judged it only on such things as technical merits, Murai thinks they were drawn to the picture for other reasons, known only to themselves.
 
Commenting on the unseen ravages of war is becoming more important to him now. "I want to get more involved in humanitarian applications for my work," he says about future endeavors. ~~
 
See Richard Murai's award winning photograpy at Mowen Solinksy Gallery. Visit www.tpoty.com for details of the Travel Photographer competition.