Field Notes by Isabel Gutierrez, Soka University Student & 70° Archive Intern
Location:
1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Parking is available in Parking Lot A
Important Dates:
The Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9:00a.m to 5:00p.m.
Upcoming Gallery Closures: 04/25, 04/28, 05/07 – 05/26
Fixing on a Horizon
Cynthia Ona Innis is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Berkeley, California. Her work is influenced by her experiences in nature and landscape. The work in this exhibition is rooted in personal history, carrying memories of California road trips and sailing the Pacific. It “carries the weight of her memories of childhood trips throughout California and sailing the Pacific.”
The works in this exhibition explore “the effects of the shifting glow of sunrise/sunset, the stillness of the moon and the vastness of the night sky” a reconnection to the rhythms of the natural world with which she grew up.
Whether you’re visiting or live here in Southern California, we can all relate to seeing or driving past the California sunrise or sunset. Her works display an interplay of light, landscape, and weather patterns, these slight nuances are represented through mixed media art. Definitely worth your time.
Lipstick/Waterline
Don Ryan is a professor and ceramicist at Soka University of America. He teaches at SUA and is the director for the Creative Arts Program.
His work explores the intersection of historical ceramic traditions and the imagery of the Southern California coastline. The creative processes mark a departure from his previous work, now exploring both traditional and contemporary ceramic techniques to translate the ephemeral into tangible forms.
The interconnected works use both traditional and contemporary ceramic techniques to translate powerful connections with the ocean. Story and motifs being used to tie in with the imprint Southern California has made on his life, memory rooted to his connection to the ocean. The interplay of material and processes, the layering of coloring and form, all contribute to a narrative that is both personal and culturally resonant. If you’ve ever stood at the edge of the beach, you know the feeling—the roughness of rocks, the grain of warm sand, and that quiet, endless line where the land meets the ocean. These same textures and memories live within the surface of his ceramic works, inviting you to feel what he once felt.