Harvest-—Harvest, a one-month Art Presence member show, opens on Friday, September 1. Don’t miss our special display of abstract watercolor, acrylic and collage paintings by Dolores Ribal on the gallery’s back wall. The reception is Saturday, September 2, from 1:00-3:00pm, featuring author readings by Jacksonville wordsmiths Ginna and David Gordon. Ginna’s new novel, “Deke Interrupted,” is the second in The Lavandula Series, a family saga set in Carmel in the 60s. “The Little Bach Book,” David’s newly-published work, is an eclectic omnibus of notable details about the life and times of Johann Sebastian Bach. Live music by Minstrel Streams creates a lovely ambience for conversation and enjoying artworks.

Geometry: Within and Without—Photographer Tom Glassman and pottery by John Dodero team up for a two-person show in our front gallery. Glassman carefully composes his images in-camera to create unretouched photographs which reveal his unique perspective. For this collection, strong, colorful forms and unexpected plays of light and shadow result in beautiful abstractions that reveal the unnoticed geometry in our everyday surroundings.

John Dodero takes Raku pottery design to a new level in his Dynamic Cubism “DC” Series. Inspired by his fascination with dynamic and dissipative systems and a deep interest in physics, these one-of-a-kind designs gently suggest the geometry—both visible and hidden—in Nature. Even color is geometry, as one can geometrically graph the wavelengths of light that correspond to the colors we see. The Golden Mean—often used when composing art—is one example of how Nature can be modeled mathematically or geometrically. The mathematical relationships between natural elements are clearly evident in these works, through which he emphasizes the often-neglected fact that geometry is all around us.

Art Presence Offsite Exhibits—Abstracts, a show of paintings by Patrick Beste, continues at Pioneer Village through December. Landscapes, Tom Ommen’s photography exhibit at Medford Public Library and Fabric Art, Charlotte Wirfs’ textile art exhibit in the Jacksonville Library’s Naversen Room, remain on display.

Life Drawing—Sometimes we fail to realize the benefits of drawing. We may not understand that drawing can be a useful tool to help us with life’s situations. As adults, many of us relegate drawing to a position of unimportance. Yet drawing can be a source of great satisfaction and can help us expand our learning, thinking, and communication skills. Cameras and computers steal our ability to really SEE. Seeing and drawing can become one—and, with practice—drawing is a discipline through which we can rediscover the world. Please join us at Art Presence for this journey! Life drawing sessions resume on Monday, September 11, from 1:00-3:00pm. No registration needed, and still just $10 per session.

The October Imaginarium—The artists of southern Oregon responded to our October Creative Challenge with fabulous new works! Their creations in various mediums for The October Imaginarium: Hats and Masks are unique designs in the spirit of Halloween; the Imaginarium Small Works section also offers smaller, affordable pieces. The show runs October 6–29 with a reception on Saturday, October 7, from 1:00-4:00pm—create your costume and join us in style!

Reserve our upstairs room for your class, workshop or meeting! Contact Anne Brooke at 541-941-7057. As always, you can find this information and more on our website, https://art-presence.org.