Today, we journeyed south to Paulson Bott Press and the Berkeley Art Museum. Starting at Paulson, students met Gallery Director Rhea Fontaine, printer and OS11 alumn Alexander "Z" Groshong, and intern Will as they poured over stacks of Gee's Bend quilt prints. Students learned about the tradition of fine art printing, Paulson Bott's model of 2-week artist residencies, and the many techniques its printers must master and sometimes invent. This place is stuffed to the brim with unbelievable prints, ink, sketches, and various ephemera from past projects. The genuine enthusiasm for printmaking was infectious; we were thrilled to get a sneak peek into such an intense process and spend some time in their beautiful studio and gallery.
OS11 alumn Z Groshong shows OS31 a copperplate and explains the printing process.
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Afterward, we headed across town to the Berkeley Art Museum to admire the incredible building and enjoy a handful of fantastic shows including a collection of massive Hans Hoffman paintings, a more intimate presentation of Forrest Bess's work, and poignant mixed media and video work by Geta Brătescu.The museum proved to be a fantastic site for exploration, whether via zooming among the many ramps, extensive sketchbooking, or having some lighthearted arts and crafts fun in the children's section. Because hey, everyone's a kid when free crayons and clay are involved.
Lunch on/in a sculpture at the BAM's sculpture garden.
photography by Chris R. and Megan
