Gifted Hands: the Fine Art of Craft, features 90 works by 15 contemporary Bay Area artists, and is on view beginning at 11:00 a.m., Sunday, October 10.

Opening Events October 10

• Panel Discussion: 4:00 p.m., October 10, Claeys Lounge, Soda Activity Center. Moderated by Julie Muniz, curator of Decorative Arts and Craft at the Oakland Museum of California, will be held in the Soda Center. The three artists on the panel are Garry Knox Bennett, Janet Lipkin, and Freddy Moran.
• Reception with the artists: 5:00 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. in the Hearst Art Gallery Patio. Admission free to panel discussion and reception.
• Demonstration: 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., immediately following the panel discussion. Bay Area ceramic sculptor, Erin McGuiness, will demonstrate her modern take on the ancient art of ceramic coiling. Art Studio One.
• Gallery Gift Shop: The Gallery Gift Shop will feature work for sale by local artists including; jewelry, soaps, scarves, pottery, textiles, wooden bowls and glass.

Artists

Garry Knox Bennett, Oakland, furniture maker

Leslie Carabas, Sonora, quilter

Skip Esquierdo, San Lorenzo, potter

Janet Lipkin, Richmond, textile artist

Marvin Lipofsky, Berkeley, glass blower

Erin McGuiness, Berkeley, potter

Alison McLennan, Oakland, furniture maker

Freddy Moran, Orinda, quilter

Micheal Nourot, Benicia, glass blower

Florence Resnikoff, Berkeley, jewelry artist

Kay Sekimachi, Berkeley, fiber artist and weaver

Merryll Saylan, Berkeley, wood turner

Victoria Skirpa, Oakland, jewelry artist

Chuck Splady, Oakland, metal worker

Zhenne Wood, Oakland, fiber artist

Curator Kyla Porter has selected stunning objects that each allows us to witness a master hand at work. "I chose widely admired artists whose methods respect the integrity of the materials," says Porter. "The Bay Area has a long and storied history of gifted artists whose work blends extraordinary skill and respect fort materials with creativity."

These artists transform glass, textiles, fiber, metal, precious and semi-precious stones, clay, wood, fallen logs, and sea shells into extraordinary works of art. On view are both functional and decorative objects: furniture, wearable art, jewelry, pottery, quilts, turned wooden bowls, and fabric and metal sculpture. Expressly demonstrating how contemporary craft and fine art are part of the same body of work; the artists in the exhibit take everyday objects and elevate them to art forms that rival all other media. The Bay Area is rich with gifted men and women who transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.