Page 50 to 65 - Mendocino Art Center

KEN FRANKLIN —
CUSTOM
GUITAR
MAKER
by Pete Halstad
To a guitar player, regardless of skill level, there’s
nothing more pleasurable than holding and playing a
beautifully made custom guitar. When the guitar is a
unique work of art, and you are among the first to experience
its sensuous shape, brilliant tone and unparalleled
craftsmanship, the pleasure becomes a thrill. Ukiah-based
luthier Ken Franklin, has granted me that experience a
couple of times recently by allowing me to play his beautiful
creations before presenting them to their fortunate
owners.
In Spanish, the word for “to play,” as in “to play” a
guitar, is tocar – literally, “to touch.” And that, indeed,
is what the art of guitar making is all about: to create an
instrument so beautiful the guitarist can’t wait to touch
it. That’s what Ken Franklin can do. Ken uses a startling
array of richly patterned woods from all over the world
– including here in Mendocino County – for his one-of-akind
guitars. His criteria are straightforward: the materials
must be reasonably workable, durable, fabulously beautiful,
and, above all, able to create a perfect sound in the
hands of a competent guitar player.
“Perfect” sound, of course, can mean different things
to different musicians. What sounds – and feels – perfect
to a folk guitarist may not be the same as what constitutes
perfection to a jazz or blues player. Ken’s genius is his ability
to create the perfect instrument for each style, and, even
more impressively, for each artist. As he puts it, “the challenge
is to make the right instrument for the right person,
an instrument that fits the individual aesthetic sense and
musical taste.”
Although he made his first guitar over thirty years
ago, only in the last few years has Ken started pursuing
guitar-making as a serious occupation. In his “day job”
Ken teaches at Ukiah’s Oak Manor Elementary School. He
and his wife Susie, who is also a teacher, met while they
were attending U.C. Santa Barbara, in the early ‘70s. Ken
was working at an Isla Vista bicycle shop when a friend
turned him onto guitar playing. Before long, he was not
only playing guitar, but with the help of a book he found
in the UCSB Library, he had made his first one.
Ken and Susie’s path to Mendocino County from
Santa Barbara was a meandering one. Ken enrolled in
the teaching credential program at Drury University, in
Springfield, Missouri, while they both worked on campus.
With credential in hand they moved to Oregon,
but later went back to land they bought in the Ozark
Mountains. Finally, after determining that Missouri was a
bit too ‘coastline-challenged,’ the Franklins headed back to
California.
Over the past thirty years since coming to Ukiah,
Ken has pursued a number of interests and occupations,
50

esides guitar making. As he states:
“I’ve done many other things: teaching, ceramics,
carpentry, acting, theater set design and construction,
photography, coaching, and most importantly, raising our
children Rosemary and Carey with my wife Susie. I’m still
teaching, but I’m also making guitars again, this time with
a new desire to make them as fine as anyone’s and with
the varied perspectives created from the many things I’ve
done.”
The Franklin guitar shop is adjacent to the house Ken
and Susie designed and helped
build some twenty years ago on
a hillside just south of Ukiah.
The workshop is crammed with
tools and guitar-making materials
that Ken has been collecting for
decades, including a small stack of
astonishingly resonant, quartersawn
spruce Ken obtained from
a Bay Area stockpile once belonging
to famed aviator/industrialist
Howard Hughes. Hughes intended
to use the material in a fleet
of gigantic seaplanes. Now the
material will be put to a far nobler
purpose.
Each of Ken’s guitars is
unique, and has its own character.
In fact, each has its own
name. Firecat, built during last
summer’s devastating wildfires, is
made of Tazmanian tiger myrtle,
with a custom side grain rosette of
ebony, birch, tiger myrtle, maple
and goncalvo alves and a top of
red spruce from Maine and linings of solid bent and shaped
poplar. Lucky No. 7, which Ken made for his nephew,
Dan Franklin, a professional musician in the Los Angeles
area, has a bubinga (African) back and sides, cocobolo
fingerboard and a 60-year-old spruce top (courtesy of Mr.
Hughes). For Halcyon, Ken obliged his environmentally
punctilious customer by utilizing green materials such as
walnut salvaged from a road construction project and from
a family orchard tree. Another of Ken’s guitars (which
I have played) features a box of gorgeous, light-toned
eucalyptus salvaged from a tree trimming project on the
Mendocino coast.
A particular favorite is Stewart, a walnut-backed beauty
built for singer/guitar player, and former Ukiah mayor
Sheridan Malone. And finally there is Marion, another
personal favorite. Marion, is a
ziricote and Adirondack cutaway,
with, at her owner’s request, an
endless martini-glass rosette of
various fine woods and martini
glass-shaped fret markers of red
abalone.
Of all the beautiful instruments
Ken has made to date, none is
more striking, or more illustrative
of the fact that his creations are fine
works of art, than Ray’s Hopland
Moonlight, a unique collaboration
between Ken and his friend and
fellow inland Mendocino County
artist Ray Voisard. Featuring on
its face Mr. Voissard’s hauntingly
beautiful painting of a moonlit
Mendocino landscape, the guitar
must be seen to be believed. As a
work of art, it is a gem, and when
you touch its strings, it sounds like
a dream. I only wish it were mine.
Ken’s guitars were shown at this
year’s Montreal Guitar Show, and
are currently on display at Westwood Musical Instruments
in Southern California. Selected illustrations, testimonials
and a more complete description of Ken’s techniques,
materials, philosophical approach and potential prices are
available through his website, www.franklinguitars.com.
51

Inland Mendocino County
Hopland • Ukiah • Willits
52
Mendocino County’s inland valleys, and the towns that
inhabit them, are essentially river-born. The original “owners”
of this diverse and beautiful landscape included the Pomo peoples
who occupied the valleys and foothills along the Russian River from
its sources north and east of Ukiah to its mouth near present-day
Jenner. Today, the river is still vital to the way of life (different from
that of the native people’s, and continually evolving) brought to the
area by European and American settlers over 150 years ago.
Two of those early settlers, Grace Carpenter and her husband,
John Hudson, took a particularly enlightened interest in the lives of
their Pomo neighbors. The Hudson’s craftsman style home and
a rare collection of Grace’s paintings, as well as a fine assortment
of Pomo art and artifacts, are on display at the Grace Hudson
Museum in Ukiah.
Most of today’s travelers enter inland Mendocino County via
Highway 101. From the south, the highway follows the Russian
River through oak-dotted hill country, past monolithic Squaw
Rock and into tranquil Sanel Valley. Although the valley’s hop vines
were pulled up decades ago in favor of pear trees and, later, grapevines,
agriculture still dominates the area. Its only town, Hopland,
is home to such local and tourist favorites as Brutocao Winery,
Hopland Brewery and the renowned Solar Living Center.
Ten miles north of Hopland, at the crest of Burke Hill, the
highway affords a panoramic view of the Ukiah Valley, with the
Russian River meandering through its center. Vineyards and
orchards crowd the river’s banks. Ukiah, the County seat, nestles
at the foot of the western hills, halfway up the valley. To the northeast,
in the distance, can be seen the rugged Yollo Bolly range,
whose highest peaks, Hull Mountain, Snow Mountain and Mount
Sanhedrin, are crowned with snow throughout winter and early
spring.
Ukiah is the County’s largest incorporated city and serves
as its banking, commercial and local government center. Ukiah
boasts an extensive older neighborhood of charming homes and
tree-shaded residential streets, as well as an attractive, thriving
downtown filled with art galleries, bookstores, craft and gift shops,
clothing boutiques, bakeries and a number of fine restaurants.
Schat’s Bakery, on Perkins Street, across from the Courthouse, is
a local favorite. Also downtown are such excellent dining places
as Walter Café and Oco Time (Japanese cuisine).
The 18-hole Ukiah Municipal Golf Course is
located against the hills on the west side of town,
adjacent to Todd Grove City Park, where the
popular “Concerts in the Park” series is held each
summer.
North of Ukiah is the rocky, wooded slope of
Laughlin Ridge, which once provided convenient
“cover” for the notorious stage robber, Black
Bart. Today, four-lane Highway 101 soars over
the crest, at 101’s highest point in California, past
Ridgewood Ranch – home of legendary race
horse Seabiscuit – and down into Little Lake Valley
and the town of Willits.
The lives and times of Seabiscuit, Black Bart and other colorful
elements of Mendocino County’s rich history are fascinatingly displayed
at the Mendocino County Museum on Commercial Street.
Willits, “Gateway to the Redwoods,” is also home to the fabulous
Skunk Train, with excursions through the redwood forest to Fort
Bragg, and Frontier Days, featuring the oldest continuously held
rodeo in California.
Continuing north from Willits, you’ll encounter the incomparable
redwoods, and the steep, deep canyon of the Eel River’s
South Fork. A drive east from Highway 101, beginning at Longvale,
will take you along the Eel’s Main and Middle forks to picturesque
Round Valley and the Eel’s headwaters high up in the Yollo Bollys.

www.cheesecakemomma.com
Mulligan
Bookshop
New & Gently Used Books
Organic Biodynamic Tea
Cool Cards and Gifts
707 462-1555
208 S. State St. Ukiah, CA 95482
MulliganBooks@pacific.net
Fine Consignment Fashions
Clothing - Shoes - Accessories
109 W. Church, Ukiah
707 -463-5590
MC - Visa - AMEC
Yarn
Needlepoint
Patterns/
Books
Classes
• Award winning
cheesecake
• Smoothies
• Milkshakes
• Breakfast pastries
Paninis • Salads
FedX Delivery
Downtown Hopland
744-1441
200 Henry St.
Ukiah • 462-2253
180 S. School St.Ukiah, CA
(707) 462-0544
www.heidisyarnhaven.com
email: hyhyarn@pacific.net
SPECIALTY
MARKETPLACE
local foods • gift baskets
unique gifts • coffee bar
wines • garden accessories
200 S. School St.
Ukiah,CA
707-463-6711
Mon-Fri. 9:30-6:00,
Sat. 9:30-5:30
Three Sisters
Gifts for
Body, Mind & Soul
112 S. School St, Ukiah
707-462-2320
Mon. - Sat. 10:00 - 5:30
www.threesistersukiah.com
53

One Earth
Studio, Gallery & Gift Shop
Beautiful Gifts!
FINE ART & ANTIQUES
STICKLEY • ESTATE JEWELRY
PRECIOUS METALS • VAN ERP
RUGS • INDIAN ARTIFACTS
FINE ART
POTTERY
COINS
• Pottery, Art Glass, Fine Art, & Jewelry
• Classes & Workshop schedules:
www.oneearthclay.com
• Gallery & Gift Shop
Mon. - Sat. 12 - 6pm
310 Mason, Ukiah, CA 95482
707 467-0200
SOUTH ITALIAN-INSPIRED POTTERY
FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
106 W. Church St.
(Between School & State)
Ukiah, CA
707-621-1135
M-Sa, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A SELECTION OF BEAUTIFUL ITEMS
UNEQUALED IN THE AREA
306 N. STATE STREET, UKIAH
707•463•3900
craftsmanestate@sbcglobal.net
WALLS
Ukiah, CA
Quality Gifts
For Special Holiday Giving!
Home Decor & Garden Art
Wrap • Pack • Ship
UPS • FED EX • DHL
705 N. State St.
707 462-5415
M-F 9:00 - 5:30, Sat. 10-4
54

TB Greene
Gallery
Contemporary art
inspired by the environment
Wed-Sat 11am-2pm, 3pm-6pm
and by appointment
707 462-5756
104 W. Church St. Ukiah, CA 95482
1 blk south of Perkins between State & School Sts.
Ukiah Music Center
Mendocino & Lake Counties
Premier Music Store
Guitars
New & Used Pianos
Over 100 Stringed Instruments
Drums, Percussion
Pro Audio, Keyboards
745 N. State St., Ukiah
462-8863
www.ukiahmusic.com
Where music begins……
indulging creativity
PROFESSIONAL
ART SUPPLIES
Gamblin, Liquitex, DaVinci,
Windsor Newton
Canvases
Paper • Quality Brushes
Scrapbooking
Craft Supplies
Needlecrafts
and more.
358 S. Main St.
Willits
707 459-2043
Mon. - Wed. & Fri. 9 am - 6
pm, Thur. 10am - 7 pm
Sat. 10 - 5 pm
55

The Best Local Art and
Fine Jewelry
21 S. Main St. Willits
456-9025
Mon - Fri 11-6, Sat 11-5, Most Sun. 11-4
CAT’S M EOW
Trillium
a contemporary mercantile of fine gifts
friendly personal service
• home furnishings
• kitchenware
• bath supplies
• loungewear
• stationery
• baby gifts
• jewelry
• candles
• cards
29 S. Main St.
Willits
707 459-6201
Books for Everyone
Also: NYTimes, audio books,
Children’s books, Maps, gifts
OPEN DAILY
15 S. MAIN ST, WILLITS
707 459-3744
AL’s
REDWOOD ROOM
A Willits Tradition Since 1901
Full Hair Treatment
We proudly use and recommend
AVEDA PRODUCTS
Skin Care • Hot Stone Massage
Makeup • Waxing • Spa Packages
Hand & Feet Treatment
Gift Certificates • VISA – MC
New Location!
456-9757
733 S. Main St. Willits
Mon. - Sat. 9 - 5
Eve Appointment Available
www.jixidayspa.com
AMERICAN & THAI CUISINE
INDOOR & PATIO DINING
FULL BAR
Dining Room
Mon - Fri 11- 9 pm
Sat. 12- 9 pm, Sun. 6 pm - 9 pm
Bar Open til 11 pm.
707-459-2444
207 S. Main St. Willits
56

Lake
County
DIEGO’S
ANTIQUES
Crafts and Collectibles
From Exotic Places
GALLERY
Paintings • Jewelry
Basketry • Gourd Art
9495 Main Street, Suite 3
Upper Lake
corner of Main & 1st Street
707 350-4209
www.diegoandsherrycraftart.com
Gracious Ladies
Hand-crafted Gifts by Local Artisans
9460 Main St. Upper Lake CA
Open Daily 10- 5
707 -275-2307
Ancient and Modern
from
Europe • Asia
Africa
the Americas
9495 Main Street,
Suite 4
Upper Lake
(Corner of Main & 1st street)
707 275-8762
The Gourd Gallery
Featuring local and nationally known artists.
This unique art form is a perfect gift.
Visit the only Gourd Gallery in California.
6197 E. Hwy. 20 in Lucerne
707 274-2346
Open Wednesday thru Sunday 10 - 4
Owners & Artists: Marilyn Crayton,
Linda Kelly, Sandie Coelho-Davis
email: thegourdgallery@live.com
57

Cold Hands,
Warm Art
A Stroll through Willits
By Jay Gordon
The cooler fall and winter season is an exhilarating
time to visit Willits, home of hundreds of artists
and craftspeople. They are a part of the normal
downtown scene, where they are known to mingle,
and their work is visible everywhere.
At the center of town is the J D Redhouse &
Company mercantile, the brainchild of Jon and
Darlene Bixler, a local couple who pulled together
more than $2 million to revive a vintage building in
the center of town. It is an architectural work of art
that is a key element to the revitalization of downtown
Willits. The 165’ length of the building is a vibrant
mural by local artist Malakai Schindel. It expresses
Mendocino County from sunup to sundown with the
significant elements of our environment recorded for
your viewing pleasure. You can enjoy several more
of Malakai’s striking murals on buildings as you walk
around town. Several are on the walls of the Skunk
Train building. Malakai’s dad Greg is the famed
“Train Singer.”
If you want to see the work of the finest local artists,
showing landscapes, abstracts, and portraiture,
Blue Sky Gallery is the place to go. Owner Suzanne
Picetti features the works of fifty-some area artists at
any given time. The gallery is at 21 South Main St.,
next to Leaves of Grass Books and trailed by numerous
locally owned boutiques. If you enjoy superb
photography, you will especially enjoy the works of
noted photographers Jon Klein and Steve Eberhard.
Jon is now on the coast, and an extensive
Raindrops With Roses by Jon Klein
collection of his work is also available at North
Coast Artists Gallery in Fort Bragg. Take a glimpse
at his brilliant nature photography at www.
NorthCoastArtistsGallery.org/JonKlein.html. Honest,
you will be amazed. Steve may be best known as the
official photographer of the Willits Frontier Days,
the longest continuous rodeo in California history.
His work is also for sale at J D Redhouse & Co. To
demonstrate the brotherhood of artists throughout
Mendocino County, the photography of the Coast’s
Mark Scheffer is also featured at Blue Sky Gallery.
Willits Center for the Arts offers a new exhibit
every month, inaugurated with a gala reception. This
is always a lively celebration of the best regional artists
and craftspeople. The center is at 71 E. Commercial
St., just a block off Main St. (the northernmost
intersection to Highway 101). Check their website
for details: www.willitscenterforthearts.org. The
gala is a chance to meet artists and art connoisseurs
in a stimulating environment.
WHAT’s happening? WHAT (Willits Healthy
58

Mosaic Mural at the Willits Skate Park
Action Team) is a local group, spearheaded by bestselling
author of books on men’s issues, Jed Diamond.
WHAT has devised a “10,000 Step” walk (about five
miles) that leads you – by footsteps painted on the sidewalks
– on a 5-mile exploration of the City of Willits.
There is an impressive mural at Willits High School, a
short detour from the walk, and another at the Willits
Skate Park – both created by students, guided by local
artist Elizabeth Raybee. You can take the walk on your
own or join regular group treks. Contact Jed for details
at jed@menalive.com. Phone: 707 459-5505.
Be sure to stop at the Mendocino County Museum
at 400 E. Commercial St. to view basketry by Pomo and
other California Indians.
Phone 707 459-2736 for
more information.
The WHAT group
is also working on a
“Beautify Willits” project,
based on the “City
Repair” project that has
significantly improved
the appeal of downtown
Portland, Oregon, and
other cities that have
followed their template.
Artists continue to create
public art for the
pleasure of both residents
of Willits and Cowboy at Jack Tharp Arena
visitors.
A group of business people is negotiating with
noted sculptor Robert Milhollin, who recently moved
from the coast to a rural area near Willits. He has
sculpted several extraordinary pieces in the past and
should be commemorating one of Willits’ favorite
heroes soon.
Milhollin’s style is to create the sculpture in a
public place and interact with people strolling by.
Information will be available at the Willits Chamber
of Commerce website, www.willits.org and the site for
the Arts Council of Mendocino County, www.artsmendocino.org.
Arts and any other events in Mendocino
County will, of course, be available at the official website
www.GoMendo.com.
Willits Mayor Holly Madrigal
59

Gallery of Artists
Ellen Athens
Jewelry
Mixed media jewelry blending
metals, enamels, fiber
micro-knotting and beads.
Designs from classic to
eclectic.
707 937-2642
athensdesigns@yahoo.com
www.mendocinoartists.com
www.karencahill.com
Karen Cahill
Fine Art, Original Oil
Paintings,
Still Life, Portraits, Land
and Seascapes.
Available at Panache
Gallery on Main St.
707 937-1234
Ann Berger/Sea Bluff Studio
Sculptural Ceramics
Unique, whimsical, exuberant,
sculptural ceramics that make a
statement! Studio always open
if I’m home. Come and be
impressed.
707 785-2044
www.seabluffstudio.com
berger@mcn.org
Celtic Creations
Jewelry Studio & Gallery
Jewelry artists Chris &
Shani Christenson create
fine Celtic & Nature
inspired jewelry and
specialize in custom wedding
rings. Upstairs, corner of Main & Kasten Streets,
Mendocino. 707 937-1223
www.celticcreations.com • email: jewels@mcn.org
60
Karen Bowers
Painter & Teacher
• Workshops at Mendocino
and Gualala Arts Centers
• Locally shown at Artists’
Cooperative of Mendocino
• Visit my Studio Gallery, by
appointment
www.karenbowersstudio.com
• highpt@mcn.org
707 937-3163
Robert Burridge
Contemporary Painter
• Monthly Online
Newsletter.
To sign up go to www.
RobertBurridge .com
It’s free!
• New DVD
• New Workshop
Schedule
Lynne Butler
Brilliant Paintings
on Handthrown
Pottery
Available at the
MAC Gift Shop.
Shown by
appointment:
707 937-1215
Melvin Cooper
Oils, Acrylics,
Watercolors,
Ceramics & Bronzes
INVESTORS
WANTED!
707 357-2209
www.MelvinCooper
Art.com
Maeve Croghan
Expressionist Nature Paintings
The paintings are begun plein
air, conveying the essence of my
Nature subjects.
Exhibits at Mendocino
Auberge Inn, Little River. Studio
visits by appointment,
707 937-3475.
www.maevecroghan.com
Zola de Firmian
A Passion for Nature and
Light…
Fine Ceramics, Tile Murals
Upcoming Events:
Art in the Redwoods,
Studio Tour
707 882-2393
zinfusionz.com

Patrick Doyle
Fine Burlwood sculptures,
handcarved furniture, room
dividers, 2 & 3 dimensional
pieces.
www.pwdfinewoodworking
.com
www.edgewatergallery.net
(707) 367-4509
Edgewater Gallery Artist
Feebee Feenix Enterprises
Using the unexpected to create
nonpareil jewelry, accessories
and clothing.
A.M. Valente
feebeefeenix@msn.com
www.ffejewels.com
John Fisher
Sculpture: All Media
www.fisheroppenheimer.com
Fine Art for Home and Garden
19600 Benson Lane
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
call: 707 964-0359
Heath Frost
Handmade Books &
Altar Cards
Inspirational text
with unusual book
structures and papers.
hfrost@speakeasy.net
Visit my website:
www.heathfrost.com
Tibi Geis
Mixed Media
In my work, the realms of
religion, politics, humor,
horror, are interwoven
creating a flow of ideas in
the mind of the viewer.
tbgeis2@mcn.org
Gallery of Artists
Pamela Goedhart
Original Watercolors
& Oils
Award-winning paintings
with an emphasis on
spontaneity & beauty in a
wide variety of subjects.
Visit my Sea Ranch studio,
Spindrift Gallery, Gualala
or Panache Gallery, Mendocino. 707 785-2253
pgoedhart@gotsky.com.at
Julie Higgins
Original
Pastels,Paintings,
& Prints
Studio visits by
appointment.
707 937-4707
www.artistjuliehiggins.com
julie@artistjuliehiggins.com
Jan Hinson
Sculptural Mosaic Furniture
Original forms covered in reset
broken tile (alicatado);
Shape, color and whimsy.
707 937-0404
hinson@mcn.org
www.mendocinoartists.com
/janhinson
Sheri Hoeger
Pastel
Sheri captures the
endearing personality
of your pet in vibrant
layers of color.
www.sherihoeger.com
888 761-8586 Sheri@BigOakArts.com
Sharon Hudson
San Francisco Bay Area
figures
portraits
still lifes
abstracts
sculpture
byhudson@peoplepc.com
www.byhudson.com
61

62
Gallery of Artists
WWW.BILLMARTINGALLERY.COM
Bruce Jones
An array of watercolor
paintings, from seascapes
to still lifes, florals and
people. Drawings in ink,
wax pencil and pastels.
Stone carving in marble
alabaster & limestone .
707 884-3381 bsjones@hughes.net
www.art.mcn.org/bruce-jones/
William H. Lewis Studio
Sculpture & Painting
www.williamhlewis
studio.com
[Studio Visits
by Appointment]
whlewis@mcn.org
707 937-2241
The World of Suzi Long
Pastels
Suzi Marquess Long came
to the Coast to housesit, and
now has a successful and
unique pastel gallery in a
watertower to showcase her
incredible paintings. Don’t
miss this!
707 937-5664
Suzilongonart@yahoo.com
Bill Martin Studio/
Gallery
3611 Navarro Ridge Road
Albion, CA 95410
707 937-4848
billmartingallery@mcn.org
Only on Sundays -
Call ahead
Julie Masterson
Photography
My unmanipulated images
present encounters with the
natural environment from
around the world, from
Mendocino to Tibet, Antarctica,
Patagonia, India, Arabia, and
Africa. jcmphoto@mcn.org
www.Juliemasterson.com
Edgewater Gallery Artist
Jack McBride
Photography
An award winning
photographer who
has been shooting
here since 1987.
See more of his
local images at the
Highlight Gallery in Mendocino or at www.
JackMcBridePhotography.com
www.naturebeingart.org
Larain Matheson
Mixed-media, Pastels, Acrylics
Art inspired from nature,
figure, and abstract for
bringing the unseen to light.
Professional, experienced
painter, MFA, from UCLA.
Commissions accepted -
LarainMathesonArt.com
Mickie McCormic
Printmaking, Fiber Art
Image transfer workshops,
& a new instructional DVD,
“Image Transfers on Fabric.”
mccormic@charter.net
www.mickiemccormic.com
Jamie McHugh
Photography
Impressionistic
Images from the
Mendonoma Coast
415 255-1886
Arna Means
Etchings, Monotypes, Block
Prints, Paintings, Drawings, &
Mixed Media
Extensive portfolio, years of
teaching & doing art.
707 884-1608
Arna@mcn.org

Alexis Nichandros Moyer
Ceramics
Visit The Pot Shop, a working
pottery studio producing
sculptural and functional artworks.
7450 Highway 128, Philo. Hours
vary, please call ahead for
schedule.
707 895-2810
potshop@saber.net
Edgewater Gallery Artist
Sandy Oppenheimer
Mixed media / Collage
www.fisheroppenheimer.com
Gallery of Artists
Janis Porter
Watercolors
Coastal scenes, landscapes,
flowers, etc.
Shown at Edgewater
Gallery, Prentice
Gallery, Artists Co-op
of Mendocino,
Stevenswood and the
Mendocino Art Center.
707 964-8884 Edgewater Gallery Artist
Lynne Prentice
Prentice Gallery
Original Alkyd Paintings 17701 N. Hwy 1
707 962-0732 www.prenticefineart.com
Painting with paper, pattern
and design, Portraiture,
Still Lifes and Landscapes
call: (707) 964-0359
Walking Tractor
And other Country Tales
by Bruce Patterson
Ranching, logging and carousing
in the heart of Redwood County.
“An American Original.”
Robert Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning
author. 25 Stories -
Trade paperback - $14.95
Stories & Pics at www.4mules.com
More info at www.heydaybooks.com
Marine Art by Rick
Oil
Marine & Hawaiian Oil paintings
originals or Comission.
Mission Statement: Through
donations from sales to provide
care, research & protection
of endangered marine
life.
www.marineartbyrick.com
480 251-2791
Jan Peterson
Sandpaintings
Jan Peterson’s 25 years
showing with the
Highlight Gallery has
made him a favorite
Mendocino visual entertainer.
All aspects of the
shoreline inspire his natural sandpaintings.
thehighlightgallery.com • mendocinoartists.com
707 937-3132
Robert Rhoades
Painting Original Prints,
Sculpture
Professor Of Art,
CRMC leads exclusive
painting, art, &
culture tours
abroad. See web-site
to view his work and
current trip info. www.creekwoodstudios.com
Rush Studio
Custom Gold & Silver Jewelry and
Repairs
Over 35 Years Experience
Shown at Prentice Gallery,
17701 North Hwy 1, Fort Bragg
& @ The Dolphin Gallery, Gualala
Unique one-of-a-kind jewelry!
707 882-2441 rushstudio.com
rushstudio@starband.net
MAC Summer Festival Exhibitor
Cynthia Crocker Scott
Paintings in oil and water media
My paintings are expressions
of the brilliant color and light
relationships between sky, sea
and land – the natural world
and man’s built environment.
Prentice Gallery, Fort Bragg
& Highlight Gallery, Mendocino. www.mowsart.com
ccswns@aol.com
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Gallery of Artists
Shaggy Bear Studios
Ceramic, Wood, Stone & Steel
Unique elements for home
& garden. Sculptures, benches,
fountains, birdbaths and
more by Mendocino artists
David Russell and Thais
Mazur. Visit our studio and
sculpture garden.
707 964-7085 • www.edgewatergallery.net
Edgewater Gallery Artist
Linda Shearin
Acrylic, Watercolor, Pastel
Abstracts, flowers, wavescapes,
and coastal scenes
are shown at Edgewater
Gallery, Prentice Gallery,
Artists’ Cooperative of
Mendocino, Stevenswood
Lodge and the Mendocino
Art Center. LShearin@mcn.org; www.Edgewater-
Gallery.net or www.artgallerymendocino.com
Larry R. Wagner
Photographic Art and Portraits
Mendocino Coast Photographer
Guild and Gallery
www.wagnerphotoart.com
wagner@mcn.org
707 964-5063
Leona Fern Walden
www.WeddingPhotographs.
com
Wedding, Family &
Senior Class Portraits
Specializing in Intimate
Outdoor Weddings
on the Mendocino Coast
Since 1995
By Appt. 707 937-0900
Paul Stein Studio/
Cow House Gallery
presents:“Missile Millennium”
A Studio Gallery Show
November 2008 - January 2009
Contemporary wheel thrown
porcelain vessels, sculpture & tiles.
43851 Crispin Road, Manchester
707 882-2686
Marge Stewart
Cloisonné Jewelry, Digital
Art, Graphic Design
Jewelry shown at the
Mendocino Art Center.
Commissions available.
Digital Pet Portraits of
your favorite pet available.
Cloisonné and Digital
instruction offered. 707 937-0999 • margcrft@mcn.org
Linda Weiss Designs
Jewelry, Holloware,
Silver, Gold, Platinum
Custom Design
by Appointment
www.LindaWeiss.com
707 528-2262
Zacha’s
Bay Window Gallery
50th Anniversary
Serigraphes, Woodblock
Prints, Watercolors
Please come by:
560 Main, Mendocino
707 937 5205 www.
WilliamZacha.com
Lucia@mcn.org
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Peggy Templer
Non-fiction memoir
Country living with lots of
animals in Fort Bragg and
Anderson Valley. Available
at local bookstores, Amazon.
com, or contact author
at macdirec@mcn.org.
Paperback, 128 pgs, $15.
To have your Art listed in the Gallery of
Artists in our Spring 2009 issue, please call
David Russell at 707 964-7085 or email him
at drtm@mcn.org

WRITING LOCAL
HISTORY –
Two Books by
Comptche Resident
Katy Tahja
Review by Peggy Templer
Katy Tahja has always loved history and minored in
it at Humboldt State. When she married David Tahja and
moved to his family’s 1880’s homestead in Comptche, her
interest in local history was greatly piqued. She’s been a
student of local history ever since.
RAILS ACROSS THE NOYO: A Reader’s Guide to the
Skunk Train was published earlier this year and is a mix of
tourist information and serious research suitable for rail
fans. It provides in text and photos not only a detailed
history of the Skunk Train, but also describes the natural
scenery and geology along the line, assorted wrecks, abandoned
lines, whistle signals, a history of each locomotive,
coach and motorcar – and more! Even if you’ve ridden the
Skunk several times before, reading this book will make
you want to run right down to the depot and climb aboard
the next train to Northspur!
EARLY MENDOCINO COAST, published by Arcadia
Publishing as part of their “Images of America” series, is
a spectacular photographic record. The premise of the
book is, 100 to 130 years ago, what would you have seen
as you travelled the coast north from Gualala all the way
to Bear Harbor/Needle Rock on the Humboldt
County line? One thing the photos make
clear is that it was not a pretty sight. “It was a working
industrial landscape with logging, milling and shipping
driving all activity.” All of the pristine beaches we so enjoy
now – Big River, Van Damme, Russian Gulch, Caspar,
Usal, to name but a few – were strewn with the colossal
mess of mills and logging. Nonetheless, when you
study the pictures you have to give credit to the ingenuity
and determination of the early residents. In fact, Katie
describes the book as her “homage to the ingenuity of the
people who first settled along the coast. They had trees, rivers,
an ocean, and ships, and somehow figured out how to
connect it all together to successfully harvest and transport
lumber.”
Katie used photos from Bob Lee, a photo historian
from Ukiah with over 30,000 photos of Mendocino
County in his personal collection, as well as photos from
the Mendocino County Museum and the Kelley House
Museum. The images are so striking that you will find
yourself still thinking about them long after you have
closed the book.
Katy Tahja was a librarian for many, many years
and has worked as a bookseller at Gallery Bookshop
in Mendocino for over 20 years. For fun she portrays
“Madam Kate,” an historical persona for living history
events. Madam Kate was the senior madam in Mendocino
Village.
RAILS ACROSS THE NOYO and EARLY MENDOCINO
COUNTY are available from Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino
and at other local independent booksellers. RAILS is also
available through the Skunk Train.
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