I recently was asked to jury an exhibition for the Sebastopol Center for the Arts around the theme of "Blue" and found the process deeply engaging. Two books helped me to prepare: Color, a Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay and The Anthropology of Turquoise by Ellen Meloy. I also gathered blue objects, studied the history of the blues in music, and generally opened myself to the color's energy.

The following is an excerpt of the statement that I wrote for the exhibition:
When the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote, “Without blue eyes, how may we really see the blue sky? Without black eyes, how may we look at the night?” he was not speaking literally but from a symbolic understanding that the concept of blueness must become alive in ones consciousness in order to awaken to its layered presence in our lives. In selecting work for this exhibition I focused on four distinct levels of engagement with the concept of blueness that seemed to be arising in the submitted art works.

The first type of engagement is present in works that encompassed a focus above the surface (sky, light, aerial imagery). The second includes works that focused on physicality (the body, objects, materials, and environment). The third includes works that focused on blue as fluid surface (water) and the fourth includes works with a focus below the surface (emotion, memory, spirit, and symbol). The content of the art works may also move between these areas in a multifaceted journey that is a testament to the power of creative imagination.

The exhibition includes the work of A&C alumni Cindy Cleary, Margi Rhode, faculty Fariba Bogzaran and a current student T.C. Moore. If you are in the Sebastopol/Santa Rosa area between now and March 11 when the exhibition ends stop by and immerse yourself in the world of this primary color.