Santa Barbara Art Studios is hosting an Artists’ Reception for Santa Barbara mosaic artists Christine Brallier and Dan Chrynko from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.
Bill Proctor will play live music. The event also will benefit Phoenix House, a Santa Barbara nonprofit that helps residents recover from mental illness who also may have substance abuse issues.
The exhibition will run through Oct. 20 at Santa Barbara Art Studios, 709 E. Mason St. For more information, call Cheryn English at 805.637.6802.
Brallier and Chrynko are highly skilled and demonstrate a well-developed and distinct style, with a unique blending of composition and color, an inspired placement of glass and mortar in a frequently unforgiving discipline, as well as imagination. In their diverse works, the viewer will find sensitivity, deep respect for and familiarity with their craft, calming an ebullient medium, each in their own style.
Brallier’s glass mosaic art displays a simple, inspirational and joyful approach to life. Her stained glass mosaics can be viewed at Rhoads Neigborhood Park, the Art Festival at Stow House and the Art Walk at the Museum of Natural History this month as well as homes and businesses throughout Santa Barbara County.
“The subjects for my mosaics are those that touch me, those that create a peacefulness and joy within me. I am drawn to children, animals and nature for these reasons,” Brallier said. “The beauty and naturalness of them, the playfulness and the joy of living they possess, inspire me. They are open to us and they let us in. Embodying these same qualities is how I hope to create art that is meaningful to me and, perhaps, can touch others as well.”
Chrynko is well-known for his public art in unexpected places — crocodiles in Mission Creek, mosaic totem pole or frog boulder at Phoenix House on Micheltorena, tiled mosaic rocks at Borders, Mountain Drive or The Women’s Club next to Rocky Nook Park, as well as fine homes, gardens and commercial buildings throughout California. Now he is exhibiting his newest works, “The Guardians of Cachuma Lake,” inspired by the beauty of Cachuma Lake and surrounding area.
“I always try to follow my individual spirit, rather than play it safe and do what is already out there, or try to imitate the latest fads and artistic gimmicks,” Chrynko said. “I look forward to getting up every day and working with the natural materials of the Earth that have also been used by other artists for centuries. Giving art to the world community is the single greatest heroic and humbling act an artist can do.”
Cheryn English represents Santa Barbara Art Studios.