Trinidad gallery showcases two artists

The Trinidad Art Gallery is featuring the work of two artists, Loryn White, experimental ceramicist, and Patricia Sundgren-Smith, printmaker, this month.

Since 1995, Sundgren-Smith has been designing, carving and printing linocuts, relief blocks made from linoleum. The process is similar to woodblock printing, using a material called Silk Cut, which is easier to carve than linoleum and sturdier under the pressure of printing.

Her subjects vary from birds and bird nests to sea creatures, Japanese-inspired koi and umbrellas. Sundgren-Smith has recently added another linocut to her koi series to be on display this month, along with a selection of her other linocuts. Her linocuts are printed in black and white; the only colors in the prints are the Japanese papers and occasional watercolor washes.

One of the unique aspects of the artist’s koi and umbrella series is that each linocut is collaged with Japanese papers. She has been collecting decorative papers from around the world for decades and likes to incorporate different papers into her work — Asian natural inclusion papers, which have plant fibers embedded; amate bark from Mexico; lokta papers from Nepal; and specialty papers from Indonesia, exotic papers from around the world.

White has long been a potter in Humboldt County. She came late in life to her passion for pottery. Taking a class here and there, she soon had a studio in her home and was a full-time potter with a steady demand for her work.

One small silver lining for working artists during the pandemic has been the increased availability of online workshops taught by artists around the globe. White has participated in quite a few this past year, and through them has gained both practical knowledge and inspiration to explore different directions for her work. In her most current work, she revisited her love of Asian design adding the use of paper and vinyl stencils, overglaze and underglaze decals and exploring positive and negative space. She also continues to expand her hand-building skills and still enjoys making and using stamps to decorate her wares.

“In each step,” White said, “I strive to make well-crafted pottery that tells a story. I especially like to create pieces that draw in the viewer to explore more thoroughly, hopefully allowing them to see their connection to my thought process and inspiration.”

The Trinidad Art Gallery, at 480 Trinity St., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The gallery is adhering to current COVID-19 precautions for the safety of guests. For more information, call 707-677-3770 or go to trinidadartgallery.com.