Ring in the New Year with Bill Voigt and Mike Nelson

Happy New Year!

Can you believe that the aRt Cottage has been in operation for 3 years now. During that time period, the Cottage has hosted 34 shows, one each month. And 2015 is looking very exciting.

Our first show of the year features two unique artists; Bill Voigt and  Mike Nelson.

Bill Voigt grew up in the East Bay, and currently lives in Point Richmond, CA. In 2008 he attended a workshop by the Nature Printing Society, and was immediately attracted to gyotaku, or Japanese fish (gyo) printing (taku). This art form captures the details of scale, texture and essence of fish. Fish make ideal subjects for printing. They are (usually) bi-laterally flattened; they have a variety of scale textures, and diversity of colors, patterns, shapes and sizes. Also, they are readily available at local fish markets in the Bay Area. Each fish species presents a unique challenge.

Mike Nelson bills himself as a Designer, Illustrator and Painter of Friendly Things. He studied art at The Academy of Art in San Francisco in the 1960's and worked as a commercial illustrator for many years.

Desiring greater creative involvement Mike wanted to return to painting. His wife's family was involved in logging during this time period, in Boonville CA and had many great stories and old photos of logging the redwoods along the Mendocino coast. With the family experiences as source material and after reading about logging in the 1800’s, Mike began a very interesting series of paintings.

The show opens January 6th and runs through the 31st. We will be hosting an Artist’s Reception Saturday, Jan. 10, from 2 to 5 pm. Please come visit us at the aRt Cottage and view this unique show.

FRO