Monday, June 8, 2009

Terroir is closing soon and we are wanting to spread the word, to invite those who have not yet seen the show, to attend:

Closing Reception
Sunday, June 21st, 3-5pm


This is
a "potluck" gathering, so bring some food/wine and a hand instrument if you like. We will celebrate solstice together before taking down the show. There will be free beer from Lagunita's and complimentary Rouge et Noir Schloss cheese and bread donated by the Marin French Cheese Company.

Themes of handmaking have shone brightly at Art at the Cheese Factory. Visitors to the factory, not always knowing that they are coming to see mostly conceptual contemporary art are usually intrigued with several art works in the show. Surprisingly a very simple piece by Oakland artist Lea Redmond entitled "Care Label," has inspired the most interaction in the gallery. A map of the world mounted on foam core with a table holding pins and scissors to cut your clothing label off, which you then pin on the country that it was made in. As you can see above, Asia is the winner for Californian's. Although, the USA and Central America is also fairly filled. Participants were then invited to replace their label with one created by the artist that makes statements about fair trade and honoring the earth (right).

Another work by Sarah Klein who performed The Bread Project at the Terroir opening in March also had a very popular installation in the gallery. A book with drawings made while baking and images from the bake sit next to a small refrigerator with containers filled with San Francisco sourdough starters, which are available for visitors to take home to feed/share/bake.

And, for the first week of June, Sonja Hinrichsen was artist-in-residence at the the cheese factory where she created an installation of embroidered leaves with words describing the surrounding lands sewn in the native language of upper Marin Miwok. Entitled "Miwok Means People," Hinrichsen spent several days researching and embroidering words like kotis, which means Black Oak. Also, lokla = valley, umpa = acorn, menani = yellowjacket, etc. On Saturday, June 6th, she then gave a talk and invited participants to visit her site work and add there own words in english. One person in the group, a botanist, identified the plant (Acanthus mollis), which is represented at the top of Corinthian columns, a native of Greece.

If you are interested to add your own words, yarn and needles are provided in the gallery at the front desk, as is the list of Miwok words that describe the terroir of the Marin French Cheese Factory.