di Rosa Preserve presents MFA works

This month the di Rosa Preserve will open an exhibition of works by emerging artists, featuring 2005 Masters of Fine Arts graduates from Northern California universities. Growing out of relationships established by art collector Rene di Rosa with regional art schools, this exhibition reaffirms the di Rosa Preserve's significance as a resource for emerging artists, galleries and collectors. The exhibit will be on view in the Gatehouse Gallery at the di Rosa Preserve Saturday through Feb. 25 with an opening reception on Jan. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free.

The di Rosa Preserve's curators visited the graduate exhibitions at S.F. State University, Mills College, California College of Art, Stanford, S.F. Art Institute, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and San Jose State University, viewing more than 180 artists' work and inviting 28 artists to apply for a competition juried by three major figures in Bay Area art. The work was reviewed in September by Catharine Clark, owner of Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, poet and painter Chester Arnold and di Rosa Preserve founder Rene di Rosa.

Selected artists are: Jim Gaylord (UC Berkeley), Matthew Gerring (CCA), Catherine Page Harris (Stanford), Amy Hicks (Stanford), Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor (UC Davis), Mollie Oblinger (UC Davis), Sarah Rossiter (Mills College) and Shawn Smith (CCA). Their work ranges from surreal "dreamscape" paintings and Rorschach video projections to environmental-based installation and sculptures from unusual materials including sewing and embroidery.

A public program on Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. will give graduates and their instructors an opportunity to discuss the mentor/mentee relationship within the university context. Along with the artists, the panel will include art faculty members from Stanford, UC Davis, Mills College and CCA, providing an insider's perspective of trends and techniques currently developing in Northern California MFA programs. Doors open at 5 p.m. Admission is $10. Reservations are required. Call 226-5991 ext. 17 or e-mail atrinca@dirosapreserve.org.

The fabric collages of Benicia artist Nancy Freeman are on display this month at the Napa Main Library. Freeman's whimsical and charming style derives from her interest in folk art. She attended the California College of Arts & Crafts at San Francisco State where her interest in sewing as a medium for art has found its inspiration from the work of Wayne Thiebaud. Her work has been on display throughout the greater Bay Area.

The Art in the Library program at Napa Main Library is a juried competition with artists competing using varying mediums. Artists submit slides and the entire group is reviewed and judged once during the year, usually in early spring. Each artist's work is generally installed for a month.

The Napa Valley Symphony League will host its annual Day of Mah Jongg fundraiser on Jan. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Napa. The cost is $45 per person and includes lunch. Participants must use the National Mah Jongg League 2005-2006 playing card. For event reservation call 944-9773. The reservations deadline is Jan. 23. All proceeds benefit the Napa Valley Symphony.

Sign-ups for the children's choir of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" will be held at Justin-Siena High School, North Gym on Jan. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. Children grades five through eight are welcome and encouraged to attend and sign up to participate. A $50 Justin-Siena activity fee will be required of all participants.

Rehearsals will be held on Wednesdays, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 1. Performances will run from March 30 to April 9 at Justin-Siena High School. A gala performance and dinner show will be held April 1.

For more information, contact Matthew Teague Miller, artistic director for Justin-Siena Theater, at 255-0950, ext. 659 or visit www.justin-sienatheatre.com.