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Face to Face

Gallery Exhibition

A retrospective of the work of Creativity Explored artist Peggy Spillane featuring new works created in collaboration with volunteer artist Ken Ferraris

July 21 through September 1, 2005
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm

SAN FRANCISCO… 61-year-old Peggy Spillane has been coming to make art at San Francisco’s Creativity Explored since 1984, almost as long as this visual art center for artists with developmental disabilities has been open. To honor Spillane’s twenty years of creativity and her long collaboration with volunteer artist Ken Ferraris, Creativity Explored will present a rare, one-woman retrospective “Face to Face.” The exhibition opens with a reception on July 21st from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. The gallery is regularly open Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Saturday from 1:00 to 6:00 pm.

A very focused artist, Spillane has created countless iterations of her favorite images – large, staring faces, abstract floral landscapes and god’s-eye-like geometric patterns – all rendered in vivid colors with distinctive markings. “Peggy really has her own style,” says Gloria Morales, curator of the exhibition and an instructor at Creativity Explored. “She’s consistently worked on her images for many years, so her body of work is very mature and developed. You immediately know her pieces with just a quick glance.”

And while repeated imagery features prominently in that body of work, Morales is quick to point out how Spillane’s art has evolved, particularly in the last two years since she began collaborating with volunteer artist Ken Ferraris. Ferraris, a prop designer and former display director with FAO Schwarz, helped Spillane to expand her motifs into large-scale, three-dimensional works. Together, they have created a stunning series of shadowboxes and a large, hinged triptych which may prove to be their most ambitious work to date.

Morales points to these collaborative pieces as tangible reminders of how important volunteer artists are to the organization. “The member artists flourish with the special attention of a dedicated mentor and collaborator. It offers them the possibility of going farther with their work, exploring new media and ideas.”

Ferraris says it goes both ways. “I love working with Peggy. She has no trouble creating art. She just spontaneously sketches out a full idea – wow! I can’t. She’s such an inspiration to me. Sometimes I just channel her when I’m making a piece.”

Creativity Explored encourages Bay Area artists to volunteer in the studio or to apply for its Visiting Artist Program. Visiting artists receive a stipend to work with small groups of Creativity Explored’s members over the course of 10 weeks. The purpose of the program is to introduce member artists to art experiences that are not regularly available at Creativity Explored. Recent examples include a visiting printmaker and a fashion designer. Information about volunteering or applying as a visiting artist is available on the website at creativityexplored.org.

Calendar Listing

Face to Face with Peggy Spillane

SOLO ART EXHIBITION AND OPENING: 61-year-old Peggy Spillane has been coming to make art at San Francisco’s Creativity Explored since 1984, almost as long as this visual art center for artists with developmental disabilities has been open. To honor Spillane’s 20 years of creativity and her long collaboration with volunteer artist Ken Ferraris, Creativity Explored will present a rare, one-woman retrospective “Face to Face.” In her solo work, Spillane creates countless iterations of her favorite images – large, staring faces, abstract floral landscapes and godseye-like geometric patterns – all rendered in vivid colors with distinctive markings. Volunteer Ken Ferraris, a prop designer and former display director with FAO Schwarz, has helped Spillane to expand her motifs into large-scale, three-dimensional works. Together, they have created a stunning series of shadowboxes and a large, hinged triptych which may prove to be their most ambitious work to date.

What

Face to Face – A retrospective exhibition of the work of veteran Creativity Explored artist Peggy Spillane

When

• Opening Reception: July 21, 2005 from 7 to 9 p.m.
• Exhibit Dates and Times: July 21 through September 1, 2005, Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, Saturday 1:00 to 6:00 pm

Where

Creativity Explored Gallery
3245 Sixteenth St. at Guerrero, San Francisco

Creativity Explored is a nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit, and sell art.

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# Posted on June 14, 2005