Bolinas Museum

Bolinas Community Center is hosting a moving and beautiful Día de Los Muertos altar. At this time, when the veil is thin between physical and spiritual realms, a group of locals led by Mirta fills the space with special oferendas (offerings), honoring ancestors and the dearly departed. Aztecs, the indigenous people who inhabited Mexico in the 14th to 16th centuries, started this tradition, and it is related to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, also known as the Lady of the Dead. ...Photos of the deceased are surrounded by food and objects intended to provide comfort in their journey on the other side. Brightly painted skulls and renditions of skeletons carrying on their activities convey a playful connection to the spirit world. Decorated sugar skulls symbolize the sweetness of life. The distinct aroma of marigolds and copal is said to attract souls to the altar. Papel Picado, the intricately cut paper flags, are meant to allow the spirits to flow through them. It all comes together in a beautiful and vibrant display. This year the altar is outside, presented in the Free Box behind the Bolinas Community Center from October 30-November 2. Saturday and Sunday, Mirta will be in the Community Center kitchen, creating delicious food! Please visit and participate in this beautiful way to pay tribute to those who have gone before us. We wish you a safe and peaceful Halloween weekend. Images: Various Día de Los Muertos altars at the Community Center. #díadelosmuertos

Thanks to all who showed up today for our free guided tour for seniors. Elia Haworth, Curator of Coastal Marin Art & History, walked participants through our current exhibitions, including: JACK WISBY: HISTORICAL PAINTINGS OF MARIN COUNTY... Evocative scenes celebrating the beauty and diversity of Marin County’s landscape. CHARLIE DOCHERTY: REFLECTIONS ON WORLD CULTURES 1964-1976 Colorful and detailed paintings capture the diverse cultures Docherty experienced during twelve years living and traveling in more than 100 nations. JOHAN HAGEMEYER AND HIS CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Vintage photographs of internationally renowned cultural figures, richly toned landscapes, iconic views of San Francisco, and dramatic cloud studies. THE INTRIGUE OF MAPS A fascinating overview of place, natural history, and layered cultures. Free transportation from Point Reyes was generously provided by a grant from the West Marin Fund. We love serving the community and sharing local art and historya shout out to Annabelle Scott, Community Engagement & Events Coordinator, for pulling it all together. Museum admission is always free. Please come and visit us soon. Current exhibitions close on November 14. #bolinasmuseum #coastalmarinartists #bayareaartists #community #westmarin West Marin Fund

TOMORROW! SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 AT 4 PM GALLERY TALK: ALFRED HARRISON ON THE LIFE AND ART OF JACK WISBY Free Alfred Harrison is co-curator of "Jack Wisby: Historical Landscape Paintings of Marin County" and author of the new and definitive book about the artist. He will share insights about Jack Wisby’s history, artistic style, inspirations, and regional art era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A foremost expert on early San Francisco Bay Area painting, Harrison has... been a collector, researcher, lecturer, author, curator, and owner of North Point Gallery for thirty-six years. Please join us! Masks are required. Images: JACK WISBY (1869-1940), Bolinas Lagoon, n.d., oil on canvas on board, 7 x 10 inches, Bolinas Museum, Gift of Gladys and Joseph Moore. JACK WISBY (1869-1940), Untitled (detail), n.d., oil on canvas on board, 19 x 39 inches, collection of the Mill Valley Public Library History Room. Detail looking down into Mill Valley, see Tamalpais High School, and across Richardson Bay, to San Francisco in the distance. JACK WISBY (1869-1940), Brighton Beach (detail), c.1915, oil on canvas on board, 16 x 24 inches, Bolinas Museum, gift of Brad de Graf and Marilyn Novel. Detail of painting showing Brighton Beach in Bolinas and Duxbury Reef. Co-curator Alfred Harrison at Bolinas Museum. #bayareaartists #coastalmarinartists #lostmarin The North Point Gallery

In 2020, Bolinas Museum presented an exceptional main gallery exhibition, "Marie Dern: The Art of Handmade Books." We are pleased to share a look at the exhibition and the joyous creativity of Marie Dern in this short film. Marie Dern (1936-2020) created intriguing, witty, fine-crafted handmade books; her own work, and in collaboration with esteemed poets, writers, and visual artists. This retrospective exhibition featured diverse and imaginative books that she printed with h...er classic 1898 letterpress. Today this technique, originated by Gutenberg in the 15th century, is revered for the artisanal beauty that it lends to art and the written word. Marie Dern’s involvement with the Bay Area women’s movement and women writers inspired her to start her Jungle Garden Press in 1974. For many years, she and her husband, sculptor Carl Dern, lived in Stinson Beach and shared a studio in Fairfax. She was deeply involved with the Bay Area’s vibrant book arts communitywho share a passion for every detail of bookmaking and creative invention. Marie Dern was educated at the University of California in Berkeley, Sorbonne in Paris, and earned an MFA from Mills College in Oakland. Her work is widely exhibited and collected, including at the Bancroft Library of University of California, Berkeley; Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts of de Young and Legion of Honor museums in San Francisco; the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; the New York Public Library; and Bolinas Museum, where she served as a vital member of the Board of Directors and volunteer for many years.

Artist Spotlight: Charlie Docherty Bolinas artist Charlie Docherty’s current exhibition in the Bolinas Museum’s Coastal Marin Artists Gallery features complex and colorful gouache paintings that illustrate his experiences during 12 years of living, traveling, and studying cultures in more than 100 nations. Docherty is from Scotland, where his father promoted his artistic and musical talent. He was enrolled in The Glasgow School of Art at age five, and Docherty went on to earn...Continue reading

After nearly a decade, Jennifer Gately announced that she is stepping down in the new year as Executive Director. Bolinas Museum continued to blossom as a warm and welcoming place for all under her leadership. She raised the profile and awareness of the museum’s quality and diversity of exhibitions throughout the Bay Area. As we begin searching for a new Executive Director, the Board of Directors and have deep gratitude for Jennifer’s hard work and dedication to the museum an...d the community. Each year she oversaw more than fifteen inspiring exhibitions, working with staff, guest curators, or curating memorable exhibitions herself. Curatorial highlights include Divine Gardens: Mayumi Oda and the Green Gulch Zen Center and FOCUS: Patsy Krebs. Her group exhibitions brought together contemporary art by nationally recognized artists with local artists. With a deep interest in education and accessibility, she fostered the annual Bolinas-Stinson School tour program, held annual exhibitions by Bolinas-Stinson Beach school students, and created a free elder shuttle program for seniors in Point Reyes and Muir Beach. More recently, she presented the contemporary dance Dying While Black and Brown, choreographed by Joanna Haigood, offered for free to packed houses in Bolinas and Point Reyes Station. Our community will enjoy this creative programming for years to come. In addition to elevating the administrative and programmatic professionalism of the museum, we applaud Jennifer for holding the museum and our community together during the pandemic while maintaining the institution’s financial health. Over the years, she significantly increased the museum’s donor base and annual income, largely due to the increasing success of the Annual Benefit Art Auction, including its seamless transition to an online experience. It is with regret that we’ll lose Jennifer as Executive Director. We are grateful to her, and the staff for the success of Bolinas Museum during her tenure, and we hope to continue to work with Jennifer on creative endeavors in years to come. ~The Board of Directors ---------------------------------------------------- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH Bolinas Museum seeks an inspiring, community-minded, experienced, creative individual to become its next Executive Director. Applications are due by November 1, but we encourage submittals earlier rather than later. Our target start date is January 18, 2022. Read the job description at https://bolinasmuseum.org/about/join-the-team/ IMAGES: Portrait of Jennifer Gately, photo by Leah Vermulen Lopez. "Cosmic Wonders" installation view. "Divine Gardens: Mayumi Oda and the Green Gulch Zen Center" installation view. "FOCUS: Patsy Krebs installation view.

Bolinas Museum is seeking an experienced, organized, and creative team player to drive marketing and communications efforts and to coordinate the museum’s diverse public programs and fundraising events. Reporting to the Executive Director, through multiple communication strategies, the successful candidate supports efforts to serve the museum’s mission and community, attract diverse audiences, raise awareness, increase revenues, and cultivate donors and members. She/He/They a...lso maintains a cheerful presence as they coordinate and manage in-person and online public programs such as gallery talks, courtyard concerts, lectures, workshops, tours, and opening receptions, as well as annual fundraisers including small friend-raising events and larger gatherings. The ideal candidate is quality driven, self-motivated, detail oriented, budget conscious, flexible, and a problem solver with strong communication skills and experience serving a nonprofit in a marketing and events coordination role. To learn more and apply, go to: https://bolinasmuseum.org/about/join-the-team/ See more

Thanks to programmatic growth, increasing attendance numbers, and dedicated community support, Bolinas Museum has reached new heights over the past decade. This newly created position reflects this evolution. The Manager of Finance & Administration will work closely with the Executive Director to develop and implement short- and long-term strategic plans and initiatives to support growth over the next five to ten years. The successful candidate will continue to build effectiv...e financial and administrative systems including accounting, facility, information technologies, human resources, and daily operational functions. Working closely with a small staff, she/he/they may oversee volunteers and be a liaison to Board members and donors. The ideal candidate will have proven non-profit financial and administrative experience, and an interest in the arts and serving rural Marin County communities. This is a mid-level position with room for growth depending on skills and career goals. To learn more and apply, go to: https://bolinasmuseum.org/about/join-the-team/ See more

And All the Ships at Sea: Point Reyes and the Culture of Radio | A Conversation with Irwin Keller & Carola Davis | Friday, March 19, 10AM | A virtual event co-presented by The New School at Commonweal and Bolinas Museum | Free, with donation Don’t miss this virtual talk! Today, we take wireless communication for granted, but in 1914 Bolinas played a pivotal role in the technological revolution that first brought wireless service around the world. On Friday, March 19, from 10 ...to 11:30am, we’re partnering with The New School at Commonweal to co-present a virtual event discussing the fascinating story of radio in West Marin and Marconi and RCA’s origins at the Commonweal site in Bolinas on the southern edge of Point Reyes National Seashore. That RCA station served ship-to-shore communication until the 1990s. Irwin Keller will be in conversation with Carola (DeRooy) Davis, a longtime friend of Bolinas Museum. In Carola’s role as archivist, curator, and collections manager for the Point Reyes National Seashore, she curated the dynamic 2014 Bolinas Museum exhibition Wireless Giant of the Pacific: 100 Years of Marconi & RCA Maritime Radio History, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the local station & presented in partnership with the Point Reyes National Seashore. For most visitors, the exhibition about our town’s role in the history of wireless technology was a revelation. Italian born Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi innovated a global network of wireless service through telegraph signals transmitted by radio waves, and in 1914, on the edge of Bolinas, the Marconi company built a powerful transmission station that sent out the world’s first trans Pacific communicationsmaking history! Post WWI, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) took over Marconi stations and added a large building on the Bolinas site that today houses the renowned organization Commonweal and a historic maritime radio station. This is a remarkable opportunity for us to hear this important story from Irwin Keller & Carola Davis! For more information and to register for the event visit: https://tns.commonweal.org/events/carola-davis/#registration Image captions: 1) Carola Davis standing in front of image of Guglielmo Marconi and David Sarnoff of RCA 2) Marconi / RCA Site at the Edge of Bolinas with 300’ Marconi Transmission Towers, n.d., Gelatin silver print, Bolinas Museum Archives 3) RCA Equipment, 1925, Gelatin silver print, Norvell Canfield Album, Bolinas Museum History Archives, Gift of Colleen Dickson, 2016.6.1 4 & 5) Bolinas Museum’s 2014 exhibition Wireless Giant of the Pacific: 100 Years of Marconi & RCA Maritime Radio History #bolinashistory #wirelesscommunication

Bolinas Museum is excited to welcome you again! Come see highlights from our recent acquisitions! Marin County museums may now reopen at 25% capacity, so we are opening one of the museum’s five galleries, with a special exhibition featuring many recent and exciting additions to the museum’s growing collections. True to our mission to collect, preserve, and exhibit significant works of art by coastal Marin artists and important historical items, we are sure the exhibition will... provide something for everyone! There are historic paintings by artist such as Thaddeus Welch and Manuel Valenciaas well as diverse work by coastal artists Wheatley Allen, Russell Chatham, Mardi Wood, Marie Dern with Arthur Okamura, Carl Dern, Michael Sell, Sheila Bryant, Babe Lamerdin, Mayumi Oda, Peter Boiger, Terry Bell, Ken Botto, and more! We’ve also acquired works by significant Marin artists such as Jay DeFeo and Jack Fulton. Among the historic items are family photo albums and objects that give us a window back to Marconi / RCA history when coastal Marin played a pivotal role in global communications. Even a paper receipt from the 1800s holds a fascinating story. We invite you to come with your face mask, patience, and enthusiasm! Visitors are welcome four at time starting at noon Saturday March 6, and the museum will then be open regular weekend hours, Friday 1-5, Saturday and Sunday 12-5, and, as always, admission is free! Image captions: 1) Installation 2) Michael Sell (b. 1952), Igloo, 2018, Low-relief collage utilizing paper, oil, pastel, and graphite, 10.25 x 10.25 inches, Museum Purchase, 2019.10.1 3) Thaddeus Welch (1844-1919), Untitled (Merry Christmas painting, Bolinas Lagoon), c. 1900, Oil on canvas, 9 x 18 inches, Gift of the William A. Pomeroy Family, 2018.4.1 #newacquisitions #bolinashistory

BOLINAS MUSEUM IS HIRING! Inspiring jobs in Bolinas are rare, and we’ve got two! Full-Time Manager of Finance & Administration... Part-Time Communications & Community Engagement Coordinator Thanks to programmatic growth and and continued community support, we've reached new heights over the past decade and are seeking two good-natured team players with proven non-profit experience and a passion for culture & community to join our small but mighty staff and help sail the museum into the future! To learn more and apply, visit: https://bolinasmuseum.org/about/join-the-team/ Please share!!!

New Acquisition! This powerful portrait by Beth Moon presents the grandeur of one of the oldest living beings on earth, a bristlecone pine tree in the White Mountains of California. It stands before the vast starry night as it has for thousands of years. Internationally renowned photographer Beth Moon has traveled the world to find and photograph the most ancient trees on our planetour elders. Her book, Ancient Skies, Ancient Trees, includes her dramatic Diamond Nights i...mages of trees seen against the night sky and the Milky Way. To make these photographs, Moon ventured into remote areas on moonless nightsavoiding the world’s increasing light pollutionand highlighted the trees with just flashlights and 30 second exposures. In 2019, in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition Changing California, which focused on the prehistoric San Francisco Bay Area, the museum presented an exhibition of Moon’s large scale, luminous photographs of California’s ancient trees, which conveyed a visceral sense of the majesty of the primeval world. Now, we are thrilled that Moon has generously given this archival pigment print, Menkar, to the Bolinas Museum’s Permanent Collection, so that we may share it with you for years to come. A longtime Bay Area photographer, Beth Moon (b.1956) lived in Marin County for 19 years and now resides in Petaluma. Her richly toned, large-format platinum prints and digital color archival pigment prints have earned international recognition with more than sixty exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, and South America. Her work is published in prestigious magazines internationally and handsome photo books, and her work is collected by institutions ranging from the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas to the Fox Talbot Museum in Englandand now Bolinas Museum! Image caption: Beth Moon, Menkar (detail), 2015, archival pigment print, 30 x 20 inches, 2020.3.1 #nightskyphotography #bristleconepine @bethmoonphotography

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: TESS FELIX! Stinson Beach artist Tess Felix creates compelling portraits made from plastic debris found along our local shores, often depicting real people who are champions for the environment. The painterly quality of her work seen from a distance, makes a closer look startling. She assembles nuanced color-gradations of plastic to convey form, character, and emotion. Her art is a powerful reminder of our shocking consumption and waste, and plastic’s enviro...nmental impact. Tess writes: The problem of plastic garbage in the ocean is almost incomprehensible. It is hard to avoid using plastic, but its overuse is threatening our world. Tess Felix’s art is exhibited in museums and galleries, including a solo exhibition at Bolinas Museum in 2012, and international invitational exhibitions. She is also a professional in theatrical hair and make-up, with clients such as San Francisco Opera, Shorenstein Broadway theater, and Hollywood films, commercials, and HBO shows when filmed in the Bay Area. Felix grew up in Mill Valley and Muir Beach, graduating from Tamalpais High School in 1976. Her British born parents designed, built, and ran the popular Pelican Inn in Muir Beach. In addition to her creative practice, every other year Felix takes a long walk on one of the historic caminos of Europe, sometimes traversing 500 miles. Q: What creative projects are you currently working on? A: I decided it was time to do a self-portrait. Covid has forced me into a period of introspection. The format measures 20 x 72’. Almost life size. Q: What do you turn to for inspiration? A: Traveling, meeting people, colors, textures, nature, and observing people, places, and things. There’s inspiration everywhere and in everything. Q: What do you draw strength and reassurance from? A: My strength is buried under doubt, so it’s a matter of pushing myself beyond doubt and finding my strength within myself. I also get reassurance and strength from my loved ones. Q: How does Coastal Marin or the Bay Area influence you as an artist? A: I live in Stinson Beach on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The oceans support eco systems vital to life on the planet and cover more than 70 percent of the earth. Image captions: 1) Tess Felix, Chris Jordan, 2013, plastic, 30 x 24 inches. 2) Tess Felix, Wayne, 2014, plastic, 24 x 18 inches. 3) Tess Felix, Sandra, 2015, plastic, 24 x 16 inches. 4) Tess Felix, Richard James, 2013, plastic, 24 x 18 inches. 5) Tess Felix, Aurtore, 2018, plastic, 24 x 30 inches. 6) Tess Felix, Yoli, 2019, plastic, 72 x 24 inches. 7) Tess Felix, Captain Paul Watson, 2018, plastic, 30 x 24 inches. 8) Painter’s pallet plastic. 9) Tess Felix 10) Felix’s Studio

RECENT ACQUISITION! Darwin Remembers by Sheila Bryant. Throughout her years of living and traveling internationally, artist Sheila Bryant always carried embroidery projects with her. She primarily creates witty portraits of people who intrigue her, such as Charles Darwinwhose ideas changed our understanding of the world. Here, using layers of appliqued fabric and masterful embroidery, she depicts Darwin remembering his legendary travels aboard the ship HMS Beagle, while ...relaxing in the company an iguana, a hook-billed gull, and a blue-footed booby bird, all of which he discovered and were unique to the Galapagos Islands. Above flies a finch, a symbol of Darwin’s realization that finches had different adaptations on each island he visitedadding to his exploration of evolution. In the distance is an active volcano, which Darwin saw in South America, which added to his growing understanding of geology. Sheila Bryant was introduced to fine embroidery while studying textile design at Glasgow School of Art in her native Scotland. After graduation in 1962, she married a genetic scientist from India and they lived in many parts of the world following his work in the scientific community. A second marriage continued her international life, as her husband Stuart worked for the UN, NATO, and similar organizations. Eventually, Sheila and Stuart returned to live in Inverness, by Tomales Bay, where her husband had spent summers as a child. Today Bryant lives in Point Reyes Station. If you get her telephone answering machine, her cheerful message says Still out gallivanting. In 2019, Sheila Bryant was part of a two-person Bolinas Museum exhibition titled Skill & Wit: Sheila Bryant and Mort Linder. The response to her work was tremendous. Bolinas is honored to receive her gift of this exceptional artwork for the museum’s permanent collection, to be preserved for posterity and shared with visitors and the community. Sheila Bryant, Darwin Remembers, n.d., Mixed fabric applique and embroidery, 24 x 30 inches, Bolinas Museum Permanent Collection, Gift of the artist, 2020.7.1 #coastalmarinartists #darwin #galapogos #textileart #embroidery

As we note the 50th anniversary of the catastrophic oil spill, which occurred on January 19, 1971, it is a strong reminder of the creative power of people working together for common good. The collision of two Standard Oil tankers spilled some 800,000 gallons of thick, foul-smelling oil, which blackened the waves and ravaged marine life and sea birds. Tides and wind carried the heavy oil to local beaches and the rocky coastline. As word of the emergency spread, tens of thousa...nds of people of all ages, andsometimesdiffering or oppositional lifestyles, worked side by side, day and night, to protect the coastal environment. In Bolinas, volunteers came from all over the Bay Area to help the community stop the oil from being carried into Bolinas Lagoon, clean up the beaches, and rescue wildlife. Others joined local residents and businesses in feeding and taking care of those on the frontline. At RCA Beach, Bolinas photographer Ilka Hartmann captured evocative images of the laborious clean-up effort. People used shovels or their hands to fill burlap bags with heavy bunker C oil, along with the contaminated straw that was used to sop up the oil, then struggled together to lift the laden bags into trucks. It was exhausting, filthy work, but they were undaunted. Among the piles of straw, Orville Schell found a dead seabird horrifically encased in gooey oil and strawhe held it skywardas if a warning, or perhaps a beacon. Ilka Hartmann’s photo of that moment has been published internationally as an iconic symbol of both devastation and determination. The shared experience of this disaster changed lives, inspired innovation and environmental policies, and, today, it reminds us that, joined in common cause with determination, we can protect our planet’s environment. Image captions: 1) Ilka Hartmann, RCA Oil Spill Bags Loaded Into Truck, 1971, Gelatin silver print. 2) Ilka Hartmann, Hand Holding Oil Spill Bird, 1971, Gelatin silver print. #bolinashistory #bayareahistory #ilkahartmann

50th Anniversary of a Bay Area Disaster January 19, 1971, at 1:45 AM, two massive Standard Oil Company tankers collided in San Francisco Bay spilling more than 800,000 gallons of foul-smelling, gooey bunker C oil. That incident forever changed the trajectory of many lives and communities around the Bay Area, and inspired a surge of environmental activism. Today, it reminds us of how easily devastating accidents can occur, and the great power of people working together on be...half of the environment. Within hours of the collision, tide carried the dense black oil out the Golden Gate to spread along the coast. It coated thousands of sea birds in smothering toxic oil and ravaged 95% of marine life ten feet into the water. State and Standard Oil officials had no protocol to handle the disaster. The first responders and tireless volunteers were thousands of Bay Area citizens. In Bolinas, the oil inspired an epic struggle. To stop oil from flooding the wildlife-rich Bolinas Lagoon with the incoming tide, a crowd of resourceful Bolinas and Stinson Beach folks rushed to build a log and straw boom across the tidal channel. At first officials ordered them to stop, but the young counter-culture activists and determined older residents kept working. Eventually Standard Oil supported them. Hundreds of volunteers arrived in Bolinas, and local restaurants, markets, families, churches, doctors and organizations provided food and resources, all sharing in the urgent common cause. The exhausting effort went on for days and nights. Along the Bay Area coastline people struggled to help nature and rescue wildlife. It was hard, filthy, and stinking work. They used their hands, shovels and even spoons to collect oil and the mountains of contaminated straw that had been used to sop up the oil. Undaunted, thousands of people kept working, sustained by each other and shared purpose. There are countless reverberations from the that 1971 incident, but one most significant lesson: Despite differing, even oppositional politics and lifestyles, individuals worked side-by-side in common cause to protect the environment and, in doing so, engendered unity. Image captions: 1) Front page of Marin Independent Journal, January 20, 1971. 2) Child holding an oil smothered bird. 3) Young men carrying a log while building the protective boom. 4) Straw on Bolinas Beach. 5) Oil covered water and rocks along the Bolinas shore. #bolinashistory #activism #bayareahistory

Printer at Play: Marie Dern and the Magic of Letterpress! Wednesday, December 9, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Reminder to registrantsjoin us for a delightful virtual event illuminating Marie Dern’s role in the San Francisco Bay Area book arts community and enjoy a live demonstration of the letterpress printing process! Watch as a postcard inspired by Marie Dern’s artist book "William Caslon's Typographic ABC (1991) is printed using a traditional Vandercook letterpress at SFCB's pri...nt studio. Registered attendees will be mailed a keepsake letterpress postcard printed during the event. San Francisco Center for the Book Studio Director, Chad Johnson, will lead this informative event and share his knowledge of Marie and her work. Printer at Play: Marie Dern and the Magic of Letterpress is co-hosted by the Bolinas Museum and San Francisco Center for the Book in honor of Bolinas Museum’s current exhibition Marie Dern: The Art of Handmade Books on view by appointment through December 27, 2020. Although this event is currently sold out, a recorded video of the event will be available to view via Bolinas Museum’s website and YouTube page.

We hope you are enjoying this mid October sunshine & warm weather. These bygone hikers are pictured enjoying a ramble on Olema Hilland seem to be practicing some social distancing! Caption: Hikers on Olema Hill, c. early 1900s, Gelatin silver print, Bolinas Museum History Archives, 2001.1.146 #bolinashistory #marincountyhistory #westmarinhiking #coastalmarin #edwardianstyle #olemahill

WE’RE REOPENING! We've missed you and are so excited to welcome you back by appointment! THIS FIRST WEEKEND IS DEDICATED TO OUR LOYAL MEMBERS and starting next Friday everyone is welcome! Your safety is our priority and we’ll be limiting appointments to 30 minutes with a maximum capacity of four people at a time. All safety precautions followed. Masks and 6-foot social distancing are required and hand sanitizer will be available prior to entering. As always, admission remains... free, for all! For more information, and to schedule an appointment, please visit our website. Link in bio. Only one gallery will be open for the moment and we’re reopening with a new exhibition in the Main Gallery, Marie Dern: The Art of Handmade Books. Unbound by the traditional book format, Marie Dern (1936-2020) created intriguing, witty, and handsomely crafted handmade books for forty-five years; both of her own work and in collaboration with outstanding poets, writers and artists. This exhibition presents handmade books that she created with her letterpress. Type is set by hand with individual metal letters, or digitally sourced. Inked, the type and images are impressed into fine rag paper on her hand-turned press. Today in the digital age, this technique, originated by Gutenberg in the 15th century, is esteemed for the artisanal beauty that it lends to images and the written word. Marie, and her late husband, sculptor Carl Dern, lived in Stinson Beach and worked in their large studio in Fairfax. Their circle of friends were influential Bay Area creatives known for their humor, irony and wit. She was also part of the dynamic book making community who share a passion for words and collaborative invention. BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE! Announcing Members Day every Thursday! Schedule your visit during the week when there are fewer people and cars. Pretty great, right? Members, you received a special email with a link to schedule your member visit. Not a member, visit our website and join us today! Image captions: 1) Jungle Garden Press books, left to right: "Magic Rabbit’s Book of Applied Magic Tricks" by Arthur Okamura, "Believe It or Not!" by Kay Ryan, "Pastimes" by Carl Dern and "Jig" by Marie Dern (Photo: Martin Ledyard). 2-7) installation shots of Marie Dern: The Art of Handmade Books.

Join us tonight at 6:30 (PDT) for our very first Virtual Live Auction! This fun event will be hosted by Bolinas Museum Board member, artist, and art educator Janis Yerington, and long-time museum fan Syd Mintz, a beloved rabbi at Temple Emanuel in San Francisco. We have lots of fun in store! In addition to closing the bidding on 9 exciting artworks, you’ll also enjoy familiar faces, surprise guests, hear from live auction artists, and we’ll announce the final Daily Drawing wi...nner, all in support of Bolinas Museum and in celebration of art, history, culture ,and community. Live Auction Artists: Chris Whitefield (@whitefield.chris), Suzanne Siminger, Jenny Sharaf (@jennysharaf), Michael Light, Charlie Callahan (@batrayz), Richard Lindenberg, Charles Eckart, Clare Rojas (@clarerojasart), & Jon Francis. Everyone who registers, donates, or purchases a Virtual Ticket before September 12 will be sent a special link to the live stream. Tune in at 6:30 for the pre-show before the Virtual Live Auction event at 7 pm. We’ll be streaming on YouTube Live starting at 6:30. Those who don’t register, can still watch and register that night on the museum’s website. Heartfelt thanks to all of you for supporting the museum and participating in our first live virtual event. Museum staff and volunteers have been working hard to build a way for us to be together apart and still participate in the museum’s most important fundraiser of the year. So grab dinner, a glass of champagne, or your favorite beverage and join us tonight! Hope to see you there!

BID TODAY! Live Auction Highlight: L8 / Clare Rojas, Untitled, 2020, Gouache on paper, 7.5 x 10 inches (8 x 11.25 framed), Courtesy of the artist. Rojas writes of this piece: "All I can think to take with me are my garden flowers. Sending so much gratitude and strength to those fighting the CA fires. Clare Rojas is an internationally celebrated artist known for her distinct style that references folk art and is often narrative and deconstructing gender roles, or her dramatic... flat geometric shapes of color. She creates paintings, large installations, folk tableaus, videos, street art, children’s books, and is a musician and songwriter. San Francisco based, Rojas is active in the Mission School along with her husband, artist Barry McGee. Rojas earned her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and MFA from the School of Art Institute of Chicago. Her work is in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Berkeley Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. BID TODAY on this and the many more artworks by local and Bay Area artists and exciting offers included in the 28th Annual Bolinas Museum Benefit Art Auction. BIDDING IS NOW LIVE AND CLOSES DURING THE VIRTUAL LIVE STREAM EVENT SEPTEMBER 12. LINK IN BIO. #bolinasmuseum #coastalmarinartists @clarerojas

BID TODAY! Auction Highlight: Lot 13 / Sally Robertson, "Nymphea," 2020, Watercolor on paper, 15 x 20.5 inches, Courtesy of the artist. Lush and sensual, Sally Robertson’s masterful watercolor paintings of flowers and water garden scenes evoke the imagination of fragrance, touch or perhaps hearing the splash of a koi. Her art is inspired by her beautifully curated garden and koi pond. Robertson grew up in Marin County. After earning a M.A. from University of California, Berke...ley, she and Sean Thackrey opened a fine art print gallery in San Francisco that was a source for international museums. Moving to Bolinas in the 1970s allowed Robertson to develop both her garden and her art. She has been involved with Bolinas Museum for decades, serving on the Board of Directors and now as Chair of the Collection Committee and founding member of the Advisory Council. Bolinas museum FOCUS exhibitions present the work of a highly accomplished coastal Marin artist with a mature body of work; this is certainly true of Robertson. A 30 year FOCUS retrospective of Roberton’s work was scheduled to open in March, 2020. Due to the pandemic it is now postponed to Spring of 2021. BID TODAY on this and the many more artworks by local and Bay Area artists and exciting offers included in the 28th Annual Bolinas Museum Benefit Art Auction. BIDDING IS NOW LIVE AND CONTINUES THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15. LINK IN BIO. #bolinasmuseum #coastalmarinartists #sallyrobertson