From left, Matt Clark, Kier Holmes, Jack Clark, Kathleen Holmes at Marin MOCA’s 12th Annual Altered Book Exhibit. Courtesy image.
Matt Clark, his wife Kier Holmes, their 15-year-old son Jack and Holmes’ mother Kathleen all submitted works after debuting in the exhibit last year.
The Altered Book exhibit features works created by artists who “combine compelling messages with creative technique.” Clark, who owns M2 Design & Construction, is also a budding artist, as is Holmes, a gardener and writer for Gardenista. It was her story about Monarch butterflies that inspired Clark’s piece. Holmes’ submission is a “loose representation of a dahlia, while Jack’s is a rendition of a flower garden and Kathleen Holmes’ piece is a cityscape.
“I was a dabbling in, ‘could I be an artist along with a writer and landscaper,’ but not as a career,” Kier Holmes says. “I’m not sure how we got our son and my mom roped into it, but we’re always building, creating and collaging with our son,” she says. “I knew my mom secretly like collage, and over time, it became this huge family activity, sharing materials and resources.”
The exhibit is free to the public and the museum is open, no appointment needed. Hours are Wed.-Fri., 11am-4pm, Sat.-Sun., 11am-5pm. Visitors can check out the artwork in person, then bid online in the Silent Auction running concurrently on Bidsquare.com, through Saturday, May 22 at 6pm. All proceeds support the exhibition and educational programs.
Donna Seager, owner of Seager Gray Gallery in Mill Valley, and Mary Austin, Co-Founder of the San Francisco Center for the Book, selected the award-winners, and gave a livestreamed Art Talk (see below).
Here’s Marin MOCA’s Altered Book discussion highlighting some of the exhibit’s standout works of art: