Foothill Arts + Lectures

10/08/2025

Part 2 of 2: The basket weaving workshop with Ursula Jones was a real gift for those who attended. It was wonderful to be in a group focused on a new skill, each person finding their own rhythm and pattern of movement, all working together in a supportive group of women. Some remarked that this workshop was more challenging than the screenprinting workshop and there was some struggling in the very beginning, but everyone persevered and succeeded.

In the workshop, we learned that we must ask for more materials and not just take. We learned how different materials behave differently. Tule and willow bend differently and hold a different tension. Some of us explored adding willow bands to the tops of our baskets only to find it pulling our baskets in unbalanced directions. We learned how to unweave our work to rebalance things (a powerful metaphor for life).

We were fortunate to have Dr. Parker present for the workshop to help us solve problems and help us finish our baskets.

We closed the basket weaving workshop with a basket dance lead by Ursula and sung by Dr. Parker.

Both events held a lot of powerful messages to reflect on - family, ancestors, working in community, seasonal rituals, stewardship and working with the land, sharing knowledge, skills, and time.

This workshop was made possible by Mariposa County's "Art + Community" grant, which was facilitated by the Mariposa Arts Council. Special thanks to the Mariposa County Library and staff for all of your support! Thank you Ursula, for sharing so much time and energy with us. We are grateful.

10/08/2025

Part 1 of 2: We loved Ursula Jones’s presentation and workshop!

Ursula’s presentation began with a blessing from her grandmother, Dr. Julia Parker.

This was Ursula’s first lecture and she mentioned that it was her time to start teaching and leading on her own without her family. Some audience members are also stepping into this role, so this moment of transition for Ursula resonated with them.

Ursula’s authenticity shined throughout the lecture. She was genuine, generous, and personal in sharing her story. She was not performative and the audience appreciated her honesty.

Ursula’s presentation was about basketweaving, but it was in equal parts about her significant family and tribal connections. The story of her art and her family are woven together and cannot be told separately. Several people shared how they found Ursula’s relationship to her family inspiring and beautiful. Ursula attended the event with her husband, two children, grandchild, and grandmother, so we witnessed her deep love for her family in real time. Although many artists in this series have strong family relationships, none featured their family so prominently in their presentation. This focus on the collective over the individual was a cultural difference that stood out to many audience members. One participant said, “I could learn a lot from Ursula on how to be in relation.”

We learned about a few more cultural differences in both the lecture and workshop. We learned the importance of females wearing dresses and skirts during tribal events (especially during sweats and basketweaving). We learned that men weave too, but they focus on baskets that take life, like a basket that catches fish. We learned that the sweat lodge is akin to church - it’s a very spiritual place where one goes to pray for their family. We learned about current tribal causes - missing native girls and native health/wellness.

If you missed this lecture, you can watch it on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/nP7YXk3LFSc?feature=share

This is a program of the Mariposa County Library and is supported in part by the Mariposa Arts Council and Mariposa County.

09/11/2025

We are happy to announce this month’s lecture featuring artist Ursula Jones. This free lecture will take place on Thursday, September 18, from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at the Mariposa County Library. Seating is limited and registration is required. Email [email protected] to reserve a seat. Your seat will be confirmed by email. This lecture will be livestreamed at youtube.com/.

Ursula will also be teaching a free-to-attend basket weaving workshop on Saturday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This event immediately “sold out.” Please email [email protected] to get first access to lecture announcements and registration.

Foothill Arts + Lectures was developed to reconnect members of our community, celebrate artists’ accomplishments, highlight our local artists, and bring enriching perspectives and stories into our lives. This program of the Mariposa County Library is coordinated by Anna Friedland and is funded in part by the Mariposa County Library, the Mariposa County, and the Mariposa Arts Council.

08/29/2025

Allison Baggett's Art Lecture and Workshop Post 2 of 2:

Allison's screenprinting workshop was just as nourishing as the lecture. The room was a hive of creativity and talent. We filled the children's room with 20 participants with a wide spectrum of ages (12 participants were under 30 years). Because Allison learned her screenprinting techniques in high school and built a 20 year career from it, we wanted to include as many young people as possible in this workshop.

We spent four hours together making screens and prints. In that span of time we got to know each other a little bit and cheered each other on. Since we were printing on clothes with permanent inks, there are great opportunities for risk, errors, happy accidents, and grand successes. Art workshops are never just about making the thing. They build personal and interpersonal skills - like learning how to navigate frustrations or disappointments, patience, learning from your neighbor, learning how to help your neighbor, making decisions, listening to your own voice and style, and taking bold moves. Workshops help keep us human, which is increasingly important as we adapt to this hyper digital era.

I'm super grateful that we had this opportunity to make art together with the artist's guidance and expertise and for the amount of time and energy that Allison gave us for both events.

Speaking of gratitude, I want to acknowledge the Mariposa County Library, especially Abby and Maggie, for their huge role in this program. The library staff always goes above and beyond for this series. For every lecture and workshop, they remove all the children's furniture and replace it with adult furniture and then move everything back. They also come early (two hours before the event) and they stay late. They also show up on days off to assist. The amount of work that the library puts into all of its programs is such a gift to our whole community. We're so fortunate to have a library staff that gives so much to all of us every single day!

This art lecture-workshop offering with Allison Baggett was made possible from a grant that was created by Mariposa County and facilitated by the Mariposa Arts Council. Special thanks to the Board of Supervisors and the Arts Council for supporting local artists and community art programs!

To see more photographs from this workshop, please visit Mariposa County Library's post.

08/29/2025

Allison Baggett's Art Lecture and Workshop Post 1 of 2:

Last week's lecture and workshop with Allison Baggett was such a treat! We're still humming with inspiration and joy. We received a lot of positive feedback from the audience.

Allison Baggett's work strongly reflects the culture of this place. Mariposa loves its plants, animals, landscapes, gatherings, live music, and outdoor adventures. It loves repurposing materials and doing the best with what it has. It’s down to earth - of nature itself. To me, Allison's art communicates and embodies all of that.

Her art connects us as a community. An owl on a banjo or a bear printed on one's back is Mariposa's unofficial fashion style. From the Eastside to the Dolomites, we run into Allison Baggett's clothing in the world and it quickly signals to us that the person is connected to these mountains.

We enjoyed learning about Allison's adventures in the Northwest and the Sierra Nevada mountains (especially the train hopping!) and how art is just a part of it all - not separate from her life. We were delighted when she said that now she is falling back on her art because it is something that she can do as a mother (as opposed to ski hutkeeping or ice climbing). Some of us left the lecture thinking about how we might approach life more as an adventure and how we might better integrate art making into that adventure.

Another thought that Allison provoked was of the importance of community. When Allison lived in the Northwest, she would create art parties and invite anyone who might be interested. She handmade artistic invitations and passed them out. Her level of inclusiveness and bringing people together to celebrate art and humanity is something that deeply resonates with this program. I propose that we bring the "Art Party" to Mariposa! (To be continued in the next post)

Thank you Mariposa Arts Council for this photo. Mariposa County Library Mariposa County

08/29/2025

08/19/2025

Allison Baggett will be giving a lecture about her art and life this Thursday, August 19 at the Mariposa County Library from 5:30-6:45 p.m. This event is free to attend. There are still some seats left. Sign up today!

Allison has been a professional printmaker for over 20 years. Taking the skills she learned from Mrs. Skelton’s art class at MCHS, she translates her drawings into screenprints using upcycled and vintage clothing, hats, and sustainable textiles. Her work is currently on display at the library and you can see more of her work online at Potentillapress.com

Allison’s work has become the unofficial fashion style of Mariposa County residents. Locals can identify a “Baggett” piece and often at parties, there will be multiple people wearing her work at the same time. Her clothing reflects the culture and values of this region - a place that loves the natural world and its inhabitants.

Seating for this lecture is limited and registration is required. Email [email protected] to reserve a seat. Your seat will be confirmed by email. This lecture will not be livestreamed. This lecture will also include a workshop component on Sunday, August 24 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. There are only a few seats left for this event as well.

Foothill Arts + Lectures was developed to reconnect members of our community, celebrate artists’ accomplishments, highlight our local artists, and bring enriching perspectives and stories into our lives. This program of the Mariposa County Library is coordinated by Anna Friedland and is funded in part by the Mariposa County Library, the Mariposa County, and the Mariposa Arts Council.

08/14/2025

Some good news! Foothill Arts + Lectures received the Arts + Community Grant from the Mariposa Arts Council and Mariposa County this year, which has allowed this program to expand. We'll be able to pay artists to teach a workshop the weekend after they present their lecture. After these lectures, we often leave inspired and wanting to create and now we will have the opportunity to make with the artist. We've been wanting to do this all along and we are really happy that it's finally possible.

The registration for the workshops will be even more limited than the lectures, so we will be prioritizing people who attend the lecture and also high school students. We would love for our local youth to be exposed to these rich artmaking opportunities (tell your young artist friends!). We will be able to offer this lecture + workshop combination for two artists this late summer/fall (August and September). Speaking of which, this month's artist is Allison Baggett and she will be presenting her work on August 21, from 5:30pm to 6:45pm at the Mariposa County Library. Allison's workshop will be on Sunday, August 24 for four hours from 1pm to 5pm, also at the library.

Allison grew up immersed in the wilderness of El Portal and Yosemite, which gave her a foundation for a life closely connected to nature. She has backpacked from Mt. Whitney to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail and from Portland, Oregon, to Missoula, Montana, following the route of Lewis and Clark. She has also spent decades guiding and rambling throughout the Sierra Nevada. All along, she studied the landscape, human history, flora, and fauna, and catalogued her findings in her journals.

Over twenty years ago, Allison Baggett began her company Potentilla Press, translating her drawings into screenprints using upcycled and vintage clothing, hats, and sustainable textiles. Please visit the library to see her wall display and her website to see more of her art: potentillapress.com

Seats are limited and registration is required. This lecture will not be livestreamed. Please email [email protected] to register. Please specify if you are registering for the lecture and/or workshop.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

All the Best,
Anna

Foothill Arts and Lectures is funded in part by the Mariposa County Library, the County of Mariposa, and the Mariposa County Arts Council.

04/26/2025

We had the privilege of listening to Phyllis Becker's presentation about her life and art last night. Thank you Phyllis! We're still humming over your playful and explorative approach and the deep humanity of your work. If you missed the lecture, you are welcome to visit our channel at youtube.com/ to watch her lecture online.

Phyllis Becker’s journey as an artist began as a teenager in Carmel where she signed up for an adult school class in pottery. Her education and life as a potter began with that class, and continued over the next 45 years, as she took classes at Merced College and workshops from potters and artists who she had only read about in books. Working with, and side-by-side with other artists has always helped her to gain confidence and to experiment with new forms and techniques. She has followed the careers of American studio potters who continue to inspire her. From the British and Japanese influence of Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada to the Funk movement with Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkus to the present (albeit "older") potters like Julia Galloway and Randy Johnston, she is held and inspired by their work and legacies. Just as important are her friends - the many, many local artists who live and work right here in Mariposa.

She has always described herself as a "Village Potter," in that she’s not interested in the commercial aspects of a working artist. Always having focused on functional pottery, she makes what people might enjoy using in their homes. Phyllis says, “I like knowing that people might reach into their cupboards for a mug or soup bowl that I have made and using that pot brings a little handmade beauty into their daily lives.”

Education has always been a focus for Phyllis. She loves working with children, allowing them to experience clay in a playful, creative and often whimsical way, while helping them to learn about the origins, history and place of pottery in the world. Learning about clay and pottery leads to understanding and appreciation and helps students develop eyes to see art in new ways.

Phyllis continues to learn and grow as an artist because she loves experimenting with new forms, techniques and textures. She has recently been participating in sourcing and processing native Mariposa clay and firing the pots with friends at a pit fire, which can produce exciting and surprising results. Phyllis says, “What a bounty it is to live here in Mariposa where our natural world and the people who live here are a never-ending source of inspiration to my work.”

Foothill Arts + Lectures was developed to reconnect members of our community, celebrate artists’ accomplishments, highlight our local artists, and bring enriching perspectives and stories into our lives. This program of the Mariposa County Library is coordinated by Anna Friedland and is funded in part by the Mariposa County Library, the County of Mariposa, and the Mariposa Arts Council.

Photo 1: Phyllis Becker at a potters' wheel.
Photo 2: Classic Phyllis Becker stamped boxes.
Photo 3: Bowls with texture.
Photo 4: Books and magazines that have inspired Phyllis.

04/10/2025

Our last lecture of the season is with local potter Phyllis Becker on April 24 from 5:30 - 6:45 pm at the Mariposa County Library.
Seats are limited and registration is required. Please email [email protected] to reserve your seat.

You will also have the option to livestream this event on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/.

Join our mailing list to get first access to seats for this series: email [email protected].

You are welcome to view Phyllis's art at the Mariposa Library on the gallery wall and the cabinet.

Foothill Arts and Lectures is funded in part by the Mariposa County Library, the County of Mariposa, and the Mariposa Arts Council.

03/30/2025

Thank you Christine Obers for your lecture last week! There were so many valuable take-aways.

We loved how you showed your early influences. We could really see how television, books, comic books, and advertisements formed your work. The culture of your childhood clearly created your artistic direction.

We could see your desire to create beauty in everything you do. Your pizza and wine advertisements, leather work, "hitched" horsehair, and pastel portraits are all stunning pieces of art.

Thank you for sharing your pivot after retiring from art directing/advertising to fine art. This transition, your process of finding your art, and claiming "artist" as your identity was very relatable.

Thank you for sharing some of the additional work that artists do to build their career: teaching in person and Zoom workshops, entering competitions, participating in invitationals, and working on side projects (like wine labels), was also helpful to see. Artists rarely do one thing!

Thank you Christine (and all of our lecturing artists) for all the work that you do creating a presentation for our community. These lectures are deeply nourishing.

If you missed it, here is a link to the lecture (start at 5:30 minutes in - we start the stream a few minutes before it begins):

Turn your videos into live streams with https://restream.ioThe “Foothill Arts + Lectures” series is a program in which local artists give one-hour talks to t...