Art with Aloha at the Carson City Community Center through Feb. 22; artist reception Tuesday
Jackie Pias Carlin’s art brings fresh air with tropical flora beauty to our wintery season. Carlin’s show, "Art with Aloha", will be in the Community Center’s Crowell Board Room, through Feb. 22, 2024. CCAI will host a reception for the artist on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 5 to 6:30 p.m. with an artist introduction at 5:30 p.m. The Community Center is located at 851 E William Street, Carson City. The Crowell Board Room is open for all the city’s public meetings and upon request.
Carlin said, “This 'Art with Aloha' exhibit represents years of my pursuance in art. I began my art career in the 1970s with candles, life drawing in charcoal and watercolors, plein air and still life in oils, pastels, residential and commercial fabric designing, weaving, and printing.
She continued, “Mokuhanga-Japanese Woodblock Prints make up most of this exhibit due to a muscle memory I encountered after carving some motifs out of bamboo kitchen utensils for a kapa triptych presented in the “First Lady’s Inaugural Art Exhibition” held in 2021 at the Governor’s Mansion. My reflexes remembered how I loved creating woodblocks in the 70s. Mokuhanga combines sketching, tracing, carving each area of color on separate woodblocks, choosing handmade papers, and hand printing in reverse with precise registration. It takes organization, patience, and the ability to accept many errors. Each print is an original.”
Other classical mediums that are shown here are from her lifelong desire to capture her visions on a 2-dimensional surface.
Carlin said, “A kumu hula (hula master) interpretation of aloha goes like this: ‘alo’ is from kalo (the taro plant)-Hawai`i’s source of life, and ‘ha’ means breath. The word Aloha, has various uses in the world such as hello, goodbye, and love. It also means compassion, spirit, share, kindness, and more. Thus, Aloha means breath of life, too. Accept my Aloha in this exhibition to you.”
Carlin was born on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The combined influences from Asia, continental U.S., Europe, and the native-Hawaiian culture shaped her perspectives in traditions, ethnic foods, and a world-view of art. She spent two years (2003 – 2004) at Oxford University in England for her master’s degree in English. This graduate program was part of the Bread Loaf School of English in Middlebury College, Ripton, VT. Her book, Spirit of the Village: A Maui Memoir was published in 2005; the book is still in print and available. She left Maui and moved to Carson City in 2015 to be closer to family. PBS Reno’s ARTEFFECTS program featured a segment on Carlin and her art in 2022. Carlin lives in Carson City.
CCAI is an artist-centered not-for-profit organization committed to community engagement in contemporary visual arts through exhibitions, illustrated talks, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online activities.
The Initiative is funded by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, John and Grace Nauman Foundation, Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, Kaplan Family Charitable Fund, Southwest Gas Corporation Foundation, Steele & Associates LLC, and CCAI sponsors and members.
For additional information, please visit CCAI’s website at www.ccainv.org.