Bolinas-Stinson School Student Exhibition

January 18 - February 2

Museum Schedule

CLOSED FOR INSTALLATION.
PLEASE JOIN US ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, FROM 2 – 4 PM FOR THE OPENING RECEPTION FOR
THE ANNUAL BOLINAS-STINSON SCHOOL EXHIBITION: EVOKING A SENSE OF PLACE

GALLERY HOURS
Friday, 1 – 5 PM, Saturday – Sunday, 12 – 5 PM, and by appointment.
Admission is always free.

LEARN & ENGAGE

Upcoming Programs & Events

January 18
Sat 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Courtyard Event
Annual Bolinas-Stinson School Exhibition Opening Reception
Join us for a reception for this beloved annual exhibition.
Evoking a Sense of Place
Free and Open to All

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Celebrating 41 years of art, history, culture, and community in coastal Marin. Admission is always free! #bolinasmuseum

Wishing you peace as we welcome a return of light

Wishing you peace as we welcome a return of light and celebrate the cycles of nature this winter solstice.

Artist Spotlight: Kathy Bustamante Bolinas-based

Artist Spotlight: Kathy Bustamante

Bolinas-based artist Kathy Bustamante has nurtured creativity in children and adults for 47 years. Yet, she has rarely exhibited her work, which exudes boundless imagination and skill. After moving to Bolinas in 1974, she began teaching ceramics at Full Circle. In 1984, she joined the award-winning Bolinas-Stinson School’s Art Shops Program staff and taught ceramics for 38 years.

“Kathy Bustamante: Thinking With My Hands” is on view through December 29th. The exhibition, which features her wildly whimsical figures and functional objects, is based on a term she uses to describe her creative discovery process.

Q. When did art come into your life?

A. I acquired a respect for art from my mother as I grew up. Our house had lots of art. I liked art, so I looked through many books and visited local art galleries and museums. Still, I didn’t connect with my own hands until I was out of college years later. In the early 1970s, I apprenticed with Ida Gray, a fiber artist in Mill Valley. Several years later, I was drawn to ceramics.

Q. Who has been instrumental in supporting you?

A. My mother was the first person to teach me the value of art and the process of making art. She fostered a talent for drawing and sculpting and introduced me to clay. Family, friends, and colleagues have supported me, while other artists have surprised me with their encouragement, most importantly Richard Shaw and Carl Dern, whose work has influenced mine.

Q. How does Coastal Marin or the Bay Area influence you as an artist?

A. In the 1970s, the Bay Area was a mecca for ceramic artists. I met many people in Peter Voulkos’s circle. We went to exhibit openings, watched his demos, and became acquainted with the works of Viola Frey, Ron Nagel, Richard Arneson, and David Gilhooley.

Q. What is one of the lessons you’ve learned from life?

A. I came across this quote by George Bernard Shaw about ten years ago. It has remained on my refrigerator since. “We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.” Life is meaningless without a sense of wonder, humor, generosity of spirit, and forgiveness.

Captions in comments. ⬇️

“Jenny Sampson: Skaters” is on view in the Pho

“Jenny Sampson: Skaters” is on view in the Photography Gallery through December 29.

Berkeley-based photographer Jenny Sampson has spent many years photographing the Bay Area and West Coast skater communities. Skaters have long been seen as rebellious, marked by their fashion, the noise they make rolling down the streets, and their unconventional use of urban spaces. This non-conformist image reflects the depth and determination of skate culture, where skaters fall, rise, and persevere with resilience. Working with the 173-year-old photographic process of wet collodion or tintype, Sampson captures the beauty and spirit of the thoroughly contemporary skating culture.

Creating these intimate portraits requires time, interaction, and collaboration, mirroring the inclusive nature of skater culture. Each portrait reveals a unique honesty, offering a glimpse into the skater or sitter’s true character. Sampson's portraits contribute to a movement of inclusion and reshaping skateboarding's cultural landscape. She recognizes the underrepresentation of women, LGBTQ+, and other diverse voices in skating culture. This evolution is particularly evident in the current SFMOMA exhibition Unity Through Skateboarding (on view through May 4, 2025). Portraits of Jeff Cheung and Gabriel Ramirez, who curated the SFMOMA exhibition, as well as those of other pioneering figures in the queer, trans, BIPOC, and women's skating communities, are included in this exhibition.

Sampson was born and raised in San Francisco. She earned a B.A. in Psychobiology at Pitzer College and has since dedicated her time to her photographic endeavors. She teaches high school darkroom photography, writes and photographs for WithitGirl, is a Rolls and Tubes Collective member, and is the Board President of the East Bay Photo Collective. Daylight Books published her monographs, “Skaters” and “Skater Girls,” in 2017 and 2020, respectively (these titles are available for purchase at our front desk during the exhibition).

Image captions in comments. ⬇️

#SkateCulture #TintypePhotography #WetPlateCollodion #BayAreaSkaters #SkaterPortraits #AnalogPhotography

Please join us today at 3 p.m. for a fascinating g

Please join us today at 3 p.m. for a fascinating gallery conversation with Lloyd Kahn and Joseph Becker, Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, concurrent with the exhibition “Lloyd Kahn: There Are Walls That Want To Prowl.” There is a lot to consider in Kahn’s wide-ranging life as an innovator, author, editor, photographer, builder, activist, traveler, athlete, homesteader, neighbor, influencer, pioneer of green building, and, for 50 years, owner of Shelter Publications, Inc. in Bolinas. He grew up in San Francisco, earned a BA from Stanford University in 1957, ran a base newspaper in the military, dropped out of the business world, and joined the unbridled creativity of the 1960s counterculture and back-to-the-land movement. His first writing was as an editor for the iconic Whole Earth Catalog. He then became a leading innovator in building and documenting handmade homes and lifestyles. His early book, “Shelter,” presented structural designs worldwide, followed by books of wildly imaginative hand-built contemporary structures.

Free and open to all; space is limited, please be prompt.

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Admission is always free