Fast Lane/Slow Bake art exhibition opens at Carson City Community Center

The Capital City Arts Initiative presents an exhibition, Fast Lane/Slow Bake, by artists Cyndy Brenneman and Tom Drakulich in the Community Center’s Sierra Room, 851 E William St.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 24. CCAI will host a reception for the artists from 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 12 in the Sierra Room.

The artists will give a brief talk about their work at 5:30 p.m.

Brenneman’s narrative watercolors record images from her life of travel. From fast sketches to longer, thoughtful compositions, she selects moments and places that reflect her delightful world view. Drakulich’s abstract ceramic sculptures are created with random folds, scratchy marks, and painterly glazes that allow the viewer to follow his creative processes.

Brenneman’s passions are art and travel. Child of a Navy father, she followed in his footsteps with a 20-year naval career that helped launch her love of travel. Life in the Navy included a variety of jobs while she continued to nurture her art. She is a Life Time Member of the San Dieguito Art Guild and was active in the San Diego Watercolor Society. As a world traveler, she has been to dozens of countries on six of the seven continents. Since moving to Carson City, she was on the Capital City Arts Initiative’s board and created and managed three Arts & Culture Coalition projects. Brenneman earned her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She lives in Carson City with her husband and their three dogs.

“As I travel, I want to share my exotic destinations with friends who might never see these amazing places. I either sketch on site or use the photographs I took that day to do a small pen and ink and watercolor in my sketch book. I then use the PICCOLLAGE program to surround the painting with that day’s photographs, attach a note about the day’s events and share with friends at home. The sketches are very quick studies and I believe anyone could develop their own style of sketching to express their view of the world around them,” she said.

Drakulich’s art practice navigates the play between the unusual and the familiar through process-based work in clay. He creates compulsively and physically. The force of spontaneity is the foreground, infinite variation is the framework, and direct action is the mode of operation. His ceramic sculptures begin with a set of guides that evolve from familiar classic techniques that he often distorts into almost uncomfortable abstraction — creating an elegant and distinctive look.

Born and raised in Reno, Drakulich is influenced by the physicality and form of the desert. He received his A.A. in Art History from Truckee Meadows Community College, and earned both a B.A. in Criminal Justice and a M.F.A. Studio Art from the University of Nevada, Reno. The city of Reno recently designated Drakulich as City Artist for 2019-2020. He teaches art courses at UNR and lives in Reno.

In the fall, the artists will give talks about their art practice to art students and faculty at local high schools.

For information, visit www.arts-initiative.org.