Art Show and Auction Helps Homeless Re-enter Workforce
RICHMOND, California (December 10, 2015) – Saffron Strand highlights the art of Bay Area artists at the non-profit’s Winter Gala and Silent Auction, Saturday, December 12, 5:00-7:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church (266 Nicholl Avenue) in Point Richmond, CA.
The Winter Gala celebrates the season with hors d’oeuvres, live jazz, and an art show featuring the work of both well-known and up-and-coming artists including: Peter Brown (Berkeley), Tarnel Abbot (Richmond), Angelica Samame (Lafayette), Solangue Patiño Patroni (San Francisco), David Moore (Point Richmond), and Teresa Maharaj (Las Vegas).
The Winter Gala venue is the historic 115-year-old First United Methodist Church in Point Richmond. The church has stained glass windows crafted in Germany, artisan woodwork from the turn of the previous century, and tasteful traditional Christmas décor. Pastor Dan Damon and the congregation welcome all visitors and are pleased to host Saffron Strand’s distinctive fundraising event.
Saffron Strand, Inc. is a unique, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization whose mission is to get homeless people and those at risk of homelessness off the streets and back to work for the long term. The homeless who join Saffron Strand become members of an intentional community that is dedicated to getting all members back to work. Homeless members help run the organization and gain on-the-job training through professional-quality catering, event management, and other activities in the community at large.
All proceeds from the Winter Gala and Silent Auction support Saffron Strand programming to help some of the Bay Area’s most vulnerable residents re-enter the workforce with the skills and support necessary to sustain employment for the long term. Saffron Strand membership is free of charge and all staff and mentors are unpaid volunteers.
The Silent Auction includes gift packages from local businesses and art and craft work on display at the Winter Gala. See and bid on auction items here. Successful buyers can pick up auction items at the Winter Gala or later at Saffron Strand, 147 West Richmond Avenue, Suite C, Point Richmond, CA. Tickets to the Winter Gala are available here.
Artists with work on display at the Winter Gala
Peter Brown — partner in Folk & Fine Art gallery located at the west end of the old Oaks theatre building (1861-A Solano Avenue) in Berkeley: “Folk and Fine Art is an experiment. It is quite old-fashioned, in a way. We are brick and mortar in an age of flickering screens. We show and sell images that do not change with the click of a mouse. Our exhibits change every few weeks and every show is a completely new walk-through experience.” Learn more.
Angelica Samame — born and raised in Peru, South America and living in California for more than 27 years, now residing in Lafayette: “The subject matter of my art is primarily women in both traditional and contemporary ways of life, worked in a variety of mediums such as acrylics, water colors, inks and pastels. I have been influenced by the old masters, modern, and contemporary artists like Arthur Bernard who said, ‘Art should have the perfection of a surgeon and the spontaneity of a child’.” Others who have inspired Angelica include Yury Trembler, Hessam Abrashami, Goli Mahallati, and Manuel Anoro. See Angelica’s art here.
Tarnel Abbot — an award-winning free speech advocate, activist, Richmond reference librarian, and the great-granddaughter of world-renown California novelist Jack London. Tarnel also is an accomplished artist, who has depicted everyday life in Richmond, particularly industrial pollution and the Tent Cities Movement, which works have earned her praise. For display at the Winter Gala and sale through the Silent Auction, Tarnel offers three striking California coast landscape paintings. Read more about Tarnel.
David Moore — whimsical, allegorical, profound, and fun all describe the Park Series of lithographs on display at the Winter Gala. David is the owner and art director of Sincere Design, a full service design and production facility in Point Richmond. David specializes in desktop publishing projects including book design, photography, writing, illustration, print ads, trade show banners, and post cards. His skills include web-based and traditional marketing and he does extensive website and other design work for Richmond community-based organizations. He majored in painting, drawing, and printmaking at the San Francisco Academy of Art and gives his heart and talent in service as a volunteer at Saffron Strand. Visit David’s website here.
Solangue Patiño Patroni — a Bay Area artist with Peruvian roots. The striking colors and imagination of her original painting are on display at the Winter Gala. See “Portrait of a Woman” here.
Teresa Maharaj — “I follow the trail,” Teresa says, “creating beauty within the darkness, the light found in shadows, putting a face to the other-worldly faceless, and creating a vision of the seen out of the unseen.” Based in Las Vegas, Teresa also is an entrepreneur who has made her hobby into passion. Enter her world of “Beauty in the Darkness.” Get a glimpse here.
For more about the venue, the First United Methodist Church of Point Richmond, click here.
For more about the Winter Gala and Silent Auction, click here.