This morning I was blessed in many ways. I stopped into Church of the Incarnation on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. First I helped myself to a wonderful cup of coffee in the Parish Hall and noticed a new “gallery” display of collages. Upon closer observation I realized that the art was produced by Lisa Marie Thorpe. Lisa was my featured artist in April of 2007 and I love her work. I could easily have gone off with a few pieces – but I used self control. The second blessing was from Fr. Matt to acknowledge my taking my maiden name back as my legal name. So do not be surprised when you start seeing Ellis instead of Shula on my communications. It is wonderful to be in a loving community.
Here is my article from the Gazette on Lisa. Enjoy. Lisa’s work will be up at Church of the Incarnation for a while so stop in and take a peek. Alas, I cannot find any pictures of her art to add here.
Lisa Marie Thorpe
With the landscape of Sonoma County in full bloom, I was overtaken by the concept of “Secret Dreams of Fruits and Vegetables” – a series of paintings with collage offered by Lisa Marie Thorpe. Lisa describes this series:
These are playful pieces that get the intimate, inside story from the produce aisle. To create these portraits I had to gain the trust of each piece of produce that I interviewed. To begin I got them to be comfortable and trust me so they would reveal their inner most thoughts. Then I got each one to model for me in a lush and intimate environment with boudoir lighting that highlighted their best features. The result is a revelation of such personal truths that the fruits and vegetables may be embarrassed at their own candor.
Excuse my excessive use of quote (something I seldom do), but this description is so revealing of the artist that I could not pass it up. I particularly was taken with the Sweet Red Peppers who so coyly reveals fancying themselves as “the bad boys of the garden world.”! To think that this is only a small glimpse into the works of Lisa Marie Thorpe.
Lisa wears many hats and has as many artist styles. In addition to being the wife of Jack Dowling and mother to an active son, Lisa teaches art at local schools and is the Resident Artist at Bishop’s Ranch on Westside Road. Lisa is a true Northern Californian having grown up in the rural counties of Siskiyou, Calaveras and Colusa. She attended UC Davis, the most Northern of the UC campuses and received her teaching credentials at SF State. Lisa stayed in San Francisco for ten years before her husband joined the staff of Bishop’s Ranch. The return to rural life has provided the opportunity to focus on family and art with the backdrop of Dry Creek Valley and the Mayacamas.
Lisa believes in the Cheap Art Manifesto which was begun in 1984 by Bread & Puppet Theater of Vermont. The Manifesto is aimed at making art accessible to those who do not have large disposable incomes. Lisa lives this message by making her art accessible to all. This is true of all of her creations but is most welcome at the Ranch where she provides a affordable series of plein aire paintings of the Ranch and its environs.
Lisa’s art has an innocent by edgy quality that results in Day-of-the-Dead-ish vignettes of pregnancy, assemblage of shoes with their sordid lives and, of course, the dreaming fruits and vegetables. With the patronage of a Bishop’s Ranch visitor, Lisa was afforded the dream of experiencing plein aire landscape painting in France. Six days to experiment with technique and the meshing of meditation with art. The direct outcome of the trip were paintings that are disbursed to friends, family and the Ranch - the indirect outcome was an appreciation for landscape. The quietness that surrounds the Ranch is captured in Lisa’s paintings for the benefit of those that must leave its serenity. For a nominal outlay, a visitor can bring a tangible reminder of their retreat with them as they re-enter their greater world.
The picture I have included of Lisa does not include her art but does include a large, gnarled acacia tree that stands outside of her studio in the basement of the chapel on Bishop’s Ranch. I have always attempted to include a glimpse of the artist’s work in the photograph. This did not seem consistent with Lisa. No single piece of art seemed to speak of Lisa as a whole. However, the beauty and uniqueness of this blessed acacia (yes, that is a whole other story) is the perfect backdrop for Lisa Marie Thorpe.
Lisa’s most recent series is the result of gaining access to a print press. The prints are enhanced by collage and contain elements of food, birds, sign language, et. al. She is mounting them with an encaustic cover, an affordable alternative to framing that sets off the work with the right touch. She has ideas as to where they may be displayed when completed but no firm plans. When they are ready the venue will be found. Everything in due time. In the interim, check out Lisa’s work at http://www.bishopsranch.org/artist.html.



























