Miriam Morris' "7 Dictators, Stacked" ushers you into a clay show titled "Totems and Plates" at Roseville's Blue Line Gallery.
It's one of the largest and most serious works in a vibrant show assembled by guest curator Tony Natsoulas, himself one of the most prominent ceramic sculptors in the country.
Stacked up on their sides are portrait heads of some of the most notorious political figures of the 20th century, among them Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin and Pol Pot. Each dictator's head bears the flag of his country and a number referring to the non-battle-related deaths attributed to the actions and policies of each figure during their reigns. The numbers serve as a somber reminder of the cost of tyranny in human lives.
After this somber greeting from "7 Dictators" at the entrance to the show, you enter a forest of totem poles – from a ceiling-high stack of brightly colored doughnuts by Robyn Slakey to a tower of fruits and veggies created by clients of the Women's Wisdom Project. Cindy Wilson offers a playful stack of beach balls topped by a big black crow. Leslie Ann Rice gives us a pile of vigorously sculpted mutts. And Wesley T. Wright presents an eerie wall piece of morphing visages both human and animal.
Arranged around the totems on the gallery's walls are myriad plates sculpted into fanciful forms. Helen Plenert offers an impressive oak tree emerging from a circular plate. Evan Hobart sculpts a "gritty city" with cars lined up on a freeway under high-rises. Jeff Nebeker gives us a tasty chocolate cake plate.
One of the most haunting is Malia Landis' basketlike plate with a delicate bird and spiky branches breaking out of the surface.
While many of the works were made by emerging artists in a workshop led by Natsoulas at Alpha Ceramics Supplies Inc., some are the creations of highly recognized Sacramento-area artists.
Peter VandenBerge gives us a whimsical plate in delicate pastel colors depicting a woman at a window with a landscape behind her and a crescent moon in the sky. Michael Stevens offers a sinister white plate with a venomous snake meticulously painted on the cracked surface.
A funky sense of humor informs Kurt Fishback's "Portrait of the Artist Handling a Problem With Ease" and Linda Fitz Gibbon's running figure made of vegetables.
Humor, too, is evident in Natsoulas' homage to his mentor Robert Arneson, here seen as a baby in swaddling clothes wearing an aviator's helmet and smoking a cigar. Natsoulas shares a story that Arneson as a baby resembled the Charles Lindbergh baby so much that his mother was afraid someone would kidnap him.
Other plates by prominent artists include Suzanne Adan's "Fuddy Duddy," a ceramic version of one of her intriguing black-and-white paintings of an enigmatic figure with a birdhouse and a stack of cups in the background. Also fascinating is an elegant gray plate decorated by Bob Brady and thrown by his wife, Sandra Simon. The enigmatic figures on the plate echo Brady's compelling sculptures and drawings.
Elegant, too, is Joe Mariscal's "The Earth and the Heavens," a black plate with sculpted blackbirds emerging from its surface. A series of three vintage plates from the 1970s by Ruth Rippon adds a historical note to the show. These earthy platters with linear mythological figures are treasures, as is a plate with a charming drawing of a cat and mouse by VandenBerge.
Among the surprises of the show are an elaborate expressionistic plate of exotic creatures called "Pandora's Dilemma" by Joseph Bellacerra, who is better known for his emotive landscapes. The vigorously handled plate signals an interesting new direction for him.
Another surprise is Stephen Dean Holsapple's bold "Whore" with an image of a pomegranate and a poem by former Sacramento Poet Laureate Viola Weinberg.
On a more practical note, former Bee food writer Elaine Corn offers "Side Dish for Fennel Salad," which comes with a recipe for the same.
TOTEMS AND PLATES: CERAMIC EXHIBIT
What: This show of works in clay was curated by prominent ceramic sculptor Tony Natsoulas.
Where: Blue Line Gallery, 405 Vernon St., Suite 100, Roseville
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 7-9 p.m. on the third Saturday of the month, through June 1
Cost: Free
Information: (916) 738-4117
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