Untitled (D1197) by Alan Perez. Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 2019. 20 x 26". Alan Perez is an artist who is interested in the dark side. His work may not always be the nicest or the friendliest, but to be honest with you, he's more interested in the darkness and mysteries of life. Alan is a multidisciplinary artist who works in charcoal, paint, fiber, mixed media and ceramics. While he enjoys many materials, he identifies as a sculptor first, noting that sculpture is much more real and much more appealing to him.

Untitled Apron (F0404) by Alice Sampson. Embroidery and fabric, 2019. 34 x 25". Alice Sampson creates extraordinary work in fiber - amazing fabric watches and richly detailed jewelry - all with an eye for color.

Untitled (D0802) by Ann Meade. Watercolor on paper, 2017. 22 x 30". Ann Meade's work is a truly rare combination of geometric abstraction and figuration. Not unlike some of the work associated with the Mission School, Meade crafts art that features the everyday - baseball players, cats etc - snuggled amidst a gridded decorative field.

Untitled (P0540) by Carlota Rodriguez. Mixed media on wooden panel, 2018. 24 x 20". While sporting and embracing a strong sense of the handmade, Carlota Rodriguez's paintings and drawings draw on the history of geometric abstraction as well as recent formalism.

Trapezoid Cool Of The Day (R0148) by Christian Vassell. Acrylic on vinyl, 2013. 12 x 12". Whether icing monochrome layers of paint on to recycled LPs or layer upon layer of slices of color to canvas, Christian Vassell is mainly a stunning abstractionist. Vassell is also an avid reader and researcher, constantly studying books and pamphlet. He sometimes adds the texts of his reading to a drawing to create an graphic encyclopedia of sorts.

Untitled (P1055) by Danny Thach. Acrylic on wood, 2018. 22 x 17". Using a pared down graphic style that lends a very contemporary feel to his art, Thach often remakes published images and snapshots from the internet into his own.

Untitled (S0922) Artist Tote by Danny Thach. Fabric, thread and acrylic, 2018. 14 x 10". Using a pared down graphic style that lends a very contemporary feel to his art, Thach often remakes published images and snapshots from the internet into his own.

Untitled (P0085) by Elena Rossi.

Embroidery and fabric on stretched fabric over wood frame, 2018.

24 x 30".

Untitled (P1077) by Esmeralda Silva. Mixed media on stretched canvas, 2019. 30 x 48". Whether using clay, fabric or paper, Esmeralda Silva creates lively interpretations of daily life: a family house, fancy cars, and domestic animals.

Untitled (P0938) by Felicia Griffin. Mixed media on plexiglass with found frame, 2019. 22 x 18".

Untitled (P1110) by Heather Hamann. Mixed media on stretched canvas, 2019. 18 x 24". NIAD's prolific storyteller Heather Hamann invites you to dine at her miniature table where roasted chicken, pasta, carrots, and dozens of strawberries keep her royal fairy folk well fed. Heather writes and illustrates fantasy epics, as well as uses the ceramics studio to sculpt the environments, characters, and food featured in her fables.

Untitled (D5548) by Jason Powell-Smith. Acrylic on paper, 2019. 13 x 19". Places are important to Jason Powell-Smith who regularly expresses pride in being a Bay Area native, explaining "I like the Bay Area because it's where I grew up." Bus lines and regional transit stations remind him of specific films and television shows which reappear throughout Jason's art works.

Untitled (P5109) by Jean McElvane. Acrylic on stretched canvas, 2017. 10 x 14". Prior to NIAD, Jean McElvane studied art and music at Contra Costa Community College for two years. She also worked as an artist's assistant. Her paintings and drawings tend toward realism, but the majority of her work is in the craft field, creating meticulously built fiber projects or using recycled and found materials to build amazing objects that capture the essence of insects or creatures.

After Ugo Rondinone (D1242) by Joseph Rux. Colored pencil on paper, 2019. 20 x 26". Joseph Rux's work is grounded in a curiosity about the functions of the world around him. Rux works primarily in print making, drawing and painting. Additionally, Joseph is an active and engaged member of the local art community, having participated in NIAD group critiques and presented his work at Pixar Animation Studios. Joseph Rux's influences include: Post-Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh, the sculptor Ugo Rondinone, Social Realist Grant Wood, as well as fellow NIAD artists Sara Malpass and Deatra Colbert.

Untitled (D4500) by Julie MacDonald. Colored pencil on paper on wood panel, 2017. Julie MacDonald's work is exploration of contemporary abstraction, whether its the gridded quilt-like patterns of her Mission School influenced geometric drawings or her more psychedelic, but equally vibrant meanderings in ceramics.

Untitled (P1031) by Karen May. Mixed media on found book page on wood panel, 2019. 9 x 14". Over the last several years, Karen May has created and continued a series of detournements, manipulating art exhibition advertisements in art periodicals with ink and marker.

Untitled (D5613) Artist Book by Karen May. Unique drawings in a found and modified box, 6 x 6 x 1".

Over the last several years, Karen May has created and continued a series of detournements, manipulating art exhibition advertisements in art periodicals with ink and marker.

Untitled (D0651) Artist Book by Luis Estrada. Mixed media on found book. 9 x 10 x 1". Upon first encounter with Luis Estrada's work it is evident that the artist is obsessed with the weather. His paintings and drawings are peppered with meteorological symbols and diagrams. One quickly notices that entangled among the weather forecast is information about the local train systems - freight and transit - as well as images from professional wrestling.

Untitled (P0968) by Luis Estrada. Acrylic on stretched canvas, 2019. 24 x 30". Upon first encounter with Luis Estrada's work it is evident that the artist is obsessed with the weather. His paintings and drawings are peppered with meteorological symbols and diagrams. One quickly notices that entangled among the weather forecast is information about the local train systems - freight and transit - as well as images from professional wrestling.

Untitled (P0791) by Maria Radilla. Mixed media on stretched canvas, 2016. 30 x 30". Marilla Radilla says, "I started creating art at NIAD in 2005, and since being here I've learned how to make dolls and embroider quilts in my own style. I'm inspired by my childhood in Mexico, fashion, food, flowers, and traditions where we give and receive gifts. These are the things that I really love. When I make artwork with fabrics, I think about my experiences: growing up, I had dolls and played with them in fields of flowers by my home. I love flowers that are red or yellow or white. I also look at a lot of books, especially a big book of colorful birds and a catalogue filled with pictures of beautiful old dolls. I go through the images and pick a different doll to embroider onto a quilt or make into my own doll. I've also made dolls based on figures in paintings, like the people in Goya's paintings of the Spanish courts."

Untitled (P1651) by Matthew Wilson. Mixed media on board, 2016. 16 x 20". The thing that's fascinating about Matthew Wilson's drawings is that he draws the interior and exterior of machines at the same time, as if he has x-ray vision. And, after studying videos of machines, heavy equipment, transportation and amusement park ride, he creates his drawings from memory.

Untitled (P0096) by Peter Harris. Acrylic on stretched canvas, 2018. 26 x 35 x 35". Peter Harris has been creating work at NIAD Art Center since 1995. During this time, he's developed a robust multi-disciplinary practice that includes lustrous ceramic vessels, prints, and artist books. The above photographs feature the artist surveying progress on his month-long solo exhibition. NIAD's garden and window sills boast an impressive collection of Peter's ceramics, which double as dazzling planters, year round!

Untitled (P0075) by Shana Harper. Acrylic on stretched canvas, 2019. 38 x 40".

Shana Harper's artist statement: "I am a phenomenal artist who works primarily in printmaking, ceramics, textiles and drawing.

In my drawings I like to work with holes or gaps, especially in my nature scenes. Sometimes that's me, sometimes I'm in a hole trying to get out of it and a lot of my art is about my feelings. When I work in the studio I like to stay in one spot so I can focus.

I like to draw variations of an image; a flower, a leaf. I like to repeat an image; that's why stencils and printmaking interest me. I like to work an image until it's perfected. I also like to challenge myself. Learning printmaking was a challenge over the last decade.

In my ceramics I have made several pie sculptures since food is about memory to me. I made an apple pie sculpture to remember a loved one who has passed away. Working with clay I like the feel of it, I like smoothing it out, I like perfecting it.

I want my art to expand into the world. I want to make useful things like napkins and pots. Things that people use and wear everyday. I want you to know that being an artist is the best feeling in the world. "

Untitled (D0912) by Shantae Robinson. Mixed media on paper, 2017. 23 x 29". Shantae Robinson knows how to use color. Her abstract paintings and drawings - often based on a grid structure - come alive with color, seeming to emit some sort of life vibrations.

Untitled (F0403) by Susan Wise. Yarn and mixed media, 2018. 17 x 17 x 1". Unlike traditional basket making, which uses a very regimented math to tightly and firmly weave the materials, Susan Wise invented her process. She first layed out the twine or rope and began shaping it into the vessel, and then, using a different diameter of string or yarn, lashed the coils into place.

Untitled (F0408) by Sylvia Fragoso. Mixed media wallhanging, 2019. 21 x 18". Sylvia Fragoso's drawings are striking in their originality and conviction, evincing a brilliantly intuitive grasp of color and design. These mesmerizing abstractions and swirling striations - sometimes embedded with religious symbols - pulsate with color and energy, like mosaics that have burst open into hallucinatory vortices.

Untitled (P1044) by Tre'von Silva. Mixed media on stretched canvas, 2019. 24 x 18". Tre'von Silva creates striking abstract paintings and works on paper. The immediacy and lyricality of his pieces reveal a sense of visual and aesthetic confidence.