June Artists: Rose Cefalu, Sharon Davis and Philippe Jestin

Rose Cefalu’s “blue prints” are part of an ongoing series dedicated to her love of the high desert landscape and the cyanotype process. These unusual trees paired with the vintage process allow this unique handmade view of Joshua Tree National Park. The process is done by creating a light sensitive emulsion to cold press watercolor paper and contact printing an enlarged negative onto the surface. In conjunction also creating photograms with this process where she is contact printing pieces of high desert nature to the emulsion.  The process includes harnessing the suns power as the images are left in the UV light to develop and rinsed with water to clear the image. The singular and duo tone colors are the same process but done with a technique referred to as “gum printing”.

Every day you can find Rose obsessing over her iPhone photos and over-posting on Instagram @joshuatreedesertrose and @rosecefaluphoto. In her spare time, she thinks about traveling, printing imagery, making candles, and mixing new colors. In 2019 Rose launched a cyanotype workshop to get her “hands dirty” again and reintroduce this vintage art form to a new audience interested in becoming skilled with alternative photographic processes. She is also producing award-winning content at a variety of outlets. Currently Rose is the Photography Director at Emmy magazine and you can find her photography work
at rosecefaluphoto.com

Sharon Davis is the artist and founder of Earth House Studios. Her primary medium is acrylic painting but she loves experimenting with different styles and different mediums.

After many years in and out of the desert, Sharon planted her roots in Morongo Valley and is fortunate enough to be able to live the lifestyle she has always had in her heart. Sharon is a self-taught artist who loves color. Art has been a major part of her entire life, now it is her way of life.

She is a member of the La Quinta Art Association, MBCAC, and President of the Art Colony of Morongo Valley.

Earth House Studio -emphasis on the letters A-R-T- is a growing work of art in itself with paper bag floors and broken CD backsplash, tables covered with tin can lids and belts and a mosaic wall made out of beer caps. This is a studio featuring installation and repurposed art as part of the landscape and home. Several installation pieces to explore on the property including two Memorials to Native Americans.

Philippe Jestin’s work is inspired by the human figure and finding ways to create an object visually ambiguous, offering different lectures between figurative and abstract, going back and forth and open to the potential of a fluid perception. His Initial interest in the representation of fabric designs over the body led him to create drawings of the human figure with stripes and subtracted spaces. Through the craft, the cast of resin on the panel creates a relief on the surface interacting with the white background. These “positive” and “negative” spaces can be seen as completing and/or competing with each other, depending on how the translucent reliefs of resin interact with the light and the viewer’s physical and/or emotional stance.

Over the years Philippe produced works with wood, metal, paper, wire and charcoal. One material constant in his practice is resin that has been applied with different casting techniques, often born out of experimentation and necessity to bring forth the initial idea.

Originally from France, Philippe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Paris-Sorbonne University. He has had solo exhibitions in France and the US, notably with Michael Martin Gallery, Hang, Ampersand and Sylvia White Gallery and participated in international exhibits and fairs including AAFair in NYC and SF International Art Fair. His work is in the collections of Microsoft and the diRosa Preserve.
Artist Website: philippejestin.com

Please email gallery-director@mbcac.org if interested in purchasing work.

VIEW SERIES 1 | May Artists: Marcia Geiger, Ben Allanoff and Anna Stump