"It's In My Nature"- New Works by Raina Gentry, Opening May 4th, 2013

“It’s In My Nature” 

New Works by Raina Gentry

Opening Saturday, May 4th 2013

Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery

In the past ten years, artist Raina Gentry has become a dominant force in Northern Arizona’s art world.
Her vibrant mixed-media and acrylic paintings engage the viewer with their keen compositions, play of patterns and figural representations of animals, humans and robots.
“It’s In My Nature”, her current series of new works, promises to be a highlight of the Verde Valley’s spring art season when it opens at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery on May 4th.

“As with much of my work, the theme is nature,” says Gentry. The title has another meaning as well, she explains, “It is in my nature to paint in a certain way.  I have a unique way of seeing and expressing nature.” Part of Gentry’s nature is her use of brilliant colors and layering of patterns and textures in the ever-evolving themes she explores, all which maintain the continuity of her distinct style. Though she never starts a series with a plan in mind, each piece informs the next.  Gentry says, “I started this body of work with the piece, ‘Symphony in the Desert.’  This painting happened very spontaneously, and I was very pleased with the results and wanted to create more like it with the desert theme, but I have little control over this stuff.” Instead, she allows the art to travel wherever it takes her and the series continued to develop a good momentum.

“ I wanted to really see what I could do with this very simple composition.  Color is the driving factor in all of these,” she said. Many of the paintings also feature rabbits, perhaps an appropriate harbinger of the spring season.  “Not sure why I chose rabbits,” said Gentry, “They just seemed appropriate for the ‘story’."

Raina Gentry is a Prescott resident and has been both student and teacher at Prescott College. The school was her initial impetus to move to Prescott from California in the 1990s. A rock climber, she was in pursuit of an outdoor education degree and, remarkably, had no serious aim towards art until heading off to the University of Arizona’s art department in the year 2000.
The creative floodgates opened in Tucson, and Gentry’s success grew in leaps and bounds.
With a previous background in business management, she is adept at managing her art professionally
Her work may be seen in numerous venues throughout the state.

“It’s In My Nature” opens Saturday, May 4th, at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery and runs through the end of June. The opening-night reception takes place from 5:00pm –8:00pm in conjuction with Jerome’s popular ARTwalk.
The gallery is located at 502 Main, in the historic Hotel Jerome building, and open daily from 10:00am- 6:00pm. For more information call 928-639-4276 or visit jeromecoop.com.

Raina Gentry: Retrospective - The Last Ten Years

August 2, 2008 - September 4, 2008

Mixed media artist and Prescott resident, Raina Gentry, will be the Jerome Artists Cooperative’s featured artist for August. Her show “Retrospective: The Last Ten Years” will open on Saturday August 2nd, in conjunction with the very popular Jerome ARTwalk.“It will be a retrospective of the last 10 years, including my most recent work, which is still in progress. The show will include drawings, mono-prints, oil paintings, mixed media painting, and limited edition giclée prints,” says Gentry.

Her artwork incorporates her studies in printmaking, life drawing, collage, and painting, and is influenced by her education at Prescott College . In addition to her Environmental Philosophy Degree from Prescott College , Gentry also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson . “I view each canvas as a playground for my psyche. Each piece evolving naturally and intuitively without structure or expectation about the final outcome. It is only in hindsight that I discover the meaning of the work, sometimes not until years later,” says Gentry. Through this organic approach to art-making, Raina believes that she taps into, and expresses universal themes that many people can identify with. Through complex layering of various media, with a focus on the human form, she creates meaningful, evocative works that draw her viewers in.

Gentry has been a member of the Co-op for several years, and her gallery inventory features a popular array of paintings, prints, cards, and mixed-media masterpieces. Elements of nature, the human body, rich vintage colors, elements of renaissance design, and the beauty of day to day life. Gentry’s Raintree Studios in Prescott can be contracted to decorate your home with old-world plaster finishes, tromp l’oeil scenes and other vintage style finishes.

“Retrospective: The Last ten Years” will open to the public on Saturday August 2nd, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. The artist will be present for this festive occasion, with food and music for all guests. The show runs through September 14th.

Recent Works by Raina Gentry & Wayne St. John

February 18th 2006 - March 29th 2006

The Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery presents Recent Works by Raina Gentry & Wayne St. John.

Raina Gentry, a popular artist and relative newcomer to the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery, had no fear of ascending great heights as a rock-climbing instructor and guide with a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies at Prescott College, but when it came to surmounting the rocky barrier of insecurity that stood between he and the artist she new was inside, it was a different story.

A self-proclaimed "dabbler" in the world of art for many years, she confesses, "I just wasn't able to access my true vision or talent, and fear kept me from really going for it"

The defining point in her art career came abruptly as she skimmed a friend's art book one day; within a week, her life turned! She enrolled at the University of Arizona as an art student.

"From that moment on I was living a different life...one I could not even of imagined."

Raina currently lives in Prescott with her partner, focusing on her artwork, which is sold locally, and operating her unique business, Walls of Pompeii; where she specializes in decorative finishes and murals.

The major part of her work is intricately layered in mixed media - life drawing, painting, collage and printmaking, although she also creates large oils on canvas. Themes - often reflected in the human form - are grounded in the deeper recesses of her consciousness where she confronts the many issues that concern her as a woman, a liberal and a spiritual being. Each complex finished piece exhibits the depths of both her art education and her inner spirituality, and depicts, in her words, "the beautiful as well as the repulsive aspects of the world we live in."

Potter Wayne St. John's life as an artist took him from flying above the clouds as a 21-year Air Force F-4 pilot, to playing in the mud. As an alternative to a "rocking chair" retirement, Wayne began studying the art of pot making at Portland College in Oregon, continued his studies at the Tuscon Museum of Art and eventually at Yavapai College in Northern Arizona. In 1994-95, Wayne put his new skills to work as the resident potter at the Potted Owl Gallery in Tubac, Arizona.

Wayne continues to expand his knowledge and skills as a clay artist through workshops where he has been inspired by such nationally known potters as Yokio Yamamoto, Don Reitz, Steve Hill, Jeff Perkins and Tashiko Takaezu, among others. In addition to the beautiful bowls, plates, mugs, vases and other functional works, he has recently added 2D wall art to his collection of wares exhibited at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery.

"My pottery forms are simple yet functional, and my glazes often reflect the blue and red rock tones of the Jerome/Sedona area. I let the glaze decorate my work; runs and drips are intentional, assuring each piece is completely unique."

The handmade and wheel-thrown pottery pieces are fired twice, turning the finished piece to stoneware. The 20-step process from mud to finished pot results in lead-free, microwave safe functional art which - like the continuing journey of the artist that creates them - will last a lifetime.