July’s Artifact of the Month is a souvenir program from the Fifth Annual Shasta County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo in 1953. This sublime relic can teach us so much about what life was like back then.
Malaria? In Redding? You bet! Step back a hundred years to the “good old days” and imagine a warm June day after a nice, wet spring. It’s a recipe for mosquitoes! Malaria was a common, and deadly, ailment – along with a host of other preventable and treatable diseases that we seldom worry about today.
Just as no subject was unremarkable, no spot was inaccessible. Colby maneuvered around the Dam carrying a 40-pound 8” x 10” format Kodak camera, a wooden tripod, film holders, and the rest of his gear. He also used a 4” x 5” format camera for some shots. This combination of a large format camera and Howard’s skill produced crystal-clear, high-resolution photos with incredible details.
Insects represent some of the planet's most bizarre – yet familiar – and enchanting life forms. Some can be as intricately delicate as a butterfly, while others can be as tough and gnarly as some beetles.
The community eagerly anticipated the Turtle Bay Auction, and this year's event did not disappoint. The theme was "Off to The Races," and guests arrived dressed in their finest Kentucky Derby-inspired ensembles. They were greeted by a stunning display of decorations that transported them to Churchill Downs.
A lifelong horse lover, Suzie Burgess has transformed her passion into tangible results to become a growing name in the equestrian art sphere. Her masterpieces from various collections have been spotlighted at multiple showings on the West Coast, and her life-size portraits have most especially earned acclaim. An expert at completing realistic commissioned paintings as well as original work, Burgess is able to capture the intricacies of the equine spirit that can be enjoyed for lifetimes.
The Iconic Fashion Exhibit features the personal, designer collection of local resident Aleta Carpenter who spent her career as a political lobbyist. The collection elegantly displays the high fashion of the 1980s and early 1990s created by world-famous designers such as Valentino, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta and more.
Not only are her designs adorably whimsical and highly collectible, but she was a role model to aspire to! My curiosity was piqued and I was falling headfirst down the rabbit hole. Before things went too far, I opened up our collections database to see how many Tammis Keefe items we had in the collection. Would there be enough to create an exhibition? The answer is… yes!
At first glance, these four pages may not seem too compelling, but there is more here than meets the eye! What appears to be a stack of personal notes, jotted down in old-fashioned cursive, are actually records from court cases related to miners and land claims. The cases were conducted in French Gulch in the late 1800’s. Legal documents like these offer a glimpse into 19th Century life while also providing insight into the local affairs of 1890.
On Tuesday evening, at the Mosaic Gallery, we hosted a very special opening reception for Suzanne Gibbs’ Carr Fire Exhibition, observing the anniversary of the Carr Fire and commemorating all that came to follow. It was a restorative evening of healing, and even at times, humor. The artist shared her personal experience of the Carr Fire which led to the unique technique of including ash in her artworks in an effort process the loss and devastation that occurred in her community of East Fork in French Gulch…
Community members, donors and staff gathered this morning to celebrate the opening of Turtle Bay’s Forest Adventure Playground, a new big-kids play area located within Paul Bunyan’s Forest Camp. This playground is the most recent inclusion from the Park’s Forestry Forward Project and is complimented by Babe’s Corral, a playground for children ages 0-5, as well as the Mill Building.
One might argue that the handbag (purse, satchel, or just plain old bag) is probably one of the oldest hominid inventions. An animal bladder, a skin, a gourd, or even a really big leaf could be adapted as an effective way to carry our ever-increasing number of possessions. Over millennia, a relatively simple and practical way to carry stuff has been elevated to an art form and a status symbol accessory.
The Mosaic Gallery in the Mosaic Restaurant features quarterly exhibitions of work from Northstate artists organized by Turtle Bay Exploration Park. It operates as a sale gallery to support local artists and arts education at Turtle Bay. Featured Artist: Janet Turner - Painter, Printmaker, Educator, International Art Ambassador, and North State Art Legend
These mystery objects were on fire during February, overwhelmingly winning this month’s slot for Artifact of the Month! Some folks may have guessed that these little, metal boxes were lighters, which is not too far off since they are indeed associated with making fire. However, these diverse artifacts are all various types of match safes.
