“Outnumbered,” by Kathleen Sexton. Photo courtesy ICA

Register Staff
10-9-2008

Art steeped in both local flavor and global influence is making for a tantalizing experience over at the Inyo Council for the Arts as four accomplished artists of diverse backgrounds and mediums show their works now through mid-November.
An array of photographs, sculptures, paintings and jewelry are currently on display at the ICA Gallery as part of its Featured Artists Series. The show runs through Nov. 14, and ICA is holding a reception for the public to meet the artists on Friday, Oct. 24, from 7-9 p.m., at 137 S. Main St., Bishop.
According to ICA Executive Director Lynn Cooper, the diversity of these four artists makes a memorable art exhibit.
Daryl Aukee specializes in unique, one-of-a-kind contemporary jewelry.
Photographer John Dittli captures the beauty and power of the dramatic landscape of his home in the Eastern Sierra and abroad.
Mark Messenger blends personal mythology and folk art sensibilities in his ceramic sculptures.

Kathleen Sexton, a local veterinarian, expresses her love of animals, color and action, in her expressive pastel and oil paintings.

“ICA is delighted to have such a magnificent and diverse show such as this and encourages everyone to come and check out this must-see show,” Cooper said.
Here’s a little more on the artists.
Aukee has been designing and making jewelry for more than 20 years. He is self-taught in the craft of what he calls fine contemporary jewelry. Aukee produces one-of-a-kind original creations with silver, gold, bronze, brass and other, alternative materials. His work will almost always have many different textures, each unique in their own way. Sometimes set stones of different kinds might be included along with the textures.
Now that Aukee is retired, his passion is to spend as much time as possible in his studio. Aukee is currently showing in local galleries, as well as local craft shows. More of his beautiful creations can be viewed on his Web site: designsbyaukee.com.
Landscape, wilderness and adventure photographer John Dittli has been an Eastside resident since 1982 and has been photographing the West and abroad for more than 30 years. His images have appeared internationally in advertisements, magazines, books, calendars, cards and posters.
Dittli is an avid backcountry skier with a great love of the outdoors and in the past has worked in such outdoor-related jobs as a climbing ranger, a cross-country ski area director and presently as a snow surveyor. He currently lives with his wife Leslie in a solar powered straw bale home he designed and built in southern Mono County.
Dittli creates his original photographs with large and medium format film cameras as well as digital capture. In the case of film, the image is electronically scanned into a digital medium.
Each photograph is printed individually from a digital file created by the artist. For limited edition prints, a new file is created for every print so that each print is an original, no two prints being exactly the same. Every attempt is made to recreate the scene as naturally as possible without the addition of false color or elements. The final prints are either created using Lightjet technology (light “sprayed” on photographic paper) or Giclee (sprayed ink).
Messenger is a ceramic sculptor residing in the East Bay where he is a professor of art at Diablo Valley College. Raised in Southern California, Messenger received a Master’s of Fine Arts from San Diego State University.
Messenger’s sculpture is a melding of folk and fine art traditions. Steeped in ceramic process and history, his work also pays homage to the rich heritage of sensibilities which comprise American culture. In addition, there’s an introspective quality to the sculpture which the artist explains: “My work represents a personal mythology based on a contemporary perspective. This includes a combination of drawing, painting, modeling and pottery techniques. Through these I explore social, political and psychological issues in the form of narratives.”
In the spring of 2008, Messenger conceived the idea of an adaptation of the “10 Bulls” by the 12th century Chinese Master Kakuan. Kakuan based his painting, poems and commentary on even earlier Taoist oxen. The images are usually put in circles signifying The Way or Buddha Nature. The ox is variously described as a symbol of determination or Truth-in-Action. Messenger designed and produced a series of 10 plates to accompany the poems, and titled this collaborative work, “The Ten.”
Walter Schober, whom Messenger has known from many summers of working at his pack station here in the Eastern Sierra, was pleased to be asked to collaborate on the poems and commentary that accompany these new images.  
Messenger’s work has been exhibited extensively and is represented in a number of national collections. Two recent international projects included a group sculpture in Cuba and a large-scale, permanent installation at Parque La Carolina in Quito, Ecuador.
Sexton’s artistic endeavors began with copying cartoons at age 4 and, according to Sexton, her interest and talent were encouraged and honed by an excellent teacher from ages 7-15. She started with pastels, then was taught to use watercolor, oil, acrylics, charcoal and colored pencil. She now uses mostly pastel, so has come full circle.
When Sexton moved to Bishop with her husband in 1969 to practice as veterinarians, it gave her the opportunity to meet many of the cowboys and be invited to their brandings. The photos she takes at these brandings form the basis for many of her paintings. Action, strong colors and strong shadows are what move her to paint. She may use one photo or a composite of many to make a painting.
Sexton has sold paintings throughout the U.S. as well as in Germany, England and Scotland. Now that her eight children have grown up and moved out of the house, she has more time to paint.
Two of her paintings in the current exhibit include “Teamwork,” which was done from photos of the Clydesdales taken during Mule Days, and “Outnumbered,” which utilized photos taken during a branding in 1987.
For more information on the current ICA Featured Artists Series, call (760) 873-8014 or log onto www.inyo.org.