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Open Studios Artists Transcend the Decades
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Open Studios Artists Transcend the Decades
One Artist Lives the Tradition of Nine Generations
By R.T. Sideman
With the ever-changing ways of the modern-day job market, it's probably safe to proclaim that there's only one Santa Cruz resident who works in the same trade that his family has worked for nine generations.
That would be I.B. Bayo, whose African textiles and bright, whimsical clothing are the summation of skills and artistry handed down over hundreds of years.
Bayo's designs and "wearable art" will be on display and for sale in the 24th Annual Cultural Council Open Studios Art Tour, which runs this weekend and next, concluding October 18.
Like his ancestors in Nigeria who were also weavers and quilt makers, Bayo's operation, which he runs out of a studio on Santa Cruz's Westside, is still a family affair. His mother, brothers and sisters provide him with fabrics that they still make in Osogbo, a small Nigerian town populated by artists.
"We cooperate to make this work because that is how our family has operated for so long," said Bayo, 41.
A Fusion of Traditional and Modern
One coat for sale is made from fabric his mother crafted when she was 15 years old. His father, a tailor, made ceremonial clothing for Nigerian kings, queens and tribal chiefs. The Bayo family name is widely known throughout Nigeria.
Bayo first toured the United States for his other love, performing ancestral dance.
During the first weekend of the art tour, Bayo's work caught the eye of Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold, who took home a blazer-style black jacket adorned with colorful hand-dyed fabric squares embroidered on like a quilt. Leopold wore it out that night to a fundraiser for the Loma Prieta school district.
"I got rave reviews from so many people," recalled Leopold, who said the designs jibe well in a community where the Hawaiian shirt is considered formal wear.
"It's a love of color and a certain panache," he said.
But don't expect Leopold to don his new technicolor coat in front of the county board.
"You wouldn't wear it somewhere where other people are wearing jackets and ties," he said with a laugh. "The Board of Supervisors tends to be a much more staid fashion."
Bayo says his hand-woven designs are a unique combination of new and old "because I use African fabric in western style." One piece won the top prize in the "wearable art" category two years ago at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara.
His designs have expanded to include bedspreads, wall hangings and even place mats, the latter featuring stylized zebras.
Bayo learned the trade from the ground up. He watched his mother pick cotton. His earliest memory is sitting in his father's lap in front of a foot-powered sewing machine.
"That's how you learn to be a weaver — you have to learn how it grows, how to spin it, how to weave it," he said. "In school, you can learn the ability to be a doctor or a lawyer. Clothing is my family's job. It's hard to ignore."
Art Tour Mainstay Friedman Featured for Past 24 Years
While Bayo connects the generations, another artist stands out for spanning the entirety of the Open Studios Art Tour's 24 years.
Liz Lyons Friedman is the lone artist who has been featured in every Open Studios since its inception. As the art tour has grown from 80 original participants to this year's 300, Friedman has grown too.
Her linoleum block prints have also evolved over time, and remain popular with the public, said Ann Osterman, events manager for the art tour.
Also known as linocut, linoleum block prints are a relief method similar to woodblock printing in which everything is cut away from the flat surface of a block except those areas meant to appear as imagery when the block is inked and printed.
Working in techniques from the simple to intricate, Friedman's blocks depict bucolic landscapes and still lifes reminiscent of Van Gough.
A series called "Celebration" rings delightful variations on the theme of merrymaking, typically with friends or lovers bonding over glasses of wine.
Taking advantage of the linoleum block's receptiveness to decorative design, Friedman has designed posters for the Capitola Begonia Festival; they boast alluring depictions of the large flowers with Capitola Village in the background. Printing many colors from only one surface, Friedman likes to layer on magenta, turquoise and cobalt blue.
"The 'Celebration' series has been very popular because people can relate to the scenes and titles," she said. "One is called 'kitchen crowd'. It shows how no matter how many people, if you have party, they all cram in the kitchen."
Another popular piece, called "Girlfriends," shows three women drinking wine and leaning in together as if they are about to be photographed.
"You know how when you're out with good friends and there's that feeling that comes through in body language? So I try to capture these little events in life that make things fun," Friedman said.
Endless Possibilities
A departure from those popular themes is a new series Friedman created this summer called "Endless Possibilities."
"It's much more abstract, working with separate squares, carved with different subjects, and put together in a quilt-like effect," she said.
Born in Buffalo, Friedman, 60, studied art and printmaking before working for years as a high school art teacher.
Her Aptos studio was recently featured in a Random House-published book titled "Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways," which is about old sheds converted into creative spaces.
Her blocks, typically 14 by 16 inches, range in price from $169 for unframed versions, to $285 and upwards for ones framed and mounted.
Osterman said she has enjoyed watching Friedman's creative energy morph over the years.
Noticing how margaritas pop up in Friedman's block prints, Osterman postulates: "Maybe she's taken a trip to Mexico that influences her body of work... Most artists aren't content with doing same things over and over," Osterman said, "so it's really fun to see them grow and push themselves."
[Editor's Note: You can visit the artists' web sites at www.aptosartshoppe.com and www.ibbayo.com.]
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