Welcome to Creative Growth! You are in the gallery, which is a warehouse space with tall ceilings, 3 massive skylights, gray concrete floors and white walls. The gallery is bright and there are additional lights highlighting the colorful artwork. 

This tour explores a special selection of Deaf Stars Shine, Creative Growth’s first exhibition curated by the Deaf Artist Group. This exhibition showcases the vibrancy of Deaf Culture through the multi-sensory visual languages of artists who cultivate community and a space to create freely. In the words of Casey Byrnes, one of the artists, this show also celebrates Equality in Art. While the show highlights 11 deaf and hard of hearing artists, this tour will feature the work of two artists, Susan Glikbarg and Theresa Lambert. 

Susan was born in San Francisco and has been practicing at Creative Growth for almost 30 years. She is a watercolor, textile, ceramic, and wood artist, and her work focuses on animals, flowers, and detailed embroidery. Theresa has practiced at Creative Growth for more than 20 years. Theresa works primarily in fiber arts, clay, and wood. She manipulates and assembles pieces in multiple media to realize her vision and express her love of the natural world.

Before we begin, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with pausing audio playback on your phone or device.

Artists’ Statement

Let’s begin the tour by reading the Artists’ Statement. This can be found on a poster in the front-right corner of the gallery. If you are standing near the doors of the gallery and facing into the gallery, turn to the right and take a few steps. The poster can be found on the wall parallel to the street. 

The poster reads - 

“The Creative Growth Deaf Artist Group is an artist-led collective that serves as a dedicated space for our Deaf+ and hard-of-hearing community to connect through shared culture and creative practice with interpreters, facilitators, staff, and allies. Welcome to the group’s inaugural exhibition, Deaf Stars Shine”

Above the poster, there are hands printed on the wall that spell out DEAF STARS SHINE in American Sign Language. 

Below the poster on the shelf sticking out from the wall, there are two glazed ceramic books created by Donna Kurtz. Donna was born in Berkeley and has been practicing at Creative Growth since 2020. These books feature hand-shaped ceramic pages bound by translucent gold ribbon. Words are carved onto the pages and the carved letters are painted with colorful glaze. The book on the left features a full rainbow of bright colors, while the book on the right is more reserved, with the letters colored with cooler blues and greens. You are encouraged to touch and feel the books. Note how the ribbon weaves between the two ceramic pages.

The pages of the book on the left offer a statement from the Deaf Artist Group, which reads as follows - 

“Deaf can work, create, imagine and make any art.” This is followed by the word “Can” with an explanation point. At the bottom of the statement are the words, “Deaf+, Creative Growth, Oakland, CA”

The pages of the book on the right read as follows -

“Book, Library, Reading, Author, Novel, Picture, Best”

Susan Glikbarg

Susan’s collection is located in the back right corner of the gallery. To get there from the Artists’ Statement poster, turn around and walk along the wall on the right hand side of the gallery past two vertical structural support beams. Susan’s collection includes four animals, which are represented as both watercolor paintings and textile soft sculptures. The textile soft sculptures resemble pillows or stuffed animal toys. The paintings were done first, and then the paintings were replicated in exacting detail as textile soft sculptures. The stuffed animals are about the same size as the ones in the paintings, and the details and features in the paintings are also mirrored on the stuffed animals. You are encouraged to pick up the stuffed animals to examine them while they are being described. The animals will be described from right to left. 

The Rabbit

We will start on the right with a textile soft sculpture that the artist describes as a rabbit. Again, the textile soft sculpture mirrors what is depicted in the watercolor painting. You are encouraged to pick it up and handle it. 

The rabbit’s body is made from fabric that has been dyed a rich navy blue. The rabbit is smiling, and has four green ears, two on each side. The body of the rabbit is covered in embroidery. There are wavy lines of yellow/gold thread, and in between the lines of waves there are rows of dots of red thread. The rabbit has two back feet and two front legs, implying that it is sitting. 

In the watercolor painting, the rabbit is facing to the left and appears to be sitting in green grass. The rabbit is outlined in a thin black line that provides contrast with the background. The background is shades of magenta and pink, perhaps indicating a pink sky. 

The Elephant

Immediately to the left of the rabbit on the same shelf is the next piece. This textile soft sculpture is an elephant. The elephant’s body is made from fabric that has been dyed mahogany brown. LIke the rabbit, the elephant is covered in embroidery, but this time there are alternating wavy lines of blue and red thread. The elephant has one tear drop shaped tan ear on each side of its head, two bright green tusks, and a long trunk. The elephant appears to be standing, with four legs and four black feet. Also note that there are FIVE purple tails! 

In the watercolor painting, the elephant is facing to the right, and appears to be standing on green grass, with a vibrant blue background. In the painting, the elephant has blue-gray ears, rather than the tan ones on the stuffed animal. In the foreground of the painting, there is a brown rectangular shape with a wavy green top, which resembles a tree. 

The Zebra

To the left of the elephant is a shelf containing a number of ceramic pieces. We will come back to these. For now, continue moving left to the next shelf, upon which sit two more textile soft sculptures. We will continue moving right to left. The animal on the right side of this shelf is a zebra. 

The zebra’s body is made from fabric that has been dyed a vibrant cornflower blue. The zebra is covered in embroidered pink dots. It has red hooves and yellow ears, both indicated by embroidered lines of colored yarn. The zebra has exactly one tail. Based on the location and arrangement of the four legs, the zebra appears to be standing or perhaps walking forward. 

In the watercolor painting, the zebra is facing to the left, and appears to be standing on green grass. The zebra is outlined in a thin black line that provides contrast with the background. The background behind the zebra is nearly the same color of dark pink as the background in the rabbit painting. The color of the zebra’s body is slightly different from the color of the stuffed animal. In the painting, the body is aqua blue, and the spots on the body are reddish brown.

The Cat

To the left of the zebra you will find the fourth and final stuffed textile sculpture, which is a cat. This is the most abstract piece. Because the cat is sitting, the hind legs blend in with the tail, and the front legs are not visible. The cat’s body is made from fabric that has been dyed brown, and is covered in a complex pattern of embroidery. There are light blue wavy lines of thread, which alternate with rows of deep purple embroidered dots and pink thread embroidered into shapes that look like a wide letter U or a smile. The cat is smiling, as indicated by embroidered red thread, and the ears feature several lines of embroidered black thread. 

In the watercolor painting, the cat is facing to the right, but with its head angled almost as if the cat is looking at the viewer. The cat is depicted as sitting on a circular bed or pillow, with its hind legs blending into its tail. The cat's body is covered in wavy lines of blue and dark brown. Other notable features are large black eyes and relatively small triangular ears on top of the cat’s head. The cat is outlined in a medium black line to provide contrast with the background. 

The circular bed or pillow that the cat is sitting on is separated into three sections, each of which is outlined in a medium black line. The top is magenta, the middle section is blue, and the base is green. The background under the pillow bed is gray, and the background behind the cat is a chartreuse or olive green. 

During an interview about this work, the artist revealed that the inspiration for this collection of animals came from a black and white book of illustrations. When asked about the vibrant color choices, Susan replied that she chose her favorite colors for these paintings. 

Ceramics

Now let’s return to the middle shelf, to the right of the zebra. Here you will find a number of ceramic sculptures. Again, feel free to pick up and examine the sculptures. There are two pieces that will be highlighted and described. 

The first one is the glazed ceramic sculpture that is second from the right end of the shelf. The base of this piece is  light purple and covered in yellowish brown dots. Parallel wavy lines are lightly carved into the clay. At the back of the piece, two smaller tabular pieces of clay are oriented vertically and stand a couple of inches above the base. These are aqua in color and covered with black, yellow, and purple dots. On top of the base layer, and covering most of the surface area of the base, is the number 49. The number is made of hand shaped clay, is colored bright red, and is covered in circular indentations. When asked about the significance of the number, the artist replied that she is a fan of the San Francisco 49ers American football team!

The second glazed ceramic sculpture can be located in the very center of the shelf, fourth from the right hand side. Unlike the other pieces featured on this tour, this one has a title, which reads “Stitched Boat”. The sculpture is reminiscent of a row boat or tug boat in shape. The base is oval shaped, with vertical sidewalls that wrap almost all the way around the base. The outside surface of the “boat” is lemon yellow, and the boat is covered in light blue, pink, and forest green dots. 

Interestingly, a number of holes were punched through the clay before it was fired. The artist has sewn a dark red thread through some of the holes. A similar technique is also employed by Theresa Lambert, whose work we will visit next. 

Theresa Lambert

If you turn 180 degrees around and take a few steps forward, you will find Theresa’s collection, which consists of a mixture of ceramic and fiber art works arranged on a bright white table about two and a half feet high. The descriptions will start at the right-hand corner of the table, and then go right-to-left around the table. Once again, you are encouraged to touch the art. 

Sea Turtles

On the right-hand corner of the table you will find four glazed ceramic pieces that resemble a family of sea turtles. The shells are brown, and the limbs and tail are mint ice cream green with brown spots. The smallest turtle has a shell that resembles a cinnamon roll. Each turtle has a unique shell, body shape, and size.

Stitched Ceramic Night Sky

To the left of the sea turtles you will find a glazed ceramic piece in the shape of a pie plate or dish. The entire outer rim of this piece is covered in velvety magenta-pink yarn that has been sewn and wrapped through holes that have been punched through the clay. The ceramic has been covered in an indigo blue glaze. Nine stars have been cut into the base surface of the plate. These stars are yellow. The contrast of the yellow stars against the deep blue background gives the impression of a star filled night sky. 

Stitched Ceramic Flowers

To the left of the stitched ceramic night sky, you will find two glazed ceramic flowers. The smaller of these has a mustard yellow base, three dark green textured leaves, and an open flower on top with deep pink petals.  The second flower is a larger stitched ceramic piece that resembles a sunflower. The base is deep mahogany brown and is textured as if it is full of seeds.The base is also covered with yarn that has been stitched through holes in the ceramic to form an 8-pointed star pattern. This yarn is rough and feels like mohair being carried with another yarn. At a distance it looks dark brown, but upon closer inspection there are a variety of colors, including red, green, blue, and purple. The petals of the flower are mustard yellow, and the petals are connected by yellow yarn that has been stitched through the center of each petal.

The Butterfly

Walk around the table to the opposite side. At the far-left corner, we will come to the final piece of the tour, which is an embroidered butterfly on a rectangular piece of soft and squishy rug material. The background consists of medium blue and lighter blue-gray stripes that span from left to right in a meandering pattern that evokes a sense of flow. On top of this background is a large and beautiful embroidered butterfly. The butterfly is quite large, covering much of the background, and is approximately 18” square.

The body of the butterfly is composed of a fuzzy, magenta yarn. The head is black and includes two antennae, and there are two hexagonal eyes made of shiny glass or plastic beads. The wings are fully open, with a background base color that is a dark brown with a hint of red or purple.The pattern embroidered onto the wings is symmetric and somewhat reminiscent of a monarch. Stripes extend from the body and are made from deep purple, light blue, pink, and lilac yarn, ending in circles of white at the wing tips.

Wrap Up

This brings us to the end of the tour, which highlighted the work of two artists - Susan Glikbarg and Theresa Lambert. Each of them works in ceramics and fiber arts, and each has explored combining these in the form of stitched glazed ceramics. 

If you are interested in learning more about the other artists featured in this show, there is a video playing on the back wall of the gallery. If you turn to your left from Theresa’s embroidered butterfly piece and take a few steps forward, you will find a couch. If you sit on the couch and lean forward, you will find two headsets that are playing the audio associated with the video. The video introduces the artists and is playing on a loop. If the video is not playing, please ask a volunteer or member of staff for help.

Thanks again for visiting Creative Growth!