Lisa Long:

In my artwork, I take ordinary pieces of paper and transform them into something that tells a story. I'm often influenced by human relationships and connections with nature. My style is whimsical and uplifting, and I hope that viewers will experience some of the joy I feel when creating. - Lisa Long

Sarah Sammi:

This Collection is the union of my two passions: birding and painting.  The Turkey (Reggie) and the golden eagle (Solomon) are full time residents of Sulphur Creek.  The Lake Elizabeth Geese in Fremont were as fascinated in the girl as she was in them.  The angry rooster proudly protects the hens at the Dry Creek Cottage.  The Ardenwood peacocks are like multigenerational families from around the world that make our country a wonderful place.  The egret shows that some birds don’t have time to pose because life goes on.  The tiny tree swallow at Garin is tough enough to sit on barbed wire.  The western blue bird is a regular visitor at Dry Creek.  The Steller Jay’s and the chestnut backed chickadee are full time, native residents. - Sarah Sammi

Marsha Balian:

As a self-taught artist I am perhaps removed from some of the constraints and expectations of those who are more formally trained.  Not only can I invent and experiment with some disregard for the rules, but I can play in the process of making art.  Play was a key element in this series exploring the alphabet. It started a found image of an old steamer boat and a pencil drawing I had made. Before I knew it an alphabet letter joined the piece and I took off playing with ideas of what each letter might suggest.  “S” is for suit, steamer, swimmer and spitting (or the warning not to).  “T” is for trench coat, tiger and tooth-brushing.  “X” includes a page from an old comic book.  What better place to have art that plays with the alphabet than a library.  Since the age of six, libraries have been a source of refuge, escape, entertainment and wonder for me.  How exciting for the City of Hayward to have a brand new, beautiful and state of the art library. - Marsha Balian

Ann Weber:

Ann Weber makes monumental sculpture out of found cardboard boxes.  Her interest is in expanding the possibilities of making beauty from a common and mundane material.  After Ellsworth is part of a series in which she pays homage to the great abstract painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly while making her own statement about relationships, form and color.  Weber’s sculptures have a mystery or double meaning to them.  Neither entirely representational nor abstract, but somewhere in between, she wants the viewers to bring their own associations to the artwork.  Ann Weber was born in Jackson, Michigan in 1950.  She received her BA in Art History from Purdue University and an MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts studying under Viola Frey, whose large-scale sculptures greatly influenced Weber’s work.