Works by artist Patricia Larenas on display at Atherton Town Hall

The Atherton Arts Foundation is presenting an exhibit titled “Called by the Trees”  at the Atherton Town Hall (80 Fair Oaks) through May 24 featuring artist Patricia Larenas.

Patricia’s artwork highlights the sacredness and fragility of life, as experienced through the lens of trees. She studies and draws individual trees on location, often naming them in order to elevate their visibility and tell their stories. Her recent work includes collecting local soils and charcoal from wildfires to make paint, and using renewable, recycled, or handmade papers.

In the spring of 2021 she became Artist in Residence with Palo Alto based non-profit Canopy, and is currently planning workshops on making soil and charcoal paint at San Vicente Redwoods with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. She recently completed an artist residency near Joshua Tree National Park (the resulting artwork is included in this exhibition).

Patricia teaches classes on drawing trees and book arts through the Atherton Arts Foundation (AAF), and serves on their board of directors. She studied in the Filoli Botanical Art Certificate Program in Woodside, and received her B.A. degree in Studio Art from San Jose State University. She is the NorCal Chapter Coordinator of Artists for Climate Awareness.

Patricia was born in Chile and immigrated to the U.S. as a child.  Visit her website at www.plarenasonpaper.com.