The Mariposa County Arts Council is asking local veterans and their families, to participate and support an upcoming art installation focusing on the experiences of those who have served in the United States’ military. Specifically, the Arts Council would like to honor local veterans by including their photographs, words, and images of their military ephemeral on ceramic pieces created by veteran and nationally recognized artist, Ehren Tool. These pieces will make up a large-scale installation on display at the Arts Council this coming spring and summer.

Ehren Tool is a ceramic artist and Senior Laboratory Mechanician at the Ceramic Department at University of California, Berkeley, and Marine Veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. Tool’s installations consist of hundreds of ceramic cups, each cup bearing an image, word, story, or symbol pertaining to service men and women’s military and combat experience. Tool received his MFA from the University of California, Berkeley and has exhibited his vessels at the Oakland Museum of California, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Berkeley Art Center, Museum of Design and Craft, the Bellevue Arts Museum, the Renwick Gallery and The Clay Studio among others. His cup installations have also been featured on PBS’s show, Craft in America.



“This is a wonderful opportunity to use art to recognize those who have served our country and share their thoughts and stories. It’s exciting to bring in the work of a nationally recognized artist to explore issues relevant to veterans, but the real heart of the installation will focus on our local military men and women and honor them for their service. We hope veterans and their family members will contribute and participate in this special installation so that we can represent the large population of veterans who have lived or are living in Mariposa County,” said Cara Goger, Executive Director of the Arts Council.

Veterans and family members of veterans interested in contributing to this installation need only submit a digital image or an email with the words/stories/poems they would like included in the installation to Cara Goger, Executive Director of the Mariposa County Arts Council by Friday, December 16, 2016 at goger@mariposaartscouncil.org. If submitting an image, please include the service person’s name, military branch, rank, and dates/location of service. Those interested in learning more about the project are encouraged to call the Arts Council at (209) 966-3155 or email Goger.

This installation is jointly organized by the Mariposa County Arts Council and Mariposa’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6042. It will open at the Mariposa County Arts Council’s Treetop Gallery on Friday, April 28, 2017 with a public reception and run through mid-July 2017.  Complimentary public programming for the exhibition will include a public talk and an art-making workshop conducted by Ehren Tool, date and location TBD.

This exhibition is funded by the California Arts Council’s Veterans in the Arts Grant Program and is designed to bring together Mariposa’s diverse and geographically dispersed community of veterans, create opportunities to initiate connections among both veterans and the general public, and bring awareness of veterans’ experiences to the larger community.

The MARIPOSA COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL, INC. is an incorporated not-for-profit organization, created to promote and support all forms of the cultural arts, for all ages, throughout Mariposa County and is funded in part by Mariposa County, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.