December News & Events

IN MEMORY OF NICK NICOLAUS (1940-2022)

We recently lost a beloved member of Bolinas Museum, Edward A. Nicolaus III. Nick, as everyone called him, was a current board member – having served for over 20 years – and on the museum’s Collections Committee. He was always a lively participant in museum events, a tireless volunteer, and a collector of local art. Intelligent, kind, and enthusiastic, his friendships in Bolinas were many and diverse.

Nick’s family roots in Bolinas began in the 1880s when his paternal great-grandparents traveled by wagon from Sacramento for a stay in Bolinas. Later his maternal grandparents honeymooned here. In 1946 Nick’s maternal grandfather bought the family house on Brighton Avenue in Bolinas. Nick and his sisters grew up as part of the “summer colony” – families who spent weekends and summers in Bolinas, many going back generations. Nick remembered how his mother would pick them up on the last day of school in Sacramento, the car already packed, and head for Bolinas.

Born in 1940 and raised in Sacramento, Nick graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1962, then earned a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan. His business was based in San Francisco. He designed exceptional gardens during a fifty-year career and carried his fine aesthetic into all aspects of his life. He divided his time between the city and the Bolinas family home, still beloved by his sisters, Patsy Raven and Nancy Zacher.

As an active Bolinas Museum volunteer Nick was essential to the production of the museum’s annual auctions in the Peace Barn. At parties, he loved to serve at the bar, and even when walking with a cane, he stayed to help clean up. Nick and Nancy Tully started the Bolinas Museum’s annual 3rd of July Cocktail Party—which each year honored someone who served the community and the museum, such as Mimi Griffin, Ewan Macdonald, Ralph Camiccia, Sally Robertson, Marty Griffin, Sean Thackrey, and others. In 2019, the crowded party enthusiastically honored Nick Nicolaus! We miss Nick, but we celebrate the pleasure of having known him and all he contributed to Bolinas Museum, his community, acquaintances, and friends.

IN THE GALLERIES OPENING SOON

Bolinas-Stinson School Student Exhibition: Hooray for Habitats

On View: January 14 - 29

Reception: Saturday, January 21, 2 - 4 PM

Free and Open to All

Bolinas Museum is excited once again to present an exhibition of Bolinas-Stinson School's student artwork! As we continue our partnership with BSUSD and as we aim to deepen our commitment to educational outreach. The school district's outstanding art shops program was established in the 1970s and has continued to garner both national and state recognition. The school district was honored to receive the 2022 Exemplary Visual Arts Program Award at the annual California Art Educators Association conference. This award recognizes outstanding public school visual arts programs at the state level. The school's visual arts program was distinguished for integrating local community resources, such as the Bolinas Museum, Marin County Free Library branches, and local artists. 

Building on the theme of understanding and connecting to the local natural environment, the Bolinas-Stinson School teachers and staff based their award-winning art program on the Environmental Education matrix they started last year. The goal is to awaken the students' curiosity and sense of wonder as they learn about our environment through exploration using an interdisciplinary and arts integration approach. Kindergarteners start with exploring habitats, flora, and fauna; first graders learn about adaptations in nature; second graders learn how the land and water interact with each other; third graders learn about how environmental changes impact what can live and thrive in an area; fourth graders are taught about weathering and erosion; fifth graders learn about freshwater as an essential component natural resource; sixth to eighth graders investigate environmental protection and solutions. Students then create artwork in various mediums to reflect what they have learned about their environments. This annual exhibition of student art is beloved by locals and visitors alike! 

LAST WEEKS TO SEE CURRENT EXHIBITIONS!

ON VIEW THROUGH DECEMBER 31

MAIN & PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES

Pacific Rise: Ocean Health

Curated by Louisa Gloger and Elia Haworth

Learn More >

COASTAL MARIN ARTISTS GALLERY

Laurie Mahan Sawyer: Seeing the Unseen

Curated by Elia Haworth

Learn More >

HISTORY ROOM

Maps: At the Edge of Land and Sea

Curated by Elia Haworth

Learn More >

MUSEUM NEWS

Thank You!

We are grateful to those who donated to our annual year-end appeal or participated in Giving Tuesday last week. If you have not yet contributed to the museum, we hope you will consider giving a gift so that we can continue collecting, preserving, and sharing local art and history. As a small community-based non-profit, we count on the generosity of neighbors and friends who value Bolinas Museum's meaningful contribution to their lives. Our exhibitions and programs are vital in understanding our shared human experience and creating community. Your donations immediately impact our ability to collect, preserve, and exhibit the art and history of coastal Marin and to present a diverse range of stimulating exhibitions and fun, informative, educational events that are always free for all! 

A gift of any amount makes a difference. If your employer offers a matching gift program, consider doubling your donation by asking them to match your gift.

To make your tax-deductible contribution today, go to the link below or mail your donation to Bolinas Museum, P.O. Box 450, Bolinas, CA 94924.

DONATE

Recent Acquisitions

As part of our mission, we collect works by important California artists. We are pleased to share this recent acquisition.

Clare Rojas is an internationally celebrated artist known for her distinct style that references folk art, gender roles, and magical realism while at the same time celebrating the abstract. Her paintings often blend narrative imagery and dramatic, geometric shapes of color, as seen here in this dynamic example featuring a woman holding a flower. Animals such as birds, deer, and rabbits play important symbolic roles in much of her work. In addition to her paintings, Rojas creates large installations, folk tableaus, videos, street art, and children’s books. She is also a musician and songwriter, performing under the name Peggy Honeywell. The museum purchased this piece through the generous support of museum donors in honor of our former Executive Director, Jennifer Gately, and her nearly ten years of leading Bolinas Museum.

San Francisco-based Rojas was active in the popular Mission School of the 1990s. She earned her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work is held in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, the Berkeley Art Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and featured in a main gallery exhibition at Bolinas Museum.

READ MORE ABOUT RECENT ACQUISITIONS