Lake County Rural Arts Initiative debuts bass statues, plans more murals
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — An organization that’s working to raise the profile of Lake County as an arts destination is debuting a new series of sculptures in the city of Clearlake.
The Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, or LCRAI, is a small but big-thinking organization that is building a portfolio of public art work projects throughout Lake County.
In recent months, LCRAI has installed two sculptures of bass in Clearlake, with plans for another two to be placed in the coming year.
Martha Mincer, an LCRAI Board member, said one of the group’s main goals is to use the arts for economic development.
“We believe this county could be a dramatic arts designation,” she said.
Studies have shown that a focus on public art isn’t just good for the soul, it has a measurably positive impact on the communities where it’s offered.
There is an understanding that outdoor art and making a commitment to a community “really raises even the community’s feeling about itself,” said Mincer, adding, “which is what we want to do.”
Mincer said that in the group’s three and a half years it has raised awareness in Clearlake and Lakeport of what can be accomplished with an arts destination.
The group also has a mandate to support art in schools. In 2020, they gave out grants to county teachers to cover art supplies. Mincer said fundraising is ongoing to continue that work.
She said they believe strongly that art nourishes a part of the brain that nothing else does, especially for children, citing a Harvard study about how art lights up the brain.
Mincer said putting arts in the school raises scores in every single subject. “I have a real passion for it.”
Mincer, who came to Lake County from the East Coast, said people are looking to retire in places that stay rural, a fact that positions Lake County to attract new residents.
If a community makes upgrades through art, Mincer suggested that people are OK with it otherwise remaining rough around the edges.
She also pointed to places like Taos, New Mexico, that have unique geographic and cultural character. Lake County, similarly, has its own character and natural beauty that lend themselves to art.
Mincer said Lake County’s community members need to celebrate who they are and art is a powerful way to do that.
“It’s been powerful since we were in caves,” Mincer said, noting that art influences how we think about ourselves.
“It’s very additive in terms of its ability in terms of shaping success in a community,” and has a unique ability to drive thinking in ways that are powerful and successful, she said.
The mural trail
LCRAI already has carried out other noteworthy projects, supporting artwork that emphasizes what’s unique about Lake County — including Pomo history and culture, wildlife and Clear Lake, at the county’s heart and center.
One project that already has drawn significant notice is the Lakeport murals project, which is the focus of the group’s mural trail.
Mincer said the city came to LCRAI to ask about the murals, and wanted them to be historic and lake-related. LCRAI additionally wanted them to be “buzzworthy.”
LCRAI pitched the idea of starting a mural trail and the city agreed. So Mincer said the group reached out to local artists and muralists.
Mincer said her favorite mural is the 1949 airplane landing on the lake, painted on a building across from City Hall. Other highlights on the trail are a native Pomo woman on the wall of the Silveira Community Center, painted by Michael and Violet Divine, skiers by Robert Minuzzo and birds by muralist Gloria De La Cruz, whose work can be seen around Lake County.
LCRAI also got donors for murals on fire stations on Lakeport and Kelseyville to pay homage to the bravery of firefighters and how they put their lives in danger to protect us “from the ravages of a pretty formidable enemy,” Mincer said.
A mural of a bass by the Divines can be found at Redbud Park in Clearlake.
Mincer said there are more murals in the mix, some of which will include a focus on history. Hope Rising in Clearlake wants one for its building.
“We’re a little overwhelmed,” said Mincer.
However, that hasn’t kept LCRAI from continuing to move forward with more work.
Bass statues placed in Clearlake
The group’s latest endeavor is the placement of bass statues in Clearlake.
Mincer said Supervisor Bruno Sabatier has been a real supporter of art in the county. He also helped create the bass statue project.
Mincer said he brought the idea to LCRAI, presenting them with the iconic image of a bass that they should start to put around the county after they are made artistic.
“I originally thought of the idea when I traveled through Wyoming and saw buffalo forms everywhere,” Sabatier said. “I’ve seen similar things in Sonoma County and Napa County with roosters and cows. So I thought, what is Lake County famous for, and I thought of our bass. I've never seen our bass really illustrated in our county, so I approached RAI and they took my idea and made it happen.”
Mincer said Sabatier has helped by reaching out to donors, including the cannabis community.
Sabatier said he approached cannabis businesses both in Clearlake and around the county to see if they were interested in donating to the project, and they donated funds directly to LCRAI, “and now we're finally seeing the results of those actions.”
Six cannabis companies donated to the project: Benmore Valley Project, Triple C Collective, Napa Valley Fume, Jed Morris, Lake Investments and Lakeside Herbal Solutions.
Mincer said the project has had a bit of lag time because of the pandemic.
Originally, the idea was to put the bass statutes around Lake County. However, the city of Clearlake wanted all of them, Mincer said.
She said it’s become part of an effort to take an area and make an immersive art destination theme as part of changing the narrative.
“They have a lot going for them,” she said of Clearlake, which also plans to work with LCRAI to extend the concept of Main Street art, noting the city has put a considerable amount of money toward it.
Mincer said they want to make something that’s dramatic and unique, adding that it will be surprising.
The project is drawing on Lake County’s deep and extraordinary amount of artistic talent, which is one of the reasons Mincer said LCRAI felt the project was doable.
Renowned wood sculptor Mark Colp — known for winning chain saw carving competitions — created three large wood fish based on the image designed by D.B. vanSteenburgh and carved out of redwood trees harvested from the Valley fire.
The artists chosen to decorate and enhance the wood sculptured images are Judson Eden and the Divines, with Diego Harris using the bass image to create a full metal sculpture.
Harris, of Upper Lake, is known for his unique sculptures — fantastical creatures, trees and shapes — that look as if they were lifted from a dreamscape.
Mincer said Harris, whose mother Sherry also is an accomplished local artist who works in mediums including basketry, is becoming more well known. His sculpture took several months for the creation process.
Diego Harris wanted to do his sculpture from scratch if he mimicked the image and Mincer said OK. His has been placed in Austin Park, while Eden’s is at Austin Beach.
“They’re glorious looking,” and people love them, said Mincer. “They look at them and find them to be magnificent, which they are.”
Then there are the Divines, whose previous work in Lake County includes the fish mural at Redbud Park and the mural of the Pomo women on the Silveira Community Center.
Violet Divine grew up in Southern California and has connections to the Burning Man festival, and did her graduate degree at UC Irvine. They bought a home in Lake County in 2016.
Divine said she’s hacked on the wooden base made by Colp quite a bit. She’s doing a stone mosaic as part of her creation, using small concrete appliqués and locally sourced obsidian for the kids, with the body of Brazilian quartz.
“It’s very tedious,” Divine said of the construction process.
But she is nothing if not determined.
When she first pitched the project to the Clearlake Marketing Committee, she had a locally sourced obsidian stone and serpentine to discuss her project with them.
At one point, the sharp obsidian sliced her finger and, despite bleeding, she continued with her presentation. Finally, City Clerk Melissa Swanson asked if she could get her a bandage.
Divine is working with her husband on another bass statue, which will be adorned with materials collected off the beach such as driftwood.
Their statues will be placed at Highlands Park and Redbud Park. Mincer said the Divines’ fish are set for installation in the spring.
Like Mincer and the LCRAI founders, Divine sees the chance for economic benefits to emerge from the project. She said he hopes to entice entrepreneurship to come into the area, and is working with a team of people to carry out that goal.
LCRAI also is acting as a strategic partner and helping the city write a Clean California grant that will focus on art and beautification, Mincer said.
Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the availability of $300 million in grants for the program, with cities, counties, transit agencies, tribal governments and other governmental entities able to submit proposals of up to $5 million to beautify their communities and address trash and debris.
Mincer said the project is expected to include installation of trash cans, creation of a mascot and the potential for more murals, with art development opportunities along Highway 53.
To support LCRAI in its efforts to improve art and life in Lake County, visit its website and reach out through the group’s contact page.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.