No Boundaries

No Boundaries

My earliest memory of Maureen Gilli is from fourth grade at Sacramento County Day School.

She wheeled her art cart into the classroom and showed us an example of that day’s project: bird masks made from paper.
I marveled at her work. The detail of feathers. The expressive owl face. All from simple pieces of cut paper. I stared in awe. I thought, maybe someday my work will be that beautiful.

Thirty years later, the awe has not diminished. Today I’m in Gilli’s Citrus Heights home. Her work graces the walls, staircase, ceiling and tabletops in every medium you can imagine.

Painting With Fabric

Painting With Fabric

Water ripples around gray rocks. Pine trees and blue sky reflect in the water. The river bottom is visible beneath.

This landscape can steal your breath, but when you realize the Sierra scene is not a photo or paint, but fabric, you may gasp for air.

“I love doing landscapes,” says Merle Axelrad, the artist and wizard behind this textile trickery. “I think of them not as what they are—a rock, a tree—but as layering items in space to create depth and the play of light.”

Glide Path

Glide Path

Unless he runs the worst local campaign in history, Kevin McCarty gets elected mayor in November. No need to wait weeks for updated vote tabulations. We’re talking landslide.

McCarty drew the perfect opponent in Flojaune Cofer. Inexperienced, impulsive and far more progressive than any mayoral candidate in city history, Cofer has kicked goals into her own net since her campaign started.

Soon after Cofer submitted candidacy paperwork, the city discovered she violated campaign finance laws. City Council members generously decided the rules were too confusing and kept her on the ballot.

Out And About September 2024

Out And About September 2024

Out & About By Jessica Laskey September 2024 Four Sacramentans are honored this month on the Walk of Stars. Photo by Linda Smolek Walk Of Stars Local luminaries honored for impact, achievements Another crop of local honorees gets their stars installed on the...
Ferment To Fork

Ferment To Fork

A whale harpoon hangs on the reception area wall. A relic to prove a point: To change something bad, create something better.

“For thousands of years we harpooned whales to light our homes,” says Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co. “We didn’t stop because we care about whales. We stopped because kerosene was a cheaper way to light our house.”

Humans whipped horses to get from one place to another. That ended when cars were invented. Feathers were plucked from live geese for writing, until the metal fountain pen came along.

Despair To Optimism

Despair To Optimism

Inside Publisher Cecily Hastings interviewed mayoral candidates Flojaune Cofer and Kevin McCarty and recorded their responses to important questions facing the city. Interviews were separate, but both candidates responded to the same questions. More questions and answers will appear in our October editions.