Wednesdays with Char Wednesdays with Char (July 15, 2005)

Veteran painter mentors budding artist

by Robyn Israel

Artist Rose Offner fell in love with Char Pribuss' paintings before she ever met her.

"It was bold and it was daring. It made a statement," Offner recalled. "It was highly textured and very unique. You could really spend time with the painting."

Spending time with the artist, however, seemed like a dream -- until a year later, when the two women finally met and hit it off. Offner, a budding artist, asked Pribuss if she would like to mentor her.

"We had an immediate connection," Offner recalled. "I asked Char if we could have an artist's date -- 'Wednesdays with Char.'"

"Having an art mentor and an art friend is wonderful," she said. "That can sustain you, even if it's just one day a week. You know you get to be creative and playful. When you're with a kindred spirit, you feel more alive, that someone really understands you."

Today Offner and Pribuss are no longer just teacher and student; they are equals, with both women displaying their works. Their second exhibition together is currently at Between Waters Gallery and Design, located at the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park.

The show is a homecoming for Pribuss, who worked at the Allied Arts Guild 60 years ago.

Kimberly Carlisle, director of the gallery, immediately felt drawn to the women's works when she saw them exhibited at the home of a mutual friend, Sheri Sobrato.

"The color alone was absolutely captivating to me. And the spirit that comes through in their work, that captured me," Carlisle said. "I was also intrigued by the idea of having a painting partner. I was intrigued that these women were collaborating on the creative process and bringing their art into the world."

Offner, who is also a writer, found in Pribuss a kindred spirit who helped channel her creativity.

"She believed in me," said Offner, a resident of Castro Valley. "She gave me confidence as an artist. I had confidence as a writer, but I didn't have confidence as an artist.

"I'd have all these half-finished paintings 'cause I was afraid I'd ruin them. But she showed me if she didn't like a painting, she'd take it to the backyard, hose it down and then start over. Char's sense of freedom was very liberating for me."

Visitors to the gallery will discover the colorful paintings and mixed-media work of both artists. Pribuss finds inspiration in the everyday, while Offner's latest works -- full of hearts, flowers and other symbols of love -- tap into the relationship she shares with her beloved husband, Rick Bowman, of six years.

"I think her art is very soulful," Pribuss said. "The piece with the squares -- that's really about her love for her husband."

A deeply spiritual person, Offner has created a series of love and prayer boxes, designed to offer hope to those still searching for their true love. They are available for purchase at the gallery, along with soulful journals for which she creates words and images. "I really wanted love in my life, so I made a love box and formed an altar," Offner said. "I wrote a letter to my soul mate, whom I hadn't met yet. On it I listed my heart's desires. I put my letter in the box and imagined he wrote me back. Before I went to sleep every night I'd put a flower on my altar and say a prayer...Within a year I was married to my true love."

Pribuss' works, though less romantic, are still visually striking, tapping into the beauty of everyday things, such as red peppers and fried eggs. The acrylic works, Offner said, are both abstract and representational, deriving their rich texture from various collage materials, such as dish towels.

"My art is very eclectic," said Pribuss, 86, who rises at dawn each day to paint. "I don't just do a single theme. Whatever makes me excited that day, I do that.

"Pepper are undervalued," she continued. "They ought to be given more of a glamorous backdrop, because they are a glamorous vegetable. And the color is beautiful. Sometimes we just look at things but we don't see them. When I taught, I would try to describe how shadows had lavender; it wasn't just brown. You have to educate people to see what they're looking at."

Pribuss has been educating people about art for many years through Paintbrush Diplomacy, an international children's art-exchange program she created with her late husband, Rudy. Thirty years later, it is still thriving, possessing the largest collection of foreign children's art in the United States.

"I consider it one of the best things I've got in life, along with my family and friends," Pribuss said. "And I consider our young people our greatest commodity. If we don't build something better, the only alternative is that we'll blow each other up. Through art, people have a chance to understand each other; it doesn't have to do with money, politics or religion."

Offner has also seen first-hand the healing effect of art education. For three years she was artist-in-residence at Village Academy in West Oakland, where students "get arrested all the time and are in out of juvenile hall."

Under Offner's supervision, the students created a huge canvas "adorned" with tombstones and the names of loved ones who had been killed.

"When they painted for that one hour they were so happy -- they got to be kids," she said. "They could express their feelings in a creative way, doing something fun and wholesome."

Pribuss and Offner still get together every Wednesday, shopping for materials, painting and delighting in their shared passion.

"Char continues to encourage me and crack the whip," Offner said. "I continue to be overloaded and she continues to say, 'You can do it.'"

What: Works by Char Pribuss and Rose Offner.

Where: Between Waters Gallery and Design, located at the Allied Arts Guild, 75 Arbor Road, Suites K & J, in Menlo Park.

When: Through August. Viewing hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: Admission is free. Works range in price from $49 to $2,200.

Info: Call (650) 323-6362 or visit www.betweenwatersgallery.com.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.