CANVAS + CLAY Gallery presents the group show, Reflections. The etymology of the word “reflect” means literally “to bend back”. In a figurative sense it is a word that carries many meanings. Reflections can be images mirrored, can be representations, can be deep thoughts. Featuring the work of three painters: Chris Johnson, Theresa Fisher and Aleisha Bradley, Reflections embodies these three meanings of the word through depictions of scenes of Humboldt County. Johnson’s paintings reveal a representation of Humboldt through the lens of its history. Old buildings and harbor landscapes offer a glimpse of the past, acting as time capsules. Sometimes just the story about a location can spark inspiration for one of Johnson’s paintings. For Fisher, painting different locales in Humboldt County, offer a reflection of her own past, having grown up in the area. After her father passed away, Fisher sought out to create images of the places they had been to together, calling the collection “Memory Art”. Through her colorful pastel palette, Fisher pieced together her memories of going to restaurants and running errands with her father, transforming the seemingly mundane minutiae of everyday life into cherished keepsakes. After an injury confined her movements, Bradley took to plein aire painting as a means to expand her world and “take back some territory”. Her focus on shadow and light bring a new view of familiar Humboldt scenes. In the wake of COVID-19, Bradley’s lens shifted toward the quietness of her neighborhood at nighttime, depicting Arcata homes as isolated capsules, with warm light coming through the windows, set against the stark backdrop of twilight.