Material Matters: An Artist Panel Discussion
2026-03-04 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | CA
Curator Rina Faletti & ‘Clay Sustains: Vessels of Change’ artists discuss the power of clay to spark dialogue regarding the climate crisis.

Material Matters: An Artist Panel Discussion

Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 6 p.m. Zoom, FREE

Curator Rina Faletti and artists in the Clay Sustains: Vessels of Change exhibition engage in a lovely discussion about the power of clay to spark dialogue around the climate crisis.

Connect with Clay! Monthly Artist-led Air-Dry Clay Workshops
2026-03-13 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-10 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-06-12 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-07-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Connect with Clay! Monthly Artist-led Air-Dry Clay Workshops at the Palo Alto Art Center
FREE

Connect with Clay!
Monthly Artist-led Air-Dry Clay Workshops at the Palo Alto Art Center
FREE – Made Possible by Palo Alto Art Center Foundation
Every second Friday of the month (November 14, December 12, January 9, February 13, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 17*)
6- 8 p.m.
All materials provided
All ages; children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult
Space is limited, advance registration required for each individual session

Come together around clay in community at a series of creative workshops led by Centering exhibiting artists Timna Naim and Larisa Usich. Each workshop will feature different projects inspired by themes in the current exhibitions at the Art Center. Visit the exhibition after hours with an exclusive tour by the teaching artists, sketch out your ideas, and then make your own creation in clay that you can take home, and contribute to a collective artwork creation for the Center.

Throughout the series, Timna and Larisa will explore how small-scale decorations can hold powerful meaning, exploring the history of trinkets, miniatures and other forms of adornment as important tools of self-expression.

Bring your friends, and come ready to learn, explore, and create!
Timna Naim, a San Jose-based artist, explores identity, play, and community through interdisciplinary work integrating ceramic sculpture, installation, and performance that centers on tactility, storytelling, and participation, using vibrant colors, abstract forms, and interactive elements to spark the imagination. Timna Naim holds an MFA in Spatial Art and an MA in Teaching from SJSU.
Larisa Usich is a sculptor and social practice artist working in a range of media from clay, metal and textiles to found objects and natural matter. Her work emerges from the intersection of the personal and political and is influenced by immersion in the natural world. Usich earned an MFA from San José State University, a BA from Brown University, and has taught art to all ages and levels

*Note updated session date

Air-dry clay generously donated by Laguna Clay Company.

More Clay in the Bay - Circle & Alliance Members
2026-05-08 11:00 - 17:00 | Private: Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States
Join us for a special day in San Francisco, exploring more clay and craft exhibitions, artists studios, and more!

Join us for a special day in San Francisco, exploring more clay and craft exhibitions, artists studios, and more! We’ll start with a visit to the Asian Art Museum, where we will explore the lauded New Japanese Clay exhibition followed by lunch on your own. Next, we’ll visit Pushing Boundaries artist Wanxin Zhang’s studio in Bayview, followed by a few surprises in Dogpatch, before we end with a guided tour of the Museum of Craft and Design’s current exhibition led by their guest curator. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to experience the best of ceramic and craft in San Francisco!

PAACF Member Travel Program: The Best of Art and Glass in the Pacific Northwest
2026-05-13 - 2026-05-17 | Seattle
Seattle 2026

Inside the Exhibition: A Board-Hosted Walkthrough of Creative Connections
2026-05-20 17:00 - 18:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Join us for an in-person walkthrough of our newest exhibition, led by PAACF board members and Director of School Programs, Heewon Park.

Join Our Board-Hosted Exhibition Walkthrough!
Come hang out with us in person for an board-hosted exhibition walkthrough designed especially for new members, prospective members, and friends of the Foundation.
Learn more about the Art Center’s Creative Connections artists-in-the-schools program, supported by the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation. After a brief introduction to the program in the meeting room, we’ll receive a walkthrough of the culminating exhibition by Director of School Programs Heewon Park.
Light refreshments, wine, and beverages will be provided.
Space is limited—advance registration is encouraged.

Friday Night at the Art Center Members-Only Preview on June 26
2026-06-26 17:00 - 18:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Join us for an exclusive Members-Only Preview exhibition “Thrown, Stamped, Stacked, and Poured: Ceramic Performance and Installation.”

Friday Night at the Art Center: Members-Only Preview

🗓️ Friday, June 26 | 🕕 5–6 PM | 📍 Palo Alto Art Center
Celebrate our summer ceramic performance and installation exhibition with a special welcome and introduction from guest curator John Toki, along with the opportunity to hear from some of the featured artists themselves.
🍸 Enjoy complimentary drink tickets as part of your membership!
Want to share the experience? Invite a friend to join as a member and enjoy the perks together!
This exhibition continues the Palo Alto Art Center’s Centering series.
✨ What to Expect

🎨 Art Activity (FREE) Hands-on clay-inspired activity connected to the exhibition.
🎸 Performance by Elana Mann at 6:30 p.m.

🍷 Bar (2 Free Drink Tickets Included for members!)

Sip drinks while supporting the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation and helping keep exhibitions free and accessible to the community.
Each membership entails to two complimentary drink tickets to enjoy at the bar. (Drinks available for purchase, including wine, beer and non-alcoholic options.)

Friday Night at the Art Center on June 26
2026-06-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Join us for a free opening party for the summer exhibition “Thrown, Stamped, Stacked, and Poured: Ceramic Performance and Installation.”

Celebrate our summer ceramic performance and installation exhibition with free opening party featuring hands-on art activities, a cash bar, and opportunities to meet the artists. Featuring a special performance by Elana Mann at 6:30 p.m.

Art and Nature on the Central Coast: Seaside, Carmel, and Carmel Valley
2026-07-31 10:30 - 17:00 | CA
Visit Bernard Trainor’s studio & home, Nick Leonoff Studio, and end with a reception in Carmel Valley.

Join the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation for a special trip to the Monterey area to explore Seaside, Carmel, and Carmel Valley! We’ll start in Seaside with a visit to the studio and gallery space of nationally recognized landscape designer and artist Bernard Trainor. Trainor is the founder and creative director of Ground Studio as well as a painter, sculptor, designer, and installation artist. All of his work is unified by a deep connection to nature. After a fun lunch at Other Brother Beer in downtown Seaside, we’ll head to Bernard’s home and garden in Carmel to further experience his prolific creativity. Next, we’ll visit a another artist studio, before we’ll conclude with a special reception at a PAACF board member’s home in Carmel Valley.
Carpooling is encouraged—let us know if you are interested in driving or being a passenger.

Lecture: Ashwini Bhat
2026-08-15 15:00 - 16:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Join us for a special lecture by Ashwini Bhat to mark the closing of her exhibition “Being, Longing…” at the Palo Alto Art Center.

After thirty-five years in Southern India, multidisciplinary artist Ashwini Bhat now lives and works in the foothills of Sonoma Mountain, California. Coming from a background in literature and classical Indian dance, Bhat works in sculpture, installation, ceramics, video, text, and performance developing a unique visual language to explore the intersections between body and nature, self and other.

Ashwini Bhat: Being, Longing… is supported by the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation through a gift from SACHI, Society for Art & Cultural Heritage of India in celebration of its 25th anniversary (1997-2022).

Painting Under The Influence with Melinda Cootsona
2026-08-28 10:00 - 2026-08-30 16:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Explore your own work through the eyes of master painters.

Three days. Three masters. Endless inspiration. We’ll explore the color theories and fearless painting approaches of Henri Matisse, Wolf Kahn, and Joan Brown, learning the stories behind their art and the ideas that drove it. Each day Melinda will present immersive slideshows, artist deep-dives, and guided painting lessons designed to spark your creativity, stretch your practice and emphasize that fearless approach. By the end, you’ll have a rich understanding of each artist and you won’t just admire their genius, you’ll be painting through it.
This workshop is for oil and acrylic painters. Enrollment is limited to increase individual attention.
Melinda Cootsona has been teaching painting to students of all levels for over 20+ years. Beginning with weekly classes in her home studio, her career evolved into teaching workshops throughout the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, Melinda has been on the forefront of eCourse instruction developing her first course in 2012. Known for giving specific feedback and quality, constructive critiques, her courses are in high demand. Teaching creativity and art to students all over the world is an essential part of Melinda’s work.
Greatly influenced by the Bay Area artistic tradition, her paintings focus on the strength of the female figure. Created with layers of oil paint, applied and then scraped away, her paintings reveal figures that fill the canvas in varying poses of contemplation or reflection in abstracted surroundings. Whether in a soft or harsh surrounding, the strength of the female figure is primary.
Melinda’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Bakersfield Museum of Art and the Triton Museum in California, The San Francisco Art Market, The Coos Bay Museum of Art in Oregon, and Art Basel Miami, as well as many group and solo shows throughout the U.S.
Cootsona received her BA from the California College of the Arts. Her work can be found in collections in the United States, Europe, Australia, and China.

Art Studios Open House
2026-09-02 16:00 - 19:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Join us for a free evening of discovery, exploration, and art and learn more about the Palo Alto Art Center!

The Palo Alto Art Center will be hosting an Art Studios Open House, where community members can explore classes and workshops, interact with our instructors, participate in tours of our studios and learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Art Center.
Members in attendance will have the chance to win a Palo Alto Art Center Foundation Membership! Children, teens, and adults are all welcome, and we look forward to seeing you there!

2026 Great Glass Pumpkin Patch - Saturday
2026-09-26 10:00 - 17:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States
Get ready for the 31st annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch at Palo Alto Art Center – it’s back and bigger than ever!

Join us for the 🎃 31st Annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch🎃 at the Palo Alto Art Center!
This beloved autumn tradition features over 10,000 unique handcrafted glass pumpkins, gourds, and autumnal keepsakes created by talented local artists.
What to Expect:

Browse and purchase exquisite hand-blow and hand-crafted glass art
Watch live glass blowing demonstrations
Enjoy delicious food from a local food trucks & treats
Participate in family-friendly activities

A portion of your purchase will benefit the Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI), the Palo Alto Art Center, the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation, and the participating glass artists. Don’t miss this opportunity to admire stunning glass art, support local artists, find the perfect autumn decoration, and create lasting memories with friends and family!

2026 Great Glass Pumpkin Patch - Sunday
2026-09-27 10:00 - 17:00 | Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, United States

PAACF Member Travel Program: A Curated Autumn in New York’s Hudson Valley and the Berkshires of Massachusetts
2026-10-27 - 2026-11-01 | Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
