Next / Now Mystery Work: Generations

Spotlight Gallery - The Cherk Sisters

As early as elementary school, the four Cherk girls were known as the class artists; they had it in their genes! With an architect dad Dart, and creative, do-it-yourself, craft-loving mom Esther, they always had art supplies to play around with and a home in a redwood forest, perfect for exploration.

The sisters invented games to amuse themselves, some with elaborate game boards, made penny arcades, made dolls, and jewelry out of found objects—all with an attention to detail and the Cherk flare. Dad taught them how to make mobiles out of branches, seedpods, or just about anything. Es taught them how to make ornaments out of salt clay, or earrings out of eucalyptus pods, and taught them how to sew. When Esther started a cottage business, each child was able to help in the production of cute stuffed animals filled with bird seed.

In school, their different strengths emerged as they dabbled in ceramics, drawing, drafting, music, jewelry making, photography, print making...

Today, Dart is retired, but continues to invent, make mobiles and tableaus, and sketches every day. Jennifer and Sandra have turned their love of art into part-time professions. Sandra’s two daughters, Camila and Paige have followed in her footsteps, with painting, ceramics, jewelry, etc. Paige has done several artist residencies, and will pursue an MFA at Davis this fall.

Sandra Cherk

Growing up in the redwoods, living close to nature had a great influence on me-

My early love of the outdoors, led me to getting my BS in Earth Sciences. I left that career before getting married and moved toward the arts, initially doing some graphic art work. In 1990 I moved to live in Greece with my husband and 15 month-old. While Camila napped, I had a chance to start painting watercolors, mostly of Greek village scenes and landscapes. That was the start of my art profession; I was able to sell most of my watercolors to appreciative Greeks.

Moving back to Santa Cruz in 1994, we had Paige, and I began applying, and getting into the Open Studios tour. Though I still do watercolor and ink sketches, I now concentrate on soft pastel landscapes. Our connection to Greece continues, so my paintings include both California and Greece subjects. I appreciate living in two beautiful parts of the world; these places inspire me to create paintings that express the feeling of the natural landscapes that I love.

Jennifer Cherk

Born into a holistically creative family, I have lived and breathed art my entire life.

Beginning in high school and continuing into College of Marin, I have taken extensive art courses – jewelry making, photography, ceramics, watercolor, painting and drawing. At the encouragement of a respected teacher, I transferred to CCAC to pursue a Graphic Design degree. After graduating, I dove into a design career for the next 20 years, only putting that aside when I got married and had a baby. I was in my 50s when I learned how to weld, quickly adding metalwork to my repertoire. Inspired by an art teacher at Cabrillo College, I discovered a new interest in transforming metals into sculptural works of art that directly or indirectly reflect nature. As a lifelong learner, I now also enjoy printmaking and oil painting, as well as pretty much any creative endeavor.

This show offers a window into the artistic vision that has been passed down to every member of our family. While Sandra and I work in different mediums, each with their own set of materials, tools, techniques and styles, our visions are often in parallel. It is this vision that can be traced back to our upbringing, and will be passed on to future generations.