Friday, August 16, 2013

Doré Bodenheimer (1934-2008)

October 2008

Doré Bodenheimer passed away peacefully at her residence due to complications from diabetes. She was a 41-year Santa Cruz resident, and was beloved by her family and many friends.

Doré grew up in Evanston, IL, and attended Illinois State Normal University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education (Art). She began her career as a teacher, but quickly moved into the world of the arts, focusing on pottery, oil painting, and later assemblage art. Doré received her Master’s Degree in Design (Ceramics) from UC Berkeley in 1965. Her home in Santa Cruz was also known as Art-Place Studio, and she welcomed everyone into her home and artistic world with love, zest for living, creativity, and enthusiasm. She will be deeply missed.

Doré is survived by her two children, Daniel and Debora; two grandchildren, Joshua and Charles; three brothers, Robert, John and James; one sister, Kaye; her ex-husband and good friend, Peter; many other relatives; and countless friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Santa Cruz Art League, the Homeless Garden Project, or the Resource Center for Non-Violence.


A celebration of her life will be held at her home/studio on Saturday, October 18th, 2008 from 4:00 to 7:00.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Artist's Statement

Artist's Statement by Doré Bodenheimer, 2008:

My extensive study of design (including an MA in Design) has led me to an art form which uses 3-dimensional, pre-formed objects as the basic art elements. This is similar to the use of pigment for the art of painting, or words and phrases for the art of poetry.

Assemblage is, for me, the arranged design of uniquely interesting elements. I am intrigued by tangles of fiber, weathered wood, broken glass, circular objects and crushed metal. Customs officials & airport inspectors at many borders have argued with me concerning my collections: rusted bedsprings from London, pottery shards from Osaka, frayed rope from Veracruz, metal scraps from Bangkok. To these I have added wave-burnished materials found on our ever-replenished beaches.

I am always looking at form. The elegance of simple objects such as tools and machinery, taken out of context, amazes me. Whatever the object I select, it changes in the process of serving me as a design element. You will notice repeated themes of marbles, bones and grids: marbles for their perfect round form and translucency; bones for their graceful structure and color--bleached or unbleached; grids for the concealment and revealing effect of windows/veils--as both barrier and invitation.

These assemblages are concerned with my contemplation of forms and their reassignment, via pattern, balance and color, into creative artworks/ environments. I hope you may find these works evocative of places, thoughts and feelings...both familiar and fantastic.