Patricia Guthrie and Shellz Push Boundaries
3001 Chapman St, Oakland
Arriving late in Jingletown for the East Bay Open Studios, I was greeted by the warm glow of the Jingletown Art Studios. Their painted sign beckoned me inside, where I was met with wine and snacks. Wandering through, I passed photographs of tasteful nudes, close-ups of bugs. Then, deep within the building, I entered a room where a quilt caught my eye. A large piece of fabric spanned the wall, irregular rings of bold colors coming together to create a dynamic, but not quite bull’s-eye, pattern. Arresting and mesmerizing, it was a striking fusion of color and form.
Hanging opposite, another quilt also demanded attention. This one was an explosion of red and yellow, punctuated by square windows of black-and-white patterns. These were not the quilts you would expect at a country fair; Guthrie’s work transcended folk art, much like the celebrated quilters of Gee’s Bend. But Guthrie’s quilts carry a personal, politically charged visual language that feels distinctly her own.
In the center of the room, Patricia Guthrie herself stood proudly beside her work. She is retired from her position as Chair of Human Development at Cal State East Bay and has a background in anthropology. “I decided I had done enough writing over the course of my career,” she explained, a twinkle in her eye. “I was never going to write the Great American Novel, so I looked around for something to do. I tried wire-making, felt, and traditional quilt-making.”
When Guthrie first brought her quilts to her family, their reaction was less than encouraging. “They laughed and asked, ‘Was it craft day at the Crazy House?’” she said. Undeterred, Guthrie immersed herself in the study of art quilts, eventually taking a class in Syracuse, New York, and continuing her journey as an artist.
Guthrie’s work is deeply inspired by both personal experiences and the world around her. Her Resist series, created during the first Trump presidency, uses color and form to reflect political unrest. “My quilts draw inspiration from what’s happening around me,” she explained. “I take the news and turn it into something visual.”
Her quilts offer more than visual appeal—they are a compelling invitation to consider the personal and political intersections that shape our lives.
Down the hall, I encountered the work of Shellz, whose animal portraits explode with energy and symbolism. His large, unfinished tiger face seemed to watch me with piercing eyes, while a smaller rhino painting demanded my attention. The effect was bold, but there was a deeper message embedded in each composition.
“Tell me why you're choosing to paint these animals?” I asked.
“Just for the different injustices they’ve faced,” Shellz responded. “That’s the initial reason I started painting. For the rhino… they were breaking off the rhino’s horns, selling them on the black market, using them for all sorts of things. Now, these animals are being born without their horns, without their protection. For the rhino, I used blue for the pain, purple for royalty, green for the money made from the horns, and red for the blood spilled to get them.”
Shellz’s use of color is deliberate and highly symbolic, each hue in his paintings telling a part of the animal’s story, from the pain of poaching to the exploitation of endangered species. The paintings are more than portraits—they are an emotional call for awareness.
“I first saw my brother bring home a painting when I was four years old,” Shellz said, recalling his earliest introduction to art. “I was like, ‘Mama, what’s this?’ She said, ‘It’s a painting, baby.’ I said, ‘How do you do that?’ She gave me a pen and paper, and I didn’t look back.” Despite not having a formal background in art, he has developed a striking eye for color and form.
To me, Shellz’s eye-popping style and symbolic use of color recall the raw, emotive power of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Like Basquiat, Shellz’s work confronts societal issues with bold imagery, creating art that is unapologetically direct. His growing skill and dedication suggest a promising future, and his commitment to environmental activism set him apart.
