J. Cheryl Bookout

cherylbookout@gmail.com
www.cherylbookout.com

BIO
Cheryl gave up her career in the garment industry to become a full-time studio artist in 1992.  She opened a studio in the Santa Ana Artist’s Village, the first artist to take up residence in the historic Santora Building. In June of 2000, Cheryl became Director of the SCA Project Gallery located in the Pomona Arts Colony on S. Thomas Street.  Along with this position came a relocation of her personal studio from Santa Ana to the downtown Pomona Arts Colony.  In 2001, Cheryl proposed a collaborative project between Cal Poly Pomona, the Pomona Arts Colony, artist Judy Chicago and her photographer husband, Donald Woodman.  For over two years, she worked closely with Judy Chicago and Donald Woodman to create Envisioning the Future, an intensive project, two and a half years in the making, which brought over 80 artists to the area to work, present and perform images with the common theme of the future.  Cheryl was the Project Coordinator of this complex undertaking.

Soon he would ask her to dance

It was a very nice leg

From January 2006 – April 2007, Cheryl worked as the curatorial consultant for Multiple Vantage Points: Southern California Women Artists, 1980 – 2006; exhibited at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery Barnsdall Park; sponsored by the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Currently, she is working with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as guest curator for a program at LAX. An unexpected honor presented itself in 2007 when Cheryl was contacted by Gloria Orenstein, Professor of Women in Literature and Art at USC.  Students from Professor Orenstein's course video documented Cheryl's art career as a part of the California Women Artist Project to be archived at USC and Rutgers University.

Flying Low

Sunset Gliders

Interview

Explain to us the type of art you do?
My work tends to be illustrative, always content based, with an element of fantasy. Typically, I will do work as a series of drawings or paintings, exploring the questions I am pursuing until I feel like I can push no further. I spend time researching the content before I start working. I have a project in the works that has required I take classes in the Administration of Criminal Justice. This one is going to take a while.

What is your favorite time to be creative?
I love working in my studio during the evenings, usually stop working around 2:00 – 3:00 a.m. The downside of this is that it makes it difficult to get up when that alarm goes off.

Where have you drawn inspiration from downtown?
The people in our downtown community inspire and inform my art.

How has the Arts Colony made you a better artist?
I love being in a community of creative people. The conversation and interaction is always inspiring to me.

Shadow Giro

Shadow Glider

Do you have any shows currently or coming up?
Yes, I am currently showing my work at Steve & Cori Ruiz’s new gallery on West Second Street, The Blue Core Gallery. Additionally, I will have three pieces at the Huntington Beach Art Center the month of June.

Do you collect other artists work and whose?
I love collecting the work of my friends. To name but a few: Tom Pathe, Juan Thorpe, Norma Tanega, Steve Ruiz, Judy Chicago, Patrick Webster, Esther Shaw, Nina Jun, Mary Dessert, Patt Buchanan, Suvan Geer, and more.

How is life in the Arts Colony?
My favorite place to be. I have seen it go from a sleepy little town to a bustling community. It is very exciting to feel a part of all of this.

Favorite place to hang out and or eat in Metro Pomona?
I have several places I love to hang out, difficult to narrow it down to one. Nothing like a sandwich and visiting with friends at New York Delight, or the patio at Aladdin Jr., having a glass of wine at dba256….something a little later at the Glass House Bar..or a late night snack at Casa Jimenez.

Do you have any Pets? 
Yes, a little black and white kitty. My daughter works for the OCSPCA and she called me one day and told me about a little cat that had been left for dead on a neighborhood street. This cat had been badly burned and a kind-hearted veterinarian had done extensive surgery on her. I went to see her and brought her home with me. She is doing great.