By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Visual artist Shani Gaines-Bernard is hard at work making jewelry for the upcoming Brewery Artwalk taking place March 23-24 from 11 am. to 6 p.m.
The Brewery Artwalk is a free, educational, public art event, designed to create an alternative venue for art exposure.
It also allows artists at the Brewery the opportunity to open their studios and connect with the general public, the art industry, other working artists and the community. Families, children, students and individuals are encouraged to view the artists’ work, meet with the artists in person and engage in dialogue about the art.
The event is open and free to all.
For the last three years, Bernard, who, as an artist goes by the singular name, Shani, has been living at the Brewery with her partner.
It became a vibrant community in 1982 after a family bought a bunch of battered old buildings at the site of the old Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery, located near the Los Angeles River in an industrial section north of downtown Los Angeles and had the bright idea to turn them into artist lofts.
With the passing of the artist-in-residence code, artists were able to rent live/work space in industrially zoned buildings. The organization rented only to artists, which continues to be the policy today.
“It is a great place to live,” said Shani, a Los Angeles native. “You are surrounded by like-minded people. Creatives surround you.”
Shani knows a little something about being surrounded by creatives. She comes from a family filled with creative artists.
Her mother, Mary Gaines Bernard, is a professional singer. Her aunt is an artist. A cousin casts gold. Many of her family members make jewelry, including her grandmother, who at 90, makes jewelry every day. One of her uncles on her father’s side has a salsa band. And then there’s her aunt, the late great pop/R&B sensation Donna Summer. Shani’s father, who is a drummer, was Summer’s manager.
Shani said when she was younger, she would go on tour with Summer, who would occasionally bring her up on stage.
“I was constantly surrounded by music and other forms of art,” said Shani, who sings in her band called, Marvelous XE. “I don’t remember not being an artist.”
When she was 6, Shani said she began to paint anime cels. She admittedly had a unique way of drawing.
“I used to record animation,” she said. “I liked freezing it on a still and then drawing the still and painting it. Back then, you only had seven minutes to get it done because the VHS would start again. It’s much different now. Technology has changed all that.”
When it comes to the Brewery Artwalk, Shani believes everyone should attend.
“I am fascinated by the event,” Shani said. “From one door to the next door, you enter a completely different world. Every loft is different. The art they make is so vastly different and they are only feet apart. If you’re an artist and stuck and need inspiration, come.”
A change she would like to see at the Artwalk going forward is the inclusion of more Black people.
“By that, I mean both as artists and event attendees,” she said. “We need more Black artists featured. Representation matters.”
During the Brewery Artwalk, Shani will showcase her jewelry as she did at last year’s event.
Once again, she will incorporate one of her favorite things to do — sit and chat with potential art enthusiasts as she makes jewelry.
“I like it when people come and commune for a little bit,” said Shani, who embraces being an empath. “It reminds me of sitting and getting your hair done when you were younger.”
Her preference is making gold and gaudy jewelry.
“I’m taking that idea and merging it with the ‘miniatures’ idea I have,” said Shani, who received a bachelor’s degree in art from Florida International University. “I like miniatures. I’m creating gold frames that look like paintings. Instead of a painting in it — I have a tiny tree. I’m creating a scene. I’m testing out what it could be. You can wear it as jewelry.”
Shani, who usually works an hour or more on each piece, loves to test the waters. While she does have preferences, she doesn’t restrict herself to one form of art.
“I don’t have a niche,” she said. “I always do something different. Everything I do is whimsical and fanciful. It’s for deep thinkers and deep feelers.
“I create for Black women. That’s who I have in mind. My art is for people looking for community and people who are changing their family structure for the better. My art is for the breakers of generational curses.”
When she’s not busy with her jewelry, Shani, who dedicates a minimum of three days a week to her art, flexes her other creative muscles by singing with her band Marvelous XE.
“We make a lot of music,” said the music producer who creates music in 432Hz, a frequency thought to be healing and calming to the body.
“I call our music ‘experimental art pop.’ We’ve been playing for about seven years. It’s a mixture of Florence & The Machine, Portishead and Bjork. It’s my form of protest. My gift to my community is to help replenish those fighting on the front lines for our rights. The music started as fun and then we decided to do it for real.”
Some of Shani’s musical influences include her mom, her aunts, Summer, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Primus, Tool, Stephanie Mills, Coheed & Cambria, and music from various soundtracks.
When she’s not making jewelry or belting out a song, Shani is hard at work managing her and her partner’s company, No Scope Productions, where, for the last 18 months, they have built large-scale tech installations and conducted experiential marketing.
“We do a lot,” she said. “My partner is self-taught. We work with electricity, coding and lights. It’s great.”
No Scope Productions is Shani’s side gig. What gets her “through her day” is art.
“When I’m making jewelry, it eases my anxiety,” said Shani. “It focuses my ADHD. When I’m making my jewelry, my brain is calm and relaxed. It’s like a drug. It’s like a meditation.”
Although she’s an artist, Shani said she doesn’t have a definitive theory about art.
“What I do know is that I can’t breathe without art,” she said. “I can’t. If there is no art, I will just quit life. I need to be expressive. I don’t even know what art is. I have no idea, but I know it when I see it.”
The Brewery Artwalk Association is a nonprofit organization. Its mission is to produce, organize, and facilitate the recurring biannual event known as the Brewery Artwalk.
The Brewery Artwalk is a twice-annual (spring and fall) open studio weekend at what’s been called the world’s largest art complex. With more than 100 participating resident artists, attendees will have the opportunity to see new works, discover new favorites, speak with the artists, and purchase artwork directly from the artists’ studios.
Admission and parking are free.
The Brewery is located at 2100 N. Main St., in Lincoln Heights, off the Golden State (5) Freeway at Main Street.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
