Showing in Room 212.

Welcome to the Collection of Paula Anderson.

Our friend Paula Anderson was a multi-media artist and art collector. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, where she studied art and psychology, which sowed the seeds for her very personal collection. She chose what delighted and moved her.

Paula was a very highly respected instructor, dean, and administrator in the San Mateo Community College district. As a dean, she served as the curator for the community college art museum. When she passed away in Hawaii earlier this year she asked that her extensive collection of alebrijes and masks collected over her lifetime continue to delight and benefit the art community and find new homes with people who love them.

Alebrijes are hand-made fantastical carvings depicting imaginary animals, people, and objects hand painted with intense colors and patterns. They originated in the 1940’s in Oaxaca, Mexico. The story goes that Pedro Linares, who liked his drink, became very ill and began to hallucinate, seeing visions of a forest filled with strange animals. He said that they were all running after him shouting, “Alebrijes! Alebrijes!” Being unemployed and needing to make money, Linares went to Oaxaca and used the soft wood of the sacred copal tree to carve these visions. An art dealer from Los Angeles vacationing in Oaxaca saw them and proposed to Linares that if he colored them he could sell them in his L.A. art gallery. The rest is history. Now alebrijes are a common sight in many parts of Mexico and are featured prominently in Day of the Dead ceremonies.

Paula’s mask collection comes from Bali, Guatemala, and Mexico. She displayed them together as a unique sculpture gallery of international folk art with a variety of styles, expressions and materials.

Please enjoy these as much as she did. Paula was a wonderful woman and serious artist. With her art you will be bringing happy and positive spirits into your life and art.

Paula Anderson - Artist, Educator and Art Collector
(1945-2024)

About the Sonoma Community Center

For more than 70 years the Sonoma Community Center has provided enrichment opportunities for the residents of Sonoma Valley.

Our Visions is to be THE CENTER for diverse communities to connect, create, and thrive through renowned programming, experiences, and facilities.

Our Core Values are:

Community: Build a vital community resource through multicultural creativity and collaboration

● Innovation: Adapt to changing conditions, opportunities, and needs of the community.

● Creativity: Deliver opportunities for exploration and expression through arts and culture valued by the community.

● Inclusion: Foster a welcoming environment that is equitable, diverse, and accessible.

● Leadership: Cultivate effective leaders for positive community impact.

Mixed Media Monkey Face half mask, 7 x 8 x 5"