On Feb. 1st, D Neath spoke at Rancho Cordova City Hall to the first meeting of Rancho Cordova’s community arts group, in the first of the Art Speaker Series.

Rancho Cordova Art For Everyone, also known as RCAFE is a new group fed and nurtured by a small steering group of artists and volunteers who have been involved in the Cordova Community Council art shows and other local artist activities. The small group has had a key role in the development of artists and their activities in this area.

“We have a lot of emerging artists here, they want to know how do I show, how do I frame, how do I price?” said group member, artist, and art teacher Victoria Smith. One thing the group thought of was to educate by having speakers, and D Neath was the first person Smith thought of. “She knows everybody, sees everybody, she’s been around a long time, and she’s so cute when she speaks; she’s so entertaining.”

Neath started working for Michael Himovitz Gallery more than 30 years ago at the age of 19. “It was the gallery here in Sacramento at the time,” Neath said. She opened Archival Framing in 1983, though she had no formal art education, and no degrees. “I spent 10 years learning everything I could by working at the best galleries in town,” Smith said. “I was really lucky to find out what I love when I was really young. Through the Michael Himovitz Gallery I met some artists who have become world renowned since then and I still maintain friendships with them.”

Neath is the art curator of the KVIE Channel 6 Art Auction, and co-originator of Sacramento’s Second Saturday, which focuses on an evening of open house for art galleries and shops. Her Archival Framing and Gallery is well known in the arts community. She is also one of the founders of Chalk-It-Up sidewalk art festival in Sacramento.

At the RCAFE meeting, Neath spoke for nearly an hour and shared a lot of practical advice and down-to-earth knowledge.

On getting your work out there: “I know a lot of you feel like: ‘How do I apply to a gallery? How do I get my stuff shown? I’ve got a garage full of masterpieces, and the only ones to see them are my husband and my cat.’ And the only way to do that is by getting involved in the community as a whole… Those little shops where people are in and out, in and out, there’s nothing wrong with approaching them and saying, ‘You’ve got some nice white walls here. We’ll put it up, all you’ve got to do is host my friends, we’ll have a little opening, and you can list in the Bee for free, as long as it’s something that changes every month.’ I encourage you to start looking in Rancho for those spaces.”

On pricing: “Raise your prices really slowly. Because once you’ve established your price, if I bought your piece and it’s $500, and I walk into a gallery and the same size piece is now $250, I made a really bad art investment and I’m never going to buy another piece of yours again. Art doesn’t go on sale, people. This is not Walmart.”

The Art Speaker Series, Smith said, will probably start out with a total of three speakers in 2016, and then the group will reassess for the coming year. For more information on RCAFE, please go to Ranchocordovaartforeveryone.wordpress.com or contact Victoria Smith at [email protected].