Bob  Rhoades

Rhoades earned his Master’s of Fine Arts degree (1980) at the University of New Mexico. He assumed the position of art department coordinator for the College of the Redwood, Mendocino Coast in 1982. Bob Rhoades has studied eastern papermaking in Kochi, Japan and non-toxic printmaking techniques in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada. At CR he has taught Painting, Color and Design, figure Drawing, Printmaking, Paper-making, Sculpture, Drawing, Illustration and Art Appreciation. The freedom to teach in such a broad range of media and processes has continued to challenge Bob to grow and develop mastery across this range of styles and techniques. Yearly travels abroad as well as daily trips to the garden, and scenic points along the beautiful Mendocino coast, all feed his hunger for comprehension and expression in the arts. The work making cast paper fish began 30 pus years ago when his son Ryan then 10 years old brought home a bluegill from a local pond and asked if his father would mount it. After cautioning that a Bluegill is not a trophy fish he proceeded to make a plaster mold from the bluegill then cast it in paper pulp. That cast began a tradition which continues today with molds made from over 20 different species of fish caught on both the east and west coasts of the U.S.A as well as Hawaii. These several molds have yielded hundreds of blank fish which become the blank canvases for Bob’s creative output.