The new art gallery Terrestrial is open in the Library and explores the relationship of humanity residing on this earth.

Bay area artist Cindy Cleary has work featured at the gallery using nettle fiber and knitted raw silk while using all natural pigments such as soil, ochre and indigo, which is a plant pigment, for color.

Art Gallery Director Judi Petitte said, “We are all terrestrial beings and all reside on earth. So, the postcards address this theme, some people went with a more self-portrait take, while some people did something with literally themselves in the environment.”

The gallery was an open call for work, meaning there was a prospectus that went out to different sites that reach people who are looking for places to enter their work. All that was asked was the work relate to the theme and to send in a card. All cards that were sent in made the show. There were enough submissions to delay the gallery opening two days for more time to set it all up.

Jave Yoshimoto, former LMC student and current art professor in Oklahoma, has one piece featured at the gallery.

He said, “I wanted to be a part of the show due to my roots with the Easy Bay and of course, nostalgia.”

His piece, entitled “Harbinger of Late Winter Day’s Dusk,” is a print of a larger painting of the same name, which is a smaller painting of a 30-foot scroll painting called “Baptism of Concrete Estuary.”

In describing the piece, Yoshimoto said it brought homage to those who lost their lives and homes in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. “It refers to the timing of the tsunami, and how shortly after the destruction, the northern part of Japan came down with heavy snow as cleaning effort was happening. The disaster brought a lot of sorrow and despair, but also a prelude of the winter days that were coming.”

Jeremy Jones, who has a trio of postcards at the show, recently graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Wichita State University.

He said, “transporting sculpture for shows is awkward, difficult and expensive so I welcomed the opportunity to mail my small-scale postcards for the exhibit.”

Jones described his pieces as being about the physical and mental weight of the body and the idea of being grounded to earth. “The combination of pull ropes and wheels embodied by the figures suggests that we are both vehicles and toys that are often guided by forces greater than us.”

The gallery is open until Nov. 7, Tues. to Thurs., from 12-2:30 p.m. and 4-6 p.m.