Update on the Cultural District Resilience Fund

GVNC: What is your medium?

Redd: I make laser-engraved art on live-edge wood, mostly cedar, and sometimes I add painting. My goal is to allow the art to emerge from the wood. The shape, grain, knots, and irregularities challenge me to find the art within.

GVNC: At what point in your life did you realize your calling?

Redd: I grew up surrounded by creativity, thanks to my art professor father. My Dad introduced me to the wonderful world of the visual arts through experience and education. He also told me that he was lucky to be an artist and I should probably do just about anything else.

During my career as an entrepreneur and consultant I’ve created art, but Cedar Dragon is the first time I’ve focused on making art for its own sake. It all started when an artist mentor, Rebecca Bleau, engraved a sample on some cedar I’d cut on my property. We both immediately saw the possibilities and began collaborating on ideas. I made my first piece in October 2024. I’ve been making up for lost time ever since.

GVNC: Tell us about your creative process.

Redd: My ideas often begin with nature, mythology, or local history, then they take unexpected turns through whimsy and imagination. Transformation is a recurring theme in my work. I develop designs digitally and engrave them into cedar, redwood, sycamore, walnut, and other woods. Sometimes I add acrylic painting to bring another dimension of depth, color, and personality to the artwork.

GVNC: What inspires you?

Redd: I've always been drawn to wild places, strange stories, and the mysteries just beneath the surface of what we perceive. I'm inspired by the natural beauty and rich history of the Sierra Nevada, especially its mountains, forests, wildlife, and old mining towns but my imagination tends to wander. Dragons, UFOs, and surrealistic transformations want their time in the art too. I enjoy mixing these worlds together and creating artwork that invites people to look twice, smile, and wonder what else might be out there.

GVNC: What are you most proud of?

Redd: I'm most proud of the creative process and the connection my artwork makes with people. There's tremendous satisfaction in turning an unusual idea into art and seeing it capture someone's imagination. I experience that firsthand at events like Cornish and Victorian Christmas and in the local shops displaying my work. Bringing that same creative spirit into the community through events like the Tombstone Scavenger Hunt has been especially rewarding.

GVNC: What do you love best about our creative community?

Redd: I love how welcoming and encouraging our creative community has been. Through my art mentorship with Rebecca Bleau, I discovered an artistic direction I'd resisted most of my life. Finding an unusual medium allowed me to bring ideas brewing in my subconscious to life. Along the way, I've developed deeper relationships with local artists who've embraced my creative swerve, offered enthusiastic feedback, and encouraged me to keep making interesting stuff, even when it's challenging.

GVNC: Name two Nevada County artists you admire and why.

Redd: I love and admire local artists - Rebecca Bleau and Kim Carlsen. Rebecca never stops surprising me. Her curiosity takes her into all kinds of creative territory, and she brings a wonderful sense of joy to everything she does. I admire both her imagination, wide ranging artistic media, and her work ethic. Kim Carlsen has a style that's unmistakably her own, capturing the whimsy of nature through her paintings. She encouraged me early on and generously invited me to collaborate by laser engraving some of her original designs.

GVNC: What’s coming up for you?

Redd: The Cedar Dragon Tombstone Scavenger Hunt runs October 17–31. The hunt brings a little Halloween mystery to the shops and streets of Grass Valley and Nevada City for the Halloween season. I'm also preparing new artwork for the ASiF Smallworks Holiday Show, Miners Foundry Holiday Show, Cornish Christmas, and Victorian Christmas. Between the scavenger hunt and the holiday shows, the studio is buzzing with new ideas. The challenge is convincing the dragons, UFOs, and assorted creatures to cooperate with my deadlines.

GVNC: Please share your website/Instagram/business email and any additional links where readers can find your work.

Cedar Dragon Studios

Website: CedarDragon.com

Instagram: @cedardragonstudios

Facebook: facebook.com/cedardragon @cedardragonstudios

Email: cedardragonstudios@gmail.com

Find my artwork locally at: Make Local Habit, Tribal Weaver, Enchanted Garden Shop, West Wind and Mama Madrone's Eco-emporium.