MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Join Middletown Art Center on Saturday, Oct 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. for Basket Patterns with Meyo Marrufo.

It’s part of the Water Basket workshop series designed to support Native people in bringing expressions of their innate cultural heritage into public space and non-Native people in learning about Pomo cultural heritage.

Artist Meyo Marrufo will discuss basket patterns, and participants will engage in painting.

The workshop is free, including materials and supplies and open to the public.

Advance sign up is requested at www.middletownartcenter.org/waterbasket.

“Basket designs have more than a pretty face!” said Marrufo. “Come explore some of our designs and where they are found within the cultural landscape. Learn about basket designs and create your own artistic interpretation.”

An enrolled member of the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, Marrufo is a visual artist and visual storyteller, bead artist, weaver, regalia maker, active member of the Pomo Weavers Society, and Environmental Department Director at Guidiville Rancheria.

A solo exhibit of Marrrufo’s art, “Birds, Baskets and Other Thoughts,” is currently on view at MAC.

Her work has been exhibited widely in Northern California and curated “Gathering Time” at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah and “We Are Still Here” at the Sonoma Museum last year.

Her work was first featured at MAC in the Earth Sky and Everything In Between exhibit last year and has since been part of several regular group shows at MAC.

She presents and lectures widely on Pomo culture and traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK, and practice.

The Water Basket project aims to raise awareness of Pomo cultural heritage and the rich legacy of Pomo basketry unique to this region and renowned worldwide.

The workshops are designed to support both Native and non-Native people in submitting design proposals for 360° murals for the water tanks on Rabbit Hill.

Like the designs woven into Pomo baskets, design proposals should reflect the area’s history, people, and ecology utilizing geometric and organic shapes that are symbolic of animals and plants native to the region.

See the full Call for Proposals and learn more about the project at www.middletownartcenter.org/waterbasket.

Water Basket is a collaboration between Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians, of California, Pomo artists, Callayomi County Water District, and the Middletown Art Center. It’s funded in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding from the Middletown Rancheria, the Water District, and public support.

Middletown Art Center is a Lake County non-profit dedicated to engaging the public in art making, art education, and art appreciation. Through exhibitions, performances, workshops, and community events, the Art Center provides a platform for diverse voices and perspectives, striving to create an inclusive and accessible space for all.

To learn more and donate to support Water Basket and other MAC programs visit www.middletownartcenter.org or call 707-809-8118.

The MAC is located at 21456 State Hwy 175 in Middletown.