Go see these San Diego art shows

Yesterday, I had the chance to get to know more about San Diego artists Daphne Hill and Jim Wilsterman.

Hill's work will be on CityBeat's cover next week, so you can read more about her in our "Cover Artist" online series next week. The quick video tour below doesn't do her work justice, but I hope the lovely ladies and jello molds will at least pique your interest and get you motivated to see the work in person. Her series, Venereal Narratives, is on view at Planet Rooth Design Haus in a solo show that closes from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26.

Wilsterman's work has to be seen in person, too. His idea for his solo show currently on view at The Hyde Art Gallery was ambitious; he set out to record every rainfall in San Diego County from Jan. 1 through Dec. 30. At first, he wasn't quit sure how he would do it.

But as a master of materials and longtime public artist and sculpture, Wilsterman came up with a fascinating process that involves the use of cotton linters, which he laid in the rain outside of the sculpting studio at Grossmont College where he teaches. The material delicately and accurately recorded the impressions of the raindrops. He then used natural clays and beautiful red and brown earth to color the cotton panels and finished each piece with handmade welded frames.

The effect is both elegant and organic, and one can't help but walk away from the show with a new appreciation for rain and water. And as an environmental artist—yes, he's the guy behind the subtle, but powerful stainless steel clouds atop the water tower overlooking Santee—that sort of thought (or any thinking at all provoked by his pieces) is precisely what Wilsterman wants.

Below are the somewhat shaky video tours of Hill and Wilsterman's shows: