Cypress Gallery brings handmade masks, crafts, and interactive art to Lompoc

Often latched behind Mitra Cline’s bicycle, the local crafter’s mobile art studio has a new designated parking spot to cool its wheels for the better part of April.

Visitors of the Santa Barbara-based artist’s ongoing solo exhibit (open through Sunday, April 27) at Cypress Gallery in Lompoc can look forward to viewing Cline’s small bike trailer—colorfully covered in flowery folk art patterns—alongside her handmade masks and other crafts on display.

“What you see in the gallery is the most functional and durable version I’ve ever made,” Cline said in an email interview. The trailer is a constant work in progress, she explained, as she’s found various ways to revise her studio over the past five years, initially by trial and error.

“The first few bike studio designs fell apart on the road quickly, and I traveled just a few blocks around my neighborhood,” Cline said. “It was fun to learn by doing, and I made many mistakes in the process. … The tricky part is selecting the right materials to keep the weight down while bringing enough supplies for doing art outdoors. Over the years, I refined the materials.”

Cline often bikes with her trailer studio to parks and beaches so she can be crafty—whether she’s sketching, journaling, or painting—and enjoy the outdoors simultaneously. She’s also no stranger to pedaling over to local businesses and art outlets for special events that highlight her mobile studio space.

While Cline’s participated in a few past group shows at Cypress Gallery, her current display marks her first solo exhibition at the venue, managed by the Lompoc Valley Art Association. Art purchases and workshop fees (such as tickets to Cline’s upcoming mask workshop at the gallery, for example) support the nonprofit’s programming.

Following the exhibit’s opening reception on Saturday, April 12, from 1 to 3 p.m., Cline will host her mask painting demo for the public to take part in at the gallery on Sunday, April 13, also from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is open to ages 16 and older. Admission is $20, which includes supplies for attendees to paint their own masks.

“I became more interested in the image of masks during COVID days,” said Cline, who was drawn to the concept of masking your identity, especially in video games through digital avatars. “This idea that we can look like anything started to become fascinating. Who do we want to be? How do we want to behave?”

Her background in traditional fine arts laid a foundation for her eventual drive toward mask making, Cline explained. Early in her art career, sketching portraits reflected her interest in depicting people, faces, and body parts—subjects that carried over into her plaster cast work.

“I have some plaster casts of family members and myself from years ago. In playing in my studio, I started to paint the plaster faces,” Cline said. “Masks were the next step.”

Cline described her Cypress Gallery exhibit—titled Cuckoo’s Mixed Reality Nest—as interactive, as guests are encouraged to immerse themselves in the show, figuratively and literally. During the display’s run, visitors can try on some handmade masks and pose for photos, to be shown on a digital picture frame at the venue.

“This is the first exhibit in which I have shown … all the elements of my creative practice, including digital and interactive mixed-media elements,” said Cline, who named her exhibit after the cuckoo bird to reference the way they “make their homes in other birds’ nests, showing how we all depend on each other to create and grow,” according to her artist statement.

“Creative collaboration in playful spaces is a big part of my work and message in this show,” Cline said. “We refine our creative voice in safe community spaces with other artists in dialogue with feedback at all skill levels, and it’s an ongoing adventure to seek and find what is beautiful and inspires us.”

Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood wore a Batman cowl while writing this. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Apr 10-20, 2025.