The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara is pleased to present What Remains by Don Scott and Ella Jennings, a joint exhibition featuring hand-crafted wooden vessels by Don Scott and oil paintings on wood panels by Ella Jennings. All are welcome to attend the opening reception.
A conversation with Don Scott and Ella Jennings will take place on October 10, 2026, at 2 p.m. at the Architectural Foundation Art Gallery (229 East Victoria Street, Santa Barbara).
In The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, British author Rob Penn writes, “There is a dilemma between the pleasure a tree gives while growing, and excitement at the prospect of what it might be converted into once it has been felled.” A retired cabinet maker and builder, Don Scott’s fascination with woodturning was ignited in 2011 when he discovered a lathe at a garage sale. Now, he works with found and locally sourced timber, embracing “the stresses of wind and weather, age and environment…[which] leave a visual history in every piece of wood. Natural cracks, voids and discolorations are part of that story.” His delicate vessels are marked by raw edges, swirling grain, and imperfections that honor the tree’s existence.
Many of Jennings’ small oil paintings depict variations of wood as a grounding force, either in its natural state or material for man-made construction. Painting on salvaged wood panels, Jennings imagines interior domestic structures as settings for encountering the divine, moving through life transitions, or revisiting memories of past homes and loved ones who inhabited them. Familiar rooms pared down to their basic structure become transfigured by luminous colors, abstract light and shadow shapes. Josef Woodard of the Santa Barbara Independent says of her work, “The subject is oblique illumination, literally and metaphysically. Jennings’s canvases convey a quiet, muted presence.”
Both Scott and Jennings grew up in historic homes in Southern California (Don in a Craftsman house and Ella in a Spanish bungalow), which informed their artistic practices. Both artists combine natural and domestic worlds in their work – a felled neighborhood tree is given new life as a wooden bowl or vase; an interior is transfigured by late afternoon sunlight. Through distilling and refining their mediums, techniques and subject matter, both Scott and Jennings reveal that “what remains” is something altogether new.
The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara (AFSB) seeks to promote quality in architecture, art, and design by fostering an understanding of excellence in the urban environment. The AFSB offers diverse programs serving Santa Barbara County that provide educational opportunities for the community with participation from local architects and design professionals.
