Artist Laureate

One of the most interesting and creative volunteer positions in Town is that of the Artist Laureate. The prestigious post of Artist Laureate is a Town Council-appointed, volunteer position with four-year term. 

The Heritage & Arts Commission is directly involved in the search and selection of each Artist Laureate and plays a major role in the support and promotion of projects throughout their tenure. 

Christa Grenawalt, Artist Laureate

01_Christa2025-1-scaledChrista Grenawalt paints at the intersection of body and landscape, tracing the elemental forces that shape both. Working outdoors on the cliffs of Northern California and Kauai, she responds to the confrontation between land and sea—the crash of waves, the howl of wind, the slow decomposition of matter. Her paintings are meditations on cycles both generative and destructive, finding beauty even in toxicity.

Using acrylic paint—plastic on canvas—Grenawalt embeds the environment directly into her work. Ocean water, rain, sand, and dirt become part of the material itself. Metallic copper pigments connect iron in the soil to blood cells in the body; iridescent layers evoke sea spray and the oxygenating breath of lungs. In the studio, she paints cellular forms with gold, charcoal, and plastics, marking the beauty and trauma of our time—floods, fires, smoke, and virus.

As Tiburon's Artist Laureate, Grenawalt brings a vision of art as civic connector. During SF Art Week '26, she presents The Waterline Project, a site-specific installation at Tiburon Town Hall exploring the Bay as a living, interconnected body. Through paintings shaped by rain and gravity, golden lines tracing water and shore, and collaborative mapping, the project invites the community into conversation about place, history, and rising tides.

Grenawalt sees art as a way to gather—offering seasonal projects that bring residents, students, and artists together in shared, place-based experiences. The Waterline Project acknowledges what connects us around the Bay and opens space to imagine what comes next for this watershed we call home.

Participate in Waterline Reflections: Voices from the Bay by sharing a reflection, memory, or image connected to San Francisco Bay - and what it means to call this place home. Click here to participate.

Prior Tiburon Artist Laureates


Richard Rozen, 2019 - 2022
Long-time resident Richard Rozen had a very successful 45-year career in dentistry, all the while nurturing his passion for creating art. Upon his retirement, Richard merged right into his hobby, studying drawing and painting at the College of Marin as well as advanced painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, making art his full time "career in retirement".

Richard has won awards for his art and participated in more than 14 group and solo exhibitions in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been serving the community throughout his residency through community service positions with the Belvedere-Tiburon Library and Reed Union School District, and feels the Artist Laureate position is a natural extension of his community service and a chance to revitalize the Town's vision and approach to art. 

Richard continued the educational outreach programs started by prior Laureates, and championed public art projects with a keen focus on benefiting both the artists and residents of the Tiburon Peninsula.

Jaleh Etemad (Photo by Diane Smith)

Jaleh Etemad

Mary Musalo, 2009 - 2012
A self-taught artist, Mary has the belief, “there is no right or wrong – only your perception”.

Mary worked with St. Hilary’s Parish “Art as Meditation,” and introduced her students, mostly beginners, how to create wonderful works of art on a regular basis.  

Her intention was manifested in shining the light on the arts in the community through a variety of venues.  She was the creator of many Town event posters, The Wine Festival, Friday Night on Main, Oktoberfest, and the Tiburon Music Festival as well as pieces that hang locally and across the country  Mary was Artist Laureate for the Town of Tiburon 2009-2012.

It was her great pleasure to create a program for artists to come together through workshops featuring local artists and Art Talk a monthly evening get together to listen to different artists process of creating their work .

Mary loves exploring and experimenting in different mediums. Acrylic paints , inks, oils, pencils can be seen in her creative process. Her work has evolved over the last thirty years into a process of letting go of the line and entering into a peaceful expression. 

Her commissioned pieces are hung in local professional spaces and homes across the country and abroad.

Professor Yeh Jau "Jimmy" Liu (Photo by Penni Gladstone)

Jimmy Liu

Richard Rozen (Photo by Clara Lu)

Rozen

Jaleh Etemad, 2012 - 2016
Jaleh Etemad served as Tiburon’s Artist Laureate from 2012 to 2016, bringing her international perspective to benefit the town’s art community. Born in Azerbaijan, Iran, and educated in England with degrees in Advanced Medical Laboratory Technology and a specialization in Electron Microscopy, she pursued art after moving to the United States in 1970.

Her signature accomplishment as Artist Laureate was creating her book, "I Remember When," a historical treasure chronicling the stories of long-time residents with generational ties to Tiburon through deeply personal narratives. These stories were accompanied by Jaleh's vibrant mixed media portraits, creating a meaningful visual and textual record of the community's heritage.

Jaleh's artistic philosophy focuses on creating work that is "both revealing and accessible but also acts as a muse for the viewer." She layers her canvases with meaningful symbols—fragments of maps, letters, ancient inscriptions, photographs, found objects, and contemporary poetry—drawing inspiration from people, books, dreams, and unexpected emotions. 

Mary Musalo

Professor Yeh Jau "Jimmy" Liu, 2001 - 2003
Professor Liu holds the distinguished honor of being the Town of Tiburon's first Artist Laureate, appointed by resolution of the Town Council on September 5, 2001. His appointment came through the passionate advocacy of supporters who recognized both his artistic excellence and the importance of establishing the Laureate position itself. During his nearly two-year tenure, Professor Liu primarily created original artworks that were presented as special awards.

Despite his humble demeanor—often dismissing inquiries with "I am not interesting"—Professor Liu lived an extraordinary life. Born in 1910 in Hunan, China, he rose to the rank of colonel in the Chinese army during World War II. During the Japanese invasion of Hunan, he led a strategic scorched earth campaign on horseback, staying just ahead of advancing forces. Following the war, Chiang Kai-shek selected him to join four generals on a tour of Europe and the United States to study international approaches to rebuilding China. He later served as a government official in Hunan province until 1949, when the Communist takeover forced him to flee to Taiwan with the Nationalist government.

Mr. Liu was invited to teach Chinese watercolor painting at San Francisco State University in 1962, and opened the Han Syi Studio on Main Street upon his mandatory retirement in 1967, which became a beloved tourist destination that garnered national and international recognition. The studio was a remarkable visual experience, with every surface adorned with his brush paintings, appreciative testimonial letters, and a wall map studded with pushpins marking the global homes of his collectors.

Mr. Liu's tenure as Artist Laureate was cut short when he passed away after an automobile accident. He was 93.