Art and Architecture

Alex Coolman

Irini Vallera-Rickerson remembers walking into Raymond Isidore’s house

in Chartres, France.

The home, which the early 20th century laborer Isidore decorated by

hand, is covered with elaborate mosaics. And as soon as Vallera-Rickerson

saw it, she knew she had to bring images of it back to Costa Mesa.

Vallera-Rickerson is the director of Orange Coast College’s art

gallery, and every year she puts on a benefit talk about art and

architecture around the world -- an event that this year happens on

Friday.

“A lot of these buildings, they’re derived from the local topography

and the materials available,” she said. “They have a great rapport with

the environment.”

The structures and images that Rickerson shows off are drawn from

around the globe -- from the underground churches of Cappadocia, Turkey,

to rock art from the Sahara Desert.

These are places, for the most part, that Vallera-Rickerson has

scouted out herself on her yearly travels around the world.

“Sometimes,” she said, “it’s places my friends have visited.”

And though the show, which has been running since 1991 often features a few of the same sites, Vallera-Rickerson says she works hard to keep it

fresh.

“I always add something new, because there are people that support it

regularly.”

She noted that she plans to include some structures that might come as

a surprise to most architecture connoisseurs: unusual doghouses.

FYI

* WHAT: “Unique Art and Architecture”

* WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday

* WHERE: Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview

Road, Costa Mesa

* COST: Suggested donation is $10 or more. Proceeds benefit AIDS

charities in Orange County.

* CALL: (714) 432-5039