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During the 2003 Biennale, Angel Orensanz, world renown installation artist and John Spike, world renown art historian, were busy talking and walked by Lana's work. As they passed her work, suddenly Angel stopped, took off his glasses and exclaimed, "I love it! It's fabulous!" He looked around as if to find the artist and saw Lana nearby. He pointed to the work and then back to her as if to ask-- is this was your work. She nodded back to let him know-- yes indeed, it was her work.

He quickly reached into his portfolio and handed her his bio and asked her to exhibit at his galleries in both New York and Paris in 2005. He then turned to John Spike and said, "This work is fantastic!" and John remarked he agreed and he had heard many people speaking about not only how great the work was but how Lana herself always dressed as though she was an "art piece" herself, much like her own work in terms of texture, color and uniqueness.

Angel Orensanz
Curator and Sculptor

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"Her work is very unusual. I have never seen anything like it. It is hard to imagine that it is truly paper. It is obvious she has mastered the art of papermaking and the work is highly emotional which is wonderful and rare for an artist to achieve for the viewer. Yes, I like her very much and look forward to seeing where she is heading because I have a feeling that she is just beginning to explore a sense of freedom she has not allowed herself to feel before."

Matty Roca
Critic and Art Historian

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SELECTED AWARDS

"Oakland Ambassador for the Arts"
City Council Resolution Award,
Oakland, CA

"Individual Artist Award"
Oakland Business and Arts Award
Oakland, CA

"Arts Organizational Award"
Oakland Business and Arts Award
Oakland, CA

"Arts Advocate Award"
Oakland Business and Arts Award
Oakland, CA

SELECTED GRANTS

National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C.
California Arts Council Individual Recipient
Kittredge Fund, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Rockefeller Foundation, New York City, New York
Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York City, New York
City of Oakland, Cultural Arts Division, Oakland, CA
Dalian City Hall, People's Republic of China
Fukuoka City Hall, Fukuoka, Japan
Environmental Protection Agency, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Alameda County School District, Alameda County, CA
Alameda County Waste Management Authority, Alameda, CA
Alameda County Partner Grant Program, Alameda, CA
Alameda County Arts Commission, Alameda, CA
Zellerbach Foundation
Hass Family Fund
Materials for the Future Foundation, San Francisco, CA
East Bay Community Foundation, Oakland, CA
Van Loben Sels Foundation, San Francisco, CA
LEF Foundation, St. Helena, CA
Pew Charitable Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
LifeLab, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Berkeley Arts Commission, Berkeley, CA
Marcus Foster Educational Institute, Oakland, CA
Cultural Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
City Hall of Dalian, Mayor Descrepancy Funds, Dalian, China
City Hall of Fukukoa, Mayor Descrepancy Funds, Fukuoka, Japan
Zolaria Plaza, Fukuoka, Japan
California Tamarack Foundation, Palo Alto, CA
Arts in Education, City of Oakland, CA

SELECTED LECTURES

"Creating Zero Paper Waste Schools"
University of Georgia, Athens, GA

"Arts in Education"
Arts Commission, Columbia, South Carolina

"Environmental Art", Bioneers Conference
Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael, CA

"An Art Model for Urban Environmental Education"
California Arts Alliance, Los Angeles, CA

"Power in Practice!"
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Living in Balance", San Francisco Institute of Art
San Francisco, CA

"Gome-Genryo! How to Create A Recycling Program",
Fukuoka, Japan

"How to Set Up a Paper Waste School", Dalian City Hall
Dalian, China

"Women's Caucus for the Arts", San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco, CA