Inside Arden July 2021

Cara Gregor Photo by Aniko Kiezel

Color Me Happy SURE, IT’S WORK, BUT THIS ARTIST HAS FUN

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t’s easy to smile at Cara Gregor’s artwork. The Curtis Park resident uses bright happy colors to create grin-inducing images of reimagined

JL By Jessica Laskey Open Studio

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rainbows, energetic abstracts and bold florals, plus unique jewelry in equally vibrant tones. As the artist herself says, “Art is fun. That’s why we do it.” Gregor brings that sense of whimsy—and her amazing color palette—to the adorable 1914 bungalow she and her husband Benjamin are remodeling. The home had belonged to her grandparents since 1950. When Gregor’s grandmother died in 2019, the couple

decided to buy it and keep it in the family, with updates that maintain the historic Craftsman charm. They’re documenting the process on Instagram @colorfulbungalow. “We’re mainly freshening it up,” says Gregor, who grew up in Sonora but spent time in Sacramento as a kid with her grandparents. “My grandmother used to tell me, ‘When I’m gone, pull up these carpets, there’s gorgeous hardwood under here.’ She was right! We’ve restored

the natural hardwood floors and we’ve put in new cabinets and painted everything white to really make the art on our walls pop. It’s kind of a blank slate, which makes me very happy.” Having plenty of wall space for her work has proven handy since Gregor embarked on a 365-day painting challenge last August. Gregor says the project was intended to provide that extra push to put something on