"This is the first time we've done a curated staff show," says Jennifer O'Neal, the gallery manager of Creative Growth. "We have an incredible force of art making here. We have 140 artists who do work here and 25 staff members, most of whom also are emerging or established artists. To make this show, we asked ourselves, 'How do we celebrate that?' "

So they allowed each staff member to submit as many as three pieces. In selecting who would get to be shown alongside the Creative Growth artists, O'Neal says that a loose structure emerged. "We've chosen the work of artists who work in studio who we feel have influenced or been influenced by staff," O'Neal says. While this wasn't a paired project, the show reflects how well the artists and the staff work together.

"For example, there's Ann Weber, a celebrated sculptor and teacher who put together some large-scale cardboard pieces. She's worked closely with Chuck Nagle, an artist at Creative Growth with cerebral palsy. He builds these incredible tall coil pots.

"There's a process they've developed in the work together in the studio. It's not a collaboration -- this is unique work from each artist -- but it's related."

O'Neal, a former worker in the curatorial department of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, joined Creative Growth in 2002. She says she is consistently impressed with the work done at Creative Growth, by both the staff and the artists. "It's hard to explain but really clear if you come to our studios that there's just this ..." O'Neal trails off for a second, "creative vortex. People are working for eight hours a day. In the early days of Creative Growth, before there was a gallery, I'm told that the aisles were just filled with paper. In the early days it was totally about the process, and that spirit remains."

This show gives the Creative Growth artists a chance to see what their instructors work on in their own studios. "We work together in the studios, and you can end up spending more time together than with your family," O'Neal says. "But there's this whole interior world of art making that the artists haven't gotten to see from the staff. Now part of that world is uncovered."

Opens today with a reception at 5 p.m. Through Aug. 17. Creative Growth Art Center, 355 24th St., Oakland. (510) 836-2340. www.creativegrowth.org.

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