La Mission is a 2009 film directed by Peter Bratt and starring Benjamin Bratt based on the true story of Che Rivera, a reformed inmate living in San Francisco’s Mission district. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Gina worked on post-production publicity and organizing hospitality for premiere screenings.

Luna Woman is a life-sized soft sculpture of an imaginary female film director for the Lunafest traveling film festival. She celebrates films that were made by, for and about women worldwide. The piece was made from Luna bar wrappers, covered in plastic, and topped with raffia hair. Luna Woman was created in 2006 to support the efforts of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, a non-profit dedicated to finding the cause of breast cancer. Luna Woman then went on the road with Lunafest, to raise money for the cause. Lunafest has featured the work of over 180 female filmmakers at more than 3,000 screenings and has raised $8 million for a number of non-profits. After two decades on the road, Luna Woman is enjoying retirement.

Dolores is a 2017 documentary about the life of Dolores Huerta, the Chicana labor union activist. It was directed by Peter Bratt, the executive producer was Carlos Santana. The film follows her early years and depicts the experiences that formed her activism and passion for justice and equality. She was awarded the national Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. Gina worked on post-production publicity and organizing hospitality for premiere screenings.

Photo 2: Barack Obama, Dolores Huerta

Photo 3 L to R: Lara O'Connor, Dolores Huerta, Gina Musser

Clif Man is a life-sized soft sculpture of Gary Erickson, the co-founder and former CEO of Clif Bar. He is a passionate cyclist and for this piece Gina envisioned him moving fast and with purpose. The sculpture is made of foil Clif Bar wrappers, covered in plastic. The bicycle was created using copper wire, sculptor’s armature wire, and salvaged wheel rims. The stand is made from acrylic rods affixed to redwood tree bark from Mt. Tamalpais, in a nod to the area’s history of cycling.

The Monet project was part of a fundraising effort by the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, CA. Gina worked with preschool children as a support to classroom teachers, with a focus on incorporating Jewish values into a work of art that would be sold at the annual fundraiser. The project began in winter, which reflected one aspect of Monet’s themes of light and dark. This piece was sold at the annual fundraiser for $400.

In the early 1980s Gina met the legendary San Francisco dancer, choreographer, and teacher Ed Mock. They recognized in each other a passion for free-form and experimental artistic expression and were soon collaborating. Mock was known for his improvisational dance, and Gina was working with non-traditional materials for costuming. One of her most impactful pieces was a costume for Mock made from window screen meshing. After his passing, the documentary “Unstoppable Feat, the Dances of Ed Mock” was released, which includes an account of their instant connection.

Iola Brubeck was the wife of world-renowned jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, and a member of Gina Musser’s large community of extended friends and family. This work is a wire sculpture of Iola wearing a dress made from the letters she wrote to Gina’s mother over many years. Iola is holding a page of sheet music from the jazz musical she and Dave Brubeck co-wrote, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong, “The Real Ambassadors”. This particular tune was sung by the reknowned jazz vocal trio, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.

In 1960 Dave Brubeck refused to perform at many colleges during his Southern Tour because segregation laws in many of those states wouldn’t allow Eugene Wright, a Black bass player, to perform on the same stage as white musicians. “The Real Ambassadors” was written to call out segregation, to address the Civil Rights Movement, the music business, and to highlight the role of musicians as unofficial ambassadors.  

José Neto is a Brazilian jazz and rock guitarist known for his work with Harry Belafonte, Steve Winwood, Fourth World, and his own band, the Netoband. The very rare Paradis guitar is his signature instrument. This is a life-sized soft sculpture of Neto and his guitar, created with layers of vinyl and printed interviews, articles, and reviews of his music. The strings of the guitar are his own, played by him on recent tours.

This sculpture was exhibited at the premiere of the award-winning documentary about José Neto's life and music, The Man Behind the White Guitar.

She worked closely with several performers, functioning as a tour manager, getting artists where they needed to be, under extremely tight security. She booked hundreds of hotel rooms, reviewed artists’ riders, and saw to their needs. She was also tasked with engaging with luminaries of the energy industry at the Green Ball held at the Smithsonian, with the goal of promoting Al Gore’s mission of sustainability. 

Photo 1 L to R: Nina Williams, Gina Musser

Photo 2 L to R: Gina Musser, Niki Haris, Tim McAfee-Lewis

This paper maché piece measures 19” x 23”. It was a collaboration that began with sculptor and jewelry maker, Dian Weeks, who had been commissioned to design a piece for a designer’s showcase. Dian scuplted the piece from clay. Rodney Morgan an artist at Industrial Light and Magic's model shop, created the mold, and the commissioned piece was completed. Years later Gina resurrected the mold with the notion of having the children at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, CA make a paper maché cast from fibers of the South American abacá plant, which bear a strong resemblance to the fibers on the inside of a banana peel. This project was done in the spirit of the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world through environmental awareness.

Barack Obama’s 2009 presidential inauguration was one of the most globally observed events in history. Held from January 18 through 21, it included concerts, a parade, a prayer service, a luncheon, twenty inaugural balls, and the swearing-in ceremony itself. Because of her work on Obama’s national election campaign, Gina was invited to work as a Production Assistant for the many balls, including the Inaugural Ball itself. 

Gina embellished this dress as a statement of support for the 1995 Women’s Strike in Italy during which 5,000 housewives held a demonstration. The strike came about as a result of women demanding respect for what they did all day: cooking, cleaning, having babies and caring for them, doing laundry, baking, and the expectation that they should also be attractive to men. They demanded a union, with rights to pensions and benefits. This piece includes an article about the strike, and various symbols of women’s labor, all encased in plastic.

Gina worked as a costumer for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which during her tenure in 1983 won a Tony award for Outstanding Regional Theatre as well as the National Governor’s Association Award for distinguished service to the arts. She was also a costumer for the award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Gina designed the costumes for the Portland Dance Theatre’s productions of “Festooning” and “Red Ballet”, choreographed by Gregg Bielemeier, and for Keith Martin’s Ballet Oregon.

This table and chair set were found in storage and repurposed by pre-schoolers at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, CA, who created a mosaic table-top surface, using their own drawings of flowers, children, and a rainbow. The set was then refreshed and repainted in the spirit of the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam.

Photo 1 L to R: Paul Liberatore, Neto sculpture, Gina Musser, José Neto, Narada Michael Walden

Photo 2 L to R: Gina Musser, Merl Saunders, Paul Liberatore

Photo 3 L to R: Barbara McVeigh, Narada Michael Walden, Gina Musser

The Man Behind the White Guitar is an award-winning documentary about the life and music of Brazilian guitarist José Neto, released to sold out theatre audiences in 2019. Gina exhibited her soft sculpture of the artist at the premiere showing. 

This and other similar chandeliers were part of a fundraising effort by the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, CA. The goal was to create pieces that would sell for between $200 and $400 and be made by members of the JCC community. This piece consists of a top frame of three layers in fabricated metal made to Gina’s specifications. From this frame hang copper wires with strands of buttons and semi-precious beads, the latter generously donated by sculptor and jewelry maker Dian Weeks. The children strung buttons while senior members of the community strung the beads. A tube of handmade paper contains the lightbulb. This combined effort reinforced the Jewish principle of community, Kehilla.

The mosaic arch was a piece made by preschoolers and other community members at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, CA to adorn the door of the children's playhouse. The mosaic's words refer to the Jewish values of community, Kehilla; in the image of God, B'tzelem Elohim; and awe and wonder, Hit'orerut. The flower images were chosen from drawings the children created.