During Women’s History Month, two women with a long history of their own — as artists, friends and Alamedans — have joined forces for a special exhibition.

Titled “Different Dimensions,” the exhibit centered on the artwork of Alameda residents Beth Bourland and Barbara Buhrz is on view through March 28 at the city’s Frank Bette Center for the Arts (frankbettecenter.org/current-exhibits).

At the opening reception this past Saturday, dozens of people gathered to celebrate and meet the artists. Margaret Fago, the Bette Center’s president and executive director, said she’s excited to have Buhrz and Bourland showing their work together.

“I always think it’s fun when we have two artists that are sort of playing off of each other and exchanging ideas,” she said.

“Different Dimensions” marks the women’s second joint exhibition at the Bette Center. In the “Signature Gallery,” a spacious, airy backroom, Bourland’s watercolor and ink-and-wash pieces coexist among Buhrz’s sculptures and watercolors. Some works are framed and hang on the walls; others are positioned on tables set up throughout the sun-filled room.

Many of Bourland’s scenic paintings in the exhibition are odes to places she’s visited, including towns and coastal areas such as Monterey and Bodega Bay, as well as places beyond the Golden State, like the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Florida Keys. Titles include “Winter Serenity,” “Abaco Dunes” and “A Good Rainy Season,” the latter depicting a creek and bridge stonework at Alvarado Park in Richmond.

“I enjoy incorporating art into my travels, either sketching while there or getting reference material to paint later,” she said.

Bourland, a former copy editor, has lived in Alameda for about 25 years. She’s taken art courses at Academy of Art University, the Mendocino Art Center and elsewhere, along with numerous painting and sketching workshops. She cites her father, an engineering technician and amateur artist, as having a profound impact on her, in particular on her art.

“He was a fantastic sketcher, so he influenced me to see the world in terms of shape and color and dimension and shadows,” she shared.

She and Buhrz have known each other since 2005.

“[We connected] through friends, community events and just getting to know each other, and then we discovered we had art in common, so that’s been a shared interest for us,” said Bourland.

Buhrz, a native San Franciscan, is a lifelong artist who began dabbling in ceramics at the City College of San Francisco. She eventually moved to Oakland, working as a technician for Pacific Bell (now AT&T California). Determined to continue devoting time to making art, Buhrz enrolled in painting and ceramics courses at Oakland’s Merritt College, which was close to where she lived at the time.

“I was working evening shifts so I could take day classes,” she said.

For the past two decades, Buhrz has called Alameda home. Now retired, she participates in art classes offered at the city’s Mastick Senior Center. Staying creative as one ages is important, she said.

“[Art] gives me something to do,” she said. “It’s very relaxing and stimulating — my mind sort of goes with whatever I’m doing.”

“Different Dimensions” showcases discernible subject and title connections between Buhrz’s sculptures and watercolor paintings. For instance, a whale sculpture appears near a painting of a whale, and both are titled “Orca.” The same pairing concept applies to other works, including “Groundhog,” “Snow Owl” and “Volcano Man.”

Sometimes she’ll start with the sculpture and then paint its complement; other times, she’ll pick up the paintbrush first and later mold the clay. Buhrz’s pieces depict sea life, birds, animals and other creatures. She said one fun aspect of creating art is taking some turns along the way.

“Sometimes it just goes wherever it goes,” she said. “I just sit there with a piece of clay and try to work with it until it becomes something, like an animal, but it might be distorted in some way — usually humorously.”

Buhrz’s sculptures, including a cat driving a car, one-eyed aliens and a sweet-looking character named “The Little Guy,” are all capable of eliciting smiles from onlookers. Buhrz says they make happy too.

“It’s sometimes hard making them, but in the end, it’s always worth it,” she said.

At the Bette Center, visitors will also come across some connections between the two artists’ works as they peruse the exhibition.

Buhrz has two music-themed paintings, “Sound Waves” and “Jam Session,” hung on one wall. In proximity to them is Bourland’s “Violins of Hope,” a painting that references the same-named concert project involving contemporary musicians playing violins salvaged from World War II.

“I saw an exhibit of the violins and a concert in San Francisco, and I was inspired to paint the instruments,” Bourland said. “They’re so beautiful with that rich, warm tone.”

And then there’s the connection between the women themselves — as residents of “the Island” of Alameda, close friends and ever-devoted artists presenting their shared “herstory” in an art-filled room.

“It’s really wonderful to have them back here for a show again,” said Fago.

At 1601 Paru St. in Alameda, the Bette Center is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. To become a Bette Center member, visit frankbettecenter.org/membership online. For more details, email gallery@frankbettecenter.org or call 510-523-6957​.

JL Odom is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco who can be reached at jlodomphd@gmail.com. When they’re not covering the Bay Area, they’re usually training for their next marathon.