Stepping into the world of Sally Russell’s art is pure pleasure -- like an acid trip that went well.

Walking between Sally Russell’s paper and canvas surfaces, ceramic totem towers, and dotted ceramic vessels is not an everyday art experience. The forms and colors she chooses as an artist excite the brain, taking it back to the realm of childlike playfulness.

“I do have a lot of fun,” Russell says of her process, smiling throughout an exhibit tour.

Russell is like her art – youthful, energetic and vital. Coming from an old Carmel family, Russell has been producing art since childhood, moving from textiles and studio art to clay and beyond. Despite a dose of abstraction understood as pattern, Russell’s work is rooted in the natural world. One of her favorite artists is the recently deceased California artist Viola Frey. Like Frey, Russell got interested in outdoor sculpture (another idol is Austrian sculptor Franz West), but also created a line of ceramic dinnerware and home textiles.

Her most recent series includes yarn, thread and string, many in vivid – if not straight-out fluorescent – tones, wrapped around her totemic legs (real tree branches) or glued to surfaces. When looking at “Radiant Balance (Diptych)” it’s hard to say why it works. But it does.

“By stacking components in a vertical fashion, she forces the viewer to physically interact and engage with the work from different angles,” reads a description of her bold ceramic totems in the introduction to the exhibit, which is titled Balancing Act.

Even Russell’s simplest works convey her energy. Perhaps the most minimalistic piece on display is “Something in the Orange,” which is nothing more than a wave of color on a white canvas. Yet it possesses the same vitality that the most colorful of her works have.

The title of the exhibit refers to the variety of forms and media Russell presents, but also to her life experience – in addition to being an artist and a mother, she operates the Power Plant Cafe in Moss Landing.

When listing her other favorite artists, Russell mentions Niki de Saint Phalle (outdoor sculpture rooted in natural forms) and Joan Brown (figurative painting in full, juicy colors). Another favorite is the king of internal playfulness, Picasso.

BALANCING ACT by Sally Russell is on display 10am-4pm Monday-Friday, through July 4. Marjorie Evans Gallery, Sunset Center, San Carlos Street and 9th Avenue, Carmel. 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org