April is National Poetry Writing Month, and it is being celebrated in the printmaker’s studio at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles with an exhibit of ekphrastic poetry.
When people talk about ekphrastic poetry, they are usually talking about a poem that is written as a result of looking at a painting or drawing or sculpture. But it can also work the other way around. It is not necessary for the work of art to come first, and for me the poem comes first and then a wood block print is created based on that poem. And although the poem and the print can each stand separately, together they are meant to enhance each other.
For National Poetry Writing Month the goal is to write a new poem every day in the month of April. So how do you write thirty poems in thirty days? The first few might be hard, but it gets easier as the month goes along and you get in the grove of writing every day. I accomplish this by getting up at three o’clock in the morning. The world is quiet and there are no distractions, and I wait staring out the window into the dark until something triggers a thought or idea. One word leads to the next and one line to the next until there is the rough draft of a poem.
Then comes the hard part of shaping the rough draft into a poem. Like Michelangelo is credited with saying about sculpture, with a rough draft you just cross out everything that is not the poem. But Michelangelo began with a stone already in front of him. He didn’t have to create the block in the first place. With a poem the stone has to be created before it can be shaped.
And just as there is in running a marathon you can it a wall on about day twenty in this writing marathon. There comes a point when there seems to be nothing left to write about. You’re empty. Drained. The imagination departs and three o’clock in the morning becomes the witching hour of monsters and goblins and emptiness and despair and there are no poems waiting to be written down. But if you can slog through days twenty to twenty-two or twenty-three there comes a second wind and with the end of the month in sight the poems start to write themselves again.
Of course there is no ekphrastic poetry without coming up with images that reflect the poetry. Fortunately the poems are now a huge reservoir of images and ideas from which I can draw for subject matter. This is one of my main reasons for writing poems since coming up with the subject matter for prints is often harder for me than carving the blocks and making prints.
I am not alone in participating in April’s National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). If you go to www.napowrimo.net you will find hundreds of web sites and people who are participating.
Anyone can participate and there is no charge for participating. There is also no prize for writing thirty poems in April except for the prize of ending up with thirty poems. On the other hand, there is no penalty for failing to write thirty poems except for ending up with fewer than thirty poems.
Finnegans Wake
you notice how the ending dribbles out
to nothing? “a last, a loved, along the “
It’s out of gas. It can’t complete the thought
unless you start the cycle once again
at riverrun, but who would read the thing
a second time or even read it once?
The book is better if it’s not been read.
It’s like a lot of things that’s better left
to our imagination—like this poem.
Once this poem’s written down and read
it’s fixed. It’s formulated on a pin.
It’s dead. There isn’t any movement, life.
It’s static. Moribund. Deceased. And so
there isn’t any poem here today.
It’s left unwritten, left to gestate, and
The Witching Hour
It’s three o’clock, and I am wide awake
and waiting for the slivered moon to move
behind the tree and hide. The passengers
at thirty thousand feet are probably
asleep and neither know nor care their plane
is keeping me awake. I watch it move,
a flashing dot that slides across the sky.
At least there is a reason it’s awake.
It has a destination, purpose, goal.
I listen for the things that can’t be heard,
for something that will keep me company.
The feral cat is silent. Does she hunt
or she is sleeping soundly underneath
my studio and dreaming of the dog
who tries and fails to catch her every day.
It’s three o’clock. The world has gone away
and left me here alone . . . awake . . . alone.
My dog is barking in her sleep again.
I wonder if she’s chasing that damned cat
or if she knows I need the company.
Wide Awake
I’m wide awake. At least I think I am.
It’s hard to tell. I mean I sometimes think
I am awake but then I do awake
so I suppose I could be dreaming. If
I start to fly or float among the clouds
or find myself in Italy again;
if I am riding in the Tour de France
or planting out the perfect vegetables
that grow and ripen over night, well then
I’d know that this is just a dream.
But even in my dreams I sleep and eat.
I’m not a superhero all the time.
I am a coward walking down a street
that never ends. . . alone on Moonstone Beach
where Sisyphus is laughing as I try
to stabilize the waves and fuse the sand.
But no, I’m wide awake just sitting here
and staring at the books that line the walls.
Can you be bored and boring in your dreams?
To paint or draw a subject is to own it in a way unlike any other. I discovered this as a boy taken to exploring nature and seeking my connection to it all. I can truly say this discovery has served me very well on life's journey in a remarkable world.
Over the past few years I have been doing more painting on location. This style is called Plein Air, or "open air," referring to creating a work of art outside. As a member of SLOPE (San Luis Obispo Outdoor Painters for the Environment) I have worked with the Land Conservancy raising funds for the Pismo Preserve, Dana Adobe, and Pacific Wildlife Care as well as ventures into new areas of interest with fellow painters and most recently I was invited by the SLO Museum of Art to participate in their Point Buchon Trail Plein Air Exhibition. In October I spent a week as a guest of the US Department of the Interior for an Artist in Residence at the Whiskytown Shasta-Trinity National Recreation area in northern California. This was my first solo Plein Air experience and I found it quite wonderful to be able to indulge in complete spontaneity in exploring and choosing painting locations.
One of the challenges I have always found with Plein Air painting is in deciding where I want to settle down and paint. For most of my 50 years as a professional artist I have relied on the camera to record things of interest and then had to luxury of working in my studio to compose my image. This allowed me to more thoroughly explore new areas and give me a greater understanding of the environment, as well as gather a lot of reference material. By going out with other artists, I learned to pick a location and get with the painting.
Working on location gives the advantage of spending hours with one scene and experiencing the changing light and moods of the spot and perhaps meet some of the wildlife as they go about their business. This way I have found the ability to stay in one spot continually for hours in nature, to become involved in the timeless process of painting, submerged in and surrounded by my subject.
When painting on location I concentrate first on sketching out the important elements of the composition and their relationships and movement. This is where I find the advantage of Plein Air. The freedom to adjust compositional elements comes much easier than when using photo reference. I really can keep in the knowledge that it's just a random set of shapes and color and can be played with as is my fancy, (artistic license). I will generally spend 2 - 4 hours at a given location concentrating on establishing the composition and values not worrying too much about color. I try and take a photo every 1/2 hour or so which gives me valuable information about how the light moved and what time of day I want to concentrate on in finishing the painting. It's a level of freedom with my works that feels quite singular.
When I left the African Safaris behind some 20 years ago after many visits as a printmaker I decided the next visit I wanted to go back as a painter and concentrate on working Plein Air. This June I hope to have an artist in residency in Kenya along the Mara River. It will be a dream fulfilled.
I am a resident artist at Studios on the Park, 1130 Pine Street in Paso Robles, displaying and hosting a wide variety of art and artists creating in their resident studios. Please come by and view my latest works along with selected work from my 50 years as a professional artist.
Studios is open Monday- Wednesday 12-4, Thursday and Sunday 12-6, Friday and Saturday 12-9. For my current weekly hours either check the website studiosonthepark.org and click on my artist link or feel free to contact me at dennis@denniscurry.com
By Lisa McCann
“I humbly attempt to connect with the divine muses in my works in hopes that they will notice and influence me in my way of speaking through my art. My hope is to move others in an unexpected way.” – Vincent Bernardy
To live and create as an artist is to share with the world one’s own unique take. A lifetime of experiences. The present and past. The good and the frustrating. The happy and the sad. It can be scary or confusing. It can elicit bliss and a cathartic experience all at the same time.
Each work contains a part of its creator and that’s what you feel in the art of Vincent Bernardy. His folk art assemblages and pop art evoke emotions from laughter to tears and back to laughter again. The more you look the more the work evolves.
Visitors to his space at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles CA have been known to marvel at the fact they are for sale at all.
Vogue celebrity designer, Miranda Konstantinidou was the inspiration for a work for which he has received much acclaim; Vincent’s, ‘Miranda Konstantinidou and Jay.’
American painter, Mark Bryan says of the assemblage, “I’ve never seen anything like it before. This piece belongs in a museum, not for sale.”
“It brings out childhood feelings in just about everyone who sees it. As adults in this world, I’m happy to bring a sense of wonderment and play,” says Bernardy.
A lifetime of artistic endeavors from the glamorous to the mundane have marked Vincent’s path. A St. Paul native, Bernardy spent his youth as a rock star. A leading and sought after figure in the late 80’s early 90’s Minneapolis scene.
Those experiences cannot be dismissed as influence in his paintings. When you see the work, you see Vincent.
The found art and assemblage components are no accident. Many of his pieces include imagery of childhood, mythology and even religion. Certain pieces are adorned with tacking nails from his time as and upholster. Memories of struggle, happiness, hope and practical reality loom throughout.
Vincent explains, “I exist in another realm when I create. It’s hard to describe. I’m never quite sure of what I’m saying until it’s done. Every emotion known to humans inspires my work.”
Found art plays a role in Vincent’s work much in the same way we all carry with us bits of our past. “What’s lost is never truly lost. Simply repurposed for new understanding. Sometimes things just fit. Whether it’s a hammer or a thing that reminds us of a long lost love. They all exist together in our memories.”
“Be a kid. Be a grownup. Just be. I know when a piece is ready.” VB
Vincent’s work has most recently been accepted by the online folk art auction site, Slotin Folk Art for their “Spring Masterpiece Sale’.
Slotin Folk Art sells important pieces form artists, living and dead. The Slotin online auction is April 28th and 29th, 2018. http://www.slotinfolkart.com
Vincent’s art is also currently on display at Studios on the Park.
**Vincent has also heard some negative feedback regarding his art and all should be advised, he has purchased a squirt gun and is not afraid to use it. 😉
Vincent Bernardy
e-mail: stvincentfolk@gmail.com
website: http://www.vincentbernardy.com/
website: https://www.reverbnation.com/vincentbernardy
By Carolyn Braun
“Painting helps me to illustrate my awareness of the world as I see it.
Painting becomes my meditation expressed in color.”
Sharon Sobraske was always an artist. Crayons, colored pencils, collage and watercolors eventually led to acrylics with a short side trip with oils. But, acrylics had that special quality she needed to paint the colors she saw in the local landscape. “I love mountains and their constantly changing shapes and shadows with the moving light.”
“I consider it a special gift to be able to see multi colors in nature and then recreate my observations on canvas.” As she approaches her canvas daily in her studio, she remembers learning about color awareness and that is not a gift available to everyone.
Since she is open to experimentation, her work shows unique directions involving brushwork and color application with influences from classical artists like the Impressionists. Other influences include studies with local artists including Robert Burridge, John Barnard and Jeanette Wolfe. Sometimes mixed media materials are evident as she explores combinations of print and paint. Unexpected serendipities will send her off in a whole new direction....if she gets a pleasing effect especially if the colors are bold and bright.
At her Studios on the Park studio gallery, Sharon encourages visitors to share her vision through conversations about her art. She feels that her more contemporary approach is a view that people would love and enjoy in their homes. A recent visitor walked in saying, “This is my style! I am so glad to meet you!” This was an exciting conversation.
Since Sharon paints from her heart, she loves being told that her style is exactly what someone is looking for. Her goal is to have her work affordable so that everyone who wants one of her paintings can have the experience of original art at home. “I want people to be happy, uplifted and personally touched by my paintings”.
“Original art is a custom fit that adds personality and tone. My customers are kindred spirits who love visiting my studio to talk about my work and how it affects them. I’m very interested in what people are looking for and how I can fit their needs.
It is her sincere hope that visitors to her studio will stop, look and chat about her visions. Her work, of course, usually begins the conversation.
Sharon is represented in numerous private collections and shows her work daily at Studios on the Park where she has been a resident artist for several years. She holds Signature Membership in the Central Coast Watercolor Society and the International Society of Acrylic Painters.
Visit Sharon at Studios on the Park, 1130 Pine Street, Paso Robles, CA. Reach her at ssobraske@hotmail.com.
By Michael Stang
From the time she was able to hold a pencil in her hand, and draw a line, Betty Wick never looked back. Her Grandmother kept a special box in the closet for all her pencils, pens and art paper. Betty remembers drawing flowers to the sounds of Lawrence Welk in the background. Betty grew up in a loving home that encouraged her art.
At one point, as life would have it, during her grade school years, Betty found herself as one of the “Cordettes, a group of a baton twirling kids, twirling a fire baton. During those experiences, she met circus legends who followed the parades as added excitement for the town’s people of Northeastern Ohio. Betty met “Lobster Boy”, and the world’s famous Bearded Woman, whose beard was so long she had to have helpers keep it off the ground.
It was one of Betty’s high school teachers that influenced her by his passion for black and white art, and it took her by storm. Betty Wick majored in printmaking at Ohio University where her black and white art developed in complexity. After school, Betty moved to Boston and got a job at the Design Center. She learned from some of the best designers in the word, and was heavily influenced by their designs. She illustrated for a writer who did work for the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post: perfect for black and white. By that time, Betty Wick was starting to show her work nationally.
Betty Wick now lives on the Central Coast of California. She took take a break from black and white when she illustrated a children’s book written by her husband. “It was a different world for me. A lot of fun splashing color around.”
Her son, Orion, a wine maker with his own brand “dilécta” needed wine labels for the bottles. Betty’s art was perfect for the task. So much so, that Betty recreated a canvas to be displayed on one of the walls at the dilécta tasting room. The tasting room is under construction at 5325 Vineyard Drive in Paso Robes, and will be opening soon. One of Betty’s labels will be featured in the “Wine Enthusiast magazine” in a future edition.
Betty Wick became a part of “Studios on the Park” 1130 Pine Street, Paso Robles last February. “I love having my own space to do what I want.” Naturally, there is a lot of exceptionally talented black and white art hanging on the walls. Anne Laddon, founder and lead curator had this to say in “New Times”, out of San Luis Obispo entertainment weekly “Her style is just so unique. It’s playful and edgy. She has a very high skill level.”
Betty Wick may be contacted at www.bettywick.com, or at bettywickart@gmail.com.
Throughout history, in all cultures, the need for textiles has been a priority, providing clothing, utilitarian items as well as home goods. It has generally been the women in each society that created their textiles by developing various methods of textile design and dyeing to add color, symbolism, and many times self expression. Over the years these textiles have begun to be recognized not only as functional, but also as an art form or fine craft. Women, not being happy just creating basic textiles, began creating their own unique styles and designs and discovered ways to create dyes to incorporate color into their work.
I became fascinated with textiles at a very young age. After a very short and unfulfilling career as a clothing designer making mass produced garments, I searched for a way to express myself artistically. I began working in batik and from there silk painting which uses a “resist” to restrict the flow of colored dye on silk. While many textile artists excel in these mediums, I found them repetitive and restrictive. However, working with silk did lead me into the ancient Japanese textile craft of Shibori which is a method of manipulating fabric, creasing it, submerging the fabric in water, and then dyeing the fabric. Additionally, there are numerous types of Shibori. I work in Arashi Shibori, which requires that the silk is wrapped and stretched on a pole prior to dyeing; Itajame Shibori, which utilizes clamps and wooden blocks; and rope wrapping, whereby the silk is literally wrapped on a section of rope, and tightened with string.
The most exciting and challenging aspect of my craft is the fact that, unlike other art forms, there is only so much control that the artist has over her materials. At a certain point in my process, I have to “let go” and let the silk and the dye “do their own thing”. The textile artist must have an intimate knowledge of the type and weight of the fiber they are working with and what that specific fabric will and won’t do. They must also know how each fabric will accept dye. They must know the different dyes and how they interact with different fabrics. Some dyes take longer to absorb than others and some will need to be steamed in a water bath to “set”.
Recently I have been introduced to natural dyes and mordants and the world of botanical dyeing. This is the process of transferring the image of living plants onto fabric which results in breathtaking textiles with no two ever being identical. I am now incorporating this technique into my Shibori. There is nothing more satisfying than learning and honoring a centuries old craft and taking it into an entirely new realm.
I just created Pistachibats with bats in the belfry and the kitchen!
“Who would be an ideal subject for a play,” Al Schnupp asked Andrew Campbell, Arts Manager for the City of West Hollywood. Al, who prefers female protagonists, and fellow playwright, Ellyn Gersh-Lerner, had considered Judy Chicago, Alice Neel and Georgia O’Keeffe, among others. Without hesitation, Andrew exclaimed, “Ivy Bottini!”
Mr. Campbell arranged a meeting to introduce Al and Ellyn to Ivy. A victim of macular degeneration, Miss Bottini is nearly blind. “Come here. Close. Let me have a look at you,” she said to Al. She studied his face, nodded and said, “That’s a good face.” Then she turned to Ellyn, examined her and smiled, “That’s a better face.” Ivy confessed she falls in love, quickly and often, and warned Ellyn, “I may fall in love with you before the interview is over.”
The playwriting pair of Al and Ellyn interviewed Ivy four times, each interview lasting about 3 hours. Over the course of a year, they co-wrote “Ivy”, which was then presented as a reading in West Hollywood as part of the One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. A year later, Al suggested they tackle the play again, and rewrite it as a musical. Ellyn was involved in other projects and the new version became a single-author creation. Al wrote a series of poems/songs, focusing only on language, rhyme and rhythm, not on any musical composition of the “lyrics.” As he worked on the script, more and more it emulated the style of poet Richard Wilbur, who translated and adapted many plays by Moliere. A title emerged that reflected Ivy’s mission, while speaking to current, relevant affairs – INCLUSIVITY – the Ivy Bottini Story. After several readings and revisions, Al decided to mount the play at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles.
The script is comprised of 17 songs/poems, with transitions. The opening number is entitled “Family Tree;” the final number is “World Tree.” The play shows Ivy’s journey, a progression from a regional to global vision. The opening number introduces key members of Ivy’s immediate and extended family:
IVY Ivy. My name is Ivy. I’m the kid –
The kind who just can’t live inside the grid.
DAD Archie. My name is Archie. I’m her Dad –
That scrappy girl is the son I never had.
MOM Ivy. My name is Ivy. I’m her Mom –
In this trio, I’m the ticking bomb.
DAD Two Ivys in one house – makes for touch and go
What’s the word today? Friend or foe?
Ivy had a deep affection for her father, contrasting with a troubled relationship with her crazed Mother. Ivy and her father share a similar sentiment, as they speak in unison:
There’s a whole lot of darkness, a whole lot of light
There’s devils wanting to pick a fight,
There’s angels to set things right.
And later, in the same number:
There’s a whole lot of goodness, a whole lot of bad
There’s no way to outrun the sad,
But there’s always someone to make you glad.
After graduating from high school, Ivy, who was naturally athletic and a gifted artist, organized and coached an all-girls basketball team. She did this while studying at Pratt Institute School of Art where, after the death of her father, Ivy was granted a full scholarship. “Girls” is a tribute to a litany of women she loved, without ever acting on her desire. Ivy would eventually choose the expected, conventional route and marry, but she did meet with a therapist, once, to resolve her feelings:
DOCTOR Come in, come in,
Please take a seat. Let’s begin.
Do you like my large and handsome desk -
It pleases me…so Freud-esque.
Now, why are you here?
IVY I think I’m queer.
DOCTOR What? I beg your pardon. Say again, once more.
IVY I love women. That is the sex I adore.
DOCTOR Oh, no, that’s not good
Let’s look under the hood.
Ivy married Eddie and they had 2 children. Sixteen years would pass before Ivy came out as a lesbian. Two numbers, “Eddie – Hello” and “Eddie – Goodbye” capture her meeting and separation from Eddie. In a farewell to Eddie, Ivy says:
You’ve been nothing but kind
Showing respect
Bearing in mind
Not one to neglect
My odd little needs
Not one to correct
My misguided deeds.
To this day, Ivy looks back on Eddie with great fondness.
Ivy became involved in the women’s movement and knew Betty Friedan intimately; she was one of the co-founders of the NYC Chapter of NOW. While serving as president of the NYC Chapter, Ivy announced, publically, that she was lesbian. Betty was appalled. To Ms. Friedan, the NOW agenda was to focus only on equal pay and child care. In “Betty Goes Beserk” the chorus says:
Betty thinks the New York Chapter
Is corrupted by the Bottini factor.
Ivy says NOW should be a lesbian enclave
But Betty says, “Hell, no!” and she won’t cave.
Betty masterminded a plan to successfully expel Ivy as NOW president. Ivy and her disillusioned partner moved to Los Angeles. Ivy conducted workshops on raising consciousness among women and performed, across the country, in a one-woman show called “The Many Faces of Woman.” In the eighties, she hosted a radio show on a mainstream station, as well as taking on leadership roles in fighting discriminatory propositions. “Proposition 6” presents Anita Bryant and John Briggs as a carnival sideshow duet, as they campaign to ban gay teachers from the classroom. “Proposition 64” portrays Lyndon LaRouche as a flimflam artist, who cranks his organ grinder and spews hatefulness and fear against people who are HIV+.
In the closing number, “World Tree,” Ivy appeals to the higher aspirations of people:
The bigotry won’t stop. Challenges don’t end
It seems there’s always something to defend.
Why can’t we embrace everyone on earth,
And celebrate their dignity and worth?
Lisa Keating, a singer and actress from Santa Fe, will play Ivy. Five students of the Cal Poly Theatre and Dance Department form the ensemble: Miranda Ashland, Gabrielle Duong, Kathryn Fogel, Jennifer McClinton and Trinity Smith. Each actress plays multiple roles. Sabrina Orro is creative consultant. The set is comprised of a large, lattice-like tree backdrop, designed with spirals and flame-shaped openings. The set is transformable; photographs and objects are hung or placed in the tree. Props are transformable, as well. From behind a dollhouse, portraits of family members emerge. LaRouche plays an organ grinder that is decorated with a grotesque image of a ventriloquist doll head; when the cover is removed, a creepy, evil clown automaton is revealed. Typewriters are lapboards with desktop bells and sound bars, struck with thimbles. Photographs - portraying idealized versions of family life in the fifties – are altered to show the hidden anguish beneath the polished facade. The backup chorus to Betty Friedan wear top hats, white gloves and sport dancing canes.
INCLUSIVITY – the Ivy Bottini Story will be presented at Studios on the Park, 1130 Pine Street, Paso Robles. The opening performance, August 20, 7:30 pm, will include a reception with Ivy Bottini and hors d’oeuvres. The cost is $45.00. Additional performances will occur on August 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29 at 7:30 pm. The cost is $15.00. Throughout the run of the play, paintings by Ivy Bottini will be on display and available for purchase. For reservations, contact: alschnupp@gmail.com.
I'm pleased to have two works juried into “On and Off The Wall”
The Painters Group and Central Coast Sculptors Group, both affiliates of San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, are proud to present, “On and Off the Wall” hosted by Art Center Morro Bay. This juried event is a collective of intriguing paintings and sculptures, featuring some of the finest artworks on the Central Coast.
The juror for this event is Ruta Saliklis, PhD. Dr. Saliklis is the Curator and Director of Exhibitions at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. She earned a BA in Comprehensive Studio Art with a minor in Art History from University of Illinois at Chicago; a Masters of Fine Art in Museum Studies from Syracuse University; and a doctorate in Textiles and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Saliklis has been with San Luis Obispo Museum of Art since 2011 and supervises twenty-four art exhibitions per year.
Dr. Saliklis selected 73 works by 61 artists. The exhibit features a variety of artistic mediums and styles from traditional and contemporary paintings to thought provoking sculptures. This compelling event is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
“On and Off the Wall” will be on display from June 15 through July 30, 2017. The opening reception will be Sunday, June 18, from 2pm-4pm. This event is free and open to the public. Art Center Morro Bay is open daily from 12pm – 4pm.
The following was written by Carlota Santa Cruz, PRAA President 2016-2017.
Did you know that over 200 local artists, host a gallery show and art demonstrations every month in downtown Paso Robles? Every month the Paso Robles Art Association - PRAA hosts a themed gallery show with original artwork from member artists. PRAA provides art classes and offers free art demonstrations to the public as well as hosting art receptions on the first Saturday of each month. The list of art activities goes on. How does PRAA do it? They accomplish it with lots of volunteers and generous community donations.
Here are a few little known facts about PRAA. In 1949, local artists, came together to enrich the North County community with art thru the Paso Robles Art Guild. This guild developed into the Paso Robles Art Association, a non-profit, 501c (3) operated by volunteers. This organization has grown and morphed over its 68 years and keeps on going. Members continue to volunteer services for the annual downtown, side-walk art event ‘Arte de Tiza’, and provide art scholarships thru the Cuesta College Foundation. These volunteer members make possible a plethora of services to our community ‘Building Bridges through Art’.
When school budgets were cut and art activities were missing, Sue Taylor, former PRAA president, organized art docents in local schools. Today, SLO County is bringing the arts back into the schools. That’s a big step toward developing the much needed twenty-first century skills. Deprise Brescia and Carlota Santa Cruz, PRAA artists and board members served as teaching artist with Almond Acres Academy in art based project learning to meet curriculum standards. The kids “Health of The Ocean” project was shown in the Downtown Public Library and in the PRAA Showroom Gallery. Page Graeber, artist and previous PRAA president organized the Paso Robles downtown chalk art event, ‘Arte de Tiza’. Page managed the event with support from the Optimist Club for 15 years. Today, the torch passed to Carolynn Loeppke, PRAA member, and Rosa Lee Sonney, former PRAA board member – artist, who are also local real estate brokers.
When ‘The Studios on the Park’ opened, the Paso Robles Art Association leased studio # 7 space. That’s where you will find PRAA’s Showroom Gallery and the base of their art activity. This mutually beneficial relationship continues to thrive with Sasha Irving and Anne Ladden leading the north county art community. Former presidents and artists, Janice Pluma, Geri Cutter and Mary Ann Austin and artist Kim Snyder, created the ‘The Small Treasures’ special holiday event featuring 8”x8” original works of art. The event offers the ‘one of a kind’ originals and serves to fund PRAA’s gallery operations. Watch for it and make sure to come to PRAA’s annual holiday ‘Treasures’ fundraiser. Be a part of California’s Central Coast living, art history.
Back in the Art Association Showroom Gallery, guilds come together to develop their art, contribute to community enrichment and explore ways to fund the organization. Members explore individual interest, learn from other artists enjoy a mix of people and diverse art activities. Members delve into painting, pastel, photography, encaustic, glass and metal, mixed-media, creative journaling and monthly interactive demonstrations.
The broad array of activities requires a strong network of volunteers and financial support. The challenge of funding non-profit operations is ever present. PRAA members, are the heart, energy, and driving force of the organization as they continue ‘Building Bridges through Art’. Whether members contribute through participation and volunteerism or through financial means, members are the key to energizing PRAA’s spirit!
Did you know that even dabbling in art activities is shown to reduce stress and improve creative problem solving ability? So dabble in the arts with PRAA and discover more about yourself thru the arts. The Paso Robles Art Association is an open membership organization and you’re invited to join. Volunteerism and camaraderie are the secret to PRAA’s success since 1949. Find a guild you enjoy, develop your interest and volunteer to grow along with the association. Get Involved. Become a Member!
www.pasoroblesartassociation.org
Photos taken during the month of the Showroom Gallery theme ‘Color’
Anna Meyrick will show a collection of her mosaics at Joebella Coffee Roasters. The mosaics will be on display June 3 through the end of July. Anna Meyrick is the Resident Mosaic Artist at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles. Anna will be showing some new mosaics for the Joebella show. “I have been creating mixed media mosaics for over 16 years. I cannot create them fast enough. The mosaic process allows for plenty of time for personal reflection and often daily blood letting. I usually cut myself at some point. I also love to create my own custom ceramic pieces for my mosaics, that has added a whole new level to this process.”
Anna was born and raised in rural Oregon; she relocated to the Paso area in 2013. Anna spent her childhood enjoying the outdoors- hunting, fishing, clamming, crabbing, camping, hiking and creating art. She has a degree in Psychology and Fine Arts and over 30 years of teaching experience. Her love of the outdoors and fascination with the twilight and evening colors has influenced her work. Anna is trained in painting, ceramics, sculpture, fiber arts and fine craft. She uses mixed media approach to create her mosaics.
Anna Meyrick is the Resident Mosaic Artist and Art Educator at Studios on the Park.
Anna teaches weekly afterschool art classes, home school classes, adult and children’s ceramic classes and mosaic workshops. She is the Art Instructor at Old Mission School in San Luis Obispo. Anna started teaching art classes at Studios on the Park right after she moved here. She has been the Resident Mosaic Artist for the last 2.5 years. Anna also shows her mosaics at Sunrose Gallery in Seaside, Oregon.
For details about Anna’s Classes please visit www.studiosonthepark.org.
For more information about Anna’s mosaics please visit www.annameyrickmosiacs.com
Life is an adventure and photography is the adventure of a dream. It was only five years ago Deb took the leap to take her camera off “auto mode.” She simply wanted to improve the quality of her “people” pictures.
While she continued to work in accounting, Deb took every community photography class offered at night, attended class photo shoots on weekends, and combed over magazines and textbooks for technical training tips. During her educational immersion she learned the differences between cameras, lenses, and their capabilities. While on a photo shoot in Yosemite she learned the value of having a good tripod. Good equipment is absolutely necessary to getting good results. “Grass is not cut with scissors and professional photographers do not get gorgeous National Geographic quality photos without good equipment and the technical training to use that equipment;” says Deb.
In 2014 Deb purchased a Nikon D610 Full Frame Digital Camera as her first semi-professional camera. Her kit includes Nikkor prime lenses, telephoto, zoom, macro, wide angle, and a fisheye lens. For five years she has practiced taking photos of friends, family and models. She’s done wedding photography, engagement, maternity, newborn, children and senior portraits. She’s worked with natural and multiple light sources as an event photographer for local wineries.
She joined the Paso Robles Art Association Photo Guild three years ago as an opportunity to see other photographer’s work and have her own critiqued. The technical instruction she learned proved invaluable. The Photo Guild has provided tutorials, guest speakers, fieldtrips, and judged contests. Deb attributes a great deal of her rapid growth and success to the lessons learned and applied. Tim Bryan, guild member stated “Deb has accomplished so much in a short period of time from my point of view for three reasons. 1) She has a natural gift for finding the right composition and then the ability to frame it in the available light as best as possible. 2) She devotes a lot of time and energy into improving her skills 3) She is open to exploring new techniques and evaluating what other people have to say about hers. In short, it is the skill set she was born with coupled with her tenacity and work ethic that has made her work so well received.”
Deb finds that she can express herself through the use of digital art and layers of effects such as lighting, textures, and adding elements of interest to help convey a feeling or tell a story. Her first digital art piece “Ocean Echoes of Paradise Found” is a compilation of two pictures layered together with additional layers of texture and during the final process a light texture was added to the entire photo. While the main portrait provided the elements of interest and emotion, the added photo added to the composition and the textures and light contributed to the overall feeling and emotion Deb had envisioned months before she ever snapped the first shot. She uses Lightroom, Photoshop, and a variety of filter plug-ins to post-edit and create images that appeal to her sense of art. Their uses are relatively new to Deb and she continues to experiment with a variety of effects that will add life to what may otherwise be a flat looking image though the composition is awesome or simply an image that needs a special touch. Deb creates her own textures by using pictures taken of fabric, dirty old windows, rust on cars, and moss. Digital art has opened a new door for her. Once you’ve created a work of art - you own it – no other photographer can duplicate it.
For the last two years she entered the Mid-State Fair Photography Division as a Professional and had over 18 entries place top 3 both years. During the past eleven months Deb entered the PRAA judged art contests placing 1st twice, received 2nd and 3rd finishes and two Honorable Mentions. A year ago she started her business as “Central Coast Professional Photography.” In January 2017 she partnered with fellow photographer Dean Crawford Jr and painter Joe Thomas at Studios on the Park in downtown Paso Robles in Studio 4.
Recently Deb was asked to do “bottle shots” or “reflective glass photography” for a winery client. Photographers consider this form of photography to be the most difficult. “In order to achieve this goal I knew I needed to take my skills to a higher level,” she said. Deb connected with her mentor, John Rector, retired pilot and photographer at the end of December 2016. John says, “Deb is passionate and excited about photography and has a desire to achieve the highest quality.” Together they’ve created a photography lab capable of providing quality wine bottle shots and are already producing images for clients.
Ultimately, Deb is driven. She says, “I see images in my mind, beautiful visions that I am challenged to learn how to capture and create. If I must learn a new skill then I get on with it.” There is no end to this adventure, just new and creative art! Deb now works exclusively on her passion: photography in many forms. . and she’s just getting started.
You can see Deb’s work at Studios on the Park, Studio 4, 1130 Pine Street, Paso Robles, Ca and www.ccprophoto.com. Her art will be on display at the Odyssey Restaurant in May/June 2017 and Castoro Cellars in May & September 2017. Matted art is available at Le Vigne Winery, Rio Seco and Pear Valley Estates.
Summer Location Shooting: Beach Session
Times: first class starts, June 8th (classroom), June 10th and 17th (location shoots-several local beaches) and final class, June 26th (classroom).
Each one of my photo classes are through the City of Paso Robles and Rec department. Sign up can be online or go to Centennial Park office (after 12 noon) to sign up (discounts for seniors).
This is the 3rd session for the year. I offer 5 classes a year with 2 more scheduled in the Fall.
I love bead weaving which uses a variety of stitches to create jewelry with tiny glass beads. Seed beads are about 4mm or less in diameter and are mostly made in Japan, France, India and the Czech Republic. There is a vast array of different colors to choose from. Their appearance may be affected by the type of surface treatment applied and used to create a certain look or style. They might be silver lined, opaque, translucent, metallic, matte, luster, semi matte and so on. This allows for an abundance of creativity.
As an art student going to Cal State Northridge back in the 1970's, my focus was in ceramics and fiber arts. I've always loved working with my hands and both fiber and clay allowed me to do just that. Graduating with a BA in art I realized the definition of 'starving artist' and ended up back in school where I obtained a multiple subject teaching credential. This eventually led to working as a library assistant in the Los Angeles public library system, and when my husband and I moved from the Los Angeles area to San Luis Obispo in the 1990's I became branch manager for 18 years at the Santa Margarita Library. During this time my love for the arts had to take a backseat while I worked for a living.
Then one day about 16 years ago I saw a tiny beaded amulet displayed in a jewelry supply store. "I want to make that!" I told myself, and within the next couple years I sought out and took bead-weaving classes from renowned teachers in the field. Before long I had managed to create my first peyote stitch bag, and from that point on continued to take classes, leading to me creating multi-dimensional jewelry pieces. Soon I was making small bags, and also beaded ropes, flowers, leaves, bugs, incorporating them into 3d pins, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. I was hooked, and as I learned more about the mechanics of the different beads and stitches like right angle weave, I found some combinations created a wonderful organic & fabric like feel and texture. Other stitches such as the herringbone stitch felt like snakeskin. With all the versatility, the many colors and different sizes to choose from the art of bead weaving became my passion.
As my projects take shape I must consider certain elements. What do I want to create and why? Does it have significance in culture today, or does it involve something from the past? And there is the bead itself. Color plays a very big role in my work and tends to set the tone. It's a powerful communicator of emotional states.
I am mostly influenced by color, followed by patterns, shapes, and perfection of the natural world. I love to work outside and spend hours, sometimes all day, working on a piece that begins to evolve as I stay focused. Some pieces take a few days, some weeks, and some months. Once I lose my focus or am interrupted, I need to stop working to keep from sewing a bead in the wrong place or picking up the wrong size or color. I am energized by the natural surroundings, thoughts, colors, lighting, and sound I see and hear as I work. Once I'm in the zone, that energy I feel, think, and breathe becomes embedded in my pieces. I remember listening to a classic book written in the late 1800's, and as I beaded a piece of leather for a bracelet I discovered I was instinctually beading curly vines and scrolls that were found in architecture, furniture and clothing from the time period of the classic. Often I rely on my instincts and intuition when working on a piece. Rarely do I draw up a design before beginning a project.
Native American silver and beadwork also influences me. It is inspired by natural surroundings, displayed by the patterns and skill incorporated in their work. I am often told that my work has a vintage 1920's quality to it. I am drawn to the clothing, architecture, and jewelry designs, along with opaque greens and pinks, bugs and insects, leaves and scroll-like patterns in clothing, furniture, buildings, and other things from that era. So ultimately, there are many areas of influence that make up each one of my pieces. And finally in the end when I finish a piece, I realize I must let go of this friend I've spent hours, days, or months with. My greatest joy comes from seeing my work expressed in the joy and excitement on the faces of those wearing my jewelry.
I have sold my work mostly in shops and galleries throughout the county of San Luis Obispo and I've spent years selling in the Open Studios Art Tour, ARTSFEST in Paso Robles, holiday shows, boutiques, art shows with other artists, and juried shows. I’ve been an Associate Artist for six years and my jewelry has found a happy home and can be purchased at Studios on the Park, in Paso Robles.
Fred Barnard is credited with these notable words: "A picture is worth ten thousand words". However, I have always adhered to the precept that, "Ten thousand words is worth a picture".
In my formative years I had the good fortune to be blessed with excellent Latin, English, and art teachers whose instructions overlapped. As a result, I developed a lifelong respect and ardor for our language and connected it with the ability to create beauty-on-request.
Aside from formal tutelage in the painting and language departments, informal training at home was emphatically centered on Nonsense Appreciation 101-801.
Instruction was carried out relentlessly by family, close and distant relatives, neighbors, friends, and even enemies.
As a result of this aggregate education, I approach any sort of autobiographical confessions with faint heart, chortles, and an inability to take myself, or anyone else, seriously enough to get to the point.
Inspiration for my "work" springs forth from word pictures, enters the brain, is processed into glorious techniquecolor, flows out the arm via the funny bone, arrives at the hand and, with the help of brush, some paint, and a little music, becomes Art.
As any artist will tell you, there's nothing to it.
Recently, I embarked on a sub-career in the third dimension: making empty pistachio shells into tableaux staged in cigar boxes. These empty-headed nuts depict silent stories of human doings known to and dreaded by all. The Doctor and Dentist Offices, the OR, Don Quixote's Windmills, Peter Pan's Crocodile, The Swamp, etc. are favorite subjects for ridiculousness. Many of the ideas for these Pistachipopulae are swiped from others' scripts, but the settings are unique.
Last, and probably least, I construct miniature books. Some of the little volumes are rather naughty, but all are verbally toddler-proof. The books are the same price as a manicure but last a lot longer.
I owe Studios on the Park in Paso Robles sincere and humble gratitude for allowing me the opportunity to hang and display under their generous roof, among their other artists' excellent and serious works of art,
Welcome to the world of local artist Steven Johnson. Entering into Studio 3, located within the Studios on the Park in Paso Robles, you will experience works by five different artists. One artist is Judy Lyon. Her works in watercolors are displayed on the wall right behind her drafting table. On the walls to the left and right are paintings by the Spencer family, including works of artistic insight by the late Harold Spencer and equally impressive works by his two sons, Eric and Mark. Opposite Judy Lyon's works your attention will be drawn to a rather large, almost Victorian, Bible scene titled Mark 5:24-34. The title tells you the source of Steven Johnson's own creative and spiritual foundation. This is the place where Steven creates works using a variety of media including charcoals, pastels, colored pencils and graphite.
Prepare to meet the artist: Steven Johnson might tell you how he has been an artist forever. "My passion for art has always existed regardless of where I was." He also might tell you how some of his earliest memories go back to being an eight-year-old sitting at a round coffee table in front of a black and white television with his older brother David. Both boys were drawing their own comic books creating intricate stories involving superheroes and their adventures. If you look closely at Steven's current portfolio you may still glimpse that early comic book influence.
Steven's roots in the Cambria region go back on his father's side to the 1860's in San Simeon. Even though he always felt a creative calling, as a young man he never really found employment as such. That was the way of life in Cambria during the late 60's and early 70's. Fortunately for us, he's now realized his gifts as an artist and illustrator.
Illustrators take words, rather than visual images, and interpret them into a pleasing two dimensional scene. Steven's current project is inspired by the writing of a singer/songwriter from Nashville. As of this writing he's been working for over a year on illustrations for a children's book, The Princess and the Fox, based on a song of the same name by Flo Paris Oakes. She's a multitalented singer-song writer and author born in Paso Robles and currently living in Nashville. "Her creative abilities astound me," claims Steven. "The depth of this story gives me an ocean of creative thought to draw from. Even though this is a children's book, the story brings vivid imagery and a wide open palette of emotions and circumstances to play with." Steven's works-in-progress never ceases to attract visitors to the studio-gallery. "Their enthusiastic reception to the drawings has helped spur me on to the finish line."
I am blessed to be able to contribute to this book," says Steven. "I've been diligent to offer the best I can to give visual life to this song and story." The book will include 14 works of Steven's art.
The public is invited to meet Steven, experience his creative world and see his beautiful illustrations for themselves at Studios on the Park, the nonprofit open studios art center now open daily at noon in downtown Paso Robles.
“While much of the art of the past has dealt with the glories and follies of humankind, I feel a need to portray nature for its own sake with the hope of promoting value and respect for our unique planet and the varied forms of life with which we share it.”
My career in art grew out of the interest I've always had in nature. As a child in southern California I spent many hours roaming the Santa Monica Mountains exploring and collecting all sorts of creatures. As I grew older, I began to draw what caught my interest and in this way engage with nature as an observer in a non disruptive way, and this became my preferred way of exploring the world around me.
Upon beginning my career as a professional artist, what better way to live life than exploring things I found of interest and printmaking well suited to my love of drawing. Etching and engraving were of particular interest for the rich line and tone possible with these media as well as the craftsmanship involved in creating the plate and printing it on fine paper. For depicting the texture and patterns of fur and feather it was ideal.
By 1980 I wanted to bring more color to my imagery and began exploring the new medium of Mylar lithography. This form of original lithography allowed for the accurate registration of an unlimited number of color plates and although still based in drawing it was like painting with the press and produced full color images not previously possible in original prints. Blue Berry Press was established in Cambria in 1985 to not only create my own work, but to also work with other artists interested in creating with this unusual medium.
In 1982 I made my first trip to East Africa primarily to study big cats and was soon totally captivated by the varied and abundant wildlife I found there. I had spent a lot of time with animals at zoos and wildlife facilities, but to experience the ancient rhythms and interrelationships of animals on the open savannah was life changing. The drama of watching a cheetah stalk a heard of gazelle with quiet patience then burst into action as the selection was made and the chase began, or observing the social complexities of elephants as family groups as they greeted each other at a waterhole. Being among the animals in there natural setting was to bring to life what I only sensed in viewing them in captivity. I ended this trip with a promise to myself I would return!
By 1985, with great reception of my Africa inspired works at art shows nationally and internationally, I co-founded Duma Safaris with friend and publisher Christopher Law. Not only did this provide me regular access to my subject matter, I also had the great pleasure of introducing others to Africa and sharing in the awe and excitement as they were drawn into the magic of this pre industrial world.
In 1999 I began painting with oils and began exploring our beautiful and varied local landscape. I found painting was wonderful for portraying the subtleties of light, color, and atmosphere of landscape work. Painting also allowed me to work on location and experience the changing of the light as the day progresses and promoting more freedom and spontaneity in my work.
As a resident artist at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles the past four years, I am able to display a historical range of my work, from my etchings done 45 years ago to paintings in progress in my studio. I also enjoy sharing stories about my work with visitors. Studios on the Park represents an unusual and original concept bringing a community of artists together to present many forms of art with monthly shows and classes to the public.
Studios is open Monday- Wednesday 12-4, Thursday and Sunday 12-6, Friday and Saturday 12-9. For my current weekly hours either check the website studiosonthepark.org and click on my artist link or feel free to contact me at dennis@denniscurry.com
One of the things that I enjoy the most when I am at Studios is meeting visitors from all over the state, the country, and the world. Often they have questions about how our prints are made and we’re happy to explain the process. But they seem most interested in the various subjects my studio partners Rosey Rosenthal and Bob Simola, and I have chosen to depict. There was one woman couldn’t believe that I’d done a print of Acorn Woodpeckers. “You made them into ART?” she asked. I guess she had some drilling holes into her house, so I expect she didn’t like that too much, but other folks have really loved the print.
I make relief prints, also called Linocuts. Pieces of artists’ linoleum can be used as a substitute for woodblocks. I actually use a material made of vinyl. Its name is “Easy-to-Cut” and it is. I use Speedball cutters (gouges) to remove the areas that I want to remain white. The image must be carved out in reverse. Prints are made by inking up the carved plate with a brayer (like a paint roller); the paper is laid on top, and then burnished on the back or run through a press to transfer the ink.
When you drop by you’ll see a new series I’ve called “No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition” which consists of four red “comfy” chairs. If you’re a fan of Monty Python you get the joke. There are “Five Red Chairs Adrift in the Cosmos” as well-- plenty of seating in our space.
Another new series is “Women with Cats”. The Welsh artist Gwen John who painted lovely portraits of young women, some of them holding cats, inspired me to add a cat to famous paintings by Picasso, Gauguin, DaVinci, and Modigliani. I had a lot of fun creating the perfect cat for each woman.
Yes, you’ll find a lot of cat images in my work. I can’t help it. We currently have three cats, but counting up the names from the first cat, John Muir (Mew-er), there have been twelve since 1978. They make excellent models. Black cats especially have a strong graphic quality. I’ve had my images of them printed on aprons and greeting cards. North County Humane Society receives a portion of those sales, as well as from a new print I’ve titled One Life, Nine Cats. Two of my cats were adopted from NCHS so I want to help support them in their important work.
Besides cats and chairs and Acorn Woodpeckers, I’ve made prints of beetles, Barn Owls, Boston Terriers (the Studios’ mascots Smudge and Squiggles), rabbits, foxes, chickens (I kept them away from each other), parakeets and pigeons, as well as persimmons, pomegranates, and blueberries.
I have a career as a children’s book illustrator. I’ve painted watercolors of many of animals including hermit crabs, pikas, penguins, pintails, and dolphins. Other books feature Ojibwe stories, or auroras, or galaxies. I’ve even painted animal portraits for signs at the Brandywine Zoo in Delaware. It’s all been pure joy.
Every new medium I’ve explored has challenged me to interpret the world in a different “language”, but my artistic vision and voice remain the same. I am inspired by the cycles of nature, light and shadows, and the multitude of shapes, patterns, and colors of landforms, rocks, plants and living creatures-- especially cats.
