August 2, 2015
My summer art memories start and end with a bar of Ivory soap, a small dull knife and a suggestion from a summer school elementary teacher to “carve something.”
On the other end of the spectrum are the San Luis Obispo County artists who go into a friendly, encouraging and fun teaching and sharing mode each summer.
Cuesta College campus, for example, received an extra jolt of energy this month and last from the College for Kids crowd. Cartooning for Kids, Fabric Collage and Design and 3-D Drawing were just three of the offerings, not to mention a super selection of non-artsy classes. Consider College for Kids next summer for the fifth- through ninth-graders in your life.
The summer still holds plenty of demonstrating and teaching opportunities. Look for Pop-Up Studios in Mission Square at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles sponsored by Studios on the Park. Sasha Irving, programs director, promises an art experience unlike any other.
Here’s the schedule:
Noon to 5 p.m. Monday: July 21, Kids Art Smart, and 5 to 10 p.m. Carol Timson, Ball, plein air pastels and Peggy Turk, landscape in oil.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday: July 22, Robert Simola, woodblock carving, and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Dennis Curry, original printmaking — mylar lithography.
Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday: Debra Jurey, beads, silver and bronze, and 5 to 10 p.m. Sharon Sobraske, collage for everyone.
Noon to 5 p.m. Thursday: Carol Timson Ball, plein air pastels, and 5 to 10 p.m. Laure Carlisle, performance abstract painting.
Noon to 5 p.m. Friday: Kids Art Smart, and 5 to 10 p.m. Hap Happoldt, wooden bracelets.
Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday: Kids Art Smart, and 5 to 10 p.m. Grace Iaquinto, jewelry.
Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 27: Robert Simola, woodblock carving, and 5 to 10 p.m. Grace Iaquinto, jewelry.
Meeting the artists may put you in the mood for more art on the way home from the fair. Consider a stop at Studios on the Park, 1130 Pine St., in Paso Robles for “Cranked Up,” featuring the kinetic sculptures or “crankers” of Rick Davis and mixed media paintings by Burl Vreeland.
The next show at Studios on the Park, “Music of the Landscape,” will feature paintings from the Plein-air Artists of the Central Coast July 31 through Aug. 31. A reception is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 2 during Art After Dark Paso. Download a map of participating galleries at http://sloartscouncil.org.
