Boxed Fantasies, Dreams and Memories: Mission Hill Middle School Student Show
February 24, 2010 by Kirby Scudder
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Kathleen Crocetti at her class at the Mission Hill Middle School where the students were working on a variety of art projects. All of the students were enthusiastic and engaged with their tasks. It was a great sight to see. Once again 112 students from Mission Hill Middle School will be showing their work at the Louden Nelson Center through March. The exhibit entitled, Boxed Fantasies, Dreams and Memories:is work that responds to the theme in the style of Joseph Cornell.
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First Friday Art Hunt
February 24, 2010 by Kirby Scudder
The First Friday Art Tour is an opportunity to see the work each month of many of Santa Cruz' talented artists. It is also an opportunity to win an orginal work of art. Each month the First Friday Art Hunt provides a clue leading you to a participating First Friday Venue. There a 4" X 5" picture of a rabbit is hidden. The first person to find the rabbit wins an orginal work of art donated by a local artist. Each month the clue is published in the First Friday brochure as well as the website www.firstfridaysantacruz.com.
Here is the clue for March:
"Started by Plein Aire painters in the turn of the Century looking for a space to help other artists practice their craft, this First Friday venue just celebrated a landmark birthday. Like Kevin Bacon’s relationships in Hollywood, all artists in Santa Cruz are one degree of seperation away from members belonging to this long standing institution."
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Burt Levitsky "Contemporary Realist"
February 23, 2010 by Kirby Scudder
Burt is a clasically trained draftsperson and artist and brings a combination of classical figurative painting to Contemporary Realist scenes, from Coastal Landscapes to Urban scenes. Burt's work will be on display through March at the Micaelangelo Gallery on River Street. In his own words. "I've been influenced and inspired by my surroundings, both urban and rural, and by the works of the nineteenth century European realists. Additionally, I've always liked rendering architectural landscapes, old buildings, bridges, and street scenes (most likely due to my early years growing up in New York City). I have been inspired to paint with a contrast of strong light, deep shadows, and their interplay on old buildings, cliff faces, and the human form." If you haven't seen Burt's work, it is well worth the trip to Michaelangelo's Gallery to see a modern day master painter.
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Santa Cruz Woodworkers at the Rittenhouse Building for the Holidays
December 11, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
Om Anand, Ron Cook, Ron Day, Roger Heitzman, Joshua Salesin, David Sellery, Jeff Shallenberger, Mike Shuler, Michael Singer, Pat Stafford, Gary Stevens, Matthew Werner
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Werner Glinka at the A.L.Walters Gallery in Santa Cruz
November 29, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
Werner Glinka is a mixed media artist who lives in Woodside, California. He was born and raised in Gelsenkirchen, Germany an industrial town of coal mines and steel plants. There he was educated as an electrical engineer.
He came to California in 1981 to work in Silicon Valley where he had a career as an engineering and marketing executive. After he moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains, he developed his style of assemblage combining the influences of the sleek, steel-and-glass modernism of the Bauhaus movement with the simple, functional grace of Japanese landscapes. He maintains an art studio in Belmont.
The A.L. Walters Gallery launches it's inaugural exhibit with the work of Werner Glinka and Lisa Hochstein - 1001 Center Street, Suite 15. Opening Reception: Friday, December 4th, 5-8pm.
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"$1 Cheeseburger Wars" - New exhibit at the Mill Gallery
November 29, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
The National Franchisee Association filed a suit, two weeks ago in U.S. District Court in Miami against Burger King, arguing that the company does not have the authority to "dictate maximum pricing." The suit comes after Burger King forced all franchisees to sell its double cheeseburger for $1, starting in October.
Franchisees (who control over 80% of the Burger Kings Nationally) say that the $1 burger costs them between $1.05 and $1.35 to deliver to a customer.
This Holiday season starts with a burger wars headed by the #2 fast food franchise in the country struggling to compete with 5 other National food franchises that have been serving up $1 meals for the last 16 months as their answer to the struggling economy. We should all be bracing for a $1.13 burger come March.
This December 20 Bay Area Artists will host "The $1 Cheeseburger Wars" at the Mill Gallery and their interpretations of the "$1 CheeseBurger Wars". Each of the 20 artists will exhibit, two, 2'X2' images and each work will sell for $332.29 or exactly 32% less than the actual cost to produce the work, including materials, labor, rent, travel, setup, etc.
Bring your own mustard, relish and catsup and enjoy Cheeseburgers.
At The Mill Gallery, 131 Front Street - Reception: Friday, December 4th, 5-9pm - Show runs the month of December.
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Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery at UCSC - A great Gallery on the Hill.
November 15, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
If you have the opportunity drive up Empire Grade in Santa Cruz and take a right into the entrance of UCSC, just up the hill to your right is Porter College. Just up from the parking lot is the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery. Shelby Graham is the Director who has been hosting amazing exhibitions for many years. The Sesnon Gallery operates a museum oriented program for educational purposes. The gallery hosts exhibitions that represents a broad range of methods, media and cultures, in a local, regional, and national context, with a focus on contemporary practice. The Sesnon Gallery works to integrate these programs and exhibitions into the lives of the Santa Cruz community. Each year the Sesnon Gallery hosts the Irwin Awards, traveling exhibitions, faculty shows and a host of other exhibits.
Shelby Graham, Director
sgraham@ucsc.edu
831/459-2314
Leslie Fellows, Gallery Manager
831/459-5667
Gallery Phone:
Phone: 831/459-3606
Mailing Address:
Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery
Porter Faculty Services, UCSC
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Gallery hours: (through the academic year)
Tuesday – Saturday, 12–5 p.m.
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Corralitos Artists Collective - "Harvest Festival"
November 13, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
This year was yet another turning point for local artists with the development of the Corralitos Artists Collective. Born from a spaghetti dinner this past August , artists from Corralitos and the surrounding area rallied together to represent themselves in an artistically, under represented area.
Ann Cavanaugh, director for arts education and culture at the Corralitos Cultural Center, founded in 1994, spearheaded the drive for artists living in the area to have local representation. “There are a lot of artists in Corralitos,” Ann Cavanaugh said of the small town located between Aptos and Watsonville, “a whole lot of people in these trees. You’d never know.”
This coming weekend, November 14th and 15th from 11am until 4pm the work of over 30 accomplished, local artists and artisans will be on display.
The artistic spirit in Santa Cruz lives on.
Artists:
David Aquino - dlaquino@yahoo.com
Barbara Bailey-Porter - baileyporter@yahoo.com
Guner Burling -
Bob Bishop - robertbishop@gmail.com
Tom Bullock - tom@tombullock.com
Kathleen Crocetti - crocetti@rocketmail.com
Suchitra Fields - suchitrafields@yahoo.com
Mike Gagarin - mike.gagarin@charter.net
Linda Hellfritsch -
Ina Hohensee - inahohensee@gmail.com
Aaron Johnson - aaron@arronjohnson.net
Sefla Josef - sefla@seflajosef.com
Robert Kuenen - 688-6197
Michael Lindstrom - alsteed@earthlink.net
Mary Manfre - maji@sbcglobal.net
Ed Martinez - elm@got.com
Dawn Motyka -
Grace Nakamura - gnak@sbcglobal.net
Elaine Pinkernell - elaine@elainepinkernell.com
Mike Seymour - seymourart@gmail.com
Mariabruna Sirabella - varunas@sbcglobal.net
Anna Lee Steed - alsteed@earthlink.net
Roxie Turnpaw - scrapgirl14@gmail.com
Connie Wolver - arttom@cwnet.com
Tom Wolver - arttom@cwnet.com
Mike Wright - wrightmi@pacbell.net
Annette Webb - annette.creative@gmail.com
Corralitos Cultural Center
127 Hames Rd.
Corralitos, CA 95076
831 254-2669,
info@corralitosculturalcenter.org
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Index Paintings - The work of Lisa Rock, Maureen Halligan and Sam Carr-Prindle
November 12, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
New Index Paintings is a series of works by three young artists Lisa Rock, Maureen Halligan and Sam Carr-Prindle that are on display through November at MOTIV in downtown Santa Cruz. All three artists share a similar pallette as well as a similar eye for minamalist imagery. All graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, the 3 have worked together on and off over the last several years in the Bay Area. This is the first time the 3 have shown together in the Bay Area.
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Pop, Comic, Fiction, The Collective Consciousness - The Art of Ray Sumser
November 12, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
Ray Sumser is a filmaker and a painter of pop iconography. Ray uses themes of modern mass-media culture along with with traditional archetypal concepts. His most ambitious project to date, taking over a year to paint is "Comicosm" a six by nine foot oil canvas consisting of over 1,500 recognizable pop culture icons. Ray recently drove to San Diego with the canvas to attend the "Comicosm" trade show where he camped out with the painting allowing thousands of other comic enthusiasts to enjoy the work. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a dual major in Painting and Film Ray is now based out of Santa Cruz’s Artspace Tannery Lofts.
"The collective consciousness is not so holy as we tend to think – nor are our modern mascots so depraved. I, like many of my age, have been raised before the screen – my psychic map is marked by lessons from giant yellow birds, fast blue hedgehogs and flying orange dogs. With little effort we reclaim these narratives as our own. In that process we imbue them with authentic meaning and redirect the weight of their commercial nature." Ray Sumser.
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Santa Cruz Art League - 95 years young
November 12, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
This year the Santa Cruz Art League celebrated its 95th anniversary. With so many things happening in the arts in Santa Cruz, some more permanent than others its important to remember that the Art League is one of the longest running arts organizations in the county. The Santa Cruz Art League was founded in 1919 by eleven landscape artists and incorporated as a nonprofit in 1949. SCAL is an art gallery, theater and always a classroom and has for almost a century been able to adapt to the changing times. Each year SCAL hosts Statewide, Countywide and local exhibitions. At the heart of SCAL's engine is its members. SCAL's members have insured it's longevity and in 1949 bought a piece of property and raised enough money to build their own building which was completed in 1951.
Running from this November 28th through December 6th (drawing on December 6th) the Art League is holding its annual fundraiser entitled "Luck of the Draw" whereby with the purchase of a $65 ticket everyone is guaranteed to walk away with an original work of art. This is such a reasonable price to support an arts organization that has been here longer than most of us.
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Michele Benson, Photographer - All Access Pass
October 31, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
For the last 30 years photographer Michelle Benson has been photographing the musical acts that have made their way to the local Santa Cruz venues. She has captured everyone from the Doobie Brothers, Captain & Teneille to Neil Young and along that path she has created a few stories of her own. Starting in 1976, months after the opening of The Catalyst Club, Michelle was hired by the Good Times to shoot local music acts. Michelle had an All Access pass to all of the acts, big and small that came through Santa Cruz and Michelle captured every moment of it. At a time whereby Santa Cruz was a musical weigh station for musical acts between San Francisco and Los Angeles, one never knew who might show up unannounced at the local clubs. Michelle documented Crosby, Stills and Nash on a 1 night stop over, multiple sessions with Neil Young, and on the list goes. A selection of Micheles photographs, spanning 30 years are on display through December at Community Television of Santa Cruz County, on Pacific Avenue. "All Access" is a powerful historic look at the music that made this town a legend.
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Kathleen Crocetti - Artist/Teacher - 100 Self Portraits
October 31, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
Kathleen Crocetti is a teacher at the Mission Hill Middle School in Santa Cruz. Kathleen a local painter & installation artist has spent the last decade using her work to instruct not only children, but the community. Kathleen's art has been used to address the tobacco industry, the iraq war as well as a host of wide ranginging social issues. Her 2008 installation "Counting Lives Lost: Iraq War Community Art Installation" started as a solo project quickly grew large enough that she had to ask for help, which came in the form of over 150 volunteers, turning the project from a solo cause to a community one. Always in her projects, Kathleen includes her students like her banners across the San Lorenzo river at the "River Arts Festival" and her Students replica of Louise Nevelson's 1982 "Sky Cathedral". Kathleens latest work entitled “Look At Me Now” is 100 self portraits by her students at the Mission Hill Middle School that will be on display at the Louden Nelson Center through the month of November.
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Ceilo/Sky - Sister City Cultural exchange
October 31, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
This week launches the first cultural exchange between Santa Cruz' former sister city Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. "Ceilo/Sky" is a 4 venue exhibit of artists from Santa Cruz de Tenerife exploring our relationship with the sky both environmentally and psychologically. Santa Cruz has long promoted cultural relationships between its sister cities. Currently our 5 sister cities are Alushta, Ukraine, Jinotepe, Nicaragua, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Sestri Levante, Italy and Shingu, Japan. This exhibit is co-curated by Shelby Graham, Curator for the Sesnon Gallery at UCSC and digital media artist Miriam Durango from Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Last year Santa Cruz sponsored the Alushta Music School Band for two weeks as they toured throughout the county. This is a great opportunity to meet these artists who are commited to exploring the universe through film, photography and vdeo. The works will be on display at the Porter College Faculty Gallery, Felix Kulpa Gallery, the Museum of Art and History and the Octagon Building on Cooper Street.
Artists: Claudio Marrero, David Ferrer, Fernando Larraz, Israel Pérez & María Requena, José Barrios, Laura Benavente, Oscar Hernández & Beatriz Lecuona, Pérez & Joel and Angel Padrón
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First Friday Art Tour Santa Cruz - Again, is just a week away
October 31, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
This November 6th will mark the 66th First Friday Santa Cruz since it's inception in 2004. Each month First Friday provides an opportunity for artists and artgoers to see the diversity of creative talent throughout our county. Although it is an incredible amount of work each month to organize and promote, I never get tired of the enthusiasm that I see from the artists and artgoers who share in the experience. November doesn't really differ from the rest of the months of the year, other than the tourists for the most part are gone, and the weather tends to be a little colder. In my experience over the last 5 years November is a time when the local arts community likes to come together and support each other. Open Studios is over and the holidays are coming, so each November I have seen the local community of artists and arts supporters come out on First Fridays and enjoy each others company.
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The Land meets the Sea - A tribute to our Coast
October 31, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
In 2004 Santa Cruz County Bank launched it's Arts Collaborative a county wide initiative to exhibit the work of local Artists in each of it's 5 locations. In September 2009, Santa Cruz County Bank opened it's 24th exhibit "The Land meets the Sea" spearheaded by Community Relations Director, Mary Anne Carson. Curated by Joan Blackmer, "The Land meets the Sea" consists of over 100 works of the countys most accomplished naturalist painters. The exhibit which runs through January 4th shows the work of these artists:
Artists: M.E. "Mike" Bailey, Barbara Bailey-Porter, Bill Kennann, Barbara Lawrence, Peter Loftus, Barry Marshall, John Maxon, Ron Milhoan, James Potterton, Charles Prentiss, Andrew Purchin, Susanna Waddell.
Each artist submitted an equal number of works which represent the natural beauty of our coast, from pleine aire to collage.
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Artspace Tannery Lofts - Inaugural Open Studios
October 14, 2009 by Kirby Scudder
This year celebrated the 24th year of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour. On the weekends of October 3rd & 4th and 17th & 18th, twelve artists who live and work at the new Artspace Tannery Lofts opened their doors for artgoing public to see their work, their studios and their proccess during the 24th Open Studios Tour. For those 4 days hundreds of people came out and walked the long corridors of the Tannery going from studio to studio. Some came to see the studios for the first time, while many came interested in learning more about the artists work and to buy the work of local artists. After talking to many of the participating artists, the consensus was that the first Open studios was a great success. Many artists sold work and made connections for future sales.
Participating Artists: Sarah Bianco, Susan Vaughn, Ray Sumser, Maureen Halligan, Fanne Fernow, Rob Larson, Dave Frost, Camille Krilanovich , Majio, Abbie Rabinowitz, Anna Oneglia.
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