SVAC New Member Show at Gallery 21

               RIPPICANAN HANDBAG BY CAMERON MAINE, DESIGNER
               IMAGE COPYRIGHT OF LISA ORNSBY


Hello All,

Breaking News at Gallery 21!  Spanish Village Art Center is proud to announce the gala showing of our newest members' artwork in their juried media, now at Gallery 21.  The exhibit runs from July 13 - 25, 2011, and is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  We are located in scenic Balboa Park at 1770 Village Place, situated between the Natural History Museum and the San Diego Zoo.

The exhibit boasts a variety of media brilliantly executed by our new members who juried into Spanish Village Art Center in March of this year.  The media range from textiles to ceramics to photography, and are some of the best that Spanish Village has to offer.  I am equally proud to announce that one of our inductees is my very own (and newest) studio partner, Cameron Maine.

               RIPPICANAN TOTE BY CAMERON MAINE, DESIGNER
               IMAGE COPYRIGHT OF CAMERON MAINE, 2011

Cameron creates exquisite handbags from recycled and reclaimed fabrics and leather, all embellished with unique and highly designed closures and handles.  A Fine Art major and a well versed merchandiser in the textile and upholstery fields, Cameron Maine brings her full experience to the creation of each handbag, tote or clutch.  Each art-to-wear piece is one of a kind and cannot be duplicated; designed for women with discerning taste and classic style.  That's OOAK to you folks!  Cameron's pieces can be seen in Studio 32, seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  I've got my eye on a particular cut velvet and yellow pigskin tote that I have been pining after ever since she brought it to the studio. (Hey!  Hands off Ladies...it's MINE!  This little piggy did not cry, "Wee, wee, wee" all the way home.)  Cameron's RIPPICANAN bags can also be admired on Facebook.  Cameron invites you all to sign in ("Like" her) and, let her know what you think of her latest creations.

                  RIPPICANAN BROCADE TOTE BY CAMERON MAINE, DESIGNER
                  IMAGE COPYRIGHT OF CAMERON MAINE, 2011



Hold that thought...RIPPICANAN and you.  I'm just stepping out for that short writer's break, and my morning cup of Joe (while watching a rerun of the Bourne Ultimatum...one of my alltime favorites).

Hmmm.  RIPPICANAN, Bourne and a cup of Joe...Can't think of a better way to start the morning.  Be right back.

A "PREVIEW OF PIERRE"

RAKU AND HIGH FIRED CERAMICS

IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED

Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
Text and content, copyrighted 2011, all rights reserved

Art in Bloom and Our Annual Open House!

Hello All,

It's that time of year, again.  Our Annual Open House Celebration is much anticipated each year.  It is Spanish Village Artists' way of saying "Thanks" to our many patrons and visitors each year.  Spanish Village Art Center is located at 1770 Village Place, San Diego, California.  The event will take place on Saturday, July 23, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

For the first time, in collaboration with the San Diego Floral Association and the San Diego Botanical Garden Foundation, Spanish Village Art Center is hosting a spectacular new event, "Art in Bloom", a magnificent display of floral horticulture blended with paintings done "live" on our courtyard patio by our plein air artists.

The artists, located throughout the courtyard, will demonstrate their individual media and their art using an array of live floral arrangements provided by the Floral Guild as their subject matter.  Demonstrations will begin at 10:00 a.m.  At 2:00 p.m., the People's Choice voting for favorite artwork/floral arrangement will begin.  Something you won't want to miss!  Cash awards will be presented at 4:00 p.m.

We are honored to have several garden groups from the Botanical Foundation present to talk about their representative plants, and give information about their events throughout the calendar year.


Steven Maddy from Studio 41 in his "Garden of Paper Flowers"
getting ready for Art in Bloom
(Tiny bubbles have got nothing on these Paper florals!)


As always, we are happy to announce that entertainment will be provided by Tin Man's Heart.  Their smooth vocals and acoustics will waft throughout the patio adding to the ambiance, where visitors can meander enjoying refreshments and the everfamous Spanish Village Silent Auction.  Wonderful artwork will be donated by the Spanish Village artists for the auctions, as usual.  This year, we will sponsor "three" different auctions, ending at 3:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.  It will be a great time to collect art from your favorite artists, and to visit them in their studios or on the patio.

An open invitation is extended to all guests to stroll through our historic studios, and enjoy a day of art, floral arrangements and fun!  Please drop by and enjoy this annual event of appreciation and welcome from all of us here at Spanish Village Art Center.  We throw this party just for you each year, and the best part is that it is free!  (Well, maybe not the best part)...The food, entertainment and, most of all, the ART make this a must attend happening of the year!

So, come on down.  Take in the beauty of floral horticulture, imbibe, ingest and take something BEAUTIFUL home from the artists of Spanish Village Art Center.  I guess that suffices to say, "EAT, DRINK AND MAKE (FLORAL-LY) MERRY!  See you there.



Lovely Paper Horticulture on dispaly for Art in Bloom
courtesy of Meisha and Steven Maddy
in studio 41

For more information, contact event director, Susan Ludwig in studio 34A, at:
(760) 436-0453, or at susludwig@gmail.com


Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
Text and content copyrighted, 2011, all rights reserved

Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Festival...Umm-mm!

Hello All,

It's that time of year again.  The Women's Museum of California is throwing its 4th Annual Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Festival at Spanish Village Art Center!!!  (Quick.  What's your favorite? Oh heck, why choose when you can have them ALL?)  Well, ladies, I say, "Throw Down", 'cause we are ready!  This event is always a delightful experience, and Spanish Village Art Center is proud to host the museum's fete on our colorful patio each year.  Yay!  Let's hear it for Women, Wine, Cheese and CHOCOLATE!  Oops!  I guess I just let slip which is my favorite (the wine and cheese are tied for second).

Taking place on Friday, June 17, 2011, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in beautiful Balboa Park, the well attended bacchanal is sold out early each year!   There will be wine, cheese and chocolate tastings for the guests, and our artists and studios will be open for participants to browse, and explore the many diverse arts of Spanish Village.  There will also be live music on the patio for "Dancing under the Stars".  Sounds just dreamy, doesn't it? 

After the wine, cheese and chocolate mixed with mellow music and dancing, we may all have to be carted out of here in wheelbarrows!  I promise you it will be a night of culinary decadence and delight ( in a very good way, that is).  The "visions of sugarplums" hasn't got a thing on this event.  (I'm envisioning dark, dark chocolate with a merlot or shiraz...sigh...polished off with a tangy pungent goat cheese...oh my!)  See you all there!  Come loaded for...CHOCOLATE!


For more information and to reserve your place, contact the Women's Museum of California at (619) 233-7963 or log on to their website at: http://womensmuseumca.org.

Spanish Village Art Center is located at 1770 Village Place, San Diego, California between the Natural History Museum and the San Diego Zoo.



Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
text and content copyrighted, 2011, all rights reserved

Catnip Connection 5 - "Meow"!

"In Your Face" by artist, ALLY BENBROOK
IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED


Hello All!

All of you,  "Cat Lovers" out there, that is.  It's coming again, the much anticipated annual "Catnip Connection 5".  Coming soon to Gallery 21 is the always winsome and entertaining exhibit of (you got it) "Cats, cats and more...Cats"! Did anyone say, "CATS"? Hurray!  The Fifth Annual juried exhibition is scheduled to run from June 15 - 27, 2011 at Gallery 21 in Spanish Village Art Center.   We are located at 1770 Village Place in Balboa Park.

The all media exhibition is set to honor animals of the FELINE persuasion, which includes domestic and wild species alike.  As always, the participants will donate a portion of the proceeds from the show to the Feral Cat Coalition.  The coalition is an organization offering spay and neuter clinics for stray cats in San Diego County.

This year's exhibition is sure to be a marvelous display of the Ferocious, Fastidious, Fantastic and Free-wheeling life of the Feline!  So, mark your calendars.  The reception for artists will be held on Sunday, June 19, 2011 from 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.  Awards will be presented at 5:30 p.m., so you don't want to miss it.

For more information, contact Vicki DeLong at (619) 850-6637, or email at: vbde@cox.net.

See you there.  "C'est les chattes...and that's, that!"  Prrrrrrrr...


Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
text and content copyrighted, 2011, all rights reserved

Doorways to Art in Spanish Village

"Sunflowers and Chicadees" by watercolorist, LUCY WANG
IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED

Hello All,

It has been awhile since my last post. I took a little hiatus to manage life's little "happenings", and mulled over the subject for my next blog. Periodically, I will feature articles on the events in Spanish Village Art Center in my news flash
column, "Around the Village". As you will remember, we are located at 1770 Village Place, San Diego California in beautiful Balboa Park. The 37 studios are open daily, featuring some 100 plus artists and fine crafts persons.

Last blog, I featured the Woodcarvers Guild in Studio 38.  I would like to dedicate this blog to the Spanish Village artists, themselves. In fact, this will be a feature that I will run, periodically, introducing one of our finest artists and crafts persons each time.

Among our many advertisements, here in the Village, there has been a postcard favorite entitled, "Doorways to Art".  Indeed, our colorful doors have been a particular draw and of continued interest to visitors in Balboa Park for years.  Now, let me enhance that fondness and interest by, individually, introducing you to our artists "beyond the doorways"...through the "Doorways to Art" in Spanish Village Art Center.

My first feature will be on watercolorist and calligrapher, Lucy Wang in Studio 4. Lucy's 3-Dimensional Watercolors on Silk are a legend unto themselves, and her original technique is unmatched by any other that I have seen.  Her subject matter is whimsical, lyrical, folkloric.  Each painting telling a story.  Her silk stretching technique is her own creation, giving the spectator a layered vision of finely painted folklore and nature's bounty.


"Flute Player", by LUCY WANG
IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED



The beauty of her painting reflects her love of nature and demonstrates her exquisite mastery of the brush.  Lucy has uniquely blended her Chinese painting background with the influence of Western painting techniques to develop an innovative style of watercolor painting on silk in a 3-D layout.  This technique that she created was so unique and groundbreaking that it was featured nationwide on the "Lynette Jennings Design" show on Discovery Channel, and "Our Place" on Home Garden TV.  (Uhh, excuse me folks, but, "How about those Props"?)  I'd call Lucy Wang..."Fierce"!

Studying with master artists in Taiwan, Lucy graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts.  She has taught for more than 20 years at her studio in Spanish Village Art Center, as well as at the University of California San Diego Crafts Center.  Teaching workshops throughout the United States, she has also written four books on Chinese brush painting, and co-authored a fifth on drawing and watercolor techniques.  She, also, has several informative animation and teaching videos currently posted on youtube.com.

Lucy sponsors a student show each year at Gallery 21, here in Spanish Village, featuring the calligraphy and Chinese brush paintings of her students.  In her "spare" time, Lucy exhibits annually at the Laguna Beach "Art-A-Fair" during the summer.  Her artwork has, understandably, been selected by National Audubon Society, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian and UNICEF for holiday gift cards.  (Can I say, one more time..."Props", people)!!!  And, guess what, folks?  We are just "bursting at the seams" with pride to boast that Lucy is an integral and valued member of Spanish Village Art Center!!!

Well, that's Lucy Wang, in a nutshell (Ouch! Poor nutshell...it's so crowded in there).  Lucy is an amazingly accomplished artist, and a delightful person.  Her demure persona and welcome smile will greet you as you enter her blue and lavender door.  Positioned just outside the studio, colorful umbrellas give shade to visitors and her myriad selection of giclee prints and cards.  A visit to Studio 4 (to meet Lucy) is a journey into the mystical folkloric realm of the Orient.  And, remember...Lucy's quiet and easy aura is waiting there to bid you welcome to her world.

Hold that thought.  Imagine a cornflower blue and lavender door through which the visitor can see beautiful maidens dressed in flowing silks, cranes dancing in wintry wonderlands, beautifully rendered Chinese brush paintings of any and all subject matter, and you will just begin to visualize the mastery... mystery of Lucy Wang's art.

Not unlike, "Snow Falling on Cedars".

"Dancing Cranes" by watercolorist, LUCY WANG
IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED


You may find additional information on Lucy Wang and her 3-Dimensional Watercolors on Silk at her website:  http://www.lucywang.com/

Enjoy Lucy's animation videos at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI4vPNsBzcU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVqeycDKjDo&feature=mfuinorder&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnHe5TLFAUU&feature=mfuinorder&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI0kNyFaonw&feature=mfuinorder&list=UL



Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
text and content copyrighted, 2011, all rights reserved

Around the Village: "Woodcarvers Demo"

IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED

Hello All,

Here's a "heads up" from Studio 38, the Woodcarvers Guild in Spanish Village Art Center, located at 1770 Village Place, San Diego, California.  On Saturday, April 23, 2011, the guild members will give demonstrations of lathe, scrollsaw and the art of woodburning on the patio.  The demonstrations will be done close to Studio 38, and all visitors to Balboa Park are invited to come and watch.  Our woodcarvers are some of the best in the county, and enjoy their craft as much as showing it off to the public.

So, all of you wood lovers out there, come on down and join the fun!  The carvers will keep a "lathe turning" just for you.  Who knows...maybe you will enjoy it so much that you will want to join the Woodcarvers Guild, and start turning yourselves.  Amazing things happen all the time.

Remember, "...to every season, turn, turn, turn".  See all you enthusiasts there!



IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED


Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
text and content copyrighted, 2011, all rights reserved

Jihmye Collins ... The Man Behind the Smile

Jihmye Collins (1939 - 2011)
Photograph, copyright 2011 of Mithaq Kazimi


Hello Everyone,

I dedicate this blog to commemorate Jihmye Collins, Artist, Activist, Poet and Friend. A tribute to the "man behind the smile"... To an "Athlete Dying Young". Please join Spanish Village Art Center in honoring and commemorating Jihmye on April 5, 2011 at Gallery 21 from 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. The gallery is located in the heart of Spanish Village Art Center at 1770 Village Place, San Diego, California 92101.

We are hosting a potluck dinner, poetry reading and viewing of Jihmye's artwork in remembrance and love. We hope you will bring your fondest memory of Jihmye, and join us in the celebration of the "Life of Jihmye Collins", a man who walked tall among us.

I dedicate this poem by A. E. Housman to Jihmye Collins, because he was an athlete, in his own right, for justice and peace through his art and his Ba'Haai faith. To me, he was a friend and fellow artist, as he was to many of us here at Spanish Village Art Center. But to those of us who really knew him, and knew him well, he was an athlete and champion for the togetherness of mankind, and a vigilant crusader against injustice for all. He reached into the community, and tried to pass on his love and respect for the human race through his work with youths and the underprivileged. Artist, Activist, Poet and Friend, all encompassed within that undeniable presence and radiant smile.

"To an Athlete Dying Young", by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

"The time you won your town the race,
We chaired you through the market-place.
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder high...
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where Glory does not stay.
And early though the laurel grows,
It withers quicker than the rose...
Now you will not swell the rout,
Of lads who wore their honours out.
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man...
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's".

"We will all love and miss you Jihmye, but, our lives are better for your being."

P.S.
Jihmye,  I know you loved "all things Africa", and delighted in reconnecting with your heritage and the Motherland.  So, this poem is just for you, from me:

From "Out of Africa" by Isaak Dinesen, (1885 - 1962)

"If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?"

Jihmye,
I believe the answer is, "Yes, and the color will be purple."
Thank you, Cassandra

Photograph courtesy of Alane Gray, copyright 2011


Who is Jihmye Collins?
Watch video compliments of Community Faces Project: Jihmye Collins (c) MACSD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qac0YuArJBA


"In Loving Memory...",  from all of us at Spanish Village Art Center


Written and posted by Cassandra Shepard, Studio 32
text and content copyrighted, 2011, all rights reserved