TRY YOUR LUCK

Feeling lucky?

If Dame Fortune is with you, amble on down to the Santa Cruz Art League this weekend and enter their annual Luck of the Draw art event for a chance to purchase an original work by the local artist of your choice for a mere—get this—$65.

Here's how it works:

First, buy a ticket to the event for $65. Then hie thee down to the Art League any time between now and Sunday, December 9, to peruse the dozens of pieces of original artwork donated by area artists for the show. Make a shortlist of your favorites.

On the day of the event, Sunday, December 9, at 2:45 pm, the drawing begins! (This is where the luck come in.) All ticket stubs are put in a hat; in the order that each stub is drawn, that person gets to pick out the piece of art he or she wants to take home.

Obviously, those whose ticket stubs are selected earliest get the biggest selection of artwork to choose from. But with some 80 participating artists, there is plenty of great work to go around! 

2D and 3D art, textiles, glass, and jewelry are included in the show, by such renowned local artists as Barbara Downs, Ron Cook, Cher Roberts, T. Mike Walker, Sandra Cherk, Jane Gregorius, and James Aschbacher (right), to name just a few. (That's Jody Bare's gorgeous black and gold "Mist Dragons" scarf, up top.)

Check out the Luck of the Draw Facebook page to get an idea what awaits you at the show. (Make sure you open all three Luck of the Draw albums.)

Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 12 noon-5 pm, Sunday 12 noon-4 pm, and First Friday, 12 noon to 9 pm. All proceeds go to the Art League for the support of art and artists in Santa Cruz County, so Bonne Chance, Buona Fortuna, Suerte, and may the Force be with you!

ARTISTS at WORK

Don't turn around, but the 2012 Open Studios Art Tour is just around the corner. Santa Cruz's premiere art event takes place during the first three weekends in October, when more than 300 artists countywide will open their studio doors to the public for the annual self-guided art tour.

You know the drill: South County artists (from Watsonville to the lower Yacht Harbor) will be open October 6 and 7. North County artists (upper Yacht Harbor to Davenport) will be open October 13 and 14. Anything goes on the third, Encore weekend, October 20 and 21, where participating artists countywide can choose to open for one last hurrah. Studios will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Remember, this is not a race (or an endurance test); you don't win a prize for visiting the most studios—but you might make yourself so crazy you no longer even know what you're looking at. The idea is to breathe, Grasshopper, focus on what you really want to see, and open yourself up for the task at hand—the optimum stress-free pleasure of mingling with art and artists in their native habitat.


Start with the OS Artist Guide, a 15-month calendar with a color photo of the work of every OS artist, along with their addresses, websites, emails, phone numbers, shoe sizes, mothers' maiden names—well, you get the idea—all for only $20. Detailed maps and supplemental indexes list artists alphabetically, and according to medium.The Guide also tells you which artists are open which weekends, and whether their premises are wheelchair-accessible.

Go here to buy a calendar online or find a location near you to purchase one in person. All proceeds go to the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County to support OS and fund arts programs throughout the county.

New this year is the OS App, which puts all the info in the Guide on your phone. It's available now for just $4.99 via iTunes or Google Play; click here for details.

And don't forget to visit the Open Studios Preview Exhibit at the Art League (526 Broadway in Santa Cruz), to see a sample of each artist's work. Believe me, seeing the work in real life will save you hours of aimless driving around later. You can also pick up free color postcards of many of the artist's work, or purchase the OS Guide at the Art League.


The OS show opens this Saturday (September 29) and continues through October 21. Meet the artists at the opening reception this Sunday, September 30, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Exhibit hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

And that's all there is to it.  So do your homework, grab an art buddy or two, and maybe I'll see you on the road!

ART AND ABOUT

Get ready to hit the road for Open Studios 2011

Don't forget, the Open Studios Art Tour starts this weekend! A whopping 295 local artists—painters, collagists, ceramacists, sculptors, printmakers, photographers, jewelery-makers, fabric artists, you name it—will open the mystic portals to their work spaces to YOU, the art-loving public, over the next three weekends.

North County artists step up to the plate first this year. 139 studios will be open from north of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor through downtown and the Westside all the way to Davenport. While you're out there, don't miss Doug Ross (312 Poplar Ave, SC), one of my favorite OS artists. His clean, colorful silk screen prints often depict seals and other marine life, but don't you just love this fanciful little hummingbird?

Sure, there's a staggering number of artists to see, but remember, this is not an endurance test. Nobody is expected to visit EVERY studio; you just have to pace yourself. And the best way to do this is to visit one of the OS Preview Exhibits in advance, to get a feel for the actual art pieces, up close and personal.

As usual, the Art League is now hosting a show featuring one work by every single participating artist. New this year is a companion exhibit at the R. Blitzer Gallery, on the Westside, featuring work by North County artists from Davenport, Bonny Doon, San Lorenzo Valley, and Scotts Valley. Both exhibits will be up through the last day of OS, October 16. (A public reception will be held for the Blitzer show on Friday, October 7, 5-9 pm.)

Many local favorites are participating in OS again this year. That's ceramic sculptor Peggy Snider's Preview Exhibition piece at the Art League on the left. I'm pretty sure the title is "Being My Muse," but I might have gotten it wrong, what with 6.2 gazillion people crammed into the exhibit space at last Sunday's opening reception. Anyway, I just love that inquisitive little face! (Peggy shows this weekend at 680 Meder Street, SC.)

There are plenty of newcomers to the event this year, as well. I was very intrigued by the little woven piece by fabric artist Doug Masury at the Art League. It's a small, square, framed piece with tight rows of hand-dyed yarn in an abstract, archaeological/landscape design. (Doug is open this weekend at 128 Mason Strert, SC.) I forgot to take note of the title, but if you're headed down there, check it out.

And speaking of fabric art, Susan Else (126 Escalona Drive) is back this year with her beautifully crafted fabric sculptures of whimsical figures in unexpected landscapes. This piece is called "On the Rocks," and yes, it's ALL stuffed and quilted fabric—even that perfectly rendered abalone shell in the foreground!

Open Studios is a free event, but potential art tourists are strongly advised (by me!) to pick up the official OS Calendar and Artist Guide. ($20 online or at outlets countywide.) Not only does the Calendar provide addresses and maps to help you locate even the most remote studios, it also features thumbnail images of the work of every single participating artist, in a useful 16-month calendar format.

The OS Art Tour continues next weekend, October 8 & 9, with South County artists opening their studios from south of the Yacht Harbor through Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos, and down to Watsonville. The following weekend, October 15 & 16, is Encore Weekend, when both North and South County artists can opt for opening their studios. (Check the OS Calendar for information on which artists will be open Encore Weekend.) So plot your course, grab an art buddy and hit the road!

SEIZE THE DAY

DIY art show won't be here long

Usually, I'm all for planning ahead. (Hey, I'm a Virgo!) But seizing a window of opportunity that opens up unexpectedly can lead to happy surprises as well. Case in point: the tasty new DIY exhibit up for just a few more days at the Santa Cruz Art League.

When local artists Carol Bowie and Sefla Joseph heard the SCAL gallery space was going to be vacant for 11 days between exhibits, they did what any red-blooded American entrepreneur would do: they called up some of their friends and said, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!" That show is "Polishing the Mirror," featuring the work of ten Santa Cruz County artists at the top of their game.

The SCAL gallery is the perfect place for such a scaled-down, intimate show; each artist has plenty of space for a representative sample of work, but there's also enough breathing room between pieces for the viewer to wander around and see everything. About half of the pieces are paintings, mostly figurative, loosely exploring the thematic idea of "Who's there now," gazing back out of the mirror.

Bowie is showing some handsome new larger works in oils, in what she calls "somber" colors, in keeping with this introspective theme. Many depict a figure (or figures) rendered in bold, linear strokes that recall her vibrant etchings, placed before a solid background. (She's also having some cheeky fun painting life-sized department store mannequins.) Joseph also contributes some newer work, figures sketched in bold colors, captured in moments of reflection or discovery.

Carol Jeneid is showing some larger landscapes with a series of small (about 12" square) mixed-media pieces with a lot of graphic energy. There's something vivid, yet emotionally muted in the color palette of blues, greens, and rust in which Susan Dorf paints her impressionistic portraits and figures. (That's her intriguing, "She Sings to Them," above.) Dorf's trio of "Muses," one morphing into a ripe pomegranate, the others moodily mysterious, was my favorite.

Another favorite was Susan Leone Howe's "Stagelight," a dynamic whirlwind of movement, tension and color, in which figures seem about to spin off the canvas in the midst of confetti colors and pulsing stars. Also featured are Barbara Bartel's abstract series of watercolor portraits, "About Face," and the mixed media of Bill Clark.

"Star Gazer," by Peggy Snider (above)

Complementing the 2D work are pieces from ceramicist Peggy Snider (inquisitive, piquant-faced figures from her "White Album Collection"), the compelling, demon-haunted spirit figures of clay sculptor Tom Wolver, and an impressive selection of handmade antler and driftwood baskets from Larry Worley.

"Shaman's Bowl," by Larry Worley.

There's plenty to ponder and enjoy in this show, and it'll disappear like Brigadoon after Sunday, March 20, so put down that keyboard and go!

And speaking of limited-time-only offers, the Dante Aligheri Society of Santa Cruz is presenting one of the all-time classics of Italian cinema (or any cinema) this week: Otto e Mezzo (better known as 8 1/2). The great Federico Fellini directs this 1963 masterpiece about love, art, memory, and cinema. Marcello Mastroianni stars as a celebrated filmmaker turning to the women in his life—past and present—while trying to draw inspiration for his next movie. Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee and Sandra Milo lead the femme cast.

The movie won Oscars for Foreign Language Film and Black-and-White Costumes—proving that the absence of color in no way interferes with a film's visual panache, especially in the hands of a maestro like Fellini. (Fun factoid: from the '40s to 1967, two Oscars were awarded every year in each of the three visual categories—Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costumes—one for color and one for black-and-white. Since then, hardly anybody makes movies in B&W any more, which is cinema's great loss.)

8 1/2 also spawned various adaptations, most notably Paul Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland (1972), with Donald Sutherland, and the lavish Broadway musical, Nine—which, in turn, was made into a movie in 2009, starring Daniel Day Lewis. But Fellini is the real deal. Don't miss this chance to see it on a big screen, and if you've never seen it before, your film education starts here. Showtime is 7 pm, Sunday, March 20, at the VAPA Art History Forum Room 1001, Cabrillo College. Admission is free, and you're invited to come early with an Italian snack and non-alcoholic beverage to share. Visit the Dante Society website for more info.