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!

LET THE TREASURE HUNT BEGIN!

Listen: that whooshing sound you hear is Time's Wingéd Chariot, hurtling us into the Santa Cruz Fall arts season.

And, believe it or not, Open Studios is just around the corner. The official catalogue for the Open Studios Art Tour 2011 goes on sale today, and how cool is that green art glass vase by Jim and Connie Grant on the cover? Just the thing to get your juices flowing for another round of OS treasure hunting. This $20 catalogue also functions as a 16-month calender featuring artwork by all 300+ OS artists. You can order online, as we speak, or click here to find a catalogue-selling outlet near you.

Btw, Jim and Connie are South County OS artists whose marvelous one-of-a-kind glassworks combine clean lines and echoes of Deco with organic, Native American shapes and patterns. Check out their Celestial Art Glass website for more examples.

Open Studios starts early this year. North County artists (north of the Yacht Harbor to Davenport) open their doors the weekend of October 1 and 2. South County artists (south of the Yacht Harbor to Watsonville) open up October 8 and 9. Encore Weekend (countywide) is Oct 15 and 16. The catalogue will tell you which artists are participating in the Encore Weekend (in addition to providing a sample of work from each OS artist, and maps to their locations).

Also, last year's Silver Ticket gambit was such a hit, the Cultural Council is doing it again this year. Six individual Silver Tickets are hidden inside OS catalogues at various locations around the county. Each ticket is as good as cash toward the purchase of artwork from any OS artist. There are three tickets valued at $100 each, two tickets at $200 each, and one ticket worth $300. Feeling lucky? Buy a catalogue now and avoid the rush later on.

New this year, in addition to the preview exhibit of all OS artists at the Art League, downtown, there will also be a preview exhibit featuring the work of North County OS artists (from Davenport, Bonny Doon, San Lorenzo Valley, and Scotts Valley) at the R. Blitzer Gallery on the West Side. Both preview shows will be open September 24 through October 16, to allow the public face time with OS artists' work up close and personal.

In the meantime, check out these slideshows of this year's participating OS artists: North County and South County.

Last year, I blogged extensively about my OS adventures. Here's one of my favorite treasures that I found last year, a little ceramic angel by Peggy Snider, who greets me in my kitchen every morning with a poignant rustling of her wings. New treasures are out there, waiting to be found at this year's event. Click here for all the details. And happy hunting!

FIRST FIRST FRIDAY

Looks like clear skies for the first First Friday Art Tour of the new year. In honor of the (slowly) returning sun (hey, technically the days ARE getting longer, although you'd never know it at about 5:30 on a pitch-black January evening), why not take a stroll around town for a sunny afternoon of art in unexpected places. Or head out this evening and hit the receptions, where many venues are sure to offer wine, live music, and/or little nibbly things.

Joining traditional venues like the Santa Cruz Art League (its current show is "This Is Santa Cruz: local artists interpret what Santa Cruz means to them," where I got this uncredited image), the Felix Kulpa Gallery (15 neon artists), and the MAH (exhibits include work from the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California, photographer Lawrie Brown, and miniature trains), you'll find art shows in banks, cafes, shops and boutiques all over the place, from the Eastside to the Westside to Davenport. From "The Masculine Series" of photographs by Midori at Pure Pleasure, to Neno V. Villamor's "Cycles of the Feminine Self," relief sculptures in handmade paper at Camouflage. Get all the info here.

And don't forget to drop by the R. Blitzer Gallery in the old Wrigley building for the closing night reception for the Art For Art exhibit. Remember, 20% of art sales from this show go to benefit the Santa Cruz Artists' Assistance and Relief Fund (SCAARF) to aid local artists experiencing a career-threatening emergency. Get there early to really appreciate the size and scope of this epic new gallery space. Maybe I'll see you there!

ON, BLITZER!

No, it's not Santa's eighth reindeer. The R. Blitzer Gallery, over on the west side, is the best-kept art secret in Santa Cruz. Occupying a vast, spacious loft area in part of the old Wrigley Building, this impressive space—less than a year old—is a new resource for local art lovers. Genial proprietor Robert Blitzer originally rented the space as a studio for building his own massive metal sculptures, but in recent months he has generously made it available for public art exhibits. Which is great news for the rest of us in a county bubbling over with artists, yet chronically short of designated art spaces.

Some 34 local artists are represented in the current Blitzer show, Art for Art. Originally scheduled as a weekend show earlier this month to benefit the Santa Cruz Artists' Assistance & Relief Fund (SCAARF), the Art for Art exhibit is held over by popular demand for the rest of this year and on through First Friday (Jan 7) in the new year. Now that the first wave of holiday madness is over, if you have some quality time to spare, I suggest you run right out and see it.

Of course, there are strengths and weaknesses in a show of this size, with so many artists working in a variety of media —painting, glass, sculpture, encaustic, ceramics, photography, assemblage and installation. But there's plenty to love, as well. I was mesmerized by Coeleen Kiebert's series of "Scouts" and "Navigators." In these ceramic sculptures, figures with piquant faces in steampunk goggles and gear-studded helmets float through weirdly organic, distressed Art Nouveau-type structures of flowering tubes in metallic colors (copper; patina green) that might be kelp beds underwater (or in deep space), prison bars, or labyrinths of the mind. These pieces pass the first essential test of successful art—they invite you to keep looking, and you find there's always more to see.



Intriguing too are the playful new figurative paintings of D. Hooker. (That's one of her new images, up top, used to publicize the show.) Best known for her close-up portraits of "real and imagined" subjects, her fresh, cheeky mixed-media paintings on wooden boards and cigar boxes, have plenty of attitude and brio. Jenny Morten shows an array of her evocative, sculptural porcelain bowls with their distinctive pinched or scalloped edges, many incorporating subtle citrus colors (lemon; tangerine) to complement her traditional palette of aqua and pale green.



Color and texture pop in Jim MacKenzie's abstract Graffiti series of photographic images laminated onto board. David Fleming offers a selection of loosely rendered, almost impressionistic new landscapes and cityscapes. Assemblages range from Jack Howe's surreal doll-and-found-object pieces to the precise, formalized, monochromatic work of Victoria May. Large installations are contributed by fabric wizard Kathleen Crocetti and Ned Greene. And this is just a fraction of the show. Plan to spend some time and wander around; there's a lot to see.

This is the third exhibit from Art For Art, an organization co-founded and co-directed by D. Hooker and mixed-media photographer Sara Friedlander to curate shows that raise money for the Santa Cruz arts community. Earlier this year, the group lunched SCAARF, a companion organization set up to assist local artists experiencing a career-threatening emergency by providing grants and resources. 20% of all sales at the Blitzer show go to SCAARF. Donations are also accepted at the gallery, and online. Read all about it here.

Then hie thee off to the Blitzer Gallery and check it out. (Here's the map.) Gallery hours are 10 am to noon, and 2 pm to 5 pm. Mon-Thurs this week (Dec 27–30), and Mon-Fri next week (Jan 3-7). The Closing Night reception will be Friday, Jan 7, from 5-9 pm, but trust me, by then it will be way too packed with artists, patrons, and bonhomie to see anything. So, to paraphrase the immortal words of The Moody Blues, if you wanna see the show, darlin', you better go now!