Let's Go: Art event transforms tiny SD street

By: KATHERINE MARKS - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 17, 2004 12:13 AM PDT ∞

It's the second Saturday of the month and San Diego's Ray Street is bursting with art. Behind one storefront, Gabriel Reed and Moni Blum are shaping clay and Elissa Lieberman is putting the finishing touches on her latest painting. Jazz music spills from the parking lot of The Cabernet Cellar. A nearby alley has become a makeshift stage.

People stream from gallery to gallery, shop to shop, sipping Two Buck Chuck and munching appetizers.

Tiny Ray Street in North Park has become a mecca for studios and artists, and each second Saturday they hold what is billed as San Diego's largest monthly art event: Ray at Night.

The event offers exhibits and live music. Galleries display work by local artists, who are often on hand to talk about their work.

Ray at Night started nearly three years ago when merchants with a mutual passion for art began creating gallery space in their businesses, said George Lofland, owner of the San Diego Art Department. "It brings culture into the evening for people," Lofland said. "It's a feel-good event."

His Ray Street business has different demonstrations each month ---- glass blowing, ceramic and stained glass design, watercolor painting, jewelry and pottery making.

And it's not just the galleries showing off. A furniture maker, photographer and even the Sierra Club are keeping their doors open late to display art.

"It's bringing a lot of life to the North Park area," Lofland said. "People are seeing it differently."

Eric Koester works at Planet Rooth Studios across the street. It's the brainchild of custom furniture maker Gustaf Rooth, who is credited with starting the event. Koester said it has gotten more popular since its inception, and attendance has gone "from a couple hundred to a couple thousand."

On Saturday, Rita Kleiner and her husband, Eric, stood in Sharp Studio's Galleries, looking at paintings from local artist Jessica Tehan. They mulled whether the images of people transforming into trees and other life forms represented sexual abuse or anthropomorphism.

"It's good art. It's really good art," Rita Kleiner said. "San Diego's coming of age."

For awhile, David Troyan thought people were coming to his Studio Ten 31 for the free munchies. But he's stopped offering them and people are still pouring in during the monthly event.

The photographer displays his work on one side of the studio and gives the rest of the wall space to an artist.

"The crowds are actually getting bigger," Troyan said.

If you go:

What: Ray at Night

Where: Ray Street in San Diego's North Park district

Directions: From I-805 South, take University Avenue west to Ray Street. Park along University Avenue.

Hours: 6 to 9 p.m. the second Saturday of each month

Cost: Free

Call: (619) 299-4ART