Art lectures, demonstrations, new exhibits burst forth in March

By: BILL FARK - For the North County Times | Wednesday, March 8, 2006 11:08 AM PST ∞

Spring seems to have inspired North County artists and art organizations this month. The area is positively buzzing with exhibitions, new venues and new programs for established groups.

One of the most welcome events is a new show by the San Dieguito Art Guild at the Solana Beach City Hall Gallery. More than 40 works by guild members are on exhibit ---- including watercolors, pastels, acrylics and photography ---- through April 13 at 635 S. Coast Highway 101.

The guild, homeless since December when its OffTrack Gallery closed in Leucadia, is also reopening in a new location. On April 1, the gallery address will be 687 S. Coast Highway, located in the historical Redsand building in Encinitas.

The Vista Art Association also boasts a new exhibition space. The Vista library has dedicated a public art wall to exhibit the work of the association members. Membership forms for those who would like to show their art at the library are available at the Vista Village Gallery, 127 Main St.

North County artists continue to receive recognition outside the immediate area. This month there are two so honored, both female and both celebrating the feminine form. Cardiff artist Julia C.R. Gray will be participating ---- with Lori Escalera and Sara Parker ---- in the "Timeless Goddess Art Exhibit" at the Banning Center for the Arts. The show runs through March 31.

Carlsbad artist Terry Farrell's recognition comes much closer to home. Farrell's solo show "Witness the AWE: A Woman's Expression," showing her reverence for the human form and the many different moods and feelings of being a woman, opens March 16 at Gallery 21 in the Spanish Art Village in San Diego's Balboa Park. The exhibition, which runs through March 30, showcases Farrell's mastery in a variety of forms: ink to paper, paint to canvas and an award-winning sculpture.

Several organizations continued programs to support the arts. For the city of Carlsbad, that means its annual Community Arts Program, now in its 20th year. Among the grant recipients for 2006 are the Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League, to pay for nine free monthly demonstrations by professional artists; PicART, for children's art activities at the Artsplash festival; a 12-week ceramics class for Pacific Rim Elementary School; and a joint program by the Carlsbad Arts Partnership and Cal State San Marcos Artes Program for a 10-workshop series on arts-integrated teaching.

Escondido supports the arts through Escondido Arts Partnership's Art Connection workshops. Next in this series of monthly programs is "Is Composition Important?," a free workshop conducted by Robert S. Leathers, quilt artist and architectural designer. Leathers' presentation is at 11 a.m. March 11 at the Escondido Municipal Gallery, 142 W. Grand Ave.

The Escondido Arts Partnership also received a boost for another of its programs. The Niki Charitable Art Foundation has given the partnership a rare copy of late La Jolla artist Niki de Saint Phalle's serigraph "Nana Santa." The piece, No. 5 of only 25 created, will be auctioned by the partnership on April 1.

Ramona, too, has an arts support program. Artist Anna Burkhart does lecture demonstrations in textural and experimental techniques at the Olde Ramona Hotel Gallery. Her next program is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 13 at the gallery, 845 Main St., Ramona.

Rancho Santa Fe Art Gallery is not gender specific in its new show, "The Figure in Art." The show explores realistic and abstract expressions of the human figure in all media. An artists' reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. March 9, and the exhibit runs through May 1 at 6004 Paseo Delicias.

The Fallbrook Art Association sponsors workshops at its monthly meetings. Coming up this weekend is Adele Earnshaw's lecture demonstration on watercolor technique. The meeting is at 1 p.m. March 11 at Hilltop Center, 331 E. Elder, and is open to the public.

Fallbrook also welcomes a special exhibition later this month. The Fallbrook Fine Art Gallery opens an exhibition of Russian Impressionist art with a presentation at 7 p.m. March 25. The program includes a discussion on the history of Russian impressionism and its place in art history. Seating is limited. The exhibition will continue through April 30 at 128 N. Main St.

The Art Center at Fallbrook, 103 S. Main St. at Alvarado, celebrates the "Art of the Flower," March 26 through April 16. The highlight of this tribute to the gardener is a citywide festival April 2 that will include tours of local gardens as well as booths featuring art gifts and refreshments. Festivities begin at 10 a.m. and run until 4 p.m.

Fallbrook also exports its art in the form of gourds from the Fallbrook Gourd Patch. The patch's fifth annual exhibit, "The Vine Art of Gourds," is on display through March 27 at the Artist's Gallery at 121 W. Grand Ave. in Escondido. An artists' reception is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. March 11.

As always galleries and studios throughout North County offer a great variety of art exhibitions. Farthest east is Santa Ysabel Art Gallery, at 30352 Highway 78, where "Arrange Whatever Pieces Come Your Way" runs through March 26. The show features collages by Althea Brimm and ceramic creations by potter/sculptor Elizabeth Woolrych.

One of the biggest shows this month is the double-header at California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum. "Therman Statom: Through the Looking Glass," in two of the museum's galleries, includes assemblages of wood, glass, metal and plaster along with large-scale plans for these and other works by the Escondido-based artist. The museum has commissioned a work by Statom, and the conceptual design for the piece will be part of the exhibit, as well as pieces he co-created with students from San Pasqual Academy.

The other exhibit is "Judit Hersko: Shifting Baselines." Hersko's work investigates memory, identity and the ephemeral nature of existence through light projections and the physical transformation of matter. She experiments with the dissolution of sculptures made of calcium carbonate (marble, limestone and shellfish). The exhibitions run March 10 through July 2.

Another interesting show, opening March 13 at the Sana Art Foundation gallery in Escondido, is "Spirit and Flesh: Art From Mesoamerica." The exhibit features jade sculptures, ceremonial obsidian knives, divination tools, delicate pottery and clay figurines depicting everyday and spiritual activities from the ancient peoples of central and coastal Mexico. The objects reflect the Mesoamericans' unifying beliefs about the body and spirit and their preoccupation with the proper treatment of the flesh to ensure the harmony of bodies and spirits with the universe at large.

The exhibit, at 131 S. Orange St., will run through March 18 and will include two public presentations. A docent lecture by students from UC San Diego will be held at 12:30 p.m. March 15. And at 4 p.m. March 16, University of Rochester art history professor Janet Berlo will speak on the work of Lakota artist Arthur Amiotte. A reception will follow Berlo's lecture.

Other shows in downtown Escondido are a solo exhibition by painter Lynden Saint Victor at Distinction Gallery, through April 1; and a mixed-media exhibition at Shiva Artistic Collections, 115A W. Grand Ave., featuring painters Chris Martino, Helen Garcia Schaffer and Mikhail Khodzhayants, metal sculptures by Elon Ebanks and ceramics by Amy Lui. The show runs through May 6.

"Body and Soul" is a new solo show of photographs by Escondido artist Major Morris. It runs through April 1 at the Photographer's Gallery at Calumet Photographic, 830 W. Valley Parkway in Escondido. A portion of the proceeds from sales in the exhibit will benefit the Agnes Diggs "Road to College" Scholarship Fund. Diggs, a popular columnist for the North County Times, died in November.

Also new in Escondido ---- a name. Mingei International's North County venue at 155 W. Grand Ave. is now officially Mingei International Museum ---- North County (having dropped the word "Satellite" from its moniker in December). The museum's current shows are "Timeless Glass ---- From Byzantine to Dale Chihuly" and "Horses ---- Circling the World."

Local colleges are also art-conscious. Boehm Gallery at Palomar College shows "Cesar Chavez: His Soul and His Spirit," photos by Victor Aleman, March 15 through April 15. And "Sincerely," at MiraCosta College's Kruglak Gallery, is a collection of panel and canvas paintings by Leslie Nemour. The oversized pieces, in the shape of envelopes, are thematically forms of communication. The show runs March 13 through April 13.

Solana Beach is once again bustling with art projects. The highlight of each month is the Third Thursday art walk in the Cedros Design District. Studios and galleries, along with shops and restaurants, stay open late. The next Third Thursday event is March 16.

The Ordover Project, a gallery of 14 photographers and one glass sculptor in Solana Beach, shows the work of John D. Clark and Robert Barry during the "Landscape and City Space" exhibition. Clark, who works in an extra-large format, shows black-and-white landscape images as well as abstract views. Clark works in vibrant colors. The show runs March 16 through April 15 at 444 S. Cedros Ave. in Solana Beach.

Trios Gallery, at 130 S. Cedros Ave., shows mosaics by Irina Charny through March 31. Galerie D'Art International blends art and music. The concert on March 19 is an all-Bach program. The gallery is at 320 S. Cedros Ave., Suite 500.

"Seven of the Wall," at the Studio of Art and Design in Solana Beach, features paintings by seven award-winning members of the San Diego Watercolor Society. The show at 616 Stevens Ave., Suite B, runs through April 1.

Local artist David Lewinson creates miniature sculptures from beach stones. The pieces ---- which also serve as candleholders ---- are on display at the Solana Beach Farmers Market, 444 S. Cedros Ave., on the last March 12 of each month.

Looking ahead into April, the county's largest art event, ArtWalk San Diego, will take place April 29 and 30 in San Diego's Little Italy district. ArtWalk organizers are now seeking about 200 volunteers to staff the event.

The free art festival will feature booths by 350 artists, community and children's crafts zones, food booths, live music, street performers and more.

The annual event draws up to 100,000 a year, and volunteers are needed now to answer telephones, staff the ArtWalk office, put up signs and prepare for the weekend festival.

On the weekend of the event, volunteers will be needed to post signs, set up booths, help with traffic control, staff booths, assist visitors, check in artists and assist with children's craft projects. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. To sign up, go to artwalkinfo.com or e-mail info@artwalkinfo.com.

Bill Fark writes on the visual arts scene for the North County Times.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.