A+ Art Blog

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Why does San Diego need a County Arts Council?

The envisioned role of the San Diego County Arts Council (SDCAC) is NOT to manage the existing county disbursement of funds by the supervisors. Instead it is our belief that SDCAC will provide a multitude of assets for the benefit of the entire county. It is then that the Arts and Culture Community can continue to help meet the goals of our county.

On the state and federal level, many revenue streams and resources for arts and culture are simply inaccessible because we lack the collaborative, leveraged approach needed. National foundations and funders are increasingly looking for community impact as priorities and arts and culture offering a collaborative approach will benefit. SDCAC will capture new revenues.
Strong leadership and regional connectedness and infrastructure are required to serve the needs of the entire arts and culture community in our County. Historically and at this moment, this critical leadership does not exist. Therefore, the huge arts and culture sector of the county is fractured, siloed, and underdeveloped. SDCAC will fill that role of uniting this sector.
Within the arts and culture community, lack of communication and collaboration results in redundant and inefficient use of existing funds, minimizing the overall impact on our county. SDCAC will guide organizations receiving funding to better use and leverage those resources.
According to a James Irvine Foundation study, 93% of the population is engaged in the arts. California is rated as the most profitable creative economy. A large constituent in our County is interested in and anxiously awaiting leadership and the resulting success stories. SDCAC can organize this constituency for you.
Monies received from the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) are significantly based on cultural tourism, in which visitors stay longer and spend more. SDCAC will increase cultural tourism.
Arts and Culture is a proven economic driver. Our county will see a stronger partnership with arts & culture in increasing economic development (i.e., creative class/arts sector jobs, cultural tourism, quality of life, community branding, etc.). SDCAC will increase existing revenues.
SDCAC will increase ACCESS to arts and culture by supporting arts organizations, building innovative collaborations and expanding audiences. It will provide greater VISIBILITY and promotion of arts and culture countywide. It will encourage our cities to COLLABORATE with the arts community to develop and establish vibrant arts programs that will attract and retain the talented 21st century workforce, ensuring sustainability in the global knowledge economy. SDCAC will provide increased opportunities for ARTS EDUCATION to San Diego residents, particularly to K-12 children and youth, and at-risk/under-served populations.
SDCAC will assist in the county-wide development of Partner Networks for: Arts Organizations; City Arts Staffs; Arts Commissions Chairs; Arts Funders and Philanthropists; Marketing and Audience Development; Arts Education; and Arts Advocacy.
SDCAC will report on best practices, grant opportunities, creative industries, art districts, and affordable live/work housing to keep creative talent in our County.

Valentine's Day celebration

Thanks to everyone who made Valentine's Day such a wonderful celebration this year.

Kale, ginger and carrot salad with shrimp was lunch for Irene de Watteville when we made crafty little Valentine cards

VIP gift card for Debra Poteet who hosted and also it was her birthday

Potatoes before they went into the oven from Patricia and Darwin.

Wonderful chocolate and caramel tart from the Klines

Chocolate from Peru, Dominican Republic single varieties from Darwin with cookies from Naimeh

Bread and cheese board from Constance and Ralyn

Grilled fish with a wonderful sauce from Barbro and Alex

Greek Salad with Feta from Naimeh and Jonathan

Lamb stew fro Karen and Mike

home made cheese cake thanks to Raymond and Rosemary

Coq au Vin from Deanne and Jeffery

Irene de Wattville, sexy salads

Special salad from Michelle and Roger

Laurie's ....sexy pasta

and Laurie's dish with mussels

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Hobby Store Heaven

I was invited by Naimeh Tahna Woodward, the president of the Encinitas Friends of the Arts to go to what I thought was going to be a gift show with fine craft artists, but it turned out to be a crafting faire. It was at the Anaheim Convention center and we walked in I thought I had died and gone to hobby store heaven. It was actually the Craft and Hobby Association 2015 Conference and Trade Show. We met up with Deb DeLisi who was attending and taking a course in metal clay jewelry. She did a fabulous job for us at the Art Walk with hands-on one minute mandalas.

Naimeh Tahna Woodward - it was her birthday and here she is posing with a craft fair cake.

I decided to concentrate on the booths from the San Diego region. I choose the following which do give you a tip of the iceberg view of the amazing things we saw.

Charity Wings

This non-profit organization has 6000 square feet in San Marcos and they offer a free art service to other non-profits and open public workshops, party and gallery spaces. On April 10-12th they are holding a Paint.a.Palooza for $249 with special instructors, goody bags (worth $200), lots of crafting projects and lunch both days.

Crystal Ninja

This model was completely covered in hand placed rhinestones as was the three part panel in the background.

Crystal Ninja is Kelllie DeFries and she works out of National City. She has perfected the perfect tool to lift up a rhinestone and place is where you want it. It is a wax tip and the latest version is retractable and sharpenable. She also sells special glue dispenses that are equally as exact. There was tons of bling, foil, shiny stuff of all kinds at the fair. I saw rhinestones sold by the square yard and intricate designs formed and ready for application. Swarovski had their own display was also present all over the place.

Holster Brands

A young women who could have been on Shark Tank, came up with an idea when her hair iron keep falling into the pedestal sink. She invented a design that works both for hair appliances and hot glue guns. It is heat resistant and has a sticky flap that adhere to most smooth surfaces. It comes in several sizes and wonderful bright colors. This company is also based in San Marcos.

Motsenbocker’s Lift Off

I am all for graffiti but there is a time and place and if it is the wrong place then this is the right product. They also have a food, drink, pet stain remover, a marker, pen and ink remover, a sticky, greasy oily stain remover as well as the spray paint remover. And the best part is that they are completely safe on your hands. I have a tester three part and can't wait to spill something!

A shout out to Scented Duck Tape (I asked why and the reply was "why not"), Surehold Plastic Surgery Super Gel Adhesive (dancers have used superglue for years to repair cuts on their feet so that they could perform) and the wonderful yarn shops that blew my mind.

Watch for a possible knitting project produced by the Encinitas Frinds of the art. All these large letters were covered with a variety of stitches in wild colors.

Above is a completely knitted tent from the Yarnia booth which also included knitted animals, knitted "brick" walls, knitted suitcases and all the characters from the Narnia story.

Friday, December 26, 2014

State of the Arts 2014: Are these the Questions for 2015? by Patricia Frischer

The State of the Arts series is about a wider vision of what is happening in the art world. At the end of 2014 we look forward to 2015 not so much with answers but with a list of questions which I think may be important to ponder, discuss, and perhaps give us inspiration for action.

1. The San Diego Art Institute SDAI has a new director Ginger Porcella. She has to turn an almost dead organization into a thriving innovative art destination. How is she going to do this? What are the changes needed. How does she balance old with new? SDAI has the prime location in Balboa Park for contemporary artists and the potential to be amazing. Porcella is a highly motivated and articulate young woman from New York. She came up with the idea of a new job description for a staff member at SDAI: Director of First Experience. So instead of a PR person, a fundraiser, an education director, you would have someone who was responsible for the first impression of the institute; how is the institute branded before you even walk into the building and how do you first get involved as an artists or a visitor. This question of the future of the non-profit arts organizations and how they need to change seem particularly important in the year we almost lost the Opera and where the SD Foundation and the Commission for Arts and Culture both have new leadership and as we struggle to establish a SD County Arts Council.

2. Reading about 10x talent agency in the New Yorker (The Programmer's Price), I was impressed with the idea of Rock Stars of Tech. It is fascinating to see how creativity is so sought after. Musician, producers, actors and now software designers all want to be thought of now as “Artists”. That seems to symbolize that they are innovative. As technology and the arts are tied more and more closely together, what can we expect to see in the future? Besides the development of new ways to make 3-d, video and multi-media fine art, there will probably be algorithms to compute metrics for audience involvement, funding and sales.

3. This leads me to the more specific questions of what are the new trends in commercialization of art on line? SDVAN just joined an online second hand goods fundraising site called WebThriftStore. You can take all those holiday presents that disappointed you and sell them online as a tax donation for SDVAN. They let you upload an image directly from your phone, they even send you a shipping label when the item is sold and the shipping is paid by the buyer. Our very successfully accessory exchange happens only once a year when old favorites are given new homes. Now we hope you will try this out anytime during the year that you clean out your closets. You can sell anything so don’t forget that work of art that may not inspire you any longer but will appeal to someone new. And if you are not the artist selling your own work, you get a nice tax deduction.

4. A question we have been pondering for the last year, is who are the new art patrons? Or maybe we now need a new word for those who support the arts. How do we define the teams that will take the arts into un-chartered waters? Are these Artists as Art Patrons? How do we transition young art attendees into young art supporters? What do the emerging foundations look like and why should they support the arts? Social Networks with Cloud Funding are already fast becoming patrons but they don’t necessarily think of themselves in that role. When we make Cross Collaborative projects aren’t we really patrons of each other? As innovation is seen as a key economic driver, can we expect to see the Politician Patron rising?

Your can read all the past State of the Arts addresses by Patricia Frischer at this link. Please blog back and watch for future opportunities through SDVAN to join in the conversation.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Mural by Paola Villasenor at SDAI and Art Fair Miami

I had a chance to view the mural by Paola Villaseñor Panca at San Diego Art Institute gala fundraiser and found myself very, very attracted to it. I was not put off by the subject matter, but instead attracted to the wonderful colors and the excellent composition. So I had to ask myself why I was not more put off by the view of naked women eating a fallen companion. This really intrigued me. Why did I like this so much?

I started to analyze what I was seeing and realized that the almost cartoon nature of the drawing eliminated the serious nature of the content. We all see cartoons like Superman and Spiderman where blood is graphically depicted and looses some of the realistic nature that would make it scary.

The subject of women with blood is one which women deal with from puberty and the site of blood and the female is a very natural one, Women bled almost all of their lives. I think that is another reason I could accept this subject matter with all women in the image. The absence of men seems significant.

I had a bit more trouble wondering about the eating aspect, and I know that could be a challenge to many. But art should challenge us. I am an optimist and I choose to see the subject in a positive way. I saw women surviving by devouring the wisdom of the group. I heard others say it was a metaphor for the blood of Christ but I am not Christian so this did not resonate with me. Someone else thought it was reflective of the recent be-heading in the middle-east. And I think many others have made other suggestions. These ideas including my own are more reflective of the viewer than the artist perhaps, but once a work it made and put on view, then it is in the domain of the viewer.

My suggestion is to go and see the image yourself. SDAI has arranged a wonderful changing light that make the work glow with energy. The work is up for only a few months and then I understand there are plans for a whole series of artist to create murals in this fabulous space. SDAI is the premier display site for living artists in Balboa Park.

We would’ve gotten you a Warhol but your grades weren’t good enough. Lisa Levy's "Thoughts in my Head # 50 (Warhol)" 2014 at Schroeder Romero

December in Miami is art fair month and I had a blast looking at the images from the different fairs. I had no idea there were so many as you have about 10 just in Miami Beach including the grand daddy Art Basel Miami Beach plus Aqua, Scope, Select Untitled etc. and then all the mainland fairs as well I have decided to post a selection of some of my favorite works and there is a complete list of fair with links and some more slide shows at the end of this blog.

From Art Basel: