Kaleidoscope Art & Music Festival at the Palmdale Amphiteater – Call for Artists

The City of Palmdale is extending an invitation to a brand new arts event, Kaleidoscope, and reaching out with a call to artists:

The City of Palmdale is pleased to announce we are seeking artisan applications for our inaugural Kaleidoscope event that will be held on Saturday, October 8 2016 at the Palmdale Amphitheater. 

 Kaleidoscope is a unique art show of exhibitors who create original artwork, providing an opportunity for the general public to learn, enjoy and appreciate art and culture. To meet this purpose, Kaleidoscope is open to all artists as a place for the presentation and sale of their original, creative designs and work.

 To participate in this unique event, please complete the Kaleidoscope Application and Agreement (Artisan Application Agreement Final) and mail by September 22, 2016 to:

Recreation & Culture

Attn: Annie Pagliaro

38260 10th Street East

Palmdale, CA 93550

As you can see, the application is included here (just click the link above) and more details are available at the Palmdale Amphitheater website. Those details include booth fees and a description of what the directors of the event are looking for from artists.

The folks behind Kaleidoscope are casting a wide net, inviting participation from those “who work in blown glass, jewelry, printmaking, ceramics, leather, sculpture, clothing and textiles, mixed media, woodwork, fused glass, painting, illustration, photography and other forms of art.” So, if you make something and make it well, it seems like you’re invited. An especially interesting part of the concept for this event is its approach to the artistic process.

As part of each artist’s presentation, Kaleidoscope is asking for video, photo or other background material on the art and artist that will serve as “a demonstration of an essential element of the art/craft.” That little twist might make for a very interesting and engaging exhibition.

Live music is also part of the plan. Actually, the subtitle of the event is “Art & Music Festival,” so music is a big part of the plan. There is a nice article about the Kaleidoscope event over at AV Today with information on the bands that will be performing.

Oh, also, there will be beer. And food too, but, yes, Craft Beer.

So, spread the word. There is a booth fee to participate, as mentioned, but sales are encouraged and the actual event will be a free admission event.

This could be a really good thing.

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AV Arts Convo – Pottery and Paintings by tjCervantes

AV Arts Convo – Pottery and Paintings by tjCervantes

Presenting artwork and an interview with tjCervantes

SATURATION 2.0: The Arts in Conversation project at Antelope Valley Arts is an ongoing, weekly publishing series: Local artists (painters, poets, photographers, fiction writers) have been invited to submit art and partake in a conversation on artistic influence and inspiration as the print arm of Antelope Valley Arts goes digital.

The conversation today turns to thoughts on collaboration, inspiration and the poetry of pottery in an interview with artist tjCervantes. Working across a number of media, notably uber-creative pottery, tjCervantes always finds a way to bring the whimsy of the Fantastic into her work, evoking the magic of mythology and the charm of fairy tales in pottery and paintings that reach back to the elfin and elemental sensibilities of the Middle English. In these works tjCervantes gives meaning to the idea that art is kind of “dreaming out loud.”

But she is not doing it alone.

tjCervantes mentions an ongoing collaborative project with Marthe Aponte in her interview and some works from that collaboration are included here.

And now, on with the show…

Is there a certain emotional valence or emotional register that characterizes your work?

My artwork is characterized by the human emotion in a way that is both satirical and whimsical. I am a lover of fantasy, and like most storytellers, it is about the human condition.

I am a lover of moons, and nature, and a good story that will make me laugh, and make me think. Mostly, it’s about laughter, and that we are all in this together.

I love elegance in a morbid and surreal way. So the gods and goddesses show that side of me, as do my bugs that I am just developing. A collaboration is in the works with Marthe Aponte and I to show entomology at it finest.  I have done a few insects with watercolor, but Marthe’s picote gives so much elegance to the insects that I feel there will be more to come.  Three are finished already!

My gods and goddesses masks, moons, even the skeletons dancing on the cups show that whimsical,  satirical side. This affects everyone. They say, “oh, that reminds me of my brother, my friend’s child, or it just gives them a good feeling.

Who or what are your major artistic influences?

I studied to be an illustrator, and I am a lover of a good fantasy. Combined with my love of pottery, I want my pottery to tell the story of a fantasy with moons talking, gods and goddesses pleasantly ruling in all their majesty, skeletons dancing, and insects and animals are having parties and weddings all by the light of the moon.  Yes, I am a dreamer, and dreams do come true!

My major influencers are from the past, Rene Magritte, he has been my life long influencer. One major influencer from the present is Kit Williams, who is an illustrator of a most fun type of book for adults and children. His book, Masquerade, is one of my favorites. And in pottery, I just found Kurt Weiss, who illustrates wonderful surreal scenes around wonderfully misshapen pottery that he has formed.

There are two people that stand out as catalysts for me to become a potter and an artist. Rich Sim is one. He taught me pottery and motivated me to go on to college to finish my degree in art. He is the only one that was my formal teacher of ceramics. And my dear, long time friend, Debra Bridgman., if it wasn’t for her, I would have been an accountant, lol. She encouraged me to take art classes in college with her. I am not sure I would have taken any art classes if it weren’t for her.  

There are really so many more people and things that influence me. My friends have especially influenced me. We bounce ideas off of one another, and critique our artwork together.  

And if it wasn’t for the current art scene, I am not sure I would have done the amount of art or met my artist friends that I do art with. The art crowd in the Antelope Valley is so enthusiastic to help other people show their art. The Sagebrush Café and MOAH are doing an exceptional job of putting current artwork and local artwork out to the public. Thank you, Eric Martin, Andi Campognone, and Robert Benitez for influencing me, and all of us artists in the Antelope Valley and beyond, to share our art!

And today’s world is what drives me to share my art to the public.

Since retiring six years ago, to become an artist, in the professional sense of the word, I started learning how to market my artwork online. Today, we can embrace the Internet and potentially the world.  The art world has become so huge, art abounds. And we can influence the world with our art. I am my own teacher now, and learning and loving every minute.

Take a look at the latest from tjCervantes and see what she has on offer in these places: 

• She is making a blog with niume.
• Website
• Etsy
• Twitter
• Facebook

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More from the AV Arts Convo

• Poetry by Tino Garcia
• Poetry and Art by Edwin Vasquez
• Poetry by Hollie N. Martin
• Mixed Media Art by Julie O’Sullivan
• Photography by Douglas Paul Wade
• Painting and Collage by AJ Currado
• Museology by Larissa Nickel
• Pop Artist Micheal Jones

AV Arts Convo – pop artist Michael Jones

AV Arts Convo – pop artist Michael Jones

Presenting Pop Artist Michael Jones

SATURATION 2.0: The Arts in Conversation project at Antelope Valley Arts is an ongoing, weekly publishing series: Local artists (painters, poets, photographers, fiction writers) have been invited to submit art and partake in a conversation on artistic influence and inspiration as the print arm of Antelope Valley Arts goes digital.

Michael Jones, an exciting young pop artist whose vibrant colors and iconic images make his work timely and powerful. Michael’s positive message art created under street name Dream Bigger works to change the inner city dialogue of anger and hopelessness.

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Who is your favorite visual artist? How does he or she influence your work?

My favorite Artist is Basquiat aka Samo, his work inspires me because he wasn’t afraid to do what he wanted.
One of the most original and influential artists of his generation, Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 – 1988) produced deceptively unsophisticated-looking works that belied a complex and unique talent. Born in Brooklyn of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, Basquiat first gained notoriety with graffiti artwork. He catapulted to fame with paintings that incorporated a fusion of words, symbols, stick figures, animals, and historical and cultural references. Befriended by Andy Warhol, Basquiat collaborated with the renowned Pop Artist on 100 artworks. Despite a career tragically cut short by a heroin overdose, Basquiat introduced the unique African-American and Latino experience to the elite art world.

Is there a certain emotional valence or emotional register that characterizes your work?
 

Yes I would say happy haha Most of my art is bright, with bold colors. I want to portray happiness on canvas threw colors if that makes any sense at all.The art to losing yourself in life, is to first love yourself and appreciate the beauty of your place in the world.

 

More from the AV Arts Convo

• Poetry by Tino Garcia
• Poetry and Art by Edwin Vasquez
• Poetry by Hollie N. Martin
• Mixed Media Art by Julie O’Sullivan
• Photography by Douglas Paul Wade
• Painting and Collage by AJ Currado
• Museology by Larissa Nickel

AV Arts Convo: Museology by Larissa Nickel

AV Arts Convo – featuring museology – art, design and display – by Larissa Nickel

Presenting Museology – Art, Design and Display – by Larissa Nickel

SATURATION 2.0: The Arts in Conversation project at Antelope Valley Arts is an ongoing, weekly publishing series: Local artists (painters, poets, photographers, fiction writers) have been invited to submit art and partake in a conversation on artistic influence and inspiration as the print arm of Antelope Valley Arts goes digital.

Museology is a term that Larissa Nickel uses as part of her description of what she is up to as an artist, what she is looking at and looking through.

I create works and collective projects that address the museology process as more than just a container of materialism, but also as a conceptual space with performative qualities that activates object theatre and expressive curiosity.

A long time advocate for local artists, Nickel is a professor and museum scholar with ties to KCET through arts projects like Hinterculture that emphasize a creative and ecologically-sound relationship between locals and the local landscape. In an article for KCET, Nickel quotes artist David Hockney describing “the process of looking” as a focal interest in the creative experience, as well as the experience of viewing art. Nickel’s museology approach is seems bound up with this notion of “the process of looking” and so becomes as complexly intellectual as it is frankly aesthetic.

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Who is your favorite writer? How does he or she influence your work?

I don’t necessarily have a favorite writer, but there is a common literary thread in theme and device that is influential in my work. Specifically narrative and storytelling concepts such as nonsense literature and the visual/sound devices in Alice in Wonderland, and the wider genre of science fiction such as Frankenstein or Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer have influenced my work including ideas in bioengineering, and nanotechnology. I love magical realism such as Love in the Time of Cholera, and recurring issues of utopia/dystopia which have been in my work for some time. My projects and research on the utopian/dystopian community of Llano del Rio, and dystopian/utopia of illegal dumping in the eco-art project DEHSART (trashed backwards) address our preconceived ideas and the speculative future of these nonsensical binaries.

Who or what are your major artistic influences?

Life is probably the biggest influence, but that can be considered more specifically as the transdiciplinary reach of the arts and humanities. Art, design, philosophy, literature, music, science, film, architecture, new media, etc are all influential factors as well as curiosity, memory, and my muse the museum. Theorists such as Donna Haraway, and Elizabeth Grosz, have weighed on my ideas in many ways, as well as aesthetic and conceptual connections with the visual art practice of Hannah Wilke, Louise Nevelson, and Marcel Duchamp. The history of technology, and the cabinet of curiosities are things I am constantly wondering about, as are mapping, surveillance, and theories of place/identity such as in Lucy Lippard’s critique and explorations. I’m also engaged in the hybridized identity of artist, curator, educator, and activist and how those entities coalesce and divide in our evolution, and ethics as yet another approach to understanding/influencing our future selves.

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Keep up with Larissa Nickel and find out more at her website – larissanickel.com.

More from the AV Arts Convo

• Poetry by Tino Garcia
• Poetry and Art by Edwin Vasquez
• Poetry by Hollie N. Martin
• Mixed Media Art by Julie O’Sullivan
• Photography by Douglas Paul Wade
• Painting and Collage by AJ Currado

 

AV Arts Convo: Painting and Mixed Media Work by AJ Currado

AV Arts Convo – featuring painting and mixed media work by AJ Currado

Presenting Painting and Mixed Media Work by AJ Currado

SATURATION 2.0: The Arts in Conversation project at Antelope Valley Arts is an ongoing, weekly publishing series. Local artists (painters, poets, photographers, fiction writers) have been invited to submit art and partake in a conversation on artistic influence and inspiration as the print arm of Antelope Valley Arts goes digital.

Painter AJ Currado has described herself as “creating little villages of art” and she has certainly had a hand in doing that off the canvas as well. A youth art teacher substantially inspired by travel, Currado is also a founding editor at SATURATION: Antelope Valley Arts Publication. Back in 2011, Currado helped to launch an annual series of print volumes showcasing the prose, poetry, painting, drawing and wit of local artists (and at this very moment that project moving into the digital space).

Even as she looks to help others shine, Currado has herself continued to grow as an artist, winning awards, embarking on projects of increasing scope, and pushing herself into new areas of expression. Currado’s work will be on exhibit at the MOAH juried show in June and at MOAH Cedar’s LVAG show in July-August. Seek out her work. You’ll be glad you did.

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Who is your favorite writer? How does he or she influence your work?

GK Chesterton is one of my favorites. He explores everyday life with an optimistic twist, leading from content seemingly fluffy and cleverly twisting it into some thousand pound gem. I love his optimism and cheerful sobriety.
I like to think that I achieve something similar in my painting. Anything on face value can be simplistic, but you have to pause and think a moment to get at humor or depth. I present simple imagery in my paintings but I see them as portals to an immense web of ideas. A stack of books is not merely a stack of books, it is the thirst for knowledge being simultaneously satisfied and unquenchable. It is achievement in educational goals. It is preparation for travel. It is centuries of humanity past. It is the unending landscape of adventure inside the mind.

What artist or writer from the past would you most like to meet and why?

Vincent van Gogh. My work is nothing like his but I’ve always loved his style and been intrigued by him as a person. I admire his tenacity to keep working and creating so many beautiful paintings with so much pain in his life and so little encouragement. He is a maverick. I was fortunate enough to go to the south of France this past year and spend some time in Arles where van Gogh lived and worked for many years. The terrain is rugged and really inspiring, even in the winter. Easy to see why he painted the area.

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Track AJ Currado down at her website – www.ajcurrado.com.

More from the AV Arts Convo

• Poetry by Tino Garcia
• Poetry and Art by Edwin Vasquez
• Poetry by Hollie N. Martin
• Mixed Media Art by Julie O’Sullivan
• Photography by Douglas Paul Wade

 

 

AV Arts Convo: Photography by Douglas Paul Wade

AV Arts Convo – featuring photography by Douglas Paul Wade

Presenting photography by Douglas Paul Wade

SATURATION 2.0: The Arts in Conversation project at Antelope Valley Arts is an ongoing, weekly publishing series: Local artists (painters, poets, photographers, fiction writers) have been invited to submit art and partake in a conversation on artistic influence and inspiration as the print arm of Antelope Valley Arts goes digital.

This week we are excited to showcase the work of Douglas Paul Wade. President of the Lancaster Photography Association (LPA) and chairperson of the Antelope Valley Fair Photography Exhibit, Wade is active both in getting his own work out there and in helping other artists find an audience too. On his website, Wade describes himself as “Striving to become GREAT at photography! Wanting bigger things in life, dreams of them often. Loves when the inner kid takes control.” There is quite a bit more to say about Douglas Paul Wade, but let’s let him and his work to the talking from here.

I got a chance to photograph the very beautiful #Claudette

 

Who is your favorite visual artist? How does he or she influence your work?

As a photographer, I favor the work of many masters, such as Irving Penn (Entertainer Portraiture), Man Ray (Fine Artist), J. H. Lartigue (Fashion, Motion). Some more modern masters, such as Arno Rafael Minkkinen (Fine Artist), Clarence Sinclair Bull (Portrait), Jerry N. Uelsmann (Fine Artist) and Keith Carter (Fine Artist).

I prefer more often black and white over color images. I believe it is better at telling a story and invoke an emotional response.

 

Sol

Ballerinas at Disney Concert Hall

What artist do you currently find yourself talking about most often and why?

I spend more time talking to my peers, such as James Poynor, Juan Roberts, and Kathleen Blacklock to find out what they see in their images and their post processes.

Who or what are your major artistic influences?

I love to read and view images of non-photographers, as painters in all kinds of media. To be a better a photographer, I should not study photographers but rather museum presented artists.

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Catch up with Douglas Paul Wade and find out more about his work at douglaspaulwade.com.

More from SATURATION 2.0 – the AV Arts Convo 

• Poetry by Tino Garcia
• Poetry & Art by Edwin Vasquez
• Poetry by Hollie N. Martin
• Mixed Media Photography by Julie O’Sullivan

 

AV Arts Convo: Mixed Media Art by Julie O’Sullivan

The AV ArtConvo – featuring art by Julie O’Sullivan.

Presenting Mixed Media Art by Julie O’Sullivan

SATURATION 2.0: The Arts in Conversation project at Antelope Valley Arts is an ongoing, weekly publishing series: Local artists (painters, poets, photographers, fiction writers) have been invited to submit art and partake in a conversation on artistic influence and inspiration as the print arm of Antelope Valley Arts goes digital.

Julie O’Sullivan is our featured artist this week, showcasing a playful and colorful sensibility. O’Sullivan is an active presence on the Antelope Valley arts scene, showing work and winning prizes and hashing out new ideas along the way. This dynamic and sweet-hearted artist brings a little madness to her method and the results, in turn, are dynamic and sweet-hearted, lively and engaging.

Who or what are your major artistic influences?

Miro’, hands down. Love him, though, in high school I was a die-hard Andy Warhol fan. I wanted to be Edie Sedgewick. When I moved to NYC I stalked his factory and tried to breath the same air he breathed. Loved him. Now that I have seen his work not only in museums, but in people’s houses, I feel I have moved on. It will always be there influencing me in the back of my mind but I am so ingrained in abstract art that if I could meet one artist in all time it would be Miro’.

What artist do you currently find yourself talking about most often and why?

Local artists Marthe Aponte and Geoffrey Levitt. I met them when they were starting out and look at where they are now in the matter of a few of years! I love how they have evolved and seek inspiration in their advancement from beginning artists to emerging artist, artists to watch. I think they have greater things ahead for them. I will forever be a fan of Miro’ and Lurcat. I am terribly inspired by them and had the great pleasure of visiting both of their studios.

How does music influence, shape or fit into your work?

It used to influence it greatly, especially during my celestial series. I would pull up Pandora and paint to new adult alternative artists. I will forever be a fan of Parov Steller and Wax Tailor. They always inspire me to paint openly, they seem to open up my third eye. Through Pandora I found a whole new line-up of international artists. I always paint well to Beruit, they are very calming. The lead singer sounds a lot like David Byrne from the Talking Heads. David has a special place in my heart. Chvrches has an entirely different mood and when I am feeling a bit off I pull that Pandora station up for a listen. Then there is Vampire Weekend, Phoenix and Ratatat for when I am in the “designing” mood. These are bands I would have worked to in architecture school and now work to when I paint cityscapes. Bjork is a long time influence. Love her and her daring to be unique. When I listen to her I feel her mood. I love to paint feelings, such is the life of an abstract artist. A song by Wild Belle, called “Keep You” is one I play over and over. That YouTube Video just hits me for some reason. I am haunted by it. I feel it is like the child within a man that you can never keep.

 

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Catch up with Antelope Valley Artist Julie O’Sullivan at her website.

More from the AV Arts Blog Convo

• Poetry by Tino Garcia
• Poetry and Art by Edwin Vasquez
• Poetry by Hollie Martin

 

CEDARFEST Juried Arts Festival – June 11

Event: CEDARFEST juried arts festival at the MOAH facilities in downtown Lancaster, California. Saturday, June 11.

This event brings artists of the region together to show the varieties of artistic talent that calls the desert home. The opening reception for this show, which is kind of a big deal, in on Saturday, June 11.

There are certain events that tend to show just how many artists there are in the Antelope Valley and the surrounding area – – and it is a sizable group. But maybe because artists so often busy themselves making art, if you aren’t paying close attention it can be easy to forget or just not realize how much art is going on here.

This yearly event can be a corrective to that forgetting.

The Lancaster Museum of Art & History (MOAH) and MOAH:CEDAR are hosting the 31st Annual All-Media Juried Arts Festival, CEDARFEST, from Saturday, June 11 to Saturday, July 16. The festival and opening reception will be held on Saturday, June 11 from 4 to 8 PM.

One of last years’ prize winners was Marthe Aponte, an artist featured here. The CEDARFEST helped to launch Aponte into showing all over the place, both in the Antelope Valley and in Los Angeles. Who knows what will happen for this year’s winners…?

Paris: A Living Fantasy – a photography exhibit featuring the works of Hannah Wilson

Event: Paris: A Living Fantasy – a photography exhibit featuring the works of Hannah Wilson

Location: Sagebrush Cafe | Opening Reception: Saturday April 30

Hannah Wilson is showing photographic works at Sagebrush Cafe in Quartz Hill. Those of you with keen eyes and extended attention spans will remember that Wilson has been featured on the AV Arts Blog in the past under a different name – Darla Dear.

Back in 2012, we caught up with Wilson for a little interview and we thought we’d dust it off now to celebrate her new show of photos. In the intervening few years, Wilson took her camera and moved to France.

If you would like to meet-and-greet and pick the brain of this Parisian-American, Sagebrush Cafe will be hosting an opening reception for the new show on Saturday, April 30th at 5 p.m.

 

A Few Questions for Darla Dear

Hannah Wilson is an Antelope Valley native who has taken her camera, her sensibilities and her computer to Long Beach where she studies and produces a blog on fashion and fine art. Her blog and Etsy page go under the name Darla Dear and you can find a link to her page on our side-bar here at AV Arts Blog.

 I had a chance to interview Wilson about her new blog and her inspirations. 

Darla Dear Fine Art Photography & Design  |  Interview

 

What films, if any, have inspired or informed your photography (your aesthetic)?

The french film Amelie is not only one of my favorite films, it has inspired my photography greatly.  Aside from being really entertaining and quirky, every single shot in the film is art.

What inspires me most directly is the use of color.  I’m pretty sure that every single frame in the entire film contains the same distinct shades of deep red, green, and golden yellow. Seriously, the next time you watch that movie, look for the colors!  I very rarely take photographs in black and white, I love color too much.

 

Are there any favorite…objects, places, people, types of people, landscapes, cities, times of day…to photograph?  

My favorite time of day to photograph is when the sun is beginning to set, when the light turns golden.  The warmth and the indirectness of the sunlight at this time of day make everything look more beautiful.  My preferred subjects are nature or inanimate objects.

I tend to shy away from portraiture, probably because photography is more of a personal creative outlet for me, and interacting with another person takes away that element.

Where does the name Darla Dear come from?

In a small way, I chose Darla Dear because I used to know an amazing woman named Darla who influenced my life in a positive way.  I also chose it because I thought it would make a very whimsical pseudonym for me, as the photographer.

Jasmine Delgado: Mapping Los Angeles @ Antelope Valley College Gallery

Showing at the Antelope Valley College Gallery: Mapping Los Angeles

Jasmine Delgado: Mapping Los Angeles

February 24 – March 25, 2016

Reception:  Wednesday, March 9, 2016 7–8:30 P.M.

Describing herself as “a printmaker, educator, consumer and self proclaimed visual historian living and working in Los Angeles,” Jasmine Delgado is now showing work from a new project at the Antelope Valley College Gallery in Lancaster.

Her Mapping Los Angeles project is a brightly colored, sometimes psychedelic, sometimes decoratively styled, sometimes graffiti- and graphic arts-influenced collection of perspectives on the LA region, its landmarks and its neighborhoods. The grit and the history of Los Angeles are focal to the project as Delgado captures old hotels and local fast-food restaurants in ways that show how lasting the impact of the 1950s SoCal heyday is in LA.

The past is alive in the city of shadows. In this series, that past is presented in all its contradictory vibrance and decay as part of the contemporary landscape.

From the AVC Gallery page:

Los Angeles is a complicated network of neighborhoods, streets, alleys and freeways. Enthralled by the vibrant sights and sounds of the Los Angeles signage, architecture and iconography, Jasmine Delgado acts as a visual historian to document the strip malls, liquor stores, carnicería and machine shops that fill the landscape and provide colorful components of a complex metropolis constantly in flux. Ever since Delgado pulled her first print at a local community college in 1993, she’s been a diehard printmaker. Inspired by the generosity of working in multiples, her work evolved to include the language of spray paint, stencil and fabric to illustrate the impermanence of the LA urban landscape.