ARTCETRA

COMPILED BY JUN STARKEY | COURTESY PHOTO

Local teacher judges young authors, artists showcase

The winners of the Santa Barbara – Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities 2023 Young Artist and Authors Showcase – an annual art contest for students countywide – were honored last week. The poetry portion of the competition was judged by Carpinteria resident Alicia Sorkin, a retired high school teacher and board member of the Santa Barbara Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities committee, and Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Melinda Palacio.

The theme of this year’s competition was “Peace by Piece: Food Security in My Community.” The 2023 poetry winners included “Peace in the Garden” by Ryan Calkins in first place, “I am an Oak Tree” by Brock Mitchell in second place and “Counting Pennies” by Penelope Welsh in third place.

“Alta California: from San Diego to San Francisco, a Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State” by Nick Neely

With the sun out (well perhaps not this week, but soon and again) and much talk of super blooms in California, I turn your attention to a 2019 non-fiction travel guide of the southern half of the Golden State. “Alta California: from San Diego to San Francisco, a journey on foot to rediscover the Golden State” by Nick Neely is a wonderful tale of traveling the state on foot over a period of twelve weeks. He followed the 650-mile route of the first Spanish expedition in 1769; that route would become what we call El Camino Real. Neely writes about natural and human history and covers several current topics we grapple with such as water, oil, immigration, development and agriculture.

I have a penchant for slow travel, in the vein of Bill Bryson or Cheryl Strayed. When traveling on foot, alone, one cannot help but encounter people in a way like no other. The slow travel also allows lots of time for reflection. This title is available from the Carpinteria Community Library in print and audio and electronic format and is also available as a Book Club in a Bag option.

For those interested in more information, see the new Hiking and Cycling the California Missions Trail guide book, which was made possible through a grant from our local Santa Barbara County Trails Council.

Carpinteria Community Library card holders have access to the many State Parks passes available for one week checkout. These passes will get you into day use areas of almost every State Park in California and can be a money saver as you explore our beautiful state this summer and fall.

––Jody Thomas, Carpinteria Community Library librarian

Shepard’s process has been described as akin to jazz, sometimes transcribing what came to him, sometimes collaborative, and later writing out 12 plays to find the one he was looking for. Perhaps the genius is in the seductiveness of the relentless and ruthless search for understanding embodied in Shepard’s work, to the point that we don’t care what is true – we feel it. Pair Greenfield’s biography with some of Shepard’s work like a collection of plays, “Motel Chronicles,” “Day Out of Days,” or “Cruising Paradise” and then dip into a film or many, including the documentary “Shepard and Dark.”

––Giti White, Friends of the Carpinteria Library volunteer

CVN Reads

“Where Yellow Flowers Bloom” by Kim Cantin

CVN photographer Robin Karlsson is reading “Where the Yellow Flowers Bloom” by Kim Cantin, a memoir that covers the devastating 1/9 mudslides in Montecito, California. Cantin lost her husband, her son and their family dog in the Jan. 9, 2018, mudslides, when their home was buried in mud; in her memoir, she details the events leading up to and following the disaster. (Published April 2023; 306 pages)

“Invasion of the Spirit People” by Juan Pablo Villalobos

CVN Sports Editor Ryan P. Cruz is reading “Invasion of the Spirit People” by Juan Pablo Villalobos. The author’s fifth novel focuses on an immigrant, Gastón, in an unnamed city that is being occupied by an unnamed world power; the tale covers Gastón’s quest and discovery for the truth. (Published 2020; 224 pages)

Homesick For Another World” by Ottessa Moshfegh

The judge for the art portion of the competition was Michael Long, a Santa Barbara artist, art teacher and arts coordinator with Studio 121. Winning artists included Leighton Willow Smith in first place, April Harper in second place and Sebastian Cadwell in third place. Winning submissions from Puerto Vallarta included Melany Nicole Joya Rodriguez in first place, Viviana Vasquez Romero in second place and Amara Estefania Coria Garcia in third place.

The competition was open to students ages 13 to 18. Winners each received cash prizes depending on their placement – $250 for first place, $150 for second place and $100 for third place.

Arts and Crafts Faire: May 6

Artists throughout Carpinteria will be selling their works at the Arts and Crafts Faire at the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center on Saturday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 865 Linden Ave.

Local artists will display a wide range of items, such as ceramics, jewelry, photography, woodworking and more. There will also be a community craft table put up by HopeNet of Carpinteria in honor of Mental Health Month in May. See more at carpinteriaartscenter.org.

Artists Studio Tour scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend

Approximately 23 local artists will participate in the 16th annual free Carpinteria & Summerland Artists Studio Tour on Mother’s Day Weekend at the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center. This year’s tour is scheduled for May 13 and May 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 865 Linden Ave.

This will be the first studio tour since 2019; a few artists who will be featured in the tour include Susie and Benjamin Anderson, Patricia Houghton Clarke, Jayne Burton and Arturo Tello. See more at carpinteriaartscenter.org.

“True West: Sam Shepard’s Life, Work, and Times”

by Robert Greenfield

Robert

Greenfield’s biography

“True West: Sam Shepard’s Life, Work, and Times” is a fascinating and sometimes frustrating read for an unabashed

CVN Assistant Editor Jun Starkey is reading “Homesick for Another World” by Ottessa Moshfegh, a collection of 14 short stories about the unsettling nature of humanity. (Published January 2017; 304 pages)