Lompoc & SYV Arts - July 2020

Lompoc & santa ynez valley JULY 2020

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS NatureTrack

The Cypress Gallery - LVAA 119 E Cypress Ave, Lompoc p. 805-737-1129 www.lompocart.org

Fostering a lifelong fascina on with nature

PO Box 953, Los Olivos p. 805-886-2047 sue@naturetrack.org www.naturetrack.org

Elverhøj Museum of History & Art

Standing Sun Winery

Gallery Los Olivos

Sugarless Treats, non-fattening jewelry and glass

1624 Elverhoy Way, Solvang p. 805-686-1211 info@elverhoj.org www.elverhoj.org

2920 Grand Ave, Los Olivos p. 805-688-7517 gallerylosolivos@gmail.com www.gallerylosolivos.com

Lompoc Mural Society PO Box 2813, Lompoc p. 805-733-4282 www.lompocmurals.com

Lompoc Theater Project p. 805-380-6777 info@lompoctheatre.org

Vicki Andersen

www.vickiandersen.com

92 2nd St - Unit D, Buellton p. 805-904-8072 john@standingsunwines.com www.standingsunwines.com

Joellen Chrones p. 805-588-2261

Wildling Museum of Art & Nature 1511-B Mission Dr, Solvang p. 805-688-1082 info@wildlingmuseum.org www.wildlingmuseum.org

T&T Local Artisans Enterprise p. 805-680-8911 laegallery@gmail.com

Neil Andersson

www.neilandersson.com

The Lompoc Valley Art Association is closely monitoring the outbreak of corona virus and have as our top priority the health and safety of our visitors to the Cypress Gallery, artists, and our community. We are taking steps to comply with all mandates from our health officials. Please check our Facebook page often as things are changing swiftly. We will post updates in regards to our events and exhibits as they unveil.

Check out the Lompoc Valley Art Association Website at www.LompocArt.org

SUBSCRIBE HERE to MONTHLY eZINE

We are proud to count non-profit organizations and businesses as community partner members.

Together, we advocate for each other, local artists, and collaborate on projects to create an enriching environment for the Arts Community within Lompoc and the Santa Ynez Valley.

Then COVID-19 hit and the world as we know it changed, but the mission of NatureTrack has not.

virtual hikes and activities that motivate kids to get outside, when and where it's safe, to explore nature in their own "backyard".

We all have been "Called-to-Action" these last few months; NatureTrack is no exception. When future generations look back at 2020 they will find our commitment to the students and the environment never waivered.

I didn't know nature could be that FUN!!!

3rd grader, Los Berros Elementary

Artist Chat: Elizabeth Monks Hack

July Featured Artist: Claudette Carlson Lompoc Valley Art Association

Gallery Los Olivos

Lompoc Mural Society

Fostering a today, lifelong fascination with nature Your donation will help us "track" by film or field into tomorrow!

Visit us online at: www.wildlingmuseum.

By the way, come "track" with us; volunteer and enjoy nature like never before.

NatureTrack

Wildling Museum of Art & Nature

Wildling Art at Home Upcycling: Toilet Paper Tubes

At the Wildling Museum, we love finding new ways to create art while being a good neighbor to the environment. Making art as a family can be as easy as recycling everyday household items and using found materials to create something new.

SOLVANG

LOMPOC Cypress Gallery Featured Artists (July & August) Artist Chat Trish Campbell - Artist Lompoc Mural Society

years of exhibitions during our 2 In the meantime, keep following on social media for more # moments. We look forward to w the Wildling again soon!

Wildling Museum of Art & Nature LOS OLIVOS

This month, we’re transforming old toilet paper tubes into feathered owls! All you need is a toilet paper roll, colored construction paper, scissors, glue, and googly eyes (or drawing supplies to make your own). Watch our video for a step-by-step guide to get started.

Gallery Los Olivos NatureTrack & NatureTrack Film Festival

For more, visit: www.wildlingmuseum.org/virtual-visit

Coming Soon | 20/20: A Retrospective The Wildling Museum is now in the final stages of preparing for re-opening. When the time comes, we will be requiring all visitors to wear masks, per County guidelines, and to protect you, our staff and volunteers, until the threat of Covid-19 has passed. Our own Julie Mock has been making beautiful fabric masks that you can look forward to purchasing in our store—and we will have disposable ones as well. We hope to announce an opening date soon.

ON THE COVER

When you visit, you’ll be able to enjoy our newest exhibition, 20/20: A Retrospective. It’s our tribute to 20

Elizabeth Monk, The Road Home Member of the Lompoc Valley Art Association.

All Artwork and Photos shown remain the sole property of the artist.

No reproductions are permitted without express permission from the Lompoc Valley Art Association and/or the artist.

Lompoc Valley Art Association 119 E. Cypress Ave Lompoc, CA 93436 805.737.1129

The Lompoc Valley Art Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, supporting the arts within the Lompoc & Santa Ynez Valley through affordable opportunities for artists to show and sell artwork, collaborations with non-profits and businesses on programs and events, investment in higher education for high school art students through scholarships, and a variety of outreach avenues, such as this digital arts magazine, that bring greater awareness to the cultural heart beat of the area.

Vicki Andersen vickiandersen.com My work can be seen at:

Cypress Gallery, 119 E. Cypress Ave., Lompoc, CA Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos, CA Alexander& Wayne/Arthur Earl wine tasting rooms, 2922 Grand Ave., LosOlivos, CA My studio by appointment -(805)588-3459 Follow me on:

Instagram - @vickiangelo Facebook - @VickiAndersenArt

CYPRESS GALLERY FEATURED ARTIST CLAUDETTE CARLTON

Buffalo Love

Princeville Dawn

Cypress Gallery's July Featured Artist Claudette Carlton "Variety in Watercolor" July 2–July 26, 2020

For over 30 years, Claudette has worked with line drawings and sketches until she retired from teaching junior high History and English for 21 years. Retirement meant more free time and she decided that she wanted to learn to put some color to her drawings. “ I was blessed to find a watercolor class at Alan Hancock College. That was exciting; maybe this ol’ granny could learn to paint and follow in the footsteps of Grandma Moses. I’ve been painting ever since!

Several years ago, I joined the Lompoc Valley Art Association. I figured that must be the next step; get my art hanging somewhere other than in mine or my relatives’ homes.

And that’s been another blessing, to be able to associate with talented artists and help make art known to our community. I feel privileged to see my pictures on the wall of the Cypress Gallery, and it’s always rewarding when a patron likes one of my pieces enough to want to take it home!”

Claudette’s show, “Variety in Watercolor” is a time to take a risk as a relatively new artist and let the community see her beautiful work.

Claudette Carlton lives in Lompoc with her husband, Bob, also a retired teacher. They are both active in their church and teach Bible studies. They have four married children, 13 grandchildren and two great grand babies.

Before she became a classroom teacher, Claudette taught vocal music for the Goleta School District and gave private lessons. She is currently Secretary for the LVAA. She also exhibits her paintings at the T & T Artisans Gallery in Los Alamos. You can reach her at cfcarltonart@gmail.com and visit her website at cfcarltonart.com.

Sunset Bird

Neil Andersson landscape paintings

"San Pedro Creek" oil on canvas 22" x 28"

neilandersson.com neil@neilandersson.com gallerylosolivos.com lompocart.org

jeffreymoosegallery.com americanartco.com

CYPRESS GALLERY FEATURED ARTIST CHRISTINE JESZECK

Cypress Gallery's August Featured Artist Christine Jeszeck "Pigment of my Imagination" August, 2020

Chris' earliest memory of creating art goes back to about 5 years old, with a "Learn to Draw with John Gnagy" drawing kit. "I still have a couple of the drawings I did as a child, documented with the date by my mother. I treasure them because they transport me to a simple time in my life when I was so eager to learn. I still am, in fact, the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know much of anything!"

Chris took a few art classes in school as electives and always enjoyed drawing and painting over the years, but it wasn't until a few years ago, after retiring, that she really delved into art more intently. "I've taken many classes in person and online, and I collect and sometimes actually read art instruction books. I love to experiment with different mediums and that experimentation lead to my fascination with fluid art."

Though Chris thoroughly enjoys the realism obtained with pencils and oil paints, it's the abstraction of fluid art and it's melding with realism that has really piqued her interest of late. "That fascination is mercurial...I have a love-hate relationship with fluid art. It's a messy process and I often tell myself I'm done with it, but I'm lured back by the possibility of creating something unique and beautiful, that can be carried a step further by enhancing with whatever subject I feel like painting."

Her goal is always to get the viewer to take a closer look, to see the humor or beauty that lies beneath the initial look.

"Hopefully they can connect on some level with my art and walk away with either a treasure of their own, or at least a smile."

ELIZABETH MONKS HACK ARTIST CHAT

The Cypress Gallery "Artist Chat" articles feature members of the Lompoc Valley Art Association in each eZine.

The Old Theatre at Sunset, oil on canvas, 2015

Small Town Facade, oil on canvas, 2008

5 QUESTIONS What has been an important experience for you in your development as an artist?

My artistic development has been such a slow brew that to pinpoint one experience as significant takes some thought.

Art making is an accumulation of experience and inspiration. Was it the Vermeer show in Washington DC in the dead of winter, 1996, between a government shutdown and a blizzard? Yes, that was significant. Somehow in high school I discovered Vermeer. I still possess a little book on the artist given to me by my father. I chose The Lacemaker to copy in oil for my senior art project. It was universally admired, even though it looked like a lobster clawing at some krill. That trip to the National Art Gallery was daunting – the airplane fare, finding sitters for our children, worrying whether the government would have the museum open that day, waiting in long lines in the snow at 6 AM for tickets – but once inside, all was transformed by the beauty and stillness of Vermeer’s art. Rooms of it. I’m still chasing after his quietude and elegance.

What do you feel is core to your work as an artist?

For some reason unbeknown to me I have always been attracted to structure. My personality isn’t exactly rigid, my house isn’t particularly tidy, and I struggle with being on time, but in art I prefer symmetry, balance, and order. Core to my work are the geometries found in nature, and the artificial perspective of the picture plane. That is the springboard for me – that is where I look for the meaning and intent of the piece. I can appreciate a wide variety of styles in art, including art practice that looks like a hot mess, but abstract free-flowing art making is almost impossible for me now. I have old drawings that prove otherwise, but those days are gone, unfortunately.

How has your practice changed over time?

I attempted to be a figurative artist at one point early on, with the goal of setting life-size people in interiors to scale. At the time I was busy working as an art teacher and a busy mom. The models were myself and my family. I was not desperate to market my work and did next to none of that. Hence I now have some enormous paintings stacked against my studio wall and rolled up under the eaves. Over time my paintings have become relatively smaller in scale and broader in subject

Contact: website/blog www.elizabethmonkshack.com contact emhack@elizabethmonkshack.com facebook @elizabethmonkshack

Dark Sky at Easter, on the easel, beginning of the new series "Pieced," 2020

ARTIST CHAT CONT

Plovers at Surf Beach, oil on canvas, 2016

matter. I never thought I could or would want to paint a landscape, but now I enjoy relating to the natural world in that way. Lately, I find that I want to paint whatever strikes me as interesting or challenging, whether it fits into my preconceived formula or not. I’m willing to relinquish my “style” in order to meet the demands of the subject.

What would be a dream project for you?

Rembrandt may have painted his Night Watch (Militia Company of District II under the Command of Francis Banning Cocq) in an outdoor patio next to his house. No one knows for certain. The commission was too large to fit in his studio. I visited his house in Amsterdam and remember gazing down into the patio, which was an alcove between two buildings. I remember thinking that I would like to have been doing that; to have created such magnificent painting, really a stage-set of color and vitality, so expansive it had to be taken outside. What an extraordinary life event that would be. My studio is in the attic and the light is really nice, but at times it seems confining. I suppose that is a dream project, to paint something really large, perhaps with figures, that sums up my life experience, perhaps on a side patio?

In your opinion, what is an "artistic" outlook on life?

I tend to experience and process life through creativity, either my own or that of others. I need to be making things, and for me, usually trying to make things look beautiful, or at least handsome. I suppose psychologically it’s an effort to make meaning and create order and beauty from chaos and uncertainty. The things (and people and places) that interest me most have at their source a wellspring of creativity.

Imagination, love of beauty, creating meaning and order from chaos and uncertainty, creativity itself; all of these are expressly human traits, manifested in the artist through the objects he or she creates. Perhaps an artistic outlook is one that sees and creates simultaneously.

In short, making things makes me happy.

The studio has a large south window

Monks Hack in her attic studio

The Rice Bowl, 2003, beginning of the series Small Town Abstractions

Looking Out, 1995. Early work

Road Home, oil on canvas, 2019

Joellen Chrones

Sugarless Treats, non-fattening jewelry, glass Some custom work, this 10panel door was done for a friend in Santa Barbara.

Night lights for $24 Egg plates make a great wedding gift $55.

Hearts are always popular, priced by sizes.

When open The Wildling Museum in Solvang, The Cypress Gallery, 119 East Cypress Avenue, Lompoc, T & T Gallery in Los Alamos. (Already Open) have items available, or I can ship.

If you have a question about any of my work, contact me directly at 805-733-2801 or 805-588-2261.

TRISH CAMPBELL ARTIST Trish Campbell, who just recently moved to Rio Rancho NM, about 17 miles out of Albuquerque, New Mexico sent some pictures of her surroundings. She is still painting and enjoying her new surroundings!

Store front

Trail

Trish

"We were out in our robes (hoping our neighbors were still asleep) just now taking pictures of these hot air balloons going over our house! You can hear the whoosh sound of the firing. We ran from the front to the back as they were flying over!

After dinner I walk 2 blocks and go out on an old golf course. This is what I see - the beautiful Sandia Mountains at sunset!

They turn red, and in fact the word "Sandia" means watermelon in Spanish."

I took this shot a couple of hours ago during sunset. It's called a virga cloud. Rain is coming down out of it, but the air is so dry that it never touches the ground. I have seen these virga clouds a number of times and they're quite spectacular!

Virga often appears in streaks or shafts extending from the bottoms of clouds. You often see virga over a desert, where low humidity and high temperatures can cause rain to evaporate shortly after being released by clouds. Or you might see virga at high altitudes; in fact, the precipitation often starts out in the form of ice crystals. Virga is commonly seen in the U.S. West and above the Canadian Prairies, in the Middle East, Australia and North Africa.

Balloon overhead

Sandia Mountains

Virga rain cloud

LOMPOC MURAL SOCIETY www.lompocmurals.com

BY KAREN OSLAND

50 Years of Flowers & Memories

Title: 50 Years of Flowers & Memories Year: 2002

Master Artists: Nancy Phelps & Sue Treuhaft Location: 316 E. Ocean Ave. (East wall on South E St.) Description: This mural celebrates the 50-year history of the Flower Festival in the Lompoc Valley.

50 years of Flowers & Memories was the 12th Mural In-A-Day project. The mural depicts a 1950s Lompoc Flower Festival parade as it travels through the center of town and through time.

In a 2002 Santa Barbara News Press interview, Master Artist Nancy Phelps, described how she and fellow Master Artist Sue Treuhaft first envisioned the Mural. “Sue and I had the Pictorial Record of Life in Lompoc and just adored it. We saw these pictures of how downtown used to look and incorporated that into our mural, following the theme ’50 Years of Flowers and Memories. The idea was to move from then (1952) to the future, or now.”

Pictured on the mural are several old downtown landmarks. Beginning at the left is the Owl café that was located on south H street from about 1933 to 1964 (near where the Gas Co office is now). The small house shown next to it was the office of Dr Lawrence Heiges. In the middle of the mural is the Lompoc Theater Building that housed the Lompoc Police Station and jail, the Lompoc Theater, and the Snack Shop that sold ice cream and cherry cokes. On the right end is pictured the Lompoc Valley Art Association members art show, which was always held just inside the entrance to Ryan Park. In the background is the Carnival Ferris wheel. In the foreground is the Holloway tractor that for years was used to pull flower festival floats.

In the 1950’s the center of town was the heart of Lompoc. “It was the Central Business District where shoppers could find anything and everything from Men’s clothing to sheep dip.” (Historical Ramblings by Dennis Headrick, Lompoc Record, 20 March 2005) In addition to the Owl Café and the Theater Building, along four blocks of H Street, and four blocks of Ocean Ave. were two banks, a pharmacy and three drug stores, two “five and dime” stores, a camera shop, three cafes, one Chinese restaurant, a grocery store, a bakery, an insurance sales office, a real estate office, two furniture stores, two shoe shops, a stationary shop, three jewelry stores, a men’s wear shop, music shop, car lot, a cleaners, The Lompoc Record Office, a law office, and two bars. There was a J.C Penny’s, Western Auto, Mode O’Day, the Greyhound Bus depot, the Lompoc Theater, Police station, and a Dr’s Office.

Moore’s Department store on the corner of South I and Ocean Ave. sold groceries, hardware, men and women’s clothing (and pretty much anything else you might need living in a small town). At the intersection of Cypress and South I was the library, the bowling alley, and the Methodist church.

Set up

Scaffolding

Tarp

Participating artists

The Owl café was owned and operated by Emily “Ma” Gross from at least 1933 until she sold it to Jasper Wygal in 1947. For a number of years, the Owl Café was the only restaurant in town that was open seven days a week, twenty -four hours a day. It sold sandwiches, steaks, ice cream and soft drinks. The Café was torn down in 1964.

The Lompoc Theater was the “Event Center” for the town. In addition to the latest films there were concerts and dance and piano recitals. It served as a polling place for elections. For the kids in town it was where you went every Saturday to the Mickey Mouse Club.

Yes-The Mickey Mouse Club. “The original Mickey Mouse Clubs were actual clubs that young people could join. The club promoted character building and good citizenship and recognized members for earning good grades and doing good deeds. With more than 1 million members, the Mickey Mouse Club was larger than the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts combined.” * The meeting would begin with members reciting the official Mickey Mouse Club creed. So, from 1931 to 1949, on every Saturday before the matinee, kids in Lompoc from would pledge"I will be a square shooter in my home, in school, on the playgrounds, where-ever I may be. I will be truthful and honorable and strive, always, to make myself a better and more useful citizen. I will respect my elders and help the aged, the helpless and children smaller than myself. In short, I will be a good American."

Today, the Lompoc Flower Festival is a five-day event held the last full weekend in June. There is a parade down north H street to Ocean Ave. then west on Ocean, through the center of town, to Ryan Park. Each year the parade has a theme.

At the park there is a Carnival, Arts and Crafts, commercial vendors and food booths. Until recently, admission was free.

MURAL CONT...

The Flower Festival parade traditionally has had bands, floats, equestrian units, drill teams and drum squads. In the past, floats were the major focus of the parade. Then, as now, all floats must be decorated with flowers and/ or natural materials.

The Flower Festival began as a Rodeo held every year on the Fourth of July Weekend. It was held at the Lompoc Rodeo Grounds where Crestview Terrace is now. In the early 1950’s because there were so many Rodeos being held in the State, Lompoc City leaders decided to hold a Flower Festival instead. There would still be a parade, but the main events would take place in Ryan Park.

The first official Flower Festival was held in 1954. At the time there were over 2000 acres of flowers in the Lompoc Valley and along Santa Rosa Road. The 1954 Flower Festival Events Program listed a Flower Festival Queen Contest, Flower Show, Children’s Parade, Flower Field and La Purisima Mission Tours. Donnie Grossi (Silva) the Lompoc Grange candidate, became the first Flower Festival Queen.

Wait! 1954 was the first official Flower Festival? Then how can the FY 2002 Festival celebrate 50 years of Flowers and Memories? Well, after an hour of searching though Newspapers.com I found the reason and another example of a group of people creating alternative facts to suit their purpose.

On Friday June 28, 2002 the Lompoc Record interviewed Gloria De Soto Aguilar the 1952 Rodeo Queen. When asked about the different dates Gloria explained, “Actually, back in 1952 it was not a flower festival parade but a Lompoc Rodeo parade. The Rodeo was the big annual event held fourth of July since 1936. The first annual Flower Festival was held in 1954, still over the fourth of July weekend. The Lompoc Valley Flower Festival Association is dating the birth of the Festival this year (2002) from 1952 because that was the year floral floats were required, not optional in the parade.”

One of the attractions of the Flower Festival over the years was the Lompoc Valley Art Association’s Art Show. LVAA was established in 1965 and in 1968 LVAA members began displaying and selling their art at the Festival. Over the years it became a major attraction at the Flower Festival with both local and statewide artists displaying their juried works. The Events Brochure for the 2002 Flower Festival stated that over 100 artists would be displaying their creations. For two days, Oil/watercolors, stained glass, wood/metal craft, jewelry, Dee Sudbury, Lompoc Flower Fields leather work, and ceramics would be for sale. Due to the increased presence of non-local, non-juried, mass produced, cheap items allowed into the Flower Festival over the last few years, the LVAA sponsored artist could no longer compete and the Association has dropped their involvement in the Flower Festival.

Considerable time and thought goes into the creation of a Mural, especially a Mural in a Day. This was certainly true for 50 years of Flowers and Memories. There were pre-planning meetings, workshops for participating artists, and almost endless “to do “lists that needed to be completed. Supplies had to be purchased and the wall prepared before painting the 12x48 foot mural could begin.

The artist began painting at 8 am. At 11:am it began raining. It was the first time it had ever rained on a Mural in a Day project. According to the Lompoc Record, “A local house painter grabbed a plastic tarp from his truck and fashioned a tent to cover the mural and the artists. He saved the mural, said Shelia Centeno, Marketing Director for the Mural society. Some of the paint had stared to run but they were able to fix that.”

Project Chair for the 2002 Mural in a Day was Ann Thompson. Participating artists were: Jan Manfrina, Eifel Nazaryan, Carol Oliveira, Anneli Bernstein, Charlotte Downs Siska, Barbara Firth, Mara Walton, Linda Gooch, Vicki Andersen, Nita Streetman, Bill Smith, Sandie Jones, Dana Conklin, Tom Shultz, James Cochran, and Dee Sudbury.

Master Artists were Nancy Phelps and Sue Treuhaft.

Nancy Phelps was a member of the Lompoc Mural Society and had worked on many of Lompoc’s Murals. She was a painter and also owned galleries in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang. For a number of years, she co-owned The Nancy Phelps Gallery, with Sue Treuhaft, located at 621 E. Ocean Ave in Lompoc.

Sue Treuhaft has worked in a variety of mediums from painting to stained glass. She and Nancy Phelps created numerous privately commissioned mural and building paintings in Lompoc and in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Nancy Phelps and Sue Teuhaft, Everyone Needs a Place to Call Home

Some of their works are: Beauty of the Valley 805 North H St. (Union Bank), History of Alpha Club, 407 E. Ocean Ave. (west wall) and “Everyone Needs a Place to Call Home” located at Housing Authority’s administrative headquarters in Lompoc on West Ocean Avenue.

References: https://www.newspapers.com/ Lompoc Record Dec 8, 1931 Lompoc Record, Friday June 28, 2002 Lompoc Record August 2004 *https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/12/23/ disney-first-mickey-mouse-club-elsinore-theatre-salemoregon/2664130001/ Accessed July 4, 2020 Santa Barbara News Press Sunday September 29, 2002

Nancy Phelps and Sue Teuhaft . Diner

Visit us online at: www.wildlingmuseum.org/virtual-visit

Wildling Art at Home Upcycling: Toilet Paper Tubes At the Wildling Museum, we love finding new ways to create art while being a good neighbor to the environment. Making art as a family can be as easy as recycling everyday household items and using found materials to create something new.

This month, we’re transforming old toilet paper tubes into feathered owls! All you need is a toilet paper roll, colored construction paper, scissors, glue, and googly eyes (or drawing supplies to make your own). Watch our video for a step-by-step guide to get started.

For more, visit: www.wildlingmuseum.org/virtual-visit

Coming Soon | 20/20: A Retrospective The Wildling Museum is now in the final stages of preparing for re-opening. When the time comes, we will be requiring all visitors to wear masks, per County guidelines, and to protect you, our staff and volunteers, until the threat of Covid-19 has passed. Our own Julie Mock has been making beautiful fabric masks that you can look forward to purchasing in our store—and we will have disposable ones as well. We hope to announce an opening date soon.

When you visit, you’ll be able to enjoy our newest exhibition, 20/20: A Retrospective. It’s our tribute to 20

years of exhibitions during our 20th anniversary year.

In the meantime, keep following the Wildling Museum on social media for more #MuseumFromHome moments. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Wildling again soon!

GALLERY LOS OLIVOS

Gallery Los Olivos Coloring Book!

EXAMPLES

The artists of Gallery Los Olivos have found a way to use their unique skills to help home-bound people cope with the emotional challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Various creative approaches have surfaced to fill the time as we advance our culinary skills, study new subjects, watch YouTube on endless demos, exercise, pick up an old hobby, finish a long forgotten craft project, or practice our creative writing. Interestingly, one of the things that has trended during this time are coloring books – not just for children, but adults who are also finding them comforting. AdAge has called them “one of the key creative trends to emerge from the pandemic.”

We at Gallery Los Olivos see this as an opportunity to help! We are offering a free online GLO Coloring Book on our website created by our artists, and we invite our website visitors to print and color the images. The Coloring Book is available at www.GalleryLosOlivos.com/ coloringbook Since its introduction on May 15, response to the Coloring Book has been very enthusiastic – as an activity both for adults, as well as children.

We all know the value of art, how creativity can help during difficult times, so our artists are excited to offer our artistic skills to help our community deal with the personal stress of this pandemic. Gallery Los Olivos has over 50 artists who work in all mediums and styles, and many have posted sample images to share. There are images for all ages and skill levels, covering a wide variety of subject matter. Anyone can enjoy creating their personal versions with crayons, or colored pens or pencils.

Morgan Green

Linda Mutti

Hopefully, we will create a lot of new coloring book artists. We invite them to share their colored images with us – on the Coloring Book webpage, go to “Please click here” and email us the image (jpeg).

Press contact: Patti Robbins, Publicity Director, Gallery Los Olivos Email: pattirobbinsartist@gmail.com; Phone: 805 471-1701 Available to the press by request: specific coloring images (jpegs) Coloring book at: www.GalleryLosOlivos.com/coloringbook Directory of our artists at: www.gallerylosolivos.com/Artists-2.html #GalleryLosOlivos on Instagram; “Like us” on Facebook Gallery Los Olivos is located at 2920 Grand Ave, Los Olivos In the same location since 1992

Martha Inman Lorch

Since 2011 NatureTrack has made

learning outside, where science literally comes alive, a reality for teachers and their students throughout Santa Barbara County. This Los Olivos based 501(c)3 nonprofit was providing 1/2-day field trips to K-12 students at NO COST to schools.

Then COVID-19 hit and the world as we know it changed, but the mission of NatureTrack has not.

NatureTrack has pivoted operations from field to film and continues to foster a lifelong fascination with nature through the use of virtual hikes and activities that motivate kids to get outside, when and where it's safe, to explore nature in their own "backyard".

We all have been "Called-to-Action" these last few months; NatureTrack is no exception. When future generations look back at 2020 they will find our commitment to the students and the environment never waivered.

I didn't know nature could be that FUN!!!

3rd grader, Los Berros Elementary

Your donation today, will help us "track" by film or field into tomorrow!

By the way, come "track" with us; volunteer and enjoy nature like never before.

NatureTrack Film Festival

2020

Re-Scheduled OCTOBER 9-11

Los Olivos, CA

We are crossing our fingers that we will be able to present a LIVE event in Los Olivos, but if not

NATURETRACK FILM FESTIVAL WILL BE PRESENTING FILMS VIRTURALLY! We invite you to continue to follow the NTFF on social media and check our website for updates.

We thank our amazing filmmakers from around the world for their patience and understanding as we shifted our focus to October, and we look forward to welcoming them back in the Fall.

All passes and tickets currently held by patrons will be honored at the rescheduled October 9-11, 2020 NatureTrack Film Festival (live or virtual).

We wish everyone a safe passage through this uncertain time as we all do our part to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities healthy and safe. We at NatureTrack believe one of the very best ways to relieve stress, and practice self-care, is to get outdoors for a quiet and rejuvenating walk in the restorative beauty of nature.

We thank you for your continued support, and we will see you in October for a wonderful weekend of “igniting passion for nature through film.�

NatureTrack FILM FESTIVAL

CURRENT Passes & Tickets VALID FOR OCTOBER NatureTrackFilmFestival.org

Detail: Christine Jeszeck painting