Grandparent Portrait Show

Exhibit celebrates significant elders, community diversity and art in schools

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Grandparent Portrait Show, a biennial event, has become the signature exhibition for the Student Art Fund.

Student artists in public junior high and high schools from Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Goleta pay tribute to their grandparents and significant elders by creating drawings, paintings, sculptures and photographs that capture their portrait.

The 2023 Grandparent Portrait Show is on display through April 27 at the Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St. The exhibit is sponsored by grants from the Santa Barbara County Arts Council and Santa Barbara Beautiful and awards sponsored by 12 donors.

This Eighth Biennial Grandparent Portrait Show contains 157 portraits in various media of grandparents or beloved elders. The exhibit was juried by Nicole Strasburg, who viewed images of all the entries and selected 13 award-winning portraits and five honorable mentions.

Ms. Strasberg, a well-known landscape artist, was once a student of Student Art Fund founder Audie Love at Dos Pueblos High School.

The show was started in 2009 by members of the SBAA Student Art Fund Committee. Grandparent portraits were a regular part of Mr. Love’s class curriculum at Dos Pueblos. When he heard that a student’s portrait had been prominently displayed at a memorial service, he was inspired to create a venue for the entire community to experience the significance of these portraits.

Destiny Guron’s “Family Heritage” cube won the Gwen Taylor Dawson Award.

of three generations of Santa Barbara grandparents are featured in painted portraits on each of the six sides, beginning

TODAY 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Storytelling: Native People Through the Lens of Edward S. Curtis” is on display through April 30 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, visit sbnature. org. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “SURREAL

WOMEN: Surrealist Art by American Women” is on display through April 24 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, www.sullivangoss.com.

By appointment on weekdays: “Holly Hungett: Natural Interpretations” is on view through May 20 at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara’s gallery, 229 E. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and weekdays by appointment. For more information, call the foundation at 805-965-6307 or go to www.afsb.org.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free. Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical. org. to etcsb.org or call 805-9655400.

APRIL 21

8 p.m. Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw will perform at UCSB Campbell Hall. Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw joins Sō Percussion as vocalist for 10 songs she co-composed with the quartet members. Tickets are $20 to $35 for the general public and $10 for UCSB students with current student ID. TO purchase, call Arts & Lectures at 805-893-3535 or go to www.artsandlecturesucsb.edu.

APRIL 23

7 p.m. Artemis, an international jazz ensemble made up of six women, will perform at UCSB Campbell Hall. The ensemble consists of pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, trumpeter Ingrid Jenson, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, alto saxophonist and flutist Alexa Tarantino, bassist Norike Ueda and drummer Allison Miller. Artemis’ music ranges from modern compositions to jazz classics by Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter. Audience members may arrive early at 4 p.m. for a free Q&A and behind-the-scenes open sound check. Register at thematiclearning.org/2022-2023.Elubia’s Kitchen will be serving dinner before the show from 5 to 7 P.M., outside of the event. Tickets range from $30 to $45 for the general public and are $15 for UCSB students who show a current student ID. To purchase, go to www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

APRIL 24

7:30 p.m. The Lompoc Pops Orchestra will perform everything from Broadway hits to a “Star Trek” medley at the First United Methodist Church, 925 North F St., Lompoc. Tickets are $25 for adults, $5 for all full time students, and free for children 12 and under. To make reservations, call 805-733-1796.

APRIL 25

7:30 p.m. The American Theatre Guild will present “Anastasia” at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. The new Broadway musical follows a brave young woman on a journey to discover the mystery of the past. This production transports the audiences from the twilight of the Russian empire to Paris in the 1920s. Tickets cost $54 to $129. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

APRIL 30

3:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Museum of Art presents a unique conversation between renowned poet and art critic John Yau and artist Joan Tanner.

The event will take place at 3:30 p.m. April 30 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara. Tickets are free for SBMA members and students and cost $5, otherwise. They are available at tickets.sbma.net.

— Dave Mason with her great-great grandmother Clarice Pearson who, in the 1940s, was the manager of food services for the Santa Barbara School District, to grandma Cleavonese Johnson, arriving in the 1960s, who began SBCC’s Head Start Program. All five generations, including Destiny, have lived in Santa Barbara.

Destiny said that when she was younger, she stuttered, and art was her way of expressing herself. Currently a junior at Dos Pueblos and a student in Kevin Gleason’s art class, Destiny hopes to find a way to make art part of her career.

“The Grandparent Portrait Project is one that connects students with their family roots and pride. Getting students to focus on the faces of their grandparents is a way of strengthening those connections, and possibly, of inspiring the students with the hopes and aspirations that these grandparent figures have for them,” said Sally Hamilton, Student Art Fund member.

“The show has been celebrated for highlighting the wide diversity of cultures in Santa Barbara and for displaying the excellent quality of the public schools’ art instruction” email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

FARMERS MARKET Sam

Edelman

This past weekend was the first farmers market loaded with a truly exceptional selection of freshly harvested artichokes, coming direct from local area farms.

As the spring weather starts to warm up, this seasonal vegetable begins to spike in great numbers, which is quite an impressive sight to see when taking a stroll through one of your local farms.

Their leaves, which appear to branch out in a fern-like formation, are broad, light green with almost a hint of silver in color, possessing jagged edges from end to end. The artichokes themselves shoot out from the base of the plant, with long stems connecting to the softball shaped size chokes at the top. The edible portion of the artichoke itself possesses tightly packed leaves, and once removed, exposes a succulent heart within when prepared. The final form of artichoke you will encounter is the baby artichokes, often found in both their green and purple form. The differing color does not seem to alter the flavor.

These are nice because they require less work, as most of the leaves are edible, and can be steamed, boiled, fried, or grilled. Just pull back a few layers of the miniature leaves, cut off the jagged tip, and they are ready to cook. Baby artichokes are quite nutritious, making a great addition to your seasonal diets. They possess a solid amount of protein, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and folate. In addition, they contain a bounty of essential nutrients and minerals including magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, copper and potassium.

When selecting your baby artichokes at the farmers market, the heads should be firm, free of bending. You should see freshly cut stems and the base and full colored leaves towards the tip, free of browning to ensure they arrive at your table as fresh as possible. The leaves should also be tightly packed against their heart and free of any dryness.

There are several ways to prepare baby artichokes, but one of my favorites is to steam, marinate, and then finish on the grill. Tender, smokey and meaty, these make for a delicious side.

Sam Edelman is general manager of the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association and host of “Farm to Table,” which airs live 9 a.m. Thursdays on KZSB AM 1290. Sam Edelman photos

GRILLED BABY ARTICHOKES

1 dozen baby artichokes.

¼ cup olive oil.

Juice from 1 lemon.

3 cloves garlic, minced.

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

2 tablespoons honey.

2 tablespoons dried oregano.

Peel off a couple layers of the outer leaves of the artichokes and cut off the very base end of the stem as well as about a quarter inch off the top. Steam artichokes for 7-8 minutes, or until just fork tender through the heart portion. Run under cold water to cool, then slice in half. Whisk together remaining ingredients and marinate artichokes in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Then finish by cooking for about 1-2 minutes per side on a hot grill. Yield: Makes 24 pieces.

Westmont College graduates win fellowships

MONTECITO – Two alumni from Westmont University have received Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation, in which the alumni plan to use this fellowship to continue their careers in science.

Braden Chaffin (’23) and Chisondi Warioba (’21) were given the fellowship from the NSF. The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000 to help support the alum’s scientific endeavors.

Mr. Chaffin graduated last semester from Westmont and will be attending UCLA this fall to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry.

“This fellowship allows me greater flexibility and security, and I will not have to teach to support myself, thus freeing up more time dedicated purely to research,” he said.

After graduate school, Mr. Chaffin hopes to work in small molecule development, possibly in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Mr. Warioba is a second-year graduate student who is half way through his doctorate in medical physics at the University of Chicago. He was granted this fellowship to continue his research on the “fMRI and DTI analysis of functional connectivity loss related to cerebral arterial occlusion.” He plans to attend medical school and has plans to become a physician/scientist.

Both of the fellows have been chosen for the program whose purpose “is to ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.”

— Kira Logan