The Art of Harmony

                                                                    The Rewilding of Patagonia

The Old English Dictionary: Harmony concord, accord, agreement, peace, peacefulness, amity, amicability, friendship, fellowship, comradeship, solidarity, cooperation, understanding, consensus, unity, sympathy, rapport, goodwill, like-mindedness.

I have long thought of our Planet Earth as a living breathing being. Like humans, it has its ups and downs throughout the millennials of existence. The Holocene (“entirely recent”) epoch, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age in which we now live within has been harmonious most of the time for humans to thrive and evolve.

I look at images of our Planet Earth as taken from the space station, and the wonder of the creation of this tiny speck in the cosmos, it is truly a work of art in comparison with the other planets in our solar system. No where else in our planetary system are there the spectacular and beautiful life forms in our oceans and on land. There are no artists which can produce art that would compare with the Art of Nature.

After reading a new book published this year about Doug Tompkins, an environmentalist who lived and breathed his love of “beauty” of our world, my thoughts were of how our present cultures are in direct opposition of being in Harmony with our Planet Earth. We are, All, artists in the way we paint our daily lives. Do we paint our day with the brushes of garbage, pollution, excess of wants, or, do we paint our day with the brushes of buying only what we Need, and can use without creating the garbage of pollution. Doug Tompkins painted with his brush by creating National Parks in South America.

Drinking water from plastic bottles, instead of water fountains like we used to do, pampers for babies instead of cloth dippers fill our landfills. Huge cars and trucks with more horsepower than is needed to take us on frivolous trips which have no imperative to be harmonious with Nature, is our “Right” to do without thinking of the consequence of each act. Do we look at each day and wonder how we can be in harmony with our planet Earth, and use the brushes of harmony with Nature for the endurance of the human species? The Planet Earth will be here long after our species dies off due to the brushes of greed and wants, and our human existence will not suffer the continuous creation of garbage, because we believe it is our “Right”, this Life Style of Western Culture.

A million bottles a minute...Humanity paint brushes for the Planet Earth.

The Art of Harmony with Nature should be our primary concern and needs to be the predominate brush with which we paint our days. Our art works will determine the continuation of our Human Species or Not. Understanding, in the above definition, is the most important of all of the synonyms. If we do not understand the consequences of our painting in our daily lives, the pictures of Harmony of Art with Nature will not be in our Museum of Human History.

The Paint brushes of Doug Tompkins

 

“El Corazon Park should be More than Hotels, Condominiums,

and Sports facilities

...it should shine with the Sole of our City”

THE VISION ~ THE PARK ~ THE CENTER

Twenty five years ago Oceanside was a beach town of pizza parlors, laundries for uniforms, and girlie shows. It had no attributes of the fine arts or cultural arts. There was a large open green parcel in the center of town and the Brooks theater was in disrepair. Then something wondrous happened. The Arts came to Oceanside. In the beginning, the alley across from City Hall was an alley filled with the unwanted and unwashed elements of nightly assignations of those who haunted the alleys of the forbidden. This is where it all began. Artists Alley came into being in the building affectionately known as the Art Building. It has from 1992 housed many artists who have come and gone, and now has survived with a Flower Shop, a Fashion Jewelry shop, an Escape Room and other establishments which are retail in scope. From the nucleus of Artists from Artists Alley combined with the Oceanside Cultural Foundation, the Oceanside Museum of Art was born. Thus, changing the face and future of our City. We now have a cultural soul.

Today, we are at transformational point in the visioning for the Arts in Oceanside. We look to a new and wondrous place which is now in the beginning stages of development. A new point of potential cultural opportunity which could be in El Corazon situated in the Heart of our City of Oceanside. Located between in the North, Mesa Drive, Rancho de Oro, to the South with Oceanside Blvd., to the West by El Camino Real, this 465 acre of land is in the beginning stage of development by Sudberry Properties. The Senior Community Center and the new Aquatic Swim Center are fully developed and the sports community and Senior Citizen Center are open to all.

There are currently 18 soccer fields which are used on an ongoing basis by the The SoCal Sports Complex opened in 2014 on 54 acres at the city’s 465-acre on El Corazon property. The current plan calls for the development of residential, retail, and a hotel perhaps two. There seems to be flexibility for purpose in the undeveloped parcels.

This location is served with the good fortune of rail transit east, and north and south. It is five minutes from Interstate 5. There are two new hotels by Marriott directly across the Street on Rancho de Oro.

This land which is called a park has the potential to have elements not just for sport, but for the arts as well. There are abundant sites for large sculptures*, outdoor forums for drama, and for a magnificent venue of a Performing Arts Center. Drawing inspiration from the many facets of Balboa Park in San Diego, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center, El Corazon has the potential to be our Place in the Sun for North County Arts and beyond.

The Soul has many requirements for the Health of an Individual two of which are Sport, and the Aesthetic...The dynamic qualities of the arts influence our everyday lives perhaps more than sport as it permeates all aspects of our connected and intersected lives via the phone, computers, or television. The Arts impact all us whether visual, musical, or dialogue. Live performance is for our Youth the best of all entertainment offerings. Musical, whether it be classical, popular, rock, or jazz is the heartbeat of us all. And who can deny the emotional appeal of the spoken work of Shakespeare, or or the poet Maya Angelou, or the Broadway production of Cats. El Corazon has the capability to give to our City all of the above, and more. It can be a Southern California Center which would have Local, National,and International audiences for the Prformaning Arts..

It has been said, that the Arts should remain downtown in the center of our business community. The Art Museum is there as well as Artist Alley and the two small live performing theaters. There are however, very few artists or galleries in this district due to the expensive rental situation. The Eastern part of Oceanside where the majority of our citizens live is now becoming a desirable location for the arts. The Muramid Mural Museum is now to be located by the Mission, Ace, the Arts Community, Education non profit is  located next door to the Mission branch Library. Many artists live and work in Eastern Oceanside for the larger homes are adaptable to include a studio. The Star Theater and the Brooks Theater are located in the downtown district, and are well attended. They are small venues which are conducive to local productions and they fulfill this function very well.

This is Possible 

Nowhere in the downtown area is there room for a Center which provide the needed space for a Symphony Orchestra to perform. The large stage needed for ballet, or Broadway productions which cannot be accommodated with the small venues we currently have. Let's take a cue from the many great cities which have multiple art districts, many different venues with individual vibes that would speak to all of our many diverse communities. East Oceanside is rich with our City's history as the Mission and Heritage Park are located there. With the growth of the new art, cultural and educational venues coming to the fore, let's celebrate our good fortune with the knowledge that growth is a good thing, and we are fortunate indeed to have this incredible space known as El Corazon... Our Heart.

 Conceptual Drawings for a Preforming Arts Center...

 

Gift of a Dream...

This art form is one of fantasy and real life. The story of dreams, and the dancers of the Real. The two Dancers, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland, the most talented ballet dancers to ever perform in The Nutkcracker Ballet. They give the viewer the dreams of our youth, and the gifts of forever.

I watch this Video every year. The glorious music, the Christmas aura, the lovely visual effects, will last in the history of ballet as the best of the best. It matters not where you live, how young or old you might be, this perfection of the dance will enchant you and give you the gift of dreams...

Many years ago, when I lived in Orange County, I had the privilege of watching a rehearsal with Mikhail Baryshnikov at the Segerstrom Center of Performing Arts. It was the final dress rehearsal of the The Nutkracker Ballet. As I remember, in 1985, Orange County was a place where the cultural life for the Arts was just on the threshold of reality. The excitement was palatable, and the anticipation was so very electric in the air. We were going to be a place where real ballet was to happen.

Will it ever happen in Oceanside this eventful thing of dreams with the Dancers like Baryshnikov? It is a dream much like the vision of having a Museum of Art in Oceanside. That dream came true, can there be a place in our fair City for a Performing Center of Dream? There is a place called El Corazon, a park that could accommodated a Center for the Performing Arts...will our civic leaders be open to the dream? The Museum changed the Face of our Downtown. A performing Arts Center would change the Face of a Park called El Corazon, The Heart, Our Heart.

There are many kinds of Dreams, Children s dreams, Artist dreams, Teacher Dreams, Builders dreams, City Dreams. Our beautiful City on the Hill is a place with infinite possibilities, we have to share these dreams, and help make it happen.

As I watch the Nutcracker tonight, I will once again be the young dreamer of the many things possible...

Ruth Jameson

December 2, 2021

                                                      THE TOP GUN HOUSE

Do You remember the first time you saw the Movie “Top Gun” ? I do, it was at the Lido Theater in       Newport Beach CA. The opening sequence of the F 18 Jets on the runway, gave me goose bumps. No pun intended. The lighting on the scene, the Music, The roaring of the engines was unique in all of Movie Land.

Kelly McGillus is the daughter of my then Family Physician. It was kind of like we knew her, but in reality we did not, but for our place of residence, we were family.

Since then I have watched the film many times. In fact I own a YouTube download version. When the many houses on Pacific Street were torn down, to build Hotels The Top Gun House was spared. Boarded up, it spent several years in a decaying state of affairs, with periodic graffiti and repaint jobs, so it was in our collective consciousness, that some day it would just fall down.

The New Hotels had a plan. Move the Top Gun House to a new site which would incorporate the TGH into a courtyard in the Hotel site on Pacific Street. It is located at 201 N. Pacific St. at the Mission Pacific Hotel Oceanside. It is set to be an Ice Cream parlor and is a little jewel among the towering stories of the new Mission Pacific Hotel.

The Oceanside Public was adamant that it should be preserved. For it is a wonderful memory of what was in the 80”s. Now the Sequel is near depending on the Pandemic...I will be one of the first in line for a treat of yesteryear and memories of Kelly and Tom on the motorcycle roaring down Pacific Street in Oceanside Ca.

COME to Oceanside and watch the Movie Top Gun at the

Amptheater located on the blue Pacific coast, and see for yourself the New Top Gun House location across the street from the Oceanside Pier. 

The Bunker House Lounge Part One,

               The Afternoon

The Bunker House in 1886

A Quiet Place for an afternoon retreat from the madding crowd. A Place where a glass of wine, a good book, and a tasty treat add up to a little paradise in the Heart of Oceanside. I spent a Thursday afternoon here with the above attractions and whiled away the hour thinking about the yesteryear of this very old building. The Bunker House is the oldest commercial building in Oceanside. 

As a visual artist, I see the cars, the long dresses, the top hats, and the autos of that era. I see them strolling along the pathways leading to the Sea, and knowing that they have a room in the boarding house with view of the blue Pacific to come back to. The New Bunker House is a venue for the endeavors of two industrious entrepreneurs who have been so successful in the creation of the O 'side Bakery in East Oceanside. Their French Bakery has been the go to place for breakfast and lunch for the past many years. Stevie Rohano and Kevin Briens, the owners have taken their culinary skills to the Bunker House Lounge in the heart of Downtown Oceanside with new upgraded decor, expanded hours, and wine for patrons of the grape. 

 Plans for evening entertainment are in the works, and the arts too, will find a home in this vintage building with a cosmic vibe. It is interesting to me that the old is so entrancing. In the minds eye, the visuals of past patrons parade before me, entreating me to spend an hour, to breathe in the salty air, and to take a minute to reflect on my luck to be here in this quiet place. The many different uses of the Bunker House have been, a boarding house, hotel, a meeting place, church services, Music business, City offices, Art Studios, and lastly The Apotheque a spa with a Green Aesthetic.

 The Bunker house hours are 7 AM to & PM everyday, except Thursday, Friday, and Saturday when they are open 7AM -9PM. The Address is 322 Cleveland Street Bring a book, a sketch pad, a friend and find in this place of calm, a perfect venue to feel the vibe of yesteryear, and yet embrace the new, with the delectable food and friendships to be found here in Downtown Oceanside by the Sea. The smiling face of Stevie Rohano will welcome you to share this adventure at the Bunker House Lounge. 

 I listen the to the trickling of the nearby fountain, sip my wine cup, and draw in the limitless imagination of the minds eye, the breeze soft on my face, and find a sweet solitude from this frantic world,  this world of the now.

Part II will be the Bunker House Lounge at Night.

 

                                                      "Valhalla"  96 x72  Oil on canvas 1988

The Joy of Learning

The cure for boredom is learning something new. Something you feel passionate about. For Me, it is the Visual Arts. At eighty six years of age, my hands are not competent of holding the brush and putting it to good use on a canvas. Always in control of the elements of good design and feelings of great joy in the beginning of a canvas or clay lump, now the shaky hands betray me and the feelings of emptiness of control are my reality.

Clay ready for casting

Clay has always been my refuge in the whole of the thing. It transforms in my hands without any thoughts of how, or where the lines, negative spaces should be. The yielding of the clay becomes a part of the hands, and the strength of the hands are sure and firm. Today, the hands no longer have the ability to mold the clay with sureness, and the cost of casting have stilled the joy for the call of the clay and the magic of the creative process. I see other forms of sculpture and wonder if somehow, I can adapt. There is a lot of cardboard in the garage, perhaps something will wander through my musings and become a source for something new. Perhaps...

Meanwhile, the new technologies of the computer afford me with the ability to keep learning new processes of the visual arts. With Illustrator and Photoshop, the visual images in the minds eye can become something, something of incalculable possibilities. The learning processes of the digital age keep re-inventing the now into wonderful horizons of the “what ifs”. The forgiveness of the programs give the hands new vigor and sureness. Some would say that the art created in this fashion is not real art. Some would say, that originals cannot exist because of the computer's the ability to duplicate endless reproductions cancels out the creative truth of the paint pots and brush and the clay into bronze.

Cast Bronze Jaguar Dealership Newport Beach

In the history of art, there have always been detractors for the way art is made. The masters of old had artist assistants paint skies and the landscape. This process has not canceled out the veracity of the whole, the vision of the painting or sculpture. So to, the advent of acrylic paint. When first used by artists the cry was instant that it was not real. No oil, the luminous quality of the layers of oil were the only real paint for the creation of a painting of worth. So on it goes, the new will have its day, and the old will be the foundation for the vision of worth.

I revel in the new. The importance of learning will never cease and it will be the crucible of my digital process and keep my hands busy, the brain engaged, and most of all fulfill my desire to be an agent of change in the world for making art.

2021 A year of the new

The Cardboard in the Garage still awaits...the possibilities endless.

 

VALLEY ARTS FESTIVAL: CREATIVE CULTURE

A CELEBRATION OF THE LUISEÑO TRIBE OF THE SAN LUIS REY BAND OF MISSION INDIANS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021 

12:00-3:00PM

HERITAGE PARK

220 PEYRI DRIVE, OCEANSIDE, CA 92058

COST: FREE!

Studio ACE is proud to present the first annual Valley Arts Festival (VAF) in partnership with Oceanside Public Library, Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation, Muramid Art & Cultural Center and California HQ for the UNESCO Center for Peace, and Friends of the Oceanside Public Library, and in cooperation with Mel Vernon, Captain, San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians.

Valley Arts Festival originally debuted in 2019 as “Mission District Arts Festival”, which was envisioned to be an annual celebration of the vibrant arts & culture in the Oceanside valley. Like so many others, the festival was put on hold in 2020, allowing time for reflection and reinvention. We are pleased to announce the festival is making its official reemergence in 2021 as “Valley Arts Festival”, which will remain an annual celebration of arts and culture, now featuring different themes each year.

To mark its official debut, Valley Arts Festival (VAF) is pleased to present a celebration of Oceanside and its first peoples: the Luiseño Indian tribe, originally known as the Payómkawichum people. The festival aims to help support and celebrate the indigenous population that lived on the land, now known as Oceanside, 10,000 years prior to colonization, and to honor their past, present, and future. The Luiseño people enjoyed a peaceful life in a land rich with a variety of plants and animals, and continue to work for cultural preservation, civil rights, and language revitalization. VAF will help educate the community on the beauty and strength of this amazing culture and assist in their goal for cultural preservation. A portion of proceeds from the festival will be donated to the San Luis Rey Mission Indian Foundation for enrichment programs.

This free festival will feature music, both flute and blues, basket weaving demonstrations, Indian Fry Bread for purchase, educational tables filled with historic cultural items, and a variety of participatory family-friendly activities. These activities will include an interactive community mural sponsored by Muramid, with concept design by Linda Kallas and final execution by renowned Muramid artists (to be confirmed), interactive basket weaving with Diania Caudell, a Luiseño member of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians and Board Member of the California Indian Basket Weavers Association (CIBA), Native American story time and crafts with Oceanside Public Library, native animal sand and rock painting by Studio ACE (with an opportunity for rocks that have been painted and gifted back to the festival to reside in the Peace Garden at Muramid in the future), and more to come!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available, please email Julia Fister for more information.

 

Artists Alley for the Future...

What is a Vibe?

In 1992 the Civic Vibe was one of a profound dichotomy. Our brand new Civic Center with soaring fountains, a Public Library of classical proportions, and the extreme opposite of places of illicit pursuit. So much has changed in the past in the 29 years that it seems we are seeing and feeling we are on a different planet named Oceanside. 

The alley directly across from the Civic Plaza's delightful spraying fountains was a place of assignations of the night, where homeless huddled in their blankets of despair. This was the place I chose to have my studio in Oceanside. The rent was right, and at lunch I could go across the street for books and breathing in the intoxicating air of Ocean spray mingled with our reflecting pools at the Library.

This effort to be an artist in downtown and the establishment of Artists Alley Oceanside was the beginning of what has become a wonderful destination for the Arts in San Diego North County and beyond. Today we had 141 Visitors to the Artists Alley blog. These visitors are folks from all over the globe and makes our name proud.

Artists Alley Today

One manifestation of our coming of age, was  for The City of Oceanside to be one of 14 Cities in California  to be named a Cultural District. 

The Vibe, the Art Vibe in Oceanside is electric and compelling. It is a happy place especially on the FirstFriday Art Walk centered at the Oceanside Museum of Art and just down the block Artists Alley. The Beat of Drums, is catching and your feet do the happy dance, the Artists in their booths with smiles and images of their works of art make The Alley a perfect place to spend an evening with the Arts in Oceanside CA. What is a Vibe? Come and see for yourself, and bring your happy feet to feel the Vibe which engenders smiles all around...

RJJ

 Studio ACE East O'side

Continuing the Story of the Intersection of 

Artists Alley and Downtown for the Arts

and East O'side

The Up-welling of the Arts in East O'Side

This week is the celebration of the New Art Studio space for Studio ACE. This spot in the place next to the Public Library in East Oceanside has had a new vital vibe for the residents in this area, especially for the Children. Julia Fister is the owner, artist and teacher of this place for the imagination to soar, and gives importance for the Arts to those who are looking for the art experiences closer to their home in East O'side.

HOW ACE BEGAN

Studio ACE’s history began in 2016 with coffee and crepes between Julia Fister, current Executive Director, and Karen B. Kahn, former Finance Director and Advisory Board Member. A one-hour breakfast turned into a five-hour brain storming session establishing Studio ACE - a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing arts opportunities for the North County San Diego community, with a mission to enrich lives through Arts, Community, and Education.

Officially opening its doors in 2018, Studio ACE has a history that goes beyond its founding. Julia’s passion for Arts Education stems back to 2010 when she began volunteering at Oceanside Museum of Art and saw what the power of art can do for people of all ages. 

Julia Fister, a St. Louis, Missouri native, graduated from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and from Fontbonne University in St. Louis with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art. After an early career in investment banking and several years as a graphic designer, Julia arrived at Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) as a volunteer after completing a Master’s Degree in Art History at San Diego State University. Julia was soon hired by OMA to create and direct an Education Program for 5th graders, later titled ArtQuest.

Considering her passion for the Arts and her desire to explore new horizons, she founded Stuio ACE with Karen B. Kahn. The little spot has become a giant in our East Oceanside Neighborhood. It is our East O'Side art place and now it will have a much larger space for the Children of East O'side and their parents to explore the wonderment of the Arts.

 

THE OCEANSIDE BAKERY IS OPEN AND WILL BE HOSTING THE ART WALLS EXHIBITION IN SEPTEMBER, 28TH 5:30 ~ 7:30 PM. COME AND ENJOY MEETING THE ARTIST AND RECONNECTING WITH OLD FRIENDS AND WELCOMING NEW PATRONS OF THE ARTS

                       

 

FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK OCEANSIDE CA

THIS COMING FRIDAY CELEBRATES OUR 6TH YEAR FOR 

FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK. COME ! JOIN US WITH SUMMER

 VIBES IN OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY BY THE OCEAN. THE

 OCEANSIDE MUSEUM OF ART WILL HAVE 

ENTERTAINMENT

 AND REFRESHMENTS FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT.

 

World Population Forecast (2020-2050)

View population projections for all years (up to 2100)

Year (July 1)	Population	Yearly % Change	Yearly Change	Median Age	Fertility Rate	Density (P/Km²)	Urban Pop %	Urban Population
2020	7,794,798,739	1.10 %	83,000,320	31	2.47	52	56.2 %	4,378,993,944
2025	8,184,437,460	0.98 %	77,927,744	32	2.54	55	58.3 %	4,774,646,303
2030	8,548,487,400	0.87 %	72,809,988	33	2.62	57	60.4 %	5,167,257,546
2035	8,887,524,213	0.78 %	67,807,363	34	2.70	60	62.5 %	5,555,833,477
2040	9,198,847,240	0.69 %	62,264,605	35	2.77	62	64.6 %	5,938,249,026
2045	9,481,803,274	0.61 %	56,591,207	35	2.85	64	66.6 %	6,312,544,819
2050	9,735,033,990	0.53 %	50,646,143	36	2.95	65	68.6 %	6,679,756,162

THE NEW GALLERIES FOR OUR ART WORLD

Our planet Earth is changing, and if we don't change our habits, our Earth will not support human life. Yesterday, I watched a documentary by David Attenborough// in which he narrated his life story as a story of change in his lifetime. He is 93, and I, 86, and much of his story is my story on our journey on this planet. I too, remember the mountain streams so pure, you could drink from them. The air was crystal clear and smog was an unknown phenomenon. 

End Game?

Our modern life style revolves around going places and doing things that make our carbon footprint larger than we can sustain with 7.9 billion people. We have about 10 years to change our wants into sustainable ways to save the human race from becoming extent. 

One way is to shop and sell on line. We did this during the height of the Corona 19 virus pandemic. It is easy, and fast. We can shop and upload with our finger tips, and the cars we drive to many of our needs can be eliminated if we change our methods of going places. Especially in our Art World, this method of seeing the incredible offerings in the visual arts are not possible to drive to in faraway galleries. 

Galleries around the world are available to us. Patrons from many lands will see our art, and with the expeditious ways to pay for their treasures and our offerings, we will thrive and be able to seek out and find the Galleries in different cites and countries that will share our Art. 

Please watch this incredible documentary by David Attenborough. It will change your outlook for our personal responsibility to our wondrous, life giving Planet Earth.

Ruth J Jameson

Oceanside CA  August, 2021