Considering the Arts…

Our City Council is in the Planning Process for the Budget 2014 – 16.

Jonathon Fohrman, Dean of Arts at Mira Costa College, and Vice Chairman for the Arts Commission will be giving the Statement of Importance for funding the Arts to the council at this very important meeting for the coming year.

Please contact your art colleagues, and if they have time, to come to the Council Chambers for a show of solidarity. This is important for artists of all levels of accomplishments. Students who are studying the new media where there are many jobs, mid career artists who are the driving force of creativity, and the Established Senior Artists who are our guiding lights of the possible. 

We need the support of all of the Artists in Artists Alliance. If you can’t come, please send an email to Bradley Penner at

BPenner@ci.oceanside.ca.us

Our sphere of influence reaches far beyond our City Limits. The exhibitions in the Southfair in Del Mar, and Encinitas are great examples of such an influence. One of the far reaching efforts of our Arts Commission will be the bringing together the various Arts Commissions of the North County to participate in a Retreat to realize forward thinking in bringing together the talents of our many Communities for Common economic benefits and Cultural Understanding in the various art histories of each. 

Partnering with the various stakeholders both in the Arts and Economic weight such as The Oceanside Museum of Art, Main Street Oceanside,

The Chamber of Commerce, Visit Oceanside, the various Art Commissions of North County will make our Region into a Destination of International Importance for the 21^st Century and beyond…  

 

The Council Meeting of April 2^nd at 5:00 PM is of prime significance in our quest for funding and re-establishing our Arts Commission as an economic force for our City to become Where the “Bold Meets Beautiful!”

Joanne Tawfilis

Joanne Tawfilis International Super Star 


The Arts Commission of Oceanside CA is so very fortunate to have on the panel folks who are professionals in the field of Art. I will be introducing my fellow members one by one for our Communities to become acquainted with them and to learn why we are so very lucky to have such dedicated and talented people serving our"City of the Arts". 

Joanne Tawfilis is an International Super Star in the innovative and fulfilling programs for Children the World over. Her love of "Seeing with Her Own Eyes" should be a model for all.  

The beautiful mural above is the dedication mural of The Women's Mural Mile. It was painted by Austrian artist Silvia Pecha in honor of Joanne's mentor, artist Laurel Burch, "a courageous and lifelong woman humanist, whose artwork has served as an inspiration and healing vehicle to women worldwide."

This mural was painted by St. Mary's School in Nairobi, Kenya as part of the Multicultural Diversity Mile. Art Miles Project Mural

Joanne Tawfilis is a retired UN Executive (Director of Human Resource Management Services, United Nations Environment Program; and Director, Management Services, International Atomic Energy Agency) and former Director of the Women of Srebrenica Project in the former Yugoslavia under the Clinton Administration. She is an award-winning careerist; winner of the Bob Marley Peace Award; recipient of the Peacemaker of the Year Award/My Hero Project, United Nations Association UNA USA (regional and local chapter); honored by the International Committee of Artists for Peace, the Youth For Human Rights International Peace Hero Award and a commendation from the California State Superintendent of Schools, to name but a few of her honors. Joanne was recently featured as a keynote speaker at the United Nations Youth Forum and 2nd World Conference on Arts Education held in Seoul, South Korea. In Seoul, she convinced the Incheon International Airport to display an exhibition of Art Miles Murals for the more than 18 million visitors, who will be able to view a sampling of more than 12 miles of hand-painted murals on canvas. In December 2010, Joanne was one of 4 women selected by AOL/AT&T to attend the lst TED Women's Conference in Washington, DC. Work of Art Miles and the Tawfilis' is also featured in the recently published important book, "Sea Voices" authored by Elizabeth and Duffy Healey.

As Co-founder/Executive Director, with her husband Fouad, of The Art Miles Mural Project and Art Miles Shoes of Hope, together have accomplished the incredible feat of mobilizing more than ½ million people from more than 125 countries to paint more than 4,000 murals, which were highlighted in a recent exhibition at the famous "Culture Wheel" in Cairo, Egypt, with live webcasting to over 200 million people throughout the world in collaboration with the Unity Foundation and Peace Day TV. Over the past five years, Joanne has also assisted in the facilitation, painting and delivery of more than 68,000 pairs of hand-painted shoes to disarmed child soldiers, children in need, and victims of human and natural disasters across the globe. Joanne was recently appointed as a Commissioner by the US State Department to the US National Commissioner for UNESCO.

Joanne and her husband are passionate advocates for youth, and together they have dedicated their lives to unifying people through the language of the arts in a meaningful, fulfilling, and fun way. Their work teaches and promotes collaboration, understanding, and respect on a global scale with the hope of generating sustainable educational programs and actions that prevent violence and promote peace.

Joanne earned a Master's Degree in Fine Arts (MFA) from L'Acadiana Art School and several other certifications in Management and Crisis Counseling Intervention.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

There are some Wonderful Videos of the Murals which have been completed. The artworks will amaze You!

Kenneth Capps

A Good Week at OMA

“Where Bold Meets Beauty”

Our Oceanside Museum of Art is the wellspring of cultural consciousness for we who live here and for visitors from far and wide. This wondrous place which was first designed by the famed architect Irving Gill has been enlarged and enhanced for a greater Community inclusion both in Oceanside and in the greater sphere of influence of OMA. We have our dynamic Director Daniel Foster to thank for this new cultural force and the programming of these energizing and engaging Events. 

As part of a capacity audience, this past Wednesday, listening to an informative lecture given by Ann Hoehn about two Women Artists Georgia O’Keeffe, and Camille Claudel, I marveled at the incredible distance we, as a Community, have traveled in the past 20 years. From a City with pizza parlors, barbershops, and girlie shows to a thriving and shinning place of new Hotels, Restaurants of great food and our beautiful Art Museum which continues to inspire the rest of our City to innovative and economically productive paths of growth. This vibe of the new echoes the energy of the young of our City.

Yesterday at the Consortium meeting, new pathways incorporating the arts into economic partnerships are becoming defined and are inspiring folks eager to be involved in a leadership role in the creation of the Art Walk in our Downtown area and beyond. When the Community becomes a force with passion is when startling and creative events happen. Such will be our Art Walk First Friday projected for August 2014.

It was pure serendipity that when I went downstairs that I happened to tag along with Julia Fister our Director of Education. She was introducing her docents to Kenneth Capps who was giving the docents an inside tour of his sculpture installation and his history in the arts. 

He is a tall man of quiet beauty in stature and in manner. His explanations were imparted to the docents with the sincerity of an artist who is in touch with his own history of truth. His sculpture is sublime in the purity of line and negative space. A simple curve becomes a crescent of longing for another way of seeing. The mass of pure steel is a form of thought brought into being in a solid and truthful way. Thus his history becomes a visual and visceral form of contemplation.

I had a chance to chat with Kenneth for sometime afterward. We did share our common delights in the wonders of the architecture of Irving Gill. His gave me his impressions of how Oceanside has changed in such a short time. We discussed and how this incredible evolution is thrusting our City on the North Coast into becoming a Cultural attraction for visitors from all over the world, and our many diverse communities here in San Diego County.  Kenneth did give me a word for half of our new identity. He said,

The Original Oceanside City Hall
designed by Irving Gill

“I have always considered Oceanside to be a Bold City, one with great potential for change in a new direction”.

I enthusiastically agree. Oceanside is:  “Where Bold Meets Beauty”.  

The Expansion of OMA with elements of Gill.

  

Art and Morality

The true creative spirit is an elusive and exclusive force which drives the Artist to produce a product. This may be literature, music, visual art, or performance. The creator does not produce his art form for the desire of monetary reward. The driving force of this passion comes from the highest of all motives, to express his/her visions of inner expression of truth to share with humanity.

To give without guile is something which the Arts are, in their truest form, an element which raises the viewer’s awareness to a place of new ways to view our world and have a fresh understanding if only for a moment in time. The monuments to house these are forms have throughout history been some of Mankind’s greatest achievements. The Pyramids, the Parthenon, the Louvre Museum, St. Peters to name just a few. Some of these edifies were built with slave labor some were not.

While Art Museums have long been a driving force in my life’s desire to visit and be inspired by, the actual building of these Cathedrals of Art have not been a concern of mine, but now it seems that the competition to build the biggest, the most expensive, and the most “beautiful” has come to be the antithesis of what Art is all about.

This morning in the Union Tribune the article Art and Labor Intersect, raised my awareness of the practices of the building of some of these new and magnificent structures for the Arts.

 http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/mar/12/doris-bittar-labor-migrant-gulf/

For me, this dichotomy of the higher ideals of Art and truth clash vehemently with the idea of the laborers of this new Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi being exploited in the worst way by the elitist oligarchs building yet another crown jewel to display art made by artists who are not driven by the motive of conspicuous consumption. As Art makers, we should be a voice to say no to the conditions of the workers who are treated much as slaves to house the very art of our soul’s passion to not be displayed in such a place as this. We are the keepers of our own truth, and if that truth is compromised by where it is installed, and where it is used as a prize, then we have lost our moral rights as art makers to claim our own personal truths in our own Art.

Oceanside and the New Media

Considering Digital Art…is it real Art?

“I would like to see the hand of the Artist” one of the Alliance members so stated when viewing a Digital Painting I had brought to the quarterly meeting of the group’s critique.

The General consensus was that the originality, content, and value of the art work itself I had brought to be shared was not considered, but the discussion was what was it? Could computer art be thought of as “real” art. This was rather disconcerting to me as I have a history of many different media in my production of work which includes Bronze Sculpture, Oils on canvas, water color, and Graphite. Having my work in collections by private collectors nationally and internationally, this seemed to me to be rather lacking in the awareness of what is actually going on not only at our Oceanside Museum of Art, but in Galleries and Museums all over the world.

The making of a digital painting in my work usually consists of a pencil drawing scanned into the computer then enhanced with a Wacom pad and Stylus. I use the stylus the same way as I use a pen or paint brush with the flexibility of being able to instantly correct my work as I progress through the evolution of an idea. My images may incorporate photos which I have taken and stored in a digital file.

We were fortunate to have James Enos at the Museum for the past months for his works are unique and complex in their structure. In his statement he mentioned that he used digital and laser technology to fabricate his housing sculptures. This technology has been in use for about 20 years, and it was demonstrated to me at my foundry in LA when they were involved in making a model for an Arabian Prince who was building a new palace.  These new technologies, * the Inkjet printer, the laser printer and the 3D printers are slowly becoming the lexicon of our 21^st Century Art World.

I would like to share with you my process and the many wondrous advantages of the Digital World which gives me in my advancing years of existence a way of creating work without the physical angst. Aging is not fun, but with the new media I can be creative and productive. Everyday is exciting as I contemplate the possibilities of the “what ifs”.

The image in the lower left hand corner has one of my photos from Moonstone Beach near Eureka CA. In my work, the photos are always my own and I use them extensively taking elements from them for new work. 

“The imperfections of hand built art may not be seen in the making of a Digital Creative Work, but the heart and soul of the Artist shines through clear and true”.  R. Jameson

         The Many Manifestations of the "Eve Tree"

From a Pencil Drawing...

scroll down and view the various models built by this process...

Exhibition Space

As Artists we need space to exhibit our work. Tempting offers come everyday through our email connections to the Art World promising you the best deal for your work. Most of these are never opened and I would take them with the same questioning of purpose as I do with those wondrous offers coming from South Africa.

Back in the Day when I was exhibiting with Galleries, I had an experience which I will share with you.

The Gallery an Internationally known name in the Art World had two of my bronze sculptures on Commission. The Contract which I had with them had the provision that I would be reimbursed the full retail price of the sculptures if they were damaged or stolen.

My work was on display during the Christmas Season, and I felt that the timing was right for my commitment to this Gallery.

The Day after Christmas I received a phone call from the Director of the Gallery and was told that my sculptures had been stolen. They were both Artist Proofs and were very valuable for that reason. To make a long story short, it took my attorney several hours of time, but ultimately when he sent a letter of pending legal action they paid off. Contracts Matter.       

Exhibiting your work is putting a light on your talent, your original visions and most of all your integrity as an Artist. The many hours spent, the framing, the travel are all expenses which when added up there is no way you that can combine these factors into a realistic pricing for the Gallery you wish to commit your works to. The best we can hope for is for a price structure that will be fair to the potential client, the gallery, and you as an Artist.

Putting aside your time, talent, and the originality of your work, perhaps the cost of producing your work is a better way to go when you are in the starting phases of your career. Even in the mid range sometimes negotiations are necessary to bring the sale to a close. Selling your work is an emotional experience. Especially if the work is a unique piece and there are no expectations of producing an edition.

When choosing a Gallery some things to consider should be:

1. Does your work have a complimentary fit with what other art works being exhibited?
2. How many works can you have exhibited?
3. What kind of frames is expected on the Art Works?
4. Is there a good potential of foot traffic in the area?
5. Does the Gallery have a time frame of how long you can exhibit?
6. How many other Artists does the Gallery have on the exhibition roster?
7. What is the percentage that the Gallery will collect on the sale of your Work?
8. Does the Gallery have insurance to cover your work in its entirety? (retail price)
9. How many days does the Gallery take to payout your Commission?
10. You should sign a contract, with the owner of the Gallery to protect your art.  Handshakes do no Work.
11. Do you have an understanding in your contract that you retain all of your Artists Rights under the VARA act? http://www.artuntitled.com/pgextra/al_vara.html

12. What is the History of the Exhibition Space? How long has it been there?
13. Does the Owner of the Exhibition Space want money to show your work?
1. This usually does not work out for the Artist very well, but is great for the Owner of the Gallery Space.
14. What kind of promotion does the Gallery offer? Are there openings on a regular basis? Do they have a legitimate web site? Do they protect your images on the Site with a water mark? Are the jpg images small enough that they cannot be reproduced and downloaded by the entire world? 

We Do need Spaces to show our Work, we do need the sharing experience of having our works “out there”, and we do need to make at least our expenses. Remember that your work is your truest self, and that self is not for the giving away. We should always be aware that our visions are unique and that the worth is not in the monetary reward and fame, but in the true quest of a having the home of your work a place where it will be protected, revered, and loved.    

                                                            click on image for larger view

A FINE ARTS EVENT!

Last Night, in Artists Alley the vibe was sweet, the food great, and the Art Works were all prevailing. It was a Night of Celebration for all who have spent their time, sweat equity, and monetary equity to bring back to our Community one of the most fun venues in Oceanside for the Arts.  

The Inside Alley was brightly lit with not only with lights of celebration, the brightness emanated from the Crowds of People from our Business Community and the up and coming young artists of our North Coast.

Working Artists with paint brushes created art on the spot. Imagine this happening in our Downtown. Well get used to it. This kind of event will happen in our near future once a month in the North Coast District of Theater and Arts.  

Looking forward to these Visual Artist based Art Walks we hope the lights which lit up just one venue last night planted the seeds of Possibilities for our regional artists, the economic benefits for our Restaurants and shops, and most of all shine the “good life” on our City’s residents and Visitors.

"MindWalk"

The Oceanside Pier wrapped in the Imagination of a Sculptor 

AT LAST 

ARTISTS ALLEY IS ALIVE! 

The Incredible Excitement of a new Gallery opening in Artists Alley has been long awaited. This venue marks a new beginning of the Arts being shown in Downtown Oceanside. Welcome! The Torch is passed form the old guard to the new and innovative Hill Street Country Club Gallery.  

Michael Rosenblatt wins a "Live Painting" competition this last week at the Belly Up Tavern. He did represent Artist Alley in this competition. Congratulations .. Michael...onward and thrive! 

This Beautiful Mural is located on the South side of the Arkley Center. It is also a Venue for many
Arts Alive! Events. The scaffolding for his endeavors is seen above on the red truck.

Art Walk Eureka

From 2004 until 2009 I lived in Eureka CA. Here in this small town on the North Coast of California, there are more artists per capita than any where in the State of California.

During this time, I was the owner of a small Fine Art Gallery “Kronos” and was a participant in this incredible happening of “Arts Alive” every month. The town has had hard luck since the closing of the Paper Mill which was the main source of employment and the logging industry that was the source of its wealth.

The Arts have somewhat filled the void of “belonging” in this small City on the Humboldt Bay. The Murals are without peer, and the artist of many of them, Duane Flatmo is world renown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zli8PGuxpL4

I was living in Eureka when the mural for the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts was created. It was amazing, I stood in awe of this man so small in relation to the mural he was painting, and wondered if it could be completed in reality to the small scale of  his drawing. So it was, more so than we could have ever imagined. In a word, Perfect, for the Venue.    

Here in Oceanside as we contemplate our own Arts Walk, the ideas, the energy, and the talent will have to combine to make our Monthly Event unique and memorable. There is much to be done in the search for our own place in the Art Walk World, as it will be a challenge to engage our many venues to become the place where Artists want to be seen.

I know from personal experience what a successful Arts Alive can be to the Merchants, shopkeepers, and the building of an Art Voice for a Town. It has taken many years for Eureka’s Arts Alive! to become an incredible draw from all over the County, and it will take patience for our own efforts to succeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq75f1sVRME  (“soul of Eureka”.)

It will happen! Look what has been accomplished in the past 10 years, and this is only a prelude to what will become a full blown Concert! When we returned to my City by the Sea, after 10 years, the transformation had begun. Ginny Tompkins and I used to dream of a downtown where there were fine Hotels, great Restaurants, and an Art Museum which would be the catalyst for a Renaissance of Oceanside. It has more than begun, it is transforming before our very eyes…

  

Introducing The Hill Street Country Club’s inaugural Supper Club Artist Project; a three-part series providing community education & involvement in the Arts. EDUCATE • APPRECIATE • CELEBRATE Join The HSCC, artist Johnny Nguyen of Songs of the Green Bird and our sponsor MainStreet Oceanside, for a Pop-up ART Workshop inside the Oceanside Farmers Market & Sunset Market on January 2, 2014 for Part I: EDUCATE of the Supper Club Artist Project. ... Learn alongside your community as Nguyen shows how to approach photography with a journalistic eye inside the market, then explore and take photographs of your own. Instant-use cameras provided. The workshop will involve direct communication with local buyers and members of the Oceanside community. Using Nguyen as a guide and inspiration, participants will be invited to use their own cameras (mobile phone, ipad etc) or one of several disposable film cameras available at HSCC booth located in Downtown Oceanside Farmers Market. Participants will then be prompted to spend some time exploring and photographing their own local market. Guests will be given instructions on how to use the camera as well as a few tips and tricks from the artist himself on how to photograph using a street photography/photojournalism technique. The intention of this workshop is to provide a unique experience for our Oceanside community, access to local art and introduce a new or perhaps unfamiliar technique. The HSCC will encourage an appreciation and understanding of the dying art form of print photography. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: FREE & FOR ALL AGES. Workshop Times on Thursday, January 2, 2014: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM inside the Farmers Market 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM inside the Sunset Market The Hill Street Country Club thanks MainStreet Oceanside for sponsoring this Pop-up ART Workshop. RSVP on facebook for the Opening Reception of Songs of the Green Bird; Part II: APPRECIATE of the Supper Club Artist Project happening January 18th for an opportunity to see your photos in addition to artist Johnny Nguyen’s work inside the Hill Street Country Club Gallery inside Artists Alley. See More Part II Jan. 18th, 2014 ...6:00 ~ 10:00 212 D Coast Highway (Artists Alley), Oceanside, CA Introducing The Hill Street Country Club’s inaugural Supper Club Artist Project; a three-part series providing community education & involvement in the Arts. EDUCATE • APPRECIATE • CELEBRATE Take in art at the Opening Reception for Songs of the Green Bird by Johnny Nguyen, PART II: APPRECIATE of the Supper Club Artist Project, on Saturday, January 18, 2014 from 6:00 pm-10:00 pm at The Hill Street Country Club Gallery inside Artists Alley. Songs of the Green Bird features a collection of photojournalistic ...works taken by Nguyen inside a marketplace in Vietnam. Nguyen’s photographic work stems from an interest in photojournalism and meshes with fine art through the use of film and darkroom processes. In Songs of the Green Bird, Nguyen exhibits a photographic series documenting a small, open-air marketplace supported by its surrounding community. This market named “Cho Chim Xanh,” (translated to English as The Green Bird Market) and other markets such as this, are prevalent throughout the country of Vietnam. Not only do these markets supply the local population with fresh meats, fruits and vegetables, this communal environment provides a framework of stability for their respective neighborhoods by offering a central venue for its citizens to converge and dialogue. Nguyen embedded himself within the community circles of The Green Bird Market to photograph these intimate, photojournalistic, street-style portraits of the lives that give the market its heartbeat. He hopes that this series of 16 classical, black and white gelatin silver prints encourages the audience to appreciate the human value of local markets, and to compare and contrast between the market culture observed here in America and elsewhere throughout the world. Alongside the Opening Reception of Songs of the Green Bird by Johnny Nguyen, photographs taken by the Oceanside community from the Jan. 2nd Pop-up ART Workshop inside the Oceanside Farmers & Sunset Market will be on display. Food provided by Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub. Beer served by Booze Bros Brewery. FREE EVENT: OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. The Hill Street Country Club would like to thank our generous sponsors for helping make PART II: APPRECIATE of the Supper Club Artist Project happen: Booze Bros Brewery of Vista, CA and Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub in Oceanside, CA. Stay Social! Follow us on instragram: @thehillstreetcountryclub @thecameracollective @wrenchandrodent @boozebros

Lewis ~  Taking awesome Care of the OMA Gallery....

“Winter Wonderland”

  an Installation by

Armando de la Torre

As our Holiday Season rushes to its finale, we have the privilege to visit an enchanted place from the Heart of Armando de la Torre.

This is a place we will all recognize in our hearts of  remembering our sweet experiences of Childhood and Parenthood of our younger days. It will bring to us the once a year experiences of the “woods” when we found the perfect tree in the forest. The warm feelings of the hearth and of home resonate with the songs of remembrance of Years gone by. The togetherness of Family and loved ones create the Magic of the Season.

The Gift of Family, Our Place on this planet Earth, and the unending Universe of Being is what our Holiday Season is all about. This is the space you will enter into at OMA’s satellite venue in the Westfield Mall and given to us by an Artist of great accomplishment, Armando de la Torre.

Creating an Arts District…

Participating in the forthcoming discussions led by our Oceanside Museum of Art, I will post various examples and opinions on the Creation of Art Colonies and Art Districts, and the implications which arise in the process. Is Gentrification to be desired? What happens when the long time residents and business owners confront the success of an Artist Colony or Arts District? What about Culture Clash? What about the Money Clash? What about when the Success of the Colony becomes the antithesis of what it started out to be? Please feel free to comment where ever you live and if you have had experiences to share. 

Article taken from Pomona College Magazine • 550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711

Downtown TurnaroundEd Tessier ’91 turned dying downtown Pomona into a vibrant Arts Colony with some help from family and the skills he learned at the College.

By Mark Kendall
Ed Tessier ’91 grew up watching downtown Pomona die. The sporting goods store where he got his first baseball glove closed. So did the department store where he bought his Cub Scout uniform. So did the lunch counter where his grandpa used to buy him root beer floats.

Shortly after graduating from the College, Tessier set about bringing downtown Pomona back to life.

While in school, Tessier majored in urban sociology and used Pomona’s downtown for case studies. Still, he never planned to undertake a crusade to save it. He expected to wind up behind a desk in some city planning department, “playing with colored pencils the rest of my life.”

But his father, Victor, a prominent Pomona attorney, had suffered multiple heart attacks and in 1992 asked his children (Ed, Jerry and Vicki) to take over six buildings he owned downtown. They could have unloaded the properties, but felt too much of a connection with the community.

”It was an emotional decision,” says Tessier.

Tessier remembered the words of one of his mentors, Pomona sociology professor Robert Herman. “He had a mantra,” says Tessier. “That even in the most distressed neighborhoods there’s always something that works. The goal should be to find it and nurture it.”

After months of research, Tessier’s first plan was to turn the area into a Latino-oriented businesses district. Latinos now were the majority in Pomona, and such retail efforts had been successful elsewhere in the Los Angeles area. But it turned out another developer had proposed doing the same thing elsewhere in Pomona, and the city told Tessier to come up with something else for downtown.

The downtown already was home to an underground arts scene, with “guerilla artists” occupying empty buildings, hosting exhibitions and poetry slams. Tessier decided to tap into the existing vibe and proposed turning the area into an arts district centered along Second Street, west of Garey Avenue.

By 1993, Tessier had opened (with a business partner) The Haven, a combination gallery and coffee house. Downtown artists came out of the woodwork and connected there. But the place wasn’t just drawing crowds on weekend nights. It was drawing scrutiny from the city, as Tessier tells it, with visits from code enforcement and other agencies. He saw this as part of the longstanding tension between downtown artists and the city.Read More: http://pomona.edu/magazine/pcmfl04/OOtessier.shtml

Traveling out of the Downtown of Oceanside to one of our most cherished historical Churches.
The Arts of the Past... 

Images of the Hands who built.

As I sat in the lovely restored interior of the San Luis Rey Mission for a Requiem Mass listening to the songs of beauty and love, I could see all around me the quiet hands which built this magnificent Mission. The walls of plaster painted with the designs and embellishments of the yesteryear, and the Paintings of ancient heritage were all encompassing.

Can you feel history in your inner core…yes it is possible. The very air seemed to vibrate with these hands of history and the sounds of feet treading along the Central Isle of the Church of hundreds of years resonated within me as an overlay to the music of the Now.

Old Buildings do this to me. I see the inhabitants of the past going about their earthly chores and giving of themselves to the building of the Mission, the Cathedral, or Civic projects of the Times gone by. Touching the oldness of such a place is one of communion with the hands of time. I feel the vibrations of intent and accomplishment of the Hands. It is the same when visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art …the Egyptian sculptures are born again with me, within my heart of knowing.

The San Luis Rey is within my sightline every day I drive down the hill of Rancho del Oro. The gleaming whiteness of the wall, the sublime curves of the colonnade, and most of all the Blue Dome blending into the sky above.  I do no often go inside the Mission Church, but when I do, it is with the anticipation of my intense interaction of sight, of hearing the whispers of time, but most of all, the vibrations of my heart connecting to the Hands of the past and their commitment to a task well done. 

First Tuesday: Art + Community Series

7:00 - 8:30pm 
Free for OMA members 
$10 for nonmembers

OMA is launching a new educational program, Art + Community Series, moderated by OMA Executive Director, Daniel Foster. These regular panels and lectures will discuss the power of art to transform the economic prosperity, quality of life and identity of a community. Joining the discussion on December 3 will be James Enos, Urban Arts Developer; Naomi Nussbaum, Public Art/Sculpture Curator/Arts Professional; George Buell, Director of Development Services, City of Oceanside; Stew Mayer, Urban/Mixed-Use Developer; and Dinah Poellnitz, with the Hill Street Country Club, Oceanside. For reservations please call (760) 435-3721.

LIVE

The studio, the gallery, the store

The Fantasy of the Magical Gift...Search and you will find it Here!

The Newest Studio in Artists Alley...we welcome You!

Come and See the Lighting of the Oceanside Christmas Tree ...

December 5th from 6:00 ~  6:30 

Downtown at the Regal Center Plaza

THE SUNSHINE BROOKS THEATRE PRESENTS FOR YOUR  HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT IN THE 

OCEANSIDE THEATRE  &  ARTS DISTRICT

THE FROG AND THE TOAD

Justin Jorgensen -- Frog

Devin Collins -- Toad

Ashley Jenks – Ensemble (Rear, Left)

Shauna Riisoe – Ensemble (Rear, Right)Bryan Taylor -- Ensemble (Center)