By Writer/Contributor Michele Pracy

As the curator of the group exhibition “Made in Ojai VIII,” I wanted a reason for organizing the exhibit beyond the fact that it was comprised of local artists from the OSA/Ojai Studio Artists group. This year, for the first time in seven years of exhibiting at the Ojai Valley Museum, an “outside eye” and an “outside viewpoint” have shaped this annual show.

In contemporary art, the title curator is given to a person who selects and interprets works of art. In addition to selecting works, the curator is responsible for designing the exhibition, writing labels, wall texts, catalog essays and other supportive content for the exhibition.

There was no doubt in my mind that the artists in OSA were professionals in their field, and masters of their chosen medium. I decided, therefore, that an exhibition of their newest work, never seen before in the region, could result in a superlative exhibit of fine art made exclusively in this artist enclave of Ojai, California.

It was imperative to hand-select each new work that was to be a part of “Made in Ojai VIII.” So, in early June I began my studio visits to 57 individual OSA artists. Every exhibiting artist presented to me their newest piece(s), many were yet unfinished, thrown but not fired, an idea in drawing form, or complete but not dry.

From each studio I selected one, and sometimes two, artworks that were exemplary in composition, idea, rendering, and completeness. I chose pieces that were in sync with their established oeuvre, but held the promise of new direction, experimentation, passion, and contemplation.

As I traveled back and forth across Ojai over a month and a half, from studio to studio, seeing all media from paint to stone to pastel to wood to bronze to glass to paper to ceramic, I knew this could only be a great exhibit. But until the work was amassed under the museum’s roof, altogether in one space, and I had the chance to have all of the work in front of me, did I really know the power of the show.

The power of “Made in Ojai VIII” is the absolute passion of the artists who created the work all around you. Each wall sings with color, sense of place, delight in line and composition. Each exhibit case is grounded with pieces that demonstrate a love of materials and challenges the medium. Each artwork here is intelligent; it is well realized because the artist cared about it from inception to fruition.

This exhibit, like the art, was created in a meaningful way, to be meaningful to all who view it.

“Made In Ojai VIII opens July 29th and continues through September 19, 2010 at the Ojai Valley Museum, 130 W. Ojai Avenue, Ojai, CA. The exhibit includes a tribute to master ceramicist Otto Heino (1915 - 2009).

Private viewings of the exhibit with Michele Pracy are available Monday through Friday by appointment only. Call the museum at (805) 640-1390 to make a viewing appointment or for museum hours and additional information.