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“Let’s Break A Few Eggs!”, or in this case, re-use an empty egg carton and make it into a holiday ornament! Cut, glue, sew, paint, anything you like, as long as it is able to be hung from a hook for display!

As in previous years, this competition is open to all members of the community, youth and adult, and there is no charge for entering this competition.

Two Categories: Youth (ages 15 and under) and Adult (over 15 years of age)
Awards will be given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in both categories.
People’s Choice Award: Visitors to the Harbor Village Gallery can vote for their favorite ornament.
Prizes will baskets of surprise goodies and art materials.
The juror will be Lynn Mikelatos, of The Greek at the Harbor and Margarita Villa.

All ornaments will be offered for sale for $10 each, and all proceeds will go to Wildlife Experience, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of wildlife through community education.

Ornaments not sold will be returned to the artist.

Turn in dates: Ornaments can be turned in at the Harbor Village Gallery, from Nov. 25 through December 8th. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Monday, 12-5 PM.

An Awards Reception will be held on Friday, December 9th, 5-8 PM. Ornament makers, families and friends, and community are invited to attend.

Camarillo, CA - The Art Program at CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced its next exhibition featuring students’ digital illustration and painting artwork on exhibit through Dec. 1 at CI Exhibitions Gallery.

Using Ray Bradbury’s novel as the source of inspiration, the student artists were tasked with reading “The Illustrated Man,” a collection of 18 short stories published in 1951. Each student artist created two distinct digital based works of art: a poster cover and a visualization depicting a scene, setting, or interaction for their select short story. Each poster is designed in a minimalist style, focusing attention on a central idea, object, or concept. As for the visualization, the student artists were free to explore any style and technique that best helps accomplish their idea.

The CI Exhibitions Gallery is located at 92 Palm Drive in Old Town Camarillo. The gallery is open and free to the public Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For additional information, contact the CI Art program at 805-437-8863 or art@csuci.edu.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.

What: FOOTWORKS YOUTH BALLET presents two full-length performances of the Christmas classical ballet THE NUTCRACKER, performed with The Footwork Community Orchestra and Singers from the ChannelAire Chorus. A free family educational lecture and story time will begin one hour prior to the performance time.

Where: Oxnard Performing Arts Center – 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA

When: General Public
NEW MATINEE TIME! Saturday, December 10th, 2:00 P.M.
Sunday, December 11th, 2:00 P.M.

Outreach Performances
Friday, December 9th
10:00 A.M. for Elementary Students
NEW! 11:30 A.M. for Middle and High School Students
(Please contact your child’s school to encourage this opportunity to see excerpts from THE NUTCRACKER. Call (805) 340-9878 for more information.)
Cost: $5 per ticket, or free for Title I schools

Who: Footworks Youth Ballet, Kirsten Oakley, Artistic Director

Tickets: $12, $20, $25
For more information or to purchase tickets, call (805) 340-9878 / www.footworksyouthballet.org

The Nutcracker is a favorite amongst both children and adults. A traditional holiday party and a very “typical” sibling rivalry set the stage for an entertaining fantasy to the Land of Sweets. With a cast of 80, Footworks Youth Ballet’s 8th production of The Nutcracker will dazzle audiences with its colorful costumes, professional sets and a live orchestra and choir. Join Footworks Youth Ballet for their Family Educational Hour one hour prior to each show to learn about the production, costumes, ballet history and music. Footworks Youth Ballet is a nonprofit ballet company whose purpose is to provide educational opportunities to young people through the art of ballet.

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Bee photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher joins veteran beekeeper Bill Weinerth as they share their enthusiasm for honeybees, on December 10 at 3:00 pm at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. The museum has its own working beehive for visitors to observe.

Weinerth has been a beekeeper for more than 50 years, and will talk about the past, present, and future of honeybees, describe his methods, and show the tools of his unusual trade. In contrast, Fisher is a fine artist who became fascinated with bees, and she will present her extreme close-up photography of them, taken with a scanning electron microscope. Her bee images are on exhibition at the museum through January 29. Admission to the Museum includes the bee presentations, and is $4 adults, $3 seniors, and $1 children 6-17. Children under 6 are admitted free, as are Members of the Museum of Ventura County, of which the Agriculture Museum is a satellite.

The museum includes eight vintage tractors, dating from 1914 to 1955, including one upon which children can sit. Exhibits using rare historical photographs and interactive elements tell the story of Ventura County’s farming and ranching tradition.

The Agriculture Museum is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, and is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, beside the railroad tracks and across from the depot in downtown historic Santa Paula. For more information, call 805-525-3100, or go to www.venturamuseum.org.

OXNARD, CA - Channel Islands Harbor kicks off the holidays with its 46th annual holiday Parade of Lights 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Dec. 10, with the parade beginning at 7 p.m. This year’s theme: Tropical Holidays. Everyone is invited to enjoy a full day of holiday activities and watch festively decorated boats in the parade.

Kids can play in 36 tons of snow falling at the north end of Harborview Park, off Harbor Blvd. near Marine Emporium Landing, beginning at 10 a.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there from 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. There will also be holiday arts and crafts vendors starting at 4 p.m.

Santa and his reindeer will ride through the sky at 7 p.m. to mark the beginning of the parade. The parade starts in front of Peninsula Park and heads to the Main Channel, turns at Hobie Beach, loops in front of the launch ramp then heads back to Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club and repeats the route for a second run. The parade can be viewed from parks and walkways that line the route as well as from most Harbor restaurants. To view the parade from the water, contact A&M Charters at (805) 204-0977.

To participate in the parade, download an entry form from www.channelislandsharbor.org. To adopt a boat to be in the parade, contact Bill Conroy at the Ventura County Maritime Museum at (805) 984-6260. Any size boat can register for the Parade of Lights.

Parade participants can take part in various decorating contests and compete for awards.

For more information on the Parade of Lights visit www.channelislandsharbor.org.

Channel Islands Harbor serves as a center of recreation, boating, shopping and water sports activities. The harbor is home to three yacht clubs and nine full-service marinas that provide berths for 2,150 boats. It also hosts the Ventura County Maritime Museum. Located at Fisherman’s Wharf, the museum is a cultural center dedicated to the interpretation of maritime history through interactive exhibits and educational outreach.

Camarillo, CA - The Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics at CSU Channel Islands (CI) will host Thomas P. Smith, Chairman of the Board and co-founder of TASER International, during their fall speaker series to be held on Friday, Dec. 2, from 12 to 2 p.m. in Salon A on the CI campus. The event includes lunch and is free and open to the public.

As co-founder of the world’s leading manufacturer of electronic control devices, Smith is credited with founding a start-up company of seven employees in 1993 to one with more than 350 employees that manufacturers and innovates technology used by more than 16,200 international, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military.

The speaker series programs are sponsored by the Business Advisory Council of the MVS School of Business & Economics.

Please RSVP by visiting http://business.csuci.edu/events.htm. For additional information contact Merissa Stith, Events Coordinator, at 805-437-8548 or merissa.stith@csuci.edu.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.

Generous gifts made to the Museum of Ventura County by its Collectors Council will be on exhibit at the museum from December 4, 2011 through February 12, 2012. Expanding the Collections: Gifts from the Collectors Council includes sculpture, paintings, and rare historical documents and photographs. The Collectors Council was formed only three years ago, but has since purchased or contributed toward many important additions to the museum collections.

Historical purchases on exhibit include pieces from a John Nichols collection of photographs and documents related to the 1928 Saint Francis Dam Disaster, and two books by Robert H. Becker containing colorful reproductions of diseños (hand-drawn maps) of early Californio ranchos, 1822-1846, taken from the records of the United States District Court in San Francisco.

The exhibition also includes artwork by photographer Horace Bristol; sculptor Michele Chapin; painters John Nava and Susan Petty; and ceramic artist Cheryl Ann Thomas. Several issues of Joe Cardella’s ARTLIFE magazine will be on display. The Collectors Council, with help from the museum’s Fine Arts Committee, purchased the full run of the magazine, making the Museum of Ventura County the only museum in the United States with a complete set of this unique assemblage of artists’ work.

The Collectors Council was established in 2009 to support the growth of the Museum of Ventura County’s permanent collections. Council members attend private receptions and participate in informative artist studio visits throughout the year to view and discuss possible acquisitions recommended by museum staff for the fine art, history, and library collections .At a final meeting, the Council makes its decision through an anonymous voting process. For more information about joining the Collectors Council, please contact Development Director Robin Woodworth at (805) 653-0323 x 309.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission to the exhibitions is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

Valerie Freeman of Ojai with her award winning ceramic sculpture, "Blue Bolt." Photo by Myrna Cambianica.
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Oatley Kidder with her award winning sculpture, "Woman, a Work in Progress." Fred Kidder, Photographer
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The Ojai Valley Museum's final exhibit of the year, “Ojai Celebrates Art IV,” features three award winners offering visitors an experience in three different media - clay, luminous oil paint, and the world's heaviest wood. Museum Director Michele Pracy announced the prizes on Ojai Day in October. The exhibit continues through December 31, 2011. A panel of distinguished art professionals judged and selected the winners: Anca Colbert, art dealer and appraiser; Theodore Gall, international sculptor; and William Hendricks, photographer and professor.

Valerie Freeman of Ojai won the first place award for her ceramic sculpture, "Blue Bolt." This wonderfully alive baby horse is executed in the one fire clay technique Freeman learned in a workshop with Harvard ceramicist Allison Newsome at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts. The sculptor has to work very rapidly, shaping the clay both inside and outside simultaneously, then firing it while still wet. The viewer can feel the horse emerging out of a lump of clay into the horse form. You can virtually see the push and pull of her fingers in the clay. Newborn from the sculptor’s hands, the little foal stands on splayed legs, and in a moment of sudden energy, turns its head to bit and itching back. The dynamic surge of the modeling, the cobalt blue glaze, and the artist's lightning fast inspiration, all add up to the title's bolt from the blue.

Ashleigh Norman of Fillmore won second place for "The Message," an oil painting in the magic realist tradition. Working with her fascination for dreams and puzzles, Norman creates an experience of mystery and ambiguity. In the foreground her self-portrait is deeply still, bathed in an otherworldly light, but her hair is streaming to one side. Is it moving in a strong wind or in some unknown force? The viewer sees what seem to be ordinary objects, but a closer look reveals strange energies. An antique Victrola casts an ominous shadow, but where is the light coming from? If there is a message, why is the record on the Victrola broken? What about that wineglass, isn't there a little storm inside of it? One thing the viewer can be sure of, Norman will not tell you. Her art is about letting people take from it what they feel and letting the mystery remain.

Oatley Kidder placed third with "Woman, a Work in Progress." Carved in lignum vitae, a wood valued for its hardness and durability, the sculpture was developed over a long period of time, as the artist carved out the figures hidden in the material. "Woman" in the title is the essence of the gender, and the different figures circling the sculpture emerge in various phases of development. Kidder purposely leaves chisel marks to give a feeling of the power and strength that was demanded in her sculpting process. She is particularly drawn to the unique texture of lignum vitae, which she describes as waxy, like very hard butter. The viewer's experience is intensely tactile and at the same time not confined to a specific interpretation.

The winning artworks in “Ojai Celebrates Art IV” were selected from among 60 entries. The artists themselves graciously provided interviews describing their creative process for this article. We hope that their passion for art will inspire anyone in town during the remainder of the year to enjoy the exhibit.

The Ojai Valley Museum, established in 1967, is generously supported in part by Museum Members, Private Donors, Business Sponsors and Underwriters, the Smith-Hobson Foundation, Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, City of Ojai, and the Rotary Club of Ojai.

The museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Avenue, Ojai, CA. Admission: free for current 2011 members, adults - $4.00, students - 18 and under - $1.00, children 6–18 - $1.00 and children 5 and under – free. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday, 1 to 4 pm; Saturday, 10 to 4 pm; Sunday, noon to 4 pm. The museum will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Tours are available by appointment.

For more information, call the museum at (805) 640-1390, ext. 203, e-mail ojaimuseum@sbcglobal.net or visit the museum website at http://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org/

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The annual Sankta Lucia Festival will be held at 10:10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in Samuelson Chapel at California Lutheran University.

The dramatic Swedish ceremony, which has been part of the university’s holiday celebrations since its early years, pays homage to the Christian martyr who died at the stake on Dec. 13, 304 A.D. Swedish immigrants brought the tradition to America. The festival honors the character traits of mercy, humility and purity of heart, as seen in the Beatitudes written in the Gospel of Matthew.

CLU’s undergraduate students select five female and five male representatives whose depth of character and faith make them leaders in the CLU community. Lucia, her attendants and their escorts will enter to an ancient hymn and read an adaptation of the legend then the attendants will light the candles in Lucia’s crown.

The Office of Campus Ministry is sponsoring the free event.

The chapel is located near the corner of Olsen Road and Campus Drive in Thousand Oaks. Parking is available in the lot at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard. For more information, call the Office of Campus Ministry at 805-493-3228.

Animal sculpture by Albert Stewart, one of America’s foremost sculptors of the 20th century, will be on exhibition at the Museum of Ventura County from December 4, 2011 through February 12, 2012.

Animalia: Works by Albert Stewart, Modern Master includes pieces from the collection of Stewart’s daughter, Patricia Stewart Jump of Ventura. Animals were a recurring theme during the prolific career of this artist, nationally known for his animal and architectural sculpture. Stewart’s work can be found on major public buildings throughout the United States. Among his most visible commissions are the facade figures on the Los Angeles County Courthouse, created in 1956, and the stone figures on the Scottish Rite Temple on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard, completed in 1960. Ventura County residents can also see his work at Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Telegraph Road in Ventura, where he created the Stations of the Cross and two side altar figures.

Stewart also influenced generations of sculptors through teaching. In 1939 he was appointed to head the sculpture program at Scripps College in Claremont, California, where he remained until his death in 1965.
Museum of Ventura County’s exhibitions opening December 4 and running through February 12 also include Simms Taback: Making Pictures For Children, a retrospective of original illustrations by the children’s book author and illustrator; and Expanding The Collections: Gifts From the Collectors Council, featuring recent acquisitions.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission to the exhibitions is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, CA - CSU Channel Islands’ (CI) Business & Technology Partnership (B&TP) invites members of the community, faculty, staff, and students to an evening focused on the growth and opportunity in the animation industry. The B&TP’s Ninth Annual Holiday Mixer will take place Thursday, Dec. 1, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., in Aliso Hall on the CI campus.

Keynote speaker Drew Tolman will present “Innovation in Animation: The Art and Science of Visual Effects.” Tolman is a post-production supervisor for The Walt Disney Company with more than a decade of experience making family blockbusters and reporting to some of Hollywood’s most successful executives and producers. She has worked for Disney, Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros. in both development and production in 2D animation, 3D animation and VFX/live action. Tolman helped build three animation studios and managed nearly every studio department during her career. A believer in nurturing new talent, she recently founded the family entertainment company Beach Plum Media to produce animated projects with teams of professionals and student interns.

Tolman received a master’s degree in film studies with a concentration in children’s films from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, and a bachelor’s degree from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The event will also showcase projects from CI students who are studying digital media arts, animation, visual effects and related art and technology disciplines. In recognition of the growing influence of new technology in entertainment, CI is steadily expanding its program offerings to help prepare students for jobs in the field. In addition, it recently opened Mike Curb Studios, which offers students hands-on experience with the latest state-of-the-art technology in film and video production, post production, visual effects, animation, gaming, and music.

Proceeds from the Holiday Mixer benefit the B&TP’s scholarship fund. Sponsors include Ocean Law, Sheeler Moving & Storage, Pacific Coast Business Times, Go Green Mobile Power, and the Ventura County Star.

Tickets for the event are $35 for B&TP members and their guests; $50 for non-members; and $20 for Alumni & Friends Association members, faculty, students, and guests. Those who join or renew their B&TP membership for $150 will receive two complimentary tickets. Tickets can be purchased online before Nov. 29 at https://csuci.wufoo.com/forms/b-tp-holiday-mixer/.

Wine, refreshments and hors d’oeuvres as well as free parking and shuttles will be provided. Please follow directional signs to the event parking.

Housed in the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics, the B&TP is a collaborative effort between CI and community leaders, business and technology executives and professionals. The B&TP works to foster the collaboration of technology and related service-based companies with CI and promote technological excellence among CI students, faculty and staff for the benefit of the region’s economy.

For additional information contact Alissa Larreta, Advancement Events Specialist, at 805-437-8916 or alissa.larreta@csuci.edu.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.

Two downtown Santa Paula museums, The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum and the Santa Paula Art Museum, will have a special free day for visitors on November 25, the Friday after Thanksgiving, from 10 am to 4 pm.

Located within easy walking distance of each other, the Agriculture Museum is at 926 Railroad Avenue and the Santa Paula Art Museum is at 117 North 10th Street. For more information about exhibitions at the Agriculture Museum, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805- 525-3100. For Santa Paula Art Museum exhibit information, go to www.santapaulaartmuseum.org or call (805) 525-5554.

Local artists will show and sell their work, including jewelry, glass art, ceramics and other creations, when the Museum of Ventura County hosts a Holiday Boutique on Saturday, November 19, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Admission to the boutique is free.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission to the exhibitions is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

The Artists Guild of Fillmore recently brought paintings to fill the walls of the Lobby of the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Road, Ventura. The decorative works of art follow the intent of the Guild's founding mission to create an interest in people for collecting original art by local artists. Many holiday and social events are scheduled at this unique facility which is now enhanced with arrangements of available artworks on each of the entry walls.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University students and staff will join with community members to re-enact the Christmas story in the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.

In the university's annual tradition, students representing Mary and Joseph will travel by donkey through campus seeking shelter for the birth of their son. Other students, staff and visitors holding candles will walk with them from the Pavilion to Lundring Events Center in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center. The evening will conclude with a piñata and refreshments of Mexican hot chocolate and pan dulce (sweet breads). This festive Mexican tradition dates back to the 16th century.

The Pavilion is on the north side of Memorial Parkway near Pioneer Avenue on the Thousand Oaks campus.

CLU's Office of Multicultural Programs and International Student Services, Latin American Student Organization and Spanish Department are sponsoring the free event. For more information, call Multicultural Programs at 805-493-3489.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University's free annual Kwanzaa celebration will feature food, performances and a ceremony from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in Soiland Recreation Center.

CLU students will perform a Kwanzaa ceremony and NAACP Saturday School students will make presentations. The celebration will also include authentic African and African-American food, entertainment and vendors selling arts and crafts.

The public is invited to attend to learn about this holiday. Millions of African Americans observe Kwanzaa from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 each year. It is a special time when families and friends unite to strengthen and encourage one another.

Soiland Recreation Center is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, which is north of Olsen Road between Mountclef Boulevard and Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus.

The NAACP Saturday School, the Afro-Centric Committee of Ventura County, and CLU's Black Student Union and Office of Multicultural Programs and International Student Services are sponsoring the event. For more information, call Multicultural Programs at 805-493-3489.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks will present its annual holiday gift to the community with free Christmas Festival Concerts Dec. 2 through 4.

The choral ensembles and University Symphony will perform “Out of Darkness…Light!” at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, in Samuelson Chapel.

The university's longest-running annual event will feature a narrated performance of Christmas music. The program will include delightful lesser-known carols as well as familiar favorites sung by the CLU Choir and Women's Chorale.

The University Symphony will perform Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins,” BWV 1043, featuring CLU senior Bradley Boelman of Ladera Ranch and junior Holly Sutton of Ridgecrest.

The choirs and symphony will join forces for excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah” including an audience sing-along on the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Wyant Morton, chair of CLU's music department, and music professor Daniel Geeting will conduct.

Donations will be accepted.

The chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive. Additional parking is available in the lot at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard. This is always a popular concert so arrive early for the best seating and parking.

For more information, call the Music Department at 805-493-3306 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu.

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Retrospective Beginning December 4

Step into the brightly colored world of children’s book author, illustrator, and Caldecott Medal recipient Simms Taback, when the Museum of Ventura County presents Simms Taback: Making Pictures For Children. The retrospective of his original illustrations opens December 4 and runs through February 12, 2012.

The Taback books are acclaimed for their humorous asides and exquisitely designed pictures, inspired by outsider and naïve art. Always a storyteller, Taback was a graphic designer for many years for clients such as McDonalds, for whom he designed and illustrated the first Happy Meal box. After selling his greeting card company, he decided to write and illustrate There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, adapting a familiar folk tale into a new kind of visual story by using die cuts to allow readers to see inside the old lady’s stomach each time she swallowed animals of ever-growing size. It was chosen as a 1998 Caldecott Honor Book. In 2000 he was awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, in which he used the same concept. Over the years, Taback has written and illustrated almost 50 books for children, and was selected twice for a New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award.

Taback now lives in Ventura, California. During his career, he also taught illustration and design at the School of Visual Arts in New York and at Syracuse University. The Graphic Artists Guild bestowed on him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. His alma mater, Cooper Union, awarded him the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Medal for professional. achievement in 2001.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

Oil and Water: Photographs by Carleton Watkins
November 20, 2011 to February 12, 2012

Presented by the City of Santa Paula’s California Oil Museum

SANTA PAULA, CA – On November 20, 2011, the California Oil Museum (1001 E. Main Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060) will debut its most ambitious and significant exhibit of photography in over sixty years. Featuring fourteen mammoth and whole-plate photographs, Oil and Water: Photographs by Carleton Watkins offers extraordinary views of the California frontier captured by the famous nineteenth-century photographer. In addition to his breathtaking images of Yosemite, Watkins (1829-1916) documented early Californians’ desperate quest for oil and water which provides the focus for the exhibit. The Museum will host an opening reception and book signing on November 20th from 1 to 3 pm to which the public is invited.

Oil and Water was inspired and supported by curating consultant Weston Naef, curator emeritus in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum and co-author of Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs. Naef will be the guest of honor at the exhibit’s opening reception and will sign copies of his incredible new catalogue and discuss “the extraordinary body of work produced by Watkins between 1858 and 1891 which constitutes one of the longest and most productive careers in nineteenth-century American photography.”

Recently published by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the catalogue includes “nearly thirteen hundred “mammoth” (18 x 22 inch) glass plate negatives, the majority of which exist in only one surviving print. Of these, fewer than three hundred have been previously reproduced or exhibited.” Four of these rare mammoth-plate photographs will be on display at the California Oil Museum.

Watkins’ mammoth-plate photograph entitled California Star Oil Works is the centerpiece of the exhibit. The 1877 photograph depicts Well No. 4 in Pico Canyon oilfield near Newhall, CA which in 1876 produced a gusher for California Star Oil Works and effectively began the commercial oil industry in California. The success of that well gave birth to countless new oil companies at the end of the nineteenth-century, including Union Oil Company of California. The original headquarters of Union Oil Company is now home to the California Oil Museum and is, as Assistant Museum Educator Julie Cluster described, “the perfect context for such an exhibit.”

WHO: The City of Santa Paula’s California Oil Museum

WHAT: Oil and Water: Photographs by Carleton Watkins

WHEN: Opening Reception and Book Signing, November 20, 2011 from 1 to 3 pm

The exhibit runs November 20, 2011 to February 12, 2012 (Museum Hours: Wednesday
through Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM

WHERE: 1001 E. Main Street Santa Paula, CA 93060
(Museum Admission: $4.00 Adults, $3.00 Seniors, Youth (6-17) $1.00)

WHY: To celebrate the work of photographer Carleton Watkins and the recent publication of his
complete mammoth photographs

MOORPARK, CA - The Moorpark College Foundation announces BOGOPOD.com as a major sponsor of its inaugural Holiday Lights at Moorpark College festival and fund-raiser Dec. 3. BOGOPOD.com, based in Westlake Village, is dedicated to helping merchants eliminate the confusion of online marketing and more effectively reach local consumers.

“Partnering with BOGOPOD is significant toward the success of Holiday Lights at Moorpark College, which we envision as an annual tradition that area residents can mark on their calendars and plan to attend every year,” said Elad Goren, president of the Moorpark College Foundation.

Adam Leff, chief executive officer and co-founder of BOGOPOD, said, “As a company we believe in local businesses and nonprofit organizations such as the Moorpark College Foundation. We support the Foundation’s mission and what it does to strengthen the local workforce, and are proud to sponsor Holiday Lights at Moorpark College.”

BOGOPOD.com is the realization of a dream to build a company that specializes in helping local merchants use new technologies for marketing and tracking the effectiveness of their advertising, Leff said. BOGOPOD.com is a leading local site where consumers receive targeted special promotions from leading area merchants.

Holiday Lights at Moorpark College, sponsored by the Moorpark College Foundation and the college’s Associated Students, is Saturday, Dec. 3. The centerpiece is illumination of the campus Library Building; supported by a festival with vendors, children’s activities, entertainment and special surprises. Nearby on campus will be the EATM Arctic Lights event, where America’s Teaching Zoo also will light up and feature real snow, activities for children and the family, and educational exhibits. Further sponsorship and vendor opportunities are available. For information call (805) 581-2743.

Earlier this fall, the Foundation announced the event’s new online crowdsourcing program to engage the community to support its festival of lights. The site offers sponsorship options for as little as $5, and for each, donors can leave messages for loved ones, friends or family members for inclusion in the event program. View the project at http://inv.st/ZO, or at HolidayLightsAtMoorparkCollege.com.

The Moorpark College Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation designated to receive gifts for the college from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Established in 1980, this volunteer board of community leaders broadens the educational opportunities of Moorpark College students through scholarships, program grants, and capital projects. Information: (805) 378-1431 or www.moorparkcollege.edu/found.