An exhibit of original oil paintings and photographs by Erin Mason, entitled Emotions, will be at the Discovery Gallery from Friday, September 4 through Wednesday, September 30, 2009. There is an opening reception on Friday, September 4 from 5 – 8 pm. during the First Friday Ventura Gallery Crawl.

Mason’s “Emotions” is a conversation with a friend, a therapist, a family member or yourself. A good listener will pause and respond with insight. The viewer turns into an observer of the artist’s dialog with herself. This introspective journey of feelings and how they are reflected in a physical way, are conducted in two mediums, oil and photographic print. Each image seems to have one foot in realism and the other in fantasy, between actuality and abstraction. We can’t touch, smell or hold an emotion, but the physical ways our bodies show them are recognizable. They are connections we each have with each other, we are sympathetic because we’ve been there, done that.

Mason’s characters and scenes reflect familiar emotions including frustration, surrender and serenity. A fantasy world pixie might have wings, but she has her limits, which hold her down to earth, to reality. The photographs of Arlington Cemetery in Mason’s exhibit capture moments of a place so heavy with emotion they will weigh down the viewer with a more sobering style of sympathy. CONTINUED »

Join historian Cherie Brant on a 90-minute walking tour of downtown Ojai on Saturday, September 19, from 10 – 11:30 a.m. The Museum of Ventura County sponsored tour will include visits to landmark architectural sites and insight into the personalities and events that helped shape this internationally known artistic community. The walk begins at 10:00 a.m. sharp on the southwest corner of Montgomery Street and East Ojai Avenue in the city of Ojai. The morning will finish at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa with a tour of its landscaping and historic buildings. Lunch is not included, but available on one’s own at the inn. Cost is $15 for the general public, museum members $10. To make reservations by the September 14 deadline, call Museum of Ventura County, 805-641-1876, ext 305.

The Ojai Valley Museum’s second juried art show, OJAI CELEBRATES ART, is open to artists 18 years of age and older working in any gallery media. Cash awards will be given for first, second, and third place winners in the amounts of $300, $200 and $100. There will be an awards ceremony October 17 (Ojai Day) from 4 to 5 p.m. to acknowledge prizewinners.

Entries must demonstrate some connection to the Ojai Valley, its people, history, or natural environment. The exhibit will run from October 17 to November 22, 2009. The selections for the exhibit will be made from prints, slides or digital media mailed to the museum by September 14. Judges will be Alice Matzkin, painter; Richard Matzkin, sculptor; and Joseph Sohm, photographer.

For questions, submission instructions and entry form contact this e-mail: ojaimuseum@sbcglobal.net or telephone (805) 640-1390 or see: http://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org/

They Paint Horses, Don’t They?
The horse as seen by 14 contemporary artists
&
Amazing Horses A to Z
Test your knowledge of horses using historical photographs and artifacts

~September 8 through 18~
Museum of Ventura County Closed for Exhibits Change

Friday, September 18
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Free Public Opening Reception
For Two New Exhibits
RSVP (805) 653-0323 x 10

Wearing Our Stories:
Costume & Cultural Identity in the Latino Community
September 19 - November 29
&
Immigration to Integration: The Art of Cristian Gheorghiu. September 19- October 23

The Museum of Ventura County is at 89 South California Street, Ventura. Free admission, except for some events. Museum hours are Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday -Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Open Monday, September 7, Labor Day. Beginning Sept 25, the Museum will close on Fridays at 6:00 p.m., except on first Fridays of the month, when it will remain open until 8:00 p.m. For more information, call (805) 653-0323 or go to http://www.venturamuseum.org.

Three Fillmore artists, Luanne Perez, Judy Dressler and Wana Klasen, have entered paintings in Santa Paula Society of the Arts show currently at the Santa Paula Oil Museum, corner of Tenth and Main Streets in Santa Paula. The theme and title of the event is “California Faces and Places”. The Show runs from August 2 to September 20, 2009; open Wed. - Sun., 10 – 4pm.

“The Walnut Tree, 100 years old” is a watercolor by Luanne Perez. “Sacred Heart Chapel, Saticoy”, “Ventura Coastline” and “Plumas County, Stream” are watercolors and mixed media by Wana Klasen. “Sycamores by the Sespe” and “Northern Coastline” in oil are by Judy Dressler.

Amelia Earhart
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The new photographic exhibition, “Early Travels with Union 76 Gasoline,” is on now until Oct 4, 2009 at the City of Santa Paula’s California Oil Museum. (805-933-0076, 1001 E. Main St., Santa Paula; 10 AM – 4 PM, Wed – Sun; $4 Adult, $3 Seniors, $1 Children).

Adventure defined travel in the West in the 1920s. Roads were becoming better than passable and filling stations were springing up to serve the needs of motorists. Americans were taking to the air for business, adventure, and travel. Autos and airplanes were breaking speed and distance records. The basic infrastructure of roads, signage, maps, service stations, and airports had been developed, allowing travelers to venture into landscapes they had only seen in magazines. Snapshots of this travel landscape were gathered by Union Oil Company in the 1920s as it supplied fuels to motorists and fliers. These photographs document the exuberant spirit of early travelers as they traveled the West by land and by air.

The photographs in this exhibit were taken by unnamed photographers hired by Union Oil Company of California. The images originally appeared in company publications and advertising, and are now in the collection of the California Oil Museum.

Tales From The Women's Locker Room - "The 'Locker Room' gals take a break from rehearsal." - From left. Rebecca Ridenour, Kimberly Demmary, Leslie Paxton, Nancy Jane Marie with Sarah Kurland-Hill center in red beret. Photo courtesy Francisca Beach.
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Tales From The Women’s Locker Room, directed by Francisca Beach, is the second production of the newly formed Senga Classic Stage Company – it comprises four short plays featuring fascinating, diverse female characters.

Playwright Frank Canino provides two of the pieces. In The Swan Queen Lenore Hayden-Bigley (played by Nancy Jane Marie), a retired prima ballerina, faces an unknown world A routine check-up reveals a lump in her breast. Her recent marriage to a wealthy banker includes an adult stepson with AIDS and a bad attitude. Sparks fly!

Canino's second piece, Sara Plays Her Game introduces us to Madame Sara Joel’s (Leslie Paxton) French class. Madame not only teaches you correct pronunciation but also relates stories from her childhood in Paris, during the Second World War. How did she survive? By learning to play 'The Game'

In May McCreaddie's searing piece, Choices, the life of Jean Fulton, a young Scottish school teacher (played by Kimberly Demmary) is turned upside down when a German company takes over the local engineering works leading to a series of layoffs that decimate her family. She takes extreme action ... with no regrets.

Margaret McSeveney's Dreams Of Glass, introduces us to the delightful trainee clairvoyant Daisi Dickie (Rebecca Ridenour), daughter of a seventh son of a seventh son. She is studying the paranormal through a correspondence course and having a bad day! Numerology can be difficult enough but dealing with the spirit of her interrupting “Da” proves to be even more of a challenge.

Senga Classic Stage Company at The Ojai Valley Grange is the vision of Artistic Director, Francisca Beach. A native Brit and current local Ojai resident, she continues to bring her extensive repertoire of European and American theatre to Ojai and the surrounding communities.

Tales from the Women’s Locker Room - August 14th to August 30th (3 weekends only). Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $15 ($12 for seniors and students). Ojai Valley Grange, 381 Cruzero St., Ojai. Free parking. For information and reservations, please call 805-646-4885.

Never before published historical photographs of the Ventura County Fair and its Seaside Park location highlight the Journal of Ventura County History’s new issue, which explores the beloved county institution and how it was able to survive and thrive.

A subscription to the twice-yearly journal is one of the benefits of Museum of Ventura County membership. Additional copies of The Ventura County Fair edition may be obtained for $7.95 each, by calling the museum’s store at (805) 653-0323 ext 24. Quantities are limited.

Using rare photographs and new research about the people involved in the early fairs, the journal traces the Ventura County Fair’s evolution since it was first held in 1874. Readers will discover why it was held at Pierpont Bluffs and Hueneme before coming to its present home at Seaside Park, and learn about a plan in the 1970s to move the fair to Camarillo. Journal Editor Patty Colman, a Ventura County native and assistant professor of history at Moorpark College, explains that the journal issue examines community activism during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, to keep the fair at Seaside Park. The journal also touches on the history of the park, which is located on land donated by the Foster family in 1909. The two Quonset huts that still dominate the park landscape today are airplane hangers installed just after World War II.

Last year the twice-yearly Journal of Ventura County History became a joint venture of the Museum of Ventura County and Moorpark College. Prior to that, the museum’s Historical Society published it for 53 years as The Quarterly.

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VENTURA, CA - The inkspots, Ventura County’s only fine art printmaking group, will be exhibiting at Gallery 255 in Ventura, California from September 10 through October 10, 2009. Gallery 255 is located at 255 South Laurel Street in Ventura and is adjacent to Sea Breeze Art Gallery and Studios.

“Off the Plate” will include works of art by: Karen L. Brown, Donna Carver, Judy Gibbs, Virginia Furmanski, Tiger Huang, Lynne LeTourneau, Sandra McCullough, Leslie Plimpton, Betsy Quinn and Monica Wiesblott. Their individual styles are as unique as the artists themselves.

Printmaking is the process of making original artworks by running a prepared surface through a printing press. These works of art are not photographic reproductions of a painting but original works of art in and of them selves. Printmaking techniques fall into four major categories: relief, intaglio, planographic and stencil. Each printmaking technique has its unique qualities. Many of these techniques will be included in “Off the Plate” show: monotype, monoprint, drypoint etching, lithography; solarplate etching, woodcuts, linocuts, and relief work.

“Off the Plate” promises to be an exciting show. For the first time, in addition to their major pieces, “the inkspots of San Buenaventura” will offer a limited edition folio for sale. The folio, entitled the “Directors Series”, will include one limited edition print by each the ten artists. Only ten folios were created. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Gallery Hours are Thursday & Saturday noon to 5 pm, Fridays noon to 8 (1st Friday noon to 9 pm). For further information see www.inkspotsVentura.Blogspot.com or www.seabreezeartgallery.com

About “The inkspots”: The inkspots is a Ventura-based artist collective that officially formed in 2007. This eclectic group of printmakers originally met while taking classes at Ventura College and has since come together to work in a collaborative workshop environment to explore, learn, teach, share and inspire each other through the medium of printmaking. Members of the group have shown their collective work in three major shows, and have more than a total of 28 juried shows between them. L.A. Magazine and the Santa Barbara Printmakers Group have written articles about them. Members of the group have collectors throughout the United States and Europe.

SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA — Get ready for the perfect midsummer Festival. In just its 3rd year, The San Rafael Food and Wine Festival has already established itself as one of the North Bay Area’s premier events.

Steven Restivo Event Services, LLC and the Historic Falkirk Cultural Center are presenting the 3rd Annual San Rafael Food & Wine Festival on Saturday, August 15, 2009 from 11 AM to 5 PM. The Festival is located on the grounds of the Falkirk Cultural Center in San Rafael, CA.

Festival-goers will enjoy food from area restaurants and sample wines from 25 of the region’s outstanding boutique wineries. In addition, there will be a chef demonstration area featuring a number of area restaurants. Admission to the event is free. CONTINUED »

Texting is back at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in 2009! See what exciting, new prizes are in store!

Text FAIR to 35350 and immediately receive a 20% off discount eligible for redemption at the fair gift shop. You will also receive insider details regarding year-round fairground events. These details are only available to those on the Ventura County Fair Text Messaging List!

Everyone on our list will be entered to win one of two “Day for 4 at the Fair” Packages. This package includes admission and carnival wristbands for four. Enter at www.venturacountyfair.org by clicking on the “Text and Win” link if you are unable to access a text-capable phone.

Refer 15 unique friends and receive a carnival wristband! Text FAIR to 35350 and you will receive a unique keyword. Have your friends text that unique keyword to 35350 and you will get points for signing them up. CONTINUED »

The Santa Paula Society of the Arts will be presenting its 10th annual members art show at the CA. Oil Museum, corner of Main & 10th Streets, in Santa Paula. The agreed theme of the show is "California Faces and Places II" and we expect that many landscapes of local scenes will be available for your admiration and consideration for purchase.

The citizens of Santa Paula and the Heritage Valley are noted for their willingness to support the efforts of local artists building unsurpassed private art collections.

Please put the show schedule on your calendar and come see our works during regular museum hours [Wed - Sunday 10 to 4 p.m.] The collection can be seen from August 2 through September 20.

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“Mad About Sergio,” a premier retrospective exhibit of the work of world famous Mad Magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragonés opens on August 7 at the Ojai Valley Museum, and will run through October 4, 2009. The retrospective will feature original artwork by the artist as well as inform the viewer about the process of cartooning. The opening reception will be August 22 from 5 to 7 pm.

Sergio Aragonés will speak and demonstrate cartooning at Sunday Gatherings at the Museum. The first Sunday Gathering will be on August 30 when the subject will be “Cartooning with Sergio.” On the closing date of the exhibit, October 4, the Sunday Gathering topic will be “Sergio on Comics and Humor.”

The Ojai Community Bank is the only community bank in the Ojai valley and is the sponsor of the "Mad About Sergio" exhibit. The bank provides personal service to the residents and businesses of the Ojai Valley and has an active charitable-giving program to non-profit organizations in the community.

Ojai Valley Museum, 130 W. Ojai Avenue, Ojai. Reservations are required for both events. Cost for the catered reception is $25; Sunday Gathering admission is $6 for current museum members and $8 for non-members. For additional information and reservations call (805) 640-1390. Visit the museum website at: http://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org/

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The fifth century’s most famous conqueror had something in common with the French ruler who built Versailles. Learn how horses were important to both these markedly different men, when artist and historian George Stuart presents From Nomadic Mounts to Dancing Stars: The Horses of Attila the Hun and Louis XIV, a new summer monologue series.

Scheduled at the Museum of Ventura County at 1:30 p.m. on Mondays August 17 and August 24, as well as at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18, the illustrated monologue contrasts the times and personalities of these rulers. The George Stuart Historical Figures® of both Louis XIV and Attila the Hun will be on view at the museum through September 7. The ¼ life-size sculptural figures are renowned for their expressiveness and intricate detail.

Monologue seating is limited. For reservations call (805) 641-1876 ext. 305. Members of the George Stuart Historical Figures® Guild may attend at no charge; admission for Museum members is $10; for non-members $15. The Museum of Ventura County is located at 89 S. California Street in downtown Ventura. For general museum information please go to www.venturamuseum.org.

OXNARD, Calif.—Channel Islands Harbor will hold the 8th Annual Fine Arts and Craft Show series 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Aug. 15 – 16 at the Channel Islands Harbor, on the corner of Channel Islands Blvd. and Harbor Blvd. The outdoor festival is free and open to the public.

The event will feature original works of art consisting of acrylics, etchings, photography, oils, watercolors and sculptures. Visitors will also be able to choose from a number of high-quality crafts, including ceramics, stained glass, woodcrafts, jewelry and gift items.

This event is produced by West Coast Artists, which has presented fine art shows throughout Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada since 1983.

For more information about the 8th Annual Fine Arts and Crafts Show series, visit the Channel Islands Harbor’s Web site, www.channelislandsharbor.org.

The Channel Islands Harbor Fine Arts and Crafts Show Series is presented for the benefit of the community by the Channel Islands Harbor Foundation, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation.

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.

As sponsors of the third annual “Dancing Under the Stars” fundraiser, the Arthur Murray Studios of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Thousand Oaks have put its own twist on the popular TV show "Dancing with the Stars". The event will be held on Sunday, August 23rd to benefit local Community Mediation Programs that assist youth in the Tri-Counties. The highlight of the evening is going to be a dance off featuring local celebrities paired with Arthur Murray dance instructors competing for the title of overall champion and various other awards.

“I was amazed at what they were able to do with my very uninformed body and kooky dance moves… but wow, I learned lots and has a great time,” stated Mark Whitehurst, Publisher of CASA Magazine and a dancer in last years competition. “I hardly knew I was learning lots about dancing. Adding this type of movement and music to my life was wonderful.”

A previous “Dancing Under the Stars” Champion, Maureen “Mo” McFadden (owner of McFadden & McFadden Entertainment P.R.), says the event was "The most fun I've had that was legal in a long time. No really, I highly recommend it for fun, self-esteem, and being able to touch your toes!" CONTINUED »

Nancy Hodge’s “Cowgirl/Horse Art” solo show at the Harbor Village Gallery runs from July 22 to August 24, 2009. Artist Reception is Friday, July 24, 2009 from 5 – 8pm.

Giddy-up all you cowgirls, tie up your horse at the Ventura Harbor and trot to the Harbor Village Gallery for a collection of original paintings and mixed media images of Nancy Hodge. Motivational Southern dames, mouthy broads and inspirational sisterhood offer up their uplifting messages on original cowgirl-inspired art. The horses they ride are not only a means for transportation around the ranch, but a vehicle representing strength and freedom. The powerful words these horses and women share are Hodge’s encouraging offerings to anyone who might not be holding their head as high as they should be.

Since a young girl Nancy was inspired to create. Her images were more anatomical and studious during her studies at Kent State. But, since moving to California and attending antique collectable and western rodeo shows, Hodge began roping cowgirls and horses into her paintings. Hodge’s loose style and whimsical strokes are created with various mediums. Many of which bring a hopeful or upbeat saying that have caught the eyes of breast cancer Survivors, Doctors who hang them in their waiting rooms and even the talented cowgirl and country western singer Tanya Tucker! CONTINUED »

Experience hot air balloons illuminate at sunset, or ascend in the morning air against a spectacular backdrop of citrus orchards and field crops. Relax and enjoy the Wine and Beer Garden, live music, unique children’s activities, art, vendors, and activities for all ages. Details at: www.citrusclassicballoons.com.

Save money and support the educational and preservation efforts of the Rancho Camulos Museum by purchasing advance tickets for the Citrus Classic Balloon Festival at the Rancho Camulos Museum or fruit stand or by ordering from 805-521-1501 or ranchocamulos@earthlink.net. Daily tickets are Adults: $7; Children 5-14: $3; and special parking $7. This is a discount from the gate price of $10/$5.

“Telling Stories,” a solo exhibit by Inés Monguiό will be at the Buenaventura Gallery from July 21 – August 15, 2009. A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, July 25 from 4 – 7 pm.

Each of Monguiό’s images is a celebration of the human experience: relationships, loss, change, struggles and victories are all depicted on canvas and paper. Her medium ranges from acrylic and mixed media to monotype, monoprints with chine collé elements. Monguiό is adept at weaving her well-balanced abstract and figurative imagery into stories that are part of mankind’s universal mythology.

Monguiό was born in Southern Spain. Says Monguiό , “Making marks was an urgent need for me as a child, almost physical. I remember going to my father’s study for the white thick paper he kept there and shouting ‘Papa! I need to paint!’” CONTINUED »

Sunday Gathering
July 26, 2 – 4 pm
Admission Free

The Ojai Valley Museum’s Sunday Gathering on July 26, from 2 – 4 pm, will feature a presentation and book signing with Ojai author Elise DePuydt who has recently launched an Ojai art and history book titled: A Photo Guide to Fountains and Sculpture of Ojai: Art, History & Architecture. The book is a valuable guide to publicly viewable art and historical places of the Ojai Valley. It has over 200 beautiful full-color photos taken by the author and a collection of historical black and white photos.

In 2003 the City of Ojai established the Public Art Program and since then many fountains, sculptures and other artwork have appeared on the local scene. Combined with older pieces, the City has accumulated an impressive array of public art. DePuydt, who has been living in Ojai since 2000, became so inspired about the lovely work appearing in the valley that she felt compelled to create this photography book. CONTINUED »