December 12th, 2009
Louise Lofquist
Louise Lofquist

VENTURA, CA - Ventura College Choir and Symphony Orchestra celebrate the season with a concert on December 12, 2009. Called “End of an Era,” the program marks the last concert to be performed in the old VC Theatre building before it is closed for remodeling. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets may only be purchased at the door the evening of the concert. The cost is $10 general admission and $5 for students, staff and seniors.
The VC Choir sings the lovely Christmas Oratorio by French composer Saint-Saens. Famous for his charming and funny “Carnival of the Animals,” the composer captures the mood of the holidays. Strings, organ and harp accompany the choir.
The VC Symphony Orchestra welcomes brilliant pianist Louise Lofquist in the stirring “First Piano Concerto” by Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich. This unusual concerto is very lively and includes a rousing trumpet solo in conversation with the piano soloist. Ms. Lofquist is a professor at Pepperdine University and one of the most sought-after collaborative pianists in Western United States.
The Symphony also plays a medley of holiday tunes called “Around the World at Christmas Time.” Added to the program is an atmospheric piece called “Autumn” by the phenomenal American composer Eric Whitacre. His music is making a huge impression all over the world.
Finally, the Symphony’s percussion section will play a “Quartet for Percussion” by William Kraft.
Conductors for the concert are Elizabeth Helms, David Gorospe, and Dr. E. Burns Taft.
For additional information, please contact Dr. E. Burns Taft, Professor of Music, 805-654-6400 ext. 3210, or until November 30, Alisa Sparkia Moore, Esq., Public Information Officer, 654-6462, asmoore@vcccd.edu.

 


 
Robert Lamarche’s Wings of Ra incorporates his use of diverse materials to express ancient symbols and meanings.
Robert Lamarche’s Wings of Ra incorporates his use of diverse materials to express ancient symbols and meanings.
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Student pieces of ceramics make wonderful holiday gifts!
Student pieces of ceramics make wonderful holiday gifts!
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VENTURA: In November and December, the Ventura College Galleries will host:

In Gallery 2, Nov. 12 – Dec.9: Open Monday - Friday, Noon - 4 p.m.:
Robert Lamarche, Ojai artist, brings his exhibit ANCIENT WISDOM IN CLAY to Gallery 2 from November 12th to December 9th. The Artist Reception will be November 12 from 7 pm—9 pm in front of Gallery 2. Robert Lamarche works with clay, poetry, glass, bronze, neon, precious metals, and steel to re-create ancient forms of expression, infusing them with exquisite craftsmanship, depth and emotional impact. His works represent the artist’s “ever pursuing the eternal quest against darkness, against oblivion, towards the light, inner and outward.”

In the New Media Gallery, Nov. 23, 24th and 25th:
STUDENT CERAMICS SALE: All works make terrific holiday gifts!
November 23-25: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., and November 23 and 24, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Admission is free. Call Gallery Director Kate Martin at 648-8974 or email her at kate@katemartin.com for more information.

 


 
Portrait of Richard and Alice Matzkin by Donna Granata, 2008 FOTM Portrait Series.
Portrait of Richard and Alice Matzkin by Donna Granata, 2008 FOTM Portrait Series.
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Richard and Alice Matzkin book signing
The Art of Aging
The Art of Aging
Aunt Kitty With Hat
Aunt Kitty With Hat
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Lovers Hugging
Lovers Hugging
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Old Yogi
Old Yogi
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Ojai artists and authors Alice and Richard Matzkin will be the featured speakers at a Sunday Gathering at the Ojai Valley Museum on November 22, from 2 – 4 pm. The Matzkins will give a presentation about their recently published book, The Art of Aging: Celebrating the Authentic Aging Self, followed by a book signing. In their beautiful book, painter Alice Matzkin and sculptor Richard Matzkin explore the experience of aging through their art, finding inspiration rather than despair. Admission to this Sunday Gathering is free.

The Art of Aging: Celebrating the Authentic Aging Self is a celebration of all that is beautiful about the aging process, challenging popular beliefs about the realities of growing older in words, paint and clay. Alice and Richard Matzkin grew afraid as they entered middle age and began experiencing wrinkles, gray hair and expanding waistlines. For the past fifteen years their work has focused on projects that confront their fear and curiosity about growing old. Together, they joined creative forces to present this groundbreaking and highly inspirational book, lavishly illustrated with 80 full-color plates. The internationally acclaimed artists share a studio next to their Ojai home.

Both Alice and Richard returned to art after a hiatus of raising children and pursuing a career. Alice paints and interviews inspiring older women, as well as, friends, neighbors, relatives, and themselves, sometimes in the nude. Her portraits of Beatrice Wood at age 100 and feminist Betty Friedan are in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. Her Women of Age series was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

In the 1960s Richard pursued a career in psychology and holds a Master Degree in Psychology. He is also a jazz drummer. Years later, Alice enrolled him in a clay sculpture class. From the first day onward he began to produce figurative sculptures with ease and without models or photographs. Richard sculpts older men and couples, most without clothes. He has participated in numerous one man and group shows and has pieces in collections throughout the United States. He was key artist in a monumental equestrian piece located in the Camarillo train station.

Now in their late 60s, the Matzkins feel this is one of the best periods in their lives. Their artwork and the writing of their book have given them a wider perspective and a deeper understanding of the meaning of life and an appreciation of the preciousness of now. The Matzkins have concluded that our elder years can be a time of ripening and harvest rather than stagnation and despair.

A selection of their paintings and sculpture and a video can be viewed at the museum in conjunction with the current Ojai Celebrates Art exhibit. To make a reservation for the Nov. 22 Sunday Gathering Call the museum at 640-1390. Go to www.ojaivalleymuseum.org and www.matzkinstudio.com for additional information.

 
Wine, Chocolate & Cheese Tours Tours are part of the Ventura County Wine Trail

Oxnard, Calif. – There is nothing more decadent than chocolate and cheese, and when the two are paired with wine – its pure indulgence! The Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau invites visitors to indulge in delicious wines, delectable chocolates and tasty cheeses on the new Wine Chocolate & Cheese Tours.

As part of the Ventura County Wine Trail, the new tours will be offered every weekend starting November 28, 2009. Visitors can come for the day or stay for the weekend. Several of the hotels in Oxnard are offering Wine Tour Hotel Packages, which include the Wine Chocolate & Cheese Tours.

The tours take place every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and depart via Roadrunner Shuttle from the California Welcome Center in Oxnard, 1000 Town Center Drive, Suite 135. The tours include stops at
Heritage Square -- Rancho Ventavo Wine Cellars and La Dolce Vita Restaurant; Channel Islands Winery; Herzog Wine Cellars; and Cantera Cellars, and Bella Victorian in Camarillo. The cost is $75 per person. Reservations are required 24 hours in advance and can be made by calling the California Welcome Center at 805-988-0717. Online hotel reservations can be made by visiting the Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website at www.visitoxnard.com.

“We are so pleased to bring this exciting new tour CONTINUED »

 
Includes Photo & Art Sale, Book & CD Signings

Join the public closing party for the exhibition Wearing Our Stories: Costume and Cultural Identity in the Latino Community, on Saturday, November 28 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Museum of Ventura County. Many of the exhibit’s featured artists, musicians, photographers, and authors will have art and photography for sale and sign books and CDs.

The exhibit is open through Sunday, November 29. It includes photo portraits highlighting local Latinos who interweave personal stories, religious and popular traditions, and political statements into their clothing and adornment. Historical objects and photos reflecting the influence of cultura on the lives of Latinos in the area are also featured.

Among those in the Wearing Our Stories photographs by Rudy Cardona and Samuel Hernandez, are college professor and first female kickboxing champion Graciela Casillas, harpist Xavier Montes, feminist and Latina activist Lupe Anguiano, professional altarista Ofelia Esparza, former Brown Beret Louie Moreno, actress Dyana Ortelli, and singer Ixya Herrera.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 89 S. California Street in downtown Ventura. It is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission, except for some events. For information, go to http://www.venturamuseum.org. or call (805) 653-0323, x 10.

 
The Ventura College Dance Department with guest choreographers bring a wide range of dance to the VC Theatre on December 4 through 6.
The Ventura College Dance Department with guest choreographers bring a wide range of dance to the VC Theatre on December 4 through 6.
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VENTURA: Ventura College presents another amazing dance concert! Guest choreographers Marlon Pelayo, Connor Casavan and Monica Brupbacher and student choreographers from Ventura College Dance Department are presenting their dance work on December 4, 5, and 6. The shows will be 8 pm on Friday and Saturday; with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $8 for presales, seniors, staff and students and $10 at the door. Directed by CathyJean Butter, this semester's dance concert is a variety of styles from aerial dance to contemporary work to modern abstract - it really has it all.

Ventura College Dance Department has made a name for itself with outstanding performances over the last 27 years, this semester's will not disappoint. This is the last performance that will be held in the Ventura College Theater before the building is scheduled for renovation.

For additional information, contact the Theatre Information Line: 805-654-6392 or CathyJean Butter at 805-341-6394.

 

End Sunday, November 29:

Wearing Our Stories:
Costume & Cultural Identity in the Latino Community
and
A Creation Story:Grand Hatching
See and learn about the bronze tortoise created for the Children’s Garden of the upcoming expanded museum

~November 30 through December 10~
Museum Closed for Exhibit Change

------

Thursday, December 10
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Free Public Opening Reception for New Winter Exhibition:

The Magical Realism of the Americas:
The Art of Master Painter Omar d’León
December 11, 2009 through February 28, 2010

One of the most renowned Nicaraguan painters of the last 50 years, Camarillo resident Omar d’León fuses an Impressionistic use of light, color, and texture with magical realism. http://www.venturamuseum.org.

 

VENTURA, CA. Local photographer Adam Gerlach brings his exhibit The Space Between to the Visions Gallery at the Marriott Ventura Beach. The Space Between is a series of gelatin silver and large scale archival pigment prints that ruptures the surface of existence and transports the viewer to an ethereal dream, in which Gerlach explores the brighter and darker moments of life and the balance many seek to find between them. This exhibit will be on display Nov. 12, 2009 – January 16, 2010 with an artist reception on Nov. 12, from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. The Visions Gallery is located in the lobby of the Marriott Ventura Beach at 2055 E. Harbor Blvd.

Working exclusively in black and white, Gerlach uses long exposures, traditional darkroom techniques, computer techniques, and light painting to enhance the glow of objects and increase the intensity of darker areas. Gerlach sculpts the image so that it more closely resembles what he sees in his own mind while taking the photograph. “When I see something that speaks to me before I photograph it, I usually can feel the essence of what I want to create,” says Gerlach, “I don’t use the computer or the darkroom to cut and paste or move objects around in my prints. I like to keep the documentary side of things intact.”

Many of the images in this exhibit represent Gerlach’s CONTINUED »

 

Screening Friday, Nov. 6 at 3 PM at Matilija Auditorium, 703 El Paseo Rd. in Ojai
and Saturday, Nov. 7 at 10 AM at the Ojai Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai
Tickets: $10 ($7 for seniors and students)

A stirring story of awakening conscience, Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home offers a rare glimpse into both the moral struggles of farmers and the emotional lives of farm animals

Producer James LaVeck available for interview upon request. Film trailer at www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org

Ojai, CA — This weekend, award-winning filmmaker James LaVeck will be in Ojai to screen his newest film, Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home at the Ojai-Ventura International Film Festival. The documentary, which won the Best Feature Documentary award at the Moondance Film Festival where it premiered in September, is the third of LaVeck's films to show at the Ojai festival over the past decade. LaVeck's earlier film, Peaceable Kingdom, which provided the seed of the idea for this new film, won the Ojai Film Festival's top award in 2004, for "enriching the human spirit through film."

A 78-minute documentary, CONTINUED »

 
(left to right) Kevin Bass of Ventura, Charles Touchete of Oxnard and Rita Freund of Santa Paula investigate the demise of Trotsky
(left to right) Kevin Bass of Ventura, Charles Touchete of Oxnard and Rita Freund of Santa Paula investigate the demise of Trotsky
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The Ventura College Theatre Department presents the Fall 2009 One-Act Play Festival. This semester’s one-acts include Seven Menus, a transcendental dining experience shared by multiple couples in ever-changing relationships, written by David Ives and directed by Aaron Manuyag; Variations on the Death of Trotsky, an exploration of how the great Leon Trotsky came to have a mountain climber’s axe smashed into his head, written by David Ives and directed by James Fraker; Night Visits, an endearing parable of love, loss, and ultimate happiness, written by Simon Fill and directed by Alex Manriquez; and Misreadings, a unique tale of the delicate and complex relationship between teacher and student, written by Neena Beber and directed by Wayne Hellstrom.

The One-Acts will be performed at the Ventura College Mainstage and Circus Theatres beginning with a free preview performance on Thursday, November 12 at 8pm. Performances will be Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 8pm, Thursday, November 19 at 8pm, Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21 at 8pm, and a Sunday Matinee on November 22 at 3pm.

Tickets are $7.00 for general admission, and $5.00 for students, staff, and seniors, and are available only at the door shortly before the performance begins.

For more information, contact Judy Garey at 654-64600 ext. 3236 or Jay Varela at ext. 3194.

 

Travel in the dark, down to the abyss of terror on a tractor - pulled hay wagon through the haunted forest. Enjoy eerie theatrics, startling events, ghouls and spooks. Hang on to your loved ones and hope you make it back for hot coco and snacks. Everyone is welcome, small children at parent’s discretion.

Celebrate Halloween with a night of fright!
Starting the 2nd weekend in October until Halloween night. Each ride lasts about 15 minutes 2 wagons run all night wagons go out every ½ hour (weather permitting) from 7:30 to 9:30 each night.

IF YOU DARE WALK THE SPOOK TRAIL

THE LAST WAGON GOES OUT AT 9:30 - so come early!!!!!!!
Cost is $5.00 per victim, refreshments available for survivors GROUPS WELCOME!!!!!

(About 15 victims fit on each wagon)

Call for more information 805-521-1500 ext 203

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED-PLEASE JOIN US AND HAVE FUN MAKING PEOPLE SCREAM!

 
Georg (Geoffrey Helms) and Amalia (Danielle Protugal) are lovers at last in SHE LOVES ME.
Georg (Geoffrey Helms) and Amalia (Danielle Protugal) are lovers at last in SHE LOVES ME.
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Georg (Geoffrey Helms) and Amalia (Danielle Protugal), seated, share an uncomfortable moment with the busboys and waiter at the Cafe' Imperial in SHE LOVES ME.
Georg (Geoffrey Helms) and Amalia (Danielle Protugal), seated, share an uncomfortable moment with the busboys and waiter at the Cafe' Imperial in SHE LOVES ME.

Ventura College Opera and Musical Theatre presents She Loves Me, a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance and nostalgia, yet as universal and relevant as ever in this age of internet romances. She Loves Me by Joe Masteroff (script), Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) will be directed by Scott Groeneveld, with choreography by Jeff Wallach and musical direction by Elizabeth Helms. The show is the same story used in the movies You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart. Georg and Amalia are two feuding clerks in a European parfumerie during the 1930s who secretly find solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals, little knowing their respective correspondents are none other than each other.
There will be only two matinee performances, both at 3 pm, on Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1, in the Ventura College Theatre. Tickets are only available at the door, just prior to show time. Tickets are $5 for students, VC staff and seniors, and $10 for general admission. For additional information, please visit www.operaworkshop.info or contact Elizabeth Helms at 805-654-6309 or ehelms@vcccd.edu.

The Mission of VCOMT is to:
• Educate students from Ventura College and the community at large in opera and musical theater,
• Contribute to the cultural enhancement of the City by exposing audiences to these art-forms through performance-oriented programs of opera and musical theater,
• Establish a high standard of artistic excellence, by featuring professional artists and staff in direct collaboration with the students,
• Provide program material which encourages multi-cultural themes and diversity for the students and for the community audience, and to
• Provide school outreach programs of opera and musical theater for youth.

For additional information, please call Elizabeth Helms, program director at 805-654-6309, by email at ehelms@vcccd.edu or go online www.operaworkshop.info.

 
West Matilija Trail”, oil by Robert Wassell.
West Matilija Trail”, oil by Robert Wassell.
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Robert Wassell’s “Wilderness Trails of Ventura” will exhibit at the Buenaventura Art Gallery from November 10 through December 5, 2008. The artist reception will be Saturday, November 14 from 5 – 8 pm.

Nationally known artist of the Los Padres National Forest, Robert Wassell has been documenting the forest for 22 years. His paintings show a pristine wilderness where the only sign of man is a trail or dirt road. To reach the site of his works you have to hike several hours, so this is not the forest you see from your car window. He is known as the back packer's artist and is well known by many lovers of the forest. Wassell has a unique stile and vision that is unlike any other artist in the Ventura region.

Wassell refers to the Los Padres National Forest and the Channel Islands National Park as “two jewels in the Crown of America.” The essence of Wassell’s work is to “humbly try to capture this pristine wilderness”. The gems he paints validate the accomplishments of this naturalist as well as brings these spectacular vistas to an elevation a bit more easy to clime to.

This is Wassell’s second solo show for Buenaventura Art Association.

The Buenaventura Gallery is located at 700 E Santa Clara St. in downtown Ventura. Hours are Tues – Friday from noon – 5 pm and Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. For more information, visit their website at www.BuenaventuraGallery.org. Buenaventura Art Association is celebrating 55 years of great art!

 
Spring Outing at Camp Bartlett by Cynthia Davis of Santa Paula won the Award of Excellence in Landscape Painting at the Student Art Exhibit in 2009.
Spring Outing at Camp Bartlett by Cynthia Davis of Santa Paula won the Award of Excellence in Landscape Painting at the Student Art Exhibit in 2009.
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Sun Dance by Nancy Beswick of Ventura won the Award of Excellence in Watercolor and Ink Techniques at the Ventura College juried Student Art Exhibit in 2009.
Sun Dance by Nancy Beswick of Ventura won the Award of Excellence in Watercolor and Ink Techniques at the Ventura College juried Student Art Exhibit in 2009.
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Works by Ventura College Landscape Painting students and Professor Dorothy Orr will be on exhibit at the Blanchard Community Library in Santa Paula from November 2 through December 29. The community is invited to meet the artists at a reception scheduled Thursday, November 12, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

The Library is located at 119 N. Eighth Street and is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 12:00 noon to 8:00 pm. On Wednesday the hours are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

The paintings, in various media, will be featured on the Douglas Shively Memorial Wall for the duration of the exhibit. These students work in a manner known as Plein Air painting, a method also enjoyed by artist, Douglas Shively. Works are painted on location, in open air, using natural light only.

All students participating in this exhibition are members of the Landscape Painting, Watercolor Painting, and Ink Techniques classes at Ventura College. Additional works by these artists will be available for viewing at the reception only.

For more information, call Dorothy Orr, Ventura College Fine Art Instructor,
(805) 654-6400 ext. 1394.

The Student Exhibitors in the 2009 Landscape Painting Show in Santa Paula are:
Santa Paula: Martha Binsley, Cynthia Davis, Chris Lemon, Ray Ramirez, Pam Shelley, Ojai: Heather Bendingtree, Chris Birbeck, Karen Birbeck, Claire Detuncg, Melanie Hirdler, Mason Sexton, Oak View: Rita May, Liz Tallakson, Carpinteria: Stacy Walker, Camarillo: Bonnie Counseller, Taka Yamashita, Oxnard: Brad Austin, Joseph Baylen, Naoe Okubo, Alison O’Neill, Ventura: Marrissa Aguilar, Joyce Auyeung, Rose Ballesteros, Nancy Beswick, Lois Bloom, Vella Buchanan, Heidi Coblentz, Susan Lewis, John Lively, John Lubina, George Macdonald, Laurie McKnett, Joan Oliva, Carol Philipp, Theresa Reyes, Mardi Treanor, Dani Willis Port Hueneme: Tristan Richter

 

“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA” Ben Vickers, some what of a Mad Scientist, and Greg, his faithful assistant, continue their research on the process of reanimating dead tissue. His plans to take over the world are set aside when he falls in love with the delivery girl. He now must make plans to win her love. Sespe Players next production of Mad Scientists In Love, Sespe Auditorium 627 Sespe Ave. October 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31. Kids in costume, admitted free on Saturday 31st with paid adult. Pre-sale discount tickets available at La Flor Bonita. At the door ticket sales offered also. For more info call Janet 217-2402.

 

The Museum of Ventura County is now accepting entries for Becoming Art At The Seams, a juried exhibition of both contemporary and art quilts, running March 13 through May 31, 2010. The application deadline is January 2, 2010. To download requirements and entry form, go to the home page of the museum website at www.venturamuseum.org. Entry is open only to residents of Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

The museum is looking for quilts that are innovative and original in design, and are a personal expression of the artist. Submitted quilts must have been completed after January 1, 2007.

The Museum of Ventura County is at 89 South California Street in downtown Ventura. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission, except for some events. For general museum information, please go to http://www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 653-0323.

 

The 25th Annual Ojai Peddler's Fair is being held from 9am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday, November 14 & 15, 2009. Located in the Chaparral Auditorium at 414 E. Ojai Ave., in downtown Ojai CA. Parking is free in the adjacent Municipal parking lot, and admission is always free.

Held rain or shine, the Peddler's Fair is chock-full of quality antiques, collectibles, handcrafts and international crafts.

This is a benefit for the Mira Monte PTO.

Vendors are sought.

For more information, please contact Pat at 805-964-8915.

 

This winter the Museum of Ventura County presents The Magical Realism of the Americans: The Art of Master Painter Omar d’León. Paintings by this internationally recognized artist, one of the most renowned Nicaraguan painters of the last 50 years, are on exhibition from December 11, 2009 through February 28, 2010. The exhibit includes several of d’León’s recent works which have never been shown. An artist’s reception open to the public is on Thursday, December 10, from 5:00-7:00 p.m., at the museum’s 89 S. California Street location in Ventura.

The artist is known for his light reflecting colors and surface textures, created by crosshatch scoring through pigment and wax sometimes more then 20 layers deep. The exhibition includes photographs of this process, as well as d’León’s tools and sketchbooks.

A Camarillo resident for more than 20 years, d’León experienced beauty and abundance as well as violence and loss in his native country. Studying at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Nicaragua, he combined an Impressionistic use of light and color with the magical realism traditions of Central America, which earned him critical acclaim at an early age.

In 1970 d’León founded Museo-Galeria 904, but Nicaragua’s massive earthquake of 1972 destroyed much of the museum, and many of d’León’s paintings were destroyed or looted. Several years later, he and his sister’s family were forced to flee after beatings and death threats from the Sandinistas. Despite being able to take only a few of his paintings with him, d’León has since created a new and prolific body of work. Today his pieces are in the collections of the Museum of Latin American Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C., the Ponce Museum of Art in Puerto Rico, the Chicago Art Institute, the Cuevas Museum in Mexico City, and the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California, among other collections.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 89 S. California Street, open 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with free admission to most events. For more information, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

 
Toth checking clay model for turtle sculpture.
Toth checking clay model for turtle sculpture.
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A life-size bronze turtle by Ojai sculptor Myra Toth, slated for installation in the Museum of Ventura County’s planned Children’s Garden, is on preview exhibit Nov 13 through November 29, at the Museum’s temporary site at 89 S. California Street in downtown Ventura.

A gift to the museum and the children of Ventura County by Howard Boroughs, the commissioned sculpture was inspired by his interest in the creation stories of Northwest Coastal American Indian culture, which tell of their people coming forth as children from a giant clamshell. Toth’s sculpture uses the turtle, seen in many cultures as a symbol of good luck, long life, and wisdom, as the mother from whom life emerges. She fashioned each child in the sculpture to represent the various positive qualities of human character. The exhibition will include pictures and explanations about how the piece was conceived, then created in clay and later cast in bronze.

When the Museum’s second phase of construction is completed in 2011, CONTINUED »

 
Oak by Myrna Cambianica, Ojai Valley Museum.
Oak by Myrna Cambianica, Ojai Valley Museum.
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OJAI GOES NATIVE! Popular Native Plant Sale – An Ecological Happening
California Poppy by Myrna Cambianica, Ojai Valley Museum.
California Poppy by Myrna Cambianica, Ojai Valley Museum.
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Iris Douglasiana Hybrid by Sally Hoover.
Iris Douglasiana Hybrid by Sally Hoover.
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Chalk Dudleya by Sally Hoover.
Chalk Dudleya by Sally Hoover.
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CONTRIBUTOR/WRITER: DIANA KELLY

Perfect timing! Just when we’re trying to use less water, the Ojai Valley Museum’s Native Plant Sale makes it easy to add drought tolerant, eye-catching plants to our gardens. From 10 am until 2 pm on Saturday, October 24, the back patio of the museum will become a nursery, supplied with all manner of easy-to-grow-and-maintain plants. Two Ojai growers, Lawrence Nicklin of Plantasia Landscaping and Scott Smith of Euterpe Farms will be bringing a wide selection of plants.

Museum native plant sales have virtually sold out every time, with customers eager to add different varieties and textures to their landscapes and patios. Most of the plants are native to Ojai, with its own microclimate, and the rest are California natives selected to do well here. They are low water users, and they grow happily in Ojai soil. This is landscaping at its easiest. Hearty natives develop and flourish in our climate and soil. They are attractive to native butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other birds, and bring much activity to your garden.

Smith and Nicklin will be on hand to give instruction and ideas. Shoppers can mingle with other experts and plant enthusiasts and find out what they are doing with native plants in their gardens. Many people attend this event, as it is the pre-eminent native plant sale in the valley. Adding to the mix of information and know-how, the California Native Plant Society will provide advice and handouts at their table. Need pots? Coast to Coast Hardware will be selling them in the patio area.

At 10:30 am, Tom Bostrom will speak about CONTINUED »