Olav Njølstad

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The 2013 Nordic Spirit Symposium at California Lutheran University will explore the contributions of Scandinavians to a better global society.

“Scandinavian Peacemakers and Humanitarians” will be held Feb. 1 and 2 on the Thousand Oaks campus. The public is invited to join in the spirit of a symposium, which blends music, dining and the free exchange of ideas to enhance the pleasure of learning.

Professors from the United States and Norway will discuss the peacemaking and humanitarian roles of Scandinavians on Friday evening and Saturday in Samuelson Chapel. Some of the most prominent peacemakers have been residents of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and Scandinavian-Americans.

On Feb. 1, Christine Ingebritsen, professor of Scandinavian studies at the University of Washington will open the evening session with a lecture on the niche the small countries of Scandinavia havefound in world politics. CLU history professor Paul Hanson will talk about Norway’s peacemaking role in the Middle East.

On Feb. 2, Carl Emil Vogt, a researcher at the National Library of Norway in Oslo, will illustrate how Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian polar explorer and national hero, became an important figure in the League of Nations’ international humanitarian work. Olav Njølstad, a history professor at the University of Oslo, will discuss the Nobel Peace Prize and its relevance in today’s world.

Herbert Gooch, CLU professor of political science, will explore how U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren, the son of poor immigrant parents, took the United States closer to fulfilling the promise inscribed on the Supreme Court building: “Equal Justice Under Law.” Other presentations will cover Nobel Peace Prize recipient archbishop Nathan Söderblom and innovative international mediators Folke Bernadotte and Dag Hammarskjöld.

A reception will kick off the event at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Scandinavian Center. The symposium will conclude with dinner and entertainment by mezzo-soprano Ingrid Isaksen at 7p.m. Feb. 2 in the Lundring Events Center.

CLU and the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation are sponsoring the symposium. The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and the Norway House Foundation in San Francisco provided grants.

For prices, schedules and registration, call 805-660-3096 or email nordicspiritsymposium@hotmail.com. People can register for the symposium before each session, but reservations are needed for the Friday reception and Saturday lunch and dinner. The early-registration deadline is Jan. 18.

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Hear the beautiful melodies, enchanting rhythms and romantic lyrics of authentic Mexican Bolero music on Friday, February 8, 2013, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., as three popular music groups give a live concert at the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. Admission to the concert is $10 for the general public and $5 for museum members. Refreshments and a no-host bar will be available. Doors open at 7:00 and seating is first come, first seated. Admission includes entry to all Agriculture Museum exhibits.

The groups on tap have honed their singing and playing skills for decades. Jerry Lugo and his “Trio Los Unicos” have been together for more than a decade, as have Michael Leal and Albert Rodriguez of “Dueto Los Amigos.” Lencho Moraza and Xavier Montes of “Dueto Santa Paula” have played together since 1976. Moraza also sings the main vocals for “La Familia Moraza” and Xavier Montes is a harpist who plays throughout California.

Bolero music has its roots in 19th century Cuba and became popular in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s when songs like “Sabor A Mi,” “Cerca del Mar,” and “El Reloj” were made famous by groups like “Trio Los Panchos,” “Los Dandys” and “Los Aces.” Bolero music is not widely performed today and it is a rare treat to hear musicians who specialize in it. The music requires great skill to perform. Musicians, usually in trios or duos, play melodic scales and unique rhythms on stringed instruments as they sing close harmonies. Sometimes, because of the Cuban influence, congas, bongos and maracas are added to the mix. All three groups performing on February 8th will present traditional ballads, and these songs of love, desire, courtship and heartbreak will make for a romantic evening.

The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula, California, in their historic downtown, near the Depot and next to the railroad tracks. Hours are 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, free for Museum of Ventura County members, and for children ages 5 and younger. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more information, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 525-3100.

Fused-glass artist Fran Elson and author Amada Irma Perez are the featured speakers in the new series An Afternoon of Arts & Letters, beginning at the Museum of Ventura County on February 10. Admission to both afternoon programs is $5 for the general public and free to museum members.

In an illustrated session from 1:00-2:00 p.m., Elson answers the question she is asked most often, “How do you do that?” She discusses and demonstrates the wide variety of techniques she uses creating glasswork in her studio in Somis, such as fine art pieces, jewelry, tableware, home décor and accessories. Elson will also answer audience questions. Examples of Elson’s work will be on display and available for purchase from noon to 4:00 p.m.

At 3:00 p.m. author Amada Irma Perez of Ventura presents “The Exquisite Art of Writing: Rediscover Romance and Enhance Family/Friend Relationships.” She promises “afternoon tea and a delightful writing experience” and will share intimate details from her letters, journals and diaries while guiding participants in new ways to express their sentiments. A selection of journals and writing implements will be available for purchase in the Museum. Perez is a former bilingual educator and has written numerous children’s books.

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. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

Meet macro-photographer Dan Harding at the Museum of Ventura County on Free First Sunday, February 3 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., and find out how he captures the detailed images of tiny sea life on view in the current museum exhibit Tidepool Discoveries. The informal talk and all museum galleries are free to the public that day.

Harding combines technology and an unusual perspective to share his passion to protect and preserve these creatures. His process involves temporarily placing them in a small aquarium on site, so they can be returned quickly to their found location after being photographed. He also designs and constructs special underwater camera housings for other shoots.

Harding, who lives in Santa Paula, began scuba diving in the kelp forests of the Channel Islands when he was just 15 years old. This fascination with sea life evolved into degrees in marine science from San Diego State University, and a teaching career in the U. S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and locally in Ojai. Harding’s photography has appeared in numerous publications including National Geographic’s Your Shot and the Peterson Field Guide of Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida, as well as in exhibits and displays at Channel Islands National Park; Pepperdine University’s grunion research program; the California Oil Museum; and others.

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. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

SANTA PAULA, CA – After careful consideration and lengthy deliberation, the three judges of the Fifth Annual Art About Agriculture exhibit, on display at both the Santa Paula Art Museum and the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum, have selected the winners. All of the 87 agriculturally-themed works in the show were considered for a variety of honors and $500.00 in prizes was awarded by judges Marla Burg, professor in Art History at Ventura College, Anne Graumlich, curator of the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum, and Meg Phelps, professor in Art History at Ventura College and museum educator at the Santa Paula Art Museum.

The judges awarded Best of Show to Chris Provenzano’s “Trabajadores”, an impressive set of carved limestone figures who welcome visitors to the exhibit at the Art Museum. Hilda Kilpatrick’s “Flower Field, Santa Paula” was determined to be the Best Thematic Representation of the show, which encourages viewers to look at agriculture and its significance in our daily lives through the eyes of artists. Awards were also given to John Krist’s “Frost Blankets on Mandarins” for Best Composition in Light and Form; Jane Clare Salvati’s “The Grapes of Cali” for Best Use of Media; and George Lockwood’s “Farm Fresh” for Best Use of Light. Honorable Mentions were also made of Michael Torres’ “Gallo #2”, Gail Pidduck’s “Goat in Field”, Sharon Weaver’s “Vineyard Afternoon”, Kay Zetlmaier’s “Sunday in Salinas”, and Karen Anable-Nichols’ “Waiting for Lunch”.

Art About Agriculture runs through March 17, 2013 at both museums, so don’t miss your chance to see the award-winning works. The Santa Paula Art Museum is located at 117 North 10th Street in Santa Paula. The Museum’s regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, and Sundays, 12 PM – 4 PM. Admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors, and free for students and SPAM Members. For more information, contact the Art Museum at (805) 525-5554, or email info@santapaulaartmuseum.org. The Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue in Santa Paula and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 AM – 4 PM. For more information about the Agriculture Museum, please call (805) 525-3100.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - A Bulgarian portrait artist will work with students and community members as an artist-in-residence from Feb. 1 through March 2 at California Lutheran University.

The oil paintings of Ignat Ignatov will be exhibited in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture during his residency as part of the 2012-2013 Artists and Speakers Series. A receptionwill be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

During his month-long residency, the Kwan Fong will be transformed from gallery to studio as Ignatov paints portraits of gallery visitors. Community members are invited to watch and learn as he creates new works and shares his technical ability with students.

At age 13, the Bulgarian native’s promising talent in drawing, painting and sculpting gained him one of only 30 positions to the renowned School of Arts in Tryavna. He was then accepted into the traditional Bulgarian University of Arts, where he studied under the demanding atelier approach to fine art.

Ignatov used the proceeds from the sale of his art to finance his move to the United States in 1997 and he became a U.S. citizen. He continued his studies at the California Art Institute inWestlake Village, Associates in Art in Sherman Oaks and the American Animation Institute in North Hollywood.

He has become a respected member of the Southern California community of portrait artists and has made a career as a teacher and demonstrator of alla prima, a style where the painting is completed while the paint is still wetrather than in layers. He works in oil paints, producing richly colorful portraits and imagery of Eastern European daily life.

He is a signature member of theCalifornia Art Club and was a finalist in the figurative category of the 2010-2011 International Art Renewal Center Salon. Since 2005, he has taught painting classes at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art.

The Kwan Fong Gallery is located in the Soiland Humanities Center, which is on the south side of Memorial Parkway on the Thousand Oaks campus. It is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

CLU’s Artists and Speakers Committee and Art Department are sponsoring the residency and free exhibit. For more information, call Michael Pearce at 805-444-7716 or visit www.callutheran.edu/kwan_fong.

Sarah Bancroft, curator of the critically acclaimed traveling exhibition Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series, will speak about the artist’s career on Sunday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m. at the Museum of Ventura County. The presentation is $10 for the general public and $5 for museum members. Admission includes the exhibition ISLAND TREASURES: Artworks from the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, featuring 17 works by Diebenkorn. For reservations call 805-653-0323 x7.

Bancroft will explore the noted American painter’s artistic journey through cycles of representation and abstraction, culminating in his highly abstract Ocean Park Series, produced between 1967 and 1988 while living in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica. All but two of Diebenkorn’s works in ISLAND TREASURES are dated earlier but already show his progression toward abstraction. A sequence of four pieces illustrates how his sketch of an island view out a bedroom window evolved into an abstract painting.

Bancroft is a curator at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. Her aforementioned traveling exhibition was the largest ever retrospective exhibition of Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park Series. The retrospective debuted at the Orange County Museum of Art in the spring of 2012 and subsequently traveled to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

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. Paid events include free admission to galleries. The first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

Rancho Camulos National Historic Landmark Museum has expanded its docent led tour schedule and will have public tours Saturdays at 1, 2, and 3 in January. Tours can be arranged at other times by reservation. Entrance to the non-profit museum which is on private property is only allowed with a docent escort. . You should check the website, www.ranchocamulos.org, before going in case of closures due to weather or special activities.

Rancho Camulos…Where the history, myth, and romance of old California still lingers… is a unique place to bring the family and out of town guests. If you belong to a club or other group, you can make a reservation for a special group tour that will fit in with your schedule and special interests. Teachers and others working with youth groups are encouraged to schedule an interactive tour to learn about California history.

Rancho Camulos is the only National Historic Landmark in Ventura County. Here the early Californio lifestyle is preserved in its original rural environment. What began as part of the 48,000 acre Mexican land grant, Rancho San Francisco, that included all of what is now Santa Clarita, was deeded to Antonio del Valle in 1839 and is still a 1,800-acre working ranch. Rancho Camulos was also the setting for "Ramona," the 1884 novel by Helen Hunt Jackson that generated national interest in the history of Hispanic settlement in California and the impact on Native Americans. The museum is a 10-acre portion of the ranch where visitors tour the 1853 Spanish Colonial adobe, 1920 Spanish Colonial Revival adobe, 1867 winery and chapel, 1930 schoolhouse, and beautiful grounds, and then view the 1910 silent film “Ramona” starring Mary Pickford that was filmed on location at Rancho Camulos. The suggested donation for the tour is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children over 5. The museum is located on Highway 126, 10 miles west of the I-5 freeway near Piru. INFO: (805) 521-1501 or www.ranchocamulos.org
During December, shop at the docent gift shop for unique gifts, art work, books, and local honey and salsa and enjoy the holiday decorations. Consider purchasing as gifts, $10 charity drawing tickets for an authentic Navajo rug. Only 500 tickets are being sold. You will be supporting the museum’s historic preservation and education efforts and the lucky winner will have a very beautiful and valuable work of art. This authentic Navajo rug which is a Burnham Pictorial with a Rug in a Rug center (60"X83”) by Desbah Shonie from Blue Gap was purchased from this year’s Hubbell Auction will also be on display. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival on April 21, 2013.

Special January activities CONTINUED »

“Space Between” by Carolyn Ryan - http://www.carolynryanart.com/
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“Answered Prayer” by Susie Swan - http://www.susieswanquilts.com/
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“Beato, Duchamp, Picabia" – 1917 – Beatrice Wood Center Archives
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Portrait of R.E. - Tapestry by John Nava from collection of Ventura County Museum
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1884 Crazy Quilt – Private Collection - Photograph by Roger Conrad
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“Buddha Six Supports” - Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo - http://threadsofawakening.com/
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“Sonny and Chair” by Frances Bulwa (1921 – 2007)
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Beatrice Wood portrait “Young At Heart” by Photographer Jill Stattler
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The Ojai Valley Museum opens its 2013 exhibition schedule on Saturday, January 19th with two distinct and original exhibits, “Fiber Arts Master Pieces” and “Beatrice Wood, Duchamp & Chess.” The exhibits will run through Sunday, March 31, 2013. The opening reception on Saturday January 26, 5 to 7 p.m., is open to the public and is free to 2012-2013 museum members and $5 for non-members at the door.

The museum’s Rotating Gallery presents a group exhibition titled “Fiber Art Master Pieces,” displaying the fiber artwork of fourteen contemporary regional artists. Their two and three dimensional works encompass techniques in pieced silk, appliqué, hand or machine quilting, crochet, tapestry, knitting, mixed media, crewelwork, loom weaving, embroidery, paper, and batik. Antique quilts, borrowed from Ojai families, are juxtaposed with the contemporary fiber artworks.

Fiber Art is defined as artworks made of natural materials that communicate some sort of message, emotion or meaning. The focus of the exhibit will be on various manipulations of tactile materials and on the manual labor involved in creating the works. Whether antique or contemporary, every piece in the exhibit can be appreciated close-up, as a whole and from a distance as well.

The exhibit showcases Ojai and Ventura County fiber artists in the following categories: Contemporary Quilts and Textiles by Kyle Crowner, Carolyn Ryan, Valerie Schmidt, Suzie Swan, Lynne Woods; Portraiture by John Nava, Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo; Sculpture by Fran Bulwa, Gerri Johnson-McMillin, Linda Taylor; Wearable Art by Bernadette DiPietro, Ruthie Marks, Lise Solvang, Ginny Rockefeller, Lynn Woods, Fran Bulwa.

Individual fiber art pieces on exhibit include: a (non-wearable) ball gown fabricated of hand-made paper; woven sculptures of yarn, or with thread and beads; crocheted, knitted, loom and hand woven pieces of wearable art; tapestries, either hand-pieced or machine/computer generated; and utilitarian rugs and quilts. Each object will entrance the viewer with materials, techniques, and visual delight.

Antique quilts from the Haggerty and Thacher families of Ojai and from the textile collection of Dorothy Combs are also displayed along with a loom, spinning wheel, quilt rack and other tools used by fiber artists.

This exhibition surrounds the viewer with a wide range textures, patterns and color. Wall texts, artist’s statements and object labels describe fiber art techniques, histories of individual pieces and the inspiration for making the art work.

Simultaneously on exhibit in the Alcove Gallery is an installation by Ojai artist Valerie Freeman titled “Beatrice Wood, Duchamp and Chess.”

The exhibit is in homage to Beatrice Wood, in recognition of her friendship with Marcel Duchamp and in celebration of her 120th birthday on March 3, 2013. Freeman has sculpted an oversized ceramic chessboard and equine chess set that fills the 10’ x 10’ Alcove Gallery space. Environmental artist and ceramicist Tom McMillin assisted with the firing of one set of the pieces with Wood's secret luster glaze and fellow artist, Larry Carnes, assisted Freeman in the firing of the faux raku pieces.

In addition to the chess set installation as a symbol of Ojai’s most famous ceramicist, wall texts illuminate the history between Wood and her mentor, Marcel Duchamp. Kevin Wallace, Director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts wrote the text about Beatrice Wood and Freeman added text describing her concept, process, and purpose of the chess set.

The installation includes portraits of Beatrice Wood and her friends, on loan from photographer Jill Sattler and the Archive of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts.

A video monitor, installed above the chessboard, displays looped interviews by those involved in the Alcove exhibit. A virtual chess game played by two (yet un-named) famous people will also be on view when the match is scheduled. For Valerie Freeman, “It’s more than a chess set. It’s a way . . . to stimulate thinking, to stimulate the intellect, and to support the arts and education

The Ojai Valley Museum and the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts will host a birthday party for Beatrice Wood on her actual birthday, March 3, 2013 at the museum. Special invitations will be sent out.

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, Rotary Club of Ojai, and the Ojai Civic Association.

The museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Avenue, Ojai, CA. Admission: free for current 2012 members, adults - $4.00, children 6–18 - $1.00 and children 5 and under – free. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Tours are available by appointment. Free parking is available off Blanche Street at back of museum.

For more information, call the museum at (805) 640-1390, ext. 203, e-mail ojaimuseum@sbcglobal.net or visit the museum website at: Ojai Valley Museum.org Find us on Facebook Ojai Valley Museum

California State Old Time Fiddlers District 8 will meet Sunday, January 13 from 1:30-4:30 pm at the Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View. Join fiddlers for an afternoon of listening and dancing to Country Western and Bluegrass music. Bring an instrument and play along. Ron Sexton's workshop will comprise of a continuation of Music 101, including arrangements, chordal structure, the importance of scales, and....hands on teaching of one or two songs that can be performed on stage that day or at a later meeting. No admission or parking charge. Refreshments available. For more information go to calfiddlers.com or call 797-6563.

The Ventura County Rose Society will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, January 24, 2013, at the Ventura County Office of Education Conference Center at 5100 Adolfo Rd., Camarillo.

The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for advice from Consulting Rosarians and refreshments, and our speaker presentation will begin at 7:30 pm.

The VCRS meeting will feature Tom Carruth, the new Curator of the Rose Collection at the Huntington Botanical Gardens will speak on "The Future of the Huntington Rose Gardens". Tom Carruth retired from Weeks Roses as the formost Hybridizer of over 100 new roses such as 'Julia Child', 'Memorial Day', 'Hot Cocoa', and 'Fourth of July'. Tom is an excellent speaker and he has wonderful plans to renovate the Huntington Rose Garden and share them with us.

Visitors are always welcome. For more information contact: Janet Sklar at 818-337-9970 or Dawn-Marie Johnson at 805-523-9003. Our website is www.venturarose.org

Our date for February is February 28, 2013 and our speaker will be David Bassani, President of the San Fernando Valley Rose Society, and a professional landscaper and Consulting Rosarian, who will talk on "Water-wise Hints for the Water-saving Rose Gardener."

Our date for March is March 14, 2013 and our speaker will be Connie Estes who will talk on "The Language of our own Greek and Latin for the Modern Gardener".

Watch how artist Norman Kirk brings a painting to life at the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum on Sunday, February 3, 2013, from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m. Kirk will set up his easel, prepare his palette and transform a blank piece of paper into a rural California landscape on the museum’s monthly Free First Sunday, when all exhibits and events are open free to the public.

Kirk’s watercolor commissions include those by the International Olympic Committee, the Ventura County Design House, and various California vineyards. His work is held in private collections throughout the country, as well as being exhibited and collected by Southern California museums which include Museum of Ventura County. Kirk taught watercolor painting at Ventura College for 18 years and is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society. He studied at Art Center School of Los Angeles (now Art Center in Pasadena) and Chouinard Art Institute (now California Institute of the Arts [CalArts] ).

The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula, California, in their historic downtown, near the Depot and next to the railroad tracks. Hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, free for Museum of Ventura County members, and for children ages 5 and younger. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more information, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 525-3100.

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Camarillo, CA - The Art Program at CSU Channel Islands (CI) is pleased to announce its next exhibition in the Art Gallery at Napa Hall: “Joe Fay – Recent Drawings,” which runs from Jan. 31 through March 1. An opening reception will be held Thursday, Jan. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. Both the exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Fay will exhibit two different series of drawings, all created within the last year and a half. His “Christo Project” drawings decry a controversial art project proposed by the artist Christo that would suspend large fabric panels over parts of the Arkansas River in Colorado. Fay opposes the project, as he believes it threatens wildlife and alters the river’s ecosystem. The drawings are a humorous, personal protest, portraying the animals’ and other citizens’ responses to alteration of the river.

The “Wild Bird/Animal” series is Fay’s interpretation of these particular birds and animals. An avid outdoorsman, he witnesses these creatures regularly on hiking, fishing and backpacking trips. Using the animals’ basic shapes, Fay creates bold and uniquely colorful and personal images, rather than realistic renderings. His intent is to bring about a greater awareness of nature.

Fay currently resides and maintains a studio in Livingston, Montana. He holds a bachelor’s degree in art from San Diego State University. He began his career in Los Angeles, where he was one of the founders of the downtown Los Angeles artist loft culture of the late 1970s. In 1982, Fay received the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Young Talent Purchase Award. His work is widely exhibited and can be found in numerous public and private collections, including the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Santa Fe Museum of Fine Art, and numerous others.

The Art Gallery at Napa Hall is located on Ventura Street on the CI campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limited parking is available on campus with the purchase of a $6 daily permit; follow signs to the parking permit dispensers. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the CI Vista Bus to the campus; the cash-only fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For additional information, contact the CI Art Program at 805-437-8570, email art@csuci.edu, or visit http://art.csuci.edu/gallery. To learn more about the artist, visit www.joefaysart.com.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is celebrating 10 years of education, innovation, growth and community enrichment during the 2012/2013 academic year. We salute our faculty, staff, students, alumni, supporters, and partners who continue the CI mission of a student-centered education emphasizing international and multicultural perspectives with interdisciplinary and experiential service-oriented learning.

Together, we are solving the problems of today, preparing the leaders and innovators of tomorrow, and contributing to the vitality of higher education.

CSU Channel Islands – A Decade of Distinction

The Ventura Botanical Gardens invites you to its second annual Sow in the New Year on Saturday, January 5th from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to sprinkle the hillsides with seeds of California native wildflowers. These little seeds hold the promise of a bounty of glorious flowers in the spring. This is an especially kid-friendly event. There’s something very special about the expression on their faces as they know they’re helping Nature along. (Or maybe they just like tossing things around…) Either way, they have a grand time!

Please join us at the start of the Demonstration Trail at the upper parking lot behind City Hall at 501 Poli Street. Bring your friends and your family. Your dogs are welcome, too! When you finish sowing you can all hike the trail. A healthy start to the New Year.

The seeds are $5 and can be purchased at the event or online at VenturaBotanicalGardens.com. If you order online we’ll have your seeds ready for you as soon as you get there. We’re also having talks about the California native wildflowers and will be offering guided tours of the trail itself.

It’s not too late to see your own name on the Trail. The Foot by Foot campaign raised the funds for this first installation at the Gardens. You can still take part by sponsoring a foot of trail for $50. Donors are listed on the Gardens website, in the newsletter and, at a later date, will be on the trail itself. Donations can be made at VenturaBotanicalGardens.com. It’s all about putting our best feet forward for all of Ventura County.

The Ventura Botanical Gardens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a botanical garden for the twenty-first century. It will create new recreational opportunities including hiking, community gathering spaces, training, research, and educational programs. To find out more, please go to our website and visit us on Facebook. And think about becoming a member. We have over 1250 members, scores of volunteers and we’re growing!

See you in 2013!

SANTA PAULA, CA – The Santa Paula Art Museum and the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum are excited to announce a shared series of Gallery Talks to be held every second Thursday of each month beginning in January 2013. First, discover what’s happening at the Agriculture Museum at 2 p.m., and then continue the conversation on what’s current at the Art Museum at 3 p.m. Admission to the talks will be included in the regular price of admission at each museum, so Members get in free at their respective museums. Admission to the Santa Paula Art Museum is $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors and free for students of all ages.

Enjoy light refreshments as the county’s best artists, curators and educators bring the collections and current exhibits to life. On Thursday, January 10, 2013, the talk series will premiere with two artists-turned-curators. John Nichols, photographer and creator of the annual Art About Agriculture exhibit, will speak at the Agriculture Museum at 2 p.m. Andrea Vargas-Mendoza, local painter and new director of the De Colores Art Show, will play host at the Art Museum beginning at 3 p.m. Be sure to check our website, www.SantaPaulaArtMuseum.org, each month for an updated schedule of speakers and their topics.

No reservations are necessary and guests are welcome to attend one talk or both. The Santa Paula Art Museum is located at 117 North 10th Street in downtown Santa Paula. Contact us by calling (805) 525-5554. The Art Museum’s regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 12 to 4 p.m. The two museums are within walking distance of each other and parking is free at both locations. The Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue in Santa Paula. The Ag Museum can be contacted at (805) 525-3100.

Museum of Ventura County visitors have a rare opportunity to hear Santa Cruz Island Foundation President and honored historian Marla Daily, when on Sunday, January 27 she shares little-known facts and anecdotes from her pictorial new book about all eight Channel Islands. The 2:00 p.m. book talk and signing of “The California Channel Islands” is free to members and $5 for the general public. Event admission includes entry to all exhibits that day, including Island Treasures: Artworks from the Santa Cruz Island Foundation. The book is available for purchase at the museum store.

Daily is a cultural anthropologist who has spent almost 40 years researching the history of all eight of the Channel Islands, and for the last 25 years has served as president of the nonprofit Santa Cruz Island Foundation. Her efforts in preserving Channel Islands history earned her the California Historical Society’s Distinguished Service Award.

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. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

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Rare vintage World War I and World War II posters illustrate home front efforts in When Gardening Was Patriotic, an exhibition opening with a reception on Saturday January 12, at the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. The reception from 4:00- 6:00 p.m. features The Big Little Jazz Band playing favorites from the American Songbook, refreshments and a no-host bar. Admission is $10 for the general public and $5 for members. To RSVP call 805-525-3100.

Mighty Machines in Miniature also opens January 12, and includes more than 30 model tractors from the W. C. (Bill) Milligan, Jr. Collection. When Gardening Was Patriotic runs through March 17 and Mighty Machines ends December 30, 2013.

The colorful posters featured in When Gardening Was Patriotic are from the Museum of Ventura County’s collection, and reveal how civilians during both wartime periods were encouraged to raise their own food, preserve goods and conserve resources. The posters, local newspaper reports and family artifacts document how food efforts were emphasized by the government. People participated in Meatless Mondays and Wheatless Wednesdays, and children were recruited into the U.S. School Garden Army to be "soldiers of the soil."

The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula, California, in their historic downtown, near the Depot and next to the railroad tracks. Hours are 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, free for Museum of Ventura County members, and for children ages 5 and younger. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more information, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 525-3100.

Conversations: The Watercolor Art of Dorothy Orr will be on exhibit in Gallery 2 at Ventura College from January 24 through February 22. The public is invited to meet the artist at a reception Thursday evening, January 24,
from 7 to 9 pm.

This show will include drawings and paintings done on locations throughout Ventura County. When asked about the exhibit title, Orr explained that painting on location is, for her, very much like meeting an interesting person. “The longer I paint any specific vista, the more fascinating and complex the story becomes. It is comparable to having an in depth conversation with an intriguing stranger.”

Art Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 4 pm. Parking on Campus requires a parking permit, which may be purchased from two automated yellow boxes in the West Parking Lot and one yellow box in the North Parking Lot. The cost for parking is two dollars. For more information please call (805) 648-8974.

Beginning January 10, 2013, visitors can gain extra insight into the what and why of exhibits at both the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum and the Santa Paula Art Museum, when artists, curators, educators and collectors give Second Thursday Gallery Talks each month. The talks start at 2:00 p.m. at the Agriculture Museum, followed by the second talk at 3:00 p.m.at the nearby Santa Paula Art Museum. The series debuts Thursday, January 10 when John Nichols, gallery owner, photographer, and the co-founding director of the Art Alliance, talks at the Agriculture Museum about the 5th annual Art About Agriculture exhibit. At 3:00, artist Andrea Vargas, curator of the 19th annual De Colores, speaks at the Santa Paula Art Museum about that exhibit.

Each museum charges its own general admission, and members can attend free at their respective museums. Light refreshments are served, and no reservations are necessary. Both museums are within walking distance of each other and parking is free at both. For additional information and monthly schedules for the Second Thursday Gallery Talks go to www.venturamuseum.org and www.santapaulaartmuseum.org or call the Agriculture Museum at 805-525-3100 and the Art Museum at 805-525-5554. The Agriculture Museum is at 926 Railroad Avenue, and the Santa Paula Art Museum is at 117 N. 10th Street, both located in downtown Santa Paula, California.

The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, free for Museum of Ventura County members and for children ages 5 and younger. The first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more information, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 525-3100.

Ventura, CA - Gingerbread houses became popular way back in 19th century Germany. The tradition, which German immigrants brought to America, lives on in a big way at three Ventura County West hotels. Gingerbread houses as high as six feet tall are in the lobbies of the Pierpont Inn, Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor Resort and at the Residence Inn by Marriott at River Ridge in Oxnard.

“We bake everything on site that goes into building the gingerbread houses,” says Ignacio Cortez, director of food and beverage for both the Pierpont Inn and Four Points. “Each house takes one week to bake and one week to put together.” Cortez has been creating gingerbread houses for the hotels for 16 years.

To build the Four Points 5' by 5' by 6' foot gingerbread house, Cortez and his staff used an impressive amount of ingredients: 600 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of sugar, 135 dozen eggs, 120 pounds of icing, eight pounds of ginger, five pounds of cinnamon, four pounds of nutmeg, 10 gallons of molasses and 20 pounds of candy.

"The smell of the ginger hits hotel visitors the minute they walk into the hotel and some cannot resist sneaking a taste when they think we aren’t watching,” continues Cortez. “Even though I have been doing this for 16 years, I never get tired of it. I even bake and build gingerbread houses at home, which are a huge hit with my grandchildren."

"There is something about these gingerbread houses that brings a smile and a sense of wonder to everyone who sees them. They certainly put you in the holiday spirit," says Victor Dollar, regional manager, Brighton Management and chair of the Ventura County Lodging Association. (VCLA). The VCLA is a marketing organization promoting VenturaCountyWest, highlighting the travel options, special events and things to do in the cities of Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura.

Visitors can enjoy the gingerbread houses until just after the New Year. For addresses of the three hotels, go to the VenturaCountyWest website, www.VenturaCountyWest.com .

Ventura County Lodging Association (VCLA)
The Ventura County Lodging Association (VCLA) is comprised of lodging facilities and destination marketing organizations in the California cities of Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura. VCLA represents 61 members including hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, RV Resorts, resort rentals, the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce, Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau and Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau. Its marketing campaign, "VenturaCountyWest, Inspiring Choices," is designed to attract overnight leisure and business visitors to the region. www.venturacountywest.com www.facebook.com/venturacountywest