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Art Wall Archive

JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez
Please join us for the opening of a special exhibit by artist JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez as she presents her debut show, “Dreams,” on Sunday, December 7, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. The show will run on our Art Wall through Sunday, December 28, and is open to the public Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on weekdays by appointment.
 
JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez recently retired as a university professor and has moved into the art world to help convey her feelings and experiences of the dream world. A self-taught artist, JoAnn communicates her feelings and expressions about dreams by combining ink, paint, and textured acrylic mixtures with photographs, appropriated art, words, and objects.
 
JoAnn notes that the many different types of media, vivid color palettes, and subsequent layers allow her to more fully represent the depths, disjunctures, and fragments that shape many of our dreams. Through her art, she hopes to help convey an understanding of how the feelings expressed by dreams relate to conscious life.
 
JoAnn is at the beginning of her artistic career after retiring from an illustrious career in education. She was an Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare at UCLA, and received the 2006 Distinguished Teaching Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Council on Gerontology (CCGG). She has over 20 years of experience in health, mental health, and hospice care. She has served on multiple editorial boards and scientific review committees and has published extensively on geriatric education, diversity in aging, and elder care.
 
For information about exhibiting at UU Santa Monica or other questions about the Art Wall, contact our Art
Director Beverly Alison.
 
— Jackie Schwab
 
J Michael Walker
Renowned artist J Michael Walker was born and raised in Little Rock, AR, at a time “when legalized segregation was in its clawingin- the-dirt death throes, and … culture [was] standing on the wrong side of history.” Having no formal artistic guidance, Walker explains, “creating art was my way to break free of the restrictions I experienced — social and class issues, cultural values, authoritarianism, a broken home — and as a consequence I never took, or took kindly to, structured or instructional art classes (life drawing, still life, etc.), because they felt like more impediments to the self-expression that was practically killing me to be released — so I remained largely
self-taught.”
 
Meet Michael at the Artist’s Opening Reception on Sunday, November 9, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. in Angelina Forbes Hall. His art has been well received and well praised since the 1980s. “J Michael Walker sees angels everywhere, the divine in the ordinary, saints in survivors.
 
And that, in our era of fear and rage, is enough for me,” said Sandra Cisneros, author of “The House on Mango Street.”
 
Walker experienced an artistic awakening when visiting Mexico’s northern region of Sierra Tarahumara to illustrate the first textbook in that region’s native dialect. “Integrating myself into families and communities of mestizos and Tarahumaras provided perspective and understanding,” says Walker, “and filled holes in my heart. And when I moved to Los Angeles to forge some kind of an art career, Mexico essentially ‘explained’ the city to me, its cultural roots churning beneath LA’s asphalt.”
 
J Michael Walker continues to use art as a way to express his feelings and observations – essentially a diary of how he sees the world. As Walker puts it, art helps him “attempt to answer the questions that still plague me, and compensate for the wrongs I’ve witnessed; and…[offer] gratitude for the beauty and wonder I’ve been blessed to behold.”
 
For information about exhibiting at UU Santa Monica or other questions about the Art Wall, contact our Art Director Beverly Alison.
 
Maija Beeton - The Cel Art Project
Please join us after the second service on Sunday, October 5, for the artist’s opening reception for the CEL ART PROJECT with Emmy-awarding winning artist Maija Beeton. The show will run through Sunday, October 26 and is open to the public Sundays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and on weekdays by appointment. Beeton enjoys exploring the alleged distinctions between commercial art, fine art, entertainment and philosophy. Her media include painting, video, animation, theatre, music, text, and landscaping.The CEL ART PROJECT is an homage to 2D Cartoons and a meditation on the loss of the individual human mark in contemporary industrial strength computer generated
animation. The majority of Beeton’s CEL ART pieces employ the traditional 2D animation technique of hand painted cel vinyl on clear media.
 
The cel vinyl paint is manufactured by Cartoon Colour in Culver City, a company that has supplied American animators for over 50 years. Acetate sheets are used for the clear media.
 
These painted graphics are then layered over abstract expressionist backgrounds which have been reproduced from original paintings as digital prints. The two large works in the show combine abstract expressionist painting, representational drawing and 3D digital modelling.
 
Please contact Nancy at assistant@uusm.org, (310) 829-5436 ext. 102 for appointments to view Art Wall during the week. Contact UU Santa Monica Art Director Beverly Alison for information about exhibiting on the Art Wall.
 
— Jackie Schwab
 
Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective
The September Art Wall exhibit, “Behind Bars,” is by the Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective. The exhibit includes several major pieces by Kay Brown, Nguyen Ly, Poli Marichal, Don Newton, and Marianne Sadowski denouncing the current state of the U.S. prison system. The Artist's Reception will be at 12 noon on September 7 in Forbes Hall. Stop by and meet several of the exhibiting artists. The show will run September 7 to 28. All works are for sale. The exhibit is open to the public Sunday mornings and open on weekdays by appointment. Contact Nancy at assistant@uusm.org
 
The Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective is committed to promoting the print arts through collaborative projects, workshops, and exhibitions. Artists are encouraged to push the boundaries of printmaking and participate in individual experimentation within the medium. This year is the collective’s 10th anniversary. Los de Abajo is part of the Consejo Gráfico network of independent print shops formed to advance the legacy of Latino printmaking in the United States. Consejo Gráfico strives to preserve the activist orientation that spearheaded Latino printmaking and to bring this element to the forefront of public awareness.
 
The pieces in the exhibit are part of a collection curated by Laura Pomerantz,that was originally created at the Collective’s residency at the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), in Venice, CA, during the fall of 2013. In May 2014, the exhibition opened at the Taller Boricua Gallery in New York City; in 2015 the exhibition will be presented at the El Camino College art gallery.
 
Contact information:  losdeabajocollective@gmail.com
 
 
Church Artists in August
The Church Artist's show continues through August. Eleven artists are represented with a variety of genres that can engage our interest.
 
Charles Haskell has a suite of four photographs of succulents from Beverly Alison's award winning garden.
 
Board President Pat Wright's daughter, Diana Wright, gives us a witty take on an "art book."
 
Carol Ring combines her photographic art with her interest in Buddhism and meditation with a combination of peaceful images with a "metta" (loving-kindness) phrase printed by infusing dyes onto coated, brushed aluminum. 
 
Bettye Barclay shows her multitalented creativity with four works - a clay plate with raku embellishment, two watercolors (one abstract and one figurative), and an abstract acrylic on canvas. Bettye has exhibited widely and has her works in many collections across the country.
 
Greg Wood takes us on a trip with his watercolor painted in 2 hours at the Truckee River (near Reno, NV) with train crossing and flanked by the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
 
Amy Lacombe has two very colorful acrylic canvases with a Love theme.
 
Michael Young has two large "woodsy" photographic prints printed on canvas.
 
Peggy Rhoads has two pastel landscapes and a black-and-white woodcut.
 
Dale Riley shows a shoreline on acrylic canvas.
 
Diana Spears has two assemblages reflecting her interests in Oriental and Native American arts.
 
Finally, guest artist, Lorraine Paley, has a fantasy watercolor of horses.
 
— Diana Spears
 

 

Church Artists in July & August

Exhibiting artists include Bettye Barclay, Charles Haskell, Amy Lacombe, Geralyn Lambson, Peggy Rhoads, Dale Riley, Carol Ring, Diana Spears, Greg Wood, Diana Wright, Michael Young, and guest Lorraine Paley. Artist's Reception will be on Sunday, July 27, after the service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For questions contact Diana Spears.

Pola Lopez
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pola Lopez’s art is an eclectic collection of images drawn from her mixed cultural heritage, which is rich in tradition, infused with a spiritual vision, and fueled by her belief in the power of color to provoke. Her vibrant canvases are immersed in her indigenous, feminine perspective of symbols of the Mesizo culture that encompasses European and native influences. Born in New Mexico and raised by a father who was a poet and a dreamer, she was encouraged to follow her heart — which lead her to a successful career as an artist.
 
Lopez has been featured in several publications and film documentaries. Her paintings are collected by private patrons throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and are in permanent collections in Southwestern museums and foundations. With an extensive exhibition list, she has always represented herself; she has a desire to create her own place in the art world without compromising her artistic and creative inspiration. http://www.polalopez.com/statement.htm
 
The Pola Lopez visual artist show will be on the church’s Art Wall for the month of June. Lopez will host an artist’s reception on June 1 at 1 p.m. in Forbes Hall. She will also be at church all Sunday morning, so you can catch her after a service too.
 
Calling All Church Artists
If you have work that can hang on our Art Wall contact Diana Spears. The selected art work will be shown in July and August.
Steampunk
The Art Wall for May is art contributed by our children. Opening day will be May 4, 12:30 to 1 p.m., in Forbes Hall. Join us for some art and refreshments … and maybe even some music.
 
The theme will be steampunk, an interesting art form blending science, steam technology, and elements of the Victorian Era. Think about the drawings of Jules Verne.
 
The co-curators of this art show are Madeline Gordon, age 16 (YRUU), and Alex Michaelson, age 13 (COA). Both
are experienced in art. Maddy focuses on photography and Alex specializes in painting and modeling. They are helping to put together a thought-provoking and interesting show.
 
Come out to the show and support our kids with their wonderful art!
 
— Alex Michaelson

Calling Church Artists

 
If you have work that can hang on our Art Wall contact Diana Spears. There will be a show in July-August.
Faith in Action
The Art Wall for April is sponsored by Faith in Action.
 
The Art Wall for May will be art contributed by our children. A request for submissions has been provided by the organizers of this exhibition. We need submissions by April 28. Drop them by the office. We have frames if you need them. We encourage every family to have all kids participate!
 
Opening day will be May 4, 12:30 to 1 p.m. in Forbes Hall.
 
Join us for some art and refreshments...and maybe even some music.
 
The theme will be steampunk, an interesting art form blending science, steam technology and elements of the Victorian Era. Think about the drawings of Jules Verne.
 
The co-curators of this art show are Madeline Gordon, age 16 (YRUU), and Alex Michaelson, age 13 (COA). Both are experienced in art. Maddy focuses on photography and Alex specializes in painting and modeling. They are helping to put together a thought-provoking and interesting show.
 
Come out to the show and support our kids with their wonderful art!
 
— Alex Michaelson
Inside Out Art
Experience the world through the eyes of adults with developmental disabilities. When they express their personal vision through art, they prove to be remarkably gifted, creating works that will astonish and move you. L.A. GOAL [lagoal.org] is a Culver City non-profit whose vision is to create a more open society where people with developmental disabilities can enjoy full inclusion in their communities.
 
The March Art Wall will feature Inside Out Art, an exhibit featuring artists from L.A. GOAL’s professional art studio: Inside Out Productions. Several artists will exhibit their drawings, paintings, ceramics, sewing, quilting, weaving, embroidery, photograph, woodblock prints, or multimedia works. The general public is welcome.
 
All works are for sale with eighty percent of the proceeds going to the individual artists and twenty percent to the church.
 
Artists Opening Reception Sunday March 9, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
 
Open 9:00 am – 1:00 pm on Sundays in March starting on March 9. Open weekdays by appointment, contact assistant@uusm.org
 
For more information contact Beverly Alison.
 
At least two artists from Inside Out Productions will welcome guests at the artists opening reception. Light refreshments will be served and extra tables will be set up for additional work.
 
 
 
Lisie Y. artist statement: “Drawing and painting come hard to me because I am legally blind and I cannot create the images that I want to make. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would be weaving or embroidering. I used to say “I can’t do it” until sewing staff told me to just try it and now I’m loving it. I feel accomplished and proud to be able to do weaving.”
 
 
David H. artist statement: “I like the birds flying, the clouds, everything about it. First I sketch, then I pick the fabric, then I do the embroidery. It was hard using yarn the first time but I like it a lot. This piece makes me feel proud.”