Art at the Source – The Open Studios Season
“Discover the artistic abundance and natural beauty of Sonoma County …
The 21st annual Art at the Source Open Studios Tour features 157 artists in 98 studios locations, and the diversity includes painters, sculptors, potters, jewelers, photographers, glass and fiber artists.”
This program is run annually by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts in Western Sonoma County.
Dates: June 6-7 and June 13-14, 2015.
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Creative Sonoma – A Strong Identity
There is a great description of Sonoma’s cultural identity, in the “Creative Sonoma Arts Action Plan” written by the Sonoma County, Economic Development Board. I like the premise of the Action Plan so much:
Creative Sonoma starts from the point of view that arts and culture are among a community’s most powerful assets.”
I especially like their “Findings” on the Sonoma Arts Culture. According to the “Creative Sonoma Arts Action Plan”, the art of Sonoma County is strongly associated with the beauty of our landscape, our wineries and agricultural heritage:
Sonoma County has a broad, shared sense of its cultural identity. Stakeholders express a clear sense of the county’s cultural identity and broader quality of life. Theirs is an expansive definition of culture and creativity, including art forms (e.g., visual art, music, theater) as well as participatory arts experiences, ethnic cultures, and contemporary artistry expressed through technology. Culture in Sonoma County encompasses a strongly independent and entrepreneurial spirit, especially among younger people. There is an emphasis on self-reliance, DIY (do-it-yourself) and an inclusive definition of creativity, such as non-arts expressions of creativity through technological and conceptual invention. Creativity spans those participating in the alternative Burning Man Festival to “maker fairs.”
Sonoma County’s distinct character goes beyond arts and creativity to the beauty of the landscape, the agricultural heritage along with its current vital resurgence, and of course the world-renowned wine industry. There is a value placed on a more casual way of life than neighboring Napa and Marin counties. Stakeholders share a pride in the county’s existing arts and cultural assets, such as its museums, performing arts venues, art galleries, artist communities, the SOFA district, outdoor sculpture collections, community arts centers, festivals, and events, among many others. At the same time, some express a desire to elevate the level of artistic quality and interest, in part in recognition of the standards set by San Francisco and the Bay area. There is a strong but less publically visible collection of ethnically specific cultural communities and artists, including a large and diverse Hispanic population.”
To read more go to: “Creative Sonoma Arts Action Plan“, June 2014.
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Art Lovers Flock to Sonoma (ArtTrails)
The Press Democrat recently featured the artist-photographer Peter Krohn as one of the interesting artists who is opening his art studio to visitors, this weekend in ArtTrails:
“Krohn, 77, said he is “kind of new to the art world. I built my studio when I was 70. I said, ‘It’s now or never.’”
His “Luminescent Botanicals,” vividly colorful, scanned photographs printed on dye-infused aluminum, met with rave reviews from visitors.
…Artists and their workshops are sprinkled from Santa Rosa, to Sonoma, Healdsburg and Sebastopol. Visitors can design their own tour, depending on their artistic interests, using a free Art Trails map that shows the location of the participating studios and lists information on the artists and their works.” — Santa Rosa Press Democrat 10-12-2014
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Art Trails is Coming October!
One of my favorite events in the Fall, Art Trails is coming! This is an annual fall open studio program that invites the public to visit artists in their studios, and to purchase artwork directly from the artists. This year the program will be run as Resources for 2014 Sonoma County Art Trails Artists, by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. I went to an art gallery this weekend, and picked up my program and am very excited. Are you?
Dates: October 11, 12 and October 18, 19, 2014.
Locations: Look for the yellow signs throughout the county on this day pointing out the open studios, or follow the map in the program.
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