Cacophony not for Kids

The current exhibit at the Fullerton College Art Center in Santa Ana features The Cacophony Society. A group of "artists" who like surrealist sabotage, gluing toasters to light posts, filling teddy bears with cement and placing them on actual store shelves, and this is just the tame part of their activities. The exhibit itself is disturbing. The overtones are violent, depressing, destructive, and brutal.  There is no positive energy in the exhibit. Just immaturity. One of the featured exhibits shows members in a bathroom rubbing what looks like excrement on themselves and others. We'd like to hope our kids stop playing with their poop by two years of age, not twenty! This society seems comprised of adults who do not want to grow up. Whereas the rest of us realized  we must grow or die, this groups philosophy seems like they'd rather die then grow. 
Keep the kids away from this one. Adults  who feel nostalgic for their crazy adolescence can probably get a kick out of it.

Help me Start Something That Matters!

I've just finished reading Blake Mycoskie's amazing book, Start Something That Matters. Some of you may know Blake from his unique company TOMS  founded on a simple principle of buy one, give one. Every time you buy a pair of TOMS shoes, a pair is given to a child in need. (He has since expanded into eyewear which applies the same principle.) TOMS has inspired me to start my own non-profit for the arts.  After watching the Haiti Earthquake on TV a couple of years ago, I saw images of children lying in hospitals.  Their immediate survival  needs were taken care of  but they were missing one essential secondary need every mother  knows. Crayons and Paper. Art Heals the Soul.  As they languished in hospitals or camps, boredom is the next obstacle to overcome. I would like to start a non-profit to simply give kids crayons and paper.  How can I start? Whoever gives me the best suggestion will receive a free copy of Blake Mycoskie's Start Something That Matters.

Priceless Art Treasures in Downtown Santa Ana

Two statues by  famed artist Raymond Kaskey, the designer of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington DC are featured in front of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in downtown Santa Ana!   I couldn't believe it.  I was walking around the art district downtown and stumbled upon these beautiful statues.  Raymond Kaskey is responsible for most of the beautiful statues you see in cities on the East Coast.  I knew his work from living in Charlotte, North Carolina where his works are prominently displayed in the down town square.  These are the only works by Mr. Kaskey in the lower Western United States. The only other west-coast statue is Portlandia in Portland Oregon.  Portlandia is second largest bronze statue in the United States, the first being the Statue of Liberty. Just think, Los Angeles doesn't have them, San Francisco, nor San Diego, but downtown Santa Ana! 

Let Your Art Fly !

The John Wayne Airport is holding it 22nd annual Student Art Contest.
If you are in K-12 you vcan submit artwork.  The theme is "Silent Flight".  You can bring your art to any Orange County Public Library before 4 pm on November 2.

Two winners will be selected. K-6 and 7-12. The winners will be on display Dec. 9-Jan. 16 in the Thomas Fr. Riley Terminal.

Winners will compete at state, national, and international level of competition. Everyone receives a certificate and winners will receive prizes.

You can pick up materials at any Orange County Public Library or click here for airport website: 

This "Trash" Is Not Garbage!

On October 15, The New Children's Museum of San Diego will feature a new exhibit titled TRASH. Featuring Artists from around the world, this exhibition is designed to re-think how we view and feel about "trash".

There will be a Street Festival and Public Opening | 10am–4pm

Free admission sponsored by ScholarShare College Savings Plan!

This is worth the 2 hour drive down to San Diego! The artists featured for this event are world renowned, and the museum itself is a sight to behold.  The museum is for children of all ages.

Celebrate the opening of TRASH with an action-packed street fair, featuring award-winning talent, kid friendly entertainment and special trash inspired art projects. Families will enjoy food truck fare, experience interactive demonstrations and learning opportunities, and explore the new exhibition.

Isamu Noguchi at Laguna Beach Art Museum

Now through October 2, 2011, Isamu Noguchi an internationally celebrated Japanese-American artist and designer is featured at the Laguna Beach Art Museum.  Noguchi: California Legacy is comprised of three parts that examine the impact Noguchi had in California.  California Scenario: The Courage of the Imagination based on Noguchi’s South Coast Plaza sculpture garden commissioned by Henry T. Segerstrom thirty years ago; 2) What is Sculpture? Akari from the Venice Biennale, from the 1986 Venice Biennale exhibit in which Noguchi, that year’s United States Representative, exhibited his Akari light sculptures; and 3) Noguchi at Gemini G.E.L., consisting of the sculpture multiples that Noguchi created in 1982 at atelier Gemini G.E.L. in Los Angeles.
According to the Laguan Beach Independent, the exhibition encompasses models and drawings pertaining to “California Scenario,” a popular sculpture garden in Costa Mesa and “Noguchi Plaza,” another plaza-like installation in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. Modeled on an Italian piazza, the latter surrounds a sculpture (“To the Issei”) dedicated to the first generation of Japanese immigrants who paved the way for following generations.
In the densely developed blocks around South Coast Plaza and the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center, “California Scenario” is a tranquil oasis and a powerful monument to the grandeur of California’s natural endowments that include redwood forests, mountains and deserts and a flow of water. The pyramid placed in a corner of the plaza alludes to the diverse cultures that have shaped every facet of California history.
“It took 30 years to realize Noguchi’s vision,” said Laguna curator Grace Kook Anderson. “The garden looks no longer barren. Today the rocks are weathered, vegetation is mature and it’s a popular visiting spot. It’s exactly as Noguchi had envisioned since he believed that people activate space,” she added.

Drop-In Family Art Inventions at Bowers Museum

On Friday, September 30, 2011, 10 AM- 4 PM Bowers invites you to create innovative and unique cultural art projects.  Each weekend will feature new techniques and material. Recommended for ages 5 and up; parents and grandparents welcome, too! Free to members; free with paid admission; $8 single. You can check out their website here