Lovely Lamps by Donalee Nelson
Some Kind of Wonderful
When you enter Rons from the bright daylight of
the outside you are greeted by a shady mellow and serene space. As your eyes
adjust to the change you see a plethora of wonderful objects. When I walked in
the first time and saw the lamps hung from above I was in awe because of their
beauty. What a stunning sight. They are made of recycled pieces. The fabric of
the shades includes papyrus and about ten other kinds of material. Steve Bewley,
who with his mother started the company, puts them together and adds things
like guitar string pulls and old pennies. They are lovely. Ron has work in his
shop by over 58 artists…mostly local so it is no wonder that his shop has been
a destination for over 30 years. Many of the objects are recycled and it is
interesting to see how each artist reinterprets already used material. I like
the idea of recycling and of finding one of a kind objects. I love the idea
that when you buy from an artist you are purchasing more than the piece. That
object represents years of trial and error. An artist pours their heart and
soul into their work so that also comes along with your treasure. I know I am
honored when someone chooses a piece I created. Ron (yes Virginia, there is a
Ron), the big guy who owns the place is himself an artist and I always look
forward to seeing what he creates. Rons
is family owned and has a small staff including his wife Peggy and son Josh…the
rest of the artistic staff are rounded out by Lesa, Eve, and Sharon. Rons has always supported
artists…when you walk into the shop you feel that it too has poured out its
heart and soul for you. It is a beautiful place.
Highlights
The New Whitney opened May 1
with an exciting new exhibit. America
is Hard to See features works from the Whitney’s impressive collection.
The exhibit which runs through September 27, features over 400 artists. Frank Stella: A Retrospective
opens in October 2015. The show will feature approximately 120 works covering
the career of one of the most important contemporary artists of our time from
the ‘50s through his current works. Check www.whitney.org
for all the details.
Where
you can see my artwork
My artwork
is available at Rons. For
further information call the shop at 805.489.4747. Rons
is located at 850 W. Grand in Grover Beach a few blocks from the train station,
a golf course and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. For more information go to Rons website at www.ronsingroverbeach.com or find
him on facebook.
Not To
Be Missed –Museum Exhibits
Adams, Curtis and
Weston: Photographers of the American West at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana
is up through November 29. The exhibit of the work of these three celebrated
photographers shows how they documented the changing landscape of the west. Information
is available at www.bowers.org on this
installation.
African Textiles and Adornment: Selections from the Marcel and Zaira Mis
Collection is at Los Angeles County Museum of Art through
October 12. The exhibit features 35 examples of these amazing objects. Check
out www.lacma.org for more information.
Degas: “Russian Dancers” and the Art of Pastel is on
view at the Getty until October 11. The painting is one of the artist’s late
works and is very earthy in contrast to his better known works of ballerinas in
pastels. It serves as the centerpiece for this exhibit, which includes
Bonnard’s La Moulin Rouge and
Lautrec’s At the Circus: Entering the
Ring. The place for information is at www.getty.edu
with a sneak peek at what is in store.
An interesting exhibit is open
at the Norton Simon in Pasadena. A
Revolution of the Palette: The First Synthetic Blues and their Impact on French
Artists runs through January 4 of next year. With the discovery of different blue paint
colors, specifically Prussian Blue, artists had a new palette to work with and
this changed en plein air painting enormously. On view are works by such
artists as Corot and Caillebotte to help illustrate this revolution. More
information is available at www.nortonsimon.org
so be sure to take a look.
The Armand Hammer Foundation has loaned some amazing
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings to the Santa Barbara Museum of
Art for an ongoing exhibit. Degas to
Chagall: Important Loans f rom the Armand Hammer Foundation supplements
the museum’s already wonderful collection of these works. Artists also included
in this exhibit are Bonnard, Corot, Renoir, Pissaro and Morisot. Check online
at www.sbmuseart.org/ for more details.
J.M.W.
Turner: Painting Set Free is at de Young until September
20. This exhibit displays over 60 oil paintings and watercolors by the master
and is the first exhibit to focus on his final years. Many of his greatest
works were created after the age of 60…a fact which is inspiring and should
give us all courage. Put together by the Tate Britain in association with the
Getty and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the exhibit shows the breadth
of Turner’s artistry www.deyoung.famsf.org will have all
pertinent information. The de Young prides itself in making its exhibits
accessible and has instituted a plan for people who are unable to come to the
museum whether for medical reasons, distance or finances. They have two robots
that will take visitors on a tour via the internet. Rebecca Bradley is the
Accessibility Curator. You can email her office at access@famsf.org if this great idea is of
interest.
Intimate Impressionism from the
National Gallery of Art opens October 1 and runs through the new year at the Seattle Art
Museum. This beautiful exhibit features works by Renoir, Manet, Monet,Cezanne,
Bonnard and Degas. Go to www.seattleartmuseum.org to obtain more
information.
Currently at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver,
Colorado, is Clyfford Still: The Colville Reservation and Beyond, 1934-1939.
The artwork comes from Still’s time as a teacher at Washington State College
and reflects time spent with the indigenous people of northwest Washington. The
exhibit which runs from May 8 – September 13 chronicles the artist’s evolution
into abstraction. The images are stunning! Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the
details.
Coming up in October at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is
the first retrospective of Thomas Hart Benton’s work in 25 years. American Epics: Thomas Hart Benton and
Hollywood opens October 10 and runs through the new year. Benton worked
on silent movie sets in New Jersey and later in Hollywood. His association with
the film industry and early movie making inspired his painting style. This
exhibit contains 100 of his art works as well as photos and ephemera that help
tell the story. The museum’s website at www.nelson-atkins.org will
provide more information.
The Chicago Arts Institute brings together two turn of the
century tapestries by French artist
Vuillard The artist is well known for easel paintings of Parisian Life but he
also painted a series of tapestries which were done in panels. None of these
remain together, having all been sold to private parties. Painted Tapestries: Reuniting Two Decorative Paintings by Edouard
Vuillard runs through October 6 and brings together two of these panels
which are being shown together for the first time. More details are at www.artic.edu for this fascinating exhibit.
30 Americans opens October 18 at the Detroit Institute
of Arts and run through January 18, 2016. Featured are the works of
contemporary art by African American Artists. It is a dynamic showcase. If you
are planning to be in town then be sure to check www.dia.org
for all the information.
From May 16 – November 1 The
New York Botanical Garden’s Frida
Kahlo: Art.Garden.Life exhibit features a dozen of her artworks. The
garden at her home, Casa Azul, near Mexico City which greatly inspired her has
been reimagined at the botanical garden. A stunning look at some examples at www.nybg.org will also add more info.
Elaine de Kooning: Portraits is currently at the National
Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. and will be there through the first of next
year. The artist is known for her portraits of men, just as her husband, Willem,
was known for his paintings of women. Both were part of the abstract
expressionist movement. Her portraits include such diverse subjects as
President Kennedy, Allen Ginsberg and Merc Cunningham. She sought to capture
that specific feature or persona that made the person instantly recognizable. A
sample of these images at www.nationalportraitgallery.org
will give you a taste of her work. Also at the National Gallery through October
18 are over 70 stunning portraits of Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon includes photographs by
Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon.
The Metropolitan Museum
recently received an exciting gift of 57 works by contemporary African-American artists from the South. The
donation consists of 20 quilts, 10 pieces by Thornton Dial and includes paintings,
drawings and works of mixed media by Lonnie Holley, Nellie Mae Rowe and others.
An exhibit is planned for 2016. Check out www.metmuseum.org
for more information.
Currently at the Museum of
Modern Art is Andy Warhol: Campbell’s
Soup Cans and Other Works, 1953 - 1967. The exhibit is on display
through October 12 and features 32 of his works from this period. For the first
time The Soup Cans will be displayed in a line as they were intended to be
viewed. Several upcoming shows look interesting. Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960 – 1971 begins May 17. Years ago her show consisted of releasing
flies and asking patrons to track them so whatever she does is bound to be
unique. Apparently director Martin
Scorsese has been collecting rare movie posters for years. On May 30 they will
go on display at MoMA. Scorsese
Collects runs through September 30 and centers on a poster for the 1951
film, Tales of Hoffman. I remember
seeing that film as a child and it left a huge impression on me when the
dancer, Moira Shearer, fell apart and her dismembered body continued to move. The Red Shoes, which also starred the
ballerina, preceded it and was considered a must-see for children. I saw it
again years later and it was actually a very scary movie on a par with Bambi (in which the namesake deer’s
mother was killed by a hunter). But I
digress, and I’m sure the poster collection is a must-see for every movie buff.
MoMA’s website at www.moma.org will fill you
in.
On July 1 the Guggenheim Museum
in New York reopened its Kandinsky
gallery. The gallery traces the artist from his early beginnings in
Munich to his return to his native Moscow, through his Bauhaus period and
finally to Paris. Check out www.guggenheimmuseum.org
for more information.
Beginning in October The Museum
of Fine Arts Boston will host Class
Distinctions Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer through January 18, 2016. The exhibit includes
75 paintings and explores the layers of Dutch society at the time. The museum’s
website, www.mfa.org will provide more
information.
Barbara Hepworth:
Sculpture for a Modern World is the first London exhibit of the artist’s work in 50
years. You can see her clean, abstract sculptures at the Tate Britain through
October 25. Meanwhile at the Tate Liverpool enjoy Jackson Pollock Blind Spots. The exhibit, which will be
there through October 18, emphasizes five areas of his work that have not been
the focus of past exhibits including Pollock’s link to Picasso. You can make
plans by going to www.tate.org.uk for more
information.
Simply
the Best:
The best place to find books on
the arts, Arcana, is a very
special book store located in the Helms Bakery complex in Los Angeles…it's wonderful!
I have known owner Lee Kaplan for decades and his selection of books is as superb
as his taste is impeccable. Arcana: Books on the Arts is at 8675 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA
90232. For information go to
http://www.arcanabooks.com or call 310.458.1499.
Michiko Jewelry Design is an
incredible jewelry store in downtown Seal Beach, CA, featuring excellent
one-of-a-kind gifts. The shop owner and artist, Carol Matsumoto, custom designs
beautiful pieces. Michiko is
at 228 Main Street. Call 563.431.3237 for more information or check www.michikojewelrydesign.com
Places
to go, People to meet
Autumn is the time of year when
many cities have their Open Studio
Art Tours. What fun to get a chance to step into the working artist’s
studio for a peek. Here is a list of some that are upcoming but check your
local area because there are sure to be some around you. Santa Barbara has
theirs on September 5–6. Mountain Artists Studio Tour in Lake Arrowhead takes
place September 25-26 and Rancho Palos Verdes open studio tour rounds out the
month on September 26-27. In October head to San Luis Obispo for two weekends
of open studio tours on October 10-11 and 17-18.
Cal State Northridge, Valley
Performing Arts Center hosts a conversation between Dan Guerrero and Linda Ronstadt on September 29.
What a treat! Call (818.677.8800)
In a drive through the area
around Lompoc you will see beautiful rolling hills and if you are fortunate to
be there at the right time of year you will be treated to the stunning show of
color from the area flower and seed farms. Known as the flower and seed capital
of the world, there is much more to see in Lompoc. The city is home to several
boutique wineries and boasts over 100
murals on its structures in the heart of the city. If you are headed
this way be sure and take them in and check out http://www.lompocmurals.com/ for more
facts.
The Art
of Living Well
For about four or five minutes
most mornings I go to the beach…and I don’t have to drive there or walk. It’s a great way to start the day because it
isn’t crowded and it’s beautiful to see the clear sky and the waves washing in
and out. I love seeing the daily changes
in the surf, in the clouds and in the sea birds and the random seal or sea lion
that hangs out. If the surf is good surfers show up so I can watch them catch a
wave. My secret to this mellow and serene start to the day is a fellow I’ve
never met. Kevin McCree lives in Ventura and every day he picks up a cup of
coffee and heads down to Ventura Harbor where he sips his “Coffee on the Rocks” and shoots a video with its “tranquility
moment” then posts it for the rest of us to see. Sounds simple but it makes such a difference
in people’s lives. I’m sure many of his followers, like me, have never met
him. Some live in far off places and
just like being brought back to the beach, and many are those who grew up
somewhere on California’s coast and now live far away from home. The thing they
have in common is that they all appreciate what he does. Many of the comments
are touching and all make it clear how much his posts mean and how they look
forward to seeing the harbor and hearing his narrative. He had a tough week recently
but he continued to post in his positive manner. There was something different
in his voice though so we wish him well …this man most of us don’t know but
whose generosity of spirit has meant so much. We all need a tranquility moment
to get the day off to a great start and he is giving it to us one post at a
time. There are many videos and photos of oceans on Facebook but Kevin’s are
the best. He is an airbrush artist with his own company at www.shirtmonkeygarage.com so his
artistic aesthetic enhances his videos. Plus, he knows the area well and throws
in just enough info and philosophy to enhance the experience. Kevin’s posts are
on FaceBook at I love Ventura, Growing up in Ventura and The Kevin McCree Show.
They are special.
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