3rd Place, 31st Annual Open Competition, 2017 winner
A Lotta Lepidoptera by Linda Shaner

Call for Entries:
Buenaventura Art Association’s 32nd Annual Open Competition
Deadline: Midnight, Saturday, January 6, 2018
Cash Awards and Membership Benefits

Awards:

• First Place $400
• Second Place $300
• Third Place $200
• Four Honorable Mentions at $75 ea.
• 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners also receive a free one-year membership to BAA. Honorable Mention winners receive a 6-month membership.

Juror: Carol Shaw-Sutton. Find out more about Carol at www.carolshawsutton.com.

For entry details go to Online Entry at website, BuenaventuraGallery.org

Please join us for Buenaventura Art Association’s Holiday Charity Party Saturday, December 9, 3 – 6pm

Let’s start the holiday season with a get together at the BAA gallery. Come join your friends, make some new ones, and have some fun; it’s a celebration and a time for giving back!

Please come and help us bring art into the lives of at-risk and homeless children by bringing a donation of children’s art materials as your “price” of admission. Your donation could be crayons, pencils, paper, anything with which a child could entertain themselves or be creative. Expressing themselves through art can be emotionally healing for a child at risk.

We will pass your donation along to Interface Children & Family Services. Interface’s six major program areas include mental health services, youth services, family violence intervention, and more. If you cannot bring art supplies, a monetary donation of any amount would help. We want your presence regardless!

BAA’s Small Image Show and Holiday Boutique will be on display for your shopping pleasure. There will be live bluegrass music by Ruby Skye, champagne, sparkling cider, and chocolate treats!

And finally, there will be raffle prizes galore! Purchase or win tickets by participating in the afternoon’s activities! 700 E. Santa Clara in downtown

Join us at H Gallery Saturday, December 9th for the opening reception of NOD to MOD from 7-10pm, presented by Dab Art. A collection of contemporary works indicative of and inspired by the postmodern art movement of the 1960’s. The artists of this era experimented with new materials and concepts, changing the characteristics of conventional art forever.

The 18 artists featured in NOD to MOD exemplify the styles and philosophy of modern art through each of their selected works. NOD to MOD emulates a period of minimalism, moving away from traditional narratives towards conceptual abstraction.

1793 East Main Street 626 8876 www.DabArt.me

In May of 1999, the City Council established the Municipal Art Acquisition Program to document the history of visual art in Ventura through the annual purchase of important works of art created by area artists. The collection provides increased access to art of the highest quality and of distinctive merit through its display in the public areas of City Hall . This water color by Katherine McGuire can be enjoyed in the art collection in the corridors at City Hall.

John Nava, renowned painter and creator of the highly-praised tapestries at the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, will discuss his newly-published book, Sacred Material: The Art of the Tapestries of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, on December 10 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Levity Live at the Collection in Oxnard. This is a free event Sponsored by Paula Spellman

Sacred Material recounts the ground-breaking techniques employed in creating the three monumental commissions, The Communion of Saints, The Baptism of the Lord and The New Jerusalem for the Cathedral. The commission, combined with Nava’s keen knowledge of art history, masterful painting techniques and state-of-the-art pioneering technology, secured his place in the first chapter of the history of 21st Century American Art.

A generous portion of the proceeds from the sale of Sacred Material will benefit Focus on the Masters wide-ranging arts education programming. Purchasing your copy at this event is a marvelous opportunity to add to your own arts library and to continue the legacy of Focus on the Masters.

RSVP required by calling 653.2501 or on line at www.FocusOnTheMasters.com. Your copy can be reserved when you RSVP. $75 payment for the book will be due at the event.

Individuals who reserve their book before Wednesday, December 6 will be entered to win a portrait of John Nava by FOTM Founder Donna Granata.

Experience the highly-acclaimed fashion and beauty imagery of photographer Neal Barr and meet the artist at the opening reception for the new exhibition, In High Style: The Photography of Neal Barr, 6–8 p.m., Dec. 8, at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St. Admission is $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

The exhibit’s extensive collection of Barr’s iconic photographic images leads the viewer through Barr’s extraordinary life and career, from his early beginnings in Ventura to his fashion career in New York City and back again to Ventura.

Award winning artist, Frances Spencer, invites everyone to a solo exhibit of her art at the WAV (Working Artists Ventura) theater gallery, January 5-26, 2018. The Opening Reception is on First Friday, January 5th, 6-9 pm. Free to the public. Funding has been made possible by a Puffin Foundation grant.

The centerpiece of the exhibit, “War and Peace: Diptych,” illustrates the theme, Peace and Love Will Save the World. Spencer has won many national awards and ribbons including first prize for a block print at the Ventura County Fair. Her large painting, “Jazz Club,” was the cover illustration for the summer concert series, Music Under The Stars, in 2011. Her solo show, “The Visionary Art of Frances Spencer,” was on display at Ventura City Hall during summer of 2014, and chosen for a special showing by the Art Walk committee.

Frances is also a playwright, whose plays and musicals have been produced professionally and on college campuses in the San Francisco Bay Area and locally. Her screenplay, “The Ant Colony,” was a finalist in Hollywood’s Shriekfest Film Festival in 2010 .

WAV Theater Gallery 175 S. Ventura Ave.

Ventura artist Jane Peterson has been hard at work, the past two years, developing a Graphic Novel. The story centers on her character, Jane Gumm I.S.S.T : Inspector of shapes, smells and textures. Jane Gumm works with a coterie of extraterrestrials, and animal-human hybrids(her staff). She follows standard forensic procedure, collecting evidence, to unravel mysteries which “ present themselves”, sometimes Literally, at her doorstep. Jane Gumm has been given a grant, by the Federal Government, to root out “irregularities”.

The City of Ventura 12th Annual Photo Contest winners will be honored at an exhibit and reception in the Bridge Gallery at City Hall, 501 Poli Street, on December 4, 2017, at 5:30 pm. Following the reception, Mayor Erik Nasarenko will award certificates to contest winners in Council Chambers at 6 pm. The winning photos will be on display in City Hall, December 4 through January 31, 2018.

Seventy-two photographers submitted 240 images in three categories; Environment, Architecture, and Culture and Community. Members of the public voted online for the “People’s Choice” awards and a second set of judges made up of visual arts professionals from the City of Ventura awarded “Judges’ Choice” winners.

Photo Contest winners are:

Category 1- Environment

Judges’ Choice- Chris Ramer

People’s Choice- Hector Vargas

Category 2- Architecture

Judges’ Choice- Steve Cattanach

People’s Choice- Tammy Sims

Category 3- Culture and Community

Judges’ Choice- Steve Cattanach

People’s Choice- Jeffrey Grunigen

Judges’ Choice Honorable Mentions

Rip Rippey

Jacqueline Counter

“The stunning and creative submissions we received this year encapsulate the natural beauty of Ventura and embrace the feeling of pride in our community,” stated Nancy O’Connor, Parks, Recreation, and Community Partnerships Director.

The 2017 entries can be viewed at www.cityofventura.ca.gov/photocontest. The 2018 Photo Contest will open on February 5, 2018.

Like Santa’s helpers, the creative elves at Buenaventura Art Association have a busy holiday season planned, with events until the new year at the downtown Buenaventura Gallery and Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts.

First up are the Small Image Show and Holiday Boutique, Nov. 14-Dec. 30 at the Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St. The show will feature original artworks sized and priced for gift-giving, while the boutique centers on artisan crafts, jewelry and wearable art. The public is invited to an opening reception 5-7 p.m. Nov. 18 in conjunction with Ventura’s bi-monthly Arts & Eats self-guided tour.

On weekend dates in December, Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts, 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 106, will team up with neighboring December Store & More to present a European Marketplace. Additional vendors, kids’ crafts, music and other holiday cheer will fill their village courtyard. The dates are Dec. 2, 3, 9, 10, 17 and 23.

BAA — a grassroots, 63-year-old nonprofit organization — also invites the public to its Holiday Charity Party featuring games and prizes at the downtown gallery, slated 3-6 p.m. Dec. 9.

Attendees are asked to bring donations of art supplies for homeless and/or underserved youths for whom art can be self-expression and an escape from daily difficulties.

Buenaventura Gallery is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts is open seven days a week, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For more about the group visit www.buenaventuragallery.org or call 648-1235 during gallery hours.