Ring in the New Year with Art
By Jim Christiansen
Time to get a start on those new creative projects and put those art supplies you got in December to use. Modesto is a creative area, and as announced by the California Arts Council on December 13, we are the Dos Rios Arts and Cultural District. We are one of ten districts added to create twenty-four across the state. Ours. Ours is named for the confluence of the Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers. Unlike the Downtown Merced Arts and Cultural District, we can be confused with nearby Dos Rios State Park out on Shiloh Rd, way out west. District designation includes grant money, led by the Stanislaus Arts Council. Our district profile should be available this month at www.caculturaldistricts.org
Other unfinished business from the past year includes Virginia White Art showing at the Kruse Lucas Gallery on Tully Road. The Stanislaus Arts Council Winter show “Our Collective Illumination at 1316 J Street. Jennifer Fosgate’s show at the Carnegie Art Center Lobby gallery will finish on January 10.
Before Christmas, as happens every year, Jordi Camps celebrated another birthday and has great new art he has painted at Picasso’s Gourmet Deli and Gallery. Shout-out to other regulars hosting art: Preservation Coffee on J Street, Dragonfly Art for Life further up J Street, Bookish at Roseburg Square, and Modesto Artists Movement. No Art Walk this month, but it will resume on February 15.
New business for artists: the Dorothy Indelicato 36th Fine Art Show is open for in-person entry and applications at the Delicato Winery Tasting Room from January 2 to 16, with the show opening on February 1 and running through February 21. A nice show in nearby Manteca, get the entry information and link at www.Delicatowineshop.com
The Annual Tracy Art League Exhibitions accept online submissions through January 6. The show opens with an artist reception on February 13, followed by public viewing on February 14 and 15, 10AM to 5 PM, and February 16 to 20, 4 to 7 PM. To enter, look up TAL on Smarter Entry.
The Stanislaus Artist Open Studio weekend is set for April 25 and 26. Artist entry applications are open this month, with a January 30 deadline to get on the map. Information or application requests at openstudio.stanislaus@gmail.
“Silver Linings” will display works by participants in the Memorial Medical Center Complementary Art Therapies program from January 6 to 21 at the Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock. Carnegie will also open “On the Edge: Abstraction at Work,” a show I entered, and I am awaiting word on whether I will be selected. This show runs in the Lobby Gallery from January 20 to April 25. Bill Harris opens a solo show on February 10 as Valley Focus’ featured artist.
A call for artists for the “Reunion- Festival of Arts” series of events at the Graffiti USA Classic Car Museum, which will feature art on display and for sale, of alumni of the Mistlin Gallery and Chartreuse Muse, with the first show opening February 6, and applicants’ grids or pedestals for display on a first-come, first-served basis. More on this next month, as details on cabaret and local musicians booked to specific dates.
Modesto Art Academy offers kids winter camps and class information at Classes@MoArtAcademy.org and on the website at moartacademy.org. This nonprofit art school is at 500 Scenic Drive, Modesto.
On Pirrone Rd in Salida, the Academy of Music and Design offers open-enrollment Art classes, as well as music, robotics, and more. See www.modestoacademy.com and hit the art tab for Spring Class Schedule, with some starting at the end of the month.
