ArtWalk Will Bowl You Over

by Woody

 My new memoir WOODEN & ME is available here at Amazon

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ArtWalk Will Bowl You Over

 A number of years ago, my daughter and son had the wonderful idea of buying four hand-painted Italian pottery bowls – a unique one for each family member – as a Mother’s Day gift.

Were I to tell you the price of the one bowl we ended up giving my wife you might assume we traveled to Tuscany to personally meet the artisan. We prudently decided to fill out the table setting one by one over the next three Mother’s Days.1BowlsArt

The beautiful gift was a hit and worth the hit to my credit card. Still, eating salad – and soup, cereal, oatmeal, ice cream – from it seemed a little like hanging an original Picasso sketch on the refrigerator door with magnets. The bowl belonged safely inside a frame, so to speak, on a mantel for display – not in the sudsy sink after dessert.

Worries that my wife might break her pricey Italian bowl proved unfounded; rather, no surprise, I was the one who carelessly chipped its edge on the kitchen sink. OK, it was a surprise that I was actually hand-washing dishes.

As good luck would have it, dismay over my bad luck proved short-lived because a few a few weeks later the four of us decided to check out the annual Ventura ArtWalk. As part of the event we purchased four tickets for the Bowl Hop where patrons get to sample cuisines from a wide array of participating restaurants.

Also, for less than the price of the one Mother’s Day bowl we not only supported Project Understanding’s food pantry (which helps feed about 1,000 area residents per month) we received four one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls hand-crafted by talented local artisans.

Now in its 22nd year, the Ventura ArtWalk (visit www.artwalkventura.org for more information) will bowl you over with more than just ceramic bowls. A celebration of Ventura’s thriving arts community, the virtually free event today and Sunday features dozens of galleries and studios, and even PODS containers that have been transformed into showcases, all located Downtown and in the Westside Cultural District.

A short list includes Art City Studios, Bell Arts Factory, Buenaventura Gallery, Latitudes Fine Art Gallery, Red Brick Gallery and Studio 1317. Julie Merrill Studio, in a PODS outside Vita Art Center, will display works by Ventura watercolor artists Ann Galloway, Catherine Crowley, Tom Dase, Mary Frambach, Phyllis Lewandoski, Julie Merrill, Ramona Owen, Galina Richardson and Dean Seagren.

Additionally, Mission Park will host free musical and dance performances as well as short theatrical presentations by the Rubicon Theater Company.

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls,” Pablo Picasso observed.

“Summer,” renowned art critic Jerry Saltz has said, “is a great time to visit art museums, which offer the refreshing rinse of swimming pools – only instead of cool water, you immerse yourself in art.”

I am ready to immerse myself in cool art and wash the dust off my soul.

Another PODS Gallery I am especially looking forward to diving into is at 100 E. Main St. and showcases a photography exhibition by three artists who are Patagonia employees: Kyle Sparks, Terri Laine and Kosuke Fujikura.

Laine’s pieces are especially timely as they use a tree as a harbinger to document the drought from the point of view of Lake Casitas; Sparks captures surfing and climbing escapes in Maldives; and travel photographer Fujikura escapes the modern digital era by stepping back in time and shooting on film.

In their own way, each exemplifies the view of the late, great Ansel Adams: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

To my eye, and my wife and kids agree, our four Bowl Hop bowls are every bit as beautiful as was the costly piece from Italy. What is more, we don’t worry about the $25 expense of replacing one should it chip or crack. More wonderfully, despite near everyday use, all four are still providing pleasure years later.

Come to think of it, I’m long overdue to break one. I’d be wise to hop away from this weekend’s ArtWalk with a few new bowls.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Wooden-&-Me-cover-mock-upCheck out my new memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece”