If you’re heading to the Jack Johnson concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl this fall make sure to stop by the Art From Scrap table, and think about helping them out with some donations. They are a great organization and an important Santa Barbara institution. See details below.

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Art From Scrap Teams Up With Jack Johnson SANTA BARBARA: Art From Scrap is teaming up with Jack Johnson on his 2010 To The Sea Tour and All At Once, a social action network that connects nonprofits with people who want to become active in their local and world community.

For over twenty years, Art From Scrap (AFS) has been a leading environmental education organization in Santa Barbara. The AFS Green Schools Program reaches 14,000 children yearly, through lessons and field trips covering the topics of Waste Diversion, Watershed Education, Gardening, and Composting. Art From Scrap promotes the philosophy of All At Once, that “Collectively, individual actions create global change. Your actions, your voice, and your choices, all have a huge impact.”

As part of this partnership, the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation (Jack Johnson’s new charity) is matching every dollar contributed to Art From Scrap, up to $2,500, between now and October 15th. Any contributions made at this time will double in value through this generous matching opportunity!

On October 13th, Art From Scrap will have a table at Jack Johnson’s Santa Barbara County Bowl concert. The table will be located in the Village Green, a collection of interactive booths where concert-goers can get educated, inspired, and connect face-to-face with Art From Scrap, All At Once, and other local and national non-profits.

Visit www.AllAtOnce.org and www.artfromscrap.org to check out what you can do before, during, and after the show to get involved.

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Don’t forget, tomorrow night is the big closing reception for one of Santa Barbara’s most well-attended art shows. Art From Scrap’s yearly assemblage art show is one of my favorite shows of the entire year, and judging by the numbers that show up for this reception, I am not alone. Silent bidding for the pieces in the show has been going on for weeks now, but the chaotic final bidding will be taking place tomorrow night. Don’t miss this great event and make sure you get in on the bidding. See you there.

Click here for a preview of the work being auctioned in the show.

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Two red dots!

For anyone who has followed this blog over the past few weeks, I think I made it pretty clear that I was very excited about the show “Thrice” put on by Larry Mills, Tanner Goldbeck, and Joe Shea at the AFS Gallery.  And the show was no disappointment. What was slightly disappointing was the less than expected turn out for the show. I expected the place to be packed with these artists’ many friends and fans. And while there was a steady crowd there, it was not the standing room only event I had hoped it would be. I talked to Holly Mackay at Art From Scrap yesterday when I went back to the show for a second look, and she explained that Fiesta kept some people away but that many people showed up late so they kept the show going for an extra hour. Apparently I  left just before many arrived. And the people that came brought their check books since there are now quite a few red dots next to works that had sold.

Part of J Shea's "Silent Night"

The work in the show was of the high quality that is usual for each of  the artists, but there were also some nice surprises that re-emphasized the importance of seeing the work in person. For instance, I had previously seen many of Larry Mills’ photographs on his website. However, for the show these photos were mounted on wood panels and cleverly sanded around the edges, rounding the corners of the wood and wearing away the edges of the photos, giving the photos a worn and weathered look that echoes the themes of many of his photos.

There were also many great works there from J. Shea. His iconic wood box framed sculptures continue to surprise me with their wit and depth of character as in the wonderful “King of Kings” , but I was most surprised to find that my favorite of all of his pieces was a painting entitled “Silent Night”. The painting allowed Shea to present his characters in a specific setting, suggesting a plot, and giving an additional narrative complexity.

Another great example of the importance of seeing works in person came in the form of Tanner Goldbeck’s “Citizen No. One – Pale Rider”. This image was another that I was familiar with from the internet, but that representation does no justice to the actual work itself.  There is some kind of magic that comes with brush strokes and oil paints that digital creations cannot reproduce, and this painting is full of it.  The paint amplifies the frenetic action that is typical of Tanner’s work, imbuing it with all-important gravitas.

Tanner in front of "Citizen No. One". Photo by Larry Mills.

There is a lot to enjoy in this show. If you were one of the people who missed the opening, it will be up until September 12th so you have another month to catch it. Head over to Art From Scrap and check it  out for yourself, because you never know when you’ll see a show like this in town again.

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I hadn’t really thought seriously about joining Twitter until I passed Art Essentials a while back and saw that they were having a big pre-stretched canvas sale. Now, I’m not an artist, just an art lover. But I immediately saw the benefit of being able to quickly get this information out to people who could take advantage of this sale. And Twitter is perfect for this. So, you can now follow my tweets which will contain useful tidbits of information that I can send out on the fly without having to be in front of my computer.

Click on the “follow my tweets” link above or my little green Twitter icon to the right to check out to my Twitter page.

And stay tuned for my profile of J. Shea9 on Monday, as I wrap up the preview of the upcoming “Thrice” show at AFS Gallery.

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