First Thursday is now only two days away. With Halloween behind me I can finally start to focus on this month’s offerings. November is music month in Santa Barbara, highlighted by the New Noise Music Conference and Festival, which brings in a bunch of great bands and music professionals.

One of my favorite parts of this festival is “Pianos on State“.  Throughout the week pianos will be placed at strategic locations on State Street for anyone to use. These pianos have been decorated by local artists and have an uncanny ability to spawn serendipitous moments of audio bliss. It is not uncommon to see bands that played at SOHO or Velvet Jones the night before, jamming on one of these pianos the following afternoon.

Another music related 1st Thursday event will be taking place at Santa Barbara Sheet Music (1036 Santa Barbara St.). This will be their first time putting on an event during 1st Thursday and you can expect live music from a variety of different groups and a suite of work by local artists on the wall. I will admit, I’ve never been to Santa Barbara Sheet music, but I have intrigued by the place for a long time and I’m glad I finally have a proper excuse to go up and check the place out.

You will find more information on both events below.

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Music to your ears” Anyone can play and all are encouraged to listen!

Pianos on State, a collaborative and interactive musical experience coinciding with the 2011 New Noise Festival (www.newnoisesb.org), kicks off downtown during First Thursday November 3rd. Sponsored in part by Santa Barbara Beautiful and Cox Communications, this is the second annual event made possible by the collaborative efforts of the Santa Barbara Bowl, Notes for Notes, Santa Barbara Education Foundation, Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative, Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, and New Noise Festival Nov. 3-6. Each piano will become its own piece of art as local professional Santa Barbara artists create unique looks. Pianos will be available for musical exploration, impromptu play and planned performances morning, afternoon and evening over two weekends (10am – 9pm per piano). Amateur and professional musicians alike will be scheduled to perform and the public is invited to sit down and play during non-scheduled hours.

http://notesfornotes.org
http://newnoisesb.com
http://sbbowl.com
http://granadasb.org/education.html
http://sbartscommission.org
http://sbefoundation.org

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New store manager, Kristen Reed, comes to us by way of New York and Paris, to breathe some new life into a business that has been a fixture in our community for over forty years.  “I see a great opportunity here to reach out, support, and encourage the next generation of musicians here in Santa Barbara. With all that this community does for its music and art organizations, we can’t help but want to be a part of it!”

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Alvaro Suman -
“Alvaro has exhibited his work in the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City; Cuernavaca, Mexico; Casa de la Raza, Santa Barbara; Los Angeles Art Museum; San Francisco Art Museum; among others. Alvaro’s art reflects a style that varies from magical realism to fantastic surrealism and one can clearly see his indigenous Mexican background.”

Molly Hahn -
Mollycules™ is the brainchild of multimedia artist Molly Hahn.

http://www.mollycules.com/

I can’t believe its been a year since the first “From Dusk ’til Drawn” show at the Contemporary Arts Forum. This is easily one of my favorite art events of the entire year. I love the camaraderie that develops as artists collectively embark on a 24 hour art-making marathon. And, I love the opportunity to get some really amazing art for really amazing prices. For those of you who didn’t make it last year, there are four walls in the space marked with four respective price points ($25, $75, $150, and $300). Art hung on each wall can be had for that price. Whoever’s idea that was, let me just say: “Brilliant, really brilliant.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND VISUAL IMAGERY CONTACT:  Kimberly Hahn   (805) 403-8108  press@sbcaf.org

CAF is pulling an all-nighter for this 2nd annual, unique 24-hour drawing extravaganza! Artists will draw side by side with dabblers, providing a unique laboratory for sharing, creating, and participating in a community art experience. Register to draw next to local contemporary art luminaries such as Ann Diener, Dane Goodman, Saul Gray-Hildenbrand, Kimberly Hahn, and Keith Pucinelli as well as children, community leaders, and others! All drawings will be sold to the public at one of four prices ($25, $75, $150, and $300 plus tax) and proceeds will be divided among the participants and CAF. Drawing is broadly interpreted and artists of all disciplines, skill levels, and ages are encouraged to join us. There will be a free, closing reception to celebrate the artists’ efforts and show off the remaining artwork on Sunday, July 24, 4-6 pm. Prospective drawers may sign up for any period of time throughout the 24 hours and must contact Nicole Biergiel at nbiergiel@sbcaf.org to register by July 1. For more information visit sbcaf.org or call: (805) 966-5373 x102.

Event Committee: Nicole Biergiel, Karla Blancas, Miki Garcia, Saul Gray-Hildenbrand, Dulce Griego, Kimberly Hahn, Sophie Leddick, and Warren Schultheis.

This Friday there are two great art shows to check out. The best part is that the first one ends before the other one begins, so you don’t have to miss either of them. The first show stars perennial local favorite Rafael Perea de la Cabada. As most of you who read this blog will know, Rafael teaches art at SBCC. His art can be seen all over town, including the recent beautification of the sidewalk along Cabrillo Blvd near West Beach, but this is the first time in a little while that I remember an entire solo show of his work. I’ve also never been to the Architectural Foundation Gallery, so that will be a treat unto it self.

The second show this Friday is called Earth From Space, and it’s almost as though the show was specifically designed with me in mind. As you may have read recently, I am a sucker for the blending of science and art. This show features 40 local artists riffing off the first photo ever taken of the earth rising over the horizon from the surface of the moon. I can’t wait.

The details for both shows are below. I hope to see you out there.

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Rafael Perea de la Cabada
“Spaces We Touch/Espacios Que Tocamos”
Architectural Foundation Gallery: July 15 – August 26, 2011

Opening Reception: July 15, 5 – 7pm
1st Thursday Reception: August 4, 2011

The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara (AFSB) is pleased to announce a new solo exhibition,
“Spaces We Touch/Espacios Que Tocamos,” by Rafael Perea de la Cabada.
The public is invited to attend a festive opening reception for the artist on Friday, July 15 from 5-7 pm.
A 1st Thursday reception will be held on August 4 from 5-8 pm.

Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara
229 East Victoria Street
Santa Barbara, CA  93101
(805)965-6307

Earth From Space Art Show

Opening Reception:

Friday July 15th, 8:30pm – 11:00pm
Show runs thru August 14th

Featuring 40 Artists in a themed exhibit.
The artists have each created a unique piece inspired by the 1968 photo of Earth rising, photographed from the Moon.

MichaelKate Interiors
132 Santa Barbara St.
805 963-1411
Hours: M-Sat 10 to 6. Sunday 11 to 5.
Closed Wednesday.

Don’t miss “SPACES WE TOUCH” before “EARTH FROM SPACE”…

I remember very clearly the first time I saw artwork by Molly Hahn (aka Mollycules) at Muddy Waters. I was and continue to be drawn to her work because of the wonderful imagination evident in each piece.  Molly is also a children’s book author and illustrator, and is particularly savvy when it comes to the new possibilities for marketing her work.  Recently she sent me a message to let me know that she is now selling some of the original work from her “Sketches of the Day” project, which she turned into a book. I am more than happy to pass this news on here.

You can see the work on her website, and I encourage you to check a feature on her that appears in today’s Independent. If you happen to be down in San Diego, look for her booth at ComicCon.

Calling all (b)artists!

This Saturday at Muddy Waters the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative will be holding the first of many “belly to belly” events. These events are designed to get people together to make connections and foster future resource sharing and collaborations… they are also supposed to be a blast.

I have been heavily involved with the planning of this event, so I can give my personal assurance that this will be a good time. It may also be an opportunity to get a very unique work of art by an artist whose work you’ve admired for years but couldn’t easily afford.

In the afternoon people are invited to come to Muddy Waters to work on their Bar Napkin masterpieces. Starting at 4pm the napkins will be put on display for a silent auction that will begin at 5:30 and end at 7:30. The proceeds from this auction will go to the SBAC’s direct-to-artist grant program.

There are already more than 100 people who have confirmed their attendance on the event’s Facebook page. I know that there are a wide range of artists (not all of whom are visual artists) that will be contributing napkins to the event, some of whom are very well known in town. However, we encourage everyone to take part.

I also happen to know that some extremely awesome SBAC t-shirts will make their world premiere at the event. These t-shirts will be sold for $20 (also to benefit the SBAC), so make sure to stop by an ATM before you come because Muddy Waters doesn’t take plastic.

We are also looking for any donations of supplies to help out with the event:

We are looking for white bar napkins, golf pencils, and art supplies for Saturday. We’d rather recycle or use what’s out there than buy more.

If you have access to any of these things please contact me at: nathan@sbartsblog.com

Also, if you would like to contribute to the event but can’t make it on Saturday, feel free to work on a napkin in advance and bring it (or have it delivered) to Muddy Waters on Saturday.

Here is a partial list of the artists whose napkins you can expect to see at the silent auction (I’ll update this list as more artists confirm).

Hugh Margerum                      http://www.hughmargerum.com/
Vanae Rivera                           http://www.maryandthemachine.com/
Bob DeBris                               http://www.bobdebris.com/
Jane Callister                           http://www.arts.ucsb.edu/faculty/janec/
Keith Puccinelli                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcHtBffHGqA
Penelope Gottlieb                    http://www.penelopegottlieb.com/
Dane Goodman                       http://www.sbcc.edu/art/website/index.php?page=faculty&contact=25
David Starkey                          http://www.vimeo.com/5294834
Bob Mask                                 http://www.west.net/~bobsart/
Elizabeth Folk                          http://www.elizabethfolk.com/
Jim Connolly                            http://www.jimconnollymusic.com/
Sheryl Schroeder                     http://www.schroederville.com/
Anna Abbey                              http://www.myspace.com/radannabbey
Clay Bodine                              http://fishbonsb.ning.com/
Dominique Reboul                  http://fishbonsb.ning.com/
Ben Anderson                          http://www.benjaminanderson.com/
Sean Anderson                        http://www.seananderson.com/
Jimmy Bell                               http://www.jimmybellart.com/

UPDATE:

Colin Gardner (Chair, UCSB Art Department)   http://www.arts.ucsb.edu/content/colin-gardner
Ann Diener                              http://www.anndienerart.com/
Jeff Shelton                              http://www.jeffsheltonarchitect.com/

UPDATE #2

Molly Hahn                              http://mollycules.com/
Kimberly Hahn                       http://www.kimberlyhahn.com
James Van Arsdale              http://www.jamesvanarsdale.com/
Ken Bortolazzo                      http://www.sullivangoss.com/bortolazzo_ken/
Joe LaCorte                            http://www.josephlacorte.com/
Robert Redfield                    http://www.redfieldpictures.com/

If you are an artist who wants people to know that you’ll be at the event, just post your name in a comment on this post.