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.

I hope you all  had a wonderful 4th of July and are ready to hit the street for this month’s 1st Thursday.  There will be no Art Crawl for the next two months, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be out there check out all the art and festivities. I hope to see you out there too.

Reef City by Mark Goerner

This month I’m most excited about a show at Roy by Mark Goerner. Mark is a friend of mine, so I know that shows of his work are rare, but I can also say without bias that he is one of my favorite artists anywhere. Mark’s work tends to have a sci-fi edge that is very unique in Santa Barbara and is exactly the kind of stuff I get weak in the knees over.

Another highlight that I want to focus on briefly here is the gallery that seemed to pop up out of nowhere right before 1st Thursday last month. The Project (740 State Street, Suite 1) is “a collaborative non-profit art gallery owned and operated by nine local artists. The Project will benefit Girls Inc. by donating 20% of all art sales to their organization, Girls Helping Girls [Awesome!]. Featured artists include Donna Ayscough, Liz Brady, Erika Carter, Theresa Carter, Lloyd Dallett, Ashley Dart, Virginia McCracken, Lisa Pedersen and Susan Tibbles.” This place was packed to the gills for the entire evening last month. And I wish them the absolute best in their new venture.

I am also going to make a pointed effort to check out the Forum Lounge at the Contemporary Arts Forum. You never know what you will get when you walk in to one of these events, and that’s part of the fun.  I’ve pasted the information below.

For a full list of activities this Thursday check out the Downtown Organization website.  If you encounter any really great work out there that I should put on my radar for future reference, please leave a comment to this post.

This is one of the coolest underground spots in town – just what any industrial, out of the way art studio should be. As with the first Space Invaders shindig there promises to be a smorgasbord of cool vendors, including jewelry designers, artists, creators, and vintage collectors. As well as DJs, cupcakes, a lemonade stand, and a photo booth. This is a chance to see a spot in Santa Barbara that is way off the beaten path, and all the better because of it.

For a list of artists and vendors click here.

I’ve been a bit slow getting our local art news out there over the passed few weeks, so I wanted to take the time to make sure to let you all know that this call for entries is a wonderful opportunity that should not be passed up. Please share this information will all your artists friends.

Applications are due  SATURDAY, June 11!!!

All submittal materials and entry fees must be postmarked or received at The Arts Fund Gallery by Saturday June 11, 2011 by 5:00 p.m. Materials should be delivered to:  205-C Santa Barbara Street  Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

DIGITAL IMAGE REQUIREMENT CHANGE: Please note that the image requirements have been updated for Printmaking and 2-D Figurative Work submissions to be  72 dpi with the longest dimesion set to no more than750 pixels.

2011 AWARD CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS

Applications can still be downloaded through our website:http://www.artsfundsb.org or by visiting The Arts Fund Gallery at 205-C Santa Barbara Street at Yanonali.

I’ve been hoping for it for a couple of months now, but I think finally we’re going to get some nice warm weather for 1st Thursday this week. We’re going to mix it up a bit this month by stopping at a few places that will be totally new to the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative‘s Art Crawl. I hope you can join me for the night. It should be a blast. All you have to do to join the Art Crawl is show up at 900 State Street in the Walkabout Woods Installation at 5:30 this Thursday. Look for the Art Crawl sign.

Click on the image below to see a larger version of this month’s map.

A Rough Itinerary for the Evening

Here are a few of the things I’m most excited about.

WALKABOUT WOODS
900 State Street
Walkabout Woods is a highly collaborative, interactive art installation made by Fishbon, a local arts collaborative. The project, in its entirety, will resemble a vast abstract enchanted forest and is destined for Burning Man 2011. Come enjoy a small portion of the forest on the patio.

SOJOURNER CAFE
134 East Canon Perdido Street
(805) 965-7922
Kat Devlin won’t be the only draw for this event, the ever popular painter, Chris Potter is teaming up with our long time favorite Kevin Gleason (ask Kevin about our mural), along with a special wine tasting with David from Southern Wine & Spirits. The best place to close out your 1st Thursday evening, open until 11pm.

THE GRANADA THEATRE
1214 State Street
(805) 899-3000
Zombies and Buddhas art exhibition by Jill Littlewood in the McCune Founders Room. “My sons, and their friends, often talk about zombies and surviving zombie attacks. I’ve never heard girls bring this subject up. I began wondering what zombies mean to young men, so I played with the imagery. As I was painting – using colored paper pulp – every once in a while a buddha would appear and give me some relief from the anger and turmoil of zombie faces.” Enjoy Modern Jazz, Latin and Pop from Cut Time, presented by theSanta Barbara Youth Music Academy.

FUZION
1115 State St.
(805) 687-6401
Downstairs at Fuzion Gallery we are hosting Jamie Dufek’s art reception from 7PM-10PM with the show hanging through the month of May, Free drinks for 21+and Guest DJ Chadillac will be playing all night too!