Play with us at ARTbreak Day-It is not just for Kids!

LOVE THIS!! Ted Talk by Stuart Brown.
This is exactly what community ART is about. (Art is Play-altered states of consciousness-takes us out of space and time-intrinsic to All of our well beings).
Join us to take part in, directly experience, and see the community play together this Friday in the SF Bay Area at ARTbreak Day 2011
-Lisa

Stuart Brown says play is more than fun

After Oakland's Take 5: Art Break Day

Anyone who is planning on taking a break with our Art Mentor Kathy de Rosas and our team of volunteers in Oakland this Friday, you may want to extend your plans into the evening.  Our good friends over at SMASHBOX will be presenting a pop up gallery during the Oakland Art Murmer.

Multi-cultural urban audiences, artists, musicians, film-makers, DJ's, arts lovers and trendsetters will gather together at a pop up gallery/arts space to activate a vacant storefront and celebrate the magic of creative culture and ambition. Temporarily inhabiting the Marquee Lofts retail space in the heart of the Uptown Arts District, the pop-up gallery is slated to be unveiled during Oakland's First Friday/ Art Murmur on Friday, September 2, 2011 from 7-10pm, with an opening celebration hosted by the online blog Hip Hop Is Cool Again.

The pop-up gallery/art space is produced by Betti Ono, an emerging Oakland based arts, culture and entertainment agency formerly known as Smashbox Contemporary Arts, created by Women’s Initiative graduate and City of Richmond Arts Commissioner, Anyka Barber in January 2010. Ms. Barber started Smashbox Live at Somar Bar & Lounge in September 2010, an interactive live arts experience promoting access and participation in creative practice that has brought together over 2,200 international and local artists and arts enthusiasts to the burgeoning Oakland Uptown Arts District every Monday night. The September 2nd event is the re-launch and one-year anniversary celebration of this creative production.

Operating during five consecutive weekends in September, the Betti Ono produced pop-up gallery/arts space will join a host of both traditional and non-traditional galleries and art spaces transforming the Downtown/Uptown Arts Districts, activating vacant spaces like the ground floor retail space at the Marquee Lofts with culture, commerce and community. EVarize Cut & Sew Boutique, The Estria Foundation, The Dime, Community Rejuvenation Project, G4G Mobile and Trust Your Struggle Collective are just some of the artists and organizations expected to be part of the event’s thoughtfully curated interactive arts experience including exhibits, music, screenings and gatherings, documenting and developing a community dialogue with local and international artists, designers, makers, labels and brands.

Following its debut, the pop-up gallery/art space will be open from 7-10 pm on Fridays, 11-5 pm Saturdays and Sundays during September. Creative content from the experience will be housed via a multi-media http://www.bettiono.com connecting online and off with the social media driven audience. The site will provide a digital archive of events and happenings, with original videos, music and interviews of participating artists, partners and audiences.

For more information, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/smashboxcontemporary

Save The Arts Benefit: Interview with Suzanne Nichols

I met Suzanne Nichols, the Executive Director of the Save the Arts Benefit and her daughter, just a couple days before the event/fundraiser occurred. They both came to my studio/ house in Santa Monica to pick up a Painting that I had donated to the Art action. We had an amazing conversation about arts advocacy and I was so honored to be part of this event. 
Also we connected because she is from the Bay Area,Oakland!! We hope she will be present at Take 5: ARTbreak Day!! next Friday
-Enjoy Suzanne's amazing and artful insights! 
From the fundraiser she did save ART for 750 Los Angeles youth who would have not received Arts Education in school, otherwise. Kudos and Thank you Suzanne for the amazing work you do!!

Why are you an artist/performer?

Today, I am an artist performer because it feeds my soul and I enjoy the challenge of interpreting someone else's words and music, bringing a character to life, and connecting with the audience emotionally in a different way every nigh.  I developed my love for performance in high school to distract the bullies from teasing me about my coke-bottle glasses and train-track braces.  It's pretty hard for your peers to laugh at you, when they're laughing with you. 

Can you speak about your art philosophy as an Art Educator?

My philosophy as an Art Educator is as follows:Exposure to the Arts (visual, theatre, dance, music) is a right, not a privilege, and the way that we teach our children today informs the type of society that we will have tomorrow.  The Arts are vital to creating a society of dreamers, innovators, and world citizens who are compassionate members of our ever-shrinking global society.

 Why and how did " Save the Arts" organization come to be? 

 "Save the Arts" is an organization that was founded in response to all of the cuts that LAUSD was making to Arts Education.  There were cuts across the board, but the Arts, in particular were online to receive the most austere cuts.  We were to have 66% of our work force cut.  This would make it impossible to ensure that student received the well-rounded education that they deserved.  Initially, Save the Arts was only to be a benefit to raise funds for the Arts Education Branch of LAUSD, make the Los Angeles community (the entertainment capital of the world, by the way) aware of this wonderful gem that they had in the Arts Education Branch (many people did not know that we existed), and to celebrate the burgeoning talents of our children.  Many wonderful Arts Educators from the Arts Education Branch graciously volunteered their time and talent to help make this happen.  One such artist was critically acclaimed artist Castillo, who agreed to take on the Herculean task of mounting an art auction.  Many artists from the AEB as well as Los Angeles and surrounding communities donated their paintings.  One of these wonderful artists was Lisa Rasmussen, one half of "Art Day", coming soon to a Bay Area city near you ;) Once we got things going, we decided that "Save the Arts" could be more than just one event, it could be an organization whose mission would be to ensure that every child received the well-rounded education that he deserved; an education that includes the Arts.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Did the fundraiser "Save the Arts" meet your expectations? Any surprises? 

The "Save the Arts" Benefit more than met my expectations.  We were lucky in that we worked with some people who had put together events like this in the past, so I was firmly rooted in reality in regards to what we could expect to raise.  Our goal going into this was more about raising awareness than raising funds.  The funds will come when you continue to do the work and people see results.  I am proud to announce that we were able to do both.  The Los Angeles Times as well as a few other local papers and a local news station came to cover our event.  People who work in the industry took notice of what we did and have offered to help us with our next venture, and we were able to save a position in the Arts Education Branch.  By saving this position, we have ensured that 750 students will now receive Arts Education who otherwise wouldn't have. How's that for an awkward sentence?

How did the arts save you? 
There are so many ways and time in which Art saved my life.  Too many to count, so I'll just mention a couple. Music saved my life.  It got me through some really rough times.  It was my therapy.  When I felt out of sorts, I always knew that I could go to my room and sing my sorrows away.  As an adult, theatre saved my life.  At one point in my life, I was going through a particularly rough patch.  If not for the play in which I was performing, the people that I met there, the audience that was  my family every night, I would have come out of that situation with a lot more scars than I currently have.  There's nothing that compares to the give and take of Art in it's many forms.  It is, to me, one of the purest ways that you can give of yourself as well as receive from others.

Do you think art should be accessible to everyone?

Art should be accessible to everyone because it is truly a right.  It's not for the privileged few, it is something that is for the masses.  Art is the great equalizer.  All of us can be accomplished singers, writers, actors, artists, dancers.  Though it is wonderful to attend an institution of higher learning and further study your craft, you don't have to go to college to be accomplished at the Arts.  You don't have to be rich to be good at those things. All you need is an opportunity; some exposure.   All of us can enjoy a good song, a good story, a memorable character, a beautiful work of art, a dance that moves us to tears.  You don't have to be rich to enjoy those things.  The Arts are the great equalizer. 

What is the role of the artist in our society?  In my opinion, the role of the artist in our society is to reflect what is going on in our world today.  The artist holds a mirror up to society and allow us the chance to look at where we are, reflect, and decide whether or not this is where we want to be one two years down the line.  I think that the role of the artist is also to make us laugh at ourselves when necessary and to remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.                              

Where do you see yourself as an artist in 5 years?

In five years.....I don't know, I hope that I have grown and learned a few new things.  In five years.....I'd like to see myself studying the Arts and their impact in cultures around the world.

What are your ultimate goals as an artist?

My ultimate goal as an artist is to learn, grow, and communicate with others.  If I can do that, then I consider myself a successful artist.

What does art mean to you?

Everything.  It means everything to me.




To our readers, how has art saved you?

quintessential quotes:Johannes Itten

The objective laws of form and color help to strengthen 
a person's powers and to expand his creative gift. 

(Johannes Itten) 1888-1967

Take 5 Art Break Day | KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio

Take 5 Art Break Day | KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio

A big humongous thank you to our Volunteers!

Take 5:  Art Break Day is only 11 days away!  WOW o WOW!  We are so excited and can't wait to celebrate art and get it into the hands of thousands of people in just one day.  Just a quick note to say "Thanks!" to our volunteers and introduce a couple of them to all of you. 


Monique Aguerre
Monique will be at our San Rafael Art Site!

Bio for Monique:

Born and raised in Marin County, Monique has been creating art since she was a small child. Her most recent creations are masks and headdresses made from sculpted leather. Her work is inspired by mythology, nature, and the unconscious realm of the human psyche. Monique holds a master's degree in Depth Psychology, a path of study that has greatly informed her creative process. She has sold her work at various festivals and art fairs throughout northern California and Oregon. She enjoys teaching art and loves to share the joy of creative discovery with others.

www.mythicamasks.com


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Lesya Westerman

Our Photographer for our San Francisco Art Site!

Based out of the East Bay, I am currently undertaking my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Though I have embraced the digital photographic culture, I find myself continually returning to my first love of film.  By partaking in this (unfortunately) increasingly outdated side of photography, I’ve come to personally appreciate the value of art even more; particularly in how it can be an expressive, meditative process for anyone. Art is absolutely universal. I hope that by documenting
ARTbreak Day in San Francisco, my photographs can remind and encourage everyone to pick up a palette of watercolors or even a simple crayon and create.

Artist & Craftsman of Berkeley has a HUGE heART!

I just got back from meeting with the manager at Berkeley's Artist & Craftsman Supply.  

I was so excited when I saw the stack of art supplies they had set aside for their donation to Take 5:  Art Break Day.

Check it out!

Artist & Craftsman Supply has donated over $800 worth of art supplies!  They will also be giving away a sample bag at the Berkeley site.  So, if you are in the Berkeley area, you should stop by, say hi, make some art and pick up your free sample bag. 

A HUGE THANKS to Dawline and all of the other folks over at the Berkeley Artist & Craftsman Supply.  Can't wait to break in all of these new supplies!

Take 5: Art Break Day Mentor, Mark Lindsay

Mark Lindsay is a dear friend of Art is Moving. We have known Mark for many, many years as we traveled the path to our MFA's together. Mark will be supporting us at our San Rafael Art Site for Take 5: Art Break Day, so if you are in the area, stop by and take an art break with him!

Mark's Biography

Mark Lindsay has been in imaging since he was 14 years old when his parents bought him his first SLR camera. Shortly thereafter he set up a darkroom in his bedroom and has been making photographs ever since. He attended Rochester Institute of Technology where he earned his BS in Professional Photography in 1978. He continued on at RIT to complete the coursework for his MS degree in Printing Technology.

After leaving RIT, Lindsay joined Azoplate Division of American Hoechst Corporation where he developed and tested lithographic plates for the graphic arts industry and installed large platemaking systems at newspaper publishing operations.

In 1980 he moved to San Francisco and was employed for fifteen years at George Lithograph Company as a sales representative, customer service manager, sales manager, and eventually vice president of sales and marketing. He then spent two years as general manager at Lithocraft, Inc., a high-end sheetfed lithographer located in Santa Rosa.

For the next seven years Lindsay, as president of Lindsay & Associates, was a graphic arts industry consultant, specializing in digital-imaging workflows, sales and marketing, and strategic planning. At the same time he taught cooking classes at Tavola Festiva, his cooking school in Corte Madera, which specialized in authentic Italian cuisine.

In 2002 he returned to graduate school and earned his MFA in Studio Arts at John F. Kennedy University. His final show, Desolation’s Comfort: Photographic Re-collections was held in October, 2007 and received very positive critical reviews.  It later showed for three months at ColorGraphics in San Francisco. Lindsay is a painter in watercolor and acrylic, and a photographer, specializing in photomontage.

Along with his own art practice, Lindsay provides high-end digital printing for artists and

photographers. He teaches painting, digital photography, photoshop and asset management for photographers. He is also an expert in color management and digital imaging workflows which he designs for clients. He lives in Corte Madera with his wife, Susie, and their three cats.

Mark's Website: www.marklindsayart.com

Our Berkeley Take 5: Art Break Day Team!

North Berkeley is in for a little extra special treatment as we will have two amazing ARTmentors present on Take 5: Art Break Day! Savita Skye and Marlene Robbins have MA degrees in Transformative Art and work extensively in their communities through art. Stop by and say hello to these two splendid women!

Marlene Robbins's Bio:

I graduated from JFKU in 2008 with a Masters degree in Transformative Art. My favorite media are assemblage and sculpture, but I use whatever materials fit for my inspiration. I enjoy making art, sunshine, swimming, my dog Amber, travel and movies among other things. I am available for facilitating art classes and parties, workshops, labyrinth walks and dream tending.

Savita Skye's Bio:

Savita Skye is an artist, facilitator and consultant who serves individuals and communities through visual, ritual and healing art. In addition to her community art projects, public and private commissions and exhibitions, she has led hundreds of people through group movement, meditative and collaborative experiences. Her mediums over the past 30 years have included writing, photography, collage and clay. Savita has a M.A. in Transformative Art, is a certified Reiki Master Teacher and Holistic Health Educator and has completed apprenticeships in Celtic, Tibetan and Native American Shamanism. She exhibits her paintings, mixed media sculptures and installations in Bay Area venues and currently lives in Oakland, CA.

Website: www.savitaskye.com

Take 5: Art Break Day Mentor, Richard K. Bacon

We are so happy that Richard (Rico) is part of our Take 5:  Art Break Day team.  He brings an unimaginable energy and optimism to everything he partakes in and we just know the Richmond Art Site will be so much fun because of his presence.

Richard's bio:

Richard K Bacon was born on the Fourth of July and grew up in Syracuse, New York. He is the eldest son in a family of eight. He first art exhibition was at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse in 1978. Richard received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design in 1982 majoring in Graphic Design. For 18 years, he worked in corporate marketing communications in Boston, Massachusetts and owned his own design firm, Bacon Design Group, Inc. from 1988-2000. In 1994, Richard received a grant from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to study Japanese art in a Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, Japan. The experience inspired him to create a greeting card business of his nature photography called EdenArts. Relocating to San Diego, California, in 2000, Richard became a member of The Spanish Village Art Center and won awards for his paintings at the San Diego Art Institute and the San Diego Watercolor Society. To support his fine arts career, Richard became head of the Computer Graphic Design Department at Coleman College in 2002. After a wildfire storm destroyed his neighborhood in southern California, Richard purchased a garden center in Washington State in 2005 and converted it into an inspirational Nature & Art Center . Working with recovering addicts, battered women, homeless children and teens-at-risk, Richard used ecotherapy as a modality for self-healing. In 2008, he enrolled at John F Kennedy University’s School of Holistic Studies in the dept. of Arts & Consciousness to receive a Master’s Degree in Transformative Arts. He has been working on developing a unique healing program called EcoArt Therapy that combines psychology, ecology and expressive arts therapy. Richard currently divides his time between teaching at the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living, counseling private clients and continuing to exhibit his artwork in both the San Francisco Bay Area and in Boston, Mass.

To see more of Richard's work visit his websites: www.edenarts.com and ricoartist.blogspot.com

Take 5: Art Break Day Mentor, Kathy de Rosas

We would like to take a few minutes to introduce you one of our amazing Art Mentors for Take 5:  Art Break Day.  Kathy de Rosas will be leading the Oakland Art Site in Frank H Ogawa Plaza on the 2nd of September, so stop by and say hello!  We met Kathy at John F. Kennedy University while pursuing our Master in Fine Arts and are so glad we have kept in touch.  Not only does Kathy make amazing art, she uses art to make a statement to her community.

Read below to get to know Kathy a bit better.

Why did you decide to volunteer for Take 5: Art Break Day?

I decided to volunteer for Art Break Take 5 because of the dedication of Lisa and Lauren to bring art to as many people as possible. I have been following Art Break through www.artismoving.com and their facebook postings for the past three years. My observations allowed for me to experience their tenacious work in bringing art to many different communities with beautiful smiles for all the people to have the experience of making art. Also, they have been able to get a substantial amount of funding that allows for the Art Break to be in five cities and I am going to be working in Oakland where I live.

What is the benefit of having art making in a public space?

The benefit of making art in a public place allows a different form of communication to occur within a community. It allows people to come together in space that brings forth creativity through the beautiful act of mark making. The mark making is a connection to the inner self that allows the outer self to be engaged in an open dialogue. A dialogue that is authentic. The authenticity is freedom for a smile or laughter to occur at that perfect moment when a blue line, a red circle, or a blade of grass comes forth on the empty paper.

Kathy's Biography

Kathy de Rosas received her MFA from the Arts and Consciousness program from John F. Kennedy University in 2011. She is an interdisciplinary artist. Her work consists mostly of sculpture and installation and she currently exhibits her work in the Bay Area and maintains a studio in Oakland. She also is involved with community art in Oakland. She is presently collaborating with Edna Brewer Middle School and The Crucible to create a sculpture garden with the families and students of Edna Brewer Middle School with the funding from www.kickstarter.org.

for more about Kathy www.kathyderosas.com

Take 5: ARTbreak Day:As art is slashed from the community, two local artists are moved! DIY

  As art is slashed from the community, two local artists are moved to step up and deliver.

San Francisco Bay Area, CA - August 3, 2011 Despite the   necessity and importance of arts in our communities, it is quickly being slain, slivered, and slashed from the public sector as a result of drastic budget cuts on all levels of the American government.  According to the National Assembly of State Art Agency, "[art] funding from local, state, and federal sources has decreased by 31 percent since 1986."(1)

In a gallant effort to keep art sewn throughout the fabric of society and part of our daily lives, artists Lisa Rasmussen and Lauren Odell Usher, have taken things into their own hands. In 2008, this creative team banded together to start Art is Moving, a collaboration based on the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to discover the benefits of art.  Over the last year, Lisa and Lauren have been on a quest; planning, fundraising, and spreading the word about their latest project, Take 5: Art Break Day.  "If the state or the federal government won't fight for the arts, then we, as artists, have to take charge and do it ourselves," says Lauren Odell Usher.

On September 2, 2011 the San Francisco Bay Area will be buzzing with creativity.  Take 5:  Art Break Day is a free public event that encourages everyone, young and old, to “take an art break” and provides supplies and a space to create art for free.  This community art event will occur simultaneously in five Bay Area cities: San Francisco, San Rafael, Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland, and will run from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Canopied booths and tables will be set up in the downtown areas of each city and people will be provided with free access to a variety of art supplies.  There is no admission, no time limit, and no art experience necessary.

Many people in our communities miss the opportunity to view, interact, and create art because they lack the necessary funds to pay for it.  “In these shaky economic times, people are really craving a way to express themselves and a way to connect with others,” says Lisa Rasmussen.  Take 5:  Art Break Day, if even just for one day, provides a unique opportunity for the public to interact with art and one another.  As Jonathan Fanton, former president of  the MacArthur Foundation, eloquently stated, “There is no better indicator of the spiritual health of our city, its neighborhoods and the larger region than the state of the arts. The arts deepen our understanding of the human spirit, extend our capacity to comprehend the lives of others, and allow us to imagine a more just and humane world.”(2)  As participants take an art break together, communities across the Bay Area will simultaneously feel the immediate effects of art.

The first 1,000 participants will receive a free gift enabling them to create art anywhere.  

For more details about Take 5: Art Break Day, visit www.artbreakday.com

About Art is Moving:

Art is Moving is a collaboration between artists Lisa Rasmussen, MFA and Lauren Odell Usher, MFA, dedicated to making art a part of every person’s life.  Believing that art is a fundamental part of a healthy society, Art is Moving uses various means to make art more accessible to the masses.  By encouraging dialog about art online and in person and creating art projects geared towards the community as a whole Art is Moving hopes to provide the means and the space for every person to discover the power of art and every community to be transformed by creating art together.  Take 5: Art Break Day is just one more step in a life long campaign to show the world that art is a necessary and integral part of a thriving community; without art there is no growth. Art is Moving imagines a world where every person makes time in his/her day for art.  Imagine a world that stopped, took a breath, and just created art for a moment in time.

artismoving@gmail.com

Adventures in Art in Your Pocket Land

As you may have seen if you are fans of ours on Facebook (if you aren't a fan, you should be!), Lisa has been feverishly working on creating her 500 Art in Your Pockets for our free gift on Take 5:  Art Break Day.  All of my supplies have arrived and I am ready to dive in.

I like to prepare before I dive into a hefty project.  I know I get that from my Dad and my time in culinary school.  I was hounded to "prepare all of my ingredients first."  It was a bad day in the kitchen if a stove was on and someone had to run and cut an onion.  So, I have cut out a little section in my dining room and prepared my sous chef station for creating AIYPs.  The stamping will start first, then the paper cutting.  After those two long lasting endeavors my assembly line will begin.  Hopefully the preparation will prove to save me some time and insanity. 

Above all, I cannot wait to hand these out on Take 5:  Art Break Day!  Come by and snag one.

Answer - Experiments in Creativity #14 - Texture Photography

What a challenge this Experiment in Creativity turned out to be. It pushed me towards all of the texture in my normal daily life. I feel like I SEE a lot, but I failed to realize how much variety there is to touch.

I decided to look at my familiar surroundings in a brand new way. I approached my house feeling for texture and tried to capture it through a camera lens.

This was a great experiment and really took me out of my own art box for a while. Wonderfully refreshing and a new look at photography for me. Thanks Lisa!

Did anyone else give this Experiement a shot? Would love to know how your artwork came to be. Share it via email (artismoving (at) gmail (dot) com) and we will post it.