Art View By Jim Christiansen
The May Art Walk started with guitars on the street. Eli Allsup and friends playing on Eleventh Street sidewalk at Tresetti’s as an unannounced warm up for strolling minstrels, Blue Monday’s Eric Benson with pawn shop guitar, Modesto View publisher Chris Murphy in retro striped shirt, with Gary Nelson and guitars roaming the downtown avenues. Expect to see them again in June, as Modesto rolls into Graffiti Summer events schedule.
This month, expect rolling works of art, as the classic cars go by, and various events take up the roadway and sidewalk displays pop up. Compare the car club vehicles to the recent downtown murals. The Home of American Graffiti poster contest has its student-generated work in the windows at Tenth and I Street. The Blues and Rockabilly Street Faire will feature art on June 22, and I expect to see more in our annual celebration of mid 20th Century Modesto nostalgia. Matthew Olyphant did a work based on a Yosemite Avenue Snow-White drive in, on display at Modesto Convention and Visitors bureau offices, and available as a tee shirt design, to support the upkeep of the historic cruise route kiosks and signage.
My favorite stop for May art walk, at the Downtown Improvement District office, where artist Charles Jeffrey Newberry had a large part of his portfolio out on display for show and for sale, alongside the great collection of DID framed posters. I bought one of his drawings while there. Always pays to look for these surprise shows during Art Walk.
June continues the second half of the two regional Spring Shows in Modesto and Turlock. The People’s Choice Award was awarded to Tony Pooler over at the Mistlin Gallery for the last of the awards in the Central California Art Association 60th annual Spring Show. Joan Cardoza’s pastel work “The Monk” won the Best of Show award. 64 artists and 143 works in four juried categories comprise this annual exhibit, which will be on display through June 13. Black and White art celebrated in Turlock’s Carnegie Arts Center’s Best of Show selection of an ink drawing by Milt Bullard. That show will run through June 30. Spring Show entries in both locations are for sale.
Mid-month, Mistlin Gallery will open its CCAA member’s Summer Splash show, which will be featured during the June Art Walk. Mistlin’s shows change about every six to seven weeks, and its Gift Box art jewelry and small works, and ceramics displays you see in the glass cases, are updated monthly. All the art in the gallery is produced by local artists, and is available for purchase, and your patronage helps support the nonprofit art association. Summer classes have started at Mistlin, many of them arranged with City of Modesto Parks and Recreation for kids. Summer Art Camps and classes are also in session at nearby Chartreuse Muse.
For June Art Walk, I will be the featured artist at Crow Trading. Artists looking to show their work at Art Walk have missed applying to this central location the past two months. If you want a spot to feature your work, just pick up an Art Walk map, and see if there is an opening to show at any of the regular spots. www.modestoartwalk.com<http://www.modestoartwalk.com> Another opportunity is the Kiwanis’s sponsored downtown Fourth of July Parade and farmers Market. See their link at www.modestojulyparade.com<http://www.modestojulyparade.com> for more information and applications.
