Summer Art Adventure

Being an art student, I have had opportunities to study in different environments and have new experiences to help inform my body of work. Last Summer I went to Paris for 4 weeks and studied the great Art Movements of France as well as visited museums daily and keep a sketchbook / journal of the daily events. Plus I kept you all apprised of my activities with the ever-playful “Picture a Day” posts (which I plan to continue this summer). It was a great honor and exciting adventure for me. This summer I will also be studying art in a faraway land. The exotic locale this year is Fresno.

Yes. Fresno.

It may not seem like much, this healthy sized city smack dab in the center of California, but it is home to the CSU Summer Arts program which offers intensive classes for CSU students and alumni to further their artistic studies. The program offers students one-on-one conversations with successful artists and critics about how to grow their work. There are seminars and studios for everyone to just buckle down and make art, whether that is studio art, music, theater, dance, etc. It is an opportunity to focus on your art form without the daily distractions. A rare luxury.

Fresno is beyond HOT in the summertime. Every correspondence spends at least a paragraph trying to prepare students for this heat. It is also not exactly known to be a hub of excitement, a far cry from my beloved Paris with its monuments, museums, and sidewalk cafés. But there is one thing about Fresno which makes it one of the most important and exciting places for artists.

Fresno State was the home of the Feminist Art Movement and the first Feminist Art studies program. Headed in 1970 by Judy Chicago and pushing the boundaries of the art world. It is an absolute honor to be on the same campus as those brave women who boldly created a new academic program and raised questions about equity in art. Fresno State fostered an environment for women to act creatively and create works that not only were artistically challenging, but socially challenging as well. The program eventually relocated to California Institute of the Arts in 1971 where it attracted national media coverage with their project, WOMANHOUSE. This particular piece stands out as one of the most important works of contemporary art. I am thankful for the groundbreaking work of these brave ladies from Fresno State (and CalArts). Without the work they did in the 1970s there may not have been as many opportunities for me as a female artist.

So upon first glance, my Summer Art Adventure doesn't seem like much… but knowing the history and how that connects to me as an artist has just made Fresno seem a lot more exciting.

xx

**keep an eye out for my picture-a-day posts from Fresno this summer!

Who's Gonna Supply My Fix?

[by Theresa Knopf Morgan]
Mother. Lover. Artist

This past Sunday, when all of the Santa Clarita Valley was engrossed in almighty football, I sat outside priming and prepping a canvas to paint on. Amid the faint cheers and buzzing television sets, I glanced around my neighborhood and basked in the February sunlight.

Preparing canvases and panels is often an overlooked aspect of art, but it is the absolute foundation to a good painting. And as much as I bitch and moan about how long the art process can take, I'm addicted to it.

I love the dust left on my hands when I come in touch with charcoal and pastels. I love the smell of linseed oil. I own an expansive collection of palette knives and an enormous roll of thick cotton canvas duck. everyone has his or her vice. Mine happens to be art.

On this mild Sunday, as I sanded down the second layer of gesso primer, I started thinking of how everything I needed to feed my art addiction had to be purchased outside of this valley. Canvas and stretcher bars from Los Angeles and gesso and hardware from the "other" valley. How odd is it that the Santa Clarita Valley is hoe to one of the most prestigious art universities in the world, yet there is no full service art supply store within its boundaries?

There used to be a little mom-and-pop art supply store on Lyons Avenue in the mid 90's. I remember going in and marveling at the display of Conté Crayons in a rainbow of colors, each sold individually. My best friend loved all things purple and insisted we buy her purple crayons from this local gem. We spent many afternoons prowling this tiny shop, ogling all its art wares.

Sadly, the small business closed up mere months after Michael's Arts & Crafts opened on the Old road. I'm not here to say the huge chain-store is evil or anything. In fact, its weekly 40 percent off coupon pretty much kicks ass for big items. What I am saying is the big business stores don't always carry some necessary art supplies to feed my artistic appetite.

I want stretcher bars in a variety of sizes and thickness. I want alternative surfaces. I want aisles with illustration, printmaking and sculpting supplies. I want quality canvas and linen sold by the yard. I want more than two brand choices of paints and mediums. I want drawers full of hand-crafted papers to choose from. I want to get that rush only a well-stocked art supply store can give me. And most importantly, I want a staff that knows and uses its products.

I definitely don't want to have to drive 30 to 60 minutes to feed my addiction.

I have compiled a list of reasons art suppliers should consider opening up shop somewhere in our art-supply-deprived community. So art suppliers, if you're out there, listen to me.

• CalArts (California Institute of the Arts)
• Artists like me
• College of the Canyons Art Gallery
• Proxart
• More artists like me
• 661 Arts - the City of Santa Clarita's Art Alliance
• Old Town Newhall Art Walk
• Even more artists like me. there are a lot of us

This is a community with a budding art scene. There are a lot of dedicated people pushing for it to grow. With multiple art organizations and monthly events, we need a proper art-supply store, damnit.

Theresa Knopf Morgan has lived in the SCV since she was a little girl. She is an artist and career woman. She has well-behaved children and a rock 'n' roll husband. She enjoys the quiet simplicity of the suburbs and the loud gritty nightlife of the city. She loves and lives contradiction. Visit her blog at theresaknopfmorgan.blogspot.com.


This was originally printed in the second issue of altSCV, February 13, 2011.