I'd been feeling guilty about not using my gym membership much this month, so I decided to go today. I had two other reasons for going, too. First, I wanted an excuse to finish a book I was reading, and I could do that riding the stationary bike. Second, I knew two of my favorite photographers had their work on display and I wanted photos to share with you.
As I drove into the parking lot, I saw the scene above. I found a place to park, and then went in, hoping no one had had a stroke or heart attack. Lots of us senior citizens exercise here.
When I got inside I learned that a woman had fallen from the rock climbing wall. I saw her on a gurney just under the wall and the paramedics were moving her leg. I hope she is not too badly hurt, and will heal without too much pain or permanent damage. I have never dared to take up rock climbing. I'll stick to riding that bike and walking.
The Photo Exhibit
The photographers with work currently on display on the walls at Kennedy Club are Dean Crawford Jr. and Deb Hofstetter, both of whom I saw in their studio Saturday night at Art after Dark. These photos and paintings are all part of the display.
Picture on lower left is by Deb Hofstetter. The others are by Dean Crawford, Jr.
The picture on the left left is by Deb Hofstetter. I believe the one on the right is by Dean Crawford, Jr.
I'll let you guess who did each of these. If you belong to the Kennedy Club, come in to see if you guessed correctly.
A Walk at Larry Moore Park
The Dogs
I wanted to get some sunset photos again tonight, so I set off for the park as the time drew near. I was not too thrilled when these two dogs who should have been on leashes almost knocked me down multiple times. Their owners had no reason to give why they were loose, but it didn't seem to bother them to be violating the law as long as no one was there to enforce it.
These dogs should have been on leashes.
The Trees
On the way to the park I passed the lemon tree I had seen packed with fruit in December. I wish now I'd been brave enough to knock on the door of its owner and ask if he wanted to sell any of the beautiful lemons. It looks as though the frost got them instead.
Lemons Bitten by Jack Frost
As I walked by this Bradford pear tree, I could see it was budding already. I expect to see it bloom within a week or two in this warm weather.
Art after Dark Is a Progressive Party in Paso Robles
Art after Dark happens on the first Saturday night of every month. Most of the partying takes place at Studios on the Park, so that's where I went tonight.
Although all the studios and galleries were open, I spent most of my time in four places:
The Paso Robles Art Association Showroom Gallery
The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Gallery
The Studio currently shared by Dean Crawford Jr., Sharon Sobraske, and Deb Hofstetter.
The Atrium Gallery
I did peek into the other studios and galleries. I enjoyed the music provided by the Julie Beaver Trio. I always enjoy their toe-tapping western music. It fit right into the theme for the Atrium Gallery Exhibit: In Love with the West.
Partying with the Paso Robles Art Association in their Showroom Gallery
After stopping by to trade gossip and jokes with Robert Simola where the printmakers hang out just to the right as you enter the Atrium, I headed back to the PRAA Gallery for their exhibit, Artist's Choice. The artists chose their favorites from among their works to enter in this juried exhibit.
Here is some of the art I saw there. The photos can only give you an idea of what's to be seen. It's worth a trip to Studios on the Park to see the art up close before this exhibit closes February 28.
Two of my favorites in this photo are the "Chapel on the Hill" in the upper left corner, and the man painting with his feet on the railroad tracks (left in very bottom row). I somehow got away without getting the titles and artist names on all the art pieces this time. It was crowded, and I was just photographing walls, not individual works. I hope to get back later and vote for my favorite for the People's Choice award. It will be really hard to decide.
My favorite piece in the collection above is the photo of the gate into the San Miguel Mission Cemetery. You have to see it up close to fully appreciate it. That could also be said of the other works in these photos.
I'm quite sure there was no one at the exhibit that was not captivated by the lion on the rock you see above. The photographer was at the reception to explain how he got that photo. It took patience.
I had just gotten in an interesting conversation with someone about photography when we were called to attention as the juror, Julie Dunn, announced the awards. She approached each work of art and explained why she chose it for an award. In this photo you can also see some of the delicious food that was offered to us.
The photos of the photographers with their works came later. I apologize for not getting all the names of those in the photos. I hope to correct that later when I get back to Studios on the Park again. I hope the award winners will forgive me until then. Deprise Brescia, who won the best of show award, seemed to be taking the photos of the other winners beside their winning art pieces. See some of Deprise's work in my October PRAA costume party post.
After seeing the over seventy art pieces that were on the wall, I'm very glad I wasn't the judge. I would have wanted to give at least twenty of the entries awards.
I didn't have much time after the awards to look around before it got too crowded to take more photos. So I grabbed some cookies and moved to the next gallery.
The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Gallery: Salute to the Military
Although I spent some time here, there were no artists and the room was almost empty. This is where students and faculty of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District display their work. My last visit to this gallery was in October of last year, and all the displays were different. This time almost everything was on the walls and the tables were gone.
The theme here was students saluting the military. The photo above shows how the elementary students addressed this topic. Below I show a portion of what the Paso Robles High School student artists did.
My eye was immediately drawn to the colorful picture in the center of the bottom row. It is titled "Brotherhood" and was done by Clay Wilshusen. As I looked at the contributions of the other high school students, I was struck by another picture on the same theme by Andrea Lopez: "Man's Best Soldier." The quote at the bottom of the label reads: "The bond between man and his dog is so strong that not even a bullet could tear through it."
When I arrived at Studio 4 Gallery, resident photographers Dean Crawford Jr and Deb Hofstetter were ready to meet and greet guests at their weekly "Meet the Photographers" event. There was a lot of interaction in this room. Definitely a party of its own. Below, Dean is standing with his back to the red wall talking to visitors.
Although I spent some time talking to Deb, she vanished when I was ready to take her photo. I'll catch her one of my next visits.
It Was a Continual Party in the Atrium Gallery
Music from the Julie Beaver Trio fit right in with the theme In Love with the West. The audience, as you will see, was having a grand time moving with the music and sometimes singing along.
Wine was $8 a glass, poured by RN Estate Winery
There were many types of art styles displayed in the Atrium Gallery, but it was so crowded it was really difficult to do justice to the wonderful sculptures. There was no way they could be isolated from the crowd. Unfortunately they are not on the website along with the paintings from this exhibit.
If you are able, I encourage you to come to Studios on the Park to properly appreciate the excellence of these pieces. Here are some visitors looking at the art on the wall. Most of the sculptures are on the pedestals in the center.
If any creature understands what to do when tired, it is the cat. This month's City Daily Photo Bloggers theme is tired. So today I will show you some of my favorite photos of tired cats. The one below was taken at Jack Creek Farms in Templeton. This one is so fast asleep you'd hardly know it was alive.
One can usually find cats when visiting wineries, but they are often outside. These two, from Grey Wolf Winery in Paso Robles, are obviously tired and giving in to that urge to sleep by the fire. The fireplace is out of sight, but they are facing it.
The cats at Jack Creek Farms in Templeton must work hard because I often find them asleep when I visit. This photo was taken in autumn when all the pumpkins and squashes were on display a few years ago.
The cat below is Garfield, who belonged to my neighbor across the driveway. He decided there should be no property boundaries and felt free to take naps in my yard and on our cars whenever the mood hit him. He's a bit grumpy since I disturbed his nap here.
Here's another view of Garfield sleeping on our car. In this photo all his feet are on the car, but he's not as fat here as this angle makes him look. He just pretends to be a tiger.
