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Local artists show in South Bay festival
By Shari Kaplan
Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga have long been known for providing much for the artistic community.
The area is inspiring for those who wish to paint the blooming trees, magnificent mansions and wooded mountains. Artists also reside here, with many adding home studios to their property. Among those who do not live within town or city limits, many still belong to the various creative organizations within these communities.
Among these is the Los Gatos Art Association, the Mountain Art Guild and the Saratoga Contemporary Artists, all of which are participants in the fifth annual South Bay Fine Arts Festival, which runs June 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gardens of the Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara.
The festival is presented by the Visual Artists' Associations Summit at the Triton, in cooperation with the Triton itself. VAAST is a non-profit coalition of Bay Area art organizations whose mission is to promote original fine art as well as art education. Ten percent of VAAST show sales goes back to the Triton.
According to LGAA member Maralyn Miller and her group's VAAST liaison, the LGAA has about 50 paintings and sculptures in the show by dozens of members. Some members will also be working on pieces from their Nutcracker Project, for which each artist takes a whimsical character from the Nutcracker Ballet, enlarges it and creates his or her own three-dimensional interpretation using paints, cardboard and other mediums. The project will be complete for display in the 1999 Los Gatos Christmas Parade.
A California native, Miller says she's enjoyed drawing and painting for as long as she can remember. "I knew I didn't really want to be anything but a professional artist," she recalls. "I've tried many other pursuits in my life, but I didn't get into any of them as much as I get into art."
She went on to obtain a bachelor's of fine arts degree and has studied under many accomplished artists. Although she owned art supply and framing stores for 30 years, Miller always found time to paint. While developing her craft, Miller realized her "style" is that she has no single style. Instead, her works run the gamut from realistic to impressionistic to the non-objective and abstract. "My style is all over the board. I've even been called 'the schizophrenic painter!'" she adds, chuckling.
Although the Mountain Art Guild is much smaller and younger than the LGAA, its members--who hail from the Santa Cruz Mountains above Los Gatos and Saratoga--offer a wide variety of works: Phil Lang in metal and stone sculpture; Wendy Mann in photography; Summer Poris in quilts; Lori Scott in hand-woven garments; Irene Seales in photography and Linda Spencer in encaustic art. Then there's the realistic yet whimsical animal head "sculptures" by guild president Merikay MacKenna. As an alternative to hunting trophies stuffed via taxidermy, MacKenna uses a variety of mediums to handcraft and mount dozens of different animal heads of her own design.
Along with dozens of booths representing Bay Area art societies, the VAAST show also includes a Hall of Honor showcasing winners in seven creative categories, juried by three experienced artists and art educators. Free entertainment includes a harpist, two big band bands and Monte Sereno resident Ned Gault as a strolling accordionist. Food, drinks and ice cream will be available for purchase. For more information, call the Triton Museum at 247-3754.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
