Saratoga News
Columns
Saratoga Sampler
Saratoga sculptor opens gallery in downtown Los Gatos
By Mary Ann Cook
SCULPTING A FUTURE: Sculptor and Saratoga native Wade Allen and his partner, Sue Druhan, a Los Gatos native, have opened a sculpture gallery called Solo at 233-B N. Santa Cruz Ave. in Los Gatos, across from the new Lamborghini showroom. A third member of the Solo team is Linda Franklin, a Los Gatos art consultant.
The gallery specializes in museum-quality, limited-edition bronze and original sculpture. Ceramic and glass sculpture and pottery are also on hand. In fact, Solo will offer a broad range of artwork--from figurative sculpture to early California works, with price tags ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.
Solo promises to be very interactive in the community. To this end, each Saturday will see a demo or exhibit in the parking lot outside. This week it will be the jewelry art of Sela Eden. Come summer, there will be Play with Clay events for the youngsters as well.
Some 10 percent of Solo sales will go to the ArtReach program at Stanford Children's Hospital, administered by the Triton Museum. Allen cites West Valley art instructors Fred Yokel, David Ogle and Wes Burns as crucial influences in his burgeoning art career. Yokel's work will be represented at the gallery.
A granite coffee table with bronze legs in the shape of human figures is at the gallery now--a co-creation of Yokel and Allen.
LITERARY LIGHTS: Mary Lou Taylor spent a very literary day and evening recently escorting noted author and book reviewer Carolyn See about town--San Jose in this case. See is best known for her book reviews in the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post and her memoir titled Dreaming.
See was in San Jose to give two talks about the writing process and to read from her latest book at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. The event was sponsored by SJSU's Center for Literary Arts, and Taylor is a trustee of that body.
There Will Never Be Another You is the title of See's most recent book. Introducing the author was Mitch Berman, executive director of CLA, whose own first book, Time Capsule, has gotten glowing reviews from the New York Times.
Yet another literary connection: the most popular book on the book club circuit these days is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, written by Lisa See, daughter of Carolyn.
In other Taylor news, Jack and Mary Lou's grandson Chris Drew recently appeared on Chinese television--all four channels that go out to about 150 million people--and was described as "the handsome foreigner." He was decorating his bike in hopes of taking part in the Pear Blossom Parade.
The TV shoot was a promotion for a development company. Drew is studying Mandarin at Sichuan University, working at a marketing company and teaching at three different English schools. He reports that he can even hold his own in any friendly game of mah jongg at the local tea house.
TWO BAND NIGHT: Saratogan Barry Jones had open heart surgery 18 months ago and felt so appreciative of this new lease on life that he wanted to give something back to the community. Since he plays in a '60s-type rock and roll band, he decided to host a dance night to benefit the American Heart Association.
Thus the Two Band Dance Night will be held at the Saratoga Community Center April 14, 7:30-11 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Jones' band is called The Classics, and it's composed strictly of fellow Brits--five in all. The other band playing is the BBC. Its members mimic the Beatles in looks and sound. It's a younger group with Jones as manager and four former Brits as performers.
Jones works for Sun Microsystems by day and plays guitar by night. The other musicians are in high tech jobs as well. Tickets are available in advance for $20 per person or $25 at the door. The number is 1.800.838.3006.
HIGH-STEPPERS: The SJ Ballet's Blue Suede Shoes Gala raised $125,000. The live auction raised $60,000, with the most expensive items being a Bermuda travel package at $7,100 and a Texas Hold 'Em Party, which sold twice for $4,000 each.
The highest-priced silent auction item was a one-week stay at a Tahoe house for $2,035. Sydene Kober and Valerie Kohl headed the gala. Marie LoPresto and Barbara Oats were in charge of the auctions.
Other chairmen were Sandi Conniff, Melanie Doerner, Cathy Gillum, Debbie Martin, Rita Sillan, Anita Del Grande, Terry Foster, Jean Hargrove, Joanne Meninger and Patty Wahli.
ORCHIDS: Orchids to Die For is the latest romance by former Saratogan Catherine Burr, who now lives in the Sierra. Orchids has spies, suspense and, of course, romance. Burr is a '75 grad of Saratoga High, lived here for many years. Her other novels, Silicon Secrets and Desires and Deceptions, have a Bay Area setting and are available at the Saratoga library and online at www.catherineburr.com.
DONATION: The Saratoga Ministerial Association, a 12-member group of faith-based communities, donated $6,000 to Cupertino Community Services recently, money collected from their individual congregations.
Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to mac@impruve.com.
