The sun is starting to set on another scorching summer in our little tourist town!  August always feels like warm skin cooling off in the breeze of an early evening just as the sky blushes to the West and the calming blue creeps up in the East.  It’s kind of like August is the twilight time of the year where day is not quite over but night is coming quickly.  I hope everyone has managed to enjoy the sun but also kept safe from the excessive heat.  And boy has it been hot!

So, despite my waxing rhapsodic about the cooling off of twilight, it is still expected to be full-tilt furnace here in the foreseeable future so let’s find some things to entertain ourselves with.

First, regardless of the heat, we will be holding our Third Saturday Art Walk on the 15th from 4 to 8 pm.  It’s always a late afternoon of local art, music, and even an Open Mic for the daring.  Come by and bring the kids because there are always free crafts for them to do!  If you are interested in being a vendor, please reach out to Shila at thepaintedcoyote@icloud.com. 

Also, check out our updated schedule.  Shila hosts classes for kids and adults various days of the week so there are all kinds of opportunities to learn a new art medium by yourself or bring the kids.  

While in the workshop, take a stroll through the front area that is set up as gallery/shop for the work of various local artists.  There is jewelry, ceramics, crochet pieces, and paintings of all types and sizes.  If you are a local artist looking to display or sell, please reach out to dru.bradford@studio395.org as we are always looking for new works and we have set aside both wall and window space for artists to rent rather affordably. 

August will also be focused on getting our artists' workshop space finished up.  Our vision is that member artists will be able to use our space, maybe some of our supplies or recycled material, borrow some tools, so they can have the freedom to create.  If they’d prefer, they can just join in on some of our projects, assisting with their skills or developing new skills with other artists.  I’m very excited about this collaborative approach and can’t wait for us to be up and running with regular open workshop hours weekly.  It’s coming!!

Until then, one of the first collaborative projects we will be doing starts in August with our Catrina Costume Collaboration.  I will be setting up appointments for local ladies and gentlemen (all ages, genders, and sizes) to sit down with me and start planning a costume for the Dia De Los Muertos.  Over the last 3 years, I have worked on getting Catrinas for our procession.  In our workshop, we have costume pieces.  If I have dragged you into this process in the past, you would know that I normally have interested participants come in, try things on, and then I work on fitting them, decorating donated or thrifted finds, and, usually, creating a matching headpiece for the outfit.  This year, I’d like interested participants to maybe join in on the creation process a little more, perhaps, bring a dress or suit jacket that they think they would like to cosplay with.  Together we will work to make it happen!  And, this will be yours to keep vs just a borrowed piece.  That doesn’t mean I won’t have borrowed pieces – I do!  But I do think that creating more creators is the mission!  Even if you have never sewn or painted or decorated, or upcycled – we will find a way to get you creating!  Call or text me at 951-741-7337 or email me at rebecca@studio395.org to make arrangements to come by and talk and get the ideas flowing!

Lastly, I’d like to make the pitch to this group that we currently have a fundraising effort that is focused on furthering efforts on our workshop space and just the general work of art creation in our community.  You can find details on our funding objectives at Givebutter  https://givebutter.com/fund-arts-and-education-for-our-community-dss5cw.  Art can change a life.  It also can change a community.  I hope you will consider a donation of any size that will help us with continuing our efforts to be a resource that supports creativity as the spark for that change for anyone seeking it. 

Have a memorable August.  As always, reach out to me at the contact information provided above.