What does a responsible, planet-loving newspaper do with old, worn newspaper boxes? Recycle them, of course.
That part was a no-brainer. But in Sun style, simply recycling is too easy. We had to take it a step further.
Sun publisher Bob Rucker decided to make the boxes do double duty, offering up newspapers while serving as public art. The idea was inspired by the efforts of newspapers in larger cities, such as the Bakersfield Californian and the Visalia-Times Delta.
Through it all, Rucker also wanted to give student artists a chance to shine.
“We are excited about working with Allan Hancock College on this public art project,” he said. “We hope the community will enjoy the Sun adding public art to Santa Maria, too.”
Students in John Hood’s and Marti Fast’s art classes tackled the task of giving facelifts to the old boxes. The only requirement was that they stick with an agriculture theme to celebrate the city’s roots.
The Sun staff expected (actually hoped) for strawberries—and wasn’t disappointed. One of the first finished boxes was by Nanci Ainsworth Johnson, who painted bright red strawberries under a blue sky.
“The first thing I thought of is strawberries, because that’s my favorite thing,” Johnson said.
She took pictures of strawberry fields prior to painting her project because she said she has to see something to do it rather than inventing it in her mind.
“The biggest challenge in painting is to see what’s really there and not what you think is there,” she said.
For Santa Maria resident Dawn Shute, inspiration came from what she sees every day. Shute’s work reveals a sun, cows, and a tractor—the very tractor that sits on her rural property. Having grown up in Santa Maria, Shute easily identified all the things that to her make up the valley.
“It’s everything I see around me that just inspired me,” she explained.
Taylor Guerra also has strong ties to Santa Maria’s agricultural community. His piece features his signature characters sitting on a pile of fruit. Guerra was born and raised in Santa Maria to a family involved in the agriculture industry, so fruits and vegetables have always been a staple in his life.
“The theme goes along with my style already,” he said.
Other artists taking part in the project included Dale Cornwell, Eileen Negus, Mike Velasco, Sarah Blackburn, Caroline Reid, Gloria Mulder, Brogan Stern, Michael Vaughn, and Nicky Hansen.
Some paid ode to the sun and bountiful crops; others made statements about agriculture and the environment. One box is made up of maps of Central Coast agricultural areas. Each stand is a proud way to display the Sun logo, but more than that, it was a chance for artists to stretch their creative abilities.
“Any time you can cross-pollinate students with the community is a win-win situation,” said instructor Hood. “I was pleased to have the opportunity to provide artists with a new surface to address.”
The artists were also pleased to be able to take part in such a statement to the community.
“This is such a great project to have the Santa Maria Sun let local artists take part and have them on display,” Shute said.
“The Sun boxes have always been a wonderful way to be enlightened with information,” Hood said. “Now the public will have the opportunity to interact with the arts.”
Arts Editor Shelly Cone would love feedback on the new Sun boxes. Send your thoughts to scone@santamariasun.com..
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2009.