Grab a glass of wine and wander through lush gardens with a sparkling pool as a backdrop, perusing fine art and discussing the current trends in artistic sensibilities with the artists themselves.
Sounds like perfect Mother’s Day stuff. Mom will dig it, right? The Town Center Gallery and Santa Maria Inn hope so. The two have joined creative forces to present an Art in the Garden event for Mother’s Day, and it just may become a monthly offering.
Photographer Mel Felix spearheaded the event after taking photographs for the inn’s website and getting to know the staff. He was struck by the grounds and thought they would be a perfect venue for an outdoor art show. He figured such an event would also be the perfect way to introduce people to the artists.
“Of course, we’d like to sell some art, but what I’d really like to do is get people out there to meet the artists and see what they’re doing,” Felix said. “That’s the main purpose of the event.”
About 28 of the Town Center Gallery’s artists will participate in the event by selling their wares and showing off their latest creations. The artists themselves are living in anticipation of the day.
“I’ve never seen this group of artists get so excited about doing something like this,” Felix said.
This is the second show Felix has produced. He produced one about two years ago in Orcutt in connection with the Orcutt Children’s Art Fund, with about 27 artists showing. Even with that experience behind him, the Sunday show took a little work. Ultimately, the Town Center Gallery and the Santa Maria Inn agreed Mother’s Day would be the best day to kick off the event as the Inn expects large crowds to attend brunch that day.
The Town Center Gallery has struggled with finding space to show its members’ artwork after having lost space in the Santa Maria Town Center last year. Since then, the gallery has pared down its art classes, and has unfortunately seen its membership dwindle as well. The nonprofit has recently been using space at Good Neighbor Bakery to show work.
Photographer Cathy Gregg said events like Art in the Garden help to show the community the Town Center Gallery still exists, even without a permanent location.
“The community will find that there is a lot of talent in this area and will enjoy their day browsing all kinds of local artwork,”she said.
Felix said he hopes the event becomes a regular one.
“This is part of our way of getting in touch with our community, and making them aware of the talent here in Santa Maria,” he said.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is a regular in the local art scene. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2009.
