Time flies when you are creating things! The vast number and variety of artists in Northern Santa Barbara County certainly kept this writer pounding the keyboard every week.
From the amazing stage productions by local theater companies to the stunning visual art of local painters, sculptors, and sketchers alike, the coast was alive with crackling, creative energy this year. Dancers danced, singers sang, and many aspiring artists learned something new.
And it was with a grateful but somber heart that the community bade farewell to artist and arts advocate Nat Fast, who, upon his passing in October, reminded us how enriched our lives are by the beautiful art all around us.
To Lincoln, with love
The Santa Maria Valley Historical Society discovered it was sitting on a priceless cache of Civil War-era letters, including handwritten letters to and from Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Epic excavation
The Dunes Center is housing some of the remains of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 production of Ten Commandments, which was shot in the Guadalupe Dunes, where the set was subsequently buried.
Daring to dance
The Allan Hancock College Dance Department showcased the skills of its students and faculty in the Dance Spectrum and Dimensions in Dance recitals.
The gallery returns
The Betteravia Gallery North reopened this year with a double show that included some works of Channing Peake (pictured) from the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission’s permanent collection.
¡Viva México!
The indigenous cultures of Mexico were celebrated with the vibrant annual Guelaguetza Festival, which featured song, dance, cuisine, and crafts of the country.
A director’s adieu
Beloved PCPA director, professor, and dramaturge Patricia M. Troxel passed away in April after a four-year battle with breast cancer. Troxel directed dozens of productions throughout the past 22 seasons at PCPA Theaterfest.
Remembering the man
This year, local celebrated Nat Fast, who died on Oct. 27, for this lifelong dedication to the arts. This included the establishment of the Nat D. Fast Memorial Scholrship by the Santa Maria Arts Council.
Home sweet home
PCPA Theaterfest artistic director Mark Booher led reporters through the newly renovated and refurbished Marian Theatre at the end of October, which began housing productions of Mary Poppins soon after.
The art of peace
Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery created and then destroyed a vividly colorful sand mandala at Allan Hancock College’s Ann Foxworthy Gallery in mid-October.
Love’s nature
Local filmmaker Michael Love won accolades at various Central Coast film festivals for his nature documentary The Santa Ynez River Wilderness.
Land of fire and ice
In August, local photographer and retired U.S. Air Force colonel Lee-Volker Cox shared photos he took during a trip to Greenland at the Santa Maria Public Library.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 26, 2013 – Jan 2, 2014.
