Even the most surreal dreams are subject to becoming prematurely forgotten, only minutes after the dreamer wakes up—am I right? Or is that just a me problem? This isn’t a worry for Santa Maria native, artist, and writer Edward Chavarria however, whose portfolio often doubles as a dream journal.
“Many of my stories are based on dreams; I’m a very vivid dreamer,” Chavarria said. “Many of my works tell a story—sometimes I create a story for the painting after the fact.”
Currently a junior at Cal State Fullerton (CSUF), Chavarria has been drawing, painting, and writing since he was 8 years old. After graduating from St. Joseph High School, Chavarria studied at Allan Hancock College before transferring to CSUF to pursue a bachelor’s degree in animation and entertainment art.
Although his artwork has previously been showcased in school galleries, Unseen No More—an annual group show at CORE Winery in Orcutt—marks the artist’s first professional exhibition.
The program was created by the Ian M. Hassett Foundation in 2015 to showcase local, emerging artists. The exhibit runs through Monday, July 8. The featured works are also available for sale, with all proceeds going directly to the artists.
“I like what it is trying to do locally for the art world,” Chavarria said. “I also saw this as a good opportunity to showcase my work and connect with local art lovers.”
A selection of Chavarria’s dreamlike acrylic paintings, including Unforgettable Sin and Unravelling Jewel, will be on display, as well as an ink collage titled The World Key. This particular piece wasn’t inspired by a dream though, he explained.
“When I traveled to the Florida Keys a couple of years ago, I was inspired by the lore of mermaids and the idea of a small chain of islands known as the Keys,” Chavarria said. “While on the plane trip, I imagined a school of goldfish carrying keys in their mouths, an ocean made up of torn pieces of map, and a lost mermaid searching for an unknown something.”
An artist reception for Unseen No More takes place on Saturday, June 29, from 7 to 9 p.m., where Chavarria and other featured artists will be in attendance, including Orcutt resident and digital artist Emily McCosh. Currently studying graphic communication at Cal Poly SLO, McCosh creates digital paintings through Photoshop and Illustrator.
“It’s my favorite way to create art, and I have a lot of fun with it,” McCosh said. “I occasionally work freelance on graphic design/illustration projects. Though I’ve always been creative, I never became seriously involved in art until college.”
McCosh is also a published author and bases many of her paintings on her own stories. Little Red, for example, was created to accompany her short story, “Rotkäppchen,” a unique, alternate spin on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. In Dying Starlight, another featured piece in Unseen No More, was illustrated for a sci-fi novella McCosh is currently working on.
Other featured artists of Unseen No More include Santa Barbara City College student Vanessa Noemi Osalde, who works with oil pastels, acrylics, and stencils. Osalde graduated from Pioneer Valley High School in 2018, where she first started painting, almost reluctantly, she explained.
“After being very unmotivated in class, my art teacher and I made a compromise that if I produced work for him to grade, he would give me access to all the materials he had available,” Osalde said. “So there it began.”
Works from Santa Maria resident and quilling artist Jayden Yamamoto will also be on display. Yamamoto uses the paper-curling medium to create an assortment of shapes—including re-creations of people and places dear to her.
“My pieces reflect some of my passions, such as a love for nature and seasons. The people in my pieces are loosely based off of people in my life,” Yamamoto said. “I find inspiration in people I encounter, places I wish to go, and things I love.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood feels vicariously inspired. Contact him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2019.