Sincere accolades to Shelly Cone for her recent article “Where is the art?” (July 17). Santa Maria and surrounding environs have numerous national and internationally known artists. Frank Gray has a stunning piece in the White House; Sandra Kay Johnson and Gerry Stinn, to name only two, are in the Smithsonian; and Bill Shinn is recognized worldwide for his technique and innovation. The monumental number of artists in this valley may not be as well known, but they are gifted and dedicated. It is so kind of Ms. Cone to recognize the plight of the Town Center Gallery.
Those of us who are so lucky to be a part of the adventure, also known as the co-op of the TCG, love being a part of it and do so miss our days at the Town Center and in the gallery. Since we all needed to co-operate and “man” the gallery together, each of the artists had days to sit in the gallery as “docents.” I met so many memorable people on my docent days: the young man who brought his daughter by each day—she met the special needs bus and, as I showed her the animals in the art, she lit up and would try to say their names; the homeless lady who really had no one to talk to and would share my lunch and sit with me; the widow who had just lost her husband and needed to talk to someone about their life together; and the husband who loved to look at each piece and talk about each artist until his wife came for him when she was done with her shopping. There were so many more.
I’ve been a Realtor with Prudential California for 29 years, so I even got to talk about real estate and the different art mediums. So many people stopped by and shared their lives. It was not about blue collar or white collar—it was the joy of sharing the creativity and depth of the basic art appreciation that runs through the heart and soul of every man. Well-known local and national artist Lamar Rowbury (along with his wife, Beverly Hoebel, who will be the featured fine artists in the 2008 Thanksgiving weekend Los Padres Artist Guild Christmas Show) tells me that each and every one of us is an artist. My docent days at the Town Center Gallery were absolute proof of his vision.
I would like to thank the past and current management of the Town Center for giving me the opportunity for the last three years to share my time with so many local people, and to let those people know that they each made an impact on this artist.
This article appears in Jul 24-31, 2008.