University Art - Newsletter

The Community Artist

University Art Newsletter Vol. 2 Issue 8, August 2003

ART ORGANIZATIONS SPOTLIGHT

"For the Seventh Generation" is the unusual name for this month's art organization. They are a Santa Cruz based group committed to positive "environmental art activism." The artists paint 4ft. x 2ft. panels of the Pacific Coastline hoping to bring awareness of our coastal treasures or simply to make the coastline available to those who cannot visit it in person. Fully one third of any sale of a project panel is donated to the favorite environmental organization of the artist. On Labor Day of this year one hundred artists will exhibit their panels in an outdoor exhibit in Mendocino, Ca.

For more information on the project contact Cousette Copeland via phone at (408) 496-0448 or write to "For the Seventh Generation" at 320 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, Ca. 95060

COMING SOON

Art Under the Oaks in Scott's Valley
10am - 6pm 8/9/03 - 8/10/03
Skypark 361 Kings Village Road.
For more info
call (831) 438-1010.

Los Gatos Fiesta De Artes
10am - 6pm 8/9/03 - 8/10/03
110 East Main Street Los Gatos.
For more info call (408) 395-8016

Nihonmachi Street Fair in San Francisco
11am - 6pm 8/9/03 - 8/10/03
Japantown Buchanan at Filmore Streets.
For more info call (415) 391-2000
on-line at: www.nihonmachistreetfair.org

Milpitas Art and Wine Festival
10am - 6pm 8/15/03 - 8/16/03
Milpitas Blvd. at Calaveras, Milpitas.
For more info call (408) 262-2613

If you have exhibit info that you want to have posted please e-mail at snjbram@aol.com

TRIVIA AND STUFF JUST FOR FUN

Summertime is here so what could be more appropriate than desert trivia? Did you know that in the Sonora desert just 45 miles north of the last saguaro, you can find the same arctic tundra that you would find in Alaska? It is found in the northern range peaks above 12,500 ft. Saguaro cactus take an average of ten years to achieve a height of two inches! The average size of a saguaro is 30-40ft. tall. The O'Odham Indians believe saguaros to be the spirits of ancient people and thus consider them a form of humanity not plants.

ASK BRAMSCHANDOZ

Q: What is the difference between clear and regular gesso?

A: Originally gesso was simply Plaster of Paris, but nowadays it is a combination of plaster, other pigments and fillers, a polymer resin, and sand, pumice or other mineral to provide texture. Though it is available tinted, it is usually white, and provides a good ground for the application of either oil or acrylic paint. Clear "gesso" is a polymer with a texturing agent, but dries clear not white. This allows the color of the original support to show through. Clear gesso is also thinner than regular gesso and dries a bit slower too.

JEFF'S TIPS

Here is a good product to use for both acrylic and oil painters. When laying out your drawing on canvas, try an all-surface Stabilo Pencil. The pencil marks dissolve readily when painted over, but the pencils can be used again, even over the dry paint film. This makes them ideal for corrections and changes.

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