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MARCH 8, 2013
RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
Artists invite us to journey ‘Art Through Generations’ RANCHO SANTA FE — Art fans met and mingled with artists Mar ch 7, launching the “Journey Into Nature” exhibition which runs thr ough May 4 at the Rancho Santa Fe Art Gallery, 6004 Paseo Delicias. This exhibit presents the latest collection of award-winning, featured workshop artists Pat Beck, Suzy Schaefer and Ron Spelman. The show is sponsored by the Union Bank RSF , The RSF Foundation & The Country Squire in RSF. The Rancho Santa F e Art Guild cele brates its 15th year since its f ounder Marianne Champlin brought local artists together to form this group. In the beginning there was no public art in Ranc ho Santa Fe. In 1989, Bill Schlosser and other Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club member s, realizing how much talent existed in the village, planned the fir st of f our Art’s Discovery events at the club. During this time, Champlin had in vited a number of artists and other interested people to a meeting to discuss the possibility of f orming an Art Guild. Also, during this time Dori Starkey got in volved, having been arr anging monthly shows with the library to sho w art fr om
local artists. Marianne and Marileigh Sc hulte acted as co-pr esidents for the first year to create the foundation for the Ranc ho Santa Fe Art Guild. Other charter members who deserve credit for getting involved are Pat Beck, Ilene Perry, Patricia Watkins and J ohn Glendanning. Then, in 1998 The Union Bank ga ve office space for the RSF Foundation to do business in office space at the r ear of the bank. Christy Wilson, the head of the comm unity Foundation invited the newly forming non-profit Art Guild to shar e the space, hang art and bring together talented people who share the lo ve of art and through them in vite the community to art events. The Rancho Santa F e Art Guild, a 501(c )(3) organization’s purpose is to embrace the visual arts, provide exhibit space, enhance community awareness & foster artistic skills The RSF Association offered its boar d room for meetings and educational programs. The Association allowed painters to display their work throughout the open space and appr oved new awnings and signage. A patron member donated a pair of topiaries for the patio entr ance and
the RSF Nur sery provided red geraniums to decor ate the front entrance. The Union Bank and the Rancho Santa F e Foundation have made it possible to bring art to the community. This organization sprung from a small g roup of RSF artists in 1999 and has flourished to a group of 80 artisans. Every two months the gallery show is totall y rehung by a committee of members and in vites the public for a wine and f ood reception with live music. We invite residents, designers, realtors, landscape architects and builders to the possibilities of using art fr om local artists to decor ate their spaces. Any interested artisans are invited to appl y for membership, as patrons are invited to donate or simply to volunteer to help sit the gallery and be a part of the success. Visit ranchosantafeartguild.org to download an application, then drop off or mail to RSF Art Guild, P.O. Box 773, Rancho Santa F e, CA 92067. The Gallery hours are Tuesday 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p .m. It is closed Sunda y and Monday. For more information, call (858) 759-3545.
exhibit a tribute to teacher By Jared Whitlock
Creating art means letting go. Tapping into the unconscious. Casting doubt aside and letting the cr eative part of the br ain run wild. Encinitas resident Hildegarde Jaeger Stubbs, 85, internalized these lessons thanks to her mid dle school art teacher. Stubbs isn’t the onl y artist who took something important from Esther Painter Hagstrom, who was an art educator at Cor onado High School from 1939 until her death in 1951. As a testament to her influence, Hagstrom’s artwork will be displayed along with eight of her students at the Cor onado Library from March 1 to May 31 for the “Art Through Generations” exhibit. Stubbs said it’s no coincidence that so man y of Hagstrom’s students went on to become accomplished artists. “I loved that she had a light-hearted spirit and personality,” Stubbs said. “Those qualities were contagious. There could be no fear in her classroom. You felt lik e you were safe exploring different avenues.” Stubbs first entered Hagstrom’s classroom as an eighth-grader with a latent interest in art. As the y ear went on, Hagstrom inspired Stubbs to full y explore her artistic side thr ough flower arrangements and other mediums. “I remember picking out flowers from my father’s flower garden to decor ate hats to put on students’ desks in the classr ooms,” Stubbs said. “That might ha ve seemed like an unconventional idea. But she (Hagstr om) really encouraged me.” Moreover, Hagstrom planted the seed of a painter in Stubbs — one that wouldn’t fully bloom until later in life. After moving and graduating from Saint Monica High School, Stubbs worked as a professional florist in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. At 22 years old, she got married, subsequently had c hildren, later went back to w ork as florist and happily focused on raising a family. “Art wasn’t my greatest priority then,” Stubbs said. “I wasn’t doing much of it. I had never painted at that point.” When her f our children grew up, Stubbs dove into oil
A new exhibit at the Coronado Library shows how the late teacher Esther Painter Hagstrom influenced a generation of local artists. Encinitas residents Hildegarde Jaeger Stubbs (above) and John Minchin (below) are taking part in the exhibit, which was organized by Hagstrom’s granddaughter, Suzan Hagstrom. Photos by Jared Whitlock
painting. Her late husband encouraged her. And she had a lingering passion f or art that could be tr aced to Coronado High School. In the late 1970s, she enrolled at the Laguna Beach School of Art. Later, she attended w orkshops from regarded water colorists like Robert E. Wood and Rex Brandt. “You could sa y she (Hagstrom) made me passionate about art and w ant to learn more,” Stubbs said. “I got an amazing education later in technique that helped me realize that passion. I had exposure to man y of the finest water colorists in the country.” In the 1980s Stub bs became well known for watercolors of the Calif ornia missions and Car lsbad’s flower fields. She served as pr esident of the San Diego Dieguito Art Guild in 1989 and 1991. These days, Stubbs is technically retired, but she
still paints on occasion — what she calls “finishing her life’s work.” And, of course, she’s looking forward to sharing some of her paintings f or the exhibit. “She was a lo vely woman,” Stubbs said. “I can’t wait to talk with others (at the exhibit) who she influenced.”
Students introduce Hagstrom to family members she never knew
Hagstrom died at the age of 46 in 1951. The exhibit came together because her granddaughter wanted to connect with the w oman she never knew. “On a personal basis, it is rewarding to speak with people who actuall y met m y grandmother,” Suzan Hagstrom said. “I never met her because she died before I was born. Through this pr oject, I learned about my grandmother from her students who spoke with her, met her, knew her, saw her on a dail y basis at school.” The other goal? To show how a teacher can be instrumental to a generation of students. “I also thought it w ould communicate that art tr anscends time, space and generations; that art is uni versally appealing; that art is for a lifetime; that art is an important component of education, ” Suzan Hagstrom said. As for tracking down her grandmother’s former students, Hagstrom said Coronado locals were eager to help. “All I had to do w as call TURN TO GENERATIONS ON A14