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just cannot be one of them. I tried it one year and the results were just embarrassing. I began my shopping in early fall and then hid things cleverly for later wrapping. I found them in April. Their existence had not crossed my mind since the day I put them in that bottom drawer behind my old sweat clothes. My children found it quite hilarious that I (A): had completely forgotten that I squirreled things away and (B): they got lost you-know-what
gifts around Easter time. I, who would have preferred the extra cash, was not so amused. As if my shoddy memory skills weren’t hurdle enough, I was shortsighted enough to give birth to my first child on Dec. 5. The good news is she was early. The bad news is she still has a birthday just weeks before that late-December holiday. After 27 years, you’d think she would expect less, but no deal. She bases her expectations on the life-sized Candyland game I staged for her fifth
birthday. She has a special look reserved for those times I foolishly hint that this year we downscale. It could melt diamonds. Hence, my only survival technique is to take one celebration at a time. Even then, it requires a flurry of list making, furious shopping and copious labeling to separate what is for her birthday and what is held in abeyance for … you know… later. I know it will be here before we know it. I know you can freeze holiday-baked goods. I don’t care. So, let’s talk turkey. Jean Gillette is a freelance writer in holiday denial. Contact her at jeanhartg@ roadrunner.com.
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Italy’s region of Tuscany, while exploring surrounding locations. The group was given warm and expert direction by guides and organizers Giuseppe Rossi and Diane Wheeler, whose 20-year experience in leading Italian art tours provided enhanced perspectives to the expedition. The tour incorporated a series of cultural highlights through several Tuscan hill towns, including Cortona and Arrezo. A day in Florence began with a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, which introduced the travelers to a wealth of Italian art trea-
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teaching style,” he said. In addition to limericks, the afternoon was punctuated with anagrams with groups like that.” Lederer added that and palindromes. At 76, which Lederer team members at the RSF Senior Center are the most devoted people he has ever met because they are passionate about their work. He went on to say that when he is performing, what he wants to evoke from the audience is the absolute joy of language, the wonderful gift it is, and how much fun someone can have with it. Richard Lederer “Language is inherAuthor ently playful and that’s what I do; and, it’s just also calls his “trombone the natural part of my birthday” year, he says
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Language is like the air we breathe. It’s visible. It’s all around us...”
sures. Built in the late 1500s as offices for the Medici family, the gallery houses some of the world’s most acclaimed artworks by 15th century Florentine painter Fra Filippo Lippi, High Renaissance masters Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, Raphael and Titian, and Baroque masters such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt — to name only a few. The OMA entourage was privileged to have a unique tour of the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence — most noted as the home of Michelangelo’s famed sculptural masterpiece David — by art restoration specialist Cinzia Parnigoni of Milan. Ms. Parnigoni, who in 2004 was selected for the daunting responsibility of single-handedly restoring Michelangelo’s David, described in detail the experience of having in her care for nine months one of the world’s most recognized and beloved art treasures. Her many challenges included correcting, when possible, the extensive damage caused by previous restorers. The group travelled to
Rome for a tour of the Borghese Gallery led by noted art critic Alfio Borghese, member of the family of art patrons prominent in Italy since the 13th century. The Gallery houses world-renowned treasures including works by Renaissance painters Caravaggio, Titian and Raphael, as well as numerous works by Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Mr. Borghese delighted the group with personal anecdotes of his influential family, the colorful acquisition history of many pieces in the magnificent art collection, and of the Gallery built in the early 1600s. A memorable feature of the Italian excursion was a visit to OMA’s first international and traveling exhibition “California Dreaming: An International Portrait of Southern California,” on exhibit near Rome at the Palazzo della Provincia di Frosinone. The group was welcomed for a reception by the newly elected president of the province and over 100 enthusiastic Italian guests. The exhibition of 54 artworks sponsored by the Oceanside Museum of Art
the secret of his unlimited energy is to define the difference of “who you are” and “what you do.” And when he’s performing, and witnesses the brightness of the “ah-ha moment” in the eyes of his audience, that is indeed a defining moment. “When they leave, I would like that their lives are slightly changed and that they appreciate even more in this particular case the joy of language,” he said. “Language is like the air we breathe. It’s visible. It’s all around us. We can’t get along without it, but we do take it for granted.” created an outpouring of excitement and interest in American artwork by the Italian community. Exhibiting American artists Sharon Allicotti, Young Summers and Mary-Austin Klein were warmly greeted by a crowd eager to learn about their artwork on display. The band of gratified travelers has returned home while the “California Dreaming” exhibition continues its return trip from Italy. The exhibition will be on display at OMA from Dec. 6, through March 29, 2015, prior to its final display at the Riverside Museum of Art through July 2015. Several members of the OMA travel group will be present at the mega-reception at Oceanside Museum of Art, which will feature five exhibitions including “California Dreaming,” Dec.6 from 6 to 9 p.m. Kay Colvin is director of L Street Fine Art Gallery in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, and specializes in promoting emerging and mid-career artists. Contact her at kaycolvin@ lstreetfineart.com
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