Palm Springs Art Patron Magazine September/October 2018

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BE ART INSPIRED.


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This Page Elizabeth Turk creates A Luminous Spectacle on Main Beach for Laguna Art Museum

Page 16 Laguna Dance Festival Festival of Mosaics Wyland’s 25th Anniversary Page 18 The Studio Buckingham Group Page 22 Partners in Art ELMER WACHTEL and MARION KAVANAGH WACHTEL

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Page 28 CASEY PARLETTE Journey from anthropologist to artist Page 32 Succeeding Beyond Her Wildest Dreams Painter WENDY WIRTH Page 36 DEBRA HOVEL’s New Kick Page 42 Exhibition: DESERT LIGHT

Page 24 A Luminous Spectacle on Main Beach ELIZABETH TURK

Page 46 SERENE ESCAPE McClure Homes & Discovery Builders California

Page 26 Laguna Art Museum Centennial: A Celebration

INSERTS: Gateway to Joshua Tree Arts & Culture Palm Springs Writer’s Guild Calendar

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Potential acrylic on acrylic panel 36” x 24”


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Modern. Abstract. Contemporary. Paintings. Photography. By emerging and established artists.

P UB L I S H E R

BRUCE DODD

(760) 898-7623 Bruce@ArtPatronMagazine.com E DI TO R I N C H I E F

CHRISTINE DODD

Christine@ArtPatronMagazine.com A SSI STA N T E DI TOR

Grove Koger

Grove@ArtPatronMagazine.com A RT DI R E CTOR

Christine Dodd

Christine@ArtPatronMagazine.com GR A P H I C DE SI GN

Lori Rennie Karl Williams Brady DI R E CTOR OF P H OTOGR A P H Y

Tom Lamb

Tom@ArtPatronMagazine.com CON TR I BU TOR S

Andrew Barber Louisa Castrodale Bruce Dodd Christine Dodd Rick Graves Liz Goldner Barbara Gothard Grove Koger Tom Lamb Bernard Leibov Pam Price Cassie Walder DI R E CTOR OF OP E R ATI ON S

Russell Wong

Russell@ArtPatronMagazine.com DI R E CTOR OF BU SI N E SS DE VE LOP M E N T

Darian Chambers

Darian@ArtPatronMagazine.com

STEVEN JANSSEN “Two Sides to Everything” 36” x 60” / Acrylic on Canvas

A DVE RTI SI N G DI R E CTOR

Christine Dodd

Christine@ArtPatronMagazine.com C U STOM E R SE R VI C E R E P R E SE N TATI VE

Catherine Ellis

Catherine@ArtPatronMagazine.com

www.ArtPatronMagazine.com

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For Advertising and Editorial Information: 333 E Amado #1904, Palm Springs, CA 92263 or email info@ArtPatronMagazine.com The opinions expressed by writers and contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Laguna Beach Art Patron Magazine and Palm Springs Art Patron Magazine are published six times a year by Laguna Beach Art Magazine, LLC


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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

photo by Alice Bernet

A Moment of Truth Over the past several months, I have emerged from my mental comfort zone to speak out and act on what I believe to be true. From developing a free art program for fourth graders (featured in our last issue), to appearing on panels, judging art exhibitions and offering my thoughts at art critiques, I have committed myself to showing up with kind curiosity. This newfound courage has also enabled me to force time into my schedule to make art myself. Instead of producing art, I have spent the last 20 years, since art school, investing my energy in publishing, cultural tourism and economic development. I know I am not the first artist to lose myself in the day-to-day activities of the dreaded j-o-b. But as I transition into living in Southern California full-time, I am embarking on a long overdue journey of reconnecting with myself through the mental rollercoaster of art making and the raw, vulnerable and constant self-doubt inherent in the personal exploration of creativity. I can’t resist art that makes me think. In this issue, Art Patron explores fashion innovation with upcycled textiles by Debra Hovel. We celebrate the Laguna Art Museum’s centennial and take a look at the 2018 Art & Nature festival, which celebrates art’s engagement with the natural world through the vision of Elizabeth Turk’s Shoreline Project—an ambitious work that involves one thousand performers carrying illuminated umbrellas and engaging the beach and the City of Laguna. I am also introducing two new series. The first is titled “Cultural Hotspots.” Over the next year, guest curators will take us on journeys to artful locations off the beaten path in Southern California. We begin this issue with Bernard Leibov’s choice of such sights and sites in Joshua Tree. This art tour will have a permanent home on our web page, along with dozens of other tours for anyone to peruse freely at any time and from anywhere. See them at www.ArtPatronMagazine.com. The second new series is about collaborations. Artist and writer Barbara Gothard introduces us to artists who have discovered inspiration and motivation by joining a creative family. Art Patron is also pleased to present season schedules for the Palm Springs Writer’s Guild and the Joshua Tree area. Now, please enjoy this first issue of Art Patron’s fifth year! 12

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“BEFORE SUNRISE” 2017 LAGUNA PLEIN AIR BEST IN SHOW AIMEE ERICKSON

CELEBRATE THE LEGACY, BE PART OF THE TRADITION. 20th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational Quick Draw October 7 9:30 am - 11:30 am Heisler Park Laguna Beach, CA

Collectors Gala October 13 7 pm - 10:30 pm Festival of Arts Laguna Beach, CA Ticketed Event

Meet & Greet and Public Sale October 7 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm Festival of Arts Laguna Beach, CA

LPAPA Art Show & Sale October 14 10 am - 5 pm Festival of Arts Laguna Beach, CA Free Admission

Gil Dellinger Jennifer Diehl Aimee Erickson Mark Fehlman Jeff Horn Debra Huse Mark Kerckhoff Paul Kratter Peggi Kroll-Roberts Jim Lamb Calvin Liang Daniel Marshall Jim McVicker

Clark Mitchell Daniel Mondloch Michael Obermeyer Kathie Odom Rita Pacheco Joe Paquet Jesse Powell Scott W Prior Camille Przewodek April Raber Ray Roberts Jason Sacran Anthony Salvo

Patrick Saunders Jeff Sewell Randy Sexton Michael Situ W. Jason Situ Matt Smith David Solomon J Ken Spencer George Strickland Bryan Mark Taylor Michele Usibelli Jove Wang Durre Waseem

ARTISTS Peter Adams Ken Auster (In Memoriam) Jacobus Baas Cindy Baron Carl Bretzke Cynthia Britain John Budicin John Burton Saim Caglayan John Cosby Bill Davidson Rick J Delanty

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Visit lpapa.org for calendar of events and additional details. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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V I S I T W W W. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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A little info about the artists and art enthusiasts who bring you Art Patron Magazine 6 times a year.

From the free to the VIP, satisfy your curiosity and quest for inspiration with our calendar. Check back often- we update the calendar daily!

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HIGHLIGHTS

Laguna Beach native Skylar Campbell, a principal dancer with National Ballet of Canada, will return to his hometown to appear in Laguna Dance Festival’s “Stars of Dance” performances Oct. 6 & 7 PHOTO: Karolina Kuras

14th annual LAGUNA DANCE FESTIVAL fall program

comprises a free backstage peek with Complexions, a one-night-only Bowie tribute, international dance stars in their prime, master classes, two free summer Sunday shows at the Festival of Arts grounds, and bonus show in late October by AfroColombian troupe Sankofa Danzafro The festival’s four onstage performances will be held at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California. Tickets are on sale now at lagunadancefestival.org www.lagunadancefestival. org and will go on sale August 6 at Laguna Playhouse. Laguna Dance Festival, now in its 14th year, is regarded as one of Orange County’s major annual cultural events and continues to be an important showcase for new and established dance companies and artists. Its mission is to present world-class dance performance, increase public appreciation for the art, and provide quality dance education. www.lagunadancefestival.org

Renowned marine life artist WYLAND changed the way people think about

our ocean when he started painting life-size whales on the sides of buildings in the 1980s and 1990s. Now, the foundation the artist founded to promote clean water and healthy oceans will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary this year with a series of special events. The main event for the anniversary year will be the annual Wyland Foundation Celebration and Gala, Nov. 10, at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. Following in a tradition of esteemed speakers, including National Geographic Explorer in Resident Dr. Sylvia Earle, Actress Jane Seymour, and Olympian Janet Evans, the foundation will welcome Dr. Ken Caldeira of Stanford University, whose groundbreaking work on oceans and climate has been profiled in the Journal of Nature, Scientific American, and National Public Radio. The event will feature live painting by the artist and a retrospective of notable foundation programs and accomplishments. Since 1993, the Wyland Foundation has delivered engaging traveling art, science and community-based programs that promote a greater understanding of the ways people impact the health of the ocean, lakes, rivers streams, and wetlands. Last year, the foundation and its partners encouraged people across the nation to make more than 600,000 water conservation pledges, delivered mobile water science education to over 30,000 children, donated art supllies to schools in 100 cities, and launched a new initiative to reduce the impacts on the ocean from land-based activities in partnership with the United Nations Environment program. “We started the foundation with a focus on protecting the ocean through the arts,” Wyland said. “But as it became clear that many of the problems we see in the ocean originate far upstream, we expanded our mission to address our impact on our vast watersheds. It also became clear that inspiring people through the art, then encouraging them to broaden their understanding through science, would be instrumental to sustaining these critical ecosystems.” Learn more at www.wylandfoundation.org 16

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The public is invited to FESTIVAL of MOSAICS

a hands-on art program taking place in Laguna Beach in fall 2018. The program offers two activities. Tile glazing workshops, offered throughout the city, and hand-on installation of the tiles, resulting in a permanent public mural. The mural wall is on Glenneyre Ave. at Saint Ann’s Drive, at Neighborhood Congregational Church. Beginners and all levels are invited. The mural, designed by Mike Tauber, is titled Coastline to Canyon. The abstract design features pixellated tones in a sweeping color bleed. It reads like an aerial view of Laguna Beach, from the blue ocean, to tidepools, shoreline, bluffs and greenbelt. Tiny wildlife silhouettes, as painted in the workshops, may be discovered at close inspection of the mural. Find Festival of Mosaics under Events at NCCLaguna.org or call (949) 494-8061.


Welcome to the colorful world of Elena Bulatova Fine Art! Featuring artwork by Elena Bulatova and Efi Mashiah as well as an array of international artists! We love Bulatova’s whimsical and colorful Sweet Life series of lollipops and popsicles which add that extra touch of fun to everyday living. She creates beautiful and colorful abstract art that you want to decorate your whole home with. The color combinations are so happy. Efi Mashiah brush paintings and 3d screw artworks represent spectacular encapsulation of pop-Art and post-Pollock sensibility.These pieces challenge the boundary of painting and sculpture, performance and monument, and simplicity and deep complexity in art. More can be found in the galleries Efi and Elena run in… Laguna For more information please visit

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C O L L A B O R AT I O N

The Studio Buckingham Group written by Barbara Gothard

Radcliffe Dawn of Power 7”x11”

Curtis Leaving Zeb’s 11”x9”

The Redlands-based Studio Buckingham Group (SBG), a contemporary

artists collaborative, reflects the premise of a 2017 article by Jonathan Sands in the Guardian about the future of painting. In “A Second Coat: Why Painting Is the Comeback Art of the 21st Century,” Sands wondered whether painting might be dead. And answered, “If so, we must be suffering the attack of the zombie painters, because this old art form is invading every corner of the modern world from the coolest corners of the art world to underneath your local railway bridge.” SBG, which is composed of six dedicated, professional, award-winning artists who have been painting together every Friday morning since 2009, is clearly part of that trend. The six are Martha Cowan, Chick Curtis, Angela Koenig, Diana McLaughlin, Tony Radcliffe and Trudy Wood. The diverse group convenes at Radcliffe’s home/studio, but unlike historical art movements, which were generally focused on a specific philosophy or common style, SBG is focused on increasing the knowledge and skills of its members so that they can produce increasingly accomplished work. McLaughlin stresses that they’re all “avid readers” and that lifelong learning is in their DNA. 18

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Cowan Off Duty 10”x10”

SBG’s members spend the first hour “reviewing each other’s paintings-in-progress and conducting critiques“ by asking questions, discussing options and providing assistance. Topics range from color theory and design elements to subject matter and exhibition opportunities. That’s followed by a two-hour painting session, which continues over lunch. The close friendships that have developed are what Cowan describes as a “major by-product.” After early interest in the creative process or art training, followed by alternative career choices, SGB members have returned to their art. Moving from careers in medicine, illustration, commercial real estate management, school counseling and education to producing and exhibiting artworks, SBG members exemplify several of the “18 Things


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Highly Creative People Do Differently” identified by Caroline Gregoire in a recent Huffington Post article. They observe everything, they seek out new creative experiences, they ask big questions, they follow their true passion and they make time for mindlessness. These attributes contribute to the sense of purpose, personal growth, self-acceptance, autonomy and interactions with others that are found in the group. Cowan’s desire to give significance to things that often go unnoticed, combined with her use of the restricted color palette attributed to Swedish painter Anders Zorn, are the bases for her compelling images of ordinary things. But while Cowan and Wood share a strong sense of emotion in their work, they arrived at this sense from different experiences. Cowan’s participation in an exhibit in Redlands four years ago brought back memories from her childhood. But Wood’s depictions of ordinary subjects, whether rendered in graphite or in colored pencil blended with watercolor, capture the emotion of the natural world and her teenage fascination with the motion in Van Gogh’s Starry Night. The wide range of life experiences among SBG members contributes to the ways in which they interact. Having lived abroad at an early age, for example, Koenig developed her love of art in junior high school in Germany, where her father served in the Navy, and studied with two Parisian instructors from the Louvre. Curtis’s early experience with the arts, on the other hand, resulted from his father’s foreign service career and the more than 10,000 photos the family took. His exposure to Vermeer, Rembrandt and Sargent is evident in his artworks, as is Angela’s early admiration for


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DARRIN COLLINS Koenig Parched 10”x13”

McLaughlin OC Girl 3”x4”

the Impressionists. Equally important are the personal philosophies they bring to the group: “exaggerate what you like” and “be true to yourself.” McLaughlin, the self-described neophyte, and Radcliffe, the universally described catalyst of the group, complete SBG’s membership. Radcliffe introduced the SBG concept of recognizing the value of collaborative efforts thanks to his days as a medical doctor, then identified its potential members and offered his home as a meeting place. “Sharing ideas, experimenting with new techniques, watching how members solve problems while constantly striving to become better artists,” he states, “are the core values of our group.” Despite their different approaches, McLaughlin and Radcliffe share a commitment to the representation of subjects. On the other hand, McLaughlin’s Impressionistic small-format paintings rendered in muted colors are in stark contrast to Radcliffe’s larger, intricate, boldly colored ones. But both exhibit the same kind of detailed precision. While today’s artists’ collaboratives may differ from the art movements of the past in their lack of stylistic focus, an extraordinary sense of honesty, mutual support and camaraderie are evident in the testimonials of SBG’s members. “Every painting that I paint is made better as a result of their thoughts and critique,” runs one such comment. “We treasure each other’s friendships” is another. And ”I don’t consider a painting finished until I get input from the other members” is yet another. SBG members’ commitment to the purity of “this old art form” is indeed a welcome “invasion.”

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Always something new to see at The Cottage! Our selection is always changing as our 40 talented local artists create beautiful new items. Our historical 1890’s cottage & garden offers a wonderfully unique opportunity for the display of our art.

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A R T H I S T O RY

Critic Antony Anderson called their marriage “a perfect union of minds, hearts and aims.” Another critic,

Partners in Art ELMER WACHTEL and MARION KAVANAGH WACHTEL written by Grove Koger images courtesy of the Laguna Art Museum 22

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Luvena Vysekal (writing as Benjamin Blue), reported that paintings by the two were as like as “two peas in one pod. Alike in theme, in treatment, in feeling and tempo. Perfect team work, rare congeniality, two souls with but a single thought.” The couple in question were Marion Kavanaugh and Elmer Wachel, who married in 1904, after which Marion adopted Elmer’s surname and shortened the original spelling of hers to Kavanagh. She’d been born in Milwaukee in 1876 and had followed a path that included study and teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago and more study with the illustrious William Merritt Chase in New York. She made her way west thanks to a commission from the Santa Fe Railroad, painting sketches of the scenery in return for her ticket. She arrived in San Francisco about 1901, where she studied with William Keith, the “Dean of California Painters,” and it was apparently at his suggestion that she looked up his friend Elmer Wachtel in Los Angeles. Elmer had been born in Baltimore and was a decade older than Marion. He had studied both art and music, interests that had taken him back and forth between the East and West coasts, playing first violin with several orchestras as well as helping found an early incarnation of the Los Angeles Art Association. He also traveled to England, where he studied in London’s Lambeth Art School. Although he was skilled in watercolor, he had made his name painting landscapes in oils in a California Impressionist style influenced by Tonalism. After their marriage, however, Marion concentrated on a different medium. As the enthusiastic Vysekal/Blue put it, “His’n are oil! Hern are aquarelle! And they say that water and oil never mix!” The married couple lived for a time in Pasadena, then in a bungalow (since declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument) that Elmer built on the slopes of Mount Washington, before eventually setting up house in the near-wilderness of Arroyo Seco in 1921. They traveled widely throughout the more remote regions of the Southwest, on horseback


christine bolger glass “Drifting”

curved wall sculpture 33 x 15 x 3 and by custom-designed automobile, working constantly and successfully in their chosen media. Marion’s reputation had grown to match Elmer’s, with Anderson asserting that her “water color landscapes … are the most notable being painted anywhere.” While the pair often exhibited side by side, Marion also showed regularly at the Los Angeles gallery of Cannell and Chaffin and enjoyed solo shows at the Los Angeles Museum in 1915 and 1917. Elmer had his own shows at the museum and exhibited at such Los Angeles galleries as Steckel, Merrick-Reynolds and Kanst. The pair’s apparently idyllic marriage ended, however, in 1929, with Elmer’s death in Guadalajara while he and Marion were on one of their painting expeditions. I used the word “apparently” earlier because there’s some uncertainty about various aspects of Marion’s life and her marriage to Elmer. Some—such as whether Keith was instrumental in Marion’s meeting Elmer—don’t seem important. The same goes for her changing, however subtly, the spelling of her maiden name. But it would be interesting to know why she abandoned oils almost completely for watercolors after marrying Elmer. Did she want to avoid competing with the man who was, after all, ten years her senior and better known? Did she want to avoid giving an impression of competition? Or was it at his suggestion? In any case, after what was presumably a period of shock and mourning following Elmer’s death, she began showing finished watercolors and oils, drawing praise for her mastery of both media. Although Elmer had been involved with the Los Angeles Art Association early in his career and was a charter member of the Laguna Beach Art Association, his participation in such groups seems to have been minimal. However, as Karen Leslie Roberts noted in “Reflected Light,” her thesis about Marion, “a woman engaging in a career in art needed to find a market to support her work” in the “post-frontier age” of the early twentieth century. Thus, like other women artists, Marion joined a number of professional associations—the Aquarellists of New York, the California Watercolor Society, the Pasadena Painters, the Laguna Beach Art Association (of which, like Elmer, she was a charter member) and so on. Marion and Elmer had been married a quarter of a century at the time of his death in 1929. A quarter of a century later, in May 1954, she herself died in Pasadena.

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ARTIST PROFILE

A Luminous Spectacle on Main Beach Elizabeth Turk’s Art & Nature Presentation Features 1,000 LED-Lit Umbrellas written by Liz Goldner

When artist Elizabeth Turk presents her “Shoreline Project” on Laguna’s Main Beach this November 3 at sunset, beach lovers, passersby and art enthusiasts will be awed by the spectacle of one thousand performers, each carrying an LED-illuminated umbrella decorated with the symmetrical inner structures of shells. The performers will be walking, skipping, converging and dancing in spontaneous as well as choreographed movements. They will engage the visitors on the beach and in the larger city of Laguna, as the Project’s mission “is to create experiences where strangers become neighbors and remember optimism along the way.” Held every November, Laguna Art Museum’s Art & Nature festival celebrates art’s engagement with the natural world, and includes a major installation on Main Beach, along with exhibitions, panel discussions, films and family activities within the museum itself. This year, the beach installation is Turk’s “Shoreline Project,” which will also celebrate the natural beauty and symmetry of the “X-Ray Mandalas” series that she created in 2011. Living in both Newport Beach and New York City, Turk combines art with scientific principles, a discipline that helped her win a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010 and a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (SARF) in 2011. Both these awards motivated her to create her “X-Ray Mandalas,” as she had access to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum’s collection of specimens during her SARF residency. As her interest there gravitated to shells, she began investigating their elegant 24

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intrinsic patterns. She then began using small X-ray cameras to capture the symmetrically shaped shells’ inner structures, which she refers to as “stunningly beautiful.” Working with individual shells, photographing each specimen 1 to 64 times, she superimposed the many images in order to complete the individual art pieces. The precursors of her recent mandalas are the sinuous marble sculptures that she has been creating for decades, much of the time in the yard of Santa Ana’s Chiarini Marble & Stone. Wearing ear protectors and safety glasses, she grinds raw marble into sinuous, ribbon-like shapes. She then hones the marble with small files and dental tools, resulting in delicate sculptures that often evoke waves and lace. Her inspirations for these works include mandalas, sacred geometry and the proportions of the golden mean, she explains. Since first creating and then exhibiting “X-Ray Mandalas” in 2013, Turk has been exploring ways to use the art pieces in a larger way. A dinner with Laguna Art Museum’s Executive Director Malcolm Warner last year provided her with an opportunity to do so. While gazing at an umbrella decorating Warner’s drink, she envisioned multiple umbrellas, all emblazoned with her seashell mandalas and paraded and danced along the shoreline of Main Beach. When she proposed the idea to Warner, he approved her concept enthusiastically. As Turk began turning her vision into reality, she contracted with a manufacturer to create the LED-lit mandala-decorated


Celebrating 40 Years of Wyland Galleries

umbrellas, with half printed black on white and the other half white on black. Then, deciding to begin her beach spectacle with staged performances, she asked Lara Wilson, creative director of the OC-based Assembly Dance Company, to choreograph dances for two dozen performers. “When we started discussing the movement component,” Wilson explains, “Elizabeth researched video material, since Shoreline will be filmed from above by drones. She collected movement patterns from nature, of starlings, of the blooms of jellyfish, and of the electronic signals in earthworms’ brains. She said that she was initially drawn to art because of her interest in the human figure. I realized that’s where the crossover between visual and performance art begins, with an interest in the human figure, in its form and gestures. “The dance on the beach will be primarily about the umbrellas,” Wilson adds, “as we want to show onlookers the many possibilities for movement inherent in Elizabeth’s structures. Her process in designing the umbrellas, her ideas of commonalities, of shelter and of light, inform our collaborative choreography. The dancing will be elegant and intimate, even considering the scale necessary for the drones and the viewers on the cliffsides. I will employ simple formations and repeated motions, referring to the sacred geometry inherent in Elizabeth’s mandalas. I will also include virtuosic moments to highlight the unique abilities of the dancers, in contrast to the elements—to the high tides, to the sand, and to the darkening sky following the sunset.”

“Wyland” Official Limited Edition Gicleé on Canvas of the 40th Anniversary of Wyland Galleries

Discover the latest original and limited edition paintings, sculptures, and photography from one of the world’s most iconic marine life artists and conservationists.

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Congratulations to the Wyland Foundation’s new partnership with the United Nations Environment Program. Follow Wyland on:

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Laguna Art Museum Centennial: A Celebration written by Liz Goldner

Celebrating its one hundredth birthday this year, the Laguna Art Museum (LAM) has flourished over the decades despite a few daunting obstacles. The most formidable was the attempt by Newport Harbor Art Museum, today the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), to merge with LAM in 1996. Five photographs in the book Laguna Art Museum: A Centennial History, 1918-2018 depict members of “Save Laguna Art Museum” (SLAM) protesting that attempted merger. While the measure initially went through in 1997, LAM initiated a lawsuit, and as a result a “joint venture” was settled between the two entities. Most of LAM’s art was “gifted back” by OCMA, along with much of its endowment, the ownership of its land and its building on Cliff Drive. But those photos of SLAM members are just a few of the illustrations in the centennial history. One key photo shows the Laguna Beach Art Association’s first gallery, a board and batten cabin, from the early 1920s. Another captures the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Laguna Beach Art Association Gallery from August 25, 1928, showing Anna Hills (another of the original exhibiting artists) holding a shovel. Reproductions of paintings include the bucolic Laguna Vista (1919) by Benjamin Brown and Eternal Surge (1920) by Edgar Payne. (Payne 26

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was among the original association exhibiting artists.) Here also is the popular Old Post Office (1922-23) by Joseph Kleitsch and the Modernist Laguna Beach (1925) by Clarence Hinkle. While paintings from Impressionist to modern are reproduced throughout the book, photos of artists and art supporters are among the most compelling images, as the museum is known for the support that such individuals have always given it. These show artists Frank Cuprien in beret and smock and William Wendt in vest and waistcoat from about 1925; gallery Director Roger Armstrong and actor Sterling Holloway in 1965; artists Andy Wing and Karl Benjamin in 1973: Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor at Art for AIDS in 2002; and collectors Gerald and Bente Buck with artist Tony DeLap at the 2011 Best Kept Secret opening. ”We’re already looking to the years ahead,” says LAM Executive Director Malcolm Warner, “planning future exhibitions and programs and developing the support we need to keep raising the level. We’re focused on quality and, just as important, sustainability. This year is also the beginning of our next hundred years. With the help of our dedicated community of supporters, we can make them even better than the first.”

“Southbound” Downtown Laguna Beach

For more information visit lagunaartmuseum.org A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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ARTIST PROFILE

CASEY PARLETTE’S written by Pamela Price photographed by Tom Lamb

JOURNEY from anthropologist to artist

One of the many benefits of attending the 85th Annual Laguna Beach Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters at the Irvine Bowl involves the artists you might meet. After all, this is the site where local creative spirits exhibit their paintings, sculptures and jewelry amidst the crush of attendees under the starry Laguna Beach skies. You never know where this journey will take you. But this is where, by chance and amidst many other fascinating works of art, you might discover some of the more exotic forms of life that call the ocean and the sky their home. Sculptor and jewelry designer Casey Parlette began his career as an anthropologist. And with “nature being the ultimate teacher,” as he likes to remark, his wildlife sculptures in metal, stone and wood capture moving moments from the lives of the world’s swimming, flying and crawling creatures. Under the observant eye of the artist, lifelike replicas of these fascinating beings come to life. Here’s a bronze hermit crab, “hammered, forged, welded and carved.” And here’s a graceful kelp forest, a commission the artist created from shedua wood and bronze that he transformed with more forging, welding and carving. 28

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Challenging nature’s pattern for a sculpin (a fish that, in my opinion, doesn’t look edible), Parlette has diplomatically transformed the rather forbidding, grumpy-looking ocean dweller into a rather handsome animal though serious forging, welding and the incorporation of lace redwood and maple burls. Thanks to the artist’s expertise, the creature emerges with a real personality, bumpy growths, mottled coloring and all. My photographer compared the artist’s talent to that of a skilled plastic surgeon, but in this case the artist’s degree (from UCLA) is in anthropology. Merging art with entomology, Parlette has applied his talents to insects as well, dedicating delicate sculptures and pieces of jewelry to dragonflies, moths and beetles. His eclectic choice of materials, from titanium and bronze to purple heart and cocobolo woods, adds the perfect touch to insects that would have most people reaching for a fly swatter. “I didn’t plan on art as a career,” said Parlette, who spent many California summers as a lifeguard around Laguna Beach and San Diego. The 30

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experience apparently gave him ample exposure to sea life, which led in turn to his transition from observer to artist. Some creatures, such as mahi-mahi, which Parlette describes as changing color “instantly, from cobalt blues to yellow gold,” are naturally beautiful. It’s a pattern of color that the artist has captured in a sculpture of the fish, fashioning them from quilted marble and giving them fins of bronze with a blue-green patina and eyes and “freckle” spots of abalone. But capturing the beauty in decidedly unbeautiful beasts is also a prominent characteristic of the artist, hence the care with which he turned that hermit crap from a fearsome ocean critter to an attractive character sculpted in walnut, acacia and bronze. Parlette’s studio on Laguna Canyon Road is a treasure chest of various woods from wenge to California oak, all with “beautiful shapes and patterns we so often overlook.” With his keen eye for bringing out the beauty in nature, without having to rely on commercial art supplies, he continues to see his sculptures as a journey, sourcing his materials along beaches and trails, and creating art that is “harmonious with nature.” For more information visit cpsculpture.com


“California Dreaming” 30x24 Acrylic on Canvas by Terri Sopp Rae

“In The Middle of Fall” 24x36 Acrylic on Canvas by Kara Lee

“Yellow Palms” 16x20 Acrylic on Canvas by Kara Lee

Artist Eye Gallery Fine Art Paintings, Mixed Media, Sculpture and Photography 1294-A So. Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach CA 92651 • www.ArtistEyeGalleryLaguna.com • 949.497.5898 Orange County Fine Arts. An Association of Artists.

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ARTIST PROFILE

Succeeding Beyond Her Wildest Dreams Painter WENDY WIRTH written by Liz Goldner

How many of us get to reinvent ourselves, to begin a new career midway into adulthood, to love that career with passion, and then to give back to our photo by Tom Lamb

community? Artist and Laguna Festival of Arts exhibitor Wendy Wirth is such

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a person. Her infectious personality and luminous plein air paintings are a testament to the power of starting over during our middle years. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


Born in Montreal in the early 1960s, Wirth moved to Southern California at age two and half and immediately fell in love with the Southland ’s golden landscapes, vistas and beaches. While that love of the land pervaded her sensibilities during childhood and adulthood, it wasn’t until her forties that she began to translate her passions onto canvas. Wirth first attempted illustrating while in the second grade. Her class was going on a field trip, and her teacher asked the students to create name cards for themselves. While drawing her name on the card, little Wendy added a picture of a cow. “My teacher was so impressed that she asked me to draw pictures on the other kids’ cards,” she recalls. She soon began drawing and painting regularly, particularly pictures of animals. And with her parents’ encouragement, she started taking art lessons at age ten. “I knew that I was good at art and I liked it,” she says. In high school, Wirth’s interest in journalism motivated her to work on the school’s yearbook, while she continued to draw and paint. Subsequently she attended Cal State Fullerton, graduating with a double major in art and communications. She then began working in graphic design in advertising, first as a full-time employee, and later freelancing. That was before our current digital age, and she enjoyed the hands-on approach of creating storyboards and doing paste-ups. Working in illustration also helped her develop her drawing skills. Yet to Wirth’s dismay, the advertising field began to change dramatically around 2007. And when she was asked to create ad illustrations on a computer, she recoiled at the idea of no longer working intuitively with pen and pencil. Both of her parents became ill around that time, and Wirth, with the support of her husband, Scott, began spending less time in advertising while caring for her parents—a mission that she looks back at with great satisfaction. When both of her parents died in 2009, Wirth took a good look at her life and decided to make a major change. Again with her husband’s support, she was determined to become a fulltime landscape painter, to begin depicting on canvas the light, A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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shadows, moods and subtle color changes of the magnificent Southern California landscape. Employing the illustration skills that she had perfected as a graphic artist, she started painting en plein air, or outdoors, working primarily with acrylic paint. Her subject matter was everywhere—in the canyons, beaches and water of Laguna Beach, and in the adjoining communities of Dana Point and Crystal Cove. She explains that capturing a natural setting on-site, in the outdoors, is an essential aspect of her finished works. After painting outside, she finishes in her studio, applying numerous thin layers of paint to each piece. The results are luminous landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes that capture the brilliant SoCal light. Wirth also became active, early in her fine art painting career, in several local art associations, including the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the California Art Club and the Crystal Cove Alliance. 34

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Classes • Workshops • Exhibitions • Events • Gallery

Creating community enrichment through the arts CREATE Center for the Arts www.CreateCenterForTheArts.com | 760.834.8318 73733 Fred Waring Drive #106 (Morningside Plaza) Palm Desert, CA 92260 CREATE Center for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community arts organization, EIN 81-4414345

Soon after embarking on her new career, in 2010, Wirth was accepted into the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts as an exhibitor, and has been there for the last nine years. “Getting into the festival was the peak of my career,” she says. She works assiduously each year to prepare for the upcoming summer festival, producing paintings that express her love for the landscape. Her hard work pays off financially and in the satisfaction of seeing visitors enjoying and purchasing her artworks. The award-winning artist explains that her paintings are in collections all across the country. Sitting in her Festival of Arts booth on a sultry August day recently, surrounded by several of her atmospheric canvases, Wirth talked about the importance and especially the joy of giving back to the art world. Indeed, Wendy Wirth is succeeding as an artist today beyond her wildest dreams! For more information visit wendywirth.com A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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FA S H I O N P R O F I L E

Debra Hovel’s New Kick written by Cassie Walder photographed by Bruce Dodd clothes modeled by Music Theater University Students

“People have offered to buy my shoes and the clothes off my back when I am out and about,” remarks Debra Hovel.

“My fashion isn’t about couture. It is about design problem solving and making things.” As a shoemaker, a constant presence in the Palm Springs creative community and now an upcycled textile designer, Hovel has been creating art her whole life. “I started as a fine artist—watercolors, printmaking, paintings and more,” Hovel says. “I had always made things—knitted, crocheted, painted, embroidered and sewn clothes. In about 2006 I started learning how to design and make 36

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shoes. They were the final frontier for me. Shoes combine design and engineering.” Hovel took a weekend class in New York and after that was hooked on shoe making. Though she had no interest in designing a line, opening a store or having a line of shoes to be made in a factory, she was interested in designing and hand crafting unique shoes for clients who collect art. “Every pair of shoes is, for me, a design problem to be solved,” explains the artisan. “I make each pair different in order to reflect the personality, likes and style of the client. My goal is to give wearers the experience of wearing art they commissioned. I am not interested in creating shoes that do not feature comfort and style. I am


Debra and Richard Hovel backstage at MTU A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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David Green’s Musical Theatre University (MTU), in residence at

Rancho Mirage High School and sponsored and presented by the Palm Springs Unified School District, is the most comprehensive performing arts program for high school students in the Inland Empire. The program is designed for young people grades 9-12 who aspire to careers in professional theatre, with the students selected by audition from throughout the school district and neighboring communities. The faculty is composed of professional actors, directors, producers, writers and choreographer from stage, film and television, and is supplemented by guest master teachers drawn from a who’s who of Broadway. In addition to the intensive instruction it offers, MTU produces three professionally-staged mainstage musicals each season, with stars working alongside students. Founder/Director David Green’s celebrated alumni include Tony Winner Lindsay Mendez, along with Tony nominees Stephanie Block, Susan Egan and Glee’s Matthew Morrison. In 2017, Green was honored by the Tony Awards as one of the top twelve arts educators in America. This season MTU will present the hit musicals The Addams Family (November), Dogfight (February) and Curtains (April) at the Helene Galen Performing Arts Center at Rancho Mirage High School. For further information visit www.musicaltheatreuniversity.com.

not a wrist for people who want to design shoes. I desire to express my vision and skills in functional art.” The transition from shoemaker to upcycled fashion designer was a natural one. A lifetime collector of ethnic textiles, Hovel always marveled at the intricate embroidery and handwoven works of fabric art from other cultures. She started putting various bits and pieces of the fabrics, tassels and ribbons she’s collected from all over the world together with vintage shirts and silk pajama tops to create what she affectionately calls Feral Fabric tunics and dresses. “It’s a way for me to get these collected textiles out of the closet and onto the street,” Hovel says. “Whenever I wear them, I get lots of comments about how unique they are, and how special the textiles are. I think it’s better than having them on shelves, in closets and under my bed.” Hovel’s most-loved creations feature handwoven fabric with hand-embroidered tops from Guatemala called huipils. She doesn’t try to do tailored construction with these materials;

instead, her work is simple, showcases the wonderful textiles and shows the mark of the maker. “Something about knowing these old fabrics were woven and embroidered by their creators and washed by hand on the banks of rivers moves me and makes me happy,” Hovel says. You won’t find Hovel’s designs in Bloomingdale’s or Nordstrom’s. Like her handmade shoes and bags, Hovel’s fashions are commissioned and custom-made to be unique for each client. If Hovel sees her pieces as wearable art, you could say she often serves as her own gallery. “A few years ago, my husband challenged me to wear only shoes I have made,” Hovel recalls. “So, I wear my own shoes all the time and, very often, my own dresses. People have offered to buy the clothes off my back.” Hovel also teaches Feral Fabric and shoemaking workshops so that others can experience the joy of creating and making unique pieces. And her artistic reach is growing. About four years ago, she and her husband, Richard, decided they needed A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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B E Y O N D

T H E

B L U

As the day rests, the night continues with sumptous bites and epic views. One Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point, California 92629 949.240.2000 ritzcarlton.com/laguna180blu Complimentary parking with the Anniversary Card. Inquire with a Lady or Gentleman for more information.

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RCLN-001_180blu_Slices_HfPg_Ad.indd 1 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

9/11/15 1:10 PM


a new space within the broader Palm Springs art community. Banding together with other local artists, they bought a property on Highway 74 above Palm Desert. Named Makerville, the space has become a workshop and retreat for its founders, and serves as a venue for social and professional gatherings centered on learning, creative expression and community. “Our Makerville manifesto can be summed up by the statement ‘You Are What You Make,’” Hovel explains. “We believe that people are only really happy when they incorporate making something with their hands and hearts into their lives. Just watching screens or films or sports is passive entertainment. Making something, especially with others, creates satisfaction and community; hard fun.

Through her many endeavors, Hovel is offering an alternative to factory-made, disposable fashion, and is approaching her designs as not only an artist but as a human being, global citizen and teacher. “There is a place in the world for factory-made mass-produced things and there is a place for artisan-made things,” Hovel says. “I want to help others have the joy of owning and wearing unique and authentic items that reflect their personalities and celebrate craft. For more Information visit: DebraHovelFootwear.com MakervilleStudio.com

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EXHIBITION by Christine Dodd

DESERT LIGHT

“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Death Valley, Stovepipe Wells Dunes 36” x 72” painting on canvas

I’m drawn to the desert as subject matter because of it’s vast, stark, open, raw beauty. This minimal landscape allows space for one’s own thoughts and creativity to enter and develop within it. The drama created by the light in the desert, is central to my work. I particularly look for the clouds and storms that create much of the drama - or the sunrise sunset times with their elongated shadows and warm light. My preferred light has to be the low hard light of the winter months, which creates more long shadows and contrasts than the summer, with its high, harsh, unforgiving light, heat, and the now normal fire haze.

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DIANE BEST www.dianebest.com exhibiting in Desert Icons at Yucca Valley Arts Center www.yvarts.org


SANT KHALSA www.santkhalsa.com exhibiting in Desert Icons at Yucca Valley Arts Center www.yvarts.org

For more than three decades, my artworks have derived from an impassioned inquiry into the nature of place and complex environmental and societal issues. Since moving to Joshua Tree in 2010, I have been exploring and researching our vast and beautiful, yet complex, fragile and threatened eco-system. My photo-based and sculptural works respond to the experience of expansive desert lands and sky, and the ever-changing light and color. My artworks are the visual artifacts of my intimate connection with nature - my observations, perceptions, and interpretations.

Pray for Rain (Prayer Wheel), 2015-2017 Mixed media kinetic sculptural installation of blown glass with etched Morse Code, water, glass bottles with text, motorized pedestal, projected light 66 x 15 x 15 inches A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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“I shivered in those solitudes when I heard the voice of the salt in the desert.” - Pablo Neruda

Night Watch Mixed media sculptural installation of hemp, found objects and cement; dimensions vary

YOSSI GOVRIN www.yossigovrin.com exhibiting in Palm Springs, CA at Barba Contemporary Art www.barbacontemporaryart.com

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Life is filled with polarities: light and dark, day and night, good and evil. We need these polarities for balance. In the desert the sun and light, so necessary for growth, have scorched the landscape and left it yearning for balance. Light creates transformation and change. The “Night Watch” series sculptures relate directly to “human conductivity” and are made from hemp and cement emphasizing the transient nature of humans and their environment, with a single mold for the sculptures reflecting our common origin. The added elements such as stones and rope suggest a human uniqueness which resonates across cultural and national boundaries. The chandeliers are the artificial light used to wash away the darkness within the personal and in the community.


presents

“Creatures of the Night� Families are invited to explore their wild side at Creatures of the Night! Sherman Gardens will transform into a nocturnal habitat with live wolves, birds of prey, tortoises and creepy, crawly bugs. Take a photo at the Birds of Prey selfie wall. See scorpions, tarantulas, lizards, snakes and other animals. Enjoy arts and crafts, a scavenger hunt, and a gourmet hot dog cart too.

Saturday, October 6th 5:30 - 8:30pm Sherman Library & Gardens 2647 E. Coast Hwy. Corona del Mar, CA 92625 Tickets are $10 for Members, $15 for Non-Members. Kids ages 5-17 are $5 and children under 5 are free. For more information call (949)673-2261 or visit info@slgardens.org

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COLLECTOR PROFILE

SERENE ESCAPE

McClure Homes & Discovery Builders California written by Cassie Walder 46

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It only took Billie Jo O’Brien and her husband, Mike, one look and one week to make 53713 Ross Avenue theirs.

“We had originally designed a house to be built on another lot at Madison Club,” Billie Jo recalls. “Once we saw Mark McClure’s house that was just built and fully furnished, we decided we loved it and not to build.” With his $14 million price tags, developer Mark McClure has a knack for getting—and holding—the attention of his high-end real estate clientele. McClure has been building luxury homes in Rancho Santa Fe and La Quinta since 1999, and his vision for upscale desert living continues to captivate. So much so, in fact, that each of his last three properties, including the one sold to the O’Briens, has been on the market for zero days. “Each property has to embody the atmosphere and the ambiance and the genre of the actual location that is the desert,” McClure remarks. “We build very contemporary indoor/outdoor resort-style homes. “ For the O’Briens, it was love at first sight, and they bought the Ross Avenue completely furnished. From the moment you enter, you understand why. The line between indoor and outdoor living is invisible, and a cashmere grey color palette creates seamless serenity, as honed ash wood floors are reflected with matching inlayed beveled ceilings. Automated pocket walls disappear to reveal two swimming pools flanked by three fire bowls and embraced by the warm glow of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Features such as Crestron total home automation and seven Isokern fireplaces cast subtle shadows on muted brick to add texture to living spaces on cool desert nights. “We love the grey color scheme and the contemporary design,” Billie Jo says. “This home is completely different from our Seattle home, which is Tuscan.” The structure’s 12,000 square feet of sleek desert zen breathe comfortably on a .82-acre lot. It boasts four bedrooms in the main house and two in a casita. There are seven full bathrooms and two half baths. Wolf, Sub-Zero and Bosch appliances, steam showers, automated toilets and 14 4K televisions are just some of the high-end features. The only thing the house can’t do for you is hand you a mojito when you walk in the door. “Our favorite feature might be the pool in the back,” Billie Jo says. “It has two separately heated sections, which our grandson loves, as he prefers a 90-degree pool. It’s nice to have the option of pleasing everybody.” McClure Homes works in tandem with Discovery Builders California, specializing in exclusive high-end properties and private club building. You’ll find Discovery homes in every exotic corner of the Western Hemisphere— including the Dominican Republic, the Hamptons, upstate New York, Coeur d’Alene in Idaho, Big Sky and Whitefish in Montana and Cabo San Lucas. “We are a design/build firm,” McClure explains. “It’s a creative outlet for me to be able to take a raw piece of land and put something together on paper that turns into a work of art.” 48

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Art Is the New Must-Have Amenity for Leading Real-Estate Developers Marc Maclure is aligning with Elena Bulatova Fine Art to stage his new development, commissioning site-specific works from local artists Elena Bulatova and Efi Mashiah. “Every project we do has a focus on art—we’ve done significant artwork in all developments we work with,” Elena Bulatova says, but adds that this Madison Club home is designed to have an especially active art component, with several custom paintings and sculptures carefully curated by Elena Bulatova Fine Art. At a time of near-constant residential development in some of America’s most prestigious communities, new projects must go above and beyond to stand out from the pack. Luxury buyers are drawn to the total package, to which art is now seen as integral. This honed focus on art has proven successful - the houses with curated art sell fast. Today’s clients want to invest in homes that have been thoughtfully executed, and an attention to artistic detail is seen as a indicator of a quality development. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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McClure lives the lifestyle he leverages. For the last 20 years, he’s been a resident of Madison Club, whose membership is a who’s who of the business, professional sports and entertainment worlds. On any given day you may see John Elway, Tom Brady or Sylvester Stallone whizzing by on a golf cart. The O’Briens themselves own O’Brien Auto Group, a successful West Coast automobile dealership group operating in Washington and Oregon. “This is the second, third or fourth house for many of these people,” McClure points out. “Their membership is very exclusive, 180 members. It’s more of a sanctuary actually than a private club.” The O’Briens like their Madison Club home so much that they are now building at two other Discovery properties, Chileno Bay in Cabo San Lucas and The Summit in Las Vegas. 1

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“Our passion is our family and golf,” Billie Jo says. “We love everything about the house and it fits our family so well.” More than simply turning a profit, Mark McClure offers his clients the luxury and quality they expect as well as what they truly seek—a serene escape in a space with gorgeous gathering places that nevertheless assures comfortable separation and premium privacy. “Of all the things I have done creatively, this is the most satisfying,” McClure declares. “You start with a blank piece of paper and a piece of dirt and generate a really well-done house that evokes a kind of emotion.” For more infomration visit madisonclubca.com

Above: Selene, 48 “ x 60“ by Elena Bulatova. Bulatova’s Selene appears this fall in the new ABC TV Show Blood & Oil.The series follows a young couple who move to Rock Springs, North Dakota, after the biggest oil discovery in American history. The title, Selene refers to Titans in Greek mythology featuring the goddess of the moon. Elena Bulatova is an artist based in Palm Springs, Ca known for her colorful vibrant abstract paintings. www.elenabulatova.com


Chuck Caplinger, Summer Rainshower, Oil A Ron T P ACanval TRONMAGAZINE.COM

2018

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MORONGO VALLEY. YUCCA VALLEY. JOSHUA TREE. TWENTYNINE PALMS.

PIONEERTOWN. LANDERS. WONDER VALLEY.

Joshua Tree Gateway Arts & Culture


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

6 10 12 14 18 20 22 page 28 page

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A NEW BOHEMIA: Putting the Morongo Basin on the Artistic Map

page

Cultural Hotspots: JOSHUA TREE art tour

page

Galleries & Museums

page

Music Venues

page

Hi-Desert Cultural Center: Greater Joshua Tree’s Center of Arts & Culture

page

Theatre 29: from 1999 to 2017

page

Eat/Shop/Play Calendar

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JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Sponsors

PLATINUM

GOLD

Delos Van Earl The “TEKA” Series www.DelosVanEarlStudios.com

SILVER

Hwy 62 Open Studios Art Tour

October 13th, 14th, 20th & 21st Artist #15 on the tour 55666-A Yucca Trail, Yucca Valley, CA 92284 760-333-2271 | www.delosvanearlstudios.com | delosvanearl@aol.com

FRIENDS OF THE ARTS

Desert Art Studio

Chuck Caplinger, Oils on Canvas www.desertartstudio.com chuck@desertartstudio.com 760.221.7703

Ed Keesling Clayworks Ed Keesling, Artist Potter www.edsclayworks.com ededkeesling@aol.com 760.365.8193

Hawk’s Landing Golf Club 55100 Martinez Trail www.hawkslandinggolf.com, 760.365.0033 Integratron

Sound baths, rentals, events www.integratron.conm integratron@gmail.com 760.364.3126

Janis R Commentz

Acrylics - Oils www.janiscommentz.com janis@janiscommentz.com 760.365.4955

Jennifer Kane

Artist, Arts Advocate www.jennykaneart.com jk@jennykaneart.com 310.749.8948

Desert Rust Designs

Karan Murphy Multi-Media/Assemblage www.desertrustdesigns.com karanmurphy@yahoo.com 714.745.8905

Pappy & Harriet’s

Pioneertown Palace 53688 Pioneertown Rd www.pappyandharriets.com 760.365.5956 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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JT ARTS & CULTURE

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Morongo Basin Art History

A NEW BOHEMIA Putting the Morongo Basin on the Artistic Map

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TOP: Charleton Adobe where 29 Palms Art Gallery first opened in 1956. BOTTOM: John Hilton and horse Duke at stable used as an art gallery, (Flying W Ranch), 29 Palms, March 1952. Courtesy 29P Historical Society. 56

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y the middle of the last century, artists had begun to discover the inspiring landscape of the Morongo Basin and what is now Joshua Tree National Park. It was the oldest organization of its kind in the area—the Twentynine Palms Artists’ Guild—that pulled the efforts of those pioneers together in 1951 and 1952. One of its earliest members, and its first president as well, was desert landscape painter John Hilton. Other founding members were Merritt Boyer, Evelyn Hutchinson, Michael Malloy, Kirk Martin, Vera Martin, Edna Onderdonk and Fritiof Perssons. At first the Guild artists displayed their work in a variety of locations, from the Bob Lear Building on the highway in downtown Twentynine Palms to Hilton’s Flying W Stables at Campbell Ranch. In 1956, Guild members leased the Charlton Adobe next to 29 Palms Inn and opened the first 29 Palms Art Gallery, where they hosted regular art shows, receptions, and artist demonstrations for several years. The Guild obtained its permanent home in 1963, when the board purchased a nearby adobe at the Oasis of Mara, once the home of Western novelist Tom Hopkins, and transformed it into the new 29 Palms Art Gallery. The gallery opened its


doors that fall for the 1963-64 exhibition season and began hosting monthly art shows, receptions, artist paint-outs, workshops and other events. During the 1960s, the Guild’s new gallery became a prominent artistic and social venue for residents, local and visiting artists, and celebrities, who attended its various functions. Among the last category were actor James Cagney, LA Times columnist Ed Ainsworth and humorist Will Rogers Jr. Exhibiting artists of the era ranged from locals Verne Gillespie and Jean Crowl to Phyllis Skelton (wife of Red Skelton), watercolorist Robert E. Wood, cowboy artist Bill Bender, and master portrait painter Leslie B. DeMille (a relative of movie producer Cecil B. DeMille). These visiting artists often taught workshops at the gallery as well. The Guild’s success inspired the birth of other art groups, events and venues throughout the Morongo Basin. Famous wildflower artist Henry Mockel and his wife, Beverly, opened Pioneer Art Gallery (later Mockel Art Gallery) in the Plaza in Twentynine Palms in 1961. Sidewalk art shows featuring various desert artists were staged outside Helen Bagley’s Shop next to Bagley Market in the Plaza in the early 1960s. On the far west end of the valley, the Morongo Valley Art Colony began in 1964 with a group of artists exhibiting under trees, on sidewalks and in little shops until they secured a gallery home in the Covington Park Community Service Building in 1966. Later that decade, a group called the Artists of the Hi-Desert Playhouse Guild donated funds from the sales of their work to support the burgeoning theater performances in Joshua Tree. (The artists regrouped in 1976 as the Chaparral Artists). New annual art events were created, and an ongoing Twentynine Palms Artists’ Workshop offering exhibits and classes by members of the Twentynine Palms Artists’ Guild was established in the 1970s in the Plaza. Visiting an artist’s studio was a rare experience for most people in those days, so the Guild arranged with a handful of individuals to welcome

TOP LEFT: John Hilton, Superstition Spring TOP RIGHT: James Cagney sketching John Hilton. ABOVE: Henry R Mockel, Campanulate Phacelia BELOW: Merritt Boyer, Last Supper

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the public into their workplaces once a year. The first such event took place on April 7, 1968, with five artists participating. Among them were Nell Haverman, who displayed her oil paintings and her arts and crafts projects. Eclectic artist and antiques collector Jean Crowl opened her Pill Hill studio behind Doc Crowl’s animal hospital on what’s now known as Canyon Road. (The “Pill Hill Population 2” sign still stands today!) William Peterson coordinated the “Westward Ho” theme at the gallery where the tour began and demonstrated his desert landscape painting techniques for the attendees. Other participants included Verne Gillespie and Madlyne Murray-Seales. Four artists took part in the 1970 tour, with Gil and Dorothy Maxwell joining Gillespie and Murray-Seales. The Maxwells brought in Native American treasures and artworks from New Mexico, while Gillespie and Murray-Seales exhibited a large number of oil paintings. With the first wave of gas shortages in 1975, the 8th annual Palm Sunday Studio Tour (as the event had become known) took place at the 29 Palms Art Gallery. That year fifteen artists set up displays and demonstrations. The next 4 years followed a similar format, with up to 20 artists presenting their work. But the last Palm Sunday Studio Tour took place in 1980. Now fast forward 21 years to 2001 and to what’s now been reincarnated as the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tour, with mixed media artist Lucia Grossberger-Morales arranging with 24 fellow artists to open their homes and studios to visitors. Local artist Chuck Caplinger, who had spearheaded the successful 2000 Global Mural Conference in Twentynine Palms, was heralding the benefits of art and tourism in the basin at the same time, but he felt something was missing. One afternoon he received a call from musician and producer Michael Callan, who suggested that what the basin needed was an arts organization that included all artistic forms and disciplines—

Audrey Gillick, Century Plant

Jean Crowl, West from Lost Horse

two- and three-dimensional art, music, theater and dance. The two invited Audrey and Owen Gillick, Spelman Evans-Downer and Vickie Waite to join them at their first meeting, where they agreed to start a nonprofit called the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council. They were soon joined by Kit Brooks, Cathy Svehla and Linda Shrader, and in 2002 they received their nonprofit status and began planning a basin-wide arts festival. This was a 10-day event during which the studio tours would take place on the weekends, with theater, dance and musical performances rounding out the week. More than 40 artists signed up for the tour portion of the festival, and Huell Howser hosted the opening night gala at his home in Twentynine Palms. By 2005 the event was drawing some 70 artists. The gorgeous Morongo Basin had been dubbed the New Bohemia, and the area saw artists of all disciplines migrating to the spot to settle permanently and establish studios. Some 90 artists took part in 2011, and in 2014 visitors had to choose among 140 artists in 90 studios. This year there are more than 150 participants in the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tour, with locations in Morongo Valley, Wonder Valley and all points in between. By now the entire Morongo Basin, including Pioneertown, Landers and Flamingo Heights, has become an artists’ playground. As you’re visiting the studios, keep in mind that many of the participants are open to creating something special just for you. If you find artists whose work makes you smile or inspires you, consider commissioning them to create a unique piece for you or as a gift for Kirk Martin, Adios, Block Print someone you care for. And above all, enjoy your experience!

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EXPERIENCE ART Joshua Tree National Park ART EXPOSITION annually in September

NIGHT SKY FESTIVAL

annually in November

ARTISTS’ TEA Sundays in spring & fall

29 Palms Art Gallery showcases featured artists and artist guild members in monthly exhibitions at its historic adobe located at the Oasis of Mara in Twentynine Palms. An annual event in September, the Gallery is home to the JTNP Art Exposition, a juried exhibition of international artworks that are of or inspired by Joshua Tree National Park. These non-profit arts organizations offer a variety of special art events, art classes, and artist and art patron gatherings. For more on these organizations, visit www.jtnparts.org and www.29palmsartgallery.com.

details at: www.JTNParts.org

ARTISTS’ GUILD | GALLERY | GIFT SHOP | ART CLASSES PRESENTING THE BEST OF THE HI-DESERT FOR OVER 65 YEARS 74055 Cottonwood Drive | Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 | 760.367.7819 29artgallery@gmail.com | www.29palmsartgallery.com

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Cultural Hotspots

JOSHUA TREE art tour (part one: reimagined homestead cabins) written by Bernard Leibov photographed by Andrew Barber

The evocative Krblin Jihn Kabin was the first historic site in the vast Kcymaerxthaere project created by “geographer at large” Eames Demetrios. The grandson of famed designers Ray and Charles Eames, Demetrios has imagined a multiplicity of parallel universes containing individual histories in differing time schemas. Kcymaerxthaere documents those places and moments in space-time in which the alternate universes and our linear, time-based reality intersect. In this alternate telling, the Kabin was essentially a POW cell at a time when two factions of a fundamentalist religion went to war over the true locations of sacred sites. Prisoners of the winning tribe were banished to such structures and overseen by “homestedlers.” The language used throughout reflects the OTGON (One True God’s Only Nation) belief that the letters “c” and “o” were obscene and therefore not to be used. The story of the Kabin seemed more otherworldly when I first encountered it in 2005 than it does in the current sociopolitical climate. The Kcymaerxthaere site was unveiled in October 2004 as one of the High Desert Test sites (look for Andrea Zittel’s Planar Pavilions in the January/February issue of Art Patron Magazine). The grounds contain a variety of interesting material, including the entire history of the site in “linear” English and the gospel of Matthew in “Jihn Wranglikan.” Demetrios’s project is reminiscent of Martin Kippenberger’s vast underground network with its two aboveground portals, one on the Greek island of Syros and one in Dawson City, Canada. Both projects encourage us to widen our perspective and to consider new possibilities beyond our limited, everyday world of perceptions—activities well worth the effort! www.kcymaerxthaere.com DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 62 to Sunburst Avenue, turn north on Sunburst, turn right onto Crestview and follow it to the end of the paved road. Then turn right again onto the dirt road and you will see the Kabin about 100 feet away on the left. 60

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Jetsonorama is the street art nom de plume

of artist Chip Thomas, who is based in the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley. His work is inspired by JR, the Frenchman whose large-scale public photographic interventions have been recognized by a TED Prize. Thomas’s work can be seen throughout the Monument Valley area as a series of portraits of Navajo activists and their families pasted on the sides of abandoned buildings, water towers and other structures. He has also been commissioned to make works throughout the rest of the country. Through Diane Best, a wonderful artist dedicated to the land, I met Chip at his home some years ago and invited him to be part of the Joshua Treenial, a weekend of installations and performances that I produce intermittently with my collaborator KJ Baysa. The 2015 edition of the Treenial was titled Event Horizon and considered the speed at which we are moving toward a potential environmental black hole. Thomas came to the area to research the pressing issues that we are facing and to find a location. Through Best, local artisanal builder Blake Simpson offered an abandoned homesteader cabin and the stage was set. Thomas decided to focus on two environmental issues: the possible demise of the local Joshua tree population due to climate change, and the increasingly urgent toxic disaster unfolding at the Salton Sea. He photographed both phenomena extensively and then produced large scale images of the trees in the National Park and the skeletons of tilapia to be found all along the shores of the Salton Sea. Thomas returned in April 2015 to install the works by pasting them on the front and back of the remaining wall of the cabin and covering them with an acrylic medium. The image of the trees is seared white and somewhat blurred, presumably a reference to the predicted migration of Joshua trees from the local area to higher elevations to escape the heat effect of climate change. In contrast, the white tilapia skeletons lie very still against the darkened shore, possible harbingers of the deadly toxic cloud that may be released as the waters continue to recede. Chip Thomas brings it all together in a manifesto writ large above the view on the open side of the cabin. www.jetsonorama.net DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 62 to Sunburst Avenue, drive north on Sunburst to Golden, turn right on Golden, and then left on Border. Follow Border to Aberdeen, then turn left back to Sunburst and you’ll see the cabin on the corner. Note that you’ll need to go a short distance on a dirt road and that the cabin is on private property.

Want to see the complete 9 site tour with an interactive map? Visit artpatronmagazine.com NOTE: Rural destinations in Joshua Tree involve poorly marked dirt and sand roads with limited services. If you are not comfortable with these conditions we recommend taking a guided tour.

Bernard Leibov is Founder/Director of BoxoPROJECTS, a residency and programming initiative in Joshua Tree, and co-founder of the Joshua Treenial, a weekend of installations, performance and communitybuilding that celebrates the area. Bernard also gives guided tours of the local cultural highlights through Joshua Tree Cultural Expeditions (jtculturalexpeditions.com). Prior to coming to Joshua Tree in 2011, he was Deputy Director of the Judd Foundation and exhibited artists from Joshua Tree in New York City. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Galleries & Museums

Clockwise from upper left: Elisabeth Pollnow, Sis; Laurel Goddard Thomas, Portrait of a Martini; Frederick Fulmer, Agave Landscape; Gallery 62 Opening Reception; Karan Murphy, Beijing Orange; Glass Outhouse At Gallery; Esther Shaw, Smoke Tree in Bloom; 29 Palms Art Gallery, Clay Folk Show Opposite page: Chuck Caplinger, Rock Art Lizard 62

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Galleries & Museums 29 Palms Art Gallery

www.29palmsartgallery.com 760.367.7819

29 Palms Creative Center www.29palmsart.com

Art Colony of Morongo Valley

www.facebook.com/MorongoValleyArtColony

Art Queen Gallery www.sharielf.com

Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum www.facebook.com/BeautyBubble SalonAndMuseum

Chapparal Artists

www.chaparralartists.com

Curate Joshua Tree

www.curatejoshuatree.com

Furstwurld

www.facebook.com/pages/Furstworld/489200284472412

Gallery 62

www.gallery62.org

Glass Outhouse Gallery

www.facebook.com/The-Glass-Outhouse-ArtGallery-317055216531

Simi Dabah Sculptures

Hi Desert Nature Museum

www.simidabahsculptures.com

HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours

www.facebook.com/Taylorjunction

www. hidesertnaturemuseum.org www.hwy62arttours.org

Joshua Tree Art Gallery (JTAG) www.joshuatreeartgallery.com

Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum www.noahpurifoy.com

Old Schoolhouse Museum www.29palmshistorical.com

Taylor Junction

The Purple Agave Art Gallery at the Cactus Mart www.cactusmart.com

World Famous Crochet Museum www.sharielf.com/museum

Yucca Valley Visual & Performing Arts www.yvarts.org

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Music

W

hether you come for the live music, to seek UFOs like Keith Richards, to pay homage at Cap Rock, the granite outcrop where Gram Parsons was cremated, or to follow in the footsteps of Jim Morrison, Donovan, John Lennon and other musicians looking to escape from LA, Joshua Tree is a part of California’s musical heritage and future. Here we have gathered famous and not so famous musical outlets for you to explore.

JOSHUA TREE Beatnik Lounge

www.facebook.com/BeatnikLounge

Harrison House Music and Arts www.louharrisonhouse.org

Hi-Desert Cultural Center www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Joshua Tree Saloon

www.joshuatreesaloon.com

Joshua Tree Retreat Center www.jtrcc.org

Joshua Tree Music Festival www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

Furst World

www.facebook.com/pages/Bobby-FurstWurld/361419373998941

Space Cowboy Books

spacecowboybooks.blogspot.com

Bhakti Festival

www.bhaktifest.com

Pantasia- handpan gathering www.paniverse.org 64

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Music, cont’d

LANDERS

Landers Brew Co www.lbrewco.com

MORONGO VALLEY Willie Boy’s

www.willieboysbbq.com

PIONEERTOWN Pappy & Harriet’s

www.pappyandharriets.com

TWENTYNINE PALMS Tortoise Rock Casino

www.tortoiserockcasino.com

Palms Restaurant

www.facebook.com/PalmsRestarant-109407105764539

Bistro Twentynine

www.bistro29palms.com

YUCCA VALLEY Frontier Café

www.cafefrontier.com

Gadi’s Bar & Grill

www.gadisbarandgrill.com

Kokopelli’s Kantina

www.facebook.com/santarosamg

RECORDING STUDIOS & PRODUCTION COMPANIES Rancho De La Luna

www.ranchodelaluna.com

Sunburst Presents

www.facebook.com/pg/Sunburstpresents/ posts 66

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Art & Cultural Center

Hi-Desert Cultural Center Greater Joshua Tree’s Center of Arts & Culture WRITTEN BY JARROD RADNICH PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANNE SHOLTZ

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When an area garners international attention for being a Mecca and new Bohemia for the arts, one has to wonder how a spot of land out in the middle of the Mojave Desert would come to be known as a beacon and ever-alluring source of inspiration for great creative minds—from U2, The Rolling Stones, and Gram Parsons, to Frank Lloyd Wright and Noah Purifoy. Surrounded by the awesome and dramatic landscape of monolithic rock formations adorned with nonpareil Joshua Trees and the oldest plant life in existence, producers, directors, musicians, actors, and artists from Los Angeles and elsewhere began moving in the mid twentieth century to the greater Joshua Tree area to escape the city lifestyle and redirect their creative energies. It is from these individuals that the Hi-Desert Cultural Center, the area’s regional visual and performing arts organization, was born. The vision to create a central organization who’s purpose is to coordinate, foster, educate, and provide opportunities and venues for the creation and expression of all art forms was no small feat unto itself over fifty years ago; but to this day, that initial vision has manifest into building an organization that has not only served as the cornerstone for the arts in its local communities, but has an even further reach by helping pioneer and innovate entire industries. From its reputation of creating some of the most immersive and topawarded live theatrical experiences through incorporation of live cinematic surround sound, state-of-the-art lighting effects, and full wall video projection—to pioneering new music technologies such as performing and broadcasting the world’s first live intercontinental remote piano concert to a sold out Strathmore Hall in Maryland—to being featured by National Geographic for its leading edge music and wellness programs—to creating the region’s largest and most state-of-the-art flagship art gallery that incorporates new and advanced full spectrum light tuning—the Hi-Desert Cultural Center is a creative and leading force that, with its dedicated staff and volunteers, believes that there is still much to innovate in the art world. The Hi-Desert Cultural Center features over 30,000 square feet of stateof-the-art arts creation, education, exhibition, and performance venues. Its


iconic main facilities in Joshua Tree feature a 340-seat bi-level theater—currently undergoing substantial renovations and reopening soon, and a performance hall that houses a 200+ seat Blak Box Theater with multiple studio and classroom spaces. Its new Yucca Valley Visual & Performing Arts Center features the most expansive arts exhibition space in the greater Joshua Tree area, including large dedicated studios for dance arts, broadcast arts, visual arts, wood and metal arts, fabric arts for fashion and costume design, a large wardrobe and commercial laundry, culinary arts, and more. The Cultural Center also owns and facilitates the operation of a dedicated residence that is the Charles J. Evered House Artist Residency for Veterans. The Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s programs enable professional, amateur, and student artists of every level and type the opportunity to get involved. It is the largest arts employer in the region, with over 30 full and part time positions that implement its many and varied programs. The Center’s programs include its Hi-Desert Playhouse theater division, a top-awarded producer of some the best live theater in the Southern California desert region; its 60-member Joshua Tree Philharmonic symphony orchestra and 50-member Hi-Desert Master Chorus that perform jazz, world, classical, and popular music; its visual arts division featuring the new Yucca Valley Art Gallery’s exhibitions that have set a new benchmark for the region and the curation of Art In Public Places that includes the Hi-Desert Medical Center galleries; and its acclaimed Arts|Tech Academy program recognized for its artistic excellence by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center also produces spoken word and literary arts events, concerts, special musical performance programs and festivals, including the Joshua Tree International Improv/Comedy Festival. Through its VisitJT.org website it provides resources to all of the community and area arts organizations. The site features a regional online arts, cultural, and events calendar, the most complete and non-discriminatory local news, and many arts resources including information on venues, non-profit organizations, businesses, artists and more. A GuideStar Gold Status nonprofit organization, the Hi-Desert Cultural Center is not a government entity and is predominantly funded through its programs and private contributions. For more information on the Hi-Desert Cultural Center, visit hidesertculturalcenter.org, send an email to info@hidesertculturalcenter.org, or call 760.366.3777. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Theaters

Theatre 29 from 1999 to 2017

“All the World is a stage” ~ WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

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In 1999, concerned that Twentynine Palms area youth were not being exposed to the live arts, a group of citizens began putting on plays using School District facilities. The goal was not to train performers, but to train audiences, to provide young people with a lifelong appreciation for the theatre arts. In 2000 they formalized “Theatre 29” as an arts organization. The City of Twentynine Palms invited them to share a building at 73637 Sullivan Road with the 29 Palms Youth Club, a short time later the Youth Club moved to Luckie Park. Theatre 29 became a program of 29 Palms Park and Recreation, with the City providing the building and the volunteer board running the theatre arts program. Volunteers did major renovations and improvements to the building; stage, light and sound booth, three restrooms, green room, carpeting, curtains, new risers and floor seating for an audience of 91, and an extension of the backstage area, all by volunteers supported by generous donors and patrons. In 2003, still part of the city, Theatre 29 received an $80,000.00 CDBG block grant for landscaping, paving, outside lighting, curbs and


gutters. Shortly after, at their expense, Theatre 29 built a 20 x 30 metal storage/workshop building facility. In December 2005, Theater 29, in need of outside funding, amicably broke from the City, became an independent organization, received a 501(c)3 tax-exempt designation (EIN 55-808217) from the IRS, joined the American Association of Community Theaters, and acquired their own insurance policies. In 2006 Theatre 29 was awarded an $80,000.00 CDBG block grant for air conditioning and heating. Theatre 29 entered a ten-year lease, $1.00 a year, for the building provided “for the public good” by the City. Theatre 29 pays support costs such as utilities, phone, trash, minor maintenance, etc. The City pays for major building repairs unrelated to play production. Theatre 29 then partnered with the City for a 30x40 metal storage building with the City providing $15,000.00 and Theatre 29 providing $15,000.00 in engineering, concrete, and labor. In 2017, after having a large percentage of military kids and families involved in our productions, The Officers Spouse’s Club aboard the Twentynine palms marine Base invited us to apply for their community grant program. They gave us enough to pay for half of desperately needed carpet for the Theater, U.S. Bank, hearing

of the need, granted the second half of the funds and the new carpet-tiles were installed in July. In the 19 years Theatre 29 has operated from the City facility, they have produced 124 productions viewed by about 15,000 patrons, involving some 2,000 volunteers, children, active duty military and dependents, teens, and adults. A big highlight is the Theatre 29 Summer Youth Program which produces children’s productions in an intense 5-week program. Over 60 area children, including many from the nearby Marine base, are involved. A Grant from U.S. Bank and the City of Twentynine Palms enabled the Youth program to offer the program at reduced cost. While arts organizations around the state are struggling, Theatre 29 remains sustainable and successful, garnering artistic accolades for high quality productions. As a member of the Desert Theater League, “DTL”, an organization of 39 Producing Organizations in the Morongo Basin and Coachella Valley, Theatre 29 has won many top awards for Direction, Acting, Music, Chorography, Set Design, technical theater and costuming. Currently an effort is underway, in partnership with the City, to renovate and expand the old theater building to include an area to raise and lower scenery (Fly-Loft) and increase seating capacity.

TheaterS

MOVIE TheaterS

Blak Box Theatre www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theater www.joshuatreetheater.com

Cinema 6 Theater www.cinema6theatre.com

Grove’s Cabin Theater www.grovescabintheatre.org

Theatre 29! www.theatre29.org

Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Theater www.29drive-in.com

Hi-Desert Playhouse www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Youth Theater www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Sunset Cinema www.mccs29palms.com

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Eat/Shop/Play

Eat Frontier Café

The Rib Co.

www.cafefrontier.com

www.theribco.com

2 Guys Pies

Jumbo Rock Cafe

www.2guysspies.com

www.facebook.com/jumborock29

Little Italy Restaurant

Palm Kabob House

www.littleitaly-yvl.com

760.367.2161

Joshua Tree Farmers Market

Kitchen in the Desert

www.joshuatreefarmersmarket.com

760.282.4793

Landers Brew Co.

Country Kitchen

www.lbrewco.com

760.366.8988

Pappy & Harriet’s

Pie for the People

www.pappyandharriets.com

www.pieforthepeople.com

The Palms Restaurant

La Casita

www.facebook.com/Palms-Restarant-109407105764539

www.golacasita.com

Joshua Tree Saloon

www.akisushi.site.mobi

www.joshuatreesaloon.com

Natural Sisters Café

www.naturalsisterscafe.com

La Copine

www.lacopinekitchen.com

Larry & Milt’s Western Cafe 760.369.3000

Kimi Grill

www.facebook.com/kimigrillyv

Joshua Hookah Lounge

www.facebook.com/Joshuahookahlounge

29 Palms Inn

www.29palmsinn.com

Bistro Twentynine

www.bistro29palms.com

Mojave Moon Cafe

www.mojavemooncafe.com

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Aki Sushi

Las Palmas Mexican Cuisine

www.laspalmasmexicancuisine.com

Andreas Charbroiled Burgers 760.367.2008

Joshua Tree Coffee Company www.jtcoffeeco.com

La Casita Nueva

www.golacasita.com

Crossroads Cafe

www.crossroadscafejtree.com

Sam’s Indian Food & Pizza www.samsindianfood.com

Park Rock Cafe

www.jtparkrockcafe.com

Yokozuna

760.820.1932 and many more...


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Eat/Shop/Play

Shop BKB Ceramics

www.bkbceramics.com

Daper Dates & Queer Arts Venue www.facebook.com/Dapper-DatesShop-T-Hammidi-209463522416489

Jen’s Pirate Booty

Joshua Tree Rock Shop

www.joshuatree-rockshop.com

Grateful Desert Apothecary, Herb Shop and Eco Market www.gratefuldesert.com

Nomad Adventures

Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts

Hoof & The Horn

Mojave Sol Gifts and Art

Hoodoo

Sky Village Market Place

Black Luck Vintage

Riccochet Vintage Wears

Rainbow Stew

Coyote Corner

Pioneer Crossing Antiques

Sun Alley Shops

Promised Land

Zannedelions

Funky & Darn Near New

Joshua Tree Coffee Company

29 Palms Art Gallery Gift Shop

www.mojavesol29.com

www.skyvillageswapmeet.com www.ricochetjoshuatree.com www.jtcoyotecorner.com www.sunalleyshops.blogspot.com www.zannedelions.com www.jtcoffeeco.com

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www.joshuatreeoutfitters.com

www.jenspiratebooty.com/pages/joshuatree-store www.joshuatreetheater.com

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Joshua Tree Outfitters

www.nomadventures.com www.hoofandthehorn.com www.shophoodoo.com www.blackluckvintage.com www.rainbowstew4u.com www.pioneercrossingantiques.com www.visitpromisedland.com www.funkydarnnearnew.com

www.29palmsartgallery.com/gift-shop


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Play 29 Palms Historical Society www.29palmshistorical.com 760.367.2366

Joshua Tree National Park www.nps.gov/jotr

Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum

www.facebook.com/Beauty BubbleSalonAndMuseum

Desert Christ Park

www.desertchristpark.org

Integratron

JOSHUA TREE LIVING ARTS

is a lean and soulful non-profit, dedicated to strengthening community through the arts. Operating quietly behind the scenes, JTLA provides foundational professional assistance to artists and organizations, collaborates with colleagues on programming and fundraising, and brings local and traveling artists into our schools and community. The team – comprised of artists, educators, and creative entrepreneurs – is passionately devoted to providing arts opportunities to all members of the Joshua Tree community.This past June, JTLA was selected by a group of local arts leaders to guide the implementation of the Morongo Basin Strategic Plan for Culture and Arts. JTLA will work in partnership with local arts organizations, government agencies, and businesses to achieve the plan’s established goals of expanding cultural equity, building professional capacity for artists, growing arts education, and collaboratively marketing our cultural resources. This plan is a living document – a springboard for the Joshua Tree communities to begin addressing the needs of this growing arts and culture destination. cultureandartsmb.com or joshuatreelivingarts.org RECENT PROJECTS • Last winter JTLA helped raise funds, $7854, for Jenny Q’s collaborative non-fiction book Held Together -- a family love story about a child, two women and an eclectic Joshua Tree community who loved her back to life. www.heldtogetherbook.com • This past spring the group organized Desert Rhythm Project’s album release for Mojave Roots, and teamed them up with young, budding musicians from the Thursday Jam Group who had the opportunity to rehearse with DRP and perform in front of over 250 attendees. www.desertrhythmproject.com • JTLA is also pleased to be providing Furstwurld – a multidisciplinary performance venue – with professional assistance that will help set the stage for this venue to establish non-profit status and ensure that this private space is transferred to the Joshua Tree community as a future resource. www.facebook.com/pages/Furstworld/489200284472412 • Last year JTLA brought artists into schools, matching up our region’s wealth of artistic talent with 188 elementary students at a cost of $3.18/child. This year JTLA will work with Morongo Unified School District administrators, teachers, and local artists to develop an art curriculum, that will be integrated into the K-6 core curriculum at 11 elementary schools. 76

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www.integratron.com

Joshua Tree Retreat Center www.jtrcc.org

Outpost Projects

www.outpostprojects.org

Sky’s The Limit

www.skysthelimit29.org


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JT ARTS & CULTURE

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Calendar

MONTHLY Art Walks Joshua Tree

Second Saturdays

Twentynine Palms Art Cruise 29 First Saturdays

September Bhakti Fest

www.bhaktifest.com

Desert Stars Festival

www.desertstarsfestival.com

Joshua Tree Art Expo

www.jtnparts.org/jtnp-art-exposition

JT Gem Show

www.jtsportsmansclub.com/gem

Pioneer Days

www.29chamber.org

November Night Sky Festival

www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/ night-sky-festival

Joshua Tree Half Marathon

www.facebook.com/joshuatreehalf

The Weed Show

Joshua Tree Music Festival

Chalkfest

Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours

www.hwy62arttours.org

Desert Daze

www.desertdaze.org

Gubler’s Orchid Festival

www.gublers.com/orchidfestival

Babe’s Ride Out

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www.friendsofjosh.org/tag/climbsmart

October www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

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Climb Smart

www.29palmshistorical.com www.29chamber.org

Gourd Art Festival www.yuccavalley.org

March Bequinox

www.bequinox.com

JT Gem Show

www.jtsportsmansclub.com/gem


Car Show and Street Fair www.29chamber.org

April

Featured artwork: Gordon Huether

Sat Nam Fest

www.satnamfest.com/west

Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival www.joshuatree.org

29 Palms Grand Prix www.big6racing.com

May Joshua Tree Music Festival www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

Shakti Fest

www.bhaktifest.com/shaktifest/

June Contact in the Desert

www.contactinthedesert.com

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

www.HiDesertNatureMuseum.org

August Timelapse Film Festival

www.timelapsefilmfestival.com

Imagine an art gallery whose doors are always open!

Free Public Art Tours

Join us for free guided tours of our public artwork. Our one hour tours occur on select Saturdays as part of Palm Desert First Weekend. Prefer a private tour? Book a free tour for any time you like!

Information: 760-346-0611 or visit www.palmdesertart.org A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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2018-2019 Calendar of Events www.PalmSpringsWritersGuild.org


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PALM SPRINGS WRITERS GUILD:

A Brief History Ginger Rogers being inducted as honorary Guild member

Cobbling together the 40-plusyear history of the Palm Springs Writers Guild reveals information as vast, diverse and colorful as its Sonoran Desertbased home. Its rich and vivid heritage showcases a range of human behaviors and emotions: mystery, deception, corruption, dedication and kindness. These are interwoven to explain the intriguing mosaic of protagonists and antagonists involved, much like we find in the variety of works published by Guild members. One constant is the dedication of the volunteers who have helped with the presentations, workshops and “boot camps” aimed at improving our writing skills. Early membership in the Guild was limited to 24 individuals; today, membership has grown to over 200 members, but not all has been rosy. The group was unincorporated when founded in 1977, and its early years were informal and relaxed, with two membership categories: published and nonpublished. Nonpublished members were accepted only after they had “met criteria.” This small, nomadic group of writers met in Palm Springs and Palm Desert before settling in Rancho Mirage. Its Palm Springs venues included Imperial Savings

(1983, 1985), Pomona First Federal bank building (1985), Temple Isaiah and the Mizell Center (2005). The Palm Desert Library Community Room was also used until the meetings were relocated to the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory. The late Shirley Hammer, a founding member, credited the Guild concept to Rex Nivens, who lived in the desert and was a Los Angeles Times reporter. Another charter member, the late Edna Margolis, also helped organize the new Guild. Kirk Douglas and Harold Robbins, both literary giants in their day, spoke at Guild meetings and became “honorary members.” Other such members included Ginger Rogers, Ray Bradbury, and Mike and Bob Pollock. Assumed to be a nonprofit association in the late 1990s, the informal Guild was found not to be a valid or legal entity in 2001, a situation that resulted in several Board member resignations. It would take another four years until not-for-profit status was discussed, but as in many of the novels being written by members, mystery, intrigue and alleged criminal activity took center stage at the beginning of the 21st century. In June 2000 then-president Hyacinthe Baron announced Guild plans to publish an

by: John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D.

anthology. The Writing Experience 2001 appeared the following year and had 45 contributing authors, filling 328 pages. Shortly thereafter, Baron announce the anthology would be an annual publication, appointed her husband Guild treasurer, and charged a fee for each submission. It soon became apparent the project was “personalized” and was not a Guild activity. When some authors demanded back their money, she refused and was taken to smallclaims court, where she lost. Some members asserted that the Barons “stole” the name and the entity “Palm Springs Writers Guild,” making it their own. When they demanded that the pair leave the Guild, the group’s money disappeared, and it was rumored the Barons fled the Valley in a used car purchased with some of the “appropriated” money. As long-standing member Carol Mann wrote in February 2006, the Guild changed its name to “The Original Palm Springs Writers Guild” to distance itself from the debacle. It was also known as “The Palm Springs Writers Guild of the Coachella Valley.” Oh, by the way, the second anthology was never published. Imagine that! In December 2005 the Guild became a California nonprofit corporation and went on to implement a formal accounting system in 2006. It also built a website and stopped publishing its newsletter, “Guild Gram”, instead directing members to visit its website to learn about its upcoming activities and its community-oriented programs. Among its many projects, the Guild has awarded student scholarships to local high school and college students, receiving news coverage in the Desert Sun from the late Gloria Greer as early as 1986. This unique affiliation with schools continued A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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in 2006 when three members—Kathy Nguyen, Judy Fabris and Mary Barer—spoke to 140 students at Salton City. In 2018, Board member Marly Bergerud coordinated with Rancho Mirage High School’s essay contest, with each grade’s winners attending a meeting of the Guild and receiving monetary prizes and a certificate. At the core of the Guild’s scholastic projects is the Barbara Seranella Scholarship, which is presented annually to students planning to become writers. The award is named in honor of Barbara Seranella, a mechanic, hippie, Guild member and (in later life) best-selling author who died at age 50. Another Guild activity is the Desert Writers Expo. Held in collaboration with the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory, this yearly book-signing event began in 2009 and has been held at the Library for several years. Forty Guild authors assemble their books on decorated tables and eagerly await visitors seeking autographed copies. Motivated people founded the Guild, and its members, volunteers and supporters keep it growing and prospering. A common thread among members is writing, but you shouldn’t believe that their only focus is on writing books and articles. Many are accomplished artists, sculptors, painters, songwriters and scriptwriters. At the core of every not-for-profit organization are volunteers, and the Guild Board members thank every volunteer. This includes our past presidents who have volunteered their time, energy and leadership: Diana Miller-Castells; James McFarlin (3 terms); Mark Anderson; Dolores Carruthers; Judy Weigle; Dawn Huntley Spitz (2 terms); Bill Clark; Grahame Smith; Hyacinthe Baron; Buddy Kaye; Sally Bowman; Sydney Phillips; Vern Murphy; Sylvia Milsted; Stan Reyburn; Jack Titus; Lois Hinkin; Walter Futterman; LaDonna Harrison; and Shirley Hammer.

Today’s Guild is vibrant and energized; its membership is growing and its participation in community events and programs is increasing. I invite you to attend a Guild meeting (it’s free), a specialized writing workshop or a boot camp. Presenters and topics are listed on the Guild’s website at www.palmspringswritersguild.org. Get involved in the Guild’s anthology project, chaired by local College of the Desert writing professor Ruth Nolan. Please consider submitting an entry or making a financial contribution. You will find submission criteria on our website. Cheers,

John

John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D. was appointed president in April 2016 and elected president in June 2016. He has been re-elected twice, most recently in June 2018. He resides in Palm Desert and holds a postdoctoral M.A. in Education from the California State University at San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus. Special thanks to Audrey Moe, Carol Mann, Jenny Gumpertz, James McFarlin, Bill Clark, Mark Anderson, Diana Miller-Castells and the late John Carrigan for sharing archival information and oral history.

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Palm Springs Writers Guild

photo by Nora D. Magnuson

by: Marly Bergerud PSWG Board Member The Palm Springs Writers Guild know that for high school students, there are some unique skills that are harder than others to capture on college applications. Students who excel at sports will often have a long list of tangible achievements. Students who produce fine arts or participate in student leadership programs will easily find ways to highlight their participation in these extracurriculars. But writers will often have a harder time drawing attention to the skills, time, and energy that they have put into perfecting the craft of writing. For over 40 years, the Palm Springs Writers Guild has helped Coachella Valley residents improve their writing skills and learn how to publish their work. In keeping with the Guild’s mission to develop local talent and create a community of writers within the Valley, I attended the Rancho Mirage High School grade-level awards assemblies where the school’s student essay finalists and winners were honored. Rancho Mirage teachers have found a perfect way for outstanding student writers to be heard and recognized. For the third consecutive year, the school held a contest that involved the entire student body (approximately 1568 students) writing essays. This year’s theme was “This I Believe,” with the contest being conducted by English 88

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2018 Overall Winner Willow Manes 2018 First Place Winning Essays 9th Grade: Willow Manes 10th Grade: Isaac Varela 11th Grade: Muriel Rodriguez 12th Grade: Asusena Munoz 2018 Second Place Winning Essays 9th Grade: Hailey Mathews 10th Grade: Qinglin Tian 11th Grade: Tierney Thornhill 12th Grade: Maya Tramel 2018 Third Place Winning Essays 9th Grade: Wilson Pinkstaff 10th Grade: Venice Gonzalez 11th Grade: Zane Huskey 12th Grade: Brandon Meyers

NEW PSWG STUDENT MEMBERSHIP At each of the Rancho Mirage High School four assemblies honoring the essay contest winners Ms. Hinchliffe-Lopez announced that in September 2018 the Palm Springs Writers Guild will be providing an annual reduced Student Membership for $25, visit: palmspringswritersguild.org/Membership_Application

Photo by João Silas on Unsplash

Awards Students

Department Chairwoman Robin HinchliffeLopez and English teachers Athena O’Grady and Natascha Behrens. “Our students receive awards for their strength, developing understanding and courage,” Hinchliffe-Lopez explains. “We hope to empower the entirety of our community through this event.” Many of the students told her that the contest is their favorite writing activity of the school year and that they always look forward to it. The students’ essays were given to their English teachers, who then chose each grade level finalist. The Literary Society of the Desert provided two judges—Donna Martin and Cheryl Duryea—who reviewed the finalists’ work and selected four gradelevel winners and an overall winner. I found myself extremely impressed with the students’ excitement for their fellow writers as they cheered for each finalist and the winners. Both the Guild and the Society provided monetary awards and Certificates to the winners. Members of the Writers Guild congratulate all the students who participated in the essay contest and thank the Rancho Mirage faculty and staff for their help and encouragement. The Guild also recognized the following students at its May 2018 General Meeting:

PSWG Anthology: Desert Writing by: Judith Magee PSWG Board Member

The PSWG plans to publish an anthology of literary and visual art about the Coachella Valley desert in September 2019. (Go to www.palmspringswriters.org to find out when submissions will open.) This anthology seeks stories and visual pieces about the Coachella Valley, incorporating pieces selected from or written about the region from the Salton Sea to the Mojave Desert transition. Artists who collaborate for the anthology recognize and celebrate the regional consciousness taking shape here. Regionalism art forms recognize that areas of the country have distinct geographical, cultural, and economic differences. This style of writing emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, including specific features of a region such as customs, history, and landscape. In the post-Civil War era, this genre of writing became dominant as national concerns emerged at the forefront of political discourse. Southern writing, for example, considered southern characteristics over national ones by authors like Frederick Douglas, Kate Chopin, and William Simms. New England and the Midwest also produced noted regional writers such as Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, and Henry David Thoreau. What all these writers shared was the infusion of story-telling about unfamiliar customs and peoples of a particular region. That is a primary goal of the anthology project: to raise awareness about the Coachella Valley’s burgeoning arts community. The landscape’s intersection with the cultures of Latino/a, Native Americans, immigrants, transplants, and locals have a hold on our national imagination, providing rich soil for a colorful cast of characters. The literary and visual works in the anthology are firmly rooted in the desert landscape, but also express universal concerns. The anthology presents the best art of the region, but also transcends it.


Meet the Board tUSCHI WILSON, Executive Vice President, was born

in Salzburg, Austria, and worked in the music industry as a promoter, singer and tour manager in Europe before coming to Los Angeles in 1981. She began a career in entertainment events at a major Hollywood studio in 1992, a position that would span nearly 20 years. Uschi has published 5 books and has written over 80 articles for various publications. Now a full-time artist and author, she also serves on the Palm Springs Artists Council and exhibits her work in various galleries and art shows. tJIM MISKO, Vice President of Programs, is a teacher, journalist, real estate entrepreneur and award-winning author of 10 books. Born and raised in Ord, Nebraska, he graduated from Lewis & Clark College in Portland,OR. He and his family have also raised horses and canoed the waters of rivers and lakes throughout the Northwest. In 1974 Jim and his wife moved to Alaska, where they reside in the summer, but they return to California in the winter.

A weight-loss miracle … a dashing gay architect … a talking cat.

What could possibly go wrong?

Introducing a new series of mystery novels from Michael Craft, featuring architect Brody Norris, who gets a bit of sleuthing help—or so it seems— from a chatty Abyssinian named Mister Puss.

tSTEVEN A. SCHULLO, Ph.D., Treasurer, taught in

the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for 24 years and UCLA Extension, retiring in 2008. Steve and his late husband Dan appeared in “The Retirement Gamble,” an episode on the nationally broadcast PBS investigative program Frontline. He has self-published two personal finance books, Late Bloomer Millionaires and Fighting Powerful Interests, and has written some 6,500 posts in three investment forums since 1997. Steve joined the Guild in 2010 and facilitates a nonfiction critique group. tMARK EDWARD ANDERSON, Vice President

Membership, was born in Peoria, Illinois, and moved to Palm Springs in 2002. He established AquaZebra Web, Book and Print Design in 2007 and quickly began designing communications for authors, retail stores and service companies. Mark joined the Palm Springs Writers Guild in 2009, and as past president during the 20102011 season redesigned the PSWG website and worked with the Board to create a successful Desert Writers Expo. tJUDITH MAGEE, Secretary, serves also on the

program committee. She has taught history, women’s studies and ethnic studies at UCLA, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Antioch University, Los Angeles. Judith published a series of poems in 2013. She is currently working on a memoir about belonging. tMARLY BERGERUD, Vice President Education &

Training, was born and raised in North Dakota. She moved to California in her twenties and now resides in Palm Desert. During a career of 30-plus years in higher education and management, she has written and published 25 computer textbooks. Later she worked in the high-tech industry for several years, building a U.S. education market in the use of visualization and simulation technologies. Today she is a contributor to the magazine Locale and is working on a memoir. tGORDON DAVIS, Vice President Critique Groups,

was born and raised in Ludington, Michigan. He attended the University of Notre Dame and is an alumnus of the Art Center School in LA. During his career, Gordon has designed cars, construction equipment, motorcycle and automobile accessories, and recreational vehicles. Now retired, he occupies his time writing—one of his early passions. Since then he has completed six works of genre fiction and a collection of short stories.

“Crisp, lively prose … an exuberant murder mystery … delightfully offbeat.” — Kirkus Reviews Available now in hardcover, paperback, and e-book from Questover Press.

tLYNN DETURK, Vice President Contests, is a retired

Nurse Practitioner who began writing poetry in 2011. She is a member of the National Academy of Poets, the Writers’ Workshop of Asheville and the Palm Springs Writers Guild. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Lynn resides in La Quinta as well as Tors Cove, Newfoundland.

Rancho Mirage novelist Michael Craft proudly supports the Palm Springs Writers Guild.

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On Becoming A Sagacious Wordsmith By John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D., CTC, CLS Writing is usually a one-way conversation between author and reader. When writers are unclear about their purpose, explanations, or instructions, the reader gets frustrated, asking, “What does that mean?” or takes action: “I quit. These computer software instructions make no sense.” Sometimes readers (you and I) are at fault for not carefully reading the text; other times the cause is the writer who didn’t take care to be clear, concise, or know the subject matter—all key requirements for being a good wordsmith. So, what is a wordsmith? A wordsmith is a person who works with words and is considered to be a skilled user of them. Regardless of the genre (kind) of writing, wordsmiths who have keen insight, good judgement, a sense of practicality and discernment are considered sagacious. Wordsmithing requires dedication to task, subject matter knowledge and a lot of practice. A Thesaurus, a dictionary, and honest and insightful critical reviewers are required companions to help guarantee clarity in these unidirectional conversations. I have been a technical writer and video production scriptwriter for much of my career. First introduced to technical writing as a graduate student at Boston University, I have written lesson plans on a variety of public safety and legal topics, instructional books and manuals, newsletters, and several articles on “how to” procedures and practices. The

adoption of these publications by users across the globe has enabled me to travel and do consulting with governmental agencies in North America, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. I have also traveled extensively as an expert witness specializing in police and correctional practices, Title VII, and disability issues, where the clear expression of opinions and the bases for them are required in a written expert report. Effecting positive social change is an important personal goal. An important wordsmithing highlight came in 2004 when I was given the privilege and honor of writing a video production script on my hometown’s 250th anniversary. The two-hour historical documentary explained the origin of the Village of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, its colorful name and history, and showcased the many dedicated civic and business leaders who helped to “grow” the Village. Located in the heart of Lancaster County Amish country, the impact of these stillpracticing Anabaptists in the community and local areas was also explained. As president of the Palm Springs Writers Guild, please consider joining so you can improve your wordsmithing. Admittedly, writing takes a lot of hard word, dedication to task and subject, and an interest in lifelong learning, so why go it alone. In the end, it is highly rewarding and personally satisfying.

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Member Story

CAROL MANN

Once upon a time as a transplant from Orange County who was interested in fiction writing, I was invited to sample a Palm Springs Writers Guild critique group. I liked what I experienced and immediately joined the organization, reaping its benefits ever since. In my first critique group, I found a mentor, received constructive input, and, after many encouraging words, submitted my work to several literary journals. The result? One of my short stories appear in print for the first time. The benefits of joining the Guild, however, extend beyond my personal scenario. Monthly general meetings and special workshops and classes, some of them at master class level, provide ongoing education. The Guild showcases its authors and their work at its meetings and in special venues, providing networking opportunities. Members with particular skills in writing, design, editing, publishing and marketing offer their professional services. Scholarships are awarded to local students, benefitting the entire community. Serving on the board, on a committee, or as a mentor affords personal growth and a way to give back. The ultimate benefit attracting and holding an individual to a writers’ organization is its people, from their like minds, talent and generous spirits to their ideas, creative stimulation and friendships. As Guild members, all these benefits are ours.

In Memory of John Carrigan PSWG VP Membership A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Calendar of Events

Andrew Kaplan About the Author

Ruth Nolan “The Palm Springs Writing Project”

Join author and College of the Desert (COD) creative writing professor Ruth Nolan, M.F.A., M.A., for productive and enjoyable community-inclusive writing workshop sessions open to the public -- residents and visitors alike-- for all levels of writers (16+) in this relaxed, informal, and productive workshop series. We’ll use prompts from our vibrant local desert culture and landscape as the basis for generating written pieces in various genres. Workshop participants will be encouraged to submit writing (but not required) to submit writing for the forthcoming PSWG anthology.

About the Author

Award-winning author and California desert scholar Ruth Nolan has taught creative writing and literature classes at COD for nearly 20 years, and in the past decade has facilitated many highly-productive, community-inclusive writing workshops throughout Inland Southern California. Her published works include Ruby Mountain (Finishing Line Press); fiction in LA Anthology: Southland Writing by Southland Authors (Red Hen Press) No Place for a Puritan: The Literature of California’s Deserts (editor, Heyday Books): and Fire and Rain: Eco-Poetry of California (co-editor, Scarlet Tanager Books). Her essays and poetry have been widely published.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 9/8/18, 2 - 4 pm The Power of Place Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: SUNDAY 09/09/18, 10 am - 3 pm

The Power of Place: Using Setting to Bring Your Stories/Poems to Life This workshop will be a very dynamic, writing-generative experience filled with tips on how to use the crucial literary element of “setting” to maximum effect in your writing. We’ll study how to make your settings function as literary agents, and even characters, in your writing, by examining short samples of fiction, essays and poetry that utilize “setting” to maximum effect,. Then you’ll dig in to build and write your own settings to life, using prompts provided by the workshop instructor. Come ready to generate lots of writing during this action-packed day! Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs Lunch served at 11:30 am $50 per member and $65 per non-member (includes lunch) 92

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Andrew Kaplan is the author of two bestselling spy thriller book series: “Scorpion” and “Homeland,” including the international bestselling phenomenon, Homeland: Carrie’s Run, a tie-in prequel novel to the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Homeland television series. His last Homeland novel, Homeland: Saul’s Game, won the 2015 Scribe Best Novel of the Year award. A former journalist, war correspondent and consultant, he covered events around the world and served in both the U.S. Army and the Israeli Army during the Six Day War. His books have sold millions of copies and have been translated into 22 languages. In addition to his Homeland and Scorpion novels, each of which has been Number 1 on the Amazon Mystery and Thriller bestseller lists (at one time, 3 of the top 10 Amazon mystery/thrillers were Scorpion books), his standalone novels include the NY Times bestseller and Main Selection of the Book of the Month Club, Dragonfire, which Kirkus Reviews called “Electrifying! Andrew Kaplan at his dazzling best! “Hour of the Assassins,” (“Possibly the best action adventure book ever written!”) and War of the Raven, which Publishers Weekly hailed as “a smashing, sexy and unforgettable read,” and which was cited by the American Library Association as one of the “100 Best Books ever written about World War Two.” Of his Scorpion series, Suspense Magazine declared: “It matches the best work of the late Robert Ludlum and then surpasses it.” In addition to Homeland, his television and screenwriting career includes the James Bond classic, Goldeneye. A fact not widely known is that shortly before Robert Ludlum died, Ludlum and his agent Henry Morrison reached out to Andrew to take over the Bourne series and to initiate the Covert One series. He turned them down.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 10/6/18, 2 - 4 pm How I Ran Away to the French Riviera and Wrote a NY Times Bestseller Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: MONDAY 10/08/18, 10 am - 3 pm

Part 1: Seven Elements That Can Turn Your Book into a New York Times Bestseller Andrew Kaplan breaks down seven key elements, any one of which has the potential of turning a writer’s book into a New York Times blockbuster. Using examples from well-known authors, Andrew breaks down these elements and demonstrates how any one of them can transform your work into the kind of book that sells, the kind of book that reminds you why you became a writer in the first place. Bestseller Part 2: How to Create Instantly Compelling Characters Creating characters that arouse interest in the reader is critical for any type of writing, be it fiction, memoir, or non-fiction. In Part Two of the Workshop, Andrew will show how to create Instantly Compelling Characters; characters who leap off the page, grab a reader and say, “Pay attention to me!” Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs Lunch served at 11:30 am $130 per member and $145 per non-member (includes lunch)


Writer’s Boot Camps Ariella Moon 2018 Boot Camps

Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory, from 2pm to 4pm

The Art of Writing a Series 10/12/18

Elizabeth Sims About the Author

Elizabeth Sims is the author of the Rita Farmer Mysteries, the Lambda and GCLS Goldie Award-winning Lillian Byrd Crime Series, and other fiction, including the standalone novel Crimes in a Second Language, which won the 2017 Florida Book Awards silver medal. Her work has been published by a major press (Macmillan) as well as several smaller houses, and she’s written short works for numerous collections and magazines. She publishes independently under her personal imprint, Spruce Park Press.

Writing a series is a proven way to build an author fan base and boost book sales. In this workshop, writers will learn the importance of mapping a series arc, character arcs vs. series arcs, how to honor reader expectations, and how to compel readers from one book to the next.

Edit for Success Part 1: Micro Edits 11/9/18

You have one chance to impress an editor, agent, or writing contest judge. Ariella Moon helps writers discover their personal writing patterns, strengths, and challenges. “Micro edits” is not a grammar check. It focuses instead on creating more dynamic sentences and paragraphs. Attendees should bring a printed copy of their first chapter or the first ten pages of their manuscript to receive constructive, personalized help in correcting problems areas.

Edit for Success Part 2: Macro Edits 12/7/18

In addition, Elizabeth is an internationally recognized authority on writing. She’s written dozens of feature articles on the craft of writing for Writer’s Digest magazine, where she’s a contributing editor. Her instructional title, You’ve

Prerequisite: Edit for Success Part 1: Micro Edits In this workshop, attendees bring a printed copy of their first chapter or the first ten pages of their manuscript for hands-on help with scene writing. Ariella Moon examines the elements of great scenes, including the use of hooks, conflict, and character goals and motivation. Writers will test their opening scene(s) and discover how to embed theme, engage the reader and propel the story forward.

(esimsauthor.blogspot) has been included in top-100 blog lists.

Ariella Moon 2019 Boot Camps

Got a Book in You: A Stress-Free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams (Writer’s Digest Books) has been specially recognized by NaNoWriMo and hundreds of other web sites and bloggers. Her weekly blog, Zestful Writing

Elizabeth earned degrees in English from Michigan State University and Wayne State University, where she won the Tompkins Award for graduate fiction. She’s worked as a reporter, photographer, technical writer, bookseller, street busker, ranch hand, corporate executive, certified lifeguard, college writing instructor and symphonic percussionist. She is represented by the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Elizabeth belongs to several literary societies as well as American Mensa.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 11/3/18, 2 - 4 pm

Perils and Payoffs: The Risky Business of Researching for Fiction Prizewinning author Elizabeth Sims will give you an insider’s look at techniques that make today’s fiction jump off the page! She’ll share the keys to finding out just about anything, from real people who know what they’re talking about. Also, she’ll discuss how to gain firsthand experience, having tagged along on movie auditions, attended class at Harvard Law School, played music on the street for money, used a firearm, talked with cops, opened and walked through countless scary doors, and much more. Her tales—often hilarious, always truthful—will give you a real taste of how professional writers bring authenticity to their work. Join Elizabeth for this unforgettable talk, with Q & A afterward. Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: SUNDAY 11/04/18, 10 am - 3 pm

Short Story Writing for Publication and Profit The short story is not only the gateway to writing compelling longer fiction, it’s a legitimate and exciting literary form in itself. This workshop, taught by prizewinning author Elizabeth Sims, gets deep into the craft of story construction. Her goal is to help you approach the art and craft of writing short stories as a professional does, with ingenuity and verve. Moreover, you’ll learn how to become a better writer on your own, going forward. Emphasis will be on story craft elements such as structure, character development, dialogue, image and conflict. Together with Elizabeth, you’ll do a bit of analytical reading, then move into techniques to help you create new material freely and without anxiety. You’ll learn foolproof ways to map out a story, and you’ll get some writing done, with an eye to producing publishable work. Elizabeth will briefly discuss the habits of professional writers as well as the business of writing. Join her for this brisk, inspiring workshop! Miramonte Hotel, Indian Wells Lunch served at 11:30 am $85 per member and $100 per non-member (includes lunch)

Create Compelling Characters

(Dates to be determined) In this workshop, writers will discover the art of character arcs, how to create reader empathy, and how your protagonist’s goals, motivation, and conflicts propel the story. Writers will learn various ways to reveal character, and how to use Deep Point of View to create compelling characters.

Transmedia: Storytelling Across Multiple Platforms

(Dates to be determined) With Transmedia, an author creates cross-platform stories, each new, related, and often with interactive content. In this workshop, Ariella Moon helps authors imagine ways they can create a mixed media franchise to expand their author brand, assets and fan base.

John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D., CTC, CLS 2019 Boot Camps Technical Writing (Dates to be determined)

This boot camp will focus on clarity, brevity, and process. In-class writing exercises will be used to demonstrate the writing process and need for clarity.

Video Script Writing (Dates to be determined)

This boot camp will focus on the writing and thought process for video script writing, including legal requirements for close caption.

More boot camps will be scheduled during the season on a need basis.

JOIN NOW!

Become a member of the Palm Springs Writers Guild! We have many exciting programs and speakers lined up for this season. Sign up at www.palmspringswritersguild.org A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Malaga Baldi About the Author

Malaga Baldi has worked as an independent literary agent since 1986. The Baldi Agency is an eclectic agency specializing in literary fiction, memoir and cultural history with over forty clients. Malaga worked as a cashier at Gotham Book Mart, in the Ballantine Books Publicity Department, as an associate at Candida Donadio & Associates and the Elaine Markson Agency before going out on her own. She graduated from Hampshire College and lives in NYC with her spouse, daughter and an aged black standard poodle. Malaga works with large and small houses alike -- from Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Knopf, Harper Collins, Simon Schuster to Skyhorse, Cleis Press, Bellevue Literary Books and the University of Wisconsin Press. Award-winning William J. Mann’s biography of Marlon Brando, The Contendor, is due out in 2019 from Harper Collins. Mann’s Wisecracker and Kate are currently in development for the screen. Mann’s Tinsletown received an Edgar Best Fact Crime Award and is optioned for television. Kia Corthron’s The Castel Cross and The Magnet Carter won the Center for Fiction First Novel Award, Blanche Boyd’s Tomb Of The Unknown was selected as an Amazon best May 2018 novel and Malaga received the Publishing Triangle Leadership Award earlier this spring.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 12/1/18, 2 - 4 pm What is Voice? Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: SUNDAY 12/02/18, 10 am - 3 pm No More Tears! Query Letter Writing Who reads the query letter? What goes into a query letter? When do you write a query letter? How do you write a query letter? Why is it so important?

This workshop is a nuts & bolts informal and general discussion covering many publishing topics. Participants are asked to bring in their blind query letters, omitting their names, addresses, and anything that might compromise their identity..... I will mix participant’s queries with some of my examples and ask volunteers

to read letters aloud. We’ll review and critique each one, and after participants share their thoughts and opinions, I will offer helpful criticism and pointers on how each letter could be improved. The goal is to improve each query, so a future agent will want to read/review & consider the entire manuscript. . . Every agency has its own guidelines, and you should always read them carefully. Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs Lunch served at 11:30 am $85 per member and $100 per non-member (includes lunch) 94

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Lynn Price About the Author

Since 2003, Behler Publications (http://behlerpublications.com/ ) has been publishing best selling and critically acclaimed memoir/nonfiction about everyday people who end up doing extraordinary things due to a pivotal event that alters their perspective about life. Acquisitions Director Lynn Price looks for books where readers say, “I’m a better/more thoughtful/smarter person for having read this book.” Behler bestsellers include Jan’s Story, by CBS journalist Barry Petersen; Finding Dad, by Emmy Awarding winning and Better Connecticut TV host Kara Sundlun; Fancy Feet, by Heidi Cave; and IPPY Gold Medal winner

The Chicken Who Saved Us: The Remarkable Story of Andrew and Frightful, by Kristin Adams. Lynn employs two unreliable rescue beagles to

serve as her secretaries.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 1/5/19, 2 - 4 pm “I’ve Written The End – Pass Me the Maalox” Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: MONDAY 1/07/19, 10 am - 3 pm

Publishing Options - Making the Right Decision The workshop will provide information on the different publishing options available to writers--commercial trade press versus self-publication--and what each can and can’t do for authors. She will also cover questions that every writer should ask a publisher and themselves before deciding on a publishing option. By attending the seminar, writers will understand the myths and realities of all publishing options, understand how to capture the marketplace, and understand the business/financial aspect of self-publishing. Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs Lunch served at 11:30 am $85 per member and $100 per non-member (includes lunch)


Let Ruthie take you on an adventure in learning!

Gary Fisketjon About the Author

Gary Fisketjon is widely known in the literary world both for his hand in revolutionizing the modern book publishing industry in the US and for his reputation as a meticulous and comprehensive editor. After graduating from Williams College with a BA in history and literature, he entered the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University and went on to join Random House Publishing in the late 1970s. As a young editor with many contacts among emerging writers, Fisketjon saw that the literary market lacked a proper format in which they could be published, and in 1984 he founded Vintage Contemporaries, “a line of high-quality trade paperbacks” that created a new forum with much better distribution through independent booksellers. Its immediate success transformed how contemporary fiction was published in the country. It also helped authors including Jay McInerney and Richard Russo to become well-known with their first books, and brought new readers to established but underappreciated writers such as Raymond Carver and Richard Ford. Gary joined the Atlantic Monthly Press as editorial director in 1986 but returned to Random House in 1990, where he settled at Knopf. As Knopf’s vice president and editor-at-large, he has worked with a number of acclaimed writers, including Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Kent Haruf, Patricia Highsmith, Tobias Wolff, Julian Barnes, Cormac McCarthy and Haruki Murakami, while also picking out and fostering new talent. Since 1986, he has also become one of the few regular American editorial presences at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

READING IS FUN FOR EVERYONE ruthiedarling8@aol.com • www.ruthiedarling.com

Gary divides his time between New York and Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 2/9/19, 2 - 4 pm Topic to be announced

WORKSHOP: SUNDAY 2/10/19, 10 am - 3 pm

Topic to be announced Miramonte Hotel, Indian Wells Lunch served at 11:30 am $130 per member and $155 per non-member (includes lunch) A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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ULRIKE Artist and Author ULRIKE is fulfilling her lifelong dream of being a fulltime artist. She moved to Palm Springs in 2015 where she pursues a career in acrylic painting and exhibits regularly in Galleries and Art Shows in the Coachella Valley and beyond. “Writing Inspirational Books and teaching Metaphysics, has helped me keep balance in my life” says ULRIKE, who still teaches a Life Style class and promotes a healthy and happy life. “But painting brought my life experience to an even more blissful level, being creative soothes the soul!” ULRIKE serves on the board of the Artists Council and is very active in the community. She loves Idyllwild’s AAI and painted the below pictured fawn, “Opal, Princess of the Magical Idyllwild Forrest”, for a community project this summer. Opal will be placed next to Buck Jazzy outside Café Aroma permanently.

John Smelcer About the Author

John Smelcer is the award-winning author of more than 55 books in a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry, memoir, linguistics and mythology. His poems, articles, essays and interviews have been published in over 500 magazines and journals worldwide. For almost a quarter of a century, he was poetry editor and association publisher of Rosebud Magazine, which the Boston Globe once called “the best literary journal in America.” One of the last speakers on earth of two severely endangered Alaska Native languages, John wrote dictionaries of both languages, for which Noam Chomsky and Stephen Pinker provided Forewords.

John studied literature and world religions at Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard. He is a blog writer for The Charter for Compassion, a global nonprofit founded by Karen Armstrong (A History of God) after she received the TED Talk Award in 2008. John has also judged dozens of literary awards around the world, one as far away as Israel, and co-authored a poem on compassion with the Dali Lama, who also provided a Foreward for his Alaska Native dictionaries and wrote a blurb for John’s acclaimed novel, The Gospel of Simon. In the spring of 2015, John “discovered” the lost worldly possessions of Thomas Merton. Learn more at www.johnsmelcer.com

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 3/2/19, 2:00 - 4 pm What’s YA Anyway Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: SUNDAY 3/03/19, 10 am - 3 pm

How to Tell a Story Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs Lunch served at 1:00 pm $85 per member and $100 per non-member (includes lunch)

APRIL is Poetry Month! ULRIKE’s work can be seen at: www.thehappypaintbrush.com or email Ulrike.Artist@gmail.com

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You can find contest entry rules and Guest Speaker at www.palmspringswritersguild.org


MAY is Short Story Month! You can find contest entry rules on our website www.palmspringswritersguild.org The winning Story will be read by Michael Craft at our General Meeting!

Brian Jud About the Author

Brian Jud is an author, book-marketing consultant, speaker, seminar leader, television host and president of Premium Book Company, which sells books to non-bookstore buyers on a non-returnable, commission basis. He is also the Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales, and the creator of Book Selling University. Brian is the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books (Without Worrying About Returns), the ultimate do-it-yourself guide to selling your books to non-bookstore buyers in large quantities, with no returns. He also wrote Beyond the Bookstore (a Publishers Weekly® book) and primer on non-bookstore marketing. Brian has also written and published five titles on career transition that are distributed internationally and is a prolific writer of articles about book publishing and marketing. He is the author of the eight e-booklets and the contributing editor to the monthly newsletters Book Marketing Matters, The Sales Informer, The Authority and Bound to Sell. He was the host of the television show, “The Book Authority” that aired for 13 years.

PUBLIC MEETING: SATURDAY 6/1/19, 2 - 4 pm Seven Secrets of Successfully Selling Books Rancho Mirage Public Library and Observatory

WORKSHOP: SUNDAY 6/02/19, 10 am - 3 pm

The Buck Starts Here: How to Write and Sell Books in Large Quantities Every year, more books are sold to buyers in market segments outside of bookstores than are sold through bookstores – bricks or clicks. And they can be sold more profitably, in large quantities and on a non-returnable basis. These include buyers for discount stores, warehouse clubs, corporations, associations, schools, the military and many more. Much can be done in the writing stage to get your share of these sales and discover a new world of opportunity. Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs Lunch served at 11:30 am $50 per member and $65 per non-member (includes lunch) A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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