Celebrating Creative Talent

by Maria Mingalone

Executive Director, Oceanside Museum of Art

The arts are a vital asset that anchor the social and cultural life of our community. On these pages we are celebrating a few Oceanside-based artists who are part of the rich fabric of our community.

Oceanside is a burgeoning city where those who live here or come to visit are engaged in a unique cultural, visual, performing, and culinary arts scene—where people enjoy theater, museums, galleries, festivals, and many other culturally inspired events. In 2017 Oceanside was designated by the state of California to be one of 14 Cultural Districts state-wide. Along with the prestigious designation for the Oceanside California Cultural District (OCCD), in that same year the city adopted the O-Arts Master Plan For The Arts, a first in the city’s over one hundred year history. The arts are now an integral part of life in our city and contribute to an increased quality of life.

Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) began providing exhibitions and public programs in 1997. Since then the museum has become an important creative hub bringing people together to explore the art and stories of Southern California artists. OMA's exhibitions, events, and educational programs are designed to make deeper connections between artists in our city, the San Diego cultural community, and the greater Southern California region. Now in its 25th Anniversary year, the museum is an important destination along the cultural corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego.

704 Pier View Way, Oceanside, CA 92054 Hours Thursday through Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm. Fridays until 8 pm. OMA is a Blue Star Museum. Active Military and their immediate families are free, thank you to Frontwave Credit Union. Check out the museum's website for programs and events. The museum offers free admission to community members every month on the first Friday evenings (5 to 8 pm) and every first Sunday .

Michelle Montjoy is a local, Oceanside artist and former public school art teacher, who uses her work to discuss connected humanity, invisible labor and environmental destruction.

Michelle Montjoy is a local artist who works in a combination of installation, textile, sculpture and socially-engaged practices. A former public school art teacher, Michelle’s work is based in humor, generosity and sustainability. She uses common materials and techniques embedded with histories, beauty, and absurdity to find entrance to larger, harder conversations about our connected humanity, invisible labor, and environmental destruction. Montjoy also engages in community projects centered around exchange; of labor, stories, time and ideas. Designed to flatten hierarchies embedded in institutions and embrace the gentle rhythms of making together, these often playful and absurd projects affirm gathering as a location of substantial exchange. Montjoy is currently doing a special project at The New Children’s Museum in San Diego called Breathing Room, an inviting sensory-friendly space. The first phase (now open) features intricate knitted sculptures made of repurposed T-shirts that move and hang from the ceiling. Its rhythmic up and down movement replicates breathing cycles, reminding us to slow down and focus on our breath. The second phase (open in September) will include hand-knitted pods and weighted sweaters called “hugs” to create opportunities for calming, comfort, and to provide a sense of security.

Margaret Alexis Chiaro is a resident of Oceanside and works as artist and art instructor. Her work expresses duality and opposition, balance over symmetry, and the idea of shared energy.

Margaret Alexis Chiaro is a resident of Oceanside and works as artist and art instructor. Her entire life has been built around her dream to live and work in the arts. Chiaro’s current series, The Floral Guild, now being exhibited locally at KNVS Bar, speaks to our connection with nature. The women in each painting are at one with their natural surroundings and serve as guardians of these magically charged environments. With the food and beverage themed around the current exhibit, KNVS is a unique collaboration between artist, chef, and bar manager to create an experience immersed in the arts. Chiaro uses figurative painting to invite the viewer to enter a unique world or moment. She loves duality and opposition, balance over symmetry, and the idea of shared energy. Spending hundreds of hours on a single piece, painting everything by hand in traditional techniques, Chiaro obsessively renders her subjects, caught in moments when they are open and expressive. Through her chosen genre, Magical Realism, Chiaro fuses reality with imagination to create a visceral new “world” for the subject to dwell in and the viewer to observe.

Luz Helena S. Thompson is an artist, teacher, and also serves on the City Of Oceanside’s Arts Commission. You can see her work on view in Pop Smoke: A Veteran Art Exhibition at Oceanside Museum of Art.

Luz Helena Thompson is a self-taught artist and Marine Corps Veteran. Design, art and creative expression have always been an important part of her life. Best known for her intricate mosaic glass work, Thompson has created several large murals throughout San Diego County. Her artwork process requires meticulous attention to detail, time and patience. Anywhere from 40-120 hours of work go into creating a mosaic. This kind of artwork challenges Thompson to create something beautiful from brokenness. Thompson began as a visual artist in 2011 inspired by her grandmother, also an accomplished artist. Since then, her work has been featured across the United States and is currently on display at the Oceanside Museum’s, “Pop Smoke: A Veteran Art Exhibition”. As an artist Luz has a deep desire to cultivate the kind of creativity that challenges her beliefs about what it means to be an artist. When she’s not working, Thompson’s studio transforms into a virtual classroom where she teaches art online to veterans with the non-profit organization, “Path With Art”. Thompson is proud to be a part of the growing veteran artist community here in Oceanside.

Don Myers is a local stained glass and mosaic artist with his own studio here in Oceanside. His work can be found locally at LTH - Local Tap House, Oceanside Dentistry, Tri-City Hospital, Oceanside Massage World and more.

Don Myers has lived in Oceanside for the majority of his working career. Since 2000, he has owned and managed his stained glass and mosaic art studio producing commercial and residential art. With over forty years of experience, Myers is a master artist who loves to share his artistic passion and teach his craft to others. Myers also hosts a variety of glass art classes for the general public and local schools and colleges including Mira Costa College. Myers local art can be found at: LTH - Local Tap House, Oceanside Dentistry, Tri-City Hospital, Oceanside Massage World, Insight Tattoo, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, St. Columbus, St Mary’s, St. Patrick, United Methodist Church of Vista, Eden’s Bed & Breakfast, First Christian Church, Oceanside Fire Dept. Local 3736, West Inn Restaurant (Carlsbad), Army Navy Academy, and the Wounded Warrior Foundation. Myers is also an active businessperson and volunteer participating in community projects and fundraising efforts throughout San Diego County. Additionally, Myers mentors a group of numerous challenged individuals affectionately known as the Adventure Pioneers and hosts weekly entertainment and adventures for them.

Whether in times of prosperity or times of crisis, we are with you on the front lines, leading the way and making sure our community emerges stronger than ever.