Ventana Monthly - October 2019

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HEART OF STONE

THE HARD ROCK ART OF STONE CARVER MICHELE CHAPIN

SANTA PAULA THEATER CENTER’S JESSI MAY STEVENSON

OCTOBER 2019

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CONTENTS

ventana

VOL.13 NO. 8

OCTOBER 2019

F EATUR E S editor’s note

6 The Brave and Bold

travel 12 Grand Time at Grand Velas

Cabo’s artfully chic resort

profile 20 Beautiful Fermentation

Ventura poet Marsha de la O

L A R EINA

about town 28 From Hurricane to Slow Burn

Jessi May Stevenson finds truth at the eye of the emotional storm

cover story 34 A Life in Solution

The hard rock art of Michele Chapin

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D EPAR TME NTS community

8 For the Love of Art Gala

Four Points by Sheraton

short list

42 A preview of coming attractions

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COVER: Michele Chapin at her studio and gallery, Stoneworks, in Ventura.

Photo by Cecilia Ortiz

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONS Health & Beauty

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Home and Garden 25

Real Estate

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Ideal Homes

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EDITOR’S NOTE

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THE BRAVE AND BOLD

enri Matisse once said, “Creativity takes courage.” It’s hard to argue with that.

Creative pursuits, more often than not, force us to look beneath the surface, take the path less trodden and challenge the status quo. The works born from sweat, struggle and psychic energy are frequently misunderstood, undervalued, unappreciated. At times, it can feel like standing amidst dual hurricanes, one whipped up by the criticisms of others, another more insidious, arising from the inner critic whose reproachful and mocking words can do lasting damage.

To stay the course in a life devoted to the arts, then, requires tremendous strength of will, enduring passion, courage of one’s convictions. And I am awed by the artists featured in this month’s issue, who have fearlessly embraced their chosen professions.

On our cover is stone carver Michele Chapin, who took her place in a field not typically welcoming to women — and today stands tall as one of Ventura County’s most formidable artists. Decades ago, she chose rocks over roses (which an unimaginative art teacher insisted she draw) and never looked back. From her very first alabaster carving (made from a slab she acquired at Art City) to a majestic floating ball fountain in Moorpark (with a base weighing over 18,000 pounds and a spinning ball of 1,500 pounds), she has boldly pursued her hard-rock art, finding the smoothness, color and, yes, softness at the heart of stone.

Words don’t pose the same challenge as marble or

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serpentine, but one must be tough to face them all the same. Marsha de la O chisels her finely crafted verse not from stone but from experience — and what she has witnessed or endured would deter a weaker soul. But this gracious poet has the heart of a lion, and her poems lay bare the violence, pain, trauma, sadness and grief of everyday life. She speaks of moments both infernal and divine with eloquent rage and keen emotion, bearing witness and offering her readers solace and solidarity.

Then there is the brave new world posed by the stage, where to act is to be willing to put it all out there for immediate consumption. Actors are required to be, above all else, honest — to their characters and the motivations that drive them. It’s risky taking on the burden of being mean, ugly, difficult or alien . . . but actress and director Jessi May Stevenson is not afraid of risk. She embraces it, seeing her craft as the opportunity to get at the emotional truth — in all it’s wonderful and vexing forms — lying at the core of the roles she takes on at Santa Paula Theater Center.

On the page, on the stage, in media as hard as rock or smooth as polished alabaster, the artists in our October issue show their power and prowess. Ventura County is blessed to have these courageous souls forging paths that we may not all follow, but from which we benefit all the same.

– Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer nancy@ventanamonthly.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer CONTRIBUTORS Emily Dodi Michael Montano Chris O’Neal Cecilia Ortiz Leslie Westbrook GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Bret Hooper Vicki Linares Nathalie Proulx SALES MANAGER Warren Barrett ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jon Cabreros Caitlynn Hoehn Barbara Kroon

CONTACT US

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Total circulation is 33,000.

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COMMUNITY

1 FOR THE LOVE OF ART GALA FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON

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upporters of Focus on the Masters Arts Archive & Library gathered on Sept. 14 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Ventura for the annual For the Love of Art Gala. In addition to a wonderful array of food and wine, attendees enjoyed live music and a silent auction, providing the opportunity to win an original work of art. The highlight of the evening, however, was the live auction, run by auctioneer Mark Thomas from California Coast Auctioneers. Funds raised support FOTM’s Learning to See educational outreach and other programs. In 2019, Focus on the Masters celebrates 25 years of community enrichment through quality arts education.

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1. FOTM Education Director Aimee French takes a selfie to kick off the festivities with volunteers Gale Willhite and Nancy Heydorn. 2. Volunteer Nancy Heydorn selling $20 celebration bags filled with art and art experiences worth over $100 each. 3. Freddie Contarino and presenting sponsor Jordan Laby. 4. FOTM Volunteers and donors Michele Smith, Sheryl Wallace and Linda Carson.

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GRAND TIME AT GRAND VELAS

Cabo’s artfully chic resort offers exceptional service and experiences.

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BY LESLIE A. WESTBROOK

abo San Lucas has seen a recent infusion of upscale, all-inclusive resorts vying for tourist dollars. While it can be hard to choose from among the many excellent options, one in particular has distinguished itself as a unique destination for art lovers: Grand Velas Los Cabos.

EDIBLE ART

Grand Velas Los Cabos certainly boasts many of the amenities vacationers seek out: large suites with sumptuous baths, huge decks with plunge pools, a stunning spa, romantic dining venues and great programs for kids. In addition, it offers a terrific art collection on permanent display, made up of 25 pieces from the owner’s private collection, which can be enjoyed as you stroll throughout the property. Original art is also featured in the resort suites.

Opened just a few months ago, a new on-site art gallery, curated by Patricia Mendoza (who also owns a gallery in San Jose del Cabo), features contemporary works by Latino artists. Taking it a step further, the hotel has launched intimate, inspired Art to Table dinners. This idea is one I hope spreads to galleries and museums in our local area.

The lovely, intimate art gallery showcases works by talented Mexican artists, including Eduardo Mejorada (from Guadalajara), Carlos Larracilla, Jorge Moedano, Max Sanz, Reynaldo Zesati and J.A. Platas, in different mediums, including acrylic, oil, mixed media, watercolor and sculpture.

If you are interested in contemporary art and can time your visit to coincide with one of the weekly gallery dinners, the creative and delicious edible creations inspired by paintings in the gallery will wow you.

Small groups of up to 12 art aficionados can enjoy a five-course meal with fine wine pairings guided by the sommelier and insight into the works on display, thanks to the charming gallery owner and visiting artists.

I was joined by artists, writers and other guests for one delicious and conversation-filled dinner, where we dined on black shrimp aguachile with blue Curacao, olive and citrus dust, presented on the plate to mimic Mexican artist Yandi Monardo’s abstract blue-and-yellow canvas. We also enjoyed Tikin Xic-style sea bass with onion and tortilla ash, styled to look as if the food was dancing, just like the figures in Alejandrina Calderoni’s artwork. An accompanying wine pairing enhanced the meal. 8

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TRAVEL BAJA BEAUTY: Grand Velas’ many charms start with a spectacular location right on the coast, where soft sand and sparkling ocean views beckon. All photos courtesy of Grand Velas Los Cabos

Continued on page 14

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Reservations are required to participate in the Art to Table dinner, which costs $150 per person.

FOOD FOR STOMACH AND SPIRIT

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Then there’s all the amazing food and drink in the hotel’s seven restaurants, ranging from fine dining to poolside tacos and margaritas. A dizzying array of delicious items at the breakfast buffet included Mexican hot chocolate, baked pastries, chilaquiles and more. During the lunch buffet, one option was to choose a piece of fresh local sea bass that was smeared with chimichurri sauce and grilled right there. Ready for dinner? There’s Frida (Mexican), Lucca (Italian), Piaf (French), Velas 10 (steak and seafood) and the amazing Cocina de Autor, led by two-Michelin-star chef Sidney Schutte. Casual Cabrillo serves seafood specialties poolside.

Despite all that and more, the hotel’s amazing Se Spa is enough reason to book a short 2.5-hour flight from LAX. The spa offers a hydrotherapy water journey with any 50-minute service. I languished for two hours on the “Water Ceremony” that began with a series of jet massages and a soak in a warm indoor pool. In the sensation pool, the push of a button will allow you to cycle through powerful jets for your head, neck, shoulders, legs and feet at different “stations.”

Afterwards, a spa concierge leads each guest to a resting room ringed with steam, sauna and sensory light experiences.

Happy yet? It’s not over — each treatment (I tried the amazing Blue Candle Agave massage) includes a blessing, sage cleansing and special gift. I received a small dragonfly made from bougainvillea flower, meant to combine the outer world with the inner soul.

Why else stay at this wonderful resort? Tequila and wine tasting is offered every evening. In the suite, Mexican wine from Valle de Guadalupe and mezcal is replenished daily. Your butler/concierge can even wrap it in bubble wrap to take home with you. The great kids’ program has lots of fun activities (such as making and flying kites) and even a Teen Lounge.

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SUPERLATIVE STAFF The service is wonderful across the board. Although tips are apparently included in the daily rate of approximately $600 per person, I say, feel free to tip more for the outstanding service by the amazing staff.

My suite had a huge corner patio with an ocean view and a large Jacuzzi tub (L’Occitane bath bomb provided!) in a bathroom almost as big as the bedroom. Even better, the hotel provides each guest with a personal concierge. Adrian, my very sweet concierge, is also a classical music fan, so we had enjoyable conversations in English — when he wasn’t helping me practice my Spanish. He found a beauty salon in town where I could get my hair cut, and even wrapped a couple of bottles of the complimentary mezcal in my room to pack home as gifts.

Should I ever return, I hope to have Adrian help me wrap a piece of art to take home for my own collection. I especially resonated to works

by Eduardo Mejorada in the gallery, as well as the large installation by Luis Rodrigo in Grand Velas’ public space. It wasn’t for sale, but no worries — it’s way too huge for my humble abode anyway! v Grand Velas Los Cabos Mexico 1 Km. 17 Corredor Turistico 23405 Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur 888.505.8406 • 888.407.4869 www.loscabos.grandvelas.com

SEA, SPA, SUSTENANCE: 1. Large, comfortable lounges on the beach provide unparalleled views of the Sea of Cortez. 2. At Se Spa, guests enjoy a “Water Journey,” where a series of jet massages in the warm indoor pool target every muscle group for a comprehensive hydrotherapy experience. 3. At the gallery’s Art to Table dinners, fine cuisine is plated to resemble the works of art on display.

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Client: Pacific Wellness Client: Pacific Wellness

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Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. You will have a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proof”, and “Final Proof”. If we receive n Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. You will have a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proof”, and “Final Proof”. If we rec AD WILL RUN AS IS. If this proof meets your approval on the 1st proof, check off “FINAL PROOF (APPROVED)” box, date and sign at the bottom. I AD WILL RUN AS IS. If this proof meets your approval on the 1st proof, check off “FINAL PROOF (APPROVED)” box, date and sign at the botto

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Diversity Gala

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47 S. Oak Street ~ Downtown Ventura ~ NambaArts

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Santa Paula Theater Center

Fall is a great time for...

Surprise, Laughter, and History

Edward Albee’s Seascape

August 30 - October 6

Enjoy the surprise in Edward Albee’s SEASCAPE and the laughter in Neil Simon’s, LOST IN YONKERS during our final two offerings for Season 2019. Both won Pulitzer Prizes, the first in 1975 and the second in 1991.

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www.santapaulatheatercenter.org

(805) 525-4645 November 8 - December 15 Showtimes Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm Sundays at 2:30 pm Tickets AD $24 SR/ST $22 CH $18

GhostWalk 2019

October 11-27

MUERTE BROTHERS CIRCUS The Greatest Show NOT on Earth

AD PROOF

Tours will leave the Old Fumigation Building at 845 E. Santa Barbara Street, Santa Paula, half hour Adevery Executive: Barbara Kroon (805) 648-2244 Reservations indicate all corrections clearly.Fri You will have a “1st Proof”,6-8 “2nd and “Final Proof”. If we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Proofs, & Sat 6-9 pm Sundays pmProof”,Suggested your approval on the 1st proof, Tickets check off “FINAL$15 PROOF (APPROVED)” box, date and sign at the bottom.

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Ventura College Symphony Orchestra

Beethoven - Symphony No. 1 Mendelsshon - A Midsummer Night’s Dream Saturday, October 12 @ 7:30 PM

Ventura College Chamber Orchestra Dvoark - Serenade for Winds Op. 44 Hindemith - Woodwind Quintet Sunday, October 13 @ 2:30 PM

Tickets: $5 - Students/Staff/Seniors $15 - General Admission Tickets available at the door or online at www.venturacollege.edu/events

Ventura College Performing Arts Center 4700 Loma Vista Road Ventura, CA 93003 805-289-6307 Parking $2 on Fridays

FALL 2019

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BEAUTIFUL FERMENTATION

Ventura poet Marsha de la O distills magic from the pain, joy and bewilderment of everyday life.

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BY LESLIE A. WESTBROOK

etite, with a lovely infectious giggle, Marsha de la O reminds me of a songbird. Her songs are poems and her flights of fancy have taken her (in her earlier life as a teacher) from some of the toughest neighborhoods in Los Angeles to Spain to the bucolic countryside of Santa Paula, where she fled for a safer bilingual teaching position and for relief from the gangs, drugs and racial issues in South Central L.A.’s Main School, where she taught 1980-81.

She now makes her home in Ventura.

“A woman I know said she knew a place where the grass was green, not concrete,” recalled the poet of the time when she was being hired over the phone to teach in Santa Paula.

This, and more, contributed to de la O’s blossoming into the writer/poet she always wanted to be.

De la O is a real last name which she retains from her first marraige. It harks from Spain, “With roots that may refer to the crowing when the baby Jesus was born or perhaps the round mouth of wonder when the Virgin Mary discovered her immaculate conception,” de la O tells me.

What the modest, award-winning 66-year-old poetess will not tell you, is that she has not only been published in The New Yorker, but that you can hear her read on the publication’s website.

She is currently celebrating the hard-earned and well-deserved recent release of her third book of poems, Every Ravening Thing (University of Pittsburgh Press, $17).

The circa 2016 inspiration for this tome revolved around “looking at the ways that every human is someway shaped by pain or trauma or grief and how that is a shaping force for the person,” de la O noted, adding, “Wounds are separated and segregated from the whole and are taboo to talk about it.

Maybe you can unload it on your most intimate partner or tell a therapist.”

Marsha de la O grew up in a glass house on a hill in Glendale. She studied writing at Occidental College with John Rechy. Her first job was as a bilingual elementary school teacher. She spent two years in Valencia, Spain, with her daughter and, finding it “impossible to step back into life” as she knew it, she decided to enter an MFA poetry program. Once completed, she submitted her thesis book of poetry into a contest and won. New Issues Press published her first book of poems in 1997. She retired from teaching in 2008, but didn’t 8

THE COUNTRY THAT DOESN’T EXIST I still hear the sound of women at night crossing the cobblestones, filmy kerchiefs over their hair, the mic mac of their clogs – this in a country that doesn’t exist. But don’t tell that to the storks who flap in from Africa and build stick houses on battlements.

And consider the swans: laying their warm breasts down on banks that mark no border.

The Moors passed through this impossible country once and left behind their longings, and what can anybody do about that? Or the oblique solitude of the river sweeping downstream forever filling the emptiness of its bed with more emptiness…light spills onto its flecked back, coriander light, clove light, sesame, the flower inside my eye opening to receive – those hungry flowers – if a particle is a prison, a wave is a ripple inside the wake of a pair of swans. Whoopers. No, I will not marry again.

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PROFILE Photo by Phil Taggart Continued on page 24

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publish again until 2014-2015. Antidote for Night (BOA Press) earned her an Isabella Gardner Poetry Award.

Back to her current release, Every Ravening Thing: “I wanted it to include not just my own story, but also men’s and women’s stories from the past, she said.

She shaped poems around historical figures, both known and lesser known, including English Romantic poet John Keats’ relationship with his mother who died when he was just 14 years old, as well as those of anonymous women who lost their babies in the 19th century.

There are also poems about sexual violence as well as laments like this: “To the Grandmothers

Chernobyl, thirty years later” Old women with side gardens and jars of moonshine alone in empty villages, Tell me, solitary lynx, multitudinous wolf pack , how do you do it— all my life I’ve lived in cities, bought food from grocery stores — what’s it like to return to the abandoned zone

A NEW BOOK WAS BORN.

on foot, reclaim your cottage beside the dank canal, to howl, to hunt in packs, to foal calves, fell trees, light down in the bodies of swans and swim in cooling ponds , why would you fly three thousand miles to build a nest inside the cracked concrete sarcophagus

Photo by Eleana Newton

over the remnants of reactor four? She grins hands over a jar of vodka, the good stuff, Motherland is motherland, she says.

“The act of creating poetry is a healing act. Poems are meant to be read or shared; you are accompanied on your journey by the fact of having been heard,” she says.

The award-winning poet also wanted to include a series of poems that “tracked relationship with the natural world, as another way of embedding oneself in something that is real and healing.”

Take for instance, this excerpt from “Ode to Apples”:

Take one. Peer into your life. Why not

Pray to what’s rooted in earth:

Apples of Autumn,

let me plummet

into your charmed windfall.

let me bless, finally, the snake — “There’s a lot of nature poems included because we cannot look at our natural world as beautiful. It’s too under threat. I wanted to include a realistic view of nature — that included the damage.”

De la O was working on this collection of poems when her husband, fellow poet and poet laureate of Ventura Phil Taggart, was suddenly stricken

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with appendicitis. She said that this was actually “a sort of blessing in disguise, as the scan also revealed kidney cancer. It was a life saver.” Taggart recovered from the first operation. De la O was determined to finish the manuscript — which she did — before the second operation to remove his kidney. The pressure of her husband’s diagnosis created “another strand.” In August of 2017 she finished, the day before his operation.

She sent the manuscript out to five publishers. Her first rejection letter arrived and she was “crushed”.

“I felt terrible. It was so awful that I decided that I was not going to tell anyone about this for six months! Then, I would tell my sisters.”

The next rejection was so swift, de la O was sure it hadn’t been read.

Another was positive, but not a sale. Two more were pending — and a lot of time passed.

March roared in like a lion and she knew it was about time to confess to her sisters. But it left like a lamb when a sevenword email from the University of Pittsburgh Press’s iconic editor Ed Orchester arrived: “I love it. Is it still available?”

In the meantime, the #MeToo movement had “broken loose.”

“Timing was everything,” noted de la O.

Her advice for those who say they hate, fear or don’t understand poetry?

“Poetry is a beautiful fermentation, full of all kinds of voices and different things. Listen to Krista Tippet’s podcast On Being. She talks with poets and sets it in a context. The program is part poetry, part psychology, and partially the voice of a Millennial exploring her own psyche. That’s a way in to understanding poetry.”

Another suggestion is to read only one poem a day.

“You’re not supposed to read them one after another like a box of chocolates! Read one and stay with it. See what it gives you.”

Her poems are packed thick with meaning and history. She’s a magician and master wordsmith, recalling her own times past (from her 8-year-old, stork-legged daughter during the time they lived in Spain) to that of others, like those grandmothers of Chernobyl living in the “abandoned zone.”

Many of us are living in a state of grief. If we are not directly grieving over the loss or illness of a loved one then chances are we are grieving for a close friend who is going through a difficult period. De la O’s poems offer solace and comfort in one’s time of need.

“When you think about poetry, language offers you ways into shaping pain or grief, a way of taking the silence around it…the separation and breaking through. It’s a way to honor the person’s experience and make something beautiful, in spite of the subject matter.”

Maybe, in the end, we all live in the abandoned zones. But we connect with words, poets, dancers and dreamers to heal with the ravening crowd. v

HEAR MARSHA DE LA O AND OTHER POETS READ THEIR WORK ON

Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at the Ventura Public Library on Main Street.

Open mike begins at 7:45 p.m.

Marsha de la O upittpress.org/authors/marsha-de-la-o/w

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FROMHURRICANE TO SLOW BURN

Actress and director Jessi May Stevenson finds truth at the eye of the emotional storm.

“I

BY EMILY DODI, Photos by Michael Montano

can’t not do this,” says actor and director Jessi May Stevenson. “I can’t not be a lizard.”

Stevenson is referring to her role as Sarah in Santa Paula Theater Center’s production of Edward Albee’s Seascape. Sarah is a human-size lizard who, along with her reptilian mate, meets a human couple on the beach. The four engage in a witty, heady conversation about everything from relationships to evolution.

That “can’t not do” attitude is emblematic of how Stevenson approaches her work. A prolific actor and director, Stevenson says, “I’m not afraid to take risks.” Whether she’s embodying a giant reptile or tackling Sam Shepard’s “male driven, testosterone-rich” True West as a director, Stevenson goes for it every time.

“It” may best be summed up as the truth. “Truth is where emotion lives,” Stevenson explains. The goal is to “play the truth, not just emotions.” When that happens, she says, “It’s a beautiful thing.” Listening and being in the moment are key. Also essential is knowing what a character wants, which isn’t always crystal clear — and that’s what can make a character so interesting. “If the character is supposed to cry, you better fight against that if that’s what the character would do,” she explains.

Navigating a character’s emotional storm — whether it’s a hurricane or a slow burn — is thrilling and familiar at the same time. “Being on the stage feels like being home,” Stevenson says. “It’s strangely comfortable. And it’s also strangely cathartic, going through the emotional arc of each character I play.

It’s me but it’s also not me, which is deliciously freeing. It allows me to be fearless and bold in ways I’ve never experienced before.”

Growing up in Nebraska, it wasn’t long before Stevenson knew her place was in the theater. “I was 9 years old and I got the most coveted part in our school play: the witch,” Stevenson says. “I had a big scene that ended with me storming off the stage and the audience stopped the play with raucous applause. I was hooked. The instant feedback from the audience was the most thrilling moment of my young life.”

She soon set her sights beyond the school auditorium. “I begged my mom to bring me to act in community theater when I knew there’d be a kid [in a play].” 8

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ABOUT TOWN

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JESSI MAY STEVENSON. Continued on page 30

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Stevenson pursued her love of theater all the way to University of California, Irvine, where she earned an MFA. After that, Stevenson went to Los Angeles, but the idea of acting in television and film didn’t hold its appeal for long. “I didn’t feel like an actor,” Stevenson recalls. “In L.A., I wasn’t putting my degree to use. I felt like I was just a body or set dressing.” So, in 2013, she followed her sister, an artist, to Ojai — and it was there that she found kindred spirits. “There are a lot of creative, artistic people here.”

Her first role in her new home was Viola in an Ojai Art Center production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The experience was illuminating. It “opened my eyes to the quality here.” It also earned her a warm welcome from audiences and critics alike. Rita Moran of the VC Star wrote, “Ojai’s ‘Twelfth Night’ has a lot going for it, most especially Jessica May Stevenson as Viola …”

(January 30, 2014). Stevenson had come a long way from playing Juliet in her high school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, and yet the memory of that high school experience stays with her.

“It was a transformative experience. I had never worked so hard on anything in my life and when it was all over, I knew I would be involved in the theater for the rest of my life.”

After Seascape, Stevenson will play Bella in SPTC’s production of Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers. A “180-degree turn” from Sarah, Bella is a character Stevenson has always wanted to play.

Other dream roles include characters she’s already portrayed but would like to revisit now that she’s “older and wiser.” Others, like Martha from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , are roles she hopes to play “down the road.” There is one role, however, that stands above all others. “The very top of my bucket list is to play Hamlet. … Hamlet has always been fascinating to me.

I’ve played Ophelia three times and each time I imagined what choices I would make as the Prince of Denmark.”

Stevenson also has a directing bucket list.

“Lately, I’ve been drawn to female playwrights telling women’s stories. I would love to direct The Revolutionists by Laura Gunderson. It’s a fictional tale of four real women in history set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. [It’s] a grandiose comedy about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, and how we actually go about changing the world.”

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There are a few things Stevenson herself would love to change. In addition to working in productions that speak to women, who make up the majority of theater supporters, Stevenson has her eye on the next generation. “I would love to get more young people excited” about theater, she says. That will require “telling more and more stories about today … There are so many new plays. It’s time to show them.”

Stevenson is in a unique position to help make that happen. She has been invited by David Ralphe, SPTC’s

“Being on the stage feels like being home. It’s strangely comfortable. And it’s also strangely cathartic, going through the emotional arc of each character I play.”

longtime artistic director, to help select next season’s roster of plays. “I am elated to be able to contribute this way under my artistic mentor,” Stevenson says. “We have been passing plays back and forth to each other and having wonderful, insightful and inspiring conversations about plays, authors and theater.”

Stevenson played a lizard that leaves audiences wondering how we’ve evolved as a species, but it is her own evolution as an actor and director that’s truly something to see. v

SEE JESSI MAY STEVENSON in Seascape through Oct. 6, and in Lost in Yonkers starting Nov. 8.

Santa Paula Theater Center 125 South 7th Street, Santa Paula 805.525.4645 www.santapaulatheatercenter.org

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A LIFE IN SOLUTION

The hard rock art of Michele Chapin

“I

BY EMILY DODI, Photos by Cecilia Ortiz

t’s a mind blow,” sculptor Michele Chapin says as she gives a tour of Stoneworks Studio and Gallery, her workspace in Ventura. She’s holding one of her sculptures, made from an ancient rock. “This is what sand looks like when it’s fossilized,” she adds, pointing out the tiny details in the rock. She moves on to a piece made of marble and then to one made from granite. So many beautiful sculptures, each one made from a different kind of stone.

“They’ve all got a little story behind them,” she says.

Chapin has been sculpting in rock since the 1980s, and the fascination they hold is just as strong now as it’s ever been.

“I love rocks. And the color of them. The textures. To actually be able to touch the piece is so important to me because the entire piece is made from touch.”

She says this after I stop myself from reaching out to touch one of the sculptures. With their smooth, colorful lines, it’s impossible not to want to touch them, but the instinct to keep our hands off of art is ingrained in us.

Works of art are usually kept at a distance, guarded from curious hands. But this is not that kind of art. And Chapin is a special kind of artist. She wants you to touch her work.

I t ’s b e e n h e r p l a n a l l a l o n g .

“I’ve liked rocks since I was a kid and I never even thought about carving them. I always wanted to be a sculptor and when I was 30 I went to an art show in L.A. and there was a guy from Holland carving stone. I was so blown away.”

The experience made such an impact that she traveled to Holland and visited the artist in his studio. “He showed me what he did and it was like, ‘That’s it. This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to go home and I’m going to become a sculptor.’”

During that same trip, Chapin visited a museum where she noticed that everyone was touching the sculptures and no one was telling them to stop.

She soon realized that the visitors were blind and they were being allowed to appreciate the art in a meaningful way. “I decided I was going to come back here and become a sculptor and I was always going to let people touch my work.” 8

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COVER STORY ROCK ON Stone carver Michele Chapin (with canine companion Frida) at Stoneworks, her gallery and studio in Ventura.

Continued on page 36

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Even before Chapin went to Holland, the stage had been set for her to sculpt in stone. She was studying at University of California, Santa Cruz, when a professor said she’d never be an artist and he told her to draw 100 roses over the summer. “I hate to draw,” she says. (To this day, she doesn’t sketch out ideas before she begins to carve.) Chapin dropped out and moved to San Francisco before coming home to Ventura, where she continued to sculpt in clay. It was when she started taking art classes at Moorpark College that her future in stone really began to take shape.

She was at Art City Sculpture Supply looking for plaster to make a mold to sculpt from when owner Paul Lindhard suggested that she buy a piece of alabaster instead. After all, plaster is made up of ground-up alabaster, he told her. “So he sold me a rock and then I went to Holland,” she recalls. When she returned home she carved a sculpture from that piece of alabaster. “It was the first piece I ever completed.” Chapin gave it to her parents and it now sits in her studio.

At the time, she says, “I had no idea what I was doing because I was used to working in clay where you can add and subtract.” But rock is different. “You take it away, that’s the way it goes and it’s gone-zo.”

C H A P I N WA S U N D E T E R R E D. “I started carving and I never looked back.” Within a year-and a-half she had a one-woman show. “I found what I was supposed to do.”

Thirty years later, Chapin’s sculptures can be found in galleries, design homes, private collections and public spaces.

Perhaps her most well-known work is the large floating ball fountain on Science Drive in Moorpark. “To my knowledge I was the first person in this country to make balls spin with water.” With a base weighing 18,000 pounds and a ball tipping the scales at 1,500 pounds, it’s also the largest piece she’s ever done. These days, she mostly sculpts pieces that can fit easily in someone’s home — or in their hands, like the popular sculpted hearts she creates.

Chapin’s routine has remained largely unchanged. The morning starts with a strong cup of coffee and then it’s time to crank the tunes and rev up the tools. While some sculptors opt for the traditional hammer-and-chisel method, Chapin uses motorized tools, many of which she adapted to suit her needs.

After choosing a rock to work with she “roughs the whole piece out” with an air chisel. She refines the piece with a motorized file then sands it by hand, using various grades of sandpaper. “It gets really smooth … and you can start seeing all the color.”

Sometimes the unexpected happens, but Chapin takes it in stride. “I was doing the last sanding on a piece that I had sold for $10,000 and it cracked in half. It happens. It’s a rock! So you can’t really be attached to things.”

Chapin adds that some of the most beautiful pieces she’s made have been salvaged from something broken. “You have to be able to wing it,” she says.

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OCTOBER 2019

“That’s the nature of the beast. As an artist you live in solution. That’s how I live my life.”

It is profound advice, whether you’re talking about art or life. You put your heart and soul into it. You work hard and stay true to yourself.

Sometimes it works out as planned. Sometimes it breaks, but you move on.

You keep going and, in the end, it’s a thing of beauty. v

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Stoneworks Studio and Gallery 300 North Ventura Ave., Ventura 805.643.5431 cavedavestylerite@earthlink.net

1. Chapin sands down a piece to reveal the rich colors beneath the surface. 2. The artist leaves no stone unturned when making her creations, which range from perfect spheres to perfectly irregular slabs. 3. With smooth, undulating lines, Chapin’s sculptures beg to be touched — which is just fine with the artist, who encourages tactile exploration.

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Two

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SHORT LIST HARVEST FESTIVAL Oct. 4-6 | Ventura

The unique setting brings out the best for shopping and entertainment in a fall celebration that has surprises at every turn.

Only handmade original works are permitted in this exclusive showcase that presents more than 24,000 creations. The show will also feature a Kid’s Zone with a pumpkin patch and outdoor live entertainment. 10 a.m.-5 p.m Friday and Sunday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Entry $4-9. Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd, Ventura. For more information, visit www.harvestfestival.com.

NEW WEST SYMPHONY 25TH SEASON SALUTE Oct. 5-6 | Thousand Oaks, Camarillo

Celebrate 25 years of the New West Symphony with two special performances. John Corigliano, who wrote Salute for Conductor Michael Christie’s first concert as music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 2005, will welcome him once again. The Marcus Roberts Trio will perform Gershwin’s jazzy Concerto in F, while the orchestra will perform Scheherazade

by Rimsky-Korsakov. There will be a fun Q&A with the conductor during intermission. First performance at 7:30 p.m. at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.. Tickets $30-120. Second performance: 3 p.m. at Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center, 4235 Mar Vista Drive, Camarillo. Tickets: $30-96. For more information, visit www.newwestsymphony.org.

VANESSA WILLIAMS Oct. 11 | Thousand Oaks

For over two decades, Williams has made her name known in almost all facets of the entertainment scene—music, film, television and the stage. Now, Williams will bring her many talents to Thousand Oaks for a special one-night performance.

Musically, Williams is known for her album The Real Thing, several Grammy nominations and an Academy Award for “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas. On stage, Williams has starred in Into the Woods and The Trip to Bountiful, to name just a few, and has appeared on television in Ugly Betty for which she received three Emmy nominations.

Tickets $56-96. Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. For more information, visit www.civicartsplaza.com.

OJAI STUDIO ARTISTS TOUR Oct. 12-14 | Ojai

Over 60 studios from the Ojai Valley will be open each day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with artist demonstrations at select studios. This year, a special exhibit dubbed Origins will be held at the Ojai Valley Museum, and a gala will be held on Saturday evening with a chance to meet the artists face to face. Tickets $15-40. For more information, including a complete list of participating studios, visit www.ojaistudioartists.org.

BIG RIVER: THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN Oct. 23 – Nov. 10 | Ventura

The irrepressible, rebellious young Huck resists polite society and his abusive father and takes off on a raft with runaway slave Jim, encountering wild extremes of greed, bigotry, kindness and love along the way. Based on Mark Twain’s timeless 1884 novel, Twain’s memorable characters — from the Widow Douglas and her stern sister to two uproariously funny con men to Huck’s partner in crime, Tom Sawyer, and their rowdy gang of pals — are brought to life onstage. Accompanied by a

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score of country, pop, gospel and bluegrass music created by Roger Miller, this jaunty journey is a brilliantly theatrical celebration of pure Americana and a powerful coming-of-age story.

Directed by Kirby Ward. Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. For more information, including a complete schedule, visit www.rubicontheatre.org.

OCTOBER 5-6

THOUSAND OAKS, CAMARILLO

UNDERWOOD FAMILY FARMS FALL HARVEST FESTIVAL Through Oct. 31 | Moorpark

Celebrate the arrival of fall with the 22nd annual Harvest Festival, featuring several weekends of activities sure to spook the gourd out of you. There’s something new every weekend during the festival: Oct. 5-6 is Farm Country Weekend featuring country and bluegrass music; Oct. 12-13 is Antique Tractor Weekend with antique equipment and a tractor parade; and Oct 19-20 is Western Weekend with stunt ropers and a covered wagon. The spookiest month of the year culminates with All About Pumpkins on Oct. 26-27. Whichever day you visit, expect a wide variety of gourds, winter squash, Indian corn and other fall decorating accessories, as well as a large selection of carving pumpkins. Entry $8-22. Underwood Farms, 3370 Sunset Valley Road, Moorpark. For more information, visit www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com.

OCTOBER 11

THOUSAND OAKS

MAGICAL REALISM

Oct. 5 – Nov. 16 | Camarillo

Artists Omar D’Leon and Andrea Yomtob have been painting together for almost 25 years in Camarillo, using the same painting technique that incorporates oil and wax on canvas, a style reminiscent of Impressionism, developed by D’Leon, adopted by Yomtob. This exhibit will feature the pair’s work in Magical Realism, the Latin-inspired movement that injects fantastic or mythical elements into realistic settings. Studio Channel Islands, 2222 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo. For more information, visit www.studiochannelislands.org.

CALIFORNIA COOL: MID-CENTURY MODERNISM ON THE CENTRAL COAST Through Feb. 23, 2020 | Ventura

Step back in time to a cooler and more sophisticated era of design as this new exhibit explores the artistic movement that took place between 1945 to 1965 featuring interior design, architecture and urban development. View the architectural photography, period interior furnishings, films, paintings and pottery that shaped America’s booming post-war era, and get a good look at local contributions to the movement via landmark homes and buildings and the birth of the local company Architectural Fiberglass in 1963. Museum entrance $3-5.

Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura. For more information, visit www.venturamuseum.org.

ON THE HORIZON

OJAI HOLIDAY HOME TOUR & MARKETPLACE Nov. 16-17 | Ojai

Get ready to be inspired at the 23rd Annual Ojai Holiday Home Tour and Marketplace on Nov. 16 and 17 in the beautiful Ojai Valley. This treasured tradition, presented by the Ojai Festival Women’s Committee, invites guests to tour four distinctive Ojai Valley homes — including the extraordinary Wall House, features in Ventana Monthly’s September issue. A Holiday Marketplace (free and open to the public) will feature curated lifestyle and fashion items from more than 40 vendors. Tickets $40. For more information, visit www.ojaifestival.org.

THROUGH OCTOBER 31

MOORPARK

“I NEEDED IT SOLD YESTERDAY!” BETTER CALL BLAKE!

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4310 Meridian Ave., Oxnard - Mandalay Bay

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Failed to sell with other brokerage after 86 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 4 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 200 days on the market...

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Failed to sell with other brokerage after 257 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 1 Day!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 467 days on the market...

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1166 Buena Vista St., Ventura - Ventura Heights

201 Ocean Dr., Oxnard - Silverstrand Beach

207 Crestwood Ave., Ventura, Lynbrook Estates

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 162 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 72 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 134 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 22 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 370 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 21 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 375 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 34 Days!

170 Harborview Crt., Ventura - Ondulando

756 Colina Vista, Ventura - Ondulando

329 Lakeshore Dr., Oxnard - Hollywood By The Sea

975 Loma Dr., Ojai - “Shan-gri-la”

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 306 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 10 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 180 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 29 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 135 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 36 Days!

Failed to sell with other brokerage after 602 days on the market...

Relisted & SOLD By BLAKE In 17 Days!

I GUARANTEE YOUR HOME SOLD IN 89 DAYS OR LESS, AT YOUR PRICE, OR I WILL SELL IT FOR FREE! CALL FOR DETAILS ! 805-856-9350 HONESTY • INTEGRITY • COMMITMENT • RESULTS Ms. Lori Stern Licensed Assistant

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www.BlakeMashburn.com

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Restrictions apply, call for details. All info deemed accurate, but not guaranteed. If your property is currently listed for sale, please disregard our active marketing. DRE# 01065624.

Fall for Diamonds Lynn’s is known for top quality sparkling diamonds.

John Muscarella

Diamond Jewelry . w o n e l on sa

Master Jeweler

For more information please visit our website

www.LynnsJewelry.com

4572 Telephone Road, #906, Ventura, CA 93003

est. 1970 • Ventura, CA All of our custom designs have been made from 100% recycled gold for more than 40 years. Respect for the Earth is not a new idea at Lynn’s.

805.642.5500