OMA Home > Newsletters > Spring 2006
SAN DIEGO DESIGN:
New Work from Allied Craftsmen  
Left: Brud Kronan IV, Swedish Wedding Crown by Alaexandra Hart
Right: Crown Buddha by Lana Wilson
Oceanside Museum of Art presents an invitational exhibition featuring some of San Diego’s most gifted artists in SAN DIEGO DESIGN: New Work from Allied Craftsmen, June 18 through August 6, 2006. Allied Craftsmen of San Diego has remained a premier organization for talented San Diego artists for over 50 years. Its members are known for groundbreaking techniques and innovative designs that are sculptural, conceptual, decorative or functional - often using non-traditional forms and introducing a variety of media. The selected artists are recognized nationally and internationally as leaders in their fields and many are faculty in the art departments at area colleges and universities. Although originally created to showcase artists who work in clay, wood, fiber, metal and glass, the organization now includes members who honor design as well as craftsmanship. SAN DIEGO DESIGN: New Work from Allied Craftsmen includes jewelry, furniture, ceramics and multi-media from 16 San Diego based artists. The artists will talk about their work and inspirations on Thursday evening, July 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the museum. Admission to the “Artist’s Walk & Talk” is $5 and the public is welcome. Members of Oceanside Museum of Art attend free as a benefit of membership. Light refreshments will be served.
W. HASSE WOJTYLA: A Coincidence of Paintings
August 27 - October, 15, 2006 W. Haase Wojtyla: A Coincidence of Paintings will be the first solo museum exhibition in San Diego County to feature the work of W. Haase Wojtyla. Born in Chicago in 1933, Wojtyla has lived in San Diego since 1973. While his art studies began at the Art Institute of Chicago, it is while living in Southern California that Wojtyla developed his mature artistic style. As many writers have suggested, Wojtyla’s style has much in common with the work of British artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992). Their abstracted forms appear born of the same experience, and their paintings share a sense of tension that becomes the catalyst for the viewer’s response. Three of Wojtyla’s most important series of paintings from the past thirty years, Nudes in the Shower, Crime Scenes, and Stalkers, share a similar response and form the foundation for this retrospective exhibition. While San Diego is familiar with Wojtyla’s work, it has been almost ten years since a large-scale exhibition has been presented in the region. The exhibition will include work from the 1950s and 1970s as well as recent work that has never been shown. Catherine Gleason, OMA’s Director of Exhibitions and Collections and the curator of the exhibition, has written an essay for the catalog, the first publication devoted entirely to the work of W. Haase Wojtyla. In addition to several reproductions of Wojtyla’s paintings, the catalog will include the artist’s complete exhibition history. Gleason’s essay, Demented Dreams: The Work of W. Haase Wojtyla, will analyze the artist’s use of grotesque imagery by examining a history of the grotesque in art. While the inclusion of grotesque elements in Western art has its roots in antiquity, its influence extends through the modernist period and into the twenty-first century. The depth of Wojtyla’s creative impulse is apparent when placing the artist’s work within a lineage that includes Hieronymus Bosch, Francisco de Goya, and Francis Bacon.
FIND FIVE WINNERS In the last issue we told you about the Find Five program designed to recruit and sustain new members. This vital volunteer activity is just one of many programs organized by OMA’s Membership Committee. Other Membership activities are “Meet Me at the Museum” held on the morning of the museum’s Free Day which occurs once during each exhibition and the quarterly “New Member Welcome.” The next “Meet Me at the Museum “ is August 3rd and begins at 10:00 a.m. with a docent tour of the current exhibit, SAN DIEGO DESIGN: New Work from Allied Craftsmen with light refreshments. It’s a great opportunity to invite a friend to meet at the museum, wander through the Farmer’s Market on Pier View Way on Thursday mornings and enjoy lunch at one of the downtown restaurants within walking distance of the museum. Another program is the quarterly “New Member Welcome” held on a Saturday at 10:00 a.m. for a get-acquainted visit with museum staff and members of the Membership Committee. New members are treated to a docent tour and light refreshments. The Find Five Committee would like to thank all those participating in the program. New incentives were offered to Find Fivers who enrolled the most new members. Bonus awards went to Eileen Scott who won a $25 Museum Store gift certificate, and Mary Ellen Watts and Fran Obler who received complimentary trip certificates for one of the museum’s daytime bus trips.
INTERN PROGRAM FLOURISHES For the last several years OMA has been fortunate to have some bright and creative interns on its volunteer staff. These capable students have landed at OMA from a variety of schools and programs. In a few cases, the students discoverd the museum Web site and emailed inquiring if we have interns. Some interns have been referred by Alessandra Moctezuma, a member of OMA’s Curatorial Advisory Committee and Coordinator of the the Museum Studies program at Mesa College in San Diego. This year we were fortunate to have Judit Sipos on staff as an intern from the Mesa College program. Judit kept busy learning about museum operations on Tuesdays and Thursdays and was always available to help with special projects, front desk responsibilities and exhibition installation. A native of Hungary, Judit is an interior designer and former photographer for UNESCO. We hope to see her back at OMA after her summer visiting family in Hungary. We also welcome the return of Liz Maynard who interned at OMA last summer and is back for a brief stint this summer between graduating from Tufts University and heading on to the University of Chicago for a Masters degree. And it was great to see James Manion recently when he stopped in to say hello having just graduated from San Fransisco State University with an art degree. James originally came to us from Carlsbad High with no future artistic aspirations.
OMA TRAVEL
BRANSON, MISSOURI, Nov 8-12 Join OMA members for this fun-filled program to Branson, Missouri considered “The Live Music Show Capital of the World” with over 100 daily shows featuring some of the biggest names in live entertainment. Located in the scenic Ozark Mountains, Branson is surrounded by tree covered hills, rivers, and lakes. Highlights of the trip include performances by Andy Williams, the Lennon Sisters, the Gatlin Brothers and the award-winning Acrobats of China. Luxury, old world charm and refined amenities await for 4 nights at the brand new Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing with full buffet breakfast each morning. This travel package also offers lunch aboard the 700-seat Showboat Branson Belle with a talented cast of singers and dancers performaning a multi-media extravaganza. Cost begins at $1799 for twin room accommodations and includes roundtrip airfare, private motor coach from North County, tickets to theater performances and a tax-deductible fund raising contribution to Oceanside Museum of Art. This tour is filling fast so contact STS Tours for immediate reservations, 1-800-620-9995. Overnight travel programs with the museum require museum membership which begins at $30 per year for an individual. For membership information contact Oceanside Museum of Art, 760-721-2787.
 
Left: Showboat Branson Belle on Table Rock Lake
Right: Branson Belle "Showstoppers" PALM SPRINGS FILM FESTIVAL, January 9-12, 2007 Spend 3 nights at the Palm Mountain Resort and Spa in downtown Palm Springs close to restaurants on historic Palm Canyon Road and the Palm Springs Art Museum. This package offers independent travel at group rates for the Palm Springs International Film Festival including daily breakfasts, a Film Festival souvenir program, and a welcome cocktail party. As an independent traveler you provide your own transportation and select your films by using the five film vouchers provided. In the past OMA members have chosen from over 200 films from 60 countries during the festival screenings. Cost is $299 per person with a $150 single supplement. Reservation deadline is December 1, 2006. A $50 non-refundable deposit per person is required. Opportunity tickets are available at one for $25 or three for $50 for two people to attend the three night Film Festival OMA package. The Opportunity Drawing will be held in November. For reservations or opportunity tickets, please call the museum at 760-721-2787. SAN MIGUEL de ALLENDE, MEXICO Nov 2 - Nov 8 (second trip) In response to the overwhelming wait list for the October 28th trip to San Miguel de Allende, OMA and STS Tours are offering another tour to the charming colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, and Guanajuato. We’ll explore each picturesque city enjoying the art, culture, and history of the region. Travelers will discover fabulous food, Mexican handicrafts, galleries and folk traditions, including a visit to the village of Atotonilco for the stunning frescoes on the walls and ceilings of the Sanctuary of Atotonilco known as the “Sistine Chapel of Mexico.” Accommodations are at the elegant Real de Minas hotel, a 4 star property located on the border of the historic center near the main plaza. This tour plans to offer an optional fee-based art class with a local San Miguel artist or a lecture by author Robert de Gast who wrote the book “The Doors of San Miguel.” An extension to the revitalized, cosmopolitan capital of Mexico City is also available with visits to the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the Frida Kahlo Museum, and a performance of the Ballet Folklorica. Cost for the 7 day tour begins at $1649 per person based on double occupancy. Contact STS Tours for reservations, 1-800-620-9995. Overnight travel programs with the museum require museum membership which begins at $30 per year. For membership information contact Oceanside Museum of Art, 760-721-2787.
OMA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Bobbie Thill once said, “Some of the children who visit would never have seen a museum in their lives if we hadn’t built one.” She is one of OMA’s founders and one of this year’s Medal of Distinction honorees. Bobbie wants to leave a lasting mark on the lives of others in her community and if her dedication to Oceanside Museum of Art is any indication, the community has been enriched many times over by her efforts.
 Bobbie Thill, Medal of Distinction Honoree OMA’s assistant director, Beth Smith, was able to step away from her desk during the year to organize the summer exhibition of selected members of Allied Craftsmen of San Diego. In the ongoing debate over what is art, she says of the show “Wood, clay, fiber and metal are brought to a level of artistic excellence that mutes the oft-touted arguments about the place of fine craft in the art world and challenges the viewer’s mind, spirit and sense, as is the duty and the definition of all art.”
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Evelyn La Rosa has been at the front desk on Tuesday mornings for the last 6 years. She is also an accomplished book artist who was invited to exhibit in the Third International Book Triennial which has traveled throughout Europe, and she exhibited in the First and Second International Collage Exhibition in Vilnius, Lithuania. A Del Mar resident, Evelyn is a member of San Diego Book Arts and Bay Park Press and has exhibited locally at the Athenaeum in La Jolla. Creative talent runs in the family. Evelyn and her husband Frank, a potter and wood carver, have 5 children - 2 musicians, 2 artists and 1 engineer. Some of you may remember their son Joseph who wowed an OMA audience with a virtuoso piano performance a few years ago. He recently received a Doctorate in Music from LSU.
MEDAL OF DISTINCTION PRESENTED TO HONOREES AT THE MUSEUM BALL
 A highlight of The Museum Ball is the presentation of the “Medal of Distinction” which honors members of the museum and the community who have made a significant contribution to the success of the museum. This year’s honorees are Bobbie Thill, and Robert and Lillian Howard. Bobbie Thill is a member of OMA’s Board of Trustees and a founding member of the museum. Her tireless energy and enthusiastic dedication have served the museum in many capacities, most recently as the past chair of the Membership Committee. She co-chaired the first black-tie dinner dance fundraiser, setting the standard for the elegant annual tradition that has become “The Museum Ball.” Robert and Lillian Howard helped put the museum in an excellent position for the groundbreaking of its new building with their generous gift to the museum’s capital campaign through the Howard Charitable Foundation. The Howard Charitable Foundation has roots in the publishing business with the Blade-Tribune and Blade-Citizen newspapers, now the North County Times, and has supported organizations in the community in many ways over the years.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
While I was reviewing a grant application recently, I came across a statement from the Rockefeller Foundation that struck a chord. I think it sums up the value of cultural arts in a community and emphasizes the importance of Oceanside Museum of Art to residents of coastal North San Diego County. With our neighbors at Camp Pendelton and the turmoil of world events, the value of occasions for spiritual renewal is key to our daily lives. ”Creativity and cultural expression are not luxuries reserved for the few, but essential components of a meaningful life. Regardless of the depths of adversity surrounding them, people have time and again demonstrated their ability to endure, adapt and thrive. A community’s arts and artists, its culture and spirituality are assets that help enable its people to renew and survive,” states the Rockefeller Foundation. It is my belief that when celebrating its cultural diversity, our community becomes more resilent when faced with great change and uncertainty.
Skip Pahl
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