Pomona Arts Colony June Artwalk 2010

It was second Saturday again and it was a great night. Starting down at the west end, Foggy Windows Gallery had an eighty's cartoon art show with band playing. AC Projects showed the work of Tom Pathe, Whitney Hanlon, Michael Woodcock and others. Blue Core had the mosaic art of Cathy Garcia and I heard she sold a few too. Closer to home, Ink'd Chronicles had their annual "Every tattoo has a story" photography show and benefit. We at Bunny Gunner had a solo show for Jay Merryweather with his paintings and sculptures. SCA had a Lansdcape group show curated by Bob Pece that was reviewed in the IE Weekly. As a new addition to the galleries, La Bomba Vintage featured the works of Leia Steingart. The dA Center for the Arts pulled out all the stops by painting all the gallery walls black, blocking out the windows and lighting the entire space with black lights. All the art was painted in luminescent paint and glowed brightly. In the basement there was also whole room painted out in glowing color.

Slideshow follows and video to follow:

Video Credit: Linda Allen, Ed Pruitt

Photo credit: Jill Carol, Richard Nunez, Denis Thorp, Susie and Juan Thorp

May 2010 Artwalk Review

Busy Weekend filled with great art and good friends

What a busy weekend!

It all started on Friday with a benefit for our beloved friend Richard Godfrey who had a severe fall and has been in the in the hospital for 6 weeks. Last we heard over $17,000 + was raised for him from a silent auction where artists donated works of art. 80 works of art from some of the best artist in Southern Ca. were on display and this included Pomona artists, A.S. Ashley, Fr. Bill Moore, Me (Juan Thorp), and Karen Karlsson. It was a good evening and a great chance to help our friends, Richard and his wife Annette. Thanks to everyone who participated!

The next morning was also a bit of help, but this time for the city of Pomona. It was "Team up to clean up Pomona" day and we did just that. Seven of us from the Colony met at Bunny Gunner for some coffee and donuts, then off to clean with bags and gloves. First on the clean up list was "Lake Pomona" and boy was it a mess. We continued until noon collecting lots of cigarette buts, flyers and some unmentionables. After the clean up, Lincoln Community Church provided a BBQ for all the volunteers at the Fairplex. Yum!

Our day was not over yet. Off to Torrance Art Museum for an excellent show Set Theory: Roland Reiss – Curated by Max Presneill with top artists including Roland Reiss, Lisa Adams, Dean DeCocker, Michael Salerno, and our next months artist, Kristi Lippire, to name a few. The show boasted great large scale works from these artists...it's a must see!

Getting back on the OC freeways, we headed to Santa Ana's first Saturday artwalk, first stopping by at OCCCA. A.S. Ashley made to billing with his signature "Venus" piece hung front and center in the gallery. Peter Frank juried this wonderful exhibition featuring great works from artist all over, even as far as Denmark. Just down the street, Grand Central Art Center featured great exhibits with extremely talented artists. The main room had the work of Laurie Lipton who created very intricate, detailed graphite drawings on paper. Subjects included a whole apartment building of faces looking on with undisturbed expressions as a woman is mugged and stabbed. Another features a smiling 50's dressed woman turning on a very intricate machine, as if somehow igniting some horrible doomsday device. In the project room, artist Christopher Ulrich created very large scale demon figures in very bright and comic like style. The demons ranged from self devouring human squids to baby doll headed, club wielding video game bosses.

Sunday evening we were back on the other side of SoCal, visiting the Robert Dowd exhibit opening at CCAA Museum of Art in Rancho Cucamonga. Curated by Cheryl Bookout, this exhibit features "Money" pieces from the collection of Joan and Jack Quinn. Works include paintings of the the Treasury building on fire, Picasso on a dollar bill, and cut up depictions of American currency. It was a great 1960's Pop Art exhibit you have to check out.

All in all, it was a great and busy weekend for art and trash pick up. No brake here, next weekend is Second Saturday.

Slideshow to follow:

-Juan

Taste of Pomona

The Taste of Pomona was a real success!

Tonight was the 6th annual Taste of the Pomona Valley held by the Pomona Chamber of Commerce. It was our 3rd year of having a Bunny Gunner booth and the most successful.
There were lots of restaurants in attendance all giving the crowd a sampling of their best foods. Tony's Famous French Dip was a favorite with their sandwiches and potato salad sampling as was the Finish Line with their tasty little tacos.

Other notables were the Coco Palm serving up some paella , beef wellington by the Sheraton's own McKinley Grill and

JT Schmid's Brewery keeping us happy with their IPA's. But the best food of the night would have to be the pot roast served on rice by Euro Cafe. For dinning entertainment, the music was great with a band of Mariachis and some Blues singers. To top it all off, we won three out of the 12 prizes in the raffle! Wine, cheese, snacks and gift certificates, wow, I was worried someone would think it was fixed! Thanks to Frank Garcia and everyone at the Pomona Chamber of Commerce for making this another successful event!

We'll see you next year.

Pomona April Artwalk 2010

Second Saturday came fast this month, but we were ready. At Bunny Gunner we had on display the work of Kent Anderson Butler. He had a great opening with lots of people coming to see his new body of work "Embodied Fusion". Lots of students from Azusa Pacific University were in attendance there to support Kent who teaches at the school. Others stopped by and asked questions about the process and intention of the work. I didn't get a chance to go out anywhere else, but I heard "We Are Abstract" show at SCA went really well. DBA256 had the work of a competition winner from an Ovation TV art contest. The dA had their annual CGU exhibit which never ceases to be amazing. Blue Core featured a new show by two artist one of them Cindy Rinne. AC Projects had their second showing of "Curiosities of the Curio" and Pedersen Projects had the work of Jaime Jimenez and Jophen Stein who are both amazingly skilled painters.
Besides that, there were lots of other exciting things going on all over the colony. 35 plus galleries and growing, what would you expect?
-Juan
photo by Ren, Jill Carol and Susie Thorp:

We got Married!

You may have noticed, we haven't posted anything in a while. Well if you don't know, we have been really busy. To start, we had ALL U CAN EAT in February, our biggest art show of the year. One week after that we got married at the Fox Theater then a week later was the last Saturday Art reception.
Early March we did another art opening of Arturo Loya's painitngs then left for our Honeymoon the very next morning. Well, we got back from Savannah this week and are trying to catch up where we left off. We'll be posting new fun things as soon as we get back on our feet. Thanks for you patience....
We would like to share photos from our wedding and trip to Savannah...
-Juan

February Artwalk 2010

Last night was the opening for our annual ALL U CAN EAT art show at Bunny Gunner. What a night it was, we had a huge turnout of people with times where you couldn't walk in the door. All the artists were happy and their collectors even more. Great sales due to the affordable prices with some artists selling out. Total pieces topped 114 with Fr. Bill alone selling 19 and Manuel Ortega doing really well with six of seven selling, and Jophen Stein selling all five of his little chess piece foxes. We had plenty of good snacks and beer with both seeming to disappear as soon as it went out. It was a fun night with good people, if you missed it come down to our place and you'll find there are still lots of great pieces available.

Slideshow to follow:
photos by Ren, Jill Carol, Delaine Ureno and us :)

January Artwalk 2010

Probably one of the greatest art walks ever! Perfect weather, new galleries and group shows helped bring crowds of people out to enjoy the art. The dA had two amazing shows one titled "The New Traditionalists" and the other "In Front of the Real Thing". They have reconfigured the gallery by adding a new show wall and building a stage in the main gallery. This allowed for more prime wall space with was used well to exhibit great paintings and drawings by the artists. We at Bunny Gunner have a two man show titled "Muse Cruise". Our artists Brent Harada and Rusty Jordan made about 80 collaborative drawings that hung together in a huge grouping. SCA Project Gallery had their annual "Works on Paper" show which brought lots of people down to see and buy art. AC Projects had their "Organic Line" show which is a group of amazing artists all working in abstact linear form. Pedersen Projects and OBJCT Gallery also had new show adding to the excitement. Blue Core Gallery invited artist Norma Tanega to showcase her paintings. And on that same block, and across the street there were other galleries going late to keep the crowds happy. Over all good spirit was in the air, and this made a great art walk to start of the new decade. photo credits: Jill Carol, Richard Nunez, Kirk Pedersen, Susie Eaton and Juan Thorp
slideshow follows:

Fr. Bill is in the News

Our Good friend Fr. Bill Moore SS. CC. has made it into the news. From what I hear this article has been published all over the US. We are very proud of Fr. Bill and wish him much luck in 2010.

Artist priest finds God in abstract expressionism
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer













POMONA, Calif. — There's no steeple out front, no rows of pews inside, not even so much as a crucifix on display.


Still, this cramped little art studio in the middle of what, until not very long ago, was a street with as many broken dreams as it has potholes, is the closest thing to paradise Father Bill Moore has found. It's the place where the 60-year-old Catholic priest serves God by creating abstract paintings that he sells by the hundreds.

No ordinary preacher, Father Bill, as he's known throughout Pomona's fledgling arts district, long ago discarded his clerical collar in favor of a painter's smock. Only on Sundays does he trade it for holy vestments to deliver Mass at a local church or one of several detention facilities for youthful offenders.

All other times Moore is head of the Ministry of the Arts for the West Coast branch of his religious order, the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. His job is to serve God by painting whatever comes to mind.

"That's Bill's gift, his talent, and we have to support that," says Father Donal McCarthy, who is the order's West Coast provincial and Moore's superior. "When you've got a creative person, you shouldn't stifle that creativity."

Leaders of the order, founded more than 200 years ago in France, know of no other member whose only mission has been to paint. But then Moore, a child of the '60s who can quote the words of Jim Morrison, Bruce Springsteen and Jesus Christ with equal facility, has been a barrier-breaker since he ignored his provincial's order his freshman year of college to study either philosophy or theology. He majored in art instead.

"The next year, a letter came from the provincial saying all the students are now encouraged to major in subjects of their choice. I thought that was very cool," Moore recalls with a smile as he sits in the lobby of his modest studio sipping coffee. A copy of underground comic-book artist R. Crumb's "The Book of Genesis" sits on the coffee table and works by Japanese artist Kazumi Tanaka (a personal favorite) are displayed here and there.












Since early childhood, Moore says, he knew he had the calling - to be a painter. The call to be a priest came later.

"I was doing little abstract paintings when I was a little boy, like around 8, 9 years old," Moore recalls.

"My grandmother would just think they were the greatest things," he continues with a laugh. "The rest of the members of my family, they were, ahh, kind of more like art critics."

Not that the art world has been all that harsh on him. Moore's works, which are often compared to those of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, sell for more than $5,000 apiece, and he has been the subject of frequent shows at galleries throughout the Southwest. Any profits he makes from those shows go directly to his order.

"His work, as abstract as it is, has a definite spiritual quality to it," says Fenton Moore, who is curating a Moore exhibition that opened Dec. 24 at the Galerie Zuger in Santa Fe, N.M. "It could be that it comes more from his heart than what you feel from other abstract artists. Or it could also be because he's just a very religious person."

Although he once worked in a realistic style, doing figures and landscapes, Moore decided a dozen years ago that abstract expressionism would be his language.

That has caused some consternation among his order, like the time he was commissioned to do the stained-glass windows for St. Anne's Church in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and proposed a series of abstract works.

"The pastor there said, 'That's not going to happen,'" Moore recalled with a laugh. So he reverted to a traditional style for that work, as he did for a recent commissioned painting of Father Damien, patron saint of Hawaii, who was a member of Moore's order when he went to live among the lepers of Hawaii's Molokai island in the 1800s.

But when he works in his studio, Moore approaches each new project with no specific plan. Working with acrylic paints, he lets his ideas flow spontaneously onto canvas, then adds bits of metal, glass or other discarded, seemingly worthless materials to each painting. They represent redemption, a central theme in his order's belief that God's love is unconditional.

It's that approach, combined with his intricate brush skills, that makes his art so appealing, says fellow painter A.S. Ashley.

"I think the hard contrasts between the light areas and the colored fields are very striking and they draw you in," Ashley says. "And then, as you get closer, you see not only the textures but also some of the intimate details that exist within them."

Moore, who was ordained in 1975, spent much of his career as a traditional Catholic priest who happened to paint. That changed in 1998 when his superiors created the Ministry of the Arts.

Soon he had moved into a studio in a century-old building in this hardscrabble town 30 miles east of Los Angeles. He secluded himself in a rundown industrial neighborhood that was just beginning to reinvent itself as an arts district.

He still lives there, with his cat, in a cramped loft behind his work space. For entertainment he occasionally tunes in an ancient TV that requires hanging a coat hanger on its rabbit-ear antenna to pull in a local news channel.

But he doesn't mind.

"I don't know what it is to be really wealthy, but I feel so rich," he says, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically. "I get up in the morning and I do what I love to do."














---

Father Bill Moore: http://www.frbillmoore.com/

Galerie Zuger: http://galeriezuger.homestead.com/

The Associated Press

Stained Glass workshop at the SCA Gallery

Make Stained Glass!
BEGINNING COPPER FOIL CLASS
at the SCA Project Gallery

Instructor: Stacy Davies (www.ironsinthefireinc.com)
Dates: Mon., 7PM, beginning Jan. 25 (6 weeks)
Registration Fee: $80 (additional fee for materials) For More Information: SCAProjectGallery@gmail.com

Pomona Christmas Parade and December Artwalk

First off, at 10am there was the Christmas Parade that came down 2nd Street. It was quite a treat to have this going on right outside our front porch. There were a few floats, high school bands, city officials, art towers, veterans, a tribe and much more. The parade lasted a few hours with the rain stopping during most of it. All in all it was an added treat that promises to be bigger and better next year.

It was a rainy Second Saturday, but that didn't stop the hardcore artwalkers. Yes, the true fans made it out and about to keep the artwalk alive. Reports from the "West Side" say it was busy and they were swamped and had to send people home, (at 11pm). We were not without a steady crowd here at Bunny Gunner with the crowds enjoying the beautiful paintings or Dan Callis and all our Holiday Goodies. Just next door at Ink'd Chronicles, your's truly had a solo show of small pieces called "Corroded Diagram Outlet". Thanks for all those of you who came in and supported my show. SCA Project Gallery Store had reports of good sales throughout the day, showing people are in that shopping mood. Miramar also had a sale inviting reps from the industry to check out all their custom longboard merchandise. Down the street at Pedersen Projects, our friend Kirk was showcasing the work of a group of amazing artists. His gallery managed to pull a huge crowd on only his second opening.
Father Bill impressed with some new work showing at his studio gallery. A few doors down at The Blue Core Gallery had it's holiday art show called "Under the Tree" and did well to sell some small pieces to the eager collectors. dba256 continued it's exhibition of artist Alex Brown and had some bands entertaining the crowd. Rain or shine, the Artwalk will happen.

Heads up, most galleries will not be open Last Saturday due to the holiday, but Blue Core Gallery is planning an event for the night of the 26th.
www.thorpart.com
www.bunnygunner.com

November Artwalk 2009

Pomona Arts Colony Keeps Growing and Growing and Growing...

5 new galleries opened their doors in the arts colony this weekend, most of them on the ever growing "West Side". AC Projects is the return of Gallery Curator Andi Campogne to the Arts Colony. Her new ultra slick gallery is located next door to Blue Core Gallery and sports the amazing work of many well know artists. Just accross the street, 2 new galleries have emerged in the newly built Edison Building. The Galleries brought an new crowd to the area including a pack of lowrider cars parked outside. On the other side of the colony, Faded and Blured opened it's doors in the Founder's Building hosting a photography exhibit from their group of over 100. Down Thomas Street, Kirk Pedersen has his first opening at his new gallery, Pedersen Projects, showing his paintings and photos of urban decay from the far east.

Besides the new spaces, some of the regulars also delivered with powerful shows bringing in the eager art walker. The dA Gallery brought it's yearly show "Hands Across Aztlan" with the work of many artists all showcasing their spin on Chicano Art. During the opening, a group of Aztec dancers and musicians demonstrated traditional dance and music in the gallery, bring a sense of tradition to the exhibit. Next door, dba256 was showing the work of Alex Brown with a number of colored textured paintings spread through out the gallery. Sakura Ichi was the host of painter, Davis S. Wade's, work being displayed within the restaurant. Bunny Gunner featured the work of local artist, Shari Wasson. Her work didn't stop to amaze and excite the viewer to ask questions and look further into her detailed drawings. Next door Ink'd Chronicles kept the party going with a dj playing dance music for the crowds walking by. At OBJCT Gallery, another dj and drumer provided music for the art walkers attending the exhibit "Experimental". This show was a mix of paintings, design, and furniture all with the taste of the new and innovative.

All in all, the colony has not stopped to bring new people exposure to such a rich variety of art and entertainment. With new galleries sprouting up every month, the colony seems to have no apparent end as it keeps growing and growing and growing...

Last Saturday Artwalk and "Silver Scream" Halloween party at Acerogami

HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY AT ACEROGAMI

Costume Party. Hollywood/Movie Themed. Raffles, prizes, scary drinks, spooky photo booth, and more!

Big Weekend in Pomona/ Two Fun Events

Saturday

Sunday

Band Line-up

Artist

Sponsors/Vendors

Second Saturday Artwalk October 2009

IT was an extra busy 2nd Saturday this month with some new Galleries, lots of Music and new visitors from all over Southern California. Parts of Second St. were closed off to allow a few bands to play their music for the "Tattoo for the Cure" event at Ink'd Chronicles. And what a crowd they had, people were lining up to get their ribbon tattoo or piercing. The bands also provided entertainment for the hundreds of people in line to get into The Glass House to see the Swedish Metal band "Children of Bodom."
 
On the other end of Second St. or what we like to call "the West Side," and new gallery sprung up in the newly renovated Edison Building. "Silence Gallery" did well to bring a new crowd of artists and lookers to the ever-growing area. Also on the West Side, Fahter Bill Moore Studio Gallery, Blue Core Gallery and A.S.Ashley Studios reported being "swamped" with record numbers of new visitors.
 
Back to the dA Gallery and SCA, they also felt the crowds having to stay open a little later as people were still looking after 10pm. Two other events on Thomas Street also contributed to the record numbers of the night. Platform Skate won a contest and a touring skate park set up across from them where people got to enjoy skating all day. Just next door, Galeria Rustica celebrated 10 years in the Colony with a huge group art show with all from the Colony and beyond.
 
Overall, the good weather, the music, new galleries, big events and the art all contributed to another successful Pomona Arts Colony Art Walk. If you missed it, you have a second chance on Metro Night out Last Saturday Art Walk on the 31.
Photos by: Ren, Jill Carol, and Bunny Gunner

Breaking Free

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 10th
Resource Fair & Vigil: Saturday, October 24th

dA Center for the Arts
252 South Main Street
Pomona Arts Colony

Exhibit runs through the month of October

Thanks to the support of the dA Center for the Arts in Pomona's lively downtown art district, AWBW will present its "BREAKING FREE: Art as a Healing Tool" Exhibit through the month of October in commemoration of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Curated by Sandra Mueller, AWBW's Community Arts Liaison, the exhibit will focus on the healing power of art and the resilience of women and children in domestic violence shelters. Other works on display will include a large scale Family Story Tree mural and selections from Cathy Salser's Portraits of Survivors series. Opening on October 1st, the exhibit will also feature a reception on Saturday, October 10th, and a domestic violence resource fair and vigil in honor of survivors on October 24th.

Running concurrently at the nearby SCA Project Gallery is the juried show "Shelter."


AWBW thanks in advance Artist Advisory Circle Member J. Cheryl Bookout, director of the SCA Project Gallery, and Terry Castillo, managing director for dA, and their respective boards of directors for opening their doors to mobilize the public to help end domestic violence.

Saturday Night Art'n

It was a great night to be out and be art'n. There were 4 key events that took place and all did not stop to amaze. 1st off was the Claremont Museum of Art's two new exhibits, 10lb Ape "Your Mother Was Beautiful Once" and "An Enduring Legacy".

10lb ape consisted of huge installed "shacks" plastered with nick knacks, posters, messages, furniture and lots other wacky items all within the room of the museum exhibition space. Our friend Matt Wardell installed all this with items he found rummaging around his community in alleys and yard sales.

"An Enduring Legacy" is a show that represents work that has been newly acquired to the permanent collection. The exhibit was displayed in a kind of time line, with more modern local region artists such as James Heuter, and Carl Benjamin, giving way to the newer contemporary works of such artists like Alex Couwenburg, Rebecca Hamm, and Gary Geraths.

Just across from the museum was Alex Brown's solo exhibition of his textured abstract landscape pieces. The great numbers of the works allow you to explore Alex's sense of experimentation.

Last but not least we headed over to 5IFTYBUCKS Gallery in Pomona to see Tom Pathe's Solo exhibit. First reaction, AMAZING, Tom created 5 new pieces ranging from his color panel pieces to rotated photographs beautifully mounted to clear acrylic. But the show stopper here was his incredible plywood cut out deer paintings mixed with resin and drawn elements. Tom, you never seize to amaze us, keep doing that.

-Juan

September's Second Saturday 2009 Photo Slideshow

Pomona Arts colony Artwalk from another perspective

Last night the Arts Colony had very special guests. We had a group of about 92 photographers who explored the entire Colony, snapping as many shots as they could along the way. They are part of a Photo group called "Faded and Blurred" who regularly schedule photo walks all over Southern Califonia. Luckily they chose Pomona's Artwalk this time and we benefit with the beautiful pictures they are sharing with us that show the Colony from a fresh perspective.
Thank you Faded and Blurred for sharing these beautiful photos with us!
We love Pomona and You really captured our essence!