Kenney Mencher: This Month at the Palo Alto Art Center

Discover Different Types of Art in August!

Find a new way to express yourself with art this August! At the Palo Alto Art Center, we like to believe that artmaking can take any form, and be created through any type of material. August showcases that approach, with our hosting of the Mobile Digital Art & Creativity Summit. Drop by the Art Center during the Summit, from August 7-9, to see the creative potential of mobile devices for artmaking and expression! Classes and workshops this month also explore diverse media, from sculpting with wire, to lost-wax casting and more! We hope that you’ll be surprised this month with new ways to make art!

Karen Kienzle

Palo Alto Art Center, Director

Detail, Kinder Blitz, 2006, Walter Robinson

Final Month for Summer Exhibition, Artist-in-Residence

With summer winding down, you have the month of August to view our summer exhibition, Home Grown: Walter Robinson and meet artist-in-residence Joel Daniel Phillips. In our Main Gallery, we showcase the largest survey exhibition to date of Palo Alto native Walter Robinson. In our Glass Gallery, artist Joel Daniel Phillips creates highly detailed portraits of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park residents using charcoal and graphite on Thursdays from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. His residency ends on Aug. 29 and Robinson’s exhibition closes on Aug. 30. You can read an insightful review of Walter Robinson’s exhibition in Art Practical here.

Thanks to our Counselors-in-Training

A special “thank you” to our Summer Camp Counselors-in-Training (CITs) who assist professional artist instructors in the day-to-day running of the camps. Our CITs help manage the classrooms, encouraging campers, prepping art supplies and more! This summer, we had 48 CITs who provided support to 37 camps. CITs will give more than 1,300 hours of service this summer. Application for next year’s CIT program begins in February. For more information, contact Emily Lacroix, Director of Volunteer and Intern Programs at emily.lacroix@cityofpaloalto.org.

Clay & Glass Festival Champagne Breakfast a Success

On a beautiful Saturday morning in July, more than 75 Palo Alto Art Center Foundation members enjoyed mimosas, coffee and a delicious breakfast at our annual Clay and Glass Festival breakfast. During the breakfast, members were able to preview the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California exhibition in our auditorium and then wander the festival grounds to begin their shopping ahead of the crowds. Join the Foundation today so that next year you can enjoy this annual tradition!

More Reasons to Join the PAACF

The Palo Alto Art Center Foundation (PAACF) is the nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the reach and impact of the Art Center through fundraising and advocacy. The Foundation supports all of the Art Center's major program areas including free-admission exhibitions, our school tour program Project LOOK!, art classes for adults and children, and volunteer programs. Help support these valuable programs by joining today!

Get in on the Fun During Summer Workshops

Our Adult Studios are wrapping up the summer session with some great workshops. In our Lost Wax Casting workshop, learn wax modeling, investing, burnout, and other casting techniques from master metalsmith Brian Meek or register for Ceramic Press-Molding and use simple press molds to maximize your creative expression in clay. You can also sign up for Sculpting with Wire and Reed with Mitra Fabian and learn to use wire and caning reed to build sculptures. Last but not least, our Photography-Wide Angle Perspective workshop will show you how to take dramatic photographs using multiple-point perspectives. Take a workshop and discover your inner artist!

Adult Studios Fall Registration Begins

Fall registration for Adult Studio classes and workshops opens this month for residents on Aug. 21 and for non-residents on Aug. 28. We will be offering a wide range of ceramics courses this fall, as well as classes in drawing, painting, jewelry fabrication and photography. Check out some of our more unique classes such as Box Making for Artists and our new Mobile (iPad) Art Academy. You may register for classes here, or in-person at the Art Center beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the first day of registration.

New Family, Teen & Outreach Programming Coordinator

Please join us in welcoming Lauren Baines to the Art Center as the Family, Teen, & Outreach Programming Coordinator. Lauren is recent graduate of Mills College with a MFA in Dance and holds a BA and BS from Santa Clara University where she tripled majored in Theatre Arts, Art History, and Psychology. Lauren was also the Project Manager of Art/Education/Residency Programs at Montalvo Arts Center where she managed a wide range of arts education programs. Welcome, Lauren!

Children's Fine Art Fall Registration Begins

Fall registration for Children’s Fine Art (CFA) classes and workshops begins Aug. 21 for residents, and Aug. 28 for non-residents. This fall we are offering a broad range of classes for preschoolers, children and teens, including introductory courses for art, ceramics, painting, drawing, stop-motion animation, and photography. We will also be offering a Creative Mapping class that ties in with our fall exhibition, Front Yard/Backstreet. You may register for classes here, or in-person at the Art Center beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the first day of registration.

A Tiny House for Your Home

The miniature houses created by artist Allan Fisch have proven to be a popular item in the Gallery Shop! The tiny structures, composed of found metals, are one-of-a-kind pieces that will brighten any shelf or coffee table. Allan, who spent his career as a physician, found his artistic calling in woodworking five years ago, using a pine bough and chainsaw. Drop by the Gallery Shop to purchase one of his metal houses before they’re all gone.