Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Wendy Mattson's watercolor 'A Closer Look' is featured on this year's Rotary Art Show poster.

Rotary Art Show marks 40 years

By Shari Kaplan

What exactly is the Saratoga Pepperbelly?

Visitors to the Saratoga Rotary Club's Rotary Art Show may or may not know the answer to this puzzler, while those who've never attended this annual community event are bound to be completely stumped.

The Saratoga Pepperbelly, while a food item in itself, is also part of a larger recipe that comprises a large helping of fine arts and crafts; a generous portion of music, magic and comedy; free parking and admission; and a garnish of food, drinks and treats. This is the recipe that Saratoga's Rotarians have followed for the past 40 years in preparing their art show, and this year is no different.

On May 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the campus of West Valley College, located at 14000 Fruitvale Ave., becomes a larger-than-life palette colored by 175 artisans selling their works in the mediums of painting, graphics, ceramics, paper and fiber arts, jewelry, crafts, sculpture and photography.

The Saratoga Rotary Club organizes the show not only to promote Bay Area talent, but also to invest the proceeds in the community. Each year, the 12-member Rotary Service Fund meets quarterly to review grant requests and allocate funds. The foundation is a separate legal entity established to handle and disperse proceeds of the art show. Allocations go primarily to nonprofit organizations in Santa Clara County for specific needs rather than general operating funds.

This year's artists were selected from more than 300 original applicants by a panel of three artist-jurors chosen to represent the best of their particular art forms. There is also a display of children's art from more than 30 area schools, a section of art for sale by West Valley College students and an awards ceremony for the young people honored by the recent Olympiad of the Arts, which was sponsored by the West Valley/Mission College Foundation.

This year's 1998 poster artist is Wendy Puthuff Mattson, a California native and 1982 graduate of Saratoga High School. A graduate of Illinois' Principia College with degrees in fine arts and business administration, Mattson's favorite medium is watercolor.

She is known for her lush florals and intimate children's images that incorporate strong color and light. She will be exhibiting at the show; her work is also on display at Studio 42 Gallery in downtown Los Gatos.

This 40th anniversary year of the art show contrasts sharply with its 1959 premiere, in which only 20 artists participated. For its first 22 years, the show took place in the Saratoga Village. The show's size and variety grew steadily and by 1981 necessitated a much larger venue. It's been held at West Valley College ever since.

This year's entertainment lineup includes taiko drumming, a Caribbean steel band, a cappella jazz, world beat tunes, an eclectic band that performs music from classical to Broadway, a saxophone group and several novelty entertainers offering magic, clowning, balloon animals, juggling and storytelling.

And what about the infamous Saratoga Pepperbelly? It's a piquant sandwich invented by the Rotarians some 10 years ago consisting of a mild Italian sausage on a sourdough roll. Covering the sausage is a "secret sauce" which, among other things, includes green peppers and onions.

For more information about the 40th annual Saratoga Rotary Art Show, call Don Miller at 867-7653 or Mary Fleischli at 725-2434, or visit the club's Web site at www.saratogarotary.org.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]