Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Potter Linda Mau has participated in the Rotary show for 10 years. Two of her pieces are a Mobius strip (left) and "Twin Obelisks."

Rotary brings art to WVC

The largest one-day art show west of the Mississippi

By Carolyn Leal

If you love art, then circle Sunday, May 4, on the calendar. That's when the grounds surrounding West Valley College will sprout virtually every type of art and craft imaginable, from the detailed oils of Saratogan Robert Sugita to the rustic wrought-iron yard ornaments of Steve Hamilton.

The Rotary Art Show is in its 39th year and is known as the largest one-day art show west of the Mississippi, says chairman Larry Grace.

On the day of the show, more than 100 Saratoga Rotarians, along with their spouses and children and members of Interact Clubs at Saratoga and Prospect high schools, will pitch in to handle transactions for the sale of art and crafts, to cook food such as the famous Saratoga pepperbelly sandwich, to staff food booths and to make some 30,000 art buyers and viewers welcome.

Parking at the West Valley College campus, 14000 Fruitvale Ave., is free, as is admission to the show, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also free is entertainment by such groups as Saratoga Sister City Taiko; the Harmonics, a steel band; the Saratoga High School Jazz Choir and the Saratoga Brass Ensemble.

About 175 artists have been chosen to represent their art forms in the show. This year's show will feature 58 painters and graphic artists, 19 ceramicists, 21 working in paper and fiber arts, 24 creating jewelry, 10 photographers, 16 sculptors and 27 other craftsmen and women. Rotary show entries are juried by artists prior to the annual event, and fewer than half of those who submit their work are chosen to be in the show.

Each year, Saratoga Rotary commissions an artist to create a poster for the show. The 1997 poster features a lidded jar by Bruce Fruend of Southern California.

The first Saratoga Rotary Art Show in 1959 presented only 20 artists and was held in Saratoga Village along Big Basin Way, which was closed to auto traffic.

The purpose, then and now, says chairman Grace, is to present high-quality contemporary art for viewing and purchase, to create a stimulating community event and to raise funds for nonprofit organizations. Money raised will be returned to the community in the form of grants to organizations from the Saratoga Rotary Service Fund.

"All of the proceeds, after expenses, go into the Saratoga Rotary Service Fund.

"We build an endowment for a rainy day, and we all pray this is not the year we need it," Grace says. The show grossed more than $500,000 last year and netted about $110,000, Grace says.

Over the years, more than $700,000 has been given to qualified organizations who present grant requests to Saratoga Rotary. Some of the recipients have been the Saratoga Education Foundation, Saratoga Community Center, American Red Cross, Books Aloud, Boy Scouts of America, Hakone Foundation and Garden, InnVision's homeless shelters, Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen and Montalvo Center for the Arts.

Each show is a product of a full year of planning by the club's art show chairman, a dozen or more committees and artist coordinator Mary Fleischli. Wil Houde has already been named as next year's art show chairman.

"We go from wrapping up one show to starting another," Grace says.

In addition to the 175 artists showing their work, the event features a display of children's art from more than 30 area schools, a West Valley College student art section and the Olympiad of the Arts award ceremony, which presents awards to young people in a number of art-allied fields. The Olympiad is sponsored by the West Valley-Mission College Foundation.

Los Gatos artists in the show are Dolly Cahill Johnson, Jen Raynes and Tom Entrikin.

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