Photograph by George Sakkestad

Saratogan Gloria Watson, who enjoys painting her colorful front yard, will show some of her works at the South Bay Fine Arts Festival.




Local artists show in South Bay festival

By Shari Kaplan

Saratoga, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno have long been known for providing much for the artistic community.

The area is inspiring for those who wish to paint the blooming trees, magnificent mansions and wooded, rural mountains. Artists also reside here, with many adding home studios to their property. Among those who do not live within town or city limits, many still belong to the various creative organizations within these communities.

Among these is the Saratoga Contemporary Artists, the Mountain Art Guild and the Los Gatos Art Association, all of which are participants in the fifth annual South Bay Fine Arts Festival, which runs June 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gardens of the Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara.

The festival is presented by the Visual Artists' Associations Summit at the Triton, in cooperation with the Triton itself. VAAST is a non-profit coalition of Bay Area art organizations; its mission is to promote original fine art as well as art education. Ten percent of VAAST show sales goes back to the Triton.

According to Saratoga Contemporary Artists secretary Gloria Watson, more than a dozen of her group's 55 or so members are exhibiting at the Triton. The members--who hail from Saratoga, Los Gatos, San Jose and other nearby communities--work in all mediums, including watercolor, pastel, oils, sculpture and woodcuts. In existence since the 1950s, the SCA is "a group of people who enjoy art for art's sake. You don't have to be great at it, just appreciate it," Watson says.

The SCA is a community organization that promotes the arts and lets artists of different levels and styles socialize, network, review each others' works and occasionally paint together. They also hold monthly meetings that feature guest speakers, artists and demonstrations.

As for herself, Watson says she will "forever be a beginner." A retired research librarian at Stanford University's Hoover Institute, Watson has been doing oil paintings for about 10 years and has always had an interest in and appreciation for fine art. "It's always a challenge to put something from your mind onto a flat plane. It's a very satisfying thing to do," she adds.

Although the Mountain Art Guild is smaller and younger than the SCA, its members--who hail from the Santa Cruz Mountains above Los Gatos and Saratoga--offers a wide variety of works: Phil Lang in metal and stone sculpture; Wendy Mann in photography; Summer Poris in quilts; Lori Scott in hand-woven garments; Irene Seales in photography and Linda Spencer in encaustic art. Then there's the realistic yet whimsical animal head "sculptures" by guild president Merikay MacKenna. As an alternative to hunting trophies stuffed via taxidermy, MacKenna uses a variety of mediums to handcraft and mount dozens of different animal heads of her own design.

According to LGAA member Maralyn Miller and VAAST liaison, her group has about 50 paintings and sculptures in the show by dozens of members. Some will also be working on pieces from their Nutcracker Project, for which each artist takes a whimsical character from the Nutcracker Ballet, enlarges it and creates his or her own three-dimensional interpretation using paints, cardboard and other mediums. The project will be complete for display in the 1999 Los Gatos Christmas Parade.

A California native, Miller says she's enjoyed drawing and painting for as long as she can remember. "I knew I didn't really want to be anything but a professional artist," recalls Miller, who has also exhibited in Gallery Saratoga. "I've tried many other pursuits in my life, but I didn't get into any of them as much as I get into art."

She went on to obtain a bachelor's of fine arts degree and has studied under many accomplished artists. Although she owned art supply and framing stores for 30 years, Miller always found time to paint. While developing her craft, Miller realized her "style" is that she has no single style. Instead, her works run the gamut from realistic to impressionistic to the non-objective and abstract. "My style is all over the board. I've even been called 'the schizophrenic painter!'" she adds, chuckling.

Along with dozens of booths representing Bay Area art societies, the VAAST show also includes a Hall of Honor showcasing winners in seven creative categories, juried by three experienced artists and art educators. Free entertainment includes a harpist, two big band bands and Monte Sereno resident Ned Gault as a strolling accordionist. Food, drinks and ice cream will be available for purchase. For more information, call the Triton Museum at 247-3754.

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