A Day in The Shade: Templeton's Annual Day of Art in the Park
Approaching Day in the Shade in Templeton
A walk through the park is a walk through the arts.
The Saturday before Mothers Day every year sees the city park in Templeton, California, transformed into an art fair, but it's not a quiet, sedate event. The air is full of the sound of live music, and people are spontaneously dancing to it on the sidewalks. People move from tasting wine at one booth to seeing bold colors on canvas at the next. It's the place to get hand made greeting cards, expensive paintings, hand crafted lawn furniture, jewelry, creations made from barrels, ironwork, birdhouses, and much more -- all being sold by the people who created them.
I hope as you walk through the Templeton City Park with me, see the sights, and hear the sounds in the videos, you will pick up the carefree mood of those who were actually there. Whether you are watching dancers, enjoying a juggling act with flaming torches, tasting wine, or strolling through the booths of the artists, your senses are always being pulled somewhere else nearby. It's like walking through a moving collage. And that's a bit how I will present it -- as I saw it. I hope you will enjoy our Day in the Shade. This one took place on May 8, 2010, but it happens every year. In 2011 it was May 7. I wrote about the 2011 event here: Artisans Demonstrate their Creativity at Templeton's Annual Day in the Shade Art in the Park Celebration
Even the Kids Enjoy Day in the Shade
Day in the Shade Has Something for Everyone
As the picture below shows, everything available is not a planned event, but the props are in the park. There is much for children to enjoy if the art exhibits don't interest them yet. As we entered, you saw the playground, and it was very busy on this day. I didn't see many children in the booths looking at the artistic creations to be seen. But there were events planned to get their interest and involvement. One of these was a juggling act by Trey Cromwell, which I will show you here.
As we walk through the exhibits, you will hear the musicians in the background. It seems there was always music, and it contributed to the carefree, festive feeling at this event. We will stop and look at some booths in detail so you can get a feel for the variety of artistic talents that were on display. We will also talk to some of the artists on video.
Meet the Organizer
Pati Coelho, now Events Coordinator for Adelaida Cellar in Paso Robles, has been responsible for the birth of Day in the Shade since it began. Let's meet her and let her explain how it all began.
Arriving at the Park for Day in the Shade
In this short video you will get a feel for what we saw and heard as we approached and entered the park and made our way toward the exhibits. The music you hear in the background throughout all these videos is produced by Funk: 30, the group that played and/or sang at the event the entire time I was there. They do funk, blues, rock, and R&B.
Amazing Creations from Old Jewelry
This video introduces Dan Shattuck and displays some of the very original items he has made. My favorite was the cross, which I believe you will see on the wall of the booth. Dan has a shop at Etsy you might want to visit if you like his work and would like to own some. He displays his work at events throughout California year-round.
Recycling silverware into art objects
Seeing the amazing array of creations made from old silverware was fascinating for me. As you saw above, there was everything from jewelry to clocks and wall crosses. Have you seen this kind of art before? I'm not very artistic, so it's hard for me to imagine someone being able to look at a bunch of old silverware and envision it as part of a clock or a bracelet.
Have you seen art objects made from old silverware before seeing this page?
Trey Cromwell: Professional Showoff, Magician, and Juggler - "Ask, and I shall deceive."
I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time when Trey started his show. What's most interesting about Trey, in my opinion, is the way he draws in the crowd with his words. I tried to cut the length of this, but then discovered it really was a whole I shouldn't tamper with, so I only cut out the warm-up. As you watch, you will find yourself laughing, just as I did. Enjoy.
Etty Klinger's Paintings
Day In the Shade Artists
An Introduction
I walked through booth after booth where talented artists were exhibiting their work. Some were more willing to talk about it on video than others, but most of them allowed me to quickly record their booth walls so you can get an idea of the kind of work they produce. The agreement was that I would need to not linger on any painting long enough for it to be easy to reproduce. All of these works are, of course, copyrighted and it is illegal to make reproductions of them without the artist's consent. I hope you enjoy their work as much as I did. Now let's see what they have created.
The picture here shows some work of Etty Klinger. Her booth was difficult to photograph and she didn't want to speak to the public, but you can see more of her work and learn more about her here on her web site.
Art and the People Who Create It
Painters
This section of Day in the Shade is devoted to those who paint with various media, though some of them were exhibiting more than one type of work in their booths. I was amazed at the variety of paintings I saw and the different methods the artists used. I will be showing you around some of these exhibits and interviewing some of the artists who are willing to be interviewed.
Deborah Kunic: Buckaroo Artist
I first met Deborah many years ago when I moved to Templeton. She and I attended the same church at that time and we had some common interests. Although I knew she was an artist, I knew her primarily as the owner of a small ranch in San Miguel where she raised rabbits, sheep, pigs, ponies, and more. When she moved to another church we lost touch except for an occasional meeting at the post office. I was glad to see her exhibiting at Day in the Shade. Her specialty is western art, and she also does sculptures, some of which you will see in her booth.
When I began to interview Debbie, she had told me quite a bit before I discovered my flip wasn't set to record. That accounts for me asking her to repeat herself at the beginning of the video. After she explains her business and techniques briefly, I will show you her work in the last part of the video.
Rosanne Seitz
This is a quick tour around the booth of aritist Rosanne Seitz. She does watercolor paintings
Paula J. Schroeder - Oriental Brush Painting
In this video, Paula introduces herself and tells us how she got started. Then we will take a quick look at her work.
Tony Stuart - The Covered Canvas
Tony's work is quite unusual. I've never seen anything quite like it. That's why I was glad he was willing to talk about his techniques. I wish you were able to see this in person, up close, since parts of the paintings have depth and almost jump off the canvas. Let's meet Tony now, and look around.
Do you paint, or want to paint, with acrylic paints?
John V. Partridge - Watercolor Artist of the California Central Coast
John grew up in the Los Angeles area and discovered he had not only artistic talent, but a curiosity about how things worked. He won honors for his mechanical drawings. He started his first business, Advanced Adapters, Inc., when he was 25, and was responsible for designing aftermarket automotive products. He began studying watercolor painting in the 1990s. You can learn more about John and his art at his web site, http://johnvpartridgeart.com/about.php
Julie Dunn Fine Art
This is a part of Julie Dunn's exhibit at Day in the Shade at Templeton City Park on May 8, 2010. She tells us a bit about her background and her work in tempera batik paintings.
I'd Love Your Feedback.
Feel free to respond to these artists here. What did you like best about their work?
© 2010 Barbara Radisavljevic