You can save a few dollars if your registration is received BEFORE April 30th 2012.

($100 per child if registration is paid in full and received at CSAC BEFORE  April 30, 2011)

NOTE: We continue to accept registrations until the first day of camp or until registration is full.

Enrollment is limited, so register early!

All  fees include all art supplies, daily snack and a Camp T-Shirt!
For Ages 7 through 12 9am to Noon Each Day, June 18th to June 22nd

What is Summer Arts Camp?

Summer Arts Camp is a community-wide, week long, arts experience for children age 7 to 12 years and is held at Columbia Historic State Park.  It is chaired by Betsy Spring, Arts Specialist at Jamestown School and Cynthia Restivo, Theater specialist.  Students, ages 12 to 22, are camp counselors and are themselves students of the arts.  This is a fee-based camp and is staffed with volunteers, park officials, and with teaching artists from all arts disciplines.   It is a highly charged week culminating in a live student performance and an art show with a donated hot dog picnic for all.

“Art is the fourth ‘R.’  The arts play an important role in the healthy development of self-esteem, confidence and academic performance.  Summer ARTS Camp is designed to partner children ages 7 to 12 years old with professional artists and performers so students can explore their creative self-expression and appreciation of the arts. We strive to make it inspiring and insightful for the students, as well as thier parents… and it is fun!” –Betsy Spring, CSAC’s Summer ARTS Camp Director

When is Summer Arts Camp?

CSAC’s 2012 Summer Arts Camp Registration Form

If you appreciate the arts, please consider being a sponsor for the Summer Arts Camp. All donations are deeply appreciated.

The ARTS Camp 2012 Registration Form can be downloaded from this article’s link, or from the side column.

Sonora Art Trails (SAT) is an organization that helps support and promote the visual arts in Tuolumne County.  SAT showcases the quality and diversity of art produced in the Mother Lode. These artists have come together to educate the public about the importance of the visual arts by meeting them in their private studios. This event is not only a unique opportunity to discuss with the artists their creative processes; it’s also a feast for collectors and art aficionados alike. We recognize and embrace the importance of the Arts to enrich our lives, enhance our economic development and add value to our community.

Alexis Halstead

Patricia Cherry

Jack Cassinetto

Visiting the studios is free to the public. Hope to see you along the Trail.

Please download a map and images of the artwork of participating artists, located on the column to your left.

Monday April 30th–Closed Judging

Wed. May 2nd–Non Accepted entries posted

Friday, May 4th–6 to 8 Artist’s Reception–7pm awards

Sunday, May 20th–Show Closes–Pick up Artwork–3:15 to 5:00

The Central Sierra Arts Council (CSAC) and Mother Lode Art Association (MLAA) have collaborated to present a Juried Art Show featuring  a cycling related topic commemorating the Amgen Tour of California. Sonora will be the starting point of Stage 4 of the internationally renowned bicycle race on May 16^th

The exhibit will be held at the CSAC Galleries, 193 S. Washington Street in Sonora.  All net proceeds will go to the City of Sonora to help defray the expense of having the Amgen bicycle tour go through Sonora.

The show is titled, “Tour de Sonora: The Art of Cycling” features artwork that reflects pedal powered cycling related topics with six categories of entries: Acrylics and Oils, Water media, Mixed Media and Graphics, Three dimensional, Pastels and Photography.

The show has 100 entries from local area artists and will be judged by Hoyt Cory and Lori Hanson. Please take a look at Lori’s Work at her website:

http://rosengrove.com/

The show will be up  from May 5^th through May 20^th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at the CSAC location, 193 S. Washington St., Sonora.  The artist’s reception is May 4^th from 6 to 8 p.m. with awards presented at 7 p.m.  The public is invited.  All net proceeds will be donated to the City of Sonora to support the cost of the 2012 Amgen Event in Sonora.

Sonora Art Groups Central Sierra Arts Council (CSAC) and Mother Lode Art Association (MLAA) are collaborating to present an Art Show titled, “Tour de Sonora: The Art of Cycling” commemorating the Amgen Tour of California Sonora – Stage 4.  Sonora will be the starting point of Stage 4 of the internationally renowned bicycle race on May 16^th.

For further information go to www.centralsierraarts.com.

For questions, call Renetta Hayes, 984-4048 or email rhayes714@aol.com.

Delivery of the art is Friday, April 27^th, to the CSAC Gallery. If you have any questions, contact Irene Taylor, 588-0959 rinimt@yahoo.com or Constance O’Connor, 532-2787 connie@centralsierraarts.org.

Central Sierra Arts Council
193 South Washington St., Sonora, CA
532-ARTS [2787]

At the end of the evening Jonathon Bermea, a Sonora High Senior, was chosen as the First Place winner.  He will now go on to represent Tuolumne County at the California State Poetry Out Loud Final Competition, which will take place in Sacramento on March 25th and 26th.  He recited three poems that brought him top honors: “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne, “To the Desert” by Benjamin Alire Saénz and a contemporary poem, “Ego” by Denise Duhamel.  Second Place honors went to Teresa Woods, a sophomore at Connection Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts. Woods will serve as Tuolumne County’s Runner-Up in Sacramento in the event that Bermea is unable to compete.  In addition, Lauren Dempsey, a Freshman at Connections Academy, won Third Place honors.

Four local high schools participated in the annual event that involved 500 hundred students countywide since this year’s program began in September 2011.  Representing Tioga High School at the final contest was Junior Chalea Carter.  Representing Summerville High School was Junior Cade Huff.  Other representatives from Connections Academy included Freshman Emily Fishburn, Sophomore Lorna Job and Junior Adria Britton.  “POL diverges from any other type of competition that you see in high school life,” states county Poetry Out Loud coordinator B.Z. Smith. “Across the country students must select their poems from one anthology. Then they spend a great deal of time perfecting their recitations. POL draws all kinds of kids.”

Participating students had the opportunity to work with Rick Foster of Duende Drama & Literature,  (another one of CSAC’s partners) who for the third year served as Tuolumne County’s official Poetry Out Loud coach. Foster works with the students on poem selection, tips for memorization and how to better understand their poems. As a respected theatre director, Foster also helps each student refine his or her performance. “This program requires each student to make a huge personal commitment and a willingness to dig deep into emotional and intellectual levels,” Foster comments. “Many of the poems selected create powerful images of life’s greatest struggles. Each competitor has worked very hard.” Students who go on to compete in the upper tiers experience a profound impact on their understanding of literature, on their public speaking skills and on their self-confidence.

We couldn’t do our local POL without a lot of community support,” CSAC’s executive director, Connie O’Connor-Gahagan, explains. “This year more than 28 local businesses and individual donors helped out.” Lead sponsors included Front Porch, Inc., Blue Mountain Minerals, Sonora Staples, Save Mart Supermarket, Sonora Umpqua Bank and Emberz Restaurant. In addition, the Bermea family will receive a travel stipend to help the family make the two-day trip to Sacramento.  “We want any student to have the privilege of representing our county,” O’Connor states. “This travel assistance allows so that this honor doesn’t cause a financial burden on any family. And our local sponsors make that happen. CSAC is very grateful for these gifts.”

For more information on Poetry Out Loud, visit www.poetryoutloud.org.  For more information on Central Sierra Arts Council’s programs, visit www.centralsierraarts.org or call (209)532-2787.  Central Sierra Arts Council is designated by the Tuolumne County Boad of Supervisors to be its public agency for the arts, working in cooperation with the California Arts Council.  This year California tax payers can “Check Off the Arts” on their state income tax forms to help funnel revenues to local arts programs. For more information on “Check Off the Arts,” visit www.cac.ca.gov.

The classes will be held on these dates:

Jan. 13 & 27
Feb. 10 & 24
March 9 & 23
April 13 & 27
May 11 & 25

For more information, to make arrangements for supplies and to register, please call:

209 588-0959 (Irene), or CSAC (209) 588-0959

Cost: $75.00 for 4 weeks, or $20.00 a week.

Downloadable flyer for the class HERE.

by Allison Fairfield

The show, which opened Feb. 4th, has over 200 entries, one of the largest in recent history of InFocus. This is one of the Council’s most successful shows and draws entries from across the State. The InFocus 2012 Exhibition is at the Arts Council Gallery at 193 South Washington Street in downtown Sonora.

Opening reception was Feb. 11th, from 5:00 until 7:30. Gianelli Vineyards and Chuck Hovey  poured wonderful Italian wines. Local restaurants  donated appetizers for the event.

Best of Show by Allison Fairfield entitled: Dust to Dust.

Judges Holding Winning Entries

February 4th through 29th, 2012

Prizes of $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place was  awarded in three categories: Monochrome, Color, and Alternative Process, including Black and White, and Color manipulations.  A best of Show Award of $100 was awarded. Additional ribbons for Honorable Mention and Judge’s Choice.

InFocus  judges for this year are:
Kim Komenich, former San Francisco Chronicle photographer and professor at San Jose State University. www.kimkom.com.
Mark Citret, teaches photography at UC Santa Cruz and Berkeley Extensions and is represented by several photography galleries. www.mcitret.com.
Janet Delaney, a photography educator and three-time NEA award winner. www.janetdelaney.com.

This year featured the Charles Moore Excellence in Photography Award honoring nationally renown photographer Charles Moore for the image that is most inspirational in the spirit of Charles’ work. The award is sponsored by local Clarke Broadcasting. Charles lived in Tuolumne County in the 1980s and 90s and helped make InFocus a better exhibition. Charles won international awards for his photojournalism during the civil rights protests of the 1960s. He also published a pictorial book, “The Mother Lode,” in 1983 which has gone through several editions.

The Awards Reception was Saturday, February 11. The show will remain up through February 29th.

New for this year is a larger gallery space displaying more entries. All of the gallery space was devoted exclusively to the IN FOCUS Exhibition.