Opinion
The Joys of S-M
It's here to stay, Use it! ! !
Artists that I enjoy from America and Mexico
Written by
John Griswold
Focus On...
A registered non-profit corp.
501[c][3]
Modesto, CA
Several things I would like to cover in my rant. First of all, a lot of folks are thrilled about the Focus On… magazine but one question seems to be…Will you be adding a calendar? Answer is: Not anytime in the foreseeable future. There are several other local magazines that do a spectacular job and we do not want to step on them or their purpose. Focus On… is a magazine that will look at the arts more in depth and as our subheading suggests: “Celebrating, Exploring and Supporting the Arts” add to that as well…Educating. Unlike the other great magazines that cover many aspects of life as does Stanislaus Magazine, or Modesto View that does a stellar job of where to go and what to do. Our sole expression is “all things art.” So, please, enjoy and if you have any suggestions, let us know.
Say whatever you want about Social Media, especially Facebook. I have found it as a valuable tool in communicating, discovering interesting people and connecting to people in the arts world. It has connected me with artists and musicians from all over the world. I have found too, that I use it nearly as much, or maybe more, than email. I log on to Facebook in the morning and leave it on. Since a lot of my work with the magazine and other design projects that I work on...the computer is practically my home.
As many of you may know, I put on small intimate concerts, mostly jazz and world music, and in addition to my regular email list, I use Facebook to promote them. Of the thousand or so “Friends,” probably 80 percent have been to one of my concerts at one time or another. Many of the rest are either personal friends or artists and musicians. This medium has partially become my advertising tool to let people know what is going on.
Social Media is here to stay, only getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. I do not tweet or use any of the other social programs….yet. As this medium becomes more widely used, I am sure I will join all the others. My point is that, especially facebook, these are no longer just a toy, they have grown up and become invaluable as a tool for business, catching up, learning (A lot of great info there) and socializing. A lot of non-users I know don’t use SM because of the privacy issue. Well, duh...if you don’t want the world to know what you are up to-don’t post it.
I am going to share briefly some of the artists and music that I have discovered through FB. This missive will continue on our webpage with further examples of art and music that I enjoy and hopefully you will enjoy as well.
Yvette LaForce
Las Vegas and Modesto
One of my last discoveries is a woman artist who currently is residing in Las Vegas and has some of the most stunning artwork, work that really spoke to me. It turns out she actually lives in Modesto, most of the time. Small world!
Anyhoo, I was hoping to do a feature on Yvette’s work in this issue, but space didn’t allow. So, I am tossing out this teaser and hopefully we will get to have her as a featured artist in an upcoming issue.
She has an amazing sense of color and form. Her expressions of her paintings are spectacular. This is truly the kind of art work I like. For those of you who do not know this artist, let me introduce Yvette La Force and her work.
Yvette will be showing her art work on the walls of the Barkin' Dog Grill for one month begining June 16th.
Andrew Osta
San Miguel & New York
Andrew Osta is a widely collected, multi-talented artist. Oil and acrylic painting is his primary discipline, but he is also a gifted teacher, a prolific songwriter, and an author of two non-fiction books – Shamans and Healers andWalk in The Light. The books deal with personal spiritual experiences within the context of Amazonian Shamanism and Christianity.
Throughout his ten years as a professional artist, Andrew extensively explored the correlation between art and healing. .
Andrew’s art balances virtuosic execution of color and composition with a positive creative energy, which results in paintings which feel alive and bring good energy to any home in which they are placed.
To me, one of the most perfect places I have ever visited is San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. San Miguel is what I would call a Total Arts Community, it has it all and a lot of it. I made many friends and acquaintances while there and that has blossomed into a discovery of some amazing artists and musicians that you’d probably never run across in as lifetime. I will introduce you to several artists who either reside in or have lived in San Miguel.
Rae Miller
San Miguel de Allende
Rae resides in San Miguel de Allende full time and has a beautiful gallery in the Fabrica la Aurora, an amazing adaptive reuse of an old fabric manufacturing facility that was re-purposed into a thriving arts center with cafes and restaurants. I will tell you about this place at a later date.
Rae, who we met at their First Friday Art walk after discovering and learning about her and the facility via Facebook and Facebook contacts.
"My paintings are observations of my passage through life and the world. Subtle layers describe a memory just beyond reach. Soft colors drift together; broken edges push apart yet are still melded, like family, lovers, friends and cultures."
.
