Every Bloomin Thing

Every blooming thing

Arts at the Dana Adobe

Doubles seemed to be the name of the game for a celebration Sunday, with a pair of sponsors, double winners, a duet of counties, and even a theme with two names.

Three artists earned double awards for the juried exhibit “El Camino Real — Highway Through History.” Their work was shown along with other selected art during “Art in the Adobe,” the second annual celebration and fundraiser for the historical landmark, Rancho Nipomo Dana Adobe.

Sponsored by the Nipomo Arts Council and the Dana Nipomo Adobe Amigos, the event included booths featuring artists and other vendors.

Mending the rift

Historically, the only places where the masses, the common people, could see works of art were in churches.

“It's pretty safe to say they are no longer,” said the Rev. Jane Voigts of San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church.

As most people were illiterate, they would learn Biblical stories by viewing murals, stained-glass windows, tile and fresco work, bas relief and statues. Voigts noted that for various reasons the tie between organized religion and the arts has since become severed. Four years ago, she set out to mend that rift, with the inaugural Beacon Art Show at the church. Now an annual event, the exhibit has since grown, as more artists have become involved and have submitted more works of art.

Water worlds

Studios on the Park’s juried show, “The Color of Water,” features a variety of art interpretations of water, water everywhere.

For Heidi Franscioni, koi fit the theme swimmingly. Before her recent and “amicable” divorce, the artist used the carp to represent fertility. Her intent now for its universal symbol for prosperity paid off. Her encaustic and photography blend, “Koi Around IV,” earned her Best of Show.

The warm jewel tones in her piece are unexpected for colors of water, she said. Instead of blues and greens, “I went opposite. I went with the reds.” Inspired partially by her snorkeling experiences, Franscioni said “There’s so many wonderful colors” below the ocean’s surface. She incorporated her own photographs, with florals and swirls “that give a dreamlike quality,” she said.

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