Virginia's Vision

Debby asks if Virginia has any images in her mind of what the final clothing piece will look like.  Of course, Virginia sees things as an artist would!

Dyeing Fabric with Karen Dietz

Two weeks ago Debby and Virginia visited the studio of fabric artist (and storyteller) Karen Dietz to be introduced to different techniques for dyeing fabric.  Since then, Karen has become the newest member of the Reflection and Flow team!

The images below come from the footage I shot during the studio visit. Visit our Facebook Fan Page to view more images.  My first video interview with Karen will be coming shortly.

- Rich

Being a Water Person

Debby's personal attraction to water in part inspired the project theme "Reflection and Flow" and the collaboration with Virginia. Debby talks about what it means to be a "water person" and her design approach for the project.

Getting Kids Involved

Gallery owner Alex Salazar talks about how he is creating an opportunity for young artists to show their work in an upcoming event that he and his gallery is sponsoring.

EASEL - A San Diego Art af(FAIR)

September 2-6, 2010
Corner of 7th and C, Downtown San Diego

It's Always Been There

Gallery owner Alex Salazar talks about his view of how art does meet fashion and about the participation his gallery in the "Art Meets Fashion" project.

Alexander Salazar Fine Art Gallery

Louisa and Tina Talk Teens

Last week, AMF Documenter Coordinator, Louisa Garcia visited with Tina Reyes at the San Diego Center for Children (SDCC).  Gathering research for an  upcoming article, Louisa was curious on how SDCC incorporates art into their programs with at-risk-teens. 

Tina described how the Center uses various forms of art therapy to help provide an opportunity to both educate and to heal.  The teens are taken off-campus twice a month to  attend arts classes. There they are allowed to draw, sketch, paint, and create various art pieces.  According to one teen, “…drawing helps me release all my emotions, I can get all my feeling out on paper by drawing something, and in turn, it makes me feel calm…”   The Center also has its own art room which provides the opportunity for the clients to draw, paint and incorporating other things such as tie-dying, wood working, and sculpting.   Some of their work has even be used at Center auctions and fundraising events. Music therapy is also an integral part of the healing process at the Center.  “Healing Rhythms” drums circles are used to address mood and leadership abilities.  In these groups, teens do not use words to express themselves, rather they play beats to describe their emotions and feelings.    

Starting in September 2010, three more genres of art will be introduced to the Center’s Life Skills Program at the Clark Adolescent Treatment Facility .  Over the course of the next several months the teens will be introduced to the fields of photography, art history, and fashion.  Several lectures and outings to various museums will be scheduled to teach them about  these fields.  Additionally, artists are currently being scheduled to speak at the Center in hopes of inspiring these young adults and introducing them to an otherwise unfamiliar world of art.

~ Tina Reyes, San Diego Center for Children

Collaboration and Expectation

Debby Adams and Virginia Lukei talk about their personal reasons for pursuing collaboration through this project and the expectations they have of it.

Reflection and Flow Meets Alex Salazar

Debby, Virginia and I dropped by to visit the Alexander Salazar Gallery last Tuesday.  We wanted to get a sense for what our public display venue would be like.  Virginia had known Alex previously and was already familiar with his gallery space.  We were surprised to learn that long ago his location was once a popcorn shop!

Alex graciously made time for us, even though he was in the middle of installing an upcoming show (and perhaps a thousand other things).  Charming, animated and creative, Alex was the perfect host.  Even though our visit was brief, our conversation with him left us feeling excited and motivated.

The images below come from the footage I shot during the visit.  I'll be posting videos from my interview with Alex, along with his conversation with Debby and Virginia about using the space.

Note to self: always carry the wide angle lens and tripod with you even though you don't think you're going to use it.

- Rich


Alexander Salazar Fine Art Gallery
640 Broadway Street
San Diego, CA  92101
www.alexandersalazarfineart.com

Art Inspired Lesson Plans

With my recent involvement in the Art Meets Fashion Project, I started thinking about different ways art could be used to inspire, motivate, and even heal teens. Not unlike most teenagers, the kids at the San Diego Center for Children are courteous and enthusiastic when it comes to learning  new things. Given this premise, I started to think about various art forms they are already familiar with and practice on a weekly basis...drumming and drum circles, music therapy groups, the study of blues and song, arts and crafts, woodworking, painting, etc. All healing tools used at the Center. 

Therefore, to create an inspirational and new lesson plan, I wanted to expose them to a genre on art that they have not yet worked with in our curriculum. I chose to start with photography. With the help of a professional photographer, we will be teaching various lectures having to do with photography (i.e., A.Adams: Activist and Artist, The History of Rock n Roll through Photographs, etc.) The lesson plan will pair with current exhibits shown at MoPA in Balboa Park and will incorporate portions of the museum's already established power points and lectures specifically designed for educator usage.

After they have completed the photography lecture portion of the curricula, we will move on to learn about various artists/sculptors and eventually fashion designers and fashion. My objective is to give the teens an initial introduction to various art and artists so they will have more of an appreciation of the lesson plan that is ultimately created for the Art Meets Fashion Project.

I'm excited about this new project and will keep you posted of the progress.......

Tina Reyes

San Diego Center for Children

Introducing Virginia Lukei - Artist

Virginia wandered the seductive jungles of fiber and mixed media on her way to the land of Oil Painting.  Reluctant to commit life-long to oils, Virginia is nonetheless drawn to them.  "Art Meets Fashion" marks a return to fabric while remaining entrenched in the painting medium.

Debby and Larry Kline, independent curators and political artists in San Diego, comment on her current work which revolves around the depiction of parallel universes:

“Virginia Lukei’s images are full of dualities. Figures appear to be floating and transcendent within the confines of the pool. Reflections and refractions fragment the bodies yet their immersion in the pool also hints at a womblike and peaceful state. The figures are unified by shared environment, yet, with strangely limited physical contact, they carry a sense of isolation. This causes the viewer to focus on the spaces between the figures, which become equally substantive, creating a universe intimate and infinite, cosmic and corporeal.”

wwww.virginialukei.com

Incredible Pop-Out Painter

This might not have much to do with the "Reflection and Flow" theme or the "Art Meets Fashion" project, but the execution is something else:

Picture this.

You're walking in a gallery, along a wall of oil portraits - all of them impressive works of art.

They're so good, they're almost popping off the canvas.

Until you realise....they actually are.

Parallel Universe Art Concept

Artist Virginia Lukei talks about her concept "Parallel Universes," how it evolved from painting water subjects and what it has come to mean to her.

Introducing Tina Reyes - Educator

Tina is the team's educator. She is a master's level therapist who runs the Life Skills Program for the Clark Adolescent Treatment Facility at the San Diego Center for Children. Her program not only teaches teens independent living skills, but also teaches them about art, culture, sustainable living, and community outreach. Learning is made fun and carried out through workshops, fieldtrips, guest speakers, and interactive lectures.

Her role as "educator" will be to observe and participate in the collaborative process in order to translate the experience into a lesson plan for her program and for general publication. The lesson plan will combine art & fashion and show both as a career path as well as tool for self expression. The lesson plan will comply with California Content Standards.

What to Blog About

Urban Native

As the documenter for team, I created this blog so that we could get our process and thoughts out in the open.  In one sense, it allows team members to interact between face-to-face meetings.  In another, it gives the casual observer a chance to peer into what goes on in a collaborative endeavor.

I wanted the blog to be central to my to my video documentation.  Rather that wait to build a culminating video piece at the end of the project, I thought it would be more interesting to provide vignettes of our activity on an ongoing basis.  It fits with my preference to work in a short-form video format.

I hope Debby, Virginia and Tina will join me in using this blog as an opportunity to "just let loose" with comments and (especially) opinions.   We shouldn't be forced to be polite all the time.  Insight often travels a rugged road.

Being a "living document," the blog allows its reader to become a collaborator in the documentation.  The reader may not only comment on something, but perhaps even request information from/about one of the team members.  Who knows, maybe a reader's observation may have an impact on the final piece that Debby and Virginia create!

Rich

Introducing Debby Adams - Fashion Designer

Debby Adams is the team's "established" fashion designer. She's founder and owner of Blisswear, a fashion design and manufacturing house.  Blisswear was started as a line of yoga lifestyle and activewear in 1998.  She has expanded her line to include dresses and special occasion clothes made of high performance fabrics.  Debby's line is known for simple, elegant silhouette and versatility.  She offers fashion business consulting as well as pattern making and sample sewing and has been instrumental in the success of several fashion and accessories labels.  She has been influenced by the versatility of Norma Kamali, the nonchalance of Armani and the silhouette of Geoffrey Beene.



Blisswear
2209 Fern Street, San Diego, CA  92104
(619) 284-3278
www.blisswear.com / debby@blisswear.com

Parallel Universes: some thoughts from Debby Adams

Richard asked Virginia how her paintings express the idea of Parallel Universes, apparently this is a topic of some discussion between them.  For me I hadn't heard or read that term in a very long time.  Eons really and I was very intrigued with their discussion.  I went to sleep last night thinking about the  Parallel Universe theory and feeling that this collaboration will bring me not only more creative stimulation but will expand my thinking on an intellectual level.  Must look into writings on the subject.  How to express the concept in fashion.  Virginia spoke about water as being a parallel universe to our land based culture, or that's how I interpreted what I heard her say. The photo to shows the surface of the watery universe. It is both mysterious and inviting.  What goes on beneath?

Reflection and Flow: Member Interviews by Richard Aquino

"Romeo in profile"
Yesterday team "Reflection and Flow" met at my shop, Blisswear. Richard Aquino, our videographer, did an incredible job of interviewing us. Some very thoughtful questions. I was a little concerned that I might freeze before the camera but I really didn't even notice it and felt very comfortable. Great job Rich, thank you so much for all of your efforts. I had left Romeo at home and the team missed having him around, he provides a lot of comic relief, so I went and picked him up. Lots of fun getting to know the members. I'm looking forward to this Sunday at Virginia's where we will begin to create textiles.

Virginia Lukei - Fine Artist

Lukei is both a figurative oil painter and multimedia artist based in the San Diego area.  This piece was submitted as part of an application package for a local art exhibition.  It shows some of her current work along with examples of past art work.