Join us in welcoming back our great friend and amazing artist, Mr. Blaine Fontana, for the book release event for…
AMALGAMATE

From ZERO+ Publishing:

AMALGAMATE surveys the richly detailed, highly imaginative world of Blaine Fontana. Imbuing his vision with the divine symbolism of religious myths, worldly folklore and current social dynamics, his works contain a kind of shamanic exploration of meaning that recognizes the totemic quality and power of the image.

Visit Blaine’s extensive website here:
www.thefontanastudios.com

Introducing WATCH THIS BOOK, a new series of free film screenings celebrating family-friendly classics that are adaptations of beloved literary works! This series – presented by Lola’s Mexican Cuisine , {open}, Laughing Stock Development – will also feature artists and exhibitors, and will take place on the Luther Burbank Elementary School playground as part of “Last Saturdays,” 4th Street Long Beach’s monthly neighborhood street event. Come early, enjoy 4th Street’s variety of independent restaurants and stores, visit our artists and exhibitors, and close your night out with a classic film!

The new series will kick off on Saturday, May 28 with a screening of 1962’s “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD,” winner of three Academy Awards (Best Actor – Gregory Peck, Best Art Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay), and widely considered to be the very best literary adaptation in cinema history. Guests are invited to bring their own chairs, blankets, picnic baskets – whatever you need to make yourself comfortable to enjoy this beloved classic!

Sorry: no pets, alcohol, or smoking will be permitted on school grounds. In the event of rain, this event will be rescheduled.

ATTENTION ARTISTS AND EXHIBITORS -
It’s not too late to participate in this event!
E-mail Angela at social.roman@gmail.com for information.

Sponsored by Lola’s Mexican Cuisine!
Come hungry – Lola’s will be on hand to keep you fed!

The trailer for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd7NFo9P-fg

If you haven’t made it out to a Patchwork yet, well, we’re giving you even more reason this time ’round, with the {open} room … a miniature {open} out in the open, featuring a lovely lil’ lineup of local musicians and authors! Hope to see you there!

Sunday, May 15 • 11am – 5pm
MARINE STADIUM BAYSHORE @ APPIAN WAY Long Beach, CA

the {open} room
featuring acoustic sets from

noon – TreeUnion
facebook.com/treeunion

1pm – Miniature Houses
facebook.com/miniaturehouses

130pm – Alyssandra Nighswonger

3pm – Alicia Murphy
aliciamurphymusic.com

and book readings/signings from

2pm – Cathy of California
Crafter, blogger and author Cathy Callahan will be talking about
and signing her new book, Vintage Craft Workshop.
vintagecraftworkshop.com
cathyofcalifornia.com

4pm – Greggory Moore
Local author Greggory Moore will be reading from
and discussing his debut novel, The Use of Regret. If you haven’t read it,
come hear some of it. If you have read it, come ask Greggory about it!
greggorymoore.com

Predator Instinct
new works on wood by Ashes in Orange Peels (Suzanne Walsh)
March 26 – June 17

March 26 – opening reception
7 – 9 pm // FREE
featuring a live performance by Will Morrison of the Vacuum Bell

April 23
AIOP issue one magazine and special edition hom[ep]rairie EP launch
reception 7 – 9
featuring Joy Shannon and Will Morrison performing the EP in its entirety
copies of the magazine and the EP will be available for sale
sale price: $15

Get details on Ashes in Orange Peels here: ashesinorangepeels.blogspot.com

ARTIST STATEMENT
As an artist, I am obsessed with contradictions stemming from a childhood between Europe and the East Coast and a suburban life in Orange County, California. First to Geneva, then Prague where we stayed in a small apartment (within what used to be my grandfather’s family home before Communism), and then back to backyard camping with the girl scout troop in a sea of pink homes that all looked the same. Always trying to integrate, always trying to fit in and feeling much like a hybrid of several different and often times opposing cultures and environments, my ability to draw became the great bonding agent with which I could communicate in all areas of my life.

The series Predator Instinct deals directly with identity confusion. Growing up in Southern California we are, almost to a one, products of parents who at some point were chasing or actively living a dream life. Whether they achieved what they had hoped for or not, the erratic nature of dream chasing is what we are accustomed to and therefore attempt to seek out ourselves, with mixed results. The animals in these works are all hybrids from common animals found on all continents. wolf/coyote/fox, deer/rabbit/mouse. The environments are multi-layered with full desert scenes existing beneath blankets of fur-like snow. My hope was to convey a highly aesthetic truth as to how it really feels to grow up here, each painting a knowing wink to the joy and the panic of being both predator and prey in one.

As an added bonus. my friend Joy Shannon, herself an Irish/SoCal hybrid, offered to compose a series of music inspired by the themes behind my work. She asked fellow musicians Will Morrison, Sean Wallace and Mark Sheppard to join her and the result is a deeply lyrical and witty series of songs that are as harmonious as they are strangely schizophrenic. I was so moved by the collaboration, that I decided to produce the record now entitled hom[ep]rairie. It will be available on itunes on April 16th as well as included as a download in the first ever issue of Ashes In Orange Peels magazine, also set to release on the 16th.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ashes in Orange Peels has evolved into a creative think-tank dedicated to making connections between galleries, visual artists, musicians and non-profits in order to directly affect the functionality and sustainability of the arts as a whole.

AIOP began as a name and a kind of shield behind which artist Suzanne Walsh hid as she littered the world with re-purposed typewriters, bikes and other various “reclaimed sculpture” leaving her mark by abandoning her work in cities from Prague to New York to Los Angeles.

Bookish

www.amyalice.com

Opening reception
Saturday, January 29, 7-10pm
FREE

About Bookish
These pieces are meant to be images from a librarian’s daydreams. Little glimpses of life, awaiting their escape from between dusty book jackets within the stacks. The librarian works quietly to herself, inputting, organizing, re-shelving, following Dewey decimal’s order of things. These are meant to be her inner world, her private menagerie.

About Amy Thompson
Amy is an art director, illustrator and mixed media artist currently dividing her time between Portland OR and Ottawa ON. She has created illustrations for magazines, book covers, and calendars. Recently, she contributed to a t-shirt line in South Korea and created album artwork for Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans. Her artwork has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Berlin and has been featured in the pages of AU Agenda (Spain) and Vogue Girl (Korea).

You’ll be able to browse mags and pubs, plus borrow any book in the shop to read in our cozy little parking spot!