SANTA ROSA SOUTH ARTS ALLIANCE

THIS WEEKEND I WENT TO A NEAT CULTURAL FAIR IN THE CENTER OF SOUTH SANTA ROSA TO AN ARTISTIC FAIR BEHIND JULLIARD PARK AT NIGHT. THEY HAD A PARADE OF COUCHES THAT WERE DECORATED IN ALL DIFFERENT WAYS - SOME WITH LIGHTS. AND THE PARADE HAD A SMALL BAND OF VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS AND THEY PLAYED SOME FAMILIAR TUNES AND KEPT THE CROWD ENTERTAINED.

THERE WERE ABOUT 6 GALLERIES, AND ONE HAD A MAZE OF SMALLER GALLERIES LEADING TO A THEATRE WITH AN OUTDOOR COURTYARD WHERE A SMALL ROCK BAND WAS PLAYING. IN THE WINDOW OF THIS GALLERY THERE WAS A SMALL PUPPET THEATRE FOR CHILDREN. THE PUPPET MAN USED SMALL CARDS WITH WORDS THAT THE PUPPETS WERE SAYING. I MET SEVERAL OLD FRIENDS BUT COULD NOT LOCATE MY FRIEND WHO I WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET THERE.

THEY HAD AN OLD TIME WOODEN BARREL ABOUT 25 FEET IN DIAMETER WHERE TEENS RODE THEIR BIKES AROUND AND AROUND FOR MNY TIMES. IT WOULD MAKE ME DIZZY. NEARBY SOMEONE HAD BUILT WITH METAL AND 5 FOOT TALL WHEELS A LARGE 10 FOOT TALL OLD FASHIONED LOOKING BICYCLE - AND IT WAS IN WORKING CONDITION. THERE WERE AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THERE OF ALL AGES. IT WAS INTERESTING TO LOOK AT THE PEOPLE AS WELL AS THE ART.

SOME OF THE ART WAS ACRYLIC PAINTINGS, SOME OIL PAINTINGS OF DOGS, PEOPLE, LANDSCAPES, HOUSES AND FARMS, AND OTHER COUNTRY SCENES. THERE WAS AN OLDER CHINESE MAN TEACHING KIDS HOW TO MAKE ORIGAMI FOLDING ART. HE WAS AN EXPERT AND THE KIDS WERE MYSTIFIED ABOUT THE PROCESS. ONE ARTIST MADE FRAMED PIECES WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF BEESWAX THAT LOOKED LIKE WOOD. ANOTHER NEAT GALLERY ARTIST HAD BEAUTIFUL COLORED GLASS PIECES THAT WERE FUSED AND TRANSLUCENT. THEY WERE FRAMED IN BLACK METAL STICK FRAMES. THE ARTIST WAS A CHINESE LADY. THERE WERE SEVERAL BANDS IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

A NUMBER OF ARTISTS WERE JEWELERS. SOME FOLKS MADE MINIATURE BOXES OF REPLICA OF A LIVING ROOM WITH GUITAR, ALBUMS, TV, CHAIRS, DRAPES, AND A COUCH. OTHERS WERE FOOD ARTISTS. IT WAS A BALMY NIGHT. I LISTENED TO THE PEOPLE CRITIQUING THE ART. ONE ARTIST HAD EMBROIDERED BOOTS ON FROM ISTANBUL! ONE WOMAN LIVING THERE SAID SHE ATE THE DELICIOUS FRUITS OF HER PRICKLY PEAR CACTI THAT WERE ALL OVER HER FRONT YARD.

A QUOTE THAT WAS OF INTEREST TO ME WAS ON A WALL WITH AN ACRYLIC PAINTING: ETHNOMETHODOLOGY BY KRISTEN THROOP

"THIS IS THE STUDY OF WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK THEY ARE DOING WHEN THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING WHATEVER THEY DO."