Village Poets of Sunland & Tujunga: May 2019

Where the Road Bends by Sandy Fisher

Village Poets invite poets and poetry lovers to its next event, Ekphrastic Poetry Inspired by the Art of Sandy Fisher - Workshop by Pamela Shea. It will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. at Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Avenue, Tujunga, CA 91042. The reading will include poems inspired by the art of Sandy Fisher, and a Feature by Pamela Shea, Sunland-Tujunga's Poet Laureate in 2018-2020. Refreshments will be served and $3 donations collected for the cost of the venue, the second historical landmark in the City of Los Angeles, that celebrated its centennial in 2013. The Museum is managed by the Little Landers Historical Society.

FEATURED ARTIST - SANDY FISHER ON MAY 26, 2019

Creative outlets have been a lifelong pursuit of mine and I turned to oil painting in 2005, and was blessed to win my first award. Finally, I had found the direction and purpose of my creative drive. Now, I cannot imagine doing anything else as painting is life itself for me. The landscape of the West and California, particularly the unspoiled open spaces of the coast, desert, valleys and mountains are my favorite subject matter. I am especially intrigued by the play of light and shadow and the mingling of warm and cool hues, which captivate my heart and provides the catalyst for me to put brush to canvas in an effort to convey to the viewer my emotional response to the scene.

When asked about what motivates me to paint something, my answer revolves around the desire to share the powerful awakening in my soul, which is fueled by the infinite beauty and mystery of nature. To me, there is confirmation of the divine in the complexity of nature; with all its variety and intricacies. I fully believe at the heart of creating memorable art is the ability to reveal to the viewer what wonder lies in the everyday world around us.

Through my many travels, I am provided with a bounty of unique environments. I love to capture the fascinating scenes and overlooked details of our planet, even if it is in my own backyard. I am especially attracted by all the nuance of color and values in a scene,flower, or object. By utilizing dramatic natural lighting of the early morning or late afternoon combined with compositional elements involving line, color, texture, contrast and shape, my hope is the viewer will be drawn to take a more intimate look.

SELECTED AWARDS AND EXHIBITS:

2018 Art Classic, SCAA, Honorable Mention

2018 Art Matters (Huntington Library) San Marino League – Juried Artist

2017 Art Classic, Santa Clarita Artists’ Assoc. (SCAA) 2 nd Place and Merit in Oils

2015 Santa Paula Society of the Arts, 79 th Annual Show – Juried Artist

2015 & 2010 First Floor Gallery, City of Santa Clarita, Juried Artist

2014 Hope Murals, Lily Oncology, Winner – One of Ten Nationwide

2014 “Icons of California” and “Splendors from the Garden, La Galleria Gitana

2018, 2012 & 2009 Solo Art Exhibit, Canyon Theatre

2011 Art Classic, SCAA, Honorable Mention

2011 & 2010 Outwest, Newhall, CA – Featured Artist

2010 Festival of Art, City of Santa Clarita, Juried Artist

2009 Burbank Art Festival, West Coast Productions, Juried Artist

2009 Art Classic, SCAA, Honorable Mention

2007 Art Classic, SCAA, Gold Medal

2006 Art Classic, SCAA, Silver Medal

2005 Art Classic, SCAA, Honorable Mention

FEATURED POET - PAMELA SHEA

PAMELA SHEA, the ninth Poet Laureate of Sunland Tujunga, has lived in the area for nearly 40 years. She is a writer and poet who chronicles her life through verse. Pam was born and raised in the foothills community of La Crescenta and studied at the University of Redlands. Her professional life has included medical office work, from which she is retired, and teaching in the fitness field, in which she is currently active. She has a long history of community service, which she has combined with her writing. She finds inspiration in family and nature as well as in triumph and strife. She enjoys sharing her poems in hometown open poetry readings. Poetry has been her passion and therapy for as long as she can remember. Her poems appeared numerous times in the local Voice of the Village newspaper, as well as in the monthly newsletter for Salem Lutheran Church in Glendale and the fundraising literature for the Health Ministries of the Foothills. Other poems appeared online in Village Poets and Poetry Laurels blogs.

Ms. Shea was a featured reader at the Shouting Coyote Performing Festival in 2004 and led a workshop at that event on the Poetry of Nature. Since then, she participated in many readings with the Wide Open Readers, led by Elsa Frausto, and the Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga at Bolton Hall Museum. Pamela has hosted several open mic readings around town and has also written and read poems for special occasions at the Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library and McGroarty Arts Center. She has also read at performances by The Windsong Players Chamber Ensemble and had one of her poems choreographed by California Contemporary Ballet in conjunction with the Windsong Players. She attended the 2018 Drawing Inspiration from the Parks program in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Her extensive record of community service includes many endeavors, such as volunteering for the Verdugo Hills Family YMCA's annual Campaign Support Fund Drive for several years. She was also a member of VHY's Senior Advisory Committee. She started a poetry group that met weekly at VHY as well as served as a board member for two terms (six years of service) for the Health Ministries of the Foothills. She has also been involved in the Relay for Life. Ms. Shea is the proud mother of three and grandmother of two. She has been married 43 years and has lived in the same house in Sunland for almost 40 years.

The next reading by Pamela Shea is at the ASKEW READING SERIES (Second Saturdays) May 11, 7:00-9:00 PM. Hosts Seven Dhar, Slim FitzGerald, & Ellie Askew. The Pasadena Highlands, 1575 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena 91104, between Allen and Lake Ave. Featuring Vietnamese Nink Poise, Sunland-Tujunga Poet Laureate Pamela Shea, and Christopher Nyerges (christophernyerges.com) + OPEN MIC. Free.

ARTWORK BY SANDY FISHER

We are asking poets to write poems to eight paintings by Sandy Fisher, more information about her will be posted later, here are just the paintings to view and write about.