Art scene changes
A visit to Cafe Ella in February will reveal a smattering of
acrylic and oil paintings on the walls, in the hallway and in the
women’s restroom. But stop by in March, and new artwork will adorn
the restaurant walls.
Art scene changes
A visit to Cafe Ella in February will reveal a smattering of acrylic and oil paintings on the walls, in the hallway and in the women’s restroom. But stop by in March, and new artwork will adorn the restaurant walls.
Owner Ella King has invited local artists to show their work at the restaurant for five-week stints.
She contacted the most recent artist-in-residence through the Hollister Art League Web site.
“I was really pleased,” said Louise Roy, a ceramics teacher at San Benito High School and a working artist. “Here’s a new person opening a business in town and she said she would like to showcase a local artist.”
Roy had four pieces posted on the Web site so she brought 18 pieces for King to review.
“I brought a lot down, thinking she would pick and choose, and she said, ‘Oh, I want to put them all up,'” Roy said.
Roy described her pieces as bright landscapes with renderings of Mission San Juan among the group as well as Pinnacles National Monument. She also did a series of shoes, and King selected one of that series to hang in the women’s restroom.
“Sometimes when we’ve had events, turnout has been low and it feels like art is not appreciated,” Roy said. “We are trying to get the word out that art is worth it. It’s enriching to have arts in life.”
Roy has been teaching art classes for 22 years, but she hasn’t forgotten the lesson she learned from one of her own teachers when she was working on her credential. Her professor emphasized that it was important for art teachers to be working artists.
“It’s nice to see teachers getting their work out,” Roy said.
She said with the new venue at Cafe Ella and the Blak Sage Gallery on San Benito Street that recently hosted a student art show, it feels like art is appreciated locally. Cafe Ella’s has also featured student artwork, and the work of Gayle Sleznick, a watercolor artist from San Juan Bautista. Bob Rocco, a local doctor, will show is artwork when Roy’s pieces come down after Feb. 28.
The Hollister At League shows art at a few other venues around town, including Hazel Hawkins Hospital and the San Benito County Free Library.
