Chinese Brush Strokes and Lucy

LUCY WANG, Artist
Watercolor on Silk, Watercolor on Rice Paper
http://www.lucywang.com/

''The greatness of a Nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated''......Mahatma Gandhi

Life in the Village has been good to me. Besides the interesting art, the villagers are kind and caring to me, and the grub is pretty good.

Ramon, the Village minstrel, was strumming 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' with his guitar. The sun was warm and the overall pace of the Village was contentment.

Looking down the patio, I could see the patio artists working on their artwork, occasionally looking up, hoping for an interested customer. I could see Lucy talking to Don. ''There's Bella! Have you been a good dog?'' asked Lucy. I got up, trotted over to her and let her pat my head. ''How ya been Bella?'' said Don. He gave me a soft pat, too.

I followed Lucy into Studio 4. Her studio is spacious, very tidy, with all the walls adorned with her beautiful watercolors. Lucy is a Chinese brush painting artist...and Chinese, too. Much of her work reflects her love for nature and demonstrates her exquisite mastery of the brush. She's blended her Chinese background and the influence of Western painting techniques to develop an innovative style of 3-dimensional watercolor on silk. If you come, you will see works of cranes, dogs, Chinese dancing women, flowers and more all in Chinese brush strokes.

Lucy's work has been selected by the National Audobon Society, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian, and UNICEF for holiday cards.

''Bella, do you want some left over chow mein?''

I couldn't believe my luck! I love chow mein! I wagged my tail, gave Lucy my best happy smile, lifted my head and gave a little bark. It's my good fortune to have such good friends!

Lucy teaches Chinese brush stroke painting on weekends. Her website is www.LucyWang.com call 619-557-0517.

HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES AT THE VILLAGE

BELLA INVITES HER READERS TO
SPANISH VILLAGE ART CENTER'S
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30TH, 2010
11:00am to 3:00pm

Doggys Come and Dress Up for the Doggy Costume Contest! Starts at 1 PM! First Prize is $25 Gift Certificate to Spanish Village!! Dogulas, Barkensteins, the Woofman & more are all welcome!

WRITERZ BLOK

For the Kids, come make TRICK OR TREAT BAGS, decorate them! Then go TRICK OR TREATING at the village studios!!!! No tricks, just yummy treats!

ENJOY STEAM POWERED GIRAFFE, a musical pantomine group....sit or stand a spell and enjoy the entertainment!

STROLL by our Art Booth & Food Booths! Interesting Art & Tasty Foods!

We are open 11-4 PM...some studios open earlier or later....
Come and enjoy our beautiful, charming, colorful, friendly grounds!

BELLA is looking forward to seeing all of you!

LAI,artist
Studio 26 Basket Weaving & Oil Pastels
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Alane and Fused Glass

A Dog has one aim in life...to bestow his heart. J.R. Ackerley

All day, the rain has fallen on our village.

Winchester, the squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, the other cats and I have sought refuge from the wetness. For my refuge, I am lying down in studio 24 on the cool brick flooring, occasionally lifting my head to an occasional passing customer, the most physical exertion for the day.

I can hear the birds starting to chirp as the rain has subsided....a celebration for the rain's cessation.

I am watching Alane gluing magnets to the back of her colorful fused glass refrigerator magnets. The odor of the glue is wafting across my nose. ''Have you decide to wake up Bella?'' The thumping of my tail adds to the singing of the birds....I get up, shake my Bella shake, ahhh, from my head to the tip of my tail....and walk over to Alane.

In her studio, you can see fused glass of all kinds...refrigerator magnets, night lights, pendants, earrings, barrettes, purse hangers, cabinet door knobs and more. Alane creates usable art. The small pieces of vibrant, colorful glass, are laid atop each other, then placed in a kiln at a high temperature, melting the glass, creating an unique and colorful piece of fused glass artwork.
For some art pieces, Alane uses the shards of glass left behind by the glass blowers, recycling them into beautiful fused glass jewelry.
She teaches fused glass classes by appointment.

''Are you getting ready for Halloween? Maybe I'll make a pumpkin pendant to hang from your collar....would you like that Bella?'' I wagged my tail to let her know it was a fine idea, but I really had hoped for a piece of that cold pizza sitting on her work table. If I sat down, pretty-like, and stared at the remaining piece, just maybe.....''Bella, where are my manners? Would you like this pizza?'' I stood up, wagged my tail, gave her my big Bella smile, and nudged her hand.....ummm, pepperoni pizza with anchovies!....Oh, and remember, Oct. 30th 1PM is our Halloween Doggy Costume Contest! Come and join us! Woof!

A Song In Her Heart

''If there are no dogs in Heaven then, when I die, I want to go where they went.'' Will Rogers.

Dogs are generous creatures. They shower you with affection without anything in return. But, when your affection is returned, to me, it is heaven.

The afternoon sun was hot, and moving over to the westerly sky. Few people were meandering in the Village because of the heat. Looking down the main patio, I could see the patio artist fanning themselves, sucking on iced coffees, working on their crafts, glancing up for a potential customer.

I was lying down under the Jacaranda tree, panting. I was thirsty and my tummy was beginning to growl. It was time to get up and find some grub. Overall, the Village was quiet, except for a sound of a lilt not too far away. Who is that? Who is that singing? I lifted up my ears, perking them to distinguish from where the song was coming. It was Randi singing the 'Rubber Doggy (Duckie) Song' in the air I could hear 'rubber doggy, joy of joy, I'd like a pond of you'......so, I figure it was one of those whimsical days for Randi....sounds like fun. I got up and trotted over to her studio.

''Come on in Bella!' ''I've got some hot dog for you.''
(yummy, I love The Grill's super dogs!)
''Did you like my singing?''
(I wagged my tail, and gave her a big lick on the cheek)

RANDI HAWKINS, artist
2D Mixed Media

Contented, and lying in Studio 31, on the coolness of her concrete flooring, I watched Randi paint with her pallet knife, concentrating as she delegated the oils onto the canvas, stroke by stroke, creating colors breathing from her canvas, depicting a lotus floating in the Reflection Pond. She is using oil with oil pastels. The textures pull your eyes into consideration and appreciation of her artwork...followed by a comment of awe. A Painting of the architecture of Balboa Park is hung on the wall...the colors shout out with vibrant purples and lime greens. It is a wonderful way to conceive a quiet, staunch, historical building...but, that's Randi, always perceiving outside the box.

It was time to go look for water....Randi's studio doesn't have running water.
Without breaking Randi's concentration on her painting, I got up and went to Lai's studio for a refreshing drink of water underneath the carob tree.

As I trotted to the drinking bowl, I considered what I would be for this Halloween's festivities....I've heard there's going to be a Halloween costume contest for dogs! What fun! I wonder if Winchester would take afront if I dressed up as a cat.