The Artery in Davis will be holding their All Member Holiday Gift Show, providing festive gifts for everyone this holiday season.
“Holidays — the best time of year for loving, giving and sharing: homemade cookies; houseful of family; gifts wrapped in pretty paper; cards to friends near and far,” said a press release from the Artery.
Through Dec. 31, the Artery will be overflowing with unique decorations, ornaments and gift ideas like jewelry, blown glass, scarfs, quilts and wooden bowls, among many other festive gifts to choose from.
Hours from Dec. 1 to Dec. 12 will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Extended Holiday Hours start Dec. 12, when the Artery will be open until 9 p.m. every weeknight through Dec. 23. On Christmas Eve and New Years Eve it will close at 4 p.m. The gallery also will close Christmas Day and New Years Day.
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The UC Davis Concert Band and the Yolo Community Band will perform a concert program that includes a new work “Luminance,” which inspires listeners to embrace their inner light.
The performance will be on Nov. 29 at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
“Luminance,” by Sacramento-based composer Shuying Li, was commissioned by a consortium of bands — including the UC Davis Concert Band — and was premiered by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in October. This performance is the work’s West Coast premiere.
“At its core, the work addresses issues relevant to contemporary society,” Li said in a press release. “By exploring themes of hope and despair, inclusion and exclusion, and power and powerlessness, the piece seeks to provide a platform for reflection and conversation. Through its use of evocative tonalities and dynamic contrasts, ‘Luminance’ aims to inspire audiences to find strength in moments of darkness and embrace the light within themselves.”
The concert will also include Leonard Bernstein’s “Four Dances from ‘West Side Story,’’ and Joe Hisaishi and Yumi Kimura’s “Spirited Away.”
The Yolo Band, directed by Michael Loya, joins the Concert Band on Alfred Reed’s “Russian Christmas Music.” The Yolo Band will premiere Marcus T. Loya’s “Indomitable Blaze” and perform Malcolm Arnold’s “Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo,” along with Martin Ellerby’s “Silent Movie Suite.” Marcus T. Loya is a composer, songwriter and flutist from Sacramento.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $24 for adults and $12 for students and youth, and are available at the Mondavi Center Ticket Office in person or by calling 530-754-2787, Tuesday-Friday, 12–5 p.m. Tickets are also available online at tickets.mondaviarts.org.
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The end-of-the-year art show at Gallery 625 in Woodland is set to feature the hidden talents of 10 Yolo County employees.
Responding to a call for art sent to Yolo County employees, these civil servants responded with artistic expressions created in their “other lives,” according to a press release from YoloArts.
The participating artists are Echoe Comacho, Julie Cross, Harrison Furmidge, Shauna Heidelberger, Shuqin Jiao, Margaret Kronenberg, Leslie Lindbo, Jennifer Morrissey, Roberto Paniagua and Rebecca Tyron.
The “day job” titles of these hidden-talent artists include regional library supervisor, deputy coroner, behavioral health case manager, technical support specialist and director of community services.
YoloArts Creative Director Janice Purnell said this exhibit was brought back by popular demand.
“There are so many Yolo County employees with hidden talents,” Purnell said. “This is an opportunity to share their creativity with the larger community.”
The works of art in the exhibition are varied, ranging from drawings, paintings and photography to printmaking, poetry, and fiber art. Also featured are two examples of miniature art, including a “tiny town market” and hand-painted tabletop gaming figures.
“I find art-and-crafting extremely soothing,” said Julie Cross, an executive assistant. “It’s the one time my brain isn’t racing ahead to the next thing,”.
For many of these county workers, this is the first time they are publicly exhibiting their art.
“I don’t have any art training background,” said Shuquin Jiao, the regional library supervisor. “But, I love nature and I am curious to explore things that I find interesting. The digital pictures I make are easy to share via social media to my friends’ group. I like to share what I see that may bring people joy.”
Roberto Piniagua, an associate procurement and contract services specialist, explained he uses the silkscreen process to express and advocate his voice for his Salvadoran community.
“As an ‘artivist’, my art is displayed on these walls and shared with my rural Yolo county community,” Piniagua emphasized.
The show runs from Dec. 1 through Jan. 30, 2024. There will be a ‘Meet the Artists Reception’ at the opening on Friday, Dec. 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Julie Dachtler, Yolo County deputy clerk, will play holiday favorites on the piano.
Center Stage is a column exploring the arts in and around Yolo County.