Breaking News!

Cindy is working on a fabric/painting. 

Hooray!  This morning at Hope Center for the Arts we were all told about some BIG NEWS!  Everyone was so excited and joyful.  We were officially told today that after years of waiting, looking and searching.......we have finally......leased.....a new building to house our program!  All of the client/artists  are looking forward to more room and air conditioning! 
Some of the new things we will have are; a drop off and pick up area for the buses, lots of room and space.  Bigger bathrooms, a sports area, a garden, dedicated art rooms, music rooms and computer rooms. We will also be having some new classes, such as Horticultural Therapy, ceramics and independent living skills. 
There will be more information and photos to come soon. 
We are all very excited to get our show on the road for the move.  The new facility is within a mile of our current place so the move won't take us too far, just a hop, skip and a jump!
Stay tuned for more information as it comes in. 

Field Trip!

Frank with his linoleum block print.

John with his colored pencil piece.

Mary is very happy with her scratch board artwork.

Darryl is very proud of his wonderful water color piece. 

The week of May 4th, we took several groups on a field trip to the Westfield MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, CA.  The VSA California hosted performances and art shows earlier in April, in which performing groups from Hope Center for the Arts participated.  The artists at Hope Center were also featured in the art 'gallery' shows on display in the mall. 
My favorite part of going to the mall was:
"Looking at the artwork". Mary M.
"Window shopping". Karen G. 
"Seeing the puppies!" Carol W.
"Shopping and taking notes on what I want to go back to get." Justine A.
Some of the other highlights were getting to walk around the mall, being in out in the community and the eating in the food court!

Weaving Away....

Warping the rigid heddle loom. 

Christie weaving on the rigid heddle loom.

Here at Hope Center for the Arts we have many talented artists.  Christie and Ana are two of our prolific weavers.  After receiving a grant from The Orange County Community Foundation Hope was able to purchase several rigid heddle looms for the students to weave on.  Many of our students have been able to use the looms to create beautiful scarves for us to sell, both on our Etsy shop and at local art fairs.  Having new tools to expand the students choices and opportunities to create is invaluable to our program. We have even discovered exceptional weaving talent and ability that would never have been realized without them.  Thank you Orange County Community Foundation and Schacht Spindle Company for making the looms possible and providing new opportunities for self expression and accomplishment. 

NEA Collaboration with Hope Center for the Arts Artist Darren Petersen

Darren shows Diana around his cardboard town.

We are pleased to introduce the second pairing of artists that will be working together through our NEA Grant funded mentorship program. Hope artist Darren Petersen will be working with Diana Markessinis. During their initial meeting Darren introduced Diana to his sculptural town and linoleum block print work. They had a chance to discuss their ideas for their collaboration.  We are all looking forward to seeing what these two talented artists produce.  

Diana and Darren discuss their collaboration.

A Featured Artist...

"Lacher Love"

"The Land of Dreams"

"Through the Sand"

Amy is very proud of her artwork.

Amy Lacher is Hope Center's new featured artist.  She loves color and works mostly in colored pencil.  She also colors with her words as can be seen here in one of her recent poems 'Through the Sand'.  Amy's personality is as colorful and cheerful as her art work!
Here is what some of her fellow artists have to say about her art:
"I like the way she drew the water in her piece "The Land of Dreams". Joe V.
"I like her use of pink and purple in 'Lacher Love' ". Michelle E.
"I like the negative space at the edges of 'Lacher Love' ". Carol W.
"I really love how the colors and the palm tree pop out in her piece 'The Land of Dreams' " Justine A.
"It ( Lacher Love) reminds me of a colorful octopus." April R.

Amy's fellow artists are very impressed and proud of Hope Center's current featured artist, Amy Lacher.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

Artists were invited to come forward and add artwork or cards to Gary's remembrance wall.

Gary's silent keyboard is decorated with his favorite things, some fashioned out of clay by his friends.

Gary's full remembrance wall.

Gary Ahearn was a dearly loved member of the Hi-Hopes and a long time artist at Hope Center for the Arts.  He recently passed away.  All of his fellow artists bid him farewell at a lovely memorial service that was held here at the Center.  We decorated his keyboard, drew pictures for him, wrote him notes and shared our memories. Gary was an accomplished pianist who always seemed to have a smile on his face and a song in his heart.  We will miss him terribly. 
Here is a video of Gary created for this event. 

Valentine's Day Party

Dance party fun!

Tom V. is a crazy DJ.

Lori R. and Brian G. pose for a Valentine's Day photo.

On the Thursday before Valentines Day the artists of Hope Center for the Arts put down their brushes and musical instruments to enjoy a day of fun and frolic.  We had a photo station, decoration creation station, passed out Valentines and had a big dance party in the afternoon.  Tom was our DJ for the day and he spun some hot tunes that made everyone just want to get up and dance. 
Some of the artists tell us their favorite part of the day; 
"I liked the music and the dancing." Carol W. 
"Making decorations." Justine A.
"Passing out Valentines." Mary M.
"I liked decorating."  Dena S.
"The photo booth was fun." April R. 

We all had so much fun we can hardly wait for our next Hope Center for the Arts party!