Artists' banners to enliven Encinitas
SPENCER
SOPER
STAFF
WRITER
ENCINITAS
- A set of brightly painted banners will soon adorn the city's downtown lampposts.
The
joint project by local merchants and artists is intended to spruce up downtown
while giving the artists more exposure, those involved said.
The
Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association and the 101 Artists' Colony will hang
40 banners along highway 101 between Encinitas Boulevard and K Street later this
month. Each 7 foot long banner will feature a local a artist's work on one side
and the words "Encinitas Arts Alive" on the other.
"It really
will be some of the most visual public art in San Diego when we get them up there,"
said Peder Norby, DEMA's executive director.
Maria Festa-Gardiner
spent Thursday afternoon at the Artists' Colony's 1,600 square-foot downtown gallery
BANNERS
in the Lumberyard shopping center painting an abstract cuttlefish in black and
orange on a banner. The project should help draw people downtown and expose them
to the talent of local artists, Festa-Gardiner said. "You don't have to go to
New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco to buy a nice piece of original art,
but a lot of people don't know that," she said. The 101 Artists' Colony was formed
two years ago to pro mote local artists and bring them together, Colony President
James Durfey said. The group now has about 40 members and plans to launch its
first membership drive soon to boost revenue and broaden its programs, he said.
In addition to selling original artwork in its gallery, the Colony hosts poetry
readings and concerts. "It's amazing how many artists are out there, and this
gallery helps people show their work for the first time," Durfey said. "The interaction
between artists is the greatest thing we have to offer, and then the gallery lets
us share our work with the community."
Cardiff resident Bob Hord,
a commercial artist, painted a car toonlike surfer on one banner and vividly colored
tropical fish in the shape of human hands on another. "Those were just the first
things that popped into my head when I heard about the project - to capture the
beach atmosphere of the town and still make it artsy," Hord said. "It's better
than having the stamped out standard stuff hanging out there.... It opens up people's
minds to originality and gives artists a place to show their work." DEMA funded
the $5,000 banner project, and the Colony selected the artists. City Councilwoman
Sheila Cameron, an advocate of public art, looked at some of the ban ners on Thursday
and said she was pleased with the project. "What (the artists) are get ting is
notoriety in exchange for not getting a lot of money," Cameron said.
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