Page 25 - Final for publication for January

Our Creative

Community it at the Mistlin Gallery, titled “Love Mod-
esto,” to be displayed in April, has given us
a place to start.

By David Schroeder

Remember the plaintiff teenage lament,
“There’s nothing to do in this hick town!”
Well, when it comes to art in Modesto and
Stanislaus County it’s just not true. We have
an abundance of art and art activities, to the
degree that it’s almost impossible to find a
free date on which to schedule an art activi-
ty that isn’t in conflict with another, equally
wonderful event – competing for an audi-
ence.

Since I began working to revive the Arts What better a place to start looking at area arts that
Council in the County, this observation, by paying tribute to two past pillars of our arts com-
about the abundance of art in our area, has munity, Grace Lieberman, the two-time director of
repeatedly impressed itself on my con- the Arts Council, and Tony Mistlin, the primary sup-
sciousness, and I continue to discover art- porter of the Mistlin Gallery.
ists, arts groups, and arts activities that I
was unaware of in the past. As you can see,
if you check out our new web site at I have teamed up with Bill Harris, who has
www.stanislausarts.org, and look at the di- an extensive collection of all things Modes-
rectory, it’s an impressive list, and it keeps to and we have begun work on a project we
growing.
have labeled, Our Creative Community, part
of which will be on display during the Love
In as much as it’s the mission of the Arts
Council to support and promote the arts in Modesto show at Mistlin. We have plans to
our area, and given my own lack of aware- move our collection beyond Modesto in the
ness as to the extent of the playing field, I future and maybe publish it in a magazine
thought that a first step would be to make a that might become a visual directory of the
list and find a way to introduce the members arts in Stanislaus County. But that’s in the
of our creative community to each other and future. For now, here are a few samples of
to the greater community of Stanislaus what might appear in the Love Modesto
County. To my surprise, a planned art exhib show.