Local Talent Showcased at Annual Art Show

The Grand Terrace Historical and Cultural Activities Committee did it again. The 31st Annual Art Show, sponsored by the committee, kicked off the first Sunday of the month, with community members and local artists filling the Grand Terrace Civic Center's Community Meeting Room to spend a few hours recognizing and supporting local talent. Community members had the opportunity to visit local talent art expos that varied in many different forms. This year, as well as previous year's shows, included a wide variety of art, such as watercolor paintings, oil and acrylic paintings, photography, mosaics, hand-painted china, quilted fiber art and more. This year's show didn't upset, as the range of art brought in much of Grand Terrace's own talented community members. As the show attracted many attendees, they all had the opportunity to visit different art exhibits and even meet the artists. Grand Terrace Historical and Cultural Activities Committee member Rochelle "Shelly" Rosenkild shared, "We were so happy to see new artists in this year’s show. I was really excited to see their work, and we are always happy to see the returning artists that come every year.” Rosenkild mentioned that they have several artists who come every single year, for 31 years and counting. “We also had some of the students from Grand Terrace High School participate too," she said. "We never know what kind of art we will get but every year we are always pleasantly surprised." The Committee's Vice Chairperson Ann Petta shared, "We thought it went very well. We were pleased with the variety of art and the amount of artists that participated." There were a total of 38 artists that showcased their work, which is about the same, if a couple more, as previous years. Although the showcase's purpose is not to set up a market to sell the artwork and just solely to showcase it for the rest of the community to view, the artists are allowed to sell their work - but it’s solely between the consensus of the buyer and the seller. According to Petta, people were filtering in and out all afternoon. The committee was pleased with the turnout of the show, which, according to committee member Masako Gifford, was about 100 people in attendance. She also mentioned that they were excited to see several of the council people make an appearance. The Historical and Cultural Activities Committee has sponsored the annual Art Show for over 30 years. Each year the one major concept that stays the same is the goal behind the event: to give an opportunity to the local talent within Grand Terrace and showcase their art so the rest of the community can view it.