Arts festival on tap for La Habra

LA HABRA - The Hillcrest Festival of Fine Arts, celebrating 51 years of showcasing the arts, will be held during the last weekend of February at Hillcrest Congregational Church in La Habra Heights.A family-orientated event with a festival atmosphere, it will run Feb. 25-27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission and parking are free. The festival showcases an extensive variety of art available for purchase at a wide range of prices, including watercolor and oil paintings, unique jewelry, ceramics, acrylics, pottery, mosaics, fiber and textiles, photography, stained and fused glass, sculpture, woodworking and a selection of handcrafted gifts. Many artists will be demonstrating their skills throughout the weekend, and free art workshops for children are held on Saturday and Sunday. Festival attendees can browse, shop, talk to the artists, enjoy musical entertainment, and have lunch or a snack at the Starving Artist Cafe. This year's featured artist is international landscape and architectural photographer Vern Clevenger. From an adventure-filled life of sojourning in the Sierra Nevada, he has developed an ability to respond with "an unerring sense of place to feel and to frame a day's shifting light, a season's shift of color and mood, and the constant drama of mountain landscapes." Clevenger has climbed Yosemite and has more than 35 years experience climbing and hiking, which he expresses in images of the Sierra Nevada. Born in 1955 in Oakland, Clevenger spent summers with his family in Yosemite National Park, where from the valley meadows he watched some of the first ascents of El Capitan in the early 1960s. While climbing in Yosemite during the 1970s, he became both an adventurer and an artist. As his love of mountains found an artistic outlet, he soon moved from 35mm to large format cameras. He also developed meticulous darkroom skills and established a long-term dedication to the dye transfer process. Currently using film for the initial exposure, Clevenger incorporates digital processes to produce constant improvement in his art prints, while remaining faithful to the fundamental principles of classical photography. He requires significant time in the field to set up shots that show "thoughtful consideration of subjects and demonstrated care for composition." The Vern Clevenger Gallery of Fine Photography, located in Mammoth Lakes at the foot of the Eastern Sierra, is a whole-family enterprise. Started 51 years ago, the Hillcrest Festival of Fine Arts attracts art lovers and festival goers from throughout the state. Each year many new artists, as well as longtime favorites, are chosen to participate. Hillcrest Congregational Church is located at 2000 West Rd. in La Habra Heights. Overflow parking and free shuttle service will be at AMF Friendly Hills Lanes, just west of Whittier Boulevard and Santa Gertrudes Road. For more information, go online to www.hillcrest-church.org.

********** Published: February 03, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 42