My Art Walk

These past couple of months I’ve been completely tied up getting ready for Open Studios, so my latest strategy is incorporating my walks into my chores. Today’s walk was a pleasure, hardly a chore, so I’ll include it as blogworthy.

This is the second weekend of Santa Cruz County’s Open Studios, and covers all the artists whose studios are south of the Santa Cruz yacht harbor. I live just north of the harbor, so took the opportunity to walk to the studios closest to my house: those at the 17th Avenue studio complex.

I walked down to the harbor, and skirted the end of the berths. I first noticed the boat in the foreground because it’s an old Chris Craft, and reminds me of the one we had when I was growing up. The name is the best part: “Crisis Every Hour II” — which implies an ultimate crisis for boat #1.
Crisis Every Hour at the yacht basin.

It seems to be my task to explore the train tracks around Santa Cruz; they do provide the most direct route to a lot of places!
Train track short cut.

Some interesting graffitti along the tracks.
Graffitti on a fence along the tracks.

Graffitti on a fence along the tracks.

Here is the 17th Avenue studio complex, a mix of old warehouses, quonset huts, shacks, and still-working garages. It’s a popular destination, since 17 artists there were participating. Another incentive to walk; parking can be problematic.
17th Ave studios.

Among the artists whose work I particularly enjoyed at 17th Ave. are Donna Bourne‘s landscapes, Michael Mote‘s paintings of waves, Marvin Plummer‘s fabulous animal drawings, Jean Sheckler Beebe‘s mixed-media images, and Michele Indiana Anderson‘s abstract paintings. Most are doing the encore weekend on October 17 & 18, as am I, so do come out to look at some good art!

Even apart from the art, it’s an interesting place. An old rusty truck:
Rusty truck.

An arty auto juxtaposition:
Car and grille.

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