Young artists celebrated by Hemet Valley Art Association

After completing a Children’s Art Exploration Week at the Hemet Valley Art Association taught by Alison Wieman and her granddaughter Opal Larkin, participants had their artwork displayed at the downtown Hemet gallery during an open house on July 19. The event showcased HVAA Junior Members who were recognized as the featured artists of the month. Other artists of all ages were also on hand to interact with guests and the young members.

Wieman serves as HVAA vice president and chairperson of the annual Evening of Art program. Opal, 13, has been a Junior Member for about three years. They also teach a Saturday morning art class together twice a month.

“Alison is a former teacher who brought a new level of community involvement to the gallery,” HVAA President Lynn Throckmorton. “Alison and I are committed to mentoring all our junior members.”

Opal, whose mother teaches at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, is an award-winning artist who enjoys the medium of oil painting and the genre of portraiture. She was excited to offer a variety of projects to the participants in the weeklong art exploration program. Meeting for two hours a day, a wide range of projects were provided. Participants learned how to tie-dye t-shirts, do hand castings, make stuffed toys through needlework, create a collage journal cover, and make masks with collage and/or acrylic paints, which was an overwhelming favorite.

“We want to give a big thank you to Kevin Robbins for donating the art kits to students in the class,” Wieman said.

Ely Garduno, 12, and Sarah Samara, 15, signed up for the class to have something to do during their summer break from school. They liked having a different project to do each day and said they would do it again because it was fun. Edwardo Guardino, 11, is a photographer who liked creating a cover for the personal journal the best. Milagros Garduno, 13, liked the freedom to express herself with each project and appreciated a new experience to learn.

“It was great to have Opal teaching because she could relate to the same perspective as us,” Milagros said.

The nonprofit organization offers classes and opportunities for all types of artists, and the event attracted art lovers that enjoyed seeing the featured work of junior members and sharing their own displayed work with friends, families, fellow artists and the community.

“We are happy to see so many come to admire and appreciate the diverse talent these students are bringing to our art center and gallery,” Throckmorton said. “This is the future of our gallery as we support diversity in art and diversity in our membership.”

Eve Khattab is a fairly new member who has won first place in Mixed Media for several months for her amazing art beading creations. She is a self-taught artist who created the art form 20 years ago after doing a lot of cross stitch.

“I thought maybe I can do this with beads, using a screen as my canvas, wire as my needle and beads instead of thread,” she said. “If I like something, I take a photo of it and print it out in black and white which shows the shading better.”

She keeps the photo in front of her as she works so she can get the colors the way she wants them to be. Growing up, Khattab showed her creativity in other ways like experimenting with her hair and makeup as a teenager. Working at a small family business, she was able to continue devoting time to her art beading. Now 75, she was pleased to find the Hemet Valley Art Association to be able to share her art with others.

“If you don’t explore, you can’t expose your work for others to see,” Khattab said, adding that her family is proud of her.

Stephen Packard creates unique relief acrylic pieces. He said he has always been interested in the space between sculpture and painting, so he came up with a way to bring them together. An HVAA member since November, his first entry earned him a Best in Show award. He also enjoys woven paper making and would like to teach a class in it at the gallery someday. The retired art educator worked at Temecula Preparatory School in French Valley for 20 years and says he appreciates all the Hemet Valley Art Association does for its members.

“I like the availability of a place to hang my work because I want people to see it and I can change out my work anytime I want,” Packard said. “I enjoy the friendliness of the people here. I felt welcome immediately.”

Madison Alcauter calls her varied and distinct collection of acrylics “self-portraits” and uses her art as a way to make what she’s confused about tangible. Getting her inspiration from music, she doesn’t use any reference pieces to create her works.

“When a song is playing, I can see a facial expression and then I just play with the lights and shadows,” she said.

Madison, 23, has lived in Hemet for 10 years and learned about the HVAA through her work at the framing department of Hobby Lobby at the Hemet Valley Mall. She enjoys having a place to show her artwork because it makes her feel seen.

Darlene Woodcock is also a one-of-a-kind artist who creates “Framed Junk Jewelry” after seeing it done on social media. Before she starts to build a piece, she decides on a background color of velvet material which she lays the deconstructed jewelry pieces on to create a finished work of art.

Zallah Hobson joined HVAA about a year ago because she was looking for somewhere to display her art. She has always loved drawing and uses markers, colored pencils and graphite to produce some of her work but also creates digital fine art on her iPad, which has become her passion. She takes classes at the gallery and likes learning from other people. She is working on establishing monthly young artist meetups.

“I spend a lot of time drawing—it takes up the majority of my day,” said the 17-year-old who is headed to college in the fall where she plans to study art.

Her mother Nicola Hobson said, “I love her being able to show her work and share it with everyone.”

Throckmorton said the culture at the association is evolving with more inclusion and diversity than ever before. She said members have offered their various professional expertise in marketing and sales to help support the gallery. A recent undertaking has been an ongoing fundraising campaign started by Linda “Vivian” Baranek. Each month members meet to create something that fits the chosen theme whether it be hats, birdhouses or wind chimes.

“We supply the talent and supplies and people buy the finished pieces of art to support the gallery,” Throckmorton said.

Since 1963, HVAA has offered a welcoming environment for local artists who enjoy sharing their work, learning, and growing with the community. The Hemet Valley Art Association gallery, at 144 North Harvard Street in Hemet, hosts regular classes and workshops and is open to visitors Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, www.hemetvalleyart.com or 951-652-4592.