May 2021 Newsletter
Click here to download a printable PDF version.
Every good artist paints what he is.
~ Jackson Pollock
Seek Discomfort in Art: Local Artist Profile
by Esmé Stevens
A senior at Redlands High School, Isabella Rainbolt grew up surrounded by family who appreciated and dabbled in the arts. Her father in particular sparked an intrigue into the creative world that she now is able to explore even further as a young passionate artist. However, “I would never truthfully call myself an artist,” she humbly states, “because each one of us including myself are constantly moving and changing along with the passions we work toward perfecting.” She is most driven by her emotions, and finds her inspiration in most everyone and everything. In moments when she feels despair or anxiety, that is when she takes up her artist’s tools and uses them to not only create art but to also better understand herself and what she is feeling.
Photography by Isabella Rainbolt
Isabella’s style, although always changing in some way, reflects her deepest thoughts and sentiments. Black ink, harsh lines, and hollow faces are always present in her work. Photography and painting work hand in hand in most of her favorite art pieces. When Miss Rainbolt makes art for herself, it is never planned, but rather embraces possibility rooted in honesty.
Photography by Isabella Rainbolt
For Isabella, to be transparent in character is to be honest in art, and without that element of genuine feeling within a masterpiece it can hardly capture artistic vision. As said in her own words, “Honesty of self is a characteristic that I hope to hold on to, when you’re honest with your emotions you feel less alone and can connect with the people around you in a deeper way.” Sometimes we must push our limits, seeking discomfort in art.
After graduation, Isabella plans to attend Cal State San Bernardino, pursuing a career as an art teacher.
Esmé Stevens is a senior in the Kolbe Academy Homeschool Program.
Wrightwood Arts Calendar
Now that we’re starting to have events to include again, the Wrightwood Arts Calendar is back! You can always find our arts calendar here. WAC members may have events added by submitting them through this form. Please fill the form out as completely as possible, and your events will be added to the calendar and included in these monthly newsletters.
Here are the events we have planned so far, San Bernardino County Health Covid guidelines permitting …
Saturday, May 1st | Wrightwood Garden Party hosted by WWPOA
Saturday, May 22th | Outdoor Wine & Watercolor with Gayle Dowling
May & June | Clay Studio with Mary Duman
June | WAC Membership Month (join here …)
September
18th | Art Exhibit Opening at WAC (artists TBA)
18th | Music at the Grind
19th | Rattle Poetry Workshops and Readings
October | New Art Exhibit (artist TBA)
Tuesday, October 12th | WAC Opening Meet & Greet – 5:30pm
November | Wrightwood “Shop at home” Weekend – New Art Exhibit (artist TBA)
Saturday May 21st (2022) | Wrightwood Arts & Wine Festival
This Month’s Events
Open Clay Studio
(Location Shared after Registration)
Play with clay in a fun supportive environment! Mary Duman will be hosting an Open Clay Studio class in the month of May and into June. For details on prices, dates, and requirements, visit Inspired Natural Healing.
Wine & Watercolors with Gayle Dowling
1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(Location Shared after Registration)
Come paint with us! Wine and Watercolors with Gayle Dowling is coming back live and outside! The theme will be spring tulips. Bring your own supplies if you have them. Cost of $30 for members / $35 for non-members includes wine, snacks, and supplemental materials. Location will be disclosed and photo will be sent upon registration. Please wear a mask and observe social distancing. Click here to register!
Love Roots Yoga Shala Is Open
Love Roots Yoga Shala in Wrightwood is open for live classes and on Zoom. Some teachers are teaching in person as well as on Zoom, others still just on Zoom. Check out their website for all the details including class schedules, teachers, and how to register/pay.
Wrightwood’s Got Talent Semi-Finals
On Sunday, April 25th, the Wrightwood Blues Society broadcasted the semi-finals of its annual Wrightwood’s Got Talent competition, in which young performers compete for the $1,000 Terry “Big T” DeRouen Scholarship. Watch Greg and Gayle narrow down the eleven-performer field to four finalists:
Poem of the Month
Gordon Kippola
ARMY MEMORIAL SERVICE: TIKRIT
Our ghost today is Private First Class Jones;
his rank and name are called for roll. Air Force
boys are flying home his bits and bones;
so Jones won’t answer back, praise Mars.
The Sergeant Major calls his name out twice,
it’s Private First Class Aaron Jones this time.
His Humvee bumped a hidden boom device,
which made his ass go AWOL. Now, we’re primed
to hear his three-fold summoning; the name,
in full, his parents told the county clerk:
Private First Class Aaron Francis Jones. Same
silence … then rifle volleys. The bugler, here for work,
plays Taps, that old-school twenty-four note song.
The lyrics promise, God is nigh. They’re wrong.
—from Rattle #70
Following 31 years as a musician in the U. S. Army, Gordon Kippola earned an MFA in creative writing at the University of Tampa. After more than a dozen military moves, within and outside the U.S., he now makes his home in Bremerton, Washington.
© 2021. All individual works copyrighted by their creators; used with permission; all rights reserved.
The Wrigthwood Arts Center has announced Leslie Sikes as its first Programs and Activities Chair. Leslie will help the Arts Center plan workshops, classes, and other events for the community to attend. The main goal of this volunteer position is to work with the board of directors to bring the people of Wrightwood together through a common enthusiasm for the arts. 
Greetings to all! My name is Esmé Stevens. As you may or may not know, I am now the official intern for the Wrightwood Arts Center and am more than thrilled to begin this opportunity. It is my goal is to assist in creating a better environment for fellow artists and promoting the importance of the arts. 
