Carpinteria Arts Center

Small Town Big Art Book, 100 Artists of Carpinteria was showcased at the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center, with it reminiscent of “The Little Engine That Could.” I have a friend who was involved with the Art Center in its early days back in 2006. They really had nothing except the will to succeed and now own their building at 865 Linden Avenue with an executive director in Linda Rosso, an art gallery, and space to teach the arts.

Some of their services include youth summer art courses — eight weeks — in painting, performing arts, teen mural project, music, and more. They also have youth after school arts programs, as well as senior outreach with private gallery tours and art experiences designed specifically for seniors. Other classes offered include culinary, flower and orchid design, jewelry making, card print making, ukulele, guitar, and more.

In honor of all they have achieved they recently gave themselves a party with cocktails and a sit-down dinner with a shout out for their newly published Small Town Big Art Book, 100 Artists of Carpinteria.

There’s a photo and bio of each artist along with a picture of their work. It sells for $50 at the Art Center. The writing was a team effort under the direction of David Powdrell.

Nicole Powell danced for us, while Lois Moore was the event sponsor and the honoree in memory of her late son Mark Tremaine, who was an artist. 

The Arts Center is named after Lynda Fairly because of a large endowment she gave, telling me she thought it would be more fun to do something now instead of later — and people and kids are learning about the arts. If you would like to know more, call 805-684-7789.