UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is presenting monthly art classes with wine, co-hosted with artist Anna Sabalone.
This month's wine and art session with Sabalone is scheduled for Sunday, July 15, and will feature a hummingbird and flower painted in watercolors. The session time is 1:30 to 4 p.m.
The class fee of $40 covers all of the provided art supplies needed along with step-by-step guidance and a glass of Lake County wine. Reservations are required for each month's class as participation is limited to 12 people.
Sabalone was born and raised in Lake County. She has been involved in the Lake County Arts Council since her teen years.
She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Leeds, England for her undergraduate degree in English, history and anthropology. She earned her teaching credential and Masters of Education from UC Santa Barbara and has been teaching art, English, history and academic decathlon at Upper Lake High School since 2008.
For class schedule, reservations and additional information, contact Susan Feiler at 707-293-8752.
Lake County Wine Studio is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artist's shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.
The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. It’s open Thursday through Monday, 1 to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Boys of Summer continue their “Endless Summer Tour” with a local performance at the Twin Pine Casino & Hotel Event Center on Saturday, July 21.
The performance will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the casino, 22223 Highway 29.
Tickets are $20, which includes $10 in casino free play. The show is for 21 and over.
Known as “the most authentic-sounding Eagles Band in America,” the Boys of Summer Endless Summer Tour is, indeed, just that. The 30-city – and growing – tour includes headlining performances at large music festivals, family-friendly county fairs, famed wineries, and top live music venues across the country.
The Boys of Summer are James Williamson, drums-vocals; Darrel Monson, guitar/vocals; Dave Williams, guitar/vocals; Chad Quist, guitar/vocals; Chris Turbis, keyboards/saxophones/acoustic guitar/vocals; and Rich Berglund, bass/vocals.
The six hard-working musicians and lifelong friends have for several decades played and channeled some of the greatest music ever created and produced on the West Coast, that of legendary rock group, the Eagles.
With each band member possessing many decades of professional experience, the band plays the true musical heart and soul of the Eagle's music, recreating the sounds, harmonies, and most important, the feel.
The band's continuing popularity can be attributed not only to their spot-on live performances; additionally, to a new generation of younger fans just now discovering what a great group the Eagles are.
Lisa Kaplan’s Integration in process. Courtesy photo.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center will launch its new project “Restore” on Saturday, July 14, with “Drawing and Sculpting from Life” from 1 to 5 p.m.
The class will provide facilitated studio time with artist Lisa Kaplan and include materials and supplies for sculpting the human figure in clay from a live model.
Adults of all ages and young people age 12 and up of all levels of experience from practicing artists to newbies are welcome to draw or sculpt during the session.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own drawing and painting materials, clay tools, and easels if preferred.
Clay, materials for armatures, charcoal and newsprint will be available. The cost is $10. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
“Working while observing the figure is a fascinating process. Our anatomy is complex, beautiful, miraculous and sculptural. And, we are all basically supported by the same internal structures. When you surrender to a journey of discovery, you can let go of expectations that your work will be a perfect representation of the figure, and enjoy giving form to what you see. And clay is a great medium for this kind of exploration as it is so malleable and easy to rework,” said artist Lisa Kaplan, who is facilitating this session.
“We’ll open with quick poses that increase in duration during the first half, take a break and then dig into a long pose for the second half. You are welcome to draw or sculpt and can attend just part of the day if you wish. I will be available to support your work in either media. Working from life can be intense, but it is also very rewarding in terms of what we can learn about the human body, and our own as well as others’ humanity,” Kaplan said.
Adults and teens of all abilities and backgrounds are invited to participate in Restore and develop their personal creative and artistic voices while learning to work in a variety of media.
Restore workshops provide opportunities for both personal and collaborative projects and include classes in sculpture, mixed media, creative writing and printmaking. Participants will learn new skills or refine skills in a variety of materials and techniques including clay, woodworking, metalworking, concrete, fiber, assemblage, drypoint and block printing among others.
The project will culminate with the reopening of the EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park, and a new Rabbit Hill Art Trail. Whether you wish to work on a long-term personal project, or on a team project, Restore provides opportunities to participate in revitalizing outdoor community spaces that were destroyed by the Valley fire.
On Saturday, July 28, also from 1 to 5 p.m., Clive Matson will return to MAC to lead the Writers Workshop. August will feature Extreme Papier Mâché with Christalene Loren and Block Printing with John Jennings. In September, MAC will begin to offer Restore workshops most weekends of the month. Classes include basic materials and are offered at $5 to 10.
Restore, like Resilience, was made possible with support from the California Arts Council, a State agency, and local organizations and contributors. Visit www.ca.arts.gov to learn more about the California Arts Council’s important work in communities and schools throughout California.
The public is also invited to enjoy any of several Resilience project exhibits, each unique, currently on view in multiple locations: in Lakeport at City Hall, in Clearlake at City Hall, at Middletown Art Center (closing July 22) and at the Adventist Hospital Mountain View Café in Clearlake. Find out more about exhibit locations and hours at www.middletownartcenter.org.
MAC’s Nature and Numbers summer camp will be offered July 30 to Aug 3, and is open to children grades first through ninth. Visit the MAC website to learn more about this adventure in the arts paired with math and number sense skills and concepts.
Be a part of the growing arts scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, by participating in Restore, or by coming to any of the many arts and cultural events or classes at MAC. Visit www.middletownartcenter.org or like Middletown Art Center on Facebook to stay up to date with what’s happening at MAC.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown’s monthly summer “Movies in the Park” will host the film “Coco” on Saturday, July 14.
The movie, suitable for the whole family, will be held beginning at dusk in the park in front of the Middletown Senior Center and Library, 21256 Washington St.
The film is are free and open to the public.
Bring blankets and chairs.
The remaining summer movie lineup includes “Peter Rabbit” on Saturday, Aug. 11, and “Breaking Legs” on Saturday, Sept. 8.
More consistently funny than the average superhero adventure, “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” the sequel to “Ant-Man” and less so to “Captain America: Civil War,” thrives on the everyman heroics of flawed superhero Scott Lang (Paul Lang) when he dons the costume.
Having survived an incident in Germany, Lang, now under house arrest and monitored by the watchful eye of FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), tries to run his X-Con security firm while tending to his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson).
The fact that Lang would rather be a slacker honing his magic skills and playing the drums irritates his estranged mentor Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and former flame Hope van Dyne, aka The Wasp, (Evangeline Lilly).
Nevertheless, Dr. Pym is in need of Lang’s Ant-Man services to tinker with a contraption that could propel him to the Quantum Realm where it is believed his long-missing wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) could be rescued under the proper conditions.
To make this happen, Lang relies on his wise-cracking partner Luis (Michael Pena) and assorted ex-felons at his security business, as well as a measure of good luck, to run interference that would allow him to outwit the federal agents eager to send him back to prison.
Naturally, huge obstacles await the return of Ant-Man working on an invaluable asset that is coveted by slick arms dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) and his deadly goons as well as by the mysterious Ava, aka Ghost, (Hannah John-Kamen), who needs quantum energy to survive.
Complicating matters even more is that Dr. Pym and Hope are fugitives wanted by the FBI. Meanwhile, Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), a former colleague of Pym’s who harbors old animosities to his past partner, acts as the protective guardian for Ghost.
The challenge for Lang and his reluctant partners is to stay steps ahead of the law, the criminal thugs and a vengeful Ghost, while working from a miniaturized building that they must alternately guard and later retrieve from their adversaries.
The high stakes of completing the mission to rescue Janet by perfecting a Quantum Tunnel that would travel to a sub-atomic world beyond our own while keeping adversaries at bay leads to plenty of high-energy car chases and fight scenes that contain strong elements of comedic pleasures.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp” may not be considered in the top ranks of superhero films, but it is plenty of fun, which is reasonable to expect when Paul Rudd is so good at bringing his comedic talents to the forefront. This is a film to be enjoyed as good summer entertainment.
‘SHARP OBJECTS’ ON HBO
“Sharp Objects,” the first novel by Gillian Flynn, perhaps best-known for “Gone Girl,” has been adapted into an eight-episode Southern gothic psychological crime series for HBO with an assist from the author.
Camille Preaker (a stellar Amy Adams), an alcoholic with a dark history of self-mutilation, is a crime reporter for the St. Louis Chronicle who is assigned by her editor Curry (Miguel Sandoval) to cover a disturbing story of a murder and disappearance of another teen in a small town.
The town is Wind Gap, Missouri, which looks like a ghost town except for the ubiquitous presence of a trio of roller-skating teen girls and the Chief of Police (Matt Craven) cruising the streets, and it’s where Camille was raised by overbearing mother Adora (Patricia Clarkson).
Camille’s return to her hometown does not make her the prodigal daughter in the eyes of her family. Adora, given to cutting remarks, complains that Camille arrives unannounced only to probe with “horrible, morbid questions, stirring everyone up.”
What appears disturbing to Adora is that Camille arrives as the big city investigator, prompting her to say “I am happy you’re here, but don’t embarrass me – not again.” Camille’s entire visit is destined to be fraught with tension.
The stepfather, Alan Crellin (Henry Czerny), is so detached he spends much of his time fiddling with an expensive sound system. Camille’s half-sister Amma (Eliza Scanlen), a precocious 15-year-old, smartly plays the good-girl role while coyly hiding her wild, rebellious streak.
Flashbacks to the death of Camille’s little sister Marian remain a haunting memory that recurs all the time. What unfolds in “Sharp Objects” is a character study above all else that probes the dysfunctional nature of the family and the inhabitants of a stratified community.
As the inquisitive, hard-drinking reporter, Camille’s comfort zone is found in hanging out in the town’s lone dive bar and driving around swigging vodka from water bottles. Interaction with the local authorities proves to be less comfortable.
The police chief is less than thrilled to be saddled with the unwanted help of young Kansas City detective Richard Willis (Chris Messina), who in turn appears to be equally entranced and annoyed by Camille’s involvement.
“Sharp Objects,” more than a murder mystery, is most often a slow-moving journey through the genesis of Camille’s tortured self-loathing and destructive behavior. It requires patience for the viewer that could pay off.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography. Jehanne Dubrow's most recent book is Dots & Dashes, from Southern Illinois University Press.
Her husband is a naval officer and she's written some very fine poetry about military life.
Here's a poem that plays upon the unlikely intersection of weaponry and chocolate.
Jehanne Dubrow lives and works in Texas.
From the Pentagon
He brings me chocolate from the Pentagon, dark chocolates shaped like tanks and fighter jets, milk chocolate tomahawks, a bonbon like a kirsch grenade, mint chocolate bayonets. He brings me chocolate ships, a submarine descending in a chocolate sea, a drone unmanned and filled with hazelnut praline. He brings me cocoa powder, like chocolate blown to bits. Or chocolate squares of pepper heat. Or if perhaps we've fought, he brings a box of truffles home, missiles of semisweet dissolving on the tongue. He brings me Glocks and chocolate mines, a tiny transport plane, a bomb that looks delicious in its cellophane.
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
