Visiting Fine Art in Santa Barbara
Thursday, December 4, 2003; 1:30 PM

We are planning a joint trip to the SansumDiabetesResearchCenter, 2219 Bath Street, and the Santa BarbaraMuseum of Art at 1130 State Street. Graduates will gather at 2220 Bath Street in front of the Best Western Encino Lodge at 1:30 PM.

Fifteen people came to view "Healing Through the Arts"; Mary gave a talk including some thirty works, giving details on the technique of painting with oils on Plexiglas for monotypes, and printing mirror images. Paintings included a mixed-media piece featuring three woodwind players, shown at the recent Music Academy Wine Auction, and paintings of a Geisha, Paris scenes, Trafalgar Square and even one of our own Santa Barbara waterfront area.  Some favorites were the Flying Macaw, Calvary Chapel and a model posed on a rock on Mission Creek.

The group was given a surprise tour of the Sansum facilities where Graduate Don Graves is working on a Diabetes cure. Then a follow-up visit was made to the Sansum Library, where more paintings were viewed. Images of Chenonceau Castle, the "Little Eiffel Tower" and others were shown.

A smaller group then visited the Chinese Commemorative Portraits exhibit at the Museum of Art, which was quite impressive. The large portraits and bold images included headdresses and costumes encoded with social status symbols, such as gold dragons with five fingers. Also interesting was the inclusion of portraits of women, unusual in the far eastern cultures of the time.