East Bay jewelry designer pays homage to her royal roots
ORINDA — Many fairy tales are complete with diamond jewelry, beautiful gowns and elaborate parties. Concord resident Jyotsna Singh actually lived the fairy tale. Growing up as the granddaughter of...
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Day of the Dead a time for remembrance, reflection
MARTINEZ — Come October when most people think of Halloween, for Lorena Castillo, the month leading up to Día de los Muertos is a time for remembrance and reflection. “One of my earliest memories in...
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A life ‘Onstage’ for East Bay theater company founder
MARTINEZ — As Helen Means sits in the lobby of the Campbell Theater remembering the “good ole days,” she’s reminded of the journey that took her to founding Onstage Theatre 40 years ago. While working...
View ArticleEast Bay guild weaves legacy of fabric arts
WALNUT CREEK — As members celebrate the guild’s 65th anniversary, the Diablo Weavers’ stories of how they came to the art of weaving are as colorful and intricate as their tapestries. Aiko Gray first...
View ArticleArt, photographs vividly detail Vietnam veterans’ war experience
CONCORD — For three Vietnam veterans, the images of a war zone are as vivid today as yesterday: an infantry patrol moving along a shallow river facing imminent threat; village kids enjoying a bubble...
View ArticlePastoral paintings illustrate plein air style
CONCORD — Although the title of the show is “Plein Air: Local Artists Paint Martinez,” some of the local artists who appreciate Martinez aren’t residents of the city. Pam McCauley may live in...
View ArticleArtist hopes people create their own stories from his bold designs
CONCORD — Like any other kid, Luciano Roque grew up watching cartoons — but instead of paying attention to the stories, he focused on the art. “I was already thinking about animation as a kid growing...
View ArticleHoliday boutiques offer unique items, support East Bay artisans
PLEASANT HILL — Amid handmade scarves, knitted gloves and holiday decorations sits “Garrop’s Gallery” of paintings. While it was Barbara Garrop’s first time exhibiting her paintings at a holiday...
View ArticleArtists capture light, color in respective works
MORAGA — While many jewelry artists have sold their pieces from shops or stalls along street markets all over the world, K. de Groot sold her first piece right off her neck. While at a gathering, de...
View ArticleArtist fuses culture, color into glass pieces
CONCORD — Standing at Gila Sagy’s doorstep one is immediately greeted by an art piece that fully embodies who she is. Her passion for art, color and culture blend as seamlessly as the fused glass...
View ArticleArtist credits upbringing in South America for painting ‘passion’
CONCORD — While some make the distinction between fine art and crafts, for Anamilena Ayala, crafts in all forms, she said, are the real thing — it is all art. To understand the making of an artist,...
View ArticleStudent art showcased at PTA show
MARTINEZ — The Martinez Library art gallery was abuzz last Saturday as students proudly showed their artworks at the PTA show. Seven-year-old Jolie Sharif said she was happy that her “Colorful Kitty,”...
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Martinez artist paints hearts for a good cause
MARTINEZ — As an art teacher for Martinez students, Colleen Gianatiempo knows well the journey it took for her to become an artist with a passion for helping others nurture an artistic passion for a...
View ArticleEast Bay author chronicles complexities of her mother-daughter relationship
ORINDA — Monique Parrish stood in front of an audience at the Lafayette Library Learning Center, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in attendance at her book signing and feeling nervous and...
View ArticleEast Bay yoga practitioners combine talents to collaborate on yoga coloring book
WALNUT CREEK—While pruning roses at her home three years ago, Darlene Davidge fell off of a more than 8-ft. retaining wall, fractured her skull and suffered from major brain trauma. The worst of times...
View ArticleCollege a cappella groups hope to inspire high school students, entertain...
WALNUT CREEK — Enjoying the arts has always been something Melissa Jose and her daughter, Bella, loved doing together. “While neither of us are singers, music is an outlet, relaxing and a way of...
View ArticleEast Bay high school students get real-life art exhibition experience in...
ORINDA— Siena Thomas has been drawing ever since she could hold a pencil as a toddler. “I’d always been doing art,” the Miramonte High School junior said. Then recovering from a soccer playing-related...
View ArticleMartinez celebrates international women in the arts movement
PLEASANT HILL—When asked who she gives credit to for her interest in art and being the woman she is today, Natalya Kolyvayko immediately credits her parents. Like her father, Viktor, Kolyvayko grew up...
View ArticleConcord pianist writes film score for Diablo Ballet anniversary
WALNUT CREEK — The second Justin Levitt puts his fingers on a piano’s keys, he’s transported into a world that he said could only be described through emotion translated to music. Since Levitt was a...
View ArticleAbstract artist creates works to raise Concord’s cultural profile
CONCORD — Although born and raised in Mexico City, Leonardo Ibarra has found his heart now belongs to Concord. Since moving to the Bay Area more than a decade ago, Ibarra saw firsthand the diversity of...
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