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Tag: Natasha Ganes

Supporting Art in Education through Orange County’s Junior Art Exhibit

St Basils in Color by Nora DeVente, Grade 8

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Festival of the Arts and Pageant of the Masters events in Southern California for the TreeHouse Arts site. What I didn’t mention then was the Junior Art Exhibit that is also a part of their summer show.

Since 1947, the Junior Art Exhibit has included select art from over 300 Orange County students between the ages of Kindergarten to grade 12. The exhibit is impressive not only in the budding artistic abilities it portrays, but also because it calls attention to one of my passions: the importance of continuing art education in our school systems.

Take a look over some of the below works from California’s upcoming artistic major-leaguers and tell me if you’re as impressed and excited as I am about all of the talent coming from our future generations.

SoCal Heatwave Relief: Cool Off This Weekend with Local Artists at the Newport Beach Art Exhibition

If you’re in the SoCal area and looking for something to do, be sure to stop by the 53rd Annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition on Saturday, June 17th from 1-6 pm. A few of my photography pieces will be on display (and on sale, if you’re so inclined), along with work from artist Wade Ganes, aka my super talented brother (I’m biased, but his work really does rock).

The juried art show gives you the chance to view and purchase art, meet local artists, and get your groove on with live jazz, beer/wine, and food. There will also be a silent auction and book sale, with a percentage of all sales from the event going towards funding community art programs. I hope to see you there!

How to Take Your Fitness Practice Outdoors with Sunset Beach Yoga

By now you’ve likely heard that practicing yoga provides many benefits, including increased flexibility, improved energy, and an overall sense of relaxation. I’ve been practicing various types of yoga for over a decade and can tell you that while I definitely dig the way it strengthens my body, what I really appreciate about it is what it does for my mind. As in: Slows. It. Way. The. Heck. Down. And. Keeps. Me. Mindful. OHHHMMM.

While I love yoga, I also like trying new things. Luckily for me, there are a bunch of different types of yoga practices out there: yin (best ever – I do it a few times a week), Bikram (I call this one torture yoga), Vinyasa flow (great cardio workout), SUP yoga (trying it this weekend; fingers crossed I manage to stay on the board), yoga with goats (seriously, it’s a real thing and I’m going to try it someday), aerial (yoga in the air – what’s not to love about that?!), glow (not high on my priority list, but I’ll probably do it at some point), restorative (just went on an excellent remote retreat for this type last weekend), and on and on.

If you’re lucky enough to live near the ocean or a lake, you can also try sunset (or sunrise for those of you who live on a totally different schedule than I do) yoga on the beach, which is as relaxing as it sounds. Fair warning though: it’s not as simple as it seems. In fact, I’ve listed a few things below you should know before you give it a try.

  1. Wear layers: when the sun goes down and the wind kicks up it gets chilly fast and nothing ruins your zen like goosebumps and chattering teeth.
  2. No matter how careful you try to be, sand will get everywhere. If you don’t like a dirty mat, I suggest designating an old one just for beach yoga or bringing a towel to place underneath it.
  3. Speaking of sand, wear a hooded sweatshirt so that when you go into your final savasana pose you can pull up the hood to avoid getting a bunch of it in your hair.
  4. If you have long hair and it’s windy, you hairdo will be destroyed when you’re done. Throw on a hat and just deal with it.
  5. The sand is going to throw off your balance and stability, so you won’t feel as sturdy as you do in a studio. You can smooth out the sand prior to placing down your mat, which helps a bit. You can also place a bamboo mat or thick blanket under your yoga mat to create a more even surface, but you’ll still waver with your movements. I’m currently trying to invent ways to improve on this: a yoga mat crossed with a thinner boogie board? A yoga mat on thick bamboo stalks? I don’t know, but if you have any ideas I’d love to hear them.

Until next time, namaste my friends.

 

The Adult Coloring Craze

Mindfulness. Relaxation. Stress relief. Although according to research any structured, rhythmic activity can help you achieve these things, adult coloring seems to be the latest and greatest way to get there. And it’s no wonder: coloring is inexpensive, requires zero drawing skills, reminds of us of childhood, and is fun in a simple way.

I loved to color when I was a kid. In fact, my great uncle Orville Ganes was a professional cartoonist and one of my prouder childhood moments was when he penned a cartoon of my grandfather, his brother, riding a jalopy and asked me to color it in because he “heard a rumor” that I was “really talented” at it. I was 8 and beyond thrilled. Unfortunately, one of my more embarrassing childhood moments came about five minutes later when I accidentally colored outside of a line on that drawing because my sweaty fingers were a bit too eager to prove my “talent.” Sigh.

Despite this mild snag in my artistic career, I continued to secretly consider myself an expert colorer (apparently that’s not a word, but I’m using it anyway). In fact, I remember buying coloring books and crayons in college and spending a few weeknights on my dorm room floor, avoiding studying for finals by deciding if Ariel should become a brunette or keep the ginger locks Disney gave her.

Although I always feel the urge for markers whenever I see a black and white image, after college I don’t recall any coloring activity until my niece came along. And then about a year or so ago, out of nowhere it seemed, adult coloring books started appearing all over the place. Given my past love affair with coloring, it’s surprising it took me so long to jump on the bandwagon. Or maybe not, considering I’ve always been rather suspicious of hype. In any case, I finally broke down and revisited my former passion.

I bought a couple of books, the biggest box of crayons I could find, some thin-tipped markers, and went to town. As you can imagine, adult coloring books differ from their kid counterparts in that they generally contain more mature images: intricate patterns, fine details, less whimsical subject matters. Think less Prince Charming’s crude blocky castle and more his grandmother’s Zen garden drawn with a thousand hypnotic components.

After a week of almost nightly practice, I can honestly say I’m not as drawn (pun very much intended) to it as I once was, but I also realized my relationship with coloring reiterates what I’ve learned about myself over the years.

  1. My patience levels are always being tested: These new patterns take forever to complete, which makes it relaxing, time consuming, and oh-so frustrating all at the same time.
  2. I’m stubborn when determined: It isn’t easy staying inside the lines and I still care when I slip.
  3. I’m a visionary: I can’t believe Crayola still isn’t making enough colors to satisfy me and when are they going to invent a marker that doesn’t dry out after a few uses?
  4. I have excellent self-confidence: Even now, after all these years, I am still a coloring rock star.