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“A New Story” is on display at the Middletown Art Center in Middletown, Calif., through Sunday, October 28, 2018. Courtesy photo.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Lake County residents and visitors are encouraged to experience “A New Story,” the third fire anniversary show, at the Middletown Art Center.

The exhibit commemorates the 2015 and subsequent Lake County wildfires of the past four years and closes this Sunday, Oct. 28.

Gallery hours are Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; or by appointment.

Artwork in “A New Story” captures the arc of fire trauma and recovery, from emergency and after shock, to perseverance, rebuilding, living with fire, and ultimately moving forward. The work, in a variety of media by Lake County artists, is poignant, cathartic, and transformative.

Some of the works on view in the exhibit are also featured in the chapbook Resilience – a community reframes disaster through art.

The book is available for purchase at MAC and online and includes writings and prints by 21 local writers and 17 printmakers that participated in the Resilience project in 2017-18. It is a powerful memento of community wildfire recovery, and testament to healing power of art.

The Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.

Be a part of the growing arts scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, or by attending one 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.
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Dragon tile by Holly Green. Courtesy photo.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center’s Restore project features printmaking - drypoint etching with artist Nicholas Hay this Saturday, Oct. 27, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Adults and children ages 11 and up of all levels of art making experience, from newbies to professionals, are invited to attend this inspiring class for just $5.

“We’ll use a drypoint technique to draw into a plastic plate with a metal etching pen,” explained Hay. “Participants will be able to make changes and refinements to their image and run their plate through the press several times during class. The process of printmaking is quite magical, and anyone who likes to draw can create compelling images.”

Drypoint etching on copper plates will also be introduced in this class. Participants can purchase copper plates to draw on and print in class in the coming months. MAC encourages folks to come to several classes, to hone skills, learn new ones, and develop a body of work. Participants may also work on monotypes during this class.

Please register in advance for all Restore classes at http://www.middletownartcenter.org/restore, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Work from printmaking classes will contribute to MAC’s second chapbook of writings and images, as well as Restore exhibitions. The first chapbook, “Resilience – a community reframes disaster through art,” is available for purchase at MAC or on the MAC Web site. You can preview the book at www.middletownartcenter.org/resilience-chapbook-excerpt.

The Restore project provides low-cost classes most weekends through May 2019. Fall and early winter classes provide opportunity to learn or refine skills in a variety of materials and techniques, including clay, woodworking, metalworking, concrete, drypoint etching, block printing, and more.

Late winter and spring classes will focus on personal and collaborative projects, studio time, mentoring and guidance to create work.

Learn more about Restore class scheduling at www.middletownartcenter.org.

On Sunday, Nov. 4, Restore features natural woodworking with Marcus Maria Jung. The class begins at 10:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m., and includes a break for lunch. A writing and performance lab with Casey Carney will be offered on Saturday, Nov. 10. Please preregister at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore.

The Restore project was made possible thanks to support from the California Arts Council, a state agency, with additional support from local organizations, businesses, and individuals. Visit www.ca.arts.gov to learn more about the California Arts Council’s important work in communities and schools throughout California.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.

Be a part of the growing arts scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, by coming to Restore printmaking this Saturday, or by attending one 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.
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Diana Liebe and Richard Schmidt show two sample paintings that they will use in a free art class open to the public. Students will receive a “coloring-book” version of the picture that they will then color in their own styles. The themes explored in the painting come from Into the Beautiful North by Luis Albert Urrea, the NEA Big Read selection in Lake County, Calif. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Luis Alberto Urrea painted vivid word pictures of life along the border between the US and Mexico in his novel Into the Beautiful North, the NEA Big Read selection in Lake County.

Local artists Richard Schmidt and Diana Liebe have taken Urrea’s images and translated them into visual pictures that they will share in a free beginning art workshop at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main Street in Lakeport on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Students will use watercolors, colored pencils and water color pencils to color their own versions of a template painting that features themes from “Into the Beautiful North.” During the class Schmidt will read from Urrea’s writing to inspire the students to new heights of creativity.

“Into the Beautiful North” follows the adventures of 19-year-old Nayeli who works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father who journeyed to the United States when she was young.

Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village – they've all gone north.

While watching “The Magnificent Seven,” Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men – her own "Siete Magníficos” – to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over.

A national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.

For more information on this event, please contact the library at 707-263-8817. You also can view a full calendar of events for the NEA Big Read in Lake County, which continues through October, at http://www.lakecountybigread.com.

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary.

Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.
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Laura McAndrews Sammel as Laurey, Tim Barnes as Curly and Gary Deas as Jud in Oklahoma! Photo by Charise Reynolds.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Right now, while you are reading this article, the entire cast and crew of Oklahoma! are trying to balance work, child care, making dinner, family life and all the other every day tasks with rehearsal for this show.

The show opens this Friday, Oct. 26, and runs through Nov. 11 at the Soper-Reese Theatre at 275 South Main St. in Lakeport.

Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m. and Sunday shows are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22 and $17 in advance, $27 and 22 at the door, and can be purchased online at http://www.soperreesetheatre.com, at the box office or by calling 707-263-0577.

Our cast is quite varied. We have nurses, teachers, a pig farmer, a District Attorney, County workers, retired Air Force, health care administrators, education specialists, volunteers, and retirees, but there is a common theme among them in that no one is getting paid. They basically take on this second job, rearrange their lives to fit the rehearsal schedule, get less sleep, call in favors to get their kids dropped off or picked up and even listen to their families lament about how much time the show is taking up. And, quite often they buy their own costumes, wigs, and props.

Why would anyone do this you ask? Well, for some it’s the fun of seeing if you can figure out what makes the character tick and then bringing them to life. For others it’s the challenge to see if you can hit those notes, remember your timing, and get your movements right without falling on your face.

Sometimes, it’s for the rush that you get right before you go out on stage. That moment when you are nervous because you want to do the best job possible and then the adrenaline kicks in and you just come to life like nowhere else.

Others like the fact that it’s slightly different every night and you never know what can and will happen. Some like the applause or the energy from the crowd when you are connected in a single moment.

And, still others just like the community of it all. Getting together a few times a week with people who share a common interest.

Let’s face it, not a lot of folks in everyday life get all the dorky theatre references we throw out. It’s nice to feel like people get where you are coming from.

And, so that’s what we do. We drive to work practicing our songs. We run our lines in our heads while we stand in line at the grocery store, and we try to remember if it’s kick, turn, step or kick, step, turn while waiting for our child’s soccer practice to be over. And, quite often we get a little less sleep because we are at rehearsal until 9 p.m. Some of us maybe even have to drive a ways to get home afterward.

But, we don’t complain, because when we come to the theatre on the night of the performance and hear the audience chatting while they are waiting for the show to start, that feeling in the pit of our stomachs kicks in. And, the adrenaline fires up. And, for the next 2 1/2 hours we are someone else, somewhere else; and, something magical takes over. And, the sacrifice, and the lack of sleep fade away.

Please come see the Lake County Theatre Co. and Mendocino College Lake Center’s co-production of Oklahoma! See if you can tell what gets each performer out there and experience a little of the magic with us. We promise you won’t be disappointed. There’s a reason why Oklahoma ends with an exclamation point!

The cast of Oklahoma! Courtesy photo. Photo by Charise Reynolds.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1938 drama, “Angels With Dirty Faces,” starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien and Humphrey Bogart, screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 1 and 6 p.m.

Entry to the film is by donation.

A fine gangster movie classic with James Cagney at the top of his game as the bad guy who has redeeming qualities.

As ex-con Rocky Sullivan, Cagney’s movements are quick, his speech like machine gun fire. He is all attitude and style, and you can’t help being on his side.

Directed by Oscar-nominated Michael Curtiz.

The movie is sponsored by Kathy Jensen. Not rated. Run time is 1 hour and 37 minutes.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com .
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.


This column originates from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and a half-hour's drive south there's a creek with flat stones on its floor where wagons passed down and over the muddy bottom, up the other bank, and on west to Oregon.

Here's a poem about that great migration, by Kim Lozano, a poet from St. Louis.

The Ruts

Most have been plowed up or paved over
but you can still find them, tracks cut
deep into the earth by prairie schooners
crossing that great green ocean, pitching
waves of pasture out where there's nothing
else to do but live. Concealing their detritus—
a piece of sun-bleached buffalo skull, a button
from a cavalry soldier's coat—the ruts wind
their way beneath leafy suburban streets, lie
buried under a Phillips 66 and the corner
of a Pizza Hut where a couple sits slumped
in their booth. Yet here and there, like a fish
head breaking the surface of the water, they
emerge in a school teacher's back yard or a
farmer's field, evidence of wagons packed
with hardtack and hard money, thousands of
draft animals tended by traders with blistered
feet, their journey both bleak and romantic.
That's the kind of proof I like, a scar I can put
my hand to, history that will dust my fingers
with a little bit of suffering, a little bit of bone.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by Kim Lozano, "The Ruts," from Third Coast, (Spring, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Kim Lozano and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

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