Lake County >> If there’s so much as a whisper of an art event in the county, Sherry Harris knows about it — and she wants to let everyone else in on the secret.
Harris is the mind behind Big Art, a live art news talk show broadcast every last Tuesday of the month on KPFZ. She’s also the organizer of the newsletter, Lake County Art News, which lists in chronological order, all of the art shows, classes and events happening around the county (and sometimes beyond). It currently goes out to upwards of 1,000 people.
She didn’t really intend to become such a prominent person in the county’s art scene. How it happened could be described as the snowball effect.
In 1997 Harris moved to Lake County and opened her own art studio. She’d previously been living in southern California where she was constantly surrounded by art. In her new home up north, things were a little different. As she worked around her studio she listened to local radio stations and talk shows, where she learned of community events like concerts and shows, but the lack of art news was obvious. Then the station announced slots for anyone interested in hosting a talk show. Sitting in front of a mic and broadcasting her voice over the air wasn’t an appealing idea, not at first anyway. Eventually though, Harris came around.
“After a while I got really frustrated because I never heard much about art going on,” she explained. As an active artist — she was part of the Lake County Arts Council she showed work at the Main Street Gallery, her young son, Diego, hung his artwork in the gallery’s children’s section — Harris knew the county art scene existed, it just wasn’t getting any coverage.
It took about a year of persistence, but Harris finally landed an hour slot at the end of each month to talk about art news.
She was full of nerves before that very first show, but more than anything, she wanted people to listen. So she gathered her art friends and sent out an email about the show. Things picked up speed from there. She received message after message asking her to mention an art event on her show, some people going so far as to offer to join her live on air. Five years and a thousand-plus emails later, and Harris is still at it.
What Harris found was that people on one side of the lake weren’t aware of what was happening on the other side. The newsletter and art show were a way to connect artists throughout the county. “My whole thing was communication, that everybody got the information that they needed so they could communicate,” she said.
Although the Lake County Arts Council is an all-inclusive group for artists across the county, it can be difficult for them to run the arts alone. “Even though they’re representing Lake County I just felt that they needed more of us to help them,” Harris said. “They can’t do it all, they can’t cover the whole county.”
Harris has taken it upon herself to not only promote the arts to those on her email list, but to improve awareness of Lake County art in general. She attends economic development meetings, encouraging the county to look at art as a viable source of revenue. “I’ve lived in areas where art brings in tourism. You rarely mention art as a thing that would draw tourists,” Harris explained. “It’s kind of like, something that I feel that I can do to help our county economically and also help our artists and our art organizations.”
Art education is also a high priority. Harris has been meeting with Lake County Superintendent of Schools, Brock Falkenberg, to discuss getting artists in the classroom to assist teachers who otherwise might not have the time to add art to their curriculum. She’d also like to see more art programs in the local community colleges, which have cut back on art classes in recent years. For people who don’t feel a traditional education is right for them, Harris said, these programs could help them become successful artists.
Harris added that in surrounding counties, like Napa and Sonoma, artists aren’t only making it by as selling their work, they’re thriving. “I’d like to see that happen here,” she said.
Another avenue to promote the arts is through the successful wine scene. Wine and art do go hand in hand, after all. Harris has approached wineries about organizing art shows at their venues and she’s received positive responses. She’s also thrilled about the sip and paint classes happening at the Lake County Wine Studio (LCWS) and across the county. “I’m thrilled that Susan Feiler [of the LCWS] is bring all that into her business and she certainly is a really big supporter of the arts and the artists,” Harris said. “It’s just nice to be around creative people.”
Harris also wants to increase public art, such as outdoor sculptures and murals, in all corners of the county. Though Middletown has the EcoArts Sculpture Walk, an outdoor public arts exhibit running through the summer months each year, she’d like to see something year-round and more permanent.
The Middletown Art Center (MAC) is one location where outdoor public art is feasible. They have a large space beside their building, perfect for a sculpture garden, and since they’re located right at the mouth of the county, on Hwy. 29 and 175, the sculptures could act as a tourist attraction for those just driving through.
“These are possibilities of things that we can do that would be beneficial for the county ,” Harris said.
Fortunately, since her move to the area nearly ten years ago, Harris has witnessed first hand the growth of the art scene. She believes that her newsletter has played a part and that’s why she’ll continue to send it out. “Sometimes you think, ‘oh what can I do to make a change?’ Instead of being negative you have to start and do something yourself,” she said. “That’s kind of what I did. I didn’t know how it was going to work and I just did it the only way I knew how.”
And as if she’s doesn’t already have her hands full, Harris is working on a new business, which combines her former career as a realtor and her immersion in the art world. Through Lake County Homes for Artists, Harris plans to find artists property conducive for creativity. The homes may boast wraparound balconies with a 360 degree views or large windows that frame the lake perfectly for a painting.
Harris’ ultimate goal is to see Lake County become an arts destination, much like the transformation of Mendocino 50 years ago. According to Harris, the coastal streets didn’t used to be much more than a logging town until an art professor from San Francisco visited the area. He loved the town so much, he decided to set up the Mendocino Art Center. His Bay Area artist friends followed suit, purchasing property and setting up studios and it wasn’t long before bed and breakfasts, then five star restaurants, set up shop in the once sleepy little town. Now, the Mendocino economy is thriving, along with their real estate market.
It’s a model Harris is clearly looking to.
One day, hopefully when the art scene is flourishing, Harris — who admited to struggling with technology and the world’s social media-centered ways — will step away from the newsletter. “I hope someday someone who can do a better job than me will take it over,” she said. “Then I can just be an artist again.”
But until then, Harris will continue to compile a list of art news, shoot off her emails and run her talk show the last Tuesday of each month. “We’re all in this together to make our county shine,” she said.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
