Let the Arts Blossom in Petaluma

#8, February 10, 1999 

 

The rising sun paints a western ridge with gold and green. At midday, the meadowlark calls a tune. Red-tailed hawks dance a slow waltz on the afternoon breeze, and as Venus and Jupiter follow the sun below the now-violet horizon, the frog symphony begins…

 

We live in a delicious gallery of natural art, a concert hall of divine earth-music. This is the beauty that brought and keeps many of us here, and we work to preserve it. But there is more beauty in our little ecosystem than easily meets the eye or ear—the artworks that spring from the human heart.

  

People, like the rest of nature, have a deep desire to create. From the toddler’s babbling “story telling” to the kindergartner’s exuberant finger paintings to the ear-pummeling pulse of the teen’s garage band--  we can, with proper cultivation, grow up like trees of artistic expression, stretching higher, branching out, setting leaf and flower, season after season.

 

I frequently think about what form a utopian society could take, how we might get there. I was inspired by a recent visit to the restored Miwok village at Point Reyes. Having tapped nature’s bounty, the Miwok had a lot of free time. What did they do with it? To a large degree they made art: sang songs, told stories, and created exquisite basketry.

 

In our consumption-centric world, the arts can be a vehicle for personal and cultural transformation. Making music and dance can take people into the most euphoric of drug-free zones, and bring them back full of vitality. Painting and poetry can awaken the sensibilities to the subtle wonder of things. Ritual dramas tap the deep meaning of mythology. And unlike many other leisure pursuits (especially those involving internal combustion engines!), the visual and performing arts have no adverse environmental impact.

 

Imagine someday strolling along the River Walk on your roundabout way to early evening Shakespeare at the Downtown Performing Arts Center. Your kids are gainfully distracted at their ceramics class at the Coop Gallery in Railroad Square. As you walk, you occasionally pause to study the public sculptures set against the backdrop of the Petaluma River and Sonoma Mountain. At one of the riverside overlooks, as you savor the locally grown appetizers offered by a riverfront deli, you are drawn into the movement of a conga drum and Celtic fiddle jam session…

 

Petaluma is not yet this arts oasis, but there are at least two local organizations that want to move it in that direction. Here in town we have Petaluma Art Center Project. Still in its formative stages, this group of artists and art lovers has set its initial mission “to establish and maintain a center for artists to create, teach, and exhibit art in Petaluma.”  While they hope to eventually establish a Petaluma Arts Council to promote a wide range of activities, their first step toward the Art Center is a survey of potential users and beneficiaries. If you are or know someone who might be interested, contact Ginny Buccelli at 778-0835.

 

The Sonoma County Cultural Arts Council has been around for a while, and sponsors such well-known events as First Night Santa Rosa and Art Trails. The CAC envisions Sonoma County as an arts destination, recognized for its “sights, eats, and arts,”  They are preparing to launch an expansion of their program, including partnerships with museum and educational organizations. Community-connected arts enthusiasts who would like to help are encouraged to call the CAC at 579-2787.

 

Futurist Gerald Celente, writing about “The Global Age Renaissance”, predicts a 21st century where “art will again be seen as a crucial element within any healthy civilization, satisfying vital emotional and spiritual needs as much as the sciences satisfy intellectual and material needs.”  To that I add: let each sunrise be a reminder of the art that is ours to create, if we so choose.