ASA

The Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA) enjoyed a demonstration of watercolor technique by local artist Ken Gosh, owner of the El Gallo Gallery in Ajijic, at their meeting on July 7.

Local painter Ken Gosh demonstrated his technique for developing detail on his watercolor paintings at a meeting of the Ajijic Society of the Arts July 7 while new ASA president Deena Hafker looks on. Photo by J. Chaussee.

Many thanks should go to former president Jose Melendrez, who held the office for four years; to Libby Townsend, who had been a member of the Board of Directors as the President and Vice President for seven years; Hafker, herself, who was the secretary for the last two years; Mildred Boyd, who has been a member of the Board of Directors in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years and is still the head of the education committee; Mimi Gula, who has served as a Member-at-large for several years; and all who have volunteered to make ASA the success it has been.

The Ajijic Society of the Arts is a gathering of about 80 local artists, amateur and professional, who exchange ideas and promote art in the Lakeside area. They meet on the first Monday of each month at 10 a.m. at Hotel La Nueva Posada in Ajijic. All are welcome.

Garden Guild

Norma King of the Lakeside Garden Guild stands next to her modern representation of the Japanese art of ‘Ikabana’ at the Guild’s June meeting themed “Madame Butterfly. ”Photo by K. Campo.

Readings

The Lakeside Little Theatre (LLT) is keeping its doors open even in the “off” summer season. LLT will present a series of play readings entitled “Risky Readings,” beginning with “Six Characters in Search of an Author” by Nobel Prize winner Luigi Pirandello and directed by Roseann Wilshere, Saturday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m.

The play examines the nature of truth and reality in a comedic situation. Six characters arrive at the theater where a director and acting company are rehearsing a play. Calling for the director and actors to help them tell their tale, the characters’ lives unravel as the tragic story they were created for is finally played out.

Blending intense drama with a subtle philosophical questioning of the very notion of identity, human existence and what it means to be sentient, living persons, “Six Characters” was first staged in 1921 and still has the power to shock today.

The large cast of Pat Carroll, Patty Oxford, Kristine Moily, Paul Callens, Trish Conner, Graham Miller, Paula McTavish, Russell Mack, Liliana Barker, Ashley Taylor, Keith Scott (and others) will bring this provocative, humorous, and surprising reading to ‘life’ on stage.

Other readings in the series will be “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, directed by Keith Scott on Saturday, July 26; “What the Butler Saw” by Joe Orton, directed by Russell Mack on Saturday, August 2; and “The Perfect Alibi” by Michael Warren, directed by Bob Coull on Saturday, August 9.

The series is free to LLT members and 50 pesos for non-members. Tickets will be sold at the door. Since LLT members get in free, they should bring proof of their membership with them.

All performances are at 7:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Little Theatre located just off Allen W. Lloyd Drive, next to the Loyola Institute Campus in San Antonio Tlayacapan (turn toward the mountain at the traffic light).

Sunday serenades

According to Alejandro Martinez, manager of the Centro Cultural de Ajijic (CCA), plans are afoot to begin having Sunday serenades in the kiosk located on Ajijic’s central plaza. The serenade will come from a group of musicians that practices at the CCA and has been building up a repertoire.

The band, which has members of various ages, is reportedly  anxious to begin playing for the public. The one thing that they still need is a tuba (or Sousaphone) which is elemental in the “banda” form of music. To raise money for the instrument, the hat will be passed during performances.

Keep your eyes (and ears) open for further developments.

Classes

Antonio Lopez Vega will be teaching painting Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Centro Cultural de Ajijic. The course will include instruction in contemporary painting in mixed medias. Lopez will lead classes in figurative drawing with live models in the afternoons of those days from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The courses cost 300 pesos per month, with each student providing their own materials. For more information contact Lopez at cel.(33)1123-9925. Yes, he speaks English.

Gabriel Mariscal will teach dry point graphics at CCA on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the next two months. The cost is 2,000 pesos for the course. For more information, stop at the CCA front desk.

Ken Gosh will start up his next cycle of classes in watercolor media on August 6, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at his El Gallo Gallery, Guadalupe Victoria 30, in Ajijic. For more information contact him at (376)766-4171.

Golden Strings

Don’t forget that the kids in the Golden Strings and CREM programs will present a concert Saturday, July 20 at Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago. The concert has an entry fee of 60 pesos and will cover a wide range of musical styles including classical, pop, jazz and Mexican. Be there to show your support to this important Lakeside program.

New gallery

A new gallery, Etra, located at Carretera Oriente 25 (next to Clinica Ajijic) in Ajijic will hold a grand opening Saturday, July 12, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Among the artists who will be represented at the gallery are Gabriel Mariscal, Claudia Nery, Paty Garcia, Enrique Loza, Aurora Diaz, Adan Medina, Ricardo Feliz, Antonio Bandera, Laura Zohn, Oscar Espinoza, Juan Zusiaus, Anglica Diaz and Paul Lochner.

Regular gallery hours will be Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. until Closing.

Stop at the opening and enjoy refreshments.