North County Society of Fine Arts Opens New Art Show Featuring 66 Pieces

North County Society of Fine Arts will hold a reception for its 2011 art show at the on Saturday.

The nonprofit’s art show was installed at the center on April 2 and will run through April 27.

"It hung nicely," said Juror Chuck McPherson, who is an artist, teacher and graphic designer. “Hanging a successful show is always a big responsibility and the nice folks in the crew did a great job!”

Artists could submit as many as three pieces to the art show, which was open to all artists, not just members of the nonprofit. Fifty-five people applied, and McPherson selected 66 pieces.

“It’s always difficult to select artwork,” he said. “One of the things I pride myself on is I have an educated view of artistic approaches to artwork. I don’t look at artists as good or bad, up against one another.

“The artist has a short period of time while their artwork is in front of me to show me why that piece should be included in the show. For me, and with a lot of other jurors recently, it’s not about technical expertise. It’s about the emotion that that piece draws from me.”

The exhibit includes four categories: oil and acrylic; acrylic and watercolor under glass; photography, pastels, prints and pen and ink; and collage and mixed media.

“It gives the viewers that see the show more of a rounded view of the skilled artisans that we have here locally,” McPherson said. “Somebody who likes photography may not like watercolor, may not like sculpture, may not like fused glass. That way there’s something for everybody.”

McPherson’s large watercolor piece called, “Millard Cannery,” was accepted to last year’s show. He said an art show is a great experience, for artists and general members of the public.

 “The one thing that’s lacking in society right now, is an appreciation for the manual arts,” he said. “Everybody is so involved in the electronic way of communicating now—BlackBerrys, iPods and that type of thing—that there is a sense that we’re losing our interconnection with one another because we’re not face-to-face.

“In a show like this and shows like it, it’s a way for us to have an artist or photographer or a sculpture communicate in a tactile way what they’re thinking,” he added. “Rather than just saying what they feel, they’re sharing, hopefully, in the piece that I’ve selected, their feeling about that subject. Someone else is going to link to that thought and cause discussion with the people going to the shows. That’s what art has always been about.”

Awards will be announced at the reception, which is 1-3:30 p.m. The Poway Center for the Performing Arts is located on 15498 Espola Road.

Later that evening at the center, Hamid Daudani & Group will present a play in Hindi/Urdu language.

The play, which starts at 7:30 p.m., is about a couple’s journey from youth in India to old age in the United States.

The play is written, produced and directed by Hamid Daudani. The cast includes 11 local artists.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 858-652-0901. Tickets prices range form $7-$20.

On Sunday, the Poway Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Earth Day Festival.

The daylong festval will offer live entertainment, a food court and kids’ activities.

The festival will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Midland Road, between Poway Road and Hilleary Place.