The purpose of More Art, Inc. is to promote and showcase
the arts and artists, including the performing arts and the visual arts,
stage and film, and reach into the community with educational programs promoting the arts. We launch artists.
Address: 10667 White Oak Ave. Granada Hills CA, 91344
Email: moreartinc@yahoo.com
Phone: 818-428-1377
Michael Lewis and Alison Robinson, Directors and Co-Founders of More Art, Inc.
THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD
by
Michael Lewis
Once upon a time, my parents took me to see the original Broadway production of “The Music Man” -- my first real, live stage show. Miraculous! Electrifying! A locomotive right on the stage! A marching band! A parade! But the most amazing thing to me was the audience -- the effect that show had on the audience.
Simply put, they were happy. When people are happy they don’t hurt one another. When people are happy they don’t argue or glower or suffer from despair or the laws of physics. A two-and-a-half hour aesthetic experience in a large semi-lit chamber had accomplished this feat, and I never forgot it. The power of art.
In my work as a professional writer I have come in contact with many artists. Artists are people, only more so. Because Life is the essential raw material of artists -- be they sculptors, performers, painters, writers, directors, or whichever -- they involve themselves more with Life than other people. They communicate some teaspoon or cup or hundred gallon vat of Life with every piece of art they create.
For that reason what an artist does with his art is vitally important. An artist capturing the heart of his or her audience is achieving a victory far more complete than the conquest of an empire. An artist is a warrior who causes effects on an audience. And with today’s instantaneous global communication, those effects could morally cripple an entire culture in a matter of decades or just as surely create a new age of enlightenment and grace. Which it will be is in the hands of the artist.
When Alison and I first conceived of More Art, we wanted, simply and shamelessly enough, just that: More Art. More singing, more writing, more dancing, more dreaming.
More gazing at the sky and seeing more than the weather.
More painting, more images, more forms, more beauty.
More inspiration, which in turn begets more living, more hoping, more understanding.
In short, with More Art, we are putting in our two cents in the hopes of lending our voice to the best thing in the world: CREATING
The future is an empty canvas to paint on, a great unwritten novel to contribute to, a glorious musical with a finale not yet conceived.
To create the future is quite a project to undertake. Yet artists everywhere are knowingly or unknowingly already creating that future by putting their ideas and images into the free air.
We who breathe that air can -- with our showcases, our workshops and our concerts, with our encouragement, appreciation, and love – help them create with a free and light heart, a future of which we can be proud.
Come create with us!
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Imagine it! A great show in a beautiful space just for your group, club, church, synagogue or school!
We can create and book a concert event suited to YOUR group's tastes -- jazz, pop, classical, rock, swing -- nearly anything!
Enjoy our comfortable performance area in Granada Hills, CA at a reasonable rate at a date and time suited to YOUR needs.
Our intimate theatre can accommodate your group of 15 to 48 people.
For more info give us a call at 818.428.1377
Sincerely,
Michael & Alison, Co-Directors
PS! Yes, our space is available to rent for rehearsals as well!
Here is an area that really hits home for us: our young people.
At a time when one stroke of the “budgeteer's” pen has wiped away the arts from all public schools in Los Angeles, we of the private sector must come to bat -- now, more than ever. We must keep the flame of the arts lit, not just for our sake, but for future generations as well.
Too many of our youth not only fail to learn how to read in school, but are given no opportunity to dream and create. Music, writing, the fine arts are all rapidly vanishing from our young people’s horizons, along with that very necessary outlet to imagine and express oneself.
Far from being a luxury, it has been demonstrated in classroom environments that young people, given the chance to focus their creative energies through the fine arts, music, or writing, have less behavioral troubles, less absenteeism, less drop-outs and less failing grades.
The road out of unemployment, poverty, crime, gang involvement, teen pregnancy and drug use – all indicators of a society on a dwindling spiral – appears to include the presence of the arts in a young person’s life.
Our community, Granada Hills and vicinity, has been compared by many to Mayberry, of the old Andy Griffith Show. Its motto is “The Valley’s Most Neighborly Town.” But in recent years, the world has caught up to it. Graffiti and crime have shown up where once there was none. At Chamber of Commerce and Rotary meetings the concern increasingly is “What do we do with our young people? How do we keep them off the street? How do we keep them focused and productive?”
Two friends from similar backgrounds, Michael Lewis and Alison Robinson, joined forces to form More Art, Inc a little over a year ago. Michael, a produced playwright and screenwriter, had seen first-hand the healing effects of the arts on young people. He had served earlier as writer, performer, musician and teacher for a youth-oriented non-profit community teaching/performing organization (Street 70 Performing Arts Center in Rockville, MD). Years later his wife, Divona founded Lewis Carroll Academy, a local school that emphasized the arts. Michael, who participated in the arts education and production end of that school, observed again that music, performance and pride in creation, all trump the usual snares and pitfalls that youth is prone to. And as the years passed, graduates of the school uniformly followed constructive pursuits, whether in the arts professionally or not.
Alison, herself an educator and a published poet, who had founded and/or run and developed the curricula for 5 different schools, observed the same thing over her three decades working with and teaching young people: if you foster their creative side, you are bringing out what is best in them. Behavior problems and learning ills, while not completely vanishing, definitely become less of an issue -- superseded as they are by the young person's focus on purpose, discipline and pride of self-expression.
The two decided that what was needed in our community was simply more art, hence our name, More Art, Inc. And, as support for the arts from the public schools and government was rapidly on the wane, we pledged to do our part to pick up the torch, at least in our area.
Michael and Alison then enlisted several friends, top artists - some famous, some not - to help us by donating some of their valuable time, wisdom and skills to help us help the young people of our community get a leg up and a chance -- those youth who were interested in music and the performing arts -- to actually pursue and enrich themselves and others through the arts.
Our Youth Program’s three main activities are Showcases, Teaching Clinics and Concerts.
SHOWCASES: On an average of once a month our small stage hosts Teen and Young Adult music showcases, literally showcasing local talent. The structure usually spotlights one or two relatively "known" performers or bands as the headliners, and then focuses on "Open Mic" opportunities for anyone who would care to perform. The eclectic mix of styles and genres evident at these Showcases has to be seen to be believed. A classical flautist followed by a heavy metal guitarist.. A violin-clarinet-flute trio followed by a rock band. All performances are videoed and copies are given to the performers free of charge. You can see many of these showcase performers by clicking on the video links right here at this website
CONCERTS: One Sunday a month we present a special afternoon concert, featuring either an established professional or a group of exceptionally skilled young people in performance. A recent concert featured advanced vocal students from Cal State LA performing classic songs by Schumann, Mozart, Kurt Weill and others. Another concert, "The Art of the Guitar," headlined advanced classical guitar students from Cal State Northridge. Both were very well attended and the performers were thrilled to have a venue with a live and appreciative audience. Again, you can view snippets of these and other concerts right here at this website.
TEACHING CLINICS: One Saturday afternoon each month, a known professional in the arts performs a teaching clinic, open to everyone, but particularly teens and young adults. So far these teaching clinics have included songwriting (by a Grammy-nominated songwriter), voice (by an international celebrity vocal coach) screenwriting (by a successful TV and screenwriter) writing and illustrating children’s books (by a many-times published children’s author) and many others. Upcoming teaching clinics include acting (by an Oscar-nominated actress), make-up, career-building as a musician – the list goes on and on.
These teaching clinics are conducted in the main by our very generous Advisory Board of professionals and by other leading lights in their respective professions.
Stay tuned for further developments!
.
Michael Lewis and Alison Robinson, Directors and Co-Founders of More Art, Inc.
THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD
by
Michael Lewis
Once upon a time, my parents took me to see the original Broadway production of “The Music Man” -- my first real, live stage show. Miraculous! Electrifying! A locomotive right on the stage! A marching band! A parade! But the most amazing thing to me was the audience -- the effect that show had on the audience.
Simply put, they were happy. When people are happy they don’t hurt one another. When people are happy they don’t argue or glower or suffer from despair or the laws of physics. A two-and-a-half hour aesthetic experience in a large semi-lit chamber had accomplished this feat, and I never forgot it. The power of art.
In my work as a professional writer I have come in contact with many artists. Artists are people, only more so. Because Life is the essential raw material of artists -- be they sculptors, performers, painters, writers, directors, or whichever -- they involve themselves more with Life than other people. They communicate some teaspoon or cup or hundred gallon vat of Life with every piece of art they create.
For that reason what an artist does with his art is vitally important. An artist capturing the heart of his or her audience is achieving a victory far more complete than the conquest of an empire. An artist is a warrior who causes effects on an audience. And with today’s instantaneous global communication, those effects could morally cripple an entire culture in a matter of decades or just as surely create a new age of enlightenment and grace. Which it will be is in the hands of the artist.
When Alison and I first conceived of More Art, we wanted, simply and shamelessly enough, just that: More Art. More singing, more writing, more dancing, more dreaming.
More gazing at the sky and seeing more than the weather.
More painting, more images, more forms, more beauty.
More inspiration, which in turn begets more living, more hoping, more understanding.
In short, with More Art, we are putting in our two cents in the hopes of lending our voice to the best thing in the world: CREATING
The future is an empty canvas to paint on, a great unwritten novel to contribute to, a glorious musical with a finale not yet conceived.
To create the future is quite a project to undertake. Yet artists everywhere are knowingly or unknowingly already creating that future by putting their ideas and images into the free air.
We who breathe that air can -- with our showcases, our workshops and our concerts, with our encouragement, appreciation, and love – help them create with a free and light heart, a future of which we can be proud.
Come create with us!
Yes!!
Every time you shop at Ralph’s Supermarkets and use your Ralph’s Rewards Card, a portion of your grocery bill can go right to More Art, Inc!
We are one of the designated non-profit organizations that benefit from Ralph’s Community Contribution Program.
Here’s how you can participate in just 9 fun steps!!
1. Go to ralphs.com
2. Click on the "Services" tab at the top.
3. On the drop down menu, click "Community Contribution"
4. On the resulting page scroll down to "Enroll"
5. You'll now be prompted to either sign in on the left, if you already have a log in email and password, or to create one on the right (click on "sign up today")
5a. For a new account, just follow the prompts with your contact info, etc. They will send
you an email with a link to click verifying your email address. Then once done, they
will direct you back to ralphs.com to log into your new account. Then proceed with
Step 2 onward!
6. Once you're logged in you'll be directed to the "Community Contribution Program"
7. Write "More Art" under "Find your organization" and click "search"
8. When our name pops up, click the little circle in front of it to select it
9. Click Save Your Changes -- and you're done!!
SPECIAL NOTES:
A) IF YOU HAVE NO RALPHS REWARDS CARD:
Just ask for one at your local Ralphs, and fill it out right there. After one use you will be
permitted to log in and register it as above
B) IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR CARD AND/OR SIMPLY USE YOUR PHONE
NUMBER INSTEAD OF A CARD:
Just phone 800.660.9003 and they will give you your Ralphs number.
C) IF YOU HAVE THE OLD RALPHS CLUB CARD:
You need to get the new Ralphs Rewards Card. Just follow the steps in #A above!
If you're a musician, vocalist, performer, etc we have concert dates and we also have showcases. The concerts offer a more professional venue (the admission is more expensive!) while the showcases are more casual and free-form. We try to video all artists as they perform, especially the professionals, as we can't give you much more than Love in return for your magic. A DVD and an upload (with your permission) of a number or two from your set is definitely something we can do, though.
Please contact our producer, Cathy Segal-Garcia for more info and possible booking. She's at cathy@cathysegalgarcia.com
We are trying to accomodate as many of you as we can in our limited space (photo below). It is truly gratifying to have so many artists reaching to us from the community!
When something is sold here, the general plan is one-third is donated to More Art, and the rest goes to the artist.
Due to our space limitations we have these general guidelines:
1) We cannot accept sculptures at this time except friezes that can be hung
2) Size limit is 16"X20"
3) Please frame your work. The only exception to this would be paintings that cover the entire canvas.
3) Please contact us at moreartinc@yahoo.com or at info@moreart.us. Attach a picture or a link to a location online where we may view your work. You can also mail us a CD with pictures on it to 10667 White Oak Avenue, Granada Hills, CA 91344
Our main "gallery," which incidently is where people have to pass in order to get to our concerts, showcases and workshops
(The following is an article from the January 26, 2010 LA Daily News)
PROUD TO BE ADVOCATES FOR THE ARTS
by
Troy Anderson, L.A. Daily News Staff Writer
Photo by David Crane
A professional jazz singer, Cathy Segal Garcia understands the important role of the arts in society.
That's why she agreed to chair the advisory board of the recently formed nonprofit organization, More Art Inc., which showcases and promotes artists and their work in the San Fernando Valley.
"I've been an artist all my life and I really do believe the arts are a gift for people," said Segal Garcia, a 56-year-old Granada Hills resident who also works as a voice teacher and coach, composer, recording artist and event producer.
"It helps them escape the drudgery that people can come up against, and also the act of creating is really very healing and healthy. So, for those reasons, I think it's really very important."
Segal Garcia, Oscar nominee Karen Black ("Five Easy Pieces", actress Judy Norton ("The Waltons") and a roster of other local celebrities and dignitaries will headline the ribbon-cutting Wednesday at More Art's new Granada Hills home.
Other advisory board members expected to attend include character actor Jim Meskimen ("Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon"), Johnny Lewis ("Sons of Anarchy") and Grammy nominee Harriet Schock ("That Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady.") Schock will perform at the free event in More Art's newly refurbished "Stage One."
"The whole purpose of this is to showcase all the arts and give the artists and performers a bit of a leg up on their careers," said Michael Lewis, a screenwriter and playwright and co-director of More Art. "We've been doing concerts with established performers and showcases with people who are not quite so established - young talent, new talent or struggling talent."
Currently, More Art is doing a regular program of workshops by professionals - songwriting, career-building, screenwriting, acting, drawing and children's books. The venue also includes a small gallery where artists can display their work.
More Art wants to help people do "more singing, more writing, more dancing, more dreaming ... more painting, more images, more forms and more beauty." In short, More Art wants to inspire more art, "which in turn begets more living, more hoping, more understanding," according to its Web site.
"We are trying to get everything in - visual arts and performing arts," said Lewis, who wrote the screenplay to "The Seventh Coin" starring Peter O'Toole. "I think the only thing we haven't had so far is juggling."
In the last six months, the organization has put on eight concerts and several teen and young adult showcases covering jazz, rock, blues and the classics.
"We're delighted that the community has responded so warmly to us," said co-director Alison Robinson, an award-winning poet who was nominated for the national poet of the year in 2007. "They love that live entertainment is back in town and right around the corner."
Since the closure of the Granada Theatre a few years ago, Granada Hills has largely been devoid of live entertainment, Lewis said.
"It's a beautiful community and it really needs to have its own live entertainment," Lewis said. "The community really needs to have support groups for its arts and artists."
For Segal Garcia, the new arts venue will provide the community with an opportunity to get to know its artists and performers, will help artists keep connected to the arts and reveal the power of art - the happiness it brings to people.
"People need the arts," Segal Garcia said. "It's not only a healing tool, but it teaches you something about how to live. It's important for everybody to have the arts in their lives and to be touched by it."
The two celebrities are on the Advisory Board of the recently formed non-profit organization which is dedicated to the showcasing and promoting of the arts and artists in the San Fernando Valley.
The celebrity Advisory Board also includes multi-Grammy Award winner, Chick Corea, who will be unable to attend due to his concert schedule. Advisory Board members expected to attend the ribbon-cutting include veteran character actor Jim Meskimen ("Apollo 13," "Frost/Nixon") and Johnny Lewis ("Sons of Anarchy") as well as Grammy nominee, Harriet Schock, composer of "That Aint No Way To Treat A Lady," who will also perform at the event in More Art's newly refurbished "Stage One."
"We call it 'Stage One' because it literally is that -- our first stage," says More Art co-director, Michael Lewis, himself a produced screenwriter and playwright. "We expect to move on up from there as we expand our reach into the community. Right now we're doing a regular program of workshops by professionals -- songwriting, career-building, screenwriting, acting, drawing, children's books -- you name it. "
Adds co-director Alison Robinson, "We've already done 8 concerts and several teen and young adult showcases in just under half a year -- covering Jazz, Rock, Blues and the Classics. We're delighted that the community has responded so warmly to us. They love that live entertainment is back in town and right around the corner."
More Art, which is a member of the Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce, reaches out directly to Valley artists and performers and anyone who wishes to simply help out. "We're the new kid on the block right now," says Lewis, "so we appreciate all the help we can get."
Adds Robinson, "We love what we do here. We feel like we are injecting that much more life into the world every time we produce a show or help someone achieve their artistic goals through our workshops."
Friday Night May 25th:
MORE ART CELEBRATES SPRING!!!
**WITH***
THE VERY COOL, VERY AMAZING TALENTS OF
***YOU***
THAT'S RIGHT - IT'S "OPEN MIC" NIGHT - IF YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR TALENT TO DISPLAY -- SINGING, DANCING, STORIES, POEMS, INSTRUMENTATION, ETC -- CALL AND BOOK YOURSELF! OTHERWISE YOU CAN PLAY THE PART OF "HAPPY EXCITED AUDIENCE!"
The fun begins Friday Night May 25TH
DOORS OPEN AT 7:15!
BRING A DISH IF YOU WISH
We've all heard the term "Stars of the Silver Screen," but where did it come from?
Well, in the early days of movies, before 1950, silver was an indispensible part of motion pictures. The movie screens were actually embedded with silver in order to reflect the projected light for the best images.
Also the film stock itself was made of silver nitrate.
The combined effect of silver on the screen and silver in the film was nothing short of magical, particularly in the black and white movies of the time. Images would literally glisten and shimmer in the darkened theatre. Movie fans could see their favorite actor or actress shine and glow (yes, like a star) -- truly larger than life.
Unfortunately, though, the silver nitrate film stock was also chemically unstable and highly combustible. If not stored properly, it decomposes rapidly to a brown dust (an estimated 83% of all silent films are now considered lost due to this deterioration!) and, worse yet, could and too often did catch fire!
So silver nitrate is no longer used in the manufacturing of films.
Around the same time that silver nitrate fell into disuse (1950) the old silver-embedded screens also began to be phased out in favor of larger modern ones that could better meet the demands of the new wider projected films of cinemascope, panavision, vistavision and others.
But take a moment to reflect on how that old movie you're watching on DVD must have looked to its original audience -- shimmering, shining and glistening! Quite the experience! Lost forever? Perhaps, but take heart -- apparently the original silver-embedded technology of the 1920s is proving quite workable for the new technologies of 3D in film. So we may yet see a comeback of the silver metallic screen for a new generation of movie lovers!
Do you love the arts? Do you have anything to do with the arts? Do you aspire, perspire, or seek to inspire through, with or by the arts? Do you know someone who does?
Are you a working professional right now? Do you know anyone who is?
Become a member and get in on the fun! Become a member today and get a free admission to the concert of your choice!
$25 for one year membership.
$100 or more gets you 10% discounts on all More Art events, concerts and showcases for the year of your membership.
$250 or more puts your name in bronze on our “Class Acts” honor roll.
$1000 or more gives you a lifetime membership, your own bronze plaque and free admission to all More Art events, concerts and showcases forever!
Right now those are the "ground floor" membership levels we have available. As we grow, so too will the levels of membership. But for right now, in this, our first stage of development, whatever donation you can spare is absolutely key to our survival and expansion.
At a time when one stroke of the budgeteer's pen has wiped away the arts from all public schools in Los Angeles, we of the private sector must come to bat --now, more than ever. We must keep the flame of the arts lit, not just for our sake, but for future generations as well.
We appreciate, therefore, any and all donations and contributions!
Just click the "DONATE" button at the top right corner of the home page and follow the prompts.
Non-monetary contributions are also acceptable.
Lights, sound and video equipment, printing, etc. Call us to make arrangements, at 818-428-1377.
By phone you can reach us at 818-428-1377, which is the line for our ever-changing info on concerts and workshops.
Hear from you soon, and thank you!
One Saturday or Sunday afternoon per month we are delighted to welcome a working professional from the performing or visual arts -- someone who is working and succeeding in their chosen career, who will impart his or her hard-earned wisdom.
Find out what is successful in creating your career as a musician, writer, painter, photographer, actor, whatever is your chosen field. And, even more importantly, find out what pitfalls to avoid!
Past workshops have included Grammy-nominated songwriter, Harriet Schock ("That Aint No Way To Treat A Lady") sharing her secrets of creating her work and her business; Los Angeles singing legend and vocal coach, Cathy Segal-Garcia; and many others.
Keep tabs on this website for upcoming workshops!
We are delighted and honored to have such a distinguished group of show business personalities on our Advisory Board, a real cross-section of most of the arts which we seek to represent.
From bands to solo performers, from unknowns to Grammy nominees, from classical to Heavy Metal, More Art's stage has seen them all! The videos below provide a sampling of some of the talent that has honored our place. Enjoy! And come back again -- we expect this page to be constantly changing!
JW Player goes here
Imagine it! A great show in a beautiful space just for your group, club, church, synagogue or school!
We can create and book a concert event suited to YOUR group's tastes -- jazz, pop, classical, rock, swing -- nearly anything!
Enjoy our comfortable performance area in Granada Hills, CA at a reasonable rate at a date and time suited to YOUR needs.
Our intimate theatre can accommodate your group of 15 to 48 people.
For more info give us a call at 818.428.1377
Sincerely,
Michael & Alison, Co-Directors
PS! Yes, our space is available to rent for rehearsals as well!
Here is an area that really hits home for us: our young people.
At a time when one stroke of the “budgeteer's” pen has wiped away the arts from all public schools in Los Angeles, we of the private sector must come to bat -- now, more than ever. We must keep the flame of the arts lit, not just for our sake, but for future generations as well.
Too many of our youth not only fail to learn how to read in school, but are given no opportunity to dream and create. Music, writing, the fine arts are all rapidly vanishing from our young people’s horizons, along with that very necessary outlet to imagine and express oneself.
Far from being a luxury, it has been demonstrated in classroom environments that young people, given the chance to focus their creative energies through the fine arts, music, or writing, have less behavioral troubles, less absenteeism, less drop-outs and less failing grades.
The road out of unemployment, poverty, crime, gang involvement, teen pregnancy and drug use – all indicators of a society on a dwindling spiral – appears to include the presence of the arts in a young person’s life.
Our community, Granada Hills and vicinity, has been compared by many to Mayberry, of the old Andy Griffith Show. Its motto is “The Valley’s Most Neighborly Town.” But in recent years, the world has caught up to it. Graffiti and crime have shown up where once there was none. At Chamber of Commerce and Rotary meetings the concern increasingly is “What do we do with our young people? How do we keep them off the street? How do we keep them focused and productive?”
Two friends from similar backgrounds, Michael Lewis and Alison Robinson, joined forces to form More Art, Inc a little over a year ago. Michael, a produced playwright and screenwriter, had seen first-hand the healing effects of the arts on young people. He had served earlier as writer, performer, musician and teacher for a youth-oriented non-profit community teaching/performing organization (Street 70 Performing Arts Center in Rockville, MD). Years later his wife, Divona founded Lewis Carroll Academy, a local school that emphasized the arts. Michael, who participated in the arts education and production end of that school, observed again that music, performance and pride in creation, all trump the usual snares and pitfalls that youth is prone to. And as the years passed, graduates of the school uniformly followed constructive pursuits, whether in the arts professionally or not.
Alison, herself an educator and a published poet, who had founded and/or run and developed the curricula for 5 different schools, observed the same thing over her three decades working with and teaching young people: if you foster their creative side, you are bringing out what is best in them. Behavior problems and learning ills, while not completely vanishing, definitely become less of an issue -- superseded as they are by the young person's focus on purpose, discipline and pride of self-expression.
The two decided that what was needed in our community was simply more art, hence our name, More Art, Inc. And, as support for the arts from the public schools and government was rapidly on the wane, we pledged to do our part to pick up the torch, at least in our area.
Michael and Alison then enlisted several friends, top artists - some famous, some not - to help us by donating some of their valuable time, wisdom and skills to help us help the young people of our community get a leg up and a chance -- those youth who were interested in music and the performing arts -- to actually pursue and enrich themselves and others through the arts.
Our Youth Program’s three main activities are Showcases, Teaching Clinics and Concerts.
SHOWCASES: On an average of once a month our small stage hosts Teen and Young Adult music showcases, literally showcasing local talent. The structure usually spotlights one or two relatively "known" performers or bands as the headliners, and then focuses on "Open Mic" opportunities for anyone who would care to perform. The eclectic mix of styles and genres evident at these Showcases has to be seen to be believed. A classical flautist followed by a heavy metal guitarist.. A violin-clarinet-flute trio followed by a rock band. All performances are videoed and copies are given to the performers free of charge. You can see many of these showcase performers by clicking on the video links right here at this website
CONCERTS: One Sunday a month we present a special afternoon concert, featuring either an established professional or a group of exceptionally skilled young people in performance. A recent concert featured advanced vocal students from Cal State LA performing classic songs by Schumann, Mozart, Kurt Weill and others. Another concert, "The Art of the Guitar," headlined advanced classical guitar students from Cal State Northridge. Both were very well attended and the performers were thrilled to have a venue with a live and appreciative audience. Again, you can view snippets of these and other concerts right here at this website.
TEACHING CLINICS: One Saturday afternoon each month, a known professional in the arts performs a teaching clinic, open to everyone, but particularly teens and young adults. So far these teaching clinics have included songwriting (by a Grammy-nominated songwriter), voice (by an international celebrity vocal coach) screenwriting (by a successful TV and screenwriter) writing and illustrating children’s books (by a many-times published children’s author) and many others. Upcoming teaching clinics include acting (by an Oscar-nominated actress), make-up, career-building as a musician – the list goes on and on.
These teaching clinics are conducted in the main by our very generous Advisory Board of professionals and by other leading lights in their respective professions.
Stay tuned for further developments!
.
Michael Lewis and Alison Robinson, Directors and Co-Founders of More Art, Inc.
THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD
by
Michael Lewis
Once upon a time, my parents took me to see the original Broadway production of “The Music Man” -- my first real, live stage show. Miraculous! Electrifying! A locomotive right on the stage! A marching band! A parade! But the most amazing thing to me was the audience -- the effect that show had on the audience.
Simply put, they were happy. When people are happy they don’t hurt one another. When people are happy they don’t argue or glower or suffer from despair or the laws of physics. A two-and-a-half hour aesthetic experience in a large semi-lit chamber had accomplished this feat, and I never forgot it. The power of art.
In my work as a professional writer I have come in contact with many artists. Artists are people, only more so. Because Life is the essential raw material of artists -- be they sculptors, performers, painters, writers, directors, or whichever -- they involve themselves more with Life than other people. They communicate some teaspoon or cup or hundred gallon vat of Life with every piece of art they create.
For that reason what an artist does with his art is vitally important. An artist capturing the heart of his or her audience is achieving a victory far more complete than the conquest of an empire. An artist is a warrior who causes effects on an audience. And with today’s instantaneous global communication, those effects could morally cripple an entire culture in a matter of decades or just as surely create a new age of enlightenment and grace. Which it will be is in the hands of the artist.
When Alison and I first conceived of More Art, we wanted, simply and shamelessly enough, just that: More Art. More singing, more writing, more dancing, more dreaming.
More gazing at the sky and seeing more than the weather.
More painting, more images, more forms, more beauty.
More inspiration, which in turn begets more living, more hoping, more understanding.
In short, with More Art, we are putting in our two cents in the hopes of lending our voice to the best thing in the world: CREATING
The future is an empty canvas to paint on, a great unwritten novel to contribute to, a glorious musical with a finale not yet conceived.
To create the future is quite a project to undertake. Yet artists everywhere are knowingly or unknowingly already creating that future by putting their ideas and images into the free air.
We who breathe that air can -- with our showcases, our workshops and our concerts, with our encouragement, appreciation, and love – help them create with a free and light heart, a future of which we can be proud.
Come create with us!
Yes!!
Every time you shop at Ralph’s Supermarkets and use your Ralph’s Rewards Card, a portion of your grocery bill can go right to More Art, Inc!
We are one of the designated non-profit organizations that benefit from Ralph’s Community Contribution Program.
Here’s how you can participate in just 9 fun steps!!
1. Go to ralphs.com
2. Click on the "Services" tab at the top.
3. On the drop down menu, click "Community Contribution"
4. On the resulting page scroll down to "Enroll"
5. You'll now be prompted to either sign in on the left, if you already have a log in email and password, or to create one on the right (click on "sign up today")
5a. For a new account, just follow the prompts with your contact info, etc. They will send
you an email with a link to click verifying your email address. Then once done, they
will direct you back to ralphs.com to log into your new account. Then proceed with
Step 2 onward!
6. Once you're logged in you'll be directed to the "Community Contribution Program"
7. Write "More Art" under "Find your organization" and click "search"
8. When our name pops up, click the little circle in front of it to select it
9. Click Save Your Changes -- and you're done!!
SPECIAL NOTES:
A) IF YOU HAVE NO RALPHS REWARDS CARD:
Just ask for one at your local Ralphs, and fill it out right there. After one use you will be
permitted to log in and register it as above
B) IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR CARD AND/OR SIMPLY USE YOUR PHONE
NUMBER INSTEAD OF A CARD:
Just phone 800.660.9003 and they will give you your Ralphs number.
C) IF YOU HAVE THE OLD RALPHS CLUB CARD:
You need to get the new Ralphs Rewards Card. Just follow the steps in #A above!
If you're a musician, vocalist, performer, etc we have concert dates and we also have showcases. The concerts offer a more professional venue (the admission is more expensive!) while the showcases are more casual and free-form. We try to video all artists as they perform, especially the professionals, as we can't give you much more than Love in return for your magic. A DVD and an upload (with your permission) of a number or two from your set is definitely something we can do, though.
Please contact our producer, Cathy Segal-Garcia for more info and possible booking. She's at cathy@cathysegalgarcia.com
We are trying to accomodate as many of you as we can in our limited space (photo below). It is truly gratifying to have so many artists reaching to us from the community!
When something is sold here, the general plan is one-third is donated to More Art, and the rest goes to the artist.
Due to our space limitations we have these general guidelines:
1) We cannot accept sculptures at this time except friezes that can be hung
2) Size limit is 16"X20"
3) Please frame your work. The only exception to this would be paintings that cover the entire canvas.
3) Please contact us at moreartinc@yahoo.com or at info@moreart.us. Attach a picture or a link to a location online where we may view your work. You can also mail us a CD with pictures on it to 10667 White Oak Avenue, Granada Hills, CA 91344
Our main "gallery," which incidently is where people have to pass in order to get to our concerts, showcases and workshops
(The following is an article from the January 26, 2010 LA Daily News)
PROUD TO BE ADVOCATES FOR THE ARTS
by
Troy Anderson, L.A. Daily News Staff Writer
Photo by David Crane
A professional jazz singer, Cathy Segal Garcia understands the important role of the arts in society.
That's why she agreed to chair the advisory board of the recently formed nonprofit organization, More Art Inc., which showcases and promotes artists and their work in the San Fernando Valley.
"I've been an artist all my life and I really do believe the arts are a gift for people," said Segal Garcia, a 56-year-old Granada Hills resident who also works as a voice teacher and coach, composer, recording artist and event producer.
"It helps them escape the drudgery that people can come up against, and also the act of creating is really very healing and healthy. So, for those reasons, I think it's really very important."
Segal Garcia, Oscar nominee Karen Black ("Five Easy Pieces", actress Judy Norton ("The Waltons") and a roster of other local celebrities and dignitaries will headline the ribbon-cutting Wednesday at More Art's new Granada Hills home.
Other advisory board members expected to attend include character actor Jim Meskimen ("Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon"), Johnny Lewis ("Sons of Anarchy") and Grammy nominee Harriet Schock ("That Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady.") Schock will perform at the free event in More Art's newly refurbished "Stage One."
"The whole purpose of this is to showcase all the arts and give the artists and performers a bit of a leg up on their careers," said Michael Lewis, a screenwriter and playwright and co-director of More Art. "We've been doing concerts with established performers and showcases with people who are not quite so established - young talent, new talent or struggling talent."
Currently, More Art is doing a regular program of workshops by professionals - songwriting, career-building, screenwriting, acting, drawing and children's books. The venue also includes a small gallery where artists can display their work.
More Art wants to help people do "more singing, more writing, more dancing, more dreaming ... more painting, more images, more forms and more beauty." In short, More Art wants to inspire more art, "which in turn begets more living, more hoping, more understanding," according to its Web site.
"We are trying to get everything in - visual arts and performing arts," said Lewis, who wrote the screenplay to "The Seventh Coin" starring Peter O'Toole. "I think the only thing we haven't had so far is juggling."
In the last six months, the organization has put on eight concerts and several teen and young adult showcases covering jazz, rock, blues and the classics.
"We're delighted that the community has responded so warmly to us," said co-director Alison Robinson, an award-winning poet who was nominated for the national poet of the year in 2007. "They love that live entertainment is back in town and right around the corner."
Since the closure of the Granada Theatre a few years ago, Granada Hills has largely been devoid of live entertainment, Lewis said.
"It's a beautiful community and it really needs to have its own live entertainment," Lewis said. "The community really needs to have support groups for its arts and artists."
For Segal Garcia, the new arts venue will provide the community with an opportunity to get to know its artists and performers, will help artists keep connected to the arts and reveal the power of art - the happiness it brings to people.
"People need the arts," Segal Garcia said. "It's not only a healing tool, but it teaches you something about how to live. It's important for everybody to have the arts in their lives and to be touched by it."
The two celebrities are on the Advisory Board of the recently formed non-profit organization which is dedicated to the showcasing and promoting of the arts and artists in the San Fernando Valley.
The celebrity Advisory Board also includes multi-Grammy Award winner, Chick Corea, who will be unable to attend due to his concert schedule. Advisory Board members expected to attend the ribbon-cutting include veteran character actor Jim Meskimen ("Apollo 13," "Frost/Nixon") and Johnny Lewis ("Sons of Anarchy") as well as Grammy nominee, Harriet Schock, composer of "That Aint No Way To Treat A Lady," who will also perform at the event in More Art's newly refurbished "Stage One."
"We call it 'Stage One' because it literally is that -- our first stage," says More Art co-director, Michael Lewis, himself a produced screenwriter and playwright. "We expect to move on up from there as we expand our reach into the community. Right now we're doing a regular program of workshops by professionals -- songwriting, career-building, screenwriting, acting, drawing, children's books -- you name it. "
Adds co-director Alison Robinson, "We've already done 8 concerts and several teen and young adult showcases in just under half a year -- covering Jazz, Rock, Blues and the Classics. We're delighted that the community has responded so warmly to us. They love that live entertainment is back in town and right around the corner."
More Art, which is a member of the Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce, reaches out directly to Valley artists and performers and anyone who wishes to simply help out. "We're the new kid on the block right now," says Lewis, "so we appreciate all the help we can get."
Adds Robinson, "We love what we do here. We feel like we are injecting that much more life into the world every time we produce a show or help someone achieve their artistic goals through our workshops."
Friday Night May 25th:
MORE ART CELEBRATES SPRING!!!
**WITH***
THE VERY COOL, VERY AMAZING TALENTS OF
***YOU***
THAT'S RIGHT - IT'S "OPEN MIC" NIGHT - IF YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR TALENT TO DISPLAY -- SINGING, DANCING, STORIES, POEMS, INSTRUMENTATION, ETC -- CALL AND BOOK YOURSELF! OTHERWISE YOU CAN PLAY THE PART OF "HAPPY EXCITED AUDIENCE!"
The fun begins Friday Night May 25TH
DOORS OPEN AT 7:15!
BRING A DISH IF YOU WISH
We've all heard the term "Stars of the Silver Screen," but where did it come from?
Well, in the early days of movies, before 1950, silver was an indispensible part of motion pictures. The movie screens were actually embedded with silver in order to reflect the projected light for the best images.
Also the film stock itself was made of silver nitrate.
The combined effect of silver on the screen and silver in the film was nothing short of magical, particularly in the black and white movies of the time. Images would literally glisten and shimmer in the darkened theatre. Movie fans could see their favorite actor or actress shine and glow (yes, like a star) -- truly larger than life.
Unfortunately, though, the silver nitrate film stock was also chemically unstable and highly combustible. If not stored properly, it decomposes rapidly to a brown dust (an estimated 83% of all silent films are now considered lost due to this deterioration!) and, worse yet, could and too often did catch fire!
So silver nitrate is no longer used in the manufacturing of films.
Around the same time that silver nitrate fell into disuse (1950) the old silver-embedded screens also began to be phased out in favor of larger modern ones that could better meet the demands of the new wider projected films of cinemascope, panavision, vistavision and others.
But take a moment to reflect on how that old movie you're watching on DVD must have looked to its original audience -- shimmering, shining and glistening! Quite the experience! Lost forever? Perhaps, but take heart -- apparently the original silver-embedded technology of the 1920s is proving quite workable for the new technologies of 3D in film. So we may yet see a comeback of the silver metallic screen for a new generation of movie lovers!
Do you love the arts? Do you have anything to do with the arts? Do you aspire, perspire, or seek to inspire through, with or by the arts? Do you know someone who does?
Are you a working professional right now? Do you know anyone who is?
Become a member and get in on the fun! Become a member today and get a free admission to the concert of your choice!
$25 for one year membership.
$100 or more gets you 10% discounts on all More Art events, concerts and showcases for the year of your membership.
$250 or more puts your name in bronze on our “Class Acts” honor roll.
$1000 or more gives you a lifetime membership, your own bronze plaque and free admission to all More Art events, concerts and showcases forever!
Right now those are the "ground floor" membership levels we have available. As we grow, so too will the levels of membership. But for right now, in this, our first stage of development, whatever donation you can spare is absolutely key to our survival and expansion.
At a time when one stroke of the budgeteer's pen has wiped away the arts from all public schools in Los Angeles, we of the private sector must come to bat --now, more than ever. We must keep the flame of the arts lit, not just for our sake, but for future generations as well.
We appreciate, therefore, any and all donations and contributions!
Just click the "DONATE" button at the top right corner of the home page and follow the prompts.
Non-monetary contributions are also acceptable.
Lights, sound and video equipment, printing, etc. Call us to make arrangements, at 818-428-1377.
By phone you can reach us at 818-428-1377, which is the line for our ever-changing info on concerts and workshops.
Hear from you soon, and thank you!
One Saturday or Sunday afternoon per month we are delighted to welcome a working professional from the performing or visual arts -- someone who is working and succeeding in their chosen career, who will impart his or her hard-earned wisdom.
Find out what is successful in creating your career as a musician, writer, painter, photographer, actor, whatever is your chosen field. And, even more importantly, find out what pitfalls to avoid!
Past workshops have included Grammy-nominated songwriter, Harriet Schock ("That Aint No Way To Treat A Lady") sharing her secrets of creating her work and her business; Los Angeles singing legend and vocal coach, Cathy Segal-Garcia; and many others.
Keep tabs on this website for upcoming workshops!
We are delighted and honored to have such a distinguished group of show business personalities on our Advisory Board, a real cross-section of most of the arts which we seek to represent.
From bands to solo performers, from unknowns to Grammy nominees, from classical to Heavy Metal, More Art's stage has seen them all! The videos below provide a sampling of some of the talent that has honored our place. Enjoy! And come back again -- we expect this page to be constantly changing!
| Phone: 818-428-1377 | © More Art Inc. 2011. A non-profit organization. | Email: info@moreart.us |