Young at art
West Ventura center guides youth in creative self-expression
01/29/2009
Pablo Picasso famously said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
For Mary and Luis Perez, owners of the Vita Art Center at the Bell Arts Factory on Ventura Avenue, solving that problem is the consuming question of their daily lives. Recently transplanted from its previous location on Main Street, Vita offers an array of fine arts classes for 3-year-olds through adults. The couple is striving to create a “functional community” whereby local artists can connect with students in an affordable context that still allows them to earn income for their expertise.
Mary Perez says the couple first recognized the county’s need for youth classes in particular while trying to find outlets for their 10-year-old son, Amadeo. An “innately artistic” kid who would haul trash home for conversion into sculptures, he became bored in adult classes with their wide range of ages. “He really needed some in-depth training,” Perez says. “He needed more.”
Vita Art Center aims to target those kids who are “into art” while balancing the freedom of exploration with the rigor of formalized instruction. “It’s encouragement as well as giving them a skill set,” Perez says. “How do you use a palette, how do you use a brush? What are the proper tools? . . . This is a safe environment to think outside the box, to be a creative thinker.”
As artists themselves, Mary and Luis Perez are well-suited as role models. The Vita Art Center is a division of Vita Explorations, the couple’s travel company that offers individuals and families interactive cultural experiences in locations like Teotihuacan, Mexico, and Hilo, Hawaii. Before opening the art center, Mary did in-house graphic and product design for a local business. Luis is a musician, painter and sculptor who specializes in pre-Columbian wind and percussion instruments from his native Mexico. The center’s first exhibit, on Feb. 6, will showcase a sampling of Luis’ paintings and handmade ceramic instruments.
“All of this observation,” says Luis, “really helps kids to see life with different eyes . . .. Kids have a great imagination. They’re great inventors and creators. All they need is a little bit of stimulus.”
Teaching youth to see life through different eyes has become increasingly important in a school environment where art classes are often the first to be axed from a tight budget, Mary Perez says. “It’s a little bit ironic. What makes a successful, smart person? If you start there and work backward, it doesn’t always lead you directly to more homework.” Art is valuable, she says, because the creative thinking it cultivates can be applied to anything. “You start with raw materials and you turn it into something.”
One upcoming opportunity is a new program for serious students ages 13 to 18 with an interest in developing a portfolio or applying to art school. The 12-session class will meet on Friday nights and include sessions in life drawing, painting technique and the business of art. Though the cusp of the weekend seems like prime time for most teens to devote to an art class, Perez says, “Art is always solitary. For teens, it’s important to have other like-minded kids they can relate to on a Friday night.”
Vita also offers classes in claymation, mosaics, and poster and print making, in addition to staple classes like drawing, painting, photography and sculpture. With luck, the center can play a role in training the next generation of Ventura artists.
The key is simple, Perez says: “It’s developing their skills when they’re still so wide and free, before they start second-guessing everything as adults do.”
For more information or to see a schedule of classes, visit www.vitaexplorations.com/.
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