Bringing arts and the community together is something the Triton Museum of Art knows how to do. Between the museum’s Fall Floral Festival where local florists interpret art through flowers and the annual gala where members of the community can get an original piece of art for a steal, the Triton has come up with a perfect balance of pairing the arts with the average person. On June 22, the Triton held its annual Midsummer Art Celebration where local artists sold their work while supporting the Triton.
Artists paid no fee to show and sell their art, but were asked that 30 percent of their sales be donated to the Triton to help maintain and expand the museum’s exhibition and education programs.
While some artists used the opportunity to get out and meet the locals, artists like Jaya King and Al Preciado turned their booths into art studios by creating pieces while interacting with potential buyers. Triton Museum Board Member (Community Arts Liaison) Jeff Bramschreiber gave a silverpoint demonstration, giving art fair attendees a glimpse into the traditional drawing technique.
“While I was [researching the history of the pencil for my drawing class], I heard about silverpoint, which was done pre-Renaissance and post-Renaissance, but then once the pencil and the pen and Conté crayons came into being, people were like, ‘wow, we can do this much faster, we’re not going to do this anymore,'” said Bramschreiber. “So silverpoint kind of fell away from use at that time. It’s still something that’s worth the time and effort – I do maybe two or three a year – and it’s really a wonderful medium. It just takes some time…You use one or two thin coats [of a substance that will allow the silver to adhere to the paper] and let it dry…[Silver] is almost impossible to erase so you want to make sure that once you put the line down that it’s the right line. It’s not going to get really dark, and because you do have to pay attention to the line quality, it’s a little slower than a pencil but you get this nice quality, really delicate, gray line with this. Over time, it will oxidize.”
While visitors shopped for a new piece of art to add to their collection or browsed through the hundreds of books that were on sale inside the museum, they listened to a handful of musical performers, like Rudy Ramos, who showcased his flamenco guitar skills.
As a special treat, the Triton brought in food trucks for this year’s celebration. MoGo BBQ, Lublubu, Twisted Chill, Chutney Mary’s, Melts my Heart and Soulnese parked their trucks in the parking lot behind the museum and served gooey grilled cheeses, refreshing ice cream, and inventive fusion foods to those waiting in line.
In addition to the artists, performers and food trucks, Friends of SVACA and San Jose Animal Advocates had booths to promote some of the adoptable animals at Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority and San Jose Animal Care Center.
The Triton Museum of Art is at 1505 Warburton Ave. in Santa Clara. For more information visit www.tritonmuseum.org.
