by Amie Rangel

Drawn to the Music is a selection of drawings and photographs currently on view at the Visalia Transit Center. These works were created during the Taste of the Arts final event held the evening of September 11, 2010 at the City of Visalia’s Transit Center.

This event featured the Tulare County Symphony’s Taste of the Pops selection of the 2010-11 season and also celebrated the Transit Center’s recent expansion. Following an invitation from the Visalia Arts Consortium, a group of visual artists volunteered to participate at the event to give further exposure to the community of visual arts. Each of the artists created several works while observing the musicians during the half hour performance.

Amie Rangel at Taste of the Arts event

Bruce Kiesling, the current and fifth Music Director of the Tulare County Symphony swept the audience away with a few Americana selections including “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and a medley of epic movie soundtracks such as Star Wars and ET. The Tulare County Symphony Association just celebrated their 50th year anniversary. “Our mission is to provide a symphony orchestra to Tulare County to promote and foster appreciation of symphonic music, to further adult participation in creative music activity, and to promote the education and development of young musicians,” stated Francis Levy, Execute Director of the Tulare County Symphony.

Most of the drawings featured in the exhibit where created using the medium of charcoal on paper. Charcoal is an artist material that is both flexible and efficient, allowing one to capture and create a dynamic image relatively fast. The artists consist of Victor Cervantes, Amie Rangel, Timothy Caldwell, David Scott, and Ernie Weerasinghe.

Ernie Weerasinghe drawing at Taste of the Arts event

Victor Cervantes is involved in the arts with youth in Lindsey and teaches Color and Design at College of the Sequoias. Amie Rangel, College of the Sequoias (COS) alum, received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Intermedia at the University of Alberta, is currently teaching art at COS, and is Co-Gallery Director of the COS Art Gallery. Timothy Caldwell is currently attending COS, majoring in Architecture. David Scott, born in Salt Lake City, Utah is also a student at COS, where he is the President of Printworks, a printmaking club in the Fine Arts department. Scott intends to transfer to a university in 2011 where he will focus in Printmaking. Ernie Weerasinghe, born in Sri Lanka, graduated in Naval Science from the Royal Navy College Dartmouth, England. He is a retired Marketing Director in Pfizer and British American Tobacco in Sri Lanka. Ernie migrated to the United States and is currently residing in Visalia where he studies various art media at COS and Arts Visalia.

Some of the drawings hanging up in the Transit Center

The photographs featured in the exhibit where taken by Bill Dillberg. Bill’s experience behind the lens includes his work as a volunteer firefighter where he used his camera on the Tulare County Arson Task force. Currently he photographs for the Visalia Parks and Recreation department and the Arts Consortium.

Bill documented the entireTaste of the Arts event held in downtown Visalia September 9 through the 11th.

The exhibition opened Monday October 18 and runs through Friday November 19. The Visalia Transit Center is located at 425 E. Oak St.

Amie Rangel is originally from Dinuba. She attended COS in Visalia, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing/Painting & Printmaking from Cal State University in Long Beach, & a Master of Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Intermedia from the University of Alberta. She is currently teaching Drawing and Color and Design at COS, Co-Gallery Director of the COS Art Gallery, and is involved in several art events throughout the community.