Museum of Ventura County update for Jan. 26

Grab a lunch and head on over to the Museum every Thursday between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. for music by local talent. Join us February 1 and 8 for music by the talented singer/guitarist Warren Takahashi. Feel free to tip the musician!  For information call 805.653.0323.

The Amazing Creations of Gene the Toymaker

Bring your family, and join us for some good old-fashioned fun on Free First Sunday, February 4, as the Amazing Wooden Toymaker of Ventura County, Gene West, demonstrates some of his unique creations. Children of all ages will have an opportunity to try out an assortment of ingenious hand-made wooden toys. West has made more than 800 toys over the past 25 years, including merry-go-rounds, puppets, push-pull toys, marble towers, pulleys, levers, locks, crank toys, spring toys, and many other fun-to-play-with educational toys.

Free first Sunday runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features a family craft activity noon to 2 p.m., sponsored by museum supporter Mimi Allin and TOLD Corporation. For information visitventuramuseum.org.

Join the Museum’s Resident Artist Ryan Carr for the next scheduled figure drawing session at 6 p.m., February 6, at the Museum’s Smith Pavilion, 100 E. Main Street, Ventura.

This popular event meets twice-monthly to draw live, clothed models. The group alternates between meeting at the Museum and meeting at local breweries. Bring your drawing pads, charcoal, pencils, pen & ink, pastels, whatever your favorite medium! No liquid mediums, please. All skill levels welcome. Admission is free.

Renowned photographer, and Ventura native, Neal Barr will be the featured speaker at the next “Speaking Of Ventura County“ speaker series, Tuesday, February 13, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. at the Main Street location

Experience the highly-acclaimed fashion and beauty imagery of photographer Neal Barr in the new In High Style: The Photography of Neal Barr Exhibit and hear about his life and experience as a photographer, starting at the age of nine. Barr will share highlights and personal stories from his amazing career spanning five decades as a fashion and celebrity photographer, during which time he photographed some of the world’s most famous faces, including Sophia Loren, Halston and Warren Beatty. Free for members; $5 for non-members. Light refreshments will be served.

Think of the wacky inventor who creates a comically complicated, laboriously-contrived contraption to perform a simple operation. Remember the game “Mousetrap?”

Now kids and their adults can have fun exploring mechanics and creating their own Rube Goldberg machines with a series of four fantastically-fun classes presented by popupeducation@icloud.com. Check out the schedule and class descriptions here.
To sign up, please email popupeducation@icloud.com. Classes meet at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura.

The Museum of Ventura County has announced the call for entries for its annual Wearable Art Fashion Show, scheduled for March 30, at the Museum’s Smith Pavilion. This year’s theme, “Wearing Our Stories,” challenges artists, artisans and community members to tell their stories of the impact of the Thomas Fire through an article of clothing or accessories designed for this wearable art showcase. Deadline for entries is March 1. To submit an entry and/or download a prospectus, please visitventuramuseum.org.

Celebrated fashion and beauty photographer, and Ventura native, Neal Barr has photographed some of the world’s most famous faces, including Warren Beatty, Sophia Loren, designer Halston and boxer Cassius Clay for top publications, such as Harper’s Bazaar, Ladies’ Home Journal and Sports Illustrated. In High Style: The Photography of Neal Barr is an exciting exhibition that focuses on Barr’s extraordinary life and career, spanning more than five decades, from his early beginnings in Ventura to his fashion career in New York City and back again to Ventura.

On display now through April 8 at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main Street, Ventura. Visit venturamuseum.org for more information.

Working in wood or fiberglass overlaid with automotive paint, local artist Lori Cozen-Gellercreates geometric sculptures with cutouts, creating unique works driven by emotion and intuition. She explains her process as “a journey that begins with a feeling” and develops into a piece of art by “by freezing emotions and placing them into concrete form…as if the emotions themselves dictate the specifications of how the art is developed.” In the final product, Cozen-Geller’s emotions are represented by the sculpture’s dimensions, color and finish. On exhibit now through April 8 in the Main Street Museum’s Nook.

Experience the story of the Mayan civilization, begun nearly 10,000 years ago and inhabiting today’s area of southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and portions of Honduras and El Salvador, as told through Lost Empires: The Conquest of the Americas at the Museum of Ventura County, now through April 2018 at the Museum of Ventura County.

Featuring the highly-detailed and historically-accurate George Stuart Historical Figures Collection, visitors will learn about the early beginnings of the Mayan civilization and its advancements in sophisticated art and mathematics, evident in 500 BC, as well as its architecture which rivaled that of Europe. For more information, visit www.venturamuseum.org.

The museum offers Free First Sundays and free admission for featured groups on designated Appreciation Weekends.

January 27 and 28:  Zip Codes 91359, 91360, 91361, 91362
February 4:  Free First Sunday
February 10 and 11: Library Employees
February 24 and 25: Residents of Zip Codes 93062 to 93065

 Free First Sundays are sponsored by TOLD Corporation and Mimi Allin. 

Thomas Fire Stories Project

We invite everyone to help us remember and document our common experience by collaborating with the Museum of Ventura County and CAPS Media. Go to capsmedia.org to upload video content or email your stories or digital images to thomasfire@venturamuseum.org.