Inspired by Sue Mitchell’s commitment to 52 weeks of art making and her resulting exhibition called “52”, this group was formed in 2015 for creative people to find inspiration and motivation from one another while participating in a 52-week self-directed journey to help you develop the habit of capturing your inspired ideas and being more artful on a regular basis.
Meetings are the third Saturday of the month at the Riverside Art Museum unless otherwise specified.
The 52 Project 2024-2025 Calendar
Saturday, September 21, 2024
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Book Club: Lead by Becky Bane
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tour of 3425 Mission Inn Avenue: Foundation, Transition, Innovation Exhibition and Building Tour, with contributing staff Ezekiel Valdez and Sophia Esparza, and Lisa Henry.
Discuss: Proposal Guidelines review with Lisa Henry, Curator of the Riverside Art Museum
Saturday, October 19, 2024
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Book Club: Lead by Becky Bane
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. of Urge Palette, a very cool local art supply store, as well as the gallery, Pain Sugar, next door. Learn about supplies and what works with what medium. This is a meeting you will not want to miss. After that, we will walk over to Division 9 Gallery and meet with Cosme Cordova and learn about his gallery, and framing. From picking the frame to hanging the piece.
Saturday, November 16, 2024
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Book Club: Lead by Becky Bane
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lead by Laurel Antur – Do you struggle to work in a series because you aren’t sure how to create a sense of cohesiveness? Are you worried you’ll get bored with your ideas or intentions? Do you feel overwhelmed with the details of creating a small body of work – what do I keep the same? What do I repeat with variation? How do I set limits that unleash my creativity without limiting my creativity? In this session artist and coach Laurel Antur will help you separate curiosity from confusion and chaos, discuss ways to manage creative anxiety so you can take risks, and offer ways to play and explore your theme or subject in depth while staying in bounds. This hands-on session will include time to experiment with a miniature series in your sketchbook, with an optional after session to keep working and exploring.
Saturday, December 21 – NO Regular Meeting / OPEN Studio 10:00 – 2:00 pm
Bring your own supplies, good conversation and be ready to have fun.
Saturday, January 18, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Book Club: Lead by Becky Bane
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 52 Project Success Stories – Hear from a panel (Larry Burns, Gwen Melby, Shelley Swanland) of 52 Project artists who have exhibited previously and learn about their projects: how they came to be, their motivation, and struggles, their outcomes.
Proposals, Guidelines and Suggestions: Now that you have had a couple of months to think about your creative goal, let’s talk more about details about exhibition proposal writing.
Creative Portion: 12:30 – 2:30 ($10.00)
Experiencing Color Workshop
Do you have unused pigments in your art supply stash that you don’t know what to do with? Do you find you favor certain colors while avoiding others? In this workshop certified expressive arts practitioner Laurel Antur will lead you on an exploration into the subtleties, potential, and personal meanings of a single color of your choosing, hopefully one you’ve struggled to connect with. Using acrylic and mixed media, plus writing, we will delve into what happens when a pigment is allowed to play with others, and to inspire us with associated memories and meanings.
Saturday, February 17, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Book Club: Lead by Becky Bane
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The Business of Art: more than social media
Learn about what happens after making the artwork. Learn how to market yourself on social media, the importance of a website, participating in exhibits, and the importance of broadening your circle. Here from local artist.
Creative Portion: 12:30 – 2:30 Open Studio
Bring your own supplies, good conversation and be ready to have fun.
Thursday, March 7, 2025, 7:00 pm
Special Arts Walk Tour with Larry Burns
Saturday, March 16, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Book Club: Lead by Becky Bane
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Artist Trading Cards with Virginia
Artist trading cards is a conceptual art project initiated by the Swiss artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann in 1997. He called it a Collaborative Cultural Performance. Artist trading cards are 2 ¹⁄₂ by 3 ¹⁄₂ inches in size, the same format as modern trading cards. Artist’s trading cards can also be used as a business card that contains a small sample of your work. Please join us for a fun-filled workshop where we will make and trade some small snippets of art. Some Art Supplies will be available, however, if you have a specific medium you prefer to work in, please bring it with you.
Saturday, April 20, 2025
Final Gathering Celebration / roof top
We are going to go back to our commitment statements. You will share about your journey, if you stayed committed to your statement, and what is next. Ending with social time and hands-on project.
May 2025
Proposal due: TBD
Intake/Install: May 28 – June 4
52 Exhibitions: June 5, 2025 – July 20, 2025
Deinstall: July 21, 2025
*Activities, Meet Ups, and Opportunities:
In other benefits, the museum offers artist talks, workshops, and has collaborated with members to put together book clubs, journaling groups, and more.
If you have an idea for creating a group or meet up with fellow 52 members, or an idea for a workshop, please reach out to Caryn Marsella at [email protected].
Cost of The 52 Project:
The cost to join is $200.52 for RAM members (must renew membership if it expires during the year) $300.52, for non- members. Those who have been members of previous iterations of the 52 Project know how valuable the experience of being part of the Project is, and how new members add knowledge and energy to the mix.
Included in the cost of the “52 Project” (10) monthly meetings to help you get started, hands-on classes, journaling, open studios to meet others in the cohorts, book club and more. We also have a private “52” Facebook page to encourage your creativity, sharing your art, and the ability to ask questions from site experts.
Classes will include “How to tell your story”, developing a commitment statement, Business of Art, meet the curator and have a discussion on what they look for when choosing pieces for an exhibition, learn to write a proposal, studio tours and more. You will also receive invitations to artist talks, artist demos, and more.
Meetings are every 3rd Saturday of every month from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm.
Questions? Contact Caryn Marsella @ [email protected]
