The OC Art Blog was created in 2004 as a way to build community and promote the marginalized but dynamic Orange County art scene.

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Century Gothic"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; letter-spacing:-.25pt;} h3 {mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:16.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:4.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:3; font-size:14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#2A5A78; letter-spacing:-.25pt; font-weight:normal;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} span.BoldTextChar {mso-style-name:"Bold Text Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Bold Text"; mso-ansi-font-size:9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-ascii-font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA; font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;} p.BoldText, li.BoldText, div.BoldText {mso-style-name:"Bold Text"; mso-style-link:"Bold Text Char"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:11.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:140%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> October 21, 2008:  Huntington Beach, CA – The Hoff Foundation announced today that it will award quarterly grants totaling $3,000 to the following Artists and Arts Organizations based in Orange County and Long Beach.  Finishing School:...

21 October, 2008 /

This past Saturday, after a nice short break from our gardening workshop during mid-day as part of the Little Pharma exhibition at Fringe, I headed out to Little Tokyo for some music. Performing at Cocaine was no other than Finishing School's very own Jason Plapp. He is part of a ukulele Depeche Mode cover band called Depressed Mood. This was the first time they performed live. They played three solid hits, including the one above.This is such an interesting idea, I hope they will get...

20 October, 2008 /

Saturday night I met my friend Suz from the famous blog Alive in Wonderland down at the Santiago Art District Art Walk. She has made a little video of the festivities with a little help from her four year old. Enjoy: The Santiago Art District's Art Walk...

20 October, 2008 /

Heads-up! I will be doing a meditation workshop as part of Finishing School's current exhibition Little Pharma now running at Fringe Exhibitions in Chinatown.  I will be covering the many benefits of a regular meditation practice and some basic meditation techniques to get you started. The workshop will take place on Nov. 1st from 12-2pm. Hope you can make it! - Chris ...

20 October, 2008 /

I completely missed the opening for this show. I had a previous engagement in L.A. last night. But thank you (once again) to my friend Susie Eaton. Because of her I have pictures of the opening reception to share with all of you. She sent me so many good once, I couldn't decide which ones to edit out. So I said, heck, I'll do my usual Flickr slideshow.So right now I'm just living vicariously through Susie's pictures. The ball game looked like it was a...

18 October, 2008 /

OCCCA is once again doing Buy The Running Foot. The premise is simple. You pay by the linear foot, drop off the work, and they hang them. No jurying or censorship. Head over to their website for more details.--James ...

17 October, 2008 /

Penumbra opens at The Box on Saturday night. ...

17 October, 2008 /

Heads-up! Saturday night there's another art walk at the Santiago Arts District. Check it. ...

17 October, 2008 /

Since I have a bit of free time post MOCA and Little Pharma, I decided to take a trip down to Pomona to visit my friends Susie Eaton and Juan Thorp over at Bunny Gunner. Susie used to be a staple in Santa Ana, but now resides in the Art Colony.Currently, they have a show up of new work by Amy Maloof. I missed the opening on Saturday night because I had to be at Fringe Exhibitions for our opening. I think Amy's work is...

16 October, 2008 /

2332 opens at the Huntington Beach Art Center tomorrow night, October 17th. The baseball-themed show features works by Stuart Allen, Travis Collinson, Dean De Cocker, Matthew Furmanski, Jimi Gleason, Robert Jacka, Ian M. Kennelly, Juan Thorp, and Michael Woodcock. From what my friend Juan Thorp told me, they will be playing a game of whiffle ball around 5pm. Go out there, have some fun, and play ball!--James ...

16 October, 2008 /

If you want something closer to home to do this Thursday night, and you're into good hip-hop, check out the Sparrow Love Crew at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. They're somewhat of a regular there. I saw them in L.A., performing at an art opening, and I thought they were quite amazing.--James ...

01 October, 2008 /

Here's something to check out this Friday night. The group show Strange Places, Familiar Places opens at Go Rilla! Gallery in Santa Ana. 7-9pm 7-10pm. Have fun!--James ...

01 October, 2008 /

This Thursday night is Engagement Party at MOCA. Finishing School kicks off our three-month residency at the museum with Executive Order Karaoke.Featuring special guest host Tammy Tomahawk , Executive Order Karaoke is a public action in which participants are invited to sing their favorite mixes of George W. Bush’s executive orders to popular music. The evening will be filled with special guests, games, and prizes.Engagement Party is a dynamic new initiative developed to engage innovative Los Angeles-based artist collectives. Over a three-year period beginning...

29 September, 2008 /