Blossom Trail Celebration March 5-6

Take a drive to the Art Stand Gallery this Saturday or Sunday to view the blossoms, meet the artists, and purchase beautiful art! We'll be open from 11 am till 5 pm both days. Hope to see you Saturday or Sunday!

Blossom Trail Event last Saturday, March 7th

Last Saturday was a gorgeous spring day--warm, clear, sunny, and perfect for all the events planned along the Blossom Trail for the day. There was a bike ride/tour throughout the countryside, multiple events in Sanger and Reedley including an arts/crafts show in downtown Sanger, and the Blossom Trail Celebration at The Art Stand Gallery. Most of our artists were in attendance during the day, some painting, some displaying their latest works either inside the stand or outside in the parking lot under a tent, some waiting on customers inside, some taking care of the refreshments, and some visiting with guests. It was a very busy and fun-filled day with periods of time during the day when the Art Stand had many, many customers browsing the wares at the same time. There were times when cars were pulling into the lot in groups of 3 and 4. It was really amazing to see! And it was also amazing to see the joy on peoples' faces at the whole experience of seeing beauty in the countryside and in the art at the Art Stand.

If you didn't visit on the weekend, try to come out this week or next weekend. There are still plenty of blossoms on the fruit trees and the art just promises to get better and better as the season goes on!

The sign and some inside views of The Art Stand Gallery at Blossom Trail time

Some views inside (and outside) the gallery--photos taken by artist Suzie Stach.

"Art Imitates Life at Art Stand Gallery"

By Ed Boling

Panorama Editor

Article published: Thursday, February 12, 2009 6:45 AM PST in the Reedley Exponent (For the full article and photographs of paintings by Chieko Delgado and Suzie Stach, click on this link.)


As the Blossom Trail comes alive once again with wonderful colors from the almond, nectarine, and plum trees in our valley, The Art Stand Gallery is also showing the colors of various artists.

Located on the Blossom Trail, at Frankwood Ave and Highway 180 near Sanger, The show opened last Saturday and will run through April 18.

Fourteen local artists are displaying their work. Media includes pastels, oils, photographs, ceramics, and jewelry.

Chieko Delgado, who was born in Japan, paints florals and landscapes in watercolor. “I love to paint local themes and the Blossom Trail is one of my favorite,” she said. She has primarily painted almond and nectarine blossoms, but loves to paint landscapes as well. “After a rain storm, I like to go out and take photos of the beautiful clouds and use them in my landscapes,” she added.

She moved to Sanger in 1999 and began taking water color and English classes. Comparing the cherry blossom season to the blossom trail season, she said cherry and almond blossoms are very similar. She said that blossom time is shorter in Japan, so people go out and have picnics under the cherry trees.

Blossom Trail activities will continue through mid-April in our area. The gallery is open daily from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for more information call 967-8635.

(The paintings accompanying this post are "Almond Blossom and Dove", a watercolor by Chieko Delgado and "Morning Dew", a pastel by Suzie Stach.)

Blossom Trail Article by Jeri Burzin featured in the Visalia Delta Times on February 11, 2009

(Click here to go straight to the actual article in the Visalia Times Delta that is copied here in today's post)

"Take the Blossom Trail to see Central Valley's best sights, artists"

BY JERI BURZIN • FOR CHOICES (IN THE VISALIA TIMES DELTA) • FEBRUARY 11, 2009

The annual Blossom Trail comes alive each February when motorists and hikers can come upon displays of blossoming peach, nectarine, plum, orange and almond trees. Almond, orange, and plum trees boast white petals, apricot trees delight us with pink petals, and peach and nectarine trees are aglow with pink to red petals.

The trail runs through some of the most productive agricultural land in the world, and includes the towns of Sanger, Reedley, Orange Cove, Selma, Kingsburg and Fowler. There is much to see and do on the 67-mile Blossom Trail:

Sanger once boasted "the longest flume in the world"
Reedley has a Mennonite quilting center
Old town Clovis features Old West architecture
Selma is known as the raisin capital of the world
Orange Cove is one of the most fragrant cities
Kingsburg is unique with its Swedish look and architecture.

There are wineries, antique shops and fruit stands to visit, and all the towns offer shopping opportunities in their downtown areas.

Last week, the trail officially opened in Orange Cove. On March 7, the festivities will begin with the Kings River Blossom Bike Ride, Annual Blossom Days Festival, the 11th Annual Blossom Trail Run and a reception at the Art Stand Gallery.

The Art Stand, once a historic fruit stand and now an artists' coop gallery with 14 local artists, is in the middle of the Trail, on Highway 180 and Frankwood Avenue near Sanger.

The local artists include:

Sally Delap-John from Sanger, one of the co-founders of the gallery. She works in watercolor, emphasizes the contrast of light versus dark, and punctuates with vibrant color. See www.doorartgallery.com for examples.

Suzie Stach is a pastel artist nationally known for her "fire art," depicting scenes of firefighters in action. See fire-art.com for examples.

Kathleen Mattox specializes in watercolor and mixed media paintings and describes her work as "wet, wild, witty and whimsical." See mixedmedia.kathleenmattox.blogspot.com for examples.

Elaine Towne Lane's wonderful ceramic pieces appear to be influenced by the more than 20 years she spent in Southeast Asia, Africa and Central America.

Kay Gaston works with fused dichroic glass which she says is full of surprises: "It's like quilting a patchwork but with glass. See www.plainNfancybykay for examples.

Deanna Bristow is a watercolor artist who has twice won the Blossom Trail Poster Contest.

Finally, you can see my photographs — scenes from "ordinary" life in Tulare and Fresno counties, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, the Central Coast, the Southwest and more. See www.yessy. com/jeriburzin for examples.

The Blossom Trail is now open.

INFORMATION
Come meet the artists and enjoy refreshments at the Art Stand Gallery Open House from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, March 7. For more information, go to theartstandgallery.blogspot.com. To learn more about the Blossom Trail go to www.gofresnocounty.com.

The Art Stand Gallery has reopened!

We are now open again for our Blossom Trail Season. We have been closed since mid-December because it is really cold in the uninsulated building and we also need a time to close for business so that we can run our Winter Workshops. We do the same in the hottest part of the summer, also for about six weeks.

Details about the reopening schedule are as follows:

Blossom Trail Season runs from 

February 7-April 18, 2009

Hours: 11 AM till 5 PM, Daily (Sunday through Saturday)

Blossom Trail Reception will be on Saturday, March 7, 2009

Take a beautiful drive,  meet the artists, 

enjoy refreshments and Blossom Trail art!