Putting on Their Walking Shows

SANTA ANA — College student America Cordova was hit with art fever Saturday at the third annual Santa Ana ArtWalk.

Cordova, who performed in a choir at the daylong event, said she planned on purchasing a painting of flowers that had caught her eye earlier in the day.

“It’s not just bringing arts to the city,” Cordova, 17, said of ArtWalk, “but arts to the youth.”

Cordova was one of about 500 visitors who showed up at the showcase of the city’s Artists Village. Organizers said the crowd was twice as big as last year.

Artists Village, centered at Broadway and 2nd Street downtown, is mostly composed of private galleries, although that will change as the city proceeds with a $4-million plan to turn an apartment building into an art gallery, a theater and classrooms.

ArtWalk visitors Saturday could pass through galleries, witness performances by local teens and get their faces painted.

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For the first time, the Bowers Museum and Kidseum also were official parts of the event, said artist Matthew Cruz, whose gallery is located in the Santora Building, which marks the center of Artists Village.

Shuttle buses between the village and the museums were available.

Art in the Santora galleries ranged from painted doors to painted feathers, along with a mix of wall paintings and sculptures.

By the middle of the day, some artists said they had not made any sales or had sold only a few items. But they said they were not disappointed.

Part of the ArtWalk mission, said Santora artist Cheryl Bookout, was to let people know the galleries are there.

“We’re feeling like real people this year,” said Bookout, who said she was pleased with the turnout. “We’ve been struggling to make people aware.”

Bookout said she had not sold any of her doors, painted to represent passages in her life. But then again, she had not expected to sell any of the pieces, which go for about $300, because they are hard to place.

Artist Mary Dessert hoped the event would highlight the artistic process because people were touring the rooms where many artists also work.

“I think it’s important that people see [art] is not all about hanging something over your couch,” Dessert said.

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While it was rare to find anyone with a newly purchased picture or sculpture tucked under an arm, many visitors said they were looking for the right sculpture or painting to take home. Others said they were enjoying just window-shopping.

Ana Miranda Muniz, who was visiting from Mexico, stopped in front of one piece with large feathers painted with eagles, bears and wolves that went for $40.

Santa Ana resident T. Pat McLaughlin believed ArtWalk was a good way to make the city into a showcase for something other than crime--a reputation for which the city is eager to erase.

“Isn’t this great for Santa Ana, which has the bad rap?” he said.

First-time Artists Village visitor Margie Anderson said ArtWalk had changed her impression of downtown Santa Ana.

“Now that I’ve come here, I feel very safe,” said Anderson, who lives on the southern border of Santa Ana near South Coast Plaza. “I would come at night too, with my husband for dinner.”

Santa Ana City Councilwoman Patricia A. McGuigan said she was satisfied with Saturday’s turnout.

“I know I had trouble finding a spot in the parking lot,” she said. “That’s always a good sign.”