"MARCH"

Vita Art Center & Bell Arts Factory Present

"MARCH"

a juried art exhibition focusing on the strength and achievements of women

3 Galleries and over 50 artists

Opening Reception Friday, March 5 from 6-9 p.m.

Exhibit Dates March 5-28

Juried Best of Show, The selected artist will receive a $500 honorarium and their artwork will be featured on a 2010 "March" poster. The "March" poster will be sold to support the Vita & Bell Arts "Women in the Arts" fund.

Women Speakers: The month of March will feature an array of guest speakers. See schedule below.

SCHEDULED SPEAKERS AND EVENTS

THE MEANING OF TEA

Sunday March 7 from 2-4

Cynthia Yoshitomi Tea by the Sea

You are invited to spend two magnificent hours experiencing the fascinating World of Tea. Learn about the origins, legends and tastes of teas while you sipping away. Women¹s role in tea picking and processing will be discussed along with Fair Trade and Organic Teas. No experience is necessary or expected. Children 8 and over welcomed. Cost: $5.00 a person Presenter: Cynthia Yoshitomi Proprietor of Tea by the Sea in the Bell Arts Factory. RSVP: Email TeabytheSea1@aol.com or 805.8046637

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Nahed Stefany

Friday, March 12, 6:30 - 7:30

Free, Open to the public

In celebration of International Women¹s Day, Syrian born Nahed Sammani Stefany, LMFT, will discuss women¹s contribution to Middle Eastern society, including the workforce,  politics, religion and culture, and will address the misunderstood stereotypes of Arabic women.

SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

Evaluate Your Probability of Success

Women's Economic Ventures (WEV)

Angel J. Cottrell, MAOM

Saturday March 13, 10-11 a.m.

Free, Open to the public

Do you spend time dreaming about doing what you LOVE for a LIVING? Do you get so passionate about your ideas that others are inspired just listening to you? Entrepreneurship may be your pathway to personal and professional success. Evaluate your probability of success as an entrepreneur by learning the 4 indicators of a successful entrepreneur and seeing how you measure up. How many indicators do you have? Women's Economic Ventures is a local leader in training persons to be successful entrepreneurs and has supported the launch and growth of more than 1000 small businesses locally since 1991.

"LIVE LIKE AN OAK, THINK LIKE BAMBOO"

Sylvia White

Friday, March 19, 6:30-7:30

Free, Open to the public

"...for me the definition of strength has nothing to do with being strong and has everything to do with being flexible.", Sylvia White

ART PARTY with Jeanne La Rocco in Vita

Saturday, March 27, 6-9 p.m.

Vita Art Center's Art Party's - Food, Wine, Art, and fun! Saturday, March 27 we will be making pocket Shrines with Jeanne LaRocco Personal shrines are a way to acknowledge and affirm the sacred in our lives. Shrines hold the power to make us forget our everyday cares and to help center us. This power exists because shrines emerge from the deepest part of those who build them. As we mindfully collect the materials and images to make a shrine, as we paint and glue, insights arise. Assembling a shrine is an act of love. It can also be a prayer. Because they are an expression of the spirit, shrines both move us and serve as bridges that connect us to mysteries greater than ourselves. These tiny pocket shrines, inspired by artists of Mexico, are a powerful symbol of the many blessings we take for granted. Although shrines traditionally honor the dead, they can be created to honor anyone who is a source of inspiration and admiration. They can be created as an affirmation to attract peace love, prosperity, happiness, or anything else you wish to bring into your life. So many possibilities to explore!

$30. contact Vita Art Center to register, www.vitaartcenter.com, 805-644-9214

WOMEN BEHIND THE WALL

Gloria Killian and Jeanne Piper

Saturday March 27 12 - 2 p.m.

Free, Open to the public

Gloria Killian was released from prison on Aug. 8, 2002 after serving a total of 17 years on a sentence of 32 years to life for a crime that she did not commit. Originally, she was charged with the death penalty. Throughout her trial and incarceration she always maintained her innocence. In March 2002 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that her conviction was based solely on perjured testimony and overturned her conviction. In 2008, Christopher Cleland, the District Attorney who prosecuted her, was tried by the State Bar of California and found guilty of unethical conduct in her case. Ms. Killian is now the Executive Director of her own non-profit organization, the Action Committee for Women in Prison (ACWIP). Along with public education and advocacy work, ACWIP provides Christmas gifts for the inmates at the California Institution for Women and in the Fire Camps, in conjunction with All Saints Episcopal Church. ACWIP also provides toys for the children of women in prison, when they come to visit their mothers. She is a member of the Girls Collaborative, which works with at risk teen-agers, AKA Angels and ALL of Us or None. She serves on the California Nursing Association, Correctional Medicine Taskforce, the National Commission on Crime and Delinquency Taskforce on Incarcerated Women, the Advisory Panel for the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, the steering committee of Free Battered Women and the Women in Criminal Justice Network. She is a member of the California State Gender Responsive Strategies Commission. Ms Killian is the co-director of the Prison Ministry at All Saints Episcopal Church. Ms. Killian was recently nominated for a Minerva Award as an outstanding woman in California. RSVP: 805-644-9214

Action Committee for Women in Prison: Jeanne Pieper

In 2001 the Action Committee for Women in Prison began a campaign to find pen pals for women serving long terms at the California Institution for Women in Corona then expanded over the years to three more prisons one in Chowchilla, CA. and two in Texas. Over 455 incarcerated women have found a pen pal through this program. There are currently 91 on a waiting list for Pen Pals. Jeanne Pieper is a founding Board Member of the Action Committee for Women in Prison, and the creator /Director of Êits program which matches up women in California and Texas prisons with outside women as pen pals for mutual friendship and emotional support. In the past 8 years, this program has matched up almost 500 inside women with outside women pen pals from all over the world. Currently ACWIP has about 100 inside women who are waiting, some for more than a year, for an outside pen pal.

Jeanne was introduced to prison ministry about 15 years ago by reading newspaper columns written by two inmates at the California Institute for Women. She was so impressed with what she read that she sent each of them a letter one Christmas. That was the start of a long friendship with both of them (both now released ). Jeanne soon realized that this was an easy, enjoyable, and mutually supportive relationship which could be carried on in the privacy and comfort of one's own home by other free women. At the same time, she was working with other outside women to start ACWIP, and the pen pal project became one of its first public programs. RSVP: 805-644-9214

ART AS A LANGUAGE- DISCOVERING A NEW WAY

Susan O'Connor

Saturday March 27 2 - 4 p.m.

$2. Open to the public

Susan, the Art Lady will be assisting participants of this workshop to discover/rediscover who they are by the creation of their own Art Journal. Susan O'Connor has worked over eighteen years in Drug, Alcohol, Eating disorders rehabilitation programs, half-way houses, churches and hospitals assisting people involved in their 12 Step Journey. She has run this program, ART AS A LANGUAGE for over 18 years. Susan is respectful, creative and open to all people who want to get more involved with their creative new self. Susan has 18 years of Sobriety. She is married and has two grown children and three grandchildren. Only a $2.00 supply fee. RSVP: 805-644-9214