The City of Palmdale’s Parks and Recreation department has announced the roster of artists and muralists who will be featured at the fifth annual Kaleidoscope Art & Music Festival, a unique art extravaganza, on Saturday, Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Palmdale Amphitheater, 2723 Rancho Vista Blvd. Admission and parking are free.
Featured muralists include Carlos Mendoza, Donna Weil, Kris Holladay and Xochilt Garcia. They will create new masterpieces “live” during Kaleidoscope as attendees watch and meander through the Amphitheater grounds.
“Viewers will be mesmerized as these artists create spectacular works of art right before their eyes,” said Palmdale’s Director of Parks and Recreation Keri Smith. “It truly will be a sight to behold.”
A collection of over a dozen artists will host “mini-studios” where they will showcase original works, host demonstrations, answer questions, and offer pieces of one-of-a-kind art for sale. Scheduled to appear are A-mase-Collaboration, Blazing Star Arts, Cynthia Ann Swan, Elizabeth Anne Kennedy, Erin Killian Pottery, Kristina Holladay, Noelle Martin, Nord Skogen Studio, Pepe Melan, SD Graphics, The Creative Dork, The Funky Moon, and The Party Artist.
Student, novice, and hobbyist artists are also a part of the festival with works on display in the ArtLight Exhibit.
Also coming to Kaleidoscope will be the Living Water Statues,® where water pours forth from the fingertips of lovely fountain features from a pool, evoking the glorious sculpture of the Italian Renaissance in a dynamic and engaging water display.
“Kaleidoscope has taken art to new heights in the High Desert with its variety, quality, diversity, and commitment to providing both the artist and viewer a unique personal experience,” Smith noted.
Along with great artistic displays and demonstrations, Kaleidoscope offers outstanding and entertaining musical acts. Among the talent that will take the Palmdale Amphitheater stage are Irish/Celtic performers Paddy’s Pig, Latin jazz artist Louie Beltran Cruz, playful folk/bluegrass/Dixieland entertainers High-D Boys, original world guitar sounds by Incendio, and classic soul/Motown powerhouse Stone Soul.
Food and drink are also part of Kaleidoscope’s unforgettable experience. Attendees will have delectable offerings from several food trucks, while the Art of the Vine and Art of the Brew Craft Beer exhibits offer both flavorful and fresh locally crafted beverages.
Artisan craft lovers will be thrilled to visit the Fresh Made Market featuring handmade crafts and culinary items that make perfect gifts for all occasions.
The Palmdale Amphitheater is generously sponsored by Antelope Valley Hospital, Waste Management, American Medical Response, Snow Orthodontics, ValleyWide Dental, Ventura Graphix, Palmdale Dental, Learn 4 Life, Antelope Valley Transit Authority, and AV Mosquito & Vector Control District.
For more information, please visit www.KaleidoscopeArtFestival.com
About the Muralists:
Carlos Mendoza
An artist who mostly paints in acrylics and oils, Carlos Mendoza is a creative individual who also likes to sculpt with wire and work in other mediums. He is inspired by the blank canvas of empty spaces, urging him to create site specific artwork for people to enjoy. Considering himself an art rebel, he likes to push the boundaries, inquiring frequently about placing art in locations that are logistically challenging. With family roots in Mexicali, Mendoza grew up in Pacoima, spending some of his career acting and writing in television.
Donna Weil
Born in Washington D.C, Weil grew up in North Hollywood. After graduating from Hollywood High School, she attended the Interior Design Guild of San Diego. Her art career began in the first grade when her teacher and the principal of Fair Avenue School called in her parents and discussed her getting formal art training. Today, her work is on display at The Lakes and Valleys Gallery in Leona Valley, The Gallery in Calico Ghost Town, The Graphic Experience, and Outwest Western Boutique. Her art is collected throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and Europe. She has received art awards from the Pacific Art Association, Santa Clarita Excellence in Art Award, and the Lakes and Valleys Art Guild.
Kris Holladay
Kris Holladay grew up admiring the many exotic paintings, sculptures, jewelry, furniture, and miscellaneous household items her grandparents collected from their travels around the world. They helped her develop a love for art while laying a foundation for her own creative approach.
While in high school, Holladay was casting jewelry and she inherited “metal scraps” from her father and her grandparents in the form of broken chains, jewelry, and medals earned in service and in college. As an art teacher at Lancaster High School in the mid-90s she took those mementoes and turned them into small assemblage art pieces, encouraging her students do the same. This process eventually led her to the earn her master’s degree in art from CSUN in 2002.
Today, Holladay’s mosaic work blends the use of found objects to create a distinct variety of assemblage/mosaic with rich dimensionality. She takes particular pleasure in drawing children into the composition with fun elements at their eye level, which may be overlooked by taller individuals.
Xochilt Garcia
A multifaceted artist whose works range from narrative illustrations, animations, photography, and film, Xochilt Garcia often creates intense personal moments masterfully made utilizing imperfections, acceptance, and refusal, luring the viewer round and round in circles. By manipulating the viewer to create uncertainty, she tries to create works in which the actual event has yet to take place or has just ended. Her fascination with the cultural construction of good and evil pushes her to depict uncommon artwork that attempts to beautify what others could find undesirable. As a result of this her work could be described as loud, hostile, and dark.
Garcia draws massive inspiration from the Dadaist and Surrealist movements, as well as Chilean artist and filmmaker Alex Jodorowsky. As an artist, her goal is to create art that challenges the viewer's feelings, belief systems, and, most of all, to tell a story.