3rd Annual California Jazz & Wine Festival

This year Art Trek is a 50/50 Partner with The Rotary Club of Westlake Village Sunrise to bring you discounted tickets to the 3rd Annual California Jazz & Wine Festival at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks!

3rd Annual California Jazz & Wine Festival

Sunday, May 18th 2014

1pm-4pm

Conejo Creek North Park

Thousand Oaks, CA

 Regular ticket prices are $55 each and you get them for $49.50!

Simply buy your ticket(s) by CLICKING HERE and using the promo code 1434.

(You must click on "Enter promotional code" on the purchase page)

The Rotary Club will give $25 back to Art Trek for every ticket purchased using our promotional code.

We hope to see you there!

Olympic spirit alive and well at $5 Friday!

Our $5 Friday evenings continue to fill our studio with creative energy as we paint, sculpt, draw, eat and dance the night away.  Join us on the third Friday of the month from 5:30-9:00 for these multi-generational art-filled evenings!

Youth Character Walls

Art Trek, Inc. and the Arts Council of Conejo Valley collaborated to bring these Youth Character Walls made by 5th graders at Ladera, University and Conejo elementary schools.  Each tile represents a symbol of good character. Many more walls to come!!

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Thank you Brighton Collectibles!

A big thank you to Brighton Collectibles for choosing Art Trek as its charity fundraiser this past summer.  With each bracelet sold one child from Casa Pacifica in Camarillo (a shelter for abused children) received a 3 hour art session and lunch at Art Trek.

Your purchases and Brighton's kindness resulted in over 50 children receiving this afternoon of art and lunch.

Thank you Brighton and our fantastic Art Trek supporters!

Festival joy!

For many years now Art Trek has had the honor of coordinating the hands on activities at the Civic Arts Plaza's Thousand Oaks Arts Festival. As far as city festivals go, this one is fabulous. The art is really worth a peak and often a purchase,  and the performances are fun for the youth. Food trucks, the rave all over, line the street. 

And..Chris Harrison from The Bachelor will be painting hearts on wood with us at about 1:00 both Saturday and Sunday!!!!!! 

We can always use volunteers to help host this event in the hands on area. The Music Van gives kids and adults a chance to pick up and try to play all sorts of instruments...but the group needs volunteers to watch over the instruments. At the art  and tables we teach you everything you need to know to help out with our projects!  

Click here to sign up!

So, stop by to say hello if you do attend!

Why art?

When art programs get cut from schools, Nan Young and Art Trek step in to keep creativity alive with art programs and assemblies that aim to inspire students of all ages. In this video, Nan Young reinforces the principle that art is not just a clunky, distant idea but an integral part of the human experience that is worth saving.

This past spring I was asked to present a keynote speech for 400 city-wide volunteers in Torrance CA for Adventures In Art, a program not unlike Art Trek. My professional trek through the arts began in the South Bay in 1981 at Chadwick School. I am always excited to return to where I first fell in love with teaching the arts.

I was honored to present a few thoughts about art in our schools, homes and community. However, no group of creative people wants to listen to someone talk about creativity for very long! Consequently, my keynote was peppered with activity and art.

Smile TV filmed the morning and from that footage and a few of our studio pictures they created this video. I hope you have a chance to take a peek and enjoy!!!

Let us know what you think as this is really my first blog. (Don’t worry…I won’t give up my day job.)

–Nan

It's our last week of Summer Camp!

We've been having so much fun this summer creating arts and crafts of all kinds. If your kids haven't had a chance to come by yet, it's not too late! This week is our final week of the summer, so come down Monday through Friday from 9:00am to noon and check out what's going on.  We're always pleased to meet newcomers!

Here's a look at what we've been up to so far. Click here or on the picture for lots more!

26 schools capped off their year with our banners!

Colorful banners are flying high in 26 elementary schools throughout the LA Archdiocese celebrating the end of the school year and many 8th grade graduations. These Banner Festivals wrap up a year of art projects being taught in these schools by Art Trek. The teachers appreciate the science and color lessons that accompany this simple yet large scale origami-like product that can decorate the school halls for years. 

One banner is beautiful, but two hundred banners hanging side by side make a joyous statement. Like snowflakes, not one banner is like the other. We've been making these Shibori Banners for 15 years and just this spring made the jump to stringing them together into long colorful garlands. What a thrill it has been!

–Nan and Gerri

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Come to Brighton in Westlake and support Art Trek!

Brighton Collectibles at the Westlake Promenade has chosen Art Trek for its charity fundraiser this summer! 

When you purchase the Americana bracelets from now until July 31, 50% of the proceeds of the bracelets will be donated to Art Trek in Newbury Park. One child from Casa Pacifica in Camarillo (a shelter for abused children) will receive a 3 hour art session and lunch at Art Trek for every bracelet sold.

Brighton Collectibles
180 Promenade Way
Thousand Oaks,  CA

(805) 449-1516

New season, new website, new classes!

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Our new website is live and fully operational! Feedback has been great so far, so please continue to send us any comments and suggestions you might have. There's always room for improvement and innovation.

To kick off the summer, we've added a whole slew of adult workshops throughout the months of June and July.  We've got everything from printmaking to jewelry to sculpting—all with online registration and payment for convenience! Click here to check them out, or click on EVENTS over there in the lefthand navigation.

Children are not forgotten! Our 2013 Summer Camp lineup is also available. Mornings during June and July are designed for kids to learn how to apply their own creativity to a new project. There's no package obligation here; everything is a la carte, so register for as many or as few as you like!

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Finally, what would the summer be without Art Trek's famous Five Dollar Fridays? (Answer: A lot less fun.) Taking place in the evening on the third Friday of each month, donate just $5 at the door and enjoy music and artistic fun for all ages! Each month has a theme, and June's is "Jet Set"! Let your imagination run/fly/drive wild with the craziest journey you can think of! Be sure to join us on June 21st from 5:30–9:00pm!

We're looking forward to seeing you all soon! As always, if you've got a question or would just love to chat, feel free to send us a message from the CONTACT page, or give us a ring!