Giana Froio
Staff Writer
Claremont hosted its monthly Art Walk Saturday evening in the Claremont Village, where local galleries and businesses showcased a variety of artists work, including Studio C, an art gallery and studio featuring handmade jewelry; Bunny Gunner custom framing; Crescent Tree Real Estate, and many more.
Music filled the air outside the Chamber of Commerce, where the Jazz Fellowship welcomed the guests “Back to Nature,” which was the name of the art exhibition created by Claremont resident Chris Frausto.
The focal point of each piece in Frausto’s show was an object taken from nature.
“The Nest,” a mixed media piece created from a bird’s nest, featured the nest encased in glass and mounted on a candlestick.
Other pieces like “1865” showcased three books from 1865 with a mink pelt placed as a bookmark between the pages.
“I am never going to live long enough to do all the ideas that I have,” Frausto said.
Pasadena resident Mckenna Lindheimer was inspired by Frausto’s work.
An artist herself, Lindheimer, a painter and photographer, became familiar with the Art Walk after moving to San Dimas in 2020.
“I come to get inspiration for my own work,” she said. “Her use of deconstruction to create something new has inspired me to wonder what else around me can become art when looked upon by the right set of eyes.”
The art walkers moved across Yale Avenue to Studio C, a working studio and gallery featuring various artists’ work.
Jewelry stands lined the front window and display shelves by the door while paintings were hung on the walls. Art by Riverside resident Denise Kraemer hung on the west and south walls while art by Elizabeth Carr hung on the east wall.
Kraemer is primarily a printmaker who works in the abstract. During her time in graduate school, she said she was advised to “never say no” and to take every opportunity that came her way. Her first show after this advice was in a gas station in Pomona, where her piece was placed in the men’s bathroom.
“I thought, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Kraemer said, adding that it turned out to be a good step toward success.
Kraemer’s exhibition, “That Midcentury Vibe,” featured multicolored circles encased within one another. Kraemer’s work typically talks about the connection between family, DNA and birth to death as shown in her series, “Death Becomes Her,” which displays the death of creatures as natural and beautiful rather than sad.
Previously a professor at Cal State San Bernardino, she defines success as creating and being happy with the product, even if others do not like the piece.
“We just kinda dropped in,” Judith Favor, an art enthusiast at Studio C, said. “We were looking for this gallery and we showed up and realized we were part of something larger.”
Favor believes that art is important to create a sense of community.
“It draws people together,” she said.
Favor’s husband, Michael Favor, accompanied her to Studio C.
“It’s unique, it’s not mass produced, each piece is individual,” he said.
Giana Froio can be reached at giana.froio@laverne.edu.
