Press Releases

MONTEREY, Calif. - March 11, 2008 - More than 40 student artists from the Santa Catalina Upper School are taking part in two Monterey County art events this month-the Youth Art Competition in Seaside and the Thinking Out Loud exhibit at the Cherry Center for the Arts in Carmel.

The Walter Lee Avery Gallery will hold a special reception on Friday, March 14, 7:00-8:30 PM, for the Youth Art Competition, honoring 15 students from Santa Catalina School as well as other student artists. The Youth Art Competition entries, on display March 5-28, include work from Monterey County students in grades 7-11. The purpose of the competition is to promote each student's individual talent as well as give the community hope for the future of Art in Schools.

The Cherry Center for the Arts is kicking off its 60th anniversary year with Thinking Out Loud, an exhibit that explores fresh ways of looking at and thinking about art. Artwork in many different mediums-from painting, drawing and ink-relief, to sculpture and collage-is on display now through March 30, with 29 students from Santa Catalina School featured.

Thinking Out Loud marks the beginning of a year of celebrating artistic freedom at the Cherry. Heidi Espinoza of Marina, a Santa Catalina senior, sees her self portrait on display at the Cherry as one form of thinking out loud. "I like my self portrait because it is me," says Espinoza, "and when you look at it you think you know me, and in a way you do get to know me a little, but there is so much more to me than meets the eye."

Lottie Dowson of Monterey, a Santa Catalina junior, says of her photograph of an old car, "Through my picture 'Old Faithful,' I was hoping to portray the idea that beauty can be found in things that are old and used, and to be able to capture this beauty prevents it from being forgotten."

The Walter Lee Avery Gallery is located at Seaside City Hall. For information, please call 831.899.6811. The Cherry Center for the Arts is located at Fourth and Guadalupe in Carmel. For more information, call 831.624.7491 or visit www.carlcherrycenter.org.

### About Santa Catalina School Santa Catalina School is dedicated to the education of young people between the ages of 4-18, giving careful consideration to the individual abilities and potential of each child. The school's mission is to balance intellectual growth with spiritual awareness, creativity with order, and individuality with compassion. Santa Catalina School is enriched by the diversity of socioeconomic, religious, geographic, and cultural backgrounds represented by students and faculty. The Upper School includes boarding students from 14 states and 9 countries. Local students come from not only the Central Coast, but also from cities as far away as Gilroy, King City, Santa Cruz, San Jose and Santa Clara. For more information visit www.santacatalina.org or call 831.655.9300.