Arts & Culture Newsletter
Embrace the arts this and every season
The weather outside isn’t necessarily frightful, but courses at Potocki Center for the Arts are still delightful. From pressed flower herbariums, painting, and singing to crochet and ornament marbling, the Potocki Center allows everyone to express their creativity and artistic side. No matter what your level, our skilled expert instructors will have you learning professional techniques to master your artistic endeavor.
Check out our winter programs and register here.
Potocki Center for the Arts is located at 27301 La Paz Road.
For more information, contact 949-470-8470 or arts@cityofmissionviejo.org.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year at the Potocki Center for the Arts
Join us in our outdoor Potocki classroom Saturday, December 7 from 10-11:30 am for fun family winter crafts. Kids and parents will enjoy several winter-themed crafts they can do together. Register here, space is limited.
Next, bundle up and sip hot cocoa at our 3rd annual Holiday Carolers event on Saturday, December 14 from 5-7 pm. The Potocki patio will be a picturesque winter wonderland as the sounds of Caroling Connection Entertainment get you in the holiday spirit. Dressed in 19th century Charles Dickens-inspired costumes, this acapella quartet will entertain you with music from their songbook of more than 70 holiday carols. Register here.
Potocki Center for the Arts is located at 27301 La Paz Road.
For more information, contact 949-470-8470 or arts@cityofmissionviejo.org.
See fascinating exhibit of French Artist Ramine Debrest
Visit the Mission Viejo Library this winter to enjoy an exhibit featuring the works of French artist Ramine Debrest. Exploring maritime themes with a vibrant art deco aesthetic, Ramine creates mixed-media acrylic paintings on vintage nautical charts.
Ramine’s art is the culmination of his training in maritime ethnology and his studies at the École Nationale des Art-Déco. His work is inspired by his research and travels.
Connected to the local community through family members who call Mission Viejo home, Debrest visits our area often. He has shown his work internationally, and this exhibit marks his first time displaying in the area.
His work will be on display in the library’s south wing from December 10 through January 24.
Art Instructor Spotlight on Clémence Amarsy
Debuting this winter, the Potocki Center will offer instruction in the art of flower pressing taught by Clémence Amarsy.
Pressed Flower Herbarium classes for ages 16 and older take place Wednesdays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm starting December 4. Register here.
We interviewed Clémence so you can get to know more about this creative instructor:
Q: What inspired you to start creating pressed flower art?
A: I moved from France to Southern California three years ago. The flowers here are not the same as the ones we have in France, and I missed those flowers especially hydrangeas. I started looking for hydrangeas and when I found some, I decided to press the flowers like I did in France.
Indeed, pressing flowers instead of having fresh flowers that must be changed every week has two main advantages: The first advantage is that it is a perfect way to preserve nature. We are in a decade where climate change is something we need to address and should review our consumption habits. Buying flowers every week that come from all over the world is not the best way to preserve nature. If you buy fresh flowers, buy them from your local farm if possible. If you press flowers, there’s no need to buy some every week. The second advantage is that when I go back to France, I am not there to take care of my beloved flowers. With herbariums, you can keep your flowers for a long time without any care.
Q: In addition to being an artist, you are a pharmacist. How does your background as a pharmacist inform your artistic process?
A: During my first year of pharmaceutical studies, I learned the principles of botany and the wide variety of plants and flowers we can find around us. I was very impressed by their diversity, colors, different properties, shapes, and uses. Since I like to create with my hands, I decided to create something with these beautiful flowers. Not all flowers can be pressed, so it took me a while to learn which ones can be used in herbariums and which ones can't. Being a pharmacist helps me know more about the flowers I use, their purpose and their preciousness.
Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching students to create pressed flower art?
A: The creation has no limit. I really love when my students use the same material but create herbariums so different and varied. I never had two creations look the same. Students also spend a moment talking together, sharing their life experiences and stories. They tell me that workshops are a fun, peaceful and meditative experience.
Q: How do you like to spend your time when you are not working?
A: I love spending time with my 4-year-old, singing, running, enjoying the beach and the amazing sunsets we have in Southern California, reading and volunteering with the Red Cross!
Q: Do you have a favorite plant to work with? Are there any that are particularly challenging?
A: My favorite plants to work with are hydrangeas. Hydrangea flowers are very easy to press and come in a wide variety of colors. But it is also a flower that is found in many places where humidity is high like Brittany – which is a region of France where our family home is located.
You can't press all flowers. Some are difficult, especially big ones like large roses or fragile poppies. As you go through your creative journey, you learn more about the flowers you can use, which ones keep their color for a long time and which ones are fragile.