JOYCE RUDOLPH
Artist Leo Monahan attributes his sense of becoming one with nature
to growing up in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
From age 12 to 17, he lived on his grandfather's ranch surrounded
by miners, cowboys and loggers.
"Everybody had a job that could kill them," he said.
Life for a teenager was quite the opposite.
"It was a Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn life," said the former
Burbank resident. "We had a trout stream in the backyard and
mountains all around."
The Sioux Indians also inhabited the land and Monahan formed a
special bond with Ben Black Elk, who used to set up his tepee on his
grandfather's property.
His job was to pose for the tourists at Mount Rushmore, Monahan
said, which earned him pretty good tips.
"He would share Indian lore and taught me how to look at things in
nature," he said. "He was my mentor."
Those experiences continue to inspire Monahan in his art form of
dimensional collages. He cuts acid-free art papers into shapes,
paints them in different ways and puts them together into a picture.
His paper sculpture, "Mist and Wind," received the top prize in
the Fine Arts Federation of Burbank's membership show continuing at
the Creative Arts Center Gallery in Burbank.
To create the piece, he interpreted the wind's characteristics.
"You can see the wind, you can see how it affects leaves or
clothes on clotheslines, which they had when I was growing up," he
said.
Monahan received the Brand Library Award of Excellence, which is
the best of show in this mixed-media exhibit. It was the second year
in a row he received the honor.
"I think that's marvelous," he said.
Five others received awards in the show.
Burbank resident Frank Fujita received the Robert Sandmeyer
Memorial Award, which is given to a student of the Creative Arts
Center. His winning watercolor is called "Baptistry of Pisa."
The four Juror Awards went to Ruth Banarer's collage "Windows,"
Cliff Barnes' oil painting "That Was a Nice Dip," Nina Kellogg's clay
piece "Fire Magic," and Susanne Belcher's mixed-media "Enigma."
The exhibit continues through March 25. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. today; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; and 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. Friday. The gallery is at 1100 W. Clark Ave., Burbank. For more
information, call 238-5397.
SPECIAL EVENTS
FASHION SHOW TEA FOR LITTLE DOLLS
A tea and fashion show just for little girls and their dolls is
being organized this weekend by the Flintridge Guild of Childrens
Hospital.
Forty little girls will wear historic or modern fashions as they
