Corona
Art Association
ART HAPPENS HERE!
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ART HAPPENS HERE! |
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To make contributions to the scholarship fund mail checks toCAA Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 1171, Corona, CA 92878-1171*******************************************************************************************
The Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the 2009 scholarship winners. 2009 Scholarship RecipientsThe committee awarded three $750 scholarships in June 2009 to the following: Irvin Guzman--Otis Washington Scholarship Saskia Van Donk--Maxine Piester Memorial Scholarship Theresa Lou--Maxine Piester Memorial Scholarship CAA members Otis Washington, Eugene Piester and CAA President Ira Yawnick presented the awards at the school ceremonies. Congratulations to our winners and to all the outstanding and talented young students who applied! We were impressed by their passion for art and the accomplishments they have already achieved. We hope to hear more from each of them as they pursue their goals. We look forward to exhibiting their artwork as they continue to pursue their work in visual arts. Click here to read a press article about recipient Irvin Guzman. If you, or individuals you know, are interested in applying for an art scholarship for 2010, or if you have any questions about the process, please contact Ira at 951-206-0222. To make contributions to the scholarship fund mail checks to CAA Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 1171, Corona, CA 92878-1171 Maxine Piester Memorial ScholarshipMaxine Piester was a co-founder of the art association along with Dominick Frascella. The Corona Art Association, with the assistance of Eugene Piester, has designated a scholarship fund in her memory—The Maxine Piester Memorial Scholarship Fund. We are in the process of expanding the scholarship program so that we can provide financial reimbursement for art classes, art supplies and educational materials for applicants in several age groups including high school students. Each applicant will be reviewed by the Scholarship Committee and evaluated for eligibility based on a number of criteria. The amount of the scholarships will be determined by donations and sponsorship received for the year. The recipients will be presented with their scholarships by Eugene Piester at the opening reception of a CAA art show that will include the recipients artwork. Otis Washington Scholarship Otis Washington is an outstanding pastel artist and long term member of the Corona Art Association who is making donations and art instruction available to a young individual interested in pursuing their interests in art. Priority will be given to at risk youth and students who may be unable to afford college at this time. The scholarship committee will consider all applicants as potential candidates for this scholarship as well as the awards to be made from the Maxine Piester Scholarship. About Maxine PiesterWhenever Corona Art Association history is discussed the name of Maxine Piester is prominently mentioned. She was one of the passionate artists that worked tirelessly to support the development of not only the art association, but also served to remind the city of Corona of the importance of the role of art and culture for the benefit of a thriving, growing community. She was one of the founding members and served as the proverbial glue to help keep the organization together even during some difficult times. Maxine was born in Texas in 1924. She moved to Long Beach, CA during WWII to work at Douglas Aircraft Industries as a “Rosie the Riveter” worker. After the war she moved to Corona in 1945 and met Eugene Piester. They were married in 1948 and settled in Corona. Although some might consider Maxine a bit of a “late bloomer” it’s important to remember that times were different back in the 50s when she was a young woman. Maxine, like many of her female counterparts, devoted the early years of her marriage to her husband and to caring for their two daughters. Lucky for us, Maxine had boundless energy. She displayed a talent for drawing and doing caricatures which she decided to pursue, and once she did there was no looking back. In the 1950’s Maxine took a four year intensive correspondence course from the Famous Artists School in Westport, Connecticut. She graduated with honors from the course of study and also studied with many distinguished and successful artists. She enjoyed a broad variety of medium and styles. She went on to become well rounded in all the arts and continued through the years to explore drawing and painting, working in oils and acrylics and capturing many diverse subjects such as landscapes and seascapes, animals, people and still life. She also did some metal sculpture and one of her sculpture pieces has been installed in the permanent collection at Corona Public Library. Maxine’s work was primarily exhibited locally and she exhibited nationally throughout the US and as far away as Columbia, South America. Her work is included in a variety of private collections including a painting in the private collection of Former President Johnson. Maxine always enjoyed art and artists and believed in the importance of art and cultural development within the community, so it’s no surprise that she was among the 19 charter members of the Corona Art Association. She held every office of the organization including serving as treasurer in the founding year and president from 1969-1970. She worked with the core group and together they are responsible for keeping the association going even when they had no regular place to hold meetings. The group had difficulties keeping the membership together during the 1970s and they dropped to an all time low number in 1971, but Maxine never gave up. There were many trials and tribulations finding space for meetings and shows. It took a lot of personal perseverance and effort from the founding members to keep searching for new options, but they were up for the challenge. One of the spaces the CAA attempted to acquire was the original Corona Carnegie Library Building. Maxine was an activist for the arts and believed in preserving historical buildings for cultural sites. She helped wage a strong battle against the local politicians when the fate of the original library building was hanging in the balance. The struggles for the building were frequently in the local newspaper and served to make Corona residents more aware of the importance of historic preservation. Unfortunately, the CAA lost their battle with the city fathers when it became apparent that the expense to refurbish the building was too high. Eventually the historic building was torn down to make way for development. Throughout her years with the art association Maxine was generous of her time and her art work. She donated a painting to the Corona High School Jazz Ensemble to help raise funds to finance travel to Switzerland for the ensemble to compete in an international jazz festival. Another example of her dedication to public art is her sculptural work that won the competition for placement at the new Corona Library. Maxine also made sure the state politicians knew that the City of Corona had an active and talented art association. She and several other CAA members took paintings to Sacramento to place the art on loan in the offices of the Riverside County State Representatives. One of Maxine’s paintings was selected to hang in Assemblyman Walt Ingalls’ office, and State Senator Robert Presley kept one of Maxine’s paintings in his office until he retired. Maxine and Eugene Piester became life members of the Corona Art Association. Although Mr. Piester doesn’t consider himself an artist he is most definitely a friend of the arts. He is an advocate and supporter for children’s art education programs. The tradition of supporting arts education is something he knows gave Maxine tremendous satisfaction in her role as an art teacher in the local schools and through her affiliation with CAA. Although Maxine passed away on May 8, 2003, her spirit is certainly embodied in the art association. The work that she did for the Corona Art Association will always be appreciated, honored and carried forward. For More Information Contact: |
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Copyright © 2007 Corona Arts Association All material contained on this website, in the Corona Art News and within links to other material is copyright protected material. Copyright is by the Corona Art Association or the original artists and authors. Unless otherwise noted permission is granted to other non-profit art associations to circulate information to their members except for original art images and art photos which are the sole property of the original artists. Please contact the Corona Art Association if you have any questions regarding copyright of site material..Send mail to info@coronaartassociation.org with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: 01/08/10 |
