2009 - 2015
Photograph by Sol Hill • www.solhill.com • New York Skyline from Ellis Island
Mentored by Nathan Vonk
Art Without Limits (AWoL) offers personalized one-on-one mentorships for aspiring Santa Barbara County
artists. Pairing them with professional artists in their chosen art form, they learn the real life skills necessary to succeed as a professional. AWoL, through fiscal sponsorship, supports art projects and associations
until they acquire their own nonprofit certification. AWoL produces the annual free Art Career Day Conference for teens through young adults, a day of dialogue, questions and answers with established artists.
AWoL presents a yearly gallery showcase highlighting our artists’ work, and holds free monthly community
workshops led by experts on the legal, business, and technical skills needed in the art world.
Our mentorships are a two way street. As much as we teach, we are taught. An exchange of benefits is
observed as both emerging and established artists work together in our programs, flourish in their creative
endeavors, and inspire one-another.
AWoL has a dual philosophy: artistic insight, imagination, and creativity are the seeds for a better world,
and Giving Begets Giving. While we do not charge for mentorships and all mentors are volunteers, there is
a currency involved. It is giving. Emerging artists must give back to their mentor, AWoL, and the next generation. With proper training and guidance, talented artists can flourish in their careers and strengthen our
communities. To earn a living, create, and do what one loves...that is the goal. Your gift, your contribution,
is a building block in attaining that goal.
Executive Director
Photo by David Chartrand
On my third birthday, I finished my first dance class knowing I was going to be a dancer! It was the beginning of a trip of multitudinous arts
classes, dance, theater classes, eventually taking me to Juilliard School of
Dance on scholarship to study with the greats. I did off Broadway, USO in
Europe, Toured with Yul Brynner in “King and I,” and landed the biggie,
the original company of “West Side Story.” I taught dance and negotiated
contracts for Actors Equity with Summer Stock owners.
In 1979, I opened Dance Warehouse, a studio with 20 teachers, 4 studios,
guest classes and studio performances that became the hub of dance In
Santa Barbara. I worked with Santa Barbara Dance Alliance for 20 years
and became its Executive Director for the next 10 years.
One day, I glanced at the picture I had of Jackie Rotman leaping in the
air. My mentorship guided her to establish her own program, Everybody
Dance Now! It was the best thing I had ever done… nurturing talent to
help Jackie to succeed. I then knew what I wanted to do!
I gathered 25 arts leaders and we brainstormed. Yes! Yes! Yes! We wanted to nurture talented with the help of trained and dedicated artists. We
wanted the best to blossom! Art Without Limits was born in 2009.
I have never been happier in my life. It is so rewarding to watch talent
bloom, produce wonderful art and see people give to each other! I would
like to see this program expand to many cities. We all need to foster an
explosion in the ARTS!
Julie McLeod, Broadway Performer
Jackie Rotman - Photo by Clint Weisman
Jackie Rotman is the pioneering Emerging Artist of Art Without Limits. At age 14, she sought Julie’s
assistance to establish an outreach program. She had been told by others she was too young and inexperienced, but Julie said, “It’s a great idea, Jackie. I will guide you!” Both a lasting friendship and “Everybody
Dance Now! (EDN!) were born. EDN! offered free after-school dance programs to under-served youth in
Santa Barbara, instilling self-esteem and encouraging healthy lifestyles. Jackie enlisted and mentored other
teens, who would serve as dance teachers and leaders. Today EDN! Offers more than 50 classes per week
in 8 cities and is expanding to 12. It has served more than 6,000 young dancers, is mentoring an ever-growing number of EDN! leaders, and has achieved its own nonprofit status. EDN! has been featured on MTV’s
America’s Best Dance Crew. Jackie was highlighted in Glamour’s article, “Top 10 College Women,” and has
lectured on TEDX Talks. She is a scholarship graduate of Stanford University, and is currently Executive Director of SPARK, the nation’s largest young professionals’ network.
Jackie was the inspiration for the formation of AWoL. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing talented
young people develop their creativity, live their dreams, and help others. “Mentorship is truly exponential.”
~Julie McLeod
In Jackie’s words...“Julie has been a phenomenal mentor who has inspired my life in so many ways. She
responded to a ‘PS’ line in an email when I was 14 about a nonprofit that I wanted to create to offer dance
programs to children who could not afford it. Julie’s guidance on every aspect of the organization from
grant writing to budget creation have contributed so much to its success.”
Elite Henenson said of her AWoL experience, “So far
this mentorship is the most significant stepping-stone in
my professional career as a photographer. I feel that it
helped me develop my personal style and to find out the
direction that I want to go in. Furthermore, it helped me
believe in myself as an artist and not to be afraid of making mistakes.”
Elite then completed her BFA in Photography with honors at Arizona State University. She has traveled to Cuba,
Mexico, and her native Israel on photographic expeditions. Elite’s photographs have been exhibited often since
the completion of her AWoL mentorship with celebrated
photographer, Macduff Everton. Even after the the mentorship, Elite still looks to Macduff and his work for inspiration.
Macduff told her, “Elite shoot and shoot and shoot! Take
chances, push what you think you can do, and break rules
to really discover what you can capture with your camera
and imagination. You learn most from your mistakes.”
Cubans: Photographs by Elite Henenson
Dan La Bellarte said, “I would not be doing any of this without Albert’s mentoring. From
day one, Albert pushed me to get my work out there. I know that he’s proud of me, and that
has given me so much inspiration to keep going.”
“Who is mentoring whom?” asked Albert Salinas, established poet, about Dan La Bellarte.
Dan filled out his application to AWoL using only poetry. He did not have training in creative
writing or poetry. His work was so personal he resisted having a teacher give him the same
assignment as 20 others in class, correcting it with the same red pen. But he had studied
poets and writers extensively on his own.
His mentorship with Albert was magical. They became best buddies as Albert took him to
poetry readings in Ventura and Los Angeles. Dan was soon in demand to read his poetry
and he found his community. He has now created poetry for dance and published his work.
He has does the Audio Visual work for the AWoL’s Art Career Day Conference. Presently, Dan
is taking courses on-line and on-site at Vermont College, and shortly will be doing a minimentorship with actor, Ann Dusenberry on the art of presentation and delivery.
” Vermont was great!,” Dan reported. “My poetry is changing and moving in exciting ways.
I’m being exposed to more poets than ever. Seriously, my floor is COVERED in books and I’m
reading, reading, reading and writing a ton too! I definitely see the value of gaining some
direction, some discipline, learning the craft of poetry. It’s a fine, fine craft. I am so glad to
be a part of the tradition, to recognize myself as belonging to this great choir!”
Vows (Final Verse)
Dan La Bellarte
Who’s to say your hand I know, like the back of mine,
along the way most part of my heart,
is not the finest string of notes ever strung to the breeze by a bird,
no less the most beautiful fragrance of a song,
that in one second, can wrap a thousand and
ten million years of searching,
into just one kiss beneath an arbor, where
bathed in the light of you,
whispering softly as
the leaf falling now,
I say,
“I do”
Falling Leaves by Si Jie Loo
Sol Hill
Sol Hill’s art perches us on the edge of reality, staring into the surreal. His art
is primarily photographs in which concrete aspects are replaced with abstract
textural detail.
“My process is one of my own invention. I use digital noise to render the photograph into a contemporary visual image. Digital noise is an unwanted artifact
that is widely considered worthless and ugly, yet I transform it into a thing of
unexpected beauty. The result is like poetry, allowing room for introspection and
discovery.” ~Sol Hill
After receiving an MFA from Brooks Institute, Sol, started an AWoL mentorship
with Nathan Vonk to develop his marketing abilities to advance his career. Nathan describes Sol’s work as “a wonderful combination of science fiction and the
sublime.”
Subsequently, Sol has exhibited in Los Angeles art shows, Photo Art and the Leica
Gallery, and in Chicago, Santa Fe, Texas, New York, Chile, Washington DC and
elsewhere. A recent project, “Suspicious Privacy,” examines the impact of electronic surveillance on the integrity of an individual’s identity.
He has just completed a residency at the prestigious Torpedo Factory Art Center
in Alexandria, VA to explore his imagery on a larger composite scale.
Sol has lectured at AWoL’s Art Career Day Conference and his work is on the
cover of our brochure and this booklet.
In 2013, accomplished dancer, Cecily Stewart, (State Street Ballet, ArtBark International,) approached AWoL to mentor her in starting an educational outreach
program called Library Dances. The project enhances school students’ kinetic understanding, literary comprehension, and self-esteem by teaching dance inspired
by the literature they are studying. Cecily’s vision facilitates the practice of linked
learning by allowing students to work with professional dancers, as well as provide
artistic performances that are accessible to everyone in the community.
Cecily was 13 years old when Julie McLeod mentored her first choreography, and
was thrilled when she approached Julie for assistance with Library Dances.
With Julie’s guidance, and occasional calls for advice, Cecily’s vision is now headed
into its third season. The pilot performances of Library Dances were held in 2014
at San Marcos High School, featuring State Street Ballet dancers working together
with students who auditioned and trained for the show. Library Dances has continued to grow in 2015, with performances by professional dancers teamed with
Santa Barbara Junior High students at The Marjorie Luke Theater and Laguna Blanca School. Cecily has opted to give Library Dance proceeds from ticket sales to the
school’s theater program. Giving begets giving. Library Dances now has achieved
its own nonprofit status.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, LibraryDances
Cecily Stewart, Library Dances
After completing her mentorship with fiber artist, Brecia Kralovic Logan, Satpreet Kahlon
embarked on a yearlong residency in Seattle, organized by Artspace.
Since then Satpreet has received an individual artist grant 4Culture, has been chosen to
create a 12’ x 10’ installation in downtown Seattle, has been named to an ArtBridge Fellowship at Pratt Fine Art Center, and was selected one of the 25 artists in Seattle to be
shortlisted for opportunities for emerging artists in coming years.
“In a time when everything is documented, all pictures deemed share-worthy, all thoughts
publishable, I am interested in capturing the quieter things that fall between the cracks.
The truer, more sincere parts of the human experience that do not fit into a self-performance oriented world or a carefully curated public profile. By manipulating mostly found,
repurposed, and natural materials with low-tech, process-driven practices that are deeply
rooted in the history of craft, I hope to imbue my work with a great sense of history and
narrative. Often times, my materials are pulled apart and mended, broken and then fixed,
only to become something new. They become signifiers of time passed, of wounds created
and healed, of life lived. They become artifacts of a personal history that we all recognize
and share.”
“The biggest aspect of AWoL that I will carry with me in my future endeavors is the support and advice that I received. Whenever I needed advice, they were just a phone call,
or an email away, and their mentorship has been invaluable to me. The kindness, and the
unwavering confidence in my ability and my craft has not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated. I hope to someday give back to AWoL by becoming a mentor artist myself.” ~Satpreet
Kahlon
Satpreet Kahlon
After arriving in Santa Barbara, Si Jie Loo, checking out galleries and art spaces on a First Thursday, met
Barbara Burger(AWoL past Vice President), who introduced her to local artist, Mary Heebner. At Mary’s
studio, Si Jie saw a book about a female Tibetan painter written by one of her favorite professors at Dartmouth and asked if by chance Mary knew her. The author is Mary’s daughter, Sienna Craig.
These two were destined to meet. Both share an intrigue about art and cultures and weave their enchantment into what they create. Mary agreed to mentor her and guided her to the recent Art Career Day Conference, where she met local artist, Dug Uyesaka, who suggested she contact Bella Rosa Galleries. A few
days later an exhibit of her artwork had been arranged for the following month. She is fearless!
Si Jie is currently doing a two month residency at the Morris Squire Foundation. Her project is to collaborate with musicians and dancers to transcribe rhythm and movement into visual art. Julie took her to a
rehearsal of DANCEworks’ new version of Sweeny Todd by Adam Barruch where she made sketches that
will become larger works.
Graduating with honors from Dartmouth College in Studio Art, she studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain
and Fez, Morocco and was an international student’s program intern. She taught English, Arts and Music
to children from the Human Development Foundation, in Bangkok. She studied Chinese Ink Painting with
renowned artist Dr. Cheah Thien Song in Malaysia, inspiring her body of work: Inkovations
“Over the years, I have learned to discover the different sides and abilities of mine, one at a time. I believe
all the characteristics are there for a reason. They will continue to challenge and help me grow. I will understand myself better, and shine brighter and brighter!” ~ Si Jie Loo
Si Jie Loo
There are more stories...many more than can be told in this space!
Since being involved in an AWoL mentorship, Chelsea Ward has started teaching art lessons through
Arts Outreach and founded the business, Sketchy Notions, through which she sells her paintings, illustrations, and children’s books. Due to her unique eye for color and composition, Chelsea has attracted
the attention of thousands of followers on Instagram. She is being mentored by illustrator, Laura-Susan
Thomas, and by Los Alamos gallery owner, Connie Rohdes.
Jamie Dufek is a graduate from Gustavus Adolphus with a degree in fine
art. Her work has been exhibited in various shops and galleries in Santa Barbara. She is currently on scholarship in the graduate program at San Francisco Art Institute. Artist, Colleen Kelly, mentored Jamie in mixed media.
“For me, art is a journey of exploration. Creating unexpected visual combinations from ordinary experiences is my primary influence. I was able to
take away so much from the partnership that AWoL provided and I have
learned so much about making my passion into a career.”
Derrick Curtis has taught social dance forms for 30 years, was a board member for Santa Barbara
Dance Alliance and the recipient of their 12th Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to dance in
Santa Barbara. First presented in 2000 at the Lobero Theatre by Dance Alliance, Derrick Curtis Productions began presenting BASSH! in 2013 at Center Stage Theater and for the last two years at the new
Victoria Street Theater. He was mentored by Julie McLeod in Dance Production and is Fiscally Sponsored by Art Without Limits.
Isaac Welsh’s art forms are illustration, painting and music. He is a graduate of the VADA program at SB High School and spent two semesters studying illustration at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He is being mentored by conceptual artist and social sculptor, Lisa Kaftori.
Isaac said, “I hope to learn new ways to approach making art being mentored by Lisa Kaftori.” He
is currently illustrating a children’s book, working on his first graphic novel, and developing a new
series of abstract paintings.
Leanna Thompson attended the 5th Art Career Day Conference for young emerging artists,
presented by AWoL in collaboration with other local organizations. There she met photographer, Macduff Everton, who was a roundtable discussion leader at the conference. He offered
to mentor her in photography, through the Art Without Limits mentorship program. On their
first meeting, he invited Leanna to join him and photographer, Isaac Hernandez, that afternoon to photograph the release of pelicans, who had been cleaned of tar from the Refugio
Beach oil spill.
“I was ecstatic, and tagged along without hesitation. I got some wonderful photos. As a way
of saying thank you, I asked my father (who happens to be a pilot) to take him for a flight
over Lake Cachuma – something Macduff told me had has always wanted to photograph. This
mentorship is a give and give, not a give and take and it makes it all the more fun.” ~Leanna
Thompson
EMPOWER LOCAL EMERGING ARTISTS TO SUCCEED IN THEIR
CAREERS BY INVESTING IN ART WITHOUT LIMITS TODAY!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND YOUR GIFTS.
AWoL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group. Visit us at www.awolsb.org
Art Without Limits
816 Chelham Way ~ Santa Barbara, CA 93108 ~ (805) 565-1332
email: talent@awolsb.org
Design by John Ogilvie