Besides the horses, marching bands and floats, they’ll be plenty of “colorful” locals in this Saturday’s Independence Day Parade in Idyllwild, including Raye De Ross, and her belly dancing troupe, “The Outskirts.”

Raye’s the front desk secretary-receptionist for Idyllwild Arts Academy, but also teaches belly dancing classes once a week at The Chakra Shack.

“The Out-Skirts” belly dancing troupe is made up of her friends and customers, namely Sherry Cheney, Dakota Bailey, and her mother (who begged not to be identified for this article.)

“I have to live in this town!” she exclaimed.

She also insisted that she be covered in black from head to toe, including a veil for her face, that only exposes her eyes.

“If no one knows who I am, I can be free to have a little fun,” she said.

“Then we’ll have to put a lot of eye makeup on you, and put a bindi on your forehead,” De Ross said.

She is dressing the rest of them in colorful outfits with veils that cover their faces, long skirts that show off their waists, and belts that “chime” as they move.

De Ross started belly dancing 16 years ago, when her then-5-year-old daughter, Colleen, exclaimed that she wanted to take lessons. They were living in Seattle at the time, and had just watched an international belly dancing competition on TV.”

“It’s a misconception that belly dancing is erotic dancing,” said De Ross, who encouraged both of her pre-teen girls to take lessons. “It was originally created by women for women.”

She said belly dancing builds self esteem in young women and in larger women like her, who often don’t feel coordinated and pretty.

“Belly dancing is embracing our sacred feminine,” she said.

De Ross and “The Out-Skirts” plan to be walking more than dancing in the parade, however.

“Anyone who has been to a parade knows there’s a lot of standing around, waiting for everyone to catch up,” she said. “But, this year, we’re behind the jeeps.”

Like other parade participants, De Ross will be handing out candy and maybe some business cards to the crowd. She hopes to drum up more clients for her $10 lessons on Tuesdays at The Chakra Shack.

Idyllwild Independence Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 3rd, at the top of North Circle Drive, then winds down to the center of town. For more information, call the Idyllwild Rotary at (951) 659-4957. For belly dancing lessons by Raye De Ross, call The Chakra Shack at (951) 659-3191.

Jewelry designer and teacher Kristin Coffin and her boyfriend, Lewis, loaded up the last of their valuables from their studio apartment near the Jewelry District in LA. The rest of their stuff they were storing at a friend’s house. This is what they’d been waiting for: Summer Camp at Idyllwild Arts.

Kristin was going to teach jewelry making to children, and Lewis, a graphic designer, would be a counselor for nearly three months in Idyllwild.

Kristin came to Idyllwild Arts Summer Program two years ago in response to an advertisement online. Like most teachers they attract, Kristin is an accomplished professional. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Vermont with a BA in metalsmithing and jewelry design. She was the goldsmith at the couture gallery, Grannis Gallery, one of the premier art jewelry galleries on the east coast. Currently, she is the metalsmith for Belle Brooke Designs in Los Angeles.

There, she admitted to unusual sales tactics.

“We’d go to lunch and always wear the jewelry from the store,” Kristin said. “But we’d leave the tag out on purpose. Women would always tell us about the tag, and we’d start a conversation about the necklace.”

Los Angeles is great, but she likes the slower pace of Idyllwild.

“I love it here,” she said, as they headed toward the San Jacinto Mountains. “I’m a small town girl, and Idyllwild reminds me of home.”

This winter, however, she spent a lot of time in the hi-rise buildings of LA’s  Jewelry District.

“It’s bigger than the one in New York City,” Kristin said. “Each of the shops in these hi-rises has a specialty, such as diamonds only four carats and up.”

She said that only those in the jewelry business could shop there, however, and because shop keepers are showing precious jewels, gold and silver, everyone had to be “buzzed” inside.

There, she bought pliers and other tools for her classes, and jewels and materials for her own jewelry that she describes as “organic.”

“It’s kind of feminine use gems only as accent pieces,” Kristin explained. “I use mostly silver and gold, and sometimes blacken the silver, so it creates a nice contrast to the gold.”

For a jewelry maker and teacher, she wears no jewelry at all.

“I used to wear a lot of jewelry, but I’m working in the shop all the time, so it doesn’t make sense to wear it when I’m forging,” she said.

‘METALS WEEK’ KICKS OFF SUMMER PROGRAM

Speaking of forging, it happens to be the focus of one of the classes during “Metals Week” at Idyllwild Arts that starts today, Sunday, June 27, and runs until Thursday, July 1st.

According to the catalog, “Metals Week” is a week of intensive metals studies in which adult students can work with one of six outstanding jewelers and metalsmiths.

“Everyone comes here to learn a skill, such as etching, trapping, sculpting or tool making,” explained Kristin, who is helping out another teacher this week. “It doesn’t make sense for everyone in the class to do one project. You can do that anywhere.”

“Forging Collars, Pendants and Sildes,” is a class taught by Fred Zweig,who has been a metalsmith and teacher for more than 30 years. For the first part of the weeklong class, adult students will take a heavy sterling silver gauge rod and create a stylish neck collar. Then the rest of the time will be spent designing and creating slides and pendants that will hang from the collar.

Other classes that make up “Metals Week” include: “Resin Inlay,” by Karen Christians from Waltham, MA; “Etching,” by Deborah E. Love Jemmott from San Diego, CA; “Sculpted Bezels & Non-Traditional Stone Settings,” by Pauline Warg from Scarborough, ME; and “Trapping Found Objects,” by Joanna Gollberg from Ashville, NC;  and “Tool Making & Alterations,” by Val Link from Houston, TX.

Tuition for all of these classes are $655 plus a lab fee that ranges from $35 to $85, that includes using the school’s tools and equipment. All are limited to 12 adult students.

“Although ‘Metals Week’ classes begin today, we’ll still take walk-ins late,” said Emma Showalter, Assistant Director of the Summer Arts Program. “We will accommodate anyone who wants to come to the classes.”

Idyllwild Arts has a plethora of activities for students during “Metals Week,” including a faculty lecture and slide show tonight at 7 p.m. at the Krone Library; an arts exhibition, hot clay lecture and opening reception at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Parks Exhibition Center; a potluck dinner and auction on Wednesday, June 30 at Studio D and a student exhibition on Thursday, July 1, on the Krone Library’s patio.

For more information on classes and activities for “Metals Week” at Idyllwild Arts, call the registrar at (951) 659-2171, extension 2365; fax (951) 659-4552 or visit the web site at www.idyllwildarts.org, and click on “summer session.”

Idyllwild Arts student filmmakers are looking for ghosts. They are working on a short documentary called “Paranormal Idyllwild,” about ghosts and spirits that haunt our town.

On May 29, the second night of the student Film Screenings at Idyllwild Arts, they gave a preview of this unfinished documentary. In it, they interviewed two employees from Idyllwild Arts, and one local inn owner.

Raye DeRoss, the school’s operator/receptionist, who is also a dorm parent, said that she has heard noises and voices in the dorm that she lives in. However, whenever she would go to investigate, no one would be there. This has happened more than once.

The inn owner described pretty much the same thing. Everyone seems to have heard a lot of random noises, but no one has actually seen a ghost.

Well, maybe someone has. A former student said that he saw a young female ghost with long brown hair and a white robe hovering over a well on the Idyllwild Arts campus. This happened at night, long before he was expelled. His friend, who still attends the school, believes him.

“We need more ghost stories,” said Becca, a junior theater major, who was helping her friend, Bree, the documentary’s writer, find more content.

“We tried Googling ghosts in Idyllwild, but nothing comes up,” Becca added. “But we know there’s more ghosts stories in Idyllwild.”

In the “Haunting Idyllwild Homes,” a post on this blog site from January 2010, an unidentified woman describes her ongoing battle with a ghost that haunts her Idyllwild home. It is driving her crazy enough to move out.

Becca said that she didn’t want to interview that woman because she’s a renter.

“We need to be able to show the inside and outside of the house,” Becca said. “If we were to show it on film, we might make the person who owns the house mad at us.”

If anyone (who is not a renter) is interested in telling their ghost story, call the Moving Pictures Department at Idyllwild Arts, at (951) 659-2171 or visit www.idyllwildarts.org. But wait until the film students return in September.

There are no limitations on what a student can do at Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Just a few short weeks ago, film student Laura H. wrote and directed her first short film, “On The Bright Side,” about an eternally optimistic guy who refuses to let his girlfriend break up with him. Laura was also the female lead in “Shortcomings,” a teen angst film created by another film student about a guy with a short whatchamacallit. They were among five films screened at the end of 2010 by the Moving Pictures Department. The IAA Trailers 2010 are now out on You Tube.

Not only was Laura a screenwriter, actor, and director this year, but she also composed and sang, “Time Bomb,” one of the songs for her film, “On the Bright Side.” Now, just one week into the summer break, the single is out on iTunes.

Along with a guitar and excellent whistler, Laura sings her first single. You can get a short preview of “Time Bomb,” for free, or purchase it for only .99 cents.

The cover of her “Time Bomb” single shows a bird’s eye view of life-sized black dominoes on a white board. In between two of the dominoes is a person, but it doesn’t look like Laura.

Earlier this year, Laura spoke about how happy she was coming to Idyllwild Arts.

“There’s a lot of support for us in the film department,” she said. “We’re a small group and everyone helps each other out.”

She said it was fun to pick the actors for her film, “On the Brighter Side.” She was debating between two excellent actors. Jamie, the one who got the part, won her over by playing it “over the top.”

After the screening, Jamie, a senior theater major, said that she may consider acting for the camera, something she had not thought of before starring in “On the Bright Side.”

She said that working with Laura was a great experience.

“She listened to our ideas, and let us run with them,” Jamie said. “I told her that I was so angry at Dylan (her co-star) that I wanted to throw a muffin at him, and Laura said, ‘Go for it!'”

The muffin scene didn’t make the final cut, but Jamie said that it was rewarding working with a writer-director who listens to an actor’s point-of-view.

Laura got a “green light” on another script that will be produced at Idyllwild Arts in the fall. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the many facets of Laura in that one too.

To listen to Laura’s new single, “Time Bomb,” visit iTunes. And for more information about the Moving Pictures Department at Idyllwild Arts, visit www.idyllwildarts.org.

By Marcia E. Gawecki

On May 28-29, the Idyllwild Arts Academy screened five short films, and trailers for three documentaries. The students work was well received by those who attended, including the media. The school plans to send the short films to area film festivals for review, however, some films don’t start getting attention until almost a year later.

Case in point: “The Steinway Virtuosos,” a short documentary produced by Idyllwild Arts students last year (2009), is now being screened at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival on June 22-28. ShortFest 2010 will present more than 300 short films from 40 countries.

ShortFest 2010 is known worldwide for its extraordinary community of filmmakers it attracts, and the quality and scope of its programming. In 2005, an Idyllwild Arts student, Alexis Echavarria won the “Audience Choice Award” for “18 Minutes,” a short film about the last 18 minutes of sunlight on earth. The 16-year-old student died before the screening at ShortFest 2009, but a student award has been set up in his name.

His mother has not forgotten Idyllwild Arts and has been generous over the years. In Oct. 2009, she dedicated “Alexis Annex,” a building on the Idyllwild Arts campus, in his name.

“She also donated all of the computers that we used to edit the films this year,” said Dr. Ira Abrams, from the Idyllwild Arts Moving Pictures Department.

“The Steinway Virtuosos,” the 2009 student documentary, is about a piano contest sponsored by the Steinway Society of Riverside County, a nonprofit organization that helps put music back into California grade schools what government funding has cut over the years.

Ruth Moir, founder and head of the Steinway Society of Riverside County, said that she hopes that her organization will help to nurture interest in music in grade school students. They have set up a “piano lab” targeted at students from third to fifth grade, in which they learn to play on pianos at school and read music.

The Steinway Society also has an outreach program for talented piano students in which some receive piano keyboards to practice at home. Marcos, a grade school student featured in the documentary, came to the Steinway Society by accident. He was called into the principal’s office for tardiness, and saw a piano there. He asked if he could play it, and impressed the principal, who immediately called The Steinway Society.

Up until that time, Moir said, he was playing “by ear” on a broken down old keyboard at a home that he shared with his single mother and sister with special needs. The Steinway Society gave him a new keyboard and music lessons, and within a year, he has learned to read music.

When the Idyllwild Arts crew came to interview him at his home near Palm Desert, he performed “I Will Always Love You,” a song he created for his grandmother who had just passed away. The strength and intensity of his playing hushed them into silence.

The documentary crew consisted of Amelia, Emily, Joel, Ben, and Scarlett. Two of them graduated from Idyllwild Arts on June 5. Emily plans to study film, while Amelia wants to try acting in front of the camera in her native Vancouver. Daphne or “Kitty,” who won the piano competition that was featured in “The Steinway Virtuosos” documentary, will study piano in college in the fall.

Other Idyllwild Arts music students and faculty who appear in the video include: Doug Ashcraft, Nelms McKalvin, Ie-Seul, Georgina and Timmy.

When Amelia, the producer, graduated this year, she was unaware of the screening at ShortFest 2010, but knew about its potential to appear on public television.

“Guess I’ll have to wait until it appears on TV,” she said. “That would be pretty exciting.”

Scarlett, who edited “The Steinway Virtuosos” as well as five films this year, said it was one of the most difficult to complete. She was working day and night, right up until the screenings on campus last year.

“It changed direction three times,” Scarlett said, as she groaned, remembering. “It was about the Steinway Society, and then the competition. But, in the end, we were pretty happy with the way it turned out.”

Abrams said that he hopes to attend ShortFest 2010, along with others from the Idyllwild Arts Moving Pictures Department, but the film festival is held during their summer break.

“‘The Steinway Virtuosos’ will be shown in a package appropriately called, ‘Performance Anxiety,’ which screens on Saturday, June 26,” said Dr. Abrams. “There will be nine shorts starting at 1:30 p.m., so our documentary will start an hour later, roughly at 2:30 p.m.”

For more information on ShortFest 2010, visit www.psfilmfest.org, for “18 Minutes,” visit www.alexisechavarria.com, and for attending Idyllwild Arts, visit www.idyllwildarts.org.

Copyright 2010 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

It was like the Academy Awards, only that it was held two nights in Idyllwild, CA. The red carpet was rolled out, and stars lined the sidewalk, like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Only they were the directors and producers of the student films. Attendees eagerly waited outside, dressed in formal attire. By 7 p.m., the line wrapped around the parking lot. To keep everyone calm, a jazz band played in the corner, and $1 refreshments were served.

It was Saturday nigh, May 29, and the second night of the annual Film Screenings from the students in the Moving Pictures Department at Idyllwild Arts.

Isaac Webb, head of the Moving Pictures Department, welcomed everyone, which included students, family, friends, alumni, Idyllwild residents, and perhaps some mucky mucks from Hollywood (who were invited).

He introduced his staff, including Ira Abrams, Jerald Billings, Will Springer, and Betty Bailey. And even thanked the dorm parents, the housekeeping and cafeteria staff, the security guards, and the Idyllwild Arts Student Orchestra. All of which were kept up late for film shootings, or had to rearrange their schedules to accomodate the film students.

“The film process takes a community to make,” Webb said.

Lastly, he thanked the film students, whom he said were now “bonded together” for artistic excellence.

“I admire their work and their work ethic,” Webb said. “And they have made me a better person.”

Before they screened the five short films, they introduced the trailers for three documentaries that were not quite finished yet. The documentaries included: “Who am I?” one student’s search for her missing father in Israel,  “Paranormal Idyllwild,” about ghosts and spirits that haunt this town, and “Kenza,” about one teen’s brave struggle with a spinal cord injury.

“Documentaries are sacred ways of introducing the human condition,” Abrams said.

It was like having a recital the same night as the Academy Awards. That’s what happened to Idyllwild Arts music students, Una and Meiling, two juniors. Last night, Friday, May 29, was the same night of the student film screenings where they rolled out the red carpet, and the audience line went clear down the parking lot.

However, those friends, family members and faculty who came to Una and Meiling’s recital, got to witness “pure entertainment.”

You knew it the moment you walked into Stephens Recital Hall. Set up before us was a marimba, four kettledrums, and a snare-bass-drum-cymbals combo set. These large percussion instruments dwarfed everything around them, including Una, who weighs about 90 pounds.

Yet, she obviously knew how to command these instruments. For Una’s first piece, “Furioso and Valse in D Minor,” by Hatch, she performed solo, hitting the large wooden marimba keys with her mallets.

For those of us who didn’t know until tonight, a marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. Keys or bars (usually made of wood) are struck with mallets and are arranged like those on a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys.

Marimbas originated in Africa hundreds of years ago and were imported to Central America in the sixteenth century. Needless to say, it’s a very large instrument, but it produces a soft, wooden and metal sound.

For her next piece, “Sonata for Marimba and Piano,” by Tanner, Una was accompanied by her classmate, Keri. Like many instruments that are generally the “backbone” of the orchestra, and never out in front, this was a nice piece. Keri’s piano didn’t drown out the marimba, in which Una played with two mallets in each hand. And Una had many moments in which the piano wasn’t playing.

Next, Una came out and stood behind the four large timpani drums. They looked like oversized copper metal pots covered with soft leather tops. You knew immediately that the sound coming from them would be commanding–and it was. It sounded like a jungle movie in which something was going to happen soon.

In a rare moment at Idyllwild Arts, brother and sister got to play together at the same recital. For this piece “Solo Impression for Four Timpani,” by Firth, Una was accompanied by her older brother, Rich, on piano. His piano part was frenetic sounding and sporadic, while Una’s drumming built up to a crescendo.

Although the timpani piece was a short one, two people in the audience couldn’t have enjoyed it more: their parents.

That night, Una wasn’t without accompanists. For her next piece, “Three Oranges,” by Hoffman, she was joined by Stephanie, a violinist, who is also Rich’s girlfriend. Una played the marimba, while Stephanie “plucked” at her violin. The overall effect sounded like harp music. Naturally, the song lead to larger sounds by both instruments. At times, Una used double mallets to get a larger sound.

For her final piece, “The Love of L’Histoire,” by DeLancey, Una changed instruments again. This time, she played the snare-bass-drum combo. In addition to the drums, there was also a wooden piece that sounded like horse clomping, a cowbell, and cymbals. The title, “The Love of L’Histoire,” suggested a French patriotic sound, but it was more “New Age,” space-type music with irregular rhythms.

But when Una got going, her arms were outstretched, and she was pounding on the snare and bass drums at the same time. It looked difficult, but she pulled it off.

“You should have seen her at the ‘New Music’ orchestra concert,” said Andrew Leeson, a teacher in the Creative Writing Department. “It looked like her arms were stretched eight feet wide. It was amazing!”

Afterwards, Una took two bows and received a standing ovation. She also got flowers from her brother and his girlfriend.

Una is looking forward to returning to Idyllwild Arts this summer. She’s received a scholarship, and will have a chance to work with new teachers and percussion instruments.

After a brief intermission, it was Meiling’s turn. Many of her fellow piano students moved closer so they could see her fingerings on the piano.

For her first piece, she chose “Sonata K280 in F Major,” by Mozart. It started out fast, and Meiling played it loud and confidently. For the middle or “adagio” part, she played the piano more melancholy and quiet.

Her next piece included three preludes by Chopin, including “No. 1 in C Major,” “No. 3 in G Major,” and “No. 16 in B-Flat Minor.” The “No. 3 in G Major,” was the best of the three, because it was loud, intense, and I envisioned a flight of bumblebees.

For Meiling’s last piece, she was accompanied by Yifan, another pianist, on a grand piano set up next to hers. “Scenas Infantis,” or Memories of Childhood, by Pinto, included many familiar lullabies, including, “Ring Around the Rosy,” and “Sleeping Time.”

Although it sounded simple at first, it soon built into a nice, complex arrangement. And the dueling pianos gave it a commanding sound.

“She’s a good player,” said Ie-Seul, a senior pianist, who had played her Mozart and Chopin pieces, but didn’t know her final one.

After her second bow, Meiling received a hug from her boyfriend, Felix.

All in all, the instruments, the arrangements, were unexpected, and the musicians played with skill and confidence. It wasn’t the Academy Awards, but pure entertainment.

It’s always better to hear an author read. It’s an authentic voice. And a treat, if they ever become famous.

Many times, I’ve sat in bookstores, listening to authors read. I close my eyes and try to envision what they are saying. Most of the deliveries were presented in a monotone voice. There was no three-piece band, singers, or accompanists to “jazz” things up. But that was then, and this is now. Even readings on the high school level, there is more of a “show” with actors and musical instruments.

“Senior Readings” in the Creative Writing Department at Idyllwild Arts began on Wednesday night, May 26, but I missed it. Two seniors, Dustin and Khalid, read poems and excerpts from their short stories.

Khalid, who attended the second reading on Thursday night, said that people in the audience Wednesday night got pretty emotional when he read, “At the Diwan of Rumi in Afghanistan.”

“They started to cry, then I almost cried, but I couldn’t because I had to keep reading,” Khalid said.

His sponsor wants to help him publish his last piece, “In Search of My Youth During the War.” She is a screenwriter with connections in Hollywood, and is eager to get started, he said. But he wants to wait.

“Because my parents aren’t here, and it doesn’t seem right,” Khalid said.

On Thursday, May 27, three seniors were slated to read, including Jordan, Sunny and Emma. However, before they began, Kim Henderson, head of the Creative Writing Department gave a little preview. She said she had been working with these three students for three years now, and what they were about to read was some of their best work.

Each of them were required to read for 15 minutes, but they decided to break it up and take turns reading two pieces each until everything was covered.

Jordan was up first and read two poems, “Where It’s Warm,” and “The Lookout at Airport Mesa.”

Next, Emma read “Resurrection,” a short story about two friends on an Indian reservation. They would often watch Peter’s uncle carve animals out of wood, or would run errands for him. One day, Peter’s uncle came up missing, but they found his wrecked car. After awhile, the two went to investigate to add closure to the uncle’s life.

Then Sunny read two poems, “Death of a Stranger,” and “Inflation,” with great descriptions, such as “Days hung like sugared frogs,” and “Five dollars for your soul.”

When Jordan read from his novel (the title he didn’t give out), he got some great laughs from the audience.

“This story is about a guy named Westin, who lives off of a trust fund in New York,” Jordan began. “But he’s not attracted to his wife anymore.”

He went on to describe how Westin ran around Central Park, using people as mile markers. And he had the paranoid idea that everyone was following him, so he ran.

“What’s more, the fucking pigeon was following him,” Jordan said. “It was if he was running from nature itself.”

The pigeon ended up attacking Westin in the leg, and a woman in an orange suit defended it. “They are gentle things you know,” she said.

For her next piece, “Something,” Sunny played the piano and sang, as her mother beamed and took pictures from the front row.

“I know how to write poetry,” Khalid said later. “But I sure as hell can’t write songs like that! Amazing!”

Sunny read three more poems, “Adoption,” “Origin of Snow,” and “Sonnet,” which was based on Sir Thomas Wyatt’s poem, “I Find No Peace, and All My War is Done.”

Then Emma read an excerpt from her novel about a married man attracted to a flower shop girl.

“Enough,” a haunting love song from Sunny’s “Fire and Brimstone” musical, was performed by Joey and Ruby, two musical theater majors. They sang without props right in front of the podium. Just goes to show you that you don’t need a lot when the content is good.

After Jordan recited his poem,” Melanesian Mythology,” he jumped right into an unusual good-bye.

“I’m leaving for NYU in the fall and Emma is going to USC, but we’ve never been together onstage at the same time,” Jordan said. “So I’d like to invite her up here to sing her favorite song, “Your Love.”

The two sang a duet, danced and camped it up for the audience. The music by The Outfield was prerecorded. There they were, two writers singing and dancing a farewell song that was sentimental, but not very good. But it didn’t matter because the audience, which was made up of friends, family members and faculty, loved it.

Then Sunny joined them onstage and they gave their final bow. They hugged each other like good friends, and then everyone was invited outside for ice cream.

By Marcia E. Gawecki

The trailers for the five student films are already up on You Tube. The entire student body at Idyllwild Arts got to see them last week.  Now, everyone in Idyllwild can see all the films in their entirety at the “Moving Pictures Screenings” on campus this weekend. Like the Academy Awards, black tie is optional.

The five student films, all ranging from eight to 18 minutes in length, showcase the writing, directing, producing, editing, lighting, and camera work of the students in the Moving Pictures Department. Moreover, some of them even scored and acted in the films.

According to Malcom, a film student, the five short films include: “Prima Ballerina Assoluta,” about high school dancers; “Shortcomings,” a comedy about a teen with a small whatchamacallit; “Practice Room Nine,” a horror movie; “The Other Side,” an art film that no one can really explain; and “On the Bright Side,” a comedy about an optomistic teen unwilling to break-up.

Besides the five films, there will also be trailers for some documentaries that didn’t get finished this year, added Malcom.

Marietta, who wrote and is producing a documentary about fashion designers, said that sometimes it takes three to five years to complete one. Her documentary started out featuring her mother, a Russian fashion designer. However, as a senior, Marietta wasn’t concerned about someone else finishing her work next year.

“Two students from our crew will still be working on the documentary,” Marietta said. “And I’ll come back to help them edit it.”

“Because you’re the only one who speaks Russian,” said her friend, Sofia.

“No, the  last part of the documentary will be in English,” she added.

“The films are better this year,” said Scarlett, who worked on nearly all five of them.

She said that “Shortcomings” and “The Other Side” were the most difficult to get out of the can. Mostly because of the weather changes.

Carter, a theater student who was one of the leads in “The Other Side,” said that it was freezing when they shot some of the scenes.

The students had built a “rain machine” and they were scheduled to shoot on one of the coldest nights of the year. Any delays in shooting “The Other Side” would put other films behind, so they had to push ahead with it.

“I was shivering a lot,” Carter said. “But it looks like I was just emotional on film.”

She said that it was harder to “play dead,” and not shiver.

“Prima Ballerina Assoluta,” Dhaivat’s 18-minute short film about ballet dancers, started out as a Kung Fu ninja fighters movie, with lots of death and fight scenes.

“But then Isaac (Webb, chair of the Moving Pictures Department) and I realized that the only ones on campus athletic enough to carry off a fight scene were the dancers, so we had to change it a bit,” he said. (See “Kung Fu Ballerina” post from April 20).

Most of the actors in the films are theater, film and dance students from Idyllwild Arts, including Dakota, Miracle, Ellen, Carter, Mykal, Kia, Juwan, Luke, Lea, Oscar, Jamie, Dylan and Laura, among others. Ana Lia Lenchantin, an Idyllwild resident, plays the ballet teacher in “Prima Ballerina Assoluta.”

Many Idyllwild landmarks will appear in the student films, including Fairway Market, the dance studio and dorms on the Idyllwild Arts campus, and homes in Idyllwild.

“We’re going to put out the red carpet,” said Laura, who wrote, directed and scored “On the Bright Side,” a short about a ridiculously optomistic guy who won’t allow his girlfriend to break up with him. Laura also played the female lead in another film, “Shortcomings.”

The Moving Pictures Screenings will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 28 and 29 at the IAF Theater (in the Bowman Building) on campus. All screenings are free and open to the public. Both evenings will show the same five films. For more information, visit www.idyllwildarts.org or call (951) 659-2171. Check out the “IAA Trailers 2010” on You Tube.

Copyright 2010 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

“Inquire, Negate & Repeat,” which featured the work of four student artists, were large, clean, and thought-provolking about nature, especially dolphins. The show included sculptures, ceramics, fiber art, paintings, and drawings. It opened at the Parks Exhibition Center at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 21, and will run until May 28.

The show’s title, “Inquire, Negate & Repeat,” came from a meditation, said Jade, one of the artists. The others included Anna, Angelica and Karina.

“Anna is the ceramics guru of our department,” said one student.

It was easy to see why they were in awe. Anna’s ceramics were outstanding. As you walked into the show, and looked to the left, there were a variety of her ceramic “flowers,” in variable dimensions with mirrors inside, all mounted to the wall. The arrangement was called, “Frames of Mind.”

“That would make a great statement in your home’s entryway,” said one Idyllwild resident.

Anna had four other equally outstanding ceramic pieces, including a large ceramic basket, with dainty flowers nestled inside. The piece also had fine wires for stems, and a rope edge to the basket.

Three other ceramic pieces by Anna were maddenly entitled, “Untitled.”

“I don’t know if artists don’t like to title their work, or if they just forgot,” said another art student later. “The titles should really help you understand the pieces, especially if the artist isn’t there to help explain things.”

The top of the larger “Untitled” ceramic by Anna (on the shelf) had a top that resembled a leafy vegetable. Like the flowers in the other flower basket, they appeared live, and not ceramic.

“People 2010,” was Anna’s final ceramic installation, which resembled a chessboard full of kings and rooks. Or, a closed city made up only of castles with no surrounding countryside.

The finish on the “People 2010” pieces were crackled, or antique looking with neutral glazes.

“Angelica, your work is some of the best I’ve seen here,” said Samuel, a voice major in the school van later.

Angelica’s sculptures and ceramic painting were large, clean and thought-provolking.

The first thing everyone saw was the mixed media sculpture on the floor entitled, “Separation of Ego,” which had a deer’s head at the front, a woman’s torso with a maroon portrait painted on its chest, and a woman’s legs pointing upward at the back. Each of these sections was separated by panes of glass.

The woman’s portrait on the torso of “Separation of Ego,” also appeared in her ceramic painting on the wall entitled, “The Glass Bead Game,” and in the alabaster sculpture, “The Shower.”

“It looks like a self portrait, but they could be different,” said Miriam-Grace, another visual artist, later. “I saw her working on it from a photograph.”

The ceramic portrait was sectioned off into squares, that looked like ceramic tiles. Attached in random places were ceramic flowers, in a pretty glaze.

Angelica’s final piece, a sculpture called, “The Shower,” was created in alabaster. The face was delicately carved, but the torso was left rough and unfinished. Its smooth and roughness beckoned people to touch it.

If you were to squint, the rough parts could be considered soap suds in a shower.

“I got a chance to carve a little bit on it,” added Miriam-Grace. “It’s not particularly a soft stone, but you have to be careful. There are many cracks inside, and pieces can come off in chunks.”

The show then switched from hard to soft sculpture with Jade’s “Knit Up in Sleep Performance,” a 24-foot black and white acrylic yarn sculpture that was draped over a black wire chair.

The title car read, “24 feet and expanding,” which gave the impression that she wasn’t finished yet. The balls of yarn left under the chair were also a good indication that she might finish it over the summer.

Along the wall next to the yarn sculpture were black and white ink drawings, all uniform in size, yet organic in subject matter. Some looked like amoebas or pieces of yarn under a microscope. They were all mounted to four large boards and entitled, “864-Static.”

As much as I like titles to pieces, “864-Static,” didn’t help me one bit. Was the number an equation? It certainly was more than the 100 or so drawings mounted to the boards. Was it an apartment number? Or the number of strokes from her pen?

Karina’s “Herd” installation, “Swarm” print, “Flock/Pod” drawing and “Burnt Ball” acrylic painting all had a focus on nature.

Luckily, she was still around talking to friends towards the end of the show. She said that  the 100 or so small antelope looking pieces were made of resin.

“I took a mold (of a plastic buck) and filled it with resin,” Karina explained. “As you can see, some of them turned out better than others.”

All were arranged in a swirling, migration formation, from right to left, and mounted on a light box.

“The light box was the hardest part to make,” Karina confessed. “I wanted to resemble a herd migration, like something that you’d see on the Nature Channel.”

Side by side on the far wall were two tall pieces, one a painting, the other a drawing on vellum. The drawing, “Flock/Pods,” showed a creative ariel view of birds (a flock) in flight over pods of dolphins swimming in the ocean.

Logistically, she put the flocks on vellum, as an overlay, to the drawing of the many dolphin pods underneath. Although only created in black graphite, the drawings were strong and solid. Her ariel view you could only see in a helicopter or plane. It was a God’s eye view.

It’s sister painting, created in bright acrylics, “Burnt Ball,” gave me pause. It was also an ariel view of a sun overlooking dolphin pods in the ocean. Although beautiful, something about it was unsettling. Karina and all of the other patrons had gone, and I was left alone with “Burnt Ball,” and my unsettling thoughts about dolphins and the Academy Award-winning documentary, “The Cove.”

Having an inquiring mind about animals, I wished Karina’s “Burnt Ball” was a statement about the depleting dolphin population in Taiji, Japan.

I had seen a viewing in Idyllwild at Movie Night at the Green Cafe (see Idyllwild Me blog post from March 30).

“Director Louie Psihoyos took home this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary for his stunning heist-like story that is about half Jacques Cousteau and half James Bond,” said Jeffrey Taylor, who showed “The Cove.” “A ‘dream team” of activists venture to Japan to expose the secretive work of a small community of fishermen who slaughter dolphins so they can sell the meat nationally and abroad.”

Richard O’Barry, who rose to popularity with “Flipper,” the popular TV show in the 1960s, said that he became an activist when one of the dolphins committed suicide right in front of his eyes.

“The next week, I was sitting in a jail cell for letting captive dolphins go,” O’Barry said in “The Cove.”

O’Barry collaborated with Psihoyos in creating “The Cove,” to get the word out of the massive dolphin slayings that are held each year from September to March in Japan. In a small cove in Taiji, fishermen herd dolphins in from the sea by forming a line of boats and making noises with metal poles. The process is known as “oikomi.”

“Dolphins are keenly sensitive to noise,” O’Barry said in the movie. “They are afraid of the noise and swim to the cove to get away from it. There, they are herded into nets and the bottle nosed dolphins like the ones in “Flipper” are sent to marine parks like “Sea World,” while the other dolphins are brutally slaughtered.

Many Japanese do not know that this is going on, and would likely not approve of it. In the documentary, tests prove that dolphin meat has toxic mercury levels, and is not good for human consumption. In fact, in the May 10th issue of the Japan Times, the National Institute of Minamata Disease (NIMD) stated that many Taiji residents as having unusually high levels of mercury. Taiji, where they have a tradition of eating whale and dolphin meat.

However, the more “inquiring minds”  know, the better the chances of stopping it. For more information, Google “The Cove,” visit www.takepart.com, or text the word DOLPHIN to 44144.