Are You "All In"?

The 1st OCCASIONAL FUNDRAISING POKER TOURNAMENTBenefiting the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity

Costa Mesa, CA: Join the Center for Creativity for an evening of poker with optional “Play-In” opportunities on Monday, June 19th from 6 to 11 PM (ish).  This is a poker tournament fundraiser with the opportunity to increase your initial chip stack by competing in optional play-in game tournaments.

Play-in games begin at 6 PM and end at 7:45 PM; poker tournament begins at 8 PM. There are three Play-in tournaments and are intended to be double elimination: Ping-Pong, Darts, and Cornhole (timing and expectations of all Play-in tournaments shall be subject to change.)

Win prizes! The final table winners will all win prizes! 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will choose from: 3 Angels tickets to Angels vs. Boston on July 23, 2017, a $180 value; Signed, hand-painted Chuck Jones cel art edition, “All In”, framed, value: a lot!; XS Scuba Gift Package; SoCo Restaurant Gift Cards; Home Cotton Candy Machine as well as other prizes.

Buy-ins are: Poker $100 for 1000 chips; Re-buys $40 (1000 chips); Play-in Games for $40 each game (200 chips each game guaranteed); All 3 Play-in Games for $100. Play-in Games First Place winner receives an additional 1000 chips; 2nd place 500 chips, and 3rd place 250 chips.

The evening includes food and beverages, poker prizes, bragging rights, participation in raffles for more prizes! Transportation by Uber recommended. Registration is limited to 32 players. Register at www.CharityAuction.bid/CJCCPOKER, and registrations closes Friday, June 16. The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, 3321 Hyland Avenue, Suite A, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. ChuckJonesCenter.org.

The Banner Revealed at Festival of Children

On Saturday, September 17th, the Center hosted a coloring station at Festival of Children held at South Coast Plaza. We'd broken up a large drawing by Chuck Jones of the Looney Tunes characters enjoying reading, so participants didn't know what panel was going where. The following weekend, the completed panels were put together and hung from the 2nd floor balcony by the Carousel. It was an awesome display. Thanks to everyone who colored and played with us on the 17th -- you're rock stars!

Master Class--How to Draw the Grinch

On Monday, November 16, Chuck Jones Center for Creativity teaching artists, Denise Dion-Scoyni and Laura Black, headed up a series of "Master Art Classes" at Sowers Middle School in Huntington Beach. The Center worked with the HBCUSD to bring these programs to over 550 students that day, and more to come in the months ahead. The classes will be offered to all elementary and middle school students in the HBCUSD. It is no small task to lead classes that large and through seven periods, but the Center's teaching artists were assisted by our capable and talented program assistant, Olivia Otsuki, and all of the classes went smoothly. "I found Sowers to be a wonderful school: passionate teachers, receptive and respectful students and a terrific campus," said Denise. "The seven hours seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. We saw great results and termendous satisfaction from students leaving with their Grinch compositions."

Laura Black spent time discussing career options in the arts with students as "tying lessons to career paths is part of the common core education focussed on by the HBCUSD and I found the students and teachers receptive and interested in careers in the arts as well as in animation."

The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity is thrilled to be able to bring the creative philosophies and genius of Chuck Jones to students and educators throughout Orange County -- and beyond. Call our Program Director, Sasha Advani, for more information about how to bring "Master Art Classes" offered by the Center to your school today at 949-660-7793 x 107 or by writing Programs@ChuckJonesCenter.org.

Grinch character, name, and all related indicia are trademarks of the 1984 Ted Geisel Trust and Turner Entertainment Inc. © 2015.

A New Year's Note from the Chairman of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity

Greetings from the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity,It has been a monumental year for the Center with creativity programs that have impacted well over 5,000 people both at the Center and throughout the Community. Additionally, our Chuck Jones Museum Exhibitions have been enjoyed by over 100,000 people this year alone.

With our sights set on tremendous continued growth in 2015, we are grateful for your continued interest and support of our vision of Igniting Imagination for Life!

We wish every a Happy, Safe, and Healthy New Year in 2015!

With utmost respect,

Craig Kausen, Chairman of the Board

and the entire Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Board of Directors

Chris Bailey

Charles Carney

Linda Jones Clough

George Daugherty

Jeff DeGrandis

Stephen Fossati

Marian Jones

Bill Kroyer

Bob Kurtz

Dave Lowenstein

Rob Minkoff

Dave Master

John Ramirez

Kim Sudhalter

Tracy Tanner

Creativity Meets the San Jose Convention Center

The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity was invited to participate in the grand opening ceremonies of the newly renovated and rebuilt San Jose Convention Center. George Daugherty, a recently installed board member of the Center and also the Music Director and Conductor for Ballet San Jose made the connection between the two entities. He performed his award-winning "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II" as part of the opening day ceremonies on family day, October 10th, which featured several of Chuck Jones's Looney Tunes cartoons.The Center provided an exhibition of artwork from the Chuck Jones masterpiece, "What's Opera, Doc?" as well as an recreation of the famous chaise longue upon which Bugs as Brunhilde entices the unsuspecting Elmer Fudd as Siegfried. Our resident teaching artist, Christopher Scardino, accompanied by local artist, Pamala Meador (Morgan Hill), who graciously set aside her busy schedule to work with families and children attending the festivities. A good time was had by all!

All photos courtesy Tony Damiano.

Calling all parents! This is the program for you! Drop Off & Dine on April 4 at 5:30pm

Enjoy dinner without the kids, but have them nearby! "Drop Off" your children at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and "Dine" at one of the restaurants at SoCo or the The OC Mix. Your kids will participate in various creative activities with the inspiration of Chuck Jones's animation, film, and fine art.-Ages 4+ (must be potty-trained)

-Introductory Prices: 1 Child=$30.00, 2 Children=$35.00, 3 Children=$40.00

-They have to be your children, no piggybacks allowed!

-Parents must stay within SoCo or The OC Mix premises

-Parent will sign-in & sign-out each child and provide a cell phone number

-Dinner for children can be purchased or bring it from home

Drop Off & Dine is on Thursday, April 4, 2012 from 5:30-8:30pm at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, 3321 Hyland, Suite A, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

Reserve your spot today!!  Sasha Advani (949) 660-7793 x107 or Sasha@ChuckJonesCenter.org

**April participants recieve 2 FREE Class Vouchers per child for Pastelicious or Dynamic Dioramas taught by Christopher Scardino!

Call for Artists to Participate in the 3rd Annual Red Dot Auction

Dear Artists and Friends of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, Preparations are underway for the Third Annual Red Dot Auction benefiting the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity scheduled for May 11, 2013. As you are aware, creativity in our schools and in our national conversation is always the first thing to be eliminated or casually dismissed as unimportant. In fact, it is creativity that opens the minds and hearts of all who allow it to, it brings greater freedom to their lives. It enhances one's ability to solve problems and it opens minds to the differences that make each of us unique, erasing prejudices and bigotry. Creativity makes the world a better place.

Today I’m writing to ask you to donate a work of art to this year’s Red Dot Auction, to be held on Saturday, May 11th from 6 to 9 PM at the Center in Costa Mesa, California.  Again this year the canvas is 12” square and as last year, we ask that you sign the artwork on the reverse.  You may prefer to work on paper or another substrate and that’s fine as long as we can mount it to the 12” square canvas for presentation the night of the event. 

For those of you who may be unaware of the Red Dot Auction and how it works (or may have forgotten), here are the details: each artist contributes a work of art that is either painted on the canvas we provide you or creates a work of art that can be mounted to the canvas for display the evening of the auction.  The artwork should be signed on the reverse so that bidders at this silent auction will not know who has created which painting—although savvy collectors may be aware of your particular style and will jealously guard their bids, hoping to land a work by ______ or ____ ______.  

We are still in the midst of the Chuck Jones Centennial year and we'd like to carry over the suggested theme from last year from which to draw your inspiration: the life and times of Chuck Jones. That should not limit you to cartoon-related imagery, although many of the most sought after works at last year’s event were inspired by his Looney Tunes creations; you might be inspired by his love of travel, his admiration for the work of Mark Twain or the fact that he never had one cavity his entire life (true!) 

Whatever you choose to do, of course, is up to you; it is your participation that is most important to us. 

Won't you share your gifts with us and with the Center's members and patrons?  If you will, please drop me a note with your mailing address and I’ll get a canvas out to you.  What’s that you say?  You’d like to contribute two works?  No problem!  Just let me know and I’ll send you two canvases.  Have an artist friend who would like to be a part of this exciting project?  Please send them my way.  Canvases are due back here no later than April 19th. Write to me at rpatrick@chuckjonescenter.org. 

Thank you in advance for your generosity, time, and commitment to re-invigorating the creative spirit in all of us.  

All the best, Robert

Artist John Ramirez to Lead Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Workshops at Dayton Art Institute

Artist, animator, art director, and designer, John Ramirez, will be leading two workshops at the Dayton Art Institue, Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19. Ramirez, who was mentored by and worked alongside Chuck Jones, will be at the Dayton Art Institute as part of their Super Hero Summer where he will offer two classes devoted to encouraging thinking beyond the obvious and growing beyond expectations all the while developing important skill sets in drawing. For details about the workshops and to enroll your budding young artists, visit Dayton Art Institute.