Fall into fun at the Potocki Center for the Arts
Fall is quickly coming up at the Potocki Center for the Arts. With so many new offerings, it’s tough to mention them all. From our new poetry workshops and introduction to filmmaking course to the return of hyper realistic candle crafting, you won’t find a better place to be this fall than the Potocki Center.
Register for any of our fall courses by clicking here.
Potocki Center for the Arts is located at 27301 La Paz Road.
For more information, contact 949-470-8470 or arts@cityofmissionviejo.org.
Artist Talk Featuring Joan Gladstone: Route 66, an Artist’s Journey
Take a “road trip” with artist Joan Gladstone to celebrate the Centennial of Route 66 at 2 pm Saturday, September 26 at Mission Viejo City Hall. You will see photos and hear stories from two road trips that inspired Joan’s series of vibrant oil paintings recently exhibited at the Hilbert Museum of California Art.
Go behind the scenes to learn her creative process for bringing iconic roadside signs many that have disappeared or faded away back to life. These signs guided millions of people as they drove from Chicago to Santa Monica to experience cities and small towns, national parks and clever attractions, and mom-and-pop diners and motels along the nation’s first great highway.
Joan Gladstone is a Laguna Beach artist whose work evokes joy and nostalgia. An oil painter for 25 years, her work has appeared in many juried fine art exhibitions and the Sawdust Art Festival.
November is Arts and Health Month
The Potocki Center for the Arts will celebrate the healing power of creative expression this November. As we celebrate Arts and Health Month, the Potocki center will offer a variety of wellness-inspired courses and workshops. Enjoy creative calm abstract painting, aroma therapy candle crafting, and several new Zentangle workshops, just to name a few.
Viewing art is a pathway to well-being that fosters relaxation and mindfulness. It allows individuals to explore emotions and connect with shared human experiences, promoting emotional and mental health. The City of Mission Viejo features three gallery spaces that showcase rotating art exhibits. Visit the Mission Viejo Library, the Potocki Center for the Arts, and the Norman P. Murray Community Center to enjoy original artwork and discover a sense of tranquility.
Join the fun by clicking here to register.
Potocki Center for the Arts is located at 27301 La Paz Road.
For more information, contact 949-470-8470 or arts@cityofmissionviejo.org.
Art Instructor Spotlight on Kari Thorne
The Potocki Center for the Arts is proud to shine its fall Instructor Spotlight on Kari Thorne. She is a published poet with an MFA in creative writing and writing for the performing arts. Along with a doctorate in education, Kari brings more than 25 years of professional experience to our new Potocki poetry program. We asked her a few questions about her personal and professional journey.
Q: Tell us about your journey as an artist. What drew you to poetry as your medium?
A: I have been writing poetry since I learned of its existence. I don’t think I chose it. Poetry simply became another language I learned to speak. I imagine musicians feel something similar. Certain emotions, questions, and experiences simply demand a particular medium. For me, poetry has always held space for what cannot be neatly explained. It has allowed me to live comfortably in uncertainty, to linger in questions without the pressure of immediate answers, and to discover meaning through the act of writing itself.
I have never thought of myself as solely a poet. I am an artist drawn to many forms of creative expression. Over the years, I have studied screenwriting, studio art, interior design, theater, and poetry, and I find that each discipline continually informs the others. When words fail me, I paint. Through painting, I often untangle ideas that eventually become poems. My poetry has influenced my pottery, while performance and theater have shaped the way I design and inhabit physical spaces. I have always been fascinated by ekphrasis and the conversation that can exist between artistic disciplines. Creativity flourishes when we refuse to confine ourselves to a single form.
As an educator, I have devoted much of my life to helping others discover and develop their voices. Poetry is where I continue to rediscover my own. Every poem teaches me something I did not know before I began writing it. Rather than simply expressing what I already understand, poetry becomes a process of inquiry—a way of listening more carefully to my own experiences, memories, and observations.
I am especially drawn to contemporary poetry because it is unafraid of the ordinary. It doesn’t rely on obscurity or hide behind abstraction. Instead, it embraces humor alongside heartbreak, memory alongside reality, and tenderness alongside uncertainty. I am drawn to poems that resist easy conclusions and uncover something extraordinary within everyday moments. Those are the poems that stay with me, and they are the poems I aspire to write.
Poetry continues to call me back because it demands presence. It asks me to pay attention to language, people and the subtle details of daily life that might otherwise go unnoticed. Writing requires curiosity, humility, and a willingness to remain open to surprise. I do not write because I have found answers. I write because poetry helps me ask better questions, and because (every so often) it reveals a truth I could not have reached in any other way.
Q: When/where were you first published? Tell us about the piece.
A: My first publication was in the seventh grade. As the founding member of my junior high school’s Poetry Club, I helped create and publish an anthology of our work. Seeing my poem in print for the first time was transformative. It made me realize that writing could reach beyond my notebook and become part of a larger conversation.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege of publishing in journals and anthologies that have been meaningful milestones in my career including writing the lead poem for an anthology with PEN Center USA and publishing in the Community of Writers journal. I also serve as an editor for a literary journal that has published internationally recognized poets while providing a platform for emerging voices. That work has given me the opportunity to champion the writing of others while continuing to grow as a poet myself.
More than any individual publication, poetry has connected me to an extraordinary community of writers and artists. Through workshops, readings, editing, and teaching, I’ve found people who believe that words matter and that paying close attention to the world is another way of paying close attention to one another. That sense of literary community has become just as meaningful to me as publication itself.
Q: How do you spend your time when not teaching at the Potocki Center or writing poetry?
A: When I’m not teaching at the Potocki Center or writing poetry, I’m usually immersed in another creative pursuit. I paint, make pottery, and enjoy interior design. I love travelling with my family. I also enjoy our beautiful Pacific coastline, museums and galleries, and seeking out new experiences that fuel my curiosity. I enjoy reading contemporary poetry and discovering new writers, but I’m just as likely to be inspired by a great film, a theatrical performance, or an interesting conversation with a friend.
Much of my life revolves around community. Whether I’m attending literary readings, supporting local arts organizations, or sharing meals and laughter with family and friends, I value opportunities to connect with the people I love. I’ve found that the best poems often begin in the ordinary moments of everyday life. Those experiences continually remind me that paying attention is one of the greatest gifts an artist can cultivate.
Q: What advice would you give someone who thinks they “can’t” write or create a work of poetry?
A: I would remind them that poetry isn’t about sounding poetic; it is about paying attention. Everyone has experienced joy, grief, wonder, love, fear, and longing; these experiences are the raw material of poetry. You don’t need to know the rules or have the perfect words to begin. Start by noticing something ordinary and describing it honestly. The craft can be learned, but curiosity and a willingness to observe are what truly make a poet a poet. The only people who can’t write poetry are those who never try.