Art@78 Opens Exciting New Gallery in Ramona

Above: art@78 shop. Below: Display of art by local artists available at art@78 gallery. Photo by Jim Evans

By Jim Evans

Great art is great art wherever you find it, but sometimes art afficionados can’t see the proverbial forest for the trees as they zip along Highway 78 toward Julian and breeze through tiny Wynola like it doesn’t exist.

It’s not to say that Julian doesn’t have a lot to offer to visitors, but if more visitors would stop “to smell the roses” along the way, they would discover a world of surprises at the art@78 Gallery adjacent to the Orfila Winery in Wynola.

Owner Leena Hannonen arrived in Julian six years ago after running her own graphic design studio and agency in Los Angeles for 18 years. Some of her clients included Dell and Apple Computer, Hollywood Foreign Press, and the Lexicon School of Languages. “But it was finally time to leave the big-city stress behind,” Hannonen said, “and Julian seemed like the ideal getaway spot.”

The Finland-born Hannonen quickly became a driving force in the local art community by co-founding the Julian Open Studios Tour, an annual event featuring 20 participating local artists opening their home studios to the public one weekend each November. The tour attracts as many as 400 visitors.

Hannonen has always had a talent for art and graphics.

“As a kid, I was always painting, drawing or building something, and that has continued throughout my life,” she said. “However, I have found sculpting to be my true calling. I do figurative sculpture — original with clay and cast in bronze — and teach sculpting classes at my studio in Julian. I also do portraits and commission work.”

In July 2004, Hannonen opened the art@78 Gallery in Wynola.

“I felt that local artists needed more exposure during the rest of the year, so a gallery made sense,” she said.

Her gallery features a variety of artistic mediums including ceramics, gourds, paintings, jewelry, photography, fiber arts, sculpture and more. The exceptional quality of her work is obvious to anyone who walks in the door.

Hannonen is now opening a new gallery and expanding her graphic design business — Macnetic Design — to Ramona in the new Day Promenade Building at 850 Main St.

The location was chosen because the Promenade Building is a new, contemporary building, centrally located, and “perfect for a high-energy office,” she said.

“I also feel that the east end of Ramona will be developing and hosting more art events,” she added. “It is a perfect fit for what we are trying to accomplish, and I think art@78 will be a good addition to the local art scene. And the possibility of having a restaurant in the same building will provide even greater visibility.”

The new gallery is expected to open in early January 2005. In addition to displaying many of Hannonen’s ceramics and bronzes, it will feature a progressive collection of works by other established local artists, such as stained glass by Charlotte Mitchell; fiber art by Don Weeke and Polly Jacobs Giacchina; pottery by Antonia Cosentino; and more.

“We will be new and edgy, with a wide variety of art,” said Hannonen.

The art@78 Gallery in Wynola is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Monday; the hours of the new Ramona location are still pending.

For further information, contact Leena Hannonen at (760) 765-9944 or (760) 765-1774, or visit her Website at www.art@78.com.