Artist’s Statement

“Bricoleur: a handyman who has a limited set of tools that he uses to solve any problem, and his way of thinking and working is … somewhere between scientific method and the magical method.” Claude Levi Strauss – The Savage Mind

“I work mainly in collage and assemblage, and recently have been revisiting painting. I am continually amazed and intrigued with how the marriage of often disparate scraps of paper and found objects can give form to that which is intangible – memory, dreams, faith, and wonder. I try to imbue my work with the reverent attitude of serious play done in a playfully serious way. “ Dug Uyesaka’s quizzical outlook on life and love of the arts germinated while growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s in the fertile San Joaquin Valley. Living out in the boondocks provided many, many, hours to roam the country side and appreciate the slow side of life and fueled his passion to draw and make “stuff” from his imagination. Dug pursued painting and silk screen while at UCSB and went on to study graphic design and multimedia at SBCC. He also worked at a local film production company providing graphic design and media management. Dug has been a working artist and involved in the community arts scene since the 1970’s. He is currently teaching art at Laguna Blanca School and has taught at the Center for Life Long Learning in Santa Barbara, CA. In 2009 he was the recipient of the Laguna Blanca School Faculty Excellence Award for the Middle School and a William T. Colville Foundation grant. In 2010 he was the awarded the Individual Artist Award for Assemblage and Collage by The Arts Fund of Santa Barbara. He was privileged to have a mid- career survey, “long story short” at the Westmont Ridley Tree Museum of Art in 2016.

Dug was also a Santa Barbara County Arts Commissioner for the Second District for many years and is currently a board member of the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative.