San Diego Beacon: Special Feature by Brooke Berlin, July 17. 2003

Artwork That Can Feel Good

A fresh wave rolled upon the Ocean shore this summer and is leaving an impressionable mark on the community. Ann Kirkemo returned to her native San Diego hoping to share her love of art with the people here and has embraced her hometown enthusiastically.

The Ocean Beach Discovery Center, which shares office space with the First Baptist Church, is where Kirkemo spends most of her time. She is the church administrator, one of the center's volunteers, and rents studio space in the back.

"I don't think anyone really knows all that Ann does here," said Daphney Wallake, the center's outreach director.

The O.B. Discovery Center, 4764 Santa Monica Ave., is a non-profit organization that provides a space for community development and enrichment. Using it as a way of fulfilling the needs and wants of the community, the center was originally started by the First Baptist Church and evolved alongside the community, from building the first skate park in Ocean Beach to developing a computer lab and leading workshops. This fall it is offering a financial program designed specifically for single parents.

Last year, after talking with local parents, the center realized the need existed for art education outside of the schools. Together with Kirkemo, it created an art program titled Sole Expression. Between painting and drawing, students of all ages learn to develop their imagination and style.

"Ann has a dream to teach people how to express themselves through art," Wallake said. "Her work and teaching style is inspiring to me. She believes that if you think you don't have artistic talent it's just because you haven't tapped into it yet. It's art therapy; it's a voice for people."

Kirkemo uses her studio as her classroom. Books on artists, history and techniques are stacked on shelves. Prints of famous paintings hang on the walls and her student's canvases rest on easels. Art supplies are abundantly arranged around the room.

Kirkemo gathers inspiration from three paints, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky and Frans Marc. She prefers abstract to realism and loves bright colors and by studying other painters she is able to get ideas on how to emphasize her own work.

"Knowledge of art makes you more open to others; where they come from and their uniqueness," Kirkemo said. "I want art to have contributed to how confident people are in their unique capabilities. I want art to be an outlet for kids to voice what's going on."

Keegan Lakosh, one of Kirkemo's six-year-old students, takes classes every Thursday during the school year.

"Sometimes she paints with her fingers and other times she takes a paint brush, closes her eyes and moves to the music," Lakosh said. "Sometimes we go outside to look at things. We sit with each other and talk about what we see: colors and designs."

Carrie Lakosh, Keegan's mother, needed an after-school program for her daughter.

"I like that she doesn't just say, 'Let's draw,'" Lakosh said. "She teaches the color wheel, how color makes you feel and how to swirl colors to make new ones."

"One time Ann said, 'We're going to mix a cold and a hot to make warm and see how it feels on our fingers." Those techniques of feeling color help kids put their feelings and thoughts on paper."

Kirkemo grew up in Point Loma and took elementary art classes in what is now the antique shop on the corner of Voltaire Street and Chatsworth Boulevard. She received her degree in graphic design from Northwest Nazarene College in Idaho and decided to return to the peninsula to gain inspiration from the beach and also impart it on her childhood community.

Part of Kirkemo's desire to be a teacher and therapist comes from experiences she had with her teachers and parents.

"Some teachers were so mean and critical, but my parent's always encouraged me to look beyond," Kirkemo said. "What I needed as a kid in an art teacher is what I want to be. I want others to experience art, not just do it."

Selling a painting completes the emotional cycle that Kirkemo experiences while creating. Whether the process is just a few days or a number of months, she fully develops and embraces her emotions. She feels every piece is inevitably positive because she can explore what is going on inside. At first it was hard to sell pieces but now she realized it allows her to paint and learn more.

Kirkemo has been invited to show her collection of work at local coffee houses, and for the time being, samplings of her work, updates on her classes and exhibits and more of her thoughts on art are on her website, www.angelfire.com/art2/aekirkemo.

"I love swirls and always try to incorporate them," Kirkemo said. "It feels good to see movement. I don't want anything stagnant. I use waves more and more as a representation of my dreams coming true."

A children's art camp is being offered the week of July 21 and weekly drawing classes will start again in the fall. For times, cost and registration, call the center at 619-223-6992.