Congratulations to Middle and 

Upper School Art Teacher Dug Uyesaka, 

whose work will appear in a mid-career 

retrospective at the Westmont Ridley-

Tree Museum of Art in Santa Barbara. 

The installation, which will run October 

20, 2016 through January 14, 2017, will 

include a variety of paintings, prints, 

and assemblage from Dug’s childhood 

through the present day. 

“Artists can be unassuming about their 

work and Dug seems reserved when it 

comes to promoting his art,” says Judy 

Larson, director of the museum. “But 

the art itself is anything but quiet. Dug’s 

assemblages and collages exude a boldness 

that ‘packs a punch.’ His prints, drawings, 

and paintings range from expressions of 

untapped energy to nuanced poetry. There 

could not be a better time to feature Dug 

Uyesaka’s work. Career-wise, his work is 

as good as it gets!”

Dug grew up as a third-generation 

Japanese American in Clovis, California, 

just outside of Fresno, nestled in the San 

Joaquin Valley. Coming from a blue collar 

agricultural background, he says he never 

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art 
is one of Santa Barbara’s most esteemed 
galleries. It seeks to educate students and 
the larger community about the power 
and value of the visual arts in our world 
through physical, critical, and spiritual 
engagement with the creative process and 
its result. Visit www.westmontmuseum.org  
to learn more.

Laguna Art Teacher Dug Uyesaka featured at Westmont's Ridley-Tree Museum of Art

EAST MEETS WESTMONT

anticipated pursuing a career in art—most 

specifically, art education. 

“I always loved drawing and making 

things with my hands,” he says. “I’d never 

even been to a museum until I was in high 

school. My family definitely had concerns 

about me pursuing something like art as 

a career.”

But eventually, Dug’s passion won 

them over, and he went on to pursue 

an arts degree at UC Santa Barbara in 

1975. He has been a staple in the Santa 

Barbara arts community ever since, later 

taking up freelance graphic design and 

even working with a local film production 

company as he continued his craft. He 

also taught afterschool art programs and 

art workshops. Still, it wasn’t until he 

joined Laguna’s staff in 2000 that he felt 

comfortable wearing the hat of a teacher. 

“The university art curriculum was 

not as career-minded then as it is now,” 

he says. “I felt I had nothing valuable to 

share as an art instructor at such a young 

age. But now—many years later—I see the 

incredible value that art provides to our 

children. Art allows you to imagine and 

create, and to develop the craftsmanship 

to actually execute your ideas. Most of life 

is problem-solving, and art allows students 

to do that hands-on.” 

In 2009, Dug received the Laguna 

Blanca School Faculty Excellence Award 

in addition to a William T. Colville 

Grant. In 2010 he received an Arts Fund 

 

“Art is the light, joy,  

and energy in our  

everyday lives.”

of Santa Barbara, Individual Artist Award 

for Collage and Assemblage. For him, the 

Westmont exhibition allows for the added 

thrill of sharing with his students the 

artwork that he created in his youth.

“Art is the light, joy, and energy in our 

everyday lives,” Dug says. “It enhances 

everything around us, and I am so grateful 

to share my art with my kids here at 

Laguna, at Westmont, and throughout the 

greater Santa Barbara community.

An opening reception will be held at 

Westmont's Ridley-Tree Museum of Art 

on October 20 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. (free 

and open to the public). Laguna English 

Teacher Charles Donelan, Ph.D. will be 

writing the catalogue for the installation.

Exhibit runs October 20, 2016 
to January 14, 2017.

 

22     LAGUNA BLANCA MAGAZINE

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