Anacapa School will conclude its 2011-12 First Thursday Open Breakfast Club series in May with a presentation by famed local artist James “Bud” Bottoms, at 7:50 a.m. next Thursday, May 3, on the campus at 814 Santa Barbara St.
Bottoms is a native Californian with a lifetime of experience swimming and diving in the Santa Barbara Channel. He is the creator of the Stearns Wharf centerpiece “Dolphin Family” sculpture as well as countless other sculptures and monuments around the world honoring marine mammals. His admiration for the intelligence of whales and dolphins influences much of his bronze work.
“Bud has been an inspiration in my life,” said Gordon Sichi, Anacapa’s founding headmaster. ”This is such a perfect way to close what has been a phenomenal year-long series of guest speakers at Anacapa.”
While many of Bottoms’s sculptures are of sea creatures, he often combines a human element in his pieces to express our interrelation with these animals. He is also fond of using his own grandchildren as models playing with dolphins, sea lions and turtles.
His commitment to the environment came about during the unfortunate events surrounding the 1969 oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel, which had lasting effects on the ocean and its inhabitants. Over the years, Bottoms has advocated for environmental preservation for its own sake and for future generations. He has been a champion for the Earth Island Institute’s Save the Dolphins Project and has received numerous awards in recognition of his art and his contributions to protecting the oceans.
Anacapa School hosts dozens of expert guest presenters each year. Every month, the school opens its doors to the wider community to honor a special guest lecturer as part of its First Thursday Open Breakfast Club speaker series.
Prospective parents and their students who are interested in Anacapa School are welcome to attend to see a Breakfast Club in action at no charge. After the presentation, guests are invited to join a conversation with the speaker.
Anacapa School is an independent, co-educational, WASC–accredited, college preparatory day school for students in grades 7 through 12. Founded in 1981 by Headmaster Gordon Sichi, Anacapa enjoys the best student-teacher ratio of any school, public or private, in Santa Barbara at its historic campus located in the heart of the Santa Barbara civic center.
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