Dear editor, Napa Valley’s small-town gems are much harder to discover when their titles don’t end with sauvignon, franc or verdot.

Being a native Napan, I have been exposed to viticulture and wine since a wee toddler. If put in a room full of sommeliers, I could battle it out in a proverbial wine throw-down and hold my own. But I can assure you, Napa heritage — and as I’m sure many of my hometown peers would agree — is quite lacking in non-alcoholic culture. Suffice it to say, I was thrilled to discover Oxbow’s Visiting Artist Lecture Series. Running from September through early November, Oxbow’s artist lectures are an autumn conglomerate of Bay Area artists such as Kara Maria and Darren Waterston, who by support of the Oxbow School, discuss their art and creative inspirations at the Napa River Inn from 7-8:30 p.m.

As many artists around the valley can attest, cultural events such as these aren’t a common occurrence in our valley. Napa is surprisingly hesitant to embrace its artistic younger sister and so often chooses to promote grapes over community. For these past couple of months, as I gratefully attended the Oxbow artist lectures, listening to photographers, painters and creative thinkers, I felt a creative appreciation I so often have wanted to find in the valley. I was truly inspired by the thought process of Darren Waterston and his embrace of art students. I also thoroughly enjoyed painter Kara Maria’s discussion on environmental concerns and her willingness to break down her concepts and painting techniques for her audience.

As a young woman artist seeking to discover art all across the valley, and oftentimes becoming disheartened from the search, I wanted to truly express my thanks to the Oxbow School and for the lecturing artists for breathing life into Napa’s art community and hopefully inspiring more similar events to feed the fire.

Christine Bors / Napa