ENCINITAS, Calif. - (October 15, 2008) - Art lovers and their families are invited to Lux Art Institute's November Family Day, a free open house event with art activities, studio tours, refreshments and live music, on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Lux Art Institute, 1550 South El Camino Real in Encinitas.

The afternoon will give visitors a chance to meet Lux resident artist Alison Moritsugu. Born in Hawaii, Moritsugu is known worldwide for her breathtaking log-slice landscape paintings that examine our relationship with the land.

Lux Liaisons will guide tours through the studio and Moritsugu's exhibition of log-slice paintings. The fun will continue outdoors with hands-on art projects including a log-slice painting workshop. The afternoon also includes a kukui-nut lei-making station, Hawaiian music, a hula dancer and Hawaiian snacks.

Lux, San Diego's interactive art destination, is dedicated to encouraging children's artistic curiosity through Luxcursion (classroom fieldtrips to Lux,) the Valise Project, (portable museums presented to schools throughout San Diego,) Summer Camp and Family Day.

Family Day is a quarterly event made possible by support from the James Irvine Foundation. Parking for Family Day is in the Sanderling Waldorf School parking lot and in posted parking zones along El Camino Real.

Lux Hours: Thursday and Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. $10 for two visits. For more information visit www.luxartinstitute.org or call 760.436.6611.

About Alison Moritsugu
Moritsugu uses a variety of natural wood surfaces, such as cut ends of split logs or sections of tree branches that are polished smooth and used as surfaces for her idyllic landscapes. According to Moritsugu her oil-painted landscapes - juxtaposed on the end of a cut log - are representative of our desire to clear the land and to dominate nature. They demonstrate how we must come to terms with false views of nature and deal with the very real problems plaguing the environment.

Moritsugu, a Hawaiian-native, holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been shown at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Hudson River Museum and the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.

Moritsugu is in-studio Nov. 8 - Dec. 6. . Her completed work will be on view at Lux through January 3.

About Lux Art Institute
Lux Art Institute, located in Encinitas, opened its doors to the public in November 2007 and is redefining the museum experience with its unique artist-in-residence program. At Lux, artists live and work on site, while producing a commissioned work of art.

Throughout the year, Lux invites significant regional, national, and international artists to participate in the Lux residency and encourages visitors from across the country to observe and engage them. This one-of-a-kind institution invites visitors to not only "see art" but also to "see art happen."

Slated to be the first "green" (LEED certified) art museum in California and located alongside one of Southern California's few remaining coastal wetlands, Lux's five-acre site overlooks the San Elijo Lagoon and is surrounded by a wildlife preserve that stretches to the Pacific Ocean. In an effort to meld the conservation and re-vegetation beyond the museum walls, an array of rare native plants blends seamlessly into the nearby preserve.

Santa Monica, California-based Renzo Zecchetto, AIA - whose other significant architectural projects include the award-winning Church of the Nativity in Fairbanks Ranch, Calif. and the Alusa Printing Company in Santiago, Chile - designed the two-story building to utilize energy-saving strategies such as the use of natural light and recycled materials which will preserve resources for future generations.