While sipping on cocktails, the remarkable Ingrid Luna speaks in an exhilarating stream-of-consciousness way about art, life, love, and her passion for Santa Barbara, quoting Dorothy Parker and other poets along the way. She’s fully immersed in the arts herself, making a living as a scenic artist for the Ensemble Theatre and painting instructor at the Painted Cabernet, not to mention working as an art teacher, musician, writer, and bartender. Oh yea, she’s also a mother.
Her life story is as extraordinary as her personality. She was born in the hippie commune, many would say cult, called Sunburst in the mountains above Santa Barbara. After escaping in the middle of the night, her family was often homeless while she was between the ages of three and seven. Her mother was a costume designer for the Lobero Theatre and made a living selling homemade dresses and quilts at the Sunday beach show. They lived in a tiny VW Bug, but Ingrid was “actually really happy despite our circumstances.” As a young kid, she knew she wanted to be an artist, and eventually studied both art and philosophy.
She’s worked for the Ensemble Theatre off and on since she was 19 years old. Five years ago, she officially became their scenic artist and truly enjoys painting the sets. “I love creating crazy treatments,” she tells me. “You find creative things to make it work.” Speaking of theater in general and her role in it, she explains, “It’s ephemeral. There’s a moment it has to be born and then you have to break it down.”