GOINGS ON / SANTA BARBARA : Objets D’Art : A Montecito artist says she is ‘picky about the garbage’ she uses in her works, now displayed at a gallery in Carpinteria.

Yes, there are some objects in this world that Montecito artist Susan Tibbles will not use in her work.

Are Styrofoam wig dummies among them? No. Fifteen of those are featured along with 10 blood-red cups and saucers in a piece titled “Wig Heads.”

Old cowboy boots? No. She uses more than a handful of them in a piece called “11 Boots.”

A split-open doll’s head? No. This item is part of a piece called “Half-A-Mind.”

All of these works are now on exhibit at the Frances Puccinelli Gallery in Carpinteria.

From the artwork in the show, it is obvious that Tibbles can make plenty out of what others might consider nearly nothing. But, she admitted, she is selective in her choice of materials. “I’m very picky about the garbage I pick up,” she said. “I wouldn’t use a Ninja Turtle. Everything has to be a work of art itself.”

Tibbles uses materials with which people are familiar. “Sometimes (the viewers) feel very comfortable with it. Sometimes they say, ‘I just don’t get it.’ But there’s nothing to get,” she said. “It just depends on how you interpret it.”

The artist, herself, doesn’t always place a lot of emphasis on the meaning of her work.

“Everything is like a puzzle. Generally, I have a box, a frame first. I see the depth of the box and what I can get in there,” she said. “Mostly, it is what’s aesthetically pleasing to me, what looks good to me in that box.”

Tibbles’ work will be on display through Aug. 15. The gallery is located at 888 Linden Ave., second floor. It is open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 684-2970.

In a year of events marking the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ famous voyage, there is one at the Lompoc Museum that is a bit different.

An exhibit called “Foods of the New Lands: Contributions to International Cuisine by the American Indians” takes a look at common foods of today that have ingredients that can be traced back to early American Indian foods. The menu includes pasta sauces, pizza, peanut butter, vanilla and chocolate ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 15. The museum is located at 200 S. H St. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 736-3888.

UC Santa Barbara’s “Summer Cinema” series wraps up with presentations of “Let Him Have It” (tonight) and “Mississippi Masala” (Sunday) at Campbell Hall. Tonight’s film is based on the 1950s British murder trial of two teen-age boys, one of whom was brain-damaged, who were found guilty of killing a policeman. The case led to the discontinuance of the death penalty in Britain.

“Mississippi Masala,” starring Denzel Washington, centers around the relationship between an American businessman and an Indian woman who as a child was kicked out of Uganda with the rest of her family. Show time for both movies is 8 p.m. General admission is $5. For more information, call 893-3535.

Paha Vincent Tumamait, a Chumash elder from Ojai, will tell stories and sing songs from his American Indian culture on Saturday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The presentation is part of the museum’s “Chumash Artways” series.

The program is free with admission to the museum: $3 adults, $2 seniors and children age 13 to 17, and $1 for children 12 and under. For more information, call 682-4711.