GOINGS ON : Art Exhibit Recycles Items Out of the Past : Susan Tibbles of Montecito takes odds and ends and ‘makes them into something they weren’t.’

A tarnished silver teapot, with an elegantly gloved hand extending from it, sits atop a stack of old books, one a 1966 Los Angeles social directory.

A well-worn, heart-shaped cake pan, with a zipper separating in the middle, is encircled in barbed wire. The warning “No Fishing, No Hunting, No Trespassing” looms nearby.

Welcome to the world of Montecito artist Susan Tibbles. And welcome to her latest exhibit, “Working Girls,” on display at Santa Barbara’s DesignArc Gallery.

As in previous work, Tibbles used found objects to make the 32 pieces in the present exhibit. Hangers, dictionary pages, pencils, old photos, architectural designs and plenty more are all incorporated into the art. “I go once or twice a week and hit the antique stores and junk shops,” Tibbles said. “I like to take objects and make them into something they weren’t.”

The show, which looks into the ups and downs of day-to-day life, will run through June 3. The gallery is at 1 N. Salsipuedes, Suite 210. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, and by appointment on weekends. Call 963-4401.

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Composer and bassoonist John Steinmetz will join The Bach Camerata of Santa Barbara in concert tonight at the Music Academy of the West. The program will consist of “Three Works for Unaccompanied Bassoon,” “What’s Your Musical IQ?” and “Prairie Blessings for Bassoon, Macintosh Computer and Slides.” The concert will be repeated Friday night at Ventura City Hall. Show times are 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. Call 966-3462 or (800) 557-BACH. The Music Academy is at 1070 Fairway Road. Ventura City Hall is at 501 Poli St.

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Santa Barbara City College is presenting “J.B.,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning, modern-day version of the biblical story of Job. Preview performances conclude tonight, with the regular run Friday through May 7. Written by Archibald MacLeish, “J.B.” looks at the mental and emotional responses people have to life’s tragedies. The play won the Tony Award for best drama of the year, when it opened on Broadway in 1958. Show times are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets for tonight’s show are $8. General admission for following shows range from $12-$14. Call 965-5935. The theater is located on the 800 block of Cliff Drive, on the west end of campus.

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Where does the yellow brick road lead? To Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre. At least on Saturday when the Missoula Children’s Theatre company performs the Wizard of Oz, with the help of 60 local schoolchildren. Show times are 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Admission is $7.50 (children), $4.50 (adults). The Lobero is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Call 963-0761.

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The 41-year-old Croatian chamber ensemble I Solisti di Zagreb will perform Sunday evening at the Arlington Theatre in a presentation sponsored by the Santa Barbara Community Arts Music Assn. The program will include Vivaldi’s Concerto for Strings in A Major, Couperin’s Five Concert Pieces for Cello, Kelemen’s Concertino for Double Bass and Strings, Shostakovich’s Scherzo, and Bartok’s Divertimento for Strings. Concert time is 8 p.m. Tickets are $49, $37, $25, and $19. Call 966-4324 or 963-4408. The Arlington is at 1317 State St.

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The Season of Festivals at Santa Barbara’s Oak Park will begin Sunday with the Jewish Festival, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The remainder of the season: Children’s Festival (May 7), Chinese Festival (May 21-22), Irish Festival (June 4-5), French Festival (July 16-17), Greek Festival (July 30-31), Italian Festival (Aug. 20-21), Mexican Independence (Sept. 17-18), and German Oktoberfest (Oct. 1-2). Admission to all festivals is free. Call 962-8956.

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Speaking of festivals, Matey Press, Gold Coast Productions and the Thursday Plantation company will sponsor Aussie Fest ‘94, Sunday from 10 a.m.-dusk at the Goleta Valley Historical Society’s Stow House. Admission is free. Stow House is at 304 Los Carneros Road in Goleta. Call 965-1799 or 496-6036.

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Storyteller Spalding Gray will present “Gray’s Anatomy” Wednesday and April 28 at UCSB’s Campbell Hall. In this monologue, Gray tells of being diagnosed with an eye ailment called macular pucker (which he contracts after seeing a woman’s face dissolve into a white ball). Trying to avoid recommended surgery, Gray procrastinates, obsesses, and calls on various alternative healing methods. Performances will begin at 8 p.m. General admission is $18, $15, and $12. Call 893-3535.

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The Santa Barbara Fair and Expo will open Wednesday and run through May 1. It’s at the Earl Warren Showgrounds at the Las Positas Road exit off U.S. 101. Call 687-0766.