thelmasmith

July 30-August 2
Will present workshops, fiesta & concerts at The University of Arizona School of Music & the UA Centennial Hall July 30-August 2, 2008. Music & Dance Workshops will be hosted at The University of Arizona School of Music: Flamenco, Salsa, Hip Hop, Folklorico, Mariachi, Tejano, Guitar Trio, Classical Flamenco Guitar, Zumba and Voice. This year’s mariachi workshops will be directed by Jose Hernandez from Mariachi Sol De Mexico. VIVA FIESTA will be held in front of UA Centennial Hall on Saturday, August 2 from 3pm to 6pm. The AHS will conduct a Storycorps program at the fiesta, modeled on National Public Radio’s oral history project of that name, where the attendees can reminisce about how music and dance has influenced them in their everyday lives. Authentic Mexican and Spanish food and drink will also be available at the Fiesta.“VIVA ARIZONA!” 100 Years of Hispanic Musical Memories CONCERT at the University of Arizona Centennial Hall Saturday August 2,  2008 at 7:00pm. A Musical and Dance Production- showcasing the History and Evolution of Tucson’s Hispanic Musical Heritage. Featuring: Special Guest Jose Hernandez and Mariachi Sol de Mexico, IMAS,Hermanos Perez Trio, Olga Flores, Viva Orchestra under the direction of Jesse Tovar, the Viva Arizona Dancers and much more. Tickets available at the UA Centennial Hall Box Office 1020 E. University Blvd. (520) 621-3341 For more information you can visit www.vivaazworkshops.com

The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress announces a new pilot program that will train members of indigenous communities to document their own cultural traditions, archive this heritage for future generations, and undertake the task of protecting their intellectual property rights to these recordings and the traditions they document. The project is a collaboration among the AFC, the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University in North Carolina, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) based in Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-095.html

deadline September 30
Open to all artists living in Arizona, California Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. For the exhibition of the Art of Democracy posters we will be show original print posters, e.g. screen prints or other traditional printmaking. Submit unframed and the Union Gallery will mount in a uniform way. These posters will not be returned. and/or for the Political Art original prints is the primary focus, but we will also accept a variety of work in different media as well. For artists exhibiting original work (who will want it returned) we will need to have an exhibition application. Download it here or at the website.

http://www.union.arizona.edu/csil/gallery/exhibiting.php deadline September 30. Artists who would like to submit are encouraged to contact Holly Brown at brownhb@email.arizona.edu or at the gallery, 520-621-6142.

a national women’s art exhibition – deadline August 1
Sponsored by the Oakland Community College Womencenter, Farmington Hills, Mi., From Our Perspective is accepting digital entries, with a deadline of August 1st. This juried exhibit will feature women artists and will include two- and three-dimensional works of art.  The Juror, Susan Goethel Cambell, lives and works in Detroit, Mi. and has work in many public and private collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The New York Public Library, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Toledo Museum of Art and The University of Michigan Special Collections Library. Fee: $25 for up to 3 works. Awards: Best of Show $800.00, President’s Award $250.00 and a Purchase Prize of $250.00 (for smaller pieces).  To view full prospectus, and to upload images online, go to www.oaklandcc.edu/womencenter/artshow.htm.  Exhibit runs Sept. 18-Oct. 10 2008.  Please contact Arlene Frank with any questions at womenart@oaklandcc.edu

There is still time to turn in a letter of inquiry to be considered for National Native Creative Development Program for individual artists and the National Native Master Artist Initiative grant programs. Qualifying artists will be asked to complete a full application but only if you submit the letter of inquiry outlining your project first. These programs are open to all US Native people who are enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe, village, or state recognized tribe or village as well as to Native Hawaiian artists.
For more information visit: www.evergreen.edu

Kate Lenkowsky and I met at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2003. Lots of star power quilters to interview. The result is stunning.

This arrived by courier this afternoon. I have not had time to study more than the Table of Contents. The last quarter of the book, A Guide for Buyers & Collectors, is information that has never, to my knowledge, been put in one place. The information is extensive. Lenkowsky covers care, insuring and appraising as well as a long list of other topics in the guide.

Contemporary Quilt Art, An Introduction and Guide, by Kate Lenkowsky is published by
Indiana University Press. Extensive author’s commentary accompanies the large color photographs. The quality of the printing and binding are lovely. IBSN 978-0-253-35124-1

It’s time to get Published. J. Mercury & Maxed Art present: The Plume Zine: [bicycle] Conversations. The new theme is: anything relating to Bicycles or Conversations. All submissions must touch on this theme. Submit written work (poems, prose, micro fiction). Must be under two pages, double spaced. All written work is subject to a selection process. Submit images (drawing, collage, photography) no larger than 8×10. If emailing your image, it must be saved at 300dpi. Artwork will be proportionally formatted to fit the ‘zine. Submit all work by April 3. The Plume Zine is: art for people. Our debut zine, God & Love, a hand-bound, double pamphlet stitch, in an edition of 50, was distributed at select locations in Tucson and just about flew off the shelves. God & Love had 11 contributors and debuted with a reading at Dinnerware Artspace gallery. [bicycle] Conversations will have a special debut party TBA — don’t miss out! (view blog for images) Email submissions to MaxedArt@gmail.com or call 245-2681. The future awaits you at maxedart.blogspot.com

Gamblin was the color man when the Smithsonian set out to recreate the renaissance, earth, colors of the old masters. He gives a twenty minute tutorial on thinking about color.

I received this DVD as a gift at a recent art’s materials exposition. Check with your supplier of art supplies and see if you can obtain a copy of this.  OOPS,  go to the Gamblin website, linked above.  You can view it online.   It addresses color in several ways including the historic time frame and the colors produced and used.

I was at the University of Arizona Museum of Art today. This is from a new installation by
El Anatsui.

These works are copyright of the artist and are shown here under the doctrine of fair use for educational purposes. The work above uses the rims of screw on caps of cheap liquor that the anglo world has exported to Africa for the last several centuries. It references that societal problem, the problem of garbage, and also the West African textile tradition.

Not to mention that it is lusciously gorgeous and cries out to be carressed.

More societal commentary. Aluminum printing plates used in their most maleable form to comment on waste and waste paper in particular.

If you are traveling or happen to be around Tucson, Arizona, do yourself a favor and go to the University of Arizona. There is the Museum, two galleries, the Center for Creative Photography, the Flanrau Observatory, the Arizona Historical museum and much more.

Do click on the thumbnail.  This image is much better larger.

I went down to the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory last week. I had not been to theVisitor’s Center in a long time. It was gratifying to walk in and after all these years look up and say, “Oh, those really aren’t too bad.” It’s part of never particularly liking any work when it’s first finished. It’s pleasing to see that the pieces, each specifically dyed for it’s place in each quilt, are still gracefully doing their jobs.

They are getting some morning sun. What I thought was north was in fact east. But driving up the winding mountain road over the foothills into the base camp at 4200 feet leaves one with no known landmark and no way to assess direction. From indoors in the Visitor’s Center one has not sufficient light to designate direction of light even knowing the time of day.

It’s pretty cool, after so many years to revisit work. Yes, they are losing some color due to the light. No, there is absolutely not one thing that can be done about it. Textiles are ephemeral; it’s easier to accept that truth. The subtleties of change are more apparent when one has years between visits.

In the meantime, a lot of quilters come and enjoy. Even the gentleman who runs the gamma ray experimental program has commented on them. They are not accurate astronomy; just an artist’s interpretation.