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GreenHouse
Volume 1 // Issue 8 • August 2009
Colourmusic
Blog Review
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www.ArtBeatOK.com
ArtBeat Oklahoma
Volume 1 / Issue 8 / August 2009 ArtBeat is a monthly publication dedicated to encouraging and promoting creativity and the arts in Oklahoma. ArtBeat serves as a source of inspiration and encouragement for the individual artist and a foundation of unity and information within the art community as a whole. ArtBeat is a tool for promoting the work of local artists, both established and underground, and art-driven businesses through affordable advertising and a calendar of local events bringing awareness to the many opportunities in the Oklahoma arts scene. Oklahoma is rich with artists and great art; it is our desire to give these incredible Oklahoma artists visibility and connections both with one another and the thriving community of patrons here in our state.
//Staff//
//Contents//
page 4 // Tattoo School of Hard Knocks page 5 // Blog Review page 6 // Brightmusic page 7 // Greenhouse page 8-9 // Colourmusic page 10 // Cory-O's Curiosities page 11 // Tattoo Artist, Wax On, Wax Off page 13 // Flows'n'Prose page 14 // IAO's 30th Birthday Party page 15 // OKC Ink pages 16-17 // ARTIST SHOWCASE page 18 // Free Spirit page 20-21 // Living Arts page 23 // OVAC Fellowship pages 24-25 // Sogni D'Oro - Sweet Dreams page 27 // What's the Deal with ONEAL? page 28 // Chronicles of Caleb page 29 // The Thinking Man page 30 // Calendar
Cover: Tattoo Artist Ashley Smith
Eric Templeton / Owner/President etempleton@artbeatok.com Vinton J. Bayne / Art Director jbayne@artbeatok.com Anna Amis / Sales Director anna@artbeatok.com Missy Hancock / Managing Editor mhancock@artbeatok.com Shar Grant / Director of Operations sgrant@artbeatok.com
//Contributors// Leanna Jackson Bree Atterberry Holly McHargue Amanda Hall Nathaniel Atterberry Blair Waltman Cory-O Castoe Brady Crandall Toma Haines Molly O'Connor Caleb Braudrick Shawn Hancock
This months issue of ArtBeat presents a glimpse into the lives of OKC's finest female tattoo artists (pgs 11, 15), an invitation from Brightmusic to experience chamber music at it's finest (pg 6), an introspective look at elitism (pg 3), a call to follow your dreams (pgs 4, 18, 24), and much, much more. Where else in this great state can one find all that? "ArtBeat is my new best friend," says one ONEALer. (Learn more about ONEAL on pg 27). It is our hope that this publication could be like a best friend, a favorite professor, a well informed guide, a refreshing breeze, and a great glass of wine all rolled into one. Well, we can hope, can't we? :) We've got dreams too! And we're doing our best to make them happen! Afterall, if Oklahoma is going to be the State of Creativity (pg 29), then we Oklahoman's better get creating! That means you, and that means me! Go- Be Blessed & Make Art!!!
:) Missy Hancock ArtBeat Managing Editor
August 2009 | page 3
By Amanda Hall
W
hen the art of tattooing was declared a legally allowable practice in Oklahoma, I did not know a single person who was unhappy about it. In fact, I knew quite a few people who vowed to make it their life's work now that they did not have to move out of state. I must admit I was one of these people. As a piercer, I knew that I would have a long way to go in terms of learning and practicing to become a tattoo artist. It has been something I wanted to do ever since I was about 10 years old, and kids on the playground or in class wanted me to draw things on them--butterflies, skulls, swirly tribal-esque designs around their wrist--and it was pointed out by teachers and other adults that I should not do this for various reasons. Anyway, eventually I just figured that piercing was as far as I could go due to state laws. Then it was officially "legal" and all previous bets were off. A close friend of mine and I decided we needed to learn the art of tattooing, and learn it quickly. We had fantastic dreams of opening our own shop with our own special twist to shake up the industry. These dreams led us to a small, hole-in-the-wall supply shop (now defunct) to buy our first machines, inks, and needles and tubes. As soon as I returned home, I broke out my "starter kit" and scratched a funny little star on my ankle. It is still there and will not be covered up, as it is a sign of how naive I was about the industry at that point. Since then I have added more images up my leg and the progression of learning can be seen in the quality of the work. Many oranges were bought, many magazines and videos perused, but it was nothing like having a real teacher. My friend and I spent nights practicing and drawing, and occasionally squeaking at feelings of getting a tattoo when it is you holding the gun.
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It is amazing how many people want tattoos from a person when they think they can get them cheap or for free. Minutes after I mentioned to someone I was trying to learn to be a tattoo artist, everyone wanted work. I was even asked to do a back piece that involved some pretty complicated wings! Needless to say I wanted some practice and inked some people. My personal best was a multicolor John Lennon portrait on a friend's chest. By this time, I considered myself mediocre, but there are many seasoned tattoo artists that would call it just plain bad. I was laughed out of an online forum when I mentioned I was seeking an apprenticeship but "had already done some work." And yet, people still wanted tattoos. I guess that means there is plenty of job security in this industry! The cart was still before the proverbial horse. At this point, I am still out and about seeking apprenticeships, but trying to do it the right way--with a portfolio of art showing drawing and shading abilities. I still add things to my "practice leg" every so often, as it will be a memory of this time and what it took to get where I am and hope to be. Along the road I have learned a few things that aspiring tattoo artists should know, provided you've got the "art" part down... 1) Humility rules the industry. An apprentice is the lowest person on the totem pole, and someone with a machine and no apprenticeship is even lower. While someone can have the skills without the teacher, they cannot learn the business without being in the mix. Walking in to an established shop thinking you are the best thing to happen to the industry will lead to reactions ranging from a tactful "blow-off" to a direct chuckle in your face. These professionals are the experts in their field as it is an art that has maintained
its own special mysticism, beauty, and even elitism in some circles. They have seen many like you and will continue to see many like you who want this for a career. 2) The quality of your supplies can dictate the quality of your tattoo. If you must practice on your own; there are practice skins and many other ways to become more accustomed to that thing in your hand that weighs much more than a pencil! If you choose a mediocre machine/power supply, you will have problems with it. There is a reason some artists will only use certain types of equipment and ink. This rule also applies to the quality of your sterilization, as you can never be too clean when it comes to someone else's skin. 3) People are people and human nature will always exist. The shop where you want to work may not be the shop where you want to stay once you are there. I had a tattoo shop employee tell me once, "We are very close knit, and in order for you to be part of that, we need to see if you fit in with us." This is not a jab to anyone's self-esteem, merely a request that you can handle a business where you are pushing the appeal of permanent art without the personal quibbles that the average job would yield. I am still not attached to a shop via apprenticeship, but have made some wonderful contacts and have learned more about the industry in my visits and interviews than I ever did with my starter kit and videos. Most aspiring artists know this is the way to go already, but I will always have my little star to remind me of what I thought then, and what I know now. I cannot wait to see what amazing tattoo artists come out of Oklahoma, and how this art will affect our once-conservatively dominated culture in the years to come.
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Blog Review by Shar Grant AUGUST 2009
A few years ago my friend introduced me to Google Reader. Before that, I would read blogs, but not necessarily keep up with them. Now, I tune into Google Reader and whenever my favorite and/or interesting and/or educational blogs have been updated, Voila! There they are! This system is how I keep totally up-to-date on So You Think You Can Dance fanatics, political rants, money saving tips and deals and most importantly, my friends and family's lives. I know some people will say, “Pick up the phone!” Or better yet, “Why don't you see your friends/ family in person? …So much more . . . personable.” Well, true dat. BUT with a sweet husband, three wonderfully high-maintenance kids, two important jobs and doing all that creatively, I can't possibly see all my friends and family and have meaningful conversations. Thus, the blog. What is a blog? I thought it was a personal log, but that would be plog. So I looked it up on Wikipedia. (For the same reason I'll trust Wikipedia, I trust blogs written by real people about real experiences.) So blog is short for "weblog” and is “a type of website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order." Other important components of a blog revolve around interaction, a place for comments, your give and take (much like a conversation). So with all that in mind, I asked our editor if I could write Blog Reviews. I mean, I read them like books, listen to them like CDs, watch them like movies, why not? So here you have it, the First-Ever-Blog-Review (well, in ArtBeat, anyway).
*1. and, conflictingly, drawn towards, but that's for another day. *2. yes, i'm aware that this whole post was spurred on by critical judgment and cynicism... to quote hank hill: 'it's called a double standard, bobby, live with it.'" It's this kind of self-examination and humility that keeps me reading Mama-Effie, even if I weren't her friend outside of the Blogosphere. So Darn Happy is a photographer, telling her story through pictures (plog, perhaps?). When her precious camera broke, we shared her journey, from tears to joy at the gift of a new camera. But what I loved about her time without her camera, is how she creatively didn't stop blogging. No, she dug up old photos as in "Blast From the Past aka It's Hot." I loved this post where she displayed trees covered in icy coldness. I always need this reminder in the middle of summer. I felt a kindred connection with So Darn Happy through this post. See? Blogging's not just something people do to hear themselves talk. It's what people do to connect to those around them in an otherwise disconnected existence.
As a busy mom (as opposed to a lazy mom (?)), I find the most delicate balance between my heart bursting at the seams with love and joy and going mad from the messes. I find two wonderful artistic allies in Mama-Effie (mama-effie.blogspot.com) and So Darn Happy (sodarnhappy.wordpress.com). These women write regularly, documenting their own journeys through photos and creative writing, as they navigate living creatively, too. Mama-Effie eats creatively, knits and considers herself a budding photographer. She recently wrote about "The Problem with Art." From her words, "i've always been a wary of* "art" and those who claim to be "artists" of any stripe. . . i've been thinking about this lately and i think it's that most people with a gift, or "skills", as the case may be, seem to enjoy putting down, or simply pointing out the flaws of, those without the same gifts or "skills". i know i'm so guilty of doing this. if i happen across a knitted object where the purl stitch was done backwards and caused the stockinette stitch to be twisted, i giggle and smile a smug smile of knowing. knowing the difference in knit and purl. knowing what stockinette stitch is. knowing that i'm right, and this object is so wrong. the sad thing is, i don't know. i don't know if this is the first item that this particular person has knitted. and if they saw my smug smile, or heard my careless comments, they could be discouraged and not pick up knitting again. or this person may know full well that their knitting is twisted and they like it that way! there are many things i don't know, but acting this way only shows that i do know critical judgment, cynicism and pride*.
Emma and her castle
B L O G A R C H IVES July June
August 2009 | page 5
Brightens Oklahoma With Music! By David R. Johnson
“Brightmusic? What is Brightmusic?” Brightmusic is Oklahoma City’s resident classical chamber music ensemble. Its members include the leading music professors and performers in central Oklahoma. It plays chamber music from the works of Bach to new pieces that are fresh off-the-press. And it gives six concerts per season at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown OKC – for free. Brightmusic opens its seventh season on Tuesday night, August 25, at 7:30 pm. The title of the concert, “A Musical Fantasy,” reflects the four works on the program. Eight of the Brightmusic musicians, in four different combinations, will demonstrate again why Brightmusic is one of Oklahoma’s emerging cultural gems. The 15 musicians in the group include 14 instrumentalists and one vocalist. Each is a universitylevel music educator and a performance-quality classical musician. Eight are current or former faculty members at Oklahoma City University, and three are faculty members at the University of Oklahoma. Other universities represented include Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Christian University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Houston. The performance caliber of these musicians is breathtaking. Eleven are current or former members of the OKC Philharmonic. One was a featured soloist with the OKC Phil last season. And others perform with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Lawton Philharmonic and other ensembles across the state. You would expect to find chamber music concerts like Brightmusic’s in New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago. But in Oklahoma City? Well, just as the quality of OKC’s overall arts scene might surprise those who are clueless, the quality of Brightmusic’s chamber music concerts is a wonderful discovery for OKC music-lovers. Last season, one local blogster, who reviewed Brightmusic’s opening night concert, was absolutely blown away: “If you live in central Oklahoma, you owe it to yourself to find several of their concerts this season to attend. Honestly, this is some of the very best chamber music in the country and who would have thought it would be free (donations accepted!) in Oklahoma City!”
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The August 25 concert features four instrumental works, the oldest composed in 1827 and the newest in 2000. Opening the concert is Mikhail Glinka’s Trio Pathetique in D minor for clarinet, bassoon and piano. Glinka, the “father” of Russian classical music, is well-remembered for his operas, but he wrote chamber music too. This is one of his finest compositions for chamber ensemble. Brightmusic follows the oldest work on the program with one on which the ink is barely dry, by classical music standards. “Breakdown Tango” features clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Its 36-yearold composer, John Mackey, wrote it on commission from an American ballet company. A graduate of
Chad and Amy of Brightmusic
Julliard and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Mackey was a composition student of John Corigliano (of “Red Violin” fame). The New York Times called “Breakdown Tango” a “darkly dramatic” work, which explains its nickname: “Dementia.” The third work on the program is the “Carmen Fantasy” – a fantasia of themes from Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera “Carmen.” Many music-lovers know Vladimir Horowitz’s virtuoso piano version of this work. This exciting arrangement, for flute, clarinet and piano, is the product of Michael Webster, a performing clarinetist and a music professor at Rice
University. Closing the program is the Sextet in C major for violin, viola, cello, clarinet, horn and piano by Erno von Dohnanyi. He was a 20th Century Hungarian, who composed more in the European Romantic tradition of Brahms and Liszt than in the nationalistic tradition of Bartok and Kodaly. Eight Brightmusic musicians will perform on August 25. Gregory Lee (violin) is an OU professor and the concertmaster of the OKC Phil. Royce McLarry (viola) teaches at Oklahoma Baptist and Oklahoma Christian Universities, and is the principal violist of the OKC Phil. Jonathan Ruck (cello) is an OU professor and the principal cellist of the OKC Phil. (Wow, three OKC Phil principals already!) Parthena Owens (flute) teaches at OCU and plays in the OKC Phil. Carl Rath (bassoon) is an OU professor and the principal bassoonist of the OKC Phil. Kate Pritchett (horn) teaches at OCU and plays in the OKC Phil. Chad Burrow (clarinet) and Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano) are the co-artistic directors of Brightmusic, as well as performers. Until recently, Chad taught clarinet at OCU and was the principal clarinetist of the OKC Phil. This fall, he will assume the prestigious position as professor of clarinet at the University of Michigan. Amy headed the OCU piano department, and was heard last season in the OKC Phil’s performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, which also featured Brightmusicians Lee and Ruck. Even though Chad and Amy will live and teach in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they will continue to be the artistic directors of Brightmusic, and they will return to Chad’s native Oklahoma for each concert this season. So there it is! To hear superb chamber music, you don’t need to go to the Lincoln Center in NYC, the Kennedy Center in DC, or even the Meyerson Center down the road in Dallas. You just have to come to St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral (127 NW 7th Street, at Robinson) in Downtown OKC at 7:30 p.m. on August 25. A reception with the musicians follows each concert. You don’t need to bring any money, but you do need to bring your friends and spread the word among your fellow artists of all stripes. Also, you need to thank the Oklahoma Arts Council, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Kirkpatrick Family Fund, Ad Astra Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, and some other folks, for making these concerts possible. Right here in OKC! Brightmusic is on the web at: www.okcbrightmusic.com.
B
uzzy hit the nail on the head, “Hey, Flaps, what you wanna do?” It's Saturday night and you and your friends just want to hang out. The question is, what to do that isn't same old, same old? No one's really hungry, so a restaurant is out; and everyone groans collectively at the idea of yet another movie. Someone suggests going dancing--which sounds somewhat cool--but that definitely doesn't fall into the category of “hanging out”. Enter: Greenhouse, an Oklahoma City hookah lounge located at 2900 N. Classen Blvd. When you walk into the Greenhouse the first thing you notice is a medley of aromas clamoring for your attention. But, before you can even start to dissect what it is that's delighting your olfactory’s, your attention is drawn to the contemporary art lining the walls as you make your way around the room. Sofas and coffee tables on both sides lead to a small bar at the end of the room. People are lounging, smoking hookah, and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. You can catch the game on the flatscreen hanging from the north wall or just sink into a chair with your laptop and take advantage of their wi-fi. In the disco, disco lights and a halfdozen people dance to the beat of some serious hip hop music. Of course, most come for one of the 47 varieties of hookah flavors. Others simply enjoy a domestic or specialty beer or an energy drink such as Monster or Rockstar. For the Designated Driver or for those who choose not to indulge in an alcoholic beverage, there's also a nice variety of fountain drinks and even a perennial favorite--Jones sodas. For those who don't know, hookah is tobacco that has been treated with herbal fruits and flavored oils to create an aromatic smoke. Indirect heat from charcoal vaporizes the tobacco, rather than incinerating it, and pulls it through a small water reservoir allowing for a smooth draw. Some of the more interesting flavors Greenhouse carries are Yummi Gummi, Cosmo, and Cotton Candy. For the everything mint lover, be sure to try Saturn, Blueballs, or Candy Cane. Hookah bars have been increasing in popularity in the metro area, and are fast becoming the “default hangout” for many an
music...atmosphere, occasional live music...low cover fee, comfy couches. Great place to hang with friends or work on school projects. Many flavors to choose from. There's some awesome art on the walls....” Keep in mind the vibe you feel for the night that you decide to check the place out. Greenhouse has a way of maintaining an order among chaos. The superchill nights of the week are Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Sunday the house lights are switched to the color of Green Lantern's jersey. Tuesdays feature $8 hookah and military discounts. Enjoy live music? Can't miss No Whiners Allowed, playing every Monday night, with Jack and Short. If you get the chance, buy Short a beer. That old man toured with Willie Nelson in the 70s. The weekend is the Greenhouse main attraction. On Friday and Saturday night, the house is brought down with a live DJ, laser lights and some deadly dance beats. Be encouraged to check out their website, www. greenhousehookah.com, which describes itself as “your one-stop source for everything hookah related,” offering a wide variety of hookahs and an “exclusive shisha line provided by Fantasia, a premium hookah tobacco company.” Greenhouse also provides replacement parts for your hookah, including ceramic bowls, hookah hoses, wind covers and screens. Greenhouse Hookah lounge declares its hookah coals selection as one of the “best in the industry,” offering Three Kings hookah coals, the “highly regarded Premium Japanese Charcoals,” boxes of Belgian coals, and introducing Swift-Lite coals. Greenhouse hookah is committed to offering their clientele reasonable prices for modern hookahs and premium Fantasia shisha. Remember that a night on the town doesn't have to mean doing the same thing you did last week. This isn't Groundhog's Day, this is life. Tune into it. Stay interested. “Life's a tough proposition, and the first hundred years are the hardest.”- Wilson Mizner. Hooray for the future.
Nathaniel's Night on the Town by Nathaniel Atterberry
alternative-minded individual. The atmosphere of Greenhouse is one of constant evolution; not only during the week, but throughout the night, as well. An easy evening with a light crowd means you'll likely hear the personal alternative rock mix of Travis Reaks, owner/operator. Anything from Incubus to Alice in Chains to 3OH!3 is likely to play over the house system. But as the lounge seats are filled and foot-traffic becomes dance-traffic, the House reads the mood and commands Top 40 and hip hop to reverberate from the speakers.
Owner Travis Reaks
Greenhouse is fast coming up on their first birthday and has managed to stay under the mainstream radar. But don't expect it to stay a secret for long. There is a dedicated following of regulars who don't mind voicing their opinion. Justus, on Hookah-Bars.com, says, “This place is fun! Good
Watch future issues of ArtBeat for more as Nathaniel seeks out the greatest hang-outs for Oklahoma's creatives.
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By Blair Waltman
G
et ready for a sensory overload. Stillwater band Colourmusic is going to blindside your eyes and ears with their patent grungy rock combined with a stage presence so unique Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips fame should be taking notes. Manned by Ryan Hendrix, Nick Turner, Nicholas Ley and Colin Fleishacker, the group has been mixing sound waves with eyesight since 2005. From live shows complete with haircuts, ‘killing’ their own band member, and putting on a psychedelic light show that makes them worthy of the name ‘colourmusic,’ there’s only one way to prepare or this band—get a sixth sense. Five won’t cut it. Q: First off, how did you guys form the band? Turner: Hendrix and I met while I was an exchange student here at OSU. We became friends with similar musical tastes and enjoyed watching movies together. One movie we bonded over was Armageddon. I became a big fan of everything Ben Affleck after that.
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A few years later, Ryan invited me back with the idea of writing some songs together. One important song was directly influenced by the themes of Armageddon. Much of what we recorded at that time was a big bulk of what made it on our self released Red and Yellow EP's and then finally with a few re- mixes on the Orange album. Orange is also Ben Affleck's favorite color. Q: I understand the name has something to do with Newton's color theories. What are they, and how did they become the name of the band? Ley: Basically, color is an abstract, non-genre based way of looking at music. It's a very liberating way of writing songs in which you focus on the emotion of a color instead of a style of music or literal situation. Ryan and Turner could not agree on a musical direction for the band early on so they tried different experiments and one included using Newton's theories of color and music to dictate the emotion of the song. Just like your eye sees light in various colors, your ear can hear vibrations in
various tones - both of which, as Newton states, are linked and can trigger different emotions... The idea behind Colourmusic is that we make our music based on colors. This way we have no specific genre and we can make a completely different sounding record from our last... even sound like a different band. Q: Your music has been described a lot of different ways—what would you guys call it? Roy: Colourmusic? Q: You guys have done some trippy stuff at concerts—being painted, 'killing' Nick, having your hair and clothes cut off—what's the motivation behind that? Colin: The motivation behind our live show and the many different forms it has taken over the years is quite simple: “What can we do onstage that will make us stand out from every other band the audience will be seeing that night?” Throughout the last couple of years while we have been on
the road, a necessity for a quick, simple visual setup resulted in us wearing white suits. This made it possible for us to still stand out from other artists, while also making time for stage setup and teardown minute. Who knows what the future holds for our live show, but I'm sure it will be just as crazy as what we've done in the past. Ley: We just like to wear women's clothing... Q: Which was the most fun? Turner: I really liked the clothes cutting show. There was a really eerie and shocked silence throughout the crowd when the scissors went from our clothes up to our hair. I believe we were playing 'fall song' during that part. Colin: I agree with Turner. The haircutting show is still my favorite. I wish we could do that while on tour, but hair only grows so fast...unless someone out there has some amazing hair tonic recipe... Ley: I like the one where we married Turner off to an actress posing as his fiancé. I watched the videos from that show the other day and was totally weirded out by how real it was. For months after, people would ask how the newlyweds were doing!
beautiful about music, it means something different from person to person. Making good music has always been the goal. Why put out something you don't believe in 100 percent? Q: How's the new album coming, and when can we expect it? Ley: The album is nearly finished and we're extremely excited about it! There are two more tracks that need work before we have the record in the bag. Then we'll mix and master... hopefully have it out by next spring.
Q: Is there a message in your music, or is making good music the goal? Turner: I think all good music has messages in it. But it is up to the listener to interpret those messages and form their own meaning. That is what is
Q: Planning any tours soon? Ley: Not really. We are in half "live" mode and half "recording" mode right now, which is a place we HATE to be. I like to do something full on, focus all my attention, and then move on. So we will play a show or two here and there until we finish the album but not many. We have to get this album right. Then we'll give it away and see what happens. We did just get back from playing a couple weeks in the UK where we signed with a label called Memphis Industries. They are releasing an EP version of "F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13" (or "Orange" for short) in September or October over there. So there's a possibility of us going back to the UK around then to tour. Q: What's the title 'f, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13' mean? Ley: We picked it because "Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot" was already taken.
Q: You guys even unanimously changed your names to Roy G. Biv for awhile—even wore the same outfits and tried dating the same girl--how did that go? Colin: Honestly, it's an idea that I can see us going back to because of the challenge of having a group of people be one person. I think we did a pretty good job with it, but I really would like to see how well we could really achieve living one life at some point in our career. It was really hard meeting people who wanted to know who the 'real Roy' was and not letting them in on the secret. Q: Is the onstage stuff an extension of the music you play, a fun sort of side thing to the music, or just a different kind of artistic expression? Or none of these? Ley: Most bands are so damn boring to watch. It's the least you can do for an audience. It also allows us to put on a sort of game face. We can be anyone when we're not dressed as our selves...
Ley:"Pink" will be our second full-length. "Orange" started out as two separate EPs, Red andYellow.
Photos by Taylor Thomas
Q: What can Colourmusic fans expect from this new album? Is it a different direction than previous stuff? Ley: It's as different as the color pink is from orange… So, this being the "Pink" album, a very hot pink, it is nasty, sexual, and indulgent. Theoretically we can only do "pink" once, so we are going all the way. That's not to say that the lyrics are necessarily offensive, we use those words to describe the soul of the songs. Q: What number does this one put you guys up to full-length album-wise?
Q: I understand 25 percent of you guys are from England—quite cool, by the way. How does that impact the music you guys make? Turner: For some reason, they always laugh at me when I say we need to turn the amps up to 11. What's the deal? Ley: Nick Turner is a founder of the band... He is a wonderful English boy and he will be spending some time there since he has been gracing the states with his presence for the last year and a half straight. Put simply, he hates Americans and misses marmite. hahaha... But, we do have a great friend, Bryan Thompson, from an amazing Stillwater band called Mayola who will be helping us out at DFest and a few others in the meantime. Q: Any fun things going to be happening during any upcoming tours? Ley: The new live show? Well you'll just have to come see it. It will be visually stimulating, and probably sweat gland stimulating. Oh and bring ear plugs, our lawyer is requiring us to say that now... Check out Colourmusic at their myspace www.myspace.com/colourmusic.
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by Shar Grant I heart tattoos! Not sure where this love at the very least, in a hide-able place. That relates originated, but I know how I've perpetuated it: lots to the second concern: You really need to know and lots of tattoos. Most of mine are small. Up until what you want. Although tattoo artists do create a few years ago I always put tattoos where I could custom work, they need to have a starting point. Or hide them, if necessary. See, I know that tattoos the flipside is when you bring in something super seem mainstream, but does that mean they are? specific, like your own artwork, and maybe that Actually, Samantha V., gifted tattoo artist at particular design won't work with the way the skin Mystical Illusions in OKC, helped me understand contorts. A good artist will tell you that and work this even more. She's been working in the tattoo with the drawing. If you insist, well, it's your body industry for almost nine years, a witness to the and she's not going to fight you on it. evolution of this industry: Before and after a little show called Miami Ink. Before Miami Ink, tattoos remained illusive for "normal" people and mostly reserved for bikers, prison mates and the rebellious. Many people preferred to be tattooed by a man, too. Then, reality TV permeates the public with the boundarybreaking Miami Ink. Not only do many people consider tattoos, well, not so taboo anymore, but the explosion and acceptance of women artists grew from 30/1 to 8/1. This change should be a good thing, right? Well, there are drawbacks. First of all, tattoos aren't taboo anymore. It's not really a rebellious thing if everyone has a tat. Second, people think it's OK to come up to a heavily tattooed person now and touch them. Say what? It's like touching a pregnant belly, just because it looks inviting, don't Samantha and her fiance do it. Don't touch someone. Look with your eyes, not with your hands. Ask to see someone's work But, for instance, if you like flowers, that's a good before pulling up their sleeve. Samantha puts it in starting point. What kind of flowers? Colorful? another way, "You wouldn't go up to a woman and Black? Samantha gives the best illustration for touch her boob and say, looks firm, is it?" So, if perception difference. When customers say you've got the nerve, just ask to see their art work. something like, "I just want a star." She gives Samantha will show you hers and hand you her them a piece of paper and asks them to draw a tree card (that's good PR). and out of sight, she draws a tree. Inevitably, they That brings me to another point. The tattoo artist draw an oak tree, long trunk and leaves shaped is an artist. I asked Samantha what she wanted like clouds. Then, she shows them her pine tree. the public to know about the art of tattoo. She So if you come in totally clueless, you're really said a couple of things. First, this is a permanent expecting a miracle. addition to your body. Just because tattoos seem Also, if an artist draws something up for you acceptable now doesn't mean you're going to waltz and you don't like it, well, you need to tell him. into a corporate interview baring tatted forearms Even though you may not want to offend him, and half sleeves. For your first tat, start small or what's he going to do? Hit you? Listen, it's your
body's permanent display. It will do any artist more damage if you get a tattoo you don't like (that's just bad PR). We talked a lot about Samantha's apprenticeship in Georgia. Her mentor gave her menial tasks like scrubbing clean and re-hanging all the neon in the shop or re-alphabetizing and organizing thousands of display flash (pre-printed artwork). This served no real purpose for the shop owner, but taught her was the most important quality in a tattoo artist: Patience, Danielson, patience! When she asked, why? Why must I do these tasks? Her mentor said, "Watch Karate Kid and you'll see." If you think you are a brilliant artist (and you probably are), but you don't have patience? Forget it. Don't get into this business. You will have to demonstrate patience with customers who don't know what they want. Sometimes you will have to do boring tats like tribal arm bands or tedious filling in. The effort is totally worth it, but you can't give up half way through because it's boring. Come to think of it, all the tattoo artists I know are super laid back. That quality and perfectionism in the artwork are what make a great tattoo artist. Samantha also pursues other creative endeavors on her days off. The walls of her space at Mystical Illusions provide eye candy for every customer: Mostly her own funky work and her weird obsession with photos of men in Speedos! I highly recommend her, not just because she's a gifted artist, but because she is funny, easy to talk with and fair in her prices. She's a straight shooter. Oh, and when you show up for your appointment, bring her a Snickers!
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Riches and fame untold await those who submit any style of poem to poetry@artbeatok.com. Burma Shave
By Ray Wyssmann
The Spark
We have three poems for your enjoyment this month. Burma Shave comes from local poet and musician Ray Wyssmann. Check out his blog at blurbhole.blogspot.com and his band at myspace.com/thesimoleons. Slurring Spell comes from Terah Atai. Check her out at xanga.com/pershony. The Spark comes from Steve Fischer. Riches and fame untold await those who submit any style of poem to poetry@artbeatok.com. Brady
Slurring Spell By Terah Atai
unravel myself as yearning yarn, its so serene cover myself in shallow air, its bubbling picking your pockets with skulls that scream ,its frightening and i'll seduce you, and reproduce you all over again. lovely lanterns that break spill bodies with brains it is put out by lilies that are covered in rain when dawn breaks its early and we are all still in pain but i'll seduce us and reproduce us all over again. barking like babies, wrapped and all cozy. shaking with rabies, we keep quickly disposing. magic in number, and i keep on dozing. but we'll seduce them and reproduce them all over again.
By Steve Fischer There are young lovers on the banks of Spring Creek. They sit gazing in each others eyes listening to the shrieking children the singing robins the scurrying squirrels. They remind me of me before the war before the bionic knees before the grey hairs and grand-kids. They look so free, innocent, full of hope. They remind me of me now. I want to run over to them, grab them by the shoulders, look them in the eye, and let them know, "Every moment can be like this! You don't have lose the spark for each other! You don't have to lose the spark for life!" I want to tell them all about Martha. How beautiful she is. How strong. How wise. I want to tell them my love story. All of the soft simple joys All of the sweet tender kisses. I want to tell them about that night ten years ago when the semi drifted over. I want to tell them that every jog, I know she is by my side urging me "Hey honey stop and look at this robin. This is the fattest robin I've ever seen!" I could tell them about how we kept our spark. How we woke up with coffee for sunrises together. How we sat on the porch holding hands for hours. How we danced each night and never grew old.
How long was I dreaming? Sitting at the wheel Steering with my forehead Sitting on my thumb Careening down this highway In my automobile Runnin’ over road signs Just to break the tedium Well the road Is muddy Where it ends Is your grave And the punch line Old buddy Reads Burma Shave Saw the Buddha in my headlights That old son of a bitch Swerved with the purpose Just to end his little game He bounced off the fender And disappeared into the ditch He moves fast for a fat man Threw off my aim Well the road Is muddy Where it ends Is your grave And the punch line Old buddy Reads Burma Shave Head cop in my rearview Head cop up ahead A fireplace in the basement Mansions in the sky Stopped to help a holy man Whose face was turning red While chanting for the innocent He swallowed down a fly Well the road Is muddy Where it ends Is your grave And the punch line Old buddy Reads Burma Shave
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IAO's 30th Birthday Party
August 29, 7pm until Midnight At our new home at 706 W Sheridan on the historic Film Row in downtown Oklahoma City This year, 2009, marks the 30th year of Individual Artists of Oklahoma's (IAO) existence. IAO was founded in 1979 by three poets as a grass-roots alternative arts organization. IAO's mission is to sustain and encourage emerging and established artists in all media who are intellectually and aesthetically provocative or experimental in subject matter or technique. On our 30th birthday, IAO is celebrating its history and recognizing its founders and contributors. While commemorating IAO's past, the event also looks forward to our future marking the beginning of a new chapter for the organization, as we introduce the community to our new location at 706-708 W. Sheridan on historic "Film Row."
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We will feature visual elements of IAO's history and honor those who helped to make IAO what it is today: a thriving, exciting and unique part of Oklahoma's arts community. From its conceptual beginnings IAO has grown to now host a yearlong calendar full of events and exhibits including film screenings, poetry readings, performance arts and visual arts. Some of IAO's more popular fundraising events and exhibits include "Money Talks, Art Walks," "Edge Art Now," "Biting the Apple," "Fiberworks," "Red Dirt Improv," and the "Red Dot Art Auction." IAO's programming now includes partnerships and collaborations with other community organizations such as The Central OK Humane Society, Oklahoma Visual Artists Coalition (OVAC) and the Oklahoma League for the Blind.
Ashley: I come across some clients that are in search of a female artist. Some people feel more comfortable having a female artist when it comes to getting certain areas of their body tattooed and some people just want to experience being tattooed by a female since it is not the norm. Being involved in an industry that is male dominant has just made me "one of the guys," but it also makes me realize how lucky I am to get to experience something that most people will not have the chance to do. I love what I do and who I work with!
Q. How long have you been in the tattoo industry? Ashley: I have been tattooing professionally for about two and a half years now-- ever since it became legal in Oklahoma.
Q. Do you have any heroes in the business? If so, what do you admire about him/her? Ashley: There are several amazing artists out there that I admire, so I wouldn't know where to start! I can say that I look up to Dennis McPhail with Artist At Large Tattoo in Wichita, KS. He has done a lot of my work when I first started getting tattooed. When I think of some of my best tattoo experiences, they were with him at his shop. Experiences that made me realize I wanted to be a tattoo artist. Q. Do you feel there are any particular benefits or challenges to being a woman in the tattoo industry?
Q. Why did you decide to become a tattoo artist? Ashley: I knew I had to do something creative with my life and as a career. Like I said, it all started with my first tattoo. Actually seeing the process and being in a tattoo shop...it woke me up to what I wanted to do with my life. Q. What is your advice for artists interested in pursuing a career in the tattoo business? Ashley: Draw, draw, draw. You can teach an artist how to tattoo, but you can't teach artistry. I see tattooing as another media of art and having an artistic background is important for creating a good piece. Q. What is your advice for people interested in getting a tattoo? Ashley: Do your research! It cracks me up how many people will walk into a shop, not even look at the artists' portfolio and get a tattoo. There are just as many bad artists as good out there, so unless you actually look at their work, how do you know what you are going to get? Also, if you see work you like on someone, ask them about it. Who did it and what their experience was like. Seeing an artist’s work in person is a good way to know, "I want that person to tattoo me."
Get to know local artist Ashley Smith, professional ink and make-up slinger and coowner of No Regrets Tattoo, at 1712 NW 16th, in Downtown OKC’s Plaza District! Name: Ashley Smith Age: 28
Q. Do you own No Regrets? Ashley: I am a co-owner of the shop. Me, Big Nate, Travis Griffin and Derek Sharp opened and run the shop together. We make a great team!
legalized tattooing in Oklahoma, so I was able to stay where I wanted.
Q. How many tattoos do you have personally? Ashley: I couldn't tell you an official count. At some point they all become one. Q. What is your favorite personal tattoo? Ashley: Me and my husband have a few matching tattoos. Recently we got matching anchors on our fingers to commemorate our 10 year anniversary.
Q. Any other thoughts? Ashley: A good tattoo experience is just as important as the tattoo itself. Getting a tattoo can be very scary and intimidating so it is important to choose a shop that has a comfortable atmosphere and an artist that treats you with respect. Tattoos are permanent, so you want to feel confident in the artist you choose and leave with "No Regrets." HAHAHA...I had to do it!
Q. When did you first know you wanted to be a tattoo artist? Ashley: Ever since I got my first tattoo at 18, I knew I had to do this! I was going to school for graphic design and debating on moving to a state where tattooing was legal. Thankfully, they
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To submit your art, send us a picture of your work and your contact info to feature@artbeatok.com
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I will never forget when my best friend’s mom gave me one of the biggest compliments I’ve received in my life. I was probably in 7th or 8th grade and we were driving “to town” going from one small Oklahoma town to another less small Oklahoma town—one that had a McDonald’s and a Wal-Mart. She said, “Missy, you are such a free spirit!” I hardly knew how to respond. I somehow felt deeply that this was a special compliment even though, at that juncture in life, I didn’t know why. It was as if the words themselves were somehow sacred. I may not have known why, but I believed these words to be some of the truest ever spoken over me in my young life. “A free spirit…” I repeated to myself. The words tasted good on my lips. And today, nearly a quarter of a century later, they still taste deliciously sweet as I savor them. “I am a free spirit.” I think to be acknowledged as a spirit is, in itself, remarkably right. But then, tack on the word “free” to the front and the meaning becomes golden—a free spirit! It is to recognize that we are all beings not bound by the constraints of this world, and not bound by any doctrine of man, philosophy, or bond—but instead, free to follow one’s heart, to seek out truth and to find it, to dream and to believe in those dreams, and ultimately, to create the lives we desire. In this one small comment (that I don’t even know if she meant as a compliment), she had somehow bestowed all these blessings on me. Too often, we are told what we cannot do and why we cannot do it. We are not talented enough, we are not smart enough, we are not rich enough, we are not brave enough. And all of these statements become just as true or false as we choose to believe them to be. The power of these things spoken over us, about us, and by us is not in the truth or falseness of them but in how much we believe them. When an exciting career opportunity presents itself to us, our beaten down heart tells us, “I’m not good enough for that opportunity.” And it becomes so—just like that, regardless of how perfect the position might have been for us. “I’m stupid. I’m not smart enough to be a writer,” the brilliant storyteller tells himself, thereby leaving the whole “other worlds” of his imagination unknown to a public who might have embraced and regaled them as genius. But the belief in the lie is all it takes to end a dream before it has even taken root.
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We were all created for a purpose. To enrich this world we call home. We were created to be a blessing to others. To make this world a better place. This is truth. It is time to take captive those lies that hold us back. In fact, it is time to execute them. Lies deserve no mercy. And as long as we let ourselves entertain the lies, they will hold us in bondage. They will hold us in lives of hopelessness, regret, or simple resignation. “This is all I get,” we believe, thereby resigning ourselves to a life of purpose-LESS-ness; which is truly less than we were created to live. The unfortunate thing is our choice to believe the lies does not just affect ourselves. It affects our spouses, our friends, and our children. What if pursuing our personal dreams is the catalyst that encourages our spouse or friends to pursue their dreams? What if our children, in witnessing our action, begin to believe that they too can achieve anything they set their hearts, minds, and hands to? What if our personal pursuit of our passions is the positive difference in the lives of those we love? What if our decision to believe truth inspires those around us to walk in truth instead of lies? What if…?!?!? What DO we believe in? What do YOU believe in? Are you free to follow your heart, to seek out truth and find it, to dream and to believe in those dreams and ultimately to create the life you desire? I am a free spirit, because I believe it. What do you believe?
“It is time to take captive those lies that hold us back. In fact, it is time to execute them. Lies deserve no mercy.”
Come hear more about ONEAL at The ONEAL Deal, a free networking and information session for ONEAL-ers. When: Thursday, August 27th, 5:30pm Where: City Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., Oklahoma City (At the State Fairgrounds) RSVP no later than August 21st by sending an email to molly.oconnor@arts.ok.gov or by calling 405.521.2025. ONEAL is a free statewide network for Oklahoma’s New and Emerging Arts Leaders. Defined as arts leaders age 35 and younger or with less than five years of experience in the business of arts or arts administration, ONEALers represent the next wave of arts leadership across the state. The ONEAL network provides opportunities to share resources and build peer support for emerging arts leaders. Sponsored by Oklahoma Arts Council, City Arts Center, and ArtBeat
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S.K. Duff Shows at Living Arts Living Arts, of Tulsa, presents Inside-R-OUT, new works by Tulsa raised/NYC artist, S.K. Duff, whose current works are influenced by outsider artists and his work with elementary students. Outsider Art refers to the creative work of artists who are self-taught and/or those who, for a variety of reasons, are considered fortunately impervious to being taught how to make art. It now includes all of the following: the naive, the innocent, the self-taught, the visionary, the intuitive, the eccentric, the schizophrenic, the developmentally disabled, the psychotic, the obsessive, the compulsive. Based on the naive, Duff’s work is filtered through his vast background as a painter, performance artist, poet, and educator. The Opening was met with great success on July 30th. Inside-R-OUT is being held at Living ArtSpace, 308 S. Kenosha, Tulsa, and runs July 30- Aug 20. Duff also gave a wonderful workshop for elementary students at Living ArtSpace on Saturday, August 1. S.K. Duff graduated with a BFA in Fine Arts and Theater from Ohio Wesleyan University, and holds the school’s first interdisciplinary degree in Performance Art. He also graduated with departmental honors for performance art, and honors in individual study for artists’ books. He continued his studies at the New York Studio School, The New School, and the School of Visual Arts, all in New York City. Duff has received the New York Governor’s State Teachers Award and was honored as one of the top 100 teachers in America by the Walt Disney HAND Awards for creative teaching. He was also just ranked as the number two teacher in America via the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education who conducts the National Teacher of the Year competition. Duff also runs a youth organization, AGGG!!! (Art of Greater Gravity and Giving), that is being replicated by several schools across America. He teaches poetry workshops for adults and teens, and has worked with everyone from the incarcerated to the elderly. Duff’s work has been featured in hundreds of gallery and museum exhibitions worldwide, including the prestigious Collector’s Choice exhibition where his works hung alongside those of Matisse and Picasso. He has mounted solo shows at the Carlo Lamagna Gallery (57th St, NY), Franklin Furnace (Downtown, NY), Civilisation (East Village, NY), Living Arts (Tulsa, OK), and the Lynn Mayhew Gallery of Ohio Wesleyan as a Distinguished Alum. His works are represented in several prominent collections including: The Maslow, Prudential, and Best Collections. Duff is currently art teacher and service learning director at Hoboken Charter School. Living Arts of Tulsa is a nonprofit contemporary arts organization which presents and develops visual, performance, and interdisciplinary artists. For more information please visit the website at www.livingarts.org. Contact: Linda Clark, Administrative Director, Living Arts of Tulsa, 918-585-1234, linda@livingarts.org, 308 S. Kenosha, Tulsa, OK. 74120
Artwork by S.K. Duff
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Artist Statement:
“My own work follows suit – always emotional, full of my person – in short, it is the evidence of my path. I have always been fascinated by ‘the other’ -- the outsider -- specifically those who exist outside my own realm of experience. Growing up in Oklahoma, the native-American Pow-Wow was my first exposure to the grandeur of ‘the other.’ As a teenager, this fascination expanded with my choosing to ‘cross the tracks’ and attend the country’s first voluntarily integrated high school, Booker T. Washington. My work is about Wonder and attempts to find beauty in the callous and often-times unsophisticated things in and of our world. My images take on the unexplainable (i.e. the magic and the chaos) of our existence, attempting to produce some sense of understanding, no matter how simplistic or primitive.”
Happy Birthday, Living Arts! Living Arts of Tulsa turns 40 this year, and is throwing a commemorative party to celebrate. The event, "Kubos-Tesseract: A Celebration of Living Arts' 40 years" will be held Friday August 28, 2009 at 6:30pm. Kubos will be an interactive party, which will incorporate all the artistic genres of Living Arts including musical performances, drumming, performance art, rt cars, video, and the spoken word. This party is not an ordinary Friday night! Guests are asked to arrive at Living Arts' current location, 308 S. Kenosha, where they will join in a symbolic procession to the new location at 307 E. Brady. They will be greeted at the Brady location with several performance pieces and installation art works. Participating artists include: music by Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, performance/ installation pieces by Charlotte Rhea, Mark Wittig and Bryce Brimer, and video installations by JD McPherson. The rest of the evening is full of surprises and intrigue with interactive experiences for the guests. Guests will have the option of being as involved as they would like with the dancers, performance artists, sound object players and poets, who will all be a part of the evening's festivities. The 40th Anniversary Exhibit will be featured as well, which will include photographs and video clips from the past 40 years. Tickets are $50 per person and are available through www.livingarts.org, or at the current office, 308 S. Kenosha, Tulsa. Reservations are highly recommended.
Living Arts of Tulsa Moves into Brady District
Living Arts, Tulsa's only contemporary arts organization, is moving into the former Bed Check building at 307 E. Brady in August 2009. This move is made possible thanks to a generous contribution from the George Kaiser Family Foundation. The new Living Arts center will be 12,000 square feet and house exhibits, installations, performances, videos, musical concerts, and arts-education services. The center will open August 28, 2009, with an Anniversary Celebration and exhibit of the organization's past 40 years. Living Arts on Brady is more than a traditional gallery-it will be a true arts center, providing a place for innovative experiential learning opportunities for people of all ages through direct encounters with artists and art making. Living Arts strives to present outstanding contemporary art in all media, including visual art exhibitions, music, film, video and performance that is deserving of public attention and has not been presented to Tulsa audiences. This move will increase Living Arts holding capacity by 100%, allowing the organization to expand programming and engage the community even more. Specifics on the building include the following: -Two Gallery Spaces; Gallery 1 at 2,500 square feet; Gallery 2 at 3,200 square feet -State-of-the-Art Video Lab -Multi-Disciplinary Performance Space -Multi-Disciplinary Education Spaces -Staff Offices The building will open with the gallery side completed; the other projects will be completed/constructed as funded. Living Arts is pleased to be in The Brady District again. Living Arts resided at 19 E. Brady (currently maintained by The Tulsa Glassblowing Studio) from 1995-2000, and enjoyed the organic feel of the neighborhood. The Brady District's strong sense of community and artistic culture is a conducive atmosphere for a contemporary arts center; likewise, the center will compliment the colorful nature and diversity of the district. Artistic Director, Steve Liggett's Statement: I am very proud of and grateful to the great group of people who have worked so hard to help Living Arts reach the level of success that we find ourselves at today. We all know that no one person can do it all and that, "it takes a village---to build a Contemporary ArtSpace." Living Arts has come so far in our 40 years; originating from the Dedmon Furniture building at 2nd and Main, through many spaces including Virginia Myers house to the Living Arts House on Gary, continuing to the Living Arts Exhibition and Performance Space on North Main St, to the Living ArtSpace on Brady, to the Living ArtSpace on Kenosha. And now, la crème de la crème: Living Arts on Brady. With many thanks to so many, and especially to the George Kaiser Family Foundation, we open the doors of this new building with the same reason for existing that has made Living Arts unique, and I believe has been the key to its longevity: we value the process of art-making equally to the object of the art. It is this evolution that keeps Living Arts "living" or constantly changing. And so, it is fitting that our building be renovated in stages, and with each section of the building made from modular units, so as to reconfigure as we discover new purposes or needs for the spaces. Many thanks to Living Arts Board Member Bob Sober whose architectural vision, along with all of the Project Committees' visions, helped Linda Litton-Clark and I create a place which has the artist and the actualization of their dreams at the core of the presentation portion of the building. We have also expanded our spaces to teach - we now have dedicated spaces for the following: Performance-related art forms, Visual/Mixed media art forms, and Video/New Media art forms. Our hope is that Tulsans will try new things - that you will come to events and classes here that are out of your comfort zone - that stimulate you into thinking in new ways and that you will support Living Arts mission as we evolve into a new era of "presenting and developing contemporary art forms in Tulsa".
Kaiser Invites a Multisensory Experience Textile Art Exhibit to Open Living Arts New Building "Landscape with Floating Biology," an interactive textile art installation, will be the inaugural exhibit in Living Arts' new space at 307 E. Brady. Artists Wendy Weiss and Jay Kreimer, of Lincoln, Nebraska, use natural fabrics to create textile art and invent musical instruments that encourage audience manipulation. Myra Block Kaiser, a renowned Fiber Arts Curator, proposed "Landscape with Floating Biology" to Living Arts due to its experiential nature which "fits perfectly in [their] mission." The exhibit opens September 3, 2009 from 5-8pm, and includes an audience-participatory musical performance at 8pm. The how runs September 3-24th at Living Arts, 307 E. Brady. Textiles are part of everyone's everyday environment. We wear clothing, we sleep on bedding, we transport things in bags and baskets, and we sit on upholstery. These familiar perceptions become a starting point for viewing/experiencing the work. Conceptually, the artists use textiles as triggers to evoke memory, language, landscape, history and other significant themes. Installations encourage the viewer to fully participate in the conceptual experience. Sound, movement, and the ability to become a part of the work enhance the experience in ways that the static nature of much visual art cannot. This collaborative work by Weiss and Kreimer pushes the boundaries of traditional textile installations by combining industrial materials with traditional weaving, richly enhancing our perception of the Central Plains. Wendy Weiss has a Master of Fine Arts from University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College. She is currently the Professor of Textiles in the Clothing and Design Department of University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Weiss is also the Director of the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Jay Kreimer has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is an adjunct professor teaching writing, and creative problem solving/leadership at Doane College, Lincoln, Nebraska. Kreimer is also a composer of original music for dance, and a free-lance sound designer for fine art installations.
Artists' Statement:
"We're landscape artists-sculptural multi-media landscape artists. Our collaborative installations combine hand-woven forms with wood figures and electronic components that trigger a variable sound score and movement in the forms and figures. Wood figures are cut and painted. Woven surfaces range from brocaded ovals on transparent grounds to ikat on cotton to textured deflected double weave dyed with natural dye and bound resist. Sounds recombine, elements shift and textiles shimmer in relation to the position of the viewer. The installation engages the magic of subjectivity in the viewer. The breathing wood, the living entity of the installation, responds to the motion and point of view of the perceiver. The perceptions nudge the viewer into an awareness of the essential role that subjective imagination, the viewer's imagination, plays in constructing experience. We try to fill our space where the urban artist may seek to empty it to the edge of meaning. We're prairie maximalists." "Landscape with Floating Biology" runs September 3-24, 2009 at Living Arts, 307 E. Brady, Tulsa, OK. The opening reception is September 3rd, from 5-8 pm and will include an artist talk and audienceparticipatory musical performance.
Living Arts of Tulsa is a nonprofit contemporary arts organization which presents and develops visual, performance, and interdisciplinary artists. For more information please visit our website at www.livingarts.org. Contact: Linda LittonClark, Administrative Director, Living Arts of Tulsa, 918-585-1234, linda@livingarts.org, 308 S. Kenosha, Tulsa, OK. 74120
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OVAC Fellowship OKLAHOMA VISUAL ARTS COALITION INVESTS IN ARTISTS WITH $11,000 IN AWARDS STATEWIDE –The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) presents the Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship, providing two awards of $5,000 each to Oklahoma artists. The 2009 recipients are Kathleen Rivers, Ada and Frank Wick, Norman. New this year, OVAC also granted two Student Awards of Excellence of $500 each. Those were awarded to Riley Harmon, Shawnee and Joshua Meier, Claremore. OVAC is dedicated to supporting visual artists living and working in Oklahoma. The Fellowship awards are given to recognize past achievement and future promise and can be used as the artist’s needs require. Christopher Cook selected the awards as guest curator. Cook is curator of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri. He has organized nearly 30 exhibitions, received his MA in art history, theory, and criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his BA in art history from the University of Florida, Gainesville. In his curator’s statement, Cook stated his excitement at discovering that Oklahoma is peppered with exceptional artists, stating that “there were numerous applicants that deserve special recognition...In the end, however, I was most captivated by the complex collages of
Frank Wick, Norman, "WWJD (9-5)", saw-horse, Christmas Lights, timer set to operating from 9-5 weekdays
found detritus by Kathleen Rivers and the witty and provocative sculptures of Frank Wick.” Addressing the applicants to the Student Awards of Excellence, Cook said he was “impressed by the caliber of artists that applied. I selected artists Riley Harmon and Joshua Meier as this year’s award recipients. Their work is visually sophisticated and conceptually rigorous. Take heed, their careers will be ones to watch!” Kathleen Rivers is Associate Professor of Fine Art at East Central University in Ada. She received her MFA from University of South Carolina. Her current artwork is inspired by memories of home and travel. Intricate collages representing nests are made up of papers and other items that were fated for a trash bin, woven together as a bird weaves and constructs their home. More about Rivers can be found on her website at www.kateriversart.com. Frank Wick received his MFA in sculpture from the University of Miami and his MA in design from the University of Iowa. His work has been exhibited across the country and internationally. Wick uses humor in his installations and conceptual pieces as a way to engage audiences in his commentary on life and the world around him.
Joshua Meier, Claremore, "Wiman's Harvest", Silver Gelatin
Riley Harmon recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BFA in Media Art and will pursue an interdisciplinary MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in the fall of 2009. Harmon works in a variety of forms and materials with his current work informed by topics in psychology, philosophy and computer science, often using unlikely materials such as discarded DVD players, computers and objects from his daily life. More about Harmon can be found on his website at www.rileyharmon.com. Joshua Meier is currently working towards an MFA in Photography/Printmaking at the University of Tulsa. His work explores the overlapping of the lives of humans as they interact with each other over time and in space. Meier photographs tracts of land which are being reinvented by bulldozers and backhoes and alters those images into a new object altogether, resembling the bark of a tree or even a human figure. For more information about the OVAC, visit www.ovac-ok.org or call 405-879-2400. The Fellowship awards are sponsored in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council. OVAC is an Allied Arts member agency.
Kathleen Rivers, Ada, "Ration", maps, stamps, paper scraps, old books, WWII ration stamps on paper
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Sogni D’Oro Sweet Dreams By Toma Haines
When I was a child my mother spanked me for wanting to go to Venice. I was 6 and had read about the pallazos, bridges that sigh and streets made of water. Pepé Le Pew further played a role in reinforcement as did my parent’s subscription to National Geographic. I remember sitting on the floor behind dad’s recliner surrounded by scads of golden-framed issues, sneaking the heavy World Book Encyclopedia off the shelf above my head, the book falling open to the well-marked page, an image of the Grand Canal sweeping me along in a river of dreams. Slowly I sounded out each word of the caption, tasting each letter as I do today when studying Italian - “Mi dispiace, non parlo l’italiano molto bene” - words rolling around my mouth as I were in Piedmont tasting Barolo. Venice tasted good and mom wouldn’t let me go. In the essence of full disclosure, mom didn’t spank me for wanting to go to Venice – in fact, I think she might have even indulged my career aspirations of being the first female gondolier, buying me a blue and white striped shirt to wear while sitting in the bathtub swishing her long yellowhandled broom across the floor, moving the blue bathmat to and fro as if it were my wake. Rather, she spanked me for insisting with stamped foot that we move to Venice “that weekend or else.” We’d recently moved from Kansas to Oklahoma and I saw no reason to settle home on the range when Venice called me by name.
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I had a dream. I might have been 6 growing up in a small town in northwestern Oklahoma, a town with more cows than people, but from a young age I knew what I wanted – I wanted to live in Europe. Flash forward 30 years. For the last 10 years I’ve been living the dream – 5 in Paris, 4 in Amsterdam and I currently reside in Berlin. I never did move to Venice, but I’ve visited many times. And someday when my hair has long since lost the battle against the gray, I suspect I’ll own a house in Umbria, spending my retirement years sipping cappuccino and drinking perfectly-paired vino with Tagliatelle ai Funghi Porcini or brûlée ai pecorino caramelized with 25 year old Balsamic cream. After all, I still have a dream and I’ve been known to make mine happen. At this juncture in the article, as a good travel writer, I might highlight the irony of how - under the glaring sun, standing in a yellow field in Tuscany, not far from Chianti, gazing upon a lone tree on the horizon - it’s as if the world has tilted and I am in northwestern Oklahoma at harvest time. I can almost hear the combines as God picks up his paint brush, using the same palette for these two far-flung locales, cutting a swath through the tall yellow grain and painting a rusted pickup truck that surely saw battles of the Second World War into the scene, pushing it along in a billow of dust. Through the brown fog, the driver tilts his straw summer hat, slightly reminiscent of a spaghetti western, and mouths “Ciao Bella” as he goes by and I smile back, “Buongiorno.” But this isn’t a travel article. Europe is my dream. It might not be yours. Though I’m a traveler, I’m first and foremost a dreamer and though I think I could convince you to pack your bags and join me on my odyssey, this isn’t an article about Italy. I had a dream and I listened to it and pursued it the way some might pursue a lover or a career, relentlessly making my dream a reality. A year after that Italian spanking from my mother, a teacher reprimanded me. The assignment was simple - draw where you’re going to live when you grow up. I drew a long flat boat, with a man
wearing a striped shirt standing in it. The boat was tied to a striped pole and sitting in blue water. My teacher sighed, “I’m disappointed in you. This is beautiful, but you didn’t draw where you’re going to live.” Next to my name written big and bold like Van Gogh she’d written a red “F” – my first and last in my academic career. Crestfallen, I explained “But I’m going to live in Europe and I don’t know what houses in Europe look like, so I drew this gondola.” I confided, “Gondoliers live in Italy.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” she chided, “Nobody lives in Europe.” I didn’t dare argue that 830 million people proved that statement wrong. “Besides,” she continued, “you can’t live in a boat.” Again, 2,400 houseboats in Amsterdam beg to differ, but she hadn’t traveled, even in her imagination, and on that day I learned something very valuable.
Toma Clark Haines is an Oklahoma native who currently resides in Europe with her husband and well-traveled cat. She writes regularly on antiques, travel and European life and is an international public speaker. She is the founder of The Antiques Diva™ European Shopping Tours and writes a lifestyle blog at antiquesdiva.blogspot.com. To travel and shop with The Antiques Diva™ book a European Antique Shopping Tour at www.antiquesdiva.com! Follow The Diva on Twitter at twitter.com/TheAntiquesDiva. Check out my latest blog at www.antiquesdiva.blogspot.com or book a tour at www.antiquesdiva.com
While I am quite certain that everyone has dreams, the world is divided into those who believe dreams are possible and others who at some point in their life stop believing and stop the relentless pursuit of making dreams reality. Strive, with all you have inside you, to always believe in dreams.
Make Dreams A Reality – Learn to be a Gondolier ArtViva “The Original and Best Walking Tours” of Italy has made it easier to make dreams a reality! For 80 Euro (approx $112) - a fraction of the cost of a one night hotel stay in Venice’s posh palace Hotel Danieli - you can “Learn to Be a Gondolier” in a 2-4 hour workshop guaranteeing small groups and individualized instruction. They say you haven’t seen Venice until you’ve seen it from a gondola! Why merely sit back and watch the sites glide by when you can actively participate, learn to row, row, row your boat, taking to the helm and practicing in the Venetian lagoon before testing the waters in the prettiest canals of Venice! Your instructor will share insider stories about the gondolier profession, teaching you this ancient craft in an unforgettable experience. Groups are limited to a maximum of 6 people. Everything but the striped shirt is included! For more information Art Viva: Web: www.italy.artviva.com Phone: 011 39 055 2645033
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G D RA E P S H I G IC N
G D RA E P S H I G IC N G D RA E P S H I G IC N
G D RA E P S H I G IC N
What’s the Deal with ONEAL? (Oklahoma’s New and Emerging Art Leaders)
Oklahoma, things are happening in the arts. Throughout the state, from our smaller rural towns to our urban cities, you can see evidence that the arts are playing an interactive role in the development of our communities. Combined with the tried and true traditional arts events presented by major arts organizations, new and exciting grassroots art projects and happenings are budding up and adding an invigorating presence to the flourishing creative culture. Perhaps one of the reasons that the art scene across Oklahoma is taking flight with new enthusiasm can be attributed to the ONEALers in our State. ONEAL-ers? YES, you know those ONEAL people – Oklahoma’s New and Emerging Arts Leaders. Self-appointed and defined as Arts Leaders age 35 and younger OR those arts leaders who have less than five years of experience in arts administration or the business of arts, the ONEAL-ers represent the next wave of arts leadership across our state. ONEAL is a free network that originated at the Statewide Conference on the Arts in Enid November 2008. A special preconference session was geared specifically towards this group, which included over 50 participants from across the state. The group was comprised of eclectic people that included artists, gallery owners, educators, college students, arts administrators, community volunteers, musicians, performers, writers, tribal and cultural representatives, and creative entrepreneurs. The group brought an exciting energy to the entire conference and, as diverse as they were, they shared one basic trait: a common desire to work collectively to ensure that the arts continue to grow and thrive in Oklahoma. They also discussed some of the challenges of being young or new to the business of arts and expressed a desire for more professional development opportunities that will strengthen their leadership skills. Overall, the group was very passionate about their work in the arts and their desire to make things happen in Oklahoma. Whether they are Okies by birth or by choice or have
boomeranged out of the state for awhile and returned with new ideas and perspective, the ONEAL-ers are bringing lots of creativity to the table. Hence, the ONEAL network was born – an independent free statewide network to provide ONEAL-ers the opportunity for peer support and the opportunity to share resources. Still newly formed, a small task force of ONEAL-ers has been appointed and is working together to lead the way for the entire network. But, since we are still new and establishing ourselves as a network, we are still trying to get the word out about who we are and recruit new members. To date, we have a group page set up on Facebook in which we utilize as our main means of communication and building awareness. And plans are in the works to create and manage a blog for the group. In addition, we are planning an open networking meeting in Oklahoma City. This event will take place Thursday, August 27th at 5:30pm at City Arts Center, (3000 General Pershing Blvd. at the State Fairgrounds). This event is open to anyone who wants to learn more about ONEAL. It is an opportunity to network with other ONEAL-ers and share information about what is happening in the arts around the state. Also, the task force is designing some special sessions for the 2009 Statewide Arts Conference, which will take place in Stillwater from October 7-9. Early bird registration for the conference is only $50 if you sign up before September 18. For more information on the Statewide Arts Conference, please visit www.arts.ok.gov And, if you feel that you classify as an ONEAL-er (or know someone else who does), we would love to have new members in the group! If you would like more information on ONEAL, please send an email to molly. oconnor@arts.ok.gov. And keep watch in ArtBeat for more information on ONEAL and what we are up to, as we will be providing monthly updates and articles as our network gains momentum!
photos by Romy Owens
By Molly O’Connor
“Being in the ONEAL network helps provide a great sense of belonging to Oklahoma and the State’s growing arts culture. It gives people the opportunity to connect and grow together at early stages of their careers and identify obstacles we face and come up with viable solutions as well as share in our continued successes. ONEAL brings people together so that we may help increase one of Oklahoma’s greatest resources – the arts.” - James Wallace, Performing Arts Coordinator for the Chickasaw Nation
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Chronicles of Caleb “If You Don’t Like Bob Dylan, You Can Kiss My Ass” By Caleb Braudrick
O
n a chilly Kansas night on a road that is endless, 65 miles per hour wind whips through my veins as the stars start a riot. The flatlands are best experienced in the bed of a truck. Though the skin is cold, the organs are in-tune. Warm. Whiskey soaked. Tobacco cured. Harvest moon knows my name, but settles for my face, only speaking through beams that fall like dandruff onto my shoulders. And underneath God’s skirt, all is right with the world. This is what his voice sounds like to me. Bob Dylan interrupted my ears and my soul. I wasn’t looking for him anymore than he for me. His revolution happened a little over a decade and a half before I was born, but his words and arrangements have a clamshell encased-like freshness to it that made sense to my ears; ears that had heard very little of the world outside of Motown and soulless pop country. I wanted to believe in him before he strummed his guitar on that late night forgotten television tribute to someone or something. I pointed to the screen, speaking aloud to anyone who would listen, “This man is important. This man means something.” You hear names like “Dylan” spoken with the same reverence as “Lincoln” when growing up on the East Coast. Though I had sung his songs in an educational setting, I never heard the gravel under the tires (feet). And when the band kicked in through rabbit ears and mono sound, I invited the noise into my heart. I knew I had been changed. I realize not many people have these moments, but I sure as hell had mine. “Religious” would not encompass the experience properly, but “belief” sure would. I believed in myself like I never had before. I believed that the heart inside of me that wept the way 7th grade hearts can only weep did not do so in vane. In short, if Bob Dylan was important, then so was Caleb Braudrick.
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The picture painted above is with the purist of emotions. It is necessary to carry out the rest of this piece, as painful as it is for me. You see, Bob Dylan feels as holy to me as tears. His words and music are so important to me that I have found myself several times in my life completely writing people off if they had a negative word to say about the man. Any sane person with a breath in their body and blood in their heart couldn’t help but see the genius. The truth of the matter is, however, Dylan didn’t turn water into wine, and he just pisses some people off. A very common sentiment among the masses is this: great words, awful voice. I take immediate issue with this, because his voice is unique, but the argument over vocal talents in regards to Dylan is fruitless. The hard truth that this jaded writer is forced to face goes way beyond my affection for Robert Zimmerman. The realization that my allegiance to people is dependent on whether or not they see the truth and beauty in the same things that I do is sickening to me. How often have I shunned someone based on his or her non-acceptance of what I find acceptable? Am I that much of an elitist? I detest elitism with a gagging sound that is not unlike the sound my dog makes after eating too many lawn clippings. Elitism makes me so sick that I stopped attending shows in certain parts of our fair state just to avoid the hippster-scenester kids with interesting hair and judgmental ears; the individuals (and I use that term loosely) who have certain rules for being a fan. I shall never forget the evening a certain rail-thin boycreep in jeans made for a 3rd grader named Lucy told me I had committed a fashion “faux pas” by wearing a t-shirt celebrating the very band I had paid good money to see that night. Apparently, there is also a rule chastising anyone for wearing a concert t-shirt the day after buying said shirt. Things like this made
me sad to be a fan of independent music and I swore never to turn into such a beast. Then I lost respect for someone because they “couldn’t stand” Bob Dylan. It doesn’t end with Dylan, however. My hypocrisy branches out much farther. I’ve also developed a pension for holding people in lower esteem if they happen to enjoy things I find foolish and shallow. For instance, the second I find out someone watches reality television or listens to Nickleback, I have a tendency to question their intelligence. I find it impossible to believe that someone who rocks out to “Photograph” before watching “The Hills” doesn’t have some sort of restriction on their driver’s license. Unfortunately, these types of shallow entertainment permeate the eyes and ears of people I genuinely care about. To consider them a lower life form is no better than my greasy faced friend who questioned my common sense for wearing a certain t-shirt. It’s all elitism and it all has to go. In the end, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a point where I completely embrace people who can’t stand Bob Dylan, but enter an orgasmic state of bliss at the sound of Chad Kroeger’s post-grunge drivel. I think the fact that I’m aware of my hypocrisy is a step in the right direction, however. Will I ever advance past this point of realization? I’m really not sure. Maybe one day in my geriatric years, I’ll be able to live and let live. Maybe it’s best in the mean time to wear my passions on my sleeve and save my disgusts for circles that share them. I’m trying to find an eloquent and a profound way to end this that will bring solace to many and stability to the rest, but “Subterranean Homesick Blues” just came on the old iTunes. In other words…
The Thinking Man State of Creativity
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By Shawn Hancock
was recently informed of something horribly shocking. My grandmother was a full blood Choctaw (that‘s not the shocking part) and she believed that her own race of people were "stupid". My grandmother died when I was a kid, so I didn't know her that well. I do know that she was a woman of great faith and from what I understand she taught herself English with the bible in one hand and a dictionary in the other. I'm still working on how she was able to do that. Although I did inherit a Choctaw translated bible when my grandfather died. So, she may have had a third book in the mix, I don't know. Anyway, I loved my grandmother very much and I never would have suspected that she felt that way. Most likely it was a reflection of how she felt about herself. Now I'm not the kind of Native American that has a chip on his shoulder. I don't carry a grudge against the white man. I'm partially white myself. The truth is, I don‘t care too much for evil people no matter what their race may be. Back in the day when Native Americans were being forced to relocate there was some serious brain washing taking place by some evil, or at least uninformed, people. Native Americans were made to feel less than and that belief has been passed on to this day. Now if you're not a Native American you may be asking what this has to do with you. This relates to you because you live and work in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has its history of ups and downs and we still carry the baggage of that history. The mentality of its people is based on the mentality passed down from generation to generation. Imagine the hurt of a people group considered to be less than and being forced to leave their homes. My grandmother inadvertently passed down a lie that was taught to her and then it was passed on to me which unfortunately may have been passed to my children. I have, until recently, believed that I was stupid. I have since embraced the truth that I am not. If you believe that you are stupid, I invite you to embrace the truth, that you are not. Imagine the hope of those who had experienced a chance to start over during the Land Run. I'm always meeting someone who has moved here for that very same reason. They come to Oklahoma to start over. If a lie can be passed from one generation to another, then hope can be passed as well. Now you may be asking what this has to do with art. If we don't believe in ourselves, we can never achieve our dreams. No one is just going to hand
it to you. You're not going to be discovered sitting in front of the TV. You're not going to paint that series of paintings if you don't get started. You will never direct that film if you don't pick up a camera and learn to use it. You'll never audition for that part if you don't get up and go. I have heard over and over (probably from a truck commercial) that Oklahomans are hard working. It's not enough to be hard working. We can work hard in the same place, doing the same thing our entire lives. Many of us have more than one full time job. It's not hard work alone that will take us to the next level. We have to change our patterns of thinking, we have to believe in ourselves. We have to stop believing the lies we tell ourselves. "I'm stupid, I'm not important, nobody cares, I'm not talented, I'm a screw up, I don't have anything to offer, I'm fat, I'm ugly, I'm too old, I'm too young, no one will accept me, etc. etc. etc." I have seen these local shows and commercials about Oklahoma being the state of creativity. We have talked to a number of artists about this and often they laugh and sarcastically say "yeah, right, Oklahoma is the state of creativity." The truth is, IT IS. The commercials showcase it- Oklahoma is in the middle of medical advancements, innovative farming techniques and other technological advancements. What is not often showcased in those commercials is that Oklahoma is bursting with creative artists who are fueling the innovation of this great state. It seems that Oklahoma is embracing creativity without embracing its artists. When we artists hear, "creativity project" we expect that finally art and artists are going to be recognized for the important contribution they make. Corporate and mainstream Oklahoma are ready to embrace creativity as it impacts the advancement of business, but they are missing that art is the heartbeat of the creativity and innovation they desire. Again this may very well be history based. Oklahoma has on many occasions cut the funding for the arts in schools. Therefore fewer people are raised with an appreciation for the arts. We don't understand the importance of art and the role it plays in relationship to creativity. Art begets creativity and creativity begets innovation and innovation begets success. Corporate and mainstream Oklahoma have a tendency to shy
away from or to fear the arts and its artists, but it is the arts and these Oklahoma artists that will benefit them the most. Imagine creativity as a plant and successful innovation was the fruit of that plant, then art would be the seed and that seed would need good soil. It is in the soil that we should invest our efforts. Oklahoma can be good soil but not without some effort on our part. The biggest problem we have is that we don't believe Oklahoma is the state of creativity. If we started to believe we were creative we would become creative. I was taught a saying when I was a kid. "Believe it and receive it, doubt it and do without it". I don't care if you think it's corny, it's true. It's like those shows where the fashion snobs take some poor lady and force her to wear clothes she would never wear so she can show off that figure she never knew she had. The thing I like about those shows is that in the end the woman sees herself in a way she never did before. If we believe we are the state of creativity we will be the state of creativity and before you know it we will be known as the state of creativity by the rest of the world. If you want to study fashion, you go to New York. If you want to make movies, you move to California. If you want to be immersed in creativity, you go to Oklahoma. I'm talking about the future here and it's about time that we Oklahomans start finding our identity in the future instead of the past.
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AUGUST Events to look forward to every month Every Monday: Art, Films, Drama, Music/ 8:30pm/ The Venue, Plaza District/ FREE/ thevenueokc@gmail.com Thursday evenings: Cocktails on the Skyline/ 5-10:30pm/ $5, members FREE/ all ages/ OKC Museum of Art Free local vineyard wine tastings/ Strebel Creek Vineyard and Gift Shop/ strebelcreek.com or 405-720-1119 Free first-Monday-of-the-month at the Natural History Museum in Norman all year First Fridays/ Paseo Art Walk/ shops open late with snacks & wine/ 6-10pm/ FREE/ Paseo District (OKC) Fun continues Saturday: Noon-6pm Second Fridays/ “Live on the Plaza” ArtWalk/ shops open late, street vendors/ 7-11pm/ FREE/ Plaza District (OKC) Second Fridays/ Art “à la CART”/ Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (Norman)/ 6-9pm/ FREE Second Friday Circuit of Art/ Main Street, Norman/ 6-10pm/ FREE Second Sundays/ Featured Poet/ 2pm/ FREE/ Norman Train Depot (Norman) Third Thursdays/ Featured Poet/ 7pm/ FREE/ Benedict Street Market Place (Shawnee) Every Sunday/ Open Forum at the Mic + Karaoke/ 8pm-midnight/ FREE/ Pita Pit (Norman) Last Saturdays/ Downtown D.I.Y./ OKC Cooking Collaborative, 723 N. Hudson/ 7-10p/ $3 or free- CoComembers Last Sundays/ Featured Poet + Open Mic/ 2pm/ FREE/ Full Circle Bookstore in 50 Penn Place (OKC) Fourth Fridays/ Featured Poet + Open Mic/ 7:30pm/ FREE/ IAO Gallery (OKC) Last Wednesdays/ b.y.o.b. & chat it up with other artists/ 6:30-10pm/ FREE/ ODDFAB Studio & Workshop (OKC) oddfab@att.net
Ongoing events through August S.K. Duff: Art Exhibition/ shows thru Aug. 20th/ Living ArtSpace (Tulsa)/ FREE OKC Museum of Art Exhibition/ “Turner to Cezanne”/ Masterpieces from the National Museum of Wales Not Just a Housewife: The Changing Roles of Women in the West Exhibition/ shows thru Jan 2010 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum City Arts Center summer camps/ now through August 14/ children ages 5 - 7, 8 - 12, 12 & up. Each camp is one week long, different camps are held each week. Enroll today! www.cityartscenter.org
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Cocktails on the Skyline/ 5-10:30pm/ $5, members FREE/ all ages/ OKC Museum of Art • Marcy Priest/ Music in the Atrium/ 11:30am/ Norick Downtown Library (OKC)/FREE/ 405-503-7902 • The Windmill Movie/ 7:30pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ gen adm $8, members $5 Paseo Art Walk: shops open late with snacks & wine/ 6-10pm/ Paseo Arts District (OKC)/ FREE Fun continues Saturday: Noon-6pm • The Windmill Movie/ 5:30pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ gen adm $8, members $5 • Cape No.7 (film)/ 8pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ gen adm $8, members $5 • Marcy Priest/ 8pm/ Cuppies and Joe (OKC)/ FREE/ 405-503-7902 • The Producers (play)/ 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312 • We Must Dismantle All This! (urbana, il) Suzi Trash (Ark) & locals TBA / 8pm/ OKC Infoshop/ $5 donation • Sensory Sculputures w/ Parent: ages 15-36 months/ 10-10:45am & 11-11:45am/ OKC Museum of Art $9, members $7 • The Windmill Movie/ 5:30pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ gen adm $8, members $5 • Cape No.7 (film)/ 8pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ gen adm $8, members $5 • The Producers (play)/ 2pm & 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312 • Sleeping Beauty (play)/ 7pm/ Tulsa Community College/ tickets: 405-521-9312 • Wicked (play)/ 2pm & 8pm/ Tulsa PAC - Chapman Music Hall/ tickets: 405-521-9312 Featured Poet/ 2pm/ Norman Train Depot (Norman)/ FREE Open Forum at the Mic + Karaoke/ 8pm-midnight/ Pita Pit (Norman)/ FREE • Dr. Sketchy’s Anti Art School/ 6-10pm/ AKA Gallery, 3001 Paseo/ $10 • Watermedia for the serious beginner/ 1-4pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ $25, members $20 • Creative Use for your Digital Camera/ 1-4pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ $25, members $20 • The Windmill Movie/ 2pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ gen adm $8, members $5 • Wicked (play)/ 2pm & 7:30pm/ Tulsa PAC - Chapman Music Hall/ tickets: 405-521-9312 • J. Echols (jazz/standards)/ 7-8:30pm/ Myriad Botanical Gardens/ FREE
Films &/or Live Drama/Music/ 8:30p/ The Venue (OKC, Plaza District)/ FREE/ thevenueokc@gmail.com 10 • Woodcarvers Club/ 7pm/ City Arts Center (OKC)/ artscouncilokc.com
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• Autistic Youth, Dean Dirg, and locals TBA / 8pm/ OKC Infoshop/ $5 donation Cocktails on the Skyline/ 5-10:30pm/ $5, members free/ all ages/ OKC Museum of Art • Randy Weeks & John Fullbright/ live music/ 8pm/ The Blue Door (OKC)/ $15 at the door “Live on the Plaza” ArtWalk: shops open late, street vendors strut their stuff/ 6-10pm/ Plaza District (OKC)/ FREE • Jessica Tate (jazz fusion)/ CD Release Party/ 8-10p/ Prohibition Room • Marcy Priest: live music/ 9pm/ Galileo Bar & Grill (OKC)/ FREE/ 405-503-7902 • Ann Powell, Dan Garrett, & Christina Kovash/ exhibition reception/ 6-10pm/ Istvan Gallery (OKC)/ FREE • Open house for above exhibition (show continues thru Oct. 31st)/ 11am-5pm/ Istvan Gallery (OKC)/ FREE • Suburban Smash (stl hardcore punk) Quick Fix (iowa hardcore punk) locals/ 8pm/ OKC Infoshop/ $5 donation • Focus on Color: ages 10-13/ 10am/ OKC Museum of Art/ $15, members $10 • Veggie Print: ages 3-5/ 10-11am/ OKC Museum of Art/ $10, members $7.50
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To add your event: calendar@artbeatok.com
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Open Forum at the Mic + Karaoke/ 8pm-midnight/ FREE/ Pita Pit (Norman) • Open house for exhibition (show continues thru Oct. 31st)/ 11am-5pm/ Istvan Gallery (OKC)/ FREE • Painting 101: ages 10-13/ 2-4pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ $15, members $10 • Junebug Spade: rock/experimental/psychedelic/ 7-8:30pm/ Myriad Botanical Gardens/ FREE
Drama/Music/ 8:30p/ The Venue (OKC, Plaza District)/ FREE/ thevenueokc@gmail.com 17 • DaveFilmsAlvin&/or& TheLiveGuilty Women/ live music/ 8pm/ The Blue Door (OKC)/ $15 at the door 18 • Little Shop of Horrors (play)/ 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312 19 • Little Shop of Horrors (play)/ 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312 on the Skyline/ 5-10:30pm/ $5, members free/ all ages/ OKC Museum of Art 20 Cocktails Featured Poet/ 7pm/ Benedict Street Market Place (Shawnee)/ FREE • Little Shop of Horrors (play)/ 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312
Deadline for The Girlie Show/ www.thegirlieshow.net 21 •• Submission Little Shop of Horrors (play)/ 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312 Priest (live music)/ 7pm/ Othello’s (Norman)/ FREE/ 405-503-7902 22 •• Marcy Little Shop of Horrors (play)/ 2pm & 8pm/ Civic Center: Gaylord Theatre/ tickets: 405-521-9312 Open Forum at the Mic + Karaoke/ 8pm-midnight / FREE / Pita Pit (Norman) 23 • Digital Photo Editing for Beginners/ 1-4pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ $25, members $20 • C-Plus!: Funk/Pop / 7-8:30pm/ Myriad Botanical Gardens/ FREE
24 Films &/or Live Drama/Music/ 8:30p/ The Venue (OKC, Plaza District)/ FREE/ thevenueokc@gmail.com 26 b.y.o.b. & chat with other artists/ 6:30-10pm/ FREE/ ODDFAB Studio & Workshop (OKC)/ oddfab@att.net Cocktails on the Skyline on the Roof Terrace/ 5-10:30pm/ $12, members free/ all ages/ OKC Museum of Art 27 • Marcy Priest w/ Pinkie & The Snakeshakers (live music)/ 5pm/ Couch Park (OKC)/ FREE/ downtownokc.com Poet + Open Mic/ 7:30pm/ FREE/ IAO Gallery (OKC) 28 • DCOI,Featured GRG, I Resign, I Resign/ 8pm/ OKC Infoshop/ $5 donation
• Kubos-Tesseract: A Celebration of Living Arts’ 40 yrs/6:30p/ Living Arts of Tulsa/ Tkts $50/ www.livingarts.org
IAO 30th Birthday Party/ 7pm-Midnight/ IAO Gallery/ FREE 29 •• Shackles Await Reunion/ 8pm/ OKC Infoshop/ $5 donation
• A Stormy Day With Turner w/ Parent: ages 3-5/ 10-11am/ OKC Museum of Art/ $10, members $7.50
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Open Forum at the Mic + Karaoke / 8pm-midnight / free / Pita Pit (Norman) Featured Poet + Open Mic/ 2pm/ FREE/ Full Circle Bookstore in 50 Penn Place (OKC) • Lost at Sea: indie/pop rock/ 7-8:30pm/ Myriad Botanical Gardens/ FREE Films &/or Live Drama/Music/ 8:30p/ The Venue (OKC, Plaza District)/ FREE/ thevenueokc@gmail.com
SEPTEMBER
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• Art and Film Appreciation: Museum Studies (HUM 2123-E01)/ 5:30-9pm/ OKC Museum of Art/ $306 Cocktails on the Skyline/ 5-10:30pm/ $5, members free/ all ages/ OKC Museum of Art • Wendy Weiss and Jay Kreimer: “Landscape with Floating Biology”: an interactive textile art installation 5- 8pm/ Living Arts (new building: 307 E. Brady, Tulsa) runs thru Sept. 24th/ FREE/ 918-585-1234 Paseo Art Walk: shops open late with snacks & wine/ 6-10pm/ Paseo Arts District (OKC)/ FREE Fun c ontinues Saturday: Noon-6pm • Gallery Walk PAA Juried Photography Exhibit: Call for Entries will be posted on www.thepaseo.com Open Forum at the Mic + Karaoke/ 8pm-midnight/ FREE/ Pita Pit (Norman) Films &/or Live Drama/Music/ 8:30p/ The Venue (OKC, Plaza District)/ FREE/ thevenueokc@gmail.com
Volunteer Opportunities: • IAO is currently seeking mature volunteers to serve as hosts (405) 232-6060 or email: info@iaogallery.org. • Bethel Foundantion Volunteering: Helping single mothers get on their feet/ go to www.bethelfoundationusa.com to learn how you can volunteer your time, donate food/clothing/baby items, and much more. • City Arts Center is requesting the following items to be donated for children’s summer camps: styrofoam, wide nylon straps, burlap, masonite, nail-free scrap wood, shoe/cigar boxes, buttons, scrap cloth, men’s clothing, feathers, washers/wingnuts, empty cans, metal spoons, cardboard, sponges, old cookware, art supplies.
Flesheater Photography FLESHEATERPHOTOGRAPHY@yahoo.com FLESHEATERPHOTOGRAPHY.blogspot.com www.FLICKR.com/FLESHEATERPHOTOGRAPHY
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