Luxiere - Oklahoma Lifestyle & Real Estate // Edition 41

ARTISTRYKIAROSTAMI

ON THE COVER: ‘BEYOND THE FRAME’

Photographer, director, painter, poet—the work of late Iranian artist Abbas Kiarostami stars in a stunning retrospective exhibition closing soon at the OKC Museum of Art.

STORY BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

30

THE POWER OF LITERATI PRESS

This local publishing house is dedicated to building a community for innovative genre storytellers and getting more eyes on Oklahoma creativity.

STORY BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

ArtDesk AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

With its 10th anniversary approaching, an OKC-based publication has made a major splash at one of the art world’s biggest, most prestigious events.

STORY BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

50

IN SEARCH OF GREENER PASTURES

Though far from Hollywood, Oklahoma has proven the perfect spot for Richard and Amy Janes to launch ambitious dream project Green Pastures Studio.

STORY BY MICHAEL KINNEY

56

RECONNECTING HEART & SOUL

After far too long an absence, a native son’s return to the serene, scenic Pacific Northwest provides a feast for the eyes and the spirit.

STORY BY JESSE DAVISON

CORRECTIONS

In the story “Red Day Run: Keller Williams’ Philanthropic Race for the Community,” which appears in Edition 40, Brad Reeser was mistakenly identified as the President of Keller Williams Realty Central Oklahoma. He was also identified as the founder of the event; he is not. We regret the errors.

HEART, HANDS & STITCH BY STITCH

Sydnie Peebles’ eye for quality and mastery of leatherwork drive the launch of her Sydnie Banks brand of entirely handmade, one-of-a-kind treasures.

STORY BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

Intentional down to the smallest details, Nonesuch makes meals that are influenced by memory, youth, taste and the city and state that surround them. We cultivate fare honoring intense reverence to our farmers and Oklahoma terroir.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Creativity in Oklahoma is flourishing. Everywhere we turn, it seems that someone is launching a television pilot project, producing a film or writing a book. In the case of Kirkpatrick Foundation, founded in 1955 by John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick, creativity has always been part of its DNA. Current Chairman, Christian Keesee, along with his husband, choreographer Larry Keigwin, and the Foundation’s Executive Director Louisa McCune laid the groundwork for its quarterly magazine, ArtDesk , while sitting on a picnic bench in Marfa, Texas, a decade ago. Its brilliant success over the years is something to celebrate.

Is it unusual for one local publication to feature another within its pages? Perhaps, but at Luxiere we’ve never really been about “the usual.” Since our inception, we’ve dedicated ourselves to showcasing the beauty, quality and innovation Oklahoma brings to the world, so when we heard that ArtDesk was one of seven publications lauded by the global phenom Art Basel Miami Beach in December, we knew we wanted to tell its story. And what a story it is!

In this edition, we’ll also introduce you to one of the key players in Oklahoma’s emerging film industry. Green Pastures Studio is helmed by Los Angeles transplants Amy and Richard Janes, who spoke with writer Michael Kinney about the decades-old, shared dream they’re bringing to life in Spencer.

Luxiere ’s graphic designer Jesse Davison recently traveled to the Pacific Northwest. Something of a Renaissance man, Jesse is a talented designer, and also a brilliant photographer and writer. You’ll enjoy reading about his adventure and seeing the region through the eyes of an artist.

Our Woman of Influence is Dr. Mautra Staley Jones. Her recent investiture as Oklahoma City Community College’s 11th president made history, and she’s just getting started. One of her first initiatives was to

eliminate $4 million in student debt for thousands of students. Removing barriers to education is what she and OCCC are focused on.

Literati Press Comics and Novels publishes comics that regularly land on Kirkus Reviews’ top lists. It’s also home to a bookstore and events and services for writers, like weekly Ink and Draw nights, all from its storefront in the Paseo Arts District. Writer Alexandra Bohannon spoke with Literati founder Charles Martin and Managing Editor of Brick & Mortar Press, Chloe Harrison.

The pages of this issue are filled with stories of innovation, imagination and courage. It’s an exciting time for creativity in Oklahoma and we are here for it. We know you are, too.

Until next time,

STACY D. JOHNSON Publisher, Owner

DESERT HILLS AT SUNSET (diptych) 40” x 60” oil on canvas ROBERT HAMRIC

EDITION NO. 41

STACY D. JOHNSON

DESIGN | nvsble studio

ON THE COVER | Graphic composition by Jesse Davison of Abbas Kiarostami with exerpts of his work, inspired by the exhibition “Kiarostami: Beyond The Frame” at the OKC Museum of Art

CONTRIBUTORS

Special thanks to all of our Luxiere Oklahoma vendor partners for your contribution of time and talent to make this extraordinary resource.

LUXIERE

2123 N Classen Blvd Oklahoma City, OK 73106 info @ luxiere.co www.luxiere.co

Luxiere Oklahoma is published bimonthly, direct-mailed to a curated readership and distributed at select retail locations free of charge for individual use. To request copies, please contact the publisher. For more information, visit www.luxiere.co.

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES

email: stacy@ luxiere.co phone: 405.808.1332

Advertising claims and the views expressed in this magazine by writers do not necessarily represent those of Luxiere Magazine. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited materials. Originals of manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other materials should not be sent to Luxiere Magazine unless specifically requested to do so in writing. Luxiere Magazine is not responsible for the return of any manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other materials submitted. Luxiere Magazine shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. Luxiere Magazine shall have no liability for any infringement of copyright or other arising out of publication thereof. Luxiere Magazine reserves the right to edit submissions before publication. Reproduction in any form without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. All requests for permission and reprints must be made in writing to Luxiere Magazine, c/o Legal, 2123 N Classen Blvd Oklahoma City, OK 73106.

KATI HANNA Writer JORDAN CLARK Photographer

MICHAEL KINNEY Writer

COOPER ANDERSON Website

JESSE DAVISON Designer

owner/publisher

MAGAZINE CORPORATE OFFICE

KENNON BRYCE Photographer

VALENTINA GUTIÉRREZ Videographer/Writer

STEVE GILL Copy Editor/Writer

CHRISTINE EDDINGTON Writer

(er)

CHLOE • CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN • MARIE OLIVER • ULLA JOHNSON • ZIMMERMANN

VALENTINO • STELLA McCARTNEY • DIPTYQUE • NATURA BISSÉ • ALEXIS • LaMER

FRAME • BOND NO.9 • TRISH McEVOY • JIMMY CHOO • SCOTCH & SODA and MORE!

WOMAN

DR. MAUTRA STALEY JONES

President of Oklahoma City Community College

BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

The historic investiture in November 2022 of the 11th president of Oklahoma City Community College, Dr. Mautra Staley Jones, marked the moment the first woman, and the first person of color, took the helm of the 50-year-old institution. For Jones, though she appreciates that significance, her focus has always been less about her title and more about how she hopes her role might affect future generations. “While honored that many find reason to celebrate my historic appointment, what I hope more than anything is that they will be inspired; inspired to dream big, work hard, make sacrifices and to trust God’s good and perfect plan for your life.”

This woman is a soft-spoken powerhouse. She’s earnest, smart, driven and humble — it’s a powerful combination of qualities, instilled in her early. Jones describes her childhood as tumultuous and her beginnings as humble. She spoke frankly about her childhood in an interview with the Oklahoma Historical Society in 2022, saying, “I was born in Oklahoma City but raised by my grandmother in Ardmore. I really had to hold fast to my faith, to my studies and to my family to pave my path.”

Jones’ grandmother, still the family matriarch at nearly 90, was and is a foundational influence for her. “She really set the tone and the standard for our way of living. She instilled in me the value of faith, family and freedom. Freedom of choices. Making sure that we were honest and ethical, and intentional in everything that we did.”

Dreaming big dreams was part of the family’s ethos. Jones and her siblings were encouraged to set goals and think about what they wanted out of life, despite distinctly limited means. “We were told that we could accomplish anything that we set our minds to if we worked hard. If we persevered through the challenges.” No self-pity and no excuses.

She took those values to heart, and did just that — she worked, and she stayed focused. A self-described eternal optimist, Jones learned the importance of education early on, and pursued higher education as a first-generation college student at the University of Oklahoma. She later earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix at San Diego and a Doctor of Education from Vanderbilt University’s prestigious Peabody College of Education. She has dedicated her career to education, working for Langston University, The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools and KIPP Reach College Preparatory School.

Serving the 17,000 students at OCCC is her largest platform to date, and she’s thinking just as big. “There’s never been a more exciting time to be at OCCC,” she says. “Like many institutions, we are navigating our way out of the pandemic and finding innovative ways to provide instruction and meet the needs of a diverse student body. Our challenges are similar to other institutions, but our approach to them is quite different. Indeed, we embrace challenges and view them as opportunities for growth, innovation and the achievement of excellence. I am incredibly

excited about the future and the collaborative culture that is being created. I believe in the power of people, which is why I work diligently to build bridges and to find partnerships in and beyond our campus community; partnerships that will enhance the value of a degree from OCCC and yield opportunities for our students.”

When she thinks about OCCC’s future — say, in a decade — her vision of the college is clear. “It is a thriving community that is the envy of all. I want OCCC to not be a choice, but to be the choice for those desiring to continue their educational journey. I see a community that works with business and industry leaders to meet the needs of the workforce. And I see an inclusive community where all are welcome and know that the achievement of their success is the college’s sole focus.”

Dr. Jones’ words align with her actions. Take the Fresh Start Initiative, for example, which has forgiven nearly $4 million in student debt using COVID-19 relief funds, affecting more than 4,500 OCCC students. “The Fresh Start Initiative sprang from a recognition that the hardships of the pandemic greatly impacted our community and impeded the student success that is at the very heart of the college’s mission. Driven by this mission and in recognition of the extent of the hardship presented, we decided to take bold action in the form of removing the financial burden the pandemic created for many. In consultation with our Board of Regents and members of the administration, it was decided to pay off student balances held within the institution using COVID-19 relief funding. And in doing so, we made it possible for many of our students to continue pursuing their educational goals.”

Google “Dr. Mautra Staley Jones” and the accolades, awards and honors appear by the dozens. She’s has been appointed by Governors Kevin Stitt and Mary Fallin as a board director for the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, a commissioner for the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission and a member of the Oklahoma standards steering committee.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt appointed her to the Civic Center Foundation’s board of directors. She actively serves as a board director for BancFirst, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Stitch Crew, Oklahoma Watch, Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, American Mothers, Inc., Oklahoma Philharmonic Society, Civic Center Foundation and the Leadership Oklahoma City Alumni Association. She is also board advisor for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, as well as a member of Salt and Light Leadership (SALLT) Class IV, Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXIX, MSI Aspiring Leaders program at Rutgers University, VEST Her, Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

What does this bold thinker hope her role and her service to the community mean to OCCC and its students? “I am not entirely certain,” she says, “but I hope my service inspires. Since assuming the presidency, I’ve had the privilege to interact with quite a few students and members of the community who often share how many of my early life experiences mirror their own. Upon hearing this, I remind them of an important principle learned many years ago: Finishing the race is far more important than focusing on how the race began.” •

It’s easy to fall in love with Oklahoma’s wide open spaces, beautiful terrain and endless outdoor activities. Experience life as nature intended with miles of private trails, stocked fishing ponds, pickle ball and views for days at Timber Ridge Estates. Our luxury gated community is just minutes from Sardis Lake and close to some of the best hunting Oklahoma has to offer. Bring your own builder and build on your own timeline.

The Oklahoma Property You’ve Dreamed of is Within Reach

THE POWER OF

LITERATI PRESS

Not just selling books, but building community

BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

Literati Press Comics and Novels began in 2010 as the brainchild of founder and Creative Director Charles J. Martin, following years of enduring an artist’s worst nightmare: isolation. After suffering in silence for years and finding more artists in the same lonely boat, he and a group of Oklahoma creatives decided to make a “platform for writers doing innovative things with genre storytelling.”

From humble do-it-yourself publishing (which included making comics out of stolen office supplies in the dead of night), Literati Press has evolved into a powerhouse. The organization professionally publishes comics that land on Kirkus Reviews’ top lists, hosts weekly Ink and Draw nights, provides a financial lifeline to a host of Oklahoma creators, participates in community outreach — and so much more.

Dive into the background of Literati Press, peek into the shelves of its bookstore and explore Literati’s new venture into author services in this conversation with Martin and Managing Editor of Brick & Mortar Press, Chloe Harrison.

OPPOSITE:

Illustration from Glamorella’s Daughter, Issue No.2

Story by Charles J. Martin Art by Jerry Bennett

What was Literati Press’ first big hit in publishing?

Charles J. Martin: Natasha [Alterici] and I had been talking because she was a comic book creator to watch in Oklahoma. She had told me about this Viking tale she was working on, and we weren’t really looking for a Viking tale, but I was so excited about her work.

We launched the first issue [of “Heathen”] in 2015 and it went insane. It quickly became the hottest title in comics. But it got too big. It was me sending out 40 to 50 comics a day to just individual people in comic book stores — and I just couldn’t keep up.

So we helped Natasha move it to a larger publishing company, Vault Comics, and it’s since got movie rights. So it had a huge, huge life. Natasha’s actually come back to do her first graphic novel with us, so that was great.

How did that affect Literati Press going forward?

CJM: Following the loss, knowing we had this title that could go interstellar and we just couldn’t hold onto it, we started discussing what we would need to build if we were ever lucky enough to have that success again. What did we need to build to sustain it? We needed somebody with a publishing background, like real-deal publishing background, not just like DIY punk, everybody-hop-in-the-van thing.

What is Literati Press’ distribution strategy for getting more Oklahoma-created work into the hands of readers?

CJM: We have to focus on the national and, in some cases, international strategy to be able to have these creators, who are throwing their hearts and souls in these comics, continue making enough money that they can survive.

These artists — specifically the artists that are having to push aside freelance projects that are always going to pay more — they can’t make the sacrifices needed to bring a comic all the way to final production.

Chloe Harrison: Also, the stories that we’re telling aren’t just for an Oklahoma audience. They definitely have themes, characters and settings that take place in Oklahoma. I think Oklahoma readers will see that and be excited about it, but also, it’s a universal story that I think anyone could pick up off the shelf and enjoy. So we just want more readers out there.

What is a common misconception people might have about comic books?

CH: Before this [job], I wasn’t really a comic reader. I probably picked up one or two graphic novels in my life. What I discovered was that any story can be told through the comic format. I think a lot of people have this very narrow view of what a comic is and what kind of story you could tell, but anybody can find a story told through this format that they’d enjoy. [I learned] that there were a lot of more slow and very internal stories that can be told through a visual format.

CJM: If you come to Literati Press and you are really interested in seeing what’s possible in comic books, we’ll find you the comic book. It’ll blow your mind.

Tell me about the new author services company established in 2022 as one of the “limbs” of Literati Press. What need does it fill in the community?

CH: Brick & Mortar kind of came into our minds as an author services company. I know Charles has forever been hearing from authors who want to get their book out there, and they don’t have the resources to do it, and so they come to him for advice.

So these are books that aren’t going to be published under the umbrella of Literati Press, but we still can be whatever the author needs, if it’s editing, design, printing, binding — pretty much anything they could need to either self-publish it, or seek publication elsewhere, we can offer that for them.

What makes author services companies different than vanity presses?

CJM: Vanity presses are basically author services companies that are pretending to be a publishing company. But they do offer a service that writers need. They need books designed, edited and produced, and authors don’t really know how to do that.

We’re basically here to help all of those writers avoid all the mistakes that we made — and do it, make it look better, do it more efficiently and get their books to market.

Illustration from Aliengaged, Issue No.1

Story by Colin Ingersol, Art by Greg White

What do you hope will change as a result of Literati Press?

CJM: The hope is the more successful writers that are out there, regardless of whether or not they’re talking about Literati Press, the more we can change minds of what Oklahoma writers are really capable of. Oklahoma should be no different than New York City, Austin, L.A. or Portland — where it means something to be a writer from here, versus that being a strike against you. We have the ability to extend the brand of Oklahoma in a way that I don’t think a lot of people think about. Think about investment in movies in Oklahoma as a way to elevate the brand of Oklahoma. You look at a $500,000 to a million budget. You look at a comic. We can get a comic seen by 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 people worldwide. We can make that comic for $10,000 or less.

Brick & Mortar, the bookstore, the outreach programs that we do, this is all part of an ecosystem that developed to keep this thing running.

Where do you want all arms of Literati Press to be in five years?

CH: I want Brick & Mortar to be fully established, new books every month, which we’re getting there, just have more books under our belts to show the new clients. For Literati Press, I want us to be more established within the world of publishing — not just in Oklahoma, but outside [the state].

I want the bookstore to thrive — and really, I want in a lot of ways, I want things to stay the same. I think what we have is really, really unique and really beautiful. I think if we can keep that, keep that going, keep the heart of it, no matter how big we get, that’s the goal. •

CURRENT LITERATI COMIC TITLES

The Rez Detectives by Steven Paul Judd, Tvli Jacob and M.K. Perker Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2022 list says that “unforgettable kid detectives plus dazzling artwork make this book a must-have.”

The Black-Jack Demon by Nick Hermes

The debut series by stunning new comics talent Nick Hermes, The Black-Jack Demon is a genre-busting Western, the tale of a boy bent on revenge crossing the West from the plains to the Rockies in pursuit of the stranger who murdered his father and destroyed the family mine.

Glamorella’s Daughter by Jerry Bennett and Charles J. Martin

Comet is an inquisitive young girl with autism and a mother who happens to be a superhero. As a threat looms from Glamorella’s homeworld, Comet and her mother must overcome their differences to protect the Earth together.

We Promised Utopia by Charles J. Martin, Adrian Morales, Robert Holman, John Eric Osborn, Jonathan Koelsch and Chloe Elimam Kirkus Reviews calls this ambitious science fiction series a “timely, engrossing SF tale with an environmental theme and striking art” that “offers readers just as many reasons to return for the sequel.”

Aliengaged by Colin Ingersol and Greg White

Aliengaged is a story about love in the face of out-of-this-world odds. It’s the story of Garrett, perhaps the only person on Earth preoccupied enough to completely miss the alien conquest.

Illustrations by Greg White for Aliengaged

Illustration from The Res Detectives Story by Steven Paul Judd and Tvli Jacob, Art by M.K. Perker

Providing quality tax and financial guidance to individuals and businesses since 1996.

REGIER COX & ASSOCIATES

Founded in 1996, Regier Cox and Associates is a public accounting firm comprised of approximately twenty professionals from various backgrounds who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from public accounting and other professions. Our firm provides tax compliance and planning services, in addition to bookkeeping, compilations, reviews, and other attestation projects. We strive to provide personalized services with the highest level of quality to our clients.

ArtDesk AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

Global accolades for contemporary arts magazine

BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

Something big happened in Florida last December. ArtDesk , the magnificent, mission-driven publication produced quarterly by Oklahoma’s Kirkpatrick Foundation — dreamt up by its chairman, Christian Keesee, and helmed by executive director Louisa McCune — was celebrated as among the best in the world, along with six other arts publications, at Art Basel Miami Beach.

Think of Art Basel as akin to the Burning Man Festival, but on steroids, and for the arts. Its largest iteration to date was in December 2022, with 283 galleries represented, along with a dizzying slate of events, performances, satellite fairs, parties and a deeply cool scene. Art Basel Miami Beach is a massive offshoot of an art fair founded in 1970 in Basel, Switzerland. It’s been a driving force — the catalyst, even, of Miami Beach’s incredible art scene since 2002.

The top art galleries in the world occupy reserved spaces within the Miami Beach Conference Center, which they transform into enticing microcosms of their galleries, or expressions of their philosophies. McCune was wowed by the magnitude and spectacle of the thing, including its live performance art. She delights in the telling of it. “At one point there was a woman, an actual live human-being woman, suspended overhead in a chair from this rigging,” she says. This intrepid, nimble woman posed in yoga-like positions, high above the crowd, for the duration of the show.

McCune’s delight continued as she made her way through the space and spotted the work of one of Oklahoma’s most successful artists. “Right there in the primo spot, as you go down the main escalator, is Edgar Heap of Birds, who lives probably two miles from my house here in Oklahoma City … once again, the outsized influence of Oklahomans in the art world, at a national level, was front and center at Art Basel.”

Did McCune do a little happy dance when she finally arrived at Art Basel’s Magazine Collective and saw ArtDesk nestled among such art world and publishing luminaries as The Paris Review, Artforum and WSJ Magazine, plus the six other magazines selected for the Collective? Yes. Yes, she did.

Funnily enough, when she arrived at the Kirkpatrick Foundation in 2011, McCune thought her magazine days were behind her. She’d been editor-in-chief at Oklahoma Today for 13 years; before that she’d spent her early career in the Big Apple, working for some pretty big dogs in the magazine world: George, Harper’s, New York Magazine, Worth and American Benefactor

Keesee, a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, hired McCune in 2011 to serve as executive director for Kirkpatrick Foundation. Founded by Keesee’s grandparents John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick in 1955, the foundation is an Oklahoma City philanthropy supporting arts, culture, education, animal well-being, environmental conservation and historic preservation.

ArtDesk Issue 01

ArtDesk in lights at Times Square

Eighteen months into her tenure at the foundation, in October 2012, McCune was sitting on a picnic bench in Marfa, Texas, wondering just exactly what Keesee wanted to talk with her about. He’d called a couple of weeks prior to say he had a “surprise” and wanted to visit about it in person. Did she need to prepare anything, she asked? No, he assured her.

“It’s Chris, dance choreographer Larry Keigwin and me, sitting on that bench. Chris said, ‘Okay, here it is: I want you to make a magazine.’” His vision was that the magazine would serve as a support publication in some shape or another for three regional art centers: Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center; Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado; and Marfa Contemporary, which was at the time was Oklahoma Contemporary’s outpost in Marfa, Texas. His other edict? “Make it good. That was my assignment,” she says.

Such a directive might strike fear into the hearts of many, but not McCune. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know how to do this.’ I’d just come from my career at Oklahoma Today, and various magazines preceding that in New York.” Precisely one year later, ArtDesk debuted with a party at the Hotel Paisano, just a block away from the park bench.

What started as a glossy, global magazine ( ArtDesk was originally sold on newsstands in 25 foreign countries; 10 copies in Japan qualified it as “global”) was over time refined into a luxuriously oversized, interactive, vibrant publication with a targeted distribution and print run of more than 80,000 copies per quarterly issue. It’s inserted in the Sunday New York Times in Oklahoma, Dallas and North Texas, Houston, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and the Colorado Springs area. It’s also distributed for free on racks throughout Oklahoma City.

Most importantly, though, says McCune, “About 4,100 copies of ArtDesk go to the middle and senior high school students in Oklahoma City Public Schools.

“It’s written as much for the sophisticated art patron as it is for a 14- or 15-year-old,” she says. “We want to appeal to a large audience of people from all walks of life and all kinds of places.”

For Keesee, McCune and their team, a fundamental premise of ArtDesk is that art is for everyone, and one of the main messages they want to convey is the reality that, although “contemporary art is amplified in art capitals, it is born in regions where many artists are raised and educated.”

Each issue contains a poster — carefully pry the front and back cover from the staples and its interior side is an art poster. McCune imagines young, emerging artists in tiny towns finding inspiration in ArtDesk ’s pages, putting the posters on their walls and dreaming. Its coverage is intentionally inclusive, spanning from Ed Ruscha and Jenny Holzer to a local teenager who makes photorealist pencil drawings.

“For me, ArtDesk started as a surprise,” says McCune. “Ten years later, we love the surprise that ArtDesk gives audiences of all ages: inspiration for their own creative lives.” •

ArtDesk plans to return to Miami Art Week and Art Basel in 2023, this time to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Visit readartdesk.com

Why choose Dr. Bajaj for Breast Lift Surgery?

With age, childbirth and a variety of other common factors, your body can change. If you are looking to reshape your breasts, a MASTOPEXY, more commonly known as a breast lift, might be for you. A discussion with Dr. Bajaj during a consultation can help you explore your options. Schedule your consultation today!

Anureet Bajaj, M.D. Plastic Surgeon

ABSTRACT IMPACT

Color, scale and natural splendor in the works of Robert Hamric

BY VALENTINA GUTIÉRREZ

Native Texan Robert Hamric has spent his life creating, from metal sculptures to mixed-media assemblages to massive oil-on-canvas landscapes — all inspired by an ongoing fascination with the imagery of the American Southwest. Hamric, who displays at The Howell Gallery in Nichols Hills, spoke with us about his love of nature, his affinity for large-scale projects and more.

Tell us about your beginnings—when did you first discover art, and was there a specific point when it turned into a profession?

I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. My grandparents were from Madill, Oklahoma, and I would travel with them back to my great-grandmother’s farm. I was always amazed as we crossed the river by how bright the dirt was; I thought that red pigment paint must have dyed it that color. It is because of my Chickasaw heritage that formed the love I have for the land and sky of the western frontier.

The opportunities that I had growing up were quite amazing. Having started private art lessons about the age of 10, I also began taking some things I had made to the local Art Jamboree and would sell them. I guess I knew I was talented when people bought what I had made. By the time I was about 17, a work of mine was

chosen by the Texas Watercolor Society and was exhibited at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. Later, while studying at the University of Texas, I was included in a juried group show at the South Texas Art Museum with a large geometric painting.

My artwork felt like it was professional when, after graduating, I moved to Houston and produced more large-scale work. Among them were some very large abstract car parts, done for the offices of my father’s automobile dealership.

You are a mixed media artist. What are some of the materials you use in your process?

The steel cube sculptures are made of powder-coated aluminum on stainless steel poles with steel bases. These are very geometric and represent a period when I was studying this particular shape of six cubes put together, establishing angles that make an illusion in depth and perspective, and that actually form a cross from one vantage point.

Other mixed media sculptures were created using starched canvas and wrapped colored wires with unique figures, emblems and small folk art clay pieces, as well as religious icons. These materials have been a favorite of mine because of the symbolism, universal shapes and features that these tree sculptures represent.

Can you share your perspective on the relationship between art and nature?

We have traveled often to Santa Fe and Taos, always being taken in by the soft, sandy terrain and earth colors of the adobes. The colorful doors and architecture always were inspiring for my work. More recently, traveling to Montana and Yellowstone Park have given me a great feeling for nature and wide open spaces. I appreciate the art, architecture and nature from any points of view. As an artist, I see the art of others from my point of view, as well as trying to see theirs. The villas on the hillsides, positioned one on top of the other, along the coast of Italy are sensational. The association that the terrain has with the sea and the white architecture with splashes of color is awesome. These things are probably seen differently by everybody, and it is a tremendous influence for most artists. It is one that forms a vision of stacked color.

What inspired you to create?

Joseph Cain, an art professor from Corpus Christi, was my teacher for the formative years in my creating. He used spiritualism in much of his work, which has always been a large influence to me. Also, I was able to observe his various techniques as he worked prolifically.

From an early age, upon visiting museums, I was always taken by the bright colored abstract paintings and some of the more pastoral impressionistic landscapes. The brush strokes and movement in Van Gogh’s paintings are always a pleasure to study. Another influence are the delicate and flowing landscapes of Andrew Dasburg, which are instrumental for understanding more about light, space and Cubism.

“OCOTILLO SUNSET” 48x84” oil

“MOUNTAINS IN BLOOM” 48x60” oil

What has been your most memorable piece, and why?

Over the last 20 years, my wife Freda and I have been going out to far west Texas. It is very different from any place that you have probably been. I take many photographs when there, to use when I am back in my studio. The skies and mountain shapes are magical. I decided to do a panoramic painting from attaching five photos across lengthwise. At the time I occupied a huge studio. The final painting was extremely large; I built five canvases, each 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and lined them all up to paint the panoramic photo collage. The process was exhilarating, to be able to paint that large. The paintings ended up going in different directions to various owners. That was a unique experience that I hope may come around again.

What are you currently working on? What are you looking forward to professionally?

My current work portrays very abstract brush strokes in oil on canvas—the skies of early morning light to the sunsets over the mountains that can have color ranges of aqua blue, pale coral and pink to brilliant orange. Many times the clouds form and change from white to gray, and a dark bank will emerge with rain. I hope to expand with these images, and continue to paint with expressionism and bold brush strokes with much color.

I will be looking forward to the continued association with the Howell Gallery. It has been one of the best experiences of my life to meet the Howells, working with Laura and being a part of their gallery. It provides a great feeling to be part of Oklahoma City. •

“DESERT BLOOMS 2” 16X20” oil

CASTEL SANTANA, MD

FAMILY MEDICINE SPECIALIST

Castel Santana, MD is a functional medicine physician who offers a variety of services and specialized testing that provides an in-depth look into root causes of chronic disease and potential health risks. Dr. Santana has developed a unique, multifaceted approach to health care, which he calls the Five Pillars They have been a major part of his practice for more than a decade and include:

‘BEYOND THE FRAME’ IS BEYOND EXCEPTIONAL

OKCMOA’s outstanding retrospective of Abbas Kiarostami

BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

Take heed: You’ve only got until April to experience Kiarostami: Beyond the Frame. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s multimedia retrospective exhibition of artworks and films by Abbas Kiarostami, the widely acclaimed Iranian photographer, filmmaker and visual artist, is ambitious, comprehensive and stunning — and you’re going to want to go more than once.

No other museum in the world has assembled such a comprehensive show of the late artist’s thought-provoking yet playful work. The only exhibition that comes close was mounted in 2021 (after being delayed due to the pandemic) at Centre Pompidou in Paris, according to Kiarostami’s son, Ahmad Kiarostami, who also serves as the president of the non-profit, San Francisco-based Kiarostami Foundation. He spoke with Luxiere candidly about growing up with an internationally acclaimed artist for a father, and about how his relationship with his father’s work has evolved.

“Everybody in my family is an artist,” says Ahmad; “I’m the only one who’s not. I was rebellious by not becoming an artist. My job is in technology that I have had different startups. When I was a kid, I decided I didn’t want to follow my father’s path or to be under his shadow.” He laughs. “Look at me, I’m 50 and I’m sitting here talking about my dad. So … the sensitivity of a teenager is not there anymore.” He’s modest, though. Like his father, Ahmad is prolific: He’s produced documentaries, founded tech startups here and abroad, made music videos and launched a remarkable platform, Docunight, which allows its subscribers to stream Iranian documentary films — there are currently hundreds in its library. The son of a documentarian brought these hundreds of documentaries to global audiences, including those mesmerizing films made by his father.

It turns out that Michael J. Anderson, president and CEO of the OKC Museum of Art (OKCMOA), has long been fascinated by Abbas Kiarostami’s work. His interest was borne out of Kiarostami’s stature as a film director.

“When I was really starting my studies in film, right around the year 1999 or 2000, he was perhaps the most important figure in the global art cinema,” Anderson remembers. “And so, when I was really starting to get interested in films outside of the United States, trying to figure out what was happening around the world, his name repeatedly came up … My first publication in film was about his films, I think back in 2004. I’ve written other things on his work.”

In a remarkably 21st-century move, Anderson contacted Ahmad through social media. “I actually just messaged Ahmad Kiarostami on Twitter and asked him if he’d be interested in doing an exhibition in Oklahoma. And he responded pretty quickly that he was.”

The exhibition, the first American museum offering since the artist’s 2016 death, occupies the entire third floor of the museum. From Kiarostami’s early children’s films and graphic design work to his immersive large-scale photographs and installations of his 21st-century video art, it’s all here. This exhibition features the world premiere of the complete “Regardez-moi” portfolio, Kiarostami’s series of photographs depicting visitors to the Louvre and other museums.

Abbas Kiarostami, Poster for Black & White, © The Kiarostami Foundation

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Ahmad Kiarostami, Martin Scorsese and Abbas Kiarostami

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALI BOUSTAN

While the exhibition, like Kiarostami himself, is not overtly political, Ahmad allows that giving voice to Iranian arts and artists — specifically in times like these — is, if not an act of defiance, at the very least a rejection of the narrative that Iran is just one thing. Yes, it’s a deeply divided country and yes, a boiling point has been reached between the regime and the people. But it’s also a beautiful, ever-changing place. It’s also just an ordinary place filled with people living regular lives. Mundane and beautiful, like everyplace else.

Ahmad continues, “Unfortunately, the regime doesn’t understand … and they have left no space for people, and no way out. And I think it’s a very dangerous situation right now … So I think they’re going to fight until the very last moment … At the same time, people have no place to go, either. There’s a book called The Art of War, an old Chinese book, by Sun Tzu. He taught to always leave an escape path for your, for your enemy, otherwise they must stay and fight until the last moment, the last drop of the blood. The situation now is both parties have no nowhere to go. And I think this is a very dangerous situation. But I think that’s the only way, the only path moving forward. Unfortunately.”

Some of Kiarostami’s works have never been seen in Iran. Images from the “Regardez-moi” series, the final part of the viewers’ experience at OKCMOA, are of people (mostly at the Louvre) caught in the act of looking at works of art. There’s a cheekiness to this series; visitors will note playful visual

motifs and similarities between the works being viewed and the viewers themselves. But because some of those works being viewed are classical paintings depicting the nude form, audiences in the artist’s home country may never see these images.

Bringing Iranian voices of all kinds to light is part of the mission of Docunight, as well. “At the start of the uprising in Iran in 2009, I caught myself having a lot of opinions without really knowing what was going on in Iran. Because I left Iran eight years prior to that. And I thought, ‘What’s the best way to educate myself about what’s going on in Iran?’ And when I say what’s going on, I don’t talk about specific topic, I mean in general, and Iran is a very young, fast country. Probably that’s not the image that people have from outside, but things change pretty quick … So I thought, how can I learn about that? I thought news is not a good idea, because they only talk about very specific things … So I thought the best way is documentaries. And I started watching more documentaries from Iran, myself.”

Yes, friends, Kiarostami: Beyond the Frame is a must-see exhibition for a multitude of reasons. Significant. But especially, says Anderson, because “It’s not a dutiful exhibition in the sense that you’re not going to just check it off your list. It’s not cultural vegetables. There’s something immersive and magical about the experience of these works. And it’s really because of that that they’ve become these iconic works of contemporary art.” •

PHOTOGRAPH BY MASHVASH SHEIKHOLESLAMI

THE GREAT SPRING SKIN

RESET

Relax and find your center with a luxuriously personalized BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE BESPOKE FACIAL, designed to address your unique skin care needs. Based on your skin analysis, a selection of customized professional formulas with high concentrations of clean, clinical-strength botanical and marine extracts will deeply cleanse, tone, professionally exfoliate, brighten, hydrate, and rebalance your skin. One deep inhalation of your chosen essential oil blend will begin the relaxing signature sculpting facial massage, leaving your skin visibly contoured, brighter, with a GLOW all will envy!

FIND IT ALL HERE

DAXXIFY™ is the only long-lasting, peptide-powered frown line treatment and the first innovation of its kind in over 20 years. Lasting an average of 6 to 9 months, DAXXIFY™ will literally turn your frown upside down. Exclusively at Restorative Injectables.

BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE LOTION P50 is the #1 must have in the world. It has been likened to a “facial in a bottle.” And for a good reason, too! Its multifaceted nature lends itself to a diversity of skin types and complexions. With a range of formulations for every unique skin type, this face lotion exfoliates, cleanses, and purifies the epidermis, helping to maintain pH-balanced skin.

SKINPEN® MICRONEEDLING is the one treatment that anyone— this means you —can benefit from! No matter your gender or skin type, there are microneedling benefits you’ll want for your own skin, including:

• IMPROVES FINE LINES & WRINKLES

• FIRMS MILD SKIN LAXITY (AROUND EYELIDS & MOUTH)

• DIMINISHES ACNE, SCARS, AND STRETCH MARKS

• HELPS TO ERASE AGE SPOTS, SUN DAMAGE, MELASMA & HYPERPIGMENTATION

• REDUCES PORE SIZE

IN SEARCH OF GREENER PASTURES

Richard and Amy Janes hope to shape Oklahoma’s film future

BY MICHAEL KINNEY

Movies often have an origin story — whether it’s Peter Parker being bitten by a radioactive spider or Charles Foster Kane leaving his boyhood sled behind, great narratives can stem from the simplest beginnings. Movie studios do, too. For Oklahoma’s Green Pastures Studio, its origin story began innocently enough with a date almost two decades ago in Los Angeles. That is when founders Amy and Richard Janes met for the first time.

Along with usual first date talking points, the pair found they had a similar dream to build a filmmaker’s ranch.

“The idea would be something outside of Hollywood where filmmakers can come together and be brave in the way that they execute ideas,” Richard says. “Careers can grow and stories can be told that are of value to the world. But it had to happen outside of Hollywood. We had no idea how we were going to achieve this, but we both had this dream. It was bizarre.”

The Janeses’ dream materialized in 2020 when the they partnered with Melodie Garneau and opened Green Pastures Studio in Spencer, a town of less than 3,000 that’s on the outskirts of Oklahoma City.

The studio sits on a 12-acre campus and houses three sound stages, including a fully outfitted 5,500-square-foot stage that

rivals any to be found in Los Angeles or Atlanta, according to Amy. Green Pastures provides all the creature comforts that are needed to make Hollywood features or smaller-budget independent films.

In less than three years, Green Pastures has been the locale of choice for several TV and film productions such as “Finding Carlos,” What Rhymes With Reason and Hostage House. Those were outside productions for which Green Pastures provided studio and support services. However, the company has been busy with its own in-house productions as well. They include titles such as “Faculty Lounging,” Cricket’s Requiem (2023) and the documentary Finding Cricket’s Choir (2023), which were filmed exclusively at Green Pastures Studio or on location around the state.

Despite the pandemic, Green Pastures opened shop at almost the perfect time.

“In those early COVID periods, a lot of people were losing their jobs. During that time, everywhere in the country shut down,” says Richard. “But Gov. (Kevin) Stitt said that the film industry was an essential business, so we carried on shooting. For a brief period, we were one of the busiest states in the country for films. That put us on the map for massive growth.”

Richard and Amy Janes with Melodie Garneau and Roger Janes (the dog)

SOONER STATE SERENDIPITY

Because of places like Green Pastures and Prairie Surf Media, Oklahoma is joining the ranks of California and Atlanta as among the most sought-after areas for filmmakers. But it was almost a fluke that Richard, who is originally from England, and Amy, who resided in Los Angeles for 18 years, even ended up being part of the great movie revival in Oklahoma.

It wasn’t until they got married and had two children, Ella and Finn, that the Janeses finally decided it was time to make their dream happen. Still believing their filmmaker’s ranch could not take place within the Hollywood culture, they began to scour the country looking for the right location. The only stipulation was that the entire family had to agree on it.

For two years the Janeses toured the country until stumbling upon Oklahoma after a failed trip to Boulder, Colorado. It was definitely not the first location on their list. In fact, it wasn’t even on the list.

“We ended up coming out here to a friend that said her parents own a farm in Jones, Oklahoma. It’s fairly close to jump on a plane and go and ride some horses for a few days and forget about this moving malarkey,” Richard remembers. “So, we came out here and within 24-48 hours, all of us looked at each other and said, ‘Does this feel like home to you? Because it does to me.’ And we moved here three months later. It really was the best thing we ever did in our life. All four of us have absolutely flourished here.”

Soon after that, the Janeses found the Green Pastures Elementary School in Spencer. Built during the early days before school desegregation (1954), the school was originally part of the Dunjee Negro School System, which also included a middle school and high school. After a tumultuous history of closures and reopenings, the elementary school closed for good in 2018.

But when the Janeses saw the building and the surrounding land, they knew it was the perfect location for their filmmaker’s ranch. However, to honor the history of the school district and the 120-year old city, which is still predominantly African American, the Janeses decided to keep the name Green Pastures for the studio. Even more importantly, the Janeses wanted to make Green Pastures a truly community-driven film company. They weren’t just looking to just bring in employees from around the country; they wanted to bring the industry to Spencer and the surrounding area. That is done primarily through the Oklahoma Film and TV Academy hallmark course called Set Ready.

“The course trains people to enter the industry as a production assistant,” Richard says. “But we also offer over 25 other courses ranging from film accounting and budgeting through to set construction and sound.”

The courses have paved the way for area residents to get a foothold in the film industry. One Spencer native, Denard Hunt, who had lost his job in the oil fields, was persuaded to take a course after he saw the Janeses out in front of his old school and asked what they were doing. That one question led to him entering the training course that happened to be starting that weekend in 2020. Hunt went on to become the Lionsgate Film Studio’s first diversity apprentice on a major motion picture.

“He did such a brilliant job, they brought him onto the next film,” Amy says. “All of a sudden, this man went from losing a job … to working regularly on a film set.”

Hunt is one of 500 people who have gone through the courses looking to build careers in an industry that was foreign to them just a few short years ago. The Janeses estimate that at least 50 of them had ties to Green Pastures/Dunjee Negro Schools based on attendance by the students or their parents or grandparents.

“We have been working regularly, graduating students and putting them straight out into the industry since then,” Richard adds. “The idea was we build the studio out to service the production, but we also produce a lot of our own content. We have stuff that we shoot here ourselves, we have stuff that we shoot with a third party. And the underlying basis for everything we do is the training program and education.”

But whether it’s the new online version or in-person courses, Green Pastures is about getting its students prepared and knowledgeable to grow in the industry.

“A lot of [what] people think about coming to some school that teaches you how to do film is that you’re only going to learn how to use a camera and how to do sound,” Richard says. “We don’t teach any of that. What you are going to be trained for is a production assistant. It’s going to be paperwork, bringing the actors to the set. It is going to be bringing the background to the

set. In these positions, there is a huge amount to understand. But that’s what we’re training for. We’re training for the actual job you’re going to be doing.”

The Janeses own an advertising agency in Los Angeles and Dallas, with clients that include Toyota Financial Services, Lexus Financial Services, Monster Energy, Red Bull and other mainstream brands. This has allowed them to not take a paycheck since opening the studio; everything they make is reinvested back into the studio and the training program.

The Janeses know that arrangement can’t last long-term. Even though they have no outside investors, at some point the studio will have to show a profit and be self-sustainable. However, they are already planning on expanding the studio to 200,000 square feet with the addition of two more sound stages.

With more than $2 million of their own money already invested in Green Pastures and another $5 million planned for the expansion, Amy and Richard are showing they are going allin on making Oklahoma a major player in the film industry for years to come.

“I think we’re about three years away,” Richard said. “In three years, we’re going to be able to support the big shows where they can come in and they can hire local and they can trust local. What we’re looking to do here is start that next version of a Walt Disney. Only it is Oklahoma-centric.” •

AUTOMOBILE

Beck’s Garage

QC Grocery & Gas

Autobahn

BANKS

Bank 7

First National Bank of Oklahoma

IBC Bank

MidFirst Bank

NBC Oklahoma

RCB Bank

TTCU Federal Credit Union

BEAUTY

Epik Nail Salon

Her Nail Salon

Totality

CHURCH

Crown Heights United Methodist

Church

Crown Heights

Baptist Church

Crown Heights Christian

The Vine

The Bridge OKC

Westminster Presbyterian Church

DRY CLEANING & LAUNDRY

Legacy Cleaners & Laundry

Quick Kleen Laundromat

EDUCATION / SCHOOLS

Bishop McGuinness

Bishop John Carroll School

Horace Mann Elementary

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Accel Financial Staffing

Edward Jones

LW Insurance Services

Servo Wealth Management

FITNESS

Absolute Balance Pilates

Barre 3

Do Fitness

Dragon Yoga OKC

Pilates On Western

Physical Rehabilitation Assoc

Pure Barre

Stretch U

The Pilates Body

Western Avenue Boxing Gym

GROCERY

Trader Joe’s

Whole Foods Grocery

Kegs Unlimited

HAIR SALONS

Embellish Salon

Guinns Salon

Rain Salon

Van Cleef Salon

Willow & Co.

Wood On Western

THE WESTERN AVENUE DISTRICT

HOME TO OVER 50 SHOPS, RESTAURANTS, BARS & COFFEE SHOPS

Only 10 minutes north of downtown, we are one of Oklahoma City’s oldest official districts full of unique finds, great dining, and charm.

HEALTH

Birch Tree Spa

Chiroher

Crown Heights Dentistry

Eyes, Etc.

Grand Dental Studio

Mosaic+

Three Graces Day Spa

Radian Beauty Renewal

Smile Studio

Sage Wellness

HOME / INTERIOR DESIGN

BDO Construction

Benjamin Moore Paints

Castle Rock Countertops

Hom Kitchen + Bath

Kasa Wallpaper Studio

Ketch Design Centre

One Source Windows

Objets Trouvé

Rug & Carpet of Oklahoma

Shellback General Contracting

Urban Kitchens (inside Ketch)

HOTEL

The Ellison Hotel

RESTAURANTS

Cock O’ The Walk

Flip’s Wine Bar and Trattoria

Gold Leaf Nutrition

Hideaway Pizza

Iron Star Urban Barbecue

Jinya Ramen

Musashi’s

Osteria

Pachinko

Pearl’s Oyster Bar

Republic Gastropub

Rococo

Sushi Neko

Saturn Grill

The Hutch

Tucker’s Onion Burgers

VZD’s

RETAIL

Boutique One

Bruno and Dunn Furniture

Ck and Company

Culinary Kitchen

Gretta Sloane

K and N Interior Consignment

Refinery

Rug and Carpet Gallery

Sabi

Savory Spice Shop

Swaddle

The Learning Tree

The Oil Tree

World of Smoke & Vape

SHOPPING PLAZAS

Classen Curve / Triangle

Gaslight Square

Nichols Hills Plaza

Washington Prime Group (Glimcher)

Wilshire Village

SERVICES

Alotta Action Advertising

Metro Mark Realty

Whether it be the freshest seafood from New England, clams and mussels, lobster roll, or our famous crab cake, we know you will love what our team has planned for you!

4308 N Western Ave, OKC PHONE (405) 400-7495 WEBSITE loverococo.com

This hidden gem offers a phenomenal selection of quality consignment items at fair prices with unmatched customer service. Come and find what you’ve been missing!

3704 N Western Ave, OKC PHONE (405) 521-0012 WEBSITE kenandnicole.wixsite.com

In direct contrast with most other dispensaries, we have created a space that allows you to have a self-directed, multi-sensory educational experience from entry to exit.

3703 N Western Ave, OKC PHONE (405) 768-4944 WEBSITE mosaicdispensary.com

LW Insurance works hard for their clients. From personal and business insurance to surety bonds, LW Insurance Services are the trusted choice.

1010 NW 45th St, OKC PHONE (405) 601-4682 WEBSITE lwinsuranceservices.com

Dr. Michelle Andrews’ mission is to not only get you out of pain, but allow you to flourish in pregnancy, work and life, by creating a plan specifically catered to your needs.

4416 N Western Ave, Ste 204, OKC PHONE (405) 213-1072 WEBSITE chiroher.com

A premier one stop smoke & vape shop with a huge selection of vapes, e-liquids, CBD, kratom, water pipes, hookahs, cigars, incense and so much more!

4516 N Western Ave, Unit C, OKC PHONE (405) 768-5431 WEBSITE worldofsmokenvape.com

Under the leadership of Chef David Henry and Manager Kyle Fleischfresser, you’ll enjoy the culinary innovation of modern tavern cuisine and perfected custom cocktails.

6437 Avondale Dr, Nichols Hills PHONE (405) 842-1000 WEBSITE hutchokc.com

Servicing Oklahoma’s sushi habits since 1997, we offer exotic cuisine, an extensive wine list and cocktail bar in a warm and friendly environment. You will not be disappointed!

4318 N Western Ave, OKC PHONE (405) 528-8862 WEBSITE sushineko.com

HEART & SOUL

The rugged, pristine Pacific Northwest

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSE DAVISON

Haystack Rock Cannon Beach, Oregon

Ten years had passed since I’d been to Oregon. Ten years and five months, to be exact, but who’s counting? Frankly, if you’ve ever been to the Pacific Northwest (PNW), you might agree that that’s about 10 years and five months too long.

I lived in the PNW at an early age, including both Oregon and Washington state. After moving away, I would return to spend many summers with my dad and brother in Portland, where we’d spend days exploring trails, water skiing the Columbia River Gorge, marveling at Multnomah Falls or spending a few nights at Seaside on the Oregon coast.

The summer months were the best months, with clear skies unveiling a snow-capped Mount Hood to the east, and on a really clear day, Mount St. Helens to the north. Pine trees as tall as skyscrapers reach for the stars, filling the crisp air with the aroma of essential oils emanating from the small breathing pores of their needles. This part of our country is truly rugged and ruggedly pristine.

Landing in Portland is an experience in and of itself — I recommend the window seat. The captain will announce the final approach, including an update of the current local weather, which is the moment you peek out the window to catch a glimpse of multiple active volcanos including Mounts Hood and St. Helens. Farther south, the Three Sisters. There are five total active volcanos in Oregon and five to match in Washington, including Mount Rainier. Among the pine-covered mountains boasting their layered shades of deep greens and blues, the snow-covered volcanos jut skyward in violent contrast.

Portland International Airport (PDX) is situated along the southern edge of the Columbia River. The plane descends and the vehicles along I-84 become increasingly clearer. And if you happen to have a north-facing window on approach, have no fear … it only looks as though you’re going to have a water landing; the ground below appears just moments before touchdown.

My brother and niece would greet me with hugs and a sandwich. As we stepped out of the terminal to make our way to the parking garage, covered in green foliage like some ancient ruin, I couldn’t help noticing the haze in the otherwise clear skies. This was an unseasonably warm October, and crews in central Oregon were hard at work fighting massive forest fires ignited by lightning strikes. While the air quality was poor, it made for a stunning golden hour, magically turning hard-edged features soft as if our entire reality were being viewed through a Glamour Shots lens.

PORTLAND

Portland is weird. It’s beautiful and rugged; it’s modern and eclectic; it’s all of the things. It’s been said that Portland is a small town with a bitter city smile, and I couldn’t agree more.

In 2011, I caught my first episode of “Portlandia” starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. It was delightfully quirky and absurd — satire at its finest. It was pure Portland.

As we aimlessly walked the downtown streets, I couldn’t help noticing a few scars left from a series of protests and riots in recent years, from Occupy Portland in 2011 to more recent demonstrations in 2020 and 2021. There were still broken and boarded-up windows and graffiti in places that must have taken a feat to reach. I suppose one should expect a few thorns from the City of Roses.

We strolled by some familiar staples like Voodoo Doughnut, Pioneer Courthouse Square and Nike Town, where they have every Air Jordan sneaker in white behind a glass display. Portland native and shoe designer Tinker Hatfield was the creative lead responsible for the Air Jordan line for Nike, whose headquarters is only a 15-minute drive from downtown in nearby Beaverton.

Across the street from Nike Town, we stopped into The Nines Hotel for cocktails at Urban Farmer, whose emphasis is on the local, organic sourcing of sustainable ingredients and simple presentations. Urban Farmer is a must. We would come back another night for steak and oysters with zero regrets.

I only had two things that topped this trip’s agenda: a day trip to Seattle and a day at the coast.

Me, my niece and my brother at PDX

SEATTLE

Wasting no time, we awoke the next morning, grabbed some coffee and hit I-5 north toward Seattle, a drive of three and a half to four hours. Unless you’re my brother; then it’s somewhere between two and a half and three. He drove. And we made good time.

Sunday morning, the sun was out and the temperature hovered around 76 degrees, so all of Seattle was outside. We had no plan, and settled in at the only place we knew: Pike Place Market, which was buzzing with activity. Vendors were in full force selling their art, souvenirs and fresh seafood while street performers danced, mimed and played music for tips. For lunch, Copacabana Pike Place offered fresh clams, mussels and local brew. Elevated above the crowd, we dined outdoors under colorful umbrellas surrounded by a rail of cascading flowers. I could’ve spent the better part of the day right there, simply watching people from above while enjoying good drinks, great company and the local fare.

A short walk down the alley led us to the original Starbucks, where the line wrapped the building. It was a wait of 45 minutes to an hour to get in … so I settled for just a peek inside. From there, we walked aimlessly through the vendors, shopped, grabbed some coffee from a café (without a line) and made our way to the docks to watch the ferries traverse Puget Sound, framed by the faint silhouette of Mount Rainier. Nostalgia got the better of me as I thought back to when I was very young, taking ferry rides from Bremerton to Seattle and back with my mom, while listening to the original Top Gun soundtrack on my Walkman. This day was damn near perfect.

The drive back to Portland was as expeditious as the drive up. My grip on the door handle was firm and unwavering.

Ferry on Puget Sound Seattle, Washington Mt. Rainier, Washington

THE OREGON COAST

The drive to Cannon Beach from Portland is just under two hours, and it’s akin to driving through a postcard. The Northwest Sunset Highway (US 26) took us through some of the most beautiful countryside in the world as it wound through lush farmland, vineyards and mountain forests of towering pines. You know when you’re getting close — the air feels just a bit thicker, a bit saltier and usually a bit cooler.

I had dressed in layers for cooler weather. It was October, after all. We rolled slowly into town along South Hemlock Street and found a place to park. We got out of the car and immediately knew the layers were unnecessary. It was 10 in the morning, clear skies and already 70 degrees. This wasn’t the cool, misty-gray Oregon coast I was used to — but you’ll hear no complaints from me. I was almost afraid to compliment the weather for fear I’d jinx it, so I kept my mouth shut and soaked it all in.

There was a very soft breeze carrying the salty air along with the smoky haze from the fires in the south. Oddly, it was a combination of all the right ingredients, including the smoke.

We set out on foot to hit the local coffee house across the street. Closed. We walked to another coffee shop. Also closed. Damn it. It’s okay; we’ll improvise. We bought a bottle of Bailey’s at Cannon Beach Liquor Store, then walked to a local dine-in restaurant called The Wayfarer and bought a couple of cups of coffee to go, then mixed our drinks and hit the beach. Before setting off down the coastline, we wrapped the Bailey’s bottle tightly in its brown paper sack and buried it by a large piece of driftwood in the sand. We’d be back for it.

My brother and I walked south toward Haystack Rock, talking and laughing as we reminisced uninterrupted. It dawned on me that this was the first time in our lives we’d been able to hang out together with no other family around. Just the two of us. And it was good.

Now, you can’t walk up to Haystack Rock without taking a photo and a couple of selfies. After all, it’s famous. While the film takes place farther north in Astoria, Oregon, the opening sequence of Richard Donner’s The Goonies features a truck race along Cannon Beach, with Haystack Rock stealing the show. It’s also one of the sea stacks that Sean Astin’s character, Mikey,

Resting beach haze over Cannon Beach, Oregon

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Ecola State Park viewpoint overlooking both Crescent and Cannon Beaches

lines up with the pirate token. Standing at 235 feet, it is the third tallest intertidal structure in the world.

For lunch, we hit Mo’s Seafood & Chowder, my go-to when I visit Cannon Beach. I ordered the clam chowder in a bread bowl and we ate outside on the patio overlooking the coastline and the sea stacks. It was perfect.

After lunch, we strolled in and out of the various shops, picking up souvenirs for the kids back home and a six-pack for ourselves before taking a short drive to my brother’s favorite spot — although I had no idea where we were going.

The narrow road wound around tight curves and through dense forest, and my brother was driving … so my grip was firm and my knuckles were white until we pulled into a parking lot. This wasn’t the stop — it was the stop before the stop — but he knew I’d want to grab a photo of this. We were at Ecola State Park, overlooking Crescent Beach, with Cannon Beach in the distance. This is the place where Mikey lined up the pirate token in the Goonies’ search for One-Eyed Willie’s lost treasure. It’s also part of the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Park. Photos do not do it justice.

After geeking out a bit, we got back in the car and proceeded to his spot, just up the road at Indian Beach. In all the years I’d come to the Oregon coast, I had no idea this small, secluded place existed. The tide was in, so it felt even smaller than it is. To the north sit the bluffs of Indian Point and to the south are Submarine Rock and Bald Point. Nothing but hills and forest behind and the cold Pacific in front of us, with a handful of surfers in body suits popping in and out of the water. This was the ideal place to sit in the sand and crack open those beers.

Indian Beach is also famous: It’s the stage for the ending scene of the 1991 film Point Break , starring Keanu Reeves and the late Patrick Swayze. In the film, this scene takes place on the world-renowned Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia … but we know better. Indian Beach also plays stand-in for First Beach, where Bella’s friends go surfing and Jacob exposes the truth about Edward Cullen, in the movie Twilight

My brother and I sat against a piece of driftwood for about an hour, sipping beers, talking, sometimes just staring out at the sea in silence, watching waves crash into the rocks as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. The moment reminded me of a song called “Twin Rocks, Oregon” by Shawn Mullins:

He said, “I came here to watch the sun Disappear into the ocean

’Cause it’s been years

Since I smelled this salty sea.”

He turned his bottle up and down

I saw him lost

And I saw him found

He said, “I don’t know what I’ve been Looking for, maybe me …”

Cue that hazy golden hour magic. •

Indian Beach, Oregon

Trail to Indian Beach, Oregon

HEART, HANDS & STITCH BY STITCH

The Sydnie Banks approach to handbags

BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORDAN CLARK

Sydnie Peebles says she always felt “out of place at school” due to the excessive focus on rote learning. As a self-identified tactile learner, she was honest with herself about going to college just to check a box. All her lack of direction changed after watching one serendipitous YouTube video.

“I was watching a video of Marcel Marsan. He’s Hungarian, and he was making and designing men’s dress shoes,” Peebles reminisces. “I watched video after video. It was finally like, ‘Yeah, I want to make shoes — I want to work with leather.’”

When she told her father about her discovery, she experienced yet another moment of serendipity. Peebles’ father knew master cowboy boot maker Lisa Sorrell out of Guthrie, whom Peebles vehemently describes as “being the best in the world at what she does.” How’s that for a lead?

“She’s just the queen. So to train under her was huge as my starting point,” recalls Peebles, who still has a plain five-subject notebook from her 2012 apprenticeship with Sorrell, practically full to the brim with notes and drawings. “She told me, ‘If you can learn to make a cowboy boot, you’ll be able to make anything in leather.’”

WHERE IT HAPPENS

Peebles’ home in north Edmond is a large, beautiful and open space. The house is quiet, peaceful. What makes it unique is the presence of a modest but roomy leatherworking studio in the front hall.

Peebles avers that this specific iteration of her leatherworking atelier is temporary and in need of expansion. Despite this, there’s an air of focused discipline here that’s not present in the other living spaces — a notable lack of electronics and other distractions.

Everything is neat and organized just so in the studio. One wall has rolls of creamy and colorful cow leather rolled tight and stored safely in shelves; across from it in separate shelving, piles of ethically sourced American alligator and snakeskins in a rainbow of vibrant colors.

“I try and to the best that I can find. A lot of [my leather] comes from France and some of the best tanneries,” says Peebles. “Just top of the line.”

On the walls are shelves with vintage bags that inspire her — though Peebles’ bags are not on display, but safely tucked in their boxes. A prized purse from her grandmother’s collection is framed on the wall. Additionally, pairs of beautiful leather cowboy boots stand on the shelves.

“That’s the first pair of boots I ever made. So I look at them, and I just see all the imperfections,” Peebles says with a laugh. She retrieves a boot and points to the details of what she identifies as inconsistencies in her stitching. To a layperson’s eye, the stitches look neat and nearly undetectable.

TOUGH ENOUGH

As Peebles explains, bootmaking is exceptionally complex and physically exhausting. After creating the design on the boot tops, either using stitches, appliques or both, the boots are assembled by sewing them to the vamp and counter (the front and back of the boot that covers the foot). Then the most strenuous part: attaching this assembly to the insole through small wooden pegs malleted into the sole by hand.

“My shoulders got big; it’s so manual,” she said with a laugh. “You have to be strong. You have to be tough.”

Peebles excelled alongside men in Sorrell’s apprenticeship. After her time working with Sorrell and changing her major to Integrated Studio Art, Peebles was looking to explore other mediums in addition to boots, such as handbags.

‘EVERY SINGLE BAG IS ONE OF ONE’

For many leatherworkers, bags that may still be considered “handmade” are usually sewn at least partly on a machine, even if a master crafter controls that machine. Leather pieces are still cut via computer patterns and thinned precisely using pre-programmed settings. Even if the finished bag has been completely hand-stitched and tooled by hand, the patterns are frequently duplicated to minimize the effort of creating multiple handbags by hand.

Not Sydnie Banks handbags.

“I don’t know if there’s anyone else in the world taking the approach that I’m taking. Most people have a few patterns that they have made, or they have like had someone else make, and they make the same bags over and over,” she says. “I don’t know of anyone who’s taking the approach that every single bag is one of one.”

As she never repeats a pattern or design, sometimes it takes trial and error to get her leather to fit the design on paper and in her mind.

Peebles retrieves a large black box off the top shelf of her cabinet of purses. Underneath the tissue wrapping, she unearths a bag: fluffy, white alpaca leather with a slim American alligator handle. After showing the bag, she recalls frustrations with its process, especially as she was trying to incorporate a vintage handle wrapped with the alligator leather. Early on, she almost called it quits on the original design.

“At first, I was like, ‘This is not going to work, I’m so frustrated.’ So I scrapped it,” says Peebles. “Then, after I was completely done with the bag, I decided to readdress the handle. It made the bag. I was so glad that one of [the handles] was good enough [so] I could readdress it and make it something that would fit my original design.”

Her process needs no computerized cutter, no automated electric tools — just mallets, thread, leather, patterns, finishing and skiving tools … and a craftswoman at work. She starts with a design she drafts on paper, creating hand-cut and -drawn patterns. She expertly measures and cuts each piece to her unique designs and specifications.

A TIME AND PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

After cutting the pieces based on the pattern, she skives the leather to the proper thickness to make it easier to join at the seams and hand-sews them with a waxed thread of pure linen. She even waxes her thread herself, with the wax itself sourced from her father-in-law’s beehive.

“It takes days sometimes for a single edge to be where it needs to be, where you cannot even tell there’s any leather pieces in between,” explains Peebles. “The ultimate goal is to have it look perfect.”

Peebles created her first bag as early as 2014, but found the process difficult with the lack of fine control a machine afforded. The time had come to decide if it would be right for her to get continuing education specializing in handbags.

After some tough career decisions on where to move the now-expanding family, Peebles and her husband Chris decided she would postpone her handbag training, and she launched a line of leather baby shoes called Bi•jou Browns. Her choice to create these shoes was an opportunity to create a leather good that was not as physically demanding, as she was pregnant at the time.

However, the Peebles’ lives changed suddenly in 2015 upon the loss of their infant son. When the family had the service for their son Banks, she recalled seeing a flock of birds land and take off near his gravesite.

“During the prayers that were said [at his burial], birds were flying over our heads and going crazy, and the second the prayers were done, they would go silent. And then it happened again,” says Peebles. “Once it was done, there were no more birds. But piled around his grave were baby bird feathers. It was just a really spiritual thing for us.”

This vivid image would stay with Sydnie and Chris in ways neither of them would expect.

BECOMING SYDNIE BANKS

Her resolve to try to finish a fully hand-stitched handbag in 2021 led her to look for a mentor to help develop her leather sewing skills. She contacted Charlie Trevor, one of the most renowned leatherworking and saddle-stitching masters in the world, to see if he had an opportunity to train with him directly in the United Kingdom. As Peebles was not interested in sewing on machines, learning saddle-stitching — a hand-stitching technique stronger than machine stitch — was important to her continued development in the leatherworking trade.

No response for months. She had also contacted another master about training, and didn’t hear back either. Peebles was demoralized but not undeterred. It felt like another sign when, one fateful day, both Trevor and her other potential leatherworking mentor emailed her back within one hour of each other. Now with the opportunity to choose whom she wanted

to study with, she felt even more confident that the choice to pursue saddlestitching was the right one.

Then, Peebles realized she needed an overarching brand with which her bags would be associated. Originally, she thought the brand’s name would simply be her name, Sydnie Peebles. While in the U.K. researching the Peebles family crest during her training, she had another moment where things fell into place.

“The night before, there was a snowstorm. We tried road after road, and there were closures on every single one,” recalls Peebles. “But on one of our ways, there was a barn owl that flew off of a stone fence post right around our car — literally looked me in the face, then flew off.”

This moment with the owl harkened back to her son’s graveside service in 2015 and their spiritual experience with the birds. She knew at that moment that she wouldn’t use her last name for her handbag artistry, but her first son’s name Banks. And instead of the Peebles crest, she would use a barn owl in flight. The choice to call her brand Sydnie Banks felt as natural as breathing.

The owl logo and word mark took close to 100 iterations to get right, but now it’s also proudly displayed in her studio and evidenced on the 1930s vintage hot foil stamping machine that sits on the shelf, just waiting to emblazon every one-of-a-kind bag.

WHAT’S NEXT

As the brand formally launched in 2022, Peebles is taking some time to get her bearings. She has big plans and plenty of inspiration for her brand. First, after training on saddle stitching with Trevor, she sought out mentorship in handbags.

“I trained with Ellen Valentine. She wrote Leatherwork School and does handbags,” says Peebles. “My approach along the way: Train with those who know what they’re doing. Even if you have to pay to do it, it will pay off in the end.”

In the longer term, Peebles wants to do completely custom bag commissions. As she’s dissatisfied with most of the fixtures she sources from third parties, she wants to build a gold forge to smith her own fixtures out of solid gold instead of gold plate. Additionally, she’s planning her new studio outside the home, in a space engineered to withstand the forge’s heat.

Clearly, she doesn’t lack any inspiration or ambition. What she lacks is time. As a full-time mother, she cherishes the moments with her kids and knows this bustling season of life is temporary.

“[I’ll] keep making until then, on the timeframe that I can. And then when I can go in full force, I’ll have a great skill set,” she says with a smile. “And I’ll be ready to be able to have some quality products that are beautiful and unique.” •

Setting

the Standard.

LIGHTING THE WORLD

Ed James and the power of large-scale joy

BY MICHAEL KINNEY

Ed James thinks big. The Oklahoma native literally created a company called “Think Big Stuff,” which helps companies make their events larger and grander. However, even James couldn’t have imagined the journey he would take that would lead him to try improving society by simply making people smile. That is what happened when James created the “Light the World Parade.”

“The whole idea of having this other little pet project with Light the World Parade is my way of getting other young people into their creativity,” James says. “But also giving them that piece of, ‘Hey, if you just do this for yourself, you’re going to end up feeling very empty at the end of the road. Where this has wheels is when you take your fame and turn it into something where you’re replicating good.’”

The Light the World Parade can be described as a completely portable brand-ready parade with a message of joy and hope. With a cast of hundreds, it includes dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, skateboarders, puppeteers and several other disciplines — specialists in high-end creative performing arts and visual pageantry that can pack up and travel to any destination around the globe.

“We network with existing non-profit organizations, corporate brands and special events of all kinds to accomplish our giveback initiatives,” James says.

It was a concept he had more than two decades ago while on a trip to the Middle East with his business partners.

“We were tossing around the idea when we were in Israel about doing this portable parade thing,” James says. “I said, ‘I think I have an idea of how we can mobilize youth and young adults to give back big and bring a positive message for the future, and do something that can actually help them use their gifts to connect it to philanthropic activities — and we can get

them to learn to serve others.’”

Despite James’ propensity for turning his simple notions into big actions, he did nothing with the idea. It just sat in the back of his mind until the tragedy of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks shook it loose. Two weeks later, he wanted to do something to help his country through its grief.

“My ex-wife and I were trying to protect our kids from seeing what was going on TV,” James says. “You could feel the heaviness on our nation in that period of time. And I was like, ‘How can we move forward as a nation if we don’t have something for the kids to look forward to?’”

That is when the Light the World Parade reemerged as a possibility — and James quickly called his partners, who included Matt and Dawn Davidson and Mark Neubauer.

“We had to give this generation a vision for the future. A celebration of the joy that is filled with unapproachable light and possibility,” James says. “A future that we, in part, choose by our own actions. An effort to connect again with people: hurting people, healing people and people needing a hand up to love. It’s a message we didn’t create ourselves. It was given to us long ago to steward in centuries of the past, and with an origin that requires us all to have faith.”

It took two years for James to take his idea from a simple concept to an actual game plan. His first major show was the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“I worked with young people who flew in from all over the world and we rehearsed for five or six days in an empty parking lot in a warehouse about 30 minutes from downtown,” James says. “We did our show, and the next morning our host got a phone call from the mayor of Athens, who said, ‘Where did you get these people? We’re paying $18 an hour and we can’t get

our people to smile. I need you to ask them to come over to the Olympic village and perform several times this week.’”

It was the first time James saw his vision play out in real life. “When we were done performing, I had the cast go out and meet the audience, all of them,” he says. “Couples were sitting on benches and their eyes were full of tears. They said, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this before.’ It was that moment I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we’ve got something really special here because it connects to people.’”

Since then, the Light the World Parade has appeared at the MegaFest in Atlanta, the Cotton Bowl Parade, Christmas at Opry Mills and three separate times in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Parade. It was also a candidate for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games. In 2014, James also worked on the Rose Bowl float to help honor the life of Josiah Berger, who donated his entire body to Donate Life, saving seven lives and helping more than 80 others with his donation.

However, in 2015 the parade went dormant as James went into the lab. It was time to reimagine the parade as technology and tastes changed. Except for a couple of small venue shows, James has kept the parade off the market while he came up with an entirely new presentation — one that was going to be bigger and even more entertaining.

“We are very excited about the design we have created next year, for the 2024 Rose Parade,” James says. “Tim Estes of Fiesta Floats Studio has been working with me over the past eight years on this design and the relaunch of the Light The World Parade, with a live performance built right into the design. That’s what I’ve been doing now for eight years, is bringing the show to the next level. We’re bringing animation and costume design, color guard, drum line, all that stuff out at one time.”

James is currently taking donations and looking for a naming partner to be part of the journey.

However, the biggest mission for James and his wife Migdalia is to bring the parade to Oklahoma City and make it an annual event in which people from around the state can take part. He wants to tie it to an Oklahoma foundation that helps nonprofits … and knows it will take the right sponsors willing to think big enough to make it happen.

“I feel really fortunate that I have something that’s a passion of mine that doesn’t make sense,” James says. “It’s like there’s a portion of faith that it takes to actually do it because you don’t know how to do it all by yourself. I’m hoping that that launch actually happens here in Oklahoma City and it will become its home. It will be just something that Oklahoma can give to other people around the country.” •

Perfect Skin Is Just a Peel Away!

The only medium depth chemical peel with master anti-oxidant GLUTATHIONE suitable for all skin types and conditions.

The Perfect Derma™ Peel is formulated with a unique blend of acids and antioxidants that will:

• Improve the clarity, tone and texture of the skin

• Reduce hyper-pigmentation

• Control acne and improve the appearance of acne scars

• Soften fine lines and wrinkles

• Reduce the appearance of pores

• Stimulate the production of collagen and elastin for firmer, brighter, more youthful skin

STAMP OF APPROVAL

Oklahoma artist Robert Peterson honors Ernest Gaines for the USPS

BY MICHAEL KINNEY

In his short career as a painter of fine art, Robert Peterson has put together some major commissions. From the Oklahoma City Thunder to private owners across the country, the Lawton native has an impressive portfolio. However, in terms of size and scope, it’s hard to imagine any other client having the reach of his latest employer, the United States Postal Service.

The USPS hired Peterson to create a painting that would be used for the 46th stamp in its annual Black Heritage Series, which was scheduled to be released Jan. 23, 2023.

“The Black Heritage Stamp is the stamp that the United States Postal Service puts out every Black History Month, every February,” Peterson says. “I’m honored to be able to say that this Black History Month, February 2023, will be the year that the stamp that I painted is released.”

CLOSE CALL

When Peterson was approached about the project, it came through an email that he almost didn’t open.

“I don’t know why I opened it, but I’m glad that I did,” Peterson says. “They said that they really loved my artwork. They had noticed it on Instagram; somebody had actually put them onto my account a few months prior to that email, so they had been following me for a while. They liked my personality, that I was about family and fine art and stuff like that. He said, ‘We would love to see if you would be interested in being commissioned to do this painting for a stamp.’”

Even after reading through it, it took a while before Peterson believed he wasn’t the subject of an elaborate prank.

“I think anybody would have this initial feeling like, ‘Am I being punked? Are you serious?’ And then after, you know, looking into the guy who contacted me, I Googled his name, looked [him] up in social media and then connected his name to [the] United States Postal Service,” Peterson says. “And of course, everything checked back. I was like, ‘Okay, this is real.’ And you know, the thought of one, being a Black artist that was commissioned for this, and then two, having the opportunity to paint another Black creative, the author, was absolutely amazing. And then three, to be one of the first people to do it from my city and possibly even my state was absolutely amazing to me.”

CELEBRATING A STORYTELLER

Peterson’s subject for the stamp is renowned novelist Ernest Gaines (1933-2019). The Louisiana native is best known for penning such novels as The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying. The son of sharecroppers explored the untold stories of rural African Americans, adding a vital voice to American literature.

Gaines was also a UL Lafayette writer-in-residence emeritus and taught creative writing at the University from 1983 until his retirement in 2010. He died in 2019 at the age of 86.

Peterson didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of Gaines’ career when he was approached about the project this past summer, so he had to rectify that quickly. While heading on vacation with his wife, Peterson purchased a few of Gaines’ works.

“It was just perfect timing because I knew that I would have time on the plane and time on the beach to read some of his books,” Peterson says. “And he was an absolutely amazing writer, grew up in the South and was a family man. I loved what he did. I’ve seen a little bit of myself in that.”

A LEGACY ILLUMINATED

Peterson ended up choosing an image from photographer Raoul Benavides as his foundation and then went to work on it.

“I ended up settling on the one that you see. I just think that it shows the strength in who he was,” Peterson says. “He was a focused person. He was a driven person, as an author who wrote as many books as he did, to overcome some of the things that he overcame to be what he was.”

It took Peterson close to a week to finish the painting before he sent it off. Then it had to be approved by the postal service and Gaines’ family. While negotiations and the approval process took longer than the actual work, everyone involved was happy with the outcome.

The Gaines stamp will be released as a Forever Stamp. Other luminaries who will be featured on stamps in 2023 include Chief Standing Bear, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Toni Morrison, Roy Lichtenstein and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team. However, Peterson’s image of Gaines is the only one that will be used exclusively in this year’s Black Heritage Series.

Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum, which recently purchased another piece of work by Peterson titled “Tomorrow’s SuperHERo,” will display the original painting that was made into the stamp in February, as part of Peterson’s first solo exhibit in Oklahoma since 2016. •

View Robert Peterson’s work at Philbrook Museum of Art starting Feb. 11.

$3,900,000 | 3900 N Grant Drive www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$3,040,000 | 88 Ridgeline Road www.CarltonLandingRealty.com

$2,650,000 | 1508 W Wilshire Blvd www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$2,200,000 | 31 Boulevard www.CarltonLandingRealty.com

$2,100,000 | 6432 E Coffee Creek Rd www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$2,000,000 | 107 Lower Greenway www.CarltonLandingRealty.com

$1,895,000 | 1608 Saratoga Way www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,895,000 | 13700 Lost Creek Drive www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

LISTED BY: Wyatt Poindexter, Keller Williams Elite 405-417-5466 OKLuxuryHomes.com 5629 N. Classen Blvd | Oklahoma City, OK

RECORD BREAKING $156,538,639 CLOSED IN 2022

$1,800,000 | 117 Lower Greenway www.CarltonLandingRealty.com

$1,775,000 | 2433 NW Grand Circle www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,600,000 | 14744 N Council Road www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,495,000 | 433 Oak Summit Road www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,400,000 | 5809 Oak Tree Road www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,335,000 | 3801 Old Forest Lane www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,300,000 | 2550 E Overholser Drive www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,295,000 | 5832 Oliver Court www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$1,099,000 | 1323 N Dewey Avenue www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$999,000 | 2948 Quail Creek Road www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$965,000 | 77 Ridgeline Road www.CarltonLandingRealty.com

$899,000 | 22 Firefly Lane www.CarltonLandingRealty.com

$895,000 | 1213 N Dewey Avenue www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$879,000 | 14205 N Douglas Boulevard www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$799,000 | 4301 Stirrup Lane www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

$525,000 | 116 E Cedar Drive www.OKLuxuryHomes.com

LISTED BY: Wyatt Poindexter, Keller Williams Elite 405-417-5466 OKLuxuryHomes.com 5629 N. Classen Blvd | Oklahoma City, OK

EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE

HOMESITES STARTING FROM $204,750

ABOUT THE PROMENADE

Discover the newly redeveloped Gaillardia Promenade, impeccably designed with community in mind. Enter through the gates of Gaillardia and enjoy the lush landscaping and lake near the main entrance. Gaillardia Promenade is family-friendly, with surrounding green spaces and sidewalks throughout. Do not miss this final opportunity to build your dream home within the gates of Gaillardia.

DAVID BOHANON JD, DEVELOPER-BROKER

DBOHANON@BLACKSTONECOM.COM

405.850.0987

MODERN URBAN LIVING

Limited to 24 Custom Single Family Gated Homes from 3,000+ SF Garden Offices from 3,000+ SF 41 Gated Executive Garage Condos

Walking Trails, Ponds, Fountains, Parks

“74” Full Service Restaurant Scheduled to Open

Upscale Condos and/or Apartments

NW 72nd & N Classen Blvd East of Nichols Hills WilshirePoint.com

Only 10 minutes south of historic Norman, you’ll find a New Urbanism Community unlike any of its kind in Oklahoma.

Selah offers 540 acres of front porch living, fresh air, food, and a focus on reconnecting family and community with nature.

When winter hits, it doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! During the chilly months, we have modified our patio behind Pryor’s Pizza Kitchen to allow for 9 beautiful igloos, each equipped with seating for up to 8 guests, a fireplace for some extra coziness, food and beverage packages, and enough holiday cheer to create memories that will last forever! As always, we also have 4 firepit seating areas for up to 12 people available to reserve. With multiple packages to choose from, there’s something for every family! Reservations can be made at www.PryorsPizzaKitchen.com

Located just outside Oklahoma City, experience the transitional masterpiece unlike ANY residence in Oklahoma. Donning some architectural and scenic inspiration from a famous $72.5M Aspen property, you’ll quickly find every inch of this home was thoughtfully and functionally designed with resort-style amenities: garden room, see-through fireplace, celebrity style closets, and luxury spa bathroom. The basement and wine cellar take after T. Boone Pickens’ Mesa Vista estate, permissibly of course. All in all, this revered property was built to impress, and that may be an understatement.