THIS IS ARTFeaturedArtist-Laura“Mic”McAllister
Wellmyfriends,thisiswhereIintroduceanew columnwhichIhopetomakearegularfeatureherein ThisIsKingwood Magazine.It’sanartcolumncalledThisIsArtandIhopeyou’llenjoyreadingitas muchasIhaveenjoyedwritingit.Youmighthavetobearwithmethough,asI’m noartcritic,noram Ian art“expert”.I’m justaguywhoenjoysexperiencingtheworldaroundmewithanopenmindandtwovery openeyes.IadmitthatI’vedabbledmostofmylifeinvariousformsofartincludingpainting,music, graphicdesign,collage,performanceandmorebuthaveneverreallybeenabletocommitthetimeand effortneededtobecomewhatIorprobablyanyoneelsewouldcallareal“Artist”. Thepeoplewhowillbefeaturedinthiscolumn,ontheotherhand,are,inmyhumbleopinion,thetrue definitionofthatword.Therearealotofthem righthereinourcommunityandIcan’twaittoreallystart introducingthem andtheirworktoyou. ThefirstsuchartistIrecentlylearnedofafterIhappeneduponherworkatthenew Watson-HuffGallery hereinKingwood.HernameisLaura“Mic”McAllisterandherwork,abstractasmuchofitis,hasawayof speakingveryclearlytothosewhocomeacrossit.Manyofherpaintingshaveatendencytodraw the viewerintoasomewhatbleakworldthatseemstoholdeitherdisturbing,revealingorquestioningsecrets whichitisburstingattheseamstoexpose.Insteadoftryingtotellyouwhattheworksmeanttome,let’s hearfrom theartistherself. THIS IS KINGWOOD:So Mic,IrecentlycameacrossyourworkattheWatson-HuffGalleryherein Kingwood and itreallygrabbed me.Iwasspeaking with thecuratorand told herhow much Ireally loved thosepiecesand how thereseemed to bearealsenseofwhatIcould onlydescribeas “lonesomeness”in certain works.In others,thereseemed to beasenseoftheartist(you)grappling with somerealinnerturmoil.Ratherthan askyou aboutspecificpaintingsand whattheymean,I'm hoping you can letourreadersin on who you are,whereyourinspiration comesfrom and what drivesyou
Mic:Artisaform ofcommunication. Themagicofthisform isthatitcommunicateson differentlevelstodifferentpeople. Languageismuchmorelimiting. Humanbehavior hasalwaysbaffledme. ThiswastrueevenwhenIwasayoungchild. Isaw blatant hypocrisyandaggressionthatseemedbasedonunreasonablefearseverywhere. At othertimesIwouldwitnessincredibleactsofkindnessandselflesslovethatseemed basedonnothingreasonableeither. Ihavebeenseekinganexplanationforthese behaviorssinceIwasyoung. Ihavetravelledallovertheworldobservingdifferent culturesandbeliefsystems. Ihavenoticedthesetraitsinallculturesindifferentways, everywhere.
WhatIhaveconcluded isthis: Humansarebasicallygood. Humansarefilled with fearoftheunknown ofeverykind. Much ofourbeliefsystemsarebased on fears.
A few arebased on love.
ItisVERY difficultforourspeciestounlearnalearnedbeliefsystem nomatterhow hypocriticaloroppressiveitmaybe. Ourbiggestproblem asaspeciesis communication. Ihavealwayslovedart. Ifeelitissomethingthatchoosestheperson asopposedtothepersonchoosingit. Itchoosesme. Ihavenomemoryofwantingto doanythingelse. ItispartofwhoIam. Myinspirationcomesfrom people. Despite everythingIlovepeopleandtheonenessthatconnectsusall. Ifindthatartisagentle waytocommunicatetopeoplethebeautythatiswithinandaround,andthehypocritical behaviorsandbeliefsthatcreatenightmaresinourlives. Thereispowerinone. Thereispowerinthepen. Thereispowerinthebrush. ArtistsmoldourcultureandI takethattaskseriously.
A Southernstyledestination forfashion&fun!
Establishedandemergingdesigners,locallycreatedjewelry, timelessaccessories,&must-havehandpickedfinds.
Bringthisadfor$10offyour purchaseof$50ormore! OfferexpiresJanuary31,2012
ThebestvalueonMissMe,MM Couture,Tulle, JoyJoy,Basil&Maude,CowgirlJewels&more! SpecialsalesonFacebookandTwitter,Askabout ourchauffeured Li moparties!
www.DirtRoadDivasKingwood.com 2665RoyalForestDr. KingwoodTX77339
M-F10am-6pm Fridays'till7pm Sundays12pm-5pm 281-360-DIVA(3482)
Humblehasagreatnew businessdedicatedtothefineartofmaking beer.Notabar,notapub,notabrewery,BackyardHomeBrewersis aneducationalexperienceforanyonewithanitchtolearnthecraftof craft(beerthatis).AccordingtotheirwebsiteBackyardHomeBrewers isheretoprovideavenuetopromotethevarietyandqualityof homebrew andtheartofbrewingtothepublicthroughresearchand educationwhileofferingthefreshestingredients,necessary suppliesandequipmenttoserveyourbrewingneeds.(andhavea greattimedoingit!). BackyardHomeBrewersisopenTuesdaythroughSaturdayfrom Noonto7:00andSundayNoonto4:00pm.Theyhaveclasseslinedup throughoutthenextfew monthswhereyoucanlearntobrew yourown beerandpurchasethematerialstogetyourselfstartedbecomingthe brewmasteryouhavealwaysthoughtyourself tobe.AllclassesareFree.Backyard Homebrewersislocatedat802E. 1stStreetHumble,Texas77338. Checkouttheirfacebookpageand siteatwww.backardhomebrewers.com
TakeControlofyourBeer DrinkaHomebrew!
H A S S L E F.R. E. E 5,000POSTCARDS SUPER SHWEIKI SPECIAL!
50 FREE POSTCARDS www.SHWEIKI.com 4” X 6” Full Color 2 sided 10pt Gloss w/UV
P R IN T IN G T O T H E REEIKSI.coC UmE w w w.S H W
FULL COLOR
4”x 6”• 10pt Gloss Card Stock • UV one side
ShweikiAd10,000 FLYERS
FULL COLOR
8.5” x 11” • 70# Gloss Paper
Scan Here To Get Our Crystal Clear Guarantees
1,000MAGAZINES Scan this code with your smartphone
FREE QUOTE & SAMPLES www.SHWEIKI.com
FULL COLOR 8.5” X 11” • 16 pages • 60# Gloss Paper