The Idle Class Spring 2016 by The Idle Class

THE IDLE CLASS THE ARTIST ISSUE

CELEBRATING THE ARTS IN ARKANSAS / SPRING 2016

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Editor’s note

Illustration by Sally Nixon

onfession time: I have a new addiction. No, it doesn’t involve empty parking lot transactions or illicit media or betting the house on the ponies. My new addiction is art. I find myself buying originals and prints every chance I get. I’m running out of wall space in my house. Luckily, my office still has some room. For now. If you’re like me, you’ve noticed the well-deserved attention Arkansas artists have received over the last few years. Not that it’s totally new but things have definitely been turned up a few notches. Perhaps it’s the Crystal Bridges effect - people have noticed that our state has more to offer than just beautiful outdoors and Razorback sports. Visual art has been a staple of The Idle Class Magazine since our inception as a blog in 2011. Every issue has centered around this subject, but sometimes you gotta shine the spotlight. That’s why we are excited to publish our second Artist Issue. I could fill every page of every issue with painters, sculptors, performance artists and more, but that might be overkill. “Might” being the key word. For now, we’ll just stick to our usual format. This issue features artists of various ages, races and backgrounds. Did we miss some good ones? Yeah, but don’t worry - we’ll get to them soon. As always, thank you to our advertisers, our contributors and our readers. We are very appreciative of the artists who shared their work with us and sat down to chat with our writers. And thank you to everyone who supports artists by buying art, whether a print or an original piece. Purchasing artwork is not an elite activity. Some galleries even have layaway programs. You can find something you love that fits your budget. Artists have to eat too, so help feed ‘em. See you in the summer, Kody Ford Editor-in-Chief

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Sundays @ 2pm 6.05 - Dawn Cate & The Rhythm Kings

6.12 - Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds

6.19 - Emily Kaitz & Outside The Lines

6.26 - Sad Daddy 7.03 - Tyler Kinchen & The Right Pieces

7.10 - The Vine Brothers 7.17 - Richard Burnett & The Outlaw Hippies

7.24 - The 4tet 7.31 - FlashBack

faylib.org

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THE ARTIST ISSUE

SPRING 2016

Sally Nixon - photographed by Heather Canterbury

ON YOUR OWN

ART OF ENGAGEMENT

BLANK WALLS

Across Arkansas, artists and art lovers are pouring their souls and their cash into DIY art spaces. Here are some to know.

Since arriving in Fayetteville a year ago, Cynthia Post Hunt has earned a name for herself through captivating performance art pieces.

Graffiti is controversial and creative. We took a ride with some of Little Rock’s most talented and prolific street artists.

A LIFE’S WORK

THE RISE OF SALLY NIXON

INHERITED MEMORIES

Bella Vista artist Tom Edwards has spent a lifetime painting and persevering.

The Little Rock illustrator set out to be a full-time artist. Looks like she’s on her way.

LeeNora Parlor didn’t just draw inspiration from her heritage. She peered into the past.

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100 E. University • Siloam Springs • Mon-Sat 11am-9pm • 479.524.2828

Fresh. Local. Seasonal.

In the heart of historic downtown Siloam Springs.

Real, honest food—every dish made from scratch, with a rotating menu to show off the best of the season. Handmade cocktails and an extensive spirit, wine and craft beer selection. Casual is fine. Kids welcome.

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EVENTS

SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALL RIGHT

yrical words fly through the room followed by a response of exciting laughter, and 10 minutes later that laughter has dramatically turned into quiet sways, as the audience soaks up the symphonic rhythm of a bluesy twang. However, this is just one scenario that could play out at Fayetteville’s own variety show, Last Saturday. On the last Saturday of the month at 7:30 pm, the Fayetteville Underground turns into a platform for poets, comedians, as well as other types of performers showcase their entertainment to an audience waiting to be surprised. Houston Hughes, program coordinator for Last Saturday, has clear goals for the variety show. “First, I wanted the show to always be free. Second, I wanted to make sure that there was always a competition with a cash reward, in order to keep competitors coming back and doing their best at each show. Third, I wanted each show to have as much variety as possible.” Last Saturday has yet to fall short of these goals, as each show is able to offer a wide spectrum of performances. “This is why each show we have, along with the slam, a comedian, two musicians and a fourth act which I try to make as weird as possible – we’ve had burlesque, jugglers, magicians, belly dancers and more,” Hughes said. This type of show previously never existed in Fayetteville and with such a variety of entertainment, it is no surprise that the Northwest Arkansas community has responded well. “Every show has new artists, so every show is massively different. We’ve had multiple shows packed to standing room, but some of our lower attendance shows have also been amazing because they feel so intimate,” Hughes said. Future shows promise to be unique as Hughes is consistently looking to expand the variety show’s talent pool. So whether you are looking for something different to experience in Fayetteville or you’re wanting to showcase a variety of entertainment, The Fayetteville Underground each last Saturday of the month has proven to be a oneof-a-kind adventure.

VISIT: nwacan.org/#!lastsaturday/c1urm 8

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Last Saturday Fayetteville combines poetry, music, dance & more for an unforgettable evening. WORDS / CHELSIE MARTIN PHOTOS / DAVID STOWERS

WELCOME TO THE SHOW DRAWL Contemporary Southern Art teams up with The Oxford American Magazine for an art show that seeks a dialogue on a controversial aspect of Southern culture. WORDS / KODY FORD

or generations, guns have been a ubiquitous part of Southern culture. A tool for securing food. A tool for protecting family. In recent years, the limits on guns in America have become a political hot potato. While most people have opinions on the issue, Guy Bell, of DRAWL Southern Contemporary Art, is out to shine light on the cultural cornerstone of Southern life. “Art is a great vehicle to engage people of all backgrounds in this debate,” Bell said. “The hope is that people who don’t normally look at art will give it a chance because of the subject matter, and those who don’t normally care for the subject matter will engage because of the art. As much as it seems to be about issues surrounding Second Amendment, The Gun Show is in fact about exercising the First Amendment.” Encouraging discussion is the true agenda of the show. Bell recalls a time when he and his friends could gather for drinks, talk politics and, even when things got heated, pay their tabs and leave as friends. He feels the 24/7 news cycle and the tribal nature of social media discourages such discussions in recent years, which is why he’s allowing artists to submit their take on guns and gun culture in America. DRAWL is partnering with The Oxford American Magazine for the exhibition. “[The] OA is a fabulous publication with a finger on the pulse of what is happening now in Southern contemporary culture,” Bell said. “It was evident during the first meeting that this event was going to ask some great questions. Who better to help frame those questions than one of the nation’s leading literary magazines? They have offered to host an authors’ panel discussion to help provide greater context to the themes present in the work.” The Gun Show is being curated by Chad Alligood, a Georgia native and the curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The Gun Show awards ceremony and opening reception will take place at Cache Restaurant on Friday, May 20, 2016, at 6 pm. A private VIP reception will begin at 5 pm in the Cache Lounge. Tickets are $50 general and $75 VIP. The evening will begin with the awards announcements, followed by a reception of hors d’ oeuvres by Chef Payne Harding and seasonally inspired specialty cocktails to celebrate the winning artists and the opening of The Gun Show Exhibition 2016. All artists selected for the exhibition will be invited to attend the opening event and many of the works will be on display. Tickets are available for both general admission and VIP levels. To

“Nite Hunt” by Andrew Blanchard

reserve tickets in advance, contact 501.680.1871. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit Oxford American programs and outreach. The month-long exhibition will take place at DRAWL beginning the following Monday. DRAWL, a gallery located at 5208 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock on the second floor, focuses on promoting contemporary Southern arts and culture. Their artists range in experience from the emerging to the established. According to Bell, they insist on maintaining a stable that is equally represented by both men and women. Bell described the gallery’s aesthetic: “We believe that the art created in the South is unrivaled in both its originality and presentation. It is about mastery of technique and thoughtfulness of experimentation. We select art and try to promote work within the context of not only the regional scene, but also what is happening nationally. Conversely, we also want to be a small part of the force countering the assumption that following the trends started on the coasts is the only way to be considered relevant.”

VISIT: drawlgallery.com/the-gun-show Instagram: @the-gun-show-lr

Huge Lightning Comedy Festival Rolls Into Northwest Arkansas

uge Lightning Comedy Festival is coming to Fayetteville on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7. The festival, organized by the same self-proclaimed weirdos that created “Roughhouse!”, claims it will be the first of its kind in the city, state and region. According to co-organizer Hope Haynes, “our goal - to bring Fayetteville to its knees! All right, maybe not that. Maybe the goal is just to bring Fayetteville a fresh, unique and affordable artistic/theatrical/comedic experience.” Stand-ups, improvisers and performers from as far away as New York and Chicago (including some Second City alumni) will share the same stage for two nights with some amazing local comedians, writers, musicians and artists. Shows will run from 7 to 11 pm each night in the Path Outfitters studio space on the square. Audiences will be able to purchase wristbands for specific two hour time-slots (7 to 9 pm or 9 to 11 pm), or a four hour “all night” wristband for any comedy “enthusiasts.”

VISIT: hugelightning.com idleclassmag.com

year and comprised of more than 90 musicians from prestigious ensembles, orchestras and music programs around the world, the AFO will once again gather in the Ozarks for a professional music-making experience unique to Artosphere. Performing under the baton of internationally acclaimed Music Director Corrado Rovaris, the orchestra will present three concerts: the opening Russian Masterworks performance on May 21, showcasing works by Mussorgsky and Rachmaninoff, featuring renowned pianist Benedetto Lupo (tickets $10); the Heroic Beethoven concert on May 24, presenting two works by Beethoven, complemented by the American debut of Impetus by Daniel Schnyder featuring the Dover Quartet (tickets $10); and the ever-popular Live from Crystal Bridges: Mozart in the Museum concert on May 27, featuring AFO musicians and soprano soloist Deanna Breiwick performing a program of Mozart concert arias and early Mozart symphonies, which will be broadcast live on KUAF 91.3 FM Public Radio. The May 21 and May 24 concerts take place at Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall. Other 2016 Artosphere Festival Highlights:

ARTOSPHERE RETURNS

Walton Arts Center’s annual festival of music, art, theatre and more returns to Northwest Arkansas for its seventh year.

alton Arts Center proudly presents the seventh annual Artosphere Festival — Arkansas’ Arts and Nature Festival — May 10-27, 2016. Featuring both free and ticketed events for kids and family, music performances and more at locations throughout Northwest Arkansas, Artosphere celebrates artists influenced by nature and provides a creative framework to discuss issues of sustainability. A highlight of the festival is the annual Trail Mix weekend, and this year’s event is bigger and better than ever! Capturing the very essence of Artosphere, Trail Mix is a time of music, hiking and biking along local trails and the Razorback Regional Greenway. Creating a one-ofa-kind musical and outdoor experience, audiences hike or bike between stages while enjoying performances by bands from across the country. On Saturday, May 14, enjoy a full day of free programs along the Razorback Regional Greenway, from the Fayetteville to Bentonville town squares and many points in between – this festive event will also mark the one-year anniversary of the Razorback Greenway opening. And on Sunday, May 15, the Trail Mix fun comes to the Frisco Trail in downtown Fayetteville. Another festival highlight is the Artosphere Festival Orchestra (AFO). Now in its sixth

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Artosphere Chapel Music Series Locations throughout Northwest Arkansas May 10, 16, 18, 20 (times and locations vary) Tickets: $10 Listen to exquisite music played in local churches and architectural marvels like St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville and the E. Fay Jones designed Mildred B. Cooper Chapel in Bella Vista. This year’s Chapel Series lineup includes vocalist/ukulelist Paula Fuga, bluegrass band The Barefoot Movement, and two renowned string quartets, the Dover Quartet and the Aizuri Quartet. SPIN Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville Thursday, May 12, 7pm & Friday, May 13, 8pm Tickets: $8 Part indie music concert, part performance poetry, part history lesson, SPIN celebrates the bicycle as muse, musical instrument and agent of social change. Inspired by the incredible true story of the first woman to ride around the world on a bicycle, SPIN features a vintage bike hooked up to simple electronics and played as a brilliant accompaniment to the magnetic songs and monologues at the heart of this performance. Circa’s Carnival of the Animals Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville Friday, May 13, 2pm & 7pm Tickets: $10 The wondrous world of the animal kingdom comes to life when the Circa Carnival comes to town! With whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea who tumble, fly, leap and spin, Carnival of the Animals will whisk you away on a thrilling circus escapade, with the antics of performers set to a moving backdrop with animated visuals that create the feeling of being in a larger-thanlife story book.

VISIT: artospherefestival.org

Home Grown & World-Class

The Carroll & Madison County Library Foundation’s Books in Bloom Literary Festival Celebrates 11 Years this May. Photo by Kody Ford

right white tents, colorful flowers, compelling presentations, a rapt crowd held spellbound by award-winning, best-selling and up-andcoming authors. The chance to meet and perhaps even converse with a writer whose work you admire; or one you’ve just learned about. And it’s all free of charge. Where are you? It can only be Books in Bloom, the Ozarks’ own homegrown and world-class literary festival. The 11th Books in Bloom, a celebration of writers and readers that brings talented and accomplished literary figures to the 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa in Eureka Springs for a memorable afternoon of book talks, readings, signings and more, kicks off on Sunday, May 15, 2016, from noon to 5:00 p.m. It will take place rain or shine, moving into the hotel lobby and veranda in case of inclement weather. Books in Bloom is hosted by the Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation and strives to create an informal, garden-party atmosphere that encourages connections between all who participate. Attendees can enjoy author talks given in the Conservatory of the area’s landmark hotel, which sits like a crown among the treetops overlooking Eureka’s quaint downtown, or they can hear readings presented in a large, airy tent set near the fountains in the hotel’s immaculate gardens. Interesting conversations and observations are often exchanged while waiting in line to have a book signed, or while pausing to sip a glass of iced tea at the refreshment area. Books will available for purchase from Barnes & Noble and the University of Arkansas Press.

This year’s notable featured writers include Laura Lippman, who has greatly expanded the boundaries of mystery fiction and psychological suspense with her Tess Monaghan P.I. series and her New York Times bestselling standalone novels; Thomas Perry, whose 23 novels, according to Stephen King, deliver “high voltage shocks, vivid, sympathetic characters, and compelling narrative;” and Amy Stewart, author of the novel Girl Waits With Gun and six nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world including four New York Times bestsellers. On attending the event, Stewart remarked: “I am always so delighted to join with libraries in a celebration of literature. My own local libraries have been so important to me throughout my life, especially now, as I do a tremendous amount of research for all of my books, and depend on my local libraries to help me track down the resources I need. I’m probably not supposed to say this as a native Texan, but Northwest Arkansas is such a beautiful and hospitable part of the world, and I always jump at a chance to come visit!” Books in Bloom is made possible by people, businesses and organizations who believe in the value of a literate populace. Notable among them are the 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa, the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission.

Visit: BooksinBloom.org

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MUSIC

A family

affair

Fayetteville rockers Witchsister proves some siblings don’t have a rivalry. WORDS / ERIC EVRIDGE PHOTOS / JASMINE MONSEGUE

itchsister is a four-sister rock band hailing from Northwest Arkansas, and despite almost a decade between the youngest and oldest sisters’ ages, they are pragmatic in their approach to their music and business. Is it out of necessity because three of the four members are under the age of 21? Is it because of their education and experience? It’s a little of both. “We just try to keep it as professional as possible. How we communicate. How we are while we’re performing, before and after,” Stephanie said.

Every member has a solid professional and educational background to work with. Stevie, 18, and Skylar, 16, went to NWA’s School of Rock to get professional training. Kelsey, 19, plays on scholarship for the University of Arkansas band drum line. Stephanie, 25, teaches at the Fayetteville School of Rock location and graduated from the UA with an art degree. In the many years I’ve befriended and interviewed musicians, I’ve never heard a musician use the word “budget.” Stephanie did. They grew up with their parents taking them to see concerts by the likes of Heart, Iron Maiden and Rush. And while there are some clear influences to punk and indie music, you can absolutely hear their classic rock background as well. When asked about how they create their music and their motivation, Stevie brought the pragmatism to full swing. “Pretty much what has to happen is we have to come into the practice room and say ‘We’re going to write a song,’” she said. “Yeah, like, let’s jam on something and from that ‘Hey, check out this thing!’” Stephanie added. The group released in January a 10-song LP titled Time Out they recorded at East Hall Recording in Fayetteville. The album took about 20 hours to complete the tracks before mastering. When asked about how that process went down, Stephanie said the entire process was a live setup with no individual tracking. “We would record about three to five takes of each song and then listen back, choose one and repeat, followed by overdubs and redoing vocals,” she said. Aside from their busy schedules teaching, playing and going to school, Witchsister will be releasing a new EP in the “next few months.” The five-song EP will address “loss, transitions in life forcing you to empower yourself and push through the bullshit.”

VISIT: soundcloud.com/witchsister

REVIEW: BOMBAY HARAMBEE - GOLDMINE There’s more than just a diamond mine in Arkansas. Now there’s a Goldmine! Goldmine is the brand new full length album by Little Rock band Bombay Harambee. This music is in your face, post-punk, garage rock in the vein of Pavement and Sebadoh. This four piece is one of the premier bands in Arkansas. I’ve been following the works of vocalist/guitarist Alexander Jones since he was in The Tricks around 2011. He’s grown in songwriting, guitar playing, and vocal confidence. Jones distinct voice is gritty, infectious and grows on you like a strong beer. They formed in 2013 by Jones (vocals/guitar) and Trent Whitehead (lead guitar and also plays in The Uh Huhs). Jason Griswold (drums) and Spaceman Dave (bass) played on Goldmine - but each recently moved out west so the band underwent a rhythm section change. Arkansas music veterans Tyler Nance (drums) and Ryker Horn (bass) now hold the rhythm reigns. Goldmine was recorded at Fellowship Hall Sound by Jason Weinheimer and mastering by Carl Saff. The pulp comic book spaghetti western album cover was done by Fayetteville artist Gus Carlson. Goldmine will be released on Max Recordings - one of the top music labels in Arkansas - and they will bring us a full length vinyl LP with this recording along with digital and CD formats. This is exciting for the guys in the band because they seem to like the more classic analog-like sound of vinyl…Plus it’s cool! However; this isn’t their first vinyl record. They did a 7” release and released their first full length album last year on Cassette format via Weiner Records, a subsidiary of Burger Records out of California. Goldmine is good from start to finish. The first song “Interval” sets the tone for the album. It starts with feedback and a drumstick four-count into a fast paced blast reminiscent of punk bands from the late ‘70s. “Dotted Line” has swamp rock perfection and an interesting vocal melody. “Check, Check, Checkmate” has an unmistakable intro with its vintage guitar tone and hooks. “Common Notion” is a stoner rock anthem something like Pavement but with vocals more reminiscent of The Dismemberment Plan. “Blue Balloon” is radio ready. It’s catchy and utilizes the crème de la crème qualities of all band members. It’s a high energy, full tilt, catchy

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song and my 3 year-old son immediately started dancing when it came on. The forte of this album is the angular lead guitars propelled by a great rhythm section. While maintaining originality, there’s a certain classic alternative sound with Bombay Harambee that pulls from the best of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90’s. I’d like to see this album go national because Goldmine is a nugget worth mining. - Shayne Gray

POETRY

CROSS-POLLINATION In this time of shovels and sheds chrysanthemums take root at the stem of my brain and dirt runs the course of my spine There is time for unearthing the velvet secrets of petals, folded – the photosynthesis of loss into dusted yellow remnants, flown on the toes of bees In time all dust unwinds itself to fragile stems bereft of leaves – hollow channels, skins of wax, and nothing sticks All seeds reveal their souls in times of light of wet of rich of plenty –

but your time wasn’t that. I stick to you, a barren hull.

- Alice Stinetorf

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ART

Across the state, people with a vision to bring unique experiences to the public have gone out of pocket to fund art spaces. Now their DIY aesthetic is educating and exciting Arkansas. WORDS / KODY FORD, TRYSTEN HANEY, JAYME HUFF, K. SAMANTHA SIGMON & DONNA SMITH PHOTOS / AARON BREWER, HEATHER CANTERBURY, KODY FORD & HAYNES RILEY

GARLAND HOUSE ART SHOWS Little Rock

Garland House Art Shows (GHAS) are a great example of the DIY aesthetic in the Arkansas art scene. Located just off Cantrell Road on Garland Avenue in Little Rock, GHAS kicked off a few years ago when Phillip Huddleston, a resident and artist, hung artwork in the large hallway on the second floor of the house. Feedback was so good that Huddleston and his house mates decided to see what they could make out of the space. With each succeeding show, Huddleston added more artists, invited bands to perform and became more playful with the ambiance of the house. Filmmaker and house mate Mark Thiedeman began making over-the-top hors d’oeuvres for the kitchen area. Donated works of art from previous exhibitions hung in the foyer. The porch and front yard became a musical hub for local bands. As the shows grew greater in size and effort, they took a year break before coming back with themed shows such as Twin Peaks, X-Files, and this fall, Gilmore Girls, all featuring themed artwork, immersive experiences and mystery clues throughout the house. “What I prefer in shows is an overwhelming sense of experience,” said Huddleston. “I like putting on shows in which each room or space has its own facets to explore and interpret. I like getting a sense that the curators wanted me to feel I could exist within the show for as long as I would like.” Huddleston said the inspiration for his voracious drive stems from what he calls “the singular greatest work of art of the 21st century” - Sleep No More in New York. “Without giving too much away, the

multiple facets of this experience (as one could maybe call it) inspired me to strive for that kind of immersion to the humbling degree that I could,” he said. “With this push in the last two events, people have not only seemed to enjoy themselves more, but they have also become more involved in the show and appreciated a greater role than mere observation.” While Little Rock has a rich art scene that hosts many great social events, Huddleston feels that GHAS fills a unique niche. “GHAS is one of many places to see great, local art,” he said. “A friend recently posted a list of exhibits that were happening in Little Rock on a single weekend, and it filled a whole whiteboard. I like to think that the new, more experiential version of GHAS commits people to a greater sense of investment in what is happening around them. That, by far, is a necessity for any arts community.” - Kody Ford

BOTTLE ROCKET GALLERY Bentonville Bottle Rocket Gallery (BRG) opened in the fall of 2013 as a collaborative effort between local artists Kat Wilson and Sarah Leflar. BRG was unique in its beautiful setting, and also for how the curators worked with the artists exhibiting work. Leflar was quoted as saying that the space’s mission was to “show artists from outside Arkansas whose work can be described as controversial, confrontational or in some way challenging for the viewer.” Indeed, the shows at BRG off Finger Road in Fayetteville were just that. It’s a familiar dilemma that those running independent spaces understand. You’ve started the space, had some exhibitions, press, found a funding source, but then, life happens. A partner moves, rent increases, and for numerous other reasons, it’s cause for re-evaluation. Luckily, Kat Wilson is making sure that instead of ending the venture, the space takes on a challenge, just like the art it presented did in the beginning. As a fixture in the Arkansas art

LALALAND

Fayetteville

LaLaLand is an alternative project space for art and music that you probably won’t see in more traditional venues in Northwest Arkansas. Art exhibits at the space are shown twice a month to give a more fluid dynamic to the art scene and support a more active community art connection. Site director Sam King and colleague Stephanie Pierce, both University of Arkansas art faculty members, started the space four years ago with what King described as, “The idea to keep the local art community moving through having multiple changing shows each month and provide a pulse that beats for the arts.” Artists for the shows range from University of Arkansas undergraduate and graduate students, area artists and artists from other places like Hot Springs, Tulsa and Little Rock. Known as One Night Standards (ONS), art shows run for one night only with one work of art per artist and feature a conceptual thread that unites the vision of the group. A re-

cent ONS show curated by Wambli Gamache featured the work of U of A art students, Mikayla Hoffman, Jasmine Monsegue, Cory Perry and James Williams with organic artworks in pottery, painting, sculpture and video. The space can accommodate longer running shows, but the aim is to provide a space for events in Northwest Arkansas that are, too weird/ quiet/loud for other Fayetteville venues, or maybe just of interest to a smaller crowd, according to the website King has canvassed artists to show their work through the website and has posted fliers in the region. Artist inquires may be directed to nwastudio@gmail.com. LaLaLand is located behind 641 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and the physical address is 643 MLK in South Fayetteville. - Jayme Huff

VISIT: Lalalandxna.tumblr.com

scene, Wilson is a proprietor for the new restaurant-bar hot spot Foxhole Public House in Bentonville. As if everything she does wasn’t enough, she has decided to move former Fayetteville DIY gallery Bottle Rocket to Bentonville as well. The funding of artists was always an important aspect to BRG, and Wilson fully intends to keep that model going. Bottle Rocket recently found a home in downtown Bentonville with the help of local Mike Abb, who had previously run an art space called Artansas in the location. Kat fully intends on transporting the space to the area and, from this writer’s perspective, at the perfect time. With a multitude of events and businesses booming in the downtown area, Bentonville is undergoing a transformation itself. The key is the idea that started the space to begin with; one that is ready for change, work, and as always, a challenge. - Donna Smith

IN: @BottleRocketGallery

THE SHED Fayetteville

Fayetteville has emerged as home to one of the area’s most exclusive art exhibits, The Shed. Art lovers and collectors from all areas of Arkansas frequent this event because they feel more of a personal connection to the artists who are natives to the area. Unlike a traditional exhibition, The Shed welcomes artists who are in the midst of their creative process and encourages them to display work at its newest, most vulnerable stage. In January 2013, Donna Smith and Angelina Bowen opened The Shed, an art exhibition and studio space in Fayetteville. Once a month, Donna and Angelina host a publicly appreciated art reception and allow the artist’s continual access to change, revise and attempt new techniques until his or her

BACKSPACE Fayetteville

Nestled in Trailside Village right off the bike path in Fayetteville, Backspace celebrated its two-year anniversary in March 2016. During that time, Samantha Sigmon has helped various musicians, poets, artists, makers, creators and actors, utilize the space for unconventional and experimental works. Some events included “Nap Times,” a 24-hour zine and draw-a-thon, even a show that involved Jurassic Park and great work by artist Nick Shoulders. Backspace allows the creative community to try out new works, such as when Wanbli Gamache lived in the space for several days, installing a video installation with fellow artist Kale Ogle. The main mission of Backspace is to be “community friendly and all-inclusive as possible,” Sigmon notes. What’s great about Backspace is that anyone can find something they’d like to attend. The space is not concerned with pristine walls. Instead, it invites work and events that will expand the space’s goal to be a “community arts space.” Up next, Backspace will transport guests back to the ‘90s when it hosts an “Art Prom” with University of Arkansas MFA students May 13th, organized by Sigmon and student Ashley Byers. So break out those shoulder pads and sequins Northwest Arkansas, it’s time to party arty. With a backdrop like Backspace, it’s sure to be a good time. - Donna Smith

VISIT: facebook.com/backspacearts

work is complete. Art enthusiasts are attracted to The Shed’s rare mix of a formal exhibit with a laid back atmosphere, which justifies why it is currently the longest running business in Trailside Village. Donna Smith says she hopes artists view The Shed as a “place of support and encouragement, but also where the artists is able to receive honest feedback and critique from other colleagues and the community.” The Shed has presented work from artists outside of Northwest Arkansas, but is keen on placing its primary focus on the abundance of local talent. “I personally love showing work from local artists because, despite our area art scene growing, it can sometimes be intimidating for artists to seek out a place to show work,” Smith said. The Shed is one of a few exhibition and studio spaces in Northwest Arkansas that believes displaying new art does not have to be accompanied by unnecessary pressure; a work in progress is the genuine masterpiece. In the highly competitive world of art, it is often difficult for talented artists to get the exposure they need for their artwork to be noticed. This is one of the primary reasons that over the past few years, The Shed has helped to be beneficial in promoting local paintings, photographs, installation, and even performance art as it continues to thrive in Northwest Arkansas. The Shed encourages art collectors and enthusiasts, as well as, the public to attend this event and observe every stage of the artistic process. This exhibition is held at 546 W Center Street in downtown, Fayetteville, Arkansas and may prove to be a boost to the careers of these local artists. - Trystan Haney

VISIT: facebook.com/TheShedFayetteville

GOOD WEATHER GALLERY

North Little Rock

Good Weather is a family affair. Founder Haynes Riley moved back to North Little Rock after grad school in May 2011, and in the following months he took a look at his older brother’s garage and had an idea—a functional art space tucked away in a benign suburban neighborhood. About a year passed before the inaugural exhibition at Good Weather in October of 2012. During that time, he planned the first shows, set up a website, and coordinated with his family, who assisted him in this endeavor. “I have a lot of assistance and the space wouldn’t exist without my family,” Riley said. “My older brother provided the garage. My sisters and younger brother help with documenting the openings. My mother and father prepare all of the food. My twin brother has helped me return the art to the artists.” What their efforts have provided is a unique art space that showcases some cutting edge works from around the country. All in a typical North Little Rock residential neighborhood. Some of the highlights of Good Weather’s run have been shows by Katie Wynne, Ian Jones, Jenny G, Ezra Tessler, Lauren Cherry and Max Springer, Michael Assiff, Martha Mysko, Mathew Zefeldt, and Willie Wayne Smith. The next exhibition opens April 9th, and is a body of new work by Sondra Perry, whose work was most recently featured in MoMA PS1’s quincentennial Greater New York. The space functions as a long-term conversation between Riley and artists, beginning as an invitation and culminating in the show. He solves logistical challenges with the artists and opens the space a week in advance for the artist to install the work. He promotes and documents the show. “Ideally, I’d just be the curator and have the conversations with the artist about the exhibition,” he said. But he acknowledges that in a self-funded space, that is far from the case. Riley, who has spent the last few years traveling between central Arkansas and various teaching positions and artist residencies around the country, promotes Good Weather by visiting

art fairs to exhibit alongside other galleries he considers his peers in order to raise the profile of the space and recruit new artists. Contemporary art can be hard to digest for the uninitiated, but in Riley’s view, Good Weather serves as a palatable showcase for the public. “I feel like contemporary art can be intimidating if people think they can’t access it, but the audience’s interpretation is part of this whole thing,” Riley said. “[Good Weather] is a very hospitable place for central Arkansas that works in an educational way to expose audiences that attend the exhibitions to work that is situated at the vanguard of contemporary art.” - Kody Ford

VISIT: GOODWEATHERGALLERY.COM

LOW KEY ARTS Hot Springs

Hot Springs is an old town known for resort hotels and horse races, standing firm as remnants of an early-twentieth-century hotbed of speakeasies and gambling joints -- a gangster’s getaway, an Atlantic City of the South. A community arts space seems a far cry from this lifestyle, but Low Key Arts in Hot Springs has been a pillar of all-ages art and music in Arkansas since 2007, redefining Hot Springs as a stop for all kinds of creatives across the nation. In early 2016 alone, for instance, the nonprofit is hosting wellknown indie bands like Low and the Coathangers, as well as the yearly Valley of the Vapors Music Festival. They have also recently hosted a month long residency with Rebecca Rebouche, which culminated in a one night only art show, as well as showed the work of Bethannie Newsom Steelman solo show. Oh yeah, and they put on film screenings, radio programming, plays, workshops, potlucks, community meetings, political rallies, weddings, quinceaneras, memorials, baby showers and AA meetings, if art or live music isn’t your thing. While the organization, founded by Shae Childs and Bill Solleder, has been around since 2005, it gained a brick-and-mortar home in Hot Springs in 2007. Renovating a building which had been unused for 15 years, involved a lot of work. According to Solleder, community members helped fix up the place and after six months of intense renovations, the structure became Low Key Arts in March 2007.

The grand opening soldout show featured Lucero and Brian

Martin. Since its opening, Arkansans have responded by solidly supporting the venue. Hot Springs musician Drew Martin says that the community focus is much needed for both adults and children. With Valley of the Vapors it is “the major thing I and much of the music community in Hot Springs look forward to all year. People of all ages come with a sea of smiles.” “Not sure what my life would be like without it,” he adds. For Roger Barrett, Northwest Arkansas music-booker and organizer of the upcoming On the Map Indie Music Festival in Fayetteville, Low Key Arts is an inspiration; “It’s my favorite venue in Arkansas [because it] created an all inclusive, all ages venue space . . . that has completely transformed the community. If something is imagined by the community, it can become a reality at Low Key Arts.” Low Key Arts continues to selectively program in the space, hosting about two events a month and mainly focusing on film, music, and art shows and residencies. They are preparing for the upcoming Valley of the Vapors Festival in March as well as a series of one-act plays set for late April and early May. - K. Samantha Sigmon

VISIT: lowkeyarts.org

Painting by Renee Williams

“My new work is primarily focused on opening up to the public about my background in a visual sense. It’s hard to describe culture in a written context - you have to create the experience to understand. Art is fundamental to all cultures.”

INSTAGRAM: @joelleelleoj

“We tend to live linear lives, according to a kind of predisposed convention...we are taught to be good participants in society by following a certain path and focusing on only one aspect of humanity. I am attempting to tell stories of structures which break free and become fractured; superimposed versions of what they thought they once were, as a hopeful analogy to the kind of potential we all might find in ourselves.”

“When I work, I’m seeking a fundamental rhythm - a profound relationship between shape, color, actual space, illusionistic space, my intuition, my intellect, my cumulative experiences as a painter and as a person. That’s a lot to ask of a painting, so I tend to work on a lot of them at once. I like to stay immersed in my influences. At times, I feel like a reducing valve, where visual material is filtered, crunched, interwoven. Most satisfying are instances of paradox, which arrive as genuine surprise, yet confirm something familiar.”

VISIT: Sam-King.com

Renee’s artwork examines an ongoing search for a relationship with nature that mirrors/ compliments the relationship between the conscious and unconscious. It is about the ability to receive and read signs in the natural world and use them to better understand one’s own internal world.

VISIT: gallery26.com

“I am interested in what makes something beautiful. Throughout history we have been told that symmetrical faces and figures hold the most beauty and intrigue. However, organic anatomical shapes are never perfectly symmetrical. If this were the case, we would be stylized cartoon versions of ourselves. Humans are crooked. We are not geometric. In my work, I contrast the organic shapes of the human, plant, and animal form with symmetrical geometric patterning. The repetition of a pattern makes a space more interesting to me. I enjoy exploring natural versus man-made shapes, colors, and subject matter.”

BLOG: WHITNEY-ALLEN-JOHNSTON. TUMBLR.COM

“The greatest fulfillment comes when I connect with my drawing objects at an emotional level, no matter if it is by seeing them in person, on a photo, or at a design concept stage. This type of emotional bond sets the essential stage for a good final product realized by the technical skills that I had obtained through training ever since my childhood drawing classes.”

VISIT: yillustrations.com

“I’m always wondering about the long-term impact of what the art is going to say and trying to validate why it should exist. I want to make work that my former professors and non-academic, non-artist family members would both want to look at. I’m focusing on work concerning my Southern heritage. It seems pretty entitled for a white, straight person in the South to make work about her feelings on gender, race and social structures, but there it is. To make this work, I’m inverting flag symbols and creating a new Southern woman icon through drawings, collage and embroidery, as well as studying up on Southern history and creating zines as a way to share what I learn.”

BLOG: jnward-art.blogspot.com

“My pieces that I truly like I would describe as visceral, unbridled, raw. By ‘truly’ I mean ones I’ve done that weren’t compromised in some form or another. The better I get, the less compromised they become because of my inept fingers. My own lack of true talent hinders the expression I am desperately trying to capture. I guess they are all compromised in that way, come to think of it. I don’t know why the sculpting comes out this way. What makes an artist’s style the way it is? I am most puzzled by this.”

“My work is meant to celebrate average people whose spirits and talents are extraordinary. I focus on heavy collage and layering to create a narrative and sense of history with each piece. There is always something in the collage, in the patterns and in the shapes that represents or symbolizes the person(s) depicted. I also like playing with the ground relations, making it seem as if the foreground and background are blended as one. I use repurposed material like found wood, doors and windows as the surface. With each piece, I learn something new about the subject being painting and I do it in hopes that whoever is looking will feel just as amazed with them as I am.”

INSTAGRAM: @SNOWFALLSDOWN

“‘I don’t limit myself in how I choose to interpret my subject matter. Moving from representation to abstract expressionism allows me the freedom to translate what I see and how I feel about it. My work is ever changing, frequently challenging, and always passionate.’ Exploring color, composition, and form, Parsons’ ultimate goal is to communicate something new to the viewer allowing them to become involved in their own personal journey and discovery of the artwork.”

VISIT: alisonparsons.com

“When I paint, the last thing I’m thinking about is the painting. I think about everything else going on in my life. The only thing I think about, as far as the work goes, is to keep it loose, quick and to enjoy the process. If I start thinking too much about what I am doing or if it stops being fun, I put the brush down and walk away. I like the idea that art is a tangible piece of someone’s mind that everyone can see. When you create something, you’re leaving a piece of yourself behind long after you’re gone.”

INSTAGRAM: @tshep0917

Bryan is the assistant station manager at KABF and hosts “NVRMND The Morning Show” on Mondays through Thursdays from 7 to 9 am. In Winter 2015, he exhibited a solo show at Beige in the River Market District. You can currently see his work at M2 Gallery. He has sold nearly 100 paintings since early 2015, through exhibitions and commission work. He is also a musician and is producing the new record for Ghost Bones and plans to release the next LP for his band, The Alpha Ray, this summer.

INSTAGRAM: @frazzledazzler

“I make art as a way to express my emotion for something or to express a profound situation, as well as to show something unexplainable through a physical vehicle that drives the point across. In some cases, creating a physical metaphor by marring two or more ideas/ images.”

VISIT: CORYP.ORG

“Personifying my feelings about humanity. Exploring the idea of man vs. civilization, both in existence and conflict, struggles, triumphs, realistically and abstractly. Using minimalistic style as a means to take a chaotic world and open it up with simplicity using a variety of media in order to explore all aspects of the human experience.”

VISIT: Manvswheel.bigcartel.com

“My artwork helps me learn things about myself, my relationships, and I get to learn new processes to achieve my goals. I create problems for myself with my designs, and I get to solve them in construction. The more I learn, t he less I realize I know, and the more I want to learn. I have a job where I get to confront and accomplish so much everyday. We are given problems in the shop, both structurally and visually, and it’s my job to help solve anything in order to achieve the optimal desired design. It is pretty much a dream job situation for me, and a privilegeto work and learn with such an awesome team that shares my passion for art and architecture.”

VISIT: Facebook.com/localcolOR studiogallery

Leilani, a native of the Colorado Rockies earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute/Chicago in 1986. Since that time, she has been a passionate advocate for the arts through her active roles as studio artist, art mentor, art based business owner and producer of art events. Her artwork has been shown in group and solo exhibitions and resides in private collections throughout the United States. She has had gallery representation in the past, but is currently self represented.

VISIT: StudioLeilani.com

“Living in England, I was enveloped in the ornamentalism of old European craftsmanship. Things ordinarily mundane here are intricately decorative there. Wall art started to seem frivolous to me. I was flummoxed by the waste of making art just to hang on a wall, when you could use your resources to make functional things that were also art. Still a teenager, I committed my own creativity to art that was functional. That pivotal commitment remains consequent in my art and business still.”

VISIT: ozarkcards.com

“Under the moniker of Neon Glittery, Elizabeth Arnold creates art in many forms from illustration, mixed media painting, screen printing, film photography, experimental and visual poetry, to lo-fi dreamwaves of sound.”

VISIT: NeonGlittery.com

STITCHES Springdale WORDS / SARA SEGERLIN PHOTO / DAN SNOW

s an artist and an educator with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, I had the great opportunity to collaborate with Stitches, an emerging art group of teenagers and early twenty-somethings who are starting a creative movement in their hometown of Springdale, Arkansas. The Latin culture and multidisciplinary interests of this art group from painting, poetry, music to activism makes Stitches a diverse mix of artist working together. These artists are also students at Springdale High School, students from Northwest Arkansas Community College, students from the University of Arkansas and full-time workers at local restaurants and businesses. I can foresee many in the Stitches group becoming well-known muralists, poets and musicians in our area. They gave me their written manifesto that places a call for the community to join the Stitches art movement, which they proclaim: “Stitches” a group of talented and proactive youth, want to bring the talents of the city together to discuss potential art concepts for the city (Springdale). Art and Culture is the best way to mend fences and create a sense of liveliness to the city. We need the city and its resources to help us network together to make this happen.

Stitches’ call stuck with me, so I reached out to the group’s facilitator, Marsea Lopez, asking how I could help. She confidently said they are looking to do anything that involves art in Springdale. The group had already experimented with an Open Mic Night and was in the midst of developing a mural at The Jones Center. The speed at which Stitches moves led to the idea of creating a pop up art event that was unlike anything that’s been seen before in Springdale. The timing was also a good fit for other Springdale organizations, the Art Center of the Ozarks and Fairlane Station, who helped Stitches host their first pop up event in mid-December 2015. The Stitches group of artists, Kenny Arrendondo, Marsea Lopez, Arelly Torres and Anthony Garcia, joined myself and ACO’s Director of Visual Arts, Eve Smith, in building a contemporary light show through an intensive week-long workshop on light art sculpture-making, which we created within the site-specific spaces of Fairlane Station. At the end of the workshop, we came up with the title “Illuminate” for the event as a proclamation for Downtown Springdale’s future. To the Stitches artists, their sculptures represent a shift in perception of their community from blight to bright.

VISIT: facebook.com/sdalestitches idleclassmag.com

hen Winston Taylor was growing up in Little Rock during the ‘50s and ‘60s, he never dreamed he would develop a career as a ceramicist. “When I entered UALR as an art major, being an architect was still in the back of my mind.” A course in ceramics introduced Taylor to the possibilities clay offered him as a medium for expression and his fascination continues to grow in Russellville, where he works in his studio and teaches in his 26th year at the River Valley Arts Center. His work is striking in its smooth, minimalistic shapes juxtaposed with the complexity of raku-fired surfaces. You studied under Warren Kessler at UALR and Rosemary Fisher at the Arkansas Arts Center. What did you take away from each of these artists? Working under Warren Kessler gave me a solid background in the fundamentals of handmade ceramics, both hand built and wheel thrown. I felt he was particularly good with the potter’s wheel, showing me the way to make a proper lid, how to trim a pot and good craftsmanship in general. I worked as a work-study student in the ceramic studio and was responsible for mixing clay, making glazes and firing and maintaining kilns. In an independent study, I focused on raku and built a kiln for the classes to use. With Rosemary Fisher, I further explored the things Warren had taught, in addition to learning, for example, how to pull a handle for a mug or pitcher or her special way of decorating with stamps, texture and attachments. I also worked as a work-study for Rosemary. Mixing clay, glazes and firing many kilns. Did you learn technique only or were you influenced by either’s sense of aesthetics? Both Warren and Rosemary seemed to lean more in the direction of a functional, production type approach, as

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they were very good ceramic artists and craftsmen. Early on I developed a special interest in alternative methods of pit firing, raku and techniques which I used in ceramics to produce things of a strictly art object nature. You have described your pottery as geometric, mechanical-looking, architectural and industrial in appearance. These qualities lend themselves to the appearance of an Asian influence. Was this intentional? I agree that it results in having an Asian appearance although that is not intentional. My Influences were from my earlier working days when I worked as an auto body repairman, carpenter and aircraft electrician. You have said that you had no idea when you were younger that you would have a career in the arts. What did you expect to do? I liked the work in those previously mentioned fields and as a young boy, I thought of being an automobile designer or maybe an architect. At UALR, ceramics was an elective that I took and immediately I was all but smitten! I loved how clay felt, the ways it could be shaped, everything and especially the potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wheel. I seemed to catch on quickly and soon spent countless extra hours in the pottery studio. After graduation, I took workshops with Paul Soldner, Adelphia Martinez, Don Reetz and Peter King. My own work reflected that in the beginning, but eventually I swung back to the more deliberate, meticulous approach that is really me. Your body of work is made up of both functional pieces and more sculptural forms. Does one category bring you more satisfaction? I love doing more sculptural forms but occasionally, mostly by request or commission, I will do things that are more utilitarian. I have made lots of mugs, pitchers and bowls. I have made sinks and countertops, wares for Christian worship and even an occasional relief sculpture in public buildings. I enjoy doing all those things, but sculptural ceramics is my first love.

VISIT: winstontaylor.com

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of media is my way of unifying where I came from and where I am. The art scene in Little Rock has really taken off in the last few years. What are some of the more significant changes you’ve noticed and how do you hope it continues to develop the city and artists working there? The main changes I’ve noticed about the growing Little Rock art scenes are the people. People want to be involved, people want to have more shows, more art, more murals, more events, just more. People are getting excited about everything that is happening. I just hope that people continue to help and support the developing events. What tends to happen is that the shows and events tend to grow, but there are usually the same people working the event. If you like an annual event and you want to see it develop, attend it, volunteer, contribute and spread the word. It takes money, time, hard work and determination to make things happen, and the people organizing the events need help. You have a vested interest in the art community since you attended the art program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and now are involved in various aspects, whether you’re speaking at the Arkansas Arts Center or working as a mentor at Art Connection. Community involvement and development seems to be a large part of your practice as well as the actual studio process. What has been the most rewarding part of being able to interact with and be involved in the community in which you work?

lilia hernandez Little Rock

INTERVIEW / DONNA SMITH

fter seeing a recent invitation for the Form in Fiber show in Little Rock, I was immediately intrigued by the work of artist Lilia Hernandez. I spoke with Lilia about an artist’s role and involvement in the community and her own history. It’s obvious that she will play an important role in developing the ever-evolving art scene in Arkansas. Your work will be featured in a group show opening this April, Viva La Mujer, at the Argenta Gallery in North Little Rock. Could you tell me about the concept of the show and a bit about your work included? Viva La Mujer is an exhibition featuring Latina artist’s work, or with a Latina subject matter. This idea was developed after The Latino Project, an all-Latino art exhibition, [that] occurred in Argenta. This show will be hosted by The Latino Project. My work will consist of all new mixed media works with femininity, womanhood and female roles as the subject matter. The pieces are more personal and concept driven. In your studio practice, many pieces incorporate media ranging from pen and watercolor to fiber work. This could be quite personal work, but many pieces have an abstract feel as well. I mainly feel connected to my heritage through the media I use, specifically, embroidery, weaving and sewing. I was taught how to sew, crochet, knit and embroider by my grandmothers and my great aunt. Not only do I feel like these tie me to my heritage, but specifically to the women in my family. In my case, I came to the United States when I was five years old; I grew up attending American schools. If I, as a Mexican, do not take an intentional interest in learning my history, I will never learn it. Yes, my parents have helped keep the ties of my culture alive, but if not for my grandmothers or my great-aunt, I would’ve never learned about textiles. Using watercolor and pen and ink is my tie to the U.S. The combination

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I think with many artists, the studio process is most rewarding. That is where I want to be most of the time; this makes me feel good mentally and emotionally. It is just a great way of releasing creatively and satisfying the need to make. However, I also feel rewarded when it comes to community projects. One of my most rewarding exhibitions I’ve organized was Ovolution, an all women art show. This was a great way to meet amazing talented women and bring them together under one roof. Though I no longer work at Art Connection, working with those teens was beyond rewarding. We developed relationships that will last a long time. It’s truly wonderful to see them making art on their own and working on projects to better the art scene or themselves. Community is so important. As artists, we rely on our community for so much, and the community relies on us, as well. We want people to show up to our shows and we want people to buy art. But in return, people want events to go to, beautiful walls to look at and support from the local artists. It’s a relationship that needs to be developed. I think that it is our responsibility as people of a community to be a part of things that we want to continue in our community.

TAMMY HARRINGTON Russellville

“I am creating a collaborative print series called Reactions: Visual Words. My artwork, ‘Enigma,’ is the starting point of a conversation that I will have with 10 of my colleagues. These colleagues will come from a variety of academic areas like Art, English, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Business, Communications, Education, Music and Religion. My intent is to interact across the disciplines, a cross-curricular experience. “Each faculty member will react to the visual imagery of my print, ‘Enigma,’ and respond in a written format (poetry or prose) using 50 words or less in length. From there, I interpret the writings and create a new print/artwork that incorporates the responsive writing into the artwork composition. “My focus is to have the written word lead the creative direction of the artwork. The subject matter, tone, mood and style may be vastly different from print to print. I look forward to the stretching of my artistic boundaries and a test of my creativity.”

VISIT: tammyharrington-art.com idleclassmag.com

MITCH BREITWEISER Little Rock

INTERVIEW / DAVE MORRIS

ccording to Merriam Webster, a “futurist” is “a person who tries to tell what the future will be like.” For Little Rock based comic book artist Mitch Breitweiser, the future is all about The Futurists, his forthcoming creator-owned project which he describes as “Apocalypse Now meets Peter Pan through the lens of Jules Verne” and as “a fantastic spin on the historical struggles and landscapes of the Indian sub-continent circa 1865.” It is not currently attached to a publisher but it is due out later this year. A native of Benton and an alumnus of Harding University, Breitweiser has worked extensively for Marvel Comics and has drawn virtually every major Marvel character at some point, including Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Drax the Destroyer and Deadpool. We recently spoke about his career: past, present and Futurists. You’re primarily known for your work with Marvel and specifically on Captain America. Can you tell us a little bit about your early days as an artist and specifically how you got your first break with the House of Ideas? In short, I hustled my work around the burgeoning convention circuit between 2000-2007, where I was able to learn from pros and ingratiate myself to the hard working people within the comic book industry. My work needed time to mature, but my career began to take off in 2006 with my work on Drax the Destroyer for Marvel, and then with Captain America: The Chosen with Rambo creator David Morrell. My very first break came a little too early. Then X-Men Assistant Editor Mike Marts offered me two backup issues of Deadpool after I took the runner-up spot in Marvel’s 2001 talent search contest. It wasn’t the prettiest thing I ever did, but I learned a lot. As far as I can tell, you’ve never really done any work for DC. Would you ever be interested in working for DC, an, if so, what character(s)

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would you most like to draw? I did a cover for one of their Superman books, and there was talk of doing more, but ultimately I went another direction. Giving a fresh perspective to Wonder Woman would be a fun challenge. You have an upcoming creator-owned project with newcomer Patrick Stiles called The Futurists. How did you come to work with him on your first creator-owned book? Patrick and I have been collaborating on making content together since college. We connected over a mutual love of geeky fiction and admiration of the contemporary giants of illustration. We were very enthusiastic about creating our own content back then, but I went on to do work for Marvel and he moved on to other opportunities. The ideation sessions never stopped, however, and the hobby turned to a more serious exercise. Over the years, as I found success and experience in the comic book field, the amount of really fantastic content started piling up and we had a sort of realization that the material could have a very broad appeal. And then we got serious about it and The Futurists became this sort of tent pole project for what we want to accomplish. Of course, The Futurists isn’t set in our real world, but from the premise, I assume the society it is set in isn’t the greatest place in the world for women. Given the main character is a women, how strongly will gender issues play into the story you tell? In the sense that these are women in a historical setting and there will be conflicts useful for characterization there, but it’s not a focus of the narrative. This struggle is a family one and the stakes are very high. Our characters are all deeply flawed individuals, and part of the fun is seeing how they overcome those flaws in hopes of achieving their ideals.

different and amazing. As I mentioned, your wife has enjoyed massive success with Outcast and has also received praise for her work on books like The Fade-Out, Velvet and Fatale. Is there any kind of playful competition going on in the Breitweiser Haus? No competition. Over the years, we’ve learned to work wisely together, and we have some specific goals for the future that keep us on track. I’m really happy that she is getting so much recognition for her work. She’s going to continue to do great work on Outcast and on the next Brubaker/Phillips project. All of her most recent books done for Image Comics (The Fade Out, Velvet, Outcast) are beautifully done and available in trade paperback. I know you’re friends with Action Comics plotter/artist and Fayetteville’s own Aaron Kuder. Is there some kind of secret society of Arkansas comic book professionals or are you, he and Elizabeth it?

The Futurists falls under the umbrella of Merry Muse, which as I understand it is intended to be an entire universe created by you and Patrick Stiles. What plans do you have for some of these other titles like The Red Rooster and Bullet Ballet? For now, Merry-Muse.com is a fun place to promote and organize projects. It’s a touchstone for the intellectual property, and a compass that points to a broader horizon. Naturally I have very limited information since its debut is still a while away, but from what I know about The Futurists it seems like “steampunk” might be an apt description. Has Steampunk culture had any kind of an influence on it, aesthetically or otherwise? Marginally, if any, but I believe steampunk enthusiasts will enjoy the book. I think the book will appeal to fans of a wide variety of genres. It’s a fantasy, but that’s just a beautiful stage for all these character conflicts to play out on. The Futurists will have aesthetic all its own. I want the art to be a major draw to the project. The art is supposed to hook you, and the story will reel you in.

Ha. No. Aaron and I talk sometimes about doing a cabin retreat for creators in the mid-south to cut loose, talk shop and enact our arcane initiation rituals. Given the premise of The Futurists, it’s hard to imagine that living in Arkansas has had any overt influence on it, but has the Natural State had any influence on it or any of your other work? Our sets for the book are intentionally exotic and transportive, but one way or another, some Natural State influence will be woven into the book’s aesthetic. Growing up in Arkansas will have more of an influence in future books, though. My Red Rooster project is costumed hero epic that unfolds among the patchwork of small town life. And there are others. There is a wide variety of settings, periods and genes in our bucket of ideas. The escapism is large part of the appeal.

VISIT: breitweiserhaus.com Pg. 34: A family divided; Promotional artwork for The Futurists by Mitch Breitweiser. Pg. 35: Concept art for The Futurists

What’s it like working on a project of your own creation versus working on something like Captain America with a wealth of history? This is just a lot more fun, but it’s not for everybody. You have to be open to taking the risk and really believe in what you are doing and know how to get it done. I think we have a good idea about what’s missing in the marketplace, and I think people are going to have a great time when they read our books. Along with your wife Elizabeth, who of course has had a fantastic career herself, you worked with legendary Ed Brubaker. Any chance you’ll do something with him in the future? Anyone else you’d like to collaborate with? It’s come up before, but it’s not likely to happen soon. Ed is a great storyteller, and he’s been really great to Elizabeth. It’s possible that the stars could align for such a project, and I think it would be really amazing. Obviously there’s a long running trend of comics properties being developed into movies and television series. Elizabeth’s work Outcast is soon to debut as a series on Cinemax. Do you have an eye towards a Futurists movie or show? We’ve thought about it. Perhaps as a rotoscope or a video game, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Right now, we’re very focused on making sure the initial product is great and that we win over new fans to the series. For enthusiasts of production art and those inquisitive about the process, I post often to my Twitter and Instagram pages (@mbreitweiser). In a sense, there is already a show unfolding. While working with Marvel you got to draw Drax the Destroyer and Deadpool before they each found success on film and became well known outside the world of hardcore comic fans. What’s it like having worked on characters like that and then seeing them all over popular culture? It feels good. It’s a validation of sorts. I had this sort of early realization that this medium contained a very powerful way to communicate, and the cultural impact you’ve seen over recent years is a testament to that. There is so much enthusiasm out there. It drives me to deliver something new and

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dmittedly, I’ve never been one for landscape painting. However, looking at Sharon Killian’s work, I am entranced at how I am much more drawn to the abstract shapes and the imaginative qualities she creates with the surrounding environment serving as her muse. Along with being a painter, Sharon is a major advocate for the arts and various community organizations here in Northwest Arkansas, including the Board of Fayetteville Art Alliance and the Northwest Arkansas American Heritage Association. Despite her busy schedule, Sharon was able to talk with me about her practice and first beginnings as an artist. When did you first start creating? What interested you and still interests you about painting? I was 13 when it hit me that art is what I needed to do, and I started drawing and painting on Saturdays at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and pretty much into the night throughout my teens at home on 112th Street in Harlem, always way past bedtime. Among other significant indelible visual experiences that inform my work, many to do with line and interruptions, was the color of the sky at dawn when I was even younger, up doing chores before school in the Jamaican countryside of my grandparent’s home. The richness and completeness of the elements, in their own right, still intrigue me and still command me in my work to this day. Regarding one series of your work, when I think about landscape painting in the academic sense, I think of the precise replication of plants, trees, etc. However, when looking at your pieces, I have a much more sensational response.

sharon Killian Fayetteville

INTERVIEW / DONNA SMITH

Absolutely! I have been working for a long time to find for me an acceptable crossing of realism and abstraction in my work. The landscapes have that tension between the two that allows me a certain amount of satisfaction that I might have grown within these parameters that I’ve set. In the end, it’s about the shape of the color, the shape of the form, the shape of the line one next to the other that is the illusion of it. That in the end, I am creating an illusion of that “representation” by using dust to fill spaces on a flat plane that are separate experiences in elemental ways that work together to give representative imagery depending on how you look at it.

VISIT: sharon-killian.com If it’s worth framingit’s worth ART EMPORIUM!

Since 1974

www.aenwa.com www.facebook.com/aenwa

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E MPOR I U M

479-521-4141

“THE ART OF FINE FRAMING”

2914 N. College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703

In Memoriam

AMY EDGINGTON WORDS / MICHAEL CHURCH

wo and a half years ago I began to work with collage. I had always been interested in art but never considered myself capable of producing anything anyone would be interested in seeing. My partner Vince is an artist, musician, graphic designer. Being around him and his friends sparked something in me to create things for myself, and collage was something that I thought I could do and became very interested in very quickly. Besides Vince, I didn’t know of any other local collage artists. One Saturday afternoon I was in the River Market District in Little Rock and wandered into the Cox Creative Center to check out the used books. I began to notice these pieces of unusual, bright, wonderfully brilliant art hanging on the walls around the creative center. I walked from piece to piece admiring the detail, humor and the use of images that didn’t seem to belong together in any other way except there in the mind of the artist. I remember looking in the bottom right corner of the pieces and seeing for the first time the name, Amy Edgington. I went home that evening, unable or unwilling to allow these images or that name to leave my consciousness. I googled her name and found her Facebook profile. I don’t usually send friend requests to people I don’t know or haven’t met prior but felt compelled to send a request to Amy. She accepted almost immediately, and we started communicating through messaging about art, life and the therapeutic qualities of collage. Using found images to reimagine the world around us, cutting and pasting images together in a place that only art can imagine. She became so important to me, serving as a mentor artistically, and as an encouraging and supportive friend over the past couple of years.

She and her partner Lynn were always present at my shows. The last time I saw Amy, she was crossing Kavanaugh with bags of books she had brought to me at my show last fall. Amy Edgington was my friend. Amy suffered a heart attack this past November and passed away, and I along with her partner and her many, many friends were heartbroken. I am so honored to have known Amy, and her influence in my work is there in my heart every time I sit down at my desk to create. I wandered into that bookstore that day to buy books to disassemble and came out with one of the most important friends I will ever have in my life. I haven’t had a show since Amy passed away; she attended every show I ever had in Little Rock and even wrote a poem about one of my shows. I will miss seeing her at my next show, but she will be there. Her loving smile and gracious influence on me and my work will always be present in everything I do from this point on. No one else may be able to see her influence in my work, but I’ll know it’s there. I have met collage artists from all over the world during the past couple of years, and no one does what Amy did. Her work stood out based on the diversity in both the content - women’s rights, racial and social injustice - or just for the fun of it and in the materials she used. She combined found paper pieces, fibers, jewels, and pieces of wood and created these elaborate worlds full of wonderment yet never seemed busy or distracting to the viewer. I think that was the really unique thing about Amy and indeed her artistic gift. A one of a kind artist and a real life Arkansas treasure.

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the art of engagement I

n 2015, performance artist Cynthia Post Hunt hurled herself into the Northwest Arkansas art scene. An alumna of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Post Hunt moved to Fayetteville in the fall of 2014. In a little over a year, the artist has performed and shown work locally at Backspace, Fayetteville Underground, The Shed, Lalaland, Bank of Fayetteville and Two25 Gallery, and recently gave a lecture at Bentonville’s 21c as part of the Artist Spotlight Lecture Series. And that was just a warm-up. She is starting the INVERSE AR in Northwest Arkansas this spring, featuring more than 30 performance artists from around the world. That being said, she seems like our region’s performance artist-in-residence, giving many folks a first-time participatory experience with the art form. Post Hunt’s work investigates the individual within the context of society through performance, dealing with aspects of consumption, generosity and loss, to name a few. In her work, a participatory repetition with others offers moments of reflection and introspection. She demands action from the spectator, asking them to explore the boundaries of their own vulnerabilities through engaging with the work. The premise for this “lies upon the assumption that as humans, we have common, shared experiences. By fixating on moments of shared realities, I aim to further explore the effects of being human,” she said. At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Post Hunt came at art through photography, documenting beautiful and simple aspects of everyday things we may miss, like the decay of fruit or the tiny molecules that make up food. After graduating in 2008, she honed her do-it-yourself skills while living and collaborating with a diverse group of creatives, including a musician, a chef, two photographers, a fashion designer and a poet. They curated art shows, held concerts and spoken word events, organized photo shoots and yoga classes, built a brewery, produced a line of craft beers and lived every day life together. This collaboration was an integral experience in her life.

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Cynthia Post Hunt creates performances that ask the audience to share the human experience. WORDS / K. SAMANTHA SIGMON

The move to Northwest Arkansas was also important for her practice. “[The region] has welcomed me with open arms,” she said. “I moved here hoping to establish a working practice, and the community and the space has allowed me to do so. It is invigorating to join the effort and dive head first into the unknown.” Performed in the region, a majority of Post Hunt’s current work investigates the grief of losing a loved one. With this in mind, she has been working on a new series based on a line in food writer Michael Pollan’s book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation - “when chopping onions, just chop onions.” Using this, Post Hunt’s performances deal with the complexity of death, loss and how we choose to grieve. “It is a very personal endeavor, and it asks a lot of the audience,” she said. In her performances at the Shed and then at Backspace, Post Hunt takes Pollan’s words literally and spends the entire performance at a table chopping onions. Commenting on onions’ effect to make us cry and the sharing of loss and pain, she invites participants to cut onions beside her. At the Backspace all women art show last summer, all of these fell to the floor in pungent, purple, sticky heaps below the table. Her most recent performance “I Am Here” was created with artists Alexander Hanson and John C. Kelley, performed as part of Lalaland’s One Nite Standard Series in November. The piece originated from ideas of lost or interrupted signals and missed communication, and relied on elements of call and response traditions. Using multiple sources for information, the viewer was left to interpret the question “where are you?” Post Hunt crouched inside of a wooden box outside the gallery for three hours while she was broadcast on AM radio and Periscope. Her work seems to always involve the act of sharing and participation. Taking this to another level, Post Hunt’s festival, INVERSE AR, takes place from April 21-23 with the mission to elevate the medium of performance in the Northwest Arkansas region. Including artists recognized on local, national and international platforms, this festival hosts a large variety of

performances. It also highlights the thriving art community in Northwest Arkansas. INVERSE AR is educational and collaborative, consisting of workshops, artist lectures and performances. Friday’s events take place at 21c in Bentonville, and Saturday’s at various venues in Fayetteville, including Backspace, Lalaland, Local Color Studio Gallery, the Shed and the Fayetteville Underground. “Never before had I considered starting something from scratch like INVERSE,” Post Hunt said. “But, thanks to all who are here and who have come before, NWA is totally ready for it. The opportunities are here and so are the people. I am lucky.” And we are lucky to have her, too.

VISIT: cynthiaposthunt.com

Pg. 38: “When chopping onions, just chop onions,” 2015. Performed iterations at: the Shed, Backspace. Pg. 39 (left): “Black Box,“ 2015. Performed iterations at: Fayetteville Underground, the Shed. Pg. 39 (right): “I Am Here,” 2015. Collaboration with Alex Hanson and John C. Kelley. Performed at Lalaland part of One Nite Standard.

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BLANK WALLS & AEROSOL

To some graffiti is public art, to others a nuisance. We peeked behind the curtain of Little Rock’s scene to find out for ourselves. WORDS / BRANDON MARKIN PHOTOS / BRANDON MARKIN & KODY FORD

hen I first meet X3MEX (pronounced Chemex) over beers at Damgoode Pies, the hard, angular light blasting through the windows contrasts harshly with the relaxed mood of our conversation. I am trying to get an idea of the person behind a body of work that I have seen around town, but has, until now, been a character in my imagination. He was a tag on a wall, or a phosphorescent blast of color that caught my attention in an otherwise bleak landscape. X3MEX labors in anonymity, and thrives in shadows, which is contrary to what you often think of when you think of an artist. He isn’t a narcissistic egomaniac, or a neurotic eccentric who needs to be coddled, and he doesn’t appeal to the typical art patron – at least not in the medium of concrete and spray paint, which is at the heart of much of his work. There are many facets to the character known as X3MEX, and like Batman, he is a guy with a day job, an exhibiting painter, but also a clandestine figure with a spray paint can, giving the finger to the asphyxiating urban order. While some would consider him a heroic archetype, he is also thought of by others as a nuisance or a delinquent. Graffiti is a subject that inspires strong arguments both for and against, and very little in the way of middle ground. The City of Little Rock, like most places, is pretty clear about how it feels, and there are serious consequences to getting caught. When I ask about scrapes with the law, X3MEX admits there have been some, and he has changed his approach accordingly. Most of the places where he and his crew work now are unseen by all but the most dedicated urban explorer. There is still risk involved. “It’s all part of the game…they try to catch me, and I try not to get caught,” he says. He wishes that ultimately there would be some level of acceptance of graffiti as an art form, and perhaps the laws would be relaxed. He’s tried to make that happen by working with various museum and neighborhood organizations, nationally and internationally. X3MEX recently hosted a DIY art space that was lauded by the local press, but it eventually folded because of financial reasons out of his control. We talk about the role of murals and graffiti in democratizing the landscape and reclaiming visual spaces that are often dominated by some

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form of advertisement. “They don’t ask us if we want a huge billboard in our neighborhood, trying to sell us some shit we don’t need,” he says. “Should we have to ask permission to put up a piece in a place, next to some trashy lot, where some kid might see it and actually be inspired?” He also feels that the world of art galleries, with its sober atmosphere of a certain demographic, standing around patting themselves on the back and sipping champagne can be alienating, and if nothing else, often takes itself too seriously. Out in the back alleys and under overpasses, there is an element of freedom and experimentation - a piece is out in public and anyone can view it. Regarding why he still likes to do graffiti, since he now has access to other outlets, he says, “Instinct…ever since the cavemen, people have felt the need to paint on walls, it’s no different for us, we all want to leave a mark somewhere. I’ve been doing this since I was six, since I could first pick up a crayon, it’s just like a habit.” He also tells me that his graffiti has opened doors and provided him with jobs in the world of design and exposed him to the art establishment as well. When I ask him how he feels about the transient nature of graffiti, his response is that it is the nature of life for all things to come to an end. It doesn’t seem to bother him, and if anything, it gives him a reason to keep producing. X3MEX says that there are a few graffiti crews, but most of the time he’ll hook up with people, either through connections with other painters, or chance encounters. “I’ll paint with anybody. It doesn’t bother me, if you’re cool, I don’t care. I just don’t like people with an attitude, that take themselves too seriously, or consider themselves ‘artists.’ You’re not an artist, you just paint.” Like most things in Little Rock, the scene is different than in other places; for one, it’s small. X3MEX says that at any given time, there are about ten people around that are active and doing serious pieces of work. Also, for the most part there is no serious beef amongst the crews, and when there is, they talk it out amongst themselves. Some of the graffiti artists are young, and some of them use it as an

outlet to keep other problems at bay. Like most other aspects of modern life, things can get blown up via chatter on the Internet, and that’s when someone steps in to calm things down and straighten things out. Most of the time, everyone just does their own thing, and carves out their own lane. “Me and my crew are mostly older cats that have been painting for way longer,” he says. He has respect for other local artists, and he goes out of his way to mention a kid named One5r, an up and comer. X3MEX agrees to take me out to snap some pictures, and to get an idea of what it’s like first hand. We meet on a Sunday afternoon and he has brought his friend NVEE along. NVEE is one of his crew, and has brought his gear along, too. We carpool to a parking lot, quickly throw our stuff into a few backpacks, prepared to go the rest of the way on foot. Little Rock seems empty on a Sunday afternoon, when all the people have run off to the suburbs or their homes out west. We look like three chumps out for a stroll or a pack of homeless kids. Before you know it, we’ve taken a turn out of sight, and we find a spot with big, dumb beige walls that are begging for some hint of color and life. I watch as the two get straight to work, their sketches developing in long arches, and heavy lines. I intermittently take some pictures as the lines make shapes, and the shapes are filled in. They work in silence, and I’m not sure if it’s because it’s weird for me to be there watching, or if that is part of the protocol. Every now and then, X3MEX steps back to assess his progress, smoke wafting up from a dangling cigarette. I feel like I am in the presence of two monks, practicing calligraphic meditation. Over the course of several hours, as mercury vapor takes over for the waning sun, a once virgin wall has been blessed with vibrancy. NVEE’s piece is bold, graphic and abstract, while X3MEX’s work resembles a zombie in a lucha libre mask, wielding a spray can. After a celebratory beer, they share critiques, and X3MEX asks, “You wanna check out this other spot?”

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coming of age Tom Edwards spent his life working diligently on his art. His unwavering spirit and willingness to keep learning is finally starting to draw the attention he deserves. WORDS / KELSEY FERGUSON & ASHLEIGH ROSE PHOTO / KAT WILSON

n the outskirts of Bella Vista, down a short gravel road, across from an open-faced tool shed and within a yard full of 3D art installations, lies the barn of artist Tom Edwards. His two story barn-home, shadowed with unruly vines, invites visitors in for an uncommon experience. Three hand-built wooden stairs lead to a room of whimsical folk art, if one had to label it. Two matching spiral staircases frame 30-foot ceilings. The lofty space makes a perfect home for his wide array of 78” x 54” canvases, each dainty in their cascade from ceiling beams to viewers’ eyes. Canvases feature a complexity of subjects - goddess figures, macro views of nature, tribal color patterns - but they all find form in their effortlessness. There are no restrictions in Tom’s displayed works. There are no logical lines that connect one work of art to the next, nor is there linear narrative. In his words, he’s “trying to do it my way, rather than everyone else’s way.” Tom has no rules. As visitors wander further into Tom’s home studio, the lack of confinement becomes ever more apparent. He is playful. Tom hums pleasantly to his favorite Moody Blues songs, which blast from high corners. Sensory surprise is lurking – a transformed toilet bowl is found grounded into a plot of mulch and a 15-foot tall mini-sanctuary draws in spectators from across the room. In the center of his home sits a wood stove that 80 year old Tom keeps stoked all throughout the winter. “When I first visited Tom Edwards’ home studio I felt like it was a part of an Indiana Jones movie,” recalls NWA gallery creator and art enthusiast, Mike Abb. “Somehow this amazing treasure trove of artistic expression has been in our community this whole time, and we are just now discovering it.” Finding Mentors, Young and Old Originally from Joplin, Missouri, Tom bought his present home when he was 63-years old. When he found the barn, he was determined to

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develop it into a functional home studio. With a background in architecture, Tom had already hand-drawn over 200 house plans, so the project was immediately intriguing. In 1998, Tom began the 18-month process of renovating a manure-filled barn into his dream studio space. Architecture wasn’t Tom’s only medium of expression. He began drawing as a very young child, certain he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. Looking for a mentor, nobody inspired him more than the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. “Picasso was my childhood idol,” he mused while flicking his eyes toward a Picasso tribute he painted years back. “I wanted to grow up and be like Picasso. I wanted to be an artist, I wanted to go to Europe, and I wanted to study with him. I got two out of the three.” In the eyes of Tom, Picasso’s approach celebrated the power of a childlike appreciation of life. This iconic and varying style continues to fertilize the creative seeds in Tom’s mind. Like Picasso, Tom’s process and style also varies – and that’s just how he likes it. While much of today’s society values product generation and consistency, Tom doesn’t care much for commodification, creating what he feels, when and where he feels it. If his work had to be repetitive to be of value, he claims, “he might as well be a factory.” Pablo Picasso isn’t Tom’s only portal to a childlike approach to art. Today, his most prolific muse is less conspicuous. Take a short look around Tom’s studio and the tributes are hard to miss. Dozens of scrolls depicting Tom’s nine year-old granddaughter, Annie, adorn the walls, while rainbow stick figure paintings emulate her own self-portraits. The role Annie has played for Tom has been invaluable, and he’s not shy to admit it. Even his formal education can never compare. “I have a bunch of college degrees,” explained Tom, “but the best teacher I’ve ever had is my granddaughter, Annie. Not particularly because she knows how to make art, but because she is so enthusiastic about making art. Because she believes that she cannot fail.” Annie doesn’t care whether others consider her art “great,” and she

certainly does not create to sell. Tom doesn’t either. As he sees it, the rejection of his art by critics can translate into artistic inspiration. If the plethora of his unsold works is not enough to prove this point, two framed rejection letters from major institutions at the entrance of his studio mark a playful response to a potentially discouraging component of an artist’s career. Returning Home While Tom is now dedicated to creating art full-time, this passion was not always his first priority. Despite childhood ambition, Tom’s family had different aspirations for their son than to make a living creating art. They wished for him to pursue a career in medicine - and he listened. After years of pursuing art, Tom decided to enter the medical field, becoming a dentist and practicing for over five decades. During this time, while he never fully abandoned his relationship with art, it was consistently overshadowed by a lifestyle that served himself and others more “appropriately.” After 53 years in practice Tom Edwards woke to the realization that he could have simply said no. He was diagnosed with chronic mercury poisoning and forced to leave his life of comfort. In response to this unforeseen circumstance, Tom put down the drill - and picked up the brush again full-time. Today, a painting titled “MFA: Master of Fine Arts, or Fine Arts as Master?,” sits high in Tom’s studio. It is not the only evidence of this decision, but it may be the most explicit. When asked to explain such a piece, Tom’s quirky smile said it best, “Art is not a luxury. It is a compelling human need. Did I choose to be an artist, or did art choose me? I do not know.” “Faces:” A Soulful Tribute Tom has always been fascinated by the feminine form. In his younger years, he paid homage through repeated creation of the sacred Venus of Willendorf. After being introduced to feminism by a teacher during formal art training, Tom became passionate about equal rights for all human beings. Though he originally exalted this view through sculpture, at age 80, Tom’s appreciation for women has found true form through paint and collage on scroll canvases. These scrolls aim to spread a message. The project, titled Faces, began as an effort to showcase the depth, vulnerability and authenticity of a particular woman he greatly admired: a fellow artist from Tehran, Iran. Her portrait now hangs from the ceiling amongst many others, depicted in black and white, and surrounded by emotion expressed through painterly stroke. His first work set precedent for more scrolls to come, though he could not have imagined how this project would unfurl over time. “Isn’t it wonderful that we have women?” Tom expressed, mid conversation. “Men and women are different, but in the eyes of the law they shouldn’t be different. They are human beings!” Tom believes that women, even in modern societies, remain pigeon-holed rather than understood for their well of depth and individuality. His scrolls, working to convey the core of how each woman wants to be seen in society, feel more like shrines than mere paintings – shrines that capture and honor women in an honest way, shrines that honor the challenges of being a woman in today’s society, shrines that challenge their viewers to look inward at the pain and beauty that they themselves carry in front of society. When Tom is intrigued by a woman’s story, he asks permission to use

her Facebook profile picture to inspire his piece. Tom notes, “These photographs are ones that they made of themselves and then posted on Facebook. The point is, this is the way they want to be seen.” Over the past three years, Tom has developed a collection that he proudly calls his “life’s work.” He has documented the lives of over 300 different women to date and plans to continue the project for as long as he lives. Today, Tom’s Faces have expanded to include not only women, but members of many marginalized groups as well. No human being is excluded from the scrolls. His own face, wrinkled and brilliant, mingles throughout the now 360-plus body of work. Though the scope of his scrolls have evolved, one element will always remain the same: Tom’s iconic hand-print and original poems stamped on the back. Let Art Be Thy Medicine Tom Edwards isn’t shy about showing off his creations. Get to know him, and he’ll gladly share some of his more private works. He won’t hesitate to describe exactly as he felt during each piece’s creation, either. Upon a recent visit, Tom began to dig through canvas after canvas, finally grasping the object of his desire. He then began to unroll his most disturbing creation to date, “Sgt. Sam Cooper” - a 10’ x 6’ scroll depicting the horrible consequences of the use of Agent Orange on American soldiers during the Vietnam War. “Sgt. Sam Cooper” is far from society’s standard of beauty. In fact, it is one of the most jarring works in his collection. Perhaps that is why it rests rolled up in the corner, rather than displayed on the showroom floor. Art doesn’t have to be beautiful to be powerful. “Art can be many things. It can be a pure aesthetic appreciation,” he said. “There’s nothing else there - it just makes you feel good. Or it’s beautiful. Or it’s ugly. Some of the ugliest art has the power to tear your heart out.” “Inspiring is an easy word to throw around but Tom’s breadth of work can leave you nothing short of it,” said Abb about his experience in Tom’s studio. “Dedication and sacrifice has led to this artistic cannon. The art bleeds the emotion and commands the attention. A look inside and it’s as equally haunting as it is beautiful.” With an unwavering voice and poetic clarity, Tom championed art as his medicine: an unparalleled mechanism to process the most challenging events in his life. Tom has seen a lot in his lifetime - from war, to marginalization, to lost loves, to death of friends, to unexpected tragedy. “The idea of closure doesn’t exist,” Tom advises. “You can be sitting, eating, dreaming, reading and a memory hits you right in the head. Maybe it’s a good one, maybe it’s not. You adapt to whatever it was that was bad, or you celebrate whatever was good, and you go on with your life. But you never completely can push it away.”

Tom Edwards is always happy to open his home studio for visits. Groups or individuals interested in viewing the multidimensional studio and property can set up an appointment by contacting him at tomedwards67@ hotmail.com or by phone at 479-640-8911. Stay tuned for Tom’s open studio dates, currently set for the third Sunday of each month.

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The Inevitability of Sally Nixon An Arkansas artist breaks onto the national scene with illustrations that hit close to home. WORDS / STACEY BOWERS PHOTOS / HEATHER CANTERBURY

t’s day 313 of illustrator Sally Nixon’s 365-day challenge, where she’s committed to complete a drawing every day and share it on Instagram. Today’s drawing is of a kitchen countertop, with a tea kettle on a nearby gas stove, a spray bottle above the sink, and all the basic items of a livedin home. I’ve always been in awe of people who draw, no pun intended, inspiration from mundane things. “Do you ever think you’ll run out of ideas,” I ask, immediately regretting what rings in my ear as a juvenile question. “Almost everyday,” Nixon replies. “Even on days when I know exactly what I want to draw, I’ll think ‘Well ... What if that was my last good idea ever?’” Nixon’s daily challenge, it turns out, was partly a way to face that fear. If you scroll through her Instagram profile, cleverly called @sallustration, you’ll find hundreds of drawings—the fountain of ideas has yet to dry up. You’ll also see the evolution of a candid, honest young artist as she develops her style, plays with the subjects that matter to her and encounters quite a bit of success along the way. Nixon’s work, especially earlier illustrations, possesses a noticeably dark humor. She says she has always had an affinity for the macabre, falling in love with Hitchcock films as a young girl and admittedly having her earlier work likened to that of notoriously spooky illustrator Edward Gorey. Her first and only children’s book, produced while she was studying illustration at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is named The Inevitability of Spiders and Flies and echoes the fascination with darker

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subject matter that she had when she was a child. The book was published with money she raised through a crowdfunding website, a step she says she took mainly because she feared a publisher would require her to make drastic changes to something she loved just as it was. Since graduating in 2013, Nixon has built a reputation through her steady editorial work. Open a Central Arkansas magazine, and you’re likely to find her work on at least one of the pages, if not the cover. Staying close to her hometown - she’s from Pine Bluff - has worked in her favor, she says. When asked if she feels the stereotypical pressure to move to a larger city to find more opportunities and a more receptive art community, Sally says, “It’s not hard to get noticed [here]… Since there aren’t a lot of illustrators here, I get a lot of local jobs.” Don’t let Nixon’s modesty persuade you that she’s not a hot commodity. Earlier this year, she was contacted to illustrate an episode of “Lenny Letter,” the feminist email newsletter created by Girls star Lena Dunham and her writing partner Jenni Konner. “I thought it was a prank,” Nixon says, and didn’t believe it until she thoroughly online stalked the person who reached out to her from “Lenny.” A piece of Nixon’s work was also recently shared by Design Sponge creator Grace Bonney, a style and design icon with more than 658,000 Instagram followers. Despite the exposure given her by idols of that caliber, Nixon stays humble. She says one of her greatest accomplishments was her first solo show, held at Thea Foundation in August of 2015. She called the collection, which included some of her daily drawings, Gal. The exhibition

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Nixon’s popularity as an illustrator has risen over the last year since she took part in the 365 day challenge. These are a few of those drawings.

was filled with colorfully inked line drawings with hatched shading, mostly of young women, which Sally says is an evolutionary product of her daily drawings. She says she used to dislike drawing people. Through the daily drawings, she got a lot more comfortable with drawing adults, specifically women. “Women are more interesting to draw,” she says, because of their unique outfits, hair, flair and quirks. “I was a tomboy, and I always hated girly stuff, but I had sisters so it was shoved onto me,” she admits. She says drawing women is a way for her to visit and play with the girly side, from a more comfortable vantage point. The women Nixon draws are sometimes swamped in Cruella de Vil style coats and often stripped completely down to unabashed, realistic body types. They fall asleep during dinner, eat too many tacos, shove handfuls of French fries into their mouths, and generally seem to not care what you think about their eating habits. They don’t have good enough motor skills to paint their left fingernails, but they do it anyway. And they don’t particularly care to smile if there’s not a good reason to do it. From Nixon’s artist statement, “A ‘gal’ is a specific type of female. She is strong and independent, but she is not perfect by society’s standards.” It’s not hard to see how Nixon’s refreshing, real depictions of life as a female catch the eyes of feminist heroines, and it’s even easier to see why women in Arkansas are clamoring to be best friends with her, this writer included.

VISIT: SALLYNIXON.COM INSTAGRAM: @SALLUSTRATION 46

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“Even on days when I know exactly what I want to draw, I’ll think, ‘Well ... What if that was my last good idea ever?’”

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INHERITED MEMORIES Camden artist LeeNora Parlor didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just paint about her African-American heritage. She used the canvas to peer into the past. WORDS / RICKEY MEDLOCK

t was a Friday afternoon in Spring 2003, while walking in downtown Hot Springs, we entered Blue Moon Gallery to see what new art was trending. Not 20 steps into the gallery, the paintings in the middle of the room immediately pulled us to view the canvases. Colorful, black and white, and a combination of both were the initial draw, but quickly the subject matter and characters became the focal point. I regressed to my childhood growing up in rural Arkansas and felt I had been there with each painting. It was one of those moments you want to meet the artist. It was arranged through the gallery owner Pat Scavo. We returned a week later, and as was expected, there was a bond at the first meeting. LeeNora Parlor was dressed as colorfully as her paintings, and her smile pulled you into her world. There was calmness with her, and the deeper the conversation became, the more connected spiritually and emotionally we became. Our first encounter made me realize she was painting memories of previous generations that meant so much to her. Born on the outskirts of Camden, Arkansas, she was a first child and first grandchild in a large family. She eventually moved to Wisconsin to live with relatives at the encouragement of her family. They wanted her to get exposure to the rest of the world. While there, she decided she could paint landscapes as well as some things she had in her home, but landscapes did not work for her, and she put away the brushes. LeeNora eventually returned to her roots in Camden and moved back into the house she grew up. Painting again became an interest, and this was stimulated by looking at old photo albums of her grandmother. She realized there was a story to be told of previous generations for her nieces, nephews and cousins, and the best way was to paint them. She wanted to make sure that they understood the sacrifice the older generations made so they could live a better life. LeeNora felt she was not the first generation artist in her family. She described her mother as an artist because of the clothes she made for the children and what she sewed on each piece. As you look at the entire work she has done, you realize it contains great history, emotions and traditions of her family. The paintings express joy, love and sadness all at the same time. The black and white photos from her grandmotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s album became the focal point to capture the faces for her paintings. As colorful as some of her paintings were, the faces were always black and white.

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Paintings by LeeNora Parlor. Images appear courtesy of University of Arkansas Press. LeeNora’s first chance at exposure in Little Rock occurred at the Old Statehouse Museum during 2007. She was chosen to have paintings displayed in an exhibit Piece of My Soul. The exhibit included quilts, but her paintings complemented the exhibit, and her part was titled Paintings of a Quilter by LeeNora Parlor. Cantrell Gallery had LeeNora’s first gallery show in the Central Arkansas area. Helen Scott, one of the owners, feels that each artist has something inside that has to come out and can be expressed so well on the canvas. She felt once LeeNora has lived the experiences she was finally able to express herself. Even though LeeNora was considered a folk/outsider artist, Helen felt she did not fit the mold of the folk artist exactly. On April 18, 2014, AETN featured LeeNora in their LOUPE (art initiative) series. Hop Litzwire was able to capture her in her own environment at home in the outskirts of Camden. He filmed an excellent documentary of her homelife and artwork that displays the true dedication she had to her family and her love of painting. It was accepted in the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival that year.

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One of her biggest thrills was being contacted by the University of Arkansas Press Club to do a book about her work. She was quoted as saying “to think that my work could be published about my family and that my work could inspire another generation to see how far we have come.” Her nephew, Jeff, stated it best in a letter about her and her work: “Although much of her work is a depiction with what would look like African American pain and heartache, capitalized by the true history of the race, it must be said that her work is actually a rendering of soul searching, love, togetherness, hard work, family, as well as hope. LeeNora prides herself as a deeply spiritual person and can be found most days in a state of spiritual meditation, often arising with a newfound philosophical look on life.” LeeNora Parlor passed away in 2015 and left us with an everlasting impression that her art gave her an inner vision of who she really was. She stated, “My work is embedded with fragmented scenes of the distant and not so distant past.” She will be sorely missed as a dear friend and someone that taught us about life and our past.

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