Mother Abiah by George Penaloza

The exhibition features works by Debra Fritts, George Penaloza and Cheryl Tall. The Artist’s Reception will be this Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 6PM to 9PM.

George Penaloza gives voice to his creativity through ceramic sculpture that is inspired by fantasy movies and special effects design. His sculpture gives life to what exists within his heart and imagination.

Heads Above Water by Cheryl Tall

 

Cheryl Tall’s figurative sculptures focus on the relationships between people and their surroundings, especially their homes or workplaces. Her works are coil-built and are inspired by her personal experiences of travel and a study of mythology and primitive art.

 

Dream of Coyote Song by Debra Fritts

 

What I consider one of Tucson’s finest galleries, is now located in The Historic Depot at 410 N. Toole Avenue, # 120. Enter through the double green doors in the middle of the building.

Obsidian Gallery

410 N. Toole Avenue, #120

Tucson, Arizona 85701

T. 520-577-3598

F. 520-577-9018

info@obsidian-gallery.com

www.obsidian-gallery.com

Rainy Afternoon by Brian Carlton

A new exhibition, The Artists of Industria, is featuring the paintings and sculptures of Marc David Leviton and an introduction to fusion modeling by Brian Carlton. The show will also showcase the work of Industria’s resident artists. Opens Saturday, February 4th from 6pm – 10pm and will remain open by appointment until February 25th.

On display will be major works by Marc David Leviton M.F.A. Studio, Sculpture
Life casting, kinetics, installation, foundry, fabrication, and found object construction emphasis
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

The Artists of Industria exhibit also features the introduction of Tucson artist Brian Carlton’s fusion modeling technique. Brian’s style is born out of realism, but has recently taken a turn into the realm of abstraction. His latest work  is a form of abstract realism he developed in the vein of such artists as Chuck Close, where shape, structure, and realism is apparent from a distance, but close examination reveals roughly executed regions of color in total open form.  In this technique, the illusion of form is constructed by the forced fusion of fluid colors directly on the canvas. He calls it fusion modeling.

Night Lights by Brian Carlton

Brian Carlton grew up in the Tucson. He is an acrylic painter and an advocate for the arts in the community. Brian is the Vice President of Industria Studios, A Non-Profit 501(c) (3) Corporation dedicated to the promotion of fine art to the Tucson community. His art is sold in local galleries and nationally on fineartamerica.com.

James Hetfield by Brian Carlton

Industria Studios is a working professional studio and education center. The mission of Industria Studios is to be a dynamic and innovative place for the community to experience the creative processes of fine art and to provide a challenging environment for individuals interested in art as an intellectual and transformative pursuit.

Industria Studios offers many opportunities for persons of all ages to learn from and work directly with producing and exhibiting artists of various media, including sculpture, life casting, metal, clay, painting, and photography.

The Industria Gallery is an extension of the Industria Studio programs and provides additional opportunities for students and artists to participate in professionally curated shows.

Industria Studios. 1441 E. 17th St.  520-235-0797.

Website: http://www.industriastudios.org/#home

500,000 volts of electricity PHOTO by Alexandra Wasko

Visitors to Tucson’s historic Valley of the Moon this SATURDAY, February 4,  will get two special treats. A chance to witness a woman, Electrice, laughing at 500,000 volts of electricity going through her body and a chance to work on an art project featuring Jaguars.

LIGHTNING STORM ON THE MOON

The Electrical storm event was originally to happen December 3 but because of the rain and cold was postponed to this weekend.

This is the link to the article I wrote about it in December.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/art/2011/11/28/shocking-electrical-experience-at-valley-of-the-moon-december-3/

Electrice, stands atop a monster Tesla Coil seemingly unprotected while huge electrical discharges of over 500,000 volts leap from her very fingertips from 6:30PM till 8:30PM.    She lights lamps by touch and sends scorching sparks skyward from the electrical chain of power!

Performances start at 6:30PM and 7:30PM.  Protected from these voltages by a metal screen Faraday cage enclosure, you can sit on top of the coil and be entirely enveloped in an evanescent effluvium of ethereal electrical emanation with absolutely no discomfort whatsoever.

Admission to the event is free, but for only $5 you can take a turn in the Faraday Cage!  The Tesla Coil, invented in 1891 by Nikola Tesla, is a high frequency transformer which steps normal house current up to a half-million volts.  At such high voltages, the electricity leaps from its conductors into the air in the form of sparks several feet long.

Bring the whole for family for both of these amazing and electrifying events of art and adventure on February 4th at Valley of the Moon.

( The Jaguar project) SEWING SPOTS TOGETHER

Sewing Spots Together Project

Use your creative energy to contribute to a local social art project, Sewing Spots Together: a migrating, recycled, mixed-media, social & environmental art project featuring the jaguar & the fantastic biodiversity around us from 3:00PM till 5:00PM.

This broad-ranging community art-piece will grow as looooooong as we make it & then be displayed throughout Arizona and beyond. All are welcome to contribute to the artwork, and admission is free.  Sewing Spots Together was initiated by the Tucson office of Defenders of Wildlife and local artist and educator, Stephanie Bowman, and serves to support Arizona’s native, wildcat as it stretches and roams from the Sonoran Desert to the Amazon Rain Forest and beyond.

See these and other wonders at Valley of the Moon, 2544 East Allen Road, a non-profit historic fantasy fairyland garden park dedicated to the idea that Kindness to All is the Golden Key to Happiness. Built by George Legler in the 1920′s for spiritual relaxation, it continues as an all volunteer national historic district dedicated to preserving the historic sculptures, and a philosophy that Kindness to All is the Golden Key to Happiness.

For more information call 520-323-1331, visit http://tucsonvalleyofthemoon.com/, or on their facebook page.

NUNCA, Untitled 2011 Spray Paint on DC 3 Aircraft

THE BONEYARD PROJECT: RETURN TRIP  opens on Saturday, January 28^th.

Conceived in 2011 by Eric Firestone and organized by Firestone with curators Carlo McCormick, Lesley Oliver and Med Sobio, the exhibit resurrects disused airplanes from America’s military history through the creative intervention of contemporary artists. Each of the artists included in the exhibit has utilized airplanes and aircraft parts found among the airplane graveyards located in the Arizona desert, known throughout the region as “boneyards.”

SPY TIGER by Andrew Scholutz 2012

Artists have transformed entire aircraft, nose cones, wings and cockpits into a stunning array of works that celebrate the glorious  history of the aeronautic industry as well as cutting edge contemporary, street and graffiti art. For the graffiti artist, Retna, an abandoned DC3 comes to life through the use of his own dramatic visual language that transforms the metal giant into a living canvas. With a nod to the airplane graffiti and ‘nose art’ that became popular in WWI and WWII, the project offers a vision of the wonder of air travel as seen through the eyes of some of the most prominent and acclaimed artists working today.

RETNA, Warning Shot, 2011 Ink & Spray Paint on DC 3

THE BONEYARD PROJECT: RETURN TRIP includes works from more than 30 artists including 3 DC Super 3 airplanes painted by graffiti artists How & Nosm, Nunca and Retna; a C97 cockpit by Saner; and C45 aircraft reinvented by Faile and Andrew Schoultz. New nose cones and works on various aircraft elements have been created by BAST, Colin Chilag, Crash, Daze, Daniel Martin Diaz, Tristan Eaton, TRUSTOCORP, Jameson Ellis, Ron English, Faile, Erik Foss, Luster Kaboom, Mark Kostabi, Lisa Lebofsky, Alex Markwith, Walter Robinson, Hector Ruiz, Randy Slack, Ryan Wallace and Eric White. Still other works, exhibited in the first iteration of the Boneyard Project in the exhibit, Nose Job (summer, 2011 at Eric Firestone Gallery in East Hampton, NY) will be on view with works by Aiko, Dan Colen, Peter Dayton, Shepard Fairey, Futura, How and Nosm, Juan James, Tara McPherson, Richard Prince, Lee Quinones, Saner, Kenny Scharf, Shelter Serra and JJ Veronis.

The PIMA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM is the largest non-government funded aviation museum in the United States, and one of the largest in the world. It maintains a collection of more than 300 aircraft and spacecraft from around the globe and more than 125,000 artifacts.

The museum is located at 6000 East Valencia Road in Tucson, Arizona and is open to the public from 9:00am – 5:00pm daily. T: 520-574-0462

THE BONEYARD PROJECT: RETURN TRIP

Exhibit opens  Saturday, January 28th with a reception from 6:00pm to 11:00pm.

There is a $5.00 entrance fee.

The exhibition is on view through the end of May, 2012

For further information please visit

 www.ericfirestonegallery.com

or contact us by email at info@theboneyardprojects.com

This unique space located on the west side of  6^th Ave. between Congress and Pennington is now in need of some professional artwork for its many walls. I personally feel it offers great exposure to local artists in a very friendly environment. They expect to have music on occasions and have great rooms for meetings and get-togethers.  It is a very large space and extremely comfortable with sofas and easy chairs as well as the regular tables and chairs.

The new artwork will be selected by their art committee for upcoming shows. Interested artists should contact Kate Preble at BREWD  (A coffee lounge) Email: brewdtucson@gmail.com. Phone: 520-623-2336. ADDRESS: 39 North 6^th Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701.

Visitors to Valley of the Moon

Bring the whole family for an afternoon of storytelling at historic Valley of the Moon’s storytelling event on January 7^th from 2PM till 7PM.  Visitors will listen to some favorite childhood stories of Gabe Zimmerman and Christina Taylor-Green while taking a tour of Tucson’s only historic fairyland dedicated to spreading a message of Kindness.  Admission is free.

This Event is part of the larger BEYOND:Commemorate*Celebrate*Commit Event designed to commemorate and celebrate loved ones injured and lost on January 8th. Our community will come together on January 7th to remember what happened, acknowledge how it changed us and commit to building a stronger community by engaging in activities that are good for the mind, body and spirit!

Bring a gently used book to donate to Make Way For Books, which promotes early literacy, especially in limited-resource areas in Tucson and southern Arizona providing children (birth through age 5) the opportunity to fall in love with books and reading. MWFB envisions a community in which all children enter kindergarten with the necessary early literacy skills to be successful in school and throughout life.

There will be a box on site for people to drop off stories for Stories That Soar offering children an open invitation to write about anything they choose.  Transforming words and ideas into high quality artistic expression, Stories that Soar tap into the wellspring of children’s imagination, inspiring creativity, promoting active literacy, and building engaged communities through the empowerment of children from kindergarten through high school.

Ben’s Bells will have a booth with ‘be kind’ stickers, tattoos and kindness contracts to sign. When people sign a kindness contract they get to paint their name on a tile that will be part of our “Tucsonans Commit to Kindness” mural.

Valley of the Moon is a non-profit historic fantasy fairyland garden park dedicated to the idea that Kindness to All is the Golden Key to Happiness. Built by George Legler in the 1920′s for spiritual relaxation, it continues as an all volunteer organization dedicated to preserving the historic sculptures, and a philosophy that Happiness is Given and Not Sold.

Valley of the Moon is located at 2544 East Allen Road.  For more information visit www.beyond-tucson.org, or call Valley of the Moon at 323-1331, or find Valley of the Moon on Facebook.

Harrison Still after Chemo treatment.

ARTZ  Gallery and Gifts is a new mid-town gallery that opened recently. The owners and gallery artists are now doing a lot more than just selling fine art and local made crafts. They are helping to save a young man’s life suffering from Ewing’s Sarcoma of the Mandible (jaw), a rare form of bone cancer.

The gallery owner and local artist, Chris Leon, and a number of gallery artists are donating all or part of their arts sales to help the young man afford the necessary cancer treatments. They have set up an account for the 7-year-old, Harrison Still, through Chase Bank.  Prescriptions and hospital treatments for the child are overwhelming the family. He has two younger brothers.  Future fundraisers will be planned as they are looking for companies and individuals interested in helping this young man overcome this serious illness.

Harrison Still before Chemo treatment

The new gallery offers a fine art selection by local artists as well as some unique craft items that will make great Christmas gifts.  Artz is also a part of the Tucson 1st Saturday Art scene. Following are a few photos of the art on exhibition presently.

Original Painting at Artz

Enhanced Photo at Artz Gallery

Original Rodeo Paintings at Artz

In addition to the gallery the artist owner conducts art workshops for children. Details of the workshops can be found at the gallery or by phone. With all the schools cutting back on their art programs this is a good opportunity for parents to help their child experience art.

Artz Gallery & Gifts

5315 E. Broadway Blvd,  Suite 102

Tucson AZ. 85711

520.777.4047

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ArtzGalleryGifts

500,000 Volts of electricity

On Saturday evening, December 3, at Tucson’s historic treasure, Valley of the Moon, the public is invited to witness a woman, Electrice, experience 500,000 volts of electricity as she stands atop a monster Tesla Coil. Seemingly unprotected, the viewers will witness huge electrical discharges leap from her fingertips.

Electrice lights lamps by touch and sends scorching sparks skyward from the electrical chain of power!  See these and other wonders this Saturday at the historic fantasyland.

The Tesla Coil, invented in 1891 by Nikola Tesla, is a high frequency transformer that steps normal house current up to a half-million volts.  At such high voltages, the electricity leaps from its conductors into the air in the form of sparks several feet long.

Protected from these voltages by a metal screen Faraday cage enclosure, you can sit on top of the coil and be ENTIRELY ENVELOPED  IN AN EVANESCENT  EFFLUVIUM  OF  ETHEREAL  ELECTRICAL  EMANATION  with absolutely no discomfort whatsoever!

Admission to the event is free, but for only $5 you can take a turn in the Faraday Cage! It should be an experience to be remembered for years to come. The Valley of the Moon is located at 2544 East Allen Road.  Shows are from 6PM till 8PM

Valley of the Moon is a non-profit historic fantasy fairyland garden park dedicated to the idea that Kindness to All is the Golden Key to Happiness. It was created by George Legler in the 1920′s and is now considered by many residents of Tucson as a “don’t miss experience” especially for children. The natural wonderment of this unique environment with fairies and gnomes brings out the child in all of us.

The fantasy park continues to operate as an all-volunteer national historic district dedicated to preserving the historic sculptures, and the philosophy of Mr. Legler. The park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 2011.

For more information call 520-323-1331, or visit http://www.tucsonvalleyofthemoon.com or at their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/288033864569535/

The Cactus Drive-in Theatre Foundation found a dedicated following at their “pop-up” drive-in event July 16 and are planning another one for August 20.  It will be held at the same temporary location on a property just south of the popular Mercado San Augustin.  The movies were shown on the back of  the two story structure owned by Tom Wuelpern.

Cox Communication and the Mercado San Augustin helped to sponsor the fundraiser for the new non-profit foundation.  It was a capacity crowd with lots of excitement and a true feeling of community.

For those that did not get the opportunity to experience this unique outdoor cinema will have another opportunity in August. Below is a slideshow of just what you missed.

Slide 1 of 29.
Early set up by the volunteers and staff Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 2 of 29.
The line up of cars waiting to get into the drive-in early Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 3 of 29.
Lining up at the drive-in entrance before gates opened Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 4 of 29.
The first early arrivals Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 5 of 29.
Cars and more cars Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 6 of 29.
The lot begins to fill up Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 7 of 29.
Cars being parked for movie enjoyment Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 8 of 29.
Chairs loaned to the event by the Downtown Tucson Partnership and Regina Romero's office
Source: Photo by Bo PopovicSlide 9 of 29.
The crowds lining up for their movie enjoyment
Slide 10 of 29.
Early birds interaction Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 11 of 29.
Families communicating before the movie Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 12 of 29.
Crowded Snack Bar Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 13 of 29.
View looking Westward
Slide 14 of 29.
The fun of the drive-in experience Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 15 of 29.
Early birds interacting Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 16 of 29.
Getting settled to watch the show Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 17 of 29.
Why we love drive-ins. Sharing experiences Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 18 of 29.
Community interaction Photo by Bo Popovic
Slide 19 of 29.
View looking East of crowd
Slide 20 of 29.
Cars waiting for the movie to begin
Slide 21 of 29.
Nearing capacity crowd
Slide 22 of 29.
Almost showtime Photo by Tom Wuelpern
Slide 23 of 29.
Historic Drive-in Speakers owned by George Cohn
Slide 24 of 29.
Fox 11 news interview Photo by Tom Wuelpern
Slide 25 of 29.
Author Rhody Cohon speaking to crowd about Cloudy With a Touch of Meatballs novelizaton
Slide 26 of 29.
Show is about to begin Photo by Tom Wuelpern
Slide 27 of 29.
Waiting for Darkness Photo by Tom Wuelpern
Slide 28 of 29.
Almost showtime. Photo by Tom Wuelpern
Slide 29 of 29.
ON WITH THE SHOW! Photo by Tom Wuelpern

The film shown that night was Cloudy With A Touch of Meatballs chosen because of its significance to their foundation and because it was a very family friendly film. It was the last film shown at the DeAnza Drive-in the last night of operation. The film was projected  that last night onto the giant cinemascope screen the Foundation was able to save from demolition. At the event the author of the book created from the screenplay spoke to the audience. Rhody Cohon is an award winning author and was contracted to write the junior novelization of the movie.

The Cactus Drive-in Theatre Foundation, Inc. is a new non-profit 501c3 corporation (Pending) and has plans to recreate a community oriented drive-in movie theatre in the city of Tucson. These outdoor pop-up  showings are fundraisers for the organization. If you desire to help the foundation achieve its goals you can donate at their website: http://cactusdriveintheater.com/donate.html

The organization also has a group facebook page and a blog site.

More details about the upcoming drive-in event on August 20 will be featured in another article in the coming weeks. If you would like to see a great short current documentary about drive-ins please visit: http://tinyurl.com/3c57qqm

I hope to see YOU at the Cactus Drive-in Theatre event August 20th.

The historic DeAnza Drive-In  movie theater closed down October 3, 2009 after being a fixture in Tucson for over 60 years. It was first established as the Cactus Drive-In Theatre in 1951 and became the DeAnza in the late 1970s. Hundreds of thousands of Tucsonans got to experience the uniqueness of an outdoor movie. On JULY 16^th that experience will once again be available to them.

Marquee and partial dismantled DeAnza Drive-in (Orgianally Cactus Drive-In)

Demolition of DeAnza Snack Bar

A newly formed non-profit (501c3 Pending) corporation was formed in March and this dedicated group is intent on bringing back the Cactus Drive-In to Tucson. The event this Saturday will be a fundraiser for the revival of a community oriented drive-in theatre. Volunteers have been working tirelessly for almost 18 months to make their vision of a new drive-in happen.

This exciting fundraising event for the Cactus Drive-in will be held on their temporary location on the Avenida Del Convento just south of the Mercado San Augustin building. (http://mercadosanagustin.com/)  It is located just west of I-10 on Congress and then south on Avenida Del Covento.  The suggested donations will be $10 per car or $4 per individual to help support their project. Some seating will be available for bike-ins and walk-ins but limited.  Gates open at 6:30 PM and Cartoon etc.seen at 7:30 and feature at 8 PM.

This exciting event will be the first of a series of fundraisers to help make The Cactus Drive-In Theatre a reality.  They will be showing a family type film that was actually the LAST feature film shown the LAST night the DeAnza was open. It was projected onto the giant cinemascope screen that the foundation was able to save from demolition and stored.  The movie CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS is enjoyable by all ages.  The event is being sponsored by Cox Communications and the Mercado San Augustin.

Along with the feature, a historical cartoon and an intermission presentation from the past will be shown before the feature. A short video highlighting the amazing efforts volunteers have contributed to this project will also be seen. The foundation has TWO professional projectors and TWO complete sound systems donated to their project. One of these FM sound transmitters will be used at the event and broadcasted to the attendees’ radio.

Because of a growing demand by the community,  support for  this new vision for the future is growing. By looking at their facebook  following so far on their group page  Cactus Drive-In Theater project that interest is growing rapidly with a following of  well over 1500 and growing daily. Their website is :  (http://www.cactusdriveintheater.com/)  and a blog site: (http://cactusdriveintheater.com/wordpress/)