In conjunction with the Artclash Collective, Silver Streak Gallery will host the first annual Fun-A-Day in Tucson exhibition in February 2012.

Fun-A-Day is a simple concept that produces beautiful results: Pick a project (take a photograph, make the bed, draw a picture, bake a cake, etc), do it every day in January, then show your work the following month in a big group show. The medium can be anything you choose; performance art, photography, drawing, painting, music, textiles, macaroni art, etc. Expect the gallery to be filled to the rafters with cool art!

The show is all ages, unjuried and we will show all the work we receive. No registration is required, but please give us a heads up if you want to participate so we can reserve some space for you. Give us a holler at info@silverstreakgallery.com.

I’m considering participating with some kind of photo exhibit but it’s going to be a surprise.

Silver Streak Gallery is a new art gallery at the brand new Monterey Court Studio Galleries, 404 W. Miracle Mile (at 14th Avenue), west of Oracle Rd. They are “dedicated to showcasing inventive works of contemporary art, photography and sound by emerging artists”. Website: www.silverstreakgallery.com, phone 520-207-3216. Their hours will be Wednesday – Sunday: 3pm – 8pm (closed Monday and Tuesday) and by appointment.

This Monterey Court collective of artists & retail shops has adequate parking around it and promises to have a cafe & bar as well. Check it out sometime. We visited a few of the galleries (paintings, photography, gourd creations, metal & ceramic artisans) on December 22 during the Winter Solstice grand opening of Silver Streak Gallery.

Dr. Alexandre Sugiyama

Just heard via email and on the Bill Buckmaster Radio Show that Dr. Alexandre Borges Sugiyama has been appointed to the TUSD School Board seat vacated when Judy Burns passed away in October.

Dr. Sugiyama is of Japanese/Portuguese ethnicity (his parents emigrated from Brazil), and is a lecturer at the Eller School of Management at the UA, along with fellow TUSD Board member Dr. Mark Stegeman, who is an Associate Professor there. Sugiyama got his Ph.D. from the UA in 1998, click here for his website and photo.

He got his B.S. in Economics from Cal Tech (1991), his M.A. in Economics also from the UA (1994), and has been a Lecturer here since 2002 (adjunct lecturer for 2 years, Lecturer since 2004 to present). After he got his Ph.D. Alex worked at American Express in Phoenix till 2000, as an Econometrician, then Manager of Risk Management.

Coincidentally Dr. Sugiyama shares my maiden name (though we are not related), and my husband and I have met with him over coffee. He is married with two young daughters. His wife was a 3rd grade teacher at Carrillo Elem. School.

Dr. Sugiyama’s contact info:
520.621.4831 office
520.621.8450 fax
sugiyama@eller.arizona.edu
McClelland Hall 401H

Pima County School Superintendent Linda Arzoumanian made this appointment today, from a field of 54 applicants, including former TUSD board member Bruce Burke, and former candidates for school board positions over the years — Marilyn Freed, Miguel Ortega, Armand Salese. Three applicants were interviewed by Dr. Arzoumanian before she made the final selection after the first round of interviews: Ronald Michaels, Ross Sheard, and Dr. Sugiyama, who will be sworn in on Tuesday, January 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the TUSD Board meeting room, 1010 E. 10th St.

Remembering January 8, “Honoring the Spirit of Tucson”

Not many of us can forget that horrendous event of the January 8, 2011 mass shooting here in Tucson, or the outpouring of community caring & support after that tragedy. 6 innocent citizens (including a nine year old girl and a federal district judge) were gunned down in front of that Safeway Supermarket, and 13 (including a 3-term U.S. Congresswoman) were wounded.

We remember January 8th. How could we forget? I took photos of each of the 3 memorials that sprung up after the shooting, which are hyperlinked at the end of this blog.

http://www.rememberingjanuary8.org/

Listed below are community events scheduled for January 8:

January 8th
Together Tucson

7:00 am Ben’s Bells Distribution

Description: Hundreds of Ben’s Bells will be randomly distributed throughout Tucson in memory of those we lost on January 8th, 2011 and in gratitude for our beautifully supportive community.

Location:Ben’s Bells Main Gate, 816 E. University Blvd.
Contact: Phone:520-628-2829

8am-5:pm Tohono Chul Park Complimentary Admission Day

Description:In remembrance of January 8th, Tohono Chul Park will open its gates free of charge to offer the community a place of quite reflection.
Location:Tohono Chul Park – 7366 N. Paseo del Norte

10-5pm A Day of Kindness at the Children’s Museum Tucson

Description: Join Ben’s Bells at the Children’s Museum Tucson For a Day of Kindness. Ben’s Bells invites families to gather to sign the Kindness Contract, to paint Kindness Coins and to hang Kindness Wishes in the trees at the Museum. The Museum will serve as a gathering point for families to celebrate the kindness in our community.

Location: Children’s Museum Tucson, 260 S. 6th Ave.
Contact: 520-792-9985 (Children’s Museum), 520-628-2829 (Ben’s Bells)

10:11am Community-wide Ringing of Bells

10:15 am Remembering January 8, 2011: Hurting, Healing, Hoping

Description: January 8, 2012, marks the first anniversary of the Tucson tragedy where six people died and thirteen were injured. Join the Rev. Dr. John Kitagawa, at 10:15 a.m., remembering and reflecting on our memories of that day and the year that has followed. In this session, we remember those lost and injured and share reflections of the time since the tragedy. All are welcome to join in this community conversation in the Murphey Gallery at St. Philip’s and at the 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. worship services which will also honor the tragedy of January 8, 2011.

Location:St. Philip’s In The Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. at River Road, Tucson, AZ 85718

10:45- noon Journey from Mental Illness to Mental Health

St. Francis in the Foothills is offering a class that is open to the public discussing the journey from mental Illness to mental health. Members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will be presenting information to enlarge community mental health awareness and promote civil engagement.

Location: St. Francis in the Foothills, 4625 E. River Rd (River west of Swan), Tucson, Arizona

1:00pm “We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe” Interfaith Service

Description: All faith communities in Tucson are invited to join in commemoration of both the tragedy and the triumph of Jan. 8, 2011. The service will consist of prayer, music, reflections, dance and the participation of those attending. The service will include Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Baha’i and Sikh traditions of prayer.

Location: St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Avenue, Tucson, Arizona

3:00pm Reflections: Honoring the lives of January 8 shooting victims

Description: A series of talks reflecting on the lives of Congresswoman Giffords and those who were killed on January 8.

Speakers include:
Senator Mark Udall (for Congresswoman Giffords)
Federal Judge Raner Collins (for Judge John Roll)
Pat Maisch (for the survivors and citizen heroes)
Dr. Lattie Coor (for Gabe Zimmerman)
Dr.Andrew Ross (for Phyllis Schneck)
Serenity Hammerich & Jamie Stone (for Christina-Taylor Green)
Ron Barber (for Dorwin Stoddard)
Brandon Nelson (for Dorothy Morris)

Location: Centennial Hall – University of Arizona Campus, 1020 E. University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ. Tickets are free and can be picked up at the UA Centennial Hall’s box office, 2020 E. University Blvd.; The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, 2250 E. Broadway; and Pima Council on Aging, 8467 E. Broadway.

6:30pm Candlelight Vigil
University of Arizona Mall

Community members are encouraged to attend and show their support for the families of victims and the survivors. Those attending are asked not to bring candles. Glowsticks will be provided at the vigil to all those in attendance.

The Tucson Symphony Orchestra will perform and confirmed speakers include:

Eugene G. Sander, President, University of Arizona

Ken Bennett, Arizona Secretary of State

Honorable Jonathan Rothschild, Mayor, City of Tucson

Dr. Peter Rhee, Chief, Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, The University of Arizona Medical Center

Mark Kelly, Captain, USN (Retired) Spouse, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

The emcee for the evening will be Ron Barber, survivor and founder of the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding.

1/4/11 UPDATE: Injured Congresswoman Giffords will also be attending this vigil (click here).

6:30 pm Shining the Light of Hope and Peace

Description: The entire Tucson community is invited to attend a special evening service of songs, prayer and healing.

Location: Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2450 East Fort Lowell Road, Tucson, Arizona
Contact: 520-327-7121, ext. 229

For more information: Daniel J. Benavidez at

(520) 331-4989, or info@rememberingjanuary8.org.

And for more events commemorating 1/8/11, read my blog on “BEYOND” Tucson (click here) for info and updated website events on what’s happening the day before (January 7) all over Southern Arizona.

Photo gallery of UMC memorial (click here).

Photo gallery of Congresswoman Giffords’ office memorial (click here).

Photo gallery of the Safeway memorial (click here).

And recently I posted a blog about an upcoming PBS documentary about the shooting victims & aftermath entitled “Together We Heal” to show on January 5 & 8, 2012 (click here).

On Wednesday at a press conference for BEYOND, I met Ross Zimmerman, father of the late Gabe Zimmerman, and Suzi Hileman who took the late Christina-Taylor Green to that “Congress on your Corner” (and who was also shot three times.) I felt their pain as victims of that shooting. Let us participate in “honoring the spirit of Tucson” on January 8, 2012.