My Turn

Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Flux Gallery will present small works (less than 12 inches square or cubed) by Carol Ann, Karen Dombrowski-Sobel, Lee Roy Beach, Maurice Sevigny, Shirley Wagner, and me.

We have timed this show to coincide with the annual summer show of Zuni fetishes at our Plaza Palomino neighbor, Grey Dog Trading Company. As a special promotion, we will be offering 10% off of our small works to anyone who can show a receipt from Grey Dog from the same day; Grey Dog will reciprocate, offering 10% off their fetishes if you present a same-day receipt from Flux.

Some come check out both shows, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. I will be there, along with some of my fellow artists, and I do have some new work to share!

Flux Gallery is teaming with Luna Bella to present “wine tasting with tasteful art” on Tuesday evenings. Each Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m., while Luna Bella hosts a wine tasting, a Flux artist will present work at the restaurant, which is located down the plaza from the gallery at Plaza Palomino, in Suite 145. The artist will be on hand to chat about his or her work.

I will be showing my work on May 25. In addition to my vessels, I have turned some bottle stoppers for the occasion, a new product for me. I’ve been having fun with it. You know, even with such a simple item, form matters! I will be using a newly learned technique with some of the stoppers as soon as my supplies arrive—I hope in time for me to put them to show them off on May 25! Is your interest piqued? It’s something entirely new for me!

Karen Dombrowski-Sobel will be at Luna Bella tomorrow night, May 18. Lee Roy Beach will present his work on June 1.

Hope you can join us one of these evenings!

One of the visitors to my studio posted photos on her blog. See them here. The commentary is in Japanese, so most of you won’t be able to read it, but you can see the images.

This coming weekend, the Tucson Museum of Art will present its Spring Artisans’ Market at the museum (140 N Main Ave). Not only will you find a wide variety of fine art and crafts for sale, you can also view the current Andy Warhol and Ed Mell special exhibits at the museum without an entrance fee. And the food at the museum is worth a visit by itself. The weather is predicted to be sunny in the high 70s–low 80s, so come out and celebrate spring, glorious spring!

I will be in Booth 104, on the east side of the museum in front of the blue wall, next to Casa Cordova and catercorner from Old Town Artisans. See you there!

On Friday, April 2, Flux Gallery will host a special reception to benefit the Tucson Symphony Orchestra (TSO) beginning at 6:00 p.m. The reception will feature a performance by TSO principal flutist, Alexander “Sasha” Lipay. The reception and performance are free and open to the public. The artists of Flux will donate 30% of all sales that evening to the TSO (tax deductible to the buyer!). An open bar and hors d’oeuvres will be provided.

The spring Tucson Artists’ Open Studio Tour is coming up again next weekend, March 13 and 14. I will be here from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., so please come by and see what I’ve been up to (and get first dibs!). I may even have some work in progress on the lathe, as I’m busy getting ready for the Spring Artisans’ Market at the Tucson Museum of Art at the end of March. I’m especially trying to finish some mesquite vessels with stone inlay.

You can find all the details about the tour, including a complete list of participating artists and maps of the studio locations, online at the tour’s website or in the current issue of Zócalo magazine. (This “Tucson Urban Scene Magazine” is worth hunting down; read it online or find it at various locations around town.) Fellow Flux artists Steven Derks, Peter Eisner, and Maurice Sevigny will also be opening their studios.

This weekend, Friday–Sunday, February 26–28, I will be at the Fountain Hills Great Fair, in Fountain Hills, Arizona, in the greater Phoenix area. The show runs 10 a.m.–5 p.m. each day. I will be in booth D70, on Avenue of the Fountains between La Montana Drive and Verde River Drive, facing south. Please come by and say hello and see my new work!

Phoenix Home and Garden magazine has named me one of their four 2010 Emerging Artists in the March issue, now out on newsstands. Buy your own copy or see the spread here.

Last week, I finished the last of my shows for this year, and, boy, was I exhausted. It has been a good season: my inventory is the smallest I think it has ever been, a good problem to have. Thanks to all of you who helped to make it a good season. I‘m encouraged to think that the economy may be turning around with regard to art.

I would refer would-be customers to my website, but I am woefully behind in photographing my newest work, so my work-for-sale pages are seriously outdated. In the downtime between customers when I work at Flux Gallery, I have at least started updating my (also long-neglected) photo galleries of past work. In the next couple of weeks, while I take a break from turning to finish the house remodels I have been putting off for much too long, I will set about photographing what remains of my newest work and updating my work-for-sale pages. And by January, I will be back in the studio, creating.

In the meantime, I‘ve added a few pieces to the work displayed at Flux Gallery. In fact, all of us have just added or replaced work, so even if you‘ve visited recently, it‘s worth stopping in again.

My fellow gallery collective member Bryan Crow is on television! Arizona Public Media has made a short video about Bryan, his art and his backstory. Check it out online, and share it with your friends.