Night of 1000 Drawings: Revisited

Dinnerware Artspace will host Night of 1000 Drawings again this year. This eclectic fundraising event is Saturday evening, January 31, from 6-9 p.m. You can check out the web link here for more details. Local artists-- comme moi-- donate small, unframed prints which are sold for $10-100 right off the wall. Last year, my friends and I really enjoyed this event. I donated two photographs and bought a really beautiful acrylic painting for $40. Such a deal for original art!

These are the two photographs I am donating this year.

Amores Perros: Bound for Love

Bound for Love, a new photograph of mine, will be included in the Amores Perros exhibit at Raices Taller on 6th Street.

This show is being billed as an introspective on human sensuality; Bound for Love fits well with this theme because it is a provocative glimpse at submission.

Amores Perros begins this Saturday, January 24, with an artists' reception from 6-10pm and continues through March 7, with a grand re-opening on February 14, Valentine's Day.

Two More Hours!

I am almost speechless with anticipation and excitement of today's transfer of power from a failed presidency to a new one representing hope and change. After eight years of marching backward in time socially, economically, and politically, America is finally ready to move forward again. You know, of course, that the forces of darkness are going to try to bring down Barack Obama at every turn because their focus is political and ecomonic power-- not what is best for our country. Obama needs the solid support of all progressives. Today is a day of celebration for us. Tomorrow we have to join with him in taking steps to repair our country on many levels. Si se puede!

[Author's note: I have to add that Jim Blackwood's show on KXCI today has been an inspiration to me in writing this piece and the one below. Check the music links above. He played these tunes this morning. Also, the image above is Change Has Come to America by Kate Pearson. It is part of Dinnerware's Soup of Change exhibit.]

Soup of Change: Don't Miss It

Art, Politics, and the Soup of Change opened at Dinnerware Artspace last Saturday. I am an artist and a gallery junkie; consequently, I attend many art openings, but this is one of the more provocative exhibits I have seen in a while. It is the perfect show to span this historic time in our country-- the last few days of a failed administration and the first few days of our new dawn. Don't miss it! Here are a few images from the show, which ends January 24, 2009.

At the top is Bushilter, a floor cloth by Greg Schoon. This was a very dramatic piece. I particularly like the cross inside of the swastika and the swastika inside of the cross.

All types of politics were represented in the show, including sexual politics. At left is Brilliant Marketing Opportunity by Jerry Jordan.There were many images that included Bush, Chaney, and the hooded prisoner from Abu Ghraib Prison; they didn't pose together, though. At right is The Ugly Americans by Diane Kleiss Aldrich.Another piece that spoke to me was American Why? by Maurice Grossman. Even though (no offense, Maurice) it looks like artfully arranged pieces that were lying around his studio, I like it-- especially the faces lying in the sand.

As someone who believes watching television is a worthless, mind-rotting past time, I had to include Comfortably Numb by Jim Jones in this blog post.

All in all, a great show. If you're downtown this week, stop by Dinnerware and check it out.

The Soup of Change: What Would Jesus Do?

Art, Politics, and the Soup of Change will premier at Dinnerware Artspace tomorrow January 17, 2009.

Political art by dozens of artists will be featured-- including my mosaic wall hanging "What Would Jesus Do?" A detail picture of the piece before it was assembled is shown here. My mosaic contrasts Jesus' teachings of love and kindness with what some people are doing in the name of religion (ie, waging war, allowing poverty to continue, fostering hatred against other people).

The opening is from 5-8 p.m. on January 17, and the show runs through January 24. Soup created by the artists will be served at the opening. Bring your own bowl and spoon. Be prepared for an event that will challenge your taste buds, as well as your mind.

Sexuality: What's Your Flavor?

The other day, as I was pondering the complexities of life and eating ice cream, I had a revelation: Ice cream is the perfect analogy for sexuality.

In street slang, people who are super straight, heterosexual, and -- shall we say --unimaginative in the sack are labeled "vanilla". If we use vanilla as a starting point for this analogy, what would be the opposite? Dark Chocolate Fudge, perhaps? What would a Dark Chocolate Fudge person do that a Vanilla person wouldn't think of? Oh, the possibilities!

Then I started to think: What am I? Certainly, I am somewhere in between Vanilla and Dark Chocolate Fudge.

After much thought, I concluded that I am Mocha Almond Fudge (which also happens to be my favorite flavor). I'm a little off-color and a little nuts. I have sinfully delicious, lusciously dark, random and unpredictable swirls that will kick up the endorphins. I'm stimulating enough to keep you alert and dark enough to give you a rush. Sexy, huh? Who needs Rocky Road (always the drama queen), when you can have the sophisticated and delightful Mocha Almond Fudge?

So, what ice cream flavor are you? I'd love to hear from you in the comment section. If you're shy, use the anonymous option, but then, of course, the rest of us are going to think you are really Vanilla. :-)

Rock 'Ur Ass Off: Remembering Blues Man Sam Taylor

A week ago, the world-- and especially Tucson-- lost a blues great-- Sam Taylor.

I grew up listening to blues music back in northern Ohio. Chicago style blues was everywhere, since Cleveland is just down the street-- so to speak. In my teenage years, I was rockin' in my bedroom to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Koerner, Ray and Glover-- just as often as the Rolling Stones.

After I moved to Columbus, I frequented the blues clubs. The Dave Workman Blues Band with Willie Pooch was one of my favorite groups. These were my wild child days-- hanging around with musicians and other artists, staying up late, dancing with abandon, partying back stage. (Fond memories, for sure.)

When my significant other and I moved to Tucson 27 years ago, I thought we would never find blues in the Southwest as good as it was back east. Fortunately for us, KXCI, the local community radio station, started up not long after we arrived here. It continues to offer a variety of programming-- including great blues and updates on local bands and clubs. Through KXCI, we discovered Sam Taylor.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, we often heard Sam and his band at local clubs like the Chicago Bar and the Boondocks and regularly listened to his KXCI radio show. He electrified the room with his raw signing voice and down-home Chicago blues. Every night, he would start the gig by asking the crowded bar, "ARE YOU READY TO ROCK 'UR ASS OFF?" And, of course, we all enthusiastically replied, "YES!" and proceeded to do just that. It didn't matter if you had a partner or not. Everyone danced and boogied the night away.

Sam often played with Heather Hardy, an electric violinist. I always thought they seemed like as odd couple on stage-- the aging blues man dressed in black with a small leather cap on his head and the young, professionally trained violinist-- but musically they made a great duo.

Tonight at the Boondocks, Heather and other Tucson musicians will say "good-bye" to their soulman-- Sam Taylor. I'll be there rockin' my ass off-- along with many other fans.

See you on the other side, man.

Palm Springs: Dancing with My Stars

On most days, you can find me wearing a comfortable pair of blue jeans at my home on the range, but last night I was in Palm Springs, gliding across the dance floor in a low-cut, black dress, my sexy silver heels, and my rhinestone bling collar.

I spent New Year's Eve, dancing the night away in the arms of strangers. As they held me, I could feel their strong hands on my bare back-- pulling me in, then pushing me back. Dance is such a metaphor for life, I thought.

The energy of our bodies mingled, as we felt the music and each other. The ruffed hem of my form-fitting dress fluttered in the breeze as they spun me around the dance floor like a top-- twirling again and again on the toes of my dance shoes-- then stopping short as they pulled me in-- smiling devilishly, gazing into my eyes, knowing they controlled me. As my hips undulated, I pranced and kicked, my silver shoes glittering under the brightly colored lights of the dance floor. I watched them follow the movements of my body with their eyes, as we remained connected sometimes only through the tips of our fingers.

When the music demanded, they bent me back. My painted toes reached for the ceiling, my eyes pierced theirs, and they held me tightly, as I fell into their arms, helpless.

In dance, as in life, connection is everything-- the gaze, the smile, the touch, the energy. When the follow feels the connection, she will do whatever the lead wants her to do.

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P.S. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Happy New Year. Here's to dreams come true. Look for more updates (hopefully) from the West Coast Swing Convention in Palm Springs.