Buy Local: Tucson Open Studio Tour 2010

Over 200 artists are participating in the fall Tucson Pima Arts Council Open Studio Tour this weekend--November 13-14.

As usual, my midtown mosaic studio will be open both days 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. I will be showing mosaic wall hangings, mosaic shrines, jewelry, and photography.

The Open Studio Tour is a great opportunity for Tucsonans to meet local artists, visit where they work, and see demonstrations. The free, self-guided tour provides a perfect opportunity to buy unique, affordable, and locally-made gifts for the holidays. Most artists have very small businesses. Cash and checks are universally accepted. Occasionally Pay Pal and credit/debit cards are also accepted. (I accept cash, checks, and Pay Pal.)

This year's exhibit featuring the work of Open Studio Tour artists is at Tucson Jewish Community Center. An artists' reception will be held at the JCC on November 11 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. The JCC exhibit is open to the public Monday - Thursday 5:30 a.m. -10 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

Here is a link to an alphabetical list of participating artists and maps. The November issue of Zocalo magazine, which can be free around town, also has a map of the tour and a list of artists.

Studio Tour Recap

The studio sale went well this weekend-- lots of visitors-- far more than last year. Sales also were good. Here is a picture of my cute, little studio. Below are some of the mosaics I had for sale.

Buy Local: Reduce the Carbon Foot Print of Your Holiday Shopping

This weekend, November 8-9, Southern Arizonans have a great opportunity to view and buy local arts and crafts. More than 150 local artists are participating in the Tucson Pima Arts Council (TPAC) Open Studio Tour.

Artists all over town will open their studios to visitors from noon to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday. The TPAC website offers a tour map and an alphabetical list of artists.The Studio Tour is self-guided. With the map, you can pick artists that are in a certain part of town, or if you are looking for a particular artist, you can use the alphabetical list to find their studio address. There are so many studios clustered in the midtown, university, and downtown areas that you can bike the tour-- a real reduction in your holiday shopping carbon footprint. (A friend and I did this one year and it was loads of fun and great exercise.)

My midtown studio is one of the stops on the tour. I have several new mosaic designs and tons of jewelry for sale. Stop by, have a snack, and check out the specials including buy one pair of earrings, get the second pair half off. TPAC has created a full color calendar that includes maps and artist descriptions. Some locations-- including my studio-- will have these available for tour guests.

Acts of Self-Confrontation: Opening August 23

The latest exhibit for the Central Arts Gallery is Acts of Self-Confrontation. This eclectic show will open on Saturday, August 23. The reception is 6-10 p.m. Tucson blues master, Tom Wallbank, will perform an acoustic set from 6:30 - 7 p.m. My latest shrine Letting Go will be included in the show. Stop by for some art, music, wine, cheese, and conversation.

Summer Art Cruise Opens June 7

The Central Tucson Galleries Association Summer Art Cruise opens tomorrow. More than a dozen galleries in and around downtown will have artist receptions tomorrow night-- June 7, 2008. I'm proud to announce that I will have work in two of the galleries.

Suenos de Amor II (above) is part of the Big Ideas, Small Frames show at Dinnerware Artspace (264 E. Congress, Tucson) and Cascada de Luz (below) will be in the window at the Central Arts Gallery (274 E. Congress).

The Tucson Weekly has a comprehensive listing of galleries that will be open tomorrow evening beginning at 6pm. Come downtown to sip some wine, eat some finger foods, and hob-nob with an electic crowd.

Upcoming Art Shows: Wind Dancer Design

October is generally a busy month in Tucson. The weather is perfect, and the city is alive with students, snowbirds, tourists, and the desert rats who live here all year-- like me.

This October will be particularly busy for me. My mosaics will be in three upcoming jurried shows.

Contents Interiors, an upscale furniture and interior decorating store, is hosting an art show beginning October 6 and running through November 10. Two of my works-- Chilies on the Vine and Mi Corazon, Mi Vida-- will be in this show. The reception is Saturday, October 6 from 11 am - 3 pm.

The Tohono Chul Park Dia de los Muertos show runs from August 23 until November 4. There is a free opening reception on Friday, October 26 from 5-8 pm. In addition to the art show, there will be fire dancing, drumming, puppet shows and more.

Cascada de Luz (my mosaic waterfall-- as seen above and in earlier posts below when it was under construction) has been accepted into the Glow, which is October 25, 26, and 27 in Oracle, Arizona. The Glow is a very cool event at the Triangle L Ranch. In addition to a lighted, night time walk through a sculpture garden under the full moon, the event includes food, music and dancing. It's a blast! There are several bed and breakfast inns in Oracle for those who don't want to drive home.

November 10-11, Wind Dancer Design Studio will be open as part of the Tucson Pima Arts Council Studio Tour. More on this as the date approaches.

Melt Down

Yesterday was a dark day. For the past few weeks, I have been busily preparing for the Tucson Folk Festival Craft Fair May 5-6. I have been making tiles and faces, glazing, and firing the kiln. My first tile firing (above and immediately below) went perfectly.

The bisque and glaze firings of my new faces went pretty well also-- until Friday, when my kiln had a meltdown. All of the coils, shelves, and faces are black with soot, and a section of brick has been melted (far below). Apparently, there was a lot of smoke in the kiln--an unintended reduction firing. It's unclear exactly how this happened. Yesterday, it was very depressing when I opened the kiln. The timer turned it off after 18 hours, but it never got to temperature (cone 6).

I'm going to haul my kiln to Marjon on Monday for a diagnosis, but it doesn't look good. They did suggest refiring the smoke-covered pieces. The only other option is to throw them away. The kiln did get hot enough to sort of set the glaze on them, so they can't be washed off and reglazed. Stay tuned for the continuing saga. Somehow I have to do the second firing on all of my festive tiles-- or I won't have much for the festival!