mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys

LumenArt Class

April 26, 2014 — 1 Comment

Yesterday I enjoyed making art in a new way with Jeanne Fellow at Blue Raven Art School.  I had visited her studio and purchased a couple of her beautiful pieces and learned about the LumenArt class.  My classmate Jeannie Gentry had done exactly the same thing.  We both were very excited to try our hand at making one of these very special lamps.  Our 5 hour class went by very quickly.  Everything was set up for us on the shaded patio.  Each of us had our own work table and basic tools.  After a thorough demonstration of the basic techniques we chose colors and started our own experiment in color mixing. Some of the inks are iridescent, but those also block the light from within when it is a finished LumenArt. The fun of it all is that you don’t know how it will really look until you light it.  Jeanne encouraged us to feel free and confident to play around.  Both students created three possible candidates for lighting.  The class materials include two sheets of incredible paper that allows all kinds of layering and special techniques without tearing.  We each bought one extra sheet because we had enough time and were seriously into it.  When dry we selected one to become our lamp. Choosing color for the base and tearing the final design we had supervision and plenty of encouragement from our teacher.  This project is practically impossible to do badly.  The materials guarantee that the finished product will be thrilling.  She teaches a class in using these techniques on fabrics that will also be fun.  If you are an experienced artist/craftperson you will love this class.  If you think you are not creative and have no talent for art you will be blown away by your own amazing abilities when Jeanne shows you how to release them.  My LumenArt is now making me very happy and proud in my living room at home.  I also have two other fabulous pieces of art that I made.  I even love my scraps.  I would encourage anyone to investigate creativity and find your own inner light in one of Jeanne’s classes.  She rules.

Athena, Goddess of Crafts

April 7, 2014 — 4 Comments

Athena is often mentioned as a war goddess because she was never defeated.  She is also the goddess of wisdom and crafts.  Her protection is important in firing the kiln.  The ceramic demons that destroy a firing can take over without her blessing:

Homer’s Epigrams Fragment 14 (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
“Potters, if you give me a reward, I will sing for you. Come, then, Athena [goddess of pottery], with hand upraised over the kiln. Let the pots and all the dishes turn out well and be well fired: let them fetch good prices and be sold in plenty in the market. Grant that the potters may get great gain and grant me so to sing to them. But if you turn shameless and make false promises, then I call together the destroyers of kilns, Suntribos (Shatter) and Smaragon (Smash) and Asbetos (Charr) and Sabaktes (Crash) and Omodamos (Crudebake) who can work this craft much mischief. Come all of you and sack the kiln-yard and the buildings: let the whole kiln be shaken up to the potter’s loud lament. As a horse’s jaw grinds, so let the kiln grind to powder all the pots inside.”

It is obvious to me that Rose Cabat made friends with Athena long ago in order to achieve such masterful results in the kiln. Her work is unique because her special glazes create a silky feel that is her secret weapon.  The pots are vivid and beautifully shaped, inviting touch.  The soft surface she creates is like no other.  She calls the pots feelies, and has become famous for these special touchable forms.  Her many collectors are happy to pay $400 and up for a tiny feelie because they only go up in value over time.  Rose is still making pots from her wheel chair at age 100, and continues to be in very good standing with Athena.  She has a show now at the Tucson Museum of Art featuring her work over her long career.  It is incredible to see in person.  I have seen her work over the years, but there are so many in one place that it delights the eye..and makes us wish we could feel them.  There are some for sale in the Museum shop if you want your own to have and to hold.

 

Pottery as Poetry, Janet Burner

April 6, 2014 — 1 Comment

 

I recently reread  the book Centering by Mary C Richards, a potter. In it she waxes very poetic about the subject of pottery. When I was covered with mud I considered Ms Richards to be  fluffy and woo woo. About 35 years later I see how centering clay on a wheel is sheer poetry. I also notice my own approach to centering, which has never left me. I now like to center my body from the core in deep water, using tubular units for balance.  This month as I attempt to write a poem a day I searched my memory for inspiration.  Janet Burner, queen of all alchemists and artist of great skill and talent, popped into my mind.  She has awesome technical skills and an alliance with fire like nobody I have ever seen.  I like fire myself and enjoyed my time as a kiln queen.  Janet has perfected various styles of firing to add variety and excitement to her work. She has always been famous for her raku.  Now she has evolved other techniques, both modern and ancient, to bring her work to life.

In the kiln the pot is actually born.  Just like an animal at birth, it also has a chance of dying.  Potters must accept that some work will crack or be ruined in the firing.  They must also accept that pottery is breakable, and glazes can only be controlled to a certain extent.  Intimate knowledge and wisdom of the firing process results from practice and experimentation.  I think of Janet Burner as the ultimate goddess of the fire.  We talked about how ironic it is that her last name is Burner, both because of fire and because one of the oldest techniques used in finished ceramics is called burnishing.   Her work today is created in a wonderful studio full of light, love, and art that she built herself.  The artful courtyard garden serves as a gallery to display her work.  She continues to teach at the Tucson Museum of Art School and grace our community with her participation in the Pima Arts Council Open Studio Tours.  Next weekend you can visit artists and see their studios all over Tucson.  This is an excellent way to find art and artists.

Poetry at the Gardens

March 29, 2014 — 1 Comment

Today at the Tucson Botanical Gardens docents from the U of A Poetry Center offered a reading and workshop in Ekphrastic Poetry. This style of poem is a response to a piece of art, the Ek being from Greek and referring to echo. The group attending was a mixture of students, visual artists, and poets.  By far the most emotional poem of the day was read by a Nam Vet who sat behind me. He chose to read War Photograph by Kate Daniels.  His choked up emotions brought tears to his eyes which brought tears to the eyes of the audience.  The other poems were discussed and analyzed but we were all very touched and had nothing more to say after he read.  At the end of the session participants wrote poems about the photos in the gallery.  All were striking.  I apologize, gentle reader, for cutting off the very beginning of some of these gentle readings.  It was a well produced and very well appreciated poetry experience, and we all have beautiful handouts to finish at home.  There is one more session this spring of Poetry in the Gardens, Native poetry on April 26, 2014.  These programs are included with garden admission.  It is SUCH A DEAL!!

!

 

Pastiche Food and Drink in Tucson

March 23, 2014 — 4 Comments

Pastiche opened in the neighborhood 16 years ago as a “modern eaterty”.  This year it was closed for a couple of weeks in January to update and remodel the space. The bar was made larger, walls changed and removed for a new look. The colors are beautiful and the new bar very classy.  We went for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the new look and the old menu.  Bob had a sirloin steak and I had a grilled Portobello with asparagus.  I chose French fries as a first course, while Bob enjoyed a cup of the delicious shiitake mushroom soup.  Service was impeccable, which we have come to expect from Pastiche.  One addition they have made is to feature a very extensive list of whiskies by the glass.  I tried the Hochstadter’s Rock and Rye with my mushroom dish and thought it was a perfect match for the flavors in my entrée.  I like the fun of tasting  the different kinds of whiskey without investing in a bottle.  We left with some Irish whiskey pie to eat later at home. For me this restaurant rates  an A plus in all categories.  The menu is just the right size, and everything is always prepared perfectly.  Service is friendly and seamless.  The wine list and beers on tap make the patron choose from a very extensive selection, a pleasant problem the wait staff can help you solve.  We are happy this is just a hop, skip and a jump from home.  It has always been well run, and now is once more very modern.

Hephaestus, Blacksmith of the Gods

March 20, 2014 — 5 Comments

Hephaestus was the crafty, cunning metalworker son of Zeus and Hera.  His difficult life began when his mother (or possibly his father) threw him off the planet at birth which pissed him off quite a bit and made him lame.  His talent at the forge became obvious early in his life, and he was called upon to craft golden thrones for his parents.  He used his extensive powers to revenge his rejection by creating a throne for his mother from which she could not escape.  A deal was struck to release Hera from the throne by giving Aphrodite to Hephaestus as a wife.  His marriage to the goddess of the sea was not blissful because she was unfaithful to him.  He is the only god that was imperfect and the only god that worked.  His mastery of fire was envied greatly by his father.  His archetype as a loner craftsman can be seen in people who focus on great artistry, production and invention. In Rome he was known as Vulcan.  In Tucson he is called Jerry Harris.  He was an ancestor of Daedalus, who fashioned wings, as does Mr. Harris.

Self Expression, The Metal Art of Jerry Harris

March 13, 2014 — 2 Comments


While hanging out in the steam room at my health club I noticed a man wearing a lot of silver jewelry and thought it must be hot on his skin. After a few steam room conversations I discovered that he is a metal sculptor who had worked in a shop in Tucson that I had later used as a pottery studio in the distant past. I have not worked with clay for a long time, but Jerry has evolved from making simple objects to producing very artful and complicated mixed media art. He worked as a ferrier.  He played polo in Colorado.  He bought the Village Blacksmith shop 30 years ago from another blacksmith.  His art today is centered around birds in action.  His knowledge about anatomy of birds has grown deeper as he has worked in this specialty field.  I was very lucky to have a personal tour of the shop and sculpture on display. He participates in the Pima Arts Council open studio tours.  Since there was no fire during my visit I thought my gentle readers would also enjoy watching the tools and Jerry in action:

Self Propelled, Cyclovia

March 3, 2014 — 1 Comment

Cyclovia Tucson is looking for a few good volunteers. This twice a year event is held to encourage the use of our public streets for alternative uses.  I used to travel to Lugano, Switzerland in the summer to visit the lakeside city.  Once a week for an evening the center of town was closed to motor traffic and skates, skateboards, bikes, and other self propelled transportation filled the streets.  This was a great opportunity to get out and share the warm nights with locals as they rolled.  Now Tucson has joined an American movement to follow a similar plan.  Last year I was out of town for Cyclovia, but my friends who attended told me it was excellent.   On April 6, 2014 a route that will include downtown will be opened for Cyclovia.  Super volunteers can assist during the event and others are invited to participate by rolling through all or part of the route.  Entertainment and local color are on display.  It will be fun to join the moveable feast.  I hope the concept catches on and becomes a more frequent part of our culture in Tucson.

Craft Brew in Tucson

February 24, 2014 — 1 Comment

We attended the Southern Arizona Craft Brew Festival yesterday at Maker House. We received tickets and glasses at the door to taste the many offerings at the brewers’ booths.  The music was excellent, the weather perfect for February, and the crowd very cheery.  That is the thing about beer and its’ fans….they tend to be jolly and care free.  Members of our group all enjoy dark beer so we gravitated to stouts and darker brews.  One of my faves was the salted caramel stout.  After about 3 hours of beer tasting we all had tickets left when we were ready to leave.  We had sampled so many robust and complex flavors that we were both full and sated.  I enjoyed a plate of Yakisoba from the Bam Bam food truck to go with my brews.  A good time was had by all, and the beer scene is growing with gusto.

Beer Week, Baby

February 22, 2014 — 2 Comments

Tucson has rapidly developed a bevy of micro breweries and beer emporiums. Downtown is awash in beer, and this week is Arizona Beer Week. I am less of a beer fan these days, but I like to support local businesses and taste new flavors. Sentinel Peak Brewery was holding a launch party yesterday for two new beers.  I have been wanting to visit this new nano (teenier than micro) gastro brew pub close to my home.  In a shopping center in the middle of town, between Petsmart and Trader Joe’s, these smart entrepreneurial firefighters have opened a bar for fans of high quality, hand crafted beer.  They hit the mark so well that the very first problem they had after opening was running out of beer much faster than they had anticipated.  They are trending…and they still have jobs as firefighters, so they are in the process of dealing with their sudden popularity.

They maintain a very friendly atmosphere and welcoming service.  Sara was serving me from behind the bar with enthusiasm and lots of knowledge.  I learned that she sings sometimes with her guitar to entertain the guests.  The lady sitting next to me at the bar was a friendly beer lover who had also come for the party.  She had much more experience than I in beer world/Tucson, so I learned a lot from her as we enjoyed our beers.  She let me know about a Sunday brunch wrapping up the festivities this week, hosted by a group known as Girls’ Pints Out.  Just a few years ago I attended beer festival in Tucson that consisted of spending a few hours inside the baseball stadium with a few beer vendors and a small cup.  Now we are not exactly Denver, but we are well on our way to serving the needs of the most discriminating local craft beer lovers.  Life is good.

They are open now on weekends, and next week plan to expand to Thursday, and lunch.  We must be patient while they brew enough beer to meet the demand.  I bought a growler of the Dunkle Monsoon  to bring beer week home to my partner Bob, who is a giant beer fan.  We both enjoyed the growler with some rich oyster mushroom chowder I had made before I went out afternoon beer drinking.  The creamy soup went well with the dark complex brew, and now we have an empty growler!!! To stay current with hours and new beers on tap like them on Facebook.

Flight of Firefighter Craft Beer

Flight of Firefighter Craft Beer