Metal Designer Tom Yazzie

By Robert Villalobos

Long time metal designer Tom Yazzie displayed his artwork at the Beasley Gallery along with his son Stephen Yazzie on April 13, 2012 at the gallery, Yazzie answered many questions having numerous Navajo jewelry he had for sale.

Yazzie describes his work as a way he sees the world and challenges his abilities by discovering new ways to create unique designs. By doing so, it allows Yazzie to maintain the traditional styles of the Navajo heritage along with a more contemporary twist to the finished, wearable work.

The visual effect of coupling hand cut gemstones and minerals is one of the main reasons Yazzie began designing such memorable work. Yazzie methodologically remains consistent by incorporating his personal ideas along with an unedifying theme of traditional yet contemporary Navajo jewelry.  In order to do this, Yazzie hand selects the raw materials he will use in order to shape them perfectly for the idealfit once the design is complete.

Yazzie says every artist should have “creative freedom to design forms from beginning to end.”

Panic In Polkadots

By Vincent Peña

Creativity is something that has always come naturally to Katie McKinnon. Since childhood she has always taken a liking to sewing and making her own clothes, and it has become one of her favorite hobbies.

And now her favorite hobby has taken on new heights and has become somewhat of a side job. She creates a variety of cool knick-knacks, from handmade candles to bottle cap jewelry, and sells them on Etsy.com, which is a website for people to sell their own vintage or handmade products and/or buy supplies from other people; it’s essentially an artsy marketplace and social networking site.

Using an array of fairly inexpensive materials - bottle caps, feathers, cool fabrics, and such - much of which is given to her by generous friends or bought at a cheap bargain - she creates necklaces and bracelets, which are quite unique, that feature snakes, an assortment of different feathers, beads, and other ornamental material. Probably her favorite thing to make she said, is the little fabric animals: “I love making the stuffed animals; it feels like I’m creating an actual creature.”

In addition to her cool animals and bottle cap jewelry, she also sells hair clips, vintage phone and camera cases, and handmade decorative candles.

Inspired not only by her childhood love for sewing and making things, but also from her belief that most things in a store can be made by the average bear, so to speak, she looks to shopping around for ideas.

“I’ll just see something in a store that’s really cool or expensive and think to myself, ‘I can totally make that!’” says Katie.

She spends about a full day on creating her products, usually focusing on one thing. Said Katie, “It all depends on what I have the energy for.”

Her items sell at an inexpensive rate, ranging from about $7 to $20, depending on what one is trying to buy, and can all be found on Etsy.com under the name “Panic in Polkadots”. All should definitely check it out!

Graffiti: A Bad Mark on the Community

By Emily Litvack

The opinions expressed in this piece do not reflect the opinions of our staff as a whole.

Call me a fuddy-duddy, but I don’t like graffiti.

It is a “form of expression” so obnoxious and so uninspiring that, at its worst, I find it ugly and pointless and, at best, I feel indifferent about it. I can’t find beauty or eloquence or stimulation in graffiti.

I do, of course, distinguish between publicly commissioned art (such as murals) from graffiti. Graffiti is defined as writing or drawing illicitly scribbled or painted on a public surface. Most often, graffiti is done with the intent to deface, or to vandalize.

That’s where I have a problem.

Vandalism is not an art form; it’s a crime and, like any other crime, it has ramifications. Etching a window, for example, dramatically reduces that window’s structural integrity. Windows that have been etched are a safety hazard when subjected to severe shock or movement, such as an earthquake. Moreover, allow me to point out the obvious. Graffiti changes the appearance of a community permanently. These changes are in no way beneficial. In fact, property values are often decreased as a result of graffiti and the identity of a community is incontrovertibly changed. Contrary to what the graffiti advocates might have you believe, there can be significant damage to your property investment and the economic health of your community when graffiti is unabated.

Graffiti is a blight on the community and the community landscape. If so-called “artists” would like to enrich society aesthetically, they might consider getting involved in a community garden or volunteering to adopt a highway. These contributions are not only beneficial to all, but they are legal. And if graffiti is simply about making a mark on society rather than the aesthetics of it, then there are more productive ways of doing so.

I love art. I hate graffiti.

Exhibition Opening Reception

Youth Celebrate Art and Culture

By Heather Gwynn

In celebration of National Youth Art Month, K-12 students from Flagstaff Schools created over 300 works that were displayed on March 8^th at the exhibition…

I excitedly walked into the exhibition and the first thing I saw was a watercolor painting of trees by a third grader. It seemed sophisticated for the age. The little girl who did the artwork put glitter and added a lot personality to her piece. She used different elements, and perspectives. Some of the pieces seemed like their assignment was limited with how creative they could be… I think it’s helpful when kids can be more free with expression rather than focusing on the production of art. I remember a first grader had called her work something having to do with numbers. She had painted four different colored boxes, it was incredibly pretty, and advanced for her age. It was inventive and unique. When the student’s work shows that they learned something while at the same time using their imagination, it makes me happy.

Originality seems to be a vital component of curriculum in the schools around Flagstaff. I felt the work seemed very developed for most of the kids’ ages and I was so impressed. Overall, it was a wonderful learning experience about Flagstaff’s Youth and the art they have been creating.

 

Hidden Light LLC to Host Viewing of Late Flagstaff Photographer’s Work

By MacKenzie Chase

April 5, 2012

A number of Flagstaff art galleries contribute to the First Friday ArtWalk each month.  They open their doors to the public and present their medium for everyone to enjoy while passing through.  For this month’s event, the Framing Department at Hidden Light in Downtown’s Heritage Square will be presenting an exhibit to celebrate the of work of local photographer Mark Whiting.

Whiting specialized in black and white landscape prints.  He passed away last December at the age of 54, but his legacy lives on through his work.  Linda Whiting, his wife, has provided Hidden Light with several large format hand-printed landscapes along with some paintings for them to display at the exhibit.

Inspired by Ansel Adams and his landscape portfolio, Whiting enjoyed travelling outside of the city in search of the perfect, breath-taking scene.

A quote from his website states that “part of the joy of photography is going out in nature and getting away from the city.  The scenery is incredibly diverse, the colors are vivid, sometimes bordering on the unreal and the vast empty spaces are awe-inspiring.”

Whiting’s passion for photography was clearly evident in the images he produced.

Join Hidden Light this Friday at 427 S. San Francisco St. to celebrate Whiting’s life and appreciate his photography.

(Source: theframingdepartment.com)

A Brief History of First Friday ArtWalk

By Robert Villalobos

April 2, 2012

The monthly (which, you guessed it, takes place every first Friday) event that takes place on the streets of downtown Flagstaff is a vibrant part of the city’s history. Downtown becomes abuzz with the chatter of artists, art enthusiasts, and the general public.  

Local galleries and businesses combine forces to create an event where people can gain insight into the local art scene. With its rapid growth in popularity, it is hard to imagine that the original First Friday ArtWalk began in Detroit, Michigan 20 years ago in 1992. Today, First Friday is the number one urban event in America, operating in many cities across the United States and attracting 300 to 3,000 loyal patrons in each location every month. First Friday has also attracted more than 850,000 professionals nation wide.

Clearly, First Friday benefits all who attend. It is a fantastic forum for artists to network, display their pieces and potentially make a profit. Additionally, it raises awareness of the arts and builds community.

Socially Connected Creatives Make More Money, Have More Success

csleeper:

This is good. If you’re in a creative industry (or pursuing one), you should read this. 

Welcome, new followers!

Glad to have you with us.

This week, we should have a quick review of the faculty exhibit at NAU’s Art Museum as well as a look at the history of First Friday ArtWalks posted. Exciting stuff!

Also, in the coming weeks:

• Emily is interviewing Jonny Eberle, founder of local film company Obscure Studios, early next week.
• Vince is hoping to get in touch with Katie McKinnon, owner of Panic in Polkadots.

If any of you are involved in the local art scene, feel free to drop us a line. We would love to chat.

Cheers,

Us

Our snapshot of TVC’s second photo walk

A Group Effort: Attendees take turns modeling, holding reflectors and taking photographs.

By Emily Rose Litvack and Vincent Peña

On Sunday, February 26th, the co-founders of The Visual Collective (TVC) and a rag-tag gang of local photographers headed through downtown Flagstaff to take photographs and build community. Bellies full of Bigfoot BBQ and cameras in tow, this group of about 17 people took to the streets in search of inspiration. 

As they exited the doors of the Old Town Shops, TVC spotted an unusual looking dog. Our first instinct was to pet it, but TVC grabbed their cameras (ranging from a Canon Rebel T3 to a Nikon Cool Pix to a Kodak Duaflex) and started shooting. Then they stumbled upon a retro-looking scooter and began to photograph that as well. Inspiration was abound.

Later in the afternoon, we stopped in an alleyway where everyone in the group posed for a portrait. Co-founder Taylor Mahoney seized the opportunity to jump—quite gracefully—from an electrical box while one attendee, JB DeWitt, chose to pose while indulging in a burrito. The event’s youngest attendee, Keenan Graber (age five), posed on top of his father’s shoulders, holding his camera in one hand and toy mouse in the other.

Keenan Graber, with father Allen Graber

Among everything going on, we noticed a photographer lying on the ground and probably did a poor job of hiding our wonderment because Katie McKinnon, a local jewelry designer and novice photographer, turned to us and said (half-jokingly) that lying on the ground is an imperative part of the art of photography.

Matt Beaty hits the pavement for a better angle.

The presence of TVC in town seemed to be a welcomed one.

Curious bystanders stopped to observe, cars drove intermittently through the alley and the photographers gave models informal directions like, “Make more of a sideways smoochy face!” It was chaos, essentially, and we were quite enjoying ourselves.

Web-designer/photographer Nicholas Allen told us that the photo walk was a great opportunity to get outside and socialize.  “I definitely like the social aspect of it. It gives me a chance to get out when I don’t really have the motivation to go and shoot.”

This weekend marked TVC’s second photo walk, and co-founder Andrew Paffrath said they hope to continue with it once or twice monthly, adding that the group more than doubled in size since the first one.

Interested in joining TVC in their next photo walk? Like their Facebook page for regular updates and information.