Stephanie – Page 56 – Travelcraft Journal

November 24, 2016November 23, 2016

Hidden in the Hills Art Show Returns

This weekend is the annual Hidden in the Hills art show and sale. Here are some of the artists we’ve met and work we’ve seen in past years.

1. There’s something captivating about the vibrant acrylic work of Ravay Snow – it just draws you in.

2. Ken Ryan continues to craft weathered wood into rustic furniture and sculpture.

3. Bela Fidel works in encaustics (a wax technique) and mixed media. Some is abstract, and some incorporates sacred texts and imagery.

4. Robin Ray’s studio is always a hub of activity with demonstrations and work in progress, so you can learn about how her beautiful pieces come together.

5. Peter Skidd, who we found through Instagram, creates steel sculptures with rich, layered colors in his home studio. (Phillip enjoyed chilling on the patio there.)

6. Craig Frankowski likes to experiment with the traditional canvas format.

7. Natalie Keller does western oil paintings and even dressed to match!

Check out the current Hidden in the Hills site to see which artists are participating this year!

November 21, 2016

ArtBar

The ArtBar at UNLV is self-serve.

Instead of mixing yourself a cocktail, you make your own artwork. The block semi-circle in the lobby of the Barrick Musuem is stocked with supplies and a prompt inspired by a current exhibit.

In conjunction with a powerful series of photos now on display – Edward Burtynsky: Oil – the ArtBar invited visitors to “reflect on process and change.”

There were charcoals, pastels, pencils, crayons, and cardstock in a neutral palette of tans and grays, black and white. I decided to take a few minutes to put pastels against a page and see what would come out. So I pulled up a stool, contemplated change and erosion, and made mountains.

Marjorie Barrick Museum at University of Nevada, Las Vegas is free (optional $5 donation), and the ArtBar is in the lobby and open to anyone. There is metered parking in the lot just outside the museum.

November 13, 2016March 29, 2022

When Reason Sleeps

I am writing this the morning after the U.S. presidential election. Confused, sad, grasping for words, and tired already of news outlets’ attempts at explanations and of social media finger pointing.

I keep thinking of Francisco Goya’s work, El sueño de la razón produce monstruos, “The sleep of reason produces monsters”.

I think I first saw the etching in Madrid the same day I stood dwarfed in front of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, which depicts townspeople suffering the horrors of war unleashed by Nationalists. That also seems like a fitting work to contemplate just now.

Today I feel as if reason has been sleeping, and we don’t know what monsters we have unleashed.

Images 1 (public domain) + 2 (fair use) via Wikimedia.

November 10, 2016April 22, 2026

Route 66’s 90th Anniversary in Flagstaff

Does hearing about Route 66 put Nat King Cole’s “Get Your Kicks” in your head too?

I don’t know the whole song, but I always chime in when he gets to “Flagstaff, Arizona.”

scenic highway — Hwy 87 north of Payson, one of the routes from the Phoenix area to Flagstaff.

The “Mother Road” turns 90 this year, and Flagstaff is celebrating the milestone Friday (11/11). There will be food, music, games, classic cars, and bowling from 12-5pm between the Historic Museum Club and Starlite Lanes Bowling Alley. Bring cash – proceeds benefit the Military Order of the Purple Heart and Bowling for Vets.

Continue reading “Route 66’s 90th Anniversary in Flagstaff”

November 7, 2016November 7, 2016

October Photo: Cactus

The multi-colored lights shining on the cactus outside the Phoenix Art Museum caught my eye.

Before posting the photo, I messed around with the saturation until the cactus started to look like a 2-dimensional tangle of colors. Maybe it was the colorful paintings we had just seen, but it somehow felt like the way it was supposed to be.