Page 22 - the NOISE March 2016

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY
THE VIOLA AWARDS HONOR FLAGSTAFF’S GEMS
FROM LEFT: A detail and a full view of the 2016 Viola Awards by Tom Williams.
STORY BY NIKKI CHARNSTROM PHOTOS BY TOM ALEXANDER
Once a year Flagstaff artists, educators, organizations and leaders alike come together to celebrate their accomplishments at the Viola Awards, a gala presented by the Flagstaff Arts Council. An idea that began in 2009 has now flourished into an event of over 500 attendees who embrace and support the arts and sciences.
For the eight different contribution categories, the panel selected 49 nominees out of the hundreds submitted by the community. The 41-member panel is constructed of artists, educators, past Viola Award winners, and professionals in the field. Executive Director of the Flagstaff Arts Council, John Tannous says the selection process is agonizing. “There are so many deserving folks and so many deserving projects. Every year, almost every panel will ask me, ‘Can we make it a tie?’ because they want to give out more than one award,” he explains. Although there are some nominees from previous years, 75% of them are brand new to the 2016 Viola Awards; named after Viola Babbitt, who was a prominent member of the arts community.
This ceremony was created to give artists the opportunity to be fully recognized. “We wanted to bring greater awareness to the level of talent and excellence that exists in the arts community here and celebrate the people that are behind that — to bring those people out of their studios and put them up on a stage and then give everyone a chance to give them a little bit of love,” Mr. Tannous explains.
Since the beginning, the awards have been created by a local artist. At times the Flagstaff Arts Council will announce they are looking for an artist interested in the opportunity and ask for sketches of possible ideas. In other instances they will reach out to an artist “on their radar” and this year’s artist was decided in this very manner. Tom Williams, a metal sculptor and co-owner of The Gallery in Williams, accepted their offer, submitted a sketch and prototype, and immediately began crafting his vision for the Viola Awards. A process which began three months ago has reached its end with the help from his apprentice, Christine Lynch, and the 12 awards are now complete.
“I had a rough sketch of what I wanted but the sketch always changes — you know it never ends up the way you envisioned,” Mr. Williams says. Before he constructed the awards, he found himself doing quite a bit of research and development. “You don’t just sit down and make the awards. A lot of trial and error has to go into it,” he states.
Usingawell-knowntechniqueofhis,Mr.Williamscreatedtheawardsintheformofabell. The cylinder, an old fire extinguisher, serves as the centerpiece for the rest of the design to unfold. Wicked Fire Protection Inc. donated all of the fire extinguishers, which were expired and no longer available for use. “There are dents on some of the bells and I don’t try to take those out. That is part of using recycled materials — that’s part of the character,” he explains.
From the cylinder he structured the vine that holds the bell and Ms. Lynch decorated it with leaves and flowers. This vine then connects to the base of the award — a plate with letters spelling out the category and an etched nameplate. Finally, the clapper that chimes the bell was structured to resemble a bee. This was one of the most challenging aspects of making the award because it had to be coated with proper color, have a face that was flat enough to make the right sound, and fly through the air with realistic-looking wings.
The amount of time dedicated to each award is “impossible to say.” With an assembly line approach,hecanbuildanawardinonedayaslongasallofthecomponentshavebeenshaped. The patina (polish) is then done in a couple stages by covering and revealing specific pieces one step at a time. Once the entire award has been polished, three clear coats are applied every four to six hours. After this step, the award is finished and waiting for the rightful set of hands to accept it.
The overall design Mr. Williams developed is a representation of the journey an artist embarks on to reach their highest point. The cone or cylinder of the bell resembles a mountain and the words that wind around the base symbolize the path each artist takes.
Like all things that require hard work, he faced challenges along the way with the sound, weight, engraving and weld. Due to the fact that he had to create an award that could easily be carried, the original cylinder he had in mind was too heavy. So switching from a material with the potential to sound beautiful to a slightly harsher one, he had to improvise the overall shape of the bell and the material of the clapper. He found himself using a sign wave, a sound technique seen on his other bells. With the cylinder cut in this way, the sound caused by the clapper travels all across the edges creating a well-rounded, echoing chime.
“It’s always trial and error. Mistakes aren’t always disastrous, sometimes there are happy accidents,” Mr. Williams believes.
Ms. Lynch says this award represents Mr. Williams as the hard working artist he is. “He says he’ll do something and he has no idea what’s going to happen and he just does it. He figures it out as he goes along and teaches himself everything,” she says.
Mr. Williams’ greatest personal fulfillment of this endeavor will be the evening of the ceremony when the winners will hold his works of art. “You know they’re going to put it in a celebrated place in their house,” Ms. Lynch expresses.
“I want them to be happy and to think it’s worthy of the award ceremony,” Mr. Williams explains. “Like any artist I want them to say, ‘This is the best award that has ever been made.’” His competitive nature fueled the fire to create something that would raise the bar for the next artist.
“I don’t think artists bloom until they are in a gallery or in company of other artists. It pushes them to be better,” he describes.
The Viola Awards serve as an outlet that encourages growth and commemorates diligence. Aside from the cheering and the celebration, the evening also serves as an educational experience. The expectation is for the attendees to learn about the nominated educators and artists, and leave with the realization of the talent existing in the Flagstaff community.
“It’s hard to describe until you’re in the room. I think what makes the Viola Awards really stand out is the people who are involved, the energy, and the love,” Mr. Tannous reveals.
It’s the arts community coming together and celebrating within itself that makes the entire ceremony important. Other than the awards, the gala features entertainment and a silent auction. The night will be accompanied by the music of Slugs from Space, and scene performances from Theatrikos’ The Full Monty: The Musical. A video reel of interviews with the nominees will also be showcased. For the first time in the history of the event, the silent auction will take place fully online. Bidders can sit at their tables and access the live auction from their smartphones. This new technique will hopefully introduce both organization and improvement to the procedure of the silent auction.
As far as the future of the Viola Awards, Mr. Tannous hopes to see continual growth and progress for the artists and educators recognized. According to Mr. Tannous, the awards are no longer focused on the event itself, but on those who recognize and support the importance of the arts.
“I want all of our nominees to walk away feeling like they’ve been celebrated,” he hopes.
The 2016 Viola Awards will be hosted on Saturday March 5, 5-9PM at the High Country ConferenceCenter,201W.ButlerAvenue,Flagstaff. Topurchaseaticketorsponsoratableat
the Viola Awards contact Elizabeth Vogler or John Tannous at Flagstaff Arts Council. 928/779- 2300 FlagArtsCouncil.org, TwistedHornForge.com
| Nikki Charnstrom likes the sounds of handmade bells. arts@thenoise.us
22 • MARCH 2016 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us