Page 22 - the NOISE APril 2013

22 • APRIL 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
FroM leFt: Why..? is among the illustrations in scott & Jeff Kraynak’s new book, Animal Crackers, which is debuting at the hive this First Friday; a detail of Kyanne & evan livingston’s ikebana at aZ handmade (Photo: shaWna BUtel).
these animals should be killed, was eye- opening.”
“I have seen and been around many bison in my life, so what this species has gone through particularly bothers me because I have seen what magnificent creatures they are up close,” Scott shares. “How this animal almost single-handedly sustained thou- sands and thousands of Native Americans for so many years, only to be nearly erased from existence forever by ignorant ‘crack- ers,’ in no time at all, is shameful. I have had many close encounters with manatees while kayaking, and seeing how peaceful they are and looking into their eyes when they would come up to check out my kayak, really is a moving experience. These experiences seem to magnify their current plight for me even more and make it more personal.”
“I hope people are upset and angry,” Scott says, when I ask him what he hopes people take with them from reading this book. “But I then hope that those feelings lead to a bet- ter realization of the damage we are caus- ing to the Earth, and inspire people to make changes in their life that will benefit the en- vironment, and maybe even cause them to re-think their whole philosophy on what hu- man beings represent in the balance of na- ture, and if we are really living up to what should be expected of us as the supposedly smartest animals on Earth. There is a pow- erful message in the book, as well as some disturbing images, but along with those things, there is also a lot of humor and fun. So I think they balance out pretty well.”
Animal Crackers is distributed by Last Gasp. “They are pioneers in the underground com- ics scene, lowbrow art movement, and pub- lished some of the first punk magazines,”
Scott tells me. “They are based out of San Francisco, but distribute books all over the world, and for them to be interested in car-
rying and promoting our book is quite the compliment.”
The book release will take place at the hive, 2 S. Beaver, during the First Friday Art- Walk April 5 beginning and 6PM and carry- ing on into the night.
a PerFeCt BaLanCe
“We are a husband and wife team that col- laborates in the creation of our pottery,”evan livingston tells me. We do mostly flower vessels, however we also make bread and butter trays, and small bowls. This month we will be introducing our wine tumblers in the Arizona Handmade/Fire on the Mountain Gallery. All our pieces are handmade and high fired in our industrial kiln and we make our own glazes.”
A popular handcrafted item by Evan and Kyanne livingston has been their flower pillow vases. “The flower pillows are hand sculpted vases that are 3x4” rectangles with holes on the top where water and small flowers go,” they explain. “They are perfect for pansies and other fresh flowers. We like to put fresh mint sprigs in them as well. The flower pillows are small enough to brighten up a window sill, desktop, or a sink area.”
Another kind of flower vase the couple creates are the Ikebana vases, “Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement that uses three of the same flowers and foliage to create a balanced arrangement,” Mr. Liv- ingston says. “The three stems unite heaven, earth and mankind. A perfect arrangement is supposed to have the tallest flower facing upward, the lower flower facing towards the side and the lowest flower facing the viewer.
“Our ikebana vases have small tubes in the bottom of the vases into which the flower arranger can fit the flowers to easily create the perfect arrangement. We cut the tubes at the three different heights so our custom-
ers can mimic the height differences with the flowers and a professional looking flower ar- rangement. Each of our pottery pieces are unique and the layering of multiple glazes and metallic oxides create many variables and color effects on the pieces. No two are exactly alike.”
The Livingstons are featured at aZ hand- made Gallery this April, and will be a part of the First Friday ArtWalk from 6PM to 9PM.
artS BrieFS
the Por shop and Gallery, 123 S. San Francisco, features the glass art of robert occhiline, paintings by thomas o Weis and nicholas colwell and comic ink work by tony salmons. During the night of the First Friday ArtWalk, the glass studio will be open. A grand opening will be held on April 20, with a raffle that will kick off at 4:20PM. Food, live glass and painting demos, fire dancers and live music will be part of the evening’s festivities. Raffle tickets are on sale through April 19.
The sedona visual artists’ coalition will be holding their 2013 Open Studios Tour April 26, 27, and 28 from 10AM to 5PM. Se- donaArtistsCoalition.org
the Gallery in Williams has moved to a new location at 145 W. Route 66. The co-op- erative gallery welcomes many new artists to the fold at their new location. Jim schro- eder’s paintings are featured for the month of April. An opening reception for Mr. Schro- eder, with light refreshments, will be held on Saturday, April 13 from 6PM to 8PM.
| Clair anna rose is currently obsessed with gold dollars. arts@thenoise.us