Page 18 - the NOISE June 2013

18 • JUNE 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
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In Memory Of by Franklin Willis is an installation at the “Guns/ Children” Exhibition at the Sedona Public Library.
ment, explore, question and answer and in essence, to play. Many adults feel too intimi- dated to play in this manner. Children crave for, and thrive in it. Helping people create art became more important to me than exhibit- ing it.”
Ms. Baron moved back to Flagstaff in 2000 and returned to college to complete her un- dergraduate degree. She has gathered a col- lection of various art supplies over the years, and for the summer was offered a space to teach, where she will be offering ARTshop classes in Flagstaff.
“The ARTShop classes are designed to teach the beginning-level use of a variety of art sup- plies: pencils, pastels, paints, dyes, handmade paper, art paper, fabric, beads — and some less conventional materials like Kool-aid, lint, vegetables, and recycled objects — in a low pressure, small group environment,” she tells me. “I am especially excited to teach basic sewing techniques so this almost-antiquated skill is continued into future generations. The overall goal is to explore the techniques and play with the supplies to create a finished piece of quality work.
“There is no right or wrong, only freedom to create what each student is inspired to create. We love unique outcomes and ‘happy accidents’ and learn positive lessons through them. My dream is today’s children will grow into confidently creative adults empowered by the knowledge that they can transform an idea into something tangible and meaningful. Participating in art provides a stepping stone toward that goal.”
ARTshop classes will take place Monday- Friday 9AM-12PM, for ages 8-Adult. Adults’ only classes are offered evenings 6 to 9PM. For more information on classes, a full sched- ule and pricing, contact Ms. Baron directly. 928/606-9098 veb24@nau.edu
VOICES SPEAKING OUT
The art work created in response to Ima- giVenture’s call to artists for its exhibition, “Guns/Children,” inspired many artists to fill
the Sedona Public Library with what those words meant to them.
All the pieces are different and provocative, and an underlying theme connecting the art- ists I talked to comes back to protecting the young people of our country.
Franklin Willis asks, “What’s more impor- tant — children or the guns?” His installation piece was inspired by the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, titled, In Memory Of.
“I designed this installation with two large, colorful cloth butterfly forms suspended in the air with two military grade weapons: an AK-47 and M-4 also suspended in the air. Be- low the pieces suspended in the air are bullet shell casings and brown paper butterflies col- ored with crayons showing little color. This gives the impression the butterflies are dead and shows some incident happened be- tween the guns and the lively forms in the air.”
It was interesting to listen to people’s responses to the piece. “Some people will look at the installation and will ask me what it means. Others, especially school teach- ers immediately associate it with Sandy Hook and see the butterflies representing the children and that incident. Supporters of the right to bear military grade automatic weapons will often ask me what I am trying to say. I ask them to reflect on recent events where people who had access to these weap- ons went on a killing spree. Then I ask them,
‘What does the piece mean to you?’ If you could have stopped someone from commit- ting the act, would it be wrong for you to stop that person, even if it meant limiting the