Page 18 - the NOISE August 2014

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OPEN STUDIOS KICKS OFF
WITH A TWO LOCATION PREVIEW PARTY previews August 2 at the ACF gallery & brandy’s restaurant.
BY SARAH GIANELLI
FroM LeFt: Wendy sosa’s “Chunky things” and robert dalegowski’s
watercolors are part of this year’s Flagstaff open studios, with special
T he Artists’ Coalition of Flagstaff is gearing up for another
stuff is created especially to draw you into feeling it. I like Arches Paper –– this allows for painting directly on the block
Annual Flagstaff To whet the palette, ACF will host a preview event on Au-
while holding it with my left hand.
“Really the key to my process is simplicity,” he says. “My
whole painting outfit (without water) weighs about two pounds. Over my lifetime, I have experimented with many mediums, and always have returned to watercolor for its directness. Before the advent of photography, watercolor was used for field studies to prepare for studio works in oil. I have embraced the study part of watercolor, to capture color, mood, essence, and design without completing the tradition- al process of transforming the image to a studio oil painting.”
“Grand Canyon has fascinated me since childhood,” says Mr. Dalegowski. “It is an immense place, more than 230 miles long by about a mile deep, exposing the record of changes in our world for more than one billion years. I have spent a life- time wandering its remote chasms and monuments, floating the river, and painting the unexpected beauty and mystery of its hidden oasis. I find peace, beauty, and solitude in the can- yon depths. It is different every minute of every hour of every day, a spectacle unfolding in glorious color and form. Geol- ogy is another of my passions, the canyon is an open book of ancient events, awe inspiring in its vastness.”
Typically beginning with a pencil sketch, a plein air painting will take anywhere from two to six hours to complete on site, the time span restricted by the passing of light; as shadows and colors change throughout the day; and refined later in the studio. Plein air painters call too much time directed on a single image, “chasing the light.”
“After all these years, I am still drawn by Grand Canyon,” he adds. “Its beauty, immensity, and record of epic changes to the land. When I am in the wilderness, all else drops away and I communicate with the land by traveling across it. After the beauty (inspiration) engulfs me, the most natural thing in the world for me is to pick a spot, sit and communicate the es- sence of the place to paper and pigment. A moment seized and enjoyed. For me it is the act of painting, not the result, that is so satisfying. I see and retain the information of the landscape, its permanence and its constant change. I become the conduit for the essence of that moment, it flows through me to paper and pigment. And then I walk back, with my piece of the world. Sometimes I share these sketches (mo- ments), other times it is only my personal satisfaction that is of importance.”
For open studios, Mr. dalegowski will be teaming up with fellow Grand Canyon painter, ACF oil painter dawn sutherland in her studio at 2300 Kiltie Lane in Equestrian Estates on the west side of Flagstaff. The duo is presenting a show called “Oil and Water,” showcasing Grand Canyon art in anticipation of their participation in grand Canyon Cel- ebration of Art, a juried invitational exhibit of 27 plein air artists from across the United States whose work is inspired by Grand Canyon, September 13-21, with an exhibit of work produced during the week showing at Kolb Studio on South Rim through January 20, 2015. Visit Mr. Dalegowski’s website at grandcanyonwatercolors.com
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busy month culminating with the 17
open studios over the weekend of August 23. Presented by the ACF, the event consists of a free self-guided tour of 62 Flagstaff artists at work at 32 locations throughout the area.
for people to come to my booth and touch things, try them on, hug them, just run their fingers over the product, if noth- ing else. I don’t often think of what I want people to feel, but I know I want my work to bring a smile to faces young and old. I don’t think about who the client is for many products, as making them is what makes me happy. It makes me very happy to notice I wouldn’t be able to tell if a five-year old or an 11-year old, a girl or a boy might like a certain piece. I like androgyny in my work and to cross age boundaries.”
Ms. Sosa is also an outspoken advocate for people with mental illness, with an emphasis how art-making can get you through times of crisis. Diagnosed with a personality disor- der, she shares and blogs openly about her experiences and struggles with a beautiful, courageousness in an effort to break down the stigma around mental illness in our society.
“These items are handmade and their individuality is one of their special points,” she says. “But I do like uniformity. Both crocheting and sewing provide me a very specific focus, and getting out of my thoughts is often a big need for me. They also provide for structure and organization which can be very useful”
With cutesy names for almost all her products, and baby bootie lines named “How Gold is Your Soul,” and “Even When Skies are Gray,” and a commitment to staying upbeat, it is dif- ficult to believe that Ms. Sosa struggles as much as she shares she does, but quite honorable that she is brave enough to be so raw and vulnerable in such a public domain.
“I guess I would say I have a new identity of being a maker with a mental illness,” she says. “I am not ashamed of this. It is my chance to learn myself again and to advocate for others in the mental health community.” Creating something for some- one else, contributing, set me on the road to recovering from crisis. And eventually I began to create from my heart again.”
For Open Studios, Ms. Sosa joins painter dolores Ziegler at fellow ACF artist & jeweler Araceli Walker’s studio at Loca- tion 13.
Plein air watercolorist robert dalegowski is another ACF co-op artist participating in this year’s Open Studios. Re- nowned for his softly detailed, vibrant depictions of Grand Canyon, Mr. Dalegowski has been studying the geologic won- der for upwards of 50 years, and often spends weeks at a time in intimate conversation with his subject.
Mr. Dalegowski grew up in a rural Doney Park with primi- tive amenities, where exploring the outdoors and finding cre- ative ways to entertain oneself went hand in hand. Encour- aged by his father, who instructed him in how to draw with fireplace charcoal on old newspaper, he started associating the peaceful, meditative, and relaxing with both being out in nature and making art as a very young boy.
“Plein air painting is the fusion of my two passions, both painting and being immersed in the solitude and beauty of the wilderness,” he says. “I came to watercolor for several rea- sons; first, they are very portable, allowing me to carry paper and paint in my daypack or backpack wherever I go. I do not use an easel, chair, or umbrella, choosing to sit on the ground while painting outdoors, en plein air. I paint on a block of 300#
gust 2 that will introduce viewers to the artists’ work and en- able them to formulate a plan for whose studios they don’t want to miss during the weekend-long Open Studios event. For the first time, the preview event, called “Appetizers for Flagstaff open studios,” is a progressive, two location cele- bration, beginning with wine & hors d’oeuvres at the ACF gal- lery and moving on to brandy’s restaurant for champagne & dessert. Both receptions are open to the public all evening.
“Appetizers” for Flagstaff Open Studios is from 5-9PM, Sat- urday August 2 beginning at the ACF gallery, 111 East Aspen Street; and culminating at brandy’s restaurant, 1500 Cedar Avenue. Both preview exhibits run through September 2.
Flagstaff open studios takes place from 10AM-5PM Au- gust 23-24. More information and a tour map is available at the Visitors Center, local galleries and at flagstaff-arts.org.
Among the artists demonstrating their process, techniques and skills during Open Studios is ACF fabric artist Wendy sosa. Ms. Sosa, who calls her “soft art” company “ChuNky ThiNgs” (the “n” being capitalized for her favorite crochet hook), will be working on her playful, functional and decora- tive sewing and crocheting creations for children. Ms. Sosa’s line of “soft arts” runs the gamut –– cloth napkins, beaded napkin ring holders; “Scarflettes,” (aka neck warmers), baby booties and many more playful, wearables for children — but for Open Studios, she decided to focus on her increas- ingly popular “MonsterFace” line. Inspired by drawings by her young son, Ms. Sosa’s “MonsterFace” pillows are adorable, not-so-scary-faced “squeezables” and “sleepables,” some with legs (“stuffies”), some without, crafted out of scraps of multi- patterned and textured fabrics and felts, and inspired by her young son’s drawings.
“My idea for Open Studios,” she says, “is not to show all my product, but really try to promote, and bring into being, that a MonsterFace is something kids of every age would want and love. It is an original idea I am in love with and hope to see in boutiques one day.”
A preschool teacher for more than a decade, collecting felt, fabric, fur, yarn, plastic and metal buttons, and other odds and ends was second nature for Ms. Sosa.
“I am very drawn to texture, so many of my fabrics catch my eye and fingers in that way,” she says. “I like to give anything I can a second life, so upcycling and repurposing are important to me. Whenever I can I use remnants or donations. I like to use leftover materials from Halloween costumes for my son, old socks and I do my best to use only natural materials –– my fa- vorites being cotton, corduroys, wools, felt, and leather scraps.”
She is drawn to the “soft, three-dimensional arts” because she finds making them meditative, and because the finished piece is interactive –– it encourages people to reach out and feel it.
“Most parents tell their children ‘not to touch,’” she says. “My
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18 • AUGUST 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us