Page 23 - the NOISE October 2013

Blues Room by Debbie Leavitt is featured among others in her
“Greatest Hits” series, at Arizona Handmade/Fire on the Mountain Gallery.
white shot, Deer Creek, has a noticeable white spot in one corner ... it’s not dust, it’s Tom Jan- ecek in his Sequel sun hat!”
Ms. Leavitt has been taking photos since she was a child. “After graduating Brooks In- stitute of Photography in Santa Barbara, I then relocated to Los Angeles during the New Wave hey-day. I’ve got deep archives on certain fa- vorite bands like ‘X.’ They’ve got a 4-vinyl-set coming out later this year with a special photo booklet, and they’re using about 15 or more of my never-been-seen-before images from back in the day! I’m X-cited about that!”
Blues Room is another piece Ms. Leavitt tells me about. “It is from Chicago in 1980 – Cary Baker of Conqueroo, a Pr company in LA, took us around to important music history spots like Chess records and Ike’s Blues room, housed in the famous South Michigan Avenue building that Al Capone used for a headquarters, the building that was opened up on live TV by Geraldo rivera. It’s now gone, it’s a parking lot I believe. But the place lives on — my Blues room image was used this past year for cover art for the new album by Jeff Dale & the South Woodlawners! Jeff even wrote the title song
‘Blues room’ for the album about venues for blues artists becoming more and more scarce.” I ask what Ms. Leavitt is working on currently.
“My art work has become much more abstract these days, but this exhibition showcases the work that got me to this.”
Arizona Handmade/Fire on the Moun- tain Gallery, 13 N. San Francisco, is part of the First Friday ArtWalk on October 4, 6PM to 9PM. DebbieLeavitt.com
fALL feStiVAL of Art
The 23rd Annual Sedona Arts Festival Sat- urday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13, is a great way to spend a beautiful fall day, says festival executive director Lori Reinhart. One hundred twenty-five artists have been juried into the show, and with a KidZOne, Gourmet
Gallery, raffle, plein air demonstrations and food, there is something for everybody.
Ms. reinhart tells me how the festival first began, “In 1989, our festival began as the Se- dona Apple Festival. It was established as a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission was to provide promotion and support of the cultural arts in Sedona. It began as a large community event and, 23 years later, it is still going strong. It has changed in size and shape over the years, but the focus of the festival has not changed.
“The Sedona Arts Festival is our sole fund- raiser, designed to raise money to support arts education in our community. To date, nearly $300,000 has been donated to local arts orga- nizations and schools as well as scholarships to financially support graduating seniors in the greater Sedona area who are pursuing higher education in order to attain a career in the arts. Our mission statement: The Sedona Arts Festival produces a premier, annual fine arts festival which promotes awareness of the arts, supports artists, and builds community in the greater Sedona area. We financially sup- port art programs and provide scholarships for our youth.”
Bill Colligen is one of the artists who is tak- ing part in the Sedona Arts Festival, and tells me a little about himself. “I have been living in the Verde Valley/Chino Valley area for 21 years,” Mr. Colligen says. “I began my art career with the Jerome Artists’ Co-Op in 1997, leaving there in 2000. I began exhibiting at fine art shows in the West in 1999, the first being the Sedona Arts Festival. I have missed one year since. I love this show. The promoters and the friendly and small town atmosphere give it a most desirable presence.”
“I work with hard-shelled gourds incorpo- rating other natural embellishments,” he tells me. “I am inspired majorly by a combination of Asian and Native American pre-historic de- signs. The designs are engraved into the gourd shell using a technical wood burning system. I
>> Continued on PAGe 24
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • october 2013 • 23