Page 42 - the NOISE October 2013

AMFEST
Attendees of this year’s Americana Fes- tival will have the plea- sure of settling into the hills of Jerome with a fabulous view of the Verde Valley and a full day’s worth of wonder- ful music. Camp in the vast 10 acres that used to be the baseball field for the miners.
“Americana music contains lyrical content having to do with the land, people and poli- tics of America such as ‘Tumblin’ Weeds,’ by Moondog,” (a noto- rious local musician who has performed at the festival since its inception), says Emily McClellan, who joined Ralo Heiniemi as a producer last year.
“I am excited to hear Barefoot & Pregnant, an all woman folk band with tight harmonies and cute costumes. A newcomer this year is Stella’s Infirmary from Prescott, who I met on the steps here in Jerome. The festival is funded by local busi- nesses listed in the pro- gram book, along with some coupons.
“Thanks to Don Robertson and the Greyhounds of Verde Valley who make this show possible, and to whom we owe much gratitude!”
Noon to Midnight Saturday October 12, 2013 at the Gold King Mine & Ghost Town, 1000 Perkinsville road in Jerome. Camping In- cluded. All Ages. Gates open at 11AM. $10 for adults and $5 for chil- dren 12 or under.
OF DERMISTIDS & LIQUID LIGHT
the coupling of the sun & moon
BY SARAH GIANELLI PHOTOS BY DANIELLE VORVES
Everyone in Jerome brings something to the mix. Then there are the people who are so involved and multi-talented it’s mind boggling (and inspiring) how much they bring.
Longtime fixtures in the Jerome community, Mark Lucas and Danielle Vorves, are two such individuals. Mr. Lucas, a glass artist and member of the Jerome Artist Cooperative, has been a stal- wart presence in the Art Park for seven years, and is often the lone man standing when it’s too cold or too scorching for others.
Ms. Vorves shines her light day in and day out in the Caduceus Tasting room, works in the wine cellar, and produces all of their boutique jams and jellies. A certified yoga instructor, she also teaches classes at Datura Yoga Studio in The Old Jerome High School to a group of very grate- ful, very loyal followers. Somehow she still finds time and energy to devote to her photography
— the old fashioned, painstaking kind, involving real film and traditional silver gelatin printing in- side a closet-sized darkroom.
Now the prolific duo is making yet another contribution to the town with the opening of The Epiphyte Gallery, a small funky space in the lower level of their home loosely dedicated to the creative exploration of the natural sci- ences. Mr. Lucas will show his glass art, both functional jewelry and bowls, and his more con- ceptual sculptures. Visitors will be able to watch him work the torch from within a demonstration room partitioned by glass.
Ms. Vorves will show her rustic black and white photography, which she prints on everything from rusty scraps of metal and ceramic tiles to cow skulls. Mr. Lucas and Ms. Vorves are also col- laborating on jewelry that incorporates bones, copper and glass. A small selection of earthy artwork by other local artists — nests by painter Sally Murphy, earrings with anatomical designs by Jessica Laurel Reese — will also be included in the collection.
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon anoth- er plant without harming it (i.e. orchids), deriving its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain and debris accumulating around it.
“We are like epiphytes living off the mountain,” “It’s such a lost art,” she says. “People don’t even
says Ms. Vorves, explaining their choice of the name. “... trying not to be parasites of the mountain.”
Mr. Lucas, a vegan for 15 years and a living exam- ple of quiet humility, has always been intrigued by the natural world — cellular structures, microorgan- isms, bugs. He manages to express this fascination through the unlikely medium of glass. One piece, in- spired by a particular kind of mold, consists of more than 3,000 “hairs” of individually pulled glass affixed to a wire mesh backing.
In another, dendrite-like branches emanate from a central mass, replicating the structure of a tumor. He spray-painted the finished piece a matte black, so that it pops dramatically against a white wall. His sculptures are unfathomably intricate: glass rods melted, shaped, and kiln-hardened into supple hu- man figures and forms he then fuses together to cre- ate elaborate fish-like sea creatures and life-sized tor- sos, incredibly dense with glass, imagery and detail.
“I love how creative and ever-evolving his art is,” says Ms. Vorves. “He is always going in a new direc- tion; his mind can go anywhere. And his art conveys a very compassionate message. He doesn’t speak a lot, but you can look at his art and see it.”
Lately, Mr. Lucas has been incorporating organic materials into his sculptures, and finding the beauty in decay is a unifying theme in both artists’ work. Behind their apartment, a ram skull is crawling with brown dermestids inside an aquarium. The dermes- tids are flesh-eating beetles that will scour the skull clean, readying it to be a canvas for Ms. Vorves’ pho- tography.
Always looking for light, texture and contrast, and particularly drawn to objects in disrepair, Ms. Vorves prefers to print on unconventional surfaces, working with preexisting rust marks and imperfections that become a part of the composition. In one, a hazy image of railroad tracks occupies a small corner of metal brushed with Liquid Light, a photosensitive emulsion that allows her to print solely on that area using an enlarger and chemical baths. In a mood- saturated self-portrait printed on a metal panel that still has a faucet attached, a worn out Ms. Vorves lies face down on a bed looking out from one eye.
know how an image is printed anymore — either a machine or your computer does it. I’m actually do- ing the work in the dark, experimenting with differ- ent light exposures before deciding what looks best. People who know photography really appreciate it.”
In their living room, a small rabbit is slumped be- tween a tower of glass orbs — Mr. Lucas’ first attempt at what can only be called conscious taxidermy. He taught himself how to skin the animal, tan the hide, and stretch it over a form made of paper and wire.
For Mr. Lucas and Ms. Vorves (also a vegetarian), it is a way of honoring the animal, of encouraging people to see its individual beauty, and turn some- thing dead and discarded into a thing of reverence.
“Aesthetically, I like the smoothness of the black glass contrasted with fur,” says Mr. Lucas. “I also like the fact that we can use the animals we find. I’m in- terested in their bones and bodies and getting as much use of them as possible. I spent some time drawing the rabbit; we’re making art from its bones. Taxidermy is usually just about turning an animal into a trophy.”
Together and separately, Mr. Lucas and Ms. Vorves exemplify the best of Jerome: distinctly unique indi- viduals who feed off each other symbiotically and, knowingly or not, fan the flame of creativity that en- ables this town to continuously reinvent itself.
“Our minds and art forms are really different,” says Ms.Vorves.“He’sworkingwithfiretocreatehisvision out of glass. It’s hot and bright; he’s always roasted from being at the art park or behind the torch — it actually sunburns him. When I’m doing my photog- raphy, it’s dark and quiet and cool; there’s running water. But our art looks beautiful together — it’s like the balance between the sun and the moon. And the more we show it side by side, the more I see how it really works.”
The Epiphyte Gallery opens this month at 511 Main Street, above Magpie in Jerome. Mr. Lucas’ glass art can also be found at The Jerome Artist Co- operative Gallery, and a selection of Ms. Vorves’ pho- tography at Magdalena’s Bazaar.
| Sarah Gianelli loves her technology, no really. sarahgianelli@hotmail.com
42 • october 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us