Lip Service hits the road

Gary takes a picture of the gallery at the House of Representatives at the AZ Arts Congress.

  Yesterday, Gary Walden, executive director of Theatrikos, Rebecca Cauthen, conductor of the Flagstaff Community Band, and I represented Flagstaff at the Arts Congress in Phoenix.  We met with Senator Steve Pierce and Representative Karen Fann to ask them to please try to stop the sweeps on the Arizona arts budget.

  Our state representatives were extremely gracious.  They said they would try to keep the money in the arts... but the reality of the state budget isn't too promising for that.

  So why do I still feel full of positive energy for the system and our arts in Arizona? 

  Mainly, it's because I started to remember that we live in a DEMOCRACY.  Our officials are supposed to listen to the people, to represent us.  And I guess, (well, I'll admit this to you now) I guess I kind of forgot that.  After listening to people in Egypt fight and protest for two weeks, I thought I might try to make my own voice heard for something that I care deeply about.

 So I broke out of my day-to-day world and started action towards the big picture.  The things that Gary, Rebecca, and I said may not make a difference tomorrow or next week.  But we believe that our presence started a ripple effect, that our awareness and concern helped our representatives see that we (and many others like us) care about the arts.  And they may remember that next time they have to vote for something.

  We get so stuck in our circles of influence--in our jobs, in our gang of peeps, in Flagstaff- that we forget the ways that we can expand our power.  I don't want to complain; I want to change!  If we aren't taking action towards our ideal future, then it must not matter to us that much.

 I'm just taking one more step away from lip service.  

With Senator Steve Pierce

Arts Congress 2011

On Monday I am going to Phoenix for the Arizona Citizens Actions for the Arts "Arts Congress 2011".  Arts Congress is an annual advocacy day, which takes place at the Arizona State Capitol on the first Monday in February. I will have the opportunity to speak to our legislators and tell them why I support the arts and how the arts have made a difference in my life.

  I'm so excited to be able to express my passion for the arts to politicians who are in charge of designating money and resources to the arts.   These are the things that they have asked us to focus on.

1.    Restore the $116,000 sweep from the Arts Trust Fund, dollars designated by the business

community to publicly support Arizona’s arts industry. Sweeps to dedicated funds are just wrong.

2.    Support the Governor’s Budget with the exception of cuts to the Arts Trust Fund.

3.    Make no more cuts to the arts.  The arts budget has been cut more than 60% over the past few years.

  What do you think?  Do you agree with these points?

See you on Tuesday, with an update.

Therapeutic Bach

Isaac (and "friend") at Theatrikos' "You Can't Take it With You".  

 

 

Jody Cody sings the blues at Kickstand Kafe.

  I have to admit I let myself become a victim of stress last Friday.  It may have been a mixture of the 25th "Anniversary" of the Challenger explosion, or a longer-than-12-hour work day, or just the accumulation of an over-scheduled life.  But by the end of the day, when I arrived at the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor, my neck was in knots.  I was kind of wondering why I wasn't at home, curled up on the couch.

  As I sat there through the performance, though, the strangest thing began to happen.  I slowly began to relax into the music.  I realized that it didn't "need" anything from me (like most of the rest of my life) and lost the strange hunch on my back that I had begun to carry in self-defense.  By the end of the first half, I realized that Bach had healed my back!

Me and Kerry "Birthday Girl" at Theatrikos.

  I was talking to FSO's Executive Director Laura Kelly about this, and found out that she had taken the musical experience even further--she had been laying down behind stage, letting the music wash over her.  Her whole body was reverberating with the music.  It must have been like a full-body massage.

  We were both kind of wide-eyed and wondering after that show.

  Afterwards, I told my son about the symphony.  "You know how crabby I was today?  Well this was just what I needed to feel better!"  And then he told me about his night, listening to music at the KickStand Kafe, where our family friend Jody Cody was playing, along with her entourage of young musical mentees (see her new online mentoring community at boldmoonmusic.org/).  He told me how beautifully Jody had played and sang and he was inspired--to practice his trumpet! 

  I've said before that music is good for your mental and emotional state of mind, but now I'm going to say that music is good for you physical state of mind!

Getting to Perfection; Sometimes it takes awhile...

Me and Joe Sorren at his retrospective opening, Jan. 22.

It's the beginning of the semester, and I'm back with a vengeance.  My goal is to attend one cultural event per week and then ramble on about how Americans don't attend any art events (and that they really should.)

Kristi and Kara glam it up.

Yup, I'm keeping my same resolution as last semester--but maybe refining it a little bit.  For instance, I never go see live theatre anymore, or jazz concerts, or even chorale events.  So maybe I'll try to push myself out of my comfort zone just a little.  We'll see.

But anyway, the first weekend of the semester was just thick with culture, and Flagstaff's most beautiful people were out participating in it.  (You can see some of my favorite shots below.)  As for me, I attended Willie Nelson's show at Ardrey Memorial Auditorium on Friday night, Joe Sorren's retrospective "Interruption" at the Coconino Center for the Arts on Saturday, and then super-fine bluegrass band Railroad Earth later on Saturday at the Orpheum.  The three finest venues in town!  Lucky me!!

Willie Nelson is a great guy.  I might have heard five different people say they would just love to meet Willie Nelson, and, you know, HANG OUT in his tour bus.  But it took Willie about 1/2 an hour to warm up, to get the tempo right.   For that first half hour we in the audience were just hanging in there, listening to him rush through country songs that are supposed to be drawled.

When he did hit the groove, however, it was worthy of a knowing head-nod to my bestie, acknowledging that he had "the magic now."

I guess you got to admire Willie--he just keeps playing through the muck until he hits the golden notes.

Anthony hits the golden notes,
no problem.

In contrast, I was really struck by Joe Sorren's interview on   KNAU, where he states "If I don't make something that I believe is truly outstanding, then I'm just leaving debris on the planet."  His art dealer drives home that he is ruthless on himself, and says that he destroys paintings that he doesn't feel are outstanding.

I admire that perfectionism too.

These two artists have totally different styles. They are working in different mediums--one is ephemeral and fleeting, and once played is gone.  And the other is captured and solid, placed on a wall, drawing a lot of attention.

But what they are both saying to us civilians, is that NO ARTIST IS PERFECT.  Whether they are shameless about playing until the moment of perfection hits, or would rather trash their "failures" before the public sees them, what Joe Sorren and Willie Nelson taught me this weekend was that nobody gets it right the first time. 

Just keep on creating whatever you're creating -- and eventually that golden muse will give you the kiss of approval!

And for some reason, that gives me a lot of courage.  (Thanks Joe.  Thanks Willie.)

Ruthann Border comes as a vision of rose.

He said he was going for the Genghis Khan look. 

Karen does The Great Gatsby.

Appreciation takes practice

The Culture Club;
These ladies help me appreciate art.
(from left, Kristi and her daughter Lauren, me, Clove, Janna, and Anne at
Celebraciones de la Gente.)

   Mission:  Accomplished.

  After 17 weeks of my semester-long resolution, I have fulfilled my goal of attending one cultural event per week (and writing about it on Monday.)  In fact, I've taken that goal to the moon and back.

  On average, I attended 1.6 events per week this semester, for a total of 27 events.  This is in comparison to the statistics from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2008, 65% of Americans were unable to make it to a cultural event such as an art exhibit or performance even ONCE!

  And what have I learned?  I realized that getting to the events was the hardest part.  Once I was there, I was able to relax and get swept away by the music, or the art, or the theatre performance.  I also realized that music and art are great ways to break down the generation gap.  People of all ages were at these events.  They were easy to meet and they were always pretty happy.  (Perhaps being surrounded by beauty reminded people of their higher selves.)

  I also learned to look for the "sparkle." Sometimes it took persistence; I would have to come back to it again and again until I could find the things that sparkled just for me.  Just so you know, not everything in every performance was enthralling to me.  Sometimes I was tired, stressed out, frustrated, and completely unhappy to be there.  But if I kept reminding myself to listen, to watch and to feel for the moment of beauty, I would eventually find that clarity of recognition.  Because of this persistence, I became better at appreciation.

  And so, I think it has been worth it.  I'm appreciative.

  I think it's almost time for a new resolution.  Coming soon.  But first I'm going to hibernate for the winter break.



 

Putting our money where our heart is...

My son Isaac (on right) and his best friend Roman, continuing the tradition of attending the Parade of Lights together.

  The holiday season is a great time to introduce culture to the young ones!

  Among a slew of holiday parties last week, I also got to attend the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's Nutcracker on Friday AND Saturday, and the Parade of Lights in downtown Flagstaff.  And I saw many kids at every juncture; they were skipping, holding hands, waving.  They were wearing holiday dresses, bows and ties, and often up-staged their parents with their fanciness and excitement.  It was pretty special. 

  I'm a parent too.  I value the arts and one of my favorite things has been engendering a love for the arts in my son.  I feel very lucky to be able to do that here.  We are so blessed to have a vibrant arts community in Flagstaff.  We have a premier performance hall with Ardrey Auditorium, we have the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, we have the Coconino Center for the Arts, Theatrikos, and even a large and thriving downtown art scene.    There's even a new local songwriting mentorship program called Bold Moon Music--just one of the many ways that our community gives back.

 And don't forget about my alma mater, the entire College of Arts and Letters, at NAU.  The college provides film, theatre, art, music and lectures to everyone in the campus and Flagstaff community.  It's pretty cool that we're able  to provide all of that cultural opportunity for our children (and ourselves.) 

  It's pretty cool that the people of this town value the arts enough to sustain it all.  Because, let's face it folks.  The government is not going to be able to take care of the entire bill.  We need to advocate for more arts-spending, but we also need to step up and take responsibility for it ourselves. 

  Tradition brings beauty to the holiday season.  To me, tradition equals culture.  When you are busy getting all of your gifts for everyone, don't forget the special gift of a cultural experience, and the people who provide that experience for us!  Please consider making a donation to one of your favorite cultural entities.  Give the ultimate gift of the season, one that keeps on giving throughout the whole year.

  Let's put our money where our heart is!

Fashion as Art

Jenn Jones does alterations.

     You may start to feel a little out of place in downtown Flagstaff if you decide to rock the mom jeans, white reeboks, and fanny pack.

     Personally, I couldn't be happier about that.

     As if proof of my hunch that fashion is (perhaps at long-last) becoming more of a priority in the Flagstaff consciousness, last First Friday I was glad to see that Sundara: House of Beauty had local fashion designer, Jenn Jones of Red Thread Sewing, as their featured artist. I've known Jenn for around 10 years, and she has always had such an excitement towards creating wearable art.  She started with bags and purses (I once had an extensive conversation with her about the beauty of the hobo bag) and now she designs beautiful evening dresses with a vintage feel. Our girl has grown up!!

     I'm meeting with Jenn this week so that she can seriously modify a black-tie dress for a New Year's wedding with a bunch of uptown New Yorkers.  I'm looking forward to flaunting some serious local pride when I tell my old college friends - who all wish they could have stayed in Flagstaff-  that the dress is from a local designer. 

     I think that being fashionable is about appreciating beauty and creativity, and being a living canvas.  It doesn't have to be expensive stuff--goodwill and thrift store shopping is more fun and goes farther creativity and money-wise.  Taking your quality pieces and having them tailored is the smartest fashion step I've ever made.

     Jenn's designs make sense in all the ways that clothes should.  They're designed by a home-town girl, who knows what swings in this place (and yet she pushes the envelope in the right ways.)  She'll create a dress template, and after you buy it, she alters it for free, so you really are getting something that fits you perfectly.  In so many ways, you are getting a personalized fashion quality product that keeps your clothes in your closet for 10-20 years.  I think that's smart stuff!

    For Flagstaff to be the place it should be (such as stylish, welcoming to the arts, creative and vibrant) it's our duty to support the local designers and artists like Jenn Jones.  Beauty makes us happy.

  Jenn says it on her webpage, but let me just say it again.  Fashion IS art.