Editor’s note: Claire Lawton worked at New Times and edited Jackalope Ranch for three years, ’til this summer, when she packed up and moved to Brooklyn. This week’s New Times cover story focuses on the creative forces in Phoenix who’ve stuck around the past decade; Lawton checked in with some…

Nothing beats a cool escape — whether it takes you a few hours from home or halfway around the globe. There are a handful of spots to outrun heat, boredom, or cell phone reception in the Valley — and, of course, hundreds worldwide — but we’re keeping it to five…

If you beat your friends to the punchline of the day’s pop culture headlines or can recap the latest breaking news before it reaches the dinner table, you’ll want to check out Wait Wait — Don’t Tell Me! The public radio show is a weekly news quiz hosted by Peter…

Sculpture and architecture fiends have plenty of eye candy in metro Phoenix, and on Thursday, May 16, they’ll have an opportunity to meet with a lineup of creatives who have shaped this city.That’s when Scottsdale Public Art and the International Sculpture Center will host “A Conversation: Sculpture + Architecture,” a…

If you ever arrive in Cuba with an appetite for some kickass architecture, put the National Art Schools project on your must-see list. If a ticket to Cuba’s not on your horizon, make a note to get to Bragg’s Pie Factory at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.The campus was…

There’s nothing quite like a bird’s eye view. Before humans had the ability to see their own environment from an elevated perspective, we drew maps to the best of our ability, navigated tough terrain with little warning, and had a single perspective on the world around us.The aerial view was…

Like many artists, Wayne Higby is inspired by his surrounding landscape. Higby works in ceramics — sculptural, tile, and vessel forms — that test the boundaries of the medium as well as space and time.Higby’s inspiration may be common, but his work is unique and celebrated worldwide by art fans,…

When nature plays the muse of the artist, the results are often stunning. We’ve seen landscapes captured by photographer Ansel Adams and botanicals portrayed by painter Georgia O’Keefe that are iconic images in the art world.This summer, nature inspires Topia, a ballet created by Ballet Arizona’s artistic director Ib Andersen…

Arizona State University’s mascot has had a rough couple of months. In March, the university announced that had called in the brain trust at Disney to help imagine a Sparky that would “appeal to younger audiences.” The cartoon-ified Sparky was poorly received and widely ridiculed by ASU supporters and rivals…

If you see the world in visuals and aren’t afraid of interviewing, recording, cropping, color adjusting, and rendering, we have good news. This summer, Voice Media Group is kicking off a multimedia internship in each of its papers (including Phoenix New Times, Miami New Times, Westword, New Times Broward Palm…

When the legal braintrust at Disney Enterprises heard the roar of criticism aimed at its applications to trademark “Dia de los Muertos” earlier today, the corporation decided to quickly and quietly backpedal. Disney had filed 10 applications last week in hopes of obtaining the trademark to the phrase “Dia de…