39: Kobina Banning

39: Kobina BanningKobina Banning was born in Kumasi, Ghana and received his masters in architecture from Arizona State University, where he specifically studied how displaced persons from other cultures can adopt architecturally into new urban settings.In 2007, he founded Fusion Architecture [FA] in Phoenix opened a location in Kumasi, Ghana…

Get Schooled By Heavy-Hitting Artists Joe Willie Smith, Carol Panaro-Smith, and Julie Hampton

If you fall into the ugh-school’s-starting-soon-and-I-can’t-find-a-cool-class-to-take category or are just looking for something eccentric and/or fun to do with your time, three Phoenix-area artists with a lot of creative pull are offering some out-of-the-box courses beginning next week.At Phoenix College, found-object-sculptural specialist, out-there musician, and former eye lounge member Joe…

Make Absinthe (With the Help of a Kit)

Yesterday, we blogged about how you can make distilled absinthe, with links to websites that either sell stills or provide directions for creating homemade stills. But since distilling alcohol without a permit is illegal and distillation is a complicated, time-consuming process, today we’re going to show you another option: how…

Five Fugly Men’s Summer Fashions

>Given: Phoenix is known for its low-key, laid back style. We wear jeans to the opera, shorts to the theater — hell, we just saw a lady in a slinky romper at the Phoenix Art Museum. (We’ll have more on rompers in tomorrow’s female-specific list.) Also Given: In the summer,…

James Hamilton Mitchell’s Vintage Jackets and Solar Armor

James Hamilton Mitchell has an interesting approach to fashion. At 6 feet 7 inches tall, he doesn’t have much choice.Mitchell has an interesting approach to many things. He’s a film student at SCC; a poetry, fiction, and screenplay writer; and runs his Ignominous Films production company. You may recognize his…

40: Carrie Marill

40: Carrie Marill Carrie Marill was born in San Francisco in the late ’70s. She was raised by a gun-toting dentist who, in the evenings, enjoyed doing doughnuts in a red 1982 Toyota Supra in his front yard. In 1994, she accidentally hit a bear in Yosemite Valley. In 2004,…

Make Distilled Absinthe

This week, we’re bringing you a three-part blog series on absinthe, which will cover how to make distilled absinthe, how to make absinthe from kits, and where to buy the best absinthe.  Since the 18th century, absinthe, aka the “Green Fairy,” has been a popular and potent drink among Bohemians…

Against The Grain

The blogs that make us happy are often blogs that make us want to spend some serious dough.Local silversmith and jeweler, Ashley Weber, keeps us reaching into our pockets (or, at the very least, fantasizing about it) as she posts her latest creations on her Against the Grain blog…

41: Scott Baxter

41: Scott BaxterScott Baxter is on a mission to find 100 Arizona ranchers whose families have been in the industry for 100 years or more. He’s been taking notes and large-format, black-and-white photographs while on the road (and often on the back of a horse) since 2004. Baxter has been…

Stop The Remakes

When it comes to horror films, there’s no shortage of fan sites or blogs, but one horror film blog is dedicated solely to critiquing remakes of classic horror movies: stoptheremakes.com.This Phoenix-based blog is run by Levi Yockey, a lifelong horror movie buff. Yockey’s probably seen every horror movie you’ve seen…

42: Michael Bergfalk

Michael Bergfalk is a tattoo artist, painter, collector and philosopher. His young artistic ambitions ultimately led to the study and practice of the art known as tattoo. Bergfalk says the copious images on his own skin also bear testimony to his own examination for the origin of this centuries-old art…

43: Saskia Jorda

Saskia Jorda was born in Caracas, Venezuela and works with site-specific installations, drawings, and performances that “map the tension between retaining one’s identity and assimilating a foreign persona.”Her artwork has been featured locally and internationally — but she’ll tell you all about her maps and nest made out of 100…

The Wizards of Time’s Band Cave

Urban legend has it that The Wizards of Time current jam pad in Tempe has been used by at least four other bands and that one of those bands, Princess Ladyfriend, used to rock out on the roof, much to the delight of their neighbors. The truth may never out,…

44: Ted Decker

44: Ted DeckerTed Decker will be the first to tell you: “I have been called a good guy and an asshole, generous, self-focused, a non-conformist, an innovator, an entrepreneur, a team leader, someone who doesn’t work or play well with others, smart, a dumb-ass, a potentially perfect board member if…

45: Julie Hampton

FYI, Julie Hampton is currently on a pogo stick. During the day, she can be found teaching literature and creative writing at the Art Institute of Phoenix, or making a variety of things including (but not limited to) dryer balls out of wool yarn, restaurant-quality Thai tea, and homemade pasta…

Summer Softball Splash: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Cactus City Softball League’s Spartans celebrated their upcoming appearance at the Gay Softball World Series with a party on Saturday at the Wyndham Hotel’s rooftop pool. We hung around to check out some swimsuits and, um, lack thereof. The good is above, but who made the bad and ugly?…

46: Andrea Hanley

46: Andrea Hanley Andrea Hanley’s work is guided by and focused on the work of contemporary American Indian artists and the American Indian fine arts. She’s currently the Manager of the Berlin Gallery at the Heard Museum. “All of my projects are guided by a mantra: A never-ending quest to…

Downtown’s First Friday (August 6)

Art walks are more often about people watching and shenanigans and less about the actual art. We’re here to guide you through both. Presenting our very own Field Guide — an evolving guide to art walks around town. From time to time, we’ll introduce some of our favorite spots and…

Beverly Burch’s Willows Home and Garden

Beverly Burch’s Willows Home and Garden blog is pure eye candy for the home-design mind. She shares images of her shabby-chic home décor shop’s newest merchandise and occasional peeks inside her own residence.Burch and her daughter-in-law take most of the blog’s photography, usually within the shop. “I just know that…

47: Matt Moore

47: Matt Moore Matt Moore grew up in Waddell, Ariz. on his family’s farm that has been around since the ’20s. He started college as a economics major and a Spanish minor in anticipation of running the family business. He couldn’t stay awake in his first macro-economics class, and got…