Blueseeds In The Desert

Comfortable, casual and … coastal? In Phoenix? Yes, we know it’s an odd combination in the desert, but Blueseeds, an Arcadia home store on Indian School Road, makes it work and then some. Owner Carla Bonner grew up on the East Coast and her aesthetic — with cool tones, easy…

SMoCA presents “TXT Msgs”

Communication in today’s teen world is a near attack on the five senses — if the phone’s not vibrating, ringing or lighting up, its keys are being tapped, its camera is being clicked or its speakers are emitting some kind of voice, beat or tune. And we just covered one…

Lisa Albinger: A Conversation with the Artist

Lisa Albinger’s “Holy Mary Mother of Birds” opens with a First Friday artist’s reception from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, August 6. New Times rapped with her about her latest series of works, which will hang at Perihelion Arts through month’s end. The following is in Albinger’s words:”Holy Mary Mother…

The Rockridge Estate of Affairs

The only green found around the Rockridge Estate these days are the patches of AstroTurf where Scott Coles and Co. used to putt a few after a day’s work at (the now defunct) Mortgages Ltd.The home (with four patios, 33 bath fixtures and a nine-car garage) rests on 10 acres…

Bragg’s Pie Wants Trash Turned Into Art

We’re officially over the hump of summer.How do we know this? Well, we’re seeing a bunch of call for art entries to fill upcoming art shows slated for fall. Yep, we’re on the home stretch. And come late September, Bragg’s Pie Factory will host its 2nd Annual Trashy Sculpture Show…

Local Motors Introduces its Rally Fighter

Congratulate Gregg Nourjian if you see him at the Local Motors grand opening in Chandler this weekend — he owns the first official Rally Fighter (pictured above). Well, as soon as he builds it. The Local Motors’ micro-factory landed in Phoenix based solely on the design of its Rally Fighter…

Steam Crow at SideBar Mixes Monsters and Food

You may have caught Michele Laudig’s post over at Chow Bella about the art up at SideBar.Now that the show’s scheduled to come down within a week (a specific date has yet to be set), we thought we’d snag a Q&A with Daniel Davis who is one-half of the husband-wife…

Is Sky Harbor Airport’s Art Museum Worth Taking a Trip?

  Whether you’ve flown out of the airport to visit relatives in Indiana or just popped in to pick up an out-of-town guest, you’ve probably been to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport at some point. But few locals realize the airport has amassed a collection of over 500 pieces of art since…

Phoenix Design Week’s Call to Designers

Phoenix Design Week is upon us … in two months.This means the prep work and planning for the five day event filled with seminars, national guest speakers, design exhibitions, and ridiculous amounts of networking is well under way.And that means there are some pretty sweet opportunities for local designers to…

SB 1070 Protest Poster Art — Courtesy of Jesus Barraza

Haters of SB 1070 can stand in solidarity on Thursday, July 29, in the presence of some badass art.Bay-area based Jesus Barraza, an artist that specializes in screen printing, designed the poster that organizations such as Alto Arizona are pimping in its literature.Check out some of Barraza’s other designs here…

Wiley Wallace at the Tempe Urban Garden

It’s about time Phoenix sees some serious mural love. In the interest of giving credit to their artists and because we’re losing track of the times we’ve said, “Woah, when did that go up?”, we bring you Mural City, a series on the murals springing up around town — their…

Roy Sproule on Revolver Records

It’s about time Phoenix sees some serious mural love. In the interest of giving credit to their artists and because we’re losing track of the times we’ve said, “Woah, when did that go up?”, we bring you Mural City, a series on the murals springing up around town — their…

Blooming Rock: Your Personal Guide to Architecture in Phoenix

One of our pet peeves is when people bemoan the lack of community and cohesion in the Valley without bringing any new ideas to the table. We’ll grant you. It’s a pretty easy topic to rip on. Thankfully there are visionaries like Taz Loomans who shun this cliché in favor…

Urban Metal at the US Post Office in Tempe

A pleasurable post office errand in the summer is rare; a long line and the lady who attempts to fill out the shipping form (in the queue) inevitably squash the possibility of a quick in and out. Which is why this morning’s mail run in Tempe was surprising — It…

“Only Tenants Reside: Chris Mars” in Arts

Haunting, tragic and often traumatic is the artwork of Chris Mars, on display at Mesa Contemporary Arts until August 1. Mars’ work is heavily influenced by his experiences with mental illness. As a young child, he spent a lot of time visiting his older brother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia,…

“Only Tenants Reside: Chris Mars” at Mesa Contemporary Arts Takes a Second Look at How We Perceive Mental Illness

In the mid-1960s, when artist Chris Mars was 5 years old, his 16-year-old brother, Joe, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized because of his mental disorder. An incurable but now-treatable brain dysfunction, schizophrenia is often characterized by delusions, hallucinations (both visual and auditory), social withdrawal, and a sense of being…

Spencer Hibert on Goo Goo Ghandi

Artist Spencer Hibert has done good.Not only does he run Soyal Gallery in Scottsdale with Emmett Potter III, he also won a New Times Big Brain Award for Visual Arts.When we profiled the guy, we talked all about his Miigiis. The small toys, created by Hibert, can be found in…

Lalo Cota on Carly’s Bistro

  It’s about time Phoenix sees some serious mural love. In the interest of giving credit to their artists and because we’re losing track of the times we’ve said, “Woah, when did that go up?”, we bring you Mural City, a series on the murals springing up around town –…