Yes, let’s!If you ever meet me, you can pretty much assume that the accessories I’ll be wearing have come from frances, the adorable boutique on Central and Camelback. It’s kind of embarrassing, really. But every time I go there, I find something I just “have to have”. And before I…
I make no bones about my feelings for the city of Phoenix: I love it.Sure, we certainly have our problems and while I believe such issues should always be addressed, as soon as the conversation turns to unproductive bashing on my home town, I get seriously T.O.’d. You may as…
I live in a small apartment fourplex that was built in 1927. Sometimes when my mind wanders, I imagine what has happened within these walls. What kind of people lived here? How many times has someone gotten freaky here? And has anyone ever died?Then I start to get a little…
In some craft circles, residents of Glendale, Arizona, are envied beyond belief and it takes only one visit to the Bead Museum to understand why. These beads aren’t just for crafters (although the gift shop sells some amazing supplies). The displays are for anyone interested in the history of the…
This blog is about a writing contest and it goes out to all my fellow writers out there.I hesitated about this blog because I’m a little late in the game. This particular writing contest has an October 31st deadline, which is just ten days from now.Then I remembered who the…
In the past 20 years or so, Americans of all ethnicities throughout the country — especially here in the Southwest — have been making a big deal of Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration that spans several days and just happens to coincide with All…
It’s really no news that crafting has become a very hot thing in Phoenix. I guess we could blame it on the need for indoor activities during the summer months. Regardless, it seems like everyone is knitting, sewing, hot glue gunning and glittering everything in sight.If you happen to be…
Hey everybody! It’s the third Friday of the month.There’s just all kinds of things going on tonight in the local art world. You know you can visit any of the Roosevelt Row and Grand Avenue galleries to check out what you may have missed on First Friday. You can also…
For more than two months, I’ve been feeling like the wealthiest person in Phoenix, and it has nothing to do with money. On August 1, the deadline for creative types participating in “Wonderland: Art from New Times Best of Phoenix 2009” to submit their art, the original artworks arrived at…
Now, I know I just mentioned Lisa Sipe in a blog last week but this time it’s different, I swear.The encaustic (melted wax) artist is having her final solo show at Eye Lounge, opening this Friday, October 16th. She’s at the end of her three year term at the artist-run…
Attention all crafters: put down your hot glue gun, knitting needles or bedazzler and pay close attention.It’s finally happened…your favorite documentary is coming to DVD! “Handmade Nation: The Rise of D.I.Y., Art, Craft and Design” is a 65 minute documentary by artist/crafter/musician/filmmaker, Faythe Levine, about the nationwide rise in popularity…
Wow. 2010. Do you think we’re going to stop saying “two-thousand-ten” and start streamlining with “twenty-ten” like they do in movies that take place in the future?Well, regardless, here in two-thousand-nine, we gave a Best of Phoenix award to SeeSaw Designs. We called them the best letterpressers in town and…
What’s old really is new again. We’ve seen the resurgence of burlesque, bell-bottom jeans and the monsters of our childhood (via pop culture vehicles such as the HBO series True Blood and Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). Portland-based artist Brian Kappel capitalized on two recently revived trends…
Apparently, Arty Girl is all about education this week.Monday, I blogged about the encaustic workshop at Eye Lounge and today, I’m going to tell you about a couple of writing workshops for all you writers out there looking to improve your craft.First, we’ve got “Writing for the Stage” with playwright…
Hooray! It’s a new artist workshop! I love these things.And it’s an encaustic workshop…one of my all-time favorite media. Encaustic is a painting method that uses melted wax to cover a surface. Of course, wax is thick and malleable so this can border on sculpture from time to time. I’ve…
Do you like the pretty flowers? So do I. But I’ll get to that in a minute.Now, I don’t want to beat a dead horse. But I’m just going to mention (again) that the Best of Phoenix Wonderland art opening is tonight. What’s that? You’d like to know more, you…
I’m going to go ahead and focus on this Saturday event for today’s blog since I know you already have your calendar filled for Friday…riiiiight?If you don’t, mark it right now for our Best of Phoenix Wonderland art show, will ya?So now that you’ve got your Friday all figured out,…
Sometimes I wish I had been in the movies. I mean, I know I would have cracked under the pressure of celebrity and developed a disgusting crack habit. But when I overdosed, Harkins Valley Art Theare in Tempe would have given me the raddest tribute ever.This week, just like they…
Do me a favor and click this link to the Grand Avenue Festival website. I’ve been looking forward to this all day event for months (and I’ve been blogging about it along the way). Hooray! It’s finally here! Er, tomorrow, anyway.So after you’re done poking around and mentally selecting the…
If you pick up this week’s Best of Phoenix issue (trust us, you won’t be disappointed), you’ll notice something different this year as you read raptly through our awards for anything and everything notable in the Valley. This year, we asked artists and other creative types we know to come…
One of my favorite artists in town (if not, my absolute favorite) is trying to fill a painting class.Trust me, if you have any fleeting interest in learning the craft, Suzanne Falk is the lady to take lesson from. Falk is a self-taught painter who makes her entire living from…
Every woman I know has described herself as “crazy” at least once. And that includes me. Totally.Why do we insist on saying this? I can only speak for myself here – but I think I do it so I have license to misbehave, make mistakes or change my mind on…
