ISSUE November 2005

HURRICANE RITA 2-IN-1 EDITION

THE ARTS MAGAZINE OF THE ART STUDIO, INC.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2005

A BIG BLOW

INSIDE: OCTOBER ISSUE, PHIL FITZPATRICK, AND MORE

TASI’s October art exhibition rescheduled for January ISSUE Vol. 12, No. 3 Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Art Studio, Inc. Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan

The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors President Ex-Officio . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Busceme Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angela Busceme Members At Large . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy Coughlan, . . . . . . . . . Beth Gallaspy, Brooks Goodhue, . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maribeth Jones, Sandy Pate, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angie Phares, Les Warren

The Art Studio, Inc. 720 Franklin Beaumont, TX 77701 409-838-5393 www.artstudio.org artstudio@artstudio.org Issue Submissions: issue.tasi@hotmail.com The ISSUE is a monthly publication of The Art Studio, Inc. Its mission is to publicize The Art Studio and its tenants, and to promote the growth of the arts in Southeast Texas. ISSUE is also charged with informing TASI members of projects, progress, achievements and setbacks in TASI’s well-being. Further, ISSUE strives to promote and distribute the writings of local authors in its “Thoughtcrime” feature.

ISSUE is provided free of charge to members of TASI and is also available, free of charge, at more than 30 locations in Southeast Texas.

Regular features include local artists of note and reputation who are not currently exhibiting at TASI; artists currently or soon to be exhibiting at TASI; Instructional articles for artists; news stories regarding the state of TASI’s organization; and arts news features dealing with general philosophical issues of interest to artists.

Contents Rita & TASI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3 Phil Fitzpatrick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Shop-O-Rama Call For Entries . . . . . . . . . . Page 7

Cover Photo: The Art Studio’s kilns, along with the barn in the background, suffered at the hands of Hurricane Rita.

By Andy Coughlan

The exhibition will now take place in January, with an opening reception Jan. 7, 7-10 p.m. To find out more about Melissa Anne and her work, read the feature in the October ISSUE, inserted into this month’s ISSUE.

BCP to present ‘Ruthless’ What’s a mother to do when her daughter would just kill for a lead role in the school play?

Beaumont Community Players present the story of little Tina Denmark, born to entertain.

And when you're born with talent — when it's in your blood — stardom is your destiny!

Remember “The Bad Seed”? “Gypsy”?

“All About Eve”? If you loved them, you’ll love this show. If you hated ’em, then you’ll still love this show!

Directed by Roxanne Gray, this is a musical comedy with unforgettable characters!

The stellar cast includes Allan Anderud, Victoria Leblanc, Adrienne Shearer, Les Warren, La La Babin, Debbie Elliot and Ann Holland.

Show dates are 7:30 p.m., Nov. 18, 19, 25, 26 and Dec. 2, 3, with a matinee Dec. 3 at 2 p.m..

Tickets are $18 for adults, seniors 60 and older, and students are $16. Children 12 and under are $10.

Contains a little adult language. Rated PG. For more information, call 409-842-4664, or online at www.beaumontcommunityplayers.com

Volume 12, No. 3

November 2005 ISSUE • 3

HURRICANE DEALS BIG BLOW TO TASI, GOLDEN TRIANGLE HURRICANE RITA HIT THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE as a category 3 storm, bring with it winds in excess of 120 mph. As the ISSUE goes to press, more than four weeks have passed and the cleanup continues. Thousands of trees in Southeast Texas were felled by Rita, and many people were left homeless as trees and winds destroyed their dwellings. The Art Studio, Inc. suffered its share of damage, but the gods must smile on the arts as the damage was manageable and the main building escaped relatively unscathed, save for some water seepage through the office windows. The barn, however, was less fortunate. The roof was blown off, revealing a lattice of beams silhouetted against the clear sky. The covering over the salt kilns collapsed, causing damage to the kilns. The top floor of the building kept its roof, but several panels surrounding the extractor fan were lost, leaving the building susceptible to the next rain storm.

However, as always, art will find a way and the November exhibition, featuring recent work by Phil Fitzpatrick, will open as planned. The October show, “Images from the Mind of Melissa Anne,” has been rescheduled for January.

The contrast of light and shadow through the broken panels, and the complex linework of previously hidden beams gives rise to new opportunities for art.

The Art Studio will rebuild. Paintings will be painted, pots will be thrown, and the spirit of The Studio will continue with even more respect for the power of nature.

The covering over the kilns, above, collapsed during Hurricane Rita, damaging the kilns. The one on the right is clearly leaning.

The metal beams of the barn, far right, are silhouetted against the sky. The roof is in street.

This picnic table, right, now supports the kiln roof. The curve of the seat reflects the weight of the structure.

More photos on page 7.

Photos by Andy Coughlan

4 • ISSUE November 2005

Volume 12, No. 3

Technology brings

Bromeliad

Fitzpatrick to The following was written by artist Phil Fitzpatrick.

ONCE UPON A TIME (all adventures should start that way, you know), I came to Beaumont to teach at Lamar University — and that was a long, long time ago (all adventures usually have that in there too). In those days, shortly after the last dinosaur died, the notions of computers and, more importantly, computers being used to make art was pretty much nonexistent. The Commodore 64 was the “King of the Road,” and anyone born after 1978 will probably think that C-64 was a story made up by their parents to frighten small children.

Like most artists of that time, I was steeped in the traditional 2and 3-dimensional methods for making art and was quite content to continue on my merry way. But between 1978 (which, by the way, is when this saga begins) and the mid 1980s the world of computer technology took a quantum leap forward.

IBM created the first “Personal Computer,” hence the term PC joined our common language, and Apple began placing little gnomes, all named Macintosh, with monochromatic blue eyes and astounding, but simple graphical interfaces on people’s desks.

Then, in 1985, something truly magical happened (all adventures have to have magic in them somewhere).

A computer call “Amiga” appeared on the scene. It was a computer far ahead of its time that featured color graphics , animation and video. By that time, I had become painfully aware that the emerging technology was going to be very much a part of the lives of my students, if not my own, and that, if the university was not teaching its students to use that technology, they would no longer be competitive in the “real” world. So, with my hot little keyboard in hand, I started to develop a computer graphics pro-

4 • ISSUE November 2005

Volume 12, No. 3

Technology brings

Bromeliad

THE ARTS MAGAZINE OF THE ART STUDIO, INC.

Fitzpatrick to APRIL 2005

The following was written by artist Phil Fitzpatrick.

ONCE UPON A TIME (all adventures should start that way, you know), I came to Beaumont to teach at Lamar University — and that was a long, long time ago (all adventures usually have that in there too). In those days, shortly after the last dinosaur died, the notions of computers and, more importantly, computers being used to make art was pretty much nonexistent. The Commodore 64 was the “King of the Road,” and anyone born after 1978 will probably think that C-64 was a story made up by their parents to frighten small children.

Like most artists of that time, I was steeped in the traditional 2and 3-dimensional methods for making art and was quite content to continue on my merry way. But between 1978 (which, by the way, is when this saga begins) and the mid 1980s the world of computer technology took a quantum leap forward.

IBM created the first “Personal Computer,” hence the term PC joined our common language, and Apple began placing little gnomes, all named Macintosh, with monochromatic blue eyes and astounding, but simple graphical interfaces on people’s desks.

Then, in 1985, something truly magical happened (all adventures have to have magic in them somewhere).

A computer call “Amiga” appeared on the scene. It was a computer far ahead of its time that featured color graphics , animation and video. By that time, I had become painfully aware that the emerging technology was going to be very much a part of the lives of my students, if not my own, and that, if the university was not teaching its students to use that technology, they would no longer be competitive in the “real” world. So, with my hot little keyboard in hand, I started to develop a computer graphics pro-

MAKING AN EXHIBITION OF THEMSELVES PAGE 7

INSIDE: LISA REINAUER: JUDGE AND JURY, HOT PIG, AND MORE

Volume 12, No. 3

November 2005 ISSUE • 5

artist ‘Full Circle’

Frilled Trumpet

display work at TASI in November gram in the art department at Lamar University.

No good deed goes unpunished. The more you work with bleeding edge technology, the more it sucks you into its web and the more fascinating it becomes.

I was certainly no exception. The more I worked with computers to make art, the more possibilities became apparent and the more it drew me in.

Eventually, the hardware and software became so sophisticated that I pretty much gave up any other tools and concentrated on computers for making art.

And that, boys and girls, is what brings us to this exhibit some 27 years from the beginning of the story and a long way from the end, which is yet to come.

“Full Circle” is a reference to a series of watercolors called “The Magic Garden” that I started in the early ’80s and that the current show, in many ways, mirrors.

Let me explain. “The Magic Garden” was my way of resolving a long standing hatred with something that every art student has to endure — that #$@% still life that you are forced to draw in beginning drawing classes.

I decided to make something beautiful from something ugly and, on my own terms, create a

magical still life composed of real world elements carefully placed together in a terrarium-like environment.

Working from photographic references, I carefully ‘assembled’ my still life by hand and then modeled the images to produce a photo-like ‘reality’. Now, some 20-plus years later, I’m back in the garden. This time though, I am working directly from my photographs and translating them into “watercolors” and “paintings” in such a way that the reality of the photographs have become my “drawings” and the starting point for the images rather than the finished product.

The prints in this exhibit reflect my exploration of myself and the way that I would have worked when I did the first magic garden. I examined the way that my hands move and the motions I make when I draw or paint and literally created sets of ‘brushes’ that were used to make these images. The “brushes” were applied emulating the natural motions that I customarily would make.

So why go to all that trouble, you ask? Why not just do a painting or watercolor?

The answer: time, forgiveness and decision

See CIRCLE on page 7

Lotus 27

Kerrville Cactus

Volume 12, No. 3

November 2005 ISSUE • 7

Call for entries

CIRCLE from page 5

HOLIDAY SHOP-O-RAMA EXTRAVAGANZA making.

Using the computer as the tool of choice, I can make decisions immediately without fear of ruining the entire work because I work in layers (much like with traditional painting), but I can keep those layers separate (unlike with traditional painting) and that means that I’m not spending a lot of time chewing on the end of a brush trying to make a decision. Because of the way I’m able to work, the computer is very ‘forgiving’ and the chances of failure are significantly reduced. This doesn’t mean that things don’t get screwed up, but starting over is infinitely less painful.

“Full Circle: Recent Work by Phil Fitzpatrick” is on display at The Art Studio, Inc. in November. There is a free opening reception, 7-10 p.m., Nov. 5.

For more information, call 409-838-5393.

The Art Studio is located 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont.

December 2005 at The Art Studio, Inc. Open to all area artists, this is a great opportunity to present your work for sale during this Holiday season! All work must be hand made and original by the presenting artist; no kits will be allowed and work must be constructed with quality and integrity.

• Paintings, illustrations and photographs must be the work of the presenting artist and must be appropriately matted and placed in cradles or other retaining stands as there is not enough room to hang all flat work. Limited editions of prints will be accepted but not photocopy reproduced work.

• All forms of handmade original crafts will be accepted. Again, no kits or copies that might violate copyright laws. All media are welcome. All functional work must function and all work must hold a high degree of quality. We reserve the right to refuse substandard work. Please bring your own tables and set up a nice display for your work!

• All work must be listed on a sheet of paper, coded with your initials and a number (e.g. John Edgar Doe would code items JED1, JED2, etc.) and described: each piece must also be marked with this identifying code and price.

• The Art Studio will handle all sales and tax collection, and requests a 25 percent donation from the artist on all sales; please take this into account when pricing your work. Artists will receive payment for all sales by single check issued just after the new year.

• All artists must be members in good standing with The Art Studio, Inc. and all work must remain on display for the duration of the show. Additional work may be added throughout the month.

DATES TO REMEMBER: November 29-December 2: bring work and inventory list and set up displays.

December 3: Sale opens at 10 a.m., artists reception that evening, 7-10 p.m.

Phil Fitzpatrick

3679 Calder • For Appt. 833-LIPS www.senegence.com/chamaeleon

Work can be moved to sales gallery at artists request after the Shop-O-Rama

720 Franklin, Beaumont, Texas 77701

Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit #135 Beaumont, TX

INSIDE • OCTOBER’S HURRICANE DELAYED ISSUE • ‘FULL CIRCLE: RECENT WORKS BY PHIL FITZPATRICK’ • AROUND & ABOUT: INFORMATION ABOUT ART HAPPENINGS • HOLIDAY SHOP-O-RAMA ENTRY FORM • ISSUE SUBMISSIONS: issue.tasi@hotmail.com

When you support The Art Studio with your membership, you receive ISSUE, Southeast Texas’ and Southwest Louisiana’s alternative press as well as class schedules, invitations to opening receptions and various Studio functions.

The individuals listed below have recently contributed to the life force of this art organization.

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