June First Friday Coffeehouse with Jasper!

Friday, June 4

Come listen and dance to the popular eclectic rock and roots band trio JASPER.

JASPER features Frank McCullough III on electric guitar and banjo, Terry Bluhm on stand-up bass, and Jefferson Voorhees on drums and percussion. All three members contribute vocals.

Special guest: Singer/songwriter George Page

~Singer-songwriter Bonnie Bluhm hosts.
~Doors open at 5 pm. Music starts 6 pm and ends about 8:30pm.
~Ongoing art exhibit is SHELTER.
~Admission is free and coffee and refreshments will be available.
~The OFFCenter Art Shop will be open featuring the work of over 100 local folk artists.

All ages welcome! A community art making table will be set up for you and your family to make art throughout the evening. See you there! Big Fun Tonight!!

A Pass The Hat Production.

SHELTER Exhibit Opening -- Friday May 7

FIRST FRIDAY EXHIBIT opening:

“SHELTER: A Refuge for Mind, Body and Soul”
Friday night, May 7th, 2010 5-8pm free

Whether in a tent, in a friend’s company, or by reading a good book, everyone seeks refuge from the world’s stresses and dangers. Once sheltered, we begin the process of restoration.

An open community exhibit running through June 8th.

iCreate guitar class graduates will provide music.

Thank you, Rooster's Downtown

Special thanks to Rooster's Downtown, just down the road from us at 320 Central Ave. Rooster's will donate coffee and snacks for our upcoming First Friday Coffeehouse on Mar. 5

Which...
in case you haven't heard us shouting about it already...
will feature...

WAGOGO!

There, we said it Again!

Come on by from 5 to 8 for our First Friday (Artscrawl) Coffeehouse. Wagogo will play starting at 6:00. Gift shop and gallery, open of course.

FREE, but we won't turn down your donation when we pass the hat.

WAGOGO is coming March 5!

First Friday Coffeehouse, Mar. 5th, 5 to 8pm

FREE!

Join us for a rollicking return visit from Wagogo, to celebrate the tail end of our Art of Devotion exhibit, and to celebrate just being here in general!

Last year there was room to dance, shop, meet new friends, and enjoy free coffee and snacks.

Our gift shop will be open, and art will also be available for sale in our gallery.

Live performance by Wagogo beings at 6pm

(We will pass the hat for the band, and for donations to OFFCenter)

First Friday Coffeehouse and Bonnie's Birthday Bash

COME TO THE PARTY!!

Have you been to a First Friday at OFFCenter lately? There is a big one coming up... This Friday, December 4, 2009 come celebrate OFFCenter's Anniversary and Bonnie Bluhm's birthday bash and the Holiday Gift Show at our December First Friday Coffeehouse. OFFCenter's unique gift shop is chock full of locally made art and you never know what handmade treasure you'll find there! There will also be great music and some fun snacks to enjoy - Join the party from 5-8:30 pm!

Sharie's Studio Journal

Greetings to all I've been out of the studio for a week and will be for another week but I know things don't stop because I am otherwise committed. The ongoing classes/workshops like the drawing classes and guitar lessons continue and the writing group happens so please check out the calendar for dates and times. There are upcoming new workshops there too so keep looking at the schedule and for announcements for these. If there is something you think would be a great media or thechnique to learn or teach in a work shop contact Ron in the studio and tell him what your idea is.

Last weeks First Friday Coffee House was a lot of fun with great snacks and good music. Watch the calendar for the next one in December. TTFN Sharie

First Friday Coffeehouse with Norm Everett Fri. Nov. 6!

First Friday Coffeehouse is November 6, 2009, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
and He's Back!
The yodelling, throat singing, wild & wacky one & only...

NORM EVERETT
and his band Namronth

opening with singer/songwriter Bonnie Bluhm

Coffee! Snacks! Gift Shop Open!

plus, the Dia de los Muertos exhibit "Threads from the Dead: Who Are You From?" continues.

Come join us -- it's Free and we welcome you to our Community Arts studio!

First Friday Coffeehouse with Tortuga!

First Friday Coffeehouse
Friday Sept. 4
5 to 8 pm

Bring a friend or two and come hear the jazz fusion sounds of Tortuga , featuring Pax and friends playing for your enjoyment. It's Free!

Our gallery will be filled with Folk Festival puppets, masks and other festive paraphernalia.

Coffee and delicious refreshments will be available along with the usual great supply of one of a kind local art work on sale in our shop.

A Pass the Hat Production, hosted by Bonnie Bluhm.

First Friday Coffee House.

Sharie's Studio Journal

Well First Friday came and went and if you weren't there I am sad you missed out on some great music and some Irish humor. I'm pretty sure that the band member Brian has "kissed the Blarney Stone." This is a great opportunity for you to meet new friends, see friends you may not have seen for a while or just listen to some good music, look at art and even buy some art. Sharie

Volunteers are Very Important

Have you seen folks in OFFCenter around a table talking about things like "Where will they park?", "Who will do the food?", "When does it have to be done by?"- and most importantly- "Who will get it done?"

If so, you may be seeing OFFCenter Board of Directors and other volunteers in action. OFFCenter provides open studio hours for many emerging or yet to emerge artists and hosts lots of structured activities for our community. But OFFCenter also does regular and continual fundraising efforts through a variety of events that are crucial to keep OFFCenter alive and available to our community. When the events happen it may seem like they just happen, but really they take a lot of planning and effort beforehand and during the event.

The new First Friday Coffeehouses with live music on the first Friday of each month is one of these events. If you would like to help with any of our ongoing fundraising and organizing events let a staff person at OFFCenter know, or join in when you see one of the planning meetings happening. WE can do it all together:)

Holy Water & Whiskey at First Friday Coffeehouse!

Bonnie Bluhm hosts:

HOLY WATER & WHISKEY

Albuquerque's Premiere Old-Timey Folk Trio

June 5, 2009 ~ 5-8 PM

Music Starts @ 6 PM

• Coffee & Refreshments
• Check out our one-of-a-kind Art Shop and our current exhibit, "Shelter."

FREE EVENT! A Pass the Hat Production!

Opening -- SHELTER: Space, Place & Belonging May 1, 2009

Friday, May 1, 2009 5-8 pm

An Artscrawl Event

First Friday Art Opening

5:00 p.m. Video screening of "Garbage Warrior," a timely portrait of visionary Taos architect Michael Reynolds

6:00 p.m. Music with singer/songwriter Cole Mitchell AND also The Two Roses, Folk Harp & Flute Duo.

The show is an inquiry about where we live -- how it defines us and our relationship to our environment and each other.

A grand warmup to the 4th Annual Albuquirky House Tour on Saturday, May 2, 1-4 pm (Call OFFCenter for tickets!)

First Friday Coffeehouse with WAGOGO

OUR SECOND First Friday. Get it? Friday, April 3, 2009, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Live music performance @6:15 p.m. with Wagogo, a musical blend of Chicano influences, Northern Mexico folk songs, warm calypso island grooves, & the captivating spirit music of Zimbabwe AND

our ongoing art exhibit -- Exquisite Corpse: A Surrealist Game, exploring the mystique of accident, a collective collage of images and words.

And...see our unusual, one-of-a-kind handcrafted art for sale in The Shop! And, Henry's cookin' some down home Louisiana style.

FREE EVENT -- A "Pass the Hat Production"

First Friday Coffeehouse March 6, 5-8 pm

First Friday Coffeehouse

March 6th, 5-8pm

with a live music performance @ 6:30 with Dennis Overman and The Cerrillos Islanders hosted by Bonnie Bluhm: Funky folky original songs, banjo, guitar + vocals with our ongoing art exhibit, Trust the Hand that Makes It Round celebrating our humanness and ability to create the round world together, sponsored by The NM Art Therapy Assoc.

~~~Also, visit The Shop!@ OFFCenter! Original arts by OFFCenter's Emerging Artists ~~~

Visitor Notes from Trust the Hand that Makes it Round

Wow! Over 300 people attended last night's opening at OFFCenter. The show, Trust the Hand that Makes it Round, called for art in all media that fit the unifying theme -- we saw suns, moons, mandalas, and more in paintings, sculptures, assemblages, silk, beadwork, ceramic, photography, and everything in between. There were even decorated cookies!

.

Patti Littlefield, Mark Weaver, and Bonnie Bluhm and friends provided soulful, jazzy musical entertainment all evening.

.

Sales were brisk (a real boon to emerging artists, who retain a 70% commission on gallery sales), and the food was plentiful!

.

We were also thrilled to welcome art therapist Janis Timm-Bottos, founder of OFFCenter, who was visiting Albuquerque from her new home in British Columbia.

.

Tough economic times have hit OFFCenter hard this year, but oddly enough, shrinking grant funding has galvanized the community. Judging by the awesome attendance and positive energy last night, the revitalized OFFCenter community of emerging artists, devoted board, hardworking staff, and generous donors can steer the Project toward a new model of sustainability.

.

(By the way, are you interested in showing your work at OFFCenter? When you see the next call, bring something down to the studio...)