Sharie's Studio Journal: I'm back!

Greetings everyone:

I have been out of the studio for about two weeks a bit "under the weather", but am back in the swing of things. It is great to be back in the studio and watch all that happens there. Some new faces always great to see new friends there.

The Earthquakes and Hurricanes show is coming to an end and if you missed it you missed a wonderful show.

WE are making "pitchy Patch" and making room for the puppets to get a face lift and get ready for the Folk Art Festival.

Come on down and bring your friends to make art and/or help get ready for the folk art fest. It is a lot of fun. We love all the help and participation. See you soon Sharie.

OFFBags - the hottest thing in recycled fashion

Above, Molly models an OFFBag portfolio constructed of recycled plastic bags and packaging.

Be on the breaking edge of the OFFBag fashion movement! Stop by and see our current selection of OFFBags on display in the OFFCenter Shop.

Twenty-seven Days til the Folk Art Festival

Won't you join us? Make puppets, dance, sell your art, make art in the kid's tent, stroll the park and listen to great music. Click the link for more information: http://www.offcenterarts.org/folkartfest.htm

Workshop: "Taking Flight" Parade Puppets with Wings

Saturday, August 29th

morning session 8:30am – 11:30am

afternoon session 2pm – 5pm

Free parade puppet making workshop!

Participants may make animals such as birds or butterflies or angels or other winged beings.

There will be two 3 hour sessions; 8:30am -11:30 am and 2pm-5pm. We will take a long break at lunch to allow the papier mache to dry.

The following Saturday, September 5th, participants may work on any unfinished pieces.

Workshop leader Sunny Birklund has been making and performing with puppets for over 20 years. She especially loves giant puppets and has helped many people over the years make their own characters with papier mache to participate in festivals and parades.

NOTE: These photos were taken at previous years' We Art the People giant puppet salsa parades, by Albuquerque photographer Deanna Nichols. See more of her photos on Flickr Thank you, Deanna, for allowing us to share them here.

P.S. The We Art the People parade is an annual event sponsored by OFFCenter to kick off our Folk Art Festival. This year's Festival is only a few days away -- come join us in Robinson Park, Sunday, Sept. 13!

Please contact OFFCenter to register for this workshop -- 505-247-1172.

More Summerfest Latin Night Art Projects

Like many of our visitors, this guy worked on more than one project.

The whole family learns about New Mexico punched tin work.

This girl colors in her punched image.

We all hammered to a Latin beat last Satureday!

We folded aluminum foil over a sturdy backing, then hammered a design with our homemade hammers and a big nail. Then we colored in the designs with permanent markers.

Summerfest Latin Night Art Projects

Saturday night was the last night of Summerfest 2009, and we got lots of kudos on our Latin-inspired art projects that intrigued adults and kids alike.

She and mom rode a tandem bike to Civic Plaza, and while mom rested under the tent, daughter made her shrine.

Our nichos project was very popular. Hers is adorned with shells and other small objects we set out on the tables.

This young gal was a repeat visitor this summer. Her nicho is called "Love."

These friends made nichos for their friends.

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog post about our other Latin-inspired art project -- we did our own "intro" version of punched tin work.

RUMMAGE SALE FUNDRAISER!

Saturday, August 1
7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
OFFCenter Studio Parking Lot

Come down Saturday morning and rummage through our collection of odds and ends in our parking lot between 7 and 11am – and help raise some money for OFFCenter!

Lots of good stuff will be on sale including:

• clothing


• fabric


• tools


• books


• housewares


• excess art supplies


• and other sundry items.

If you have some valuable items that you want to contribute drop them off before the sale.

When you are done complete your morning by browsing the fresh produce and art at the Downtown Growers Market across the street in Robinson Park!

Just a Few More Summerfest Photos

Our cozy tables and tent. Lots of room to create!

The hair beading table is always a hit. Margaret Lopez concentrates while big sister helps out.

We altered 45's in honor of Old Time Rock n Roll, aka "50's" Night.

We found out that you can be too young to make art.
Dad was willing, but Junior was determined to run and climb.

More Summerfest Artists

We featured some of the boys who visited our Summerfest booth on Saturday. Here are a few of the gals!

Exhibition: Earthquakes & Hurricanes

OFFCenter Featured Artist Series

West Coast -- Land of Earthquakes,
Southern Gulf Coast -- Land of Hurricanes,
Two Artists Meet
in the Land of Enchantment

Henry Kennison: native of New Orleans, survisor of Hurricane Katrina, presents his multi-media art in many styles.

Ayren Valery: Native of California, survivor of two major earthquakes, presents her photos in montage style.

Opening FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009
5-8 pm
(exhibition thru Friday, Aug. 21, 2009)

Solo guitar by Becky Shreck

PLUS a Memorial Retrospective for Stephanie Anderson
Stephanie Anderson's art will continue to inspire a significant community of art makers and remind us of the amazing artist, friend, and shining light she was to all who had the fortune to know her. This exhibit is in her honor.

Click to download a color flyer from our website.

Boyz and Butterflies at Summerfest

Here are some of the fine young lads who visited our booth at Summerfest tonight, proudly sharing the projects they completed at our art tables. Our projects this week were butterflies made from fabric, glitter and clothespins; hair beading; and collaged 45 records to go with the 1950s musical Summerfest theme.

Stay tuned for more photos of this week's Summerfest.

The OFFBag Exclusively at OFFCenter

Here's a sturdy, recycled market bag developed by OFFCenter for OFFCenter -- and for you!
Drop by the studio to see what's in stock. They go too quickly to photograph each one . . .

Marcie models a medium sized OFFBag.

These market bags are so roomy and unique -- made almost exclusively ofrecycled plastic bags by a few of our studio artists. Prices range from $30 to $40 and we're selling these bags almost as quickly as we can make them.

Marcie tells me that it takes 100 years for ONE of the plastic bags in this OFFBag to break down. That's why so much of our art at OFFCenter is recycled -- we want to reduce, reuse, and raise funds for OFFCenter!

Sharie's Studio Journal

Sharie's Studio Journal

Well it was good to be back in the studio last week after a week off. Business as usual--what ever that means we are after all OFFCenter and Art and Art making is our "thing". It was good to see regular participants and new faces too.

The Littlest Quilters

Of course, big people stopped by our art booth, too, but it was the tiniest quilters that warmed our hearts at the most recent Summerfest. The theme was Country night, hence our community quilt project. We precut 12 x 12 squares of upholstery fabric, and our visitors sat and cut out scraps of fabric to glue to them.

Here are a few of the youngest artists in town, with permission from their parents, of course. They took great pride in hanging their squares onto the community wall.

Janis Timm-Bottos Remembers Stephanie Anderson

Janis Timm-Bottos, founder of OFFCenter who now lives in Canada, remembers Stephanie Anderson here on our blog, and in the latest issue of The Gleaners, now available on our website.

Seeing Stephanie in my mind’s eye.

Several days ago, Leo and I were sitting bundled up on the edge of the lake in our collapsible lawn chairs with most of the rest of our little town watching beautiful fireworks on Canada Day. We watched in awe as the shower of magnificent color in great round shapes burst forth against the blackness of the summer night sky, and then, floated down, disappearing below.

While colors of roundness completely filled my range of vision, I could not help but think of our dear friend and mandala artist, Stephanie Anderson.

While I am still in shock and living too far from home to comprehend how someone can die while simply doing their job, I frequently pause throughout each day and picture Stephanie in my mind’s eye. I see her entering the studio with her back pack over her shoulder and bike helmet in hand, smiling broadly while quietly sitting down and getting out her large drawing pad to begin to work. Stephanie was a focused, self contained woman.

I have a PowerPoint slide of Stephanie that I use when I am invited to speak about my beloved OFFCenter. It is a picture of her bent forward with her ear phones, her pencil filling in small shapes of color that combine to form a large round world. I use this photo to explain to the audience one of the many qualities of the community studio.

How the artists who make art with others, are not only individuals with their own crafts working in isolation but that they are also uniquely apart of something bigger than themselves. I say that even though this artist is obviously focused on the art work in front of her, she is also at any moment completely and utterly engaged with the community surrounding her. There is a particular attentiveness Stephanie is demonstrating that many of the artists at OFFCenter have developed. It is the skill of being authentically inside of yourself and working from there, while also being aware of your surroundings, ready to engage, to reach outside of yourself to empathetically connect with another.

Stephanie’s presence in the studio was always a gift to the community. She emulated the bravery it takes to truly be yourself, exposing your inner self through the vulnerable act of art making while offering a warm human connection when needed. Stephanie deeply cared about her world and took action when necessary. She was the bright colorful light that her art depicts. And her quiet, attentive presence will truly be missed.

--Janis Timm-Bottos