Art FocusArt FocusO k l a h o m a

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coal it ion

Vo lume 30 No . 3 May/June 2015

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Art FocusO k l a h o m a

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition 730 W. Wilshire Blvd., Suite 104

Oklahoma City, OK 73116 ph: 405.879.2400 • e: director@ovac-ok.org

visit our website at: www.ovac-ok.org

Executive Director: Holly Moye director@ovac-ok.org

Editor: Kelsey Karper publications@ovac-ok.org

Art Director: Anne Richardson speccreative@gmail.com

Art Focus Oklahoma is a bimonthly publication of the

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition dedicated to stimulating insight into and providing current information about the

visual arts in Oklahoma.

Mission: Supporting Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.

OVAC welcomes article submissions related to artists and art in Oklahoma. Call or email the editor for guidelines.

OVAC welcomes your comments. Letters addressed to Art Focus Oklahoma are considered for publication unless otherwise specified. Mail or email comments to the editor at the address above. Letters may be edited for clarity or space reasons. Anonymous letters will not

be published. Please include a phone number.

OVAC Board of Directors July 2014-June 2015: Margo Shultes von Schlageter, MD, Christian Trimble, Edmond; Jon Fisher, Moore; Bob Curtis, Gina Ellis (Treasurer), Hillary Farrell, TiTi Fitzsimmons, Michael Hoffner (Secretary), Stephen Kovash, Travis Mason, Suzanne Mitchell, Renée Porter (President), Douglas Sorocco, Oklahoma City; Dean Wyatt, Owasso; Joey Frisillo, Sand Springs; Shelley Cadamy, Jean Ann Fausser, Susan Green (Vice President), Janet Shipley Hawks, Ariana

Jakub, Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition is solely responsible for the contents of Art Focus Oklahoma. However, the views expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect the

opinions of the Board or OVAC staff.

Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the Americans for the Arts.

© 2015, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. All rights reserved.

View the online archive at www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

On the cover Holly Wilson, Mustang, Here, Fuji gloss color print mounted on acrylic, 36” x 24” (part of exhibition at Oklahoma Contemporary, May 26 - August 21). See page 14.

from the editor

Support from:

When I first began my work at the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition in 2006, I was eager and full of anticipation. I took the job knowing I had a lot to learn and there would be plenty of challenges, but that didn’t matter. The most important thing for me was the idea of working for an organization that I believed in whole-heartedly, with a mission that felt intuitive for me. I have always believed in the value of art and artists, and that artists are deserving of support to help them succeed. After almost nine years at OVAC, that belief has only been strengthened, making this, my final letter from the editor, a bit bittersweet. While I look forward to making time for pursuing personal projects (including my own artwork), I will certainly miss being a part of the OVAC

team and the meaningful work of this organization.

I am thrilled to welcome Lauren Scarpello as the new editor of Art Focus Oklahoma. She is an experienced arts manager and a sharp writer with a broad knowledge of the arts field. I am confident that her fresh perspective can make this magazine better than ever. I look forward to watching it develop and to contributing in new ways in the future.

Finally, I’d like to thank all the people who make this magazine possible, and have made my work here such a pleasure. Thanks to the readers, contributors, advertisers, volunteers, donors and friends who all pitch in for the common goal of sharing the many great stories of art in Oklahoma.

The work I’ve done at OVAC has been a dream come true. While there is always more to be done, I couldn’t be more proud of all we have accomplished together. Thank you all for your support of OVAC and artists in Oklahoma.

With sincere gratitude,

Kelsey Karper

Art Focus Reader Survey – Respond by June 30 Please share your feedback to help OVAC plan and improve for the future! www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtFocus2015

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pro f i l es4 Regional Influence: Sohail Shehada

After studying graphic design and architecture, Norman artist Shehada eventually found his true calling: sculpture.

6 Behind Locked Doors: Patricia Isbell’s Prison ProjectWith unprecedented access, Isbell documents and explores life behind locked doors in Oklahoma.

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8 Intertwined, Stories of Splintered Pasts: Shan Goshorn & Sarah SenseA new exhibition in Tulsa features two artists weaving photography and text together to create powerful visual metaphors.

10 Be in the deadCENTER of the Film Festival’s 15th AnniversaryIn a milestone year, Oklahoma’s biggest film festival is back with even bigger parties, events, and of course, films.

12 OK Pavement: Through the Windshield Artist Aaron Hauck considers the commuter perspective in a new exhibition in Ardmore.

14 Temporal Impressions: Holly Wilson and Sallyann PaschallWhile divergent in style, the two artists featured at JRB Art at The Elms both focus in on fleeting, often unnoticed moments in life.

16 Arts on the Prairie A new exhibition in Shawnee honors early Oklahoma art pioneers.

18 Between Reality and Imagination: The Works of Loraine Moore A significant, though under recognized, Oklahoma artist is reintroduced in a Stillwater exhibition.

20 Coyote Songs and Desperado DreamsRemembering the prolific Oklahoma artist Robert Wayne McMurtry at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

f ea tu res22 Ekphrasis: Art & Poetry

Inspired by romy owens’ photo, poet Carol Koss transports readers to a Moroccan courtyard.

24 Hold up! Art may be the answerResearch shows that access to the arts can support learning and improve communities. Join Oklahomans for the Arts in asking for more.

bus iness o f a r t26 Ask a Creativity Coach: Inertia vs. Inspiration

Identify your patterns and habits to curb procrastination.

OVAC news27 OVAC News28 New and Renewing Members

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contents

(p. 8) Shan Goshorn, artist.

(p. 14) Sallyann Paschall, Santa Fe, NM, Compelled, Oil

on panel, 24” x 24”

(p. 24) Oklahoma Arts Day 2014.

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Sohail Shehada, Norman, Former OU President W.B.Bizzell, Polymer, 72”

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REGIONAL INFLUENCE: Sohail Shehadaby Cedar Marie

If you walk into the Fred Jones Center, home to the University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History (OU), you might meet a modest, well-dressed man holding a Starbucks coffee cup and perpetually engaging with students. Sohail Shehada is a Master Sculptor and has taught art courses at OU since 2001. Several of his figurative pieces grace the facades of buildings across the OU campus.

Shehada attended Oklahoma State University for graphic design. After he received his BFA, his parents suggested he pursue a degree in architecture to complement his graphic design experience. He received a BA in architecture from OU and began to study city and regional planning when he realized he wanted to be an artist. He had taken ceramics classes while in the architecture program and had often used clay in his study models. When he decided to pursue his MFA in ceramics, he already had a solid body of work in clay. The transition was natural.

His early ceramic pieces began as architectonic forms and abstractions, but Shehada wanted to soften the geometric elements. He introduced the human body onto the clay surface to add depth. The combination of geometric forms and the figure went well together. He created a balance where each element had its own identity, yet the combination of the two would still produce elegance. He created more figurative reliefs and took sculpture classes with Artist-in-Residence Paul Moore.

After completing his MFA, Shehada assisted Moore in his classes and with the Oklahoma Centennial Land Run Monument from 1999-2008, among other projects.

However, Shehada was also building a quiet reputation of his own. He loved the story and history of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, the first African American to be admitted to OU’s Law School. He created a high relief miniature plaster bust of Fisher as an award piece for the Law School. A second version cast in bronze and a quarter-size larger than life is currently displayed in the African and African American Studies program office.

Shehada created relief and life size sculptures of other influential OU figures as part of OU President Boren’s project to enrich campus buildings and to honor people who

have contributed to the OU community, including OU’s fifth President and library founder William Bennett Bizzell (Bizzell Memorial Library), opera singers and OU music professors Thomas Carey and Carol Brice Carey, and architect and former head of the OU School of Architecture, Bruce Goff. The high relief figure located in Jacobson Hall includes a sculpted blueprint of Goff ’s eclectic Bavinger House.

“Every commission has its charm,” says Shehada. “You are meeting the person or their relatives and that is exciting. Before I do a sculpture about anyone, I always love to read about them. The research is as interesting as the work itself because you develop a familiarity with them.”

Outside of his regional influences, Shehada is inspired by music and dance, particularly opera and ballet, and has completed sculptures of Maria Callas and Marian Anderson. Yet he isn’t opposed to creating a portrait of Mariah Carey, another admiration as strong as his love for Starbucks coffee. Teaching African Masks and African Art also inspires Shehada’s work.

Though figurative sculpture has occupied Shehada for a good part of his artistic career, he also enjoys creating portraits with chalk pastels.

“I like pastels because it is just like using charcoal or graphite but you have the added element of color. You can make the composition more playful and interesting. There is also no drying time like you have with the sculpture.”

Shehada’s practice fuses his architectural and drawing backgrounds.

“I honestly think that studying architecture really enhanced [my drawing] because we were constantly sketching. We used CAD, too, but nothing substitutes for your own sketchbook. When you take drawing classes, later on you realize how useful those [skills] are. I think they go together, and it should come natural that the[re] is a relationship, that they are connected together in the same [artistic] family.”

Much of Shehada’s work is inspired by his connection with the OU community and

Oklahoma. This is home for Shehada, and the kinship he feels is reciprocated by students and faculty alike who have recognized him many times over the last fourteen years for his excellence in teaching art. I have often teased him that he could even be the Mayor of Norman some day, because everyone seems to know Shehada—a modest, well-dressed man holding a Starbucks coffee cup—for his positive influence on Oklahoma art and the greater University of Oklahoma and Norman community.

See more of Sohail Shehada’s work at www.sohailshehada.com. n

Cedar Marie is a former OU Professor of Art. She currently resides in Wisconsin and is working on the social documentary art project: Women of the Fleet: Fishing for Cultural Resiliency in Sitka Alaska.

Thomas Carey, Polymer, 48”

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BEHIND LOCKED DOORS: Patricia Isbell’s Prison Projectby Kerry M. Azzarello

Natural light seeps through a window, making its way into a condemned cell run. A palpable sense of isolation and eerie silence permeate, while a single red key rests inside a rusty lock at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. This moment did more than unlock a prison cell door, it unlocked a new body of work for Oklahoma City-based photographer Patricia Isbell.

As a nearly life-long shutterbug with over 20 years of professional photography experience, Isbell is passionate about her art. She has challenged herself by capturing diverse subject matter that

includes Oklahoma wildlife, landscapes, and portraits. However, it is her current work, The Prison Project, that is her most ambitious project to date, due in part to the subject matter’s gravity and mystery.

Most people are strictly prohibited from entering the state’s prisons with a camera. Yet in 2013, Isbell set out to document existing conditions of correctional facilities. It is a rare opportunity, afforded to Isbell as a result of her position in the Evaluation & Analysis Unit of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. After returning home that first day and reviewing her images, Isbell realized what initially began as

documentation was much larger. It was a chance to artistically explore life behind locked doors.

There is excitement and genuine gratitude when Isbell describes her privileged access, “Nobody does this; I mean nobody does this!” At the beginning of each trip, she meets with the warden and is assigned one or more corrections officers who guide her around the grounds. Afforded the amenity of full access, Isbell is free to take her time with subject matter. Isbell is a collector: collecting data, collecting numbers, collecting images, collecting stories.

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Patricia Isbell, Oklahoma City,The Red Key, HDR Photography, 2013

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The photos included in The Prison Project come from Joseph Harp Correctional Center, Oklahoma State Reformatory, James Crabtree Correctional Center, William S. Key Correctional Center, Community Corrections Centers, and Work Centers across the state. There are also plans to visit two female facilities: the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center and Mabel Bassett Correctional Center.

Every facility is different, from the inmates they house to the rehabilitation programs they offer. This is reflected in the diverse subject matter contained in the series. There are the images one might expect and a few one might not. Razor Wire includes visual cues we often associate with prisons – orange jumpsuits, an elevated guard tower, and ominous razor wire fence. Corrections & Livestock offers a variant of traditional western culture iconography. The familiar sight of an anonymous man, saddled horse by his side, incites new connotations with the inclusion of a single word placed on a worn jacket.

To achieve a greater range of luminosity, Isbell utilizes High Dynamic Range Imaging or HDRI, in which she takes three images each at a different exposure. Later, these are merged into a single image that more closely resembles the experience of the human eye. The technique aids in providing viewers with a realistic, almost three-dimensional artwork, thus drawing them into the experience rather than keeping them as outsiders.

Isbell’s photography has been published in Inside Corrections magazine as well as the Department of Correction’s annual report. However, she welcomes the opportunity to bring her prison photos to a less-specialized audience. Five selected works from The Prison Project were on display at the Oklahoma State Capitol this spring, first in the Senate before moving to the House of Representatives’ lounge. Additionally, Isbell presented the project’s catalyst photo, The Red Key, to Governor Mary Fallin.

Isbell continues to use her camera as an entrée to the world of corrections in Oklahoma. Individual works run the emotional gamut from isolation and desolation to warmth and tenderness, with subject matter ranging from rusty cell bars to spotless basement floors. There are exteriors that place the viewer far outside the gates and intimate portraits that bring viewers and prisoners face to face. The Prison Project is a work in progress. Hopefully, future exhibitions of these striking pieces balance the benefits of such diversity, while being mindful in cultivating dominant themes.

To see more work by Patricia Isbell visit www.patriciaisbellphotography.com or contact her directly at patriciaisbellphotography@yahoo.com. Additionally, interested parties can learn more about the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and state facilities at www.ok.gov/doc. n.

Kerry M. Azzarello is an artist and writer living and working in Oklahoma City. She enjoys speaking with interesting people and learning new things everyday. She can be reached at kerryazzarello@gmail.com.

Patricia Isbell, Oklahoma City, Razor Wire, HDR Photography, 2013.

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It is impossible to speak of weaving without speaking in metaphors. In the current exhibition at the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa’s Hardesty Arts Center (AHHA), INTERTWINED, Stories of Splintered Pasts, artists Shan Goshorn and Sarah Sense literally weave photography and text together to create visual metaphors that speak powerfully to contemporary audiences.

Goshorn is well known for her baskets, woven in traditional Cherokee forms out of photographs and texts that are drawn from tribal histories. Sense, too, is an internationally recognized artist. Her work, which includes woven wall pieces and video, draws from her Chitimacha and Choctaw heritage as well as her own extensive travels.

“Neither of them are traditional basket makers, but they both come from a strong

basket weaving tradition and bring it into a twenty-first century vernacular,” points out heather ahtone, curator at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, who was invited by the two artists to curate the exhibition at AHHA. “It’s very exciting to see them take one of the oldest human traditions and create work that speaks to us in a very contemporary, thoughtful, and challenging manner.”

Weaving demands a high level of technical expertise as well as deep cultural knowledge. Goshorn wove her first basket in 2008, drawn to the conceptual resonance between the form and contemporary social issues. “I have been a human rights activist since the early ‘90s,” she says, and basket weaving struck her as a way to create “a statement inspired by a very ancient art form.” One early basket, which addressed the legacy of the Carlisle Indian

Boarding School, prompted a profound response from an elder who recognized the significance of Goshorn’s combination of tradition and social critique for contemporary Native culture.

Sense explored Chitimacha woven patterns in painting for some time before she felt comfortable considering weaving itself, in 2004. “I wanted to make a contemporary statement about weaving tradition,” she notes. “It needs to be practiced by our younger generation.” She consulted with Alton LeBlanc, then chairman of the Chitimacha tribe. “I went down to Louisiana. He said to me, Sarah, this is as much your right as it is that of any other Chitimacha. Maybe it was already there, but he gave me the permission that I needed to be creative with my ideas.” Sense’s use of non-traditional materials

INTERTWINED, Stories of Splintered Pasts: Shan Goshorn & Sarah Senseby Louise Siddons

Sarah Sense, Ireland, Doolough Trail 9, Woven photographs

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reflects a political sensibility as well as her personal path to weaving.

Her ideas—her materials—were those of her own journey, which has taken her all over the world. Much of the work in INTERTWINED addresses geographical distance and personal connection through one specific historical event: the relief funds raised by the Choctaw for Irish famine victims in 1847. The series was inspired in part by a story written by Sense’s grandmother about the exchange, and those words appear throughout the work. They are woven together in traditional patterns with Sense’s own photographs of Ireland, where she now lives, and other significant places.

Like Sense, Goshorn uses photographs, text, and painting to talk overtly about history. Goshorn sees research as analogous to the traditional practice of gathering splints for baskets: “I’m doing a very contemporary version of that kind of gathering because I’m going into archives, talking to people, always listening for new ideas.”

“I spent more time in the library than I did in my studio before I started weaving,” admits Sense, who read everything she could find about Chitimacha weaving, as well as talking directly to weavers during her research process.

Although their materials are innovative, the artists’ processes are in keeping with tradition in more ways than one. During Goshorn’s recent research at the Smithsonian, “one idea would lead to something else, and it was right there in front of me. It was like the ancestors were not just eager, they were impatient to have their stories told.” The ongoing presence of ancestors—of history embodied by those who lived through it—is an important component of both artists’ audience. “It’s important not to be scared,” Sense recently reflected. “I’m not afraid of my spiritual world.”

Nor are these two artists afraid of subject matter that reflects the full range of Native experience, using weaving to express its beauty, ingenuity, devastation, pain, generosity, and more. This simultaneity is one of the central metaphors of weaving as a formal strategy: as ahtone observes in her

curatorial statement, weaving brings together multiple materials and images, creating a single coherent piece without losing the unique characteristics of each individual element. Throughout this exhibition, the result is a visual conversation, a clamor of voices that requires the viewer to sift through their implications slowly.

As visitors spend time with the work in INTERTWINED, allowing often contradictory emotional reactions to be present alongside all the people and places of the artworks, they too become intertwined in the histories being told. Thanks to the poetry of metaphor, history itself becomes weaving in these works. Or, as Goshorn puts it: “We see things on a concurrent circle, so there’s overlap and relationship, repetition and engagement of our ancestors and our

descendants. We see a lot of intersection.”

Throughout the exhibition, an exciting array of programs and workshops will give viewers further opportunities to participate in, as well as reflect on, the histories and processes in INTERTWINED. For complete information, visit AHHA’s website at www.ahhatulsa.org. n

Louise Siddons is an assistant professor of art history at Oklahoma State University. She is currently writing a book on Oklahoma modernist J. Jay McVicker (1911-2004).

Shan Goshorn, Tulsa, Hearts of Our Women, Arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, acrylic paint, copper foil, Center basket 8" x 8" x 26", Smaller baskets 4" x 4" x 4" each

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Oklahoma’s own independent film festival, deadCENTER, takes place June 10-14, for the fifteenth year. The name for deadCENTER Film Festival is more than geographically accurate; it also stands for the creative hub and state pride boom that Oklahoma City has recently witnessed. It is a central and cultural event that attracts filmmakers and film fans from within Oklahoma and around the world.

Each year the festival grows exponentially. According to deadCENTER Film Festival’s Executive Director Lance McDaniel, approximately 30,000 attendees are expected this year. When asked about special anniversary celebrations, McDaniel mentioned the statewide, fifteen city tour that acted as both a film festival and educational opportunity. Back in Oklahoma City, at the end of the tour, deadCENTER hosted a

Spanish language film festival in November and a Black History Month film festival in February.

“At the actual festival, our primary focus will be celebrating the volunteers that have kept us going for 15 years. Otherwise, we will have the same great parties, panels and events, but will make them super special for the anniversary.”

The dedicated volunteers are what truly make the festival happen. Kim Haywood, Director of Programming and Education for deadCENTER, was the festival’s first employee, but her involvement began through volunteering. All of deadCENTER’s staff started as volunteers. The very existence of the festival’s full-time positions denotes the maturity and massiveness of the event. Haywood says that the festival was

entirely volunteer run for the first six years, until 2006. This year there are nearly 400 individuals volunteering. Long time volunteer Kristen Wilson is currently a co-chair at the box office, which serves as customer service. Wilson says she’s “happily overwhelmed by the number of attendees each year.”

Even with global attention and prestige, the festival still ultimately emphasizes and honors Oklahoman filmmakers. Kyle Roberts, filmmaker and owner of Reckless Abandonment Pictures, premiered his first feature film, The Posthuman Project, last year at the festival. “Having a festival that caliber in our backyard is fantastic for Oklahoma filmmakers because it not only gives us a fantastic atmosphere to showcase our films but adds a healthy level of competition locally,” said Roberts. The festival has given filmmakers more opportunities and options

Be in the deadCENTER of the Film Festival’s 15th Anniversaryby Olivia Biddick

The deadCENTER Film Festival will take place June 10-14, with film screenings, parties, panels, and more.

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for advancing their career. Haywood’s personal experience reinforces the benefits behind the festival:

“deadCENTER started at a time when many of my fellow Gen X-ers left Oklahoma to not only find jobs, but a more fulfilling quality of life in other states. From my very first experience with deadCENTER I knew it was part of a huge artistic and cultural shift. Seeing this shift firsthand continues to fuel my passion of sharing film arts with our community.”

The more silent partners in the festival’s operations are the 22 committees, particularly the committee who picks the films. A hundred films, out of about a thousand submissions, are selected by a group of 50 independent film fans. They watch each submission four times during the year before

making their final selection, which will be disclosed in May. The winners of the annual Oklahoma Film ICON Award will also be announced closer to the festival. List of previous honorees include actors James Marsden and Wes Studi along with producer Hunt Lowry, makeup artist Matthew Mungle and Oklahoma Film and Music Office Executive Director Jill Simpson, to name a few.

The festival’s style and film range is beautifully showcased at deadcenterfilm.org, but of course, the best way to experience the festival is to go. The festival largely takes place at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Devon Energy Auditorium, Myriad Garden’s Great Lawn and Harkins Cinema, all in downtown Oklahoma City. An All-Access Pass is recommended for its ease and guarantees. The pass ensures a seat

to any screening, as well as a spot in any party. Individual tickets are available, and free evenings are also offered throughout the festival. n

Olivia Biddick is the Office/Production Coordinator at CVWmedia in Norman. She has a BA in Journalism with an emphasis on Broadcasting and Electronic Media, from the University of Oklahoma. Contact her at olivia.biddick@gmail.com.

(left) All Access Pass holders check in at a film screening.

(center) deadCENTER staff and volunteers participate in the AIDS Walk.

(right) Executive Director Lance McDaniel and Director of Programming & Education

Kim Haywood at a Ponca City theatre during the statewide 15th anniversary tour of

deadCENTER.

(bottom) High school student participants in deadCENTER University, a 2-day seminar

during the festival.

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OK PAVEMENT: Through the Windshieldby Krystle Brewer

“In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.” From Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

In a commuter society, we are all accustom to the repetitive travels we make each day to work, school, and our third spaces as we memorize the trees, hills, signs, and unfortunately, potholes, that make up the highways or country roads we travel. The work of Oklahoma artist Aaron Hauck pulls from this practice of driving down familiar roads gazing through the windshield of our vehicles. As described by Robert M. Pirsig, the window before us is another television screen serving simultaneously as a vehicle to the outside world and a wall separating us from it. Hauck says, “We assume that what

we see is really there, but we are shut off from most of the stimuli like scent, sounds, etc. This shuts us out of our surroundings and we become ‘passive’ observers.” The window and confines of the car block out these other senses leaving us with only a portion of the reality and a melancholy disconnect from our surroundings.

In his upcoming exhibition at the Goddard Art Center in Ardmore, Hauck has compiled several looping video works taken from a GoPro camera attached to his truck while he traveled Oklahoma’s country roads. In each video, he has stitched together short segments of several seconds that show the well-known view of a road rushing towards us with the trees shooting by in a blur on both sides. The viewpoint randomly alternates from the driver’s seat to the position of the license plate and with each scene change, the audio of the wind changes too. This shift in the camera’s

direction points to the fact that there are multiple ways to view the road aside from just the front-facing windshield.

Our viewpoint is fixed but that doesn’t mean it is stagnant. Inspired from this quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Hauck says, “We also experience surroundings from mostly one specific point of view which is moving forward through space. In fact, I think most people only think that they are moving forward through space when they are behind the wheel, when in fact we are also moving backward through space at the same time.” Hauck visually demonstrates this in his work. While we look through the windshield we feel as though we are moving forward. If we were to ride in the bed of the truck, we would feel as though we are moving backward. Hauck’s work suggests that in fact both are happening simultaneously.

Aaron Hauck, Afton, Film still 1 from OK Pavement

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Though each segment varies in scenery, some taken after a snowfall, the road remains a constant dominating, yet wavering element through the loop. The imagery has no defined start and stop and works without the need of a narrative. This causes the visual and audio components to remain the focus. The sounds of the wind and the road become a white noise, which allows for the viewer to easily become engulfed in the video and provides a platform for meditation.

These works by Hauck merge these concepts of movement through space with meditation and the state of society that requires many people to make commutes. While it is unclear what stance the artist holds on the structure that causes the commute, it is apparent that he is able to find a contemplative quiet space in the roads of Northeastern Oklahoma.

The exhibition opens May 15th with an artist’s reception from 6-7 pm at the Goddard Arts Center in Ardmore and will remain on view until June 27th. More information can be found at www.goddardcenter.org or www.aaronhauck.com. n

Krystle Brewer is an artist, curator, and writer in Tulsa and can be found at www.krystlebrewer.com.

Film still 2 from OK Pavement

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TEMPORAL IMPRESSIONS: Holly Wilson and Sallyann Paschallby Lindsey Allgood

For abstract painter Sallyann Paschall, the world is a giant collage of patterns. Paschall is inspired by everything from “patterns of sunlight on pavement to grids on manhole covers.” Fence patterns, walls and the facades on ancient castles catch her eye. Paschall also draws inspiration from nature around her home in Santa Fe, NM.

“In the fall, aspen trees here in the mountains shed their leaves and all the paths seem to become an oriental carpet made out of shades of gold,” says Paschall.

Paschall is also a structural geologist. As a graduate student, she studied structural patterns in an ancient caldera in Colorado. The natural patterns “not only told the story of the cauldron, but they satisfied some deep-seated need in me to see the full realm of the beauty in it.”

The focus of her May 2015 exhibition at JRB

Art at The Elms in Oklahoma City is non-objective abstraction as well as calligraphic mark-making. For Paschall, her process resembles an improvisational dance. She lets the canvas and patterns speak to her and then she physically responds.

“It totally depends on what the work is trying to tell me,” says Paschall. “I begin with general color choices and gestural marks on the painting support…. I respond to what is there and what is needed and pursue it again.”

The back and forth exchange results in abstract, dreamlike scapes. The patterns hint at recognizable shapes, but leave room for subjective interpretation. The energy of her brushstrokes suggests a cathartic release but simultaneously suggests a sense of playfulness.

In Compelled, the amoebic shape in the center of the canvas might suggest a bird, a

bouquet, or the sun rising above a mountain range. The quivering shape keeps the viewer’s eye circling its edges.

Paschall mixes the organic with geometry. In Duo, a grid of squares seems to hover behind a blurred layer of mint green and yellow splotches. The naturally harmonious color schemes offer calmness that one feels lying beneath trees in the springtime.

If you spend time with a painting, you begin to notice tiny hidden dots and lines amid the wider quick brushstrokes, suggesting an underlying abstracted narrative. These shapes bring to mind the animated shapes in Disney’s Fantasia and one can almost hear the shapes crescendo and fade.

Alongside Paschall, Oklahoma-based Holly Wilson will exhibit a vivid photographic portrait series that captures tender moments of her children’s everyday lives.

(left) Holly Wilson, Mustang, Let Go, Fuji gloss color print mounted on acrylic, 36” x 24” (part of exhibition at JRB Art at The Elms, May 1-30). (right) The Strong, Fuji gloss color print mounted on acrylic, 36” x 24” (part of exhibition at Oklahoma Contemporary, May 26-August 21)

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Wilson says her work highlights “the quiet echoes of life’s delicate balance.”

Her photographs freeze actions of her children doing everyday things like sleeping and playing in the sprinkler. While affectionate, her work is haunting, with titles like Ghost of the Dead and Awakening. The children’s piercing dark eyes and fragile bodies remind us that we are mortal and every interaction we share is precious.

In The Strong, we see Wilson’s little boy striking a superhero pose, fists tight and chest puffed out. But his delicate ribs and tiny arms might break if we touch him. Two EKG applications stick to his chest.

A blank white mask appears twice in the series. Wilson considers the mask as an indicator of identity and they occur throughout much of her work.

“As children, we make and wear masks to be anything we want or need to be and we could do anything in them, from being a superhero to a bird in flight,” says Wilson. The mask is something we both hide behind and wear to feel powerful and otherworldly.

In As They Sleep, we see Wilson’s little girl napping on a bed that feels giant compared to her small frame. The sunlight glowing in the window and the white comforter make her appear angelic, as if she is floating on a cloud. We don’t want to wake her, but we want to reach out and stroke her soft cheek as she rests, clutching a baby doll. Even here, the doll’s eerie eyes feel uneasy. This moment will not last.

Together, Paschall and Wilson’s work complement each other. The blended whimsy of Paschall’s paintings provides a contrast to the sharpness of Wilson’s evocative portraits.

An opening reception will be held Friday, May 1st from 6 to 10 p.m. at JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N Walker in Oklahoma City. For more information, visit www.jrbartgallery.com.

Wilson’s work will also be featured in an exhibition entitled A Foot in Two Worlds at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd in Oklahoma City, May 26-August 21, 2015. For more information, visit www.OklahomaContemporary.org. n

Lindsey Allgood is a performance artist who received her MFA from the University of Oklahoma. Her work can be found at www.lindseyallgood.com.

Sallyann Paschall, Santa Fe, NM, Summer Song, Oil on canvas, 36” x 72”

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With the 100 year anniversary of Shawnee’s Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art (MGMOA) approaching in just a few years, the museum staff wondered how to celebrate their founder, Benedictine monk Father Gregory Gerrer. As an artist himself, Father Gerrer was very involved with the Oklahoma art world in the early 20th century. To honor Father Gerrer, the Arts on the Prairie: A History of Oklahoma Art exhibition will open May 16 and continue through June 28, 2015 at MGMOA.

The art culture of Oklahoma was active and vibrant in the early 1900s, as evidenced in this exhibit. Artists Oscar Jacobson, Nan Sheets, Leonard Good and Leon Polk Smith, who were working at the same time as Father Gerrer, will be featured in this exhibition. Most of the artists were born before 1920.

Many of the artworks are from the museum’s collection, but the exhibition has been supplemented with works from private collectors. There will be two Oscar Jacobson works on display. Jacobson was

the first director of the school of art and the art museum at the University of Oklahoma.

For the opening of the exhibition, there will be a small celebration with Doug Watson, Ph.D. performing as Will Rogers. Watson is a retired professor from Oklahoma Baptist University and has been performing as Will Rogers for many years. The MGMOA is proud to utilize the local talent of today to celebrate the local talent of the early 20th century. Will Rogers, known as “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son,” was an actor, comedian and social commentator.

Oklahomans have been active participants in the art world since before statehood. Arts on the Prairie: A History of Oklahoma Art is a great way to review and to experience firsthand the amazing culture and art that was created by our ancestors.

For more information, visit www.mgmoa.org. n

Page Grossman graduated magna cum laude in 2013 from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Art History. She is currently working as a freelance writer and wrote a book on college success titled Welcome to College: 101 Ways to Rock your World.

(left) Oscar Jacobson (1882-1966), Western Oklahoma, Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”. (right) Fr. Gregory Gerrer, OSB (1867-1946), The Gate to the Wichita Mountains, Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”

Arts on the Prairieby Page Grossman

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Fr. Gregory Gerrer, OSB (1867-1946), Elk Mountian, Wichitas, Oil on

canvas, 9” x 12”

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Developing creative thinking skills173,000 kids served

An agency of state government • arts.ok.gov

INTERTWINED,Stories of Splintered Pasts:Shan Goshorn & Sarah SenseMay 1 - July 5, 2015 | curated by heather ahtone

101 EAST ARCHER STREET TULSA, OKLAHOMA 74103

ahhatulsa.org/intertwined

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BETWEEN REALITY AND IMAGINATION: The Works of Loraine Mooreby Alison Rossi

The masterful contrast, application of an impressive array of grayscale intensities and complex but balanced composition of Loraine Moore’s Citadel invite a careful and reflective study of this meticulously rendered work. Yet neither these elements nor the smooth swaths of atmospheric ink present in the image initially reveal the subject of the work: an offshore oil rig. Viewed alongside a photograph of an offshore oil platform, the resemblance of Moore’s image is striking, yet her translation of dramatic values and well-articulated lines, forms and shapes render this mundane structure mysterious, even beguiling. Moore sought “significance that doesn’t reveal itself at first glance” in her work and this technically brilliant work realizes her intentions. 1

While world travels and objects from far-off cultures inspired much of Moore’s work, Citadel reveals her roots as the daughter of an Oklahoma oilman. Her father’s success in the oil business provided Moore with the financial freedom to devote herself fully to her art throughout her life. Formally educated

first at Oklahoma City University and then at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Oklahoma State University), Moore became an apt and favored pupil of the expert printmaker Doel Reed who served as head of the Oklahoma State University Art Department from 1924 to 1959. Like Reed, she traveled to Taos and some of her early works indicate his stylistic influence. Though the chronology of her post baccalaureate training is unclear, multiple sources state that Moore also trained with famed painter and muralist Xavier Gonzales as well as California School of Fine Arts Professor Marion Hartwell.

Moore’s artistic career began in the 1930s and lasted around fifty years until her death in 1988. During that time, she exhibited her work mainly nationally but also internationally, earned awards through the National Academy of Design, the Society of American Etchers, the Northwest Printmakers and the Library of Congress, was selected to represent Oklahoma in the World’s Fair in New York City twice and was one of a small collective of Oklahoma artists that originated the Oklahoma City Arts

Festival for which she created an early poster. Despite her success, Moore reportedly cared little for the approval or support of others and created works of art that satisfied her desire to experiment with technical processes and to provide visual impressions of the world around her.

While her etchings, drypoints, aquatints and paintings populate impressive permanent collections including but not limited to the National Academy of Design, the Denver Art Museum, the Philbrook Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Library of Congress and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Moore’s work has long been neglected by scholars.

Graphic artist Victoria Elbroch who worked and travelled with Moore for four years and exhibited with her at the Oklahoma Arts Center in 1982 recounts how her “professional relationship with [Moore]....influenced and transformed both [Elbroch’s] knowledge and understanding of the art of printmaking as well as the works [she] produced.2 ” Both

Loraine Moore (1911-1988), Citadel, ca. 1978, Etching and aquatint, 30” x 40”. OSU Museum of Art, Gift of Charley Miller.

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Moore’s mastery of challenging techniques and her experimentation in a variety of media are noteworthy. While works such as Citadel speak to Moore’s roots and refined command of the intaglio printing process known as aquatint, The Harbor No. 3, an oil painting evocative of both the rhythms and constancy of encounter between sea and land, demonstrates her breadth as an artist. Both Citadel and The Harbor No. 3 strike the “balance between reality and imagination” that Moore indicated characterized her work. 3

Moore’s own description of her work from a 1975 newspaper article serves as the title inspiration for an exhibition of between fifteen and twenty of her prints, drawings and paintings at the OSU Gardiner Gallery of Art this summer. Curated by OSU Art History graduate students Michelle Rinard, Jessica Provencher, Teresa Kilmer, Sara Pons and Kimberly Morton, the exhibition aims

to cultivate recognition of Moore’s body of work, to promote visual literacy and educate the public about various printmaking processes. Among the programs planned in conjunction with the exhibition, the graduate students have developed hands-on learning opportunities for high school students attending the Summer Art Academy at OSU.

Loraine Moore’s grandson, Oklahoma City resident Shawn Moore, expresses his enthusiasm about the exhibition and is thrilled “that somebody has decided to reintroduce Loraine to the world” after he has spent more than a decade agonizing over how to share her work with viewers who will appreciate it. 4 Shawn Moore is lending both printing plates and works of art for the exhibition. Other major lenders for and donors to the exhibition include OSU alumnus Charley Miller, the OSU Museum of Art, Ben Pickard, Marc Barker and Kelly Knowlton of Tulsa’s Mainline Gallery.

Between Reality and Imagination: The Works of Loraine Moore at OSU’s Gardiner Gallery of Art runs from June 17th through August 8th with an opening reception on June 18th from 5-7 p.m. Gardiner Gallery of Art is located at 108 Bartlett Center, Stillwater, OK 74078. For more information, visit art.okstate.edu. n

Alison Rossi serves as a contributing faculty member at institutions of higher education and as a consultant for museums.

1 “Loraine Moore Exhibit Opening.” The New Mexican, 8 August 1975: A11. Print.

2 Elbroch, Victoria. Personal interview. March 2015.

3 “Loraine Moore Exhibit Opening.” The New Mexican, 8 August 1975: A11. Print.

4 Moore, Shawn. Personal interview. March 2015.

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There is a fine blend of romantic “desperado” fantasy, and folksy, storytelling, subversive humor, influenced by both Pop Art and flat painting, in an exhibit by the late Robert Wayne “Robby” McMurtry (1950-2012). The creative friction between these two poles is reflected in the Coyote Songs—Desperado Dreams title of the show, curated by Mike Leslie, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd in Oklahoma City.

A Morris-area writer-artist-illustrator of Irish and Cajun descent, McMurtry was greatly influenced by the works of Native American artists and taught generations of Native Americans in youth programs and at the Morris public school, where he was known as “Mr. Robby.”

A seated Indian artist wearing fringed buckskin and a loincloth paints the third of three red arrows inside a magic circle of geometric blue and black diamond shapes in a 1976 tempera, called Symbol Maker. Also flatly rendered, but more naively romantic, is a 1972 tempera painting on illustration board in which a crouching Indian man plays a flute Serenade for a young woman on a riverbank, not far from stylized tepees.

Two striking acrylics with decorative borders forcefully express the romantic cowboy and Indian warrior mystique with a fantasy flourish reminiscent of one of McMurtry’s early mentors, Woody Crumbo. Lightning strikes near the upraised spear of a warrior on a prancing horse atop a small mound of red dirt in the untitled 1983 canvas, while the mounted Cowboy brandishes a rifle under the stars in the 1988 acrylic.

Humorous rather than romantic is a 1980 mixed media depiction of Ben, wearing braids and a flat black, pulled down hat, as he stands in front of yellow and red hills, holding a coffee cup in front of his ample waist. Showing off his drawing skill are his mid-1980s pencil studies

of onlookers watching a furious Horse Race, and of cowboy and Indian riders lined up to make a Grand Entry, perhaps into a Wild West Show.

Equally masterful are his 1987 ink sketch of a rider applying a quirt to get more speed out of his horse, and his ink rendering of an Indian Cavalier, shooting a pistol backward at full gallop, in front of wild horses.

Combining vintage signage with flat painting are two 1993 acrylics of Indians in jazzy, brand new-looking outfits, broadly smiling as if for the camera, in front of the Oklahoma Trading Co. and the Red Fork Trading Co. Subjects of even more decorative and satiric 1993 acrylics are Hawaiian-clad Kiowas on the Big Island, a coyote-headed biker and his girlfriend, and a coyote or fox character dealing the Black Jack of spades.

Offering us a delightfully offbeat change of pace are an untitled 1993 triptych in which acrylic paint drips become a crowd watching Indian dancers, and a smaller 1998 work in which they become grazing horses.

Well-handled later mixed media works on paper include a 2000 study of a woman in buckskin, kneeling in front of two blue-hued bird symbols, and a 2006 depiction of Trading Days

near an Indian encampment.

Further contributing to our understanding of the breadth and diversity of McMurtry’s talent is a display of the books he wrote and illustrated on Jesse Chisholm, Pistol Pete, Ned Christie and other subjects.

Making it abundantly clear how much the state lost with the death of McMurtry, the exhibit is highly recommended and shouldn’t be missed during its run through May 10, 2015.

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $12.50 for adults; $9.75 for students and senior citizens (62 or older); and $5.75 for children from ages four through twelve. Museum members and children three or under are admitted free.

Call 405-478-2250 or visit the website at www.nationalcowboymuseum.org for information. n

John Brandenburg is a poet, artist and arts writer in Norman, Oklahoma. He has been a newspaper visual arts correspondent and theater reviewer for nearly forty years and received a Governor’s Arts Award in 1997 for his arts coverage.

Coyote Songs and Desperado Dreamsby John Brandenburg

Robby McMurtry (1950-2012), Joe Rider (2001), Mixed media on

paper, 22.5” x 17”

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OPENING RECEPTION: 6-9 P.M. FRIDAY, MAY 8YOUTH ART ACTIVITIES: 6:15 P.M. ART CONTEST AWARD PRESENTATION: 7:00 P.M.YOUTH ART ACTIVITIES: 7:30 P.M.

1 2 2 E . M A I N S T.NORMAN, OKLA.4 0 5 . 3 6 0 . 1 1 6 2NORMANARTS.ORG

MAY 8 - MAY 22 , 2015 FROM EARTHSEA TO FANTASY:A LITERARY & VISUAL EXPLORATION OF THE GENREPRESENTED BY NORMAN ARTS COUNCIL & THE PIONEER LIBRARY SYSTEMIN CELEBRATION OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS’ BIG READ SELECTION:

THE WIZARD OF EARTHSEA

ARTISTS INCLUDE: A.K. WESTERMAN, G. PATRICK RILEY & THE EARTHSEA ART SUBMISSIONS

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EKPHRASIS: Art & Poetryedited by Liz Blood

Shabbat Shalom

How good is our portion, how pleasant

our lot, how beautiful our heritage

Last night I nearly dreamed of you

and how – Fridays – your dough rose

and how its baking freed aromas

lifted them in song toward heaven

Now – only shadow and sun vie

for emptiness disguised as space

Dust neither rises nor falls

but traps unleavened heat

Last night I nearly dreamed —

romy owens’ photo takes

us to a distant Moroccan

courtyard while poet Carol Koss

transports us into a world of

praise and dreams, of peaceful

days and what is left at their

end. The inscription above the

door in the photo has been

graciously translated by Rabbi

Abby Jacobson and is located

below the poem’s title.

Romy Owens is an artist and curator in Oklahoma City. Her work examines place, community, and transformation. She can be reached via mental telepathy or at romyowens.com.

By birth a New Yorker, Carol Davis Koss has lived in Oklahoma City for more than forty years. She has taught Creative Writing, English, and Remedial Reading in the South Bronx, wealthy suburbs, churches, prisons, and in between. Her chapbook, CAMERA OBSCURA was a 2001 Oklahoma Book Award finalist. n

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(left) romy owens, Oklahoma City, Untitled, Digital Photograph, 2012

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When we look back at those who are considered successful in Oklahoma, one would assume that their success is based upon hard work, determination and a positive attitude.

That’s true, of course, but perhaps another variable is at play.

As far back as 1919, researchers such as John Dewey, founder of The New School for Social Research, realized that art education helps develop self-expression, creativity and empathy. Today’s research continues to support this amazing process for learning.

The formula for enhancing a student’s learning experience and potential for growth and development is increasingly associated with art. In spite of the fact that budget allocations are under attack, federally and in municipalities across America, creativity and innovation are becoming the potential solution for enhancing the quality of life.

Research conducted at the University of Arkansas indicates that art enhances critical thinking skills, laying the foundation for tomorrow’s leaders. Additionally, other educational research shows that those who participated in art courses or those exposed to the arts have higher educational achievement. Through exposure to visual arts, music and literature, students are able to excel at a greater rate than those that have never been exposed to the arts.

Alexis Rainbow, developer of the Alexis Rainbow Arts Academy in Oklahoma City, said that the level of ingenuity is expanded when children are able to have a global reach in language, geography and culture. Perhaps exposure to the arts gives students a competitive edge they otherwise wouldn’t have.

“The results speak for themselves. Some of our pre-kindergarten students are speaking Mandarin and reading on the first grade level,” said Rainbow.

Jim Tolbert III, chairman of the statewide advocacy organization Oklahomans for the Arts, said the artistic works of others captured his heart when he was young.

“I developed a passion for theater and music, classical, jazz and folk at an early age,” said Tolbert. “It laid the foundation for my interest in supporting the arts for the last 50 years. Over the years, I realized that the growth of a community

is based upon its ability to be innovative, and exposure to the arts provides the critical thinking skills to create a strong society.”

Historically, there is a long list of successful Oklahomans who are artists, musicians and writers. Oklahomans such as Brad Pitt and Blake Shelton are performing and producing music, directing films, starring on Broadway and bringing attention to the fact that they were raised in Oklahoma and, in many cases, still live in the state.

Is it possible that art education and public funding of the arts helped to lay the foundation for their success?

Fortune magazine publishes lists of corporations and high net-worth individuals in the United States. Oklahomans such as Lynn Schusterman are on the list. These are corporate executives and business owners who have had the benefit of band instruction, opportunities to paint and draw and had art and music teachers with exceptional backgrounds.

These same people had the opportunity to be creative and turn the idea of excellence into a reality. Today, they financially support the arts – the ballet, symphony and the theater. Their names are on art museums and university buildings. For example, the Schusterman Library at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa.

So, how do you continue this tradition?

States like Massachusetts are developing strategies that empower residents to nurture talent and are giving them support by having a state cabinet-level position for arts and culture. Many states, in fact, see the value of developing young minds and how the infusion of art has a critical impact on their early childhood education.

How does Oklahoma stay in the game?

Tolbert and Julia Kirt, executive director of Oklahomans for the Arts, say the people must have a voice in the process and must be a part of the solution for growth in Oklahoma.

Oklahomans for the Arts is encouraging individuals and nonprofit organizations around the state to come to Oklahoma City on May 5 for Oklahoma Arts Day (see sidebar for more information).

“It is important to educate and encourage the state legislature that investments in the arts

HOLD UP! Art may be the answerby Ayanna Najuma

OKLAHOMA ARTS DAY

May 5, 2015, 8 am - 3 pmOklahoma State CapitolFree to attend

Oklahomans for the Arts and the Oklahoma Arts Day Committee invite arts and culture supporters from across the state to join together in the capitol on May 5, 2015 to deliver a unified message to our Oklahoma legislators: Arts and culture is a public good that benefits the entire state. The arts and culture sector develops communities, improves education, and grows the economy.

8:00 am: Registration & Coffee

9:00 am: Kickoff Rally

10:00 am - 3:00 pm: Visit Your Legislators

10:00 am-2:00 pm: Arts and Cultural Organization Displays and Artist Performances, 4th Floor Rotunda

Musical and Other Performances: Hourly

Capitol Art Tours: Hourly

Interactive Art Displays: Continuous

www.oklahomansforthearts.org

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sector improve our state’s economy, education and communities around the state,” Kirt said.

There is constant conversation regarding Oklahoma’s ability and desire to be competitive nationally.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the arts and culture sector is a $699 billion industry, which represents 4.3% of the nation’s GDP. Based upon the talent and drive that Oklahomans have to be great, it is apparent that the legislature should see the value in financially supporting the future of Oklahoma through the arts.

Nationally, the nonprofit arts industry alone generates $135 billion in economic activity annually (spending by organizations and their audiences) that supports 4.1 million jobs and generates $22.3 billion in government revenue.

If the Oklahoma legislature is looking to become one of the leading states in technology, bio-medical research and a leader nationally in business, investment in the arts is the answer.

Insight plus the creation of opportunity equals growth. n

Ayanna Najuma is a writer and principal with Lincoln-McLeod, providing public relations, marketing, and business management for artists, entertainers, corporations and nonprofit organizations. She has curated and juried exhibitions in contemporary art. She travels the world speaking on issues that impact society and empower others to be a voice in determining their own destiny. You can reach Ayanna at lincoln_mcleod@yahoo.com.

Ken Busby, Julia Kirt, and Jonathan Fowler at Oklahoma Arts Day 2014.

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ASK A CREATIVITY COACH: Got Talent? Motivation Matters More

by Romney Nesbitt

ASK A CREATIVITY COACH: INERTIA VS. INSPIRATION

by Romney Nesbitt

Dear Couch,

You’re human. Our brain will always choose pleasure over pain. Watching fictional characters leading interesting and entertaining lives is fun. Doing your creative work is fun too, but it’s also WORK. The creative process involves so much more than simply applying paint to canvas. You’re not painting by number—you’re creating! Creating takes physical, mental and emotional energy. Add in typical anxious thoughts such as “Will this sell?” and “How can I find a new market for my work?” and it’s a no-brainer why you would rather

escape your real life and binge-watch an entire season of Portlandia or Game of Thrones. So how do you override these patterns?

Know your patterns and habits. If you’ve repeated this couch potato act more than a few times, then decide to be realistic about what’s true for you. Maybe you’re too tired to paint after work, so accept your truth and relax on the weeknights and choose to paint on Saturday and Sunday. Set a goal to paint a certain number of hours during your high energy times on Saturday and Sunday. Painting eight days out of a month will result in finished pieces and you’ll also have something interesting to look forward to while you’re at work.

Don’t wait for inspiration. Bill Phillips, editor of Men’s Health Magazine (February 2015 issue), says it this way: “Inertia is stronger than inspiration…it’s not about how you feel; just get started. Attitude follows behavior, not vice versa.” Try these easy steps to help you remember that painting is more fun than not painting.

1. Get up on a Saturday before noon

2. Drink coffee or tea and eat a healthy snack

3. Go to your studio space

4. Stand in front of the canvas

5. Pick up brush

6. Load brush with color

7. Push the bristles onto the canvas

8. Enjoy being an artist

9. Repeat on Sunday n

Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach and author of Secrets from a Creativity Coach. She welcomes your comments and questions at romneynesbitt@gmail.com. Book her to speak to your group through OVAC’s ARTiculate Speakers Bureau.

Dear Romney,

How can I get motivated and stay motivated? When I have a big chunk of time available I plan to paint but end up watching NETFLIX. What’s going on with me?

— Couch Potato

The School of Art at The University of Tulsa offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts and the Bachelor of Arts degrees in art with emphases in the studio areas of ceramics, graphic design, painting, photography, digital media, and printmaking, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in the academic area of art history.

For more information, visit www.cas.utulsa.edu/art/ or call 918.631.2739 TU is an EEO/AA institution

Book making workshop with Bonnie Stahlecker

School of Art

Our primary objective is to challenge each student to develop the highest professional standards in concept, technique, and presentation of his or her creative and scholarly work. Coursework and individualized studies foster students’ knowledge, critical thinking abilities, and technical and creative skills.

27ovac news

MAY | JUNE 2015OVAC NEWS

Experience the Historic Paseo!Shopping, Dining & Learning!

20 Galleries, 75 Artists, Restaurants, Boutiques, Art and Education

For more information about Educational Programs contact:

405.525.2688 www.thepaseo.comARTS DISTRICT

#FirstFridayPaseoFirst Friday Gallery Walks every month

Friday 6-10 pm

As a reader of Art Focus Oklahoma, we value your opinion. Please share your thoughts and feedback on the magazine through our reader survey, available until the end of June. Find it online at www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org.

Please check out OVAC’s Power2Give campaign to help us implement new and robust features on our recently revamped website. These updates are essential to help us further serve artists. Power2Give is an online platform managed by Allied Arts, giving people an easy way to support art projects they believe in. You can find OVAC’s latest projects at bit.ly/OVACp2g.

The Oklahoma Art Writing & Curatorial Fellowship continues on May 9 with a free public panel about curatorial practice and models. Attendees will hear from three visiting experts: Chad Alligood, Curator, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Amanda McDonald Crowley, Curator and cultural worker; Curator in Residence, Alt-w Design Informatics, New Media Scotland; and Shannon Stratton, Founder and Executive Director Threewalls; Adjunct Assistant Professor, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. The panel will be held Saturday, May 9, 1-3 pm at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Visit www.write-curate-art.org for more information.

Artist INC Live Oklahoma City is a cutting edge training program that addresses the specific business needs and challenges of artists. Limited to 25 participants, artists of all disciplines gather once a week for eight weeks to learn business skills specific to their art practice and apply those skills cooperatively with their peers. Artists may apply through June 1. Free introductory workshops titled What Works/What Doesn’t will be held on May 14 in Oklahoma City and May 21 in Norman. More information, including application and registration forms, available at www.ArtistSurvivalKit.org.

We owe a huge thanks to the many artists, attendees and volunteers at Momentum OKC in March. The exhibition was seen by more than 2,000 visitors, introducing Oklahoma’s young artists to new audiences. Special thanks to committee co-chairs Bryon Chambers and Cayla Lewis, who led with passion, creativity, and enthusiasm. Of course, none of it would be possible without the support of our lead donors: the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Downtown OKC, Inc, ITC Holdings, Keep it Local OK, Dunlap Codding, and Allied Arts. Watch for Momentum Tulsa news and calls for artists at www.MomentumOklahoma.org.

We had a blast at the Tulsa Art Studio Tour on April 11 & 12. Many thanks go to the featured artists and the energetic committee led by Steve Tomlin and Grace Grothaus Grimm. Audiences got to see 16 artists working in a variety of media in 10 studios around Tulsa. Thanks to lead sponsor Kinslow, Keith and Todd, Inc for helping to make the Tour possible. See more at www.TulsaArtStudioTour.org.

Allied Arts will celebrate the 2015 Campaign in June. We appreciate their support and determined efforts to raise more than $3.4 million in funds

for 26 agencies, including OVAC, and several other community-wide grant programs. See www.AlliedArtsOKC.com to donate and receive the OKCityCard.

Art PeopleThe Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition is pleased to welcome Lauren Scarpello as our new Associate Director! Having recently moved to Oklahoma, Scarpello brings many regional connections in the arts, along with experience in the areas of arts writing, fundraising, program management, and marketing. She holds a master’s degree in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Visual Art/Sculpture from the State University of New York at Geneseo. Welcome to the OVAC team, Lauren!

Congratulations to Nicki Wood, who was recently named Executive Director of the Multi Arts Center in Stillwater. Wood holds a bachelor’s degree from Alfred University in New York and a master’s degree from the University of Tulsa, with an emphasis on ceramics and art history. n

Holly Moye, John Hammer and Kelsey Karper in Hammer’s studio on the Tulsa Art

Studio Tour, held April 11-12, 2015.

Thank you to our new and renewing members from January and February 2015Sharon and Jeff Allred Candice and Douglas

Anderson Una Anderson Alan Atkinson Chelsie Austin Duff Bassett Doug Bauer Julie Marks Blackstone Felix Blesch Elyse Bogart Jennifer Borland, OSU

Dept of Art Cynthia Brown and Walt

Kosty John Bruce Charles Burgess Milissa Burkart Sarah Burrows Ruthie Bustamante Dustin Caballero Steven Cain Carie Antosek Calvery Chris Cameris Joseph Tanner Capps Denise Caudill

Heathyr Chenoweth Jessica Coleman Arsenios and Andrea

Corbishley Carla Corley Bryan Crump Jordan Dean Debra Divecchio Elizabeth Downing and

Gavin Manes Sandra Dunn Chase Kahwinhut Earles Barbara Eikner and Don

Thompson Erica Eppler Ashley Farrier Tom and Jean Ann Fausser Ron Fleming Sally Flora-French Joey and Al Frisillo Dan Garrett Audrey Goodine Kristina Haden Nancy Harkins Peter Hay Hailey Helmerich

Ingrid Hendrix Terri Higgs Jeff Hogue Nikki Holladay-Cricklin Megan Hughes Pamela Husky Madihah Janjua Sarah Job Kalee Jones W Rebecca Joskey Myra Block Kaiser Aubree Karner Shelby Kellam James R King and Desmin

Barrows Walter King Vaunda Knapp Katelynn Knick Andrew Knight Beth Knight J Mark Larson Roger K. Lawrence Beverly Layton Chandra Leming Monika Linehan Ellen Liss

Lana Lopez Lynsey Loudermilk Patta LT Butcher Jan Maddox Cynthia Marcoux Eva Margaret Beatriz Mayorca Kenny McCage Tiffany McKnight and

Kyle Van Osdol Mandy Messina Zachary Miller Sharon J. Montgomery Lisa Chronister and Aaron

Mooney Tony Morton, Kasum

Contemporary Molly O’Connor Lori Palmer Rose Paluckis Jeremy Patton Jennifer Payne Martin Peerson Kathleen Pendley Katie and Chuck Pernu Eric Peyton

Cacky Poarch Katherine Puterka Smith Tessa Raven Betty Refour Daryl Reimer Theresa Riemer Robert Roberson, Plains

Indians & Pioneers Museum

Buffalo and Kelly Rogers Kendra Roggow Mary Russell Jessica Sanchez Jerica Scullawl-Gate Kerri Shadid Valerie Sharp Jim and Melanie Shelley Maya Shoemaker Rob Smith Kari Hirst Starkey and

Eric Starkey Miraya Starnes Shauna and James Struby Sue Moss Sullivan Cindy Swanson Patrick Synar

Russ Teubner Elizabeth Tilghman Alexander Tomlin Diana Trejo Cindy Van Kley Jason Wallace D. Brian Ward Sarah Warmker Samuel Washburn Randy Watkins Michael Wells Caitlyn Wesnidge Janie Wester Teresa J. Wilber Michael J. Wilson Christina Windham Cheryl Wolverton Kathy Wood Jennifer Woods LaRena Wozniak Amy Young Thomas Young Malcolm Zachariah

28 ovac news

June 15 - 26, 2015

Middle SchoolArts CampKravis Summer Arts presents a camp designed for all Middle School students: Build It, Make It, Act It! In this two-week-long session, art students will explore canvas and fiber arts, while drama students will learn the fundamentals of comedy and acting.

Elementary arts campKravis Summer Arts presents a campdesigned for all elementary school students: “Arts For Change”. In this two-week-long session, campers are involved in a variety of arts experiences (music, drama, and art) which broaden their imaginations.

Kravis Summer Arts Tuition & General Registration Deadline: May 29, 2015

Early Bird Special: $125, if paid by April 17, 2015

For scholarship information, Tulsa Public School families may submit a scholarship form online or request a form by calling

918-925-1145. For online registration, please visit the Tulsa Public Schools’ main web page at tulsaschools.org.

High schoolarts campKravis Summer Arts presents a seminar designed for all high school art students. This two-week-long session will develop students’ ideas and skills in the visual arts to help them prepare a mature portfolio of work sought by undergraduate art schools.

Band Blast Off!

Band Blast-Off is a two-week-camp dedicated to introducing 5th-8th grade students to the amazing world of band! Campers will experience fun musical activities, learn about each type of instrument, and experiment playing all the basic types of instruments in the band.

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Gallery Listings & Exhibition ScheduleAdaFaculty and Alumni Invitational ExhibitionMay 25 – August 28Senior Arts ExhibitionMay 1-8The Pogue Gallery East Central University900 Centennial Plaza (580) 559-5353 ecok.edu

AlvaFashionable AbstractionsOpening May 1, 6-8 pmArt on the Salt ForkOpening June 5, 6-8 pmGraceful Arts Gallery and Studios523 Barnes St(580) 327-ARTS gracefulartscenter.org

ArdmoreAaron HauckThrough June 27Reception May 15, 6-7 pm The Goddard Center401 First Avenue SW(580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org

BartlesvilleThe Drunken Boat: Paintings by Bruce Goff Through May 30Price Tower Arts Center510 Dewey Ave(918) 336-4949 pricetower.org

Broken BowMaster Woodworking Artist of the YearThrough May 5Forest Heritage CenterBeaver’s Bend Resort(580) 494-6497 beaversbend.com

DavisJames Wallace Photography Through June 30Tyra ShacklefordThrough June 30Chickasaw Nation Welcome Center35 N Colbert Rd(580) 369-4222 chickasawcountry.com/explore/view/Chickasaw-nation-welcome-center

DuncanAaron MallardThrough May 22Chisholm Trail Heritage Center

1000 Chisholm Trail Pkwy(580) 252-6692 onthechisholmtrail.com

EdmondTeach Can Do! The UCO Design Faculty Exhibit Through May 14ADDY Award ExhibitThrough May 14Donna Nigh Gallery University of Central Oklahoma100 University Dr(405) 974-2432 uco.edu/cfad

5×5 Art Show and SaleMay 1-3Fine Arts Institute of Edmond27 E Edwards St(405) 340-4481 edmondfinearts.com

Political Cartoon CollectionThrough June 23Melton GalleryUniversity of Central Oklahoma100 University Dr(405) 974-2432 uco.edu/cfad

IdabelExhibit 40 /40 (II) Through June 21Museum of the Red River812 E Lincoln Rd(580) 286-3616 museumoftheredriver.org

LawtonSandra Dunn: Encaustic Epithets May 16-June 28Opening May 16, 7pmThe Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery620 D Avenue(580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org

NormanOklahoma Panhandle State University Faculty ExhibitionThrough May 23FAC Faculty Show 2015June 5 – July 25Firehouse Art Center444 S Flood(405) 329-4523 normanfirehouse.com

A World Unconquered: The Art of Oscar Brousse Jacobson Through September 6Beyond the Battlefield: Depictions of WarThrough May 10Printmaking Intersession Show

Through May 29Enter the Matrix: Indigenous Printmakers June 5-January 2Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art555 Elm Ave(405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma

Senior Capstone Exhibition Through May 9Lightwell GalleryUniversity of Oklahoma520 Parrington Oval(405) 325-2691 art.ou.edu

Sketchbooks of O. Gail PooleMay 8-June 26The Depot Gallery200 S Jones(405) 307-9320 pasnorman.org

Oklahoma CityJalisa Haggins MayClint Stone Juneaka gallery 3001 Paseo(405) 606-2522 aka-gallery.com

FIRST SUNDAY ft. Amanda SheltonMay 3, 5-9 pmFIRST SUNDAY ft. J.Chris JohnsonJune 7, 5-9 pmBrass Bell Studios2500 NW 33rd

Outta the Ball Park: Nancy Park & Alan BallMay 1-31Jan Hellwege: My Blue MindKB Keuteman: Manitou Spirit CollectionJune 6-28Contemporary Art Gallery2928 Paseo(405) 601-7474 contemporaryartgalleryokc.com

Natalie Kent + Cassie StoverMay 8Klair LarasonJune 12DNA Galleries1705 B NW 16th St(405) 371-2460 dnagalleries.com

D.G. Smalling Through June 30Exhibit C1 E Sheridan Ave Ste 100(405) 767-8900 chickasawcountry.com

Carl Shortt: PhotographyMay 1Chad Woolbright and Jean Keil: Mixed Media and CeramicsJune 5In Your Eye Studio and Gallery3005A Paseo(405) 525-2161 inyoureyegallery.com

Biting the AppleMay 1-2, 8 pm-1 amIndividual Artists of Oklahoma 706 W Sheridan Ave(405) 232-6060 iaogallery.org

Sallyann Milam Paschall & Holly WilsonOpening May 1, 6-10 pmBilly SchenckOpening June 5, 6-10 pmJRB Art at the Elms2810 N Walker Ave(405) 528-6336 jrbartgallery.com

Contemporary Totems by LeRoy Schultz Through May 3Kasum Contemporary Fine Art1706 NW 16th St(405) 604-6602 kasumcontemporary.com

Coyote Songs – Desperado Dreams: the Art of Robby McMurtryMadonnas of the Prairie: Depictions of Women in the American WestAnsel Adams: MasterworksThrough May 10 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd

(405) 478-2250 nationalcowboymuseum.org

School of Visual Arts Graduating Seniors’ Capstone Exhibition Through May 10Nona Hulsey Gallery, Norick Art CenterOklahoma City University1600 NW 26th

(405) 208-5226 okcu.edu

Intent to Deceive: Fakes and Forgeries in the Art WorldThrough May 10Warhol: The AthletesThrough July 12Fabergé: Jeweler to the TsarsJune 20-September 27Oklahoma City Museum of Art415 Couch Dr(405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com

Holly WilsonMay 26-August 21Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center3000 General Pershing Blvd(405) 951-0000 oklahomacontemporary.org

Shevaun WilliamsThrough June 21Tommy Lee BallThrough June 28Jenny PerryMay 4-July 5Oklahoma State Capitol Galleries2300 N Lincoln Blvd(405) 521-2931 arts.ok.gov

FRINGE Annual Members ShowMay 1-30Molly O’ConnorJune 5-27The Project Box3003 Paseo(405) 609-3969 theprojectboxokc.com

H.R. KaiserMay 1-2Summer Wine Art Gallery2928 B Paseo(405) 831-3279 summerwinegallery.com

ShawneeArts on the Prairie: A History of Oklahoma Art May 16-June 28Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art1900 W Macarthur(405) 878-5300 mgmoa.org

StillwaterAnnual Juried Student Exhibition Through May 8Gardiner GalleryOklahoma State University108 Bartlett Center for the Visual Arts(405) 744-4143 museum.okstate.edu

Close to Home: Photographs by Richard S. Buswell Through May 9Postal Plaza GalleryOklahoma State University Museum of Art720 S Husband St(405) 744-2780 museum.okstate.edu

ga l l e ry gu ide

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MEMBER FORMPATRON $250· Listing of self or business on signage at events · Invitation for 2 people to private reception with visiting curator · 2 tickets each to Momentum OKC & Momentum Tulsa · $200 of this membership is tax deductible. · All of below

FELLOW $150· Acknowledgement in Resource Guide and Art Focus Oklahoma · Copy of each OVAC exhibition catalog · 2 tickets to Tulsa Art Studio Tour · $100 of this membership is tax deductible. · All of below

FAMILY $75· Same benefits as Individual, for 2 people in household

INDIVIDUAL $45· Subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma magazine · Monthly e-newsletter of Oklahoma art events & artist opportunities · Receive all OVAC mailings · Listing in and copy of annual Resource Guide & Member Directory · Invitation to Annual Members’ Meeting

Plus, artists receive: · Inclusion in online Artist Gallery, www.ovacgallery.com · Artist entry fees waived for OVAC exhibitions · Up to 50% discount on Artist Survival Kit workshops · Affiliate benefits with Fractured Atlas, Artist INC Online, Artwork Archive, and the National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture.

STUDENT $25· Same benefits as Individual level. All Student members are automatically enrolled in Green Membership program (receive all benefits digitally).

¨ Patron ¨ Fellow ¨ Family ¨ Individual ¨ Student

¨ Optional: Make my membership green! Email only. No printed materials will be mailed.

Name

Street Address

City, State, Zip

Email

Website Phone

Credit card # Exp. Date Are you an artist? Y N Medium?________________________Would you like to be included in the Membership Directory? Y NWould you like us to share your information for other arts-related events? Y N

Detach and mail form along with payment to: OVAC, 730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Ste 104, Oklahoma City, OK 73116

Or join online at www.ovac-ok.org

Become a member of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. Join today to begin enjoying the benefits of membership, including a subscription to Art Focus Oklahoma.

SulphurBrad Woods Photography Through June 30Chickasaw Visitor Center901 W 1st St(580) 622-8050 chickasawcountry.com/explore/view/Chickasaw-visitor-center

TonkawaAnnual Student Art Exhibition Through May 4Eleanor Hays GalleryNorthern Oklahoma College1220 E Grand(580) 628-6670 north-ok.edu

TulsaAct III: Harolyn Long, Paul Medina & Sue Moss SullivanThrough May 17Overlap: Lindsay Ketterer Gates & Amanda BradwayJune 5-July 26108 Contemporary108 E MB Brady St(918) 895-6302 108contemporary.org

Rendezvous Artists’ RetrospectiveThrough July 12California Impressionism: Selections from the Irvine MuseumMay 3-September 6Gilcrease Museum1400 Gilcrease Road(918) 596-2700 gilcrease.utulsa.edu

INTERTWINED: Shan Goshorn & Sarah Sense Through July 5Tulsa Underwater Dream Project Through July 19Hardesty Arts Center101 E Archer St(918) 584-3333 ahhatulsa.org

Books as ArtMay 1-June 28Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education124 E MB Brady St(918) 631-4400 gilcrease.utulsa.edu/Explore/ZarrowFiberWorks 2015 Opening June 5Living Arts307 E MB Brady St(918) 585-1234 livingarts.org

National Contemporary Realism Opening May 9, 5-9 pmNew Mixed Media Paintings: Sara Matson WestoverJuneNew Abstract Paintings: Shelly Lewis StanfieldJuneM.A. Doran Gallery3509 S Peoria(918) 748-8700 madorangallery.com

The Lollipop Guild June 20 - July 20Lovetts Gallery6528 E 51st St(918) 664-4732 lovettsgallery.com

Identity & InspirationOpening AbstractionThrough June 29The Art of Ceremony: Hopi Katsinam Through September 20Philbrook Downtown116 E MB Brady St(918) 749-7941 philbrook.org From New York to New Mexico Through May 3Philbrook Museum of Art2727 S Rockford Rd(918) 749-7941 philbrook.org

The 5 X 5 Fundraiser May 1-16Michael Wright May 23-31Nicole McMahan: lorem ipsumJune 5-27Tulsa Artists’ Coalition9 E MB Brady St(918) 592-0041 tacgallery.org

Intermingled: Diane SalamonMay 2-31Tulsa Performing Arts Center Gallery110 E 2nd St (918) 596-2368 tulsapac.com

(Gallery Guide, continued from page 29)

T U L S A I N T E R N A T I O N A L

MAY 14-17, 2015www.tulsamayfest.org

31

OVERLAPAMANDA BRADWAY &

LINDSAY KETTERER GATES

June 5 – July 26, 2015

Opening Reception:

June 5, 2015, 6–9 PM

108 East M.B. Brady Street, Tulsa, OK 74103www. 108contemporary.org

Images: (top) Ducks vs. Swans by Amanda Bradway,(bottom) Year of the Snake by Lindsay Ketterer Gates.

Brady Craft Alliance, Inc., dba 108|Contemporary, is a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Non Profit Org.US POSTAGE

P A I DOklahoma City, OK

Permit No. 113

Art FocusO k l a h o m a

730 W. Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104 Oklahoma City, OK 73116

Annual Subscriptions to Art Focus Oklahoma are free with OVAC membership.

May 1: Momentum Tulsa Emerging Curator Application Deadline

May 9: Public Panel - Curatorial Practice & Models (OKC)

May 14: ASK Workshop - What Works/ What Doesn’t (OKC)

May 21: ASK Workshop - What Works/ What Doesn’t (Norman)

Jun 1: Momentum Tulsa Spotlight Artist Application Deadline

Jun 1: Artist INC Application Deadline

View the full Oklahoma visual arts calendar at ovac-ok.org/calendar.

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition supports Oklahoma’s visual arts and artists and their power to enrich communities.

Visit www.ovac-ok.org to learn more.