Tribe Report

'Martin de Vore'

Tribal Waves

Print Week of January 16th

Greetings tribe members all. What a week it has been. I'm having to pry this week's Tribe Report out of my brain with a crowbar so let's get to it, shall we? We will begin with the...

Saturday Trifecta

This past Saturday, Jan. 14, was a busy one as the tribes were in motion. I personally made it to three of the shows so this written narrative will follow my convoluted travels of the night.

My night began with a visit to The Studio Gallery to see Amelioration, a show featuring the work of the HBU senior semester students -- Megan Wright, Heather Kesner, Allyn Kraig, Peter J. Suprean, Dana Garrison, Nubia Landaverde, Liz H. Rodriquez, Kara Frank, Jeremy James and Robyn Tolliver. And what a show it is! The place was packed all evening and the art was first rate, but then what else would we expect of Marie's students? As with all shows, I had my personal favorites -- Submersion by Jeremy James; Broken by Robyn Tolliver; Extempore by Heather Kesner and Regeneration by Kara Frank. That was probably my favorite. Kara, you kick ass! In Kara's display, there was sand on the floor, burning candles and a wrapped figure that looked like a mummy. Many in attendance thought that the mummy was cast from Marie, but Marie pointed out that it was not her and that the hips were too curvy to be hers anyway. To me, it looked like one of the Olsen Twins. Amelioration runs a few more days through Jan. 21 so call and make an appointment to go see it now! The Studio Gallery is located at 613 1/2 W. 19th Street, (behind Heights Glass). For more information, or to make an appointment, call (713) 869-2551 or visit the Web site at www.mwstudiogallery.com

From The Studio Gallery, I next headed to Gallery 101 to see the Blages exhibit. I arrived and promptly ran into Tim Snider in the parking lot who gave me some suggestions about what to look at. Making my way inside, I ran into Charity Snider and the kids, John Mercado and Mitch Cohen. While persuing the art on display, I also ran into Wayne Gilbert and congratulated him on his new gallery. My favorites in Blages were Femme Fury by Annette Wilzig; The Moor from Tim Snider; Elephant God by Tim Sale and Lilith by Joyce Harlow. Don't forget that Wayne is also heavily involved in the Kinky Friedman campaign and has been working on the big fundraiser party set for Feb. 11. at 6 p.m. that will feature live music, kinky art and tons of people. Yes, Kinky will be there. At last report, Wayne's new G Gallery will be opening in February with the Redbud show of the month. And, Marie Weichman (she of mummy fame) has been working with Wayne on the Kinky Friedman fundraiser and has taken over as chair for the Art Committee. Any artist wishing to commit to a donation of art can contact Marie from this point forward. The artwork at the event will be handled like a sale ... the artist sets his/her price, the work is displayed and will sell or not. And, 100% of the sale price goes to Kinky. Marie says that if you REALLY want to help raise money for Kinky's campaign, the prices should be under $300 -- people have been tight after donating so much to 2005's disaster relief efforts. For more information, call (713) 869-2551 or visit Marie's Web site at www.mwstudiogallery.com

Departing Gallery 101, I made my way back to 19th Street to wrap up the evening at M2 Gallery for "My Gold Pocketbook." "My Gold Pocketbook" features clothing, furniture, art and accessories from the past that are both on display and for sale through Jan. 29. Drawings by Gracie Marks are available as are paintings by Jet Whitt. Diane Hester of Houston Vintage & Costume is displaying vintage home furnishings and fashions from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. And, Sam VanBibber? from Wear it Again Sam is offering selections in vintage fashions and accessories from the 40s through 70s. Like most M2 events, there was interesting people, excellent victuals and viands, libations to warm the soul, sparkling conversation and that great punch! Among those from our tribes in attendance at various times during the evening were Mitch Cohen, Michael-Ann Belin, Gordy Tillman, John Mercado, Tim and Charity Snider and Family, Dwight Bullock, Maranda and Ocean Pleasant, Maranda's friend John and Gus and Sharon Kopriva, just to name a few. "My Gold Pocketbook" runs through the end of the month. M2 is located at 325 W. 19th in The Heights. For more information, call (713) 861-6070 or visit the M2 Web site at www.m2-houston.com

Tribal Tidbits

Besides attending the official openings on Saturday, Jan. 14, I also got to spend some time with some fellow tribe members in informal settings. Saturday afternoon late, I visited with Mitch and Carolyn Cohen at Casa Cohen where the aroma of fresh wall paint was filling the air. Mitch and Carolyn generously let me use their computer to communicate with someone that the telephone communication gods had sucessfully thwarted all my attempts to communicate with. Earlier that day, I spent some time at Maranda Pleasant's house visiting with her and Ocean. Before Maranda headed off to the KPFT Festival, we discussed Valhalla and the possibility of Maranda naming her tribe The Extremists. And before visiting Pleasantville, I stopped by to visit with Amy Meyers for a few minutes at Sippora Gallery to discuss this Saturday's Ancient Language show. All in all, Saturday was a nice day for visiting.

On Sunday, I conducted wind chill tolerance experiments in a park on Dunlavy near Richmond and practiced how to make a roll of quarters disappear at Cafe Artiste. While there at Artiste, I also learned how to turn a crumpled-up plastic bag into an irresistable instrument of mental torture.

However, visits were not confined to the weekend.

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, there was a meeting of the "Passion" show artists that compelled me to migrate south into Houston, Arriving early, I visited Texas Art Supply and ran into Sorange Castillo and Heidi Powell-Prera. Sorange told me of some of her new projects and Heidi gave me a heads-up on some upcoming Gallery 19 events.

From Texas Art Supply, I headed to The Studio Gallery for the "Passion" show meeting. In attendance were yours truly, Michael-Ann Belin, Michelle Macy, Alexis Andrei, Marie Weichman, Carolyn Cohen, Mitch Cohen and John Mercado. Kurt Beswick and Tim Snider were unable to be there. At this meeting, we sort of decided what kind of food and drink that all of you who attend will have the opportunity to partake of. The ideas are...interesting..... And, remember the old adage, "If you live long enough, you're going to see a lot of strange shit? Well, I experienced the auditory version of that time-treasured observation when I found myself in the middle of a group conversation among the female artists. Everything was fair game -- boyfriends, husbands, sex, possessiveness, likes, dislikes, things that bother them, yada yada yada. I very well might wind up communicating with hand puppets for the rest of my life. Guys, the stuff I learned is worth more than you could ever imagine. I will soon be taking orders for my forthcoming publication, "Desperate House Artists."

On that note, I guess this is as good of a time as any to move to the upcoming events. I'll start with...

Ancient Language

Yes, this is the one where you come dressed in a toga or Egyptian attire. This is the one where I am coming dressed in a toga and I understand that those photos have now been widely circulated on the Internet. All I have to say is that I damned well better not be the only one wearing a toga. If I am, you realize that means by default that you will have deified me. Thus, I could be appropriately disdainful and imperial for the rest of the evening. So, to keep me mortal, the rest of you better come dressed up! Ancient Language will once again be heard on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sippora. "Ancient Language" will feature the art of Ray Phillips, Lacey Crawford, and Pam Knox. It will be a fun evening. I guarantee it -- Amy Meyers' Sippora events always are! Sippora Gallery is located at 234 West Gray, between Montrose and Downtown Houston. For more information, call Amy at (713) 520-1085 or visit the Web site at www.sippora.com

This Just In...

Gus Kopriva just sent me this from Don Goodell of the Bellaire Arts Commission to pass on, so here it is as received: "The City of Bellaire recognizes that public art is one element that will enhance the sense of community. A plan was proposed by the Bellaire Arts Commission that would solicit designs from professional artists for artistic and fanciful benches that would be placed in several areas around town. We encourage you to pass on this creative challenge for public art for the City of Bellaire to any artists you think may be interested. It is with great anticipation that the Bellaire Arts Commission looks forward to hearing from the creative and talented artists in the community." For more information, call Cindy Cozewith at (713) 661-1807. I couldn't find a City of Bellaire Web site that had the Adobe Acrobat pdf file of the artists' information available, so if you are interested, e-mail me at mldevore@houston.rr.com and I will send you the pdf file.

Passion

On Saturday, Jan. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., discover "Passion" at The Studio Gallery. Be careful though -- you never really know (until you experience it for real) how truly powerful real passion can be. In this show, yours truly and nine other artists "will display our "passion" for creating through imagery and form in this group exhibition." "Passion" is generously hosted by Marie Weichman and is the product of (and curated by) that artistically altruistic pair -- Mitch and Carolyn Cohen. The 10 participating artists include: Michael-Ann Belin, Tim Dean Snider, John Mercado, Martin de Vore, Alexis Andrei, Marie Weichman, Michelle Macy, Kurt Beswick, Mitch Cohen and Carolyn Cohen. The art, food, drink, conversation and people watching should be first rate since it's at Marie's place, home of the LD's. Most of the artists will be on hand to answer your questions about what really turns them on. Be creative when you ask. If you can't think of anything, come see me and I'll tell you what to ask them about. The Studio Gallery is located at 613 1/2 W. 19th Street, (behind Heights Glass). For more information, or to make an appointment, call (713) 869-2551 or visit the Web site at www.mwstudiogallery.com

Empty Bowls

Empty Bowls is off and running. The event will be held March 4, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both the Lawndale Art Center and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. A call to craftsmen/artists for cereal-sized bowls is now being made. The drop-off of bowls will begin during the last week of January. See Marie Weichman's Web site at www.mwstudiogallery.com. for more details -- use the Empty Bowls link there for even more info. THIS JUST IN: Here's an advisory from Marie: "By the way ... the site does mention an art auction of non-bowls items, but we are keeping it small, about 20 selected artists in the community. I really really hope no artist takes offense to this. I'd love to see what some of you create in a bowl. They don't need to be functional either ... think painted paper folded origami style into a bowl!! We've had quilted bowls, fuzzy bowls, perforated bowls, wood, clay, glass -- everything. The donated bowls are sold with soup in exchange for a $20 donation and the entire event benefits the Houston Food Bank. Remember, they have been desperately drained after providing for the Katrina and Rita victims."

Here's...Bale...!

Redbud Gallery will be featuring new works from Austin's Bale Allen from now through Jan. 29. This should be an interesting exhibit that everyone should check out if they get the chance. Located at 303 E 11th Street, at the corner of East 11th and Cortlandt Street, adjacent to Texas Collaborative Fine Arts Printmaking and the Sharon Kopriva Studio, Redbud Gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment. For more information, call (713) 862-2532 or visit the Web site at www.redbudgallery.com

Winter Street

Keep an eye out for more information about the Texas Children's Hospital Fundraiser in The Gallery at Winter Street on Feb. 25. Winter Street is home to a lot of artists from our tribes that we all know including (but definitely not limited to) John Mercado, Jerrie Glidden, Richard Varela, Solomon Kane, Amy Ferrari, Alex Wilhite, Nicola Parente, Van McFarland?, Dan Fischer, Alix Dunn and many many more. Winter Street Studios is located at 2101 Winter Street in Houston. For more information, call (713) 862-0082 or visit their Web site at www.winterstreetstudios.com

Communiques

This just in from Gus Kopriva: Beginning on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 17:00 to 19:00 hrs, Sharon Kopriva's "Lost Rivers" exhibition will be on display at Zeitkunst Gallerie in Halle, Germany. Gus says, "You are invited to attend an art exhibition by Sharon Kopriva aus Houston, Texas & Hope, Idaho. "Lost Rivers" runs through March 24, 2006. Zeitkunst Gallerie is located at Kleine Marktstrasse 4 in Halle. Gus, I am glad to see that you took my advice about purchasing that Lufthansa stock.

This just in from Duke Jones: "I just wanted to let you know that I will be at Jimmie's Ice House, 2803 White Oak Drive this Friday night. The show starts about 8:30. They will have plenty of beer. The 11th St. Cafe delivers pizza. The show is free and I'll have the old Gibson tuned up to play some blues for you. Hope to see you there."

This just in from Dune Patten: On Feb. 10, Dune-Micheli Patten, Nathaniel Donnett, Sharon McAtching, Amos Garcia, Ludmilla Boklonova-Boyce, and Veronica Redd will have a Valentine's kick-off artshow titled, "What's Love Gotta do with It?" at Dominion Post Oak. Dune says, "It will be new works by all artists and never seen before small-scale works by yours truly, Dune-Micheli. So, all you art lovers, or simply lovers, come out to this evening of art and romance at Dominion Post Oak!!! Valet parking is provided." I am glad to hear about the valet parking, Dune. That makes me feel better since the last time I parked at one of your shows it cost me the passenger-side mirror of my Nissan.

Coda

Remember, I am not Nostradamus so if you have a show or event coming up that you want me to mention you have to send it to me. So, e-mail me at: mldevore@houston.rr.com

That's it for now.

Until then, keep creating art, viewing art, buying art and supporting your fellow artists of all tribes.

Martin L. de Vore is an artist and journalist living in Humble, TX. Mr. de Vore is a member of the Artists At Large and Post-Diversionist tribes and enjoys the peaks on emotional rollercoaster rides.

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