Tribe Report September 20, 2007

Martin de Vore

It's Alive!

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Autumn Arrives!

Hey Everybody!

I just wanted to let you know that the first full Tribe Report since August 15 will be posted on Monday night, September 24. It will be good to get back to normal.

I got my new computer (A Toshiba laptop). I have Internet access at Starbucks, Barnes and Noble and Borders and free WiFi at a variety of locations in Humble and Houston so I am in good shape again. So, Monday, everything will officially resume.

In the meantime, for this abbreviated version of the Tribe Report, here are a few events that I recommend:

Picks Of The Week!

Music Ushers In Autumn At Free Range Studios

This coming Friday, September 21, beginning at 8 p.m., join our own Ankah Hagakore and her associates at Free Range Studios for a musical evening to usher in autumn. Free Range Studios will be hosting Space City Gamelan with a special appearance by Antaress. If you haven't seen Antaress, now is your chance to see Houston's finest Indian classical/experimental group. Featuring an Indian slide guitar, tabla, violin, and santoor, their set is sure to leave you spellbound. Space City Gamelan will rock the house once more, this time with some new flavors never heard. There will be a drum jam after the last band, so drummers are invited to bring their own drums to join in.Beverages and light snacks will be served for a small donation.The suggested Donation for admission is $9.95. Free Range Studios is located at 1719 Live Oak, Unit E, in Houston. For more information, call (713) 228-9110, e-mail freerangestudios@gmail.com or visit the Web sites http://myspace.com/houstongamelan or http://www.Antaress.net.

Spice

To acknowledge the major contributions of Houston's female artists to the Houston art community, Elder Street Gallery will present the Spice show on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 6-10 p.m. Participating in the exhibition will be Heights artist and Venezuelan native Sorange Castillo, Inner Corridor artist Susan Goettsche, Spring resident Rose Marie Moore, Montrose artist Bridgett Vallery, West University resident Sarah Hazel, Shelley Shanks of Clear Lake, Kingwood artist Sue Donaldson, Jerrie Glidden of Champions and Pasadena resident Alissa Fereday. Each of the nine artists will have approximately five pieces of work on display. The "Spice" exhibition is free of charge, as is parking, and open to the public. Catering will be provided by Jeremy Seymour's excellent Acadianne Catering Co. and libations available will include wine, beer, soft drinks and water. Musical entertainment will be provided by guitarist/vocalist Danny Jones. For more information on the Spice show at Elder Street Gallery, visit the Web site at http://www.elderstreetartist.com/ or contact Terrence Boggs at (281) 250-4889 or via e-mail at terboggs@yahoo.com. Elder Street Gallery is located at 1101 Elder Street, (down Dart Street off Houston Ave.) in the Inner Corridor, near I-45 and I-10.

Coming Up Soon

Spacetaker Opticks Gala

Every now and then, we artists get to help out those who have helped us. This is one of those times. Most of us have had some exposure with Spacetaker, the nonprofit arts organization currently based at Winter Street Studios. Whether it's having our event listed on their site, attending a Spacetaker event, being featured in their artists' registry or just consulting with David Brown and his staff, Spacetaker has been there for us. So, I know that you will join with me in supporting the Spacetaker Opticks Gala from 7 p.m. - 12 midnight on September 29 at Winter Street Studios. The proceeds from this gala will go to fund operations and the Artist Resource Lab. The chair and co-chairs for this event are Catherine Anspon, fine arts editor for PaperCity, and Deborah Colton, owner of the innovative Deborah Colton Gallery. David Addickes is serving as honorary chair. Sponsors to date include Amegy Bank, Aztec Party and Tents, Eventions, Fuse 5 Marketing, Neal Hamil Agency, Lester Marks, Paper City, Sage Public Relations, Silver Eagle Distributors, WaterLights District, Winter Street Studios and Zulu Creative. Other participants include Amy Ell, Audio Telepathy, the Brazosport L'il Players, Daniel Adame, The Defenestration Unit, Keith Reynolds and the Medicine Show. Spacetaker is also looking for donations of artwork, gift certificates, etc. for the silent auction. If this is something you wish to do, contact Spacetaker for more details. Or, to volunteer with Spacetaker, please contact David Brown at info@spacetaker.org. Your valued help will contribute to the ongoing development of Houston's art scene. Tickets to Spacetaker Opticks Gala are $75, or $50 for artist tickets (artist must be in the registry). Underwriting and tables available from $500 to $5,000. Spacetaker is located in Winter Street Studios at 2101 Winter Street in Houston. For more information about the gala or any of Spacetaker's other events or services, e-mail info@spacetaker.org.

Gallery M2 Hosts Solo Show For Aimi Dunn, Queen Of Portraits

Known for their extraordinary exhibitions featuring work from the finest local, national and international artists, Gallery M2 owners Max Boyd Harrison and Michael Kubis continue their commitment to artistic integrity and quality, often going against the vox populi to present the finest art available. Such is the case when Gallery M2 presents ''Through Many Eyes: A Study in Extrospective Portraiture. ''

The exhibition, which runs from Oct. 1-28, features a new series of work by renowned Houston artist Aimi Dunn. The opening reception, which will be catered by Cookin' With Bass, is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 6, from 7-10 p.m. Recognized by many of her Houston painting colleagues as the "Queen of Portraits," Aimi Dunn's work dazzles the viewer with its innovative use of texture, color, composition and contrast. In the past, Dunn's work has been shown at Gallery M2, Earth Gallery, Gallery 19, Eastman Gallery, Yale Street Arts Market, Houston Art Crawl, Elder Street Gallery, City of Houston's City Hall Annex and at various charity fundraising events throughout the Houston area..

Through Many Eyes: A Study in Extrospective Portraiture focuses on the people who Dunn says have inspired her. In April of 2007, she hosted a photo shoot inviting people to her studio to have their portraits taken. The guests' true personalities emerged in the relaxed atmosphere and were expertly captured by photographer Kat Schwartz. Using the photos for reference, Dunn painted her series freehanded, utilizing acrylic paint on linen canvas.

Dunn explains,"This new body of work is a departure from my past series of richly textured evocative paintings of characters from my own imagination, "TEXTure." Inspired by my metamorphosis into wife and mother, those portraits reflected a need for private moments of introspection using the model's image to convey my own inner world."

She continues, "In the past, an artist's subject matter was limited to what wealthy patrons commissioned of them. These paintings were usually flattering portraits where the artist was expected to showcase the subject's high status. However interesting and beautiful these paintings may be, I have always found the more intimate studies of an artist's own friends and family to be especially "real" and intriguing. What is truly important in this world are the people in our lives and the relationships we forge. Although today's society encourages materialism as well as isolationism, through the act of painting I am united with friends, family and neighbors, and then further connected with the community through the display of my work."

A native of Houston, Dunn has sketched in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado, and built many a faerie house in the Cathedral Woods of Monhegan Island in Maine. She attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and was also a Sharpe Summer Scholar, pursuing her collegiate studies at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in Manhattan.

For more information about Aimi Dunn, her work, commissions or upcoming appearances, e-mail her at Aimi.Dunn@gmail.com or visit her Web site at http://www.dunnart.net.

Gallery M2 is located at 325 W. 19th Street in The Heights in Houston. For more information about the Through Many Eyes: A Study in Extrospective Portraiture show or other events, contact Gallery M2 at (713) 861-6070 or e-mail m2-houston@sbcglobal.net.

Coda

Remember, I gave my plastic 8-Ball to Sorange Castillo so if you have a show or event coming up that you want me to mention, you have to let me know about it! Send your information to me at: thetribereport@gmail.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 once again living in Humble. Martin is a member of the Artists At Large and Post-Diversionist tribes who has learned that it IS possible to live without Internet access for a month but that it really sucks!

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