Tribe Report Archives December 27, 2006

Martin de Vore

Happy New Year 2007!

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Looking back over the Tribe Report Archives (as well as being constantly reminded by Overlord Mitch) I see that my last Tribe Report was June 23, 2006, or about 6 months ago. So, I guess it's time to end my brumation and write something.

Actually, Groundhog Day in February might have been a better day to emerge but since I have begun typing, why stop now? If you really want me to, bribe me. I CAN be bought. Fried shrimp. Starbucks. Grilled chicken sandwiches..... What? No takers? Well, now you've missed your chance to silence me so here we go.

First, let's take a look at what's coming up....

Yale Street Arts Market

What new artist will debut in The Heights to captivate the public's imagination? What color will Overlord Mitch Cohen's hair be this month? To find out the answer to these questions, and to have a great time viewing superb art, come to the Yale Street Arts Market on Saturday, January 6, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Located at 548 W. 19th St. on the Wind Water Gallery parking lot, the Yale Street Arts Market features artists from around Houston and the state. Local musicians entertain all day. Featured musicians for the January Market are Smythe & Taylor and Duke Jones. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.yalestreetmarket.com

Royal Blue and string

What's going on in Wayne's World these days? That's what I was wondering. Well, for one thing, g Gallery now has a Web site which makes my life much easier (Thanks Wayne!) Thanks to the site, I can tell you to head to g Gallery and check out Angelbert Metoyer's Royal Blue on January 6. For more information, go to the g Gallery Web site at http://www.ggalleryhouston.com/ or contact g Gallery at (713) 896-4770. Events at g Gallery always feature top quality art, large crowds and sometimes a touch of the unexpected. Come see for yourself! Wayne Gilbert's g Gallery is located at 301 East 11th Street in The Heights.

Making Do

It's January and that means it's time for another show at Redbud Gallery. In this case, it's Making Do. Curated by Jay Wehnert, the show's opening reception will be on Saturday, January 6, from 6-8 p.m. Come early to make sure that you get some of those fabulous Kopriva cookies before I arrive. Redbud Gallery is located at 303 E. 11th St. in Houston. Gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment. For more information, contact Gus Kopriva at (713) 862-2532 or visit the Redbud Web site at http://www.redbudgallery.com/.

Go - Figure

M2 Gallery presents a closer look at the human form in its next show, Go - Figure. Juried by Patrick Palmer, the opening reception for the show will be held at the gallery on Saturday, January 13 from 7-10 p.m. The exhibition will run from January 13-February 4. I have it on good authority that the famous M2 punch will flow in abundance. The food at M2 events is also quite good. M2 Gallery is located at 325 W. 19th Street in The Heights. For more information on this show or other upcoming M2 events, visit the Web site at http://www.m2-houston.com/ or call (713) 861-6070.

And now for a word from our sponsor....

Tribal Drums

The tribal drums are silent. That's my fault for not having been around. But, since I am back, I would really like to hear from you. E-mail me at: mldevore@gmail.com.

OK, back to our program....

Odds and Ends

Here are a few random tidbits that I thought I would share:

Michael-Ann Belin, Aimi Dunn and Sorange Castillo are just three of our tribe members who have publicly stated that they are going to take about a month or two off to paint, rest and regain their creative edge. When they emerge, their new works should be something to see, both in quality and quantity.

Lacey Crawford is planning to "goo" me. That's the best offer that i have had in awhile. Not only that, Mehak Bagai said she was going to film it and put it on the Internet.

In a related vein, Both Michael-Ann Belin and Aimi Dunn are considering painting me as the New Year Baby. Complete with top hat, cigar and 2007 banner. A painting like that could do wonders for Planned Parenthood.

Come to think of it, Stäcy Smith is supposed to paint me too....

Keep an eye out for Lynet McDonald. That Kingwood artist is quite talented. Amazing pastel work.

Marie Weichman will be spending June and July in China. She is headed out there the end of May with a stop in Vietnam for her nephew's high school graduation and then off to Jingdezhen to the Pottery Workshop for a ceramic arts residency. Dryden will be there with her, and they are now shopping around proposals for a two-person show of their work after they return. Marie also says that Chloe the Wonder Dog is doing fine -- slower every day -- but still active and happy.

John Mercado may or may NOT be moving. It depends on what kind of offers Carrie gets and where. I'll keep you posted.

Amy Meyers is doing well. I'm glad. But Amy, I do miss those Sippora shows! This from Amy: "I have also started the next big chapter in my life. Cantoni – a wonderful, high-end, European, contemporary/modern furniture store has hired me as one of their in house designers. So please, come and visit me and keep in touch. Our address is 9889 Westheimer (between Gessner and the Beltway). My phone number is (713) 787-9494 ext. 106. My e-mail is: ameyers@cantoni.com . My days off are Tuesdays and Wednesdays."

Three different venues are looking for artists for upcoming shows: Elder Street, Earth Gallery and Lynn Michaels Salon River Oaks. For more information on Elder Street, contact Terrence Boggs at: terboggs@yahoo.com. For more information about making an appointment to show your portfolio at Earth Gallery, contact Phillip Tague at: earthgallery@sbcglobal.net. For more information on appearing in an upcoming show at Lynn Michaels Salon River Oaks, contact Lynn Michaels at: lynnmichaels28@peoplepc.com.

Looking into History Back

Christmas weekend, I was able to make a quick trip to The Heights and Inner Corridor since my ex-wife Dlorah was in town and has a vehicle that could actually convey me to AND from the area -- a much different state of affairs than the previous four months.

Last year, during Dlorah's 2006 Christmas visit, we did the tourist thing -- traveling to 19th Street, Castle Cohen, Redbud Gallery and Montrose. This year, it was similar but a little different. Upon arriving at 19th Street, we went to Jubilee and I got to visit with Gallery 19's Jill Griffith for a little while as Dlorah engaged in holiday-fueled consumerism. I was glad to see Jill and Jubilee was glad to see Dlorah. From there, we went next door and visited with Max and Michael at M2 Gallery for a few minutes before heading over to the Inner Corridor to see the Elder Street Gallery, located in the Elder Street Artist Lofts building. Elder Street's Terrence Boggs and Susan Goettsche were out of town so we peeked in the windows at the art that was currently hanging there. Other sights we took in during our Houston excursion included Hight Cigar Company, Earth Gallery, the Boom Boom Room, Onion Creek, Winter Street, Bamboo House, Art League of Houston, Texas Art Supply, Post-Diversionist artist Sorange Castillo's house, Cafe Artiste and the 59 Diner. We concluded our trip with a visit to Kingwood to see Laura Hodges (one of the original Diversionists) for a few minutes. It was a nice sojourn that helped prompt me to pen -- well, type -- this narrative.

In the past two months, I also managed to attend five different art events -- December's Children at Lynn Michaels' Salon River Oaks on December 14 ; the Imbued show at Elder Street Gallery on December 7; the Art Crawl on November 18 at Elder Street Gallery; Hight Cigar Company's Cigar Box Auction at M2 Gallery (also on November 18) and Quatro at Lynn Michaels' Salon River Oaks on November 2; All were festive, artistically-strong, shows and provided a nice opportunity to visit with folks I haven't seen in awhile.

At December's Children, art from Winter Street artists John Mercado, Solomon Kane and Richard Varela was shown with that of Post-Diversionist artists Mehak Bagai, Aimi Dunn and Martin de Vore (yes, me -- I haven't been totally idle during my absence). December's Children was held at Lynn Michaels' Salon River Oaks on West Alabama and allowed our Heights and Inner Corridor artists to bring their work to a new audience in a new part of town hungry for art from our area. Lynn is to be commended for his generosity in hosting these soon-to-be regular shows and has something much larger in mind for the spring. Keep an eye out for more details. Tribe members making an appearance included Lacey Crawford, Lilibeth Andre, Terry Mahaffey, Norma Comstive, Mike Rosen, Yuan Ji and Michelle Graczyk.

At Elder Street's Imbued show, Terrence Boggs and Susan Goettsche were the hosts. Tribe members who had art on display included John Mercado, Aimi Dunn, Tim Snider, Richard Varela, Susan Goettsche, Sorange Castillo, Michael-Ann Belin, Rose Moore and Martin de Vore. Rounding out the artists participating in Imbued were Ludmila Ivanova, Iskra Ivanova, David Wilhelm and Monica Kressman. Music was provided by our own tribal troubador Duke Jones. Other tribe members who were in attendance to support us, visit and enjoy the evening were Overlord Mitch Cohen, Alex Wilhite, Solomon Kane, Mike Rosen, Norma Comstive, Terry Mahaffey and newest Post-Diversionist artist Mehak Bagai. Following the show, I was held hostage by Michael-Ann and transported to The Shiloh bar in The Heights. Assisting Mikie in her nefarious kidnapping of yours truly were Mitch Cohen, Duke Jones, John Mercado, Susan Goettsche and Terrence Boggs. To see some photos from the Imbued show, check out Michael-Ann's Flickr photo set at http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael-ann/sets/72157594411126378/.

Saturday, November 18, was a busy day. From 2 p.m. until 9 p.m., several tribe members had art on display at Elder Street Gallery as part of the Art Crawl: Susan Goettsche, Michael-Ann Belin, Tim Snider, Aimi Dunn, Sorange Castillo, Mehak Bagai and Martin de Vore, just to name a few. Throughout the day, there were many visitors new to both Elder Street and the work of our artists so that exposure may pay off for all of us in the months ahead. We'll see.

That same evening, following the Art Crawl, many of us headed over to M2 Gallery to attend Hight Cigar Company's Cigar Box Auction to benefit the Shriners' Hospital for Children. Like all events at M2, it was a well-done affair. Tasty victuals and viands and diverse libations were on hand as was live music. Chip Hight was rolling custom cigars near the front door and there was a plethora of cigar boxes to bid on -- all individual works of art. Participating artists included: Aimi Dunn, John Mercado, Michael-Ann Belin, Martin de Vore, Mehak Bagai, Sorange Castillo, Susan Goettsche, Mitch Cohen, Carolyn Cohen, Max Boyd Harrison, Solomon Kane, Julie Zarate, Marynnn Lucas, Big Al Bartell, Laura Hodges, Alissa Fereday, Michelle Macy, Sam Van Bibber, Amie Krebbs, Christine M. Farnsworth, Cindy Folsom, Jeanne Haner, Alex Hostetler, Chip Hight, Nathan Parmar, Shawnacy McArthur, William Newton Rice, Erik Kolflat, Amy Lynch, Scott Mernelstern, Beth Harris, Fletcher Stafford, Noelle Trowbridge, Joyce Dorn, Jennifer Beam-Kresovsky, Mark Stephen Kresovsky, Silas Woodward and Kelly Ryan. It was nice to see our tribe members all working together to raise money for such a good cause.

The Quatro show on November 2 at Lynn Michaels' Salon River Oaks featured an exhibition of the work of Aimi Dunn, Sorange Castillo, Susan Goettsche and Michael-Ann Belin. It was the first event of its type at Lynn's place. The crowd was good, the food was good, the parking was good and the art was great. Besides our four tribe members who were showing their work, other tribe members present (that I can remember) included Mehak Bagai, Martin de Vore, Yuan Ji, Michelle Graczyk. Terry Mahaffey and Norma Comstive.

And of course, there were all the shows and events that I was not able to make it to in person such as Via Colori, Yale Street Arts Market, shows at M2, Earth Gallery, Gallery 19, Eastman Gallery, Redbud Gallery, g Gallery, etc. I was also not able to make it to the memorial celebration of life for Rex Bass. Rex will be missed. I am very glad that I got to have dinner with Rex and Charity during the summer, so that's how I will remember him -- telling jokes, moving furniture and discussing a variety of topics while we ate chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes.

Guess that about takes care of the past two months. Now...on to....

Question and Answer Time

Ah, yes. Questions. I have received several from people at the recent art shows I have been in. Here are some answers.

1. Why haven't you been around? I have been around if you happen to live in Humble. I moved back to Humble on August 31. I live two blocks from where I work, about five blocks from Michael-Ann and I am located in between two Starbucks' locations. Other factors are that my work hours dramatically increased and my truck has suffered major breakdowns consistently throughout the fall -- starter, radiator, water pump, thermostat, battery, brakes, alternator.... you get the picture.

2. Have you been painting? Yep. I've had new work in every show since September 1 that I have been in.

3. What's going on with the Post-Diversionists these days? Actually, we've been on the offensive. Aimi Dunn, Michael-Ann Belin and Sorange Castillo have been in just about everything going on since June. Suzanne Delorme is producing new art and exhibiting her work up in Montreal and has even been in a few events here. I have been painting a lot and making the subject transition from landscapes to people. In September, Mehak Bagai and I started painting together on a regular basis up at my place in Humble and she has joined the Post-Diversionist ranks. Interestingly, both Sorange and Mehak have said that they want to explore working with pastels. Thanks to his 2005 assemblage rendition of me, Tim Snider is technically a Post-Diversionist. In the laast few months, Tim has been making a strong return to producing and showing his art. And, of course, Overlord Mitch Cohen (who qualified to be a Post-Diversionist since he painted both Michael-Ann and I) has been producing both art and his events such as the Yale Street Arts Market. So, all in all, the P-Divies really kicked ass during the second half of 2006.

4. Who (living artists, of course) would you like to be in a show with that you haven't before? Hmmm......let's see..... Andrew Wyeth, Peter Max, Doug West, Michael Parkes, Kathleen Earthrowl, Vladimir and Daniela Ovtcharov, Meredith Kuntzsch, Maia, Coco Easterwood... Thanks to such large events as last year's Back Room Show at Dig101 and the City of Houston Show, I have been fortunate enough to be in the same shows as most of the Houston area artists I respect and admire.

5. What's going on in your personal life these days? Now, it's pretty good. Work is going well, I live in a great apartment/studio and the truck is slowly becoming operational and fit for long-range travel. From July through October, my personal life was like being in the dance band on the Titanic -- financial disaster, automotive disaster, emotional disaster, housing disaster, work disaster....you name it. Fortunately, I have some VERY good friends. I wouldn't have survived from June through October without the following people's intervention, aid and comfort: Mehak Bagai, Michael-Ann Belin and Gordy Tillman, Aimi and Michael Dunn, Laura Hodges, Mike Howlett, Lynn Michaels, Mitch and Carolyn Cohen, Charity Bass, John and Carrie Mercado, Phillip and Mandy Tague, Max Boyd Harrison and Michael Kubis, Lacey Crawford, Dlorah de Vore, Lilibeth Andre, Terrence Boggs and Susan Goettsche, Gus Kopriva, Xsemaj, Eric Salazar, Dune Patten, Lara Kopriva, Solomon Kane, Jerrie Glidden, Lynne and Dave Jennings, Maryann Lucas, Chip Hight, Masoud and Michelle, Jennifer Leahy, Ginger Jenkins, and Martin Willhoite. I also was fortunate that I was sheltered for several months during the spring and summer by Maranda June Pleasant and Heather Korb. Even though I am quite sure that they were both extremely happy when I migrated to other environs, they kept me from living under the overpass and I truly appreciate that.

6. What's going on with your women? What? "My women?" I wish! Another myth. Do I even remotely look like a sultan? They all are most definitely "their own women." I'll give you the short version to clear up any doubt.

Sorange is the love of my life. Totally, completely and absolutely. It's not a secret; most of you all have been aware of that fact for a long, long time. From the day I met her last December 31, I have never experienced anything so powerful in my entire life. Even after all of the turmoil of July-October, my feelings for her have NEVER diminished, even if I was furious at her or in an emotional impact crater because of her. Nevertheless, our relationship is "unique" and I doubt anyone but us truly understands it. I think we probably know each other better than anyone else ever has. We are VERY close. VERY. But, we aren't a "couple." I wish we were but the turnip didn't fall off the truck that way. In fact, Sorange is actually dating someone now who is actually a pretty cool and decent guy. Life goes on....

I also still love my ex-wife Dlorah very, very much. My best friend now after being married for 13 years, Dlorah and I have a 20-year history. She had a profound influence on my art, my life and my health.

I love Mehak, too. She is my protege, confidant and personal art tyrant. During those critical, horrible months of September-November, Mehak was there for me when I needed someone. Day or night. ALWAYS. That's why I have been painting again. Thank Mehak for that.

Michael-Ann and Aimi are two of my best, closest, dearest friends. When I have needed it, they have yelled at me, fed me, taken care of me, transported me, counseled me, medicated me and have always supported me. I am still around because of them. I can say the same about two of my non-art friends -- Jennifer and Ginger. They also have looked after me whenever I needed it. How can I lose with friends like those? I love them all.

And, there's Laura. My "honorary child," Laura listens to me, gripes at me, entertains me, feeds me, creates art with me, encourages me, comforts me, annoys me, makes me worry, and makes me proud. I love my 'Wonka" too!

In addition, even though she gave me the cooties (the cold kind) for three weeks last December, I had a major crush on Alexis for most of 2005. I still miss her. Wish I could have seen her when she was in town a few weeks ago.

Finally, my friends, Marie, Charity, Mandy, Carolyn, Lynne, Lara, Denise, Lilibeth, Carrie, Jerrie, Susan, Lacey, and Jill are also important to me. At various times, they too have listened, advised, helped, consoled, and lectured me whenever I needed it.

That's what's going on with "my women."

Damn, I guess maybe I am a sultan after all! I need a turban.

7. What does 2007 hold for you? Painting. Lots of painting. Lots of coffee drinking.

8. Do you ever get tired talking about yourself? Self interest dictates a tactful reply. Seriously, I have been asked these questions quite recently, most of them by people at art shows. This is "catch-up time." After this, you shouldn't hear about any of this again.

So now you know!

Coda

Remember, I am not the Oracle at Delphi, so if you have a show or event coming up that you want me to mention you have to send it to me at: mldevore@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 and is looking forward to 2007.

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