Kathryn Usher Art

Shoot a film win $50,000 Louisiana Film Prize

2012-01-30T08:07:00.000-08:00

Filmmakers are buzzing about the Louisiana Film Prize . It's open to all filmmakers. The only rule is the films must be shot in Shreveport. Filmmaker Gregory Kallenberg is the creator of the contest.

I went to the Robinson Film Center last Thursday to hear the details of the contest. I was a little disappointed that no category for documentary was announced. The real stuff is my passion. I'm taking a couple of days to see if I want to pursue a project. A short narrative film between 5 and 15 minutes sounds easy enough. Except I have very limited work in the area of moving pictures. Years and years of work in still photography and audio and writing so I"m maybe three quarters of the way there. Maybe.

Interested in winning $50,000? See the above link to the LFP website or you can visit the Facebook page. Or watch LFP's Chris Lyon in a short piece of video I shot at the Robinson Film Center on the day of the LFP launch. He explains how easy it is to get involved. Video shot on iPhone 4S with Flare HDR app.

More information on making movies in Shreveport can be found at the Shreveport-Bossier Film Assistance website.

What kind of mall art are you selling?

2012-01-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

Why do people collect art? It's one way to connect to the creative process. Collectors are people who realize that without creativity and innovation there is nothing new in our future.

Before I became an artist I sold the work of other artists. In the late eighties I was an art consultant at the newly opened Martin Lawrence Galleries in West Oaks Mall in Houston, Texas. Our inventory included pricey works by artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Picasso.

The lighting in the showroom was specifically designed for viewing original works of art. But it was even more magical in the snug viewing rooms that lined the sides of the gallery. They were each about 8 feet by 14 feet with seating on one end and a place for the art at the other. Once a client selected a couple of pieces, they were escorted into one of the small spaces. The work was then installed at the far end of viewing room for an intimate showing. The controlled lighting made the art vibrant.

One weekend the mall sponsored an arts and crafts fair for a group of Houston artists. Handmade items filled the interior of the mall. Each time I had a spare minute I would slip out to see what the local artists were selling.

I hate to admit it but I was saddened by how pitiful the local art in that particular show looked. The paintings were much smaller than the ones we were carrying. The paint application was stingy. Even the frames looked dowdy. The experience made me realize what it meant to be a professional artist. It illustrated that someone who wanted to make a living by selling her creations had to take the time to craft the best possible work. I also noted that the use of the post possible materials was important.

This brings me to the question "what kind of mall art are you selling?" Are you inside the well lighted gallery showing only the best work from your inventory? Or are you wedged next to the sunglasses and handbag kiosks with art work duct taped into beat up frames hoping someone will notice your greatness?

My creating motto for 2012 is "Bigger, Better, Bitchier and Buckier." I arrived at that theme after art critic Robert Pincus said during his one on one critique of my work that he'd like to see my work "bigger." So I'm making bigger work even if this means I have to produce a lesser number of pieces this year. "Better" means I'm examining the construction of everything I put out for public consumption. "Bitchier" means leaving my "Miss Congeniality" threads behind and moving into the realm of tough confrontational work. And "Buckier" means charging more for my work because it is worth more than I realize. So what kind of mall art are you selling in 2012?

Bird Man's art is hot for Shreveport collectors

2012-01-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Why do we collect art from living artists? Usually because it's cheap. And we're taking a gamble that when that artist dies her or his art will be worth much more than we've invested in it.

The Shreveport area has grown several nationally renowned outsider/folk artists. Clementine Hunter is probably the most famous. "Artist Chuckie" Williams would paint famous folks and sit the paintings in the front yard of his house in Shreveport. M. C. "5 Cent" Jones used ball point pen and watercolors on poster board to create his works.

Who is the newest outsider/folk artist in the Shreveport area? I call him Bird Man because he is always making origami birds. Sometimes he will make a rose. He gives these fabulously fun creatures away.

The Bird Man is hard to catch. You can usually spot him at a reception or an event where free food is being served. Take the time to talk to Bird Man and he will tell you where all the best free food is being served that day. This outsider artist man has his pulse on the movable feasts of SB Land. And what's wrong with that? That's why those events and places serve free food. To get people to come.

You luck out when you get a Bird Man origami bird created on the spot. He will give it to you because he doesn't sell his work. Instead Bird Man says "I like giving people the bird."

Don't give me flack for not using Bird Man's real name. He doesn't roll that way. This authentic artist doesn't roll up into a cluster of folks and say "Hi, I'm..." Instead he catches your eye and flaps those tiny paper bird wings. He usually leaves the next step up to you. You can engage him in conversation or run away freaked out because this human being is not following the normal rules of social conduct.

Next time you see the Bird Man tell him I said howdy. It's up to you to decide if you want to collect his work. And I'm telling you if you can prove your piece was crafted by him it will be worth money one day. Then folks will be forging his work just like they do Clementine Hunter's. How many of those fakes do we have living in Shreveport? Good Goddess. The art world is one strange ass place. And almost as cool as a professional wrestling match. Almost.

Louisiana's cultural economy where do you fit in?

2012-01-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

In December 2004 Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu made this statement "For too long we have separated art and culture from what the business community calls economic development. Our citizens are finally recognizing that we are underutilizing our natural assets and raw talents and we are limiting our own potential to create more jobs and growth. . . From our uniquely Louisiana historic preservation to our world renowned culinary industry, we must move our state forward by capitalizing on these important assets."

Just four days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall Landrieu's office released a study of Louisiana's potential to develop its cultural economy. Here's the link to the Louisiana: Where Culture Means Business report. It's chock full of good information. It's wise to have these facts and figures on hand when ever you or someone else starts doubting your worth because you've decided to make a career in the creative economy instead of being a doctor, lawyer or rice farmer.

I totally dig pages six and seven with their lengthy explanations of just who qualifies to be considered to be a part of the creative economy. Let's just say the painter with her paints and canvas is going to have to scoot over and make room for "industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property. This includes advertising, architecture, the art and antiques market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and computer games, television and radio."

And scratch that about what I said about doctors and lawyers. Page six says they are part of the creative class. "The Super-Creative Core of this new class includes scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers, and architects, as well as the 'thought leadership' of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts and other opinion-makers. . . . The Creative Class also includes 'creative professionals' who work in a wide range of knowledge-intensive industries such as high-tech sectors, financial services, the legal and healthcare professions, and business management."

New Year fries up and the old year wobbles off

2012-01-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

The end of the year always slows down my art production. Thank the Goddess the new year has arrived.

My mind is still boggled from the fantastic two day workshop last week from Jack Hollingsworth and the folks at creativeLive in Seattle. Two days of everything iPhoneography. See above for some of my new work shot as a result of the information Hollingsworth shared. Looking forward to seeing what the new year brings.

ADDENDUM: Over the weekend I've been asked numerous times "how do you make those photos using your iPhone 4S?" In an effort to answer that question in a form more folks can access I'm adding some more information to this post.

When I first started shooting with my iPhone I needed to educate myself on the many apps available for the camera and some how I stumbled across a blog called iPhoneography. Glyn Evans is the founder and editor of the blog. I read it daily.

Here's my journey on shooting with a smartphone (I've only been smartphone shooting since the middle of October 2011). First post on using the iPhone 4s camera. Second post shows more examples of my work. By the time the I posted the third one I had shot over 5000 images. If this had been any other time in my life I probably would have blogged more but Charlie just passed away in September 2011 so I've not been in the best state of mind for writing and shooting.

Hope the above information helps you on your journey to become a digital smartphone shooter. Remember the best camera to use is the one you have in your hand and in this modern world of connectivity that usually means the one that is in our smartphones. Have a groovy Monday!

Rockstar Boro Hair Treats

2011-12-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

I was looking over all the items I've been making this year. I found the above photos on my flickr stream. Apparently I was doing boro before I knew it by that name. I love the running stitches in the one pictured on the left. I'm a fool for running and double running stitches.

So thankful to have discovered Melanie Testa and her December Rockstar Boro project so I can learn bunches more. Stinky dress is still in freezer. Sniffed it the other night. Smells like all the stuff in my fridge. Hope to get back to stitching today. I've been working on my smart movie making skills so I can produce professional content on my mobile device. WTF? All that means is I'm figuring out how to make cool looking movies using my iPhone 4S.

I have stopped for death

2011-12-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have stopped for death
it's been three months
when it was all over
you were in a cardboard box
on the dirty top of the refrigerator
perhaps you are on a long shopping trip
it is busy this dark time of year at Walmart
no
you are the dead
short days ago
you sipped coffee
smoked Doral Red 100s in a box
called to ask if I wanted to eat lunch with you
this sadness is not here all day
happy bits fight a way in
the smack down of grief
hits just when I've breathed softly for too long

Artwork Clearance: brainchild of feminist artist Debbie Hollis Buchanan Engle goes global

2011-12-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Debbie Hollis Buchanan Engle (see photo above) is a radical progressive artist, small business owner and feminist. That's a bitchin' combination here in the Deep South.

Earlier this year she created the Facebook page Artwork Clearance as a place to host art auctions. How smart is that? Forget the fees you have to pay to Etsy or Ebay or any of the others. Debbie created an online auction house that is all her own. And she's hosted auctions for other artists and causes.

The creation of Artwork Clearance takes a page from the playbook of San Francisco based art appraiser, and art writer Alan Bamberger. He said, "In economic times like these, you gotta get creative in order to survive."

The current auction runs through noon Friday December 23, 2011. It's called "Bohemian Bottles." Sixty-six glass and paper pieces make up this collection. The pieces I'm drawn to are the ones that include the cutouts from her grandmother's old sewing patterns. They are paired with quips like "Bring It On" and "Boss Lady."

These are images she's been working with for quite some time. There is a history to this work and that's excellent news for collectors of her art. Centenary College took note of the importance of Debbie's work with these images back in 2006 and featured them in this write up.

Interest in this current auction is global with inquires as far flung as the UK.

Stitching cemetery flowers onto my Rockstar Boro

2011-12-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some stitches for my RSB! I'm figuring out how to use the cemetery flowers I've collected over the last couple of years. I might stick some tulle over them like Melanie Testa did in this post on her blog. Right now I'm just using a running stitch to tack them onto and old white cotton shirt of Charlie's.

RSB update. See the back of the garment? Where it says True Blood and Voo Doo .com? I cut that completely out because I thought I might want to use those letters somewhere else on the garment. So now there's a big hole in the back. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with that big hole. I hope I can use some of the stinky dress to patch it. We'll have to see have it smells when I take it out of the freezer tomorrow. Also the dress has changed radically. I'll post photos after I let it thaw.

How much money does it take to clean a one dollar dress?

2011-12-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

Soaked the stinky dress in Coke for maybe a day (see above). Then I washed it. Dang. Should have taken better notes because I don't remember what I used in the washer. The thing still reeked of gasoline.

So I soaked it in baking soda and vinegar and then washed it in vinegar. The smell was GONE! No it wasn't. I lied. I hung it up to dry on the back porch clothes line. Then I stuck it in a trash bag and sprinkled baking soda on it.

Yesterday I took it out of the bag and washed it with vinegar. Did that work? No. So I got a couple of towels and stuck them and the dress back in the washer after soaking the dress with Resolve Laundry Stain Remover. I added laundry detergent and color safe bleach and washed it again and hung it back outside. Odor gone after that? Kinda. For the most part. Like I could make a wall hanging out of it but I'm not ready to wear it. So one last idea popped into my head.

I stuck it in the freezer next to the turkey. I read earlier this year that freezing your Birkenstock sandals would get rid of the funky odor they get sometimes. So I decided to give it a try on the dress. I'll take it out in a day or two. Hope that's all I have to do because I've washed the thing so much that the lettering on the tag stating "Dry Clean Only" has completely disappeared!

I'm planning on incorporating the dress into my RSB. Between washings of the stinky dress I have been stitching. I'll post some of those photos tomorrow. Speaking of photos, more have been added to the Rockstar boro flickr group. Click here to see what everyone has been making.

Louisiana Roster Artist Kathryn Usher updates her NWLA Artist Directory page to include an artist resume in PDF

2011-12-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

Remind me not to wait almost 15 years to update my artist resume. I had to finish it today so I could upload it in a PDF to my page on the NWLA Artists Directory, which is a program of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC).

Music critic Brett Campbell will be judging those artists in the directory who want to be reviewed for Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster status. Campbell was one of the critics this year for the Impromptu show at artspace in downtown Shreveport. One thing he said about much of the performance work from our area was "provincial." He meant in a "y'all are a bunch of cornball, hayseed, hillbilly hicks" way. Don't you love the potential for some juicy gossip? Remember we are paying him for his opinion so he can pass judgment on us.

I have nothing against Campbell. He's a fine writer and I'm sure a lovely man. I am passing judgement on how we are choosing to play the art game. I'll say it now. We are provincial in our local art game. And I mean that in a we are a bunch of cornball, hayseed, hillbilly hicks. I'm just shaking to find out if I will be deemed "professional" enough to join the Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster (the name of SRAC's roster). The funny thing is I was juried onto the Artist Roster of the Louisiana Division of the Arts back in 1992. I have to play this provincial local art game that's been set up in Shreveport if I want to see positive changes made. It's the first step I'm taking for my agenda (not sure what my agenda is but I was accused at a Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster meeting of having one).

I'm not the only one who will have to be judged. If you are currently on the Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster (the name of SRAC's roster) you will have to be reviewed now by Campbell or next year by Robert Pincus, the other critic for the Impromptu show. By next summer every current member of the Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster will be axed unless they've uploaded their information to the NWLA Artists Directory on the SRAC website and given the okay to be reviewed/judged, yet again, for roster status. That's the policy that's been set by those local artists who are allowed to attend the monthly meetings of the Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster.

Say, wouldn't it be smashing if we could read the minutes of those Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster meetings? A swell idea since it's a group setting public policy. Interestingly enough, no minutes are kept at these meetings. I'm starting to see where my agenda might be heading.

Also, why isn't William (Bill) Joyce on the NWLA Artists Directory or a member of the Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster? After all, he is the artistic director of artspace. Good Goddess, you don't think he thinks the NWLA Artists Directory and Northwest Louisiana Juried Artist Roster is too provincial for him? Perhaps asking questions like those could become a part of my agenda.

In the meantime, everyone is invited to join the Fontane Usher-Shreveport Professional Artistan Roster (FU-SPAR) Facebook page. We have lots lively discussions happening there. It's all a part of my agenda.

500 iPhone 4s photos

2011-12-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

I've completed 500 photos since the middle of October. That's when my new iPhone 4S arrived. Here are just some of those photographs. I've probably shot close to 5000 photos since I started working with this smartphone camera but those 500 are the ones I've selected as the best. Click on the thumbnails for the larger versions. Since Charlie died in September I seem to be channeling my grief in to creating. I suppose that is what an artist does.

Tackling the smell and avoiding the provincial

2011-12-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is the sweet dress I scored at Dunn's Flea Market for only one dollar. The only problem is that is smells like gasoline has been spilled on it. After airing it out for two days the odor was still there. I splurged on bottle of Coke because I read online that was one thing you could soak a garment in to get rid of the odor. I haven't washed it yet. I'm also thinking this is a traditional garment from some other part of the world. The only tag I can see is the dry clean only one. Maybe when I can get rid of the odor I can take a closer look. Anyone have any ideas on where this garment originated?

I'm heading to the back porch to take a sniff right now. I'll keep you updated. If I can get the odor out I plan on cutting it up and using it on my RSB garment. Also working on a mask for the BAC show. It's gonna be big and bold and not the least bit provincial.

Rockstar boro running stitches everywhere

2011-12-12T09:13:00.000-08:00

Had a super weekend. Spent most of Saturday shopping and thrifting with Mount Kilimanjaro Woman. We hit two three thrift stores, one craft store and one flea market.

The shirt in the photo above came from the Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission Thrift Store. We lucked out because the shirts and pants were only one dollar. I found two red shirts for my RSB. At the flea market I picked up a bag of thread for a dollar and a beautiful dress that has one major flaw (to be blogged about later this week -- complete with pictures and the whole saga).

If you want to join in the RSB fun just cruise over to the blog of textile designer and fiber artist Melanie Testa and read about this December project she's started.

Rockstar Boro stitching finally but who knows what the stitches are called

2011-12-08T09:46:00.001-08:00

I sew by hand. The last time I used a machine was in seventh grade home economics. It was ugly. So it's slow going hand stitching but at least I've started on my Rockstar Boro (RSB) garment.

I deconstructed an old pair of Charlie's black work pants and stitched the front of them to the front of my RSB. I wanted to add the two deep pockets so that's why I used the front part of the pants. The two panels are heavy and have caused a complete change in the neckline. So now I have to rethink what I'm doing in the front. And I learned I really have to keep the weight of fabrics in mind when I start adding them to my RSB.

Also I suppose I'm gonna have to learn the name of stitches. I'm pretty fluent in running stitch. My favorite stitch is the blanket stitch... and that's about all I know. Research time. Oh hey... I just learned the stitch I really use most is the double running stitch. Hmmmm.

In the photo below is a hat. It's from the hood of a jacket I purchased a couple of years ago at Salvation Army when they were having a coat sale. I think I picked it up for $1.00. I love the fabric. I think I'm going to use some of this fabric on my RSB. It's not too late for you to stitch along with Melanie and her RSB project.

Sidetracked by a hat but at least the flowers I stole from St. Joseph Cemetery got washed

2011-12-06T09:20:00.001-08:00

I was sooo jealous when I saw the beautiful fabrics Melanie harvested from a beach near New York City. But then I remembered the cemetery flowers I like to steal. I like the ones that are soft and frayed. Ones that have been run over by the lawn mower and aged by the sun. So I pulled out a bunch and washed them. I'm gonna use them on my Rockstar Boro garment.

Day 6 of December and I haven't sewed a stitch on that project. But I have a good excuse. I'm still gathering fabric and looking at boro photos. And I'm working on an Old Navy hat I purchased second hand from Goodwill. It was too plain.

I added the beads after seeing what Nadine Charity's been making and posting on her blog. Swell, huh? The shredded strips of fabric are just something I like to add to most of my hats. It's like fringe with a purpose... it keeps me head warm.

Keeping ears warm with old t-shirts upcycled earbands

2011-12-05T07:02:00.001-08:00

My afternoon fiber art class is pretty free form at Renzi Art and Education. I teach two classes. One with probably fourth through middle school students. And the other one is kindergarten through third grade. I call them the little kids and the big kids. I have one kindergartener that just likes to run around the class room wrapping the students and chairs and our big work table around and 'round with yarn. Like he's a spider and we are one big fly mass.

Last week we worked on making earbands from old t-shirts of Charlie's (see above for examples). I think the kids had the most fun tearing the fabric into tentacles to hang down the back. One of my students has been working on a project for a couple of weeks and he wanted to work on that. You can see the progress he's making in the photograph below.

Hope to have some photos of my Rockstar Boro garment ready later today.Want to play along? Go to Melanie Testa's blog for all the juicy details.

Rockstar Boro sew-along-and-share-with-me from Melanie Testa

2011-12-03T09:20:00.001-08:00

Melanie Testa is a textile designer and fiber artist. All during the month of December she's invited me to create along with her. Well, not just me. Anyone who wants to participate is welcome. I found out about the project through a podcast interview with her by Ricë Freeman-Zachery. You can read what Ricë wrote about the project at CreateMixedMedia.com.

It's December 3 and I'm just now selecting the garment I'm using. It's one I altered during that whole fiasco of my tiny film being banned from the city of Shreveport back in 2009. Here's a blog I started so I could have some place on the Internet to post what a juicy trip that whole ordeal was. Oh, goodness. I haven't posted on it in forever or even looked at it in forever and the last post has a photo of Charlie, Goddess rest his soul.

So my plan is to continue to use the garment as a protest piece. But this time it will be a statement about street performers in downtown not being able to ask for tips or even post signs like "Tips Appreciated." And I know it will have to add pockets. Right now there are none. My iPhone needs a nest.

Okay.... now I have to search through fabric piles and get started rockin' the boro!

Shreveport street performers in downtown should be able to ask for tips

2011-12-02T09:03:00.001-08:00

Street performer arrived in downtown Shreveport this week. Glad to see it happen. I know lots of folks worked to make this happen and I appreciate their hard work.

But I really hate that the performers are not allowed to ask for tips. For Goddess sake they can't even put a sign up that says TIPS APPRECIATED. No one expects the downtown hot dog vendor to give away his work, why is it expected that street performers should give away their work?

Mayor Cedric Glover* has a plan to grow Shreveport's economy by tapping into the creative economy. That plan only works when artisans get paid. I don't think the idea all along was "Hey, let's get those wacky artists to do shit for free. They'll do anything for free as long as they get exposure."

The street performers work to entertain us. They should be able to ask for compensation. Having an open case or box so folks might just take the hint is not enough. No more "let's play art." This is real. Art is a real business. The creative economy is a real economy where money is exchanged for goods. Don't stop the money from flowing to the artisans especially when you are depending on them to grow the economy of a whole geographical area of your city.

*You know I love that guy. I sat through the longest Shreveport City Council meeting to give him a piece of art. It was about his underwear. You can read about the great Mayor Cedric Glover's underwear adventure here.

Staying warm and making iPhone nests

2011-11-30T10:16:00.001-08:00

See the red polka dots? It's a pair of pants I made a couple of years ago from an old blanket. I mainly wear them at home. I did wear them late at night on Texas Avenue last Friday night/Saturday morning while out doing our Texas Avenue Midnight Special project.

The latest addition to these pants is a pocket in the right side. I have to have a nest in every garment now for the iPhone. How is technology changing you?

A night on Texas Avenue and you're invited

2011-11-25T09:38:00.001-08:00

On the day that many Americans will spend hours in line waiting to snatch up deals on a waffle irons and Blu-ray disc players, I'll be spending my Black Friday wandering around downtown Shreveport on Texas Avenue.

We're having a Shooting Party and you're invited to tag along. It's part of the year of activities we have planned for our Texas Avenue Midnight Special project. Tonight's mission has Debbie Buchanan Engle , Nadine Charity and myself roaming around the west edge of downtown Shreveport.

We'll be shooting photos, video and sound to upload to Facebook and other social media sites so folks can see what happens in downtown Shreveport at night. When it is dark. When folks should be scared. When gremlins and Satan show up to eat the hearts out of virgins. I don't know what people think goes on down there. Good Goddess. People, people, get outta your gated communities and come hang with the rest of us gangstas.

FU-SPAR what? Has nothing to do with pissed off or anger and everything to do with tattoos and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

2011-11-20T07:08:00.001-08:00

Humor people humor.

Some folks have asked lovely questions like "How did you come up with the name Fontane Usher-Shreveport Professional Artisan Roster?" and "So you mad at SPAR (Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation)? Is that how you named it that?"**************

OH MY FREAKING FRACKING FRICKING GODDESS. Here is the story.

Because I'm so damn smart 25 years ago I searched out met and fell in love with a man. But not any man he had to have a last name that started with an 'F." So then, wha ha happened, I married him in 1986 and very cleverly, because I am wickedly that smart I decided to keep my own last name, which by the way, starts with a "U." Then I allowed him to inject me with sperm so we could reproduce. Then I stayed married to him for 25 years so we could parent this child together and then so I could watch him pass away and I could have the brilliant idea to honor him with a Facebook group called FU-SPAR (click here to join the group).

Let's break it down like I sometimes have to break it down for my young art students ("no baby, you can use orange in Mz Usher's art class. Contrary to what those stupid adults have tried to teach you gangs do not own colors. Also, go ahead and toss those tennis shoes up on an electric wire. It's a fun way to recycle your old shoes and it scares the shit out of stupid old white people.") ...

The story of how FU-SPAR came about...

Fontane - That would be the last name of Charles Fontane. Or Charlie. That's what we call/called him around here. Although his family in south Louisiana called him Greg because that's the name he had growing up. Charles Gregory Fontane.

Usher - That would be my last name. My radical ass feminist last name. When we married I kept my last name. And Charlie didn't take my last name. We didn't hyphenate the two together. Naming is a very personal quest in modern American. Especially so for radical feminists living in the South.

Shreveport - That's the wicked cool city where we lived most of our married lives. It's also the place where I make most of my art. I also make art about this city. I tell stories about Shreveport using Shreveport materials. Shreveport is the center of the Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas universe. We are the number one gambling destination in Louisiana. Not New Orleans or any other place in L.A. Us. Shreveport. Hence the "S." It is the place that interests me.

Professional - It means to get paid to pimp your shit. It means to be interested in pimping your shit for money. For artisans it means participating in the creative economy by not giving your shit away. Sell your shit.

Artisan - Artisan. It is a term that's being used world wide to mean folks who are artists and or craftspeople. It is a hell of a lot shorter to write, to type than both of those terms. And in this age of texting shorter is always better. Artisans make shit. And FU-SPAR artisans make shit to sell because they want to participate in the creative economy.

Roster - A list of people. Most of the time a particular list of people doing particular things. Take the website of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. On the very front at the top is the heading "Roster." You click there and see what folks are playing with that band.

Now What do FU-SPAR Roster Artisans do? We make money using our skills and we advocate for creatives to make a living wage. We do not advocate for creatives to give their shit away. That bank is closed.

FU-SPAR IS A VERY DANGEROUS AND RADICAL GROUP BECAUSE WE BELIEVE YOU CAN BE AN ARTISAN IN SHREVEPORT AND MAKE A LIVING FROM YOUR WORK. How wickedly wild is that idear?

So as you can see... just as no gang can "own" particular colors, no group can "own" the letters of the English alphabet. Peace out. Holla. Also I have the greatest urge to get gangsta knuckle tatts.

*****WELL. Now. Shit. I might be mad at the designer of the SPAR website. What the hell is up with the photos? Why are they using stock lifestyle images? We (the city of Shreveport) can't pay a photographer to shoot photos of SPAR events? Why are we taking money away from our own creative economy? GOOD GODDESS Do I have to think of everything?

Here are some of my recent images of events happening in Shreveport city locations:

Too Short Not to Have Fun

2011-11-15T16:07:00.001-08:00

Since things have been way too serious for way too long around here, I've decided to start playing with toys. Or at least stick them into the middle of my Shabby Chic Fabric Flower Brooches and Hair Goodies. Take that boring old accessories.

Presents opens Friday night November 11 2011 with a party at artspace

2011-11-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

So about my "plus one..." All 17 of the artisans selected to participate in the Presents show at artspace were given six comp tickets to the reception event this Friday night. We were also told we could bring ourselves "plus one..." Good Goddess, what is a widow to do? I mean I teared up in the grocery store last night because I was buying coffee for the first time since we lost him.

Not that Charlie (if you're just joining us... Charlie... husband of 25 years just passed away almost two months ago) would go to every art event of mine. Just some. Here he is at the show Debbie Buchanan Engle and I had last year at Lilah's Deli and Bakery.

Here he is with Katee at artspace at a show of mine back in 2008.

I'm sure he would have gone to this one coming up on Friday art artspace.Why? Because, most of the time, a party at artspace means tasty food. And the man loved his food on the tasty side.

I'm almost tempted to take him along in his new compact portable form. Too much, maybe?

For more info on the show and the other artisans selected check out artspace. By the way, the art work I will be showing is my fabric flowers made from vintage fabrics. Here is a slide show of similar ones I will be selling.

HOW IS YOUR ART BRANDED? ARE YOU USING YOUR NAME? I USE MY NAME KATHRYN USHER

2011-11-06T05:33:00.000-08:00

Why do artists keep changing their name? I see it in social media all the time. Why do folks feel the need to come up with some funky name for a Facebook page for their art? Or a whole new name for an email address?

Stop it. Stop changing. It only confuses folks. Make it simple so they can find you by just Googling your name, the city or state you create and the kind of art they have seen you do. I'm doing it now: Kathryn Usher Art Shreveport Louisiana Fabric Flowers Paintings Photographs. Good Goddess. That's my rant for the day.

My life as a Fauxtographer/Photographer Photos shot with iPhone 4s Photo Essay

2011-10-31T07:47:00.000-07:00

I've been having a swell time trying out the camera on the iPhone 4s. In the two weeks I've had the phone I've shot over 2000 photos and pieces of video. You read that correctly that is TWO THOUSAND.

And the more I shoot the more I laugh and enjoy the newish trend of "photographers" who whine on and on in their blogs about "everyone is getting a camera these days... whine... oh noes whatever shall we do... remember just because someone has a camera doesn't mean they are a photographer...whine... whine... whine..." The big fat whiners even have a name they've created to set themselves apart from the point and shooters. They call them fauxtographers. Here's one of the whiny ass bitches now for your reading enjoyment. And another. And another. The babies are everywhere.

Stepping into the iPhone world

2011-10-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

IPhone 4s anyone? I'm getting ready to launch a new art related project and I know I needed a better camera then my point and shoot. And it's not even my point and shoot since I stole it from Katee.

I also needed a new phone since my old one was a pink SLVR from Motorola that still had Cingular stamped on the back. It came out in 2006 and was being held together with a pink hair band since the back had a tendency to pop open.

I've had the iPhone for a week now. Wow, who knew what a new world it would open. We may not have flying cars but we do have smartphones. Here's a site where I'm putting my iPhone photos if you care to see what the new iPhone 4s can do. Inkstagram is a web interface for Instagram. Instagram says it provides "fast, beautiful photo sharing for your iPhone." Here are my Instagram photos. 1/19/2012 UPDATE Instagram is now called Ink361.

Artwork Clearance Auction on Facebook Art for Kathryn Brother Can You Spare Me a Lorrytab?

2011-09-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I feel like I'm waddling through cane syrup. What I can feel and understand is the love that comes from our community and surrounds our family. I'm struggling with how to tell our story. Charlie's story. This is what artists do. We tell stories. We are here to tell the stories of our community.

I painted this piece yesterday. This version of Brother Can You Spare Me a Lorrytab? is the third time I've painted this image. The first two were on paper. I painted the first one in 2010. Brother Can You Spare Me a Lorrytab? is part of the online auction Debbie Buchanan Engle has organized on Facebook at Artwork Clearance under Art for Kathryn. The auction runs through September 30. I'm truly humbled at all the artists who have donated work and all the folks who are bidding. Thank you for taking the time to look at all the beautiful work. I hope you get to know more about the artists in our community. They are an amazing and lovely group of people. And when I say artists, I mean artists in all disciplines. Music. Visual. Film. Theatre. Literary. Dance. Multi-Discipline.

MORE ABOUT THE WORK Brother Can You Spare Me a Lorrytab? :

This piece is 24 inches wide by 36 inches tall on wrapped canvas.

It is mixed media - paper, acrylics, black Sharpie pen, pencil, glue and pages torn from the book Best Loved Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published in 1954 (a collectible book worth $75). Poems include all of Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie and bits of The Song of Hiawatha. The image of Evangeline and Gabriel is an original illustration from the above mentioned book and was created by Harry A. Kallish. (Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie is an epic poem first published in 1847. Evangeline describes the betrothal of a fictional Acadian girl named Evangeline Bellefontaine to her beloved, Gabriel Lajeunesse, and their separation as the British deport the Acadians from Acadie. The poem follows Evangeline across America as she searches for him. Finally she settles in Philadelphia and, as an old woman, works as a Sister of Mercy among the poor. While tending the dying during an epidemic she finds Gabriel among the sick, and he dies in her arms).

I loved the tender drawing by Kallish and thought it fitting to include it since Charlie's Great-Aunt Doralice Fontane wrote the state song of Louisiana Give Me Louisiana. Charlie's Louisiana connection is also why I made the belt buckle on the man in the boot shape of Louisiana. Katee also liked the fact that Evangeline's last name was "Bellefontaine."

Earlier this year I had a chance to have a one on one talk with San Diego based art critic Robert Pincus. He said he would like to see me work in a bigger format. The size of Brother Can You Spare Me a Lorrytab? is larger than I normally work. I was trying to honor and experiment with the suggestion that Pincus gave me. Brother Can You Spare Me a Lorrytab? is signed on front and back. Also includes a card (see below) with information about my status as a globally recognized Neo-Outsider artist as documented by UK art scholar Dr. Melissa Westbrook.

Thank You Baby Jesus! Autumn 2011 You Could Not Here Get Quick Enough

2011-09-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you think summer 2011 was the worst. When it started out hotter than blazes even before the official start of summer in June I knew it was gonna be miserable. I told Charlie "If we all make it through the summer hydrated and without killing someone, we will be lucky."

At the FU house (Fontane Usher) we ended up with a yard full of dead plants and grass. Lost two cats. One died and the other we had to put down. Just this last Monday we had to put down our oldest dog. And a week ago we removed Charlie from life support. So as Katee (our baby... or do I now have to say "my baby" like I crafted her by myself with the help of a 40 percent of coupon from Michaels?) has been known to say "well that sucks."

Just found this video of Charlie eating beignets at the Shreveport Farmers' Market on Saturday July 2, 2011. The man was particular about his food. But he would always share it with you. See how he gives me a bite? Our remaining two dogs are very sad because they always ate whatever Charlie ate. I do not share food very well.

I hear Cindy and her beignets will be a part of the Red River Revel. Have you read her food blog? Click here. She and Sara (see photo above) were very sweet to bring by homemade food (chocolate cake and chicken pot pie) when Charlie was first taken to the hospital on Sunday September 11, 2011. I think that's what I lived on for that week. I'm still in such a fog. I have so many folks to thank for their kindness these past couple of weeks. I hope you eat something good today!

Charles Gregory Fontane 11/04/1950 - 9/16/2011

2011-09-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is the memorial card for my husband. Katee, our daughter did not want to put his birth year and death year on the card we passed out on Saturday September 17, 2011 at his memorial service at The Yellow House of Highland. Just for my records I am going add that.

Charlie and I were married in August 1986. We had 25 years together. What can I say? I miss you very much and in many ways. Like the loud way you would slam the inside kitchen door. The morning coffee you would bring me in the tiny brown Frankoma Pottery cup. And how the dogs would go crazy to greet you when you came home in the afternoon. It was a wild ride, Mr. Fontane, a wild ride.

Bad Art Titles Equal Bad Art Sales

2011-09-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Of all the choices in the cafeteria at Schumpert hospital for lunch I picked a Lady Caroline Salad. There were lots of tasty choices and smells but this was the one with the best name. Can this lesson be applied to what I name my art pieces?

Alan Bamberger writes about naming art in this article. "By the way, when art dealers and auction houses take on art with poor documentation, they at least do their best to come up with exciting titles. They know that even when additional information is scant or nonexistent, good titles sell art faster than boring ones or no titles at all."

I was eating lunch at the hospital Tuesday because my husband Charlie is there. He made it through the night. He is on life support. A heart attack (it's complicated) happened Saturday night. I believe he just needs a little more time to heal.

Diorama Woman Lives in a Case at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum

2011-09-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Working on bigger pieces on paper has me thinking of art of all sizes.

There is an exhibit at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on how the dioramas at the museum were created. I loved the little wax figures in the case and the ghostly white Plaster of Paris molds.

For the longest time only one fellow, Henry B. Wright, was given credit for the work. But this exhibit has information on all the people involved. It's now known it took a team to build the 22 dioramas. That group included Eva Newsome, Hans Manglesdorf, Steve Sanchez and a group of students with the National Youth Adminstration (NYA). The NYA was a nationally funded work program during the depression.

Also this week, I rediscovered the series of photos Jennifer Robison did on the dioramas.

Francesca and Paolo by Nadine Charity

2011-09-06T04:43:00.000-07:00

In a place Robert Trudeau calls the En Plein Air Gallery (at the corner of Kings Highway and Youree Drive) Nadine Charity read her poem Francesca and Paolo on a hot August evening . Since I'd just discovered my camera (the one I have stolen from daughter Katee) had a black and white setting, I captured her on video in that mode.

This poem can also be found on the spoken-word CD, Between Quiet and Confrontation. To hear more works from that CD click on this link to project at the Northwest Louisiana Art Gallery. The gallery is a project of Shreveport artist Michael G. Moore. The CD includes 18 poems, two short stories and two novel excerpts. It was created in 2004 to bring attention to the winners of the annual Shreveport Regional Arts Council's Literary Fellowships and the 100+ members of the SRAC Writers' Registry. The CD project was spearheaded by Carlos Colón.

About the poster: On the wall behind Nadine is a poster she created through the global art project InsideOut of anonymous French street artist JR. He is the winner of the TED 2011 prize.

Tropical Storm Lee You Are My Sunshine Is That Jimmie Davis Singing?

2011-09-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

Rain. Sweet rain. Tropical Storm Lee is making it a wet Labor Day weekend in Shreveport, Louisiana. I did not take this photo during this storm. It's from a rain shower earlier this summer in June 2011. But I did take the photo on my block. I like how the magnificent arching branches of the live oak trees are reflected in the rain collected on the sidewalk. Nothing says Deep South better than the wide-spreading limbs on a live oak.

Steven Soffer Talks About Art

2011-08-31T06:33:00.000-07:00

"It is not enough to have a good mind, the main thing is to use it well" -Descartes.

"What constitutes well? To me, it is using your passion/talent to support/advocate your vision. My vision and therefore my interests and motivations to create ceramics, water colours or mix media is a direct result of my desire to inspire those who view my work that it is indeed possible and we as individuals (generally) and as inter-dependent communities (specifically) can create a world without chaos filled with peace, justice and happiness..."

- taken from Steven Soffer's Artist Statement on the NWLA Artists Directory since I was busy shooting photos of him on that last Saturday of August 2011 at Meadows Museum and I did not take notes on our discussion about art. What photos did the local mainstream media shoot on that same Saturday? Krewe of Gemini Royalty Coronation at Horseshoe Riverdome. There are 93 of them.

Columbia Cafe Jane Ryder's Hat & Fascinator Trunk Show

2011-08-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

What better way to fill a Sunday afternoon in the Deep South than by trying on newly created hats and fascinators? Jane Ryder was the artisan designer. Matthew Linn of Columbia Cafe was the host.

Pictured wearing the white necklace, is Conchita Iglesias McElwee. She is also a designer of fascinators and hats. Her trunk show is coming September 15, 2011 at Chemistry Hair Salon.

We All Inherit the Wind I Swear I Saw Jesus on the Cross Turns Out a Primate in Shreveport The Town Where After the Trial John T. Scopes Ended Up

2011-08-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Met Steven Soffer Saturday at Meadows Museum of Art. Soffer gifted me with some tasty cream cheese cake muffins. He's working hard on new art pieces.

We talked and looked at the Selected Ceramic Works from the Series Dominance and Affection, Signal and In Servitude exhibit by Bethany Krull. Her work is up until November 6, 2011. She will be in Shreveport September 15 - 18, 2011. Here's a short video (2 minutes) with Krull talking about her work.

In the main room of the museum, I swear I saw Jesus on the cross. Turned out to be Krull's piece about a primate in a diaper. But from across the room and at the angle I saw it, I thought "Jesus?! On the cross?! What are you doing among these porcelain bugs and mice?"

About John T. Scopes... I don't know how my brain makes these oddball connections they just do. Except that the primate was in the position of Jesus on the cross and John T. Scopes lived his latter years in Shreveport and the play Inherit the Wind was about The Scopes Monkey Trial.

SRAC Breaks Glitter on Central Artstation (or is it Art Station)

2011-08-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's official. The old Central Fire Station became the Central Art Station (or is it Artstation?) this morning after a "glitter" breaking. Shot more video than I did photographs. All in black and white. Spotted Gregory Kallenberg, Bruce Allen, Dorothy Hanna, Marjorie Kouns, Tom Pace, Semmie Buffin, Kelly Warner, Maggie Martin, Jim Hudelson, The entire SRAC staff, Matthew Linn and others. Do I have to list who is in the video? If you just click on it you can go to Flickr and see the names of those folks.

While I did not get to scoop glitter over everyone I did toss confetti, eat a hot dog, sip water, lick a blueberry basil Geauxsicle and hang out with neighbor Bob (Atchison). A good time was had by all.

Liz Swaine Shreveport Downtown Development Authority Artspace and Art Collecting

2011-08-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

It's one thing to create wearable art like One of a Kind Shabby Chic Fabric Flowers but then those creations take on even more energy when folks pop one on. That's why I was tickled to spot Liz Swaine wearing a Shabby Chic Fabric flower in a photo in the August-September 2011 issue of the new Shreveport magazine Definition.

Swaine is the Executive Director of the DDA and a great supporter of the arts in Shreveport. In the interview for the magazine she talked a bit about downtown's history and its future. She ends the article with this thought "I think you're going to be seeing some real positive changes over the next 18 months to two years..." You can keep up with downtown with the weekly publication the DDA produces What's UP DOWNTOWN this week?

One unique event coming up in September 2011 that Swaine has first hand information on is the Art of the Road at artspace. From the artspace website "Curated by motorcycle builder Steve Culp and his bike enthusiast wife Liz Swaine, the exhibition will span the golden ages in the development of motorcycled with bikes that are both rare and one of a kind to those who found legions of followers..." Twang Darkly will perform on opening night September 23.

Could This Be Your Monday Face? Or Is It Hurricane Irene Knocking?

2011-08-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Irene is heading towards southern Florida and could hit there by Thursday. I'd like her to blow some rain and cooler temperatures our way. It's another week of predicted high temperatures of over 100. We've had 48 days of over 100 degree temperatures so far this summer.

I love the stories of creative process. Here's one that happened to me this last week. I bought a purse from a thrift store, took it apart and started making hair treats from it. I had some left over pieces that were triangle shapes. I thought they looked a little like African masks so I started playing around with them and ended up with these Louisiana Mask Brooches. The coolest part is that they are also finger puppets. I'm going to make a little video of them and show you how fun they are. It always surprises me what happens when you dance with the muse.

Picking Cotton in the Diorama Field

2011-08-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

My vending table was set up in front of the Cotton Diorama at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on Saturday. I got to stare at the beeswax figures during the slower parts of the event. This woman wearing a hat and dressed in a green blouse and purple skirt was the last photo I took. I would wear this outfit even though it's over 70 years old.

Met some really nice folks while I was there. Wayne Waddell, Rodney Clements and Nita Cole were just a couple of them. So glad there is this Friends of LSEM site because the official site done by the state is boring (well, it's true). There on plenty of photos on the site and some good information about the Dioramas.

When Bollywood Comes Dancing on Your Head

2011-08-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

A lucky find at the thrift store around the corner from our house led me to these latest hair treats. The handbag was just begging to be cut apart and made into small wearable art pieces. The hues remind me of Bollywood movies. The effervescent red, pink, orange, and purple bag demanded to be upcycled into something new.

Once I deconstructed the bag into square shapes I then added some embroidery stitches and other layers of fabric. From the side view below you can see the cotton batting, Dupioni silk and organza.

How was your weekend? Mine was busy. Two vending events. One at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum and the other at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. Working on photos and video from both. Should post them later this week.

Editing and Then the Cover Story: How to Buy Art: Artist/Gallery Owner John Sproul

2011-08-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

Working with Nadine and Debbie on the TAMS project has really made me think about editing. And now with season whatever of Project Runway drumming it into my brain it's all I'm thinking about these days.

Art isn't about the real whole thing. It's about the well edited images, words, sounds, movements, etc, that best show what your are trying to say about the thing. Forgive me if I'm wrong. I'm self taught and this is the conclusion I've drawn.

I've been looking at the different ways people use Flickr.com. Some people put everything on their flickr stream and some folks put up only their absolute best work. It makes it easier for me as a viewer if only the best work is up. It's tiring to wade through the same shot over and over again or what appears to be the same shot over and over. I guess that's the thing about editing. I have to use my time to edit my work and present only the strongest pieces that tell the story I want to tell so you don't have to waste your time figuring out what it is I'm trying to say. And that probably only applies if you are trying to communicate with an audience and/or sell your work.

Love this response from John Sproul (from this article) when asked if art is always an investment he said "I think it is, but not necessarily in a monetary sense. Buying a work of art is an investment in the artist, in the art gallery, the art community, our culture and the richness of one’s life."

Found Object Necklaces Float Towards a Sustainable Environment

2011-08-10T05:04:00.000-07:00

For some reason this photo makes me think of wonderful sweets like pink lemonade, peppermint ice cream and cotton candy.

It's just a grouping of my Found Object Necklaces floating on a sea of hot pink organza. Each necklace embodies the "Three R's of the Environment": Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, as well as the "Three Legs of Sustainability": Economics, Ecology, and Social Equity.

Since my necklaces and flowers are made from upcycled materials, I'm doing my small part to promote a sounder environment by reducing the amount of landfill space occupied by discarded clothes. The green experts say approximately two-thirds of clothing materials are sent to landfills, making it the fastest growing component of waste in the household waste stream.

Sustainable Fiber Art Neck Tote: Can't you just see US First Lady Michelle Obama wearing this?

2011-08-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

One of a kind. Crafted of upcycled cashmere and cotton sweaters and other fabrics including silk. Small and sturdy bag for traveling light. The hands free way to hold your camera, phone, ID/passport, credit card and lip balm. I started playing around with the design because while I do love a shoulder bag I hate the way the bag strap looks in pictures. I wanted to create something that looked like a breastplate necklace but also gave me a place to store items.

The First Lady along with other fashion forward women like Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts are big fans of sustainable clothes and accessories. Christina Kim is just one of the designers they wear. Kim's been hailed as one of the most influential names in the field of sustainable fashion by Time Magazine. Love this look of Kim's on Ms Obama. Kim also designed the outfits for the female cast for the movie Friends with Money.

An Artist Statement in 33 Words

2011-08-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

I'm a big
Fat
Tuesday
Louisiana artist
who steeps my Viking bones
in magic
by stabbing together
rust bits
and fabric pieces
so I can stitch
charms that succuss
strong luck and protection.

Getting my information together for the Shreveport Regional Arts Council's NWLA Artist Directory gave me the reason to reconsider my artist statement. In the end I tossed the old one and came up with one that is only 33 words long. Some how it came out in the form of a one sentence poem. I blame the heat and the record high temperatures of 109 we've been having. But it is a brief verbal representation of my current work.

New Inspiration is Not Kim Kardashian in 3-D! Speaking of Tales about Beaver...

2011-08-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

What a week for art making it's been in SB Land. We launched our Texas Avenue Midnight Special (TAMS) project Monday night. We began the adventure with the three of us female artists spending the night outside in the urban neighborhood that surrounds Texas Avenue.

Then the career of a beaver artist captured front webpage coverage in the Shreveport Times. There were two art openings last night. The one at Bossier Arts Council featured the work of TAMS artist Nadine Charity. Artspace on Texas Street had its huge first floor gallery filled with the work of three artists. One was Dorthy Kristin Hanna. I shot the above picture in the window of artspace earlier this week as part of TAMS field work. I want to make a fabric brooch inspired by the picture. The image is the head of one of Dorothy's fabric dolls.

Shining a Headlamp: How Safe are the Streets of Shreveport

2011-08-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Our media release reads like this "JUST IN TIME FOR NATIONAL NIGHT OUT THREE FEMALE ARTISTS LAUNCH NIGHT TIME ART PROJECT IN DOWNTOWN URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD."

What are you doing tonight? Why don't you join us in the urban neighborhood of Texas Avenue? Debbie Buchanan Engle, Nadine Charity and myself will be out all night documenting what happens on the West Edge of downtown Shreveport. It's a year long projects we're calling Texas Avenue Midnight Special. TAMS is an exploration of the urban neighborhood surrounding Texas Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Am I scared to be out tonight? Heck yes. But you know what scares me more? Those extremely large women in scooters in Wal Mart. That's what scares me most in life. Maybe I'll end up one of them. Or maybe if I keep making challenging art I'll keep moving along and won't be scooter stuck. If you're out tonight text or call us. The number is on our TAMS Facebook page.

NWLA Artists Directory: The Best Reason to Join

2011-07-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

How would you like to have the Shreveport Regional Arts Council endorse your art practice? Or maybe just have the appearance of having SRAC endorse your art and art practice? SRAC is the official arts arm of the City of Shreveport and the State of Louisiana for Northwest Louisiana.

How can you get this endorsement? Join the NWLA Artists Directory. I just did
(my adventures of applying can be found here). It's easy to fill out the application online from the convenience of your own computer. Upload photos of you and your work. Check out the ones Mark Charleville selected for his portfolio. Add a bio, artist statement and your personal artist website information. Need ideas for an artist statement? How about this one sentence one by Jason Pliler?

Once your information is added to the SRAC website that's where the endorsement comes. Your personal artist website now has link to it from SRAC.

You've just boosted your "link popularity” on your personal artist website. And that is important to search engines. It’s an endorsement of your site by another website. Getting other websites to link to your site is like having a neighbor recommend a good doctor or restaurant. It carries more weight than if a person just stumbled across your website.

Found Object Necklace

2011-07-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

I call them found object necklaces. They are huge. You can see how big they are on Shreveport artist Juney Mills in the first picture. She was kidding around saying she had to be strong to wear one and that prompted her to strike a "make a muscle" pose.

Ready to Become a Lady Gaga Star: Application Submitted to SRAC's NWLA Artists Directory

2011-07-29T00:03:00.000-07:00

After being mad that my art work wasn't accepted for the On the Shoulders of Giants show at artspace this summer, I was reminded again by several SB Land artists that I should apply to the Shreveport Regional Arts Council's (SRAC) Northwest Louisiana Artists Directory. That's the first step to becoming a SRAC roster artist. If I had been a roster artist my piece would have been accepted into the show.

The afternoon of the Giants opening I promised Shreveport artist and Bossier Parish Community Collage faculty member Kelly McDade that I would apply to the directory before the summer was over.

Yesterday I got a couple of questions answered about the application process by SRAC people Pam Atchison, Julia Foley and Vickie Marshall. This morning I took two hours to fill out the online application. It took me two hours because I had to select 11 images and resize them. The maximum size art work photos can be is 800 pixels width by 600 pixels height. Your avatar picture is even smaller at 100 pixels by 100 pixels. And about my avatar... I submitted a black and white self portrait of me with a mustache. I'm just a wee bit concerned about the line in the application "Images deemed inappropriate by SRAC may be subject to removal." Here's hoping mustache me gets to stay.

Katy Perry's Hooters Couldn't Save Us From a High Water Bill

2011-07-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ever since we put the air conditioning window unit in the kitchen window over the sink the water faucet keeps being left on. I thought Katy Perry and her hooters would remind someone to turn off the water but her hooters are not the answer.

Found the faucet going full force this morning. I think it had been on for an hour and a half. Thank the Goddess that the water went down the drain and didn't flood the house. You got any ideas on how to get folks to turn off the faucet when they can't hear the water running?

Four More is the Magic Number But First Explain to Me the Secret of McNeill Street or is it McNeil Street?

2011-07-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

I've been a blogging fool this month of July 2011. Last year during July I made 22 posts on this blog. For some strange reason this year I wanted to beat that number. This is post number 19. I made it on Wednesday July 27. Only four more posts to go to beat last year! I also wanted to challenge myself and make the posts interesting and not just slap something up here to get closer to the goal of 23 posts. Blogged about nekkid art, unicorn horns and fabric flowers.

About the photo: Toured McNeill Street Pumping Station in Shreveport yesterday with Nadine Charity and Debbie Engle. Had a great time. Shot video and photos. This is one of the photos. Also could someone tell me why it's McNeill Street Pumping Station if the street is McNeil Street? What the L happened? Or am I completely confused?

Ignoring America's Debt Ceiling Problem by Contemplating Submissions to the Museum of Bad Art

2011-07-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA), yeppy, there really is one, is a museum in Massachusetts dedicated to the collection of bad art in all its forms.

I'm looking through my work and thinking about submitting a piece. Why would I want my art in MOBA's collection? If I'm accepted I can say "Wooty-Woot-Woot! I'm in a museum." If I'm not accepted I can say "Alrighty then, my art ain't bad enough to be in the MOBA!"

According to their website submitted works have to be original works of art. The pieces they acquire have some quality that draws you to them. Here's their Facebook page MOBA. Do you have any MOBA art in your collection or have you made any MOBA quality work at sometime during your art practice?

In the Shadow of Louisiana Hayride Elvis Jonny Corndawg Plays Minicine? Swampland on the Sidewalk of Historic Texas Avenue in Shreveport

2011-07-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it? We get no rain all summer 2011 and then a groovy show is planned July 24 in the walled empty lot next to Mincine? Swampland and thunder and lightning flows down.

The show moved indoors for a short while and then ended up in front of Mincine? Swampland on the sidewalk of Texas Avenue. I swear I felt the presence of the skinny ghost of Hank Williams when Jonny Corndawg took the concrete stage.

It was a great show with a diverse crowd. Some of those braving the lightning to enjoy the tunes were Conchita Iglesias McElwee, Stan Carpenter, David Nelson, Nadine Charity, Christopher M Alexander, William C Hartman III, Sara Hebert, birthday boy Chris Jay, and Amy Lynn Scott.

Flowers for Norway and Amy Winehouse with Thoughts of Suicidal Addictions

2011-07-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

There are no flowers growing in my yard this summer. Even the crepe myrtle is struggling. Did I somehow know that it would be a hot dry summer and that led me to making fabric flowers and filling canvases with flowers?

I need soft beautiful flowers this weekend. I'm thinking of all the people lost in Norway. And then Amy Winehouse's passing. Her death at 27 makes me think of all the ways I can be addicted and how much I miss out on life when I am. Sometimes it's the tiniest addictions that take me away from reality that hurts me and my loved ones the most. What does it mean to be truly healthy and living a fully present life? Is that even possible in the America we've created today? Or is it our addictions that drive us through each day until we just collapse because we can't do it any more? Hope you enjoy some beautiful flowers today.

About the photo above: Thanks to Shreveport portrait artist Christie Iles Saye Cassell for letting use her lovely home so I could snap a picture of my painting of flowers inspired by Clementine Hunter's pots of flowers. Hope to take photos of Christie's work soon and do a blog post on her. She's amazing. We have so much talent in SB Land!

Thanks for the Anthropologie Store Love Shreveport DDA!

2011-07-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last night I ran into Liz Swaine with Shreveport's Downtown Development Authority. She was busy with the Pub and Culture Crawl. Artspace was hopping with folks enjoying live music in a smoke free venue and sipping adult beverages.

When she told me that my upcycled fabric flower hair pins and brooches were mentioned in the DDA email blast this week, I was blown away. Thanks Liz and DDA for supporting the work of local small business artisans! To be mentioned in the same sentence as Anthropologie just tickles me pink. From the DDA "Saturday ... Farmers' Market .... See also Kathryn Usher's recycled fabric pins and hair clips that would look at home at high-priced Anthropologie stores."

Being Naked Professionally: Lily and Kathryn on Nude Modeling Life Drawing Sessions

2011-07-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

So you want to be a nude model? Here are some things to consider. Lily Thompson the artist and Kathryn Ackerman the nude model discuss the process of modeling and drawing. They discuss working together at Centenary College. Amazingly, this naked talk took place at the Shreveport Farmers' Market. This version is only 1:30 because that's the video time limit on Flickr. The original is just a little bit longer.

Thanks to Lily and Kathryn and the Shreveport Farmers' Market. Lily has a piece of art in the "Look But Don't Touch" art show at the Bossier Arts Council. The big reception is this Friday night. For those who are interested in Life Drawing Sessions in Shreveport check out artspace.

Wearable Treats: are NOT a Piece of James Franco Kickstarter Non-Visible Art

2011-07-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

In the studio it's been a summer of wearable flowers and treats. What's the difference between a wearable treat and a flower? The flowers are bigger and fluffier. The treats have layers but are more compact. They remind me of cookies you want to nibble and wash down with a tall glass of lemonade. And it looks like some of the treats are getting bits of preserved rust added to them. Some even have a layer of found words added like the rusted and flattened bottle cap (see above) that reads "Ballet the English way."

The good news is non of them cost $10,000. James Franco, along with a couple of other artists, just created a Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA). The project is on Kickstarter. Montreal web producer, social media marketer, model and actor Aimee Davison has already paid $10,000 for the conceptual piece "Fresh Air." Would you invest that much for a piece of art you couldn't see, feel, smell, touch or hear?

Nekkid Paintings: What Would it Cost to Art Up Charlie Sheen, J Lo and Betty White Naked?

2011-07-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

Since it would probably take more than $15 I'm just gonna find some nekkid people closer to home. Like downtown at artspace where they have Life Drawing Sessions with nude models on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

There's lots of nekkid happening in SB Land this summer. Bossier Arts Council opens their first ever nude show "Look But Don't Touch" this week with a reception on Friday at 6 p.m.

Centenary College has always been a hotbed of nekkidness. Had an interesting discussion with Lily Thompson, an artist who went to Centenary and took the life drawing class there, and Kathryn Ackerman, one of the models who used to pose for the class. They let me capture them on video discussing the delicate dance of clothed artist and nude model. Insightful! That's them pictured above with Lily on the left and Kathryn on the right. Stay tuned, the video is on it's way.

Avoiding Soccer, Carmageddon and Harry Potter, I Scissored a Sweater Instead

2011-07-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

Bought this cotton crocheted sweater a couple of years ago from Goodwill. It is made in China. Loved the colors, the feel of the fibers and all the little treasures attached to it. Had no idea what I was going to do with it since it was too small for me to wear. It sat on a shelf until this past week when I deconstructed it to make hair goodies. My next step is to coffee dye some of the pieces to make some goodies that are more vintage looking.

I'm sure some pieces will end up in my found object necklaces also. One of the buttons made it to the center of this Shabby Chic Fabric Flower.

Here are some other nifty ideas to do something with an old sweater: chop it up and make a whole new outfit, take it completely apart and use the yarn for a new project or here's a book Born-Again Vintage: 25 Ways to Deconstruct, Reinvent, and Recycle Your Wardrobe with ways to deconstruct your whole wardrobe.

Marilynn's Place: Make Mine Big, Messy & Unpredictable With All of the Options You Can Fit Into a FEMA Trailer

2011-07-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

Ate at Marilynn's Place on Fern Avenue for the first time Friday. Can't believe how big it is in that former gas station that hugs the Querbes Park Golf Course.

Went there with artists Debbie Engle and Nadine Charity. Debbie had no trouble ordering since she's been there a couple of times. It was the first time for Nadine and me. We were overwhelmed by the menu. Plus I'm always visually overwhelmed when I go someplace new.

Two other artists, Tony Reans and Alan Dyson (Debbie's husband) joined us. We had a great time. The food was tasty and plentiful. Marilynn's has only been open a short time but the place stayed packed while we were there. Debbie said they've been so popular that the other day they used all the New Orleans Gambino's bread that could be found in the entire city of Shreveport.

Tony and Alan had to leave early but Deb, Nadine and I lingered to plot out our upcoming art project. For desert we could have had beignets or a sno-ball from the tiny hut in the restaurant's parking lot, instead we just kept filling our cups with cold beverages. The feller in the hat pictured above is the man responsible for this new eatery. His name is Robert "Bozz" Baucum. The hours are Monday - Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Shreveport in Black and White

2011-07-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

We've got some fabulous new Shabby Chic Fabric Flower brooches, hair goodies and AMAZING necklaces. All OOAK. Great adds to your art collection! Stop by the Shreveport Farmers' Market in the morning to see them. They are for sale.

Also if you've got time, let me take your photo. I'm always looking for swell new faces top put in my black and white section on Flickr.

Confession: Cheated on the Shreveport Farmers' Market

2011-07-14T07:20:00.001-07:00

It's been over two weeks since I did this. Scored seven bags of marked down produce at the neighborhood grocery store. I was so excited I took photos of the mushrooms, eggplants, tomatoes, plums, pears and cantaloupes. Thought it would make for an interesting post - "Save on Groceries Without Using Coupons."

Then I felt bad because it's market season and here I went and bought all these fresh items but didn't get them at the Shreveport Farmers' Market. And I'm even a vendor there this year. So it's with mixed feelings I post this. It's like I cheated or something. Ugh!

EPFC Filmmobile in Shreveport: A Photo Essay

2011-07-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Paolo Davanzo & Lisa Marr from Echo Park brought the Echo Park Film Center Filmmobile to Shreveport. It was an Eco-friendly cinema and film school on wheels! Thanks to minicine Swampland for making it happen.

We created two films while the Filmmobile was parked on the riverfront. Then it was a lovely night of watching our films (plus some others) under the stars on the Shreveport riverfront on July 2, 2011. No popcorn instead we had tasty watermelon and plums from the Shreveport Farmers' Market. It was like a family reunion only better!

For a slide show of more of my photos of the Filmmobile while in Shreveport click here. Also for some more pics from minicine Swampland's Facebook page click here. And Robert Trudeau has some on his Flickr stream also click here.

Neo-Outsider/Outsider Art Jewelry and Hair Goodies

2011-07-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

I've always liked rust. Some folks like shiny. Throw something rusty in my path and I will most likely pick it up and put it in my pocket.

So now I've figured out how to give all the bits of rusted items I've collected over the years a protective coating so I can use them in what I'm calling Neo-Outsider Art Jewelry. It's just an expansion of the Shabby Chic Fabric Flowers I'm doing.

Thank you to Nadine Charity (pictured above) for purchasing one of the first ones I made with the rust. I'm in the studio this week putting together more. Can't wait to share the end result with everyone. What's not to love? They are all 1) original works of art 2) from the Neo-Outsider school 3) Wearable! I think they are groovy additions to an art collection.

Four NEW Items That Aren't Art That Artists Can Donate To a Slient Auction Fundraiser

2011-07-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

So you still want to donate an item to a local non-profit to help them with fundraising? Just because you are an artist doesn't mean you are limited to donating a piece of your art. I'm going to share with you in this post four fantastic new ideas that will help you grow your stable of collectors and also help the non-profit make money!

You can always give cash. It doesn't how small the donation is. The non-profit will appreciate it and you will feel good about doing it. Another plus for you as a professional money making artist is that donation is fully deductible unlike a donation of your own art. Right now with current IRS tax laws, you can only deduct the cost of your raw materials and not how much your work is actually valued at.

As the artist of a work of art you donate to a silent auction your deduction is limited to the cost of producing the painting minus the cost of your services. You can't use the Fair Market Value (FMV), you must use your materials cost. Even if your painting retails for thousands of dollars, your deduction is limited to the cost of the canvas, paints and frame or whatever other raw materials you use.

There is a creative forward thinking solution that will protect the FMV of your work. Plus you won't have to worry about an organization not honoring the minimum bid prices you must have to protect the value of your work for your current and future collectors. Marking out the minimum bid price an artist sets happens all the time. Non-profits normally depend on a lot of volunteer help and in the middle of a night of fundraising it's hard to control what each volunteer does.

Here are three other ideas you can use as a donation instead of donating a work of your art. I really like idea number one because it actively works to educate folks who are interested in collecting art. And it allows you to spend some time with one of your favorite local collectors and develop potential new ones. It's a win-win for everyone. Plus it's a new item to be offered at a silent auction. Folks always love being a part of something cutting edge!

1) AFTERNOON WITH ARTIST AND COLLECTOR - offer this item in conjunction with one of your local collectors. Item write up can go something like "Join artist AAA and art collector XXX for a private tour of XXX's art collection. AAA is one of the artists XXX collects. The tour for up to X NUMBER OF people includes an afternoon with the artist and collector, tea and cookies, and insights into the art world from an artist and a passionate collector. Date to be mutually agreed upon by purchaser and donors. Expires DATE MONTH YEAR."

2) PRIVATE PAINTING/OR OTHER ART MAKING LESSONS - Three (or some other number) Private Painting/Art Making Lessons with artist XXX.

3) PHOTOGRAPHY ARTIST AT WORK - Bring your camera and spend an afternoon with artist AAA. She will show you several of the local locations she uses in her work and share with you some of the inspiration behind her works of art.

These are just four ideas (includes the idea of cash). I'm sure we can come up with plenty more. Let me know of any new ones you discover or create. Click here for the first post I wrote on artists and silent auctions.

Note: Pictured above are a couple of my collectors, Tom and Molly Wolf. I snapped this photo at the Shreveport Farmers' Market right after Molly plucked her favorite Shabby Chic Fabric Flower. Just saw Molly again this weekend at SFM. She brought her granddaughter by to say hello. It's all about community and the relationships!

Unicorn Horns and Stewart's Blanched Produce

2011-07-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Tricia Stewart stopped by our booth last Saturday at the Shreveport Farmers' Market and picked up a couple of our handmade unicorn horns.

Tricia is also a vendor at the SFM. She's part of team Stewart's Blanched Produce. When you stop by to pick up some goodies like frozen okra or corn, make sure and ask why it's important to blanch your produce before freezing it. Tricia will be glad to answer all your questions.

We'll both see you bright and early this morning at the SFM at the (Wild) West Pavilion.

Shabby Chic Flower GIrls

2011-07-08T02:49:00.000-07:00

Over the holiday weekend I visited with my sister-in-law and her family and my beautiful and handsome nieces and nephews. We spent part of the time making fabric flowers. They were sewing summer dresses so we used fabric left over from dressmaking.

The first photo shows Melanie and little Amethyst, who informed me she was "44 pounds and 44 inches." The whole gang of cousins, including my daughter Katee, is in the second photo.

You can get your very own Shabby Chic Fabric Flower Saturday at the Shreveport Farmer's Market. We're vending in the (Wild) West Pavilion. Then at one I'll be heading over to see Jason Pliler's photography show at Lilah's Deli and Bakery in the historic Shreveport neighborhood of Highland. It's the first time art will be sold tax free since Highland just became an official Louisiana Cultural District. The show is sponsored by the Noel Community Arts Program.

SB Land Artists Change the Way They Participate in Non-Profit Silent Auction Fundraisers

2011-07-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

I apologize if this is a longer than normal post. It's an issue we SB Land artists have been dealing with for a long time.

Ever wonder why a commercial art gallery can't thrive in SB Land (that's what I call the Shreveport area)? I think I may have one answer.

It's because SB Land artists have long been trained to give their art work away.

It's time for a radical change in the way artists participate in silent auction fundraisers. And it's time for nonprofits to change the way they use art in those fundraisers. The exciting news is if this change is put into place both groups will make more money! That's right both groups will make more! And now is the time for change as requests for art donations start pouring in this summer of 2011.

There are just a couple of simple steps we need to change.
1) The organizations will now split the proceeds from the sale or auction 50/50. Fifty percent to the artist and 50% to the organization. Payment will happen within 5 business days of the sale.
2) The name, address, phone and e-mail of the buyer will be provided to the artist for her/his records.
3) A minimum or a reserve price will be set and will be designated by the artist. (This is required to honor the value of the artwork for existing collectors and partner galleries.)
4) In the event the artwork does not sell, it will be returned by the organization to the artist's studio within 9 business days.
5) Two tickets to the event will be given to the artist. Along with drink and food tickets. (This is standard practice with many, many events and in many, many cities).

People who attend fundraisers have money to spend on items. One couple spent $6000.00 on a mixed breed puppy at a fundraiser last year for Southfield School. The Shreveport Times reporter Maggie Martin even wrote about that in her column. Six thousand dollars for a puppy! Let's hear a round of cheers for the day silent auction goers spend $6000.00 on a piece of locally made art!

Susan Brunner at the Gallery Fine Art Center in Bossier City is another strong advocate for artists. She won't let her gallery artists make donations to nonprofit fundraisers unless someone from that organization has purchased art through the gallery in the prior year. You can bet when they do make donations a minimum bid is in place to insure the value of their work.

At the bottom of this post is a form that you can use as a guideline to make make your own form to use as an agreement between you and the nonprofit. It's probably a good idea to let the nonprofit know ahead of time that you are using this new arrangement for donations. Let them know one of the leading nonprofits in the area, the Bossier Arts Council, does an arrangement like this every year for their very successful fundraiser Artini.

SB Land artists who have been a part of the Artini include: Bruce Allen; Latonia Barto; Neecee Blackwell; Beverly Bryant; Mark Charleville; Nancy Ferrari; Linda Gaston; Bill Gingles; Sheila Harkey; Curt Harville; Judy Horne; LaDonna Hughes; Debi Jacobe; Bill Jones; Lynn Laird; Thomas Little; Rachul McClintic; Shaun Owens; Kathleen Pate; Stephen Porter; Pam Raintree;
Theresa Ratcliff; Joseph Restovich; Jennifer Robison; Lynn Simmons: Ellen Soffer; Steven Soffer; Su Stella; Minoo Srivastava; Jerry Wray; and Steve Zihlavsky (those should probably be commas... someone check that for me would you?) Contact them and see what their experience has been.

Some roadblocks to the above changes might include the following.

There are many artists who donate art to auctions who are not professional artists. Meaning these artists have no desire to make a living selling their art. They make a living doing something else.

It is important to understand that most of them would gladly give up those other careers if they thought they could make a living selling their art and it is possible they could be a little resentful and jealous that you are working so hard on making a living from your art work. Do not listen to them if they want to shame you when you want to protect your livelihood as an artist. For them art is more of a hobby. You can take time to explain that while it is great that they like making art it is not so great that they flood the market with under priced work.

If you choose to you can pass along the information that it is impossible for a commercial art gallery to thrive in a city with an over abundance of under priced art work and that it is impossible for our area to be taken seriously if we do not have healthy money making creative economy. Explain that they are not contributing to our creative economy by giving away or underpricing art.

If someone connected to a nonprofit wants to shame you into continuing to donate your work for free do not listen to them. Understand they are afraid of what this change will mean to them and their organization. Do not listen to them if they tell you "it's good karma" to give away your work. You might gently tell them SWEPCO won't cash that good karma check. And tell them exciting changes are happening in the area's creative economy and that can only mean great things are ahead for everyone. Remind them that change is good!

It is not good for the community for underpaid people to be the ones who donate the most to nonprofits.

"One study (Leveraging Investments in Creativity 2003) found that 79% of all grants to individual artists were under $10,000, 66% were under $5,000, and sadly, 50% of all grants to artists in this country were under $2,000. This has had a two-fold effect: new work is seriously underdeveloped and artists have to subsidize their art, reinforcing a class stricture."

You have the right to make a living as an artist. It's happening all over America and the world. Our area is no different than the rest of the world. Some folks say we can't compare our area other places. If we can have paved roads, indoor plumbing, air conditioning, casinos, an Air Force base with state of the art weapons and drive through daiquiri shacks, why can't we have other progressive cultural items like a money making creative economy?

Feel free to copy and use the form letter below. It came from this website. The article has good information on artists and nonprofits working together.

Drew Brophy CHARITABLE DONATION GUIDELINES

Thank you for the opportunity to donate art to your organization. Drew Brophy would be honored to have his artwork and his name associated with yours.

Due to the extremely heavy volume of requests from many important charities, we’ve developed guidelines that enable us to donate artwork at less than retail cost.

These requirements also help us reduce losses since current U.S. tax laws are unfavorable to artist donations. (There is little to no write-off for artwork.)

Please consider that by offering these terms for all artist donations, your organization will: Attract top quality, high value artwork; and over time, will become known as the go-to-organization for unique and valuable art.

Our donation guidelines are:

The organization agrees to split the proceeds from the sale or auction 50/50 (50% to Drew Brophy and 50% to the organization). We ask for payment within 5 business days of the sale. The name, address, phone and e-mail of the buyer will be provided to Drew Brophy for his “collector’s club” records.

A minimum or a reserve price will be set and will be designated by Drew Brophy. (This is required to honor the value of the artwork for our existing collectors and our partner galleries.)

In the event the artwork does not sell, it will be returned by the organization to Drew Brophy’s studio San Clemente, CA, within 9 business days.

If these guidelines are agreeable to you, please sign below and return this form via e-mail to mariab@drewbrophy.com.

We agree to the above terms:

Name, Title______________________ Date ___________________

New Orleans WVUE Fox 8 News Features Shreveport Elvis Statue and Municipal Auditorium

2011-07-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

WVUE Fox 8 News in New Orleans just ran a video story on Shreveport's historic Municipal Memorial Auditorium. Dave McNamara drove all the way up here to interview folks for a Heart of Louisiana segment. The legendary guitarist James Burton is just one person he spoke with. The video is only five minutes long and super entertaining. Click here to see it. Shreveport musician Dan Garner was the one who told me about it.

The photo of Elvis that pops up on WVUE's page where the story and video are reminds me of the shot that I took a couple of years ago and is now on a Scenic Shreveport Glass Magnet. We created those for the DISCOVER SHREVEPORT COMMON! event in June 2011 but we still sell them because everyone keeps snatchin' 'em up. And, amazingly, the star with Elvis' name that appears as the video's thumbnail image on the WVUE page, we also have Scenic Shreveport Magnets with that image. We have true Shreveport souvenirs made in Shreveport! Elvis may have left the building but he can live on forever on your refrigerator.

We will have these handmade products and more tomorrow. See you bright and early in the Wild West Pavilion at the Shreveport Farmers' Market in the morning!

Why Brown Thread?

2011-06-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

I got this large industrial size spool of thread from my mom. I'm sure she purchased it at some garage sale. She's not much for thrift stores or rummage sales but she does love Saturday morning garage sales. So this brown has been my go to thread. It's strong so I really like it. Next time you wear your Shabby Chic Fabric Flower you might want to look for brown stitches. Most likely, I used thread from the giant spool pictured above to hand stitch it together (took the photo at the June 25, 2011 Shreveport Farmers' Market).

I thought about doing this post after hearing a podcast by Ricë Freeman-Zachery interviewing Michael Aaron Mcallister. He makes these wonderful stitched portraits. And in all the years he's been making them he has used the same needle. For some reason that amazing fact and process detail on how he works as an artist made me think of my big spool of thread.

True Blood: Making Art with Vampires and HBO

2011-06-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

We're celebrating the return of the vampires with new magnets featuring Shreveport's True Blood House. You can get yours at Saturday's Shreveport Farmers' Market. I took the photo that's in the magnet. Season four of the HBO show is this Sunday night.

The old mansion in the west edge of downtown Shreveport, actually located just outside of the west edge of the newly dubbed Shreveport Common area, is featured in the main title montage of True Blood. It is a world famous landmark with True Blood fans all over the world. I understand the mansion was purchased last year and there are plans to turn it into a bed and breakfast. I bet they'll have tons of guests wanting to stay in the True Blood House!

For more information about the neighborhood where the mansion is check out the Texas Avenue Community Association. TACA's mission is to organize and promote community as well as community interests along the historic Texas Avenue corridor and its adjacent neighborhoods. One of their projects is the Makers Fair.

Note: This isn't the first time I was inspired to make art with a True Blood spin. I cooked up this video a couple of years ago. True Blood's main title (that was created by Digital Kitchen) was the inspiration. If you ever get a chance, ask Shreveport artist Don Cobb how he took the Digital Kitchen crew to Caddo Lake. He has some great stories about the montage and how it was created.

Unicorn horns and Narwhal tusks as explained by Marie and Caressa

2011-06-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Our sparkly unicorn horn and narwhal tusk headbands are finished. They were a big hit at Saturday's Discover Shreveport Common! event. We'll have them this Saturday at the Shreveport Farmers' Market.

Thank you to my lovely models, Marie and Caressa. Here's a short video they made explaining unicorns and narwhals.

DISCOVER SHREVEPORT COMMON!: A Photo Essay

2011-06-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

Had a great time vending at DISCOVER SHREVEPORT COMMON! Lots of folks took advantage of the trolley that traveled between the Shreveport Farmers' Market and the event. Everything came together to make, as Robert Trudeau says, "a schvingy downtown." Where else could you be to get a henna tatoo, see Elvis recite poetry and then trot over to see Woody Allen's flick Midnight in Paris? In Broadmoor? In Southern Trace? In Bossier? Please. Downtown Shreveport is where it's at.

We had a strong breeze that helped to keep folks cool. Well, as cool as they could be in 104 degree temps. I stayed hydrated by drinking rivers of water and eating frozen yogurt from the Counter Culture truck and goodies from Lauren Gieseke, the ice cream cart by bicycle entrepreneur.

Took as many pictures and video as I could while working. I took a ton of pictures of Carlos Colón as "Haiku Elvis." He was everywhere. Click through to my Flickr stream to see the rest of the shots. There will also be a photo album on Facebook sometime soon. In the meantime, I'm back to my full time hobby of drinking gallons of water to stay cool. It's supposed to be another 104 degree day.

Unicorn Horn and Narwhal Tusk Headbands

2011-06-17T04:59:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a picture of the soaking unicorn horns and narwhal tusks. I'm cleaning them so we can turn them into unisex headbands for vending Saturday at the DISCOVER SHREVEPORT COMMON! event. The next step involves tons of glitter. We're braving the 100 degree temps to do that process.

Note: these are vintage horns and tusks harvested ages ago and were just recently discovered in an old trunk in an attic in Highland.

Shreveport Common: A Photo Essay

2011-06-16T06:27:00.001-07:00

Elvis, creative folks, historic architecture, art, and a Southern Gothic cemetery are just some of the items you'll find in the downtown region that's just been named Shreveport Common. I've been taking pictures in the area for several years. It's one of my favorite places in Shreveport to shoot because of its beauty and the people that make up the district.

Many folks have been working and creating for years in the area. David Nelson with his Minicine Swampland is just one example. It's the place to go for independent and experimental film in Shreveport. Just last fall the Texas Avenue Community Association, April Dahm and Conchita Iglesias McElwee organized the super successful Texas Avenue Makers Fair.

The latest group to realize the fantastic potential of this area is the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. They are turning the old Central Fire Station into their new headquarters. This Saturday, June 18, 2011, SRAC wants to introduce you the district with a celebration called Discover Shreveport Common! I'll be one of the vendors. There will be a trolley running between the event and the Shreveport Farmers' Market.

SRAC's website has more information on Shreveport Common . Check out the aerial photos of the district.

My Beautiful Natural Pits ...

2011-06-15T07:25:00.002-07:00

The other day Ricë Freeman-Zachery on her Notes from the Voodoo Cafe blog wrote about the beautiful lives of some art bloggers and how depressing that can be. She normally writes about art and creating. It's an excellent blog.

I'm guilty of making things pretty and shiny for my blog. Most of the time I don't want folks to see my struggles. So in honor of Ricë I decided to blog about armpits today. Pictured above is what I put on to keep from smelling. Those two products don't stop me from sweating. I got them both at Drug Emporium. About eight months ago I gave up wearing anti-perspirant and started using just deodorant. I've been slathering chemicals on my delicate pits for decades. I thought I'd give them a break.

Burt's Bees Herbal Deodorant spray smells lovely with its essential oil blend of sage, lemon and lavender. But it doesn't keep my pits from stinking. I've had better luck with the Deodorant Stones of America Pure Deodorant - Crystal Mist. I think it does a better job of stopping odor. I even use it on my stinky old leather Birkenstock sandals. But I'll save the Birkenstock stench for another non-beautiful art life post (thanks Ricë for the inspiration). What's that old saying? Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. I'm going back outside to get my genius on so I can finish my On the Shoulders of Giants submission. Next time you see me give me a big sniff and tell me if I'm smelling okay...

Note: This is not the first time I've made art from my arm pits. Here's a drawing from 1995. Can you spot the hair?

Handcrafted Jewelry Tags

2011-06-14T07:54:00.003-07:00

Decided I needed some way to display my Shabby Chic Fabric Flowers after a couple of folks said they got lost when displayed together.

I made some tags from upcycled cardboard (the cardboard was a gift from artist Debbie Engle), pages from a deconstructed book I purchased at Salvation Army, white glue and antique photographs purchased at a rummage sale a couple of years ago at minicine? in downtown Shreveport on Texas Avenue. For more about the photos click here.

Spoke with Bonné Summers at the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. We will definitely be vending at the Discover Shreveport Common event Saturday June 18.

Music Fans

2011-06-13T05:31:00.006-07:00

Mix up some old album covers, wooden sticks and glitter and you've got some cooling magic! We call these hand held fans Music Fans because of our upcycling of the album covers. Now what to do with all the bare naked vinyl that's left over? I guess it's back to the sketchbook...

Here are some pictures from the June 11, 2011 Shreveport Farmers' Market. Click on them to go to a larger size.

Vending note: We won't be at the Shreveport Farmers' Market on Saturday June 18 because of space issues (the Wild West Pavilion we are in will be occupied by the 25th Annual Let the Good Times Roll Festival). We will be in the Shreveport Common area vending. That's in the West Edge of downtown Shreveport in the Texas Avenue area. Click here to see a map of Shreveport Common.

My Giant Ego ...

2011-06-07T07:59:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Michele Marcotte for the article that appeared in The Times about the opening day of the Shreveport Farmers' Market. Decided to take picture of some of my work on top of the article as part of my process to document my art work and art career. I think all artists should keep up with the art they make and the publicity or honors they get.

I'm struggling with "giant ego" issues. Is it too much to focus on me or my work when I/it gets recognized by making sure I document what happens? Would I even be struggling with this if I was a male artist? If I was Oprah? Or Lady Gaga?

Here's why I think it's important to document the art work we do. Much of the spotlight that shines on the state of Louisiana is focused on the southern part of the state. I'm passionate about Shreveport. I'm passionate about creatives in Shreveport and the work they are making and the process and struggles they under go to get the work done and sold and collected by collectors. That's why I think it's important we take time to document the work. Who will know our story 20, 50, 100 years from now if we don't take the time now to craft the story as we go along? What are your thoughts and ideas?

Shreveport Farmers' Market Part 1

2011-06-06T04:23:00.003-07:00

Here's part one of my pictures from opening day of the Shreveport Farmers' Market. Took as many pictures as I could while vending. I think I took one bathroom break all day long! And speaking of restrooms... they were clean and roomy.

I'll post more later this week. If you can't wait, just click on the little thumbnails and go to my Flickr stream to see the others.

Here's some video of the SFM shot by KTBS. The Shreveport Times did an extensive photo gallery on it with photos shot by Douglas Collier. All over the place and on Facebook so many people are saying great things about the SFM. The market has undergone tremendous growth under the direction of market manger Noma Fowler-Sandlin. I'm thankful that the artists are back in the market this season.

If you come to town to play at the casinos (Shreveport-Bossier is the biggest gaming destination in Louisiana) make sure to stop at the SFM. The next one is Tuesday afternoon. I won't be vending but I'll probably stop by to shoot some pictures or video. And I'll also be shopping. Kinda hard to to that when your working in your own booth. It's gonna be a great summer. Come play with us (here's a fun and informative blog from the Shreveport Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau).

Shreve Family Endorses Kathryn Usher Jewelry Display Tags

2011-06-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges of vending at a market is creating an attractive display. Here's hoping that my new highly paid spokesmodels will help sell my brooches. These images will be part of the jewelry display tags that come with each flower/rosette/brooch/hair pin.

Wanted to create something with a - Magnolia Pearl Marburger Farm Antique Show Round Top, Texas - feel.

Working on the photo of Captain Shreve. But Snookie Shreve (above right) and Auntie Shreve (above left) are pretty much ready. I will pass this along from the good ol' Captain. Shreve says "Flowers clear away the logjams of the brain."

Shreveport Farmers' Market Bound: Shabby Chic Flower Brooch with Scenic Shreveport Center (black and white)

2011-05-31T05:01:00.002-07:00

The Shreveport Farmers' Market opens this Saturday June 4, 2011 at 101 Crocket Street. This black and white fabric flower brooch is just one of the items I am handcrafting for the market.

I think the most exciting feature of this one is the little Scenic Shreveport photograph in the center. The image comes from the light posts in downtown Shreveport. It's not just a piece of jewelry it's also a bit of Shreveport. I love that! But then I'm a big goober and I love this city.

Visiting Shreveport Bossier? Here are some good websites for information:

Downtown Development Authority

Shreveport - Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau

Looking for more fun?

Trudeau's blog with plenty of information about art and culture in the area.

Chris Jay's blog - a part of the SBCTB

The Shreveport Farmers' Market launches its new website this week. In the meantime here is the SFM Facebook page. UPDATE: The SFM's new website has been launched. Click here to visit.

Give Me Louisiana

2011-05-28T05:52:00.002-07:00

Louisiana has two state songs. The first one was written by Charlie's Great-Aunt Doralice Fontane. If you want to listen to the melody click here.

Looking for inspiration for a new line of Scenic Shreveport Magnets I went over the lyrics looking for images of Louisiana and Shreveport. Here are some of them that I found: snowy cotton, sweet magnolias, Creole, mossy old oaks, Evangeline, old plantation days, love birds sing.

Give Me Louisiana
Written by Doralice Fontane
Composed by Dr. John Croom

Give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
The state of snowy cotton,
The best I've ever known;
A state of sweet magnolias,
And Creole melodies
Oh give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
Oh what sweet old memories
The mossy old oaks bring
It brings us the story of our Evangeline
A state of old tradition,
of old plantation days
Makes good old Louisiana
The sweetest of all states.

Give me Louisiana,
A state prepared to share
That good old southern custom,
Hospitality so rare;
A state of fruit and flowers,
Of sunshine and spring showers
Oh give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
Its woodlands, Its marshes
Where humble trappers live
Its rivers, Its valleys,
A place to always give
A state where work is pleasure,
With blessings in full measure
Makes good old Louisiana
The dearest of all states.

Give me Louisiana,
Where love birds always sing
In shady lanes or pastures,
The cowbells softly ring;
The softness of the sunset
Brings peace and blissful rest
Oh give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
The smell of sweet clover
Which blossoms everywhere
The fresh new mown hay
Where children romp and play
A state of love and laughter,
A state for all here after
Makes good old Louisiana
The grandest of all states.

Flowers...

2011-05-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

...brooches with pin backs. Working on ones for the hair. Although these could also be clipped onto hats, necklaces, purses, rear view mirrors. Each one is unique. Like little pieces of art you can wear. One thing I'm working on is display cards or boxes for each one. Placed in mass the details seem to get lost.

Vending them at the Shreveport Farmers' Market. Negotiations are underway for retail markets also.

100 Shabby Chic Flowers and 1000 Glass Magnets

2011-05-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for opening day at the Shreveport Farmers' Market. I think making art/crafting products are a lot like giving birth. Some how I forget how much hard work this is and how long it takes until I'm in the middle of a project again.

I'm gonna post pictures of the flowers in a couple of days. In the meantime here's an image I call Shreveport Louisiana Rose Black and White. I took the photo in downtown Shreveport. It's on the base of the lamp/light posts.

Pink Lemonade: Delicate Handmade Fabric Flower Brooches

2011-05-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm totally digging making these sweet brooches. This one is huge but still very delicate. I'm gonna round up some human models so you can see the size of the ones I'm working on. I also need to make some to go in your hair. It'll be like a front porch breeze for your noggin'.

Note: This is the second time I posted this entry. Somehow Blogger ate that first post. Scary.

Permission Girl Contemplates the Shreveport Regional Arts Council's Call to Artists On the Shoulders of Giants Celebrating the Community Foundation

2011-05-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Got the Call to Artists from SRAC by email around 5 Saturday evening.

I have three ideas already. They are: MAJOR PHILANTHROPISTS OF OUR SOCIETY (a piece on how minimum wage workers are the major philanthropists of our society); SHREVEPORT: THE GREATEST ARTIST CITY IN THE SOUTH (a proposal on how to make Shreveport a city that respects the social and economic capital of artists); SHREVEPORT: THE NEW DENMARK! (how to make Shreveport a place where doctors and garbage collectors get paid the same wages and an 8 hour work day is an 8 hour work day).

Not sure how my proposals and art will be viewed since the exhibit is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Community Foundation (The Foundation offers the expertise and the structure to assist individuals, families and businesses in effective giving. They are available to help their donors' financial advisors assist their clients in gaining maximum tax advantages will addressing critical community needs).

The show's title comes from a Sir Issac Newton quote. Too bad they didn't use my favorite quote on philanthropy by Barbara Ehrenreich - "When someone works for less pay than she can live on — when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently — then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The 'working poor,' as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else."

Are you submitting art? Do you care to share what you are working on?

I Wish Permission Girl Could Save the Texas Cheerleader Who Refused to Cheer for Her Rapist

2011-05-06T11:50:00.001-07:00

When I told Katee about the latest on the Texas High School Cheerleader case (she refused to cheer on her rapist and now she has to pay $45,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit) and about how the US Supreme Court refuses to hear the case, Katee told me about the "Slut Walks." She also told me the quote that in America "we teach don't get raped not don't rape" since we are ground zero for the rape culture.

I wish Permission Girl could fly her red foil cape to the Supreme Court and kick some major ass.

Even Though Elvis Was the Smash Hit at the Makers Fair, Me and the Ladies Totally Dug the Fabric Rosettes

2011-05-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

The Texas Avenue Makers fair was a big hit with vendors and shoppers. Trudeau posted about the success here.

Thanks to April Dahm and TACA for putting it on. I think this truly marks the arrival of the handmade movement in Shreveport.

Met some cool new folks. I'll put up more pics in an upcoming post. In the meantime Debbie Engle has a ton posted on her blog. And here is one of the new folks I met - Lesley Johnson.

Osama is Dead and We've Gone Bat Shit Crazy: I Hear the Sound of Baby Jesus Crying

2011-05-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

I've been immersed in Osama bin Laden video and sound getting ready for this morning's early morning TV newscast.

For me the most disturbing video is the footage of Americans chanting and celebrating at the news of his death like they are at some kind of sporting event.

Here's my little American flag. I'm waving it. Whoo-hoo Osama is dead. Happy Osama bin Laden Death Day! I watch the video from around America and come to the conclusion that I'm a total freak because I am frightened by the happiness one man's death has unleashed. It's not the spirit of the flag wavin' movin' me. It's a wave of nausea and sadness I'm feeling.

Could it be a big lipped alligator chewing its way through the Texas Avenue Makers Fair or has the world gone mouth crazy on the royal wedding day?

2011-04-29T10:14:00.003-07:00

Texas Avenue Makers Fair is tomorrow. It's at the corner of Texas Avenue and Common Street. I told someone where it was and they said "Oh, where they have the Revel?"

Americans are so totally bad with geography.

But not the Brits. They know their way around. Explains how Wills was able to lean in not once but twice for a royal kiss this morning after marrying Cate.

Think Texas Avenue. Texas and Common. West edge. First United Methodist Church (the downtown one that lost its steeple although the front of their website still shows a big smacky steeple, come on people really after more than a year we can't arrange a web update? Is this because we not only live in the middle of a food desert but also a digital desert?). Artspace.The Asian Gardens of Shreveport tended by the Aseana Foundation. Shreveport Memorial Municipal Auditorium. That neighborhood. Not the Revel area. Ahhh... Americans.

P.S. Just look for the above pictured mural. It's new. Just went up in the 800 block of Texas Avenue in the last week.

10 Cities Working Artists Need to Know About

2011-04-23T03:23:00.000-07:00

While doing research on the subject of artists as small business owners, I stumbled across this interesting article 10 Great Towns for Working Artists. It's a good read by Florida artist Kim Hall. She explains what makes each city special and what it offers to working artists. Hall points out that dozens of cities are willing to pay artists to relocate to their locations. Many of them also offer low-interest loans, grants, tax benefits, marketing assistance and other incentives for working artists.

If you're expecting large metropolitan areas, you'll be as surprised as I was. One of the cities has a population of 26,000 and another one has just 490. Here's Hall's list: 1. Millville, NJ 2. Evansville, IN 3. Rising Sun, IN 4. Berea, KY 5. Bradenton, FL 6. Chattanooga, TN 7. Paducah, KY 8. Clarksville, MO 9. City of Pawtucket, RI 10. Oil City, PA.

Smith Mason Legacies: Watch this space for a big annoucement!

2011-04-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

Two cool ladies operate Smith Mason Legacies on East Kings Highway in Shreveport. They are Kathy Smith and Ky Ellen Mason.

Stay tuned .... more developments on the way ... film at 11 ...

Electric Charlie

2011-04-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Spring. Twenty-five years ago we met.

The baby turns 24 this October .

We are still together. Who says there's no such thing as love at first sight?
We've spent twenty of those years in the bottle-garden-of-happiness house.

Shreveport Community Drum Circle: A Photo Essay

2011-04-17T06:10:00.001-07:00

This is where I spent part of my Friday night. The sounds of the drums drew all kinds of folks to the circle. Here's the Facebook page for the Shreveport Community Drum Circle.

It was an energizing way to end the week. Maybe you can come next Friday? They have extra drums and other instruments for people to jam out with and it's free. It's also great place to take photos.

You can double click on the above photos so you can see more details in a larger version of the little thumbnails.

The Big Framy Lie

2011-04-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

Meadows Museum has a great show up from New Orleans. It went up in February.

The show celebrates the 100th anniversary of the New Orleans Museum of Art. They are sending Copley to Warhol: 200 Years of American Art around to four museums in Louisiana.

I took a ton of pictures of this piece by James Rosenquist. I dig how he didn't use a wrapped canvas and how the staples show. Love the fact there is no frame. It's exactly how I feel "I made the art... you gotta buy the frame."

Who Gave You Permission?

2011-04-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

For some reason I'm thinking of Mary Daly, Lady GaGa and Oprah today. What a Holy Trinity that is.

Daly came to Shreveport in 1996 to speak at Centenary College.

Louisiana Swamp Stomp UPDATE

2011-04-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I took a few minutes to see how a project I was involved with last year is doing. I was commissioned to do the front cover of the Louisiana Swamp Stomp CD. The Northern Louisiana Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Foundation (NLBSCIF) created the CD. This project was inspired by Buddy Flett and Carol Fran, two Louisiana musicians who have recently had neurological injuries.

Dr. Paul McCarthy is a neurosurgeon at LSU Health Sciences Center. He started NLBSCIF to raise awareness about brain and spinal cord injuries. McCarthy is a "blues fanatic" so that's how the project came about.

Call me a goofball but I'll admit it's exciting to see my art work popping up on sites like America Blues News and Chicago Blues Guide. Here's one in Dutch at rootstime.

It's even cool to see how each artist is credited for their work on the cd at the allmusic site. They list my credits as "Artwork, Cover Art, Tray Card Art."

Here are some reviews of the CD:

From Richard Marcus at Blogcritics "... Unlike so much of our cookie cutter world today where everything sounds the same, looks the same and tastes the same in order to make sure nobody is offended, and nobody is ever satisfied, Louisiana is full of a variety of tastes, sounds and sights. The musicians on this disc, and the colourful, flamboyant art included as part of the CD's packaging, might only be a small sampling of that wonderful diversity, but compared to what you'll normally hear or see around you, it will be like a cornucopia of delights."

From Rod Ames at No Depression The Roots Music Authority "...the artwork for this record is simply amazing. Some of the artists who worked on the cover art and inside jacket are Kathryn Usher, Cassidy Beaux, Dr. Bob Art, Susan Di Pol, and Bobby Wach. The art direction and designer at the helm for the artwork is Al Brandtner. I would gladly hang any one of these pieces in my living room or office. The art here is a fine representation of the music that lives between the covers of this wonderfully produced CD from the great state of Louisiana."

From Joan Turner at Southern Rose Productions "...The songs on this album tell stories of hard times and sorrow, of pain and redemption, but the overall theme is one of determination and joy. Together they are a celebration of the courage and spirit of the great people of Louisiana. The artists (both music and visual) who have contributed to Louisiana Swamp Stomp make it a musical experience that will delight your heart and bless your soul."