Saturday, June 20, 2009

ARTAZINE


My pet project, ARTAZINE...
Alive and breathing for a year, ARTAZINE is a resource that I created, with the support of the Shasta County Arts Council.

I decided that this was a resource the county needed when people kept coming to me asking if I taught people how to paint. I could have signed them up for private lessons, but with my two daughters, I simply could not afford the time.

Instead I began searching for all of the arts instructors in Shasta County.

For six months I pulled fliers, tore papers out of newspapers and magazines, talked to people and perused the classified ads. I ended up with a stack of paperwork about 12 inches high, not including, of course, the local yellow pages.

Somehow I had to make sense of the data I had in front of me.
I told my son, Tristan what I wanted to do and asked him to help me think of a title.
Within 30 seconds, he said "ARTAZINE". Hmmmmm... ART A ZINE..... just like MAGAZINE... but about ART, but what does ZINE mean?
According to wikipedia.org :

"A zine (an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine; pronounced /ˈziːn/ "zeen") is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier on a variety of colored paper stock.

A popular definition includes that circulation must be 5,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 100, and profit is not the primary intent of publication."

It's perfect. ARTAZINE was born.

I made the first edition during the Summer of 2008. I think it had 16 pages (we are now up to 34, and growing). I took it into the Shasta County Arts Council, and they loved it!

Now we are on our fifth edition, celebrating the first year of ARTAZINE.

ARTAZINE features art and instruction schedules from regional artists. The instruction includes dance, theater,singing, violin, painting, jewelry making and more. For the first time ever, ARTAZINE Summer 2009 includes featured ARTicles from our talented artists!

It is still just me making the magazine, but we are all praying for wings.

Enjoy the magazine!


Thursday, June 18, 2009

Redding Train Depot 1875

Redding Train Depot 1875
This is an 8'x6' mural I just completed for the Turtle Bay History Players.. It's from an 1888 photograph of the Redding train depot.
The scene they wanted was from 1875 when Redding was spelled Reading.

They wanted it to look like an old photograph.

Fun project!

The canvases are hinged together 4' wide in the middle, the two side canvases are 2' wide each. It folds up so they can store it easily and stands by itself.