Mike & JT's Whirlwind Adventure - Part One

About three weeks ago, I asked Mike Frankel, President of the Artists Coalition of Flagstaff and friend to all artists, if he'd like to spend one of the days of Flagstaff Open Studios (FOS) together with me visiting artists in their studio spaces. He happily agreed, since the two of us have a pretty good rapport and would clearly have a good time spending the day journeying around Flagstaff.

Of course, Mike has a good rapport with everyone. He's just that kind of friendly. Everyone likes Mike.

Mike and I managed to visit 21 artists studios in a mere seven hours. I took photos all along the way to document for this blog (even though I'm not much of a photographer). In entries on this blog over the next few days, I'll share with you our journey, studio by studio, as we explore the world of art in Flagstaff.

Mike and I hit FOS together on Saturday, September 19. We met at the Coconino Center for the Arts, where we witnessed the art of the talented Stan Bloomfield and Mary Elin Jenkins. Then we hopped into his bright red Camry and hit the road.

Our first stop was at Robin Cadigan's home and studio, where she and photographer, Joe Cornett, were showing their work. Sadly, I didn't get photos of this part of our journey. Since I work with Joe and Robin here at Flagstaff Cultural Partners, it's entirely possible that I did indeed take incriminating photos but have decided to withhold them in order to bribe them later. Stay tuned to this blog for developments.

Robin, by the way, is a brilliant potter - or "ceramic artist" if you prefer. She's really talented and has a distinct feel and use of color in her work. And Mr. Cornett brings a fresh and exciting take to photography. His images are beautiful, haunting, and strange all at the same time.

(By the way, nothing in the previous paragraph was a way for me to curry favor with my co-workers. Sure, I'm biased because I work with them and think they're both the bees' knees, but my take on their art is just my honest opinion. Take it with a grain of salt if you must and decide for yourself when you see their work.)

Our next stop was to see the talented fiber artist, Sharon Richards. She already had several folks milling their way through her lovely home, complimenting her work and asking for prices. A picture of one of her better pieces is shown above.

After Sharon's, Mike and I visited Gallina Franz. Gallina and her husband, Otto, are delightful people. Gallina (pictured at right) is obviously very talented, given the detail and beauty you see in her pine needle baskets. She weaves objects into her baskets that you don't normally see in this kind of work: seashells, gem stones, antlers, bottles and more. It's really kinda cool.

Gallina's baskets, by the way, are always the first to sell in the Prelude exhibition at the Coconino Center for the Arts.

As an aside, at this point in our Open Studios adventure, it's more clear than ever that Mike Frankel is everybody's BFF. There is no one in the arts community he doesn't know. Not only is he chummy with every artist, he knows their spouses and family members, and remembers everyone's names. He's the perfect "el Presidente" (as many lovingly call him) of the Artists Coalition, genuinely supportive of each and every ACF artist at every level of development.

Our next two visits took us to the photography studio of Charles Bame (pictured left), who does landscapes, abstracts and portraits, and the painting studio of Diane Eide. It was interesting to see Eide's early work compared with her more recent work - her approach has changed from abstract to more recent works of still-life (pictured in two photos below).

That's all I've got for this first part. Six studios down, 15 more to go! In Part Two, Mike and I head downtown, where Mike demonstrates his uncanny ability to get the perfect parking spot while waving to pretty ladies on the street.