Mike & JT's Whirlwind Adventure - The Thrilling Conclusion

Mike Frankel, President of the Artists Coalition of Flagstaff, and JT Tannous, Executive Director of Flagstaff Cultural Partners, visited 21 artist studios in 7 hours during Flagstaff Open Studios. Click here to read Part One and here for Part Two of JT's blog on the experience. Keep reading for the third and final part of this series.

At the conclusion of our downtown visits, Mike and I got to visiting a few studios to the south and east parts of Flagstaff. We began at Keith Huling's home. I've been a personal fan of Keith's paintings for sometime. Mike talked about how excited he has been to see his growth as artist over the years.

While viewing Keith's artwork was nice enough, I had already done that in other settings. So I asked Keith if we could see where he creates his work. He walked us back through the hallway in his home to a small bedroom, converted into an artist studio. I was amazed. Here was this artist who creates beautiful work, and his studio is a small bedroom with only one small window, carpets stained with paint and a workbench (photo) covered in paint, brushes, cans and other supplies and materials. Was it pretty? No. Was I fascinated by his work space? Absolutely. This is why I go to Open Studios. I want to see the process of the artists' creation - I want to see them at work, or at the very least, where they do their work.

A short car ride later we landed at Christina Norlin's studio space. I should mention here that car rides with Mike Frankel are chock full of stories and laughter. The man is a hoot. He had me rolling with laughter, my jaw dropping at some of the weirdness of his tales, and on the edge of my seat to hear about the outcomes. I can't retell those stories here, but I wish I could. Truth is stranger than fiction. Mike should write a book.

At Chris Norlin's studio, there were three artists: Chris (stained and etched glass), Joni Pevarnik (pottery), and Ryanne Sebern (jewelry). Mike and I chatted with Chris and Joni for awhile and then Chris showed me her special machine. This is the giant box she uses to sand-blast her glasswork. It was pretty cool to watch - its like she's an astronaut working with meteor rocks in that thing (see photo at left as she reaches into the box). As I moved in close to see through the window, Chris warned me that I could get a static electric shock. I tried to keep a distance, but I got shocked nonetheless. The weird part, though, is where I got shocked. Let's just say it was in two identical places, in my chest area, at the tip of things. Shocking indeed.

Outside, Joni and I talked for awhile as the first rain started coming down. She had a tent, which was great, so we stayed dry. She also tried to convince me that artists all have evil plans (see photo of 'bad' Joni at right). But I wasn't fooled. Joni is a total sweetheart who goes back and forth between talking and singing whatever she's saying to you. Somehow, she's always in good spirits, and always makes me laugh (see photo of 'good' Joni below). I told her about my 'shocking' experience inside (specifically where on my body I got shocked) and she covered her ears and yelled "TMI!"

Mike and I then headed to the east side of town. We stopped at Audria Smith's (oil/pastel paintings) home and studio, which was just jaw-droppingly beautiful. Mike told me that all of the work around her home, from flagstone patios, remodeling, painting and decoration, were done by Audria. Just amazing. I guess sometimes I get awed by the studio, but I do like Audria's art, too, don't get me wrong.

We then popped over to Nancy DeBlois' studio and home, where Nancy (mannequins and metal) and Gretchen Smith (raku beads) were showing. Nancy's studio is just... surreal. Her 'day job' is to repair and replenish broken or damaged mannequins. So her studio is full of mannequin body parts of all shapes and sizes. For this, photos tell the story better than I can, check it out:

The scene at Nancy DeBlois' studio. Strangeness all around...

Can I give you a hand?

I didn't stick around long enough to see what happens in this room. I had nightmares for several nights, though.

All the body parts hanging from hooks like we were in a meat locker.

Doesn't this make you wonder where is this child's parents?

Nancy with her beloved pup. See, she doesn't look like a person who hangs body parts all over her studio. She looks normal and fun and sweet. Which she is.

Our next stop was Watercolor Central! Not one, not three, not four, but FIVE watercolor artists at one studio: Sandy Thybony, Jana Aukon, Kathi Baron, Carolyn Hink and Janet S. Miller. I was undecided on whether or not this was overkill or the perfect concept of building strength on top of strength in one artistic medium at one location. The work was fantastic, including Jana Aukon's bright work (photo). The home was beautiful and large (Sandy Thybony's place), and three of the watercolorists were showing on the patio outside. When we arrived there, they were just putting their work back up again after the rains forced them, and their artwork, inside. They needed Joni's tent!

Another big highlight of the final leg of our Open Studios journey was Greg Mason's garage/studio. Greg does found object assemblage, which is a fancy way of saying that he makes super cool mini-sculptures out of antique parts - and oftentimes they are working clocks. Okay, maybe "found object assemblage" is the better term. Anyway, Greg's whole garage is like it's very own assemblage. If you have any interest in antiques, cool old games / ads / toys / posters, this stop is a must on your FOS tour. I could have stayed and listened to Greg's stories about each piece all day.

Two final stops on Mike & JT's Whirlwind Adventure! I was soooo tired at this point that I could barely talk. Which is okay, of course, because Mike is good at that! (I love ya, Mike, but I gotta get my pokes in, too.) We also stopped briefly at Mike's home to feed his many animals, one of which was a fifty-year-old cat. Mike still had the same energy he did at 10am that morning. Me? I was fading fast. I'm surprised I remember anything from this point forward. It did start raining again, and Mike and I lamented what they meant for our poor watercolorists.

Dudley Bacon (photography) and Shayla Servis (jewelry) was our next visit. Dudley's door knocker photographs (photo at left) were very popular. He photographs these old vintage door knockers in Italy - most of them have been welded shut because everyone now has buzzers or doorbells, but they are so interesting, no one in their right mind would take them down.

Shayla (photo at right), by the way, was the youngest FOS artist this year at thirteen years old! Can you imagine? At 13, she's got the chutzpah to not only make art for sale, but to showcase it and stand by and talk with guests about how she makes it! When I was 13, I think I was still sucking my thumb. Kids these days.

And our final stop... Brenda Smith's home and studio, where she creates her fantastic fiber art. I really like her work, but I was bleary-eyed and unable to come up with any interesting questions. I believe I stumbled out with a "I like your work" before passing out and having Mike carry me to the car. It was a sweet moment to end our journey and just goes to show you what a great guy Mike is. He'll tour you around Open Studios for eight solid hours while still wearing a smile on his face and talking with the same enthusiasm I had at 11am. He'll even carry you to his car.

(Editor's note: JT did not pass out and Mike did not carry JT anywhere. It just felt that way to JT, who is a total FOS amateur. Not at all a pro like Mike Frankel.)

Thus we end the tale of this very fun Whirlwind Adventure. What did we learn?

• There is an abundance of talented artists in Flagstaff. The up-and-comers are particularly exciting to see.
• Around machinery, beware of shocks to particularly sensitive areas of your body.
  
• Everybody loves Mike Frankel.
• Studios where you get to see the artist at work, or the artist's studio workspace, are the most rewarding visits.
• If you hang lots of fake body parts in your studio, you'll have the coolest/strangest studio in town.
• Flagstaff Open Studios is probably the best art experience of the year in Flagstaff.

That's our story. Thanks for playing along, although if you've read this far, your name is probably Mike Frankel. :)

Signing out,
JT

Read Part One of this story.
Read Part Two of this story.