Artist of the Month Archive

Back to Current Artist of the Month.

August Artist of the Month: David Blancas

The July Artist of the Month: Trey Moore

The June Artist of the Month: Roberto Prestigiacomo

For more information on AtticRep, visit their website at www.atticrep.org.

The May Artist of the Month: The City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Dance Program, and its founder, Berta Almaguer.

This year, the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation department celebrates 75 years of dance, and honors dance program founder Berta Almaguer. The Parks and Recreation Department proudly boasts the longest running municipal dance program in the country.

In 1934 Berta Almaguer interviewed for a job with the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department to teach music and dance. This first work was so popular and so successful that she remained with the program until her retirement in 1970. Berta, who never married, taught thousands of students some of which went on to very successful careers in dance.

The Parks and Recreation Department Dance Program continues to offer dances classes for youth including beginning Jazz and Hip Hop, Tap, Ballet, Afro-Brazilian, Mexican folkloric and Spanish Flamenco. The program has specialty show groups, including Alamotion and Fandango.

For more information on the Parks and Recreation Department Dance Program visit their web site.

April Artist of the Month: Palmer Hall

Photo Credit: Melanie Rush Davis

H. Palmer Hall was brought up in Beaumont, Texas, but has lived in San Antonio for thirty-five years.  Along the way, he spent some time as a Vietnamese interpreter/translator in Pleiku and Dak To, Vietnam, back in 1967 and 1968.  He did pick up a Ph.D. in English at UT-Austin in 1984 while working as the library director at St. Mary's University.  His first little book, From the Periphery, concerns his work in Vietnam and is second, Deep Thicket and Still Waters treats with the vicious murder of James Byrd, Jr., back in the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas.  More recently, in 2007, two books appeared:  Reflections from Pete's Pond (about a small pond in Botswana, Africa) and a collection of memoiristic essays, Coming to Terms.  In December, 2009, Turning Point Books in Cincinnati published a selection of his poems, Foreign and Domestic.  His work has appeared in various magazines and anthologies including North American Review, Ascent, Connecticut Review, The Texas Observer, Texas Review and many other literary review, plus American Diaspora, In a Fine Frenzy and other poetry anthologies.  He is the editor/publisher of Pecan Grove Press, a press that has been a part of the San Antonio arts community for close to twenty-five years.

How did you get your start in the literary arts? (What inspired you?)

I had written and published a few poems while I was an undergraduate at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.  But I pretty much stopped writing after I was drafted and served as a Vietnamese/Interpreter in Vietnam, from 1967-1968.  It took a long time before I synthesized that experience well enough to have them cohere.  Then the flood gates opened and I was able to write poems about my experiences and the Vietnamese people I met there. Here’s a brief stanza from one of the poem.  I was at a school that had been rocketed either by their side or our side (to the people there, who fired the rockets didn’t matter).  A Buddha had been shattered and a small boy was sitting on the shards of the statue.  Years later, I wrote about the scene:   We shared a cigarette and watched the smoke / rise into the red dust Pleiku air. / You grinned, blew smoke rings with the flair / that comes only when you’re very young. / You told me I was on the Buddha’s throat / and should beware the Buddha’s tongue.  It’s a very formal poem with a rigid rhyme scheme (ABBCAC) repeated in all five stanzas.  The distancing extreme formality gave me allowed me to deal with situations that might have become too emotional in free verse.  Nine books and a hundred magazine publications later, I still write about the war, but also about many other things.

And then St. Mary’s University helped me a lot.  A friend of mine became ill and was unable to teach a poetry workshop she was supposed to do.  I was asked to take over and did so happily.  But, I really wasn’t as well qualified as I would have liked to teach that class.  So, I told the students (graduate students) that we would learn together.  Taking tips from creative writing teachers I had met on the Internet, I gave weekly writing assignments and wrote with my students.  Now that was an exceptional group of young students:  Ito Romo, Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, Frances Trevino, Philip J. Arevalo…a number of fine young writers were in that class and they taught me as much as I taught them.  We continued meeting for some months after the class.  My first poetry publications since my own undergraduate days were poems I wrote along with my students. Now, nine chapbooks and books later, I’m still slogging along, still teaching poetry, still writing.

What excites you about the San Antonio art community?

What is really exciting here in San Antonio is how the arts community is, in fact, a “community.”  We use that word a lot and rarely think about what it means.  I even heard a sniper interviewed on NPR (via Texas Public Radio) once (back when the Washington, D.C. area snipers were shooting up that city) refer to the “community of snipers” and how they would never have sanctioned that sort of thing.  A “community,” though, is a group of people united by something, people who encourage each other and facilitate the work other members of that community are doing.  That happens in San Antonio’s arts communities and arts community.  Have a poetry reading and other poets attend and encourage the writer.  At St. Mary’s University, in the library where I work, we frequently blend poetry readings with art exhibits and the two audiences mingle and become one.  The arts community here encourages and supports each other and helps develop younger artists.  Not just poets, but all artists.  I’m not just talking about the better known artists and voices in the community.  Every week, folks in the community host poetry readings and workshops at The Twig, Barnes & Noble, Bihl House, in the work Gemini Ink is doing, and at other locations.  Those readings are very well attended as people read their poems (some of them exceptionally good) to each other.

Why are the literary arts (and Poetry Month) so important to San Antonio?     

That’s not an easy question to answer.  You saw how Luminaria can attract huge crowds to see and enjoy the arts, but that’s only part of it.  The arts are much more vital than just their appeal to tourists in bringing people downtown to fill hotels and restaurants.  And Luminaria also succeeds in bringing San Antonians downtown, not just tourists.  That’s emblematic of why the arts are important but not the real reason. 

A long time ago, the poet William Carlos Williams wrote, in a few lines from a longer poem called “Asphodel, that greeny flower,” that “It is difficult / to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably every day / for lack / of what is found there.”  There’s something to that and the focus should be on that terrible word “miserably.”  We “can” live utilitarian lives without poetry and the other arts, but our lives are not as blessed, not as full, as they might otherwise be.  We can live miserably, but we don’t have to, and we don’t have to die of that misery.  San Antonio has a ubiquitous bumper sticker.  Isee it almost every time I drive anywhere in the city:  “Arte Es Vida.”  “Art is life.”  And while the lack of art is not death, art helps make life more worth living.

Are there any special events or projects you are looking forward to in the near future?

Well, yes.  Aside from writing poetry, I also teach and direct the library at St. Mary’s University and there are projects there.  But, focusing on art, I really want to publish a book of poems by those people who are too often unsung but are the root of the San Antonio Arts Community:  those poets and organizers of the poetry readings that do occur all over town.  I’d like to have the organizers of those readings write a brief essay about why they do what they do and then have those emcee/organizers select maybe ten poems by members of their groups to include in the book.  I even have a title for it:  OPEN MIC:  Voices of San Antonio’s Weekly Reading Groups.  You see, the folks who do that work, usually poets who have not yet published in ten or twelve magazines and may not have a book published by a literary press yet are the heart and soul of the poetry part of the arts community here.  We need a permanent record of their work.  And they deserve a book because of the good work they do for the arts.  And then there are my own books.  And the books my little poetry press, Pecan Grove Press, will be publishing.

March Artist of the Month: Cruz Ortiz

Cruz Ortiz - March 2010 from SAHEARTS on Vimeo.

February Artist of the Month: Bernice Appelin-Williams.

Appelin-Williams, a mixed-media artist, educator and urban planner, began her career in the 1980s by producing collages, installations and assemblages that often reflected political, spiritual and social issues. Always challenging or inquiring, she began to explore the formal possibilities inherent in her assemblages/ installations, first through floor-standing sculpture and multi-media constructions, then site installations, mixed media collages; always incorporating collage with both metaphysical and ethnic references.

Interest in assemblage and collage was inspired by Joseph Cornell, Louise Nevelson and Romare Bearden, and interest in cultural history was spawned by Dr. Earl Lewis, former Dean of Urban Studies at Trinity University. Following an exhibition she shared with the internationally recognized artist Betye Saar and her daughter Alison at Austin's Laguna Gloria Museum she began creating work that drew on mysticism, spirituality, the cultures and identities reflecting her mixed heritage and the ever present misconceptions and/or inaccurate history associated with African Americans.

Appelin-Williams received a Bachelor of Arts from Incarnate Word College, a Master of Arts from Trinity University and received her Non-profit Management Certification from UTSA. Her art has been nationally and internationally featured in over a dozen solo and over fifty group exhibitions.  She is represented in many national private and public collections.

The January Artist of the Month: Michael Nye

Michael Nye practiced law for 10 years before pursuing photography full time. Recipient of a Mid-America National Endowment for the Arts grant in photography, and a Kronkosky Foundation grant, he participated in two Arts America tours in the Middle East and Asia, and has exhibited and lectured widely in museums and universities, including Morocco, India and Mexico. His journeys to photograph around the world included projects in Russian Siberia, Iraq after the first Gulf War, Palestine, China and Labrador. His photography and audio exhibitions, Children of Children (stories of teenage pregnancy) and Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness have traveled to over 120 cities in the United States and continue to tour. He is married to writer Naomi Shihab Nye and they have one son, Madison

Read about his exhibition, About Hunger & Resilience, on the NPR website.

The November/December Artist of the Month: Carmen Linares "La Chiqui"

Carmen Linares "La Chiqui", began her dance instruction at age three in her home-town San Juan, Puerto Rico. At age eleven she presented her first Ballet show with choreographies of her own. This achievement earned her a certificate from the Dance Educators of America as a certified Ballet instructor. Later on she became a member of the Ballet de San Juan directed by Ana Garcia. At age sixteen, the government of San Juan, Puerto Rico awarded Chiqui a dance scholarship to continue her dance instruction in Ballet and Classical Spanish dance in Spain. In New York City she trained with prestigious dance instructors such as Andre Eglevsky, Frederic Franklin and Hector Zaraspe from the School of American Ballet. Chiqui also had the honor to study and dance under the direction of George Balanchine and the American Ballet Theater. In Spain she studied Flamenco and Classical Spanish dance with renowned dancers such as La Quica, Enrique El Cojo, Juanjo Linares, Pedro Azorn, Merche Esmeralda and Rosa Merce. In the late seventies, Chiqui and her family moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she began teaching Flamenco and Classical Spanish dance. In San Antonio, Chiqui and Jose founded "Compañia de Arte Español", a professional Spanish dance company. Chiqui was also the Artistic Director and choreographer of "Danza Hispana" - San Antonio Parks and Recreations dance company, for nine years. Today, many well-known professional Flamenco dancers and instructors in San Antonio are former members of Compañia de Arte Español and/or Danza Hispana.

How did you get your start in dance?

Ever since I can remember, I've been involved in dance. My family on my mothers side, was very involved  in the arts. My first steps were taught by my aunt, who had a big dance school. She exposed me to different disciplines in dance, she also taught me to respect the arts in general and to know that everyone has something to say when they are on stage. This is something that has impacted me till this day. She also told me that once you master the steps, you can express yourself anyway you feel.
 
What inspires and influences your work?

I have had so many dance instructors that have inspired me ,I wouldn't be able to mention them all. However Ana Garcia, founder and Artistic Director of Ballet de San Juan, gave me courage to express myself. Another instructor was Mr. Arthur Mitchel. In flamenco and Spanish classical dance , I also had the privilege to see Carmen Amaya in person and to see her work. Carmen Mota," La Quica" was also very influential in my dance style. But their is one person I need to mention, my friend Antonio Santaella a great Maestro and dance partner for ten years.
 
You are a part of the citywide celebration of 75 years of dance in San Antonio. What are you especially looking forward to during the year-long celebration?

San Antonio has many dance instructors that are good instructors. Their is one that deserves a special place in the flamenco dance world in San Antonio, he loved the city, he also loved his students and gave many years of his life promoting the Spanish flamenco dance at Parks and Recreation, his name was Javier Villegas.
 
What excites you about the San Antonio dance community?

The variety of different cultures, different styles of dancing, so many young people eager to learn.
 
Are there any special events or projects you are looking forward to in the near future?

Retirement would be a special event but I cant seem to get away from the thing I love to do the most. I also would like to pass down what I've learned from my teachers, and to be able to help them with the knowledge and experience that I have in Flamenco.

The August Artist of the Month: Jesse Treviño.

Jesse Treviño - October 2009 from SAHEARTS on Vimeo.

The August Artist of the Month: Joan Frederick.

Joan Frederick lives in San Antonio, Texas and is an artist, writer, photographer and Indian art historian. She grew up in Oklahoma where the largest number of Indian tribes were relocated at the end of the 19th century, but she moved to San Antonio during the oil crash of the 1980s. She won a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1995 and in 1995 she published T.C. Cannon: He Stood in the Sun, the biography of the influential contemporary Kiowa painter T.C. Cannon. Her current exhibition of work, So Much Art, So Little Time, a 30-Year Restrospective, is located at the Carver Community Cultural Center through September 30, 2009.

How did you get your start in the arts?

I won a school art contest in the 2nd grade and was hooked from then on. I majored in art in college and always dreamed of being an artist, but thank goodness I got my teaching certificate, which paid the bills. Raising my daughter took 10 years, which delayed my art career, but now I am finally living my dream as an artist. I guess you could say I’m a LATE BLOOMER, but it worked out, because it gave me time to really do my homework and STUDY art and art history, and it gave me an enormous well of ideas for my work. Now whenever I do art, it just flows out like a fountain, because my past history as a teacher and author taught me discipline, which is what it takes to put ideas into reality.

What inspires and influences your work?

I am constantly researching art and new ideas, either from local art shows or magazines and books I get from the library. When I see something I like, I may not remember it in detail, but the idea incubates, and then one day, I may do “my version” or use a combination of colors I saw that I liked. I use recurring themes such as relationships, the environment (usually water), the Native American world and religion. My work is not easy to categorize, but I mainly work in photography, which is fast and can keep up with my ideas. Because flat photos tend to bore me, I enjoy turning an idea into surrealism or pulling it off the wall and making the artwork an installation or conceptual piece.   My work is influenced by people such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Magritte, Yoko Ono, Annie Liebovitz, Philippe Halsman, Jesus, TC Cannon and the Kiowa 5 (to name a few…)

What excites you about the San Antonio art community?

I moved here in 1986 and was struck by the international flair this city has, with visiting intellectuals from all walks of life and artistic endeavors.  But even more importantly, for a city this size, the art community is very close and supportive of each other’s work.  Many of these artists are internationally respected and have CHOSEN to live here in San Antonio, and now with the expanding awareness of the arts from the efforts of the City of San Antonio combined with international arts organizations based here, it is a fertile ground for this period in art history.   We live in the “Paris” that revolutionized the arts of the 20th Century in the 1920s and 30s, only it’s right here in S. Texas and it’s happening NOW.  The fact that San Antonio is the place to be for Latino arts only fuels the expanding role of “Latino cultura” in all walks of life on a national scale.  I take my camera everywhere so I can record this time, because I know in the future it will be viewed as historic.        

You are a part of the upcoming FOTOSEPTIEMBRE citywide festival. Tell us a little about your exhibition at the Carver Community Cultural Center.

I am pleased to be exhibiting new work at the Carver along with a 30 -year retrospective of my career in the arts.  My work has evolved into a predominately photo-based format, but I want people to see that I went to art school and I can draw and paint, but I just happen to now use photographs predominately in my work.  It is exciting to have some of my best artwork in ONE space, so people can see what I have done.  Since some are so large and unusual, they never sold, but now I am glad.  I have also included some of the quirky things such as ceramics and glass that I have kept for myself alongside my latest projects, which include photo montage, mixed media and Photoshop images.  I keep getting new ideas I want to include in the show, but there just isn’t enough time…(Hence the title of the show “So Much Art, So Little Time.”)

Why is FOTOSEPTIEMBRE so important to San Antonio?      

FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USA is unique in that it is a community-based, artist-driven, exhibitions-oriented festival, which sets it apart from most festivals and conferences now promoting photography.  Michael Mehl and Ann Kinser started FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USA 15 years ago as a festival that promotes not only San Antonio and regional artists, but also brings national and international photographers into our city.  They set up a web-based format so that anyone, ANYWHERE, could see what was going on here in San Antonio.  I put us on the map and also gave our artists the international exposure they would not have, had they just presented exhibits in gallery shows with local media exposure.  FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USA is the quintessential example of how people from and in San Antonio can combine artistic quality, organizational skills and economic sustainability to produce a photographic forum of international quality, which benefits the artists and art enthusiasts.

Are there any special events or projects you are looking forward to in the near future?

I have two shows planned for next year:  the first in June with David Zamora Casas at the Bihl Haus Art Center, and then for Photoseptiembre 2010, I will exhibit my work at the Southwest School of Art and Craft.  Being an artist is a very personal experience, but having the chance to share my ideas with others is as exciting as doing the art.  In the future, I plan to continue my black and white series photographing my Indian friends from Oklahoma, who are helping me recreate Edward Curtis’ classic photos of the “vanishing race” into a modern format.  It has been a lot of fun, because their sense of humor is so DRY.  I also want to work more with Photoshop and play a little hardball with surrealism.  I plan to do a series of modern versions of famous stories from the Bible, and although I don’t support formal religions,  I think the fundamental dynamics of good and evil, philosophy and ethics are universal themes that affect our world order.  Unfortunately, there isn’t much order in our world today, but that’s what ART is about: to comment on these things and try to make sense of it all.

The August Artist of the Month: Victor Payan

Victor Payan is an award-winning writer, producer and artist who uses humor and satire to address issues of border culture and social justice.  A San Diego native who moved to San Antonio in 2007, he works independently and in collaboration with creative partners to create engaging multi-faceted interventions, such as the masked Mexican wrestler project Aztec Gold with Lou Chalibre, and the Keep on Crossin’ movement. 

He served as Editor of the Stanford humor magazine Chaparral and has also written for the seminal underground Chicano humor magazine, Pocho!  His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and has been featured in exhibitions, screenings and performances at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Galeria de la Raza in San Francisco and the Sweeney Art Gallery in Riverside, among other institutions.

Victor has collaborated with artists such as cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, members of the Border Arts Workshop and Pocha Peña, and has served as Associate Producer for several Emmy-Award winning PBS documentary series, including The U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848 and The Border.   Since moving to San Antonio in 2007, Payan has taught the multimedia program at San Antonio Cultural Arts and served as Co-Director of CineFestival en San Antonio. He is a popular speaker on issues of art and culture, and has presented at conferences in the United States and Mexico. Mr. Payan currently works as the Development Coordinator for the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC).

For more information on Victor Payan visit his web site, www.victorpayan.com and www.aztecgoldtv.com.


How did you get your start in the arts?

Creative expression was important to me from early on, and I was lucky to have a supportive family and inspirational teachers who allowed me to develop my creative voice. Serving as the editor of the Stanford humor magazine during the height of the culture wars a great learning experience in understanding the important laughter to any society.  When I returned to San Diego in the early nineties, I worked as cultural editor for a Latino community newspaper and I was able to have lengthy interviews with people like Guillermo Gomez Peña, Culture Clash, El Vez, Luis Valdez, Marga Gomez, Robert Rodriguez and Lalo Alcaraz during a really incredible period in their careers. Through these conversations, the importance of working in different media and mixing creativity, social justice, humor, history and community really came into focus.  I made a lot of friendships during this period with writers, filmmakers, musicians, painters and muralists, and it was great creative community to work in.

My current project, Aztec Gold, which is a collaboration with my wife, Pocha Pena, is really fun to work on.  As an intervention, we produce video interviews and live multimedia extravaganzas, like our Rudos y Tecnicos event, where we brought painters and Mexican wrestlers together to “battle it out on the canvas” with brushes. It was a great way to reimagine the luchador phenomenon and the notion of heroic struggle.

What inspires and influences your work?

Being raised in the San Diego/Tijuana border region, I was able to develop in an incredibly rich area, which was as much a zone of conflict as it was of innovation and a laboratory for finding creative resolutions to complex social and cultural issues. San Diego plays an important role in the development of the community arts movement, and like San Antonio, it is a great venue for creative experimentation. People really come together to accomplish important things, such as Chicano Park, the Border Arts Workshop and the Centro Cultural de la Raza.  What really inspires me is working with artists who know how to get the best from people and to nurture the native genius of youth and those who may not have access to education or the tools to empower their own lives through creativity.

What excites you about the San Antonio art community?

The San Antonio arts community is amazing. We have met an incredible number of talented artists who are as passionate about their work as they are generous with others.  It’s wonderful to see so many collaborations and important independent spaces, but what is really inspiring about the San Antonio arts community is the spirit of possibility. Artists in San Antonio take a direct role in improving their community not only through the creation of great work, but also through their economic support of organizations and endeavors they believe in. Whether it’s mobilizing to raise funds for medical expenses, to support a venue such as Lerma’s or to save a historic building such as La Gloria, the local arts community is front and center in the effort to improve the quality of life for all San Antonians. Shortly after arriving, we started working with organizations such as NALAC, San Anto Cultural Arts, NALIP-SA and at the Guadalupe as Co-Directors of CineFestival. We are grateful to have worked with Manny Castillo and to see how much one person could accomplish for his community. Through people like Manny, you really get a sense that we are living in an important moment in San Antonio’s cultural history. It’s also great to be in a city that invests in its arts community and to see OCA staff at openings and events.  I think everyone is looking forward to seeing how the new Mayor interfaces with local artists to realize the incredible potential there is here for growing the creative sector and serving the cultural needs of the community.

July Artist of the Month: Kelly O'Connor

Kelly talks about being an artist in San Antonio, her work and the new exhibition for Contemporary Art Month at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center.

June Artist of the Month: Enrique Patrón De Rueda

One of the most recognizable talents in the world of opera, Enrique Patrón De Rueda is acknowledged by critics and fans of opera in Mexico as the greatest conductor of his generation. Most of his career has been spent in one of the cultural and artistic centers of the world, Mexico City.

“Having Maestro Patron on my artistic staff is a dream.  I have never known a singular artist, in his demanding position, that is beloved by the most opinionated professional singers in opera as well as the most talented musicians of an orchestra.  His position of Principal Visiting Conductor for the opera takes the company to a new level of excellence and artistry.” - Mark Richter, Founder & Artistic Director of San Antonio Opera

Maestro Patrón was educated at some of the world’s premiere music institutions, including the National Conservatorium of Music, The London Opera Center, The  Royal Academy of Music and Morley College, studying under Tito Gobbi, Reri Grist, Sir Geraint Evans and Peter Gelhorn, and was awarded grants and scholarships  from the governments of Great Britain and Italy to work in opera in London and Siena respectively.

His impressive list of credentials include appointments as the head of the Orchestra at the Theatre of Bellas Artes, Artistic Director of the National Opera Company, Artistic Director of the Seasonal Opera Concerto of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the City of Mexico and his current position as Artistic Director for the Sinaloan Cultural Festival, where he serves as promoter of artistic and cultural activities for the State.

Since his debut in 1979, he has established himself as a leader in the operatic repertoire with important performances of Tosca with Placido Domingo as well as diverse concerts and operas with Gilda Cruz-Romo, Eva Marton, Juan Pons, Ramon Vargas, Fernando de la Mora, Rolando Villazón, Verónica Villarroel, Cristina Gallardo-Domaz and Ainhoa Arteta. He has also amassed a broad repertoire in symphony, oratorio and ballet as well as in popular music, including performances of the National Symphonic Orchestra with popular singer Juan Gabriel.

May artist of the month: Stuart Allen.

(All photos by Mark Menjivar)

Stuart Allen is a visual artist whose work deals with fundamental elements of perception such as light, time, gravity and space. His photographs, sculpture and installation have been shown throughout the U.S. and abroad and his work is found in many private and public collections. Allen studied architecture at Kansas University and graduated from the photography and video department of the Kansas City Art Institute in 1993. He lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife Kelly Lyons, their daughter Aidan and son Vincent."

You can watch Allen talk about his work as part of the River Improvement Project on the May edition of SA Arts Beat, OCA’s monthly tv show.

What inspires and influences your work?

Light, wind, clouds, the pull of gravity, time, water, dirt, coffee, exercise, sailing, kites, astrophysics, architecture, music, driving, new technology, ancient technology, the web, steel, fabric, wood, paper, wine, food, thunder, lightning, art (sometimes), my wife, my kids.

And if pressed to name names: Robert Irwin, Olafur Eliasson, Steven Holl, Radiohead, Bill Bryson, Tadao Ando, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Agnes Martin, Carl Sagan, Nicholson Baker, Brian Eno, Richard Serra, Philip Glass, Briane Greene, Jonathan Richman, Alan Lightman, Italo Calvino, Gerhard Richter, Leonardo da Vinci

Any list will be desperately incomplete. In general, I'd say I'm more influenced by sources outside the art world than inside. Lately I've been looking very closely at architecture again (I went to architecture school before art school). I was just in Kansas City and the Steven Holl designed addition to the Nelson Atkins Museum completely blew me away, absolutely stunning. I also read a lot about astrophysics, theories about the structure of the universe and its origin. I'm not reading the source literature, that's way beyond me, but in the hands of a great interpreter like Sagan or Briane Greene, I'm really moved by this stuff, it's as close to religion as I get.

Tell us a little about your piece for the River Improvement Project.

I'm working on commissions for the underpasses at McCullough and Brooklyn Avenues along the Museum Reach of the Riverwalk. It's a challenging space with an unusual set of requirements for practical and aesthetic success. On a practical level, it has to be engineered to deal with a 100-year flood, be corrosion resistant, and given the high traffic in the area, sturdy. In addition, the sites are in the shade, which, for an artist that often deals with daylight, is another challenge. With that said, the most interesting aspect of these sites is that they're transitional spaces. Unlike a traditional museum or gallery setting, most viewers will experience the sites in motion, either on foot or on a river barge. So, my goal was to build a piece that exploits this characteristic, a static installation that's made dynamic by the movement of the viewer.

The design incorporates multiple layers of stainless-steel architectural mesh, built into window-like frames. The inner layers have color applied to them, colors that were sampled from photographs taken onsite by my 5-year old daughter. As the viewer's position changes relative to the piece, the shifting perspective makes it appear as if the panels are changing color. The frames are installed on both sides of the River, suspended between the bridge columns. The pace of the color shifting depends on the viewer's proximity to the panels. Close to the piece, the effect occurs with a couple of feet of motion, while looking across the river to the panels on the other side, 10 to 20 feet of movement is required for the same amount of change. It's been fun to figure all this out, the physics behind it, it's all very relativistic.

Why is this public art project as a whole so important to San Antonio?     

As a piece of urban development, I think the whole Museum Reach project is a tremendous coup for the City. From an art perspective, connecting downtown to SAMA is huge and the Museum definitely stands to benefit enormously from that connection. The San Antonio River Foundation's plan to fund and install so many public art installations along the reach is extremely ambitious. And getting it all installed before the May 30 opening is borderline madness, yet they're doing it and it's going to be fantastic. We are all indebted to the River Foundation for the vision and execution of this plan. I hope people understand that this has all been privately funded and gifted to the City's Public Art Collection.

On an aesthetic level, I think there are some interesting connections between the installations. Martin Richman, Mark Schlesinger and myself are all dealing with issues of color and light transmission. We're using completely different tools, but there's a great thread tying these four bridges together.

What excites you about the San Antonio art community?

I moved here from California about five years ago and the San Antonio art community is just amazing. It is, by far, the most open, cooperative, and interesting community of artists I've known. The caliber of work being made here is on par with any city of its size. This isn't lost on visiting curators and artists, everyone seems to come away with a similar impression. We need to keep the lid on it though, let's not ruin it with a rash of deliberate gentrification and packaging. "Keep San Antonio Lame!"

Are there any special events or projects you are looking forward to in the near future?

After the River piece is complete I'll be back in the studio experimenting with some new, smaller objects for shows in Houston and Santa Fe later this year. I've been working primarily on large, public projects for the last year, so it will be nice to shift gears. I've been playing with new materials and it's time to make something with them. This initial phase is always the most exciting, taking a new idea and turning it into an object. I try not to talk too much about work before it's finished though. To talk about it is a form of commitment, and that makes it harder to turn away from the project if it turns out to be a really bad idea, which plenty of them do.

For more information about Stuart Allen's work, please visit www.stuartallen.info.

April artist of the month: Dr. Carmen Tafolla.

is a writer, poet, performer, and educator whose work has appeared in more than two hundred anthologies, magazines, journals, readers, American Literature textbooks, Big Books, and in the Poetry-in-Motion series installed on city buses. The co-author of the first book ever published on Latina Civil Rights leader Emma Tenayuca (That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice, which Críticas Magazine listed among the Best Children’s Books of 2008), she is the recipient of many awards, including the Art of Peace Award in 1999 for writing which contributes to peace, justice, and human understanding.

Dr. Carmen Tafolla

A native of the west-Side barrios of San Antonio, Tafolla has performed her one-woman show, My Heart Speaks a Different Language, to ovations in Europe, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, and throughout the US, and has authored more than fifteen books.  Her 2008 collection of short stories, The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans (Wings Press), centered on the spirit and voices of San Antonio and South Texas, has just received the Tomas Rivera Book Award, and her children’s picture book What Can You DO with a Rebozo? was named an ALA Notable Book and a Junior Library Guild Selection. To learn more about Tafolla, see www.carmentafolla.com

INTERVIEW with Carmen Tafolla:

What excites you about the San Antonio art community?

You know San Antonio has always been a very special place- something about the magic in the air, the sense of place, the stillness of the waters, the crossroads of so many peoples, the heritage that drapes us in color and emotion and story – all of that wrapped in a song of fiesta that just calls to artists and writers to sing their song here, to paint the landscapes of their creative lives here.  It’s been this way ever since it was Yanaguana, then through the Mission Indians and the Espanoles, through the Texians and the Tejanos, through the visiting O’Henry’s and Haley’s, and into the artistas of today’s San Antonio.  That magic is still in our air, and it enchants us, inspires us, pulls us together...  I love the way this crazy quilt of multicultural peoples and experiences works together, all adding to the exciting flavors of what it feels like to live and work in this artistic community.

Why is Poetry (and Poetry Month) so important to San Antonio?      

Poetry should be about that which is the most profound, the most important in our lives. It should strip away all the superficial stuff, and go to the gut. It should be about what survives, what makes life continue.   In springtime, especially here in San Antonio, we always see these tender-green sprouts of freshness, the stubborn survival of new growth and gentle sunshine.  Despite all the drought or flood or freezes or storms that came before, the newness of spring makes us want to celebrate, to gather at family picnics and crack cascarones, to sit out in the breeze laughing and enjoy our very few months of natural air-conditioning.  It’s a perfect time to combine Fiesta San Antonio and a Battle of Flowers with National Poetry Month and a Battle of Verses.  In fact, it’s a part of our centuries of heritage-- the Aztec word for poetry was exactly that - Flower and Song, in cuica in xochitl, Floricanto.  So the celebration of Poetry Month in San Antonio fits with a re-discovery of that which sprouts from within us, new and refreshed and most basic to our survival.  It is our communal voice, the song which comes from deep within our corazón.

Are there any special events or projects you are looking forward to in the near future?

Yes, this spring is chock full of so many exciting events and experiences that it feels like a Texas highway full of wildflowers in bloom!  I’ve been asked by The Other Voices International Project, a UNESCO-endorsed organization to submit my poems to their world-wide cyber-anthology celebrating the diversity of poets on our planet.  And San Antonio Youth Literacy is hosting a really special gala this month with columnist Heloise interviewing local authors, including Cary Clack, Richard Rosen, Red McCombs and myself.  Then, I’ll be doing a special reading from my book The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans (which just won the 2009 Tomas Rivera Book Award) at the tiendita Elena Guajardo’s parents operated years ago on the West Side, not far from where I grew up. And toward the end of April, a trip to Illinois State University to do my dramatic performance for students and faculty there.....And that’s all just in this one month!

But I guess, for any artist, the true joy always lies in the act of creation itself. The writing, the breathing life into characters and settings, that’s what really counts, not the “afterbirth” of awards, but the actual writing itself.  I’m just about to put the final touches on a chapter book for young elementary children called The Prince of Chocolate, whisking them away five centuries, with a sense of magic and adventure and love, carrying them off to special worlds and hopefully into wonder and passion.  THAT’s why I LOVE writing!

February artist of the month: Rodolfo S. Lopez.

Rodolfo Lopez learned bajo sexto (a 12 string instrument similar to a guitar) in his golden years at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center under pioneer bajista Toby Torres, thus fulfilling a lifelong dream. A grant from Texas Folklife Resources allowed him to continue learning from Toby Torres who he now considers his mentor on the bajo sexto.  Rodolfo then became a resident artist with the Texas Commission for the Arts and started a Conjunto music program in Seguin, Texas in collaboration with the Teatro de Artes de Juan Seguin and the Seguin Independent School District. That program is now in its 11^th year and has produced numerous acordionistas and bajistas, some now playing professionally.

He coined the name “Dos Generaciones” and along with Robert Casillas produced a CD entitled “Dos Generaciones does Conjunto Tradiciones” playing tunes from traditional Conjunto pioneers. Along with Robert, Rodolfo has played in numerous venues throughout Texas and into Mexico as well as some solo performances in Paris and Barcelona. He also wrote and recorded a CD entitled “Ya Basta” which deals with the effects of not voting.

Rodolfo co-founded and is president of the Conjunto Heritage Taller, a non profit organization in San Antonio, Texas, dedicated to teaching the traditional music played with accordion and bajo sexto. Their mission is to perpetuate this culturally important folk music by teaching it to “youth of all ages.” This endeavor, which is in its 7^th year, has been a resounding success with widespread community support. Rodolfo plays bajo for many of the Taller’s presentations and accompanies the students during their classes. 

Rodolfo continues to play and compose music. He recently composed a song that he presented along with famed accordionist Eva Ybarra during his induction as “Rey Huevo” for the San Anto Cultural Arts Center. The song is dedicated to San Anto’s many accomplishments and to the late Manuel “Manny” Diosdado Castillo.

“It’s never too late:  al rato se acaba el corrido, so do it now”.

January artist of the month: Bettie Ward 

"Two lovers who double as twins" 2007-8 46” x 46” Embroidery on green doily   Todd Johnson photographer

What inspires and influences your work?

I know I am inspired when I feel a real physical sensation from something I am looking at or listening to.

How does your embroidery work influence your work in painting or drawing?

All my work I have been told looks like embroidery even if they are paintings. I don't think one informs the other but I could be wrong. They seem to exist separately from each other, the embroideries are narrative, my paintings are emotional.

What excites you about the San Antonio art community?

The exciting things about the San Antonio art community is that it is authentic, it is not a commercially motivated environment because the commerce is not here to support it like say Santa Fe but honest work is going on here. The lack of the commercial element makes it like that I think. People support each other here even, crossing media. It is a grass roots arts community that is growing out of its quality and honesty.

Tell us a little about your upcoming exhibition at Blue Star.

The work in this Blue Star show is close to my heart. I wanted to show important embroideries complex and approaching heavy subjects, but I also wanted the show to show the diversity of the works I have produced over the years. All the work is new, except for a 30-foot painting, "Opera" I did about 8 years ago that only has been shown once in Austin and I wanted it to breathe the air once again. My band will play, “Queenie and the Bumblebees,” some of the finest musicians in this city including George Prado on Bass,  Aaron Prado on Piano, Richard Oppenheimon on sax, Al Gomez on trumpet, and on drums Chuck Glave. I made a goal two years ago to sing at my opening and I am actually doing it! I am proud of this, very proud of it! The musicians have patiently put up with my learning every minute!

Any other events or projects you are looking forward to in the near future.

I have no more projects planned for the future. I do however have new work planned; large pieces of sculpture in substantial media are the next direction for me. The embroideries suggest vulnerability the fragile womans work that you might think is a Victorian sampler has taken on the cultural activities of the 21st century, so that is sometimes shocking to people. I feel that I still have a few more embroideries to make and they get bigger and more complicated each year, but I want to move on to bronze and marble.

August Artist of the Month: Claire Holliday

Claire Holliday is retiring as the Chair of the Metals Department of the Southwest School of Art and Craft in San Antonio. Holliday has been an educator in San Antonio for 29 years, and has organized more than 75 visiting artist workshops of national repute at the Southwest School of Art & Craft. A metalsmith with traditional training, Holliday currently focuses on organic jewelry forms in metal clay. Her work is featured in Tim McCreight’s book, PMC Decade: The First Ten Years of Precious Metal Clay. This summer Holliday’s work is included in an invitational show, “Neoteric Matter, New Studio Jewelry”, curated by Daniella Kerner, at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Long Beach, New Jersey. She holds an MFA degree in Gold and Silversmithing from the State University of New York College at New Paltz, N.Y., and received her instructor’s certification from the Precious Metal Clay Guild. 

The July Artist of the Month: Rolando Briseño.

Rolando Briseño has exhibited widely in both group and solo shows, nationally and internationally. Born in San Antonio Texas, he received Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas and his M.F.A. at Columbia University. He currently lives and works in San Antonio.

May artists of the month: Jayne King and Amber Ortega-Perez of Modern Dancers’ Co-Laboratory.   Jayne King directs the dance program at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio. She is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was Artistic Director of Janlyn Dance Company, creating more than twenty original works for the ensemble from 1997-2004. Since moving to San Antonio Jayne has especially enjoyed making dances with the San Antonio Modern Dancers Co-Lab. She has a Masters degree in dance from Mills College and is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. Jayne also serves on the board of the San Antonio Dance Umbrella.  Her most recent choreographic projects include Floodgate, a dance film shot on location at the Flood Control Tunnel Outlet Building on the San Antonio River, and Work it On Out: Dance Narratives and Fantasies, an intergenerational community performance project   Amber Ortega-Perez is a founding member of the Modern Dancers’ Co-Laboratory, a cooperative of San Antonio modern dancers and also a co-founder of SpareWorks dance company. She is currently an instructor at Ballet Conservatory of South Texas and St. Phillip’s Fine Arts Academy. She holds a BFA in Modern Dance from Ohio State University. Amber recently collaborated with SOLI chamber ensemble member, Stephanie Key and guitarist/composer, Joe Reyes on a unique performance entitled, “(Re)Action”, a performance piece concerning global warming. Amber has also recently received a grant from the San Antonio Artist Foundation to create a new work for her company SpareWorks.

April artist of the month: Spot Barnett

Photo courtesy of the artist’s Myspace profile.