Roster Artists meet

The SRAC Roster artists met last Thursday at Artspace. They reviewed and discussed several roster applications and had a question & answer session re "Planets" with Michael Butterman. If you're interested in participating in the Planets project, do call Kelly, kelly@shrevearts.org. for more information. The application is due Feb. 2. It was like " old times" with Mary Louise Porter, Patric McWilliams et al attending.

Don't forget to visit Artspace for the shows: "Six" and "Experiments in Color". Save Feb. 19 for the opening of River City Repertory's "Stepping Out".

Garibaldi glacier

December 31, 2007. Wrapped up in jackets, wool hats, gloves, we were awed by the magnificent panorama of the Magellan Strait. As the Azamara Journey slowly sailed into a narrow estuary, the sparkling cool aqua of the Garibaldi glacier could be seen. Though ice floes were abundant, we didn't see any glacial calving. A few of the ship's crew, outiftted in orange immersion suits, lowered a boat and went out into the icy waters to retrieve a piece of 300,000 year old ice for the ship's New Year's Eve poolside celebration. The latter party with guests and crew singing, dancing, toasting with champagne took place as we rounded Hornus Island (Cape Horn), making for a memorable evening.

Artspace photos

Thank you Shreveport

Thank you Shreveport for coming out in droves and making last pm's SIX and EXPERIMENTS IN COLOR show openings a wow Artspace evening. Thank you too to Bruce Allen, Leigh Elgin and her staff for the fine installation of the works. As a SIX participant, I'm biased, but I don't think Artspace has ever looked better. I am so very proud to be part of this stellar environment.
It still fills me w. wonder to see how my works become transformed when moved from the studio to a fine gallery space. There's enough space to move back and view them. I work on one at a time, so its different to view them as a group. Then there's that interaction between the work and the viewer that adds another dimension to each piece. My favorite moment last evening was watching Laura Harter's young son explore my sculptures. He caressed the rough concrete, poked fingers into the spaces, closely examined the pieces inserted into the concrete...the perfect viewer. I wish others had followed his example rather than keeping at a respectful distance.

UNESCO Heritage site: Peninsula Valdez, Day 4

The flora of Peninsula Valdez resemble the W. Texas landscape, but the fauna are very different. As we drove, we spotted the above guanaco: llamalike creatures, lesser Rhea: grey mini-ostrich, mara: a large harelike rodent, a burrowing owl, petrels, oystercatchers, cormorants. When we reached Caleta Valdez, we were at the largest colony in the world of southern elephant seals. It was molting season, so they weren't very active, and we didn't see many mature males w. their elephantine trunk probosces. It was hypnotic to watch the young males emerge from the sea so very slowly dragging their huge bodies over the sand, to join, after much roaring and yawning, a group dozing on the beach. We climbed a nearby promontory to see a small group of Magellanic penguins marching on a stony beach.

We also visited Punta Pyramides to view southern sea lions. The males are worthy of the name as they have a mane. They lazed on the rocks in a small cove surrounded by sandstone cliffs, a magnificent setting.

Thanks Donecia

Hope you've read Donecia Pea's fine articles re "Six"+ Jerry Wray & Mary Virginia Hill's Artspace shows in this morning's Times, front page of the Living section. Wouldn't it be great if the paper would also hire an art critic to cover local galleries and events? Looking forward to greeting you all at the opening, Thursday, Jan. 17, 5:30 pm.
Please come early, at 5 pm, to celebrate Jane Heggen's delightful mosaic murals in Funspace.

Journey Notes: Day One

The top photo was taken as our ship came into the port of Montevideo. Ira & I were then having breakfast on our verandah, watching the sky lighten as the city came into view.

We toured, after 2+ hrs. in a coach, Colonia de Sacramento, a 16th century fortress town occupied by the Spanish and Portugese throughout the 16th-18th centuries. Its on a peninsula, blocked off by a wall from the countryside. Differing architectural styles are evident along the narrow stone streets. These paths are not "cobbled", but are sharp, uneven and make for difficult walking at times. The bottom photo shows how the streets radiate from the main plaza down to the river. On the 1730 cathedral's main altar was the huge golden sacramental piece that the city is named for. Lots of charming small eating places and we enjoyed lunch at the Meson de la Plaza. At a patio table, seated next to a huge family gathering, we sipped on a local wine and especially delighted in the super sweet dessert crepes filled w. caramel.