Category Archives: Ceramics & Sculpture

Art made from ceramics that is sculptural, functional and decorative.

Second Thursday @ Crane Arts Center – The Gray Area

Boy Wonder, Will Power, Dirty Frank’s, Othello…

Boy Wonder

Monday’s at World Cafe Live on Walnut Street is open mic night (no cover charge), art friend Henry Martin was on the bill so Shoshka and DoNarrived early to find a comfortable table with the intention of video taping Henry’s performance. The show is emceed by Boy Wonder with acts ranging from singer/songwriters to rap/hip-hop to jazz groups, folk-rockers and rock bands – the featured group was Philly’s own HEAD who totally rocked the house with a five song set. DoN videotaped two songs and hopes to get permission to share the LoVe because HEAD’s lead singerLexi Greene is HOT and sing’s like an illegal clone of Grace Slick and Alanis Morissette, backed up by keyboardist/singer Tori Ryzner, drummer Ryan Jarrell, Mark Greene on bass and Michael Zimney on guitar the tight rocking songs left DoN’s ears ringing and the crowd cheering. Boy Wonder keeps the show rolling with early acts getting to do three songs, then the HEADliner gets five, then more groups get to do three songs, then back to singers/songwriters who get to perform two, the last few performers get to sing one song. DoN will have some clips of Henry and some of the other performers ready soon.

DoN and Sho felt bad for the two guys who had to follow all the rock bands but they totally took on the challenge with an acoustic guitar and an accordian!?! Ironically, DoN bumped into Patrick Welsh in Rittenhouse Square and found out his group is called The Writers Club and the accordian player hangs out in the Beauty Shop Cafe (DoN knew he looked familiar). DoN congratulated both guys for the gumption to get up and sing while the buzzed crowd talked over their set of Americana/Ghettotech/Folk songs. Hey, this what they call,”paying dues.” Another standout performer was Elle, a sultry, sophisticated Philly girl singer who has a new album coming out – Elle totally dominated the room with her soulful pop songs.

DoN‘s gonna have to get a MySpace page so he can “friend” all this great talent but there was a joke in The New Yorker a while back – “What’s worse than your Dad having a MySpace page? Your Dad’s band having a MySpace page!” Since DoN isn’t a dad or have a band but is a great-uncle of adorable Jaelynn he’s been reticent, but watch for DoN on MySpace soon.

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American Spirit in the Arts

Crane Arts, CFEVA@PhotoWest, 10th St. Laundromat & The Beauty Shop

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Thursday, DoN visited the Crane Contemporary Arts Center in Fishtown for Second Thursday; Nexus featured Rebecca Gilbert : Dirt Thirst and Virginia Batson: substance, sustenance, Kelly & Weber features Collect. Consume. Rebuild, paintings by Sean O’Neil, The Icebox has Semi, a juried exhibition of works by Tyler School of Art MFA students, Juror: Elizabeth Grady, The University of Delaware has MFA student show in The Triangle Space and Jessica Demcsak – The Crane Adjacent, presented by INLIQUID.COM. I know it sounds like a lot but DoN explored the whole space and has some favorites to share: Rebecca Gilbert at Nexus is showing imaginative prints which are delightful and probably the most accessible and salable art DoN viewed, featuring beautifully crafted small pieces which will enhance any art lovers collection (more about Gilbert later). Virginia Batson is showing some really DuChampian “drawings” using drips of salt water (sweat, tears?) on black paper, also lovely small papers with nubby surfaces and fine line work, again perfect art for contemporary interiors.

Work on paper by Virginia Batson @ Nexus.

Works on paper by Rebecca Gilbert @ Nexus.

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Beauty Shop, Autistic/Artistic, Bananas, Trans-gression…

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Thursday, Alden Cole and DoN drove to Bethlehem to drop off one of Alden’s fabulous luminaries at Home & Planet, an extraordinary art gallery featuring art created from recycled materials. The gallery was getting ready for First Friday, so we got to see a preview of the featured art which includes some really creative metal constructions by artists Ben and Kate Gatski and welder Lana Garner. Gatski’s installation includes works created for the garden as well as moo-valous steer heads, cows and giant flowers all made with found metal. Quite a-moo-sing.

Metal cow and flowers by Gatski @ Home and Planet.

Lana Garner creates signature cityscapes from steel dumpster doors, car hoods and drum barrels – a true dumpster diver. Gritty and bleak, the works portray the urban landscape with humor and inventiveness. Garner was a member of a women’s welding collective called Accoutrements and now lives in South Carolina where she has an old gas station for her studio and an old church renovated to be her home. DoN is fascinated with the scale and scope of these monumental works which are extremely heavy and required industrial strength mountings to hang in the gallery. DoNwas also pleased to see the Philly skyline portrayed in welded metal. Since Bethlehem used to be a steel town, the works by Gatski and Garner are particularly poingnant.