Anne Archer Dennington, director, Masur Museum of Art, at the exhibit, “Artists of the Great Depression.” (courtesy thenewsstar.com)

From “Artists of the Great Depression,” Dorothea Lange, at Masur Museum of Art.

The Masur Museum has the works of Eudora Welty, Fonville Winans and several other photographers and artists of the 1930s-40s exhibited for their Artists of the Great Depression exhibit, which runs through Nov. 8.

On display at the Schepis Museum through Sept. 30 is Tempus fugit, an exhibit of photographs by B. Jo Fulton. It is a pictorial history of children taught by the artist during her 32-year career teaching kindergarten in rural Louisiana. The  museum is open Tues. - Fri., according to someone I spoke to on the phone — don’t pay attention to their website, which hasn’t been updated in some time.

Women of the Ouachita River Art Guild will be featured at the Art Fest sponsored by 102 a Bistro, Thur., Oct. 1. The reception is 4:30-6:30pm, with wine and appetizers, similar to the event done in Monroe at Sage, also owned by the same family. Art will be for sale and shown in the restaurant and on the boardwalk. Tish Miller of Inside Indigo will curate. For more info, call 318-254-1102.

And at the ULM Bry Art Gallery, check out the Annual Art Faculty Exhibition, through Sept 10.

The Ouachita River Art Gallery, West Monroe, La. An open space where you won't get lost in a white-walled maze, and can get a nice, artistic gift for someone without having to sell your car first.

WEST MONROE, La. 8/19/09

Some quick notes: there are Twitter and Facebook pages with a modest updated listing of events for downtown Monroe. They aren’t focused on art, but the Facebook group has over 600 members, so you might make a friend, if nothing else.

Now, onward. Since I missed a stop at the Ouachita River Art Gallery during the last Artcrawl, I headed out there last week to see what they had to offer.

The gallery is located on Trenton Street in the Cottonport Historic District of West Monroe, along with the shops of Antique Alley. The street got its start as an art and antiques hub in the 1970’s and is currently operated through the Antique Alley Association which has five board members.

"The Hungry Heron" by Cindy Blanchard - quadtone print, 14" x18". I really like this print. At $35 bucks, one can hardly go wrong. I'm going to go back there and get it, just as soon as my next photo assignment rolls in ... anyone?

There’s an untitled, metal, 10-foot, floral sculpture at the foot of the street, and just across from Corner Cottage Antiques, which when I arrived had a large selection of old doors propped up against its wall. I had to grab a shot of that. A walk towards the gallery brought me past Mojo’s clothing store, The Costume Shop and Something Special II antiques.

At the gallery, I met artist and guild member Don Hudnall. His specialty is “earth guided pottery,” and his mantra is “Making Dirt Look Good.” He’s been working in ceramics for the last seven years, though he originally started in metals.

Don Hudnall of Dirt Dauber Pottery shows some of his work on display at the gallery.

“I switched over after an accident at one of the studios I shared with some other artists,” he said. “I was working on a piece and spraying sparks everywhere, and unfortunately the sparks shot across some unfinished pottery sitting on a nearby table. The other artists weren’t too happy with that at first, but as it turned out, after the pottery came out of the kiln, there were these beautiful spattered designs. So they relented, but I still ended up switching over to clay.”

“There are about 30 members in the guild right now,” Hudnall said. “We participated in the last three Artcrawls.  The nice thing about this gallery is that it offers every medium — sculpture, photography, painting, jewelry, you name it. We aren’t limited to having work from two or three artists, so instead we have 20 or 30 artists displayed. We switch up the work every two months or so, totally clear everything off the walls and start fresh.”

Guild members share duties at the gallery, with a minimum one eight-hour shift per month.

A close-up of some of Don Hudnall's work.

“We typically have one to four works displayed per artist,” Hudnall added.

I spent some time wandering around the gallery and checking out the work. Hudnall is right about the variety. It’s typical of art guilds and artist co-ops like this to have a lot more diversity, and this place is no exception. I enjoyed moving from a painting to a photo to a selection of jewelry. Anywhere you turn, you’re confronted with a different form of art.

Logistically, too, I like being able to see the whole gallery without having to wander around in a maze of white walls, wondering if actually I’ve seen everything or not. I accidentally entered a bathroom during a modern art show recently and found myself seriously thinking for a moment that it was part of the exhibit. Thank God no one was in there, or I might have gone up close to look at the details.

"Foggy Morning" by Brenda McDaniel. $1,000. Okay, I take it back about not selling the car. I bought a Honda Civic once for $300. It ran for three months. This artwork is a lot prettier and will last longer.

Anyway, nothing like that happened here. This is the perfect place to pick up a work of art as a gift. The items are priced to sell, ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred, generally.

"Foggy" by Marlene Gremillion - pastel, 22" x 18"

“Also,” he grinned, “we been told that we have the best food on the Artcrawl.”

For starving artists like myself, that’s a good enough incentive to make my way to the gallery at the next month’s event.

For info, call the gallery at 318.322.2380. They are located at 308 Trenton Street in West Monroe, and are open Tues. - Sat., 10 AM - 5 PM.

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The first stop brings me to the Mystic Art Gallery.

MONROE, La. 08/06/09

Soon after I moved from N’awlins last year, one of the first artistic events I heard about here was the monthly Artcrawl in Monroe/West-Monroe. New Orleans, of course, has its share of art walks and white-linen nights and everything else. I’ve attended a few of those, either on my own time or as an intrepid reporter-on-the-street. Those events are always well-attended, through pouring rain or blazing heat, or sometimes both.

We were lucky to have some great weather for the August 6th Artwalk here, though. I was looking forward to this as a first taste of what Monroe/West-Monroe has to offer in the way of art. Now, I had snuck down to 2nd Street earlier that week just to see what might lay ahead, and I wasn’t too enthused with what I saw. It didn’t seem like there was much going on that afternoon. All the studios were closed. I peeked in a few windows, and it looked like they were in the process of moving.

Well, I mused, maybe that’s just the way it is. You can’t expect some sort of booming art scene like what you see in a cultural melting pot like New Orleans.

So, I attended the Artwalk a few days later with my hopes somewhat toned down … and I was pretty quickly handed my hoity-toityness on a platter.

The main parking areas had been filled up. I found a spot down the street from the Coda bar, which as it turns out is a pretty popular hangout during the Artwalk. I headed straight for the farthest gallery on the map: the Mystic Art Gallery, owned by Andrea May. The place was fairly packed with over 40 people in the main room, and more spilling into the adjoining galleries. Her centerpiece for the evening was a large sun-like image that already had a red sticker on the bottom corner. I didn’t get the name of the piece but the photo of it speaks pretty well, I think. She made a good choice, and so did whoever purchased it. To the left of this work and centered in the gallery was cellist and West Monroe College graduate Hannah Underwood, intently playing various classical selections from a music book. Hannah, by the way, says she’s going to LSU in the Fall, where I assume she’ll continue playing the cello.

Summer Bennett, Kate McClelland, artisit Leah Reitzell and her husband Mac, at the Artcrawl in Monroe, April 6.

I was taken by Andrea May’s work, which covered one wall of the studio. I don’t know if this is just a phase of painting or if the work I saw was representative of everything she’s doing currently, but it was the kind of textured, stark work that I would probably put in my own home, if I had one, right there in that big room … right. Anyway, I’m not a painter, so rather than make feeble attempts at describing the work, I’ll just post the photos and let you decide.

Other sections of the gallery had paintings by Lou Kavanaugh, Leah Reitzell, a group of young artists, and sculpture by Renee Parnell.

I wanted to take sculpture when I was in college and still regret not being able to do it. The class only accepted nine students a year, and only in my last year did I luck into a schedule that allowed me to take it, and that year, the instructor broke up with the other art instructor he had been dating at the college, and moved to California to shack up with some svelte actress who played a Romulan on the Star Trek Enterprise TV series.

"Hi-Boy" by Lou Kavanaugh, at the Mystic Art Gallery.

Needless to say, I never took sculpture, which was possibly why I stopped longingly around the piece by Parnell a little longer than I might have otherwise. I stood out with a fat camera around my neck, and so visitor Beverly Comeaux introduced herself to me along with her 92-year-old mother, Ruby Albritton, and Albritton’s niece and the artist Lou Kavanaugh. They made a nice triplet, and gained a photo.

I went from there to talk with artist Leah Reitzell, who was with her two friends, Summer Bennett and Kate McClelland, and her husband, Mac.

This piece by Renee Parnell reminded me of my sculpture instructor from college who ran off with a sexy Romulan ... that was my connection, anyway.

“I’ve had some shows in Ruston, but this is my first time for the Artcrawl,” she told me. “I’m very excited.” She did seem happy about it, so I took advantage of her contagious smile and grabbed a shot of her with the assembly. She introduced me to photographer Christi Jones, who mentioned the “Heart Gallery” of photos of orphaned children set up at the Banquet Room in the Ouachita National Bank Building. I put it on my do-to list and moved on to the Arender Gallery next door, where I met photographers Brad Arender and Kate Hilburn.

Hilburn was the focus of Brad’s gallery, with her exhibit, “Pentimento: The Champs Elysees-Clemenceau.” Her photographs of graffiti-covered walls in a Paris underground tunnel looked to me at first as though they were paintings or color pencil drawings. The big clue was Hilburn casually meandering around with a pro camera in her hand, talking to visitors. That’s usually a dead giveaway that someone’s a photographer, ya know.

"Pentimento: The Champs Elysees-Clemenceau, metro wall #3" by Kate Hilburn. It's not a painting, okay? It's a photo of a Paris underground tunnel. I knew that.

Hilburn, who frequents Paris each year, said she made a point of printing the work on a unique, textured paper that mimicked the texture of the environment where she shot the photos, and to that purpose, she also framed a few images on brushed iron. She has been working as an artist full-time since the 90’s, with much of her time dedicated to the “Beating Hearts” exhibit with friend Terrie Autrey. That exhibit highlights the plight of victims of domestic violence and has received worldwide recognition.

Photographers Brad Arender and Kate Hilburn.

Visitors ponder works by Emory Nolan at the Becton Gallery, during the Artcrawl in Monroe, Aug. 6.

At the Becton Gallery across the street, musicians Vince Chow, James Simpson and Allison Huff played folk tunes, while visitors enjoyed paintings by Emory Nolan and gallery owner Margaret Becton. This gallery, like the others, was comfortably full with about 40 or more people, and had a few snack trays and drinks available.

Coming from New Orleans, I found Nolan’s subdued work familiar, with southern negro and music themes. Becton’s work, displayed near the wall of windows near the street, was a nice balance with its bright colors. I didn’t realize until I went in for a closer look that Becton’s texture was literally the texture from extra material, since it appears that she creates collages and then paints over that.

Visitors enjoy wine and art at the Becton Gallery during the Artcrawl in Monroe, Aug. 6.

The Heart Gallery around the corner consisted of sixteen portraits of children awaiting adoption. This is a volunteer project including local photographers such as Christi Jones and Joli Livaudais, among others, sponsored by the Center for Children and Families, Inc.

I headed over to Joli Livaudais Studio a block away. I had wanted to meet Joli for some time—she seems to be very successful at what she does, and being in the business myself, sort of, I’m always curious to meet photographers who actually make a living at it. Her studio is possibly the nicest photo studio I’ve ever been in, not that I’ve been in that many of them, but I enjoyed the wood floors and ceiling fans, and overall bronze-colored light that seemed to mimic that “golden hour” we photographers talk about.

Livaudais Studio might be the nicest photo studio I've ever been in. *sigh* Maybe someday I'll have one like this.

The right-side wall here featured a set of panoramic, spliced photographs by Jenny Burnham, while on the other side of the studio was a somewhat interactive set of photos titled “Introspective Mystery,” by Lauren Ward.

"Introspective Mystery," an set of photographs by Lauren Ward, at Livaudais Studio, had curious visitors enthralled with turning pages. It looks like a good way to read a book, anyway. No more of that sitting-up-in-bed stuff, just nail it to the wall.

Livaudais mentioned that she and some friends are discussing starting a monthly coffeeshop meet-and-greet for photographers around the area. I think this would be spectacular; in fact, I think something like this for media reps, artists, and musicians would be in order.

Now, if I just had that big house …

The next Artcrawl is scheduled for Oct. 1. For more info, check out the website, or shoot them an email: info@dowtowngallerycrawl.com.

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Show goodies: a program, DVD and magnet.

BASTROP, La. 6/8/09 | Published in Delta Style Sept. 2009

I spent the last two days trying to re-create this blog on its own domain, and miracle of miracles, I have figured it out at last. Welcome to the self-hosted, official new location. I’m also working on graphics and video. Hopefully those sections won’t take long to put up.

I said earlier that I wasn’t an art critic, but maybe I am, just a little. So here’s an overdue rundown on Jekyll and Hyde … the performances ran for two weeks in July at The Rose Theater, a quaint place in Bastrop, La., where they even have a lighted, scrolling marquee across the front, a classic addition that I haven’t seen often. Something else they offer is free refreshments during intermission. I saw that and started wondering if I had crashed a private party. This is small theater, of course, but with these special touches, it’s obvious there are people who care about its welfare. I’ve seen a lot of community theaters come and go, so it’s nice to see one that’s thriving.

I spoke with the director, Hal Robinson, just before the Saturday performance on July 25.

“The idea to do this show actually came up about five years ago, but we’ve only just recently been able to do it,” he said. “It’s not the kind of show we normally do … It’s taken about three months of preparation, the cast was chosen only about eight weeks ago and we’ve been in production since. I think people have been surprised by how good it is. The voices are outstanding, and we have a great cast.”

A partial cast shot following the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde at the Rose Theater, Bastrop, LA.

I was happy to see the show for myself. Though I was late getting a reservation, the theater granted me a comp ticket in the balcony. It’s an area that just doesn’t get the same attention as the lower levels; in this case, it meant being in a glaring spotlight from the keyboardist’s music stand about ten feet away. This was a distraction and a blessing–it killed the dark-theater ambiance, but provided lots of light for me to write notes. The keyboardist and single source of music, Charles Fricke, was really on top of his game though, and I appreciated his timing and attention to the dialogue during the show. Live music really makes a tremendous difference.

The chorus is always a part of any musical that I’m curious about, because I’ve been a part of them myself so often. It’s easy to forget when you’re in a crowd that you are just as unique and visible as a main characters onstage. This show had a chorus of about twenty people that was too big for the stage but they handled it well. The highlight was their sound, which was more than I expected and surprisingly well-mixed–credit to the sound engineer, Randy Norman, and the vocalists, because it all worked together, and there were times when the soprano and tenor voices really stood out at just the right moments and at a perfect volume.

Actors Tony Bales and Kathy Marquis in the lobby after the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde.

The choreographer, Aleta Eley, played it mostly safe with the chorus, and there were highlights such as a full split by one young chorister, and a nicely-posed pyramid at the end of “Murder, Murder.” She introduced some fight action during Hyde’s first murder scene with the Bishop of Basingstoke, played by Steve Barton–the poor fellow–and both actors played this with a good amount of rolling around and physicality. I occasionally wanted to chorus to be more active in various scenes, but there’s always a fine line between them being involved or taking over, particularly in a small theater.

Costumer Marcy Hall obviously put a lot of attention into obtaining or creating period clothing, and saw that everyone knew how to wear it. The bear coat on Hyde during the second act was impressive and made him look three times larger than life.

Leading man Victor Fricke, whose son and father were also members of the cast and crew, gave an excellent turn as Jekyll/Hyde. My impression of him was that of a preacher at the pulpit, begging his followers to believe in him, and as the show moved ahead, this character was the perfect backdrop to Hyde, whose altered appearance quite literally made me a little jumpy. It seemed that fella might get out of hand and start roaming the theater once he was done with the cast. The change from Jekyll to Hyde was really no more than a change in breathing, posture and voice, plus a generous explosion of natural long hair, but Fricke made it totally effective. He managed to get a laugh, too, by slouching over his lab notes and quipping with a sly glance to the audience, “Four-o’clock … and all is wee-e-ll …” while it most apparently was not.

Fricke’s vocals were authentic and strong, and backed up with confidence by the supporting characters. I enjoyed that Fricke really gave it his all a few times, such as “This is the Moment,” and these efforts were likewise applauded by an audience that was especially responsive throughout the evening. There was also a vocal quartet near the end of the first act that received a well-deserved round of applause, with Fricke as Jekyll, Donna Edwards as Emma, Toby Otero as Sir Danvers Carew and Russell Givens as Jekyll’s lawyer, G. J. Utterson.

Charles Fricke plays a bank of keyboards for the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde at the Rose Theater in Bastrop, LA.

I think I have all that right … the program for the show didn’t feature a scene list, for some reason, so I’m having to go back and forth between my notes and the Wikipedia version to figure out who went where. There were a number of too-long breaks between scenes where a full program might have given fidgety audience members something to read while they waited.

The set was a sparse red floor with four red posts for the first few scenes, and I was happy to see some very nicely detailed pieces roll on later. I really loved the laboratory cabinet, which featured flickering colored lights, a wide selection of beakers, tangled tubes and a real gas lamp. This gas lamp, it turned out, had a higher purpose: it was the catalyst for the entire front of the cabinet to flame up at the end of “Obsession.”

The Rose Theater, Bastrop LA

Crew member Moe Marquis, who built the gas piping for the set, told me that getting the flames to work required someone to be standing near the gas line with a lighter in hand, ready to go. I couldn’t tell that there was anything so straightforward going on during the show, though, and the couple of times that flames appeared, it just looked like Hyde had shot them there out of his hand with a spectacular flourish.

Actors Toby and Dana Otero in the lobby after the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde.

Outdoor scenes were implied via projected images on the back wall. This would have been aided by some London fog pumped in from the wings, though it might have just obscured everything.

I also enjoyed Mr. Stride, played very confidently by Tony Bayles; Dana Otero as the Madame, who was blessed with some welcome one-liners; and Matt Wilkens as the very scary Spider, who I have written in my notes as “Dark Pimp.” I didn’t know who he was at the time, and that was the best description I could think of. Also, Poole, Jekyll’s butler, played by Roy McCoy, was about as close to a living Igor as I’ve seen, though I couldn’t be sure if he was trying to be amusing or if it was just coming out that way.

Larua Ulrich gave us everything we might have expected out of Hyde’s tortured female interest, Lucy Harris. Her voice was rich and matched her corsetted, hourglass, lady-of-the-night character. Ulrich later told me that she had wanted to play the role since she was ten years old. I had fun watching her pull off her sassy solo during her intro at the Red Rat pub, then the change into some of her softer songs such as “A New Life,” and felt like I had gotten to know her by the time she was sliced and diced by Hyde at the end. Ah, it’s just a fake knife, right? Because that scream sounded real.

The show needed to pick up the pace from the first act, and Hyde whacking his way through bodies in the second act definitely sped things up. By the show’s nature, the most dramatic scenes were entirely Hyde’s. Watching Hyde and Jekyll face off during “Confrontation” was fascinating and must’ve taken quite a bit of solitary rehearsal on Fricke’s part.

“I’d do this kind of thing more often if I had the time,” Fricke told me later. “It’s so much fun.”

Special thanks from me to the cast members who passed along a memento magnet and the DVD. I’ll post a video from that soon.

The Rose Theater’s next production is Alice in Wonderland, Aug 7, 8 and 9.

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