It was a lot of fun meeting you all, learning about your artistic talents, sharing, doing workshops and having a show together. It was great to feel all the support and enthusiasm you all generated, and to share these creative times together.

A special thanks to Kristin Shears for hosting us at Willo North Gallery.

The blog posts will be left up for a short period of time so that people who are following have time to see this news. You can also view archived photos from uac on flickr.

Don’t forget to check out the collage workshop with Shari Bombeck coming up on October 23. There is still time to register for the workshop.

graphic element by Jacob Sahertian

Sustainable Phosphorus Summit – call to artists. The School of Life Sciences (SOLS) at Arizona State University announces a call for entries for a juried exhibition and art competition to be held at the Desert Botanical Garden in collaboration with the “Sustainable Phosphorus (P) Summit: phosphorus, food, and our future” in February, 2011 in Tempe, Arizona.

Artists are encouraged to collaborate with scientists participating in the conference to communicate ideas about phosphorus sustainability to the broader community. Interested artists will be paired with scientists who study various aspects of this issue, ranging from biology and agronomy to the social, political, and economic implications of phosphorus pollution and phosphorus scarcity. Artists wishing to be paired with a scientist for collaboration should contact Lisa for more information. Artists may also submit work created independently, as long as their artwork fits with the overall goal of the exhibition, which is to communicate ideas surrounding phosphorus sustainability to a broad  community, including non-scientists.

Deadline for entries: January 1, 2011.

Eligibility: Artists working in any medium are welcome, as long as it achieves the goal of communicating ideas about phosphorus sustainability to a broader audience of non-scientists. Work will be judged by a panel of artists and scientists based on how well it achieves this goal.

Submission process: 1-3 digital images of the completed work (no more than 10 MB each) should be emailed by the January 1st deadline. Artists are also welcome (but not required) to submit a statement of up to 500 words describing their work and the scientific ideas they are aiming to communicate. Artists will be notified of their acceptance into the exhibition by January 7th and are responsible for shipping/transit of their artwork to and from the exhibit.

Prizes: First place: $500, Second place: $250, Third place: $150. Winners will be notified by February 6th, 2011.

For updated information, visit the conference website.

What is phosphorus sustainability? Phosphorus is in every living thing – it’s part of our genetic code and helps give us energy. Without it, we could not grow our food nor build our bones. It’s an essential nutrient to all life. Yet our current use of it relies on mining it from the earth to make into a fertilizer and then letting this fertilizer leach into our waterways and act as a pollutant. But this is only part of the story; parts of the world are not even able to access enough fertilizer to grow their food, let alone let it be wasted away into rivers. Can we make phosphorus use more sustainable?  The goal of the Sustainable P Summit is to find out. Links:  Additional information on the scientific program of the Sustainable P Summit. Additional information on phosphorus sustainability.

El Catrin, by Shari Bombeck

Collage is one of the most exciting and user-friendly mediums in contemporary art and offers students at all levels a hands-on experience. Artist Shari Bombeck will introduce you to a wide variety of materials, work with optimum collage tools, explore imagery, fine-tune creative technique and expand personal visual vocabulary. Discussions on traditional and contemporary approaches to collage will be presented. Workshop includes introduction to basic collage media, painting with paper and tips and techniques, including: equipment and tools, working with glues, papers, paints, image transfer, mixed media, layering, planning, design basics, color mixing, creating embellished surfaces, texture, and pattern.

“Also, be the first to participate in the random juxtaposition of art and institution – The Phoenix Correspondence School, an underground mail art revival.” ~Shari

Willo North Gallery presents The View from Here, a new exhibition featuring two emerging artists opening on Friday, October 1st.

Red Rods – various sizes – wood and cement by Ellie Richards

Ellie Richards is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Wood Sculpture at Arizona State University. Her sculptural chair work, featured at Willo North, pulls equally from tradition, nostalgia and whimsy, and forces function to take a back seat to artistic vision.

Luison one of seven panels in The Chariot series – 11″ x 8.5″ mixed media on paper by Nick Deford

Tennessee artist Nick DeFord’s work bridges the world of maps, words, and space in a form that could be described as a modern-day illuminated manuscript. A strong graphic vision along with attentive craftsmanship is evident in this collection of altered books, collages, and individual pages. DeFord takes conventional techniques and materials, and shows us that his view is far from ordinary.

An artists’ reception will be held on November 5th.

In conjunction with The View from Here, uac is hosting STICKING TOGETHER, a collage workshop led by artist Shari Bombeck, on October 23, from 1 – 6 p.m. (see sidebar for details).

An inconspicuous corner, an overlooked window, a vacant chair: these are the inhabitants of Barbara Kemp Cowlin’s world. In Nooks & Crannies, Cowlin urges us to take notice of the details we miss by giving her inanimate subjects a sentimental beauty that blurs the lines between architecture, landscape, abstraction and portraiture. Barbara Kemp Cowlin will be at Willo North Gallery for an artist’s reception on First Friday, September 3rd from 6 to 10 p.m. Come meet the artist, enjoy some refreshments, and spend some time in the inspired corners and spaces of Cowlin’s paintings.

And that’s when we met Kristin Shears, co-owner of Willo North Gallery. Kristin was donating space to Gianna, a not-for-profit art class hosted by Robrt Pela, and featuring guest artists as instructors (guest artists included the founders of uac, so you can see where this is going). We met with Kristin, explained our goals and aspirations, and asked if she would be interested in joining forces. Now, one year later, after playing host to uac’s workshops and a show featuring seven uac artists, Kristin and Willo North Gallery are our closest allies. Who would have thought we would be curating shows together, hosting technical workshops, and sponsoring guided talks.

Stairway to an Indeterminate Destination by Barbara Kemp Cowlin

After a successful two-month run, the uac show is coming down on Sunday, July 31. We will be in the gallery patching nail holes and painting the walls to get ready for Nooks & Crannies, the art of Barbara Kemp Cowlin. Check out this great show at Willo North Gallery on Friday, August 6th, and then join us for the artist’s reception on Friday, September 3rd.

More on flickr.

uac’s July 2nd fundraiser in support of Alzheimer’s research was a memorable experience, held in honor of those for whom that term doesn’t exist.

Surrounded by the silent auction artwork donated by uac artists (we raised over $400), the evening was beautifully accentuated with original readings by Robrt Pela. The flow of the event was seamless as the crowd gathered for the performances and then effortlessly transitioned into an easy social gathering.

We are so happy with the space, the show, the atmosphere of these special events, and especially the support that everyone has shown toward the work of Urban Artists Collective. And we feel particularly fortunate to provide a venue in which we help out our community, as we did on Friday night.

Thank you.

details of painting by Shari Bombeck, watercolor by Todd Daniel, charcoal by Jill Lawrence, bottle by Patricia Sahertian, pastel by JA Jure, gocco by Jacob Sahertian and two paintings by Kristin Shears. See complete images on uac’s flickr page.