Java-MAY-2018-2

268 • MAY 2018
LAUREN LEE • NICOLE OLSON • JENNYFER STRATMAN • KRISTINA MOORE

CONTENTS
8
12
22
30
34
FEATURES
LAUREN LEE
Heightened Forms
By Jack Cavanaugh
NICOLE OLSON
Dance Artist
By Rembrandt Quiballo
Cover: Lauren Lee
8 12 22
34
SPRING FLING
Creative direction: Sam Marinos,
Photography: Maria Micsunescu
JENNYFER STRATMAN
Casting Connections
By Jeff Kronenfeld
KRISTINA MOORE
Notes from the Road
By Tom Reardon
COLUMNS
7
16
20
38
40
BUZZ
Women in The Arts
By Robert Sentinery
ARTS
Laura Spalding Best
By Amy L. Young
Michelle Micalizzi
By Jenna Duncan
Kyllan Maney
By Ashley Naftule
FOOD FETISH
Bri
By Sloane Burwell
GIRL ON FARMER
Minding My Own Business
By Celia Beresford
NIGHT GALLERY
Photos by Robert Sentinery
JAVA MAGAZINE
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Robert Sentinery
ART DIRECTOR
Victor Vasquez
ARTS EDITOR
Amy L. Young
FOOD EDITOR
Sloane Burwell
MUSIC EDITOR
Mitchell L. Hillman
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Jenna Duncan
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Celia Beresford
Jack Cavanaugh
Jeff Kronenfeld
Ashley Naftule
Rembrandt Quiballo
Tom Reardon
PROOFREADER
Patricia Sanders
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Enrique Garcia
Johnny Jaffe
Maria Micsunescu
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WOMEN IN THE ARTS
By Robert Sentinery
BUZZ
The Phoenix art scene is abuzz with an influx of talent, exhibition venues, murals
and a seemingly inexhaustible energy. It’s refreshing to finally see a full recovery
after the doldrums of the recession, and now, like the real estate market, the arts
seem poised to reach new heights.
Women are playing key leadership roles in the Phoenix renaissance, as evidenced
by the number of museum directors, curators and arts administrators who are
female. In fact, the numbers are so skewed that one could argue that these are
female-dominated professions. This month, JAVA celebrates women in the arts and
features several talented creatives who are helping move our city forward.
For Lauren Lee, the path to becoming a full-time artist has been a spiritual one,
about trusting her instincts and making the right moves at optimal times. It has
also been about being open and acting as a conduit between the material world
and beyond – channeling creativity in a way that downplays the self or ego.
Lee helped kick-start the explosion of murals in downtown with her Three Birds
piece on the side of the former greenHaus building, which acted as a sort
of welcome sign to Roosevelt Row and the early Phoenix arts scene.
She was a pioneer then and continues to innovate today (see “Lauren Lee:
Heightened Forms,” p. 8).
Nicole Olson uses her body as a medium for artistic expression. As a dancer/
choreographer, she has become one of the most active (literally) members of the
artistic community. Whether performing in the halls of Phoenix Art Museum or
on the bridge at Scottsdale Public Art’s Canal Convergence, Olson seems to find
the right mood for every one of her ephemeral performances.
Olson’s story is about overcoming adversity that brought an end to her
professional dance career in Chicago. After a long hiatus from her art, she
has risen again here in Phoenix, which seems so apropos (see “Nicole Olson,
Dance Artist,” p. 12).
Jennyfer Stratman is a sculptor who straddles the chasm between critical
acclaim and commercial success. She works primarily in bronze, which involves
rigorous processes and extreme, fiery conditions. Her father was a NASA
scientist and her mother was a photographer, which might explain her love
of scientific processes mixed with aesthetic flourishes. Stratman married an
Aussie a while back and splits her time between her rustic family farm in South
Phoenix and her home in the continent down under (see “Jennyfer Stratman:
Casting Connections,” p. 30).
Finally, Kristina Moore ends our gender-biased exploration on a musical note.
Her band kolezanka (a name that pays homage to her Polish roots) is a dreamy
pop outfit driven by Moore’s stunning voice, filled with enormous range and
endless subtlety. Her musical talents have caught the attention of other artists
outside of AZ, and she is currently touring with the NYC-based band Triathalon.
She spoke to us from the road about touring, her Phoenix favorites, collaboration
and her plans to relocate to New York City in the fall (see “Kristina Moore: Notes
from the Road,” p. 34).
WE PUT THE ART
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LAUREN LEE
Height
ened
Forms
By Jack Cavanaugh
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Photo by Sarah Leslie
Originally from Yuma, AZ, Lauren Lee is a Phoenix-based artist who has been producing lively and
colorful paintings with intricate details of plant and animal life and equally bright murals throughout
the Valley for the past seven years. The most recognizable of these was a mural of three sitting
birds on the side of Greenhaus, a gallery and boutique that was demolished to make room for the
Iluminate apartment building on 3rd Street and Roosevelt. Instead of becoming discouraged, Lee adapted to
the circumstances. “When we can adapt, we survive. That’s part of the dance. Everything’s bound to change.”
Lee was later approached by Illuminate’s developers to produce panels of the birds flying that would hang on
the wall of the complex. “Three Birds in Flight” now hangs above the Dressing Room.
After moving to Phoenix and graduating from ASU, Lee taught at New School for the Arts in Tempe. “I did
The Artist’s Way (a popular book by Julia Cameron geared toward creativity). I was substituting for the lifedrawing
class, and I was reading during my prep period. The book asked, ‘What’s your true north? What’s
the end result?’ I said I would like to be an oil painter. It asked, ‘At what point would you be at true north?’
I said, probably around 40 years old. ‘What about five years from now? A year from now?’ I said a year from
now, I would be actively working in oil paints. Six months from now, I would be experimenting with different
techniques. This month, I could just get some oil paints. Then it asked, ‘What could you do right now?’ I said,
right now, I could go to the painting room and ask
if there are any leftover oil paints. So that day, I
went down there and the painting teacher gave
me some paints. I went into my studio and started
experimenting, and by the end of that year, I had
filled my apartment with paintings.”
Fast-forward seven years, Lee has many gallery
shows and murals under her belt and has become
one of the most prolific working artists in the area.
I asked how she keeps the ideas flowing. “That’s a
lot of inner work, because art is a spiritual practice
for me. It’s a lot of energy output, so you have to fill
up the well. You have to work on yourself in order
to give as much as you’re giving. I see making art as
an act of service to the community and to society,
because if it becomes all about me, that can be really
disorienting. It’s easy to fall into creating an illusion
of who you are.”
According to Lee, staying grounded and inspired
requires intention. “You have to find those urban
sanctuaries where you can reconnect. A lot of what
I do is florals and botanicals. I have to have all the
visuals in my mind and then collage them mentally
into my work. When you’re indoors all the time,
you’re seeing all these manmade things. When you
go outside, you see this incredible symphony of
technology; the technology of a tree or of a bird. It’s
really beautiful.”
In the past few months, Lee has completed a very
large mural titled “Hope” for SOHO Scottsdale, a
residential community near the McDowell mountain
range, and has put on a solo show at Megaphone
Gallery for Art Detour. When we met to talk, she
was working on “18 in 2018,” a project that involved
painting a set of wings on the side of monOrchid
Gallery. “When you’re on the river, you don’t always
have time to pull over and set up camp, so you have
to ‘rest on the boat.’ This has been a lot of resting
on the boat. I do what I can as it comes up. It’s my
marching orders.”
While urban walls naturally lend themselves to large
creations, Lee’s canvas paintings also tend to be
large panels of exploding color. “I love using size as
a factor in my work, because it has to be reckoned
with. When I was doing the ‘Hope’ project at SOHO,
there were a lot of workers onsite: plumbers,
electricians, etc., and they would watch me paint. To
them, it was impossible that someone like me could
do what I was doing. They’re eating lunch and trying
to reconcile this small woman painting these 15-foot
flowers. ‘Where there was once nothing, now there
are vibrant, huge flowers that she’s painting by hand.’
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Viewers have to confront this beauty, and what do
you do with that?”
Spiritual messages have also been a prevalent part
of Lee’s work. The Art Detour show was titled “Wahe
Guru,” a phrase from the Kundalini Yoga tradition.
I asked why she felt these themes were important.
“I think we need healing. I’ve seen the power of art
in many ways. I’m not just talking about the impact
of a big piece of art. I’m talking about people being
creative, coming alive and beginning to express
themselves, no matter how shaky or weird. Saying,
‘I have a voice and what might that be?’ Every time
you make something, you’re making a statement of
‘I am.’ It takes so much courage to be creative. Part
of what I get to do as an artist is create work that
is hopeful. If we exert ourselves in this way, we can
make something incredible.”
Lee can often stand out in a crowd, with platinum
blonde hair that’s typically tied up in a colorful
headwrap, and a visible sleeve of tattoos. Her
everyday attire is often curated for effect. “I like
these heightened forms of living. You can use words
or you can use poetry. You can say something or you
can sing it. You can walk or you can dance. It takes
courage to express life in an artistic form, but when
you show someone that it can be done, you free
them. That’s power, but it’s not mine. I’m channeling
power. That’s important because when people see me
doing things, they have all these ideas about me. But
it’s not just me as an individual doing this. It’s when I
let go that I’m open to create unbridled.”
So how does being a woman in her field play into
her work and her life? “I’m very lucky to be a woman
because I get to access things like emotional
narratives and spiritual themes. Because I’m a
woman, maybe it’s more accepted that I explore
those topics. My work can be softer, and that’s
interesting because as a person, I can be fairly hard
and guarded. With art, I let people into my secret
world and they get to experience it, and some people
even live with it. Part of being a woman is saying,
‘I may be smaller, but I’m agile!’ There are hidden
strengths that you wouldn’t know about. I do yoga.
I’m flexible. I can contort myself to paint in a way that
would maybe make someone else feel silly, having to
crouch for four hours to paint something.”
I asked if Lee felt compelled to address social issues
in her work. “Just to exist, for some people, is a form
of activism. When I was younger and did a lot of slam
poetry, I talked about how I wasn’t supposed to exist,
not the way I am. How can I exist as who I am in a
world that tells me I’m not? Any time we become
who and what we really are, it’s an act of defiance.
I lead by example, and there’s a lot more serenity
there. I had to stop pointing at other people and heal
myself. When you can heal yourself, then you can
show other people that healing is possible, and that’s
powerful. Someone said the other day, ‘It’s hard to
argue with a transformed life.’”
“I’ve accepted that there are things in this world
that are difficult and painful, and I don’t have to hide
from them in my little world of art. I can integrate
the trauma and become more whole. I don’t have to
be the shiny illusion, and that’s hard because I’m an
aesthetic. I make beautiful things, that’s what I want
to put out into the world. There’s a lot of beauty out
there, and it’s really what I focus on. You can focus on
the pain and difficulties or you can focus on beauty. If
you can add to the beauty, then you’re doing more for
society and for life.”
More than just an artist, Lauren Lee is a living
example of what it means to make choices.
Comfortable in her own skin and brimming with
emotional intelligence, she can easily make witty
observations and talk spirituality in the same
sentence. Lee is a sage and a survivor with a perfect
blend of the practical and the mystical who has made
a life and a livelihood out of cherishing beauty.
For more information on the artist, visit laurenleefineart.com,
facebook.com/laurenleeartist and instagram.com/mslaurenlee/.
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Nicole Olso
Artist
Dance
:BY REMBRANDT
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n
QUIBALLO
Photo: Airi Katsuta
A
figure paces feverishly in a circle.
Suddenly, she cascades violently
to the floor, then gets up and
repeats this several times, each
time incrementally more restless. She weaves
through weathered inverted clay vessels, while
haunting music plays in the background. The
audience is rapt, unconcerned that we are
in a museum, among fragile works of art not
intended to be in close proximity to such
kinetic movement.
It’s the Contemporary Forum Artist Award
Exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum (PAM),
and the performance is a collaborative effort by
ceramic artist Patricia Sannit and dance artist
Nicole Olson. In years past, presenting such
dynamic movement alongside valuable museum
installations would have seemed implausible.
But lately, there have been a multitude of
performances that activate the museum through
dance and music.
Olson has presented site-specific works
at PAM numerous times, as well as at
Desert Botanical Garden, Heard Museum
and various galleries and commercial
spaces. This inclination to share her work
in order to help overcome the perception
of contemporary dance as an exclusive art
form is important to Olson, exposing as
many people as possible, often in places they
wouldn’t normally seek it out.
Olson was immersed in dance growing up in
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, a small town just
outside of Milwaukee. “I don’t remember
wanting to do anything else,” she said. At 13,
she started attending the Milwaukee Ballet
School. “This meant traveling and creating a
schedule for me and for my parents. I was on
scholarship for the duration of my studies. My
focus was ballet and classical jazz,” Olson
said. “I was there five days a week. It’s all I
wanted to do.”
Olson would advance her dance education at
the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,
earning her BFA with a double emphasis in
ballet and modern. “I studied dance history and
choreography skills. I was immersed in dance
every day for years, also attending summer
intensives while on break,” Olson said. “I
performed with Bauer Contemporary Ballet
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during the time I was in school. It was my first
professional dance experience.”
While in college, Olson created a duet inspired
by Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover. It was
chosen to be presented at the Kennedy Center
in Washington D.C. for the National American
College Dance Festival. “This was one of
the coolest experiences I’ve ever had, both
professionally and personally,” she said.
After graduating, Olson decided to pursue
her craft in Chicago, performing with several
notable dance companies. She flourished as
a dancer, quickly achieving her career goals.
However, after ignoring early signs of strain on
her body, she severely injured her back. Olson
soon discovered that she would no longer
be able to dance at that level. This was a
tumultuous period in her life. Her only goal was
to be a professional dancer, and that was no
longer attainable.
Continuing to be around former colleagues and
past dance environs in Chicago proved to be
unhealthy for Olson, so when circumstances
aligned to move elsewhere and start fresh,
she seized the opportunity, and that eventually
brought her to Phoenix. The change of scenery
rejuvenated her. She remade herself, finally
shedding her dance past, and started a new
vocation as a massage therapist. Olson ran
her own business and worked at a chiropractic
office. Her new life in Phoenix was prosperous,
but something was still missing.
“I wasn’t being creative, or moving creatively,
and I was pretty miserable about it,” she said. It
had been four years since Olson last performed.
One day, she took a dance class to see how her
back felt. It turned out her body just needed
time to heal. With lots of hard work and
physical therapy, she eventually got back into
dancing condition.
Olson met Lisa Starry, who had created
Scorpius Dance Theatre six months prior to
their introduction. “I took one of her classes,
and she invited me to join her company,” Olson
said. “I enthusiastically said yes, and that
started my journey back to dance.” She would
soon perform with Valley mainstays such as
Dulce Dance, Arizona Opera and Center Dance
Ensemble, and she started collaborating with
Liliana Gomez.
Photo: Airi Katsuta
Olson and Gomez became fast friends, engaging in long conversations about dance, their careers in
dance and how to activate the performing arts in Phoenix. From these conversations, an emphasis
on building community and a new direction of site-specific work emerged.
“There has been great growth within the dance community in Phoenix, especially in the last ten
years,” said Olson. “We have a number of annual dance festivals, such as Beta Dance Festival,
Arizona Dance Festival, Blaktina Festival and Breaking Ground Contemporary Dance Festival, all
celebrating dance in the Valley, while often highlighting nationally acclaimed artists. There are
growing organizations, such as Nuebox, who are creating exciting new ventures for dance artists
to explore their craft and facilitate new collaborations. New choreographers are creating more and
more work, while our seasoned artistic directors are creating strong performances year after year.”
Olson not only advocates for her contemporaries in Phoenix, she is also helping advance the future
of dance in the Valley as the director of the dance program at Metropolitan Arts Institute, a visual
and performing arts high school in downtown Phoenix. She instills core values of hard work and
professionalism into a new generation of dancers. “I love teaching the exceptional students that
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Photo: Dimitri Dominguez
Photo: Airi Katsuta
attend the school. Their creativity and drive
inspires me every day,” Olson said.
The long lines and arabesque silhouettes Olson
is known for are rooted in her traditional ballet
training fused with modern dance. But what
makes her work exceptional is the intensity and
vulnerability she imbues into each performance.
“My practice is inspired by the human
experience and the stories each individual can
tell,” she said. “I create movement to explore
our environment, our culture and our world.
That’s why I love site-specific work so much –
you’re just out there, exposed. There’s no stage
separating you from the audience, and there’s
no backstage to escape to.”
Olson recently presented two site-specific
pieces for Scottsdale Public Art’s Canal
Convergence 2018 in February, incorporating her
work with large-scale public art installations.
She is also bringing her art to the people at
this month’s highly anticipated FORM Arcosanti
festival by again collaborating with Patricia Sannit
to create work for PAM. “Collaborating with
Patricia has been a great experience; her work is
stunning, and it brings out a new and intriguing
aesthetic in my own,” said Olson. “I love that
we are building on that energy for FORM.”
Along with being a performer, choreographer
and teacher, Olson is a consummate community
builder. She is keenly aware of Phoenix’s
national reputation as a city somehow deficient
in culture. Nevertheless, she does her best
to correct this misperception every time she
performs out of state. This is why she prefers
the term “Phoenix-based” instead of the oftused
term “local” when referring to artists in
the Valley.
Olson understands the connotation of local as
a point of pride, but thinks it can also imply
a lack of ambition or a comfort level in one’s
own proximity. “Artists from New York or L.A.
don’t consider themselves ‘local artists.’ They
consider themselves New York-based or L.A.-
based,” Olson said. She firmly believes the
talent here is equivalent to any other large
city and that artists in the community need to
think of inspired ways to represent not just
themselves but also Phoenix to the world.
Olson also thinks that all the arts should build
upon each other, whether they be visual, literary
or performance based. “All artists should
support all forms of art. The more we support
each other the better. Get rid of the idea of
the separation of the arts,” she said. “I’m an
artist. Dance is my genre. The human body is
my medium. So this means I’m an artist first and
foremost. We have all chosen different ways to
tell our stories.”
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ARTS
LAURA SPALDING BEST
By Amy Young
The desert landscape is as complex as it is grand.
It’s not surprising that it consistently influences and
inspires a broad assortment of artwork. Phoenixbased
painter Laura Spalding Best is an artist who
has spent several years using her work to explore the
surroundings.
Incorporating elements ranging from the power
structures that literally electrify the desert to the
relationship humans share with the land, she
highlights the layered intrigue of the region. Her
focus, however, wasn’t always on the desert.
Best took a well-traveled route to Arizona in the late
’90s from the Midwest. She came to attend ASU in
Tempe, facilitating a career in art that started in early
childhood. Large-scale portraiture was her direction
at the time. Her thesis show, called Patterns,
reflected this, as it featured life-sized females
surrounded by different fabrics.
Though she doesn’t do much portraiture currently,
she was compelled by the “tension and pressure”
that come along with painting people. By nature, she
doesn’t have an aversion to facing challenges, and
her work exemplifies that, informing the results just
as much as her skills do.
After graduation, Best didn’t waste any time; she
nabbed an artist studio in downtown Phoenix, where
she spent a few years until building a home studio.
She also spent three years as part of the artist-run
collective Five15, which she says was both exciting
and beneficial. “I made a lot of lasting connections
there,” she says. “Artistically, it gave me the freedom
to experiment.”
Experimenting is also not foreign to Best – it’s how
she left painting on canvas behind and started
creating her work on smooth metal surfaces. “I was
in Canada and ran out of canvas, so I just found cans
and objects to paint on, and I haven’t looked back.” In
addition to the smooth, hard surfaces, Best says that
she likes taking an object that has been discarded or
is out of use and making it useful again.
You’ll see her desert landscape oil paintings on the
surfaces of items like signs, silver trays and bowls
of various sizes, and the backs of brushes and combs
from vintage vanity sets. Though those surfaces can
have a sheen or ornateness that makes them visually
viable as standalone items, when Best presents her
desert scenarios on them, the items easily take a
partnership position, enhancing her scenes.
“Trickle Down Ecologics” is a two-piece painting,
positioned vertically, the bottom serving as a
reflection for the top. In the above painting, a desert
road leads a car toward the mountains. The road
continues in the bottom piece, evolving into a bit of
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a watery abstraction, making its length undefinable.
While you can see the mountains in the distance in
the top piece, the car’s descent into a blurry evolution
gives the piece a mysterious sensibility. That is
part of Best’s goal. “Mirage is a big metaphor in my
work,” she says. “It’s an optical phenomenon – you
can see it, but you can’t reach it.”
There are a lot of ways to see Best’s work in 2018. As
a 2017 recipient of the Contemporary Forum Artists
Grant, she will have work alongside other winners
when the exhibition opens at Phoenix Art Museum
on May 23.
A first for the artist, she was also accepted into
the Arizona Biennial 2018, to be held at the Tucson
Museum of Art in July. This was her first time
applying to the exhibition that’s the oldest-running
statewide-juried show featuring all Arizona artists.
At Object Inspiration, a collaborative exhibition
between Vision Gallery in Chandler and the Chandler
Museum, local artists show work created to respond
to objects from the museum’s collection. For this
show, Best painted on a surveyor’s scope. She’ll also
have a show at the central Phoenix gallery and retail
store Practical Art in August.
In addition to her painting career, Best is also the
exhibitions manager at the Scottsdale Museum of
Contemporary Art (SMoCA), and this summer she’s
taking a shot at organizing a collection titled Wild
Thing: Adventures with the Permanent Collection.
More than 130 works from the museum’s collection
that celebrate animals in art.
Though Best generally works on smaller-scale pieces
these days compared to those early big portraits,
she still loves working on large-scale paintings and
will continue to raise the level of her mural game
this year. She has already beautified walls around
town, including an epic piece she did last year at the
Marisol Credit Union. Next up, she’ll take part in this
year’s Phoenix Mural Festival, as well as creating
a small mural series that features thematically
connected imagery on different walls that are an
easy walk or bike ride from one another.
You can see Best’s work and find out more about her
exhibitions at lauraspaldingbest.com.
Convergence (mural), MariSol Credit Union, 2017
Trickle Down Ecologics, oil on found objects, 2017
Known Waterfalls of Greater Phoenix!, oil on found objects, 2016
Tributary I, oil on found objects, 2018
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Photo: Elena and Jim Thorton
MICHELLE MICALIZZI
Art and Entrepreneurship
By Jenna Duncan
Michelle Micalizzi says she originally started her
company Fearlessly Deliver, LLC as a consulting
firm in order to work with other companies as an
entrepreneur-for-hire. She has a diverse skill set that
allows her to plug into many different positions in
the business world. She’s lived a life immersed in
entrepreneurship, growing up in a business start-up
family and running five businesses of her own.
But when she began her Fearlessly Deliver social
practice artwork, the art took on a life of its own and
has snowballed into something much bigger than just
a company and more nuanced than just an art career.
“Businesses aren’t just in business to make money.
They are there to contribute to the community and
give back,” Micalizzi says.
Micalizzi’s upcoming art show, “The Art of Fearlessly
Giving Back,” shines a spotlight on the positive
work of one local company and its core values. She
says she chose WebPT because as she got to know
about the company, she valued its ethos. “They
have this idea that if you screw up, you have to own
it. And also they have embedded in their culture a
commitment to give back.”
To tell the story of how and why a business is giving
back, Micalizzi first sits down and interviews the
company’s leaders. She sets up her video camera and
records the interviews, which she posts to YouTube.
At WebPT, she interviewed its CEO, CFO and CTO,
among others. She was impressed by WebPT’s
founders and their ability to construct something out
of seemingly nothing. She also liked their motto: “Do
mas with menos.” Next, Micalizzi sits down to blog
about her interviewees, and in the process of writing,
she comes up with an idea for a painting for each
person.
“I tell their story, which is the reason for the
painting,” she says. “I interview somebody, watch the
video and then look for five takeaways.”
“I’ve been working creatively since I could first
make a mark on a paper,” Micalizzi says. She has
made art and kept a journal her entire life. “I listen
to something or I interview someone and then I tell
a story.” In 2014, in order to have a fresh start, she
destroyed some 1,300 journals and sketchbooks. The
purge allowed her to open herself to a new practice
that combines all of her talents: find a subject,
interview and focus, write, then paint.
Micalizzi has been networking in the Valley
for nine years, forming connections with local
businesspeople. “The whole point of doing this
exercise is to get everybody in the room and then
build relationships.” So far, she has interviewed and
created paintings for more than five-dozen people for
her social practice art shows.
No matter whom she interviews, Micalizzi always
asks: “How did you become fearless?”
“On a regular basis, most people have to walk
through a boatload of details. And each day there
may be opportunities to be scared to death,” she
says. Micalizzi looks for each person’s chance to walk
through that fear and to overcome it.
“The Art of Fearlessly Giving Back” opens at the
Arizona Science Center, Create MakerSpace, May 18
from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will feature 16 of Micalizzi’s
paintings. A percentage of proceeds from sales will go
to a half-dozen charities that WebPT has selected.
Boot Strap Roots
Give Your Mistakes Wings Then Fly in Formation
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KYLLAN MANEY
Sacred Geometries
By Ashley Naftule
Kyllan Maney was going to study graphic design in
college before her senses helped her come to her
senses. “The smell of oil paint was too intoxicating,”
she says with a laugh. “I had to change my major.”
A self-described “muralista,” Maney has enlivened
walls across the Valley with her gorgeous paintings.
She draws inspiration from sacred geometry and
radial patterns from different cultures to create
hypnotic wheels of brightly colored dots, feathers
and butterflies. “When I’m working, I look at them as
my meditations,” Maney says of her work’s tranceinducing
qualities. “I’m trying to center myself.”
One particular tradition that inspires her radial
artwork is Rangoli sand art. “It’s these sand paintings
women make in India,” Maney says. “I have a mural
at the Indian Plaza on Apache Boulevard that’s based
on those ideas.”
Certain motifs crop up over and over again in Maney’s
work. Birds and flowers have a place of prominence
in her art, sometimes blended together. One of her
most striking works depicts a skeletal bird with
wings made out of lush flower petals. Maps also
play a starring role as the canvases for her mixedmedia
pieces. She takes old Arizona road atlas maps
and turns them into pictures of birds and intricate
mandala-inspired glyphs.
Her map prints will be on display as part of her
“Radial Pathways” show at Grand ArtHaus, opening
on First Friday in May. It’s a one-woman show
devoted to Maney’s fascination with radial patterns
and her growing love of dots.
“I still use a lot of underlying geometry in my work,”
Maney says. “But now it’s turned into more of these
dot patterns. I’m in love with Yayoi Kusama’s work,
and I love her idea of the dot as the beginning and
the end.”
It’s not hard to see the power of the dot for artists
like Kusama and Maney. Dots evoke atoms, the
building blocks of creation. Their circular shape recalls
globes and celestial bodies just as much as they can
embody drops of rain or blood. Dots are small shapes
that can contain vast quantities of information or
come together to form massive structures.
Maney saw firsthand how a few humble dots can
lead to big things, after a chance encounter at one
of her daughter’s playdates paved the way for an
exciting new opportunity.
“One of the moms had these little canvases with
Q-tips,” Maney says. “She wanted to do some paintings
like those dot paintings on stones, and we were playing
around with that idea. I made this little canvas and I
really got into it. The next day, I went to monOrchid to
talk with Wayne about a mural I was going to do on the
ground and up on the wall. And he said, ‘Well, I have
this other wall, and I really want it to have a lot of color.’
I had the canvas in my purse, so I pulled it out and said
‘What about this?’ and he was like, ‘Perfect.’”
Those Q-tip dabs of color led to the transformation
of an entire wall. “This little 3 x 3-inch canvas turned
into a whole new mural series,” Maney says.
Radial Pathways
Opens on First Friday, May 4
Grand ArtHaus
http://www.kyllanmaney.com/
Map Series 148
Radial Pathways
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BRI
By Sloane Burwell
Flavors
of
South
Africa
Located in the adorable bungalow-turned-restaurant that once housed Rice Paper,
Bri is serving up creative and delicious South African–style BBQ.
When I first heard about this charming spot from a friend, I have to say I was a
bit incredulous. Way back in the day, my family helped with a nonprofit outside
Soweto, and I’d come to love some of the tasty treats smuggled back in suitcases.
If you’re not familiar with the cuisine, perhaps try some biltong (cool jerky-like
cured meat), Five Roses Tea or my favorite Rajah Curry Powder, in its culturally
inappropriate yellow box. Without a celebrity chef pushing its flavors, this cuisine
hasn’t enjoyed the widespread understanding it should. Hopefully now it will.
Bri (which rhymes with dry) is loosely translated as a BBQ or cookout as it would
be in someone’s home, which makes the converted bungalow all the more fitting.
You’ll see a nod to the building’s former life as Rice Paper, with some great
updates. The kitchen has been widely expanded to include a wood-fired South
African–inspired custom grill, which is always seen with multiple ducks hanging
inside (oh my god, the duck). The entire plumbing situation has been replaced,
taking its former funky smell with it. In the front, you’ll find the rooms cordoned
off, with a charming note indicating the space is unavailable due to a kerfuffle
with the city (seriously, Mayor Stanton, help these guys!). But everything else is
in full effect.
Don’t skip a seat at the bar. We totally loved the authentic red rooibos tea, widely
considered a health drink in South Africa. This kicky hibiscus-like beverage is
refreshing and gorgeously colored. The bartender will hit it with a sweet simple
syrup should the need arise. The drinks are no joke, either. You’ll find a rather
impressive collection of house-made concoctions stirred into cocktails, like
the Brain on Fire ($10), a wicked mix of spiced rum, ancho chile liquor and an
explosion of mango and lime juice.
The menu is a very simple collection of mostly small plates, and everything is
meant to be shared. Two items appear for happy hour only, but if you’re nice, they
might make them for you other times. The Duck Toastie ($10) is quite possibly
the grilled cheese of your dreams. Loaded with wood-fired roasted duck, cheese,
onions and sauces galore, the wood-grilled bread provides a crunchy, smoky foil
to the sammie. Keep the potato chips served alongside to scoop up whatever duck
bits fall out of the sandwich.
The other HH selection, Junkyard Nachos ($8), is a sweeping variety of quasileftovers,
served atop classic American potato chips. I say quasi because the word
“leftovers” implies something less than, and this is anything but. On one visit,
this meant an impressive layer of duck, pork spare ribs, veggies and so much kicky
house-made red sauce that we used the extra chips from the toastie to sop it up.
This is my new gold standard for nachos.
So back to duck – you’ll find it many ways here. I loved the Drooling Duck ($14), a
crispy-skinned wood-fired breast loaded with fried chiles. Maybe I like things a little
more spicy, because I wouldn’t call this tongue tingling, but I will call it fan-freakingtastic.
The slow-roast approach gets rid of all of the greasiness and unwanted fat in
lesser ducks, leaving nothing but succulent meat behind.
I wanted to jump inside the Onsen Egg ($6), a scientific wonder, where an egg is
lightly poached in the shell, then cracked into a bowl of warm pork broth and soy
sauce. The white and the yolk cook at separate temperatures, which alters the
egg on a molecular level. Mind and taste buds blown. A little birdie told me that
Saturday, during the day, they serve ramen, and I am PRAYING that this is the
broth. It would make the perfect pho or ramen broth, with a gorgeous poached egg
swimming inside.
Please order the Green Beans ($7), made kimchi style. Fermented in hot, funky
spices, these babies are chilled and perfect. We dropped the pretense and picked
them up and ate them with our fingers. You’ll find a heavy sprinkling of roasted garlic
chunks on top. Don’t avoid them, chew them like Pop Rocks and thank me later.
The Pork Spare Ribs ($10) are a bowlful of savory love. Marinated in fermented
black beans, I half expect them to show up in the Wiki entry for umami. Savory,
smoky, earthy and gone in 60 seconds. Each nugget of pork slides off the bone.
They are smoked so long and so slowly, you’re able to easily access the cooked
marrow. I discovered this by happy accident when I mistakenly took a bite out of a
pliable slow-cooked bone. I’m not going to lie, it shocked me how salty, melty and
wonderful it was, bone and all.
Fans of duck and pork can enjoy rather large platters ($45 and $40, respectively),
which come with mounds of meat, excellent cannellini beans and superlative crispy
smashed potatoes (get them as a side for $7). Both also come with their excellent
bread, virgin butter and radishes (normally a $7 menu item).
I know, virgin butter. I discovered that for the owner, Vince Mellody, this is a
favorite. It sounds weird and specious, but Vince says the reason it tastes so
amazing is chemistry. All I know is that butter doesn’t normally taste this good. This
virgin butter is soft, creamy and tastes like handfuls of honey have been stirred in.
But that isn’t the case; nothing has been added to sweeten it.
This version has a texture unlike softened butter and more like soft cream cheese.
It is a tad denser than regular butter and yet tastes so sweet. Six wood-fired
toast points come alongside, with hunks of ice-cold radish, salt, fresh-cracked
pepper and olive oil. Once we ran out of toast points, we used the residual potato
chips to make quick work of the remaining slick of virgin butter. I just can’t stop
saying it. Virgin butter.
Bri, like all of my South African favorites, is delicious and funky and not quite like
anything you have tried before. It’s fitting that this charming spot is in a converted
home, because that is what the food reminds me of – a warm, comforting,
deliciously simple, soothing taste, just for you.
Bri
2221 N. 7th Street, Phoenix
Tuesday to Saturday, 3 to 10 p.m.
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Creative direction: Sam Marinos,
@_emotionalshawty_
Photography: Maria Micsunescu,
@micsunescu
Clothing: Gabby Quersin for Maidermood,
@maidermood
Models: Andrew Vigness and Jordan Hicks,
@jordan_hicks
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Photo: Johnny Jaffe

Photo: Johnny Jaffe
Photo: Danielle Wood
“I liken it to the death of a star, which relates to molten metal being instantly
cooled,” Jennyfer Stratman explains to me over a picnic on a farm in South
Phoenix where she lives part of the year. “I throw the molten metal on the ground
and it instantly cools into these crazy shapes, very similar to a star exploding.”
Stratman’s artistic vision is cosmic in scale yet personal in nature, obsessed
with the interconnectivity of all things. “Then, over time, the gravity pulls all
these bits and pieces back into a sphere and the whole thing starts again. It’s
birth, transformation, death, renewal and the cycle of life, which is similar to my
previous work with more plant motifs.”
Take, for example, her large-scale piece “Connection Point,” which is located in
Gilbert. A human form from the chest up, made out of an irregular lattice, emerges
from the ground. Contained within it is one of Stratman’s slender human figures.
While she explained the work is about the nexus of inner and outer universes, it also
seems to explore the loneliness and solipsism that defines contemporary American
life. The inner figure seems trapped within a prison cell in the form of a person.
Another example is Stratman’s hexagonal bicycle rack design, reminiscent of a
honeycomb, and one of two prototypes unveiled recently at “Pedal to the Medal: PHX
Bike Rack Project and Art Show.” In collaboration with Downtown Phoenix Inc., Artlink,
the City of Phoenix’s Street Transportation Department and Office of Arts and
Culture, the project will see 25 of Stratman’s bike racks installed around Phoenix.
“I actually came up with the visual as I was laying in bed one night,” Stratman
recalled. “The idea was of bike hives and how bicyclists commingle and do these
rides together from place to place, like swarms of bees pollinating different areas.”
Whether it’s dying stars or organic growth patterns or elongated genderless human
forms, Stratman’s work conveys strong emotions while probing some of our species’
biggest ideas.
A sculptor working primarily in bronze, though she uses other metals and materials
as well, Stratman crafts work in a number of different styles, drawing heavily from
a pool of ideas she has explored since at least as early as high school.
“I’ve been painting the solar system since I was 16,” Stratman said. “Even the
tattoo I got when I was 18 years old, I drew while I was still in high school.” Her
tattoo consists of celestial objects, both in our solar system and beyond, snaking
their way from the top of her foot up her calf.
Stratman’s creative drive emerged even earlier than this, though. “As a child, my
mom could put a piece of paper and a pencil in front of me and just shut me up,”
she began to explain – until interrupted by a male Arabian horse named Bubba,
one of the three horses she shares the farm with, braying loudly and rattling the
wrought iron fence between us.
Stratman assures me the horse’s bravado is just his way of asking for carrots. She
momentarily steps away from her 28-year-old pet iguana, Cosmo, to whom she
was feeding leaves beneath a towering old pine tree. After Stratman dispenses a
number of carrots, the other two horses, Willow and Amber, wander over to get in
on the action. Then Stratman returns to her youthful reminiscences alongside her
loving lizard. The scene is like a Wyeth painting on acid.
“The first sculpture I made was when I was three,” Stratman said. “I actually
remember making it, strangely enough. I think it was in the newspaper, which is

even weirder, but it’s this little clay dinosaur-looking
thing with these little jewels.”
Stratman’s mother was a photographer and her father
was an aerospace engineer who worked for Motorola
and NASA. She started getting more serious about
art in high school, where her favorite classes were
ceramics, jewelry making and Earth science.
“I could see why I was interested in those particular
subjects,” Stratman said. “As I grew into being an
artist, the conceptual side of what I do is based on
science, the Earth and cosmic connectedness. And then
obviously there is the art side of it.”
She continued to pursue these interests at ASU, where
she majored in fine art and art education and continued
to work in ceramics until her vision proved more elastic
than her medium. “I was moving in a more sculptural
direction,” Stratman explained, “trying to cast these very
tall elongated forms. But I only had various degrees
of success because they would often break in the kiln
or after. Later, when I was installing them, it got a little
bit frustrating, and one of my professors suggested that
I go up to the foundry.”
Stratman admits that at first the foundry was
somewhat intimidating. She was unfamiliar with all
the tools, the specialized terminology and the extreme
conditions. At the time, she didn’t even know what
a crucible (a container that holds molten metal) was.
Whatever initial misgivings she may have had about
the macho environment were soon overcome by a
love for the process. She quickly learned the tools and
began mastering the techniques.
Discovering how things are made proved empowering
for Stratman, and it gave her a heightened appreciation
for the built environment. She started seeing things
that before had been invisible. All the while, she
continued to refine her conceptual approach while
experimenting with a range of styles and motifs.
“I was doing a lot of hands and different body parts,
even vaginas. I had a very feminist approach to my
work in college,” Stratman said. “It was probably also
a reflection of the times, in the early ’90s.”
“The figurative work came in the mid 2000s, which is
really funny because I was much more abstract and
conceptual in college and I never thought I’d move in
that direction. Toward the end of my college years, I
steered away from the more conceptual because it just
didn’t bring me a lot of joy.”
“I had a commission to do a piece with hands
coming from a tree root. It was all about connecting
with humanity and the earth. In a previous piece
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the client had seen, I had put buildings on one hand and a hole in the other hand, a kind of symbolic raping
the earth. He wasn’t interested in that.”
“I thought, what if I put little figures on the hands, like there’s the single figure on one hand, which kind of
represented me, and then it came down into this root system and the other hand had a series of figures on it.”
The crowded palm of the other hand represented her community and homeland. The figures were meant to be
genderless and faceless, the essence of bodies. In time, these figurative elements would become something
like her signature.
“It was my way of connecting the other bits of my work, the more nature-based or cosmic stuff, into humanity,”
Stratman said. “I am very interested in those archetypical shapes found in nature. It could be from when you look
under a microscope and see cellular structures and then you look out into the cosmos and you see similar patterns.”
“Or the veins in our bodies. Tree roots. You could liken it to so many things. I remember early on, when I
was doing more feminist work and was in Monterey. I was watching the seaweed wash up on the beach and
those pods were shaped like breasts. I just started casting them and referencing that.”
One of the more magical elements of Stratman’s work is the way she captures transient forms and then
immortalizes them in metal. She is married to an Australian, Brad Wilson, and the couple currently splits their
time between the two continents. She maintains a sizable garden down under, which in addition to providing a
significant percentage of her diet also furnishes material for her art.
“I have a succulent garden in Australia, so I’ve got
a myriad of plant forms,” Stratman said. “At certain
times of the year, when things are flowering, I’ll cut
those off and dip them in wax, which sort of freezes
their form, though not always successfully.”
Stratman walked me through her process. She begins
by dipping an original object, a flower or root, for
example, in wax. Next, the wax forms are dipped
into ceramic shell slurry and dusted with sand,
which picks up the details of the wax mold to an
astonishing degree.
“It’ll even take fingerprints,” explained John
Tuomisto-Bell, another artist and sculptor, who helps
Stratman cast her works at a foundry located in the
backyard of his Phoenix residence.
Once a sufficient number of layers of ceramic shell
and sand have been built up, the molds are placed
into a burnout kiln, where the wax is removed,
leaving a hollow form holding the original shape.
Molten bronze is poured into this, and once it cools,
the fun work of removing the ceramic shell begins.
“Some of this stuff just pops off, but the rest is taken
off with jackhammers and sledgehammers,” Tuomisto-
Bell explained. “That becomes the real work.”
The artists explained the process as they loaded old
sprues into a crucible. Sprues are a waste product
formed when metal cools in the various feeder
channels that molten bronze is poured into. When
casting, they use a mixture of old sprues and fresh
bronze. It takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour for
the metal to melt, slowly slumping into the red-hot
crucible. The furnace roars like a small jet engine as
flames, mostly invisible in the afternoon sun, reach
up like the branches of one of Stratman’s works.
Stratman’s pieces are as varied as her zip codes. Her
strong artistic vision and well-honed production skills
have ensured not only her continuing success as an
artist, both commercially and critically, but perhaps
have also granted her (much like the roots and flowers
she transmutes) some measure of immortality.
“The whole process of getting these base materials
from the earth and then creating an alloy that you
can melt and mutate is similar to the cycle of birth,
death and transformation,” Stratman said. “This
stuff formed in the earth millions of years ago.
Then we dig it up and repurpose it. Who knows, my
sculptures may last for a very long time, until the
sun gets closer and it all melts away and perhaps
reforms into something else.”
stratmanstudio.com
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Notes from the Road
By Tom Reardon
Photo: Nicole Bush

Tell me about your tour.
Tour has been phenomenal! Did the first two weeks
with ROAR, which is always a pleasure. Being on the
road with Triathalon has been a dream. The shows
are exciting and the band is incredibly kind and so
hardworking. I feel very lucky to be a part of it. We
also spent the first month touring with Inner Wave
(LA), which was wild (heavy emphasis on “wild”) fun.
We love those guys so much.
What is your favorite part about touring?
I really just enjoy touring in its entirety. For however
many weeks or months, my job is to travel around
doing something I love with people I love every single
night. You’re immersed in a new place with new
people every day.
What about tour challenges? What makes being
on the road tough for you?
Lack of sleep can get pretty severe. Sometimes
you’re not packed up until 2:30 a.m. and you’ve
still got to get to your sleep destination, and then
leave at 9 a.m. for the next city. Also eating well
can be difficult. Especially when you’re always
on the go and you have no proper way to store
perishable fruits and veggies.
Photo: Josh Loeser
Just as snake charmers use an instrument known as a pungi to help captivate their snakes, Phoenix
artist Kristina Moore uses her music – whether singing or playing guitar and keyboards – to enthrall
audiences. There is a meticulous nature to her work with kolezanka, a band that more than dabbles
with being dreamy, yet comes together in a way where there are no wasted notes and everything
seems in its proper place.
Moore’s voice is strong and beautiful, framing her captivating lyrics with a confidence that would make even
the most accomplished vocalists jealous. Checking out kolezanka is both highly recommended and essential
for everyone who supports music in the Valley. Joined by band mates Ark Calkins and Winter Calkins, Moore
shines when she leads her own band, but is also becoming a sought-after addition for touring outfi ts from
around the country.
Currently Moore is playing keyboard on tour with the New York City band Triathalon, which is where we caught
up with her to talk about life on the road, her music and her fondness for Phoenix.
How do you pass the down time in the van
(assuming you’re in a van)?
I’m a pretty avid reader on tour. In fact, I have a
problem with packing too many books and only
reading about half while on the road. We obviously
listen to music too, as well as podcasts. Oftentimes
we just sit in silence. The drive might be the only
moment you have with your thoughts. It tends to be a
fairly introspective time.
Do you have a hard time explaining what you
do to people, especially those who have no
concept of the life of a touring musician?
I think there are a lot of wild assumptions about how
we’re living, this tour in particular. Some people have
asked what our tour bus is like or what nice hotel we
are staying at, which is funny to hear when you slept
in your van in a Walmart parking lot the previous
night. Most people get it though.
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Photo: Alejandra Lara
Photo: Alejandra Lara
Any place that has surprised you for having great food that’s easy to find?
I am actually in Lincoln (Nebraska) now and we happened upon three really good
shawarma places all on one block, all right next to where we are playing!
How did you get hooked up with Triathalon?
Pro Teens (from Phoenix) are labelmates with Triathalon and also friends of mine.
So when Triathalon came through Phoenix about three years ago, we all hung out and
hit it off. I stayed in touch with Adam. Every time I’d come to NYC to perform he’d joke
about me playing keys. But during this last tour with ROAR in November, he hit me up
and asked if I wanted to play keys for real. So I agreed, and now I’m in the lineup.
What are some other Phoenix bands/performers/artists that you are into?
So Pro Teens for sure! Definitely Nanami Ozone, I lived with them while they were
coming into fruition. They’ve changed and grown so much and I’m excited to see
what happens next. GABI is a favorite (and Gabi Manning herself is also a new member
of kolezanka). Willetta is incredible. James Band will kick your ass live, I don’t think
anyone in our city puts as much into a performance as Michael Madrid. I am super
stoked on Tatiana Crespo and Las Chollas Peligrosas right now. As a fellow accordion
player it’s tight to see another woman shred the squeeze box. Dovi (formerly Blush) is
also a new love of mine and I’m excited to hear some recordings from them. The illusive
band Hiccups always blows my mind, I think Chaz is such an innovative songwriter.
Honestly I could go on and on, I think Phoenix is a musical goldmine.
What are your favorite venues to play? How about places to see and find
art in town? Favorite restaurants or places to hang out when home?
I really love playing at Valley Bar. The sound is good and a bunch of friends work
there so it always feels comfortable. I’m definitely either at Gracie’s or Lost Leaf
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don’t think we’d have half of what we have if it wasn’t for their hard work and
perseverance.
On the subject of tunes, how you got into playing music? First instrument,
first band?
I took piano lessons when I was young, about eight. I did that for a year or two.
My grandparents had a field recorder and I’d sing melodies into it as early as then.
I remember the first song I ever wrote was a girl power anthem inspired by the
Spice Girls and Dream. I tried to start a band with some elementary school friends.
It definitely didn’t happen. I just always had music in my head. I was writing a lot
on piano back then as well. I sang in an adult Catholic church choir quite young
and learned a lot about how to use my voice there. I got kicked out of a punk band
in middle school for being a girl. I was in a band in high school for a few years.
Then Finding Grampa’s Monsters was the first band I played in that reached the
Phoenix scene. I was playing accordion, autoharp and glockenspiel. When I moved
back from Omaha in 2011, I started Where Are All the Buffalo? That project took
many shapes and names over the past few years.
How would you describe kolezanka? What are your goals with the
project?
I would characterize kolezanka as dream pop, I guess. Trying to lock down a genre
feels so convoluted. I like to explore a lot of space and texture in this project.
It was also the first time I was writing guitar, so a lot of the music served as a
learning platform. My only goal with kolezanka is to have a outlet to continue
learning and to challenge myself while creating.
on any given night. Lola is probably my favorite coffee spot to post up at. I like to
take myself out on dates to Cibo or Gallo Blanco or Welcome Diner. And I hit up La
Frontera for tacos as often as possible. I also just like walking or biking downtown.
Sometimes on a weekend night I’ll walk aimlessly around downtown for hours. But
probably still end up at Lost Leaf for last call.
What are your thoughts about the current state of the music scene here?
I’m really excited for Phoenix, I think it’s in a really good place. There’s a lot going
on that spans between a generation of veteran Phoenix musicians and young
newcomers, and I believe we’re very lucky in that our scene is more supportive,
collaborative and familial than it is competitive or cutthroat. I’ve been stoked to
see some diversity and more opportunity in when and where music can be seen,
especially after hours. And also, shout out to communities like the Tempe house
show scene and DIY all-ages spaces, most notably The Trunk Space, for fighting
through adversity and providing places for all kinds of music and art to thrive. I
What do you look for in collaborators?
Previous to this year, it was rare that I found myself writing with others. Most of
the music I’ve made has been composed on my own. But lately I’ve been working
more with my bandmates to write our songs, and it’s been rewarding. With
collaboration, like in any relationship, one must be humble enough to pull back
while being comfortable enough to lean in. Communication is key. I think the one
thing I have no patience for is a big ego. My bandmates, Arkie and Winter, are
exceptional musicians with brilliant ideas. But our objective is never to outshine
one another. We work as a team, and I could have it no other way. Having Gabi
join feels so natural. They are all great communicators with great ideas. I’ve
surrounded myself with a ton of like-minded musicians and artists who believe in
others’ work as much as their own. We all work to uplift each other.
What can people here in Phoenix see/hear you doing in the near future?
When I get back from this tour I’d like to jump right into recording some new
material. I’m also excited to get our live set together, as Arkie transitions to live
drums and Gabi hops on bass.
I guess it’s prudent to mention that I’m moving to New York City this fall, so I’m
going to try and enjoy my time in Phoenix, play some shows and get something
released before I head Eastward.
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GIRL ON FARMER
Minding My Own Business
BY CELIA BERESFORD
Minding my own business, and more importantly
keeping my business to myself, were values that
have always seemed to be a part of life. I don’t recall
being explicitly taught that these things were important;
it’s just kind of what you did. When your parents
told you to buzz off, or butt out or just generally to get
the hell out of the way, you just did it.
When your mom or dad overheard you telling your
friends a story that could make them look bad, a perfectly
timed look of death quickly sent the message
that you better shut up if you ever wanted to feel the
warm rays of their love again. I’m becoming afraid
that with the internet’s diabolical plan to take over
people’s brains, the ability to distinguish what is personal
and private, and what is appropriate in public,
is slowly eroding.
Which is more irritating: a very loud talker – someone
having a phone conversation on speaker while in a
public place – or an idiot who thinks he’s smart and
interesting when he is really a big moron? Now, roll
these offensive qualities into one person, add copious
amounts of alcohol, and then you will have the
person that ruined my relaxing day at the hotel pool.
Prior to his arrival I was having a pleasant time
reading and lying in the sun with my friends. We
were chatting like normal people, i.e. at fewer than
4,000 decibels, and then this character and his posse
busted into the pool area. I may sound like an audio
scientist when I throw around words like “decibel”
but I’m just guessing normal talking is like, maybe 40.
Anyway, his whole crew was a bunch of loud drunk
talkers, but compared to this guy they were like quiet
little mice.
He started with some loud stories letting everyone
know how clever he was. He was blabbing about
some leftover World War II bombs being discovered
in Berlin, which caused a part of the city to be evacuated.
He kept calling it “Berlin City,” which only made
him sound like a bigger idiot. He went on and on
about this story like he was there detecting bombs.
No one seemed to care about what he was saying,
which only caused him to talk even louder – something
I hadn’t thought was possible. Then, thankfully,
his story was interrupted by his phone ringing. Little
did I know, this would only make things worse. The
drunky girl he was talking to/yelling at about defunct
38 JAVA
MAGAZINE

The crazy cashier at the Circle K in our neighborhood
had a habit of talking on speakerphone
while drinking a baby pool-sized soda and
ringing people up.
bombs asked who was calling him. When he said it was his dad, she told him to
answer it because, “that will be fun to talk to your dad. Then we can call my dad!”
The moron answered his phone. On speaker. “Hey old man, I’m here drunk at the
pool” was the gallant greeting he gave his dad. He proceeded to then subject
anyone in the vicinity to his dad explaining his recent problems with the mom.
Sounds like she left the dad and her new guy is abusive, so she keeps calling him
(the dad) to help her get things and take her places that the new guy won’t go.
This totally sounds like a conversation your dad would want you to share with a
bunch of strangers at the pool, right?
Sonny boy really wanted to take the opportunity to let everyone know how smart
and like a therapist he was. So, still on speaker, he shouted words of encouragement.
“DAD, THIS IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM. YOU NEED TO STOP LETTING HER
GET THE BEST OF YOU WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE.”
He continued to word vomit, loudly, for about 10 more minutes. You could just
hear in his voice how brilliant he thought he was.
Is this fair? I know it’s not fair to me, or any other human who had to listen to
him, but I mean is it fair to not let the other person know they are on speaker?
When did it become even remotely acceptable to subject the strangers around
you to your damn phone conversations?
When I eventually left (or more accurately, was auditorily chased out), I came
home and told my husband about this social violation. He reminded me of his
own experience with a speakerphone offender. The crazy cashier at the Circle
K in our neighborhood had a habit of talking on speakerphone while drinking a
baby pool-sized soda and ringing people up. Much like the pool guy, the cashier
was giving advice, loudly, to her father on how to handle the drunken mother. “I
TOLD YOU NOT TO LISTEN TO HER WHEN SHE GETS SO DRUNK, JUST IGNORE
HER.” Turns out she kicked the dad out of the house and it wasn’t the first time.
Something you definitely want to share with all the strangers in line at the Circle
K, I’m sure.
I am considering this a public service announcement. I want everyone to remember
what I’m saying, so here are some handy social rules slogans. If you are in a
public place, do not answer your phone on speaker. Just remember: “When you
answer the phone, you’re not alone.” If for some reason you must answer on
speaker, always tell the person you are talking to. Remember this: “If you must
be on speaker, don’t keep it a seeker-et.” (Secret, get it? That one might need
some work.) And finally, to all you loud phone talkers, keep the volume down.
Stop hurting everyone’s ears and hearts. Just memorize this: “Talking to your
caller? No need to holler.”

NIGHT
GALLERY
Photos By
Robert Sentinery
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1. Mello’s colorful new do
2. Jim Manley with Flower at Phoenix Film Festival
3. Container Gallery artists Merryn Akala and Sam Frésquez
4. Laura in front of Cami’s painting at Young Rising Stars art salon
5. Deise and friend at Found:Re
6. The duo behind “The Best People” at Phx Film Festival
7. Dana, Yuki and Dani at Practical Art
8. Pbody and Jane at the Vig Arcadia
9. Lexie gets sandwiched at For The People
10. Ashley Czajkowski’s opening at Eye Lounge
11. Peter Bugg and wifey Melissa McGurgan at Framed Ewe

12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29
12. Jessica, Rembrandt and Marcelle at the Young Rising Stars art salon
13. Platinum Passes for Phoenix Film Festival
14. Yuko, Thaddeus and Fausto at Ashley’s b-day fete
15. Opening night at Phoenix Film Fest
16. Ashley, Steve and Sienna at Practical Art’s 10-year show
17. Parking lot shot at Phx Film Fest
18. Lisa from Practical Art with her hubby
19. Phoenix Modernism icon Wayne Chaney and co at For The People
20. Opening night VIPs at Phoenix Film Festival
21. Practical Art 10-year show opening
22. “Up to Snuff” filmmaker at Phx Film Fest
23. Silly selfie at the Night Ranger concert
24. Nadar was the official photog of opening night at Phx Film Fest
25. Shocktop Beetle encounter
26. Isaac is rockin’ the dayglo
27. Danalyn, Scotty and Troy, Sunday fun at the Vig
28. Musclekingz Car Show and Concert
29. In the tent at Phx Film Fest

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35
36 37 38 39 40
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30. Travis, Morgan and Cami at Young Rising Stars art salon
31. Getting their Stellas on
32. Michelle with Phoenix Film Festival founder Chris LaMont
33. Cheyenne Randall mural at Heard Museum
34. Snapped at For The People
35. Art wunderkind Papay Solomon and friends
36. More fun at the Practical Art 10-year opening
37. Stella and smiles opening night at Phx Film Fest
38. Practical Art’s 10-year anniversary show
39. Capital Grille in the house
40. Rockin’ Red For Ed at Unexpected
41. Opening night festivities at Phx Film Fest
VISIT
US
ONLINE
w w w . J A V A M A G A Z . c o m

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52 53 54 55 56
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42. Practical art opening and party
43. Snapped at the Young Rising Stars art salon
44. Jesse gives Sara a birthday hug
45. All together now for Ashley’s b-day soiree
46. KJZZ’s Stina gets some love from her guy
47. A trio of trouble
48. Art mavens Beth and Jerre Lynn
49. DJing Ashley’s party at the Regency
50. Red wine time for Liz and pal
51. Friends who came to wish Ashley a happy b-day
52. A piñata for birthday girl Cassandra
53. All together now for Cassandra’s b-day
54. Photographer gets snapped in the red hall at Unexpected
55. Mello and Mykil at Found:Re
56. Rafael, Stacey and Fausto & photo-bomber Justin
57. Michael Marlowe’s opening at Bentley Gallery
58. Drinks and fun at Ashley’s pad
59. Group shot: Young Rising Stars art salon

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60. Painting for #redfored at Unexpected Space
61. All together now at Framed Ewe
62. Phoenix Film Fest VIPs on opening night
63. William LeGoullon’s “Terraforms” opening at Shortcut Gallery
64. Handsome trio at Ashley’s
65. Snapped outside of Bentley Gallery
66. Wine-ing trio at Vaiden’s b-day
67. Up close and personal with Chris and Katherine
68. Julie and friends at Unexpected Connections
69. Container Gallery on Roosevelt curated by Xico
70. “Terraforms” opening with a little guy and another in the oven
71. Rosé lover at Vaiden’s b-day
72. Craig and Michael at Bentley Gallery
73. Jon and Radford
74. Dan Vermillion and co at Michael Marlowe’s opening at Bentley
75. Armstrong-Prior in the house at at Bentley Gallery
76. Eye Lounge with Melanie from Tilt Gallery and friend
77. Setting the vibe at Phx Film Fest opening night

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78. These guys showed up for Ashley’s show at Eye Lounge
79. Sister Christian…
80. Framed Ewe’s in-house optician
81. Jun Kaneko sculpture at the David Wright House
82. Chris and Sam are messing with a Mad Dog
83. Champagne for Vaiden
84. Ashley’s pretty birthday dress
85. Some people have to carry the weight of the world
86. Joe shares his bead collection with Kim
87. Guadalajara/Phx art exchange, let them eat cake
88. Unexpected Space supports Red For Ed
89. Birthday girl Vaiden has her drinking and dancing shoes on
90. Matthew and Liliana and Cassandra’s b-day party
91. This DJ trio is rocking the Unexpected Space
92. Rembrandt Quiballo artwork
93. Guadalajara/Phx art exchange peeps
94. Jessica Palomo speaks at the Young Rising Stars art salon
95. This DJ rocked Cassandra’s b-day party

PATTI WARASHINA, Scrutiny (detail),
2011, Low-fire clay, underglaze,
glaze, mixed media, 55 x 82 x 85
inches. Photo credit: Rob Vinnedge.
FREE Opening Reception:
Fri, May 11 (7-10pm)
*FREE
TRAN
ANSI
SITO
TORY
CONVERSA
NVERSATION
TIONS
*Patti Warashina
Admission!
ALSO PREMIERING:
We the People
Contemporary American
Figurative Art
Adventure and Control
Rachel Bess
Life & Death Portraits
Marilyn Szabo
It Is Important to Be Nobody
Colin Chillag
One East Main Street • Mesa, Arizona 85201 • 480-644-6560 • MesaArtsCenter.com

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last chance
@smoca
Don’t miss SMoCA’s summer exhibitions Akunnittinni:
A Kinngait Family Portrait: Pitseolak Ashoona I Napachie
Pootoogook I Annie Pootoogook, southwestNET Acid
Baroque and Today’s Norms Are Tomorrow’s Luxuries:
Luis Alfonso Villalobos, only on view through May.
Related Programing
May 10 I 7 p.m. I Free
Artist Talk: Claudio Dicochea
Hear artist Claudio Dicochea talk about his exhibition
Acid Baroque and its exploration of fandom, race,
science, national identity, pop imagery and visual culture.
Akunnittinni: A Kinngait Family Portrait, Pitseolak Ashoona | Napachie Pootoogook | Annie
Pootoogook is organized by the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe,
New Mexico. Curated by Andrea R. Hanley, Navajo. Sponsored locally by Dr. Eric Jungermann.
southwestNET Acid Baroque: Claudio Dicochea is
organized by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
Sponsored by the Jane A. Lehman and Alan G. Lehman
Foundation and Security Title Agency.
Today’s Norms Are Tomorrow’s Luxuries: Luis Alfonso
Villalobos Organized by Scottsdale Museum of
Contemporary Art. Sponsored by the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Walter and Karla
Goldschmidt Foundation, and SMITHGROUP JJR.
SMoCA.org I 7374 E Second St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 I 480-874-4666