That fellow Murphy has been a trouble-maker for years, but if I remember right, he wasn’t always so.  Anyone who would think up a space-saving bed that pulls down out of a closet is next to genius.  Unfortunately, the Murphy bed is rarely to be seen any more.  But the inspiration remains:  Meet the Murphy Studio – an artist’s studio in a closet!

When I moved to the “big city” three years ago, my “Screaming Pennies” could only afford a studio apartment. I’ve been in constant re-arranging mode ever since, wracking my brain for ways to make my studio pretty, spacious, and practical. The three don’t come together easily in one tiny room.  Something had to go.  In my case, what “went” were the bedroom and a place for making art (what some fortunate artists call their studio).

When I give out my business cards with Fine Art Studio 111 clearly printed in bold, I’m really not fibbing: I DO have a studio. I live in it. Fine Art is no more than a name. Making art became so challenging that I had all but given it up!  An artist needs room. We need as much space to work in as there is extent to our hoard of art materials and our creative ideas.  Any artist knows that creativity knows no limits!

This was my challenge: Do I make my one room into a bedroom like all my studio apartment neighbors; an art studio, where I can live a cluttered, bohemian life; or a home within a room?  Tradition won: I made mine a living room. I sadly resigned myself to no longer making art, and I solved the bedroom problem by purchasing some mats that I take out of my smallest closet at night, and sleeping on the floor. But I kept eyeing that big double closet in the center, wondering how I could remove the much needed shelves and accommodate a Murphy bed in their place.

For three years I visualized that future Murphy bed from the comfort of my pad (the one I sleep on) before turning the light off each night. My last thought was always “…but I need those shelves for my art supplies! – the ones I’ll use if I ever move to a bigger place.” Well if you think of shelves, art supplies and Murphy beds long enough I suppose you’re bound to make the connection sooner or later. The other day, the words “Murphy Studio” flashed into my mind like a stroke of lightning. Eureka! A few calculations, a trip to Home Depot, and my life was about to change dramatically.  Why didn’t I think of it before!  My pocketbook hardly felt a dent, and I have concluded that if “necessity is the mother of invention,” simplicity must be the Father.  Now all I have to do is open the closet, pull down my work table and within seconds I’m ready to make art – supplies at my fingertips and creativity set free!  When I’m done, I just fold the table up and close the closet, artwork and materials in place.

I’ll bet you can figure out this simple construction for a “closet near you,” but in case you’re interested, here are the steps….

1. Measure shelf for board width,
2. Calculate board length for available space when it is lowered. (My board measures 36” x 48”).
3. Determine leg height. Measure generously. You can “saw off” but not “add on.”
4. Purchase board, 1”x2” wood for legs (or your own preferred size), small hinges for legs, and a butterfly hinge for connecting the board to the shelf.  Home Depot will cut everything to size.
5. Disconnect the phone, turn off the computer and don’t open the door for anyone: This is your hour – don’t let anything ruin the fun!  Most of you can stop at Step 5: for you ladies who had to rip out the stitches after sewing pieces together out of sequence on that first sewing project (I know!), here is Step 6:
6. a. The legs go on first. b. Then the cross bar, to stabilize the legs. c. Next, mark and drill the holes on the board edge and d. attach the butterfly hinge. e. Position the board on its shelf, with legs standing, and finish by f. attaching the butterfly hinge to the shelf. g. add a handle and it’s done.
7. Stand back and look at your new studio. Just look at it. Isn’t it grand!

Now let’s make art!

In study after study we learn how important the ARTs are for the development of the human mind. So why is it that our government decides that ARTs education is unnecessary in public education? Why are we cutting the classes that expand our ability to learn language arts and mathematics? Why aren’t we doing everything we can to ensure that all children are exposed to the arts? Below, we have included a couple of excerpts that we found at http://www.psychologytoday.com that you may find interesting.

Music lessons enhance everything from vocabulary to life skills
Published on June 1, 2010
by Vivian Wagner, Ph.D.

Many studies have shown the benefits of music and music education to the development of the brain. One that was published July 1, 2009 in the Psychology of Musicby Joseph Piro & Camilo Ortiz, called "The effect of piano lessons on the vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills of primary grade students," for instance, compared two groups of second grade students over three years. One had piano instruction, and the other did not. At the end of the period, the group that had piano instruction showed better vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills. As the authors explain in their abstract, "Data from this study will help to clarify the role of music study on cognition and shed light on the question of the potential of music to enhance school performance in language and literacy."

Visit Vivian’s blog at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/melody-maker for the rest of this article.

Music Lessons Help with Memory
Kid musicians remember better than their non-musical counterparts.
By Thomas Sexton, published on August 01, 2003

Keeping your kids in music lessons may be more beneficial than you thought. According to a recent study, children with regular music training have better verbal memories than those who don't play an instrument, and this advantage seems to last even after the training is discontinued.

Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong studied 90 boys ages six to 15. Of the group, half had music training both from individual lessons and participation in their schools' string orchestras. When tested for verbal memory, the young musicians performed significantly better than their non-musical peers. No such difference was seen in tests of visual memory.

Researchers, led by Agnes S. Chan, Ph.D., believe that this relationship is due to the fact that both music and verbal memory are centered in the left brain. The music training may have served as a type of exercise for the brain, allowing it to perform better in other, related tasks.

What it comes down to is funding. The state of California and many others are (or practically are) bankrupt. Budget cuts simply have to be made in public funded education.
We are not politicians, nor do we want to go that direction in this article. We simply know that there is no funding in the public school system for ARTs.
What we care about is our kids and their friends who have long lives in front of them. We as Americans are facing many changes that involve other nations who may or may not be more educated than us. Our children are going to be facing an entirely different country than we grew up with. Of course, we want them to have every opportunity to come out ahead. Our thinking is that if they are learning at their highest capacity, they will have a better chance at succeeding. ARTs education is the best way to stimulate their entire mind. Yes, English, math, history, geography, economics, and science are all priority. Music, visual, literary, and theater arts will help them learn those subjects at a higher capacity. Isn’t that what we want?
If the public schools don't have money for it, who cares? We do. We the parents of the next generation have the responsibility to ensure that our children receive what they need, and there are plenty of talented instructors who are looking for students. We say, forget waiting for the State of California to fund our children's education. Our children's sucess is our responsibility. Our children's education is top priority for the sake of survival in our changing nation.
We care about our kids.

Thank you to all of the hard working artists who inspire, encourage and support the arts with their talents.

Raette Meredith
editor/founder of ARTAZINE
raette@artazine.org

Rae Turnbull is announcing the Freehand Figure Drawing Sessions will begin again in October, Tuesday mornings from 9:00 to Noon at the Orland Art Gallery on Fourth and Colusa Streets.  Each session is $7.00 and is payable at the beginning of each session.  This fee is to cover the cost of the model and contribute to facility maintenance.  If you need more information please call Rae at 865-5920. A reminder also of the Grand Opening and Show featuring well known artist Dave Simcox  at the new gallery on Friday, September 3,  3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Refreshments will be served compliments of Farwood Restaurant and admission is free.  Please come out and see what the Orland Masonic Lodge and Orland Arts Commission have accomplished these past few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact myself or any other Arts Commission member:  Jane King, Mary Rose Kennedy, Ulises Meza, Pam Roundy, Rae and George Turnbull. Pat Mullanix Orland Arts Commission

Book image from www.bn.com

A Great Commercial Conspiracy
by Robert Genn

Seven Days in the Art World, by Sarah Thornton, gives a chapter each to seven venues: "The Auction" takes us to Christie's in London--an inside look at who bids and who gets what, and why, and how prices are cleverly pushed. "The Crit" finds us at the "artstarmaker" CalArts school in Los Angeles for a laid-back marathon crit where the instructor has little to say and the students make small sense of their efforts. "The Fair" takes us to Basel and the world's most influential art fair where all the right stuff is hastily discussed and inhaled by the right collectors.

"The Prize" takes us to the arm-twisting boardroom and knighted hierarchy of the annual Turner Prize--twenty-five thousand quid for the "Best Artist in Britain." "The Magazine" introduces us to the management, staff, contributors and advertisers of Artforum, the NY-based influential art journal that not many people seem to be able to read. "The Studio Visit" hops over to the Tokyo factories of international fashionista artist Takashi Murakami where hundreds of talented workers carry out his ideas and seed their own careers. "The Biennale" spirits us up the Lido Canal to Venice, where participating nations parade their hottest and youngest. Everyone dines, drinks and speeds from show to show in vaporettos.

Sarah tiptoes through all this, taking notes, dropping names, recording and observing everything from clothes to tics, seldom making an unwelcome judgment. It's a hoot. Most of the art is of the installation variety--bound eventually for museums and public view, but there are also lots of significant paintings and sculptures. While we might, at first glance, appear to be in an age of low craftsmanship, there is a sensible interest in what may become the great and lasting art of tomorrow. Everyone is trying to spot a winner.

Remarkably, the venues Sarah covers are often attended by the same curators, critics, dealers, collectors and sometimes the currently-popular artists themselves. It's a small, international microcosm of deal-making and mutual back-scratching. While there may be meanness and jealousy in the ranks, all are agreed that quality is king, passion is the emotion of choice and the great search for artistic meaning is well worth the effort of backing out your private jet.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "It's very possibly a great commercial conspiracy. The newness of now, which is quite obsessive, is actually a reflection of the consumerism that you see in the whole culture. It can be a lot of fun if it is to your taste." (Nicholas Logsdail, gallerist)

Esoterica: In Sarah's world, the bucks are big and everyone is subject to the intransigence of personality and the fickle finger of fashion. But the same goes for any midsize village where there happens to be artists, gurus, studios, galleries, media, community fairs, picture buyers and benefactors, however modest. Injustice and joy lurk at every turn. Private choice is always to be tested against those who might wish to be in control. What a wonderful game!

Robert Genn has given ARTAZINE permission to post from his twice-weekly newsletters. For more of his valuable artistic insight, visit his site at http://www.painterspost.com

Mark your calendars!

Oct 9 & 10, 2010
Deb Groessor:
$75 a day
We look forward to Deb every year
I was thinking about skipping a year and then I said….NO WAY!!!!!!!
Deb is a fantastic watercolorist, pen and ink artist and everything in between. Don’t miss her!!!!

 Dec 3,4 &5, 2010
Joy Wilson:
$80 a day.
Dry brush method in oil on a dream canvas.
Joy is a wonder in portraits and animal portraits
The dream canvas is a medium in it’s own right
You will love Joy and her easy going manner along with her husband Dale
Dale can do anything on a computer to help you design a work of art.  

 OK people, lets fill these classes this year….we all need a little TLC, so indulge yourself and play now and then….can’t think of a better place than my studio to do that.

 CYA

Sandi Palmer
1-530-347-4957

Anatoly Turovzky, image from artcad.com

Art and Motherhood

by Robert Genn

Yesterday, Cedar Lee of Ellicott City, MD, wrote, "I have a 10-month-old son. Before I had this child I never realized the level of freedom and time that I had. The demands are so all-consuming that they leave me with little if anything left to give to my work. I'm depressed about my career--at full speed a year ago, it's now barely squeaking along. Do you have any advice for how to keep my creative flames burning, how to keep my professional image from slipping, and how to be productive during this time? What are the creative, financial, political, and practical dilemmas facing female artists with young children."

Thanks, Cedar. Big order. Before I start in with my stuff about being more efficient, making time, getting help, etc., I need to ask you mothers to give me a hand with Cedar's questions. Your best advice will be included in the next clickback. Live comments are welcome as well. FYI, we've put a short video of Cedar's studio at the top of the current clickback. 

Also, I want to mention the extreme expectations that current parents have for their children. Children have taken on a god-like role and have become the focus for everything from prepping for stellar futures to daily parental companionship. Parents sacrifice their own lives for the potential brilliance of kids. For better or for worse, raising kids well is the new religion.

Further, I wanted to say that letters like Cedar's come in here like leaves from a shaken maple. I'm conscious that many artists, both male and female, use the advent of parenthood as a scapegoat for failing careers. Artists in this predicament need to examine their true motivation for this popular complaint.

It's been my experience that dedicated artists will always find a way. I'm also happy to report that selfishness need not prevail, nor need the baby lie unchanged in its crib. The creative mind is always working, even during the application of nappies. Household workstations can be set up and work can continue between feedings and other downtimes. The intermittent business may actually benefit the art--for many of us, contemplation is a much needed ingredient to our progress.

Cedar, exhausted though you may be, there is always recourse to the DMWH (Daily Manic Working Hour). This can be programmed any time, perhaps early morning or late at night. When performed as regularly as baby-feeding, you might amaze yourself with how much you can get done when you focus hard for one lovely little hour.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "You have no obligation other than to discover your real needs, to fulfill them, and to rejoice in doing so." (Francois Rabelais)

Robert Genn has given ARTAZINE permission to post from his twice-weekly post. For more artistic insight, visit his site at www.painterpost.com

NUTCRACKER  AUDITIONS

August 26^th and 27^th

Open Auditions held at Redding Ballet Academie,

1726 Market Street - across from the Cascade Theater

Dancers:  August 26^th and 27^th   @4:00 pm;

Children:  7 – 10 yrs. Friday, August 28^th   @4:00 pm

Registration begins at 3:30pm

Come battle with Redding City Ballet’s Flying Rat King in the thirteen year celebration of the Nutcracker!

FOR MORE INFO VISIT our website at
www.reddingcityballet.org
or contact cmichaels@reddingcityballet.org 
asteffensen@reddingcityballet.org