Center Stage: Weekly Arts Update

Week of January 9—15, 2014

Music
10 Willy Porter
Lauded by musicians and music aficionados as a “maverick” and “genius” on the six-string guitar, Willy Porter brings the soul, swing and edge of the blues into a singer-songwriter’s consciousness. His lyrical wordsmithing wields knife-edge precision on his social commentary, straddling the delicate balance of universal messages told through ultimately personal tales. Quickly apparent is his depth, range and jaw dropping dexterity. Each well-rendered tale is driven with spit-fire percussive guitar strumming and fiery color chord picking. His music incorporates the flavors of New Orleans, Chicago and Boston as well as the styles of Paul McCartney, the Band, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dy-lan. The songs on his eight albums sometimes drip with honey, other times they blaze across your consciousness, raw and stripped. A musician’s musician, Willy is also a consummate
performer, witty and captivating, and is back on the Center stage by popular demand. If you had the bad fortune to miss his last show in Crested Butte, don’t repeat the same mistake twice. 8 p.m. $20.

Classes
Through February 11 Introduction to Basic Encaustics
Encaustics is a process of painting with colored wax. It is a medium that can be used in collage or with watercolor, acrylics or oils. Other textures such paper, sand, shells, flowers, leaves, twigs, or cloth as can be introduced. The imagination can go wild! Over the 15 hours in this six week course, learn to work with hot colored waxes in liquefied and stick form, using various types of hot irons, or melting wax blocks to apply with brushes and pallet knives onto encaustic boards. At the end of this course you will have both a finished piece of art to enjoy and have acquired the basic knowledge to continue working in encaustics on your own. To get started in encaustics requires an upwards of $600 in basic supplies, so this class is a great opportunity to learn this exciting medium with a relatively low up-front investment. Don’t miss it! Instructor: Mary Tuck. Tuesdays, January 7 – February 11, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. $140 + $75 materials.

7—17 Intro to Aerial Dance
You’ve seen the Dance Collective performing amazing aerial dances over the last couple years and thought to yourself “I bet I could do that!” CBDC is offering the chance to learn how to twirl, fly, climb, and do tricks on the aerial lyra and aerial fabric while increasing core strength and balance. Focusing on foundations for both apparatus as well as injury prevention, this class is suited for “never-evers” and beginners. Instructors: Sasha Chudacoff and Laura De Felice. Classes meet January 7, 9, 14 & 17, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. $75 for full session of four classes or $22 / class.

Fridays Aerial Dance Conditioning
Climbing, flipping upside-down, and holding yourself in challenging positions in the air are all things you will work on in Aerial Conditioning. Participants will build amazing overall body strength in this class by using the lyra and aerial fabric as well as floor exercises including handstand conditioning and stretching. Aerial Conditioning focuses on balancing strength, flexibility, functionality and ease of movement. Open to ages 15 – adult. All levels and “never-evers” are welcome to join in this great way to build strength and confidence for aerial dance class sessions. No class February 18. $15 for same day Aerial Condition and Open Aerial combo. Instructor: Rotating. Fridays through April 1, 2014. 7:30—8:15 a.m. $10 / class

Fridays Open Aerial Dance
Practice and perfect the skills you’ve learned in class sessions at Open Aerial with access to lyra and silks. This supervised aerial practice time features free time without instruction. This is a time to perfect what you already know, not to learn new things.
Participants must have been enrolled in a full session of CB Dance Collective’s Beginner Aerial classes during the last 12 months or received prior approval from CBDC. No class February 18. $15 for same day Aerial Condition and Open Aerial combo. Supervisor: Rotating. Fridays through April 1, 2014, 8:15 – 9:00 a.m., $10 / class

Wednesdays Paint Your Own Pottery
Drop in to open painting hours or make an appointment for parties or special events. Pottery is ready for pick-up on Fridays, or if you’re
leaving town before your pottery is ready, we have an option to ship. 2—6 p.m. Prices range from $4 to $50. The Art Studio is located at 111 Elk Avenue.

Artist & Gallery Events
9 Artist Reception – Crested Butte Community School
Crested Butte Community School art students of local artist and teacher, Ben McLoughlin, display their talents in sculpture, draw-ing, painting, mosaics, ceramics, and photography in this “Winter Art Show.” The pieces serve as representative icons of their first semester of class. For these 6 – 12 graders, the Piper Gallery serves as a place to learn how to hang their work, label it, and work within a space as well as be exposed to the elevated experience of an art opening. As a professional gallery space, it allows the stu-dents to see their work in an entirely different way. Come support the young artists of the community. Show runs January 6 – 17. At the Piper Gallery, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and for ticket holders during shows. Artist Reception: 4—6 p.m. Free

Stupendous and Small
See the latest “Stupendous and Small” Art Show featuring hand-made small and gift-able works of art created by local Crested Butte artists. Mary Tuck’s work is a combination of acrylic painted river rocks with portraits of wildlife and an eclectic collection of set stone and precious metal clay (PMC) jewelry. Laura Elm’s work is populated by Creatures of Habit, Fairy God Monsters, Glitter Moons and Smiley Cats on pottery, in sculptures, and on handmade collaged cards. Suzanne Pierson’s work is a collection of small watercolor and acrylic paintings depicting our local mountain vistas; and Frank Pavkov’s work is a combination of stunning stained glass pieces and beautiful watercolor paintings of outdoor locations throughout the country. At the Art Studio at 111 Elk Avenue.

The Art Studio
The Art Studio, a satellite campus of the Center for the Arts, is located at
111 Elk Avenue in Crested Butte. Contact: (970) 349-7044; classes@crestedbuttearts.org.

Private Art Lessons
In addition to our regularly scheduled visual arts classes and workshops at The Art Studio, we also offer private art lessons for both children and adults in a variety of mediums. Based on your interests, we will match you with the appropriate instructor who is trained in the medium of your choice. View bios of our instructors and options for lesson types online.

Art Events & Parties
The Art Studio on Elk Avenue is an ideal place for a fun, intimate, and creative party or event. Throw a birthday party for adults or children, host a ladies’ night, schedule a bridal or baby shower, and get creative! Paint pottery, take a group drawing lesson, learn watercolor, or go out to shoot photos with a pro.

Shared Artist’s Space
The Art Studio has a full ceramics studio, with wheels, kilns, wedging tables, tools, and work storage space. Ceramicists are invited to become a member of the studio, or as we call it, The Shared Artist’s Space (SAS). SAS Membership Includes: access to studio space seven days a week by key code entry; personal storage for art supplies, tools, clay, and works in progress; access to potter’s wheels, slab roller, wedging table, and basic ceramics tools and supplies; use of our kiln; access to a community of
artists; and the potential to show and sell your work at ASCA (must apply and be accepted). Although SAS is great for potters, artists working in any medium are welcome. Membership is $65 per month. No minimum contract.

COMING UP SOON
Music
25 Head for the Hills
Rooted in the tradition of bluegrass, Head for the Hills is more accurately described as progressive acoustic / modern roots. Their neo-noir style pulls in influences of indie rock, jazz, hip hop, world and folk to stitch together fiery and precise songs of meta-fictional sea shanties, pop-infused newgrass murder ballads and urbane lyricism with both twang and punch. Called “cutting edge” by their 2010 album producer, Drew Emmitt, the multifarious and improvisational music of Head for the Hills is forward-thinking, venturing into a myriad of sonic landscapes packing the house from their debut venue of Mishawaka to festivals such as Telluride Bluegrass and Wakarusa. Featuring Adam Kinghorn (guitar/vocals), Joe Lessard (violin / vocals), Matt Loewen (upright bass / vocals), and Mike Chappell (acoustic and electric mandolin), Head for the Hills has played with notables from David Grisman to Sam Bush and The Flaming Lips to Cake and is actively reshaping the definition of the genre. 8:00 p.m. $15 early bird / $18 week of.

Classes
21—31 Level 2 Aerial Lyra
Take your new found love for Aerial Lyra (also known as the
Aerial Ring or Aerial Hoop) to the next level. The focus of this class is learning to maneuver gracefully through dynamic tricks and poses while static or spinning. Students must have taken an entire CBDC Beginner Aerial Dance Class session or receive prior approval. Instructor: Sasha Chudacoff. Classes meet Tuesdays & Fridays. 6:30 – 7:45 p.m. $75 for full session of four classes. $22 / class

27 Ladies Monthly Celebrate & Create Nights
Celebrate and create art together using easy techniques and mediums that you might not have experienced before! Give your-self a blast of creativity in the company of new and old friends. Bring a snack and beverage to share, and come do something deliciously creative and fun. January 27 event features “Marvelous Monotype Printmaking. Learn how to create easy and unique prints on paper from this simple printmaking process. Instructor: Ivy Walker. Classes meet Mondays 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. $15 per evening.

Film
16 The Crash Reel
Following U.S. champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, this film exposes the irresistible but potentially fatal appeal of extreme sports. An escalating rivalry between Kevin and his nemesis Shaun White in the run-up to the 2010 Olympics leaves Shaun on top of the Olympic podium and Kevin in a coma following a train-ing accident in Park City, Utah. Kevin’s tight-knit Vermont family flies to his side and helps him rebuild his life as a brain injury sur-vivor. But when he insists on returning to the sport he still loves, his family intervenes with Kevin’s doctors cautioning him that even a small blow to the head could kill him. Will Kevin defy them and insist on pursuing his passion? With his now impaired skills, what other options does he have? How much risk is too much? Directed by twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker (Waste Land, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom). 7 p.m. $10 at the door