| Kara Walker pushes boundaries
New York — It's the day before Kara Walker's solo show opens at her gallery in the heart of Chelsea's art district. Passers-by hoping for a sneak peek stoop to peer beneath the half-lowered shades. Callers inquire whether she will be present at the reception — people who want to meet her, or even, the gallery owner suggests, touch her, as groupies would a rock star. The 37-year-old Walker is not just a star. In today's art world, she is a supernova. And this is the former Atlantan's moment: A triumphant retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, one of three exhibits in New York alone. She's on magazine covers, in bookstores. Critics suggest comparisons to Goya, the venerated Spanish Old Master. .
Green fashions finding a following among designers
At the "aWear: An Eco Fashion Event," an all-day teach-in and celebration of sustainable style held recently at Green City Gallery in Berkeley, designer Kirsten Beneke showed off her dresses made from recycled fabric scraps. To conserve electricity, Beneke didn't use a sewing machine, instead making an elegant pink evening gown by simply cutting the fabric and securing it with a purple sash. Other attendees showed their support for ecological fashion by participating in a clothing swap that featured fuzzy scarves and lots of fluorescent caftans (it was in Berkeley, after all). "I made sure everything I was wearing tonight was sustainable" - as in purchased at thrift stores, said Abraham Kneisley, the gallery's spokesman. Even though "aWear," an event put together by Beneke, was sparsely attended, it points to a growing area of fashion interest among those who aren't just obsessed with having the latest looks from the hottest designers on the pages of glossy magazines.
Microsoft's Connected Learning Community Grants Enhance Programs at 35 ...
(CSRwire) Emmanuel Hutchinson, a student at Tucson High School, gave up football to attend classes at the Tucson-Pima Arts Council's Multimedia Arts Education Center, a component of the Council's Arts Education Program. He found the environment safe -- other kids didn't try to intimidate him and teachers treated students like adults, with respect and trust. Since graduating from the program in May, he's even returned to do a presentation using posters he created with Microsoft Greetings 2000 software. Thanks to the program, he's also found a career path -- Emmanuel wants to become a computer graphic designer. Connected Learning Community Grants The Multimedia Arts Education Center offers a tuition-free intensive computer mediated arts technology program for lower-income, middle school students who otherwise might not have access to this kind of technology.
willy waterton the sun times
With her comic Minnie Pearl bits, her fancy footwork and her 50,000-watt smile, it's easy to overlook how much music Linsey makes as part of this old-time country music variety show. Pianist Mel Aucoin, a regular with the Becketts in recent years, has more than four decades in the music business behind him, including a lengthy stint on the old Tommy Hunter show. He grew up in the thick of Cape Breton fiddle culture and has high praise for Tyler and Linsey and their place within the Ontario fiddle music continuum. "I'm out of breath when I'm watching those two," Aucoin said after Monday's first show. "They're as fine a fiddlers as you'll hear, wherever you go. They're as good as you're going to get. It doesn't get any better." Sometimes we forget that around these parts, where as Sun Times columnist Jim Merriam once wrote, "the first family of fiddling" is a Grey-Bruce treasure we tend to take for granted.
'Big day' focus of annual fashion show
Sue Thompson, Mercersburg, is getting married on June 28 and said she fell in love with a navy blue dress from J&B Bridals and Tuxedos that was modeled in the fashion show. Thompson and her friend Karen Blair were very impressed with the exhibitors, saying that they provided essential information, giving good input without being pushy. The ladies enjoyed many aspects of the bridal show, including the atmosphere, models and music. "It really brightens your spirits and makes you want to have a wedding all over again," Blair said. Thompson said she has a church and reception hall booked for her wedding, on a $4,000 budget. She and Blair have been friends for over 30 years. They said that the wedding, though priced low, will still be very nice with help from friends and family, who make the day special.
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