Gyre 

Thomas Sayer

North Carolina Museum of Art

Afternoon clouds in the Uinta Mountains

My company invited me to join them to Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City.  The four-day trade show featured Spring 2012 gear, clothing, and more amazing gear!  We are talking about the lightest and most technologically advanced fabrics available to the masses.  Feeling inspired to get outdoors, a few coworkers and I decided to head in early to explore the mountain ranges.  The Uinta Mountains and Big Cottonwood Canyon provided the gorgeous backdrop.

View from Bald Mountain

Tree Detail

Night sky on the Provo River

Love Forever

Just around the bend to Lake Blanche, Big Cottonwood Canyon

If sticking to a schedule was the plan, I failed miserably.  However, if asked, I could easily reply I had the best South By South West yet! The highlight of the week was catching Rockabilly Legend, Wanda Jackson.  Take a peek at her videos dating back to the ’50s!  She dated THE KING, Elvis Presley.  I’ve provided some captions to the last 10 WILD days of life.

photo1.  Lego land, “It’s all hard work at South By South West Interactive”.

photo2. A band plastering their posters on 6th Street.  QR codes took over SXSW 2011.  Party information, free songs released by musical artists – you name it and it there was a QR code for it.

photo3. Self-portrait

photo4. (Personal) Official drink of SXSW

photo5. A glimpse at my interactive schedule.

photo6. The Joby Gorrillapod was a perfect accessory for my Flip cam.

photo7. Falling Whistles makes an appearance on the streets of Austin, Texas.

photo8. South By San Jose “Always and forever free” was sicky sicky gnar gnar.

photo9. The Cave Singers at South By San Jose

photo10. Guitarist of Wanda Jackson flashes a killer smile.

photo11. Wanda Jackson, Queen of Rockabilly, at South by San Jose.

+more photos at flickr.com/coloursmarie

Inspiration for the film series came from the building itself, which dates back to 1851. It was recently re-designed by an architecture firm with an emerging national presence, Lewis Tsurumaki Lewis (NYC).  It has caused such a stir, it is in both the February issues of Architectural Record, and Dwell magazine.

The Rooftop Architecture Film Series proposes a dialogue between the new architecture of Arthouse and the built environment of past and present through film. These documentaries investigate not only celebrated architects and their projects, but also the people who activate their buildings.

Koolhaas HouseLife directed by  Ila Beka & Louise Lemoine (PARIS), is a film that takes the viewer on an intimate journey into a residential home built by one of the Pritzker Prize winning Dutch Architect, Rem Koolhaas (OMA).  Beka and Lemoine’s series, Living Architecture seeks to develop  a way of looking at architecture which turns away  from the current trend of idealizing the representation of our architectual heritage.   The cult of perfect, disembodied forms entirely devoid of people, inevitably leads to a break-up between architecture and living space.  This film takes the viewer to a place that gets beyond the formal introductions.  The view is breathtaking, as one would expect when the featured house resides in Bordeaux.  Other times, the scene is not so glamourous.  Through the lens, this Parisienne duo leads an incredibly fascinating tour through the life of a house and it’s keepers.

I beamed with pride as Sue Graze, the Executive Director thanked the crowd for the membership and support of the privately owned gallery.  ”What your membership does is make all of this possible,” she said.  A dear friend gifted a membership to the Arthouse to me, during the opening events in October.  This gesture touched me more than I could express in words.

Arthouse has provided countless hours of entertainment.   In a past life, on any common Saturday, I could be found cruising the city solo, just a notebook and time.  The afternoon was usually spent sitting on a chair and writing about what I had seen on my gallery and museum tour.

Pictured is an info card about Daniel Bozhkov that I have taped inside an old journal.  The scribbles read,

“Approx 3.5 hours viewing. 2 visits as of 10.11.2006″.

Paintings, documentaries, and video installations, all for Learn How to Fly Over a Very Large Larry (Crop Sign). The entire exhibition is about Larry King.  The talk show host.  Daniel Bozhkov learns to fly a plane to pay homage to Larry King.  It is brilliant. And, one of the most entertaining viewings to date.

Thank you Arthouse.  Again.  And again.

+ Support Arthouse by attending events like The Rooftop Architecture Series or by becoming a member.

Community Room, Arthouse

A new found reference for design.
Star Trek model No. 1

Star Trek model No. 2

George holds an illustration of Ophelia’s long-lost relative.

*Ahem, edits on 3/3/11.  I believe that was Star Trek not Star Wars.

TUCKED AWAY IN A QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD LIVES A MAN THAT IS NOT AFRAID OF BOLD STATEMENTS.  ARTIST, BARRY JELINSKI AND HIS TEAM OF SELF-PROCLAIMED GYPSIES WILL TAKE ANTIQUES DATING FROM THE 18TH-20TH CENTURIES AND TRANSFORM THEM INTO SOMETHING THAT YOUR WILDEST DREAMS COULDN’T CONJURE.

HOWL INTERIORS

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

603 BAYLOR STREET • AUSTIN TEXAS 78703

512-731-9924

photo: Beth Sargent

It all happened so quickly.  Stephen, from Surefire Media & Promotion contacted me and asked to lend a fashionable voice to The Soldier Thread for their upcoming show at Stubb’s.  Yowza!  I haven’t worked on a job like this since  tagging along with the main stylist for Mya’s Lock U Down video back in LA(-la Land).  Of course I said yes!

Saying that The Soldier Thread is evocative is an understatement.  There’s something that just pulls you in and makes you feel.  Words like haunting, climaxing, driving, gorgeous, eruption, airy, epic motion and progress are just a few of the words used to describe this group.  Between the words and the sound, an ocean storm just seemed like a perfect point of inspiration.  Can you imagine yourself there?  Feeling the ocean breeze circle around your ankles?  The back of your neck?

To me that is The Soldier Thread.  And I give you my source of inspiration.

Maybe you did know and maybe you didn’t.

I’ve always had a secret desire to be a photographer. It started when my father started taking me on his adventures. My excitement would be brimming as he brought out his Nikon and blue Jansport that carried all his gear. We would go out on hikes or visit the animals at the zoo. He would go on and on talking to me about what he was doing,  I would nod my head pretending to know what he was talking about.  I would stare in awe as he carefully changed to shoot with his telephoto lens. Pretty soon I was bringing my own camera – the old rectangular model that used 110 film.

My camera obsession has never really died down. I’m still working on getting lessons to develop my own film in my tub. I’ve recently acquired a DSLR and I’m loving it. Feels good to have a camera in hand. To shoot, upload and almost instantly stare at the afternoon’s happenings. I’m shooting everything. I decided to get creative in showing my new shoes with a styled photo session. Hope you enjoy.

Depth of field practice.   Do you like?

<3

this is matt, he is a bonafide badass

The East Austin Studio Tour is full of creative badasses like photographer Matt Wright-Steel, creative collaborative Sodalitas and masters of glass Rejina Thomas over at Graphic Glass. The past several years I have found another MUST SEE artist or studio to tack onto my list. This time I’m getting smart and will ride my White Unicorn around the east side. I highly advise this type of transportation – there will be a lack of parking spots and more importantly, it’s a great excuse to get off your ass and enjoy the gorgeous day. It’s going to be 81 degrees – I just looked it up. [edit] oooh- looks like a little cold snap is working it’s way through central Texas. Throw a vest on and let’s do this anyways!

Bring some cash, get ready to drink some beer and make friends! If you’re one of those people who don’t like art, go anyways, there’s lots of people watching and live music. You never know who you know that loves to make art.

+E.A.S.T. 2009