An Electronic Newsletter from The Studios of Key West
Stop by the Armory on Thursday 15 May from 6-9 pm for Walk on White.
It's the perfect chance to enjoy a glass of wine, hear live music, stroll
upstairs for an open studio tour and see all that's happening
at The Studios of Key West...
Four-by-Four
a quartet of installations by artists
associated with the first program year at TSKW.
Get an eyeful of fantastic diorama landscapes filled with UFO's, hot-air balloons and
natural disasters: gaze into the suspended worlds of artist
(and recent TSKW drawing instructor) Carlos Ferguson.
Explore the space where art meets ecology and organic matter meets the Armory,
in TSKW studio artist Deborah Goldman's new main-hall installation,
"Weft—an homage to Wallace Stevens"
Delight in the work of visiting painter and provocateur, Chicagoan Mike Lash, and visit
his temporary studio at TSKW. Learn a thing or two from Lash's Lies for Leo
paintings, taken from his recent children's book, as he dispels common myths
and conventional wisdom. Learn about his next project, a coloring book
for local and visiting kids, based on the peculiar and familiar aspects of life in Key West.
Then see below for the story of his much kneeded supply of arms
for the Conch Republic.
Slip into winter with the photography of conceptual artist Helen Verbanz, whose Ice Prints
are also on view in the Armory. The ten images are from her ongoing series of landscape photographs
taken over a dozen years at an ice-fishing village in Canada. In June, Verbanz will
become the next TSKW Artist-in-Residence, and will be developing an environmental installation
based on local waterways, back-country estuaries, and the ecology of the Keys.
Walk on White
We open our doors, the artists open their studios, and new creative things
are happening at every corner. This Thursday from 6 to 9pm.
Lorenzo Buhne, a New Zealand-based musician currently in residence at TSKW, will provide live music
(and a few new songs minted right here in Key West), during the May Walk on White.
And the 5th person who brings a poem, written in English or Italian, to Thursday's Walk on White,
will receive a free copy his first solo CD, Sotto Sopra! Bring a friend, catch Lorenzo
and his guitar inside the Armory's main hall, and go home with some new music!
And to follow Lorenzo's adventure from the Southernmost world capital (Wellington, New Zealand)
to the Southernmost Point, check out his ad hoc weblog here:
http://lorenzobuhne.blogspot.com/
A Whole New Season
This past season saw over three dozen great arts workshops, a free lecture series,
exhibitions by local and visiting artists, the development of our
monthly Walk on White celebrations, and wonderful
new partnerships.
Now we need your help and ideas as TSKW plans an even more ambitious slate of
creative opportunities and cultural programming for the 2008/09 season. If you have a
suggestion for a new workshop or lecture, know someone who might be interested
in our Artist-in-Residence program, or just want to talk about future collaborations,
please contact us at The Studios of Key West. Our staff and board are always
looking for the next creative spark: (305) 296-0458 or eric@tskw.org
Creative Kids have a place at TSKW
New Summer Camp opportunities emerge as we work with local arts
educators and creative people to build the TSKW Summer Art Academy
At The Studios of Key West, we think it's important for kids to explore the artistic process and
have every opportunity to develop their creative potential. That's why, as our major season
comes to a close, we've been working with local arts educators, musicians, sculptors, and creative
people who have inspired us—to establish a new Summer Art Academy for local children.
There will be music, visual art, fields trips and lots of cultural exploration. Look for an upcoming
program announcement soon, or contact TSKW Education & Outreach Coordinator,
Monica Fienemann for details: monica@tskw.org
Chicago Artist Supplying Arms to the Conch Republic
Mike Lash smuggles two hearty loaves onto the island, en route to TSKW,
to aid in the future struggle for independence
Chicago painter Mike Lash has become an avowed partisan of the Conch Republic. Invited by The Studios of Key West to be its artist-in-residence during the month of May, and to show paintings from his original children’s book, “Lies for Leo,” Lash began exploring the history and struggle of the fabled Southernmost micro-nation. “When I learned of the late unpleasantness of 1982, and the annual celebration of the island’s people who continue to thumb their noses at the Federal powers, I knew I had to do my part for the rebellion,” said Lash, from his cottage on the TSKW campus.
In late April, the artist secretly procured two substantial loaves of thick-crust bread, assembled by an underground Chicago baker, and managed to smuggle these across the mainland and over the Key West border. Dressed as a standard sun-loving tourist, he then managed to infiltrate the island’s creative community, meeting several key people who eventually led him to the battle-worn Reef Perkins, Vice Admiral in the Conch Republic Navy.
“These are most delicious armaments,” said Perkins, still smelling of stale and wet Cuban bread from the previous week’s Naval battle re-enactment with the Unites States Coast Guard. “But we dare not consume them, no matter how hungry, as the density and heft will surely prove to be an even better projectile force.”
A pivotal moment in the surreptitious arms deal occurred on the evening of 9 May, when Lash boarded the Schooner Jolly Rover, for what was billed as and actually turned out to be a three-hour cruise. Undercover again as a Midwestern tourist, in golf shirt and bermuda shorts, the artist quietly conferred with the ship's captain, known in more barnacle-encrusted circles as the Lord Admiral of the Conch Republic Navy. The artist, accompanied by an unnamed companion who had a reputation for conveying active yeast cultures across international waters, sealed the arms deal on the top deck that evening. The Jolly Rover plan was leavened and ready for the Republic's Department of Home-baked Security.
Based at a temporary artist studio inside the main hall of the Key West Armory, Lash will continue meeting with high ranking officials in the Conch Republic military and civilian government, and anyone else who comes along. The official transfer of arms, two hearty loaves of Chicago-baked bread, are to be ceremoniously handed over to the Conch Republic on Thursday 15 May, as part of that evening’s Walk on White. The public is invited to visit Lash in the main hall and inspect the loaves between 6 and 9pm. The evening will also include wine, beer, food, and live music from fellow visiting artist and newly converted Conch Republic partisan, Lorenzo Buhne.
“What better place to hand over fiber-rich armaments than the island’s historic, newly restored Armory,” said Lash, “Built in 1900 as home to the Island City Rifles of the Florida State Militia, it’s now a beautiful house of creativity, expression, and ideas.”
Lash’s new children’s book, “Lies for Leo,” will be published later this year, and the paintings are set to tour to Europe and Asia after their Southernmost exhibition at The Studios of Key West. They remain on view in the main hall of the Armory through May 23, before moving on to Paris, London, and Tokyo. While in residence, the artist will be laying the groundwork for a new project to debut in 2009: a coloring book for creative kids and adults to be based on all the idiosyncrasies, legends, folklore, and peculiar aspects of life in Key West.
“A lot of this island is tongue-in-cheek, accepting of whimsy and serendipity" said Eric Holowacz, executive director of The Studios of Key West, "and much of it is fascinating and like no other place on earth. And that's what has caught Mike Lash's recent attention, and will drive his next peculiar, provocative project."
And the 10th person who brings a loaf of bread (or other food item which we'll donate to a local shelter) to Thursday's Walk on White, will receive a free limited-edition original Mike Lash work of art.
__________
The Studios of Key West is a nonprofit cultural organization established
in 2006 with a mission of supporting our community's creative people,
fostering new projects and partnerships, and advancing the cultural
life of our island. Find us and our campus at the Historic Armory,
600 White Street in Old Town Key West. Our current facilities
comprise a main exhibition hall and workshop space, 12 artist
studios, a sculpture garden, several residency cottages, and
small office.
Visit us there, and learn about our plans for the 2008/09 season!
Eric Holowacz, Executive Director
Elena Devers, Projects & Marketing Coordinator
Martha Barnes, Program Coordinator
Lauren McAloon, Facilities Coordinator
Monica Feinemann, Education & Outreach Coordinator
