Julia Barbee—fashion designer, artist, and perfumer—is raising funds to head to the 2013 edition of High Desert Test Sites, a roving art festival that travels from Joshua Tree to Albuquerque, with different projects and itineraries at each stop along the way. Along with architect Matthew Suplee, they’re creating a (much cooler than normal) version of […]
Artsy
Posted inCrafty
WildCraft Studio School
At the very start of the summer, a place called the WildCraft Studio School launched in White Salmon, Washington (about and hour and a half’s drive from Portland). Calling itself an “experiment in integration,” it offers classes and workshops on things like how to make dyes from herbs, flowers, spices, and veggies, a mushroom hunting […]
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Put a Bird in It II
Last year WeMake debuted “Put a Bird in It,” an auction of some pretty amazing birdhouses designed by heavy hitters from places like Adidas and LAIKA to benefit All Hands Raised’s First Octave, as part of last year’s first annual Design Week Portland. WeMake This year they’re doing it again as part of “WeMake Celebrates,” […]
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Yes, You’ll Still Be Paying Just $35 for the Arts Tax
There was much hand-wringing this spring over the future of Portland’s $35, voter-approved arts tax—with the Portland City Council enacting a handful of technical fixes even as battled back lawsuits and mulled over some more fundamental issues: like whether maybe could be a bit less regressive. But after the council weighed a detailed report this […]
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New Mercury Comic: Creased Comics
Doods and doodettes who love Brad Neely will cry like doves when they realize we’re running his Creased Comics in the paper now. Remember when Neely’s Babycakes, Professor Brothers, and music videos about historical celebrities like George Washington were making our pre-recession lives a wee bit more joyful? Well, we never forgot those days and […]
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Win Tickets to Entertainment for People!
Steve! Tonight at Disjecta, the Backfence PDX-sponsored variety show Entertainment for People offers up a night of music, comedy, and readings, hosted by—fancy—the Moth’s Dan Kennedy. The lineup for tonight’s show is particularly good, and I’d say so even if it weren’t full of people I like, like Mercury columnist Barbara Holm, and my boss, […]
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Arthouse: PNCA’s Freshman Dorms Are Fancier Than Yours
Much has been made lately of Pacific Northwest College of Art‘s (PNCA) expansion, which will make the North Park Blocks something of a hub for what can finally be considered the makings of a real campus. Located in the former (but still owned by the Powell family) Powell’s Technical Books building on NW Park and […]
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Luke Burbank Named Live Wire’s New Permanent Host
In yesterday’s arts news post, I noted that radio show Live Wire has shown tremendous improvement over the past few years—thanks largely to the hard work of longtime host/head writer Courtenay Hameister, who stepped down as host at the end of last year. (She’ll continue to work as head writer.) Yesterday, Live Wire officially announced […]
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Letterfirm Show Tonight at Reading Frenzy’s New Gallery
As you may or may not already know, The Society of Typographic Afficianados is holding its annual TypeCon event in Portland this year, and it starts tomorrow. Tonight at 6pm at Reading Frenzy on Mississippi, however, they’ve teamed up with Ian Lynam to curate an expressive typography show called Letterfirm. Lynam is an internationally renowned […]
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Five More Acts of Unadulterated Awesomeness
Another “Five Small Acts of Unadulterated Awesomeness Around Portland” In my ongoing goal to be more positive, I’ve collected another list of small, but completely great things I’ve seen around Portland recently. [1] Panda Express Will Tow You T-shirt from Coffeehouse NWFor as long as I’ve been going there, Coffeehouse NW had this paper sign […]
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PCPA’5 Unfortunate Rebranding, OPB’s New Arts Show, and Notes on Imago’s Arts & Technology Panel
Some arts news for your Tuesday: • The Portland Center for the Performing Arts announced a massive rebranding yesterday: The five performance spaces managed by the organization (the Newmark, the Winnie, and the Brunish theater, which share one big building on Broadway, as well as the Keller and the Schnitz) will no longer collectively be […]
Posted inBooks
Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules
You’ve heard, but novelist Elmore Leonard died today at the age of 87. As the celebrated author of Get Shorty, Glitz, and Be Cool—and whose works were adapted into great movies and TV such as Out of Sight and Justified—Leonard was hands down one of our greatest crime thriller writers. So let’s not miss this […]