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Three Flux Gallery artists will move their studios to the gallery for the Open Studio Tour on Saturday and Sunday, November 12 and 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop by and meet painters Lee Roy Beach and Sheryl Holland, and mixed-media textile artist Mary Vaneecke. See how they work and check out the gallery while you’re there.

Mary will have her gorgeous 'Shibori Chic' scarves for sale at the Open Studio Tour.

Flux artists C. J. Shane, Dragana Skrepnik, Lynne Yamaguchi, and Peter Eisner will be receiving visitors at their studios that same weekend. Please consult the Open Studio Tour information at the Tucson Pima Arts Council web site for their individual locations.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 22 and 23, Flux artists C. J. Shane and Lynne Yamaguchi will be selling their work at the St. Philip’s Outdoor Art Fair. The fair, held at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Shane will be in Booth 8; Lynne will be in Booth 23 (click here for a map of the grounds). There will be live music, art demonstrations, and work by more than 100 artists at the fair. St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church is located at the northeast corner of Campbell and River. Come enjoy the festivities and get a headstart on your holiday shopping!

"Beginning of Time" by Lee Roy Beach

The artists of Flux Gallery will be presenting a series of talks about the artmaking process. First up is Lee Roy Beach, who will be talking on Saturday, October 15, from 2 to 3 p.m., about “Painting as Problem Solving: Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat.”

Lee says, “I always begin a painting with a fairly firm idea about how the final work should look—but it seldom turns out that way. In fact, when it goes as planned, the painting usually isn’t very good. For years, this caused me great distress, but I finally learned to accept that I’ve not really begun a painting until I reach an impasse. It is the effort to resolve the impasse, to solve the problem and save the failing painting, that breathes life into it. My talk will examine how this happens and what I think it says about the creative process.”

We hope you will join us this Saturday for Lee’s talk. No need to register or reserve a spot; just come. Next up will be C.J. Shane, who will speak on “Monotype Mystery” on Saturday, November 5, from 11 a.m. to noon. Mary Vaneecke will speak Saturday, December 3, from 2 to 3 p.m. on “Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher.”

Flux Gallery will celebrate its second year of operation on Friday, October 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. Please join us for wine, hors d’oeuvres, and brilliant new work by the Flux artists: Lee Roy Beach, Peter Eisner, Sheryl Holland, C. J. Shane, Mary Vaneecke, Lynne Yamaguchi, and our newest member, Dragana Skrepnik. Flux Gallery is located at Plaza Palomino, at the southeast corner of Swan and Fort Lowell Roads in Tucson.

We have adopted new hours of operation at Flux. We will now be open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Each Saturday, Plaza Palomino hosts a farmers’ market.) We will be closed on Sundays and Mondays. Come by and see us!

Flux will be hopping this fall with a variety of fun events. Watch for your invitation to our Second Anniversary Celebration on Friday, October 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. And mark your calendars for the following events—artist lectures, the Open Studio Tour, and our small works show—now through December. Hope to see you soon at Flux Gallery.

• Saturday, Oct. 15, 2–3 p.m.: Painting as Problem-Solving: Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat, lecture with artist Lee Roy Beach
• Saturday, Nov. 5, 11 a.m.–noon: Monotype Mystery, lecture with artist C.J. Shane
• Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 12 &13, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.: Open Studio Tour with Lee Roy Beach, Sheryl Holland, and Mary Vaneecke at Flux Gallery
• Friday & Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19: Guest artist Lisa Mishler
• Saturday, Dec. 3, 2–3 p.m.: Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher, lecture with artist Mary Vaneecke
• Friday & Saturday, Dec. 10 & 11: Small works show (hours to be announced)

Sadly for all of us at Plaza Palomino, at the end of September, Grey Dog Trading Company is moving to St. Philip’s Plaza, at Campbell and River. We will miss their good cheer and wonderful Native American goods, and wish them the best of luck at their new digs.

Mari Herreras of the Tucson Weekly interviewed our own Mary Vaneecke for the TQ&A column. To read more about Mary’s mixed-media textile work, click here. You can hear her artist talk, “Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher,” at Flux on December 3rd at 2:00 p.m. You can meet Mary and see her work at the gallery this Saturday. Stop by and say hello.

Congratulations to our own Lynne Yamaguchi for her feature in Friday’s Arizona Daily Star. To read the article, and learn more about Lynne’s work, click on the link here. To see her beautiful work in person, stop by the gallery Wednesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

As a new member of Flux Gallery, and its only mixed-media textile artist, I thought I would blog a bit about how and why I work in fabric. I came to the art world as a quilter, and my art has roots in the quilting tradition. My work is usually layered and stitched together. That meets the technical definition of quilting, but we are talking form, not function, here. Most people would not want to sleep under my work!

First, I start with a specific design in mind. Then, I go to the fabric, altering its surface to complement the design. I might dye and/or bleach the silk, cotton or rayon. Next comes layers of paint, foil, decorative stitching, transfer images and/or embellishments. I am always referring back to the original design. Many artists would frame the piece and stop there.

But I find that layering and stitching the fabric adds texture and dimension to the work that I can’t get any other way. A picture is worth a thousand words, so to see what I mean, click here to see a one-and-a-half minute video about this effect on a piece I call “Sahuaro Blooms.”

I hope you will stop by the gallery to see the work of all the artists “up close and personal.” See you soon!