I’m very excited about the exhibitions that are coming up and ones that have shown. Kelli Scofield has been a disciplined painter for many years, and her reward for that diligence is a body of work that has evolved into an exquisite balance of color and form. While others, including me, use excuses to avoid the challenge of creation, Kelli and artists like her find their comfort comes through the production of art.
To young artists I ask this question: if you are not making art now, then when? If there are distractions of pleasure that draw you from your work, if you lack the courage to face your true self, to deal with temporary failure and self-doubt, you will not have the pleasure of experiencing self-determination, the force of will, perseverance, self-criticism and an innate understanding of yourself and your art. Keep working. Don’t give up. Have faith in yourself.
EXTANT. An answer in a crossword puzzle? The clue for 54 across? “Still existing.” It struck me that words such as “extant,” and “unique” are words that should never be preceded by “very.” Unique suggests a thing or person that stands alone, that is, one of a kind. How can something be “very” one of a kind or “very” still existing? Some words just don’t need superlatives.
Extant also stood out to me because of the crossword clue: Still Existing. The 30,000-year-old handprints on the walls of Chaveaux cave were a cry and celebration of their achievement, discovering their own existence, fully aware of their being. “Still existing” extends to our lives in Southeast Texas, especially while nature is NOT always our friend and decides to wreak havoc on our everyday lives.
Here is another one. The Art Studio, Inc. is extant in its mission to do its best to support, assist and mentor artists to give them the best chance to reach their full potential. We provide a reasonable workspace with reasonable support at a reasonable cost. We have been extant since 1983, an independent arts center in downtown Beaumont steadily doing The Studio thing.
“Still existing” has a dark side. “Still” suggests holding our own but lacking momentum. “Existing” suggests just getting by, hand to mouth, but not realizing the full spectrum of emotions, lacking the ability to have a full, rich life — wanting, but not achieving, the momentum to drive you forward.
My analogy is quite transparent. “Still existing” is not life enough for any of us. It certainly is not enough for TASI. Even as we expand our outreach, improve our facility and present a myriad of events, shows and classes, our limited staff is buried in the administration of this amazing facility.
As the Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District (DBCAD) becomes viable we have a huge challenge ahead of us. How do we accommodate the influx of artists and other facilities that will populate the area?
What is The Studio’s role in the future of Southeast Texas?
Funding is a good start, but without the administrative capacity to handle the variety of programs we are planning to enact, it will be difficult at best to achieve our goals.
We need assistance in grant writing, legal issues, architecture, construction, event participation, volunteer coordinators, art and craft instructors, gardeners, electricians and plumbers.
I would like to thank a few people who have come through for us in services and monetary support in the past few months. From Del Papa Distributing, our friend Randy Edwards has the go ahead to provide a considerable amount of craft beers to be offered at art openings and other big events. We are also thrilled that Del Papa is so generous as to buy a full page ad in ISSUE for the year.
We also have beloved sponsors Pete Churton and Beth Gallaspy who assist with the licensing of TASI as a music venue, and the good folks at Signs International who provide our show headers and banners at no charge. We have had a great relationship with Triangle Blueprint for the past 35 years. They believed in us when few did.
Andy Coughlan and Stephan Malick, along with the amazing group of contributors, make ISSUE the definitive arts magazine of Southeast Texas. Scott LeBurn has funded the prizes for the membership show for the past three years.
If you consider the volunteers, community service workers and board members who all offer their skills and ideas, sweat and muscle, it makes The Studio a better place for it.
Greg Busceme is TASI founder and executive director