The Art Box

The Art Box - Episode 103 - Ten Minutes with Floyd Talking Light and Shadow

Linda and Floyd recorded a few short episodes at Floyd's house/studio. This quickie is them discussing light and shadow. 

The Art Box – Episode 102 – Art, Maps, Sisters, and Western Water – Meet Jen Urso - MDM

We were honored to meet Jen Urso during the research phase of "Modern Desert Markings" exhibition sponsored by Nevadans for Cultural Preservation and the Marjorie Barrick Museum on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Linda and Steve so enjoyed our time with Jen, we learned, we laughed, we cried, we understood, and we left as better people. Many hugs to Jen for gracing us with her time and story.
Artist statement
In my work, I am often making something visible that is invisible—talking or thinking about it in a way that can bring greater appreciation to moments we often ignore. This has included unearthing deep feelings of grief, delineating the boundaries of our public movement and magnifying the microscopic in the most mundane locations. I utilize public interventions, performance, drawing, mapping and technology to honor a sensitive approach to our environment and community that respects the unseen and unspoken. 
My practice revolves around subtleties of environments and behavior as well as attempting to undo the constructs expected to be necessary to take part in an artwork. I like looking at the details. I like the idea that there is always something more complex if we just take the time and attention to notice it. This process of awareness and investigation steers us away from the allure of a spectacle to discover something possibly more intimate and vulnerable. In a public setting where we’re drawn to be distracted, I create stumbled-on moments of focus with ephemeral materials or performance. In a gallery setting that already encourages hyper-awareness, I create an up-closeness or near invisibility so the work can be ignored or experienced intimately. I want to show that there is always more beneath the surface.
Bio
Jen Urso is a multidisciplinary artist creating works that utilize public interventions, performance, drawing, mapping and technology to honor a sensitive approach to our environment and community that respects the unseen and unspoken. Her work often takes place in the public via occupation, immersion and discovery.
Jen has exhibited and performed across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, receiving numerous grants and awards. In addition to creating work, Jen has curated exhibits, published writing and creates custom hand-drawn maps.
Jen is a passionate runner, gardener, seed-saver, environmental advocate, thinker and mother. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art from Carnegie Mellon University. She lives and works in Phoenix, AZ.

The Art Box - Episode 100 - Artist Roundtable Celebrating 100 Episodes

Welcome to the 100th episode and 1st year anniversary of the Art Box Podcast.​
It was last April when Rachelle Knight and Steve Dudrow dreamed up a podcast for the VVAA and in May the BoD approved us to move forward. We would like to thank the 2022 BoD for giving us the green light to start on our journey.​
In early June Tyler Roylance was our first guest and we were off and running, we crept along learning and trying to get better episode by episode.
Rachelle came up with the idea of mixing in some short 10-minute episodes and Floyd Johnson was our star in these, we recorded some at his home and he was always available to consort with us on this short episode idea. Tyler jumped into these short episodes as well, even including some of his students for creative specials.​
Rachelle moved to SLC in the fall and Linda Harris answered Steve’s frantic calls for help and help she did. Linda is a master at recruiting great guests, asking the most interesting questions, and getting grants for us to go on the road.
Our other occasional co-hosts include Rachel Washington, who is also our happy starting and ending voice, Rayette Martin specializing in public lands’/archeology episodes and more recent Diane Alexanian, our Hollywood recruiter and co-host. Yes, The Art Box has gone Hollywood.​
Upon our year mark we have passed 10,000 downloads along with our 100 episodes, we have traveled to Elko, Nevada for the 38th Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art in Las Vegas, the Mystery Ranch in Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, we have recorded one episode outdoors in Gold Butte National Monument, we have listeners in 23 countries and 48 states.​
We started recording in the Women’s History and Culture Center thanks to Jean and Carol, we recorded quite a few episodes at the Mesquite library learning center, thanks to our hosts  Judi and Vanessa. In early 2023 Mesquite Works with grants from the City of Mesquite, Do it Best Hardware and help from C&J Blinds, built a recording studio for our use at the Mesquite STEAM Center. To show our appreciation Linda and Steve will be teaching a podcast course this summer there as the Art Box is committed to building partnerships with local organizations.​
Thanks to everyone who has seen us through this amazing year, our sponsors, our guests, and our loyal listeners.
To celebrate our milestone, please enjoy this roundtable of former guests, all amazing artists, to talk about creativity in the Virgin Valley and beyond.
Enjoy.

The Art Box - Episode 101 - June 2023 Artist of the Month - Amy Wells

Drop in this June to view and purchase the amazing art created by the June Artist of the Month. Displaying the fill month of June in the Mesa Galley @ Mesquite Fine Art Center 15 W. Mesquite, Blvd.

The Art Box - Episode 98 - Plein Air in the Mojave - Meet Alina Lindquist

Our friend Matt Harper provided Linda and Steve contact info for Alina Lindquist and wow are we ever glad he did, what a talent.
Direct experience with the landscape is a cornerstone of my artistic practice. I primarily paint en plein air with oil to capture my initial experience on location. Sometimes I will use watercolor or gouache, depending on how much I want to carry that day. No matter what materials I use, the marks and colors captured outside inform my larger work back in the studio.
There’s an ineffable quality of the desert, and painting is the only way to transcribe my experiences. My current work focuses on the Mojave Desert, more specifically, the Northwestern section. Observational study through painting, or sometimes just simply watching the environment around me, generates questions and a further desire to understand the environment I work in. The more time I spend outside, the more I research the landscape, the plants, and the area’s history. My studio work incorporates the essence of the location along with an additional layer of process informed through further readings about the desert. It’s an ongoing process of observing, learning, and painting. Ultimately, my work seeks to transmit my love and sense of wonder for the desert.
Musings of the Mojave Exhibit
Honors

The Art Box - Episode 99 - Brothers, Friends, Fresh Prince and Bosom Buddies - Meet Shelley Jensen

Our friends Diane Alexanian and Jill Waters combined their super Hollywood powers to bring us acclaimed director and all around nice guy Shelley Jensen for a rousing hour interview.  
This is a great listen. Catch you in an hour when you can drop us a line at artboxvv@gmail.com to tell us how much you loved this episode. 
We loved his quote: "Life is a fun ride and it’s really up to the individual to enjoy it"
A bit about Shelley.
Shelley Jensen is an American television director and producer.
He has directed episodes for a number of notable television series including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, Amen, What I Like About You, The Drew Carey Show, Webster, The Suite Life on Deck, Sonny with a Chance, I'm in the Band, Good Luck Charlie, Austin & Ally and other series.
Jensen won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1996 for his directing work on Disney Channel's Adventures in Wonderland winning alongside David Grossman and Gary Halvorson.
CREDITS
Television Director
Series; Multiple Episodes
Brothers, Showtime, 1984-89
Amen, NBC, 1989-90
The Royal Family, CBS, 1991-92
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1992-96
First Time Out (also known as Jackie Guerra), The WB, beginning 1995
Too Something (also known as New York Daze), Fox, beginning1995
The Wayans Bros., The WB, beginning 1995
Suddenly Susan, NBC, 1996-99
The Jamie Foxx Show, The WB, 1996-2001
Friends, NBC, 1997-99
Veronica's Closet, NBC, 1998-2000
For Your Love, The WB, 1998-2002
Jesse, NBC, 1999-2000
The Norm Show (also known as Norm), ABC, 1999-2001
Nikki, The WB, 2000-2002
Off Centre, The WB, 2001-2002
The Drew Carey Show, ABC, 2001-2004
What I Like about You, The WB, 2002-2004
I'm with Her, ABC, 2003-2004
Specials
Hamlet, 1964
Associate director, Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World, 1977
First assistant director, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, ABC, 1979
Also affiliated with broadcasts of The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, 1979 and 1980.
Episodic
"Captain Justice," Hard Knocks, 1987
"What Becomes a Legend Most," Hard Knocks, 1987
Marblehead Manor, NBC and syndicated, 1987
"Seoul Shake," Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, ABC, 1993
"Pros and Convicts," Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, ABC, 1994
"An Embarrassment of Teapots," Hope & Gloria, NBC, 1995
"Misery on 34th Street," Bless This House, CBS, 1995
"Poppa Was a Rolling Stone," The Parent 'Hood, The WB, 1995
"A Star Is Reborn," Hope & Gloria, NBC, 1995
"A Charming Tale," Party Girl, Fox, 1996
"Educating Nick," Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher, The WB, 1996
"Me and Mrs. Hale," Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher, The WB, 1996
"Natural Born Parents," Bless This House, CBS, 1996
"Sisters in Sex Triangle with Gazillionaire!," The Naked Truth (also known as Wilde Again), ABC, 1996
"We Don't Need Another Hero," The Parent 'Hood, The WB, 1996
"After Midnight," Men Behaving Badly (also known as It's a Man's World), NBC, 1997
"Caroline and the Bitter Beast," Caroline in the City (also knownas Caroline), NBC, 1997
"Dial M for Muffin," Life with Roger, The WB, 1997
"Gerald R. Fraud," Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher, The WB, 1997
"Caroline and the Marriage Counselor: Parts 1 & 2," Caroline in the City (also known as Caroline), NBC, 1998
"Caroline and the Sandwich," Caroline in the City (also known as Caroline), NBC, 1998
"The Closure," The Closer, CBS, 1998
"The Hand That Rocks the Office," The Closer, CBS, 1998
"Caroline and the Firing Squad," Caroline in the City (also knownas Caroline), NBC, 1999
"After You've Gone," Ladies Man, CBS, 2000
"Decent Proposal," Ladies Man, CBS, 2000
"Discrimination," The Michael Richards Show, NBC, 2000
"The Return of Katherine Twigg," DAG, NBC, 2000
"Bo Diddley," According to Jim, ABC, 2003
"The Smell of Success," According to Jim, ABC, 2003
"Tom Makes a Friend," Married to the Kellys, ABC, 2003
"Bobby's Bully," Like Family, The WB, 2004
"Ladies' Night," Like Family, The WB, 2004
Also directed episodes of Built to Last, NBC; Three Sisters, NBC; and (as Shelley R. Jensen) Wanda at Large, Fox.
Pilots
The Royal Family, CBS, 1991
Home, Fox, 1996
Secret Service Guy, Fox, 1996
Flavor, The WB, 1998
Good as Gold, CBS, 2000
Men's Room, NBC, 2004
Television Producer
Series
Brothers, Showtime, 1984-89
Joanna, ABC, beginning 1985
Supervising producer, Amen, NBC, 1986-91
Line producer, The Royal Family, CBS, 1991-92
Pilots
Slickers, NBC, 1987
Married to the Mob, CBS, 1989
Five Up, Two Down, CBS, 1991
Film Work
Stage manager, The Sound of Murder, Warner Bros., 1982
Director, The Third Wish, Newmark/Echelon Entertainment Group, 2004
WRITINGS
Teleplays
Episodic
"Norm vs. Dad," The Norm Show (also known as Norm), ABC, 2001

The Art Box - Episode 97 - Women’s History and Culture Center - Mesquite Heroes - Meet Jean and Carol

Linda and Steve sit down with Mesquite Women's History and Culture Center founder Jean Watkins and General Manager Carol Saldivar for a heartwarming and enlightening interview. You will be inspired.
"Bloom where you're planted"
Learn more about these local heroes making impacts nationally.
https://whccmesquitenv.org/

The Art Box - Episode 96 - Thrashers, Mojave Desert, Flyways, Audubon Society and Amazing Photographer - Meet Alex Harper

This was a Sunday recording episode to beat all, meet Alex Harper, Community and Education Chair for the Red Rock Audubon Society. Linda and Steve could have talked/learned from Alex for hours, but alas he needed to get home to Las Vegas. 
Avian field work brought Alex from South Florida to Las Vegas in 2015, and he has been finding rarities in the desert ever since. He first began guiding as a volunteer trip leader for the Audubon chapter in Miami as a teenager and took visiting birders around the city for specialties while in high school. His college education is in Environmental Science and he has done subsequent avian field work in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, California, the Florida Keys and Nevada. Alex is the flightiest of our team, as he heads up to Alaska every summer to guide, returning to Vegas for the fall, winter and spring. Alex is a registered Emergency Medical Technician and Wilderness First Responder. He began serving on the state records committee beginning in 2019.
We loved these quotes.
'The scientific and analytical side help me make sense help me make sense of the world and the artist side helps me make sense of myself.'
'The desert just has a different way of operating.'
You can watch Alex presenting at a TEDx seminar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVK9vt9QTGI
The Silver State of Birding podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/silverstatebirding
 
 

The Art Box - Episode 95 - Barrick Museum of Art - Loads of Talent, bunches of Creativity and a Pinch of Salt - Meet Rachelle Reichert - MDM

Oh my goodness Linda and Steve got their luck on this week when we interviewed Oakland based artist Rachelle Reichart, this is an interview we did not want to end, but alas it was Friday and Rachelle needed to go help her daughter pick some Kale for dinner.
Rachelle Reichert lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. She creates drawings, mixed media works, sculptures and art books to consider the materiality of landscape and its representation to explore landscapes permanently altered by climate change and industrialization. 
Select exhibitions include the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Center for Contemporary Art at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Anglim Gilbert Gallery, German Consulate in New York City, San Diego Art Institute, and Mills College Art Museum. Artwork and research is included in many public and private collections, including the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Archive, the  School of the Art Institute of Chicago Library, Meta Headquarters, and Adobe, Inc. Her artwork was presented at the California Climate Change Symposium, San Francisco State of the Estuary Conference, and the American Geophysical Union Meeting and published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Make: Magazine, California Home and Design, and New American Paintings. 
Rachelle Reichert Studio
www.rachellereichert.com
@rachelle_reichert
 
Current:
Modern Desert Markings: An Homage to Las Vegas Land Art
Marjorie Barrick Museum, Las Vegas, NV
 
Women of Northern California: Making Meaning for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, Davis, CA
 
Upcoming:
On Land 
Marin MOCA, Navato, CA
 
The Space Program Artist Residency, Fall 2023
San Francisco, CA 

The Art Box - Episode 94 - 10 Minutes With Sue McPherson and Randy Bauman

Sue McPherson and Randy Bauman discuss the Mesquite Fine Art's Center Photographic Society May exhibition "Through the Photographer's Eyes" in this Ten Minutes With podcast.