Gabby

Gabby is excited to announce today the big news of half price adoption fees for all dogs at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter from September 9 to October 9.  This is an effort to help make room on the Adoption Floor and find these loving animals a new home during facility improvements.

The shelter is preparing to make improvements to its Kennel Building, where all stray dogs are held for their first five days, and they must clear out that building.  This means that the current Adoption Room will have to be used to house incoming stray dogs, which displaces all of the currently-adoptable dogs.

While the shelter is actively seeking temporary foster homes for our adoptable dogs, they are also encouraging people to adopt by offering half off the normal $60 adoption fee, making the fee now only $30!  This includes spaying or neutering, all needed vaccinations, microchipping, flea and tick treatment, and a city license.  This makes what is normally a good deal an incredible bargain, while you will also enjoy the love and companionship of your new furry friend!

Come by the Shelter today to find your new best friend or to sign up as a temporary foster home!  Also, check out our available pets online at www.fayettevilleanimals.petfinder.com

[Community Announcements are composed largely of press releases received by Ozarks Unbound.]

Things center around the Fayetteville Underground where it began more than a year ago, but increasingly, the Fayetteville Square comes alive with activity, especially on the east and south sides.

It’s cooled down since August, so unless the weather turns nasty, I’d expect an exceptional turn out.

Here’s what’s on tap.

Fayetteville Underground

Thomas Petillo : North, West, East, South

From the press release:

The Fayetteville Underground is thrilled to present the works of Nashville, Tennessee-based photographer Thomas Petillo in the Hive gallery during the month of September.

Thomas Petillo is perhaps best known for his strikingly intimate portraits of great musicians (Robert Plant, Ben Folds, John Prine, Kid Rock and Porter Wagoner, to name only a few).

Thomas has spent fifteen years honing the skills necessary to produce these beautiful images for record labels, magazines, and ad agencies. These portraits have come to define his style.

But a very different Petillo has emerged in the last few years as the result of a series of commissions by Hammock, the ambient duo, who asked him to create images for their recordings. No matter his subject, Petillo’s images are characterized by a delicate balance of stark realism and magical wonder, as if he stands with one foot in the spirit and the other in the flesh.

This rare talent has given his work a singular imprint and has earned for him a distinguished place among contemporary photographers.

Lin Chen

Artist Statement: When I set up things to paint, I have a vague idea about how I want the picture plane divided depending on the shape and attitude of the figure, still life, etc. After spending a brief time looking at the setup, I establish a vision. All I do after that is geared toward realizing that vision.

Vision is bigger than sight, or, what meets the eye. It can also be fragile and elusive, and paradoxically, can only be made visible through sight. I try to hang on to that vision because it is what has stirred my imagination in the first place. In the meantime I remain open to necessity for revisions, even serendipitous happenings. Not infrequently I find myself, half-way through a composition, stopping to completely revise a setup or color scheme.  When the established vision is too forced, or worse, false, I have no choice except to adjust or throw it away and start over upon the realization of it.

Painting from observation requires the process to be dynamic. Sight is physical, empirical to the extent applicable to the structure of the human eye. Vision wants purging, clarification, eventually, crystallization. The painter moves between the tension of the two forces, slowly peeling away and discarding the false and the incidental. An apple must look like an apple, also a globe, a circle, a crucial participant in the poetry of the picture’s totality.

As a painter I am not a rationalist. What’s being purged and discarded are confusion, false notions, melodrama, bravado, etc., not mystery.

I paint to understand who I am, how I relate to the external world, with which I am smitten. But more often than not I paint to overcome boredom, to combat ennui.

Jan Gosnell: Past Forward

From the press release:

Jan Gosnell will be exhibiting a selection of paintings he has completed during the past year. They are the results of the desire to explore subject matter chosen intuitively from a lifetime exposure to the written word, media imagery, and the works of other artists.

This series of paintings represents a development along a natural path, primarily with regard to the resolution of opposites. This direction is reflected in an attempt to resolve the use of masculine subject matter exhibiting aggressive spatial confrontation with a more sensitive usage of line and a richness of color. While these paintings are apparently straight forward in their imagery, they are also an engaging invitation for personal interpretation.

Jan Gosnell received a B.F.A. from the University of Texas and an M.F. A. from the University of Arkansas. His professional personae includes that of college level art instructor, gallery owner, commercial art director, movie sketch artist, and editorial cartoonist. He presently lives in Fayetteville, teaches painting and drawing at NWACC, and is a resident member of the Fayetteville Underground.

Elsewhere on the Square

Outdoor Art Walk

Jewelry by Lauren Embree for sale on the Outdoor Art Walk

A number of artists will be on the east side of the Fayetteville Square selling paintings, hand-crafted jewlery, photography, sculpture and other types of art.

There’s usually a few surprises if you take the time to walk past all of the artists and spend some time looking. The art prices are also extremely affordable.

You can learn more about the artists featured there at the First Thursday Fayetteville website.

New Belgium Beer Garden

The New Belgium charity beer garden will be at the east side of the courtyard in front of the Fayetteville Town Center and will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Proceeds from the beer garden will be donated to Pagnozzi Charities.

Cass Harris

Siloam Springs’ Cass Harris will also perform from 6 to 8 p.m. near the beer garden.

First Thursday has also partnered with Theatre Squared to include events promoting the comic thriller ‘Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps’ that opens Friday.

A trivia contest will be held in the beer garden area with prizes including tickets to the show. It starts at 6:45 p.m.

There will also be a Hitchcock-themed performance by the improv group The Phunbags at 8 p.m.

Celebrating Volunteers

The City of Fayetteville will celebrate community volunteers from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday on the south side of the Old Post Office on the Downtown Fayetteville Square.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan will kick off the celebration by proclaiming September 2010 “Volunteer Month” in Fayetteville. This event is part of the growing volunteer program at the city.

Should be a good time.

For more information, a directory of art walk artists, and directions visit www.firstthursdayfayetteville.com or call the Fayetteville Visitors Bureau at 479-521-5776.

OU’s previous First Thursday Fayetteville coverage.

Listen to the Unlicensed Opinion episode on this topic from Aug. 30, 2010.

The Washington County Fair

The Washington County Fair is in full blast.

Founded in 1857, fair is a reflection of decades of farmers, business leaders, volunteers and youth that have, with hard work and dedication, made the Washington County Fair what it is today.

Although the fair was suspended during the Second World War for a few years, the following year the fair was reorganized and has been going strong ever since. That’s why it’s called the “most established” fair in Arkansas.

In the past few years the fair introduced new events such as tractor pull, Dutch oven cook-off and beauty pageant. In 2007 the fair entered into a partnership with Bikes, Blues & BBQ and the fairgrounds became the official campgrounds for the event.

The group received $26,000 this year from the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission through local hotel-motel-restaurant taxes to build additional RV campground sites.

Fair president Kendall Pendergraft took charge this year of the fair. He said attendance has been down in past years and there’s been an increased effort to to provide live music entertainment.

This year NAMA-winning musician Benjamin Del Shreve headlines the fair Saturday night.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

(Gate Admission $5/ Unlimited Ride Wristband $30)

TUESDAY  ($1 admission day)

10:00 a.m. - 2010 Washington County Fair Officially Opens

5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Murphy Brothers Carnival Opens (Midway)

5 p.m. – How to prepare Fair Exhibits (Youth Building)

6:30 p.m. - Little People Ms. & Mr. Washington County Fair Beauty Pageant (Pauline Whitaker Arena)

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Live Band

WEDNESDAY (Students admitted free 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

5 p.m. – 10 p.m. - Murphy Brothers Carnival Opens (Midway)

7 p.m. – 9 p.m. – Scott Miller

THURSDAY (Senior Citizens admitted free until 5 p.m.)

5 p.m. – 10 p.m. - Murphy Brothers Carnival Opens (Midway)

5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. - Livestock Buyers Dinner – open to exhibitors and buyers (Outside Stage)

6:30 p.m. –  4-H & FFA Livestock Auction (Livestock Arena0

5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Marshall Mitchell

7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Jason Strode

FRIDAY  (Midnight Madness – open till 2 a.m. – get $5 off with a Pepsi can)

5 p.m. – 2 a.m. - Murphy Brothers Carnival Opens (Midway)

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. - Cake Decorating Demonstration (Youth Exhibit Building)

7 p.m. – 9 p.m. – Howard Lester and the Boston Mountain Playboys

SATURDAY

10 a.m. – noon - Dutch Oven Cook-Off (Front Gate)

Noon – 10 p.m. - Murphy Brothers Carnival Opens (Midway)

2:30 p.m. - Tractor Pull (South Side of Beef Barn)

3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Papa Rap

7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Benjamin Del Shreve

Hometown artist Megan Chapman has emerged as a driving force in the city’s art scene, bringing international art shows from France and Taiwan to the subterranean artist colony known as the Fayetteville Underground.

She creates her own art, but also she curates, editing several shows this year to help fellow artists present their work to the public.

Megan and other artists have pushed the Fayetteville Underground to do more educational outreach, bringing monthly Art Talks to discuss the work displayed in the three feature galleries. That’s expected to continue and grow, she said.

She led an early Art Talk in January to discuss the work of Hot Spring’s duo Pedigree and their show “Matters of Consequence.”

Ozarks Unbound caught up with Megan. She was nice enough to answer our Five Questions.

You’ve curated shows the past two months. What does that involve?

The curating I have done involved contacting the artists and scheduling them into the Underground program, giving them the dimensions of the gallery space so that they know exactly what they have to work with and how much work they need to produce to fill the space adequately.

Sometimes the space may even inform the work they produce. I may stay in contact with the artists while they produce the body of work and answer questions, help with titles or prices, and help in the editing process. I may just give them factual information about the Underground and our hours, what our clientele is like, and logistical information, reminding them only of important deadlines.

I am here to assist the artist with anything they may need. In the case of the past two international shows, there is research involved in how best to print the works here in the United States, and price breakdowns so the artists know what type of expense to expect in order to produce the show.

I also floated the money for the last two shows, so as the curator I bear some expenses, at least initially. There are countless emails back and forth if the artist is not local or regional. As an artist myself, I make sure that these artists feel good about everything, from the press release, to the presentation, to the way I speak about their work. The work then gets installed and documented, promotional materials such as press books, postcards and posters get made.

It is a collaboration of sorts, but I always want to be clear that it is their work and I am just facilitating it being shown here in Fayetteville.

What about your own art? Are you able to find time to paint and create?

Curating does take a lot of time and energy and a certain amount of emotional commitment to the artists and their work, but at the same time it inspires me and my own work.

I love being a part of a global arts community, and being able to shine a light on art that moves me, that Fayetteville might not get to see otherwise.

I may not curate 3 shows in a row the next time I do this, but I get a lot out of it and I am grateful for the trust that the Fayetteville Underground has in me, as well as the artists that have allowed me to show their work.

As far as my own painting, I never stop. I may slow down, but I am always working on something.

I have my own solo exhibition at the Underground in November, so I have kept that in my mind these past few months as well.

There have been a few art talks recently at the Fayetteville Underground. Is that going to continue?

Yes, the art talks are a very important part of our new programming. One of the Fayetteville Underground’s goals is to present more regularly scheduled artist talks in the coming months.

We really want to engage the community, allowing potential patrons to learn a bit more about the artists and the work that the Fayetteville Underground represents.

Our first Thursday opening receptions each month are a fun and lively event, but sometimes due to the crowds and the reception atmosphere it is hard for those who are truly interested in learning more about the artists and their processes to connect.

In the future we plan to have dedicated days once or twice a month when we will have the artist’s talks so that people can depend on them as easily as first Thursday.

We are excited about offering these casual and more intimate gatherings for those in the community interested in learning more about our current exhibitions at the Fayetteville Underground.

Are there studios available for artists to rent at the Fayetteville Underground? How does that happen?

Yes, we have studios currently available and we are always accepting applications for studios as well as for exhibitions in our galleries.

Interested artists just need to submit a formal application on CD, either by mail or hand delivery to the underground. The application procedure is on our website at this link http://www.fayettevilleunderground.com/artistinfo.php.

Studio artists receive subsidized rent and in return are required to work in their studios a minimum of 20 hours a week on their art and then donate 4 hours a week of service to the organization by completing various tasks to help keep us running.

Most studios are less than $100/month and this includes all utilities and Wi-Fi. Each artist gets at least one solo show per year and continual representation in Fayetteville through the Underground. We look forward to receiving artists applications for studios and for exhibitions.

What advice would you give a newly minted artist embarking on a career?

I would encourage new artists to surround themselves with other artists near and far and to find emotional support for their work, because art can’t be made in a vacuum.

Being an artist is already a difficult enough profession, only made more difficult if one tries to go it alone.

I would tell them to work on their art diligently, to really put in the time. I would tell them to do some research, read some books on the business of being an artist. Most schools don’t prepare artists for the business aspect. Don’t walk into a gallery with your work under your arm, call first, and make an appointment. Find a mentor, ask questions, make mistakes and keep on fighting.

The world needs your art.

The Homebuyer Education course, which features information provided by a HUD-certified housing counselor, a mortgage lender and a Realtor, will help prospective homebuyers learn about the entire purchase process. Those who complete the free course may be eligible for down-payment assistance from the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.

The next course begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Mt. Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center, 150 Skyline Drive in Fayetteville.

Other free Homebuyer Education classes will be held on the following dates:

• Saturday, Oct. 9; and Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W. Mountain.
• Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Washington Co. Extension Service, 2536 N. McConnell Ave.

To register, visit www.CCOAcares.com or call 479-521-8877.

CCOA is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free financial seminars, free counseling on budgeting, credit, homebuying, mortgage delinquencies and free credit report reviews, as well as a debt management program.

[Community Announcements are composed largely of press releases received by Ozarks Unbound.]

Free Homebuyer Education Class

When: 9 a.m., Sept. 11

Where: Mt. Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center, 150 Skyline Drive, Fayetteville

To register, visit www.CCOAcares.com or call 479-521-8877.

• A fundraiser for Youth Bridge called “Starry, Starry Night” starts at 6 p.m. at Denise and Hershey Garner’s house, 3390 E. Mission Blvd.

• There will be a Poetry Slam featuring Ozark Poetry Slam Team at 7 p.m. at RZ’s Coffeehouse at the Arkansas Union on the UA Campus. Come see the Ozark Poetry Slam Team as they do a feature set for the University of Arkansas.

Public Meetings

Fayetteville

Community Announcements

• There are a number of board and committee openings in Fayetteville. Check a look at them. You might find something you want to get involved with in the future. The deadline is Sept. 3.

This is your space. Send Ozarks Unbound your announcement and we will publish it here.

Today in History

Today in 2007, Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho said he would resign in the wake of gay sex airport bathroom scandal. He then reversed his decision and served the remainder of his term.

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