Today’s guest post comes from Sarah Neal, a lover of all things beautiful and all things Tulsa. Follow Sarah on Twitter, @boldface.

I don’t think anyone can properly define what art is. Perhaps that’s part of its allure—it is without borders or limitations, and yet its undefined nature can articulately convey the deepest aspects of humanity without uttering a word.

It is this wild and philosophical beast that, as Picasso put it, “washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

For me, art is about seeing the world from someone else’s vantage point. Visiting a local museum or art gallery is a perfect opportunity to explore new territories, perspectives and stories. In Tulsa, we are fortunate to have two large museums, Philbrook and Gilcrease, and a few privately owned galleries that each strike their own distinct chords.

Tulsa’s art galleries promote and sell the work of various artists, many of whom are local. What I enjoy most about them is the constant churn of new work that’s being added. As pieces are sold, room is made for the new. It’s a perpetual metamorphosis.

Here’s just a few of my favorite galleries in Tulsa and sample of the beautiful work they offer.

M.A. Doran (3509 S. Peoria Avenue; madorangallery.com)

Located on Brookside with its white, curved façade, M.A. Doran is known for its extensive collection of contemporary art and sculpture as well as its support of many renowned Oklahoma artists. The main floor features the active exhibits, while the upstairs loft houses a large supply of constant pieces that are available for purchase.

I appreciate the perspective and how the details lead your eye throughout James Zwadlo’s mixed-media composition, “Pedestrians” (36×36).

Ceramic artist Clayton Keyes is a recent MFA graduate from the University of Tulsa and was recently invited to showcase his work in the 2012 NCECA Biennial Invitational Push Play in Seattle. His work is stark and poignant. There’s several currently on display such as this one, “The Hunter, Legacy Fulfilled” (56x16x18).

Loved this oil on canvas piece, “Campbell’s Crayons, Green” (44×40), by Ben Steele. Homage or criticism of pop art? It’s up for interpretation by you, the viewer.

Joseph Gierek, (1512 E. 15th Street; gierek.com)

Next time you’re driving down Cherry Street, stop by Joseph Gierek’s gallery. It’s an eclectic mix of paintings, sculptures, and installation pieces that range from modern to southwest. When I was an art student at The University of Tulsa, I would drop by frequently because of the quality and variety of work the gallery provides.

The day I dropped by, I found several great pieces by local artists, plus a few who are renowned in the larger art community, such as Annie Leibovitz, Jasper Johns, and this nice screen print by Shepard Fairey: “Woody Guthrie Centennial” (24×18).

I fell in love with this one.

Tulsa Artists’ Coalition (TAC) Gallery (9 E. Brady Street; tacgallery.org)

My heart beats in the Brady District where the TAC Gallery resides. It’s unique in that it is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that supports Oklahoma artists, many who are just emerging into the local art scene. The gallery features one artist per month, and hosts around 10 shows a year.

The day I stopped by, they were preparing for their acclaimed, annual fundraising event, 5×5. The gallery was closed, and I wasn’t allowed to take a peek inside since the public had not viewed the work.

What 5×5 is: Each year, artists from all over the state are invited to pick up a five-inch-by-five-inch canvas and create an original piece. Sales go to support the gallery and its mission. It’s become such a popular event that many people line up hours in advance to purchase their favorite pieces.

This is an interior shot of the gallery during an opening reception I attended last year.

One of the high points of going to a reception is having the opportunity to speak with the featured artist candidly. It’s always an honor to hear an artist discuss the thought that was invested into their work.

“Art is approachable.”

A friend and local artist recently said this, and it resonated with me.

Art shouldn’t be intimidating or pretentious. It’s thoughts and emotions made visible for others to experience.

Go out and get lost in one of our local galleries. Tulsa’s art community is vibrant. Examine the work from different angles. Discuss it. Find a piece you love and one you don’t. Ask yourself why, because somewhere in all the brushstrokes, carved edges, and distressed finishes, we not only discover a different perspective, but a piece of ourselves.

Editor’s note: Keep tabs on the latest and greatest the Tulsa art scene has to offer on the Arts & Theatre page of DO WHAT.

Looking for the list of the most exciting events and art, music, free stuff to do and fun for the kids in Tulsa today?

Check it out at DO WHAT? at ThisLandPress.com, the place where Oklahoma finds the best things to do in Tulsa.

Don’t see your favorite event at DO WHAT? No sweat – we can fix that. Kindly send details.

Oklahoma art by Lone Chimney.

Can you guess where I was?

That’s what west Tulsa looks like from the 30th floor of the Bank of America building, also known as The Summit Club.

Where the doorknobs look like this.

And ORU looks like this.

And where the sunsets bounce off the river at 186 thousand miles per second and explode in the sky, a full bleed in just about every color imaginable.

If you haven’t seen an Oklahoma sunset from the top of the skyline, find a way. The indifference of a sky that puts on a show like that, whether anyone’s watching or not—sometimes that hurts to remember. But sometimes it puts everything right.

Real quick: I wanted to show you all some of my favorite photos from a weekend trip to Muskogee.

We started at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival at The Castle. Where I tried on a helmet made of leather, ate a funnel cake, and my husband beat me at knife-throwing.

It was pirate weekend, but we still managed to work some Xtreme falconry into our day.

Also, it feels pretty awesome when your priest and his wife think several hours with you and some friends in another city at one of the strangest and most interesting festivals our state has to offer is a good way to spend a Saturday.

Father Blake (and that’s his wife, Laura Beth) is a Muskogee native, and he waited all day to pull this second trick out of his hat:

That’s Beacon Drive-In. It’s a local legend. Since I met them, Blake and Laura Beth have been boasting about how the coneys from Beacon are the best in the entire state.

I’m ready to say that they’re right.

What’d you get up to over the weekend?

When you’re a kid, the promise of a donut at the end of the week is pretty much the most exciting thing in the world.

The rows of softly risen yeast donuts, fried to golden perfection. And then there are the cake donuts, topped with glaze or a glossy sheet of icing, cracked just a bit on the sides.

Fritters? Bear claws? Old-fashioned donuts? Leave those for grown-ups. As long as they’re buying the chocolate milk—preferably in the carton, the spout of which turns to a creamy mush before you can finish—handed over the counter by a member of the harried staff.

Getting to sit across the table from your mom or dad, dressed down in their Friday work clothes, in the middle of the packed dining room of the donut shop, crammed like sardines into table-and-chairs sets that look like maybe they came from the flea market up the road.

And then, walking through the door at school with sugar breath, a little bit of icing crust in the corners of your mouth.

Glorious.

With this in mind, my son and I started a new tradition. We’re calling it Friday Donut Day, and the goal is to visit as many different donut purveyors around town as possible.

Independently, locally owned stores always preferred. The stranger, the better.

So far on the tour we’ve visited:

• The Daylight Donuts Super Shop at Yale and the B.A.
• OK Country Donuts (where I was in a fight once)
• Ann’s Bakery
• the Daylight Donuts next door to Jim’s Never on Sunday at 21st and Harvard
• and this morning, Spudnut Donuts on Main Street in Sapulpa, just southwest of Tulsa

The last two destinations on that list were chosen as the result of recommendations I received from Tasha Does Tulsa followers on Twitter. If you know of a donut place we should try, let me know. We have lots of Fridays ahead that are ripe for adventure.

Have you invented any special weekend traditions? Just about everyone I’ve talked to has at least one. I’d love to know yours.

My artist friend and This Land co-worker Jeremy Luther made this.

Sometimes he leaves the office at strange times, so I decided to do some sleuthing. Turns out that he’s been seeing someone on the side.

And that someone is the Hardesty Center for Fab Lab Tulsa.

He was there yesterday using the 40-watt Epilog laser cutter to make bright, shiny new stands for the print edition of This Land. The tiny Oklahoma was a byproduct.

He’s beginning to have to fight other local artists for time on the Fab Lab machines. It’d be fun if you guys could make this especially frustrating for him by reserving machine time at Fab Lab Tulsa here.

These people get me.

For one, the Oklahoma Red Dirt soap was placed riiiiight next to the pickle soap. Oklahoma red dirt and pickles are pretty much my two favorite things. Especially the dirt. And the pickles.

For two, the Okie Crowe folks make beer soap (tallboy, oatmeal stout, pumpkin lager…the list goes on). And beer hand scrubs. And peanut butter beer dog treats, made from spent beer grain. Inventive!

For three, owner Kelli Groblewski’s husband was really nice to me when joy and happiness came out of my ears at him when I spotted what was inside of the Okie Crowe booth at the Sand Springs Herbal Affair. It’s a lot to handle when that happens, so I really appreciate his kindness and understanding.

You don’t have to wait until the next festival to check ‘em out. You can see and order Okie Crowe merch on their Etsy page, or you can go to one of these local retailers to see the array of Okie Crowe goodies.

(Here’s the pickle soap. And here’s a candle version of that Oklahoma Red Dirt soap.)

That Oklahoma Red Dirt soap, by the way? I bought a bar of it (how’d you guess?), and let me tell you, it was almost a spiritual experience—I never knew that bathing with a bar of soap made of dirt could be like that. I mean, I’m a fifth-generation Oklahoman. Odds are that I’m made out of the same stuff that soap is. My great-great-grandma (b. 188-something, I.T.) washed red dirt out of her clothes with a washboard, and thanks to Kelli’s genius, I got to use it for a home-spa day. What? Yeah. Super cool.

Okie Crowe didn’t sponsor this post or compensate me in any way for writing it. I just find the stuff to be delightful.

Looking for the list of the most exciting events and art, music, free stuff to do and fun for the kids in Tulsa today?

Check it out at DO WHAT? at ThisLandPress.com, the place where Oklahoma finds the best things to do in Tulsa.

PSST: Cinco de Mayo is this weekend! Looking for the best things to do? Check out the list of Cinco de Mayo events that’s been posted at DO WHAT.

Don’t see your favorite event at DO WHAT? No sweat – we can fix that. Kindly send details.

Oklahoma art by Lone Chimney.

There are only a few parties each year where Tulsans take to the streets with a beer in each hand, ready to take the fun into the wee hours of the morning in celebration of a special holiday.

Cinco de Mayo is one of those times, and it’s coming up this weekend. Whether you’re gonna have the kids and want some family-friendly Cinco fun, or want to expand your tequila repertoire, or would like to see a 400-pound pinata dropped from six stories (yes, really), it’s all happening in Tulsa this Saturday.

Get a list of Cinco de Mayo festivals and parties over at DO WHAT, and don’t forget to leave a comment if you don’t see your favorite event on the list.

What are your plans for Cinco de Mayo?