Arts & Entertainment News September 2, 2009

Dragonfly Walk at Boyce Thompson Arboretum

This painting of a "Sheep's Skull," painted by artist Marilyn Barton, will be on display at the arboretum.: The Fall, Winter, Spring schedule resumed September 1, and the Arboretum is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (except Christmas Day, December 25). Yes, we are open Labor Day Monday, September 7. Guided tours and Weekend Nature Walks are included with admission of $7.50 for adults or $3 for ages 5-12. Pets are welcome, provided they remain leashed at all times and are well-behaved. The Arboretum is an Arizona State Park located at Highway 60 milepost #223 near the historic copper mining town of Superior, 55 miles due east of Phoenix. Explore the gardens on a virtual tour! The drive takes about two hours from Tucson via highway 79 North through Florence to highway 60 -- then turn right and continue east another twelve miles. There is no restaurant at the Arboretum but sandwiches, drinks and snacks are available in our gift shop. Picnic tables and charcoal grills are available for visitors to use. Read about the Arboretum's 75-year heritage, Our HISTORY page describes how the Arboretum has grown to include two miles of trails and into a place for children to learn and for all ages to appreciate the beauty and importance of desert ecosystems. Gold Canyon artist Marilyn Barton has a solo exhibit of paintings in our Visitor Center gallery, continuing through September 30. Meet the artist at her opening reception September 12, Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. til 1:00 p.m. During late August and early September ripe prickly pear fruits add a splash of crimson-purple; barrel cacti glow red or golden backlit by afternoon sunshine, and sharp-spined agaves lend complex structure and symmetry to the scene. That’s a "viewed through the artist's eyes" description of a lovely garden scene painted or photographed here at the Arboretum, and that's how Marilyn Barton sees our gardens. "The Arboretum has been such an inspiration, such a rich source for many of my paintings since we landed in Gold Canyon in 2004," says Barton. "I teach painting classes and have brought students here for Plein Air outings where we paint together and work on technique surrounded by beauty. On other visits I'll bring a camera to photograph subject matter that I'll paint later. Works such as "Barrel Cactus", "Prickly Pear Fruit" and "Cactus Love" were each painted from photos taken at the Arboretum; in fact, one of the workshops I teach is specifically focused on how to take photographs to use later for your paintings." "Arizona scenery has brought such influence on my painting. I use watercolors in a fluid and transparent way to evoke emotions from the viewer, when I paint with pastel I use color in unusual and expressive ways to bring life to the subject matter, and I have been experimenting with portraits that are specific to Arizona life, such as "Modern Cowboy" and paintings of Indians." Boyce Thompson Arboretum is at Highway 60 milepost #223 near the historic copper mining town of Superior, a drive of about 45 minutes due East of Mesa. During September visitors are admitted daily from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and the Arboretum closes at 5:00 p.m. (during Spring and Summer months the schedule is daily from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) New exhibits begin each month and may be seen daily during business hours; the Arboretum is an Arizona State Park and daily admission must be paid to enter the Visitor Center where our gallery is found. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12. Annual memberships at the Arboretum begin at $45, and include a year’s access, guest passes for your friends and family, along with many other benefits. For more information call 520-689-2723 during business hours or else email our staff at BTAinfo@ag.arizona.edu Recorded event information line: 520-689-2811 Business office phone: 520-689-2723

Cub Scouts Visit Open Door Art Studio, By Pearl Nancarrow

Pictured:Thomas Chambers, Lucas Creery, Patrick Saunders, Brandon Allinson, Brenden Voelker: After school on Thursday August 27, members of two Cub Scout troops and two den leaders visited the Open Door Art Studio. The scouts can earn patches for exploring career choices. This time, they chose to interview an artist. The five boys attending were enthusiastic, interested, polite, and prepared with questions. They learned that there are many types of art besides drawing and painting. There were photographs, many paintings and examples of sculpture to look at. They saw and handled some of the many tools used in an art studio such as pens, inks, charcoal, and several kinds of pencils. There were different kinds of papers and canvases, and different types of paint that are used. They learned that some paints, paint thinners and brush cleaners can be poisonous, so one must be very careful when using them. They learned that different kinds of easels are used for indoor and for outdoor painting. Painting done outdoors is called "pleine aire", and indoor painting can be set up with real objects or done from photos. Photos should be taken by the artist because it isn't fair to use someone else's photographs. The questions asked by the scouts included "What made you become an artist?", "Where do you get ideas?" and "What is that thing?" Every boy said "Thank you" upon leaving, and the hour went by very fast!