Mind Gravy Poetry

Mind Gravy Poetry is the brain child of Columbia newcomer, Al Black, who took things into his own hands when he moved to the city and didn't find a poetry reading series that met his personal needs. (There are several other poetry reading series in town including a Tuesday night session that leans toward slam at the Art Bar and, when university classes are in session, a series that originated out of the MFA program at USC, called The Shark's Parlor.) Al's lovely wife returned to college when their four children got older, completing her Ph.D. from Purdue University at the age of 55, and moving to Newberry College in August 2008 to teach. In Indianapolis, the Blacks' hometown, Al had been very active in the music and poetry scene and he regularly contributed satire to a liberal blog.

Missing his old Indianapolis fun and a venue for sharing written word poetry, Al started Mind Gravy at the now defunct Gotham Bagels a little over a year ago. The site of the readings has changed as businesses closed and the group of regulars grew, and in February the regular reading moved to Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery and Coffee Bar in Cayce.

"We are bursting at the seams," Al says. "Most nights we have 10 or more people standing and we total 40-50 people."

Tonight, Jasper Magazine literary editor, Ed Madden, along with Ray McManus will be the featured poets. Rev. Marv Ward is the musical guest.

A few more things Al would like friends of Jasper to keep in mind:

*We are a free venue & no participants are paid

*We go every Wednesday from 8-10 PM

*We start with a guest musician (original music), followed by the featured poet and then open mic

*We have had featured poets from VA, NC, TN, GA, FL & SC

*70% of the featured poets are page poets, but we have featured performance, slam, dub and hip hop poets in the past

*Our music runs from SC folk/country to R&B, hip hop and everything in between

*Open mic is limited to 2 pieces per person – all types of poetry, all types of music, an occasional dance, once a magician and once a comedian – we try to be positive and encouraging of all levels artistic expression

*We expect to begin webcasting in October – this will widen our market and our reach for featured poets

*Al doesn't feature himself, but sometimes he'll read a piece or two during open mic

*Occasionally, we will have an artist paint during the event

*An interesting note -- about two months ago, the house-mother for a group home for developmentally handicapped women started bringing 6 of the women to Mind Gravy. They come each week, enjoy themselves, leave at 9:30 and are respected & appreciated by our regulars – it is the most unusual thing I have ever seen. (Jasper's heart swelled a little when he read this.)

*The first Wednesday of each month is youth night – adults come, but it is youth performers

*The 2nd & 4th Wednesdays are normal Mind Gravy

*The 3rd Wednesdays Al hosts the Columbia Writer’s Alliance -- same format, but Al is trying to encourage this organization started by African-American women - so we call it Mind Gravy presents Columbia Writer’s Alliance

*Whenever we have a 5th Wednesday, we do it on some special theme – this month has a 5th Wednesday and the theme is percussion; we have some different percussionists coming in and, of course, poetry

*Mind Gravy operates on the premise that cross-pollination of different art forms at the event increases the audience size and diversity, engenders appreciation of differences between art forms; creates an environment that encourages collaboration and, is just a delightfully wonderful time.

Well, those dear readers who are familiar with the mission of Jasper Magazine, know that Al just said the magic words. Collaboration, coming out of our single-disciplinary arts caves, and contributing to and taking inspiration from other artistic genres and communities is a sure-fire way of building and enriching a sustaining community of artists and arts lovers.

Congratulations to Al Black and the participants of Mind Gravy for being pro-active and pro-arts. Be sure to check them out tonight or any Wednesday when you need some words to soothe your soul.

And before you leave us today, please take a moment to look to your right on this screen and go ahead a and subscribe to your daily dose of "What Jasper Said." We don't want you to miss a word.

And please check out our website at www.jaspercolumbia.com.

Thanks, Y'all.

-- cb

A Poem by Marjory Wentworth

Today, Jasper's been thinking about the Charleston Earthquake of 1886.  As the Holy City braces for a possible visit from Irene later this week, let's send some positive energy down I-26, and spend a few moments considering the images of rebirth and renewal SC Poet Laureate Marjory Wentworth evokes in this poem... Charleston Rooftops

Everything that lifts into the air has purpose: even the granite tipped war monument rising above palmetto trees points like an arrow toward the sun; chimneys, stove pipes, weather vanes and steeples— the flag at half mast, flapping in the wind. Streets clog with memories of smoke tinged wind— of a dark sky on fire fueling the air, flames swirling around steeples, and a harbor blocked by ships of war. Cannons fired toward the ever present sun until the avenues lined with oak trees were abandoned, and the trees thrust transcendent into the wind reached like prayers toward the sun. Odors of ruin and rot lingered in the air above the streets emptied by war; the bells silent in the steeples.

Beyond scaffold enshrouded steeples, sunlight weaves through leaf-thick oak trees now filled with blossom and song, though war saturates the brick and memory of wind spinning with salt through summer air that simmers beneath the blood streaked sun. Red runs through ribbons of sun across the skyline and steeples lifting off tin sloped roofs into air filled with flowering trees. Always the tireless ocean wind ripples the worn-out flags of war. The names of the enemy change, but war is the inscrutable language spoken beneath this sun. The flag at half-mast, stiffens in the wind. Funeral bells sound from the steeples. In the cemetery, beneath the oak trees, taps linger on the broken air. The sounds of war will rumble in the wind. As steeple bells call through the sun filled air, birds nest in trees twisting toward heaven.

Originally published by the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, April 2009 (www.deadmule.com)

Vino & van Gogh? Yes, please.

This past Friday, my parents and I went to Greenville to a place called "Vino & van Gogh." Essentially, Vino & van Gogh is a place where an individual could go to drink wine (or another beverage of choice) and paint with acrylic on canvas. Usually there is a theme each night, so each person in the class would paint the same subject. The theme for the night we visited was "Starry Night Greenville." Vincent van Gogh is one of my absolute favorite artists and his "Starry Night" is by far my favorite painting, so naturally this was right up my alley. What could be better than wine, van Gogh, and "Starry Night"?

As I was painting my Greenville-style "Starry Night," I started chatting with the owner, Marquin Campbell, and began to wonder why Greenville has two places like this -- Design with Wine and Vino & van Gogh -- while Columbia has none. This makes no sense to me.

Columbia has an active arts community yet little that actually allows people to create even modest works of their own for fun. Sure we all love going to art openings and seeing art by individuals we all know and love, and even art by those we do not know. So why not have something that allows people to express themselves on a blank canvas with things they love -- drinks, good friends, and paint? One doesn't even have to know how to paint or be good at painting to enjoy this.

So when is Columbia going to offer an experience similar to the one I had at Vino & van Gogh?

--Lenza Jolley

Lenza's mom, Kim Jolley, is pictured with her work in progress

For more of Jasper Magazine visit our website at

www.jaspercolumbia.com

For more info on Vino and van Gogh, visit vinoandvangogh.net.

Meet Jasper associate editor, Mike Miller

(photo by Mark Green)

Mike Miller has been a surfer, janitor, tennis bum, shoe salesman, bellhop, and newspaper journalist. He writes short stories, poems, and songs, and he's penned a book about the local rock band Hootie & The Blowfish. He is the author of a collection of short stories titled, Lonesome Pines – Living and Dying in a Little Town, and almost eerily resembles Mickey Watson of the famed musical group The Cedar Creek Boys.

But that’s not surprising.

Mike knows his way around rock ‘n’ roll and the literature from which it sometimes emanates. He once bumped into John Prine in a bar in Galway, Ireland; ran into Tom Waits at the airport in San Diego; and asked Pat Conroy for writing tips one morning after breakfast at the old Martin's Restaurant on Devine Street.

Despite these close encounters, Mike says, “very little real talent has rubbed off.” Yet he continues to trudge along, stringing words together in various forms of prose, banging away at the same old guitar chords, and trying to make just a little sense of the wacky world around him.

Jasper is pleased to have Mike ply his trade for our little arts magazine. In addition to writing feature stories, copy editing, and tending to whatever tidbits of arts news that catch his eye, Mike will be crafting his own column in each issue of the magazine. We're all pretty excited about it.

Jasper likes Mike.

For more of Jasper Magazine -- The WORD on Columbia Arts, please visit us at

www.jaspercolumbia.com

Behind the scenes (and the wardrobe and lighting) of Swing '39

Some of the staff of Jasper had the good fortune last night to attend the closing performance of TRUSTUS Theatre's most recent play, Swing '39. Directed by Chad Henderson, a young man who, full disclosure, is dear to the heart of this writer, Swing '39 was the winner of the TRUSTUS Playwright's Festival.  Written by Alessandro King, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Swing '39 was developed during readings both at Sarah Lawrence and at New Dramatists, "the country's premiere center for the support and development of playwrights," according to their website. While we enjoyed the play and thought the second act made up for some needed editing on the playwright's part in the first, we were also duly impressed by the set design, lighting design, and costuming.

Danny Harrington, who did the scenic design, was able to capture the essence of early 20th century propriety in his pink, center-stage Davenport which appeared to be as appropriately uncomfortable as it was beautiful.

Costume Designer, Alexis Doktor, one of the two most under-recognized and over-achieving members of the Columbia arts community, scored an A+ again with her too snug pencil skirts for the women and too large suits for the men. Her wardrobe decisions well reflected the constraining sex role constructs of the pre-World War II era. (And the shoes chosen for Sylvia, played by Bianca Raso, were to die for!)

Aaron Pelzek, the other of the two most under-recognized and over-achieving members of the Columbia arts community, announced he was serious about his lighting design in the first few seconds of the show when he dramatically lit the stage, one fixture at a time, to the tune of the opening music.

Finally, hats off to Elena Martinez-Vidal who played the off-stage voice of Sylvia's mother with a demanding whine that would put that of Howard Wolowitz's Ma to shame. That said, at least one member of our theatre-going party has not been able to get Dr. Hook's rendition of Sylvia's Mother out of her head since reading the program last night.

Other standouts from the performance include G. Scott Wild in the role of Benny Goodman and Rozlyn Stanley as his love interest, Maggie. Wild, seen most recently as John Wilkes Booth in  the TRUSTUS production of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, also directed by Henderson, was a snarling portrait of professionalism. Stanley embodied the kind of sensual naiveté that would allow a girl of her character's age to become involved in a tryst with such an unlikely partner.

Kudos to the cast and crew of Swing '39. We're looking forward to seeing more of you all on our city's stages in the near future.

-- C. Boiter

Check out more of Jasper Magazine at our website at www.jaspercolumbia.com

David Yaghjian's Everyman Conjures a Connection

 

While gazing last night at repeated depictions of the central character in David Yaghjian’s wonderful new exhibit, “Everyman Turns Six,” I kept thinking that somehow I knew this bald, pot-bellied, middle-aged man who preferred being naked or wearing only his underwear. Everyman is a loose cannon, that’s for sure. He’s the scary neighbor who is sometimes funny, sometimes dangerous. The one you hear talking to himself while he’s unfolding cheap lawn furniture. Tom Waits’ “Buzz Fledderjohn.” Mike Cooley’s “Bob.” No, wait a second. I’ve got it: He’s Charles Bukowski.

Bukowski was the heavy-drinking, womanizing waster who scribbled poems between (and during) sessions in the seediest bars of Los Angeles. He lived in flophouses and flea-bit hotels. His best friends were winos and prostitutes. He was the Everyman of poets. Like Yaghjian’s creation, Bukowski could have easily fired up a leaf blower in the front yard while wearing nothing but his tighty-whiteys. I can hear him now, screaming a verse over the leaf blower to a passing girl on the sidewalk, “Your swagger breaks the Eiffel tower, turns the heads of old newsboys long ago gone sexually to pot; your caged malarky, your idiot’s dance, mugging it, delightful --- don’t ever wash stained underwear or chase your acts of love through neighborhood alleys!” (From “Plea to a Passing Maid,” 1969)

For years, academics have panned Bukowski’s work, but regular folks who like an occasional verse or two, have found his poems honest and refreshing, as well as disgusting and titillating. I’m no art critic, and my association of Bukowski with Everyman is certainly not derived from some deep understanding of Yaghjian’s thought-provoking paintings. The connection was simply triggered by physical similarity and a shared artistic weirdness I sensed from the paintings.

That’s one of the things great art can do: Dust out the back corners of your mind and help you make creative connections you might not have otherwise. “Everyman Turns Six” runs through Sept. 6 at 80808 Gallery in the Vista.

Here’s another (R-rated) Bukowski poem to be going on with, one called “Drunk, ol’ Bukowski, Drunk.”

I hold to the edge of the table with my belly dangling over my belt

and I glare at the lampshade the smoke clearing over North Hollywood

the boys put their muskets down lift high their fish-green beer

as I fall forward off the couch kiss rug hairs like cunt hairs

close as I’ve been in a

long time.

--Mike Miller

For more of Jasper Magazine, please visit our website at www.jaspercolumbia.com

Jasper Goes Punk Rock with Kid Anthem

So, if there is anything Jasper gets more disappointed about than people ragging on Columbia’s art and music scene, it’s when he himself misses something great about it. Case in point is the local punk rock band Kid Anthem’s debut EP, which was released back in October of last year. It’s possible he even heard about the band, but had a unfair knee-jerk reaction against a genre that seems fraught with easy musical crutches of speed and shouting, with an emphasis on sloppiness over tunes.

This was totally not the case with Kid Anthem. Featuring a slate of experienced scene member and a modus operandi that leans more towards anthemic than anarchic, Kid Anthem cherry picks from the best of the punk and alt. rock tradition. Jasper hears echoes of Bad Brains, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Superchunk, and lots of other bands that we don’t know enough about to name check. Big guitars and propulsive drumming dominate these songs courtesy of Eric McCord (Pop 39)and Chris Shirah (Burns Out Bright, Ye Mighty!) respectively, but there are also some surprisingly wicked bass lines weaving in and out of these songs (played by Thank God drummer Troy Thames) too. Throw in some dedicated background vocals giving the group a touch of Phil Specter pop, and it becomes clear that this is a group taking the term “power trio” seriously.

Even after a couple of listens, Jasper was amazed at the way the group seems to even-handily divide time between big choruses and hooks with moments where the band opens up some space and plays with one  another.   Some people are always going to be a little turned off by punk rock. But if you have an open mind and want to hear a band right here in town taking the musicality of punk rock quite seriously, check out the EP here. It’s free!

-- Kyle Petersen

Jasper says, "Arms be bound with rope and shame"

One thing about Jasper, he gets his hands dirty. Sometimes he comments about the art he sees and hears, but sometimes he’s got his hands down in it, making something. So sometimes we’ll write about what we’re doing.

So: I’ve been cutting up Jesus. Will I go to hell for this?

I’m working with a collaborative of artists –visual artists, filmmakers, performance artists—on a show called Saint Sebastian: From Martyr to Gay Starlet. The one-night-only gallery show will be Sept. 1 at Friday Cottage Artspace downtown (1830 Henderson). (Yes, we know, we know: same night as First Thursday.) The event was planned in conjunction with SC Gay Pride on Sept 3; the idea was to add an art element to the week of events.

The show, conceived by Alejandro García-Lemos and Leslie Pierce, explores the quirky iconography of Saint Sebastian, martyred twice (the first time didn’t work—Saint Irene pulled all the arrows out), his eyes always raised to heaven but his body writhing across this history of Western art in masochistic ecstasy. How does a Christian martyr become a gay icon? What is it about his story, his image, the representations of his martyred body? (The publicity art—which juxtaposes a male pin-up with stained glass, by Leslie Pierce—captures, I think, some of the weirdness of this icon.)

There’s a great image of Sebastian in the Columbia Museum of Art. The Virgin and Child are pure Byzantine, blue and gold and flat, but Sebastian is looking over the Virgin’s shoulder like the Renaissance, naturalistic, a real body, the cords of his strong neck.

The Sebastian show will include visual art, performance art, photography, film, a small souvenir chapbook of original art and poetry, a DJ, a cash bar, and a couple of boys standing around with arrows.

I’ve been writing poems about Sebastian—some about the image and history, some responding to specific works by the other artists. The interactions and collaborations have been rich and rewarding. (Note to self: there should be more interdisciplinary artist collaborations. Such a great way to generate new work.) A film visually responds to a poem which responds to a print, the film incorporating a voiceover of the poem and the imagery of the print. A photo documents a performance art piece which uses a poem which responds to a print (the poem projected—performance art into film—onto a male body).

I was asked to turn a small room into a poetry chapel. I’ve got icons, prayer cards (with a prayer to Sebastian.) Among other things, I wanted some prayer banners. My partner found some huge folk religious art canvases at a local auction—interesting because the artist was painting traditional Christian images, but clearly had a special interest in the textures of men’s bodies—the veins on arms, the carefully painted chest hair on an apostle. (And that carefully draped loincloth across the fisher of men, looking so like a wardrobe malfunction about to happen, the hand of Jesus so carefully positioned there, as if he’s about to rip it off.)

So for the banners I cut up bodies—Jesus, apostles, thieves on crosses. Something wicked and vaguely erotic about it. Disembodied arms. An arrow (real arrow) in the side. Wrists bound with golden rope. A prayer. “Arms be bound with rope and shame.”

-- Ed Madden

Chris Compton at Cafe Strudel Tonight

Chris Compton has been making music in these parts for the better part of two decades. A writer of eloquent, insightful songs, Compton probes the nooks and crannies of relationships, family, and the whole circle-of-life thing in a manner that’s always filled with a bemused wonder of it all.His bands through the years (King Cotton, Lapis Lazuli, and The Fossil Record) have tinkered with jam-rock, country-blues, and jazzy riffing, but whatever the stylistic structure, solid songwriting has always been present. Compton is carrying this tradition forward with his solo work. His latest recording, the 10-song CD “Perfect World” is chock full of engaging melodies, sweet harmonies, and thoughtful messages. There are hints of Paul McCartney and Cat Stevens in these songs, but Compton also connects the dots to more contemporary artists such as Josh Rouse and Sam Beam. But these are merely reference points. Compton’s music is wholly his own. The five songs that conclude “Perfect World” are some of the most exquisite pop tunes recorded by a Columbia artist in some time. They have a natural flow that carries the listener through a remarkably varied and satisfying soundscape. Recently I asked him if he had given much thought to the order of the songs on his CD, and Compton admitted that he had. He was also pleased to hear that his sequencing had produced a pleasing effect. Compton is a craftsman in every detail, and it shows in his work. You can catch Compton in concert tonight at Café Strudel on State Street in West Columbia. He’ll start around 8. I advise picking up a copy of “Perfect World” if they’re available. --- Mike Miller.

If Art and Fashion had a Baby

An artist sits at one of those checkered tables at Cool Beans and sips on a Red Bull while sketching waifish silhouettes. At first glance, this Lexington native seems to be focusing on her drawings carefully with reading glasses. But sitting across from her, you notice the absence of lenses and that in fact you are looking directly into the framed eyes of Katherine Elliott. Without any lenses, and without a filter, this graduate of NYC's Fashion Institute of Technology is a control freak when it comes to aesthetics, likes to use the word 'vomit' in various contexts, and is not afraid of cockroaches, well at least not anymore.

"I use to be completely terrified of cockroaches and of any other creature like them,” she explains “until I was hypnotized. And it really worked!"

Elliott describes her first confrontation with a cockroach after the hypnosis as calm and easy: "I stared at it and said to myself, that is a huge flying cockroach."

But while her fear has transformed into fascination, the thought of finding a roach in her boudoir still disquiets Elliot: "I still don't think I would want to touch a cockroach, but at least now I'm painting them."

Since the hypnosis last May, insects have been appearing in Elliott's art. And while beetles and roaches have become a motif in several of her works, Elliot does not let them take on lives of their own. She is still very much in control of what the insects are allowed to do and how. What dictates the tone of her painting are Elliott's moods, two of which can be distinguished in her oil paintings "Happiness" and "Demeter."

Inspired by the devastated divine mother, "Demeter" is painted in muddy greens and browns. In it, insects act passively as filthy wallpaper in the background while desperation and loneliness are personified in the expression of Demeter.

But in "Happiness," beetles are welcomed to the spotlight as they crawl all over a woman’s body. Judging by her serene brow, the pretty subject is quite alright with it. "Happiness" showcases the twisted and delicate of Elliot's art, a psychology of hers that pushes spectators to the (rose-colored) edge.

Elliott is edgy and not just in her art. She is loud, funny, and makes voices when telling stories that will engage the crap out of you. For some reason, though, she did not fit in with the other kids growing up. But there are no sob stories here. There is always comedic relief with Elliott, such as when she describes her dim schoolgirl years. "Some days I would wear a bright pink wig to class," she says. "It was really cute, with side-swept bangs and layers. And it also had a built-in scalp so that it looked real. People would tell me ‘take off that wig, Katherine,’ and I would reply, ‘No, it's my real hair,’ and then I would point to the scalp."

Elliott's best school memories spurt from the two years she spent at the Governor's School for the Arts. There, she focused on painting and graphic design, honing skills she had first developed years before at the Tri-District Arts Consortium at Columbia College.

At the Governor's School, the young artist was particularly inspired by her art history teacher, Dana Howard. It was in Howard's class that Elliot was first exposed to one of her favorite artists, Edvard Munch."I have a soft spot for Munch's work, especially for his etchings and drawings," she says.

Elliott uses "creepy" and "elegant" to describe the etchings and drawings by Munch that she loves so much. This vocabulary is not surprising with the young artist, as anyone might find Elliott's own paintings to be eerie and chic.

Perhaps because of her FIT background, Elliott's waifish figures and subjects are mostly inspired by fashion. Model-like and almost skeletal, her subjects maintain an exaggerated modern beauty. Elliott's leading ladies evoke an angular and nymph-like aura similar to that of unhealthily thin fashion models. "I have always felt that curvy women are the most beautiful," Elliott explains, "but in my paintings, I choose this aesthetic. She’s not supposed to look pretty in the real way."

When asked why fashion and not art, Elliott's answer is simple: "Well when I was in high school, I got this crazy notion that I would never make money doing fine art." And so Elliott decided to devise a career in which she would make clothing that was "artful and fun." It was a practical decision and, while the young artist thought she would be able to take advantage of her background in art, Elliott soon realized that her time behind the drawing board would be minimal and that sending e-mails, fitting models, and the long hours would in fact be the bulk of that career.

"I think if I was living in the ‘70s right now, I would have enjoyed myself in the fashion industry because there was a lot of freehand drawing involved," she says. "But nowadays everything is done by computer, and there isn't a real need for fashion illustrators, something that I would have been interested in."

Six years in New York City led to a bachelor's degree in fashion design, unforgettable rooftop photo shoots, summertime internships with Derek Lam and Bill Blass Group, as well as a position with Calvin Klein's women's collection. But it wasn't for her. Elliott ran out of money and returned, reluctantly, to her roots in Lexington. It's the best move she has ever made: "Well now that I've moved to Columbia, I really love it down here even though I thought I was going to hate it and vomit and cry everyday!"

Though she is still a baby in her career, it is exciting to watch Elliott's first steps. Her debut gallery showing took place during August's First Thursday, where she showed a ceramic slab piece, meant to look like a castle, for the “Vessels” show at the Anastasia and Friends gallery on Main Street.

When asked what other avenues of artistic expression she is involved with, Elliott responds with a litany of projects and ideas. She embroiders, plays with clay, designs a line of women's pastel-colored accessories and purses under her line of Rive Gauche Craft, and she orchestrates fashion photo shoots, too.

"I've been known to throw together a tripod," she says as she takes my car keys and gently places them underneath her Nikon camera, which sits atop books at a Cool Beans table. On the day of this conversation, I was told to "dress up." Elliott would take pictures of me, herself, and of us together.

"There is something wonderful about directing and appearing at the same time!” she says.  “It puts me in ultimate control."

While her photo shoots are casual, friendly, and spontaneous, Elliott takes them quite seriously. Except for a few photographs with her handmade lambskin clutches, the shoots are not done for marketing. Most of the time, they are simply manifestations of creativity: "It’s sort of like an excess vomit of creativity that I have to channel somehow, and so I'll just grab a camera and go.”

-- Karina Salehi

Director of Advertising

Jasper Magazine

Poet Cassie Premo Steele responds to artist Bonnie Goldberg

Last year at one of Mark Plessinger's multi-disciplinary arts events at Frame of Mind, the local writer and poet, Cassie Premo Steele, created poetry in response to some of the paintings by artist, Bonnie Goldberg, whose work you saw in Jasper's last message. At Jasper, we love it when artists come together to inspire one another and share their gifts with each other and those of us who are lucky enough to stand and watch.

Here are two of the poems Cassie wrote for that night. For more of Cassie, please visit her at www.cassiepremosteele.com.

Look this way

Look this way, he said,

as she turned her head

away from him, again.

Her own shoulder

makes a better bed

than his ever did.

It took her years

to believe it, though.

His hard bones,

she thought,

were the best

she could do.

Hand on hip,

she finally said

the words: We're through.

For Goldberg's Drawing 202, ‘nude female standing.’

Your daughter turns from you

Your daughter turns from you daily now,

with the grace of a dancer, and somehow

you learn to accept it, that carpet she weaves

and walks away upon each day.

You knew this day would come, even

before she could walk and you spent

hours drumming on her thighs and

humming lullabies. You were preparing.

You saw flashes of it at two and ten,

her rage slicing the way for her to cut

away from you. You were smug

and thought you knew wisdom.

Becoming daughter to mother, we learn cutting.

As mothers, we learn waving goodbye and staying.

The lesson of grandmothering: Crying. Smiling.

Never saying how hard it is to see them leaving.

For Goldberg's Painting 145, ‘promises.’

Cassie Premo Steele is the author of eight books and teaches writing and everyday creativity at The Co-Creating Studio. Check her out at www.cassiepremosteele.com

Can you name Bonnie Goldberg's models?

Local artist, Bonnie Goldberg, has built a reputation not just by creating images of beautiful women and men, but by somehow, through that incomprehensible magic that is artistic interpretation, committing the essence of her models to canvass.

Though Goldberg primarily paints women, the portrait above is of two local artists, a man and a woman, who recently performed at a public event.

Can you name the artists above? (No fair posting if you're related to the models or have already seen them identified.) Post your guesses in the comment section below.

For more of Bonnie, visit her at www.bonniegoldberg.com

Meet Mark Green, Jasper Photo Editor

You’ve seen his face, and you’ve seen his work. Photographer Mark Green is one of the stalwart fixtures of the Columbia arts scene who seems to take an interest in all things art – not just his own genre.  A native of South Carolina, Mark left the state at the age of 18 to explore the world, traveling through Europe and living for periods in LA and Portland, Oregon. Luckily, he finally came home. Mark has collaborated with a number of local artists and most recently showed his photograph's of Bohumila Augustinova's amazing copper fashion creations at Frame of Mind during the August First Thursday on Main Street. He has an extensive portfolio.

Mark has been married to Diane Hare for nine years. They live in happy chaos with their three cats.

Of his new post as photo editor for Jasper Magazine, Mark says, “I am excited to be working with such a creative and dynamic group.”

Jasper is happy to be working with Mark, too.

See Mark's face below, and below that, check out some of  his work featuring one of Jasper's favorite models (wink, wink.)

Jasper was in the news again

Thanks to Otis Taylor for officially welcoming Jasper to the Columbia arts scene in Sunday's The State paper. If you missed his kind introduction, we've copied it below. Let us introduce you to Jasper.

Jasper: The Word on Columbia Arts is a magazine that will release its first issue on Sept. 15. The website launched last week and already the writers, in a section labeled “what Jasper said,” has begun posting interesting ideas.

For example, the following was written in a post titled “Sometimes, Jasper is bored”: “Jasper just wishes that his beloved ballet ADs would believe in their audiences enough to know that they want to be challenged — they’re getting tired of the same old, same old. Yes, they love their sleeping beauties and their enamored pirates, but when an audience already knows the score to a show by heart then, honey, it’s time to change the show.”

The post went on to mention area choreographers who would, undoubtedly, make sparks fly if they were allowed to choreograph for Columbia City Ballet or Columbia Classical Ballet.

Jasper, which will be published by Muddy Ford Press, will have a familiar tone when it rolls off the press. Editor Cynthia Boiter heads a staff that includes Kristine Hartvigsen, Ed Madden and Kyle Petersen, writers who had their work previously featured in undefined magazine.

If you haven’t already made the connection, Jasper shares a name with Jasper Johns, a contemporary painter and printmaker who was raised in South Carolina. Jasper, the magazine, will be printed bi-monthly.

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/08/07/1923628/arts-planner.html#ixzz1UeLK7CXg

Jasper is in the news (blush)

New Magazine "Jasper" Launches with Familiar Cast of Writers by Dan Cook, August 2nd 06:20pm There's a new arts magazine in town -- Jasper, named for native son Jasper Johns, one of the leading visual artists of the 20th century. Take a look at the editor and contributing writers of Jasper, though, and you'll see the list is strikingly similar to the people who put out local magazine undefined -- minus one, founding publisher Mark Pointer. Launched in 2008, undefined has carved a niche in the local arts community with its in-depth profiles and high-quality photos and layout. But it's also been erratic, with an irregular publishing schedule and a propensity for turnover in its ranks. Yes, it seems there's a clash of arts magazines going on: undefined editor Cindi Boiter (who, full disclosure, also contributes dance articles and reviews to Free Times), has broken ranks with Pointer, launched Jasper and taken most of its contributors with her. Among the familiar undefined names now with Jasper: Kristine Hartvigsen (associate and managing editor for Jasper), Michael Miller (associate and copy editor), Ed Madden (poetry editor) and more. (Full disclosure: All three have also contributed to Free Times.) Will Jasper bring Columbia consistent, long-form arts coverage where undefined has faltered? Or will it fall prey to the familiar pitfalls of start-up publishing ventures -- high printing costs, low ad demand and public indifference? Will the defection of so many be the death knell for undefined? Or will it rise from the ashes and live to publish another day? Stay tuned ... and check out the contenders at jaspercolumbia.com and at facebook.com/undefinedmagazine.

Thanks for this kind acknowledgment, Free Times. One thing, though.

Yes, Jasper is named as such as an homage to the brilliant, and certainly, one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Jasper Johns. But it is also named in honor of jasper, the lovely gemstone, whose colors you will vividly see when we go to print in lesss than forty days, and a myriad other people, places, and things, not excluding Sargeant Jasper and a now-deceased feline of the same name.

A poem by Ed Madden

Dream fathers

By Ed Madden

We drive across the bridge, late at night, a hundred feet or so of clattering boards—

no rail, no rim, just jagged planks, and river flowing slow and brown below. The bridge

collapsed last year. I cross it every night in sleep—sometimes alone, sometimes with him—

but always away from home. The bridge's end may veer; each night I go someplace else,

dark cypress swamp on either side. One night my father is the driver and the car.

He opens up the door of his side, and I climb in. I cross the bridge again,

riding in the body of my father.

Dream fathers and more of Ed’s poetry can be found in his most recent book of poetry, Prodigal: Variations, 2011. Ed is the poetry editor for Jasper Magazine.

Jasper likes beer and boogieing just as much as he likes art -- Thank you CMA

For too long, too many people have made the erroneous assumption that the arts are not for everyone – that those of us who appreciate the arts and incorporate them into our daily lives are snooty or elitist. The term, artsy fartsy comes to mind.

Most of us who love the arts know nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, we enjoy our visual arts, our ballet and theatre, but we also enjoy our brew and our boogieing, too. Thank goodness, the Columbia Museum of Art recognizes this, and their efforts to bridge the chasm between art junkies and museum novices have been nothing less than valiant.

Witness tonight’s event cleverly called Arts and Draughts. (It’s a play on words. Get it? Like arts and crafts, but with draughts?) A huge series of successes last year, Arts and Draughts brings beer drinkers, boogiers, and art lovers together for Friday night fun throughout the school year.* And the beauty is, you only have to enjoy one of the above to attend. (But by the night’s end, it’s likely you’ll be a fan of all three -- especially Tom Hall and the Plowboys, tonight's featured musical guests and Jasper's dear friends.)

Check out the details of tonight’s event below, ripped straight from the event’s Facebook page. The Jasper clan will be there – and we hope to see you, too.

 ___

 Arts and Draughts is back, and it’s sure to be better than ever! August 5th marks the date for the triumphant return of your favorite event of the month at Columbia Museum of Art. See art. Hear music. Drink beer.

($8/ $5 for members, join or renew that night and get in for free!)

This time we’ve got more in store for you including: performances by local favorites The Plowboys, New York Disco Villains, and a special guests throughout the night. All the while this is going on be sure to catch a unique perspective tour by “all around good guy” and conceptual artist Shigeharu Kobayashi through the Artist’s Eye galleries.

This month’s beer tasting: Kona Brewery. We’ll have food inside by Earth Fare and food outside from the Bone-In Artisan Barbecue Truck on Wheels and the 2 Fat 2 Fly food truck. Don’t miss the new video installations created for Arts & Draughts by the Moving Image Research Collections News Film Library and students from the UnSchool.

Need more art? Participate in a live figure drawing session brought to you by Dr. Sketchy’s Columbia! Join in on our DIY postcard project, design a postcard and send it to a stranger and sign up to receive one yourself.

Come early on 2 wheels and join in on our downtown bicycle ride brought to you by

Cycle Center! http://www.columbiamuseum.​org/artsanddraughts/

 *(Jasper hopes Arts and Draughts will continue through next summer, but we’ve got time to put that bug in someone’s ear, we think.)

Meet Jasper associate editor, Kristine Hartvigsen

For the next few weeks, as you're waiting on Jasper to make its print debut, we'd like to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of the folks who are working hard to make that debut happen. A lot of you already know Kristine Hartvigsen's friendly face, but for those who haven't had the pleasure, please meet one of our talented associate editors, Kristine Hartvigsen. Born in San Francisco, California, Kristine grew up an Army brat whose family enjoyed three military tours at The Presidio, a stint at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, two tours over seven years in four cities in Germany, and, finally, Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. Her father, the late Col. Robert E. Hartvigsen, was a renowned ear, nose, and throat surgeon. Her mother, the late Carolyn Mills Hartvigsen, was a registered nurse and retired nurse manager.

Kristine earned a bachelor’s degree in education and completed graduate studies in journalism at the University of South Carolina. Following four years of high school varsity sports (cross country, track and field, softball), she went on to heave the javelin and discus for the USC women’s track team and − at the urging of her buddies in the gym − became a member of the USC Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Club, where she excelled in powerlifting competitions. Aside from being freakishly strong, she also indulged her hobbies of reading, writing, and rescuing homeless animals.

She began her journalism career in the mid-1980s at The State and The Columbia Record newspapers, where she served over several years as a copy editor, editorial page assistant, page designer, and feature writer. After defecting from print journalism, she garnered more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit marketing and communications, working with such organizations as the South Carolina Hospital Association, American Field Service (AFS) Intercultural Programs, the Southern Institute on Children and Families, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and The Nature Conservancy. Her work has received multiple local ADDY awards, as well as honors from IN SHOW, the SC Press Association, the SC Society of Association Executives, the American Research Federation, and the Carolinas Association of Business Communicators. Kristine also is a past editor of South Carolina Business and Lake Murray-Columbia magazines as well as a past contributing editor of undefined magazine.

During her work in the nonprofit world, Kristine became interested in photography, entering photos and repeatedly being accepted into and eventually placing high in her division in the annual Juried Fine Arts Exhibit that is part of the S.C. State Fair. Since then, her photography has been published in:  South Carolina Business, Lake Murray-Columbia, Downtown and U, the Greater Columbia Business Journal, and undefined magazines; in The State, the Myrtle Beach Sun News, Lowcountry Life, the South Carolina Business Journal, and the Georgetown Times newspapers; and in numerous print and online publications of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina.

Later in life, Kristine’s interests turned to writing poetry. She published her first poem in the October 1993 edition of The Point, an independent, alternative monthly newspaper published in the Midlands. From 1997 to 1999, she hosted the poetry and music forum “Two World Collide” at Art Bar in the Vista. During that time, she edited a monthly literary rag featuring open mike artists, titled Aurora Borealis, which was published by Art Bar. Continuing to practice her craft, Kristine most recently was named a finalist in the SC Poetry Initiative’s Single Poem Contest in 2010 and 2011.

A graduate of Leadership South Carolina ’s Class of 2008, the award-winning writer, editor, poet, and photographer today serves as associate editor of Jasper: The Word on Columbia Arts.

First Thursday on Main, August 4th

We’re approaching Jasper’s favorite day of the month. No, not free cupcake day, though Jasper admits to having a bit of a thing for those scrumptious little red velvet darlings down on Lincoln Street. No, Jasper’s favorite day of the month is First Thursday, of course.

Art and accompanying happenings get underway around 6 pm, and with this many events, don’t be late.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Main Street  tomorrow – a compilation of Main Street arts offerings in the gallery operators' own words --

Vessels

Anastasia & Friends

1534 Main Street

“For the August First Thursday series at Anastasia & Friends, Katherine Elliott, Kara Gunter, Paul Kaufmann, Matthew Kramer, Paul Moore, Virginia Scotchie, Roe Young and I have collaborated with three of the area’s award-winning and most innovative floral and plant artists, Sandra Crosland Chastain, Candace Engel and Rudy Goff to create a show like you’ve never seen on Main Street!

VESSELS is an art exhibition where organic meet...s and becomes sculpture. The exhibition will include ceramic, metal and mixed media in conjunction with a vast variety of exotic flowers and plants. The works of art that have been created will include openings for plant and floral artists to create organic sculptures that harmonize with the vessels.

Many thanks to Florida State Wholesale Flower Farm for sponsoring the incredible flowers that you'll see in the show, and to Verde Garden for being the succulent and exotic plant sponsor for this innovative show.

Special thanks to Roe Young (with Roe Young State Farm) who continues to spoil us every month with his generous sponsorship of wine and cheese. He’s been our sponsor for a year and half now, and we appreciate him so much. Give him a call for a quote sometime, he’s a great agent and will really look out for you.

VESSELS will be on exhibition from August 4th to 25th. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 (and by appointment, after hours).” – Anastasia

Impremio: Exploratory Prints by Grace Rockafellow

S & S Art Supply

1633 Main Street

This month's First Thursday Event is full of activities to enjoy here at S & S Art Supply! You can watch a whole lineup of Hip Hop performances (please read all the way to the bottom!), make a print with this month's artist Grace Rockafellow, mingle with other artists, watch live art making outside, and more!! Playing with Surrealism and Nature,Grace Rockafellow also implements personal memories and images of her family. "I am finding printmaking to be my visual language....I try to let the image tell me what to do next." she says. She is a very process-oriented printmaker, working mostly with mono prints this past year. Make a print with the artist! Grace will have a little setup inside the store where you can make a simple print to take home! This will be happening throughout the evening, so stop in and get creative! Grace Rockafellow, a retired public art teacher of 20 years, has a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BA from Salem College. Since retiring, she has had time to explore new forms of printmaking and developing her imagery. She has participated in workshops at Redux Art Center in Charleston, Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, and places in Santa Fe, New Mexico. S & S Art Supply is also proud to announce the "New Edition Block Party" with NONSTOP HIPHOP LIVE & Louis Skye Lineup: Dj Peoples / B-Boy Freestyle / Live Artwork - 5:30p - 7p Kingpin / B-Boy Freestyle / Live Artwork - 7p-9p The New Edition Block Party is a microcosm of NSHHL's & Luis Skye's newest venture especially designed for S&S Art Supply store's First Thursdays on Main event. This live event will be bringing hiphop LIVE in full effect RIGHT in front of the store! Hosted by Luis Skye's own Angel, this live event will feature the soaring DJ Peoples (Luis Skye/Cut Fresh Crew) & DJ Kingpin (NSHHL/Official Block Banga) on the wheels of steel; b-boys & bgirls including breakers from 3rd Dimension & Tribe SK, as well as a live piece presented by Izms of Art's own Carlos Bilal!! Luis Skye + NSHHL + S&S Art Supply have managed to put together an event that First on Thursdays on Main will NEVER forget! Twisted Frame of Mind 1520 Main Street The August FOM Series is all wired up with the return of Bohumila Augustinova to our little gallery. Bohumila will be making her third appearance with her new show Twisted, a collection of wire works inspired by an old Moravian technique called "tinkering." Of special interest will be the current collection of wire dresses she has been working on for the last year. The warrior motif pieces will be shown on live models on the ni...ght of the FOM Series; one of these meticulously woven wonders takes the artist approximately three months to complete. She expects to complete this collection within the next year or so. We'll also have some of her recycled dresses on display from Runaway Runway, along with other wire pieces (kite, masks, and jewelry). She's collaborated with Columbia photographer, Mark Green, and videographer, Jason Stroud, to make this a truly dynamic installation and to help deliver the high energy that her shows have become known for. And the energy will continue outside with our usual assortment of entertainment that will leave you cheering for more. Gervais and Vine will be in the house (of course) to bring you some great wine. Hampton Street Vineyard 1201 Hampton Street August is almost here and once again we’ll be celebrating the First Thursday with the "Main Street Merchants"! "Total Denial” will be entertaining us once again, only this time inside the air conditioning! Way to hot! They will be starting around 7:30 – 8:00. Michelle will be mixing up some drink specials as well and always some fabulous food for your pallet. Novam Project:  Pilot Tapp’s Arts Center Project 1644 Main Street Meet us at Tapp’s to experience the opening performance of Novam Project: Pilot. Produced by Bonnie Boiter-Jolley and Margey Bolen in collaboration with Robert Michalski, Jessica Stroupe, Keith Mearns, Regina Willoughby, RJ Foley and Aaron Pelzek. Pilot showcases the fresh vision of Columbia’s upcoming dance talent, featuring choreography by Mearns and Michalski. Come together in celebration of a novel movement brought to you from the heart of Columbia's next generation of dance. Show times are at 7 and 8 p.m. and are free to the public.

Sometimes, Jasper is bored.

When it comes to classical ballet and choreography, it goes without saying that while Jasper has respect for the old favorites, it’s the new choreography that gives him the tingly shivers. (Jasper loves it when his dancers dabble in experimental stuff.) So, of course, he was a bit disappointed when his two biggest local ballet companies announced that their upcoming seasons consist primarily of the tried and true. Romeo, angry swans, assorted other fairytales and the like.

“What about new choreography?” he was heard to bellow.

Jasper just wishes that his beloved ballet ADs would believe in their audiences enough to know that they want to be challenged – they’re getting tired of the same old, same old. Yes, they love their sleeping beauties and their enamored pirates, but when an audience already knows the score to a show by heart then, honey, it’s time to change the show.

Fact is that the Columbia dance arts community has no shortage of outstanding choreographers in its midst – people like Terrance Henderson, Dale Lam, Caroline Lewis Jones, and Thaddeus Davis. So here’s the question, which one of our distinguished artistic directors from the big two companies is going to be the bigger man and ask one of these highly talented choreographers into his studio to choreograph on his company?

Jasper is hoping for soon.

In the meantime, check out their new seasons at

www.columbiacityballet.com and www.columbiclassicalballet.org.