Arty Girl: Third Friday Round-Up

I just told my boyfriend my idea for this blog and he said, “I think it’s good. Everyone likes round-ups…especially when you throw in a couple jokes.”Well, I’ll try…I really couldn’t pick a favorite of all the good stuff happening tonight so I thought I’d put the pressure on you…

Arty Girl: One Year Anniversary Weekend at Practical Art

The tradition of a one-year birthday celebration in the Menconi household involved a single cupcake with a solitary candle stuck in the middle. Someone else probably blew out the candle, then we’d go to town on that little treat and mash it into gooey gross sweetness that we’d slurp off…

Arty Girl: Happy International Museum Day

Did you know there is an International Museum Day?Well, you could have at least assumed it. I mean, if there’s something as idiotic as National Star Wars Day, we had better redeem ourselves by honoring our museums, right? Mark your calendars on May 18th as International Museum Day and then…

Arty Girl: The Trouble with Boys and Girls

The miserably single Lilia Menconi of a year ago would have had a lot to say about an art show called “The Trouble with Boys and Girls”. I’m inclined to assume that the under-sexed and over-exercised version of me would certainly have bored her readers with a five paragraph rant…

Arty Girl: Russell Howze at Wet Paint

In 1990, Russell Howze saw graffiti on an apartment wall in Clemson, SC that was made with a stencil. Then, in 1995, he saw another stencil work on the wall of the Reischstag in Berlin. So he took a photo. He continued to spy stencil graffiti and kept snapping his…

Arty Girl: Handmade Nation Screening this Weekend

Alright all you crafty people in town, this is what you’ve been waiting for…Faythe Levine of “Handmade Nation” fame is in Phoenix this weekend!I think it’s safe to say our nation’s love affair with mass production is coming to an end. Sure, we appreciate factory produced goods for all they’ve…

Arty Girl: New Gallery, “Alta Space” Opens Tonight

I’m a Phoenician so I get in my car and drive somewhere multiple times a day. And since I’ve been living here my whole life, it’s not often I have to think hard about navigating my driving path. Of course, that means I zone out.Before I know it, I’m knee…

Arty Girl: Kathryn, A Printmaker at Five 15 Arts

Let’s start getting fired up for First Friday, shall we?First on the docket is a show that caught my eye for two reasons:1. It’s an exhibition of prints2. It’s an exhibition of prints by chicks named Kathryn or Catherine or KatherineYep, this show is right up my alley. I love…

Arty Girl: The Paper Studio Close-out Sale

I do this every month: the week before a First Friday, I plan to pimp the ever living out of it on this blog and I never do.That’s because, inevitably, things like this come along…The Paper Studio is closing its doors and is trying to sell all of its fabulous…

Arty Girl: Phoenix Contemporary Design Fair

If you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming you’re the kind of person who likes to look at pretty things.And there are a lot of pretty things in this town you can look at today and tomorrow (lucky you!).The fourth annual Phoenix Contemporary Design Fair started today at 10 a.m. and…

Arty Girl: Laura Milkins Walks Across Mexico City

I’ve always prided myself on being a relatively patient person. Patient, but persistent is my style.So I’ll be stalking this website today, waiting for the first “Walking Story” blog by Tucson-based performance artist, Laura Milkins, scheduled to post today.Milkin plans to walk across Mexico City, along the Avenida de los…

Arty Girl: MonOrchid Arts Fete

Yes, I understand the economy’s down and we’re all finding ways to trim the fat. So I’m going to give you some advance notice on this one. It costs just a pinch of money but if you hold back from going out to lunch a couple days this week, I…

Arty Girl: NU at the Heard Museum

Looking for something to do tonight? Okay, listen to me…I’ve got it all planned out.And I promise I won’t just tell you to hit Third Friday.Not that you shouldn’t! Yes, go to Third Friday. This is just something to do in addition to Roosevelt and Grand Ave. What kind of…

Arty Girl: Michael Little on PBS Tonight

I blogged this morning and I really don’t want to over-Arty-Girl you so I’ll keep this brief…Since you’ve all, no doubt, committed every single piece of my writing to memory, the name Michael Little should ring some bells.I wrote a story last year about his cell phone documentary that showed…

Arty Girl: It Is What It Is

Real quick – before I get into anything else – have you seen this? It’s the slideshow I promised for the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, taken by my esteemed colleague, Kathleen Vanesian, and it is quite stunning…enjoy! Hey, wanna talk about Iraq?I know, I know…what a question. I doubt that…

Arty Girl: Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Opens Tomorrow

So it’s Christmas, circa 1989, and I’m opening presents with my three older brothers. The big gift that year was a left-handed baseball mitt for my brother, Alan. Everyone knew about it, including him. Because I told him. I was with my poor, single mother, months prior, when she shlepped…

Arty Girl: Artsy Pets

I’m not going to lie here…this whole idea could go really right…or really, really, really wrong.West Valley Art Museum is holding a photo contest for artsy pets. I can’t resist writing about it. Because it’s just kinda funny. And I’ve seen some stellar shows at WVAM, so I’m inclined to…

Arty Girl: Make a Run for it

You know I love art if I’m willing to blog about it from California, on the morn of a trip to Disneyland.God bless laptops and wireless internet, eh?And you’ll be relieved to know that this blog won’t require you to rush out tonight or change plans for your weekend. No,…