From:        Joy Bezanis

Contact:    (JoyBezanis@yahoo.com)

Date:         April 8, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 Press Contact:  Joy Bezanis

                                                                             Liz Geiger Studios

                                                                             (425) 361-3120

Everett is Snohomish County’s fastest growing art scene, with several new galleries and working studios.  Everett Art Walk, being tagged A date with Everett, is this Saturday, April 17, from 4PM to 7PM.  All venues feature monthly rotating artwork with an artist opening reception during Art Walk.  Spend an afternoon taking a stroll through the galleries with your sweetie while enjoying complimentary refreshments & hors d’ oeuvres.  http://EverettArtWalk.org.

Participating galleries and artist studios include:

Annabel’s Gallery & Framing, 2531 Broadway, 425-258-6402, www.anabelsgallery.com, featuring the art of Shannon Danks, Eido, Janet Hamilton, Cheryl Hufnagel, and Aleksandr Kargopoltsev.

The Annex Gallery @ Everett Artist’s Supply/Framing and, 9304 and 9308 Evergreen Way.  P: 425-353-3084, www.everettartistssupply.com, Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 2-4pm and by appointment. Store Hours: M-F 10-6 and Sat 10-5.  R. Knight Visions Photography. Randall has a natural ability to capture the unaltered purity of nature with a lens. This show depicts his travels and dynamic approach on his subjects. Show runs April 5th-30th.

Liz Geiger Studios at 2727 ½ Colby Avenue. Liz Geiger announces the addition of local artist Joy Bezanis to the studio gallery.  Liz works in watercolors and acrylics specializing in landscape paintings.  Recently Liz has been exploring some exciting abstract designs.  Joy specializes in portraits in oil in the classical realist style.  Check back each week to see the progression from blank canvas, black & white value painting, to full color finished portrait.  Hours:  M 9-3:30, W-F 9-5 and Sat. 11-4. 

Lowell Art Works, 5205 South 2nd Avenue, 425-923-3635, www.lowellartworks.com

Lowell Art Works presents: “Canned: Graffiti and Street Art“ This show will highlight the growing presence of graffiti art everywhere, arguably one of the most primal, honest and urgent forms of expression in our culture today.  The growing popularity of this genre, primarily among young artists, makes for a fascinating exploration of the “wild side”. 

One Thousand Words Photography, 2829 Rockefeller Avenue.  206.353.2992.  http://www.onethousandwordsphotography.com/  This month One Thousand Words Photography will be featuring new personal work and Teddi Yeager Photography, our new frame line, and hosting a fabulous Stella & Dot jewelry trunk show! By appointment only.

Red Door Art Gallery, 2829 Wetmore Avenue, 425-308-2061.  This month the Red Door celebrates its grand opening.  The theme of this month’s show is “Personal Icons” created by the gallery founders, artists: Cheri O’Brien, Evelia A. Sanchez, Shari Osti, Roxanne Jaross and Bob Hoverter.  The icons are small works of art that have personal meaning for the artist and are sure to intrigue and delight the viewer.  Gallery hours Monday-Friday 11:30am-5:30pm, 1^st, 2^nd & 4^th Saturdays 11:30am-3pm, 3^rd Saturday Art walk 4-7pm.  

WiseDesignz, Custom Framing & Fine Art Gallery, 2908 Wetmore Avenue, 425-259-2361, www.wisedesignz.com.  Claudia Postema, “Morph into Expression”, Watercolors and mixed media collage.  WiseDesignz also carries locally made artistic gift cards and jewelry as well as a full service custom frame shop.

The Working Studio & Gallery of Janet Wold & Jane Steele-Meagher, 2831 Wetmore Avenue, http://www.janetwoldart.com/ and http://www.steele-meagherartist.com/ respectively.  If you like dogs, you love seeing the large dog sculpture Jane is working on made of wool spun from dog hair.  Tues -Sat.

Participating alternative galleries

Balefire, 1801 Hewitt Avenue, 425-374-7248, www.balefirebar.com. Bernard Hymmen, digital photography.

SoJen Cellars, 2818 Hewitt Ave, 425-876-2396, www.sojencellars.com.  We are pleased to showcase the local talent of Jeff Cook. He brings a wide range of influence which shows through his various chosen media, from a metalwork Geisha created from a car hood and an oil-painted Japanese landscape, to a replica of a country western saloon sign complete with gunslinger. Finally, Jeff shows his modernist style with his rendition of a painted wine bottle using a splatter effect.  Complimentary wine tasting if you mention the Everett Art Walk on April 17.

Zippy’s Java Lounge, 1804 Hewitt Avenue. Suite #100, www.zippysjava.com

 I’ve got to hand it to the crew.  None of them had ever attempted framing the proscenium with large flat panels before and it took a little figuring out how to do safely.  I was a little concerned when the last 6’x10’ panel went up in the center spot over the proscenium and there was a 2 inch gap between it and the panel next to it.  Yikes!  But the guys just moved the large C-clams that held the side panels to the proscenium over a bit a Viola! No more gap!  Mike, who is the technical director for the theatre said they would not be doing this again, it is just too dangerous.  Small community theatres just don’t have the resources to carry out this type of set. 

 Good thing I don’t have any formal training in set design, or I might have thought it couldn’t be done and given up before I had even started.  Fortunately, my master builder and the rest of the crew never tried to convince me not to do it.  I guess no one really knew what was involved and we all forged confidently ahead.  The best part is that it looks great and it works and no one got hurt! 

 Not only is the false proscenium installed, but the entire set was completely installed for the 2:00 p.m. rehearsal on Sunday.  This is a first in my limited theatre experience.  I stayed and watched the rehearsal for about an hour just to see if everything worked the way it should and make sure the sight lines were all good.  It was nice to be able and sit back to critique the set to see if there is anything left to do, or if I want to leave it as is.  

 Last night I went to the theatre late for rehearsal specifically to see Act II since I had not seen this set in final form on stage.  I am not sure what I expected.  The back shoji screens flew out, the backdrop came down, the Tori Gate flew in.  The foo dogs were replaced by cherry trees, but for some reason it didn’t impress me.  It is much the same feeling after I complete a painting.  Once it is done, I am no longer captivated by it, and am far more interested in the next painting.  I guess that means it’s time for my next adventure.

 So, what is next?  Stay tuned.

 Cheers,

 Joy

That leaves us with the upstage platform which consists of 3 3×8 foot raised platforms. They are painted but still need a wash of darker brown to add depth and the richness of wood to them. The tori gate is almost ready, but will have to be assembled on stage since it is 14 feet tall and our shop ceiling is only 12 feet. I’ll finish up the paint tonight. The Mikado’s garden bench is ready but needs a little sanding.

My plan was to paint the bench black with a persimmon color over it, then sand off some of the orange/persimmon color to let the black show through. I haven’t sanded the bench yet, and don’t even know if this will work, but tonight will be the test. The next issue will be whether the black showing through the orange/persimmon will even be visible to the audience. I often err on the side of subtlety when stage painting, and then all that work is wasted because the audience views it from 30 or more feet away.

The cosmetic box is colored just the opposite of the bench, with black on top of the orange and hopefully the orange will show through when sanded. I still need to find hardware for the box and will make a trip to the International district before opening night to see what I can find.

The flat Foo Dogs are looking great although they still need to be painted, but the cutouts are even better than I had imagined. I always have such a difficult time sitting down to draw designs for the builders, but then once I do it, it seems so much easier than I had imagined and then I wonder why I have such a block when it comes to scale drawings. The flat trees are also cut, and now both need to be painted. I’ve decided to add a 3rd flat bonsai tree to balance out the on stage composition during the 2nd Act. Three trees will play better than 2 I think. Odd numbers always seem to work better when not trying to be perfectly symmetrical.

I also got a lot of work done on the back drop this weekend. The backdrop consists of a large blue fan with 2 cranes flying on it to symbolize good luck in marriage. The fan is also a symbol of marriage so makes a perfect background for the wedding scene. My only concern is that the fan is 2 tone blue and the actors are wearing purple wedding kimonos. I may have to tone down the color so as to not distract from the costumes.

I even managed to clean the house and get some work in my own studio this weekend. Thank goodness for 3 day weekends. I can’t tell you how good it felt to come downstairs this morning to a clean house! It really is the little things that delight us and make a difference.

On a personal note, today I become a grandmother to a little boy. As of right now he hasn’t made his appearance yet, but he will be here shortly and I can’t wait to see him. Cheers.

Joy

The builders have been pushing me to get the painting completed on the panels so that we can move everything to the theatre this weekend. That’s 2 weeks earlier than normal. It also gives our technical director time to get the panels attached to the proscenium which is no easy task. He had to build special C claps to hold the panels to the walls and will run cables from the attic to hold the upper panels.

I’ve been complaining that I don’t have enough time to work in my personal painting studio lately, and think maybe this is the builder’s way of finishing up at the shop so that I can get back to the studio quicker.

Since the panels will be up 3 weeks prior to the play opening, other events taking place in the theatre during those weeks will see the proscenium panels. That creates more exposure for the play and hopefully will reflect in the ticket sales. A little free advertising never hurt.

This weekend I hope to have the flat bonsai trees back from the builder. He drew them out on plywood this weekend and will cut them out this week. Next weekend I’ll have to have the Flat Foo Dogs design ready for him to transfer to plywood and cut out. This is no easy task. Cutting out plywood in tree and dog shapes takes a long time. Last play I had our master builder cut out 2 flat candelabra and it took him 2 hours or more. I don’t think he has forgiven me yet!

Other great news is that we got the backdrop stretched out on the theatre floor and the design draw on it. Once I get started on the painting we can attach it to the battan and raise it in between painting sessions. I’ll get pictures this weekend for next week’s blog. And, as if all of that wasn’t enough, I’ve been asked to do some grant writing for the theatre. Finishing up early is starting to look even better.

Well, that’s all for now…hope you all have a great week. Joy

UTNEH2UDAWUP

 The overhead panel which has the Mikado and the tree on it will be next. They are partially done, but require just a bit more tweaking.  Darcie Sauke, our producer’s cousin painted the tree, and did a wonderful job.

 The cosmetic box has been somewhat of an obstacle.  First the door was on crooked and needed to be refitted.  The mirror frame is uneven, and I and my builder have tried to sand it down, but will remain somewhat crooked nonetheless.  One of the builders took it upon himself to use wooden knobs for handles, which were not even remotely Japanese, and then my master builder with all good intentions made new handles to my almost complete specifications.  I say almost complete because during our phone conversation I told him the shape for the door pulls I wanted but not the size. 

 When I saw that he had already made them without me doing the specification drawings, they were the same size that we had used for a sliding shoji screen.  You can see my dilemma.  The door is much larger than the small cosmetic box, but the handles were the same size.  Okay, so we had our first cross words, or he did anyway.  I apologized for not giving him the size specifications which was the cause of the misunderstanding.  It was the first time he had ever gotten cross with me, and it didn’t feel good at all.  For his part, he was only trying to please me by having them done when I came to the shop and was terribly disappointed when I didn’t like them.  But it is really amazing that this is the 4^th build I’ve worked with him on and only our first misunderstanding.  

Progress is being made, but slowly.  I think because this is a relatively small build we are not working as much in the shop as we did for Oliver, which was a huge build and we worked every night and weekend.  Now I am working one night a week and Saturday and Sunday mornings.  I would really like to not work on Saturday as I would love to go and work in my own studio where I am working on a portrait of the cutest little puppy ever.  She (all 3lbs of her). is laying in the lap of a bigger then her teddy bear. 

 This weekend we will take the backdrop over to the theatre and stretch it out on the floor of the stage to be primed and painted.  My goals is to get it stretched and primed on Saturday, and then the drawing done on Sunday and perhaps some painting done then too, time allowing.

 There are still lots of small projects to complete, but we are in good shape for hell week, where we install the set in the theatre, at the end of the month.  Janet will be back in a couple of weeks to help finish up last minute painting, and other than cutting out plywood panels for Foo Dogs (Chinese, I know) and bonsai trees, we are almost finished with the build.  I can’t wait to see the warrior panels framing the proscenium. 

 More next week.  Cheers for now!

 Joy

Portrait from the play Oliver

I got such a positive response on my blog (joybezanis.blogspot.com) from writing The Making of Oliver, I thought I’d do the same with The Mikado.  In addition to keeping you updated on the behind the scenes building of the set for Mikado, my photographer friend, Gary Ford of Gary Ford Photography, will be adding documentary photos as we go along.  

Scenic design/painting and portrait painting are my 2 passions.  This is the color of my parachute, my passion, and what I’d do for free if I didn’t have to pay the mortgage and eat.   So, over the next 2 months I invite you to go along with me on this journey with the building of The Mikado. 

01/04/10 – First Production Meeting

It’s really too bad that I can’t incorporate all the creative design ideas going around the production table at that first meeting.  Ideas were being thrown around the room at lightning speed.  We brainstormed tens of thousands origami cranes for a curtain, a smoke breathing Mikado with red eyes lit from behind, and lots of other wildly creative ideas.  Everyone was into it.  These people (producer, music director, stage manager, choreographer, costume designer) have a long history with the theatre and bring a stockpile of creativity to the table.  I love working with a staff who are so passionately involved.

While we weren’t able to incorporate all of our ideas into the set design, we did add several elements.  We’ll have a backdrop for Act II which takes place in the Mikado’s garden.  We’ll make 18-20 large mask type fans with faces on them.  There will be more elevation to the stage than in my original design, and I am going to design a Japanese makeup box.  All fun elements, but they will take dozens of volunteer hours to pull off. 

Since I injured my shoulder on the set of Mattress, from overuse, I can’t paint on the same scale as before without causing further damage, so I rely on volunteers to pull this off.   I’ll start by creating a paint-by-number drawing on the large flat panels we will use for most of the set.  Each of the cast members supply 6 hours of volunteer time on some aspect of the production, and hopefully they choose to spend some of their time in the scene shop. Giving volunteers a paint-by-number project should be less daunting than in previous shows.  Sometimes I forget that they have never painted before.  It is so second nature to me that I don’t even think about it, but to them it’s like asking them to fly to the moon without a space ship.  Thank goodness they don’t ask me to learn how to act or sing.  Then we’d really be in trouble. 

This weekend I meet with the Master Builder, my friend John Galt, the Technical Director, another friend, Mike Olson, and hopefully another builder.  We’ll meet at the theatre and go over the design and work out the scale.  The plan is to frame the proscenium with painted flats.  You’ll have to read future blogs to find out what gets painted on the flats.  Remember, this will be a photo documentary and I’ll post photos of the inner working of the scene shop.  

 Cheers

Joy