Mural meets Centennial

A seven-panel mural featuring artwork by José Andrés Girón was unveiled in downtown Phoenix Friday night. The mural depicts iconic downtown images, and is meant to commemorate the Arizona centennial being celebrated all year throughout the state. Here’s a look at Girón’s work, which you’ll find next to the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center…

Announcement of the mural’s unveiling during Phoenix First Friday

Artwork by José Andrés Girón depicting Rosson House at right

Artwork by José Andrés Girón depicting earlier days in Phoenix

Artwork by José Andrés Girón featuring iconic Phoenix images

Artwork by José Andrés Girón depicting Arizona arts and culture

Artwork by José Andrés Girón featuring two Phoenix hotels

Artwork by José Andrés Girón depicting historic Phoenix church

Artwork by José Andrés Girón featuring the home of the Diamondbacks

Though Girón hails from New Mexico, his work is exhibited in Arizona at both the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center located across from Phoenix Symphony Hall and at Xico Gallery in Chandler. Learn more about Girón’s work at www.joseandresgiron.com.

— Lynn

Coming up: Tree huggers, Art meets frontier life

Art meets Arizona history

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I stumbled on an art exhibition featuring works by Arizona students during a recent visit to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, where I often enjoy youth art exhibited in the young@art gallery operated by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

The exhibit, titled “Cultivating Arizona: 100 Years of Stories and Origins,” features works inspired by Arizona history created to mark this year’s Arizona centennial. All were created by 8th grade honors students at Greenway Middle School, who worked with honors core team teachers Heidi Cocco and Rebecca Kabaj to interview local heros, historians and field experts.

Two artists in residence participated as well. Rebecca Ross instructed students on photographic techniques and accompanied them for various photo shoots, and Joseph Wolves Kill helped students “to create visual interpretations of their findings.”

Signs throughout the exhibit, which lines two walls of an area dubbed the “ArtReach Space,” describe the historical significance of the Honokam Canals, Theodore Roosevelt Dam, Luke Air Force Base, a Japanese Internment Camp, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Sky Harbor Airport and much more.

The exhibit was made possible in part by SRP Learning Grants, plus a partnership between the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and the Paradise Valley Unified School District. To learn more about this and other ArtSpace offerings, contact Kassy Scrivner at 480-874-4668.

— Lynn

Coming up: Tree huggers

The Little Red Schoolhouse

Scottsdale Grammar School, built in 1909, was dedicated the following year on the birthday of town founder Winfield Scott — and still stands on its original site located in the area now called Old Town Scottsdale.

The Scottsdale Historical Museum housed in the schoolhouse notes that “the $5,000 building was constructed of sand and gravel from the bed of the Salt River and bricks brought by horse-drawn wagon from Phoenix.”

It became Coronado School in 1928, serving Spanish-speaking students in first through third grade, but was closed and sold to a local businessman after courts declared school segregation illegal in 1954.

Through the years it’s housed everything from a courthouse to a library. The Scottsdale Historical Society, which has used the building since 1991, operates the Scottsdale Historical Museum.

I recently toured the museum with my son Christopher, where we got a glimpse of life in Scottsdale during earlier times. Folks who visit the Scottsdale Historical Museum will find re-creations of a classroom, Victorian parlor and tent-house kitchen.

Also maps and photos of early Scottsdale, school memorabelia, and artifacts from the early Scottsdale home of Winfield and Helen Scott — plus changing displays of special collections.

The Little Red Schoolhouse is open September through June — Wed. to Sat. from 10am to 5pm and Sun. noon to 4pm. It’s located on the Scottsdale Mall near Main and Brown within walking distance of plenty of other interesting places.

When you go, leave extra time to explore the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (including the young@art gallery inside the adjacent Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts) and the Scottsdale Civic Center Library (which is nearing completion of some pretty nifty renovations).

Admission to the Scottsdale Historical Museum is free but the Scottsdale Historical Society will happily accept donations from those eager to support projects like recording oral histories, gathering information about early Scottsdale and acquring artifacts from Scottsdale’s pre-incorporation days.

A special event benefiting the Scottsdale Historical Museum takes place Fri., March 23 at the Chaparral Suites in Scottsdale. It’s the 19th annual Scottsdale’s History Hall of Fame Dinner, which will honor five 2012 inductees.

This year’s inductees — selected by the Past Presidents’ Council of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce — are Mary King, Mary Manross, Gary Shapiro, Joe Wong and Scottsdale Healthcare Auxiliary.

I leave the lovely dinners to those of you who can still win the war with your panty hose. You’ll find me kicking around Old Town in my tennis shoes and shorts — a far cry from the duds women wore when Army Chaplain Winfield Scott founded the town in 1888.

— Lynn

Note: Scottsdale Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane presents his annual “State of the City Address” Thurs, Feb. 23 at 5:30pm at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

Coming up: Art meets journalism

Shalom Pardner

That’s the word from the Jewish Museum in Tucson, which presents “Celebrating Arizona: The Centennial Exhibit” Feb. 10-24, 2012.

Seems they’ve deemed “Shalom Pardner” and its cactus-donning cowboy hat their official 2012 logo. I’m told that T-shirts, mugs and totes that feature the kicky caption will be available in the museum’s gift shop next year.

But first, you can head to Tucson for a bit of Jewish-style Christmas fun on Sun, Dec. 25 when they present a progam titled “Did the Pioneer Jews Eat Chinese Food on Christmas Day?” Those who attend can enjoy a kosher vegetarian meal catered by a local Chinese restaurant. (Click here for reservations.)

Folks who revel in the fine art of storytelling can enjoy the museum’s “Jewish Storytelling Festival” Feb. 26-March 27, 2012. It kicks off with a presentation by Nancy K. Miller, author of “What They Saved: Pieces of a Jewish Past.”

The book recount’s Miller’s quest to find her family’s missing past starting with only a few objects passed down from her father — locks of hair, a postcard from Argentina, a cemetary receipt and letters written in Yiddish. The journey takes her from Eastern Europe to the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

All history is personal history — only preserved when we honor, know and share it.

— Lynn

Note: The Jewish History Museum in Tucson is open to the public Tues/Wed and Sat/Sun from 1-5pm and Fri noon-3pm . Always call ahead to confirm details. Click here for more information, and here to learn about the Tucson Children’s Museum.

Coming up: Museum meets schoolhouse, Housewife meets robot

Celebrating Arizona women

Nellie Cashman (Photo courtesy of SCC)

Legend has it that Nellie Cashman, a pioneering businesswoman who settled for a time in Tombstone, had a boarder named Doc Holliday who once threatened to slay a man who dared to complain about her cooking.

There’s more to the story, of course, and I know just where you can hear it — at an event called “Celebrating Arizona Women” that will “chronicle the legacy and diversity of Arizona women, past and present.” Think song, dance and storytelling.

Folks who attend will learn about the Harvery Girls, who’ve been credited with “bringing gentility and guests to Arizona.” The pair was memorialized in film, and even a lovely bit of vinyl recorded by Judy Garland. Also can-can dancers “imported by a French madam” to entertain all those lonely early Arizona miners.

Even the Sisters of Mercy, whose primitive hospital has evolved into two modern facilities. Seems it all began with nursing tuberculosis patients during the late 19th century.

One of our more recent legends, Rose Moffard, is serving as honorary chair for the event– which she’s presenting along with Scottsdale Community College and the American Association of University Women.

They’re also partnering with several other groups. The League of Women Voters will be showcasing women in public service by rocking the suffragette vibe.

The Scottsdale Historical Society will feature “early teachers in a one-room school” free of a little something I like to call “iStuff.” And Mujer, Inc. will “illustrate how early Latina settlers worked alongside their partners as they homesteaded.”

Sisters of Mercy with an early patient (Photo courtesy of St. Joseph's Foundation)

Arizona’s official storyteller, Marshall Trimble, is serving as emcee — but it has me wondering. If the event is all about women, shouldn’t his remarks be delivered wearing an apron and wig?

“Celebrating Arizona Women” takes place Fri, Feb. 24 (7:30pm) and Sat, Feb. 25 (2pm and 7:30pm) at the SCC Performing Arts Center. Tickets are already available for just $20. Good to know if you’re still trying to shop for the woman who has everything.

The “Arizona Women’s Heritage Trail” exhibit will be displayed in the SCC Student Center mall. Net proceeds from this event will provide scholarships to SCC students.

— Lynn

Note: Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.maricopa.edu/foundation/egive (Look for the “I would like my gift to go to:” section, then select “Scottsdale CC” as the “College/Group.” Next, select “Celebrating Arizona Women” as the “Scholarship/Event” before moving to the next section to select a performance date/time.)

Coming up: What’s new in writing workshops?, My votes for holiday movie time

Art adventures: Arizona Capitol Museum

When the Arizona legislature is in session, hardly a day goes by without members of the local or national media reporting on controversial happenings at the Arizona State Capitol. But this is nothing new.

When my oldest daughter (now an ASU student interested in history and cultural anthroplogy) was in grade school, she spent a year home schooling. We spent lots of time at the Arizona State Capitol — exploring museum exhibits and sitting in on legislative hearings.

Back then, the hot button issue was cash rebates and tax credits for folks buying alternative fuel vehicles or converting vehicles for possible alternative fuel use. While the practice sounded good in theory, it became a wildly unwieldy enterprise as costs of the program soared past expectations and spiraled out of control.

I was inspired to revisit the Arizona Capitol Museum after seeing the cast of Greasepaint Youtheatre’s “Schoolhouse Rock” do a run-through of the show the night before opening their May 6-15 run in Scottsdale. It was a lot more fun than watching some of those House hearings back in the early ’90s.

The musical “Schoolhouse Rock” is based on an animated educational TV show that ran on ABC-TV during the ’70s and ’80s. Topics treated by “Schoolhouse Rock” included grammar, science and math — as well as history and civics.

Hence songs like “Just a Bill/The Preamble,” “Great American Melting Pot,” and “Sufferin’ Till Suffrage” — which you can enjoy all over again with your kids at Greasepaint Youtheater this weekend.

I took oodles of photo during my latest trip to the Arizona Capitol Museum just last week, when Christopher and I went to explore the exhibits and grab a bite in the Capitol Cafe, located in the basement of the executive tower.

Watch for a future post featuring photos of children’s artwork displayed along the corridor connecting the executive tower, where Governor Jan Brewer’s office is located on the 9th floor, and the Arizona Capitol Museum (with doors that open into a courtyard flanked by the Arizona Senate and Arizona House of Representatives buildings).

There’s plenty of material in this slide show for crafting your own version of an “I-Spy” museum adventure or scavenger hunt of sorts. There’s even a Press-A-Penny machine on the museum’s first floor where you can treat your children to one of three nifty designs if they’re successful with your homemade game (you can define success any way you like).

Of course, my children would have preferred viewing the slide show themselves, then coming up with a list of objects for me to identify or locate. And I’d never settle for a single pressed penny as my prize. I’d insist on all three.

— Lynn

Coming up: A trio of Shakespeare posts — featuring new seasons, teacher reflections and student reviews

Copper rush

Not long after I watched a late-night pundit predict a copper run with possible catastrophic consequences, a copper-related press release crossed my virtual desk.

It described a coin drive that’s engaging students and other citizens in collecting pennies to help fund the renovation of Arizona’s own state capitol building copper dome.

Tempted as I might be to riff on all sorts of issues related to revenue and state capitols, the arts are pulling me — for now — in another direction.

I was grateful last week for the alert that came across my laptop as I watched television news headlines of violent revolution and pirates taking children hostage.

I quickly switched my attention to the live feed of a ceremony taking place at the White House. President Obama was honoring recipients of the 2010 National Medal of Arts and the 2010 National Humanities Medal.

As he placed a large medallion on a long ribbon over the head of James Taylor, Obama whispered something in Taylor’s left  ear. I imagine it might have been something like “Im a fan.”

It’s easy to understand why Taylor was one of 20 Americans honored. Consider the beautiful images conjured by the simplicity of his “Copperline” lyrics from the “New Moon Shine” album:

Took a fall from a windy height
I only knew how to hold on tight
And pray for love enough to last all night
Down on copperline 

Or another verse from the same song…

One time I saw my daddy dance
Watching him moving like a man in a trance
He brought it back from the war in France
Down on copperline

Closer to home, we’ve got the Copperstar Repertory Company, a community theater that works to “entertain, educate and enrich community members of all ages.”

Copperstar performs at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts in the East Valley. Their next production, the musical “Into the Woods” with book by James Lapine and music/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, runs April 8-16.

I imagine it’ll be refreshing for a change to watch a show where the only feared characters are those who live in fairy tales.

— Lynn

Note: A special “Into the Woods” performance for student groups takes place Thurs, April 14, at 9:45am at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts  (in partnership with Copperstar Repertory Theatre and Higly Community Education). The target audience is grades 4-12 students in language arts and music. Click here to learn more.

Coming up: Field trips with an arts focus, A parent perspective on PBS

Art adventures: Arizona Museum of Natural History

When the rain started falling last Thursday, I knew it would be the perfect day to hit a museum or two. I headed out with my 21-year-old son, Christopher, to explore two Mesa museums — including the Arizona Museum of Natural History.

We first explored the museum when Christopher was a very young child, so I was eager to see how he’d enjoy it as an adult. Turns out we weren’t the only grown child and parent pairing at the museum that day — but there were also younger children and what appeared to be a group of students enjoying a field trip.

I always seem to make the funky finds first, as evidenced by the first picture I’ll share below — capturing one of three metal dinosaur sculptures you’ll find outside one side of the museum. Once you enter the museum, you’re greeted by those giant dinosaur skeletons that kids find so fascinating.

Here’s a photo essay of sorts that’ll give you a glimpse into the diverse nature of the exhibits at the Arizona Museum of Natural History…

An outside sculpture garden features whimsical dinosaur art

This might explain why some folks simply call it "the dinosaur museum"

This baby hangs from the ceiling just over the entrance to the main exhibits

Turns out this museum boasts much more than an impressive dinosaur collection

Bronze casting of a Tucson meteorite relocated to the Smithsonian in 1863

One of three paleographic maps exhibited in "Origins" courtesy of Ron Blakey

Crystal displayed in an area featuring minerals and cool Arizona mineral facts

These babies look a lot like bookends I admired in the museum shop

This area experiences "flash floods" complete with thunder & lightning

This dinosaur femur looked to be nearly as long as my son is tall

Baskets of giant puzzle pieces help children enjoy hands-on learning

This would be fun for children to replicate at home with clay and found objects

Several areas in the museum replicate prehistoric habitats and extinct creatures

Pieces like this petrified wood blur the line between nature and art

'Buettneria perfecta' lived in Arizona during the late Triassic period

Christopher was delighted to find (and photograph) this 'Mesozoic' gar fish on exhibit

There's a spacious area for children to read and create museum-inspired artwork

Some of the dinosaur images colored by young visitors to the museum

If your child enjoys reading dinosaur books, consider a trip to the museum gift shop

The museum store has affordable books, toys, jewelry & other gift options

Other fun finds at this museum include this stagecoach

We also stumbled on an exhibit about Arizona and the movies

Check out the old-time jail cell -- always a favorite during field trips

I found this Santa impersonator hanging in the museum gift shop

Remember the many fine museums of Mesa, and the rest of the Valley of the Sun, as you’re enjoying time with friends and family this holiday season.

Today’s museums are anything but boring and stuffy. They’re full of hands-on activities, creative uses of new technology and spaces that keep learning fun.

— Lynn

Note: If you have a favorite Valley museum you’d like us to explore, just drop a line to rakstagemom@gmail.com. Stay tuned for news of the Tolerance and Holocaust Museum coming to Chandler. Click these links to learn more about the Arizona Museum Association and the Central Arizona Museum Association.

Coming up: The fine art of acrobatics

Photos: Lynn Trimble, Christopher Trimble (meteorite, crystal, shark and gar fish)