Here is as pic of the new stuff in my head.  I’ve laid them out on the living room rug hoping for inspiration and some mystical intervention. LOL

 Tell me what you are doing, or thinking of doing with your art.  Any problems? Breakthroughs?

Don Jones

At last night’s opening of Dick Termes’  ”Termespheres” there was a good crowd and lots of up-beat “wows”.  50 pieces, hung at eye level from small chains, most of which were motorized from the ceiling and slowly turning in space.  It was strange navigating through the room with your vision blocked by various spheres and being captivated by one or more at the same time.  They gave Dick the mike and he explained some of them which greatly added to their attraction.  He has always haunted me throughout my career making “atmospheres” , clay spheres and spheroids thrown on the wheel with the sky glazed on them. http://www.youtube.com/Pthalo2I would go to an event with my work and people would invariably ask me if I had seen his work.At last, now I can say that I have both seen the work and met the artist.  I suggest you do the same and go to the Dahl and be amazed.   Don Jones 

We must be born with it.  A gene, or some mental wiring that says that art is some pretty imitation of nature scenes, flower arrangements, quaint villages,  and/or portraits.  Overcoming this wiring is usually the job of education or having a son or daughter who wants to become an “artist”  I spent my first year here subbing in the Middle and High Schools in art classes.  I can say that the art teachers here in Rapid do a wonderful job in teaching basic skills and ways of looking at historical and contemporary art.  So the problem is not in education.  For a long time, part of the problem was not having a proper venue to showcase challenging artworks for the general public.  Now that we have the new and expanded Dahl Art Center the problem of exposure should be solved.  Now we have to get folks in the door and actually looking at stuff they are not used to looking at.   The light paintings of Stephen Knapp may be a middle ground of sorts for those who like beautiful things and aren’t bothered by abstract shapes.  The work of Ross Rudel is another matter and maybe some explanation or more time spent pondering is in order.   Both artists can be seen at the new Dahl and they are worth the trip. Come out of your “comfort zone” a little and see some work that will get you thinking about what is art and what is beautiful.  Don Jones 

Valentines Day evening at Desperados in Hill City.  I would not have gone out on such a snowy dangerous night but my valentine knows many local musicians who are also composers.  I absolutely did not expect such high talent, heart, musicianship, humour, and friendship.  I had a great time listening to Chris Voyles, Steve Thorpe, Brenda Libby-Saxton, Marty Meyer, George Wolf, Mike Linderman and Ken and Cory Tomovick.   I am not a music critic/writer but I remember some smooth keyboard and flute from Marty and Wolf.  Some down-home tunes from Brenda, Chris, and Steve.  And some real Black Hills  soul from Mike and Ken and Cory.  My thanks go out to those musicians, the folks at Desperados and also the sponsors, two of which were the main artist/galleries in town.   I have only been in the Black Hills for 3 years and nothing but good has happened to me.  I’ll be sure to be at Desperados for the St Patricks show March 14 for some Celtic music. In fact, I’m officially closing the door to everyone else behind me.  To everyone reading this: Close your mouth about how nice it is here.  Tell them that hundreds die from the Winters and many more from the Summer heat.  Shoo the East and West Coasters away and tell them to go to Santa Fe or Aspen instead.  (Well they can go to Sturgis with their bikes but THAT’s IT!!)  I spent 4 years in Santa Fe and witnessed first hand how a place can go bad in a hurry.Don Jones 

The last information I have regarding the amount the state spends on the arts is .08% of the total budget.  I sympathize with Governor Rounds in having to “tighten belts” or whatever the phrase is these days.  However, I don’t think he or most of the legislators know how much the arts contribute to the State of South Dakota.  The most obvious reason being that the very symbol of the state; appearing on the license plate and bringing in millions of tourist dollars is in fact a work of art itself.  Ask any schoolchild (or anyone from out of state) what is special about South Dakota, and the first thing (or maybe the only thing) they say is: Mount Rushmore National Memorial.  The fact that this monument was sculpted by an artist seems a given by most people.  Artists such as Mr Borglum need to be trained and schooled if any more such works are to be accomplished in South Dakota and the potential here in the Black Hills is enormous.  I have only been here 3 years and I continue to be impressed with the quality and commitment of the painters, sculptors, craftspeople, musicians and writers who live here in the Black Hills area.  These artists spend money and create wealth through sales, equipment, supplies, and use of venues for their work.  Any money spent on them will return 10 fold in my opinion.  Don Jones

A day without art

I was thinking about the movie “A Day Without a Mexican” that deals with the impact of Mexican immigrants in California and elsewhere.  Wouldn’t it be fun to think about a day without an artist (or the products they make and design).  Maybe the governor will think about it too.

To be fair, I’m going to leave out clothing (fashion designers), shelter,(designed by architects), furniture,(industrial designers) and cars (automotive designers) all of whom are in fact artists.

So let’s begin our day by driving to the office.  Strange that all you can find on the radio is talk shows.  As you go to your workplace you notice that the walls are bare but that is not all that unusual.  Everything is white, no color anywhere.  Working at your computer till 10 a.m.  it’s your breaktime.  Down at the employee lounge you get a candybar in the machine filled with foodstuffs all in plain brown packages that state the contents: milk chocolate bar, peanuts etc. People seem a little down for a Friday.  On the way home, there is still nothing on the radio, your MP3 is blank and all your CD’s are gone.

Finally home and it looks like you’ve been robbed.  All your family knick-knacks are gone, your posters, paintings, pottery, All your jewelry gone too. Someone painted all your walls white.  No rugs on the floor, no lamps, just bare bulbs from the ceiling. Hey, what’s on tv? Nothing but talk shows, two people sitting at a desk in a blank room telling you what happened and what they think about it. The commercials just show a salesman asking you to buy a product in a white box labeled: Really Fine dish soap.  You would like to rent a movie but there are none.  Maybe there is a concert in town but…. no. No music at all , anwhere. Of course, no museum or gallery either.

Maybe just read a book. Wait….. no books either… you forgot that literature is an art too.  Go dancing? you forgot how and there is no music anyway. No plays either, not even “Our Town” that has almost no set. So there are no actors, musicians, stage designers, ballet or break dancers, no bands or rock groups, no paintings, statues, prints, posters, pottery, jewelry, no decoration of anything, no colored paint to bring out whatever artistic side you have.

Perhaps God will have an answer.  Your local church has become nothing but an ordinary building containing chairs facing a single chair in front. No choir, vestments, stained glass windows,  carvings, cross, stations of the cross, rolled up Toras, or images of saints or icons. No crucifixes, or statues of Mary. No decorations or symbols can be found.

Well, if I were a better writer, I could go on for a few more pages but you get the idea that the arts are a part of us and all cultures.  We cannot stop funding the arts.

– Don Jones

January 17 & 18th is the Grand Opening of the Dahl Arts Center which is the culmination of a long process to create new and improved public arts space in downtown Rapid City.

If you’re interested in attending the event–the Celebration is Saturday night at 7 pm.  Call the Dahl for tickets 394-4101, ext 200 (tickets are free due to generous sponsors of the event, limt 4 per caller). 

Sunday there will be an open house with public tours and also arts activities for kids.  Artist Ross Rudel will give an artist talk at 3 pm on Sunday.

Hope to see you there!  Check out the website http://www.thedahl.org/Special_Events.htm for more information.

It was nice to get cleaned up and go to the opening Friday 14th at the new Dahl space.  I was told that some 250 plus people showed up.  Most if not all the major local  artists were there as well as collectors and other local luminaries.  The quality of the work was especially high, the food was excellent and 3 wine tickets per person got everyone in a good mood.                                                                                                                                                         I think the Dahl staff and volunteers are to be commended for putting this thing together and introducing the new space to the community.  It felt like big time to me and the new and improved Dahl will become the center for the arts in the area.                                        Nice job!!                                                    Don Jones 

I was recently invited to a meeting of the Allied Arts Fund and was pleasantly immersed in a group of people with quality, energy and a high work ethic.  Like all arts organizations they are looking for ways to find the money necessary to help fund the arts here in The Black Hills.  Here is a list of their organizations: 

These are tough times for all so I’m posting this question to the community:  How can this group and others continue their work (which ultimately helps us all) in such a bad economic environment?  Artists are frequently asked to donate their work, time and energy and corporations are on everyone’s list for a handout.  How can we raise awareness as to the importance of this funding in addition to others?  Personally, I don’t think now is the time to clamp down.Please give us your suggestions. Don Jones 

South Dakota is a beautiful place, especially here in the Black Hills area.  I have seen many good artists with sculpture, paintings and crafts exhibiting in local area galleries.  I wonder how many of them are doing it full time?  Do they have to show in a larger market like Chicago or Minneapolis or Denver?  Can you make it here?Don Jones