Long-time Austin resident and former game developer Paul Stankiewicz (whose paintings of Seaholm Powerplant, a Shady Grove trailer, and Sandy’s are below) and Orange Mothers front man Ethan Azarian, along with other local artists, have an art opening this Friday evening at Art on 5th (which happens to have a collection of Dr. Seuss art!), at 1501 West 5th Street, from 6:30 to 8 pm.  Other artists include Linda Dumont, Zita Raymond, John Hopkins, Dan Burns and up-and-coming figurative artist Anna Bleker.  According to the announcement:

The variety of techniques range from palette knife to pastel to acrylic and oil and the variety of styles is even broader, with Linda Dumont creating her signature bold and bright cityscapes, and Anna Bleker’s contemplative figures.

If you can’t make it to the artists’ reception, the exhibit will be up until May 31st.  Comment here if you know of other artists who are documenting Austin, its past, and changes.

Austin may well live up to it’s nom de plume, Live Music Capital of the world, but it is hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. I like to listen to live music, and as is the norm for a Brit’ I have wildly eclectic, or is that varying musical taste. The hardest thing for me since arriving in Austin is the weekly stare-fest looking at the music pages of the Chronicle.

There they are, page after page of band and live music listings. Almost without exception I’ve never heard of any of them. As I’m not in my teens I don’t have the time or energy to do night after night of music venues to find out what I like, and since I’m new’ish in town I don’t have the circle of friends with like-minded tastes. Oh, what is a boy to do?

Well for this week I’m all set, its going to be a very busy w/e. Tonight is First Thursday down on South Congress, always good for a late dinner and bar hoping between Gueros outdoors, Bottecelli’s back yard and the Continental club. Friday is B Scene at First Friday at the Blanton Museum, followed by a curry.

So, whats the home and away reference? Well Friday evening see Maneja Beto do their CD Release gig at the Mohawk at 10pm. I’ve seen the local Austin band twice and had a great time. Given my earlier post on VMU, to use the analogy, Maneja Beto are like a VMU band. They are an overlay on existing styles of dance music, indie, with more than a hint of electronic and south west thrown in for good measure. So thats the home band.

For an away band, Peggggy has been bugging me too see Four Way Free, who’ve been gigging and blogging their way across the country from LA. They are on Saturday at the Dirty Dog. Much easier to classify, and probably more mainstream but just as interesting to listen to. I only hope I can make it from the ride and the beer at Shiner…

Hill Country Weavers, on the east side of South Congress in the 1700 block, is not just for people with looms, but I never knew this until today. This resource is housed in a cottage that appears diminutive from the outside, but that is packed from floor to ceiling with countless skeins of yarn, in many weights, of several materials, and in colors from bold to very subtle and sophisticated. There are pattern books galore and many finished articles of clothing for inspiration. The staff is knowledgable and a fine source of information about all the possibilities. This is the place to look for unusual buttons for all sorts of garments. They are stocked in many unusual sizes, shapes, and colors. Look for tote-bags here, as well, and not just to carry knitting supplies. Ask about lessons.

The fifth annual Travis Heights Art Trail throws a lot into the mix beyond getting a start on that holiday gft list, not overlooking your own wish list. (Please be duly grateful that the phrase “trail mix” was not employed anywhere in this entry; temptation was successfully resisted, but with some difficulty.)

If you don’t find everything on that shopping list, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar and the Blue Genie Art Bazaar will still be there. And it’s easy to combine this event with the Thornton Road or Bouldin Creek studio tours.

Check out the map. There are 16 locations open (some studios, some homes) tomorrow and Sunday, December 1 and 2, from 11 am to 5 pm each day, and about twice that many artists showing and selling their work. Painters, photographers, sculptors, fine cabinetmakers, ceramicists, fiber artists, artists in glass, and more await your discovery. Find works of beauty and beautiful objects intended for practical use. Enjoy the varied architecture and creative landscaping. Walk along the alleys and peek into people’s yards.

Fresh air and exercise can stimulate the appetite. It’s great to adjourn afterward to one of the dining spots on South Congress. One of the many reasons to love Austin is that there’s no need at all ever to enter a national chain store or restaurant. Ever. Let’s be thankful to our neghbors for all they do to help keep it that way.

Belatedly, today’s NYT pays tribute to Michael Malone, perhaps better known to many as Rollo Banks (April 30; byline Dennis Hevesi; sign-in may be required). This piece differs from the one in the local daily and the several remembrances in the Chron in that it sheds more light on his role as an innovator in both the art and the business of personal adornment via the tattoo. Somebody will know for certain, but I’d guess that the client for whom he created a “nearly-full-body tattoo” described in today’s article is Prince, of Austin’s peerless Atomic City.

Update: Former Austinite Ed Ward’s reminiscence reports that the fabulous adornment described was created for Prince.

Over the winter holidays, South Austin became a little less weird. When Paul sold his house along East Bouldin Creek, his front garden decorated with fantastic sculptures of stacked stone and wood disappeared. I used to take everyone who came to visit me to see Paul’s work. It was the highlight of the neighborhood tour.

I talked to him one day to tell him how much I admired his work and to ask him how the sculptures were held together. Glue? A metal rod? They weren’t. They were just carefully balanced. He laughed saying that people would walk by and touch one and the sculpture would tumble. The person would make off in a hurry. Small animals and weather also brought the stones down. Paul would just restack them into new sculptures. The garden was always changing.

Jill Nokes, an Austin landscape designer and author of How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest is writing a new book, Yard Art and Handmade Places: Extraordinary Expressions of Home which is rumored to include photos of Paul’s sculptures. I hope it’s true.

I’ve posted a few of my own photos to Flickr.

The mysterious “PARTI DE RIEN 1988″ created this copyrighted composite image containing two lone stars, one the famous sign on the Drag, and the other the one seen atop the dome of the Capitol, although the lady and the lone star are replicas of the one pictured here, having been replaced during the course of the restoration. The famous beer sign may be seen in a photo image, by and courtesy of Metblogger mss. The back of this handmade card bears the title “Lone Star,” along with the legend “U.S.A. $2.” I know that, although I wrote on and mailed off many, I have kept some of these handmade cards; this is the second design to surface. Someone told me that there may be a person’s name in addition to “parti de rien” on one of the designs that used to be sold at the Congress Avenue Bookstore, among other places. I hope to turn up one like that and I’m still hoping to learn more about this artist so appreciative of Austin.

The Travis Heights Art Trail lets you follow a map from home to home, studio to studio, fourteen locations between IH-35 and South Congress, along the winding streets beneath the live oaks (tomorrow and Sunday, between 11 am and 5 pm). At most locations there is the work of more than one artist or craftsperson. Several of those featured have national reputations. “Let’s go to T-H-A-T show!” is this year’s slogan.

This is an easy event to match with the Bouldin Creek Studio Tour (Saturday only, from 10 am to 2 pm) and the Thornton Road event (today from 5 to 10 pm, and tomorrow from 10 am to 5 pm).

On the other side of the river, an annual don’t-miss event is the Wheatsville Arts Festival, with 75 artists (and don’t forget to check out the shops at 3110 Guadalupe at the same time). Wheatsville’s fest is tomorrow and Sunday, from 10 am to 5:30 pm each day. There’s a full program of music both days, from 10 am to 5:30 pm. My personal favorites here would be Django’s Moustache (Sunday; 1 to 2 pm) and the honeyed harmonies of the Studebakers (Sunday 2:30 to 3:30).

And, in case you’re prevented from getting out to any of these, there’s always the Armadillo Bazaar, starting next weekend and bumping right up against The Day itself; but it costs to get in there and it’s almost bigger than Austin these days. Also ahead, beginning next weekend, is the Blue Genie Art Bazaar, which also goes right up to Christmas Eve. There’s no need to shop for presents with the big boys. This is much more fun!

This image is copyrighted by “PARTI DE RIEN 1988, 112A W. North-Loop, Austin, TX. 78751.” It is hinged on the side and is entitled “Sunday afternoon, bus stop.” In observance of the copyright, I’m not giving the dimensions of this work printed or silkscreened on good paper or showing the size of the margin beyond the black border. The images as I recall them are all based on photographs, employed in a solarized black-and-white form. This is derived from a single photograph, but others are montages of more than one location. Some seem to have additional hand-applied water-color.

I’d love to know more about “parti de rien,” who consigned these hand-made cards to Congress Avenue Books and at times to Laguna Gloria Museum downtown. There may even be an artist’s name on one of these miniature works of art, but this is the first one found as I try to organize my Austin ephemera with an eye to taking better care of some and donating other items to the Austin History Center.

The structure depicted is at the southeast corner of Sixth and Colorado, I recall, perhaps erroneously. I loved Gellman’s. Among many, many other items, it sold hats, leather goods, First Holy Communion dresses and veils, and Finesilver khaki twill trousers made in San Antonio. Finesilver made work-clothes and also did some manufacturing for the military, I think. Finesilver garments were cheap and they lasted forever. Sixth Street was for a long time home to several conjunto bars, and the staff of Gellman’s spoke Spanish.

This is not my favorite Parti de Rien item, but I think that, if I run across them, I may upload additional images in the hope of learning something about their creator. I’d have more, but I sent a lot of them to other people. They sold for two dollars apiece. If anyone knows anything about these, please comment.

A friend is helping organize As Naked As You Wanna Be, a benefit and art show for Tamara Hoover, the teacher who caused a stir back in June when she was put on administrative leave for nude photos posted on Flickr. The show is this Friday, August 11th at 6pm at the Pedernales Lofts, Apt. 2028 on East Sixth Street (that’s Sixth and Pedernales, east of I-35, nearly to Pleasant Valley). There’s an after-party at Peacock across the street from the lofts according to CuddleFish.

I’ve been meaning to post a transcript from Tamara’s appearance on Rita Crosby Live & Direct and also this set of photos from behind the scenes of some of her media appearances since the story broke.