Explore the world of UMD’s Department of Artisanry

By Shara Sarnelli

Megan Stubbs’s elegant “Short Red Dress” is handsewn.

The squares use vivid colors, including greens, blues, purples, browns and pinks.

Metals, ceramics, wood and fibers — these are only some of the elements that make up the exhibition “Artisanry Sophomore & Junior Explorations,” which is on display in the CVPA Campus Gallery. The exhibition is devoted to recent work that has been created in sophomore and junior undergraduate classes in the Department of Artisanry.A wide array of color and creativity fill the Gallery, making it crowded with multiple pieces created by CVPA students. There are pieces that look abstract, sophisticated, contemporary, funny and delicate. Each work of art on display represents its own style and character.

Megan Stubbs’s elegant “Short Red Dress” is handsewn. Dayna Day’s “Sea Horses Apron” is portrayed in blockprint and is handsewn as well.

Below the presentations of dresses is Amy Oliveira’s “Three Notebooks.” The patterns on the notebooks are eye-catching with colors of green, blue and brown. Elizabeth Cabral’s “Boutique Boots” are located next to the dresses. The screenprint fabric and rabbit fur give this display personality.

In the right corner of the Gallery is Amy Oliveira’s “U-Shaped Basket,” which is a coil construction. Inside her basket is Samantha Sklar’s “Felted Fruit,” making a playful and creative combination.

Hanging on the wall are beautiful pieces of fabric and more, including Colby Dumont’s “Woven Panel,” made of silk fibers. The colors are vibrant and welcoming.

Stunning pieces of jewelry are also on display such as Amy Pimental’s graceful “Rose Ring,” constructed of wax cast sterling silver. Katherine Amaral’s “Volcanic Eruption” is a sterling silver bracelet.

Presentations of hand-carved eggs made of wood and mixed media are part of the Gallery along with so much more. Don’t overlook the giant hamburger and cupcake!

Artisanry Sophomore & Junior Explorations will be on view until April 17 in the CVPA Campus Gallery. There will be an artists’ reception on Thursday, April 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free for all. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The CVPA Campus Gallery is located on the first floor of the Visual and Performing Arts building at UMass Dartmouth. For more information on this exhibition, please contact Jarrad Nunes at (508) 999-8010.

Rock-A-Wish: A rocking success for Delta Pi Omega

By Aubrey Ramsdell

HelloMahalo finishes up the Rock-A-Wish concert with thier newage rock sound.

The eight man band Stealing Jane gives a proformance that had that crowd screaming.

On Friday night, two organizations came together in the culmination of months of hard work. Delta Pi Omega and Concert Tech co-hosted their first ever “Rock-A-Wish” event in the hopes of raising enough money for the sorority to grant a wish. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts comprises most of their philanthropy work, and the minimum donation for granting a wish is approximately $6,000. Well, through the sale of 224 tickets, various concessions, and a 50/50 raffle, the event brought in $1,663.44. With $1,300 in the bank from other fundraisers, they’re closer to the goal than they’ve ever come in a single year.

“It was a learning experience,” said Jade Dillingham, President of Delta Pi Omega. “We’d never relied so heavily on another organization before.” The collaborative effort paid off, though, and Austin Huot, President of Concert Tech, could only agree. “It was the first time that Concert Tech had taken the forefront to plan such a huge event, and Delta Pi Omega was right there with us every step of the way.”

Dillingham said that she first had the idea back in the fall of 2005. “It was my baby,” she joked happily. This past summer, she was finally able to start setting things in motion. She approached Concert Tech to work with them, and the club was more than happy to get involved. “Dave [Leonard] and I established Concert Tech to promote music on campus,” said Huot, “and we’ve definitely met that goal.”

Everyone feverishly worked to promote the event. In addition to tabling alongside Delta Pi Omega members, Concert Tech designed posters, hand-outs, and even enlisted the help of senior sculpture major Todd Migliacci. The talented CVPA student put together one of the more memorable marquees that the university has seen. A fiery red, illuminated 13 ft. guitar caught the eyes and interest of students who had to pass under it to enter the campus center. Stealing Jane drew even more attention to it by performing alongside the marquee in a preview performance friday morning.

“I’m very appreciative,” said Huot, “[Rock-A-Wish] was not one person’s doing, by any means.”

After so much build-up and excitement, everyone was ready to go friday night. Baylock opened up the show with an explosion of lights and fantastic sound. John McLaughlin, the band’s bassist and self-procclaimed “acrobat” got the crowd going as he jumped and jammed all over the stage. It wasn’t long before the majority of the audience was up and rushing toward the edge of the stage to cheer. The UMass Lowell-based band definitely rocked the house and got everyone warmed up for the acts that were to follow.

Stealing Jane didn’t miss a beat, bursting onto the scene with all the enthusiasm that one would expect from the eight man band. They roused the crowd with original songs and got everyone – even the techies backstage – dancing and singing along to a medley that ranged from classic reggae (“No Woman No Cry”) to catchy rap (“Baby Got Back”). Members of other bands flooded the stage to sing and dance along, then receded as Stealing Jane finished their set with their original song, “Outside.”

Even a show-stopper like Stealing Jane’s medley couldn’t keep HelloMahalo from wrapping up the concert in style. Justin Joyce’s smoothe vocals and the band’s instrumental mastery were met with uproarious enthusiasm. The local band rocked the auditorium until the very last chord, and they were excited to see that the audience was full of “high energy for a good cause.”

All of the bands moved to the lobby after the show, greeting fans and obliging for interviews. The whole group was very down-to-earth and everyone agreed that they enjoyed being a part of a benefit effort. “We strongly believe in Karma,” said Brian Bunce of Stealing Jane. The members of HelloMahalo said that they all teach music in the community, and Baylock’s been a part of various charity events in the past. Talented and genuinely nice guys - UMD certainly booked the right bands for this event!

Awesome music, smiles all around, and a good cause... What wasn’t to like about Rock-A-Wish? The bands have all agreed that they would love to do it again in the future, and Dillingham has stated that she “would love to make this an annual thing.” Concert Tech seems to be delighted at the prospect of being able to use the guitar marquee again and doing more hands-on events.

The drummer for Stealing Jane, Will “Tullstaaah” Tully, takes the mic to preform a cover of Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.”

BOOK REVIEW

A daring little clam in a big world

By Andrew Fersch

“Neck’s Out for Adventure”
By Timothy Basil Ering
Candlewick Press (2008)

Timothy Basil Ering may not have been the illustrator parents were pining for their children to adore when he illustrated the macabre “Diary of Victor Frankenstein” in 1997. They also probably would have had no idea that he would also go on to illustrate Kate DiCamillo’s Newbury Award winner “The Tale of Deseperaux” in 2006, or that, eventually, he would become an illustrator turned author for the little ones based on that first work.

Ering’s most recent work, “Necks Out for Adventure,” is his second foray into the world of illustrating his own writing. This work finds Edwin Wiggleskin, a slimy little clam, who is willing to do just what the title says in order to find his place in life (or others’ way out of trouble). By doing so, he takes himself out of the ocean he knows and loves and into a world he’s never experienced before, embarking on an adventure.

This story is not all that different from illustrator turned author Ering’s life in some respects. Born and raised on the beaches of Cape Cod, Ering knew that he needed some adventure. And after graduating high school and starting to take some general education classes at the local community college and realizing he just “wasn’t into it,” he decided he was going to begin his own journey.

“And so I sailed around with the Navy. We went to Hawaii the Philippines, Australia, Africa, met a ton of people from all over the US,” said Ering. He knew being a lifer in the Navy wasn’t for him, but it did give him a chance to hone his other big passion: illustration.

“In the Navy, I was drawing all the time. A bunch of my buddies writing home would want me to draw cool images on their cards, they saw me do it, and then I would do it for favors, a few bucks, whatever. I would draw beautiful roses, and after forty-five days at sea, you couldn’t wait to get a letter back, smelling of perfume, you’d just [lie] down on your bunk and place it over your nose.”

Knowing, though, that his time in the Navy was not meant to last, Ering began courses at Grossmont Community College in San Diego, where he immersed himself in all things art. Growing up the idea of being an artist for a career never occurred to him; his time in the Navy convinced him he needed to do something with art. Once at Grossmont he related to the Daily that “as each semester went by I was more gung-ho and pumped about a career in art.”

A recruiter from the Art Center in Pasadena, where Ering intended to study after GCC, came down one weekend to check out portfolios, and Ering says; “I knew I was gonna go there, my next jones was to get accepted there. After Art Center you get out of there with this huge toolbox of knowledge, but you have to find your way.”

Finding his way was just one more adventure for Ering.

One day an art director from White Heat Publishing in New Mexico came up to check out portfolios and Ering pulled an Edwin Wiggleskin, sticking his neck out, taking a chance, and it was rewarded. White Heat offered Ering an opportunity to illustrate a book with “a lot of anatomy drawing” and offered very little other information.

It wasn’t until months later that things finally started coming together with the book. Ering’s first major piece of work was done on a boat between Florida and Guatemala, spear-fishing and “knocking food off trees,” having to be flown from wherever he might be at any given time to drop off finished work and pick up his paychecks.

His career began as an illustrator, and Ering himself acknowledges that it was very fulfilling and though he wasn’t searching for anything else, he ended up finding it.

“I really got into the thought that being a children’s book illustrator would be really cool…it’s a rewarding challenge. I just kept thinking I’d like to write my own book and illustrate my own world that I’m writing.” From this came 2003’s “The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone.” The process was hugely different than what he was accustomed to.

“It was augmenting the illustration, before I tackled it, not knowing how difficult it would be. I always liked being wacky and silly, outside the box, so much so that the first story I tried, I didn’t know what I was in for. I went through so many drafts, it was the first time I really worked with an editor... it became like a painting to me, it’s so close to painting now, the writing.”

Ering considers himself very fortunate that he hasn’t been challenged on his artistic integrity by publishers, even when some of his characters might strike some younger children as a bit frightening. He also asserts that he could go anywhere from here.

“I’m always considering a full book. I’m blown away by how a writer can continue a thought, compose a thought from beginning, a setting, an atmosphere, a problem, continue that for hundreds of pages, have the problem solved, a conclusion,” he said.

Knowing that Ering has worked with award-winning authors before, his response to who he would most like to work with in the future is as telling as his brooding, thoughtful illustrations.

“Tom Waits. If we were buddies, I would definitely say Tom Waits. His writing drips paint.”

This is an awfully apt choice from a man whose illustrations scribble down their own volumes of stories, even without their accompanying words. Maybe someday the world will be just adventurous enough to let this happen. For now though, it’s safe to say we can rely on Edwin Wiggleskin and Timothy Basil Ering, who will be sharing their adventures with the rest of us.

Hell’s Kitchen is back and hotter than ever

By Shara Sarnelli

The flames of Hell are so high they are burning through the clouds of Heaven. The hot reality television show, “Hell’s Kitchen” returned to Fox on Tuesday, April 1 at 9 p.m. Chef Ramsey is back and his kitchen is hotter than ever.

Ramsey has something different in store this time around, besides some new belittling statements he has whipped up. The prize for the winner of “Hell’s Kitchen” this season is a shot at being the executive chef at Ramsey’s new restaurant in L.A. This position is worth a quarter of a million dollars.

Only three contestants in past seasons have survived Ramsey’s kitchen. Will any of the fifteen aspiring chefs this season have what it takes to withstand the heat?

Chef Ramsey has been cooking for twenty one years and has developed his own style of constructive criticism, including swearing and telling it like it is. He is not afraid to hurt people’s feelings and refuses to sugar coat anything. With such an attitude, Chef Ramsey tends to lose his temper fairly easily.

The fifteen aspiring chefs this season are Shayne, Ben, Craig, Rosann, Corey, Dominic, Jen, Christina, Jason, Petrozza, Matt, Louross, Vanessa, Bobby and Sharon. When first walking into Hell’s Kitchen, they discovered their first task: forty-five minutes to cook their signature dish for Chef Ramsey.

A majority of the dishes created were considered unworthy of Chef Ramsey’s expectations. One dish was called “a pile of [expletive].” Corey’s signature dish, Chef Ramsey said, revealed who she is “blonde and boring.” After asking Matt if he smoked marijuana to come up with such a combination, his dish literally made Chef Ramsey vomit. Vanessa had the best dish of the task.

This success of Vanessa earned her spot as Captain of the women’s team. The women’s team is red and organized by sous chef Gloria. The men’s team, on the other hand, had trouble voting a captain. Most men voted for themselves. Eventually, Bobby voted for himself and the others seemed to cave. The blue team is organized by sous chef Scott.

Bobby refers to himself as the “black Ramsey” and “four-star general.” His attitude is not liked by the rest of his team and they seem to regret choosing him as captain right away.

Their next challenge was to study and learn recipes given to each team in a binder. These dishes were to be served at the reopening of restaurant Hell’s Kitchen. Chef Ramsey was excited to expose his new menu, but the excitement was burnt away by the kitchen’s flames (or lack thereof).

Each team began with a rocky start, which caused Chef Ramsey to get very heated. Sharon struggled with appetizers, there were problems with seasoning and Dominic wasted thirty scallops and that is just the half of it...

Forty-five minutes passed and the guests, ready to eat, were not served a single dish. After seeing the lack of leadership skills in Vanessa and Bobby, Chef Ramsey appointed Rosann and Louross as captains. Bobby refused to help his team, to help clear the chaos and sat back to watch the flames burn on. Louross stepped up to try to turn down the heat and regain some organization.

The red team (the women) got appetizers out to the guests first, but the guests left before the meals were even served as it took far too long. This was one of the most disastrous starts ever to a season in “Hell’s Kitchen.”

Chef Ramsey chose the losing team of the first episode to be the men; however, everyone lost overall. Two individuals of the men’s team were up for elimination, chosen by team captain, Louross: Bobby because he put shame to the name of captain, and Dominic because of his slow pace in the kitchen.

Chef Ramsey sent Dominic home and gave Bobby another shot. Will Bobby step it up within the next couple weeks or will he be sent home next?

Logic more than magic

Interview with Slug of Atmosphere

By Andrew Fersch

Sometimes an interview is as flaccid as Roger Clemens after a steroid binge, even if the person interviewed seems entertaining in other venues (say movies or records). When it comes to musicians, how they will act is so hit or miss that it’s a pleasant surprise when someone just talks like an old friend.

Slug, also known as Sean Daley, one half of Minnesotan hip hop heroes Atmosphere, is about to embark on a month long promotional tour for Atmosphere’s newest album, “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That [expletive] Gold.” He’s really looking forward to it.

“It’s gonna be the crazy scientist tour. A mix of electric and organic,” he relates with a voice that sounds more like a doctor’s handwriting than a crazy scientist, fast and scrawling.

With partner Ant (DJ Anthony Davis), Daley decided to “trim back” the band for this tour, taking with them only a few musicians: a DJ, a keyboard player and a guy who plays all sorts of instruments, seemingly to fill in any gaps.

At this point, Sean and Ant have built up the ability to do what they want pretty much however they want to do it. Having sold over 1,000,000 Atmosphere albums on an independent label they decided not to do “the regular” for promotion this time around. Instead, they are opting for closed listening parties for the press and this tour, which is only going to cities where they have close family and friends. They plan on having some fun with it.

“The shows are going to be a bit different, more like a party, and we’re going to have Atmosphere karaoke before the show, have people come up and try to do our stuff.”

In his 30’s now, it’s clear that Daley has different priorities than he had, say, ten years ago. He has a certain confidence in his voicing of those priorities, not judging how he used to be, not trying to say he’s better than anyone now, merely saying that he has a better grasp of his role in the world and what he is capable of accomplishing.

“Years ago you could call me a week before a show to set it up and I’d be there. I don’t want to admit that (my age) affects everything, but I have become more responsible. I get on stage and look out at the crowd and they’re all half my age. How do I make sure I do the right thing here?”

Daley mentions Chuck D and his respect for his ability to speak intelligently without alienating his audiences. That doesn’t mean that Sean isn’t still occasionally the guy with a joint in the corner, messing around, and it certainly doesn’t mean he has any idea what he’ll be doing ten years from now. He just seems to feel that he finally is at a point where he wants to think more about his legacy, and surprisingly enough, hip hop isn’t even mentioned when he describes what he hopes it is.

“Now it’s logic more than magic. Part of my legacy (now) is being a nice generous dude.” It’s clear that he’s also at a point where enjoying himself is still as important as any other aspect of his life. He talks about how much fun he’s had by doing things his own way in regards to record promotion while still managing to do what he seemingly does best, poke fun lightheartedly at life.

“People ask me what I think of my new record. That’s like askin’ me what I think of my kid…I love him but I’m worried he might get caught spray painting some [expletive].” It’s this ability to have that fun and spread it around with his words that might just be his strongest legacy though, at least, so far.

Although life may not be giving Atmosphere’s musical career too many lemons as of late, it’s clear that, if it did, Sean Daley would still be smiling, painting everything gold.

See them: Saturday April 26, at 7 p.m. at the Roxy in Boston, MA (617)338-7699 or www.rhymesayers.com for more info.