A eulogy, not obituary ---

The big event this week (in my life, anyway) was the death early Friday morning of dear friend Daryn Curtis who finally lost her decade-long battle with cancer.  She was 50 years old.  Though not very productive in her later years, Daryn embodied the artistic lifestyle.  She had a wonderful knack for bringing creative people together for projects, a fabulous entourage of characters who now have enduring friendships.  She was the motivating force behind Cathartic Cabaret, a community-oriented amateur theater group which was very inclusive and delighted audiences in Santa Fe for two years before its demise. I was honored to be a part of it.  She formed flash mobs at the Farmer’s Market.  She painted and drew.  And she danced, though the cancer robbed her of this activity in the last year or so of her life.  It is very hard to imagine Santa Fe culture without Daryn.  All things must pass, but the good things tend to pass quickly. 

One disturbed artist …

Speaking of local artists, social realist Eli Levin has just published his professional biography Disturbing Art Lessons. Eli has been a fixture in Santa Fe for decades, with an enthusiasm, philosophy and sharp wit that has made him an equal amount of friends and enemies.  His life drawing and etching groups, now located at the Argos Studio and Gallery on Louisa St, have been going non-stop since the early 1970’s.  Find out what’s inspiring all those disturbing bar scenes and socio-economic class imagery while learning about the life and times of a Santa Fe legend by buying Disturbing Art Lessons for $16.95.  Or you can attend one of his group sessions, which are loads of surly fun … or both.  Call 988-1814 to find out how.

More disturbing …

As you may know, the old College of Santa Fe is now the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, otherwise known as SFUAD (pronounced SFOO-ad).  CSF was bought by Laureate International Universities (with some incentive from the city government) whose headquarters are located in Beijing, China with dozens of colleges worldwide (only three of them are in the US).  SFUAD is an elite school whose yearly tuition rate is around $28,000.  St. John’s College, also based in another city -- Annapolis, MD -- is the only other four-year college in the city, costing about the same.  Both are private.  Get where I’m coming from?  Luckily, five high school juniors and seniors can receive full scholarships for SFUAD’s upcoming Summer Theater Intensive.  Invited instructor William Westbrook says, “Becoming a consummate music theatre performer involves the development of three very distinct skills: singing, acting and dancing.” I suspect that high school students will likely be interested in consummating through other means. SFUAD being a corporate franchise, I also suspect that this program is like a free sample that entices consumers to buy the product. With that in mind, contact Terri Ross at terri.ross@santafeuniversity.edu for further info.

And WTF happened to The Box Gallery?  It was a staple in our daily recommended allowance of visual art, especially on opening nights.  Probably something to do with Railyard rents.  Any tidbits, dear reader?  All things must pass, indeed.

 Until next week …