SFR Digital Picks—Week of May 13

A Rose By Any Other Name

Helen K. Tindel's new floral series

"I have a little brother, and when I was a little girl, I would always ask my mom who she loved more," artist Helen K. Tindel tells SFR. "Her smart, motherly answer was always that her love was like sunshine on the flowers. The flowers weren't competing. A flower is just -worried about being a flower."

Tindel's mother, the painter Margrete Bagshaw, died from brain cancer in 2015, at which point Tindel shelved a four-year painting practice after the memories of studio time with her mom proved too painful. Ensconcing herself in nature through exploring, mountain biking and snowboarding, however, inspiration started flooding back. In 2018, Tindel returned to artistry full time. Her upcoming exhibit In Bloom, in tandem with Andrea Peterson, represents nearly 20 pieces she began creating after her last Blue Rain Gallery show in March of 2019. That one was a sellout, Tindel says, and she's been working nonstop since to rebuild her inventory. Unsurprisingly, it's all about flowers. But these aren't landscapes or representative pieces. Instead, Tindel wants to create a feeling rather than an overwrought intellectual reaction.

"They're not specific flowers," she says of her pieces in gesso, acrylic, oil, watercolor and ink. "It's the idea of a -flower. What I'm trying to get across is the inherent beauty of that idea."

This lends a sort of dreamlike quality to the body of work. Some look familiar, like the piece "Serenity," which recalls a certain Ukiyo-e print, cherry -blossom-esque quality. Tindel says that's not by accident, and while nature itself plays the main role in her inspirational moments, time spent framing a kimono opened up her mind to the possibilities of an international spin. Then there's "Tabula Rasa," a field of colorless blooms meant to "give people a blank slate to decide what they think should be there mentally."

The show opens virtually on Friday, May 15 across Tindel's Instagram page (@treyslash) and the gallery's Instagram (@blueraingallery) and website (blueraingallery.com). She describes her plans for the online tour as short and sweet and says she hopes to get back to in-person shows before long.

"There's nothing like standing in front of a painting," she concludes.
(Alex De Vore)

Helen K. Tindel and Andrea Peterson: In Bloom:
Friday, May 18 All Day. Free. blueraingallery.com

Live-ish but Lively

The music instructors over at the Candyman music supply store—the ones who transform kids into rock 'n' roll legends in the span of a few weeks—are, of course, accomplished and talented musicians themselves, and all indications are that they're a little bored with this quarantine. And while the idea of live music is a receding, misty memory (what's a venue? You mean your Facebook page?), a big group of those instructors are gonna do their best to jam out and showcase the skills they so generously pass down to others. When they aren't making music, they're offering remote lessons, so if you've recently found yourself with a bunch of free time and an itch for music'in', hit 'em up. (Cole Rehbein)

The Candyman Music Teacher Online Showcase:
5:30-6:30 pm Wednesday, May 13. Free. Online at facebook.com/TheCandymanStringsandThings

Past Practices, Future Solutions

Imagine a world where our food wasn't trucked in from thousands of miles away, with local farms providing our staples and the opportunity for meaningful work growing food for your neighbors. That was a reality for millenia, but the knowledge behind that lifeway has been largely displaced, destroyed and forgotten. This Friday afternoon, the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project presents archaeologist Chester Liwosz live on YouTube to discuss Indigenous agricultural practices in the Southwest and across North America. He'll be fielding your questions live, and besides being of historical interest, his knowledge will hopefully plant some seeds for practices we can incorporate small-scale into our own gardens and fields. (CR)

Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project's Chat with the Archaeologist:
2-3 pm Friday, May 15. Free. Live-streamed on the MPPP's YouTube channel; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT0FD8Mm3DHf6sPRcEjwgUA

Zoom Into Action

How does activism continue in the time of COVID-19? Like everything else, by Zoom, of course. The New Mexico-based social justice organization, Retake Our Democracy, is running a virtual seminar about the influence of the oil and gas industries in the Legislature for the sake of education and agitating folks to act. Expect to hear from Dede Feldman, former state senator and author of Follow the Money, Heather Ferguson, the executive director at Common Cause NM and Kathleen Sabo from the NM Ethics Watch speaking on the hidden flow of money from the industry into politics in the form of campaign donations, special dinners, lobbyists and more. (CR)

Conversation About Gas & Oil Influence in NM Legislature with Retake Our Democracy: 6:30-8 pm Tuesday, May 19. Free. Pre-registration is required online at retakeourdemocracy.org/retake-zoominar-series