Inside Creative Minds

In 1997, 16 year old Frus was first introduced to glass alongside of his father and brother. Since that time he has become heavily involved with the promotion of glass art through public demonstrations and adult education. You can often find Frus at the Mesa Arts Center, where he has been a regular Glass Blowing Instructor since 2005. Frus also works regularly at Circle 6 Studios in Phoenix and was employed for 3 years by local Scottsdale artist Newt Grover. In January 2009, Adam was accepted as the Artist in Residence for the Mesa Arts Center and launched his career as a glass artist. Then in June 2009, Frus teamed up with fellow artist Joshua Dopp to form the Highway Hotshop, a mobile glass blowing studio designed to expose glass art to the public in a highly visible and accessible way.

www.frusglass.com
www.highwayhotshop.com

Joshua Dopp got his MFA in Sculpture/Glass from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his BA in Art History from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his AA in Studio Art from Santa Barbara City College. He had a Fellowship at the Creative Glass Center of America in Millville, NJ and has done coursework at Schule fŸr Gestaltung in Zurich, Switzerland and at the Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina. He has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Mesa Arts Center since January, 2008.

Says Joshua:

The speed at which our lives work is getting faster and less stable every day. Technology tries too hard to make our lives ‘better’ and frequently just makes it more complicated and less real. Sometimes it is the simple things which are able to speak volumes; or in their quietude transport us to a more ethereal sublime state. Barriers surround us and define us. From our skin to the stone walls around our possessions to lines on a map. The edge or the border is the home of doubt and anxiety. At the threshold there is transformation and change, which our minds either comfortably confront or vigorously repel. I am interested in duality and the tension or blurring of opposites. At what point does anything change? Where and when does chaos become ordered or ultimately at rest?

Colleen Jennings-Roggensack has been presenting the performing arts for the past 31 years.

She is currently Executive Director for Arizona State University Gammage and Assistant Vice President for Cultural Affairs with artistic, fiscal and administrative responsibility for ASU Gammage and Kerr Cultural Center with additional responsibility for Sun Devil Stadium and Wells Fargo Arena for non-athletic events including concerts as well as commencement and convocation exercises. Her entire organizational mission is summed up in two words: "Connecting Communities." Through this process, Colleen has enabled artists, patrons and entire communities to discover new avenues of intercultural communication through the arts.

Colleen was nominated by President Clinton and served on the National Council on the Arts from August 1994 until November 1997. She served as an Ambassador for the Arts for the National Council on the Arts until 2004. Colleen has served as the President of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. She has served as a consultant to various private philanthropic organizations and served on numerous other Boards locally and nationally as well as being an invited speaker at national conferences. She currently serves on the Board of Governors for The Broadway League, Creative Capital Board of Directors and the Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau and Childsplay Boards.

Colleen has held positions at Dartmouth College, Colorado State University and was Director of Performing Arts and Professional Development at the Western States Arts Federation. Due to her professional achievements and community involvement she has been presented with many prestigious awards. She was recognized for her contributions to the arts when she received the Girl Scouts World of the Arts Award, October 2008; Mill Avenue District Esteemed Excellence Award, April 2008; and the Fan Taylor Award presented by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, January 2007 to name a few.

Formerly a dancer and choreographer, she is married to Dr. Kurt Roggensack, volcanologist at Arizona State University, and has an 18-year old daughter, Kelsey.

Don Doyle is a nationally recognized storyteller, a professional actor, a director of theatre and opera, and a Professor Emeritus of theatre and storytelling at Arizona State University. In July 2004, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Storytelling Network. He is also recipient of the Campton Bell Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (Artists and Educators Serving Young People), and has also been presented with the Medallion of Merit from the National Society of Arts and Letters for his contribution to the state of Arizona in the dramatic arts. He received undergraduate degrees from the Goodman School of Drama and Arizona State University, a master's degree in theatre from Northwestern University, and a doctoral degree in theatre from the University of Minnesota.

He has been a storyteller and advocate for the preservation of storytelling for more than 37 years, and recently was presented with the Leadership Award by the National Storytelling Association for sharing his leadership abilities and talents.

His storytelling video, Tales of Transformation, received the highest award for excellence from Storytelling World. Summit Records recently released a new CD recording of Platero and I: An Andalusian Elegy with Don as narrator and Frank Koonce, guitarist. Originally in Spanish, the book of prose was written by Nobel Prize-winning poet Juan Ramón Jiménez and music composed by Italian-born American composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. This is the first recording of Platero and I in the English language and it was entered into the Grammy competition in the category of "music and the spoken word". Doyle and Koonce completed a 7-state concert tour of Platero and I, and performed concerts in London and Manchester, England as well.

As a performer, storyteller and teacher, Don has influenced the lives of many people, and gently touched their souls with his stories

Since the age of 19 Joey Bellus has been a certified personal trainer. He worked at Gilbert 24 hour fitness as a Successful trainer for four years and in febuary of 2008 Joey started his own personal training company “optimal performance training” located in Gilbert. Joey graduated in May 2009 with a Bachelors degree in exercise science and wellness. Joey prides himself on his passion in life, helping people obtain a better quality of life through health and fitness. With over 5000 hours of training time he has helped numerous people improve their quality of their life; whether it was through weight loss, injury rehabilitation, strength training, sports performance, improving flexibility or overall fitness Joey has worked with many types of people all with different goals in mind.
Joey seperates himself from the other trainers in the industy by educating his clients, teaching them how to reach their goals and once they have, how to maintain their accomplishments. He is very enthusiastic, motivated, caring, driven, creative and the most passionate trainer you will find. He is truly one of the top trainers in the industry with out a doubt.

With an estimated readership of 30 million in North America and 14 foreign countries, Wilson’s comics have earned him high recognition such as the Creative Media Award and The University of Tennessee’s Lena Warner Prize for Contributions to the Health of the Nation. In addition to his syndicated comics, Wilson also is the creator of LakeShore Producers, a company that packages, produces and promotes a wide range of jazz entertainment events at the Tempe Center for the Arts. He also is active in Tempe community affairs and serves on the Board of the Tempe Community Council and is the current Chairman of the Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation.

http://kingfeatures.com

Architekton, a mixed-used architectural development in Tempe, is the brainchild of Kane who was recognized in 2002 by Architecture Magazine as part of the Arizona Desert School, a group of influential architects redefining desert modernism. Kane’s designs are respected throughout the Southwest as a paradigm for appropriate and sustainable architecture. Architekton’s creativity and innovation has resulted in more than 75 local and national citations for excellence in design since 1989. Kane is a visiting critic at Arizona State University’s College of Architecture and serves on a variety of community boards and committees. He also is one of only 2,500 people inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, an organization consisting of more than 80,000 members.

Dale Ingram is the writer and artist of the web comic series Hold My Life. In addition to the comic, and a day-job, he is also a partner and contributor to a small gallery space in Central Phoenix called Karmic Calamity, which he co-owns with his girlfriend Rhonda, and their two cats Zeke and Roxie.

In his spare time, he is the singer/guitarist/songwriter for the fledgling local band The Plastic Flappybats.

Dale moved to Arizona about ten years ago, after growing up in West Virginia and attending school in Pennsylvania. He created Hold My Life 3 years ago in an effort to pull together the things that mattered to him the most: comics, art and music.

He also feels weird writing about himself in the third person, even though any time he is asked to write one of these bios, he ends up doing just that.

Somewhere in the dusty farmland west of Phoenix, Charles created his first drawing on the side of his clothes dresser with a screwdriver. He was five. And he hasn't stopped looking for new ways to share visual ideas or make people mad.

At 10, he won an award for designing the logo of a children's art show at the Heard museum.

At 18, he and a classmate were the first production artists hired at local art production house "Phoenix Art Press." But the company's artistic assembly line and furniture-art mentality clashed with Charles' ideas. He moved on.

His wanderlust took him to the east coast. After a short time working a dead-end job in Boston, he came back to Phoenix. After one embarrassing youthful whirlwind marriage and divorce, he decided to try something new - education. In 1999, with an overpriced two-year trade school degree under his belt, he turned to the World Wide Web and began designing websites. Within 2 years he co-owned his own business in online marketing and website construction. Apparently, even bad schooling is better than no schooling.

In 2000, he branched out again, by producing illustrations and two comic strips for a naughty underground magazine. By 2001, he had successfully entered the world of published writers -- although it would be a while before anyone cared to pay for his writing. At the prodding of a few friends he began joining art shows. Short roadtrips throughout the Southwest kept his travel bug at bay for some time and by 2002 he had received the Viewers' Choice Award at the Alwun House Exotic art show.

Then another travel opportunity appeared. He handed over his portion of the internet company so he could travel to South America. In 2004 and 2005, he taught English in Peru, and traveled to Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia so he could claim he'd been to places more exotic that Rocky Point, Mexico.

But Charles missed his drinking buddies and came home. He promptly found a job illustrating for a local magazine called Latino Perspectives. Within two months, he was the art director and began working with photography, illustration, computer design, and building ads. Generally, he did anything that required an Adobe-owned program.

Since then he has won three design awards from the Arizona Press Club for his cover designs and article spreads (2005, 2006 and 2007). Several of his stories have now been published, and he has returned to gallery showing. A milestone was his first one-man show during ArtWalk 2007. He received a favorable write-up in The New Times for the successful show, called "Absurdism" and managed to sell a quarter of the paintings he'd hung.

Today, despite tempting trips to Mexico, he continues to live in this dusty Valley as an art director at Latino Perspectives, and has continued to publish stories, and make the occasional gallery appearance. His current focus is improving his photography skills and completing a book contract -- writing about the history of an American Legion post that fought desegregation in Phoenix during the 1940's and 50's and restoring a 1948 2-ton GMC that his grandfather bought brand new.

Sam was born in Colorado and moved to Arizona at a young age. He attended elementary school and high school in Scottsdale, Arizona. He then attended ASU and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering. Years later he attended the University of Phoenix and attained a Master's Degree in Business Administration

Since then, Sam has earned many college credits in a variety of fields including the culinary arts. He continues to work on a Ph.D. in Divine Metaphysics. During this program, Sam studied the Mayan culture and how they used chocolate in their ceremonies.

This intrigued Sam, so he developed a recipe for Mayan chocolate. That was his first chocolate and it continues to be his best seller!

Effie has worked as an intern architect on notable building projects, including the Guggenheim and Hermitage Museums in Las Vegas, Nevada, and renovations and new construction work under her company premise studio. Her contributions as a researcher for the McGill University Affordable Homes Program resulted in inclusion and acknowledgment in a book titled, "The Adaptable House, Designing Homes for Change" authored by Avi Friedman and published in 2000 by McGraw-Hill. She has also written for and has had design/artistic work featured in a number of design publications throughout the US and Canada, such as City Magazine in New York, ArchNewsNow, Coastal Living, the New Times, Desert Living, Crit Magazine (publication of the American Institute of Architects), 944, Canadian Architect and Canadian Interiors, to name a few.

Her fine-art work has been shown at different venues throughout the US and Canada; some notables are: the San Antonio International Airport in 2004 as part of a national juried competition and as a collaborator for a sound installation titled "Dark Space" with Apparatus studio (fronted by David Curtis) of Las Vegas, held at the Contemporary Arts Collective.

She is currently pursuing a PhD, while continuing to draw, write and collaborate on building projects.

Jess and Kate met at a library in the desert where they both work - an appropriate place for two wayward souls adrift in their own imaginations.

Jess has played in ensembles both real and imaginary; in fact, these days, she plays in one of each: the duo (which, we presume, is probably the former?) and an imaginary band which is constantly gigging - The Jess Hawk Oakenstar v'Band.

For her part, Kate, when not playing with Jess, sticks to imposing songs about shipwrecks and mining disasters upon her storytime groups. Their musical presentation/persona comes to rest somewhere between mournfully dark and rockingly/rollickingly comedic, but it's hard to pin them down.

"Not too dreadful." -Postmodern Musician
"They've never sung anything that might be offensive to the avian population." -Parrot Training Today
"Heartrendingly exquisite. Ethereal and yet rooted in a sublimely visceral reality."-Low Rider Journal

No, but seriously, Wayward Maggie is Jess Hawk Oakenstar and Kate DeLaPointe. They really did meet at the library where they both work, and decided to form a duo after finally getting around to jamming together and excitedly realizing, "Gosh! This feels like a wonderful fit!"

Paula Moore is a dancer, TV producer, and owner of Footprints Dance Studio in downtown Phoenix. Paula has been dancing for more than 40 years. Though she studies dance continually, her first training was at Corine Morse Williams dance school in Gary, Indiana. She also trained at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City under Frank Hatchett. She returns to train with him each year for teacher training.

Paula has a master's degree from Northwestern University. Though her degree is in her other career passion, Journalism, she managed to study dance as well at Northwestern. Paula has been a reporter, a writer, and a producer for network affiliated stations in Illinois, Washington, Michigan and Oklahoma.

Footprints, which has been in business for 15 years, teaches jazz, hip hop and ballet to young and old. Paula believes "we all have a dancer within" and that even if someone doesn’t want to dance professionally, the mental and physical benefits of dance are wonderful.

Jerry Little graduated in December of 1995 from Oklahoma State University with an accredited 5 year Bachelor of Architecture degree. He moved to Arizona and began his architectural career in January of the following year. He received his Arizona Architectural License in July of 1999. That same month he began Little + Associates, Architects LC, taking over the existing 4 person firm in which he worked, where the principal architect was retiring. In 2004 in an attempt to totally transform the direction of the work permanently, he founded SEAD architecture+construction llc an architectural firm with the ability to build its own projects. This created a whole new image for the firm and an opportunity to control projects from inception to completion.

In the summer of 2005, SEAD architecture+construction completed construction on its first design/build commercial project, "Diamondback Plumbing Services' Corporate Headquarters", which was comprised of approximately 12,000 square feet. For this, SEAD was awarded the "best private built project; under $5 million" in the state of Arizona by Southwest Contractor. It also won a "Merit" award by the Arizona Masonry Guild. The project is featured in articles both nationally and locally. SEAD completed its first design/build residential project, "Missouri Residence", at the end of 2006. This project has been recognized both nationally and locally. It received a "Citation Award" presented by AIA Home of the Year in 2008 and was featured in "Desert Living" April issue 2008.

Jerry was featured in the show, "Inside Creative Minds", formerly "Inside the Artist's Mind", hosted by Tray Goodman, where he discussed what architecture means to him and some of SEAD's projects. Jerry and SEAD have also been recognized in various other articles and awarded commendations by additional entities both locally and nationally.

In addition to Arizona Jerry holds architectural licenses in the states of Texas, Oklahoma and California. He is the general contractor license holder 189311 kb-01 for SEAD in both commercial and residential work. He is a member of NCARB, American Institute of Architects, and the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

Angela Johnson is an award winning clothing designer with over 13 years in the fashion industry. Angela handcrafts cutting edge, avant-garde apparel under her name. Angela's clothing is sold online, in boutiques nationwide, and at her fashion and trunk shows.

She got her start working in design and production for X-Large Clothing, the line owned by Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys and X-Girl, the line owned by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. Today, she designs under her own line and has been honored as Fashion Group International of Arizona’s Rising Star in 2004, Artist of the Year by the Scottsdale Cultural Council’s Chairman’s Committee, Chicest Local Designer by 944 Magazine in 2007, was a finalist in the Scottsdale Fashion Week’s Designer of the Year contest.

I am a creative bug indeed, with fancy ideas and a dream the size of San Ferisco. I have been painting and drawing in some form or other since I was but a teeny tiny fetus. My wire sculptures, which are a new development in just the last year, are mixed media: aluminum, brass, copper and sterling silver wires; paper, glass, wood, crystal, exotic leathers, glass and found objects.

I am originally from Rockford, Illinois. Rockford is about an hour west of Chicago and is a very conservative industrial city with not much opportunity for a man like me. Even so, it took me 28 years to leave. Three years ago I awoke to find myself stifled and unfulfilled. And so I resigned from my position of nine years in management for UPS, I sold most everything I owned, including all my art, I packed just what I could fit in my car, and I hit the highway in pursuit of my dream of living and working as an artist.

When I was still in the Midwest, I remember having the thought and feeling there was something more out there for me and my life was not as it was intended to be. As frightening as it was, it seems that my decision to leave was the best thing I could have done for myself and now I am living an enchanted life of sorts. I am pouring my self into my art as I never have before and I have finally found some fulfillment.

I love all things creative & artistic. I love the 'act' of ART and the inherent aggression of thought and idea being manifested into reality by way of my husky man hands. I am inexplicably drawn to intense color and internal portraiture. I have all these, what I think are, dynamic ideas and there never seems to be enough time to explore them all, but I try... not that they are Earth shattering, but the ideas excite my cells and keep me enthralled... they always have. In today's world of over exposure and mind numbing disinterest, to me, anything that can keep my attention for hours on end is priceless... The handy work relaxes me and soothes my worried mind.

My works are portraits of those that I am surrounded and influenced by. They are my hopes and my fears. They speak of my dark experiences. They speak of my happiness. They are my adversaries and allies. They are my dreams. They are the vehicles of my self-expression and often times communicate things that I am not consciously aware of; secretly describing the stages of my life and teaching me about who I am. Essentially they are all parts of me that I look forward to sharing with you.

Taya Rae Hubbard is a metal sculptor and painter who has lived and worked in Phoenix, Arizona for the past ten years. Her work is displayed in galleries and private collections in locations throughout the United States. Galleries featuring her work include the Renee Taylor Gallery in Sedona, AZ, LKG Contemporary in Scottsdale, AZ, and J Gallery in Taos, NM. Taya Rae's sculptures also can be enjoyed outside the United States in locations ranging from Dubai, U.A.E. to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

In addition to creating one-of-a-kind sculptures for individuals, Taya Rae has completed several large-scale commissions for corporate clients. Among her most recent projects are artwork for the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Schaumberg, IL, and the Sheraton Hotel in Phoenix, AZ.

Taya Rae became fascinated with constructing unique objects as a child in Minneapolis, MN, and, as an adult, she simply kept on building. She refined her skills at the University of North Dakota, where she received her B.F.A., and Illinois State University, where she pursued her M.F.A. After spending several years as the Director of Sculpture for a large interior design firm, two years ago, Taya Rae opened up her own studio. Since then, she has concentrated on developing her own signature style.

The painted metal objects Taya Rae creates reflect her long-time love affair with the Southwestern desert. The palette and the media for her work are chosen carefully in order to best reflect the interplay of three-dimensional objects and light. This gives Taya Rae's objects an ethereal quality that belies their resilience. Taya Rae is a perfectionist, and attention to detail and fine craftsmanship are hallmarks of her work. Clients purchase her artwork because it is not only attractive, but it stands the test of time.

One of the things Taya Rae feels most strongly is that access to art should not be limited by a person's income. She is most content when she is creating pieces to be shared with friends and family or to be given to those who would not otherwise be able to afford them. As she notes, "I am extremely lucky to be able to spend my time doing what I love. BLAH BLAH."

Katherine Atwell Herbert brings real-life experience in the film industry to the Film School @ SCC. After working in threater for five years and as a newspaper film critic and feature writer for three, she got an agent from her first script and promptly relocated to Los Angeles. Working as a script analyst led her to positions as Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Motion Pictures for DeLaurentiis Entertainment, to work on feature and television film productions, to Director of Development for Debin-DeVore Productions at MGM Television, to selling her own work, and finally to writing the book Writing Scripts Hollywood Will Love. She has read thousands of scripts for such companies as Fox Broadcasting, Showtime, Lightstorm, MGM, Turner Movies and others. Since her first book was published, she also written Selling Scripts To Hollywood. In the fall of 2000, the second edition of her first book was released.

B.A.(with distinction), Arizona State University, M.A., Arizona State University, Film Certificate, University of Southern California. Included in: Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who of Entertainment, Who's Who in the West.

Steve Weiss’ photography appears in collections and has been published in Phoenix, America’s Shining Star. His exhibits have appeared in such diverse venues as the Maricopa County State Fair and the Fifth Avenue Gallery in Scottsdale. He mixes his love of black and white imagery with his unique views of life in Phoenix.

When he’s not making award-winning photographs, Steve runs No Festival Required, a micro-cinema showing at the Phoenix Art Museum and Modified Arts and is a location scout. Steve has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography, from ASU and attended the San Francisco Institute of Photography and Filmmaking.