2012 Edition 3 - Southside Art Center

2012 - Edition 3
Our interview with former Jim Henson puppet master Mike Lisa!
The People First of California 2012
Conference
The Ryan’s Keys Foundation - Bubba Cup 2012
PUSH America 2012
The Journey of Hope
Page 1
Page 5
Page 7
Page 1
The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
My Day at the Sac-Con Convention
By Mary Thornsberry
On June 3, 2012 I went to the Sac-Con Convention at the Scottish Rite Temple in Sacramento. It
was so much fun. While I was there, I got to meet Billy West. Billy West is a voice over actor and
he has done voices that I'm sure everyone will recognize at one point or another. He did voices for
the likes of Ren and Stimpy on The Ren and Stimpy Show, Doug Funnie and Roger Klotz on
Nickelodeon's Doug, and Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg on Futurama. Billy
West is one of my favorite voice over actors and it was awesome getting to meet him. While I was
there, I also bought a lot of cool stuff; a Beauty and the Beast beach towel, a Sailor Moon poster
and an Empire Strikes Back t-shirt. I love going to these conventions and I can't wait for the next
one.
People First of California Conference 2012
By Jemel Williams
The difference about this year’s conference was that the
Supported Life Institute and People First (PFCA) decided to
have separate meetings. People First decided to have their
conference in Bakersfield and Supported Life decided to have
theirs in Sacramento. Artists from Southside received
scholarships from the center to go to the PFCA conference. On
Friday morning, the 8th of June, we rose early in the morning to
meet at the downtown Amtrak train station. Once at the train
station we were really excited to get on the train. On the train,
we saw fields, horses and cows, we also saw all kinds
buildings. Once we arrived in Bakersfield, someone from the
Double Tree hotel met us at the train station to take us to the
hotel.
(continued on page 2)
Page 2 The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
(continued from page 1)
The scenery at the hotel was beautiful. In the
evening there was a meet and greet session
which was fun. After breakfast the next
morning, there was a keynote speaker named
Andreas Economopoulos that we watched.
When the keynote speaker was finished talking,
the daytime educational sessions began. The
sessions were very informative; a living skills
session where we learned about starting a
family and options for moving out on our own
or starting a small business. There was also the
self advocate session, where we learned how to
speak up for ourselves and others. After these
sessions, we went to put our feet into the hot
tub and relaxed.
After the second round of sessions ended, we
had a break for lunch and when the final
session was over we went to our hotel rooms to
get ready for the evening’s events. After we ate
dinner, we then prepared for the dance that was
coming later that night. At the dance, the DJ
couldn’t get his speakers to work properly so
we went to the club which was inside the hotel
to have a good time dancing. When we were
done dancing the night away, we went to our
hotel rooms and went to bed.
On Sunday morning we had breakfast burritos
for breakfast and then we got ready to go to the
closing ceremony and raffle, there were a lot of
cool raffle prizes, such as: prize baskets, wine
and also balloons and flowers. When the
closing ceremony ended, we went to hang out
in the lobby of the hotel until it was time to
check out of our hotel rooms.
At around a quarter to twelve we went to our
rooms to get our luggage and check out of the
hotel and headed to the station to catch our
train bound for home. While on the train, we all
enjoyed our delicious lunch from Subway and
even caught some sleep. We hope we get
scholarships to go to next years conference
because we had a blast!
Page 3
The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
A Poem for Someone
Special
by Joe Siciliano
I see Brian Baumgartner walking down the street
He thinks he's tough
But he smiles so sweet
I sure would love to meet someone like that
He's a little crazy
He's a little loud
He loves to do what ain't allowed
He might talk too slow and drive too fast
But he would do any little thing I ask
He's a rebel who's wild and free
He's my big brother
He's my diamond in the rough
He loves September when leaves turn gold
He gets nervous in crowded places
Someday he wants to see San Francisco
He's bad with names
But he remembers faces
He's a world that's waiting to be discovered
He doesn't want to be unknown
The little things that make him who he is
He needs to share
He needs to know that someone cares
More than anything
He doesn't want to be unknown
Just so he can be the center of attention
He wants me on the outside looking in
The Creature Cloner
By Kim Sanchez and Pam Saelee
As early as 3 years old Mike Lisa was drawn to
Mister Rodgers Neighborhood, Sesame Street,
and of course The Muppet Show. He knew at
that age he wanted to be involved somehow
with these moving creatures on the television
screen. He always had marionettes and smaller
store-bought hand puppets as a child. He began
setting up curtain stages in his living room and
entertained guests, just making things up as he
went along with the help of a record player.
When he was about 8 he became interested in
Ventriloquism, and his Grandmother got him a
Charlie McCarthy dummy for Christmas. After
the passing of Jim Henson in 1990 he became
drawn to the Muppets in a different way than
before. He then knew that he needed to learn
puppeteering instead of Ventriloquism, he
needed to learn this skill to meet the folks who
worked alongside Jim Henson.
(continued on page 4)
Page 4 The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
(continued from page 3)
Q: Did you ever work for Henson or any other
production company?
A: After many years of perfecting my performance skills
I was invited to visit the Sesame Street studio on Carol
Spinney's (performs Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch)
invitation. Soon after I was called in for several
auditions and began working on Sesame Street
performing various characters on the show. This lasted
for over a decade. Soon after I was called in to audition
for The Muppet Show central characters and was called
back to perform Miss Piggy for several Disney in-house
videos during a re-cast of the characters to help them
appear more often.
Q: Has any of your work been seen in film or on TV?
A: All through these years performing on my own and
professionally for Henson I always kept my hands busy
building the characters. Working with the Muppets
certainly helped my eye for detail. About 7 years ago I
started custom-building puppets for clients including
Puppeteers, Ventriloquists, collectors and fans of
puppets. I haven't been able to put down my sewing
needle since I began offering my services to the world,
and I do not plan on putting the needle down until I
cannot hold it up anymore.
Q: How long does it take you to create a puppet?
A: Each puppet generally takes about a week to two
weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the
build. I also have a wait-time until I start up on the build
due to the volume of my orders which I build in the
order they are received in.
Q: How many puppets have you made?
A: To total up the number of puppets I've built would
be difficult, but there are quite a lot of Creature Clones
puppets out there, from America, to Spain, Brazil, Italy,
France and the UK. I've really lost count.
Page 5
The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
Real Monsters of California
By James Hamaker
Southside in Chico
By Joe Siciliano
Some of our readers may remember an article
we wrote last year
about the
Southside Art
Center gallery
hosting a traveling
art exhibition
called ''Small
World, Small
Works''. Well, the
show has returned
to the gallery, but
this year Chico Art
Center has decided
to host the artwork of Southside artists as well.
Since this is the first time Chico Art Center has
hosted our work before, we wanted to find out
just how the show was going. We contacted the
gallery director, and his name is Jon Cummins.
We knew that he was the person to go to for our
answers. So far, it looks like the show has been a
great success.
The artwork was seen by over 500 visitors since
it first started being shown, and in total, twenty
pieces of art were sold. The show was indeed a
great success.
2012 Bubba Cup
By Jemel Williams
Last year we met with Mr. and Mrs. Slothower
regarding the
yearly golfing
tournament
that is held in
remembrance
of their son,
Ryan "Bubba"
Slothower. The
"Bubba Cup"
golf
tournament is
held to raise
funds for the
Ryan's Keys Foundation, a non-profit
organization which raises funding and
awareness for people with developmental
disabilities.
The tournament took place on May 7th at the
Valley High Country Club in Elk Grove, CA,
the new home for the tournament for years to
come. Over 92 players attended the event and
they expect more next year, a huge jump in
attendance from the 52 golfers that played last
(continued on page 6)
Page 6 The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
(continued from page 5)
year. Next year they hope to fill the golf course to capacity by
having 120 golfers. Another change from last year is that the
Ryan's Keys Foundation put the tournament together by
themselves instead of being helped by the non profit group
Treehouse, who has assisted in the past tournaments.
Although the key focus was on the golfing, there were other
ways which donors\supporters could help out. One of the ways
that donators were able to help was to bid on artwork that was
being auctioned off , this artwork was donated by the artists at
Southside Art Center. All but two pieces were auctioned off.
Another way donators could help out was to purchase tickets
for the raffle. Ticket holders had a chance to win prizes that
included signed football helmets from Joe Montana and Joe
Namath, a vacation to Frisco, Colorado and miscellaneous
smaller prizes like iPod accessories and jewelry from Hong
Kong.
The tournament continues to be a success year after year
helping to raise money for those in the disabled community.
Lots of planning goes into this event every year and the Ryan's
Keys foundation is already planning next years event, things
are calm right now but will be busy in the months leading up to
the event.
Page 7 The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
Mary's Day at the Scottish Games Festival
By Mary Thornsberry
On April 28, 2012 my mom and I went to the Scottish Games Festival in Woodland, CA. It was really
fun aside from the two hour drive from Sacramento to Woodland. It's amazing when you first walk
through the gates, it's almost like going back in time, there are swords and weapons everywhere. The
events and music are fun but personally I just love to buy stuff. I bought a real dagger; it's awesome and
the words King Arthur are engraved into the sheath. Seeing the animals was really fun too, there were
little Scottie dogs dressed in the cutest little outfits; two were wearing kilts and the third was dressed in a
cute little dress. Later we went for lunch, two jumbo corn dogs, if there is one thing I love more then
buying stuff it's the food. I love going to the Scottish Games Festival and I can't wait till next year!
Journey of Hope 2012
By Pam Saelee and Kim Sanchez
"Push America" was started as a non-profit fund
raising group in the year 1977 by the Pi Kappa Phi
fraternity. Its "Journey of Hope" originated when in
1987, Bruce Rodgers, a young Pi Kappa Phi
Alumnus embarked on a solo journey across the
US to bring more attention to the mission of PUSH
America. On June 4th the PUSH America bike
riders made there way to Soundside Art Center for
their yearly stop through our city. The riders meet
every year at the state capitol building and this year
were greeted by Southside artists Pam Saelee, Tige
Muro, Jemel Williams, and Lowell Garcia with
cold drinks to cool them off after a long ride.
(continued on page 8)
Page 8 The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
(continued from page 7)
The Berkley City Club Hotel
By Diane Golub
After the group was done at the Capitol building,
everyone meet at the center where the Ensemble
band continued to set up for the nighttime show.
We then began to eat our meal for the evening
which was pizza and salad. We also had water
and Gatorade for drinks. After everyone was
through with their meal, it was time for the
Ensemble
band to
take the
stage. The
PUSH
America
riders were
treated to a
four song
set which
included
songs like
"Tainted Love" and "Sweet Dreams". When the
band was done playing, the riders enjoyed the
music so much that they were dancing and even
asked the band to play more music.
Unfortunately, the band ran out of songs to play.
At the end of the evening the riders took time to
buy artwork, jewelry and music CDs. Before
they left, the riders took the time to take a group
photo with the band members and staff. We all
said our goodbyes and wished them well on the
rest of their trip, we look forward to seeing them
next year.
I stayed at the old and historical Berkeley City
Club hotel; it was designed by renowned architect
Julia Morgan. She was the first female architect in
California. The Berkeley City Club is a California
historical landmark that in every way is still
"practical in its uses, perfect in its detail, and
noble in its beauty".
The hotel is conveniently located just steps from
the University of California campus with easy
access to public transportation, shopping, and
cultural venues. Step into the hotel and enter a
world apart from the bustle of the surrounding
streets, be greeted by soaring arches, great
fireplaces, very peaceful courtyards, and the most
beautiful indoor swimming pool in the town. It is
a fantastic bed and breakfast hotel, and its elegant
public rooms are the ideal place to hold a wedding
or a conference, or to host a luncheon or a
banquet. The Berkeley City Club's hotel guest
rooms and suites have panoramic views of the San
Francisco Bay and the Berkeley hills. It was such
a beautiful place to stay.
Page 9 The Daily Grind July 2012 Edition 3
Friends for Life A poem by Mary Thornsberry You’ve been their for me through thick and thin.
You’ve helped me out of the jams that I’ve been stuck in.
You’re not just my sister you’re my best friend.
Friends for life, you and me we’ll be friends for life.
We’ll Watch our children grow up the way we did.
You and me we’ll be friends for eternity.
Friends for life you and me.
The art of southside
Southside Art Center Sacramento
By Marvin Tadlock, Franklin Rochelle,
Liz Johnston, & Virda Tarver
Southside Art Center Sacramento
By Renee Minor
Southside Art Center Auburn
By Karen Leane
Southside Art Center Sacramento
By Renee Minor, Franklin Rochelle
& Marvin Tadlock
Southside Art Center Sacramento
By Stephan Slaff