ARTSource Arizona - Volume Seven

ARTSOURCE 

Arizona 

VOLUME SEVEN 

ARTSOURCE Arizona 

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2 ARTSOURCE Arizona


3

FROM THE PUBLISHER 

How many artists are there in the world? Believe it or 

not that question may be easiest answered by considering 

another question: How many people are there? 

Many are not aware of their artistic capacities and some 

may even have a tendency to dismiss them as nonexistent 

altogether. But perhaps a fair question to pose to such 

persons might be, “You dream, don’t you?” 

Being in a dream state is generally considered a conscious 

activity. So in our consciousness we are sometimes 

performing as a producer, a writer, or director, even an 

actor, an illustrator, or a set designer, without our being 

aware of it. 

The subject of dreaming has produced a number of 

thoughtful studies. Like most things we encounter, there are 

differing conclusions reached. Without scrutinizing these, 

perhaps we would agree that at least perceptually, we are 

engaged in creative episodes with most, if not all of our 

dreams. 

On a related subject, I’m very grateful for a recent dreamcome-true. 

I’m intensely proud of our ArtSource team, 

because ARTSOURCE Arizona was acknowledged as the best 

new magazine of 2021, in the design category, at the Folio 

Convention in New York. This validation from within the 

publishing community is meaningful and much appreciated. 

Special thanks to Kristina Gabrielle, Nada Skocajic, and 

Lynn Alison Trombetta for their consistent contributions 

in creating a quality publishing product in our predecessor 

magazines, and in bringing that creativity on to this new 

title, bent on showcasing artists with an Arizona connection 

that pursue their craft or profession with an obvious 

passion. 

With appreciation, 

Greg Lawson 


ON OUR COVER Raymond Carlos Nakai, flutist. 

See “Phases of the Moon – Reflecting on the Career of 

R. Carlos Nakai” on page 8 

ARTSOURCE 

Greg Lawson 

Lynn Alison Trombetta 

Kristina Gabrielle 


Published by ArtSource Media 

2679 West State Route 89A 

Sedona, AZ 86336 

Volume Seven 

Publisher 

Editor 

Art Director 

Design elements by Erick Hale Agency 

and Nadezda Skocajic 

Printed in Arizona, USA 

ArtSourceMedia.com 

ARTSOURCE Arizona is published twice yearly. 

Copyright © 2018-2022 ARTSource. All world rights reserved. No part of this 

publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or used 

as a model for any type of reproduction, in any medium, by any means without the publisher’s 

prior written permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. 

Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

CONTENTS 

8 R. Carlos Nakai: Phases of the Moon 

18 Cyndy Carstens: The Flower of Stubborn Passion 

24 Edward S. Curtis: Light & Legacy 

at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West 

36 Linda Goldenstein: Toasting the Talent 

38 Generations: Oaks & Acorns in the Landscape of Art 

70 Sedona International Film Festival: Return to Fabulous 

74 Film Spotlight: In a Different Key 

78 Carly Quinn: One of a Kind 

83 Community State of the Arts 

24 

86 Cosmic StarWheel Mandalas 

90 Karl Williams: Boudicca Revisited 

“Is there art without intelligence? Is there intelligence without art?” — Coddington 

38 

18 


78 

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FROM THE EDITOR 

Hello ARTSOURCE Arizona readers, 

With all of the losses that have happened over the past 

several months, some triumphs might have gone nearly 

unnoticed. Yet somehow, the creative spirit endures 

through life's winter, like a small determined crocus bud 

beneath the snow. 

Creativity is alive and well, as evidenced by the 

cornucopia of talent displayed in the pages of 

ARTSOURCE Arizona, Fall 2021. 

The triumph that is ARTSOURCE Arizona was acknowledged this year by the publishing 

world’s Folio Awards 2021 in New York. Folio is the trade magazine of the publishing 

industry that recognizes business-to-business, regional, association and consumer 

publications. The Folio Awards is regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards 

and recognition event in the publishing industry. 

We are proud to announce that ARTSOURCE Arizona was the Winner for New Magazine 

Design at the gala event held in October. It was also acknowledged as an Honorable Mention in 

the 2021 City and Regional Magazine Launch category. 

The Folio Awards are a long time staple of the publishing industry and according to the 

official language of the organizers, “The Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Awards celebrate editorial 

and design excellence in the Publishing community. For more than 25 years, the Eddie 

and Ozzie Awards have recognized excellence in engaging content and gorgeous design 

across all sectors of the publishing industry. Finalists represent the highest scoring 

entries per category, adjudicated by qualified editorial and design professionals.” 

It is our intent that ARTSOURCE will continue to offer support in the form of recognition for artists and 

the arts in our communities. Additionally, with the spirit of sharing the beauty of their endeavors, we 

confidently go forward, choosing to mark this challenging era by acknowledging the positive side of the 

spectrum. Celebrating our triumphs and nurturing our love and inborn creative spirit is what we choose 

to share. 

Warmest regards for you and your creative spirit, 




7


Reflecting on the Career of R. CARLOS NAKAI 

PHASES 

OF THE 

MOON 

Content arranged by Erick Hale 

Images by Robert Doyle / Canyon Records and John Running 

Celestial luminaries differ from each other in many different ways. 

Who isn’t enthralled by the apparent rise of a full moon? The softer 

light, reflected from the sun, is sometimes more inviting than the source. 

Because we can gaze on the reflected light intently without harm or 

discomfort, it becomes in some ways even more welcome to our being. 

Often, people that rise in prominence in a field are thought of as 

luminaries among their peers. R.Carlos Nakai is one of these. His 

answers to my questions revealed the brightness of his being, while he 

reflected on the origins of that brightness. 

R.C., as his friends call him, has made the conscious choice to reflect 

moods and realities throughout his music that he has gleaned from life's 

journey. In my mind this conjured the vision of a moon rising to adorn 

the atmosphere with reflected light, all the while drawing us close in 

marvelous awe of its own unique presence. 


9

Like that rising orb that becomes manifest in increments, the life of R.Carlos Nakai 

started as a minuscule manifestation of what was to eventually rise. Consider the phases 

of life that this respected musician revealed in conversation with ARTSource. 

After the birth of R. Carlos Nakai in Flagstaff, 

Arizona, his formative years were spent 

living in an extended family culture. Being 

with different relatives gave him a broader 

perspective than others might attain. 

He found himself in locales as diverse as 

Colorado and Hawaii, along with Washington 

State and his home state of Arizona. This 

enriched his life and impressed upon him 

a cornucopia of nature’s differences that 

would eventually resonate within and find its 

way out through creative expression. “My 

earliest musical influences included social and 

culturally specific ceremonies in the regions 

where I grew up,” he shared. 

At one point he was “handed a cornet, 

contrary to my wishes to have a concert flute 

in C. That experience, both in school and 

with private mentorships, afforded me the 

opportunity to become a solo trumpeter and 

apply to the music department at NAU in 

Flagstaff, Arizona. That was suspended by the 

draft during the Vietnam conflict, and I left 

to enlist and hopefully obtain a spot in the 

military schools of music in Washington, DC. 

While awaiting the new assignment I pursued 

some night schools and even tried out for 

the Royal Hawaiian Band. A traffic accident 

cut all that short again, as I suffered significant 

damage to my trumpet embouchure. I 

returned home to Window Rock, Arizona, 

and worked at the Window Rock School 

District as a Resource Center Assistant.” 

R. Carlos Nakai 

Peter Kater 

While there, he met the woman that was to become his wife and she shared with him 

a knowledge that would affect his lifelong direction. “I learned from her that the Ute 

tribe in southern Colorado played a handmade wooden flute‒like instrument. I had 

a curiosity and intrigue that encouraged me to begin research about this indigenous 

instrument.” 

Interestingly, this revelation dovetailed with “childhood wishes of learning to play the C 

concert flute. This, along with the influences of native Ute, Navajo, Zuni, and Polynesian 


informants, now enabled me to begin 

studying and visiting European and 

American museums, and even private 

collections, to inquire about the 

historical nature of this particular 

flute‒like instrument. 

“Acquiring knowledge about 

the western European discipline 

of music, and the early and 

contemporary tuning developments 

of composers were a boon to 

my interests. Indigenous flutes 

are arbitrarily tuned traditionally 

handcrafted instruments, but later 

developments by ‘chief Black and 

Decker’ made for flutes tuned 

somewhat to A385‒440. I discovered 

that they have a minor scale range 

and modes that fit the usual basic 

fingering pattern of flutes worldwide. 

I wrote original melodies based 

upon a pentatonic system but soon 

found that using alternate fingering 

patterns allowed me to enhance 

the capabilities of these indigenous 

flutes. My cultural influences, socially 

and environmentally, help me 

formulate personal perspectives and 

enlarge upon the tribal philosophies 

that elders and peers have imparted 

to me in my life journey.” 

One of his favorite influential 

directions was imparted by his maternal grandmother 

who counseled, “We were put on this earth to experience life in its totality, as well as 

have a good time. If you’re not doing that, then you are essentially wasting your time.” 

THE CALL TO REFLECT 

R.C. happily recalls that his best friend “insisted’ that he enroll in Carl Berger’s Creative 

Music Studio in West Hurley, New York. At this stage, further advice and encouragement 

from friends helped shape the direction of his career. “I created my first solo flute 

song ‘Whippoorwill’ due to the insistence by Jim Pepper, the band Codona, and Don 

Cherry, that I listen to the environment, and find natural sounds to originate a melody. 

The musicians in attendance encouraged me to use the native American flute in 

contemporary world music expressions.” 

“I am a strong 

advocate of 

inclusively 

sharing my 

music traditions ...” 



11

R. Carlos Nakai AmoChip Dabney 

Another reinforcing event followed a trip to Campbell River, British Columbia to attend Paul Horn’s improvisatory 

music workshop on Cortes Island, where “the teaching was ‘listening to the world’ and playing impressions 

embellished with a Roland 2000 effects unit. Those simple admonitions and the addition of electronic effects truly 

enhanced my palette of musical possibilities.” 

Later, R.C. Nakai was one of three native American flute players who accepted an open invitation to the Harmonic 

Convergence event in Grand Junction, Colorado. That event proved to be a most apropos time – for it was here 

that he met flute maker, Ken Light, of Amon Olorin Flutes, makers of traditionally tuned Southern and Northern 

Plains flutes, and also his future flute supplier. “Today, my concertizing indigenous flute kit is comprised of 14 

individually tuned flutes, whistles from native cultures of the Pacific Rim, and Golden Eagle ulna bone whistles.” 

EXPANDED PRESENCE 

“Over time, solo-performing became tedious,” R.C admits. “So I began adding other musicians to enlarge upon 

my own palette of sounds; to make the indigenous flute more versatile and capable of going beyond the so-called 

indigenous pentatonic system of melody.” He acknowledged too, that he uses all of his instruments at various 

times while performing in concert, and also when recording with artists from other musical genres. This vast 

repertoire of inclusion sees R.C. Nakai crossover, or better yet, meld with jazz and ‘new age’ performers, along with 


R. Carlos 

Nakai 

Quartet 

Will Clipman 

Johnny Walker 

instrumentalists from across the orchestral stage, and this in various configurations. These eclectic performances 

are accomplished with artists from Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. “Over time I’ve joined forces to make music 

with such talents as Harp Guitarist, William Eaton; World Percussionist, Will Clipman; pianist, Peter Kater; 

Hawaiian Slack‒key Guitarist, Keola Beamer along with Moanalani Beamer; Synthesist, Larry Yanez; Cellist, Udi 

Bar David; Jazz Pianist/Bassist, AmoChip Dabney.” 

And consider these significant phases: 

James DeMars crafted “The Two World Concerto” for R. Carlos Nakai, who solo-performed it as the first native 

American flute concerto. It premiered in 1992 by the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. 

Composer, Gary Gackstatter rewrote “Chaco” exclusively for native American flute, with choir and orchestra 

parts, and it premiered in 2016 in Kirkwood, Missouri. 

“I will endeavor to become of service to others” 



13

R. Carlos Nakai, Will Clipman, William Eaton 

REFLECTION WITH A PURPOSE 

“Being a former brass musician, I apply much of the technique 

and other embellishments to play the indigenous flute. 

Working with other musicians, the technique of playing 

5 over 4, etcetera, makes for interesting combinations of 

melodic harmony. I paint sonic images utilizing the expertise 

of my fellow readers or improvisators.” 

R.C. loves working in improvisation “... because the challenge 

of realizing form, phrasing, stylization, dynamics, harmonics, et 

al, is an ever‒present goal while entertaining my audiences. 

My first rule to finding melodies is to listen carefully to 

my environment wherever that place may be. The sounds 

of Pando interacting with the wind, the waters, birds, and 

animals calling, the work‒a‒day activity, and even my own 

mental state buzzing away also intrigues me to no end. 

“That inclination is embedded in my personal approach, 

whether composing original melodies, or working with 

improvisational performances, and they exemplify my close 

affinity to the sounds of my own ancestral heritage. I am a 

strong advocate of inclusively sharing my music traditions 

while contributing to the miasma of the extant multicultural 

American music and fine arts expressions. There are 

more similarities than we realize among the vast world 

communities in music. 

“I have learned to always have my travel flutes and an eagle 

bone whistle in my backpack while touring or on vacation 

because one never knows when one will be called upon 

to do something musical. I love to create a calming space 

on occasion or as my elders say, ‘to become of service to 

others!’ I can share through performing and comparing 

the application and sounds of my own traditional and 

contemporary music — how it is formed and what its 

intentions are. In this manner, I can reach more people 

by actively performing my works, wherever I may be on 

the planet on tour, or just visiting, rather than just ‘talking 

it up’. In America, we embody an ancestral mélange of 

many different cultures all at once. All understandings of 

personality, historic ancestry, and connection to the rest of 

the indigenous world is within each of us. In essence, I found 

that the American Indian community is an integral part of the 

multicultural musical world, too. And, again, I will endeavor to 

‘become of service to others’ without qualification.” 

That service has been reflected wherever R. Carlos Nakai 

has found himself throughout the phases of his career. His 

willingness and readiness to share light with all is a testimony 

to his worthy orbit and his status as a light bearer, a sharer of 

intergenerational knowledge and a sponsor of multi-cultural 

harmonies. 4 



15


Vast stretches of the high deserts of northern Arizona and the desert southwest 

painted ‘alla prima’ in oil reflect a lifetime of loving nature. Peaceful cloudscapes 

and landscapes offer gentle ‘forever places’ to return to time and time again. 

Cloudscapes • Landscapes • Wildlife 

LynnTrombettaFineArt.com 



17

The Flower of Stubborn Passion 


Arranged by Erick Hale 

Cyndy Carstens 

is an exceptional artist. She was 

not born and nourished into a 

creative culture; she is an artist 

because the artist within started 

seeking expression. Consider her 

own words… 

“I was very ill as a small child. My 

parents bought an adjustable easel 

that would sit over my lap while 

I was in bed, along with crayons, 

pencils and tempera paints. I was too 

young to read, so I started drawing 

and painting to occupy my time. 

One of my paintings won the award 

of a summer scholarship to the 

Minneapolis Art Institute. I was six. 

“That summer experience planted a 

seed for love of the arts, and a passion 

within for making art that I still can’t 

quite explain. At that time, I only 

knew that being an artist was what I 

needed to be.” 

“Aspen Harmonies” Oil on Canvas 

40 x 50 | Private Collection 


19

“I believe everyone has an intuitive creative side 

that longs to be released.” 

“Early on I only had access to 

crayons, pencils and tempera paints. 

I graduated to colored pencils and 

watercolors around 10 years old. 

Acrylics and India inks entered my 

art realm in high school. I was at the 

university before beginning to work 

with oil paints. 

“Today I still love the fluidity of 

watercolor, the precision of ink pens, 

and drawing with graphite. But 

my first love is traditional oils. The 

intensity of the pigment and buttery 

consistency of the paint is a joy. I will 

use acrylic only when called upon to 

do so. 

Throughout her school years Cyndy 

was not encouraged in the direction 

of pursuing art as a vocation, but her 

inward determination was still to do 

just that; to become a professional 

painter. “I wanted to study art at 

the university. My father told me he 

would only pay for me to go to college 

if I studied any other subject, but not 

art. Determined, I worked three jobs 

to save enough funds to pay for two 

semesters of college including room 

and board. I carried as many hours as 

possible those two semesters while 

working part time at the university 

newspaper and waiting tables. The 

result was failing my first painting 

class (devastating) and hospitalization 

for exhaustion. 

“Still, I would not quit. There had 

to be a way; one I had not found or 

figured out yet. I was young, naïve 

and very stubborn … The deep 

connection/meditation I felt while 

creating art – I just wanted to keep 

doing it.” 

“Dawn Will Come” Oil on Canvas, 24 x 30 | Private Collection 

Cyndy proved stubborn enough to 

pursue her dream through a variety of 

arts-related accomplishments, both as 

a worker-bee and as an entrepreneur. 

THE PASSIONATE PURSUIT 

Through decades of working in and 

around the commercial arts, Cyndy 

has had many palettes in her hand. 

She has been a graphic artist, a 

printing press operator, a greeting 

card publisher, and an art director 

for an ad agency and two different 

magazines. For fifteen years she 

operated as a respected muralist, 

often stylistically favoring trompe 

l’loeil applications. Her expertise 

has been shared as an instructor and 

advisor on many levels too. But what 

is wonderful about her life today is 

that she is doing just what she always 

wanted to do – she is an oil painter. 

And why does this medium in 

particular elevate her heartbeat? 

Here’s what she says: 

“Painting would always be my 

passion. While employed doing 

other art-related things, I continued 

forward with learning all I could 

about composition, technical skills 

required for drawing and painting, 

attending university classes and 

workshops whenever possible.” 

Through the decades Cyndy was 

found consistently polishing her focus 

and her skills, however she recalls two 

specific years that produced growthrings 

in her career that have had 

powerful and far-reaching effects. 

“I began to focus my work on 

atmosphere around 2003. Light, 

its refractions, transparency, color 

strength or lack thereof – these are 

my favorite subjects. The character 

of tree forms is also particularly 

interesting to me. Each tree tells a 

story of growth, heartache, difficulties, 

tragedies, and victories. I also love 

rock formations and reflective surfaces 

of water.” 

The year 2011 was another pivotal 

year of fulfillment. That was the 


year for opening a studio/gallery in the 

renowned Arts District of Old Town 

Scottsdale. “I very much enjoy sharing 

my work with the public and painting 

almost every day. It is a good balance for 

me – time to share and time to work.” 

DOORWAY TO INVENTION 

A distinguishing feature of Cyndy’s 

skillset came into being because of what 

she determined was lack of product 

availability for use on her painter’s 

palette. Note how she creatively solved 

the problem: 

“I wanted to combine drawing and 

painting in the same completed artwork. 

One can draw on top of an almost dry oil 

painting, but there is no way to engender 

the graphite permanent, even with 

varnish. If the varnish is ever removed 

to clean a painting surface, the drawing 

would be removed also. So, I began 

researching the making of oil paint and 

then experimenting to create an oil paint 

using graphite as the pigment. After 

investigation, evaluation and testing to 

ensure its permanency, I began using the 

graphite oil paint in some of my work, 

especially to do portraitures of trees. 

“With this knowledge I was able to 

make other oil paints in colors not 

commercially available by mixing 

different pigments to equate the 

luminosity and concentration of color 

in my imagination. 

“The process involves use of a binder(s), 

drying agent and dry pigment. In oil, the 

paint must be applied thick over thin 

(fat over lean). But there are times when 

I want to tint or tweak areas of color 

slightly. Making my own paint allows 

me to make a thick transparent layer 

that will not interfere with the archival 

integrity of the painting. 

“Sedona Pine” Oil on Canvas, 48 x 30 | On Exhibition at Bella Fine Goods, Sedona 

“The deep connection/meditation I felt while creating art 

– I just wanted to keep doing it.” 


21

To my knowledge, there are no other artists using graphite 

oil paint in their work.” 

EYES SPURRED UPWARD 

In response to a question on the subject of an impactful 

experience that may have been involved in forging her 

entire being, she revealed, “Caregiving” and explained, “If 

you have ever been a caregiver, you know how challenging, 

rewarding, and life-changing it can be. Being a caregiver is 

what catapulted my art to move from landscape to skyscape. 

Emotional anguish taught me life’s toughest lessons and gave 

me the gift of focus and empathy. The heartache spurred my 

eyes upward and I have, to-date, refused 

to change my gaze.” 

Inspiration is the breath of life for 

artists of all genres. Where does it 

come from? For Cyndy Carstens 

that inspiration has arrived in waves 

throughout her life, but succinctly she 

summarizes personal recognitions on 

this subject by saying: 

“Nature inspires the eye, but it is the 

heart - the soul - that inspires art.” 

With the well-earned qualifications to 

advise her peers, and those coming along 

behind us, she shares three thoughtprovoking 

expressions, gleaned from 

experience, that all can benefit from: 

~ Artists and the art they make is 

personal, and public at the same time. 

“Three Graces” 

Watercolor on Paper | 11 x 14 

~ Artists expose their inner-most lives 

to be scrutinized or applauded – to be either admired or 

despised. Artists tousle and tumble between being worthy 

and (having feelings of ) worthlessness. 

“Composing Intention” 

Oil on Canvas | 24 x 30 

~ If we take ourselves too seriously, we can become arrogant. 

If we believe in ourselves to slightly, we become nothing 

more than jellyfish trying to make art without feeling. 

A vist to Cyndy Carstens’ studio and gallery is an experience 

worth having. It is located in Old Scottsdale at 7100 East 

Main, Suite B. 4 


“The intensity of the pigment and 

buttery consistency… is a joy.” 


23

Edward S. Curtis, 

Self Portrait 


Piegan, c. 1910, 

cyanotype on paper; 

Peterson Family Collection 


Light and Legacy: 

The Art and Techniques of 

Edward S. Curtis 

at Western Spirit: 

Scottsdale’s Museum of the West 

by James D. Balestrieri 


25

At the end of the 19th century, many Indigenous peoples in North 

America continued to follow traditional ways of life despite the 

tremendous pressures of Westward expansion. Seattle photographer 

Edward Curtis saw the importance of honoring these people on film and 

devoted his life to this endeavor. Opening at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s 

Museum of the West in October 2021, and running through late spring 

2023, Light and Legacy: The Art and Techniques of Edward S. Curtis will be 

celebrating the life and works of this seminal American artist. 

Edward S. Curtis, Mosa–Mohave, 

1908, photogravure; 


From 1900 to 1930, Curtis 

spent countless hours on the 

road and in the field, traveling 

from Arizona to Alaska and 

from the Mississippi River to 

the California coast, creating 

thousands of images, audio 

recordings, and the earliest 

motion pictures of Native 

Americans, all while making 

tremendous contributions 

to the art and science of 

photography. The result, the 20 

volumes and portfolios of The 

North American Indian, remains 

an artistic and ethnographic 

triumph. Curtis chose, and 

led, a dramatic, even cinematic 

life — yet it all but consumed 

him. His passion would take his 

health and marriage and he would eventually lose control of and rights to his 

images. His life’s work would nearly vanish into history. But in the 1970s, in a 

Boston bookstore basement, his art once again came to light. 

Dr. Tricia Loscher, Assistant Director for Collections, Exhibitions and 

Research at Western Spirit, describes the exhibition, stating, “Based upon 

years of collecting Curtis’s artwork, Tim Peterson, Scottsdale’s Museum 

of the West’s Trustee and Western art collector, has used his discerning 

eye in helping to curate this exhibition. On display will be photogravures; 

original copper plates; orotones; platinum prints; silver bromides; silver 

gelatins; cyanotypes; glass plate negatives; and recordings of Native music.” 

Peterson adds, “The exhibition lays out in two parts. In the first, at least four 

portraits, one dwelling, and four to six cultural images from each of the first 

20 volumes of The North American Indian will be featured. The second half 

of the exhibition honors Curtis’s artistry in the darkroom. Bottles of the 

minerals he used to develop his prints, as well as a camera of the kind he 

traveled with will be on display.” For perhaps the first time, visitors will have 

a chance to compare the same image in different versions and learn how these 


Edward S. Curtis, An Oasis in the Badlands, 

1905, silver bromide border photograph; 



27

Edward S. Curtis, Son of the Desert, 1904, silver photograph; 



various versions were created in the 

darkroom. 

Edward S. Curtis, The Oath, 1909, copperplate; 


Born into abject poverty, Edward 

Curtis’s father, a sickly Union Army 

vet, had little more to give his son 

than the camera lens he had somehow 

acquired during the war. Not a 

camera, a lens. Young Edward was 

fascinated and constructed his first 

camera out of wood. When the family 

moved to Seattle, Edward found work 

in a photography studio and soon 

made a success on his own. 

A chance meeting on the slopes 

of Mt. Rainer with a lost party of 

“scientificos,” as Curtis called them, 

changed his course forever. Among 

them was George Bird Grinnell, 

editor of Field and Stream magazine 

and author of numerous works on 

the Plains Indians. Grinnell invited 

Curtis to accompany the group on 

an expedition to Alaska and to visit 

the Blackfoot in Montana after 

that. In Montana, Curtis imbibed 

the “Vanishing Race” myth that 

envisioned an inevitable, tragic end 

to America’s Indigenous Peoples and 

began to imagine The North American 

Indian. With the eventual blessing of 

President Theodore Roosevelt and 

the financial backing of J. Pierpont 

Morgan, publication began, but 

the work, sold by subscription, was 

expensive for the time — $3000 — 

and individuals and institutions 

were often reluctant to commit to 

something that, it seemed, might 

never be finished. 

Curtis, however, had grit to spare, 

relentless ambition, and a restless, 

creative mind. In addition to his 

photographs, Curtis and his various 

teams made over 10,000 wax cylinder 

recordings of Native American 

languages, songs and music, a 

bounty that continues to produce 

dividends today, and made the first 

all-Native film in British Columbia 

with Kwakiutl actors reenacting 

their stories and legends. Even 

with the absurd title given it by its 

producers and promoters, Land 

of the Head Hunters, and even with 

Curtis himself leading the charge, 

the film was a critical darling and 

commercial flop that left him 

deeper in debt. Adding injury to 

insult, while in British Columbia 

a boat Curtis was filming from was 

upended and his hip smashed by an 

indifferent whale. 


29


Canyon de Chelly, 

1904, photogravure; 




Medicine Crow, 

1909, goldtone; 


No stranger to controversy in his lifetime, Curtis to this day inspires fierce debate. 

As an example, Curtis’s time among the Crow, listening to the story of the Battle 

of the Little Big Horn — Custer’s Last Stand — from some of the scouts who had 

been there caused him to rewrite the hagiographic account of “Yellowhair” in a less 

than flattering way. Historians blustered at Curtis’s revisionism, but the account 

he set down has come to be seen as historically accurate. Today, on the other 

hand, many Native artists and scholars see Curtis’s undeniably beautiful portraits 

as romanticized, unduly stoic and resigned images that contribute to inaccurate 

views of Indigenous Peoples. Yet we also know that of all the white artists who 


31

Edward S. Curtis, The Three Chiefs, 

albumen photograph; Peterson Family Collection 

chose Native Americans as their subjects, none visited as 

many different tribes and spent as much time among them, 

and none were invited to see, photograph, and sometimes 

take part in ceremonies as Curtis was. Light and Legacy: The 

Art & Techniques of Edward S. Curtis explores and embraces 

the complexities of these points of view — and of the man 

himself — in the most comprehensive exhibition of this 

artist’s work undertaken to date. 


Edward S. Curtis, The Potter – Nampeyo, 

platinum photograph; Peterson Family Collection 

Western Spirit: 

Scottsdale’s 

Museum 

of the 

West 

Open in 2015, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West features 

regularly changing and permanent exhibitions of Western 

and Native American art and cultural artifacts, as well 

as entertaining and informative events and programs 

that bring the West’s heritage and culture to life. 

Current exhibitions include: Canvas of Clay: Hopi Pottery 

Masterworks from The Allan and Judith Cooke Collection; 

Courage and Crossroads: A Visual Journey Through the 

American West; Dr. Rennard Strickland’s Profound Legacy: 


33


The Golden West on the Silver Screen; Collecting Stories: John Coleman Bronzes from the Alper Collection; The A.P. Hays Spirit 

of the West Collection of Western Artifacts; Photographs by Barry M. Goldwater: Selections from the Arizona Highway Collection; 

From the Mountains to the Moon: the Art of Paul Calle; Beaded Gauntlets from the William P. Healey Collection. 

All are housed in an award-winning building designed by Phoenix-based architectural firm Studio Ma. Scottsdale’s 

Museum of the West also features the Christine and Ted Mollring Sculpture Courtyard, the 135-seat Virginia G. Piper 

Charitable Trust Theater and Auditorium, and the Sue and Robert Karatz Museum Store. Indoor and outdoor spaces 

are certified as LEED® Gold. SMoW is owned by the City of Scottsdale and the museum is managed by Scottsdale 

Museum of the West, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is a Smithsonian Affiliate. 4 

WESTERN SPIRIT: 

SCOTTSDALE’S MUSEUM OF THE WEST 

3830 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 

480-686-9539 

www.scottsdalemuseumwest.org 

Hours: 

Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 – 5:00 PM. 

Sunday, 11:00 – 5:00 PM. 


35

Linda Goldenstein 

Toasting the Talent 

ARTSOURCE is pleased to share 

in an outpouring of support for the 

much-loved, Linda Goldenstein. 

Linda was one of the first 

people I met when I moved 

to Sedona and I was immediately 

taken by the energy and passion 

she has for supporting and 

promoting the artist community. 

Seven Canyons has been the 

beneficiary of her generosity 

through her gallery providing 

paintings and sculptures 

for display throughout the 

Clubhouse. Linda is also a 

tireless supporter of many 

community causes, and a 

true ambassador for 

everything Sedona. 

– Dave Bisbee, Seven Canyons 

Linda is one in a million. A community volunteer and leader, Linda has made 

significant contributions of time, talent and funds to many worthwhile Sedona 

projects and organizations. You can always count on her positive and gracious 

presence in any situation. 

– Chuck Marr 

Photo by Gary Glenn 

Over the years, Linda has been a source of inspiration and support. In the 

eleven years I have served as Executive Director of the Sedona Arts Festival, 

she has been the person I turn to for guidance and she has been an unwavering 

supporter of the Arts Festival, often contributing to our jury process or just 

stepping in when I need some help. Her knowledge of and contribution to our 

art community is unparalleled. And besides all that, she’s just a wonderful human 

being … kind, thoughtful, and always smiling sweetly. Sedona is enriched by her 

contributions and so am I. Thank you, Linda. 

Linda Goldenstein is an amazing 

visionary and influential voice for the arts 

community of Sedona. She has a way of 

bringing people and artists together to 

enhance lives and make the world a more 

beautiful place. Linda has been a major 

pioneer in putting Sedona on the map as 

an arts and cultures destination. 

– Lori Reinhart, Executive Director Sedona Arts Festival 

Linda Goldenstien is a committed arts advocate and community supporter. She 

has a keen awareness of her collectors and an unprecedented ability to connect 

them with the art that will enrich their surroundings. Linda exudes a dynamic, 

positive, loving presence that is infectious and is a great asset to both art and 

artist. Her contributions to Sedona will reverberate for generations. 

– Rachel Tucker 

– Patricia Griffin 


A most knowledgeable, intriguing, 

kind and compassionate soul; 

Linda is a true Sedona treasure. 

We are fortunate to have her as a 

leading voice in our community. 

– Kayla Clements 

Linda Goldenstein, with her unique 

and trusted relationship with many 

accomplished artists, has been invaluable 

in helping us to select wonderful pieces 

of art for our home. 

– Lewis & Nancy Hoyt 

An avid supporter of the arts and an 

amazing entrepreneur, Linda Goldenstein 

is also a beautiful human being. She 

shines brightly in her commitment 

to community, collaboration, and 

philanthropy. 

– Shey Khandro 

I've known Linda for a long time and she 

is definitely one of the brightest lights 

in our community. Her contribution to 

the arts is so extensive and truly valued. 

She touches the lives of everyone that 

lives in and visits Sedona by the exquisite 

art that she has placed and displays 

around the city. Her beautiful heart is a 

reflection of the beauty she gives us all. 

– Glenn Scarpelli, Host and Owner, 

Sedona NOW TV 

Linda Goldenstein, a rare Native Verde 

Valley Arizonian, is a Golden Treasure of 

the Sedona Art World!!! 

– James N. Muir 

From the first moment I met Linda, I 

loved her. The warmth, the smile and 

the sincere desire to serve were evident 

immediately. She is also one of my 

dearest friends and we have traveled to 

Egypt together. Sedona is blessed to 

have Linda as a citizen always giving and 

wanting to make Sedona shine like the 

gem it is. 

– Andrea Smith 

Linda Goldenstein has been a pillar for 

the arts in Sedona for years. Thanks to 

Linda's vision, there are many beautiful 

sculptures enhancing our area. She has 

also been instrumental running engaging 

events, bringing community together to 

celebrate local artists. 

– Nancy Lattanzi, 

Arts & Culture Coordinator 

City of Sedona 

Linda Goldenstein is an absolute gift to our community! She does so much for 

the arts in Sedona through her beautiful gallery and through her involvement in 

many non-profit groups, including our Sedona International Film Festival (among 

many others). She gives so generously of her time, talents and resources to make 

our city an arts destination. She brings beauty, style, elegance and professionalism 

to everything she touches AND she inspires everyone she meets. Our city — our 

WORLD — is a more beautiful place with Linda in it! 

– Patrick Schweiss, Executive Director Sedona International Film Festival and 

Mary D. Fisher Theatre 

Linda Goldenstein’s essence epitomizes the power of community and collaboration. 

She profoundly believes that art is a living breathing experience and strives to share 

its healing power with the world around her. You can feel the spirit of love connecting 

everything she touches. Sedona and the greater community of humanity have all been 

richly rewarded by her efforts. I feel blessed to call her my friend! 

– Mindy Mendelsohn 

Linda is an amazing person. She always has the time to help everyone. Her galleries have 

presented eclectic art not found elsewhere in Sedona. I had the pleasure of serving on the 

Sedona Board with her for several years. 

– Joel Gilgoff 

Linda has old-timer connections to Sedona through her family. We so appreciate her 

continuing efforts to feature local artists and shine a spotlight on art that celebrates 

Sedona's heritage. If you are involved in the arts and culture community of Sedona, you 

have a passionate and enthusiastic friend in Linda Goldenstein. 

– Janeen Trevillyan, Sedona Heritage Museum 4 


37

GENERATIONS 

Oaks & Acorns in 

the Landscape of Art 


Contained in the acorn of an oak 

tree is the proclivity, the capacity, 

and the potential for producing another 

of its kind. Consequently some of the 

acorns it produces will sprout and grow 

in a similar pattern as their ancestral 

progenitors. 

Such capacities and/or predispositions 

are found in the offspring of people in all 

manner of accomplishments. Children 

may tend to follow their parents in 

to a field or endeavor because of 

association, similar interests, or because 

of genetic proclivities toward specific 

talents. When personal choice has been 

exercised, it makes such efforts even 

more beautiful to behold. 

This collection shines light on such 

generational extensions of creative 

talent. Because of parents, grandparents, 

or some other role model, many are the 

creative persons that choose to train 

their talents in a field close to their 

roots. 

Learn about some intriguing examples 

of this found in the creative community 

in Arizona … 


39

The Making of an Image Maker 

The DeSerio family has multigenerational 

links to the arts community. Our 

focus is on two members, father and 

son, pursuing their shared interest in 

photography. Here’s their abbreviated 

story… 

Born in New York City, little 

Lou DeSerio was showing strong 

signs of music appreciation by the age 

of two. Within a few short years he was 

gifted a grand piano by his parents. But 

music was not to be his only interest, for as 

he progressed through his education he became 

enamored with the art of ‘seeing’ and steadily moved 

the realm of photography and printmaking into his repertoire. 

Lou and Adam DeSerio 

By Erick Hale 

Eventually he attended school at the Brooks 

Institute of Photography and advanced from 

there into favoring natural elements for 

his captures, with a special fondness for 

trees. “Brooks Institute was focused 

on commercial applications such as 

advertising, studio work, portraiture 

and did not stimulate the artistic 

interests that were coming from works 

by photographers that I was becoming 

aware of,” Lou says. “Ansel Adams 

was a dominant inspiration because 

of his landscape photos and techniques. 

Wynn Bullock was an inspiration in making 

photography a ‘way of life.’ Minor White stimulated 

my process with a more spiritual approach of understanding 


GENERATIONS 

Lou 

the connection between the energy of light and the 

correlation to sound vibrations. Eliot Porter’s work 

and collaboration with Thoreau moved me to desire 

working in nature more so than in the studio or on 

the stage.” 

Tracks | Lou DeSerio 

With that strong influence from the work of Ansel 

Adams, Lou was eventually able to spend some time 

under the tutelage of this renowned master of black 

and white film-based image-making, enough time to 

have that influence felt throughout the rest of his 

capacitated career. 

He was later commissioned by the state of Nevada to 

produce a portfolio and book about the ghost towns 

of the state. 

Lou's roots in music and photography have melded 

together over the decades and besides being an 

accomplished photographer and printmaker, Lou has 

been a music composer and multi-talented performer 

of a full range of musical instruments. In this arena 

he has been a performer in numerous public and 

private events in Arizona, and has produced two compact disc collections 

featuring his compositions. 

Lou working with Ansel Adams 

PASSING THE CAMERA ... 

It was 1994 when Adam DeSerio was born in Sedona, and like his father, 

demonstrated an early proclivity for gravitating toward the arts. No doubt 

his father's influence was responsible for his first taste of capturing images 

at the age of three. Before another ten years passed he had garnered 

enough experience to be the recipient of a free two-week trip to Australia, 


41 

Naked Tree | Lou DeSerio

Flowing Stone | Adam DeSerio 

a gift from the National Geographic Society for being 

a grand-prize winner in a sponsored photo contest for 

youth. “Those exciting weeks were spent photographing, 

meeting local people, and learning local culture with the 

National Geographic Team. This began a passion for travel 

photography,” Adam says. 

Attending Northern Arizona University as a business 

major, Adam was honored once again, this time in 2014. 

The Franke School of Business at NAU was one of several 

colleges and universities invited to send a few students to 

Omaha, Nebraska for a weekend where they would have the 

opportunity to meet and ask questions of business magnate 

Warren Buffet. The school selected Adam and a few other 

business students to represent their school. “As a sign of 

appreciation to Mr. Buffett, NAU purchased my photo titled 

‘Mather Point Sunrise,’ and allowed me to present it to Mr. 

Buffett on behalf of the school,” Adam said. 

Riomaggiore | Adam DeSerio 


GENERATIONS 

Skyfall | Adam DeSerio 

Adam’s taste for travel has also been nurtured. He continued 

fueling his artistic passions by spending 6 months of study 

abroad in Siena, Italy. There, he studied art history, creative 

writing, and Intense Italian Language. While there he spent 

every weekend exploring and photographing Tuscany, sections 

of Northern Italy, and parts of Europe. 

Adam returns every year that it’s possible to do so, leading 

small groups on culture tours throughout Italy. “I love sharing 

the wonderful food, wine, history, art, and beauty that Italy has 

to offer,” he says. Beyond Italy, Adam has traveled to France, 

Greece, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Egypt, with the rest 

of the world on his ‘bucket list’ of places to go. 

The work of both Lou and Adam DeSerio can be seen and 

appreciated at The DeSerio Gallery, 101 North State Route 

89A, Suite D17 in Sedona, where photo workshops and 

guided travel opportunities are also available. 

Monument Valley | Adam DeSerio 


43

Sam welcomes the audience 

in preshow curtain speech 

Christopher as Lurch in 

The Addams Family 

A mother and son share a passion for the magic of live musical theatre and find themselves 

Christopher Forrest belongs on the stage. That 

is clear to Christopher, his mother and 

the audience. He loves theatre; especially 

the musical productions. Christopher is 

an actor who was born with multiple 

brain damage including cerebral palsy, 

cognitive damage and autism. 

Onstage he is comfortable and excited, 

as are his many fellow cast members. 

The show’s director Sam, who is 

Christopher’s mother, is excited too. 

in Good Company 

By Leslie Haddad | Photos © Christine Keith/Detour Company Theatre 

Imagine the scene: Christopher is costumed as a 

loving comical cow, led across the stage by a fellow actor 

portraying Jack (of Beanstalk fame). As they enter and cross to 

stage right, Christopher connects with the audience right away 

with a big silly grin and a happy greeting glance toward the 

theatre’s packed house. They get it. Christopher gets it. The 

mood is joyous and silly. For this production of the popular 

musical, Into the Woods, Christopher is bringing to life a role 

usually filled by a papier-mâché bovine figure. That’s always a 

funny sight too, but this audience clearly prefers Christopher’s 

sweet, sincere and silly portrayal. 

Sam & Christopher Forrest 

All are excited to be a part of such a huge undertaking 

and are happy to be part of the large family 

known as Detour Company Theatre. This 

inspiring company offers a variety of 

theatrical training, as well as true and 

meaningful performance experiences to 

adult actors with cognitive and physical 

disabilities. Detour is an inclusive, full 

of heart group of adult actors with 

many different disabilities that include 

autism, blindness, and deafness. Detour’s 

fundamental commitment is providing 

opportunities to these actors. At least twice 

a year they offer up a popular major musical. 

For many years Christopher has been a part of exciting 

productions such as South Pacific, Footloose, Fiddler on the Roof, 

The Addams Family, Happy Days, Mama Mia, Hairspray, School of 

Rock, Little Mermaid and many more. 

But how did all of this come to be? It began when Sam, 

Detour’s founder, was working as the coordinator of a Theatre 

Arts program, teaching students at a school for the deaf. For 

many years Christopher watched rehearsals and shows from 

the audience as his mother created theatre magic. One day he 

asked her, “So when is it going to be my turn?” 


Christopher’s simple question had no simple answer. But for 

Sam, it was to become a catalyst for changes that would end up 

affecting many lives. 

Sam was aware that most theatres were not likely to be able 

to offer opportunities for actors with disabilities. Nor were 

they likely to be ready to navigate the 

ever-changing challenges that some 

of these actors face. There would be 

a need for additional support and to 

adopt the adaptive techniques required 

to undertake such programming. 

However, Sam knew Christopher’s 

question needed to have an answer, and 

soon realized she could provide it. In 

2000, after gathering together some of 

her son’s friends, they began producing 

theatre with participatory experiences 

for disabled actors. By 2003 the non-profit Detour Company 

Theatre had completely taken flight and has since become the 

home and a level playing area for actors with a wide range of 

disabilities. Christopher’s inquiry and Sam’s devotion to a very 

involved undertaking is the stuff of legends. It was a “needs to 

be,” followed by a “has to be,” completed by a “meant to be” 

answer to Christopher’s question. 

Christopher as Milky White 

the cow in Into the Woods 

GENERATIONS 

perseverance. Christopher, who occasionally still gets mildly 

nervous, has become very courageous. So much so that in 

recent years he has joined Sam during her pre-show, front 

curtain speech. He has become a joyful representative of Detour, 

welcoming the audience and inviting them to sit back and enjoy 

the show. 

As everyone takes their places ready for the production 

to begin, it is comforting to the actors to know that 

Sam will be there, in the front row fulfilling her 

role as the director/cheerleader/mom to all. She 

encourages them, guides them, inspires them and 

soaks in the moments and memories with them. 

This is the moment for each of the actors to have 

their turn on the stage. 

As it is with many other theatre companies, the Detour actors 

have various levels of experience and abilities. Each actor 

auditions for the role they hope to get. What makes Detour 

Company Theatre unique is that even if they don’t get the role 

they auditioned for, each and every actor is included in every 

production. This includes Christopher, now age 44 who must 

audition for each production to earn the role he seeks. As with 

any audition anywhere, these actors muster up their courage 

and give it all they’ve got. 

All who are involved with Detour know of Sam’s love for every 

aspect of theatre. It flows into and through the heart and soul 

of every cast member, every talented designer and every one of 

the dedicated coaches who shadow and assist the performers 

onstage. With each production, actors work with and learn 

from professional music directors, musicians, set, costume and 

make-up designers, as well as top-notch technical crews in a 

dynamic theatrical venue. 

Performing for an ever-growing live audience in a nearly 

packed theatre is a tribute to courage, creativity, talent and 

Detour cast members from production of Newsies 

Sam (her full legal name) is the Founder and Artistic Director (now 

emeritus) of Detour Company Theatre. She holds a Master’s of 

Fine Arts degree in Theatre for Youth from ASU. Sam is the former 

coordinator of the Theatre Arts program at Phoenix Day School for 

the Deaf. She was an instructor of Creative Drama at Phoenix College 

and is a certified ASL interpreter. Sam was honored at the 2018 

Governor’s Arts Awards with an award in the Individual category for 

her work with Detour Company Theatre. 

Christopher Forrest is a fun-loving guy who enjoys being a part of 

theatre magic, making friends and inspiring audiences to smile. 

For more information about Detour Company Theatre, their 

upcoming performances, workshops and classes in acting, 

improvisation, comedy, playwriting, or to donate please visit their 

site at: www.detourcompanytheatre.org. 

Leslie Haddad (writer) is an actor and theatre instructor specializing in the 

art of mime. She greatly enjoys writing and especially loves writing poetry and 

plays for youth. 


45

The Limitless 

Palette 

By Lynn Alison Trombetta 

Waddell Family 

Trees have been a favorite subject of artist Ruth 

Waddell, but lately it’s been flowers that have 

garnered her attention. She is still doing drawings with 

pastels at 95 years of age! Enjoy this conversation with 

Ruth and her daughter, Amy. 

Ruth painting 

by the Creek 

Ruth: Yes I have been doing some florals. It’s a change of 

palette. I was painting down near the creek where the trees 

grow and there’s alot of color on the ground as well. In my usual palette 

of pastels there’s a very strong sense of earth tones; ochres, siennas. The 

flowers started out with a bang with primary colors. Some have contrast 

and hopefully there’s a variety of moods and color interactions. But 

they’re definitely in a different palette, so that’s been fun. They’re 

definitely joyful. 

I love drawing people as well, figurative and portraiture kind of things 

and those tend to be earthy tones dominating. I’ll make it back to that. 

I’m looking forward to working with people more. The Covid thing 

bothered that a bit because it’s fairly close contact with the human 

being when you’re working that way. 

Ruth, clearly much of your work has been inspired by nature. 

Ruth: I find that whether it’s a human being or a tree or flower, or 

whatever that inspires a person; there’s so much richness and endless 

inspiration in nature. When I say inspiration, I mean there’s endless 

amounts of interaction of color, interaction of form and all the things 

about this world that are endlessly challenging to comprehend and 

to absorb. So that’s what I mean when I say inspiration from nature, 

returning back and back again there's always something more to see. 

Carrying all of the art materials down to the creek is not as easy for 

me now as it was before, so the flowers were a wonderful thing to do at 

this time. And of course there’s plenty of nature all around me. I may 

get back to that too ... I still find the interesting shapes of tree trunks 

exciting. 


Recent pastel in progress by 

Ruth in Waddell Studio, 2021

GENERATIONS 

Please accept our heartfelt condolences 

to you both over the recent loss of John. 

Amy, your parents shared a wonderful 

lifetime of art together. It seems their 

creativity carries on both in the art that 

has been created and has, like a tree, 

branched out with you and your siblings. 

Amy: Definitely, growing up with 

John and Ruth as parents colored 

everything. Growing up in a creative 

environment made us have a greater 

appreciation for the visual world and 

music and the arts in general. 

We were raised on a steady diet of museum visits. I was in 

Greece over the summer and I was talking to my brother 

Lindsey and he talked about how wherever he and my brother 

William would go in the world with John and Ruth they would 

visit the museums. Going to the museums with John and 

Ruth wasn’t a one-hour in-and-out. It was, you get there before 

the doors open and you spend the entire day at the museum. 

Some of that time John would talk about the paintings to the 

kids, some of the time they’d be just like running around the 

museum, and Lindsay remembered that John had the ability 

to unlock rooms where art was kept that wasn’t necessarily on 

display at the time. They had a huge interaction with artwork, 

probably more 

so than most 

kids. Wherever 

we went in our 

own life with 

creativity, some 

of us made it our 

profession, and 

some of us just 

kept it alive, but 

we were definitely 

influenced by 

John and Ruth. 

Ruth with Head of Florence, by Ruth 

John & Ruth Waddell 

My brother 

Lindsey is 

a musician, 

William’s a chessplaying 

botanist, Sean is a filmmaker, 

Seamus is a poet, and Seanchan is a 

musician and philosopher. 

Ruth: Yes, we feasted on the 

museums. And I think of creativity 

very much in terms of creative 

thinking. For example, my son 

William often will contribute to a 

conversation with a creative point 

of view that others are not open 

to yet. And John did that very 

much too. 

Amy: If you're raised in a family where there’s a deep thinker 

who is able to put things across in an accessible, almost simple 

way, then you might open minds that you wouldn't if you were 

trying to be profound. 

Ruth: And of course another way to do it that we see in 

members of our family is humor. John was definitely a creative 

thinker with unexpected humor. 

Amy: ... 

irreverent, he 

would catch you 

off-guard with 

his humor in a 

way that would 

probably make 

you more open 

to whatever 

came next! 

Amy directing Brothel 

Tell me, Amy, 

did watching your parents at work fill you 

with creative dreams of your own? Where has your creativity led? 

Amy: I went off to film school and at a certain point I was 

writing a lot of fiction and writing screen plays. My best friend 

at the time told me maybe I should really choose between the 

two because each was so demanding. So I spent decades in 

screenwriting, making films, some were documentaries. One 

feature film, Brothel, set in Jerome is now on Amazon Prime. 

It's kind of an arty film. 


47

Amy Waddell on the set of her film 

Ruth: I always call it a psychological ghost story. It’s got that 

wonderful psychological twist. 

Amy: Since I moved back here in 2019 from Paris, I have been 

writing for hire a bit. I just finished a novel based on one of 

my screen plays. During the pandemic I wrote a novel, “Mask 

Maker” in Sedona which I’m editing now and I have high 

hopes of getting back onto the set as a director. 

Ruth: Most people start out as artists to some extent. It's a 

matter of the continuation of the development of the artwork, 

whatever form it is, with the development of the human 

being. What happens is that sometimes people drop off the 

continuation of developing their artwork as they develop as 

human beings. 

Amy: There was a period of time when my mom had stopped 

doing her work – most of my childhood – partially to make it 

possible for John to do his. She was taking care of the MAP 

Fellowship, the Old World European Master Apprentice 

Program, that John oversaw at the ranch after retiring from 

formal university teaching. She handled the meals and 

everything that was happening here. For a while she wasn’t 

doing her artwork. So she went into an extremely internal 

space and was not getting her work out there. So, I was raised 

by someone who had a rich 

internal life going on. People 

would say, “Wow your mom 

is such an amazing listener, 

she’s so wise and she has all 

these amazing things to say.” 

She would sit there and listen 

to apprentice after apprentice 

and model after model and 

visitor after visitor, and she 

would give them her thoughts. 

But very rarely were people 

tapping into her and what was 

going on inside of her. That’s 

my thinking. If she had been drawing I would have been very 

interested to see what she would have been drawing during 

those years. 

Ruth: We all have the opportunity to do it (art); of course some 

people pick it up again later in life. But somebody like Amy’s 

son will have the opportunity to develop his art. He’s going to 

be motivated in different directions at different ages. 

Amy: He laid out his whole life plan for me this morning: First, 

he's going to go to school to study mythology. He plans to hire 

a woman who is a pilot to fly his private plane to Greece and 

Egypt and everywhere to study mythology. Then later, when he 

has kids and a wife they will all dress in adventure clothing and 

go with him on mythology quests and he will write about it. 

That’s an excellent example of how creativity works because we are 

like a huge melting pot of the things we are exposed to and the things 

we dare to dream about. 

Amy: Right, and I think that with John and Ruth the ‘dare to 

dream' aspect is definitely part of it. They shone a light into the 

unknown. But there was also a very clear example of doing the 

work. So you dare to dream, you shine the light further, and 

then you do the work into that unknown space. 


GENERATIONS 

Rose Dance and Tapestry 

Dry Pastel by Ruth, 2017 

Outburst of Joy II 

Dry Pastel by Ruth, 2020 

Many people in film school said to me, “My parents don't really 

understand me as a filmmaker, they think it's a waste of time 

to do film or art”. And I thought, ‘Gosh it's just such a different 

upbringing.’ 

Ruth 

After my dad stopped working in the studio, he would go up 

there with Ruth and model for her. He would sit on the couch, 

and from there you can see his sculptures in the garden. I'd say, 

‘Wow Dad, look at all that work that you've done, how does that 

feel?’ He would just smile and say, “Isn't it beautiful out there, 

isn't it wonderful just to be here? I'm so happy.” 

He had done all the work. His ego was out of it. He was done. 

He didn't seem sad about it or anything. He was at such peace. I 

think that when you have a purpose and a passion and creativity 

and you’re able to put a lot of focus into it, rather than worrying 

about all the other things, it does lead to more peace throughout 

your life. 


49

Kitchen Spin 

By Lynn Alison Trombetta and Erick Hale 

The Moceri family has a long history dealing with dinner 

table essentials. Chef Gerardo Moceri states, “My family 

started their first produce company in Michigan back in 1896.” 

Moceri Produce 

Moceri Produce 

When he was young he delivered 

the produce his family sold to the 

restaurants, and the kitchen influence 

took root. “My mother had a love for 

food and being in the produce business 

I met all the chefs … It seems natural 

that I fell in love with cooking.” 

Chef Gerardo Moceri with son, Gerardo, and daughter, Natalie 


Moceri Family 

In his youth he started 

following the culinary 

scents of his 

ancestry and went 

to Europe. “In 

Italy I met a 

very famous 

chef, Angelo 

Paracucchi. I 

didn’t know 

who he was. 

He knew I didn’t 

know who he 

was, so he gave me

GENERATIONS 

Gerardos Italian Kitchen 

University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy 

room and board and took me in. He became like my dad … I lived there for 

years off and on and he trained me in his restaurant, Locanda dell Angelo 

Paracucchi, in Sarzana, La Spezia, Italy. 

“My chef gave me the opportunity to apprentice in his restaurant and I 

became dedicated when I saw the passion of Italian cuisine from him … 

As my mentor he sent me to other restaurants to work. I went anywhere 

he set it up. I always had work scheduled at three restaurants, but my 

home was with him in Italy. I studied the culinary arts in Italy, Hawaii, 

Switzerland, Paris, California, and New York,” he recalls with a relish in 

his voice. 

Gerardo’s wife, Maria has been there helping with management of the 

family owned restaurants bearing the name Gerardo’s while raising, first 

a daughter, Natalie and then a son, Gerardo, and doing this always in 

the proximity of the family owned restaurants. The younger Gerardo 

is currently busy in Italy, carving out his own culinary credentials by 

attending the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo as part 

of his quest to acquire a Master’s from ASU in the field of World 

Food Cultures and Mobility, which studiously traces the migratory 

route of food supplies and preparation through ancestral people and 

their cultures. 

Baking at Il Forno di Calzolari, 

near Bologna, Italy, October 2021 


51

The Family 

Behind 

the Fun 

Interview by Lynn Alison Trombetta 

Being onstage is a 

family affair for 

Brian, Brenda and 

daughter, Robyn Foley. 

Brian, Brenda, and Robyn Foley 

Brian, what brought 

you to becoming an 

entertainer? 

Brian: I started 

performing my own 

clowning and magic shows for 

younger children when I was ten years 

old. I did fairs and festivals all through high 

school. Then I went to NYU. I studied acting 

and directing for theater. When I graduated 

I did a fascinating mix of performance, 

festival, theater, circus and special events. 

I ended up doing some theater with my 

partner in the award-winning Bond Street 

Theater from New York. 

I became the Associate Artistic Director of 

the World Clown Festival in China and I 

was on a few episodes of Sesame Street and 

I have taught circus to a lot of elementary 

school kids as well. 

Clearly, your varied talents took you on the road. 

Is that how you ended up in Arizona? 

The Foley Family | Photo by Carly Weekley 

I was mostly touring and was on the road a 

lot. Robyn was still very new to the world. 


GENERATIONS 

I decided that I wanted to be a certain 

kind of daddy who was around, as 

opposed to on the road. So we moved 

out here in 2011. I got my MFA from 

ASU in theater directing and with that I 

now teach. 

Where do you teach? 

I’ve been teaching at ASU pretty much 

non-stop since graduation as a professor. 

I teach at Benedictine University in 

Mesa and have supplemented that side 

of my life with some theater directing 

and Valley Variety, our monthly familyfriendly 

variety show in downtown 

Phoenix, up until the pandemic began. 

Brenda, tell us about your start in theatre. 

Brenda: I started as a very young child in 

ballet. My father was a diplomat so we 

moved a lot and I found that the one 

constant for me, no matter where we 

lived, was I could go into a dance studio 

and I knew what a plié was and I could 

find a home there. So dance became a 

through line for me. I also discovered 

singing and that I was pretty good at 

that. 

My high school was a science and 

technology high school, but a lot of 

people who are really good at math, 

which was a lot of people in my high 

school, are also good at music. Our elite 

choirs were really pretty incredible. Our 

choir teacher was phenomenal so I spent 

a lot of my high school time in choirs 

really focusing on very difficult music 

and loved it. I did all the state choirs 

and I applied to college as an opera 

major. But there was a piece of me that 

loved my dance and I started doing a 

little bit of musical theater to kind of 

mix them up. On a whim, I applied to 

the University of Michigan and got in. 

At the time there weren’t very many 

musical programs. Michigan was one of 

the top ones, and when I was on campus 

I felt really comfortable. I graduated 

from there. 

When did you and Brian meet? 

There were fourteen majors in the tiny 

program and we all went to New York 

right after college. 

I did Summer stock at a place called 

Forestburgh Playhouse which is 

where I met Brian, back when he 

was performing musical theater. We 

did six or eight shows together that 

summer. I played Susie in Babes in Arms 

and Joseph’s mother in Joseph and the 

Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He was 

Joseph. When we did West Side Story, I 

was one of the Jet girls. He was Tony. 

We did Cabaret. I actually moved to New 

York after that summer. Brian had one 

Brian as a clown walking on a tightwire. 

Photo by Daniel Fine. Digital Editing by Brian Foley. 

Brian and Robyn | Photo by Laura Durant 


53

pretty solid core of us working 

together during the whole 

pandemic thing. When we get 

past it, I want it to be more 

ensemble based and I’ll need 

to be choosing projects and 

driving things. I’m pretty 

thrilled with the group of 

people we have now and who 

will be making up the company 

as we go forward. 

Photo by Laura Durant 

Bridge Initiative's Artistic Director Brenda Jean Foley celebrating new theatrical work with 

playwrights Ann Marie Wilding (left) and Alison Cambell (right) at the 2019 Bechdel Test Fest 2.0 

year left at NYU and we were able to stay together as a couple. 

But, New York is a tough place to raise a child. We took Robyn 

on a shoot when she was nine months old, but eventually 

decided to come to Arizona. I took some time off for about a 

year and a half, but returned to acting in The Sound of Music. 

Brian: Brenda is an excellent producer. She is Producing 

Artistic Director for “The Bridge Initiative.” People are 

motivated by her and she is the glue that holds people together 

– she has this wonderful innate skill. 

Brenda: For me, it's all about pushing other people forward. 

I'm actually not super comfortable being in front of people 

unless I have a script. I'm very happy being on stage. I'm not a 

clown like Brian is – his gift is he's going to be interacting with 

the audience. But give me that fourth wall and I'm very, very 

happy. For Bridge, Co-founding Producing Artistic Director 

Emeritus, Tracy Liz Miller and I decided to go in together and 

write a grant for funding … we won the seed funding for it! 

That’s the snowball that I’ve been pushing up the hill for the 

last 6 years. (https://www.bridgeinit.org/about/) 

I’ve been enjoying the opportunity with the community with 

Bridge to try to find like-minded people. At this point there’s a 

Please tell us about Robyn’s 

involvement. 

Brenda: The first thing Robyn 

remembers doing is A Christmas 

Carol at Mesa Children’s 

Theater. She had terrible stage 

fright. She was 3 or 4 years old 

and she said, “I don’t know if 

I can do it.” I told her, “If you 

don’t want to do it, you don’t have to do it.” But she was like, 

‘the show must go on.’ She sang “Winter Wonderland’’ with 

me and she danced around and was adorable. She’s taken some 

dance all the way through and she’s done a lot of Childsplay 

camps. I did Mary Poppins with them. Her very first thing was 

James and the Giant Peach. She got to play Earthworm! Later she 

played Jack in Into the Woods, which was so fun. 

During the pandemic she’s done more dance than anything 

and she got back in with Valley Youth Theater. Now she’s in 

Swan Lake at Ballet Theatre of Phoenix. She did The Nutcracker 

there and she’s been really focusing on ballet training. 

Robyn: I go to Arizona School for the Arts now – they also do 

dance and choir there. But I don’t want to be an artist like 

that; I want to be a lawyer. 

Interesting. Robyn, how might your previous experiences with your 

parents help with being a lawyer? 

I can change how I appear to be feeling, which may be useful. 

It’s helped with my creativity and it’s made me less shy. It kind 

of opened me up. I feel like I can talk to adults more easily 

than to children my age. 


GENERATIONS 

Brenda: She’s grown up around more adults and she also 

participated pretty heavily in Valley Variety when that was 

running. We were just shy of our 2 year anniversary show, 

starting our third year in March of 2020 when the pandemic 

began. 

What kinds of things do you do in Valley Variety? 

Robyn: We did this Bugs Bunny opera called, “What’s Opera 

Doc?” The song was like eight minutes long ... “Kill de wabbit, 

Kill de wabbit... (sings)” and we used the audio and acted it out. 

I wore this funny helmet with braids! 

Brenda: She was called “The Littlest Vaudevillian” and was 

doing a lot of clown stuff and some juggling too. At times, 

Brian brought her into the nursing homes when she was itty 

bitty size and they did the clown thing there. 

Brian: She did the Doctor Seuss Circus in Virginia Beach with 

me. We performed at her schools and preschool once she was 

old enough to walk and talk. 

Could you tell Robyn was born for the stage from the beginning? 

Brenda: Yes, she played with her dolls creating choreography, 

arranging them from smallest 

to tallest and had them 

rotate, and she made stage 

managers and directors of 

her stuffed toys! 

been training with me. He likes to jump through hoops and 

even roll around. He’s a good jumper. He can jump very high 

and very fast. He loves to get up on his hind legs, so we’ve got a 

nice little comedy routine that we’re working on. 

In the past eighteen months we both presented virtual digital 

online work. I took Valley Variety online for nine shows and 

Brenda and Bridge have been producing online as well. 

It sounds like you’ve become really versatile in the acts you offer. 

Brian: When we lived in New York, even before we had a child, 

I had agents who would have requests for things like a twoperson 

holiday show at New York Health & Racquet Club, and 

we did that for a number of years. 

Brenda: Suddenly, I’m sewing elf costumes and Brian’s writing 

a show. And then Robyn’s born and before you know it, 

Robyn’s roped into the show. And now we’ve got the dog 

roped in too! 

Brian: But this is the circus way, you know? It is a family 

business! I continue to work with other partners, both 

domestic and international, but this is 

Brian: For all three of us, 

we’re not afraid to be a little 

weird. Certainly if we need to 

rehearse something, nobody 

in this house is afraid to go full 

out for fear of what somebody 

else might think. Nobody is 

afraid to experiment a little bit 

in this house, with expression, 

because we have context for just 

about everything. 

Photo by Mary Adrenaline 

And then there’s McGee the 

Wonder Pup. I even roped our 

dog into the act! McGee has been 

Vaudeville Boy and the Littlest Vaudevillian take a breath between shows 


55

That’s the goal, be the 

bridge and let’s find 

the things that we have 

in common versus 

the things that tear us 

apart and let’s just keep 

learning and growing as 

humans. 

Photo by Mary Adrenaline 

who I live with and these are the lessons 

that I have to pass on. These lessons 

are primarily communicated through 

oral tradition. And throughout most 

of history this has been passed on 

through the family. I’m very happy 

to teach all this stuff to my students, 

whether they be young students or my 

college students, but there is something 

different about passing it on to your 

family. Not only am I passing on a 

performance tradition that is centuries 

and centuries old, but the manner 

by which I am passing it on is equally 

centuries old. And that, at least for me 

at this point in my life, makes me feel 

very strongly connected not only to my 

family but to my chosen family of artists. 

And I feel very much a part of that 

tradition. 

Robyn as a Mouse in The Nutcracker 

Brenda: We also feel that the Arts is 

a way of building community and 

empathy and bringing people together, 

telling stories that need to be told and 

amplifying voices that aren’t being 

heard. It’s become a mission to make 

the world better through the Arts. I 

think part of what Brian and I are trying 

to do as parents is raise a kid who cares 

about the world, and we’re trying to 

model that in every area. Right now, 

with the pandemic there’s so much 

crazy stuff going on, that I just want 

to go into a theater because there’s 

something healing there too. It’s hard 

to connect with others right now and 

we’re being divided in so many ways. I’m 

just working on the whole idea of Bridge. 

The tagline one of our members came 

up with is, “Be the Bridge.” I love that. 

Would you like to share any 

additional thoughts? 

Brenda: It’s exciting and 

it’s a challenging space to 

be an artist and a teacher. 

Brian and I will look at 

each other probably once 

a year and ask, “Why are 

we doing this?” But then 

you have this amazing community and 

opportunities that you wouldn’t have 

in other places and it’s turned out that 

Arizona is a great place to raise a kid. 

Thank you all. ARTSOURCE appreciates 

the opportunity to focus not only on the 

joy that you bring to others but also on the 

values you bring into Robyn’s world and other 

people’s lives. 

Brian: Of all the perspectives that could 

possibly be taken from our silliness, 

that’s truly lovely and just wonderful to 

hear that that’s the angle. 

Brenda: The whole idea of using art 

to make the world better is really 

fundamental to who we are at this point 

in our lives. 


GENERATIONS 

Photo by Justice Howard 

Camp Melanie − Making a Life of Music 


Famed singer-songwriter Melanie 

blazed a broad trail and set an 

amazing example of how to make music 

your life. However, that was the last 

advice that she would have given to her 

three children. Ironically, that is 

exactly what came to 

pass. 

Born in Astoria, Queens, 

New York, Melanie was 

surrounded by music 

growing up. Her mother 

was a jazz singer and 

watching her perform 

lent a strong influence to 

Melanie and the songs she 

began writing at an early age. Her debut 

performance at just four years old on a 

local radio show set her path forward. 

Later, she performed at coffeehouses and 

eventually at clubs in Greenwich Village. 

A chance 

meeting with 

Peter Schekeryk 

changed 

everything. Peter 

had a budget to record 

and booked a recording 

session for Melanie at Columbia 

Studios. “Beautiful People,” her first single, immediately 

became a turntable hit. 

Melanie, Leilah, Jeordie, and Beau 

Melanie and Peter got married in 1968. She soon became the first American woman 

to launch her own mainstream record label, Neighborhood Records together with 


57

Melanie & Jeordie 

Photo © Maddy Miller. Courtesy of the Photographer. 

Photo by David Swain 

Beau 

Jeordie 

Peter. The new label’s first single, “Brand 

New Key” became a global hit at #1 in 

the U.S., selling over a million copies. 

It was her unscheduled 1969 solo 

performance at Woodstock where many 

first heard her live on stage and made 

the connection between the song they 

had heard on the radio. 

In the years that followed, Melanie 

entertained millions of people in venues 

around the world. She recorded over 20 

chart hits and many have been covered 

by other notable performers including 

Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, 

Barbra Streisand and Nina Simone. 

Audiences have welcomed her to the 

stage for more than fifty years and she 

continues to perform today. Her latest 

album offering, The Songs I Sang at 

Woodstock is a retrospective collection 

of songs her fans will fondly remember. 

Keep a watch for her upcoming release, 

celebrating the 50 year anniversary of 

the release of her first album, Gather Me, 

coming out on Neighborhood Records 

through the Article 27 Music Rights 

Project (www.r27songs.net). 

“I’ve had an artistically fulfilling 

life,” Melanie commented. “We are a 

family that has always been involved in 

enriching people’s lives. That’s what I’ve 

always encouraged and all three of my 

kids are musicians. My son, Beau is 

this amazing virtuoso guitar player who 

can just pick up almost any instrument 

and start playing! He’s a composer and 

we write together – we’re joined at the 

hip. He’s the youngest, Jeordie is the 

middle child. Beau works with Jeordie 

sometimes when we all get together. 

She’s in Arizona and we are here in 

Nashville. We do meet a lot and do 

music together. As far as me and Jeordie, 

we grew up together. When I was on 

the road, she was on the road. It’s a war 

zone, it really is. You’re out there and 

you have to think on your feet and you 

have to be sharp. I think Jeordie went 

to the Melanie Camp on how to do it. 

She's the real deal because she learned 

from experience. They were with me 

the whole time when I schlepped them 

around on the road and they would be 

my background singers.” 

Singing alongside her mother and 

siblings was fodder for Jeordie as a 

true Americana performer whose song 

writing combines a storytelling platform 

with a unique style as a true crossover 

artist. Jeordie usually performs solo and 

occasionally with her band, Jeordie & 

The Mixology. She has the opportunity 


GENERATIONS 

Photo by Rees Candee 

Melanie with Jeordie and Beau at MIM, Musical Instrument Museum 

to perform with her mother and siblings 

on stage at various special events and 

venues throughout the year. Jeordie says 

performing with her family is still one of 

her favorite things to do. 

She is quick to acknowledge that her 

mother and grandmother have both 

been tremendously inspirational role 

models as female musicians in her life. 

Jeordie commented, “My father, being 

such an incredible producer of music in 

the studio led me to be a true believer in 

creating magic in a recording because of 

what he accomplished on my mother’s 

massive catalog of albums. I am really 

proud of my five releases as an indie 

and my latest recording, Good Luck Sun. 

I truly love Arizona and our beautiful 

desert and music scene. You can hear 

my song, ‘My Arizona’ and get news 

about performances and new releases at 

jeordie.com.” 

Melanie continued, “And then there’s 

Leilah, my eldest, who is the Super 

Mom of the group. Leilah is a singer, 

plays guitar and she’s a great songwriter. 

She balanced performing with being a 

mom to three kids ... and still performs. 

Jeordie and Leilah once had their own 

group. It actually makes me cry to 

hear those recordings. They had such 

amazing harmonies, again they’ve been 

singing together and with me and with 

Beau for all their lives. There’s a certain 

harmony when siblings sing together – 

it’s like the Everly Brothers you know.” 

“Leilah has three children and one of 

those children just had a child, so I’m a 

great grandmother! I can’t believe it!” 

She added, “I think about the 

significance that we give to things like 

‘great-grandmother’ or the significance 

we give to the number of our age, but 

I’m the same person. No matter how 

old you get you’re still that same person, 

you don’t get that far away from it. Yeah, 

you learn a little bit more from it, and 

maybe I would have done things a little 

differently, but still I’m exactly the same 

person. And time has a significance that 

seems to be out of proportion to what 

we really are.” 

Photo by Rees Candee 

Jeordie & Leilah 

Jeordie 

Melanie 

Photo by Larry Urdiales 


59

The Adams Trifecta 

For twenty years the Adams family has been 

working together with a common goal 

— to make their way in the arts field. 

Dianne Adams has the longest line 

of arts accomplishments because 

she started out pursuing creativity 

from within a creative family. “I have 

some very talented artistic sisters. 

One is an interior designer, one does 

fine-art paintings, and another is an 

accomplished quilter. From an early age, 

I’ve been interested in art and continued 

that throughout my life. As a young artist, I was 

encouraged by my parents and teachers to pursue art as 

a career,” she notes. 

Doug, Dianne, and Ryan Adams 

By Erick Hale 

“I picked up watercolor in the early '90s and fell 

in love with its ability to create magic on 

paper. I then taught myself how to apply 

watercolor on canvas and other surfaces, 

and have been painting a series of 

automobiles, gas pumps, and anything 

rusty and dilapidated. 

“Just 3 years ago, I pulled out some of 

my old paper-making supplies and after 

teaching high school students how to 

make paper out of recycled junk mail, I 

decided to do something with it myself. I am 

now creating art with my recycled junk mail and 

displaying it in galleries throughout the southwest.” 


GENERATIONS 

Dianne’s Rooster painting 

on recycled paper 

Ryan’s found-object fence on Adams’ family property 

Twenty years ago Dianne married Doug 

Adams and they found that the road to 

marital bliss was paved with working 

together in the arts. 

For Doug an artistic career did not 

develop until adulthood. “Although 

I had an artistic sense, my art form 

did not take shape until I met 

Dianne twenty years ago. With her 

encouragement and direction, I started 

to create one-of-a-kind bell sculptures. 

The first ones that I made were very 

rudimentary. To my knowledge, I am 

the first in my (genetic) family to be an 

artist,” he says. 

Doug further explains, “After working 

thirty years in a steel mill that recycles 

scrap metal into new and usable steel 

shapes, it was natural for me to want to 

use all the cool parts I was seeing on a 

daily basis. It was when I met my wife 

Dianne while working in the steel mill, 

that I started recognizing the unique 

opportunity that I had, to collect and 

use found metal objects in my work, 

ones that were intended to be melted 

down in 90-ton arc furnaces. 

“At the mill I learned welding and oxyacetylene 

cutting. I became adept at 

using my fabrication skills in the steel 

industry, and now put those skills to use 

by creating one-of-a-kind art pieces.” 

Dianne adds, “I thought it would be 

a good addition to Doug’s bells if we 

incorporated some fused glass into his 

sculptures. I took a fused glass class 

from a community college in Salt Lake 

and learned what I needed to know to 

make beautiful fused glass. We now 

use glass, as well as rocks, in almost all 

the bells that Doug and our son Ryan 

make.” 

Doug's one-of-a-kind 

bells at Exposures 

International 

Gallery 


61

Ryan Adams was born into the art production field and was, in his early teens, the 

youngest artist ever to be contracted to sell his artwork in the world-class Exposures 

International Gallery in Sedona. Regarding his own biography, Ryan says, “I have 

been helping my parents with their art for most of my life. For example, I would 

help clean up the studios, organize tools and supplies, and give them any ideas I had 

on the piece they were currently working on. In the past couple of years though, I 

have been working on sculptures with my dad together as a team. We will give each 

other ideas and it makes it easy to come up with new ideas when we all think about 

it together. Mom helps my dad and I make other types of sculptures such as wall 

hanging pieces, tables, and benches. She uses epoxy resin on her paintings as well 

as on tabletops. My mom also has been making glass for our 

sculptures for a very long time. We really do a lot for each other’s 

artwork and I enjoy being able to work on and give input on all of 

my family’s art. 

Ryan, 

age 11 

“I work hard throughout the summer to stock up inventory for 

the rest of the year. I go to school only Monday - Thursday so I 

have a long weekend to work during the rest of the year. I still have 

plenty of free time and other time to help my parents with their art. 

“I would never be able to do any of that without Marty Herman 

(Exposures International Gallery owner) and the other wonderful 

people at Exposures. I really appreciate all they have done for me to 

get me to where I am … I love that I have been blessed with being able 

to create art alongside my parents.” 

Marty Herman, business mentor and Ryan at age 13, 

the youngest artist at Exposures Gallery at that time 


Blanton commission

Kristina Gabrielle has been a 

designer for print projects 

since she was a teenager and as 

such she has designed scores of 

arts publications along with ads 

for myriad clients in her family’s 

advertising business. 

GENERATIONS 

Kristina’s roots are steeped in the 

arts and she has been influenced by 

these from infancy. 

Before she was a year old she took 

on her first modeling assignment 

in an ad featuring Steiff stuffed 

animals. Both of her grandmothers 

were skilled sewists, one of them 

a respected dress designer and 

alterations specialist in Colorado. 

Her Aunt Carolynn had written 

a western novel by age eleven and 

proved to be an accomplished oil 

painter by the time she reached 

her teens. Her grandparents 

also practiced the art of furniture 

restoration. Her father has created all-format photographic images that have been displayed 

everywhere, from the White House in Washington D.C. to tens of thousands of homes on six 

continents of Earth and Kristina's fingerprints are on nearly every one of them. 

String of Pearls 

By Erick Hale 

“You could say that I was born in the arts, 

so it was a natural segue to transition 

into commercial applications. Because 

I come from a line of independent 

producers it was instilled in me 

to create from within. For this 

Kristina Gabrielle Lawson 

reason I don’t always follow norms 

and expectations, or even popular 

themes. This, of course, proves both a 

bane and a blessing. A blessing because 

at the end of each assignment you have made 

decisions that have been true to your vision,” she explained, "and when that results 

in appreciation from your clients and the public, that is the best reward.” 

The latest achievement in this string of pearls for the lead designer of ARTSOURCE 

Arizona comes in seeing the magazine win first place for new magazine design at the 

annual Folio Awards gala in New York, where publishing achievements are honored 

by peers from within the industry each year. 


63

Dynamics of the Duo 

By Erick Hale 

Esteban and Teresa Joy are a father and daughter 

well versed in the musical architecture of 

their instruments and who are excellent at 

turning up the emotional response of an 

appreciative audience. Consider some 

excerpts from a recent interview with 

ARTSOURCE about their histories. 

Esteban instruments played: 

Guitars, banjo, bass, sitar 

Esteban was born in Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania in a family that worked in the 

steel mills. Though art was not a subject of 

interest in his immediate family, his uncle who loved 

art and music surprised him with a gift of a guitar that he had 

admired in the window of a music store. He was nine years old 

and recalls the excitement, “… opening the case for the first 

time, seeing the light play off the wood … and my small hand 

strumming the strings” is a vivid memory. 

Esteban and Teresa Joy 

Some highlights of Esteban's stated history 

include, “acquiring a diploma from Musica 

en Campostela in Spain; performing 

in Denver’s famous Red Rocks 

Amphitheatre; charting numerous 

times on Billboard, the music 

popularity chart; playing the ‘Star 

Spangled Banner’ for thousands of 

fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks” … 

and playing an untold number of gigs 

for Esteban fans. 

Teresa Joy instruments played: Violin, 

piano, guitar, viola, cello, bass guitar 

Teresa Joy is Esteban's daughter and has accompanied her 

father on stage since age eleven. She graduated to be a fullfledged 

band member by age fifteen. Teresa’s training, however, 

began when she was only five years old. It was her mother that 

enrolled her and her sister in Mandel’s School of Music in 


GENERATIONS 

Phoenix, and as she says, “Mom was a bit of 

a taskmaster … she would set an egg timer 

and my sister and I were required to play 

our instruments every day ... We started 

with quarter sized violins because we were 

so small.” 

Regarding her learning to accompany 

Esteban, Teresa says, “There’s a lot of 

listening when playing with my dad, who 

is a natural leader, and being able to 

listen and follow him has helped me on 

so many levels. It was tough at first, but 

soon I was able to hold my own with 

his band, several of whom are Grammy 

award winning artists.” 

Teresa is currently working with a team 

at Seeflectidon Studios in Prescott that 

promises to “refine a unique sound 

technology that allows people to 

instantly experience music (equal to) 

the original master recording.” 

The dynamics of this duo 

performing together can be 

enjoyed monthly at Sound 

Bites Grill in Sedona and at 

scheduled events at MIM, 

Musical Instrument Museum 

in Phoenix. 


65

Family Treasures 

By Erick Hale 

Sometimes, when the love for something gets a hold on you, 

it just won’t let go. This is what happened to a young man 

in Southern California by the name of Bill Robson. Bill was 

Bill, Rose, and Rio Robson 

not sure what his future direction would be until he was in 

high school when art became of real interest. So much so that 

in just a few years he landed a job as a high school art teacher 

in the city of Whittier. 

Teaching art was a hands-on experience, developing within 

him a serious interest in becoming an independent art creator. 

One eventful day he decided to pursue the full-time creation 

of ceramic art productions bearing his name. He moved to 

Laguna Beach and started to follow that dream. 

In time, Bill and his wife, Rose learned that one of the galleries 

in Sedona, Arizona that represented his ceramic work, was 

going to be sold, and they decided to set out to acquire it. 

Soon they were living in Sedona, operating their own gallery, 

with a child on the way. 


GENERATIONS 

Bill and Rose were now embracing the 

Southwest culture so they decided to 

name the newest little Robson after the major 

river carving its way from Colorado to the Gulf 

of Mexico. Born in 1984, this little boy was 

named Rio, with the Rio Grande River being his 

namesake. 

From toddler times, Rio’s parents encouraged 

him in the arts. He became an apprentice 

working in the family business from childhood 

on. As he matured, Rio found himself developing 

a love for metallurgy, and today, besides sharing 

in the business management, he creates and 

paints metal sculptures which are sold in the family’s retail chain 

known throughout Arizona as Son Silver West. 

Bill recalls with a relish that in the early years of the Sedona 

gallery, times were in some seasons quite tough. This meant that 

the ability for making the mortgage payment was sometimes 

in question. One year in particular, when it was looking pretty 

grim, he decided to introduce a new item to the retail lineup. 

Bill drove to New Mexico and purchased a load of ristras, the 

lovely red peppers hanging in a vertical row. He brought those 

back to Sedona, and sold them out in just one day. Ever since, 

he brings in the colorful ristras each fall to commemorate their 

Bill, Rose, 

and Rio 

Robson 

Opposite: 

metal art 

by Rio, 

pottery 

by Bill 

helping to save the day back in the 1980s. It's worthy of note 

that these lovely decor items have long been a Southwest 

symbol of health and good luck. 

A visit to any of the three Son Silver West retail stores is also 

a visit to an international emporium. The Robson family 

takes great pride in representing craftspeople from differing 

cultures and in being able to support them by selling their art 

creations alongside their own. The Sedona, Cottonwood and 

Wickenburg operations are uniquely different, yet crafted with 

the same inviting ambiance, and energized with the Robson 

family's love for art. 4 


67


GERARDO’S 

I T A L I A N K I T C H E N 

Keeping 

the 

Kitchen Fires 

Burning Through a 

Collective Century 

of Culinary Service 

GerardosItalianKitchen.com 

Gerardo’s Italian Kitchen 

2675 West State Route 89A 

Sedona, Arizona 86336 

928.862.4009 


69

Sedona 

International 

Film Festival 

Return to 

Fabulous 

February 19-27, 

2022 

Content provided by SIFF 

Photo by Gary Glenn 


Patrick Schweiss 

Sedona International Film Festival Executive Director

Can anyone really define what 

“normal” is these days? 

If you’re a filmmaker, it’s a relative 

term depending upon your genre 

and in which direction your creative 

juices flow. 

For the Sedona International 

Film Festival (SIFF), it’s pretty 

straightforward: getting back to 

where it belongs. 

It’s no secret that COVID changed 

everything for nearly everyone. 

For the Festival, after first 

considering canceling the 2021 

event, the board of directors moved 

the 10-day event from its traditional 

February timeframe to June, 

reduced the number of available 

in-theater tickets to ensure adherence to social 

distancing and other pandemic-driven protocols and 

offered a virtual component to patrons not wanting 

to miss out on some pretty terrific films. 

For 2022, the Sedona International Film Festival will 

celebrate its 28 th anniversary, once again, at the end of 

the calendar’s shortest month, from February 19-27. 

From features to shorts, documentaries to animation 

and foreign films to student films, “our patrons will 

be treated to a cinephile’s dream,” said Executive 

Director Patrick Schweiss. “We’re thrilled to be back 

and, hopefully, at full strength!” 

The Festival’s three film-selection committees will 

spend most of the fall months screening nearly 1,500 

films submitted for consideration to determine the 

final 175. 

Elizabeth Pitcairn 

“Some of the filmmakers told us they were thrilled 

to have a chance to screen their films at two Sedona 

International Film Festivals in less than a year,” Schweiss 

said. “Frankly, so are we. We were extremely pleased 

with the responses to last year’s Festival, which once 

again featured a big and bold lineup of remarkable films. 

And, even under COVID restrictions, it was a great 10 

days.” 

Among the highlights of 2021 were international artist 

and vocalist Terry Barber’s Mercury-Freddie Mercury 

and Queen tribute; a performance by American 

classical violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn on the historic 1720 

Stradivarius violin nicknamed the “Red Mendelssohn,” 

the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning 

film The Red Violin; an appearance by and display of 

iconic, award-winning costume designer Bob Mackie’s 

costumes; and an appearance via Zoom by legendary 

folk singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary who 

ARTSOURCE 


71

produced the Parkland-shooting inspired short 

film The Children Will Lead the Way, and a 

performance by two of the students involved in 

the film. The film earned the Marion Herrman 

Excellence in Filmmaking Award. 

The lineup of both films and special guests will 

be announced ahead of the Festival, which will 

not include a virtual component this year. 

As the Festival team gears up for 2022, they’ll 

also be focused on the development of a new 

46-seat, state-of-the-art independent film 

theater that comes 10 years after the opening 

of the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. 

Marianne Williamson 

“A second theater has been on our wish list for 

many years,” Schweiss said. “Even though we 

don’t expect the theater to be open until 2022, 

being so close to being able to offer another 

year-round venue for independent film lovers 

in Sedona and across Northern Arizona is 

unbelievably exciting.” 

Sebastian Siegal 

The 2022 Sedona International Film Festival 

will continue a legacy of excellence in both 

the breadth and diversity of film selections 

and in the Festival’s international reputation 

for “ensuring an experience for filmmakers 

unlike any they experience. Year after 

year we hear from filmmakers who are 

overwhelmed by Sedona’s incredibly 

warm and welcoming environment, 


Bob Mackie 

Loretta Devine 

elements that keep them coming back for more,” 

Schweiss said. 

Those facts also inspire appearances – both first time 

and return visits – by some of the industry’s most 

acclaimed and honored actors, directors, producers, 

screenwriters, cinematographers and distributors. 

Among those who have spent time in Sedona are Susan 

Sarandon, Rob Reiner, Richard Dreyfuss, James Brolin, 

Cybill Shepherd, Nicolas Cage, Elliot Gould, Mary 

Steenbergen, Diane Ladd, Tony Curtis, Ted Danson, 

Michael Moore, Jane Alexander and Ed Asner, who 

recently passed away. Asner appeared three times at 

the Festival. 

“Ed will be missed,” Schweiss said. “He was definitely 

a character, but he was warm and engaging and made 

everyone, from staff to patrons, feel like he’d known 

them for years.” 

Tickets and passes will be available for purchase 

later this year, but memberships are available all year. 

Membership privileges include advance e-mail alerts and 

announcements for all SIFF film and events, discounts 

on tickets to films and special events and pre-sale Film 

Festival discounts. 

Membership levels range from $75 to $50,000. 

For information about memberships and all 

things Sedona International Film Festival, visit 

www.sedonafilmfestival.com. 4 


73

In a 

Sedona International 

Film Festival 2021 

Different 

Key 


John Donvan interviewing Dr. Harvey and Connie Lapin 

who were early campaigners for right to education

Caren Zucker and John Donvan say they made their film IN A DIFFERENT KEY to change the world – to show people 

that it is not that hard, after all, to have the back of someone who is different. Based on their New York Times 

Bestseller of the same name (also a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), their film is the first-ever full-length documentary 

to travel the timeline of society’s tense and sometimes misguided response to people on the autism spectrum. 

Caren Zucker 

John Donvan 

The film was a project that 

took them four years to 

complete – a culmination of 

their more than two decades’ 

long partnership reporting 

on autism, initially at ABC 

News, where Zucker was a 

behind-the scenes producer, 

and Donvan was an on-air 

correspondent. Their starting 

point was the autism diagnosis 

given to Zucker’s son Mickey 

at the age of two and a half. 

Mickey, now an adult, appears 

in the film. Zucker appears as 

Some members of film cast 


75

Interviewing Emanual Frowner 

Interviewing Anthony Daibes 

Donald and Caren 

Filming Donald Triplett playing golf 

Setting up a shot in Donald’s kitchen with Mickey 

the journalist she is, seeking to know what chances 

society gives people like her son to belong – in all 

senses of that word. The journey takes her back in 

time to the story of Donald Triplett, the boy named 

as “Case 1” in the 1943 medical article that first fully 

defined the condition that came to be called autism. 

Dubbed “autism’s first child” in the film, Donald is 

still going today, just a few years shy of 90 years old. 

Residing in a small town in Mississippi, he was more 

fortunate than most autistic people of his generation. 

While many were institutionalized, he has lived a life 

of independence among townspeople who long ago 

embraced his differences. He drives, travels the world, 

and pursues his passion – golf. 

At the same time, Zucker comes across many 

instances where society failed autistic people in the 

past, owing to bad ideas and systemic forces like 

poverty and racism. Ultimately though, she emerges 

with hope that more of us are learning to have the 

backs of people like Mickey. All this, she learns from 

autistic people themselves, as well as their families, 

who share their stories with honesty and courage. 

In a climactic moment, Zucker brings Mickey to 

meet Donald: two men from quite different worlds 

who have autism in common, and a few other things 

besides. But golf, it turns out, is not one of them. 

IN A DIFFERENT KEY won the Audience Favorite 

Award at the 2021 Sedona Film Festival, and is on a 

path to be broadcast nationwide in 2021. 4 


C E L E B R A T I N G 2 8 Y E A R S ! 

The BEST independent films from around the world! 

Filmmakers • Celebrities • Parties • Workshops & More! 

FEBRuARY 19-27, 2022 

928.282.1177 www.SedonaFilmFestival.org 


77

Left to right: Saguaro from Desert 

Landscape Diptych; Sunset Yucca; 

Arabesque and Art Nouveau 

inspired outdoor spa mural. 

Colors chosen were based on 

Sonoran Desert surroundings. 


CARLY 

QUINN 

One of a Kind 


Carly Quinn wanted to make tiles ever since she moved to 

Tucson at the age of 21. “When I was in college I got hired by an 

artist who makes tiles using the same technique that is worked 

in our little studio today. As soon as I started making them with 

her I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I had always wanted to 

own my own business, so when I got to the point where I could 

open my own studio, I did.” 

Today, both stock and custom designs are created for her client’s 

projects using the old Moorish technique called “Cuerda Seca” 

that originated in the 1500s. Carly explains, “It’s a technique 

where you lay out a wax line onto a blank tile. This can be drawn 

on by hand. We put a stain in our wax so it stains the tile. Once 


79

Clockwise, from left: Green Alhambra 

fireplace; Carly Quinn creating; 

Poppies; Fire Horse #1, first in a series 

of limited edition, one of one-of-a-kind 

hand painted tile murals. These pieces 

are painted onto Italian quarry tile using 

glaze-blending techniques developed by 

the artist over the last 10 years. “One of 

a kind pieces will never be replicated,” 

says Carly. 

See more handcrafted 

beauty by Carly Quinn at 

www.carlyquinndesigns.com. 


it’s dry the glazes are painted in and the wax keeps everything 

separate, so that it doesn’t run together. When we fire the tile, the 

wax melts out and then the glaze solidifies and turns into glass. At 

the temperature we fire the tiles at, the finish raises up a little bit so 

it creates this kind of three-dimensional look. It almost looks like our 

tiles are carved. We are one of the few companies in North America that 

still utilizes this technique!” 

Images inspired from hiking all over Arizona add a botanical flare to many of 

the colorful hand-glazed tile murals on display in her downtown Tucson studio. 

“I go to Sedona quite a bit to go hiking. The prickly pear and some of the agave 

imagery is often inspired by something that I saw in red rock country.” 4 


81


THEArts 

STATE 

OF 

A FEATURE FOR COMMUNITY UPDATES 

NANCY LATTANZI 

Arts & Culture Coordinator 

City of Sedona 

Photo: Rick Dembow 

Despite what was to come with 

Covid-19 changing our lives in 

2020, the City of Sedona moved 

forward seeking and installing art 

for two uptown roundabouts. This 

process was atypical, as the artwork 

was on a shortened schedule 

to be completed in 90 days to 

complement the new median 

design that would wrap up the 

Uptown Roadway Improvements 

Project. Reagan Word was able 

to fulfill the requirements. He 

was commissioned by the city to 

have his two beautifully fabricated 

monumental sculptures entitled, 

Eagle Dancers installed in August 

2020. 

MIKE KOOPSEN 

Although trained as an architect, Reagan’s passion has always been art: painting, 

sculpting and writing. His 20 year career creating architectural renderings 

helped shape his career as an artist. Reagan was awarded The Open Gate 

sculpture, which was installed in November 2015 in the Schnebly Hill 

Roundabout. This piece depicts a gate with a blue heron welcoming drivers into 

Sedona. Reagan explains what inspired his latest work, “On New Year’s day 2017, 

my wife and I hiked into a remote red rock canyon where we were thrilled to 

witness a murmuration, a flight of a thousand starlings dancing in a synchronized 

aerial ballet. That unforgettable experience inspired the Eagle Dancer sculptures, 

which are a unique blend of eagle dancing and murmuration.” 

Eagle Dancer South 

Reagan Word 


83

Trained as an architect, Reagan’s 

passion has always been art including 

painting, sculpting and writing. His 

20 year career creating architectural 

renderings helped shape his career 

as an artist. Reagan was awarded 

The Open Gate sculpture, which 

was installed in November 2015 in 

the Schnebly Hill Roundabout. This 

piece depicts a gate with a blue heron 

welcoming drivers into Sedona. Reagan 

explains what inspired his latest work, 

“On New Year’s day 2017, my wife and 

I hiked into a remote red rock canyon 

where we were thrilled to witness a 

murmuration, a flight of a thousand 

starlings dancing in a synchronized 

aerial ballet. That unforgettable 

experience inspired the Eagle Dancer 

sculptures, which are a unique blend of 

eagle dancing and murmuration.” 

All Reagan’s work has great symbology. 

The meaning of these sculptures 

are on a plaque installed near the 

Jordan Road roundabout which states, 

“In American Indian culture eagle 

dancers dance for rain and blessings. 

In Uptown Sedona we have two eagle 

dancer sculptures by Reagan Word. 

Eagle Dancer North is listening to 

spirit depicted as a descending flight 

of birds. She directs these inspirations 

to Eagle Dancer South, who sends 

prayers aloft. Spirit answers showering 

blessings below. The gabions and 

panels that accompany the sculptures 

symbolize the earth and water that 

receive this nourishment for our 

beautiful community. Let us remember 

that we are each part of the balance 

of nature, giving and receiving as 

stewards of the earth.” 

There are currently four empty 

roundabouts along State Route 179. 

Typically one roundabout is filled at a 

time, however City Council approved 

a competition seeking art for all four 

simultaneously. Serendipitously, a rare 

opportunity arose and there are plans 

for a donated piece to go in one of 

the four roundabouts. A work group 

of seven members had a tough time 

narrowing thirty submissions to the 

top six. Once the maquettes are 

created, the public will have a chance 

to view and vote on the six. This will 

aid in determining which top three 

artists will be awarded a contract to 

create their piece for the remaining 

three roundabouts. The final three 

artists will have one year to create 

their piece. The top six artists who 

will present their sculptures to the 

work group at the end of October 

are, in alphabetical order: Craig Gray, 

Key West, FL; Don Kennell, Santa 

Fe, NM; James Muir, Sedona, AZ; 

John Wietfeldt, Phoenix, AZ; Mark 

Feldtkeller, Sedona, AZ; and Susan 

Kliewer, Sedona, AZ. 4 

Eagle Dancer North 



85

Cosmic StarWheel Mandalas: 

A Look at Faces of Cosmic Consciousness 

With J.J. Hurtak, Ph.D. 

“In travels throughout the world I have found that the art form we call 

‘the mandala’ is, considered by some to be a most perfect and 

natural way to express the ancient and future wisdom of 

life,” says Dr.J.J. Hurtak of The Academy for Future 

Science. “The ancients, the indigenous, and the 

mystical artists of all generations expressed 

harmony and peace (pax et concordia) 

through a multi-geometric form of the 

exoteric and the esoteric. You can 

see this form of 'the wheel mandala' 

embedded on the ancient rock 

art of Brazil and northern Africa, 

at the sacred places of the 

indigenous in Ecuador, Peru, and 

Bolivia, and in the sand paintings 

of the Tibetans and the Hopi. 

The Tibetans saw it as a 

representative of the universe. 

For the Mayans and Aztecs, 

they were seen as part of their 

calendar geometries.” 

The French artist and thinker, 

“Aya” Sheevaya who has lived in 

Sedona for the last thirty years 

has produced a great collection 

of inspired mandalas. The term 

means circle, but he prefers to call 

them “StarWheels” which appear 

to be an inner-weave of both modern 

and ancient spiritual geometric symbols. 

His creations also express a futuristic design 

like space cities, which is similar to what is also 

envisioned by architects for ocean dwellings, where 

each spoke contains scores of habitats, bringing different 

cultures together. The collection of air-brushed acrylic designs on 

canvas contains over one hundred different works of art depicted on the 

StarWheels which take us both into the world of the past and the future 

through the omniscience eye, incorporating various radiant geometries. 


• inner development 

by balancing 

the world of 

complexity; 

• showing how 

consciousness 

expands in the 

landscapes of 

life from the 

esoteric to the 

exoteric; 

• representing 

the basis of our 

overall understanding 

of reality in bringing 

together the inner 

and outer into a new 

movement of synthesis; 

• overcoming the rather static 

model of life to allow the observer 

to awaken through space connections in 

artistic ways beyond the five senses. 

Each 

individual creation 

has hundreds of details on the integral nature of the 

mandala form that is designed to speak to the soul. In 

an expanded moment of concentration, the StarWheel 

brings together the geometry of nature that expands 

the eye of the mind and the eye of the spirit so as to 

synergize all directions. As one looks at this art one 

might sense many levels of an expanded experience, 

especially those interested in the harmony of cultures 

and spiritual experiences in this Age of Synthesis. In his 

words, “The StarWheels bring into the 21st century the 

perennial power of Spirit Radiance embedded in the 

ancient traditions of Sacred Art. 

“The StarWheel cosmic pictures of each mandala 

are intended to take the mind a step further, to move 

“Each one of the StarWheel mandalas lets us enter 

a state of conscious quietude by taking the mind 

inside the mandala,” says Dr. Hurtak. “It is important 

to experience these very different models of present 

art that convey the future, because mandalas are 

important for: 


87

us beyond our mental stasis, permitting the seeing 

beyond form by using vibrational fields that transcend 

the linear mind and place it into deeper states of 

meditation. In its full expression, the mandala is Art in 

Resonance interconnected with all background fields 

of knowledge. In a world of vast change we begin to 

live in multiple energy forms. Carl G. Jung who painted 

his own mandalas wrote in his book called Memories, 

Dreams, Reflections (1963: 221) that the mandala really 

is ‘the self, the wholeness of the personality which if it 

all goes well is harmonious.’ The crucial effect lies in the 

movements of the wave model of circles which can be 

grasped as a process of constant movement, where the 

circles radiate and allow you to enter into the image,” 

he writes. 

“All visual states are considered as possible at all times, 

and each individual’s experience is unique. The key 

here is in the exquisite movement of form created by 

the multicolor experience which opens the mind to 

see new realities, through the senses. When we step 

into the StarWheel mandala we put on a ‘Garment of 

the Infinite Way’ enabling us to shine in all directions,” 

Hurtak explains. 

“The StarWheel mandala represents future science, 

or science guided by consciousness. They are the first 

generation of what will become global art as we grow 

in the experience of expanded cosmic consciousness. 

They bring together an understanding of the shamans, 

artists and scientists who can now share experiences 

through art and holistic sacred geometries that can 

uplift our consciousness,” Dr. Hurtak concluded. 

For more information visit www.starwheels.com. 4 



89


KARL 

WILLIAMS: 

Alchemist of 

Copper and Clay 

Boudicca 

By Gary Koz Mraz 

Images by Stephen Henderson and Gary Koz Mraz 

Revisited 

Is it made of glass? How do you create the copper texture? 

I've never seen anything like this, can you make one specially 

designed for me? 

These are just a few questions commonly asked when 

someone discovers Karl Williams’ work. His creations meld 

ancient mystery with modern alchemy creating stunning 

sculptures that represent empowered women. 

Karl’s ‘Boudicca Collection’ of glazed clay torsos with thrown 

copper embellishments are stunning. His favorite glazes 

include Old Copper, Turkish Amber, Cappuccino, Desert 

Yellow, and other earth tones. It’s the process of high firing 

that gives these glazes the appearance of liquid glass. 


91

Copper, one of his primary aesthetics is melted inside a cauldron at 2,000 degrees. This liquid copper is then thrown onto a 

rough granite slab and becomes the foundation for a unique Karl Williams work of art. 

From historic times copper has been associated with the syncretized goddess, Aphrodite/Venus. The Mediterranean island 

of Cyprus is regarded as the (Roman era) home of copper where it has been extensively mined since antiquity. The word 

‘copper’ is derived from ‘Cyprian metal.’ 

Williams’ fierce amalgamation of copper and clay creates a beautifully textured, organic hewn that can be molded and 

hand-crafted for each original piece. 

Who is Karl Williams? 

The eldest of ten children, Karl was raised by a single mother who 

through very difficult times, worked hard to provide for her tribe. 

Early on, Karl not only embraced familial responsibilities, but he also 

understood the value of women's keen instincts and gained a profound 

respect for strong, female figures in his life. 

His own history as a pipefitter, ironworker, and welder, have all 

culminated into the passion and vision behind the art he creates. A 

brawny 6 feet, 3 inches, Karl’s considerable stature may sometimes 

appear intimidating to some; while his frame presents a seeming paradox 

to the graceful and delicate art he creates. His art also reveals the refinement 


of his inner sanctums, as he is often brought to tears when 

he discloses the intimate and personal stories his unique 

creations represent. 

Homage to Boudicca 

Boudicca was a Celtic queen who led a revolt against 

Roman rule in ancient Britain in 60 A.D. Her name and 

reputed resistance have been memorialized by many. As 

the story goes, the Romans annexed the Iceni kingdom and 

confiscated all land and property, then killed the King and 

publicly flogged Queen Boudicca. 

Celtic societies, in the first century, lived by the precepts 

of equality and female empowerment. Some Celtic 

women owned property and held positions of power 

while they fought alongside men in battle. Appalled by 

Roman rule, in the legend of Boudicca’s retaliation it 

is claimed she amassed an army of 70 to 250 thousand 

Iceni and other Celtic tribes and led the rebellion. After 

defeating Rome's Ninth Legion, which ostensibly had 

never been done before, it is said that the queen’s forces 

destroyed Camulodunum, a military base of Roman 

Britain. Reportedly; they went on to attack London and 

Verulamium (modern St. Albans). Today, Boudicca might 

be considered a quintessential icon for self-empowered 

women. 

Boudicca Breastplate Jewelry 

“Can you make a copper breastplate specially designed 

for me?” a woman at a local Sedona Gallery queried. This 

question was an epiphany for Karl, which inspired his new 

jewelry line — bold and beautiful, copper wearable art. 

Karl’s Boudicca torso sculptures with removable copper 

breastplates, custom-molded to the client’s dimensions, is 

artistry with a purpose. 

Every one of Karl’s ornate breastplates has a rank and file 

— a story for the wearer, from the youthful and graceful 

initiate all the way up to the stately queen. 

The bold craftsmanship of Karl Williams reminds us that 

as with every passionate, purposeful pursuit, there comes a 

time to be strong, brave and to stand tall. Queen Boudicca’s 

long-overlooked legacy can inspire in us a sense of nobility, 

courage, and determination to succeed in trying times. 


93

Vases, Masks, Statuary, and More 

Boudicca Torsos are just a small part of Karl’s creative 

repertoire. This alchemist of copper and clay also combines 

repurposed wood, glass, stone, leather, and natural cane 

used from baskets of hot air balloons. It’s a wonder to 

behold how he dramatically weaves the cane into his 

glazed, copper-embellished vases. His “Raven” vases were 

inspired by a young crow that Karl rescued from a fallen 

tree, which became a lifelong pet. 

Unique, Native American-influenced masks featuring 

copper-wired hair adorn his studio. He also crafts owls, 

frogs, penguins, and horses with a natural mane. These 

spirit animals visibly have a story to tell. 

As an award-winning artist, Karl Williams has 

been featured in a multitude of galleries 

and art shows, his work is collected 

across the country and around the 

world. His expansive Cornville, 

Arizona workshop houses two highfire 

kilns inside, and five kilns and a 

copper-smelting furnace outside. 

The Boudicca series can be 

experienced at Elizabeth Silk Gallery 

on Art Row in Sedona, at 431 State 

Route 179 and at Sedona's Crystal Castle, 

1350 W State Route 89A #24. 4 



95



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ARTSource Arizona - Volume Seven

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