The Arivaca Arts Council and More
December 1, 2009
No account of the history of Arivaca’s artists would be complete without the story of the Arivaca Arts Council, an organization whose impact on the community’s life cannot be overemphasized. Perhaps no other organization changed and improved more lives than it has. It started back in the mid 1980’s, when the educationally minded mothers of the town’s preschoolers got together to provide enrichment and learning opportunities. Those mothers included Kathy Sheldon, Wendy Dresang, and Glo Williams, all of whom now teach at Sopori Elementary School. At one of the Arivaca Days Celebrations the mothers had an arts and crafts booth for the kids. Along came Leonard Starkey, who was looking for groups to be potential recipients of Rural Arts grants, then newly available through the Tucson-Pima Arts Council. The preschoolers caught his eye, and from then it was all uphill. Kathy and the other interested parents, including Patti Lopez and Stacy Hoff, went to meetings in Tucson and decided to incorporate. They formed the Arivaca Arts Council, a non-profit whose first organizational meeting was held in 1985. Kathy was the first president, along with Stacy, Christina Swift and Sally Massey (Rucker). Their intent was to bring the arts to the community of Arivaca. Two of the first programs they sponsored were Carlos Nakai and the Arco Iris Flamenco Dancers. `
Arivaca Artists Again
November 1, 2009
There is no muse of art! Attributing the unceasing need to create to that inborn but still outside-of-oneself source is an often used excuse by those starving artists who sometimes feel that their talents aren’t appreciated by the rest of society. Dating to the Classical Greek era, Muses are “spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts.” Nine Muses (in female form) exist for the various manifestations of poetry, history, music, tragedy, comedy, dance, and astrology, but surprisingly, not visual or fine art. However, in Ancient Rome, this spirit did exist for any creative venture and was identified as a “genius.” Not that you were a genius, but that you had a helpful spirit called a “genius” who provided you with the creative mystery of your art. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, discusses this very subject online on her website, in a very worthwhile talk: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html
Never-ending Artists in Arivaca
October 1, 2009
Dolly DeVilleneuve was always fascinated by the splendor of the desert skies at sunset, rising from the multi-layered, many-hued mountain ranges, and the light-dark contrast of Mesquite trunks. She often visited her family in Arivaca and sketched, using colored pencils, returning to her home in San Diego to paint her canvases. Oil paints were her medium, and she mixed her own colors. “I love colors, ” she liked to tell people. “I’m really an illustrator; I like to stylize, and paint in my own way. ”
Artists Once Again
September 1, 2009
If it were not for the artists in Arivaca, we would not be the place we are. Underlying the surface of this town is the community of artists who open our eyes to what is real, the seen and the unseen.
More Arivaca Artists, Past and Present
July 1, 2009
Just look around, and you will see more artists than you ever knew were here in Arivaca.
More of the Ongoing Art Scene in Arivaca
June 1, 2009
Artists seem to come in all forms in Arivaca and talent spills over from one medium to the next, from art to music, dance and crafts. The encouraging atmosphere in this town brings out the latent talent in many who never expected to become artists, besides those whose life was only art from day one.
The Ongoing Art Scene in Arivaca
May 1, 2009
If the roots of art began in the Arivaca area back in the 1940s, it has continued over the years. Lifestyle changes brought about by a move to this isolated haven sometimes trigger the artistic need to create a new inner world. Arivaca viewscapes attract both artists and those with an appreciation for art in their home and yard. Besides the lovely homes that have been on the Home Tour, there are the amazing ones never-to-be-revealed. (Don’t call me.) While meditating on this subject I began to realize just how many artists there are or have been, who ought to be remembered for the beauty or thought-provoking scenes they created.
The Roots of Art in Arivaca
April 1, 2009
The Desert seems to lure artists. Back in the days before World War II when Arizona’s population was thin, its wide open spaces and lovely vistas beckoned to those who wanted to paint and draw outside all year round. When the War was over, artists began to move here and spread out across Southern Arizona. Of course the lure of the West with its ranches and cowboys was being promoted by Arizona’s tourism industry. Many of the artists of that era were featured in Arizona Highways magazine. Although Tubac is now well known as an artists colony, the Arivaca area and the Altar Valley have always attracted artists, as well.
Lydia and Albert Dojaquez
March 1, 2009
Long-time Arivaca residents Lydia and Albert Dojaquez come from two pioneer families of Basque ancestry, which settled in the Southern Arizona more than a century ago.
The Clarkes in Ruby
February 4, 2009
Phil and Gipsy Clarke lived in Arivaca for the first few years of their marriage and worked for the Arivaca Land and Cattle Company–he as storekeeper and she as teacher. Soon, though, they began to dream of a life of their own. Phil wanted a homestead and cattle, but when he proposed this, Johnny Bogan called him a traitor. He said, “That’s our range.” “I know,” said Phil, “but it’s open for homesteading, and the rest of you have used your homestead rights. Somebody will get it, and I thought as how I’d worked for you six years, you’d rather have me on it than an outsider.” It seems the ALCC thought they owned him. Phil began to look for a way out. In 1914, freedom came in the form of the Ruby store.