As a child in Cleveland, Mary Frances Robinson used to visit the Cleveland Art Museum to admire the works of famous artists from the past. She liked to draw and paint herself and often wondered whether she could ever produce anything like the old masters' canvases....
The word “print” connotes so many things that it’s not surprising that the public is confused when the term is used to refer to a work of art. Yet the graphic arts have flourished for centuries, and printmaking is growing in popularity among contemporary artists. Less...
In the costume shop of the University of the Incarnate Word's theater department, Margaret Mitchell has laid out six or seven drawings of costume designs on a large counter. The pictures show women clad in lush, flowery long dresses with plunging necklines, while the...
When Barbara Phillips decided to relocate from Houston to her native San Antonio 13 years ago, she did so to be close to family and to give her 11-year-old son a chance to grow up knowing his grandparents. Though Houston had been good for her career, she never really...
The Artist Foundation (AF) of San Antonio may be barely three years old, but it has already attracted an impressive following. In February, at its second annual fundraising event, dubbed the ArtBall, some 500 dressed-up partygoers descended on Municipal Auditorium to...
Enthralled audience members often resort to other-worldly references to describe a concert by Voci di Sorelle, a 12- member all-female ensemble of vocalists who specialize in a cappella singing. Phrases like "I felt like angels were singing," or "I felt like I wasn't...
If the state map had a star on it marking the "Antique Capital of Texas," it would likely rest on a tiny black dot in Fayette County on a pretty little place called Round Top, population 77. But ask any woman within a 200-mile radius of this little east-central-Texas...
Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Thousand Oaks Drive is one of those contemporary temples designed to appeal to a minimalist's taste in décor and atmosphere. There are no paintings or statues in nooks and crannies along the walls, no fancy columns to pull...
One thing that keeps coming up in conversation with Gemini Ink's director, Rosemary Catacalos, is her concern for the community. Whether she is talking about personal memories or the goals of the literary center she's led for the past four years, her love for San...
These days, Kristin Roach's main professional space is a stone chapel at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, where she's assistant organist and assistant music director. While the downtown church rebuilds its 1927 parish house, the chapel doubles as rehearsal hall, robing...
If you've ever wondered how the other half lives, Acapulco offers the chance to find out. Here you can taste a lifestyle normally reserved for celebrities — without spending your 401k in the process. Like movie stars when they visit this beach resort on Mexico's...
Gini Garcia and her crew like to play with fire. In fact, that's how they make their living. Every day from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., they can be found in Garcia's glassblowing studio on South Alamo, where three furnaces glow orange, and the heat is nearly unbearable despite...
In a sunny summer day in July, painting instructor Jules LeMelle is setting up easels on the front porch of the Inspire Fine Art Center. The class he is about to teach to a group of youngsters between the ages of 10 and 13 is called Paint Like the Masters, but the...
Marise McDermott remembers bringing her children to the Witte back in 1986, when her son James was 4 and daughter Julia was still in a stroller. "There was a fabulous dinosaur exhibit we all loved" says McDermott, who is today the Witte's president and CEO. "A little...
It's a sunny, breezy Saturday afternoon — a perfect play day, but it might be the only time a young father can bring his toddler son to the library. "Let's get some books, and we'll sit down here and read," the parent proposes. "No!" says the little boy in alarm. "I...
In March 2002, the Express-News music critic Mike Greenberg began one of his many reviews of Linda Poetschke's performances with these words: "For one hour each year, complete happiness is attainable on earth. That is the hour of soprano Linda Poetschke's annual...
A lot of people volunteer in their church, but few can do what Shawn Bridges has done. A member of Trinity Baptist Church, Bridges has transformed the children's ministry building into a pictorial Noah's ark by painting hundreds of life-size animals all over the walls...
Art aficionados who flock to the Blue Star Arts Complex on big opening nights are always pleasantly surprised when they pass by the Marcia Dahlman Pottery. Even if they don't step inside to look at the eyecatching jars and wall pieces, they can't help being attracted...
