Troy Wise Art & Photography: Image Amplified

FLOSSTRADAMUS AT BLACK & TAN: The Famousish, with King Louie & Doneski

It might be too late for those who don't already have a ticket.

But just in case...

DIY FACTORY 2008 FASHION SHOW: Fun and Funky Do's and Don't's

For 2008, the DIY Factory Fashion Show emphasized the quirky. Tara to the T, M.T for Matthew Therrien, Gypsy Twisted, and Agosto Cuellar were some of the local designers participating in the fashion show.

High points of the show included Paris Ann, the contributions from Aveda and Eden Spa, and being able to see Matthew Therrien on the runway. Agosto Cuellar also managed to combine color and prints in an often successful way.

THE DIY FACTORY FASHION SHOW: Paris Ann

One of the highlights of the DIY Factory Fashion Show was the work of Paris Ann. This was only the second time I've seen her fashion on the runway, but what she does left me wanting to see more.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND: DIY Factory 2008

It's hard to throw a successful event in San Antonio, y'all. It might be even harder for a semi-successful one-off to go annual. The city is undoubtedly hungry for contemporary cultural happenings, but let's face it: there's a pretty small pool of resources and talent available.

So I've got to give this team its due: Marc Jacobs, MTV and Vogue might be scaling back on their parties, fundraisers and events, but DIY Factory aimed higher and larger this year. Now if only the rest of San Antonio would have followed along...

The best part of the event clearly belonged to the musicians and vendors. For the most part, the music gave a loud, fun vibe to the hall that's usually used for BINGO. And there was some truly remarkable work to be found. Most of the crafters offered unique, well-designed work. It was fun to browse and shop, even if the room was inexplicably dark in some spots. By the time we arrived, though, there was little enthusiasm to be found. Attendance nor sales met expectations, and it showed.

But the fashion show was unfortunate. Standouts were some excellent designs by Paris Ann, as well as truly nice hair and makeup work by Aveda and the Eden Spa. That a few of the designers incorporated pieces made by participating vendors, was the sort of innovative thinking mostly missing from the runway presentation. Instead we got a lot of sloppy, eccentric and unflattering. 

I'd suggest that next year, the fashion show maybe kick-off the event so that inspired DIY-enthusiasts can actually go and buy pieces shown on the runway. This time around, most vendors had cleared the building before the show even began.

So, starting with the best part of the night, here's the first batch of photos focusing mainly on the vendors. Nice job, guys!

   

PHOTOS: Tom Pressly Retrospective at Radius in San Antonio

Last night was the opening reception for Tom Pressly's retrospective at Radius. Here's the first batch of photos from the art show.

MORE DIY FACTORY INFORMATION: TheDIYFactory.org

Update: anybody wanting more information about the DIY Factory can check out the website here.

MORE PHOTOS: Tom Pressly Retrospective at Radius in San Antonio

More behind the scenes photos of hanging Tom Pressly's paintings at Radius:

INSTALLING AN ART SHOW: Tom Pressly at Radius in San Antonio

These photos: Radius being prepared for a retrospective of paintings by Tom Pressly, which will be exhibited from November 14th to February 2nd.

More photos from this impressive display of work, coming soon.

PHOTOS: Stella Haus Art Space, Cactus Bra Space for November's First Thursday Art Night in San Antonio

These photos are from our stops at Stella Haus Art Space and Cactus Bra Space, both at Blue Star Arts Complex.

Showing at Stella Haus are new paintings by Marcy McChesney.

And showing at Cactus Bra Space are drawings by Anne Ferrer. Look for more work by Ferrer at Blue Star in March. Looks to be an amazing show.

Information for the galleries and show spaces we visited last night:

Jump-Start Performance Co. 

210-227-5867

108 Blue Star, San Antonio, TX 78204

Jump-Start Performance Co. website

Joan Grona Gallery

210-225-6334

112 Blue Star, San Antonio, TX 78201

Joan Grona Gallery website

Stella Haus Art Space

106 A Bldg B Blue Star, San Antonio, TX 78204

Stella Haus Art Space website

Cactus Bra Space

106 C Blue Star San Antonio, TX 78204

Cactus Bra Space website

PHOTOS: Joan Grona Gallery, Jump-Start Performance Co. for November's First Thursday Art Night in San Antonio

Frank and I had a great time last night, taking in art of all types. We watched a performance at Jump-Start Performance Co., stopped by Joan Grona Gallery, Stella Haus Art Space, as well as the Cactus Bra Space.

Jump-Start presented STARDIVER, created by Billy Muñoz.

Joan Grona Gallery is featuring work by Julie Shipp, Tom Hollenback and more.