Shut Up and Sing

I saw the new Dixie Chicks movie "Shut Up and Sing" last night at the FILMCOLUMBIA Festival, in upstate New York. May I just say, see it. It will be released October 27th in New York City and Los Angeles and elsewhere November 10th.

Natalie Maines said she is embarrassed the president is from Texas at a concert in London in 2003 which devastated their standing as the most popular country band in history. The film documents their story, how the public responded and how they are pushing back.

This film is a must see for anyone interested in civil liberties, freedom of speech and of course, Dixie Chicks fans! I came away from this movie touched by these womens' bravery and convictions.

Check the archives on this blog for "now for something completely different" to see their music video, "Not Ready to Make Nice".

technorati tags: dixiechicks, shutupandsing, filmcolumbia

Studio Tour

This is the 4th year the Columbia Berkshire Craft Guild (in upstate NY, USA) is having a studio tour. This is the graphic from our poster. This year, we hired a professional graphic designer, Peter Blandori and a professional event planner. I think those 2 decisions may well lead to the best tour ever. In prior years we have done everything ourselves and that has proven inefficient, at best. Committing to spending more money from the outset is proving to pay for itself.

Studio tours are somewhat ubiquitous in many places. Seeing artists' studios is a wonderful opportunity for anyone, whether you are interested in buying art or if you have a kid who might be inspired by the experience. A community with a strong artist population would benefit from these tours, open studios, what have you. Being able to see and meet working artists is a benefit for the artists as well as the community.

I'll post more about this event, as an idea that can be replicated in other places. Seems to me, given the state of the world, we need all the possitive reinforcement we can get.

technorati tags: art, craft, studiotour, columbiacounty, artists