THURSDAY GIG’S
Art & The Spoken Word
presents

Artist: Elizabeth Parashis
Poet: Loie Johnson
Open Mic follows

Thursday, August 20, 2009
6:30 – 9:30 pm

STONE GRIFFIN GALLERY
411 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell
Please look at directions below

This is a Pot Luck BYOB, Soft Drinks, Water event
Donations of $1 would be appreciated

If you can’t bring food or donate, come anyway : )

“Blue Horse” by Elizabeth Parashis, copyright 2009

FEATURED ARTIST: Elizabeth Parashis

Elizabeth Parashis, co-organizer for Thursday Gig,  is one of the SF South Bay Area’s finest painters known for her colorful and expressive figurative works of people and animals.

The horse
Our imaginings
Beautiful and powerful

FEATURED POET: Loie Johnson
I started drawing and writing when I was a very young child.  Poetry and Art were dual interests and I was very serious about them.  I received a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Art from San Jose State. I did Performance Art which included my poetry with a group of women called Lilith, and we did group gallery shows as The Six Senses.  My poetry has appeared in numerous group chapbooks and anthologies, and some poems were published internationally in “Voices Israel“. One of my fondest memories is being the Featured Poet at the “Old” Kepler’s in Menlo Park. Eventually I moved into a studio apartment in Palo Alto with my 50 pound basset hound.  This “space” made art creation difficult, so I gave all my creative energy to poetry, between working full time.

Yes, YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN !  When I return to visit galleries and museums, and participate in my beloved Poetry Groups, I am truly “at home”.  Special appreciation to Mary-Marcia Casoly for her encouragement regarding Waverly Writers, and special appreciation to Steve Arntson for his encouragement, mentoring, and practical help driving to The Gig.

The Woman Who Painted Bathtubs

The bathtub was her canvas, her marquee.
After her husband left for work,
and the children went to school,
after her chores and errands,
she went upstairs.
She got out her poster paints for
the wide rim of the tub,
her palette.
She mixed her colors on the porcelain;
laid out the brushes.
Her favorite was 3″ wide.
She worked on her painting for a long while.
Satisfied, she turned on the faucets.
She washed it down the drain.
Then came another painting;  rinsed away;
and another;  rinsed again.
Finally she did her last painting for the day.
It was the interior of some huge seashell,
all mauve, peach, ecru, rose,
laced with huge brushstrokes of turquoise,
paler aqua, darks and brights of blue,
the white of the tub left in certain places
to become erupting foam spotted with buttercup cream.

Then she undressed,
entered the tub
and sank into her shell.
Spaces later,  pauses in color,  seconds in texture,
she stood up
her thighs, buttocks, back, and shoulders
caressed in mauve, peach, ecru, rose, aquas, blues, creams.
The interior of the shell
turned inside out
on her canvas,
her welcome body.

Loie Johnson, copyright 2009

Directions to Thursday Gig: New Location
411 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell

Going South on Hwy 17 take Camden Ave. exit.Turn left at Bascom Ave.
Go north until you see Campbell Ave. where the Pruneyard Shopping Center is. Campbell Ave. is between Camden Ave. and Hamilton Ave. Turn towards sunset.

You will go under Hwy 17 overpass –  go until you see railroad tracks where there will be a traffic light. You will see a road forking off to the right called Civic Center Dr. – don’t take it – keep going straight. Drive over the railroad tracks and look to your right. The gallery is 2 doors up from the tracks.
Parking lot is between the tracks and the buildings or on the street.

Contact Info: Elizabeth Parashis
408/410-2313
artpages@earthlink.net
artpagesonline.com