Tag Archives: sculpture exhibition

Marika at the Coleman Theatre

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A Entrance to Miami IMG_8227

Entrance to downtown Miami, OK

Coleman Theatre Historical Marker

Coleman Theatre Historical Marker

The Coleman Theatre- exterior

The Coleman Theatre- exterior

The Vaudeville Stage

The Vaudeville Stage

The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ

The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ

E Coleman Interior IMG_8169

The Exhibit

The Exhibit

Mandela-Nelle

Mandela-Nelle

Presentation

Presentation

Excerpt from Presentation

Well, this is about inspiration, creativity, and vision; not my inspiration, creativity, and vision but that of Ms. Darcie Shultz, the Interim Manager of the Coleman Theatre.  Because of her passion for the arts, she is allowing the lines of the visual and performing arts to intersect, merge, and form an artistic  connection.  This is about community.  George Coleman built this magnificent theatre for his community.  Darcie Shultz asked for a sculpture exhibit so that her community could have a visual arts experience in the home of the performing arts.  Ms. Shultz thank you for your kindness and thoughtfulness.

Creativity and community fascinate me.  We imagine creativity happens in a vacuum to a select few.  This is not the case. Inspiration, creativity, and vision, happen in community.  Look closely at the Coleman Theatre Beautiful.  I love how they included the word beautiful in the name.  This is a place of beauty and delight.    The architecture is Spanish Revival, the interior design is Louis XV and the organ is a Wurlitzer.  What we see is the vision of a man who dug water wells for a living and the vision of a community who brought back a decaying building to its former glory.           

Presentation to Upward Bound Students

Presentation to Upward Bound Students

Excerpt from Presentation

One is saying, money is not inspiring; another, creativity comes out of problems, and the third, we need a quest.  So, where does this leave us?  George Coleman built this theatre in a small town on Route 66 halfway between New York City and Los Angles.  

  • Did he find inspiration in money?  
  • Did the building rise up because of a problem or limitation? 
  • Was there a quest?  

George Coleman and his brother made a fortune when they discovered lead and zinc north of town.  Money allowed George to travel and enjoy vaudeville with its variety of entertainment: singing, dancing, comedy, juggling, and one-act plays.  Mr. Coleman had a passion for vaudeville.  They say it was his first love.  I believe, it was this passion for vaudeville that aroused his inspiration to address a problem, a limitation.  His workers and the people of the town could not easily experience vaudeville in 1929.  His quest was  to bring high-calibre acts to a world-class theatre in Miami.

P Presentation Upward Bound Students IMG_8118

 

 

Excerpt from Presentation

Time was allowed to take its toll on the theatre.  The building structure fell into a state of disrepair.  The original furnishings were gone, including the chandeliers and the Mighty Wurlitzer.  Decay.  Faith.  Yes, there were those in the community with the vision of a restored Coleman Theatre Beautiful as the center of the community.  

Miami’s Administrative Assistant, Sue Valliere had the vision to search for the lost Wurlitzer organ.  After it was found, volunteers expended great time and energy in reconstructing it.  There are many stories about what it took to bring second life to the theatre: reconstructing the chandeliers, finding the stained-glass medallions in such places as at garage sale and at a Tulsa restaurant, and the fund-raising effort of a “seat adoption” program.  As Barbara Smith of The Friends of the Coleman said, “This journey has been one of faith.”  And, may I add, it took a self-respecting community with a passion for excellence to undertake the quest.

Entrance to Miami, OK

Entrance to Miami, OK

 

The Little Prince as Inspiration

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The Little Prince as Inspiration at Bihl Haus Arts, San Antonio 

Excerpts

All of us experience feelings of alienation and vulnerability during life’s transitions.   During my childhood, my family sent me from the Caribbean Island of Haiti to Quebec, Canada.  Here the Catholic nuns taught me.  At age fourteen, living in a foreign land, I read The Little Prince for a class assignment.   From the beginning, the Little Prince gave me strength, understanding and a vision.  We formed a life-long bond.

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Later in life, I turn to the noble childhood perspective of the Little Prince to walk the path of inspiration.

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I understand, one must go back to a childlike mind to make things happen.  So, when it came to carving my version of the Little Prince, the character was so embodied in my psyche and, like Michelangelo, I just carved away the excess of material to release him from a single piece of oak: my hero was born.

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Be also aware that there is a deep connection between risk taking and creativity.  One cannot repeat again and again the same pattern and expect a different result.  We need to be challenged to crystalize the eternity of a moment.

Marika sining the Haitian song she sung while carving "Grace."

Marika sining the Haitian song she sung while carving “Grace.”

The Little Prince with the Rose and the Fox

The Little Prince with the Rose and the Fox

 

Bihl Haus Arts: Comments & Press Release

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Comment from the Bihl Haus

Only from the heart . ., which opens at Bihl Haus on May 16,  features more than a dozen works by Haitian-born sculptor Marika Bordes.  They combine influences from Marika’s early years with teacher Francois Sanon in Haiti, who works in the Afro-Caribben tradition, and contemporary art from her time in New York and Quebec.  The resulting works in wood speak to the artist’s love of the material, understanding of the human form, and flawless skill with chisel and mallet.  We’ll also be premiering the new catalog of Marika’s sculpture, which will be available for purchase.

Grace

Grace

The Bihl Haus Press Release

A little bit of Haiti in SA!

Exhibit of Elegant Wood Carvings by Haitian-Born

Sculptor MARIKA BORDES

Opens May 16th @ Bihl Haus Arts

WHAT:  Only from the Heart. . .  

WHEN: Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 5:30-8:30 pm

WHERE: Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredericksburg Road (inside the gates of Primrose at Monticello Park Senior Apartments and across from the Tip Top Café)        

WHO: Sculptor Marika Bordes

WHY: Bihl Haus Arts is pleased to present “Only from the Heart . . . “, an exhibit of more than a dozen works in wood by Haitian-born sculptor Marika Bordes.  The centerpiece of the exhibit is “The Little Prince” (2014). This enchanting carving of a boy, his fox and the rose is inspired by the WWII French novella of the same name (which the artist can recite by heart in French) by author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  The title of the exhibit draws on Marika’s favorite quotation from the book, wisdom passed to the little prince from the lonely fox he tamed: “One sees clearly only from the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”  

In this exhibit, we see with our hearts–the works are tender, romantic, sensitive—as well as with our eyes and with our minds—they are brilliantly conceived, flawlessly executed.  Much like the French author who whittled down his original 30,000-word manuscript to less than half, Marika carved and chiseled an enormous 300-pound oak limb to reveal the essence of her own little prince.  Crowned by curly locks and dressed in flowing cape and baggy pants, Marika’s boy dons forged metal boots that ground him firmly to the earth. To his chest he clutches a rose, his rose, his responsibility now because it, too, like the fox, has been tamed.

Other works in the exhibit are based in reverie, dreams transformed into chiseled and polished woods, some embellished with added materials— a bit of ebony, a semi-precious stone, forged elements.  In Dream to Fairytale (2013), what was once a knobby root is now a dreamlike womb, the birthing place of a goddess.  In other works, the human form is abstracted, elegant, long and lean, as in Grace (2010), a dancer-like apparition with ebony face and body of Bois d’Arc, a dense golden-orange wood native to Arkansas and parts of Texas.  One theme that prevails in all of Marika’s work, however, is her love for the feel of the wood, the elegant twists of its branches, the subtle changes in its texture and tone. 

“Only from the Heart. . . “ opens with a free public reception at Bihl Haus Arts on Friday, May 16, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, which also features authentic Haitian foods and live music.  The exhibit continues through June 12, 2014. Related events include:

•Saturday, May 31, 2 pm: “The Little Prince as Inspiration,” an artist talk and sculpting demonstration by Marika Bordes, with a focus on The Little Prince (2014), created especially for this exhibit.

•Saturday, June 14, 2 pm: “Haiti Today,” a gallery talk by Artist Marika Bordes and Dr. Ruth Berggren, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics (UTHSCSA), who spent her childhood in Haiti and now heads a medical mission there.

From Dream to Fairytale

From Dream to Fairytale

About the Artist: Born on the Caribbean Island of Haiti amid towering trees, exotic flowers and mountains, then educated in a boarding school in Quebec, Canada, Marika (Marie Carmen) Bordes captured the best of two worlds.   From 1996 to 2001, she studied with Haitian master wood sculptor Francois Sanon, who at first glance told her, “Madam, you can carve!”  During this time, galleries exhibited her Afro-Caribbean-inspired work, she taught sculpting and Haiti National Television produced a documentary about her art.  

From 2001 to 2005, Marika spent time in Montreal and New York City developing and expanding her artistic talents.  In New York, she studied drawing at the Student Art League under Terence Coyle, worked with Sanon, and received awards in 2002 and 2003 at the Rencontre des Arts.   Also while in New York, The Pen and Brush, an international membership organization founded over 100 years ago for women professionally active in the arts, awarded Marika first prize in the 2003 African-American Art Exhibition.

In 2005, Marika moved to Seguin, Texas, with husband Dennis Martin, where her studio is located today.  Her efforts as an artist and arts activist have earned recognition. Peter Trippi, editor of Fine Art Connoisseur and juror of the San Antonio Art League and Museum’s 82nd Annual Artists Exhibition selected Marika for the Ann Griffith Ash Donor Award.  Her sculpture The King and The Queen won honorable mention at the Texas Society of Sculptors competition at the Georgetown Public Library.  For her community involvement, The Seguin Commission on the Arts awarded the artist the 2014 Arts Enrichment Award for outstanding contributions to and participation in the arts.   

Dancing with Mermaids (detail)

Dancing with Mermaids (detail)

The Cry of Liberty

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The Cry of Liberty is Marika’s newest sculpture.  She began the sandalwood sculpture in Haiti many years ago and worked on it from time-to-time in a deliberate manner.  The cry is against the slaveries that we and others impose on us.  Bob Phillips and Texas Country Reporter featured the sculpture in the segment Marika Bordes: The Carousel of Life.  The sculpture did take the trip to the 16th Annual Texas Country Reporter Festival in Waxahachie, TX.  The sculpture is currently on exhibit at Gallery Nord until January 12, 2012.

The Gallery Nord 

11.11.11 Exhibit: An Auspicious Date

Gallery Hours Wednesday – Saturday

Noon to 5:00

2009 NW Military Hwy., San Antonio, TX

210.348.0088

Gallery Nord Website: http://www.gallerynord.com

Arts make Seguin a great place to call home

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Heritage Museum, October 16, 2010

 

By Bob Grafe

The Gazette-Enterprise

Published October 21, 2010

So, just how lucky are we who live within or in near proximity to the city of Seguin?

If “Gwaihir: The Lord of Eagles, Master of Wind” had been in a talkative mood this past Saturday night, I’m sure he would have showered the 400-plus visitors gently traversing the aisles of Seguin’s Heritage Museum with that special knowledge that “we who so live,” nearby and together, are indeed very lucky.

The gathering at the Heritage marked the opening of artistic sculptor, and local Seguin resident, Marika Bordes’ art exhibit “Visions in Wood.”

Although somewhat dominated by the 15-foot presence of the uniquely impressive “Gwaihir,” the fascinating exhibit, of both Bordes’ work and that of her students, also included (adding to the totality of the evening’s experience) written appendages by heartfelt poetic locals who were asked to provide their “view” of a particular work of wood.

Upon entering the Heritage Museum, I was immediately thrilled at the attendance. As I wondered carefully throughout the two-stories of Marika’s and other museum exhibits, I couldn’t help but overhear the mostly joyful chatter among those in attendance. “Isn’t that beautiful.” Or “How did she (or other sculptors) do that?” Or, perhaps the most common, “Wow!”

Oh, there were a few there who reduced their conversations to the current mind-numbing political chatter. But, the vast majority in attendance, whether young, old, or somewhere in the middle seemed to be caught up in the moment where there truly was a celebratory atmosphere.

Underlying the obvious, that of the beauty of the exhibit which initially attracted this totally eclectic group in the first place, was the unstated but widely felt recognition that we were very lucky to live in a community where the arts are recognized for the contribution they continue to make to a joyful life … that the arts, here, are so much a part of our community.

As a venue for “Visions in Wood,” the Heritage Museum is perfect. Where else is the historic connective tissue so prevalent than at a central community location where one can come to reflect upon the past and present while keeping a directive eye on the future? John Gesick, the Heritage Museum director, seems to effortlessly make miracles happen within the museum’s walls … often from backstage.

With the combined genius of John Gesick and Marika Bordes working on behalf of our community’s heritage and artistic health, we are truly blessed.

While it seemed as if there was a majestic symphony in progress throughout the Heritage Museum during last Saturday night’s “opening,” it may have only been the notes of anticipation being subliminally heard in anticipation of Mid-Texas Symphony’s December presentation of The Messiah at Jackson Auditorium on the grounds of Texas Lutheran University.

Just imagine that! A very professional and talented symphony orchestra right here in “River City” playing to packed audiences in wonderfully designed performance facilities at our very own highly ranked Texas Lutheran University. How fortunate can we get?

Local film maker Chris Elley brought recognition to the Seguin arts’ scene with his movie production of “Barbecue: A Texas Love Story” and, certainly helped to put our very own Texas Theatre in the spotlight a few years ago by helping the local Conservation Society’s efforts to restore that theatre masterpiece into a lasting remembrance of the past while providing untold artistic performance opportunities for many generations to come.

The myriad of published authors within Seguin and the surrounding community is both diversified and voluminous. From the likes of Janice Woods Windle and her “True Women” book of excellence, to Charlie Eckhart and his wide collection of cowboy and “old West” books and other writings, to a recent 2010 release of local resident Jim Porter’s book “Two Old Geezer Golfers.” Again, how much better do the artistic talents get here?

Of course, any mention of “the arts” in our community would be incomplete without the efforts of various performing arts groups throughout the years. The huge success of Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite” recently produced by the original Seguin Art Center and performed at the Mosaic Church facility in dinner theater format is a testament of the excellence in performance that seems to be pervasive within our community.

And, finally, rumor on “the street” predicts an encore performance of the courtroom scene from “To Kill A Mockingbird” to be performed soon at a Guadalupe County Courthouse near you, on the third floor, with many of the original cast members on the docket. You’ll have to stay tuned for more information about this upcoming local artistic classic.

It’s no wonder why so many good people are considering the Seguin community as a travel destination or as a future “home.”

We are so lucky. There is so much more to our community… but, the arts contribute so much!

Bob Grafe is a former managing editor of the Seguin Gazette Enterprise and a former chief juvenile probation officer for Guadalupe County.

 

Visions in Wood: Marika and Her Students Sculpture Exhibition

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Art in Seguin...Seeing Is Believing

 

Heritage Museum is Venue for Special Evening of Art, Oct. 16

Volunteers working on the Seeing is Believing: Visions in Wood sculpture exhibit gathered at a recent planning meeting. The event is being held on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 6-8 p.m. Those with tickets to the Child Advocacy Center Fundraiser are invited to a sneak preview of the event from 5-6 p.m. that evening. There is no charge for the event, with donations supporting the Heritage Museum which is hosting the exhibit through Jan. 5.

By Mary Jo Filip, Main Street Program Director

(Seguin) — When Marika Bordes puts her mind to something, everyone should get in line and help her on her way. A while ago, John Gesick with the Heritage Museum suggested she might consider holding a show of her sculptures there. Taking his suggestion to heart, she envisioned a dramatic art event that would make the people of Seguin, and visitors, stand a little taller and think a little grander about the art we have here, the artists who create it, and the importance art has for our community. She didn’t want just a typical event. She wanted it to be special, so those who attended would leave excited, spread the word, and tell their friends they must go to the Heritage Museum to see this exhibit.

To help her meet her goal she assembled a committee of 11 people, each of whom was tasked with assisting in setting the stage for the event which will be held Saturday, Oct. 16 from 6-8 p.m. * Exhibit committee members were tasked with organizing publicity, the reception, staging for the exhibits, and organization. The committee includes Hil Starcke, Patt Linden, Barry Duncan, Dennis Martin, Roger Betschler, Lynn Pfullmann, Donna Dodgen,

Audra Schulz, Bob Gardner and myself. John Gesick works with the committee to ensure smooth interaction with the Heritage Museum.

The evening is called “Art in Seguin…Seeing is Believing”, with the title of the exhibit: Visions in Wood: Marika and Her Students. Over thirty sculptures by Marika and ten of her students will be on display. The crowning event of the evening will be the unveiling of a 14-foot tall breath-taking wood sculpture of “Gwaihir” that Bordes created and brought to life with assistance of her students and friends. The inspiration for the sculpture comes from Gwaihir, an immense eagle from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth who helped Gandalf escape and snatches Frodo and Sam from certain doom in the Lord of the Rings.

Adding another artistic element to the evening, Bordes asked people from the local community to write poems or impressions of the sculptures. These pieces, written by Mayor Betty Ann Matthies, Darren Dunn, Whitney Bischoff, Evelyn Streng, Patt Linden,Jean-Marie Ngendahayo, Michelle Rumbaut, Nancy Masterson, Jack Linden, Marie Jo Billnitzer, Beth Raetzsch, Michael Saenz, John Upper, Barbra Upper, Janice Turk, Cindy Aguirre, Ana Maria Gonzalez, and yours truly, will be displayed along with each of the statues.

Patrons of the evening will be greeted outdoors by the gentle sounds of a djembe drum. Inside, live string music will be performed, with hors d’oeuvres and wine available while strolling the two floors of the museum to observe the art.

The event is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome both from those wishing to help sponsor the event and those attending. Proceeds benefit the Heritage Museum. For more information contact Dennis Martin at 560-6852 or John Gesick at 372-0965.

*A sneak preview for those with tickets to the fund raiser comedy show for the Child Advocacy Center being held that same evening is being held from 5-6 p.m.

 

From the Seguin Daily News

September 27, 2010