Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007 - (Page 19)

Inside the Studio by Diane Daly Artist: P. nosa Media: sewing, drawing, and Music Studio Location: wherever the silver Bus is parked nosa—the blue-eyed, lanky guy who sews designs on clothing at the 4th avenue street Fair—is ripping up kale with his large hands, and every piece is roughly the same size. He will sit inside the silver Bus where he lives and he will eat the kale, mixed with carrot shreds, avocado and thai peanut sauce, all purchased today at the co-op. He will not use a bowl; the salad will go from its genesis within the plastic grocery bag directly into his stubbly jaws. then, he’ll clean up all traces of his dinner. “It has to be tidy,” he says. nosa is above all things an economical man. He is also an environmentalist and a truly superb artist, though he reduces even these passions into smart little equations. He once was a painter of canvases and glass candles, but the rigors of street vendordom inspired him to reconsider the mass of his work while preserving the style. this led to sewn clothing, which has worked out well but demands a roomy venue and hanging pole to display, so he got to figuring again. Preserve the design, reduce the mass. now he sews his designs on patches and ties. they sit on any surface and sell very well, a reductive equation with one tidy solution. nosa’s designs are widely hailed as “cute!”—inspiring the name of his line of sewn designs, Keeut—and some people call them brilliant. But it’s his method these days that has people crying genius, or at the very least, “awesome, Bro!” nosa has rigged his sewing machine to run on P. continued on page 21 Meanwhile, props carpenter Jim cox works at a band saw making a mechanism for the Pajama Game’s spring-loaded desk. “what I like about the job is that it’s so varied”, he says. “I’ll do furniture, gadgets, a lot of the metalwork…I’ve done almost everything in production aside from costumes.” cox, who lives downtown and fronts the band Fourkiller Flats, also enjoys the workshop’s downtown location. “I like being close to all the live music venues”, he says. “I like being able to ride my bike or walk.” the Pajama Game runs at the temple of Music and art through december 15th. If you’re lucky enough to make it to this or any of atc’s upcoming shows, you might take some time to notice the specialized props and the craftsmanship of the gorgeous sets, made right in downtown’s backyard. ‘Scenes’ continued from previous page Huge racks contain the get-up for every character imaginable, from a sublime pink satin gown for an Italian countess to tattered gray bodysuits for the grotesque witches of Macbeth. the atc’s costumes, as well as props, are often rented out to smaller local theaters. on my visit to the workshop, sarah smith, the atc’s scenic artist, was busy figuring out dimensions on a piece of scenery before beginning painting. smith, who oversees all the painting done in the workshop, is trained in fine art and has done mural work and reproductions of Renaissance paintings. “I’ve worked here about five years”, smith says. “It’s a good group of people. Everyone gets along well.” smith says that most of the artisans at the warehouse live downtown, and she enjoys having her job at a location close to 4th avenue. “It’s always convenient if we want to go get some food or see some live music”, she says. p a u l l u c a s , a r i z o n a t h e a t r e c o m p a n y ’s p r o p e r t i e s m a n a g e r. december.07. downtown tucsonan 19 http://plushtucson.com

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Downtown Tucsonan Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Holiday Shopping Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performance Events and Film Holiday Events Museums Historic Downtown Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007

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