Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007 - (Page 20)

arts ‘Studio’ continued from page 19 and for a 50¢-per-minute discount on a nosa design. those of us who feel anxious at the onset of holiday shopping will be comforted to know that P. nosa has us down to simple economics as well. our theorem goes something like this: Passerby (PB) + artist at sewing Machine (sM) = likely to stop; PB + Bicycle-Powered Electronic Generator in use (BPEG) = more likely to stop; PB + sM powered by BPEG = guaranteed loitering. Finally, PB + sM + BPEG + atM = guaranteed sale, so you will usually find the nosa rig next to a bank machine. However, if nosa’s economical approach to life sounds stoic in theory, in practice it’s really more like art. He is a relaxed, chipper sort of person, usually dressed in flip-flops, shorts, and a neat, vintage-departmentstore dress shirt that he found in a free box and then embroidered with a design—say, a tree made of faces—that expresses whimsy and covers old stains at the same time. nosa is a musician, and the silver Bus he calls his smoke-free home doubles as an entertainment venue, complete with instruments for a 4-piece band, a tip jar wrapped tastefully in lights, and three disco balls. on weekend nights he parks on 4th avenue, where he naturally atphoto by gavin troy p n o s a w i t h h i s s o l a r s e w ’e r a t t h e u o f a . two types of power, passive and active. the passive power is thanks to a 50-watt solar panel, though it’s a little cumbersome, and so not quite passive enough. the active power flows out of the Bicycle-Powered Electronic Generator. It’s a mountain bike that when stationed on an exercise-bike mount, connects to a boat battery and will supply 12 amps of electricity per hour, pro- vided someone is pedaling…hard. of course, that takes some figuring too, because nosa can’t pedal and sew at the same time. so after he rolls his rig onto 4th avenue, or Venice Beach boardwalk in the summer, or Phoenix on first Fridays, he lets other people do the pedaling. Ride the Bicycle-Powered Electronic Generator in exchange for the thrill of creating electricity, tracts both a lively music scene and drunken boneheads. Innovation always trumps frustration in his world, however, so he has developed several levels of ways to keep people out, ranging from tassels to chains. nosa is a downtown artist in the most basic sense of the word, because he thrives on downtowns, and on strangers with fresh perspectives considering and influencing his work. It could be that all of tucson is reflected in a series of characters he depicts lately: Fishtown. nosa has sewn a book and countless patches with these cuddly hybrids of human life and sea life, including Mr. troutpants, octalottalipapus, Fishmits, squidnose, and seamo. It may seem unlikely that our dry climate led to these characters from the sea, but hung on one wall of the silver Bus is what you would expect from him: an equation to explain it all. using nosa’s characteristic symbols, it reads: drum x Guitar x Happy Bike = Golden whale. It is his favorite piece, and as you can see, it makes perfect sense. P. Nosa’s Keeut Clothing and his Solar Sew’er can be found on December 5th at the University of Arizona Mall, on 4th Avenue at University Blvd. during the Winter Street Fair on December 7th-9th, and online at myspace.com/silverbus. 20 downtown tucsonan.december.07 http://myspace.com/silverbus http://www.downtowntucson.com http://www.providenceinstitute.com http://www.downtowntucson.com http://www.providenceinstitute.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007

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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