Presented by the White Lotus Tea Club, Tea Tastings will begin its series from February, 2012 at The Bridge. White Lotus Tea Club was founded last summer by the couple, Donal and Olivia Oldaker in Charlottesville. The idea of the Club is to revive the traditions of Tea Culture learning from its history and practice. Right now we offer different tea services and consultations as well as organizing tea events only by appointment but keep your eyes open for our permanent location in the future. Check out our website for more information.  Tea tastings at the Bridge will allow us to share with everybody our best teas and knowledge. All teas can be order or purchase at the time of event.

This month we are introducing Pu-erh Tea, its origins, different sorts and flavors: it is one of the oldest and most famous type of tea. Usually dark in color similar to coffee, Pu-erh has some health benefits and contain less caffeine. Made of leaves from the old tea trees which grow in Yunnan, China, Pu-erh stands out from other types of tea also because of the fermentation process.

The story of Pu-erh is similar to wine production: some sorts of Pu-erh have been aged in caves to develop their distinguish flavor which make them attractive for the tea collectors.

Contact: Oli Oldaker

whitelotusteaclub@gmail.com

Seth Cluett’s long-form sound work called Forms of Forgetting will explore the role of in-attention and re-attending in listening; using found objects, altered consumer electronics, home-made instruments, sine tone oscillators, the acoustics of the space and a host of psycho-physical phenomena, this new work aims to construct a focused, attentive perceptual space and an elastic, malleable experience of time.

Seth Cluett (b. Troy, NY) is an artist, performer, and composer whose work ranges from photography and drawing to video, sound installation, concert music, and critical writing.  His “subtle…seductive, immersive” (Artforum) sound work has been characterized as “rigorously focused and full of detail” (e/i) and “dramatic, powerful, and at one with nature” (The Wire). Exploring the territory between the auditory and other senses, Cluett’s works are marked by a detailed attention to perception and to sound’s role in the creation of a sense of place and the workings of memory. The recipient of grants and awards from Meet the Composer as well as the Andrew W. Mellon, Naumberg, and Malcolm Morse Foundations, his work is documented on Errant Bodies Press, Line, Radical Matters, Sedimental, Crank Satori, BoxMedia, Stasisfield, and Winds Measure.  Cluett is currently on the faculty of the School of Fine Arts at Miami University of Ohio where he teaches in the Music Department and the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies.

Contact: Chris Peck
peckpeckpeck{at}gmail{dot}com

JUDGES: Clay Witt, Jennifer Tidwell, Cecilia Hernandez Nichols, Amy Gardner, Will May, Blake Demaso, and Lynelle Lawrence. Cyrus Worrell will present the results.

DESIGN BRIEF:

I. THE CHALLENGE:
PROJECT GAIT-WAY:
BELMONT BRIDGE DESIGN COMPETITION
The Belmont Bridge in the city of Charlottesville, VA must be rebuilt. But it doesn’t need another “raised road.” The city needs a “Gait-way” – an iconic, pedestrian-centric, bike & auto friendly gateway bringing Charlottesville into the next era of world-class cities. (Budget $14.5 million.) We’re looking for creative, inspiring, innovative and extraordinary solutions – in both bridge design and urban planning. Examine the city’s assets. Provide the plan.

II. SPECIFICATIONS:
For all tech specs, please refer to: http://www.belmontbridge.com/design-scenarios
• Bridge would ideally remain open during construction.
• Lower clearance over the train tracks of minimum 23 feet.
• 5% upper limit of the curvature of the roadway (for sight lines)
Familiarize yourself with the process. Pay attention to the community feedback* – as well as suggestions from the community charrette.
*This design did not meet approval: http://www.belmontbridge.com/community/design-preview

III. Belmont Bridge Guiding Principles:
1. Multi-modal — serving pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit. 2. Gateway – to downtown/neighborhoods, a vital link for residents and commuters.
3. Iconic – an aesthetically important piece of public infrastructure with architectural treatments reflective of the contemporary Charlottesville community.
4. Green – incorporate green features (low-energy/living) and sustainable materials.
5. Feasible – built within its existing footprint,** in compliance with design standards. **Footprint is subject to debate – innovative urban planning solutions will be considered.

IV. DELIVERABLES:
PRIMARY Design presentation limited to one mounted vertical 36″ x 40″ board. Site plan, section, elevation, aerial/axonometric view. Plus a short, written description of your concept (max 300 words – Helvetica 11 pt). Include your contact info in an envelope and attach it to the back – no identifying info on the design display side. (You will be assigned a number.)
SECONDARY Although not required, models are encouraged – as a secondary component in addition to board. (max size: 30″ x 30″ x 8″)
Mail designs to: Project Gait-Way: The Bridge PAI, 209 Monticello Rd, Charlottesville, Va. 22902.
Digital submissions: You may send a digital file. But you must also mail a letter (received by deadline) and check for $60 for printing/mounting to The Bridge PAI 209 Monticello Rd, Charlottesville, Va. 22902 – payable to The Bridge PAI (memo: Bridge Competition). Email digital file (PDF or jpg) to brian.wimer@embarqmail.com.

V. PROGRAM:
• Open Submission: Deadline 6pm February 11, 2012.*** • Public Display: February 13 – 19, 2012 at The Bridge PAI (and possibly other venues) • Judging will be comprised of public votes and a jury of local stakeholders. • Award: 8pm February 19, 2012

VI. AWARDS:
$1,000 Bridge Jury Award, People’s Choice Award (prize TBD) $1,000 Urban Planning Jury Award, People’s Choice Urban Planning Award (prize TBD)

***Note: Wall space is limited. The competition might not display designs of lesser quality.
For competition updates go to: projectgaitway.com (going live online 1/9/2012)

For specific questions, contact: brian.wimer[at]embarqmail[dot]com

Please join us Friday February 3rd from 5-7pm at PCA’s CitySpace Gallery for the iConnect photography program’s book release party. Now in the program’s sixth year, The Bridge PAI and Albemarle County Schools presents this year’s book El Rio. The month long exhibit will feature work by Albemarle County students from the Southwood and Westhaven communities. With creative partnerships through the Charlottesville Photography Initiative and Writer House, students worked with mentors for two weeks taking photos with digital and 35 mm format, and writing poetry about their images. The goal of the project is to utilize the mediums of writing and photography to capture the students individual experiences of visiting a river for the day.

Title: “Time is another Creation”

Kim Boggs has been working with found colors and objects since 2009, when she first really learned how to play.  She hopes for each individual to take away from “Keeping it for Play” the basic, yet profoundly important ideas to explore more and play more.

“I’ve been an accumulator since I was very young. I am primarily drawn to items in a state of disrepair and decomposition. The older and more storied. The better. The components of what I create already exist – left on the sidewalk, thrown into the trash, collecting rain in a parking lot …and in countless thrift stores. I spend a lot of time gathering color to be recombined. I do not paint – all of the colors you see in each piece are as found.  Messing around with objects and ideas, without judgement or a specific goal, is the key to most worthwhile endeavors. Children intuitively understand this and will do most anything to exercise it.  I would always hope to be more like a child,” says Boggs.

During the month of March, in conjunction with “Keeping it for Play”, several local classrooms have been invited to The Bridge.  Boggs will conduct a series of workshops with the students as they celebrate and explore different landscapes within the same image.  As a result, the students will celebrate one another’s creations, and most importantly, play.

Local bike collector and enthusiast, Ken Margolis, is exhibiting some of his more artful bikes during the month of May.  The beautiful vintage bikes will come from all parts of the world, including England, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, and the good ol’ U S of A.  While most of the bikes will be cleanly hung on the gallery walls, a few will be showcased on the floor for handling and possible riding.  Come learn about these fantastic bikes and join us for what is bound to be a bike-friendly and populated opening reception!

Contact:

Kenneth Margolius
km72w1{at}gmail{dot}com

Artist statement:

My current body of work is entitled Twig because the multiple meanings of the word fit well with the layers of thought in this series. A twig is a small branch, which is suggestive of the many branchings of the natural world, from our own nervous and respiratory systems to the branching of the evolutionary tree. The image of growth from a common source reminds us of connections near and far. The word twig also means to observe, notice or watch and to understand. To draw, even loosely as these pieces are drawn, allows one to notice much more than one might otherwise see. The drawing brings these details to our attention and deepens our understanding of the world.

The animals and humans that populate my work should be seen as protagonists and are therefore chosen for their sympathetic appeal. While drawing, I work to reveal the intrinsic emotional intelligence of the subject. With the animals it is important not to anthropomorphize yet to consider that nonhuman thoughts and emotions have significance. For the human subjects I have chosen the very young, often newborns. This extreme youth allows the viewer to see the world from an untainted perspective.

The works are done quickly, almost gesturally, in oil on Mylar. The gestural quality creates a sense of life and narrative immediacy that is imperative to the emotional impact of the pieces. I wish to convey that both the subject and the viewer are in the moment. The extremely personal style of gestural drawing also suggests the presence of the artist. I do many pieces and succeed in only a few. Just as each individual creature is a product of both design and chance, so are these drawings.

I have found that Mylar is great to draw on because it allows me to return over and over to the unblemished surface in search of just the right facial expression or gesture. The brown paint is wonderfully organic in quality while the Mylar is so manmade. The variable surface qualities like nature itself I find extremely seductive.

The emotions conveyed by the work vary from piece to piece, but collectively they acknowledge our ambiguous feelings about nature as a whole. This mix of emotions has formed our current relationship with nature. By taking a sympathetic look at ourselves and at nature I hope that we can form a new world view, one does not place the needs and desires of humans above those of other animals. I hope this work opens a small window to this more sympathetic paradigm by allowing us to see ourselves in others and others in ourselves.

Immerse yourself in a unique clowning experience. Through play, we will connect with our inner clown and with each other in a supportive environment.

The clown is naïve, so no experience necessary. For ages 16 and up.

Group size is limited to 12. For more information or to register in advance, email jennifer.v.benson@hotmail.com.  Suggested donation from $3 to $10.

Read this great description of a class:

Finding “The Wisdom of Imperfection” through Clowning

by Jenny Benson

This summer, I spent a week just clowning around, and it was one of the most profound experiences of my life.  This clowning workshop entitled, “The Wisdom of Imperfection”, was held at the Threefold Educational Center in Chestnut Ridge, New York. This was my third class with clowning facilitator Vivian Gladwell. He is the founder of Nose to Nose, an organization originally based out of Europe, that offers a unique approach to clowning, one that is more about authentic presence and connection to others than it is about tricks and gags. Some called this class ‘advanced clowning’, but the running joke at these workshops is that the longer you clown, the less “advanced” you actually become. We understand that clowns, by definition, are naive.

My journey to “Clown 3: The Wisdom of Imperfection” started with almost missing the first day of the five-day workshop. I drove down from New Hampshire and then spent three hours on the highway, missing exits and turning around countless times. “Perhaps I will find the wisdom to this imperfection during this workshop,” I thought, trying to comfort myself and appreciate the irony. Of course the journey to Clown 3 really is more complex than a long drive and missed exits. It’s a lifetime journey of trying to find the ‘wisdom of imperfection’ and trying to find a deeper sense of joy and connection in the world. Through clowning, we develop a strong connection with each other and can make life-changing self-discoveries.

Connection and trust grows strong among the clowns in the workshop. The red nose, which is said to be the smallest mask in the world, gives us the freedom to behave in a way that we ordinarily would not. In turn, we may face the hard parts of ourselves. In appreciation for this depth and honesty, as clowns, we become a support for one another. We are never really alone on stage because the facilitation of the workshops is done so sensitively. If it looks like we are disconnected during an improvisation, Vivian will remind us gently to look at the audience.  “Look at us,” he’ll say. He might also say, when observing a moment of pure, authentic clowning, “That’s beautiful”.

All within this environment of deep connection and safety in this clowning work, the potential for self-development is immense. In this workshop, I discovered more about my relationship to rules and how that impacts me. During one improvisation, I realized that I was so preoccupied with getting the rules right that it was interfering with my ability to participate. The next day, however, when I found that I made a mistake with the rules of the improvisation, I was able to say “Oops” in an impish way and laugh it off. I allowed myself the mistake because I wasn’t “me”, I was a clown. And in doing so, I gained a sense in my body of being able to go with the flow. A delicious part of this clowning is that we may find a jewel in the very thing that makes us most uncomfortable.

There is also something about clowning that closely parallels our daily lives and provides a fertile ground for making profound realizations about life. In this class, we were asked to stay with the problems that arise. This is not an easy request! In one improvisation, Vivian instructed the clowns to enter the stage and go on a sailing trip. One problem that could arise as we enter the stage is that we don’t “see” the boat or the dock or anything and we panic. We might stall, spending a long time “packing our bags”. Sooner or later, however, we need to define something that we see, such as “Here is the boat! It’s a big boat!” In order for the ship to set sail, we must set limits on what we have in front of us and make a commitment. Somehow, through putting on a red nose and a hat, we may make as rich discoveries as perhaps sitting silently under the Bodhi tree.

On the last day of the clowning workshop, we all gathered in a circle together to mark the end of our five-day journey of “Clown 3: The Wisdom of Imperfection”. I looked around at these friends with whom I shared such intimate adventures and I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she woke up from her sleep and saw the lion, the tin man and the scarecrow in the faces of her family. As we sat in this circle, I shared some of what I learned over the week, the self-discovery, lessons about life, the feelings of deep connection I felt with each of them. And as I spoke, all these beautiful faces looked at me with such empathy and loving eyes. They understood. Behind their faces I could see their clown, and all that they had been to me over the week. Thankfully, with the long journey of mistakes and missed exits, I finally found “The Wisdom of Imperfection”, in all its messy beauty.

In January, The UNEARTHING is coming to Charlottesville. What is The UNEARTHING? It is a cross-genre performance, art installation, and workshop series produced and directed by Zap McConnell, member of the Zen Monkey Project and former director of A Charlottesville Wunderkammer, a site-specific performance/ arts carnival that played to sold-out audiences in 2006. The UNEARTHING is presenting free community events and workshops throughout January and the culminating performance takes place Wed –Sun, February 1^st-12^th, at 8 pm at the IX (next to Play On Theater). Check out the video on their kickstarter page, where the UNEARTHING raised $14,000!

Working to interweave her social critique with creative action, community dialogue, and inspirational performance, Zap McConnell dreamed up The UNEARTHING. This ambitious project is an international exchange, installation, dance theater performance, art sale, fundraiser, and workshop series. Yep… it’s far from simple. After more than 10 years of collaborating and creating original work with the Zen Monkey Project, a local experimental dance theater company, and after spending multiple years as artist in residence at Universidad de los Americas in Puebla, Mexico, Zap is merging the best of both worlds in the Unearthing.

Dancers and musicians are traveling from Mexico and various parts of the US to help create a total experience, where the audience migrates through a world of sculptural installations. In classic Zap style, she is utilizing local unused warehouse space at the IX- building lights, installations, costumes and props from discarded material and found objects. The space will also feature installations from 20 different sculptors. The UNEARTHNG handles the themes of political and cultural borders, ecological realities, and the energy sources driving our madness and our future hope. There will be bicycle power, seed planting, and a post show salon, catered by Harvest Moon, where the audience can peruse the works of art, interact with performers and reflect on the content of the show.  All of the art created for this event will be for sale, and half of the proceeds will go to Heartwood and I Love Mountains. Also, leading up to the performance event, members of the UNEARTHING will be hosting free community workshops and supporting programming at local schools.

Be sure to check out the various workshops offered through The UNEARTHING, starting Sunday, January 8^th!

The UNEARTHING draws together various parts of our community, intersecting thought, action, and imagination. Come be a part of these events and see a new thing being born within or midst.

Contact:
Tevyn East
rumbleandquake{at}gmail{dot}com