Arts DEVO

Sorry that my friends are so rad Maybe it’s not polite to brag, but whatever. My co-workers often make cool art, and I can’t help that. Wearing my editor hat, it’s not right to do features on people with whom I work closely. But wearing Arts DEVO’s Energy Dome, I tell myself it’s OK to bend the rules and talk about anything that the dome picks up and transmits into my little brain—stuff like Lookin’ for a Hole, the wonderful new CD by Michelin Embers, featuring CN&R staff writer Ken Smith on ukulele (plus Ska-T on lap steel, Steve Bragg on gut bucket and Johnny Shanker on guitar/vocals).

I am biased, for sure. But I’m also correct in saying that this is as good as local music gets. If you don’t already know this, put on your boots and kick up some dust at the EP-release show this Saturday, Aug. 9, at Duffy’s Tavern and tell me I’m wrong. The music is enough to make you pick up a copy of the disc, but the creepy cover art by local artist Rick Barnett (currently on Chico sabbatical, doing a year-long ceramic-making residency in Taos, N.M.) is amazing and worth the $5 price on its own.

And speaking of Barnett, he soon will be showcasing his art at a two-person show, titled Washing Dishes, at the 1078 Gallery (opening Sept. 11) with another co-worker/friend/rad artist, Mallory Russell. The CN&R calendar assistant and receptionist works in multiple media, often manipulating objects in unexpected ways (embroidered wood, oversized microscope slides) or creating fantasy worlds in one-off installations (“Moonlight Properties,” featuring mobile personal spaces for the modern space-deprived human). Whatever ceramic, painted, textile pieces end up being in the duo’s show, it’s sure to be trippy and unique and definitely worthy of mention in a column DEVOted to shining a light on local art.

DEVOtions

• More speaking of: Before Russell and Barnett’s show launches, 1078 Gallery will be hosting its two-day Annual Garage Sale fundraiser, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 8-9, as well a its newest group exhibit, Dirty Laundry, an open-entry show “featuring discarded clothing repurposed into innovative works of art.” Opens Aug. 14, with reception Sept. 4.

• Dessert for a Cause: Buy a handmade ceramic bowl ($5-$15) filled with ice cream from Shubert’s and help support All Fired Up’s Work Training Center program. Friday, Aug. 8, 5-8 p.m., at All Fired Up.

• ArtAbout: Both the 1078’s garage sale and All Fired Up’s dessert event are happening during the Chico Visual Arts Alliance’s monthly ArtAbout art walk, Friday, Aug. 8, 4-7 p.m., in the SoPO neighborhood.