Chroma Studios, the Music Perspective

We here at Chroma Studios are fans of music ourselves, owning a record collection with well over 8,000 records (if you want to count them come on over). It is through this that we have developed the philosophy that all music has something to offer. Instead of not listening to it and saying it sucks we decided to open ourselves up to the opportunity to listen to a different perspective. Which is all music is really. A different perspective due to a different upbringing. It seems to me that we all could use the reminder that this is one of our strengths. It does not matter what style it is there are only 12 notes, there is melody, there is harmony and form. There is rhythm syncopated and straight. The beauty of all of that is it’s an individual’s voice that makes those 12 notes, melody, harmony, form, and rhythm all come together.

Whenever I rent spaces to bands, they ask what the rules are and this is my response. My number one rule for the band studios is be supportive of your fellow musicians no matter what you do or what they do.  We currently rent 19 band studios and these bands will provide the majority of the music at ChromaFEST. We rent space to all different types of bands. There are some cover bands, original bands, trained musicians, untrained hip hop, rock and roll, metal, and bands I have never heard. Chroma used to house a performance space where Chroma developed a relationship with many Singer Songwriters and poets who will be a part of ChromaFEST in what we call Tweener acts. The Chroma community will provide a diverse set of music that is Albuquerque.

If you are up to listening to a bunch of different styles of music all in one place as part of your day, mark down April 8th and come to ChromaFEST in Albuquerque, NM. I can make you this promise, you won’t be disappointed. More info on ChromaFEST will be shared as we get closer to April, stay tuned…

 

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Call for Artists!

We are in full planning mode for our upcoming ChromaFEST on Saturday, April 8th. What is ChromaFEST, you may ask? It’s a music/art festival and a fundraiser for Chroma Studios. We plan to make it an annual event, but this year is extra special. You may have seen our Big Announcement a couple of months ago. Now that 2017 is here, we are in full swing fundraising/planning mode. This year’s event will be at The Cell Theater in downtown Albuquerque. We will know more about times once we get the band/music lined up. There will be live music, food truck/s, a silent auction and of course, an art market!

We are looking for artists who would like to set up a booth to show/sell their work. The term artists is used in a broad sense here as we are open to any kind of creative handmade items. Fine Art, jewelry, photography, fiber arts, really ANYTHING handmade by YOU. This will be an outside show, so you may need a canopy for shade. You will need to bring your own set up; tables, chairs, easels, canopy, etc. Since this is a fundraiser show, we are asking each artist to donate a piece for the silent auction. In return, we will be eternally grateful to you!

What we need you to submit is 4-10 photos of your work, a bio/artist statement, and a $10 application fee. If you rent a studio from us, the fees are included in your rent. If you are not a Chroma Studios artist, the booth fee will be $25 in addition to the $10 application fee. This is a one day, Saturday show that may go as late as 10:00pm. Booth fees will be collected after you are accepted to the show. There is limited space, so unfortunately we can’t accept everyone. 😦 The deadline is February 15th and we will notify artists by March 1st.

Please send your submissions to chromastudios@comcast.net and pay your $10 application fee by paypal to plewis11@comcast.net or by check/money order mailed to Chroma Studios, 1606 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106.

Please email if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from YOU!

Chroma Open Studios: Saturday, Sept. 17, noon-5pm

Reception area at Chroma Studios

This Saturday from noon to 5pm I will be opening my studio to the public. Not just my studio, but 3-4 other artists in my building will also be here to show their work! It’s been years since we opened Chroma Studios to the public and I am so excited to share all the color and energy with you all! We have 11 studios in all, though not everyone is able to be open this time around.

We have 2 studios that are currently being moved out of, so we also have 2 studios opening up for new artists at the beginning of October. If you are looking for an art studio, stop by and see what we have available! We are always happy to welcome new artists into the Chroma Studios fold. 🙂

Mixed Media by Dee Alexandria

I recently moved into a new studio that I’m sharing with another artist. Dee Alexandria has been a friend since we first met selling our art at the New Mexico State Fair almost 10 years ago! We decided to share a studio because neither of us needed a big studio to ourselves. Plus, it’s nice to have company in the studio. So often, artists are isolated from their peers. That is one of the things about Chroma Studios that makes it so nice! We have a community of artists here that help each other out. Mine and Dee’s work compliments each other perfectly as we both love color, flowers and spirals!

Landscape painting by Cynthia Zeedyk

Cynthia Zeedyck is another artist who will have her studio open this Saturday. She is a lifelong artist with 45 years of training and experience in the arts, including: Fine Arts, Appalachian Arts, Poetry, many styles of Dance, Wildcrafting Herbs, and Poetry. Cynthia was awarded with an Apprenticeship Grant from Ohio Arts for Traditional Heritage Basket Making. Her works sold both nationally and internationally. She was the largest female producer of Heritage Berry Baskets in the world. Her designs and creations include landscape paintings, floral and contemporary. Newest works in Scrimshaw. Cynthia has been a Chroma Artist since 2014.

Mixed Media by Robert Medina Cook

Robert Medina Cook has been a Chroma Studios artist off and on for at least 5 years. He began his journey in the creative arts over forty years ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A native New Mexican whose local family roots go back centuries in Northern New Mexico, in 2012 Robert was one of 7 artists honored for their excellence in the arts by being proclaimed a “Local Treasure” by the Albuquerque Art Business Association. Featured in several publications, his artworks have won numerous awards and can be found in corporate, museum, public art and private collections throughout the US and abroad.

Mixed Media by Phillip Vigil

Phillip Vigil (Jemez Pueblo/Chiricahua Apache) is a fourth-generation artist residing in Jemez Pueblo. He is new to Chroma Studios. He is a self-taught artist and has been working seriously on his art now for several years. He always had a love of art since he realized at a young age that the paintings on the walls were done by members of his family. He is highly influenced by the abstract modernists of the early and late 20th century. He works a lot on paper with oil pastels, oil sticks, oil paint sticks, spray paint, oil and acrylic paint as well.

Open Studios Event!

Starting in September, we will have a monthly open studios event at our Central Ave. location. This is the place where we have our art studios. There are 11 studios with 8 artists, at least 4 of us will be opening our doors to the public on the 3rd Saturday of the month, from 12 noon to 5:00pm. We are located at 1606 Central Ave SE, Suite 201, very close to UNM, about a block west of University Ave.

The first open studios is happening on September 17th, hope to see you there! 🙂

Chroma FEST 2012!

We had such a super great time at our 1st annual Chroma FEST! I have a few photos to share from both nights. If you missed it this year, no need to fret, next year will be even BETTER! 🙂 Friday night was our Art show/open studios event and Saturday was the Music festival. We are considering combining the two into one BIG event for next year. All the art and music was amazing! Albuquerque has quite an awesome scene and Chroma Studios is overflowing with talented artists and musicians! Enjoy the photos (both days mixed in together) and we hope to see you next year!

Nice spread for the art opening!

Shiva was the first band to take the stage at 2pm.

Bryan Beck and Brandon Allebach discussing art

The Haptics playing some groovy music with their young fans dancing in front!

Vikki Bryers outside her studio

Aaron Lewis, our only acoustic solo performer

I asked Jamila to stand with me for my photo with my art, hate taking photos! Paula Manning-Lewis and Jamila Coluzzi

The Famous Blues Number, 3 piece blues band.

Sylvia Montesinos with her paintings

Wormhole, 3 piece rock band from Las Cruces, guests to Chroma FEST!

Samuel Kochansky w/ his lovely wife Audra, standing in front of Sam’s studio

Psychic Monkey rocked the street!

Jen Montano standing with her paintings

Deadtown Lovers played a great set, but I forgot to get my camera out until they were done!

Jamila Coluzzi with her paintings

Throw the Temple finished off the night with a killer jam!

Brandon Allebach in his studio

 

 

Coming up at Chroma: May & June

Saturday, May 30th, 6pm, Performance space, Lecture/Slide Presentation; Rob Leutheuser is giving a presentation to close out the May show of his photographs. He will give a short lecture along with a slide show of images from his 2008 travels in Kurdistan. This is a free presentation.

Wednesday, June 3, 7pm, Performance space, Intimate Concert; Eric Hisaw, Blues Singer/songwriter coming all the way from Austin, TX for a solo Intimate concert performance. Tickets are $10 each, available in advance or at the door.

Friday, June 5, 6-10pm, Gallery; June First Friday, featured artists, Chris Baca & Karl Eschenbach. Plus, work from the newest additions to the Chroma Gallery roster; Lisa Chernoff, Maria de Echevarria, Herb Goldman, Anna Goodridge, Shelby Keefe, Ken Roth, and Geri Verble.

Saturdays, June 6,13,20,27, Noon – 6pm, Gallery/Patio; Summer Artist’s Market, Starting in June we will rent table/booth spaces to artists and hold our very own Saturday Arts & Crafts market. Tell anyone/everyone you know about it.

Thursday, June 11, 6-9pm, Gallery; Charity Tweet Up, This is a combined event, Tweet up bringing Twitter members together for the Albuquerque area, Charity silent auction and event (10% of gallery sales will be donated) to benefit Best Buddies NM  Best Buddies NM has their offices in the same building as our Central Studios and they are an awesome organization/cause! Suggested donation at the door; $15.

Tuesdays, June 16 & 30, 7pm, Performance space, Carlos Contreras(one of our studio artists) is hosting a Poetry Slam, plus there will be a workshop as well on the 30th. We attended the first one here this past Friday and it was awesome! Tickets are $10, limited seating, contact Carlos(soothxsayer@yahoo.com) for more info or to reserve a spot. The house was PACKED for the first one!

Friday, June 19th, 7pm, Performance space, Intimate Concert featuring Nick Harmon, singer/songwriter. Nick is one talented individual! Not only is he playing this concert, but he also happens to be one of our gallery artists and was the one who created our amazing floor at the previous gallery location. Tickets are $10 each, available in advance or at the door. I hear this one may sell out quick though, so you may want to get tickets in advance!

Friday, June 19th, 6-10pm, Downtown Artscrawl Reception with June featured artists, Chris Baca & Karl Eschenbach. Plus, work from the newest additions to the Chroma Gallery roster; Lisa Chernoff, Herb Goldman, Anna Goodridge, Shelby Keefe and Ken Roth.

Alyson Stanfield’s Studio Tour

Chroma Studios is excited to announce that Art-marketing consultant and Art biz blogger Alyson B. Stanfield will be here on November 13th from 6-8 p.m. to talk about and sign her book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion, and to answer your questions.

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion is for artists of all kinds. Painters, sculptors, ceramist, jewelers, photographers, and others will benefit from the easy-to-follow self-promotion practices in this book.

Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.

The book includes online worksheets and downloads.