goodbye, tower mosaic

some of you already know this, but tower mosaic is about to be done. tonight will be our last official event as we host art hop. last sunday was our final regular meeting.

as i look back over the last few years of my life, i'm glad to have been a part of tower from near its inception. honestly, it was a big step for heather and i to leave my home church, but we were really excited to get involved in a fellowship in our own neighborhood. i knew that church planting could be rough from watching my brother and sister inlaw do it down in pasadena, so i came into the experience with what i would consider realistic expectations.

so what happened with tower mosaic? where did we fail? well, i wouldn't say that we failed. and i'm not just trying to present a rosey picture. i think we met a need for the people we served over the last few years. i know tmc met a need in my life. and, i think we had an impact on local art & music communities through art hop, jazz jam, and the rogue festival.

but alas, it did come to an end. basically, it's hard work starting a new organization. we had built up a good momentum and were growing but i think there were some problems that we never addressed. part of it, at least in my opinion, is that we didn't grow a solid enough base in the tower community. we were spread apart about fresno, which hampered us creating community within ourselves, as well as engaging the tower community in it's fullest. another issue is that we were trying to move away from some of the established models for how church should look, act, do. it's difficult to make new ways, and that took a toll on us all, especially our leadership. as people began to become distant, we didn't do a good enough job to either keep them engaged or even really find out why they were moving on. and so it dwindled. momentum was lost. agendas seemed to change. i'm sure there is more to it, in fact i know there's more to it, but these are the things that stand out to me.

and so a little over a month ago our leadership team sat down to have an honest conversation about where it all stood. God had led us to start this endeavor, and it seemed that God was now leading us to shut it down and disperse us into other things. although it's difficult, it is a good thing. we're investing our people and assests into other ministries. and i hope those other ministries take on a bit of who we were.

our space (physical location) will continue on with one of our people. she's been leading a sunday morning study there and it has been rapidly growing. it excites me to already see a seed from the tmc tree growing. it also looks like she'll keep doing art hop & jazz jam, at least for now.

what's next for heather and i? we're not quite sure yet. it's summer, we'll see. what i think we do know is that we're probably not going to find a home in the old way of doing church. i hope we keep in contact with the people we've met during this season of our lives, even if it is just an occassional email or an accidental encounter.

it's been good.

rogue review protean visions

here's a little bit of weekend recap as well as talk about the band i saw tonight during the rogue festival.

yesterday, adam and i went and saw persepolis. i went into the movie without knowing much about it. i knew it was some sort of animated movie that dealt with war. obviously, there is much more to the movie. it was a beautiful film, and well worth seeing.

in the lobby, adam confessed his love for patrick duffy, and decided to get married before we saw persepolis.



after the movie, we went over to sara's parents and had dinner. she was in town because her birthday last week, and her parents were making corned beef. we were fortunate enough to get to come over, too. it was great. by the time we were done with dinner, we weren't really feeling like checking out any rogue shows.

today was a lazy day. in the evening, i went over to tower mosaic and worked the door with mike.



it was a nice evening, not too cold, but i should have brought a light coat. mike and i chilled out, and we got to hear some great jazz. now, i'm not a huge jazz fan, but live jazz is pretty cool. especially when the band playing has horns. guitar jazz is nice, but give me a trumpet or a sax any day. tonight was a band named protean visions. they were a quartet featuring a trumpet player. cool stuff. i don't know if they have any other rogue sets, but they're worth checking out around town if you get a chance.

as i listened to the band play tonight i reflected on how many young, great jazz musicians fresno has right now. now, they're not all just jazz musicians, but still there are a ton of young, good players in town. i would guess that the four guys tonight were all in their early twenties. eva scow and javon davies, who played @ tmc on thursday night are both 19. the guitarist playing with them is 23. and this is only a few. really, if you even moderately enjoy jazz, fresno is a great place to be right now. and, yes, tmc is helping out by providing a place for these guys to play. tmc hosts an open jazz jam on the 2nd and 4th sundays of the month. first hour, the house band plays, the second hour/hour & half is a chance to sit in w/great players.

rogue tonight

last night, i was able enjoy some great live music as eva scow opened up rogue jazz at tower mosaic. tonight's thing to see: abagail nolte at spectrum gallery. the show is @ 10, the dice riff raff will be there, and i think bumbling brothers winery is providing
wine. after the show, the riff raff will congregate at the landmark. you're welcome to join for some or all.

super bowling

you're all invited to watch the super bowl with me over @ tower mosaic. projector big screen. professional quality sound system. maybe even a couch.

hey, if you want to yell obscenities, i won't stop you (i might encourage you to seek professional help for getting so upset @ a football game though). if you want to root for the giants, okay (i might tell you you're rooting for the wrong team though).

bring a little grub to nosh on if you want.

art hop + post art hop plans

a couple of photos to share before i...


(photos may or may not be added later. blogger is quirky and won't let me upload photos.)



tell you all to go out and see some art tonight. we're headed out to tower mosaic, then over to broadway studios, and then corridor (i forgot the numbers). nick potter has a show over @ corridor, which i'm excited to see. if you're interested, we're meeting up @ tower mosaic @ 6:30.

then, i'll head home, watch survivor & an office rerun. then, off to the post art hop show @ tokyo garden. malcom sosa solo set, el olio wolof, good times, great music.

a little plug for me

here's the email flyer we've sent out regarding the upcoming art hop. i'm pasting it here because, well, i'm one of the artists. 7 pieces showing (2 brand new, 1 redone, 4 favorites i'd like to sell).

Tower Mosaic Art Hop
Starts: Jan 4 2007 - 5:00pm
Ends: Jan 4 2007 - 8:00pm
Location: Tower Mosiac, 1040 N. Fulton, Fresno
free!

Event details: TOWER MOSAIC ART HOP
1040 N. Fulton - In the Tower District
South of Olive between Alhambra and Elizabeth
(You’ll find us in the storefront above the Babylon Billiards Club)
Join us for our Art Hop Reception on January 4th, 5 to 8 PM
Enjoy wonderful refreshments, great conversation and live jazz!
Featuring local favorites - “The Rich Severson Trio�?

This month we are exhibiting the art of:

Adam Longatti – Landscape Artist
Born and raised in California’s Central Valley, Adam Longatti’s paintings reflect both the unique beauty and often gritty reality of life in the San Joaquin Valley landscape. The majority of his work deals with the loss of agrarian values and regional history to the impact of suburban growth on the landscape. His works reveal the aesthetic of a specific place in time yet hints to underlying forces of change.

Edward Stewart – Abstract Artist
Edward is a Fresno artist working in an abstract expressionist style. He seeks to inspire thought and emotional reflection through the depths of color and shape. His art is inspired by his life and religious experience. Edward studied art at Fresno Pacific College under Robin Dolarian and has exhibited locally for several years. He is currently preparing a show for the upcoming Rogue Festival.

Christy Cole – Visual Artist
Christy Cole is most at home with nature-based subjects and invites viewers to share her unique viewpoints. Her media of choice are graphite pencils, acrylic paints and, more recently, watercolor. Ms. Cole has garnered much acclaim for her work and has won top awards at the Fresno Fair. Her business, Round Rose Creative, caters to clients throughout California who seek custom murals and other commissioned work. She also teaches art and other subjects through F.U.S.D. and Fresno Adult School. Christy resides with her little boy and a multitude of pets in Fresno.

Marcos Dorado - Figurative Artist
This month Marcos will exhibit a stunning series of portraits of famous guitarists!

Marcos’ work represents the human figure in graphite or charcoal on canvas. He also works on paper and wood. Exhibits include Gallery 402 (NYC), Tojo Gallery (Chicago), Mission Cultural Center (San Francisco) and at the Sundaram Gallery in Santa Barbara. His art is also found in private collections around the country and he enjoys a continuous flow of commissioned portraits and nude drawings. Marcos recently received a commission for the portraits of four NBA players include Sam Cassel of the Los Angeles Clippers.