Tag Archives: Featured Artist

Storage Container Mural by Chip Thomas

Chip Thomas, Colin Holmes, Racheal Rios & Monique Laraway, 2021

Photos from Racheal Rios

Interview with Chip, 2021

What got you started on your creative process/brought you to where you are now?

I moved to Northern AZ in 1987 and set up a black and white darkroom shortly thereafter. For the next 22 years I spent time in the community photographing and having occasional shows of that work. However, it didn’t feel complete in that the people in the photos weren’t seeing the work. A 3 month trip to Brazil in 2009 led to me spending time with street artists who introduced me to the large, wheat pasted photographs of JR which influenced the work I’m doing now.

Chip Thomas Mural from jetsonorama.net

What brought you to BICAS, and/or inspired you to contribute the incredible wheat paste mural that went up recently?

I was invited by Kylie Walzak to do an installation at your original site in 2010. I returned in 2011 to install work as well. Then Colin Holmes invited me to do an installation there this year.

Racheal Rios and Chip Thomas at BICAS, 2021. Photo from Racheal Rios

What are you working on right now?

Well, I’m working on a couple things. I just completed an installation at Fort Garland in the San Luis Valley on Native enslavement from 1492 to the late 1800s. As an extension of that I’m looking at doing an exhibition on the complex history of the Buffalo Soldiers who were stationed at Fort Garland for 3 years in the mid 1860s. They’re recognized and celebrated as Black American heroes but in truth they were freed enslaved people who were seeking acceptance into American society by participating in the settler-colonial narrative of fighting and killing Native people. In order for healing to begin we need to start there.

Chip Thomas mural from jetsonorama.net

What is the best way to follow your work?

Hit me up at @jetsonorama on the (Insta)gram or follow my blog – jetsonorama.net. Peace.

Chip Thomas mural from jetsonorama.net

Chip and Racheal at BICAS, 2021, photo from Racheal Rios

Follow, support, and shop Chip’s work by visiting the above links. Thank you Chip for your work!

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For questions, mural requests, media, metalworks commissions, information on our Annual Art Auction, workshop information, or parts requests, contact the BICAS Art Coordinator at art@bicas.org or 520.628.7950, or stop by the shop at 2001 N. 7th Ave during our open hours.

Find out more by following BICAS Art on Facebook, Instagram and on our Etsy shop!

June Featured Artist: revolta Art

Monique of revolta Art in their studio

ART STORY

“In my early teens, I fell in love with drawing and decided I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. Drawing was accessible, something I could do from anywhere with paper/pen, and eventually it became a tool for emotional release, stability and healing. Being an introvert has allowed me the space to explore many different mediums like printmaking, welding, collage but I always come back to pen and paper.

Currently, I’m focusing on the vibrant Sonoran Desert flora and fauna seen while riding through the city and MTB trails and painting them in bite-sized chunks. I’m a fan of celebrating little “magic moments” like a blast of Mexican gold poppies tucked in a pile of gray-tone rocks or the 30+ foot tall saguaros that tower over native trees. There’s so much resilience and wisdom in surviving this harsh desert and I’m inspired by it all. My current work is mostly small scale 2D water-based painting and drawing on salvaged materials, but I dabble in upcycled bike jewelry and the occasional small sculpture to keep my hands busy.

Using natural and reclaimed materials is an important part of my practice. While my environmental impact is minimal, I’m a firm believer that change comes in small waves and if more people/artists rethink their consumption and creative material use, we can ensure there’s more left for those who come after us and hopefully make a positive dent in our communities. Plus, it’s just cute to extend care to circles and spaces beyond our own!”

Reclaimed wood painting by Monique

BIKE STORY

“Another love story. My passion for bicycles started in a tiny mountain town [Flagstaff] circa 2003 that had everything within a few miles which was great for commuting and way more affordable than driving. What I didn’t realize was how much I would gain from riding bicycles. There’s more intention that goes into errands and daily existence (for example transporting groceries, dressing for extreme weather, avoiding traffic and rough roads). Bikes connect people to our bodies, our boundaries, our community and the land we occupy. Being car-free for over a decade taught me self-reliance, emotional clarity, confidence, how to fuel myself and the symbiotic relationship of maintaining my bike.”

Monique and their bicycle spoke earrings

BIKE MECHANIC STORY

“Bike shops felt really inaccessible and intimidating and fortunately Flagstaff had a small bike co-op, like a mini BICAS. That space was open once a week and empowered my curiosity around bike repair. There weren’t many free online mechanic videos so self-education was reading the 2-3 bike repair books from the library and then plenty of trial and error.

When I moved to Tucson in 2009, BICAS became a 2nd home where I volunteered, gained more hands-on experience and was eventually hired as an employee. Those 7 years helped shape my passion for collaborative community involvement, creative reuse and bike education. For the past 4 years, I wrenched at Transit Cycles-and had the pleasure of working on more modern and custom bike builds, attending mechanic workshops, networking with other FTWNB (femme trans women and non-binary) riders and playing with all the fun and blingy modern components/tools my little greasy hands could handle.”

It was a joy getting to hear Monique’s story, and BICAS is forever grateful to them for their community work and involvement! Thanks for your sharing Monique. Follow them and support their work by clicking the links below.

webstore: revolta.etsy.com

instagram: @revolta_art

Upcoming art event: BICAS Art Mart (May 16, 9am-1pm)

Published June 2021

Featured Artist: Jenna Tomasello

Jenna Tomasello is a local Tucson artist who specializes in mural and faux finish painting, and has a product line of desert inspired, artisan made bandanas.

You may recognize her Star Wars Cantina mural for Tallboy’s Restaurant on 4th ave, the sunset mural on what is now the Pima Area Labor Federation offices on e. Pima, and a community paint by number mural in the Subspace Artist Studios.

You can find her online at www.jennatomasello.com and follow on instagram at @jennatomasello.

What is your story as an artist? How did you come to be a professional muralist?

The first ever mural I painted was one where I was assisting a friend on their project, and I realized “I could do this”. That moment was the inspiration that got me to look at my art as a career. I started seeking out painting jobs in order to learn how to approach my work as a trade and a business. I painted sets for theaters, did conventional house painting, murals, and worked alongside many skilled craftspeople whom I continue to learn from and refine my skills with.

I started designing my bandanas in 2018 with the inspiration of having my artwork be more functional and accessible. My bandana patterns are inspired by desert plants, animals, stars, and seasons. I paint all of my designs by hand and I truly enjoy making them. I sell them through my website (which I will be relaunching in mid-May) and in three local Tucson stores, Pop-Cycle, The Ninth House Shop, and Shop at Mesa in the MSA Annex.

We heard that the bandana project helps support local businesses. Can you tell us about that?

Yes, it is important to me that my bandana manufacturing is done locally. The bandanas are sewn by a women’s sewing co-op, DouglaPrieta Works, in Agua Prieta, Sonora. The patterns are screen printed in South Tucson by the union print shop, The Gloo Factory.

What’s next for you as an artist?

Ive been working on developing my the business end of what I do, as there is so much that goes into running a business. I am looking to do more commercial art and murals and to grow my bandana and product line.

Anything else you want to share?

I hung out at BICAS a lot when I first moved to Tucson 10 years ago, it was sort of my second home for a while. I volunteered in exchange for shop hours to build a bike. Now I have a bike with a baby seat on it and my baby and I go on bike rides every day. So, a lot of my inspiration is from my desert home here, I love living in Tucson. I love the desert and the landscape and all the plants and animals, looking to the stars, star myths and different stories… connecting ourselves to the landscape and history and stories of place and finding magic moments in that.

Published May 2021

BICAS Featured Artist AMG

Interview with BICAS Artist Asha Greyeyes

December 2020

BICAS Staff Artist AMG

Available on Etsy

I am from Northern Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. I have been making things since I was a little kid and my sisters got me into jewelry making in high school. When I first started making jewelry, it was to sell to tourists who visited our area. I really enjoyed making things that were slightly different from the stuff we made to sell and when I think that really contributed to my liking of using bike parts to make jewelry. I personally really like making earrings, they are dangly and eye catching. I’d say I look at stuff that intrigues me then I just start trying to add to it. It starts off with one eye catching piece and I just try to accent or compliment something that’s already so beautiful or interesting.

Available on Etsy

I began at BICAS as a customer. My love for making things with my hand translated well into working with my hands on a bike. I now work at BICAS and still love working on bikes because once you understand how it works, your hands can just do it themselves. Plus the feeling of accomplishment is immediate, which I like.

Yoo’ disxosih by AMG.

I donate to the art auction because I like to make jewelry and I wanna help the place I work. I think being able to use my creativity is a real plus side when helping a cause. I really like the auction pieces that mimic nature. The bike part animals and cactus always get me. I think it works into that love I have for paying tribute or complimenting things that are already so beautiful.

I have no other place I sell or promote my work. They are only available at the BICAS Art Auction but if I ever do decide that, it will probably be how other indigenious artists do today. Instagram, USPS delivery and a payment app.

Dzidze’ doo nizhoni yoo’ by AMG

Look for AMG’s art work and handmade jewelry on the BICAS Etsy page and in the Staff Mini-Auction up on EBAY