Oklahoma City is becoming the place for indie crafts and arts. In May, the Deluxe Indie Craft Fair hosted crafters and artists from around Oklahoma, including the Tulsa Craft Mafia and the Disciples of Etsy. Now, Norman will host the VINTOUR EXPO, the first annual Craft Expo Saturday, July 25, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds, 615 E. Robinson Street, Norman, Oklahoma.

This modern craft expo will showcase local D.I.Y. Stars with their fabulous talents and creative works of art. There will be a wide range of styles from vintage, retro, modern, indie, southern rock and much much more. Some of the featured items will include crystal and rhinestone jewelry, home décor, floral arrangements, children and adult clothing and accessories, handmade soaps, bath salt and scrub products, hand-painted wall signs, candles, hand paintings, wood crafts, purses and totes, decorative metal art, handmade furniture, gifts, and many other items.

Admission and parking will be free.

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Dreamer Concepts Studio & Foundation (DCSF), a non-profit art gallery located at 324 East Main Street in downtown Norman, is hosting the opening reception for Dreamer 20: When Barbie met Siouxsie on Friday, July 10th from 6-10pm. The exhibit will open to the public that evening in conjunction with DCSF’s annual fashion show. The fashion show will begin at 7:30pm featuring designs by the Dreamer 20 featured artists, outfits from Campus Corner’s clothing boutique, Blush, and hair and make-up by Norman’s own Lollie’s Beauty Bar located in Redbud Plaza.

Jamie McCarty, guest curator for Dreamer 20: When Barbie met Siouxsie, will return to Norman from studying at Parsons, the New School for design, NYC to share her latest fashions along with a video installation, paintings, sketches, clothing, jewelry and handbags made by local artists. Featured artists for Dreamer 20 include Brent Logsdon of oddfab studio workshop, Jamie McCarty, Kelsey McMurray, Brittany Momyer, Trami Nguyen, Alison Polk and Lauren Singrey.

Dreamer 20: When Barbie met Siouxsie comes from the idea of taking two things that are completely opposite i.e. super-girlie fashion queen Barbie, and over the top, outrageous, often offensive, and powerful punk icon Siouxsie Sioux, of Siouxsie and the Banshees and combining them for an interesting result. How would Barbie dress to attend a sex pistols show? How would Siouxsie dress for a dream date with Ken?

Brent Logdson
Brent Logsdon graduated OU with a BA in interior design and has a varied portfolio spanning two decades. His recent work has shown a focus on stenciling and other graffiti – influenced spray paint techniques. This project was underway at oddfab studio/workshop when the call to artists went out concerning Dreamer 20, and Brent felt it was a good match for his motivation for the Big Pink Bandsaw.

Jamie McCarty
Jamie McCarty is a fashion designer and the guest curator for Dreamer 20: When Barbie met Siouxsie. The idea is an extension of her junior thesis collection at Parsons, the New School for design. She will be presenting a women’s wear collection that is based on the idea of picture perfect girly girl Barbie meeting and becoming influenced by punk icon Siouxsie Sioux.

Kelsey McMurray
Kelsey McMurray is the head designer of Conundrum Clothing, a unique teen/young adult line and just recently started Uccello Piccolo, her baby/children’s wear line. She will be presenting a women’s wear collection based on the When Barbie met Siouxsie theme.

Brittany Momyer
Brittany Momyer of Claude & Monique bags has been making stick bags for drummers and handbags since she was 18. She uses a variety of materials, whatever is lying around, in a creative way to add to the uniqueness of her designs. A broad age range of women like Claude & Monique bags, but the majority market are teens and young adult women.

Trami Nguyen
Trami Nguyen works with paint, lithography, and sculpture. Her compositions are discovered through breaking up and assimilating forms of the human figure and nature. Her pieces contain a repeating motif of the perpetual cycle of the self conquering and self defeat all humans face. Her work is meant to evoke a waking dream.

Alison Polk
Alison Polk is a local artist; her work includes fashion accessories and photography. All of Alison’s work for When Barbie met Siouxsie revolves around the punk rock Barbie theme. It will include headbands, brooches, and photography.

Lauren Singrey
Lauren Singrey is a Norman artist who began painting modern abstracts on canvas in 2002 after studying layering acrylics and color theory. Her influences include artists Robert Delaunay and Mark Rothko.Driven by her love of pop culture and fashion. Lauren launched Ploom Accessories in 2008 after a popular response from friends and local boutiques to create “classic accessories for the modern debutante”. She strives to evolve her fashion designs and artwork by maintaining a fresh look and always having a creative perspective on life.

This event was made possible by the wonderful support of DCSF members, Republic Bank & Trust, Fancy That, Othello’s, Native Roots Market, Blush, Lollie’s Beauty Bar and Coach’s Brewhouse.

DCSF’s mission is to encourage, promote and provide opportunities for growth for new artists in our community. For more information or questions concerning DCSF or this event, please contact DCSF at 405.701.0048/info@dreamerconcepts.org or visit our web site: www.dreamerconcepts.org.

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Back in April, Oklahoma City Community College held its second annual Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo. One of the best things going for it besides the tournament hosted by Okgamers.com and Hardcore Lan Center, or the ECA booth (shameless self plug there), was the booth for Game Equals Life and their upcoming game The Magi and the Sleeping Star.

In a recent press release (Meaning, sent out a month ago. Yes I am slow on the draw.), they discussed the purposes behind the game:

Using a classic adventure game structure, MSS will teach players about appropriate diabetes management and offer ongoing advice on how to best balance blood sugar throughout the game’s adventure. MSS aims to help people with diabetes understand the core principals of good diabetes management and consistently reinforce the implementation of these principals in their daily lives.

The consequences of handling your diabetes improperly are tied directly to the player’s ability to use all the hero’s magic in the game:

When the player’s blood sugar is too high or low, his powers are reduced or even nullified. This makes it impossible for the player to achieve victory until his blood sugar returns to a healthy level. Players are even rewarded with increased power when blood sugar is kept at ideal levels. Players must test blood sugar, choose healthy food, count carbohydrates and deliver appropriate amounts of insulin. This teaches the players to take full responsibility for diabetes management and puts them in a position to deal with its real-time affects in exciting gameplay situations.

I love this concept. Managing the diabetes of the hero means he can act in his full role as a Magi and save the world. This is a great way of teaching kids the importance of proper diabetes management in a fun and exciting way. It does not strive to show that managing your diabetes will give you power, but that it will allow you to access that power and those skills you already have.

Although the game is only in the prototype stage, it already looks fun and polished. It is not really what most people would consider educational or serious. I think that was the main goal the designers were striving toward. Many games based on serious or educational subjects are made with limited budgets and lack polish. This is not one of those.

The currently have two promotional videos on the site. The first is the preview trailer with shots of several enemies and some action. The second is a video depicting the legend of the Magi. Both are great to watch and show what this studio is capable of doing.

Currently GEL is looking for a publisher, so no release date or pricing is available. Those interested will find a newsletter subscription on the Magi site as well as news updates and videos. This is certainly one game I wil lbe watching and will look forward to playing when it is finally released. I hope for the best for this company and am proud to have this kind of talent based here in Oklahoma.

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The Mormon Tabernacle Choir (or Motab when referred to casually) was formed in 1847 in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. Since then they have been a principle part of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ conferences and performances. However, they do not stick to church performances. They have also performed around the world at many world’s fairs and even at the inaugurations of five US presidents, most recently George W. Bush.

Performing with them will be the Orchestra at Temple Square. This orchestra was formed 10 years ago in order to expand the musical arm of the LDS church.

I recommend attending this performance. Motab is a must see event and tickets often go fast. For more information you can visit their Oklahoma performance site.

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