Archive for February, 2010
A Brilliant Stroke
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Wendy LoVoy Original
From stick figures to masterpieces – popular Sips n Strokes unleashes the artist within
Girls’ Night Out just got a facelift.
Don’t worry, the old standbys – movies, shopping, spas – all still welcome your patronage. It’s just that you may not want to settle for the old romantic comedy when you can instead put your mind and your hands to work creating something that you can take home and hang on your wall.
That’s the concept behind a rapidly growing business known as Sips n Strokes, a business which has no shortage of gals (and a few guys) looking to enjoy their night out doing something a bit different for a change.
Founded by Birmingham artist Wendy LoVoy in 2003, Sips n Strokes offers customers a blank canvas, a bottle of wine and a one-of-a-kind art lesson. For an average cost of $20-$45, patrons of Sips n Strokes can learn to paint everything from flowers, crosses and human figures to replicas of famous paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe, Edvard Munch and Vincent Van Gogh. No artistic experience or ability is required – LoVoy believes even those who can only draw stick figures can become artists if given the chance. That’s why she created Sips n Strokes – to empower would-be artists who otherwise would never dare to pick up a brush.
Since 2003 Sips n Strokes has expanded from its original location on Hwy 280 to locations in Pelham, Trussville, Auburn, Fultondale, Tuscaloosa, Dunwoody and East Cobb, Georgia, and Franklin, Tennessee. The Tuscaloosa location, which opened in May 2009, is the first Sips n Strokes franchise. With a tall exposed brick wall and track lighting lining its high ceiling, the Tuscaloosa store looks like an art gallery. Completed paintings pose on stands and hang about the walls, and the night of a class, long tables are set with easels and canvases, brushes and stools. There’s a buzz about the place as customers arrive for a class, giggling and hugging with a slight charge of nervousness to their exchanges. For most people, that nervousness disappears as they watch their own hand creating a real work of art, but for those who can’t shake the nerves, well, that’s what the wine is for.
Not everyone partakes in the alcohol, says Kara Lindsey, who opened the Tuscaloosa franchise with her mom, Vicki Meads, and her sister, Katie Lindsey. In fact, says Lindsey, most customers don’t drink at all. “People come for the painting experience,” she says. “The option to drink is an added bonus but not the focus for most people.”
Most customers are indeed intently focused on two spots: their canvases, and the front of the room, where the instructor platform rises two feet above the floor. Amiable and reassuring, instructors like Tuscaloosa’s Haley Spaulding demonstrate step by step how to blend colors, hold brushes and create shapes and forms. Atop the platform Spaulding encourages her students to relax and not be afraid of the brush and paint. She wants to impart more than just technique – she wants the class to enjoy painting as much as she does. Teaching at Sips n Strokes is a dream come true for Spaulding, who’s been painting since she was a little girl. “It’s been said that if you can find a job doing what you love to do, then you’ll never work a day in your life. That’s what teaching at Sips n Strokes is like,” she says.
By Lindsay Hubbard
The customer experience is just as enthusiastic. People walk out bubbling with excitement and awe. Lindsay Hubbard, Branch Manager and Consumer Loan Officer at First United Security Bank in Bucksville, says she’s been to Sips n Strokes approximately 19 to 20 times, and each time has been fun and awe-inspiring. “It is exciting to see that you can “create a masterpiece”! The instructors always use that phrase, and I have never seen anyone leave unsatisfied,” says Hubbard.
Hubbard says the satisfaction lasts long after the class because she is able to give the paintings as truly personalized gifts to her family, plus the ones she keeps to decorate her house are constant reminders of fun times with friends. “I write who I go with on the back of all my paintings,” she says. “I have great memories from all the classes.” Hubbard says a bonus for her is the reaction people have when they see her paintings. “I had never painted on a blank canvas before going to Sips n Strokes for the first time, but now people will be at my house and say, “Oh my, did you really paint this?” The step by step process makes it to where everyone goes home with a great picture,” she says.
Pick out your masterpiece and sign up for a class online at www.sipsnstrokes.com.
By Bonnie Bailey www.bonniebailey.net
Tags: Sips n Strokes Birmingham, Sips n Strokes Franchise, Sips n Strokes owner Wendy LoVoy, Sips n Strokes Tuscaloosa
Posted in Arts, Business, Crafts, Local News, Uncategorized | No Comments »
GIPS
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
GIP'S Place
Mr. Henry Gipson
There are certain places in the world that seem to exist outside of time and contain a magic that can’t be expressed in words. There are songs that are the same. So, what happens when you take two and put them together?
You end up with a place like Gip’s. “Gip’s Place” is what most would call a shack. It’s a metal and wood structure built at the edge of a tree line in the back yard of Henry Gipson. In the community of blues musicians and fans that exist in the south it is a refuge. It is one of the few remaining “Juke Joints” of it’s kind. Nothing commercial or modern about it.
In the summer, they pull part of the wall down and plug in a few fans. In the winter, they crank up the old fashioned boiler. The walls are covered with artwork and pictures of the legends, both local and national, that have graced the stage. By 9 or 10pm on most Saturday nights the place is jumping with an energy and atmosphere that makes it seem like you are lost in a Hollywood movie about a by-gone time.
Part of the crowd sits and listens, lost in the music. Part of the crowd dances the night away with friends and strangers. There is no “white” or “black”, just people who love music and other people.
Some Saturdays are like open mic nights with locals playing originals and covers of blues tunes, backed by whatever other musicians are in the house that night. Other Saturdays there are featured bands that come from all over.
My first time there, Sam Lay was the featured act. Sam is the creator of the “double shuffle”. He played in Little Walters band, was Howlin’ Wolf’s drummer, played on Paul Butterfield’s first two albums, and played for Bob Dylan’s controversial electric set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. He was also the drummer on Dylan’s”Highway 61 Revisited”. He played on Muddy Waters’ “Fathers and Sons” album, and the list of thers he’s worked with goes on and on.
Best known for his work in the Chicago blues scene, Sam is actually a native of Birmingham. He’s in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, and the Jazz hall of fame. He’s been nominated for the W.C. Handy “Best Instrumentalist” award eight times and as recently as a few years ago.
That’s a lot of space dedicated to one artist. And that’s the point. He’s just one of the act’s with a rich past to grace the stage in Mister Gip’s back yard. Burnside, King, & Lay are just some of the last names of artists who have played there. Keep an eye on magiccityblues.org for upcoming events.
By Randy Webb www.baconfatguitars.com
Tags: Bessemer Alabama, Blues, Gips Place, Henry Gipson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, W. C. Handy
Posted in Music, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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