Posted 9:15 pm Friday, October 03, 2008
Cowan Center Presents Woven Harmony Saturday
By LAUREN KEATON
Entertainment Editor
Entertainment Editor
The multi-talented duo, "Woven Harmony," will take the UT Tyler Cowan Center stage 2 p.m. Saturday as guitarist Robert Bluestone and accomplished weaver and wife Rebecca Bluestone exhibit a unique collaboration of classical guitar and woven tapestries.
Each using tightly strung handmade wooden instruments they intently draw upon the subtleties of their individual discipline and meet in the middle with a common language.
Their presentations evolved out of their desire to use their artistic expression as a way to communicate about the things that they feel are truly important in life.
INSPIRATION AND CULTIVATION
Robert began playing the guitar when he was seven years old.
His musical journey on the guitar had him in his college days backing groups like the Eisley Brothers, playing 'Twist and Shout'; to a receiving a full scholarship for the Andre Segovia Masterclass in Santiago de Compostela, Spain; to touring throughout the world to critical acclaim and solo recitals at places like the legendary Carnegie Hall.
His decades of intense work in mastering the guitar have made him an "expert on the creative process," according to Cowan Center officials.
Audiences are energized by the example of his determination and discipline in overcoming the formidable challenges and obstacles in becoming a world-class guitarist and then having a successful career touring the world.
It wasn't easy; talent only goes so far.
The soul is forged in the marketplace of life.
Robert Bluestone understands the marketplace.
His business acumen and success as a self-managed artist in a highly competitive field have made him highly sought after to lead workshops throughout the country for artists on how to manage their own careers.
His business acumen and success as a self-managed artist in a highly competitive field have made him highly sought after to lead workshops throughout the country for artists on how to manage their own careers.
Bluestone has 20 years of speaking to business, community, educational, non-profit and healthcare groups from Nome, Alaska to Del Rio, Texas and everywhere in between.
He has 30 years as a main stage performing artist and is a tenured professor of music on the university level for ten years.
Bluestone has received the Mayor of Santa Fe's Recognition Award for Excellence in the Arts and in 2001, the thirteen state Western Arts Alliance gave him its prestigious "Betty Connors Award."
'Power of Creativity'
Mrs. Bluestone has almost 25 years of years of exploring the idea of creativity and has come to the conclusion that creativity is not just something that happens when an artist goes into their studio - it happens in each moment of our lives.
After struggling to find her place in the world, Rebecca came to weaving in 1984 at the age of 31.
She sat down at a loom and felt like she had come home.
She quickly realized that this state of total engagement is what allows creativity to naturally flow.
Over the next 17 years she became a successful tapestry artist, achieving international recognition for her art, speaking on creativity and having her work acquired by prominent collections such as the Chicago Art Institute and the private collection of Robert Redford.
In 2001 her work life came to an abrupt halt when, at the age of 48, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Lying in the hospital after major surgery, she realized the superficiality of some of her previous goals and then decided to use her artwork as a way to communicate about the things that are truly important in life.
During 6 months of chemotherapy she learned how the power of creativity is essential.
Together with her husband, Mrs. Bluestone is committed to unlocking for her audiences the power of engagement, the creativity that naturally flows out of that and the unlimited possibility and success that ensues.
