Ru Paul with Emma Tuttle - Photo Credit Patti Linnett-Tuttle

RuPaul explained to POLITICO “I’m going to N.H. on a mission to spread love and set the record straight: contrary to recent reports, I am NOT Ron Paul. And I am not running for president of the United States. I hope to meet Ron Paul in person so we can be seen together to put the rumors to rest once and for all. And to remind Mr. Paul and all the Republican presidential candidates ‘if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else. Can I get an ‘Amen?’”

As you’ll see in the video below, Ru’s message didn’t stray when visiting the locals at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire. A friend to the magazine (Patti Linnett-Tuttle, whose daughter appears with Paul in the above photo) filled us in on the details, saying, “Ru came to the Red Arrow diner to shake hands and kiss babies!”

Of course this is great timing for the world’s first drag queen Super Model – Ru Paul’s Drag Race premieres season 4 on LOGO January 30.

Peter Rossing Photo by Rosemary Ragusa

Portland has a unique arts community; it is diverse, wide open and very different from other cities. The city supports the performing and visual arts, and in this column I plan to touch base with the people who keep our arts community lively and diverse.

Recently I sat down to have a conversation with Peter Rossing, the owner of Muse Art & Design, the art supply store at 4224 S. E. Hawthorne. Peter is an entrepreneur and supporter of the arts in Portland. His career path has taken him from theatrical set design to general manager of the Portland Repertory Theater, and then to freelance graphic design, specializing in corporate events. It was a high-pressure environment, which Peter enjoyed, but didn’t find fulfilling. It did offer him and opportunity to exercise his organizational skills, and his love of pulling together many elements to create a cohesive end product. Somehow, Peter knew that there was something else that he wanted to do, but he wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

Then, one February morning, as these things will do, a clear vision of his future presented itself to Peter. He decided to open what is now Muse Art & Design. Art materials seemed like a natural fit for him given his background in graphic design, and there was room in Portland for a store selling quality artists supplies.

Opening new retail business in the space of under 10 months was a challenge, but Peter was up to it. He began by becoming a member of the National Art Materials Trade Association, an organization that supports retailers in the field. He went to their spring trade show and received a warm welcome from the members. They were eager to share information about the ins and outs of building a successful business. In addition, the vendors at the show were more than happy to schedule meetings with him to discuss their products. It was a positive experience that reinforced his decision to open the store.

Peter says that the two most difficult aspects of creating the business were finding a suitable space and creating a business plan. He knew that he wanted a space of about 1000 square feet, and that his preference was a location near his home in southeast Portland. Other than finding the right space and the right price, the biggest challenge was finding a space that was close to move-in ready. He finally found a space on S E Hawthorne near 42nd that was, though a bit smaller than he wanted, available and the move-in date met his timetable.

Peter shared with me the fact that creating his business plan was his most difficult challenge. He began trying to create a plan that would answer all of the potential questions that a lender might ask. Trying to anticipate all of those questions, and attempting to figure out what would please this unknown lender was truly daunting. Finally, Peter took deep breath and decided to write a plan for himself, and everything fell into place. This is a lesson that he has carried forward as the business has grown, and it is a piece of advice that his is more than willing to share with his artist customers.

Muse Art & Design, opened in November of 2004, and has become a welcoming place for serious artists as well as Sunday afternoon painters. Peter had a concept right from the start that he wanted to create a store with an atmosphere unlike most other art supply stores. Peter and his partner, Brian built all of the fixtures themselves, installed the halogen track lighting, and created the kind of visually appealing space that the former set designer had in mind. The store is easy to navigate, and the products are well displayed.

The idea of excellent service was foremost in Peter’s mind when he was planning the store. Peter and his employees are very helpful and knowledgeable about the products they sell, and are willing to share their expertise. They are also willing to go the extra mile for special orders, checking out suppliers on the internet and finding the best product. Peter’s philosophy about stocking products involves doing extensive research and then stocking the best quality at several price levels. So, they carry excellent quality materials that are appropriate for the most experienced artist and the novice as well. This may well explain the fact that Peter’s store has weathered the economic downturn very well, with his year on year sales continually improving.

In addition to investing in traditional advertising, Peter has taken advantage of exposure on the web to promote the store. The constantly evolving Muse Art & Design web site, www.museartanddesign.com, will soon have a more detailed description of the products they stock, and in the near future and additional web site, www.encausticsupplies.com, will be a one-stop shopping resource for all the encaustic supplies you might need.

Peter supports the Portland art scene in other ways. He sits on the board of Bouand Dance Company, a contemporary ballet company lead by artistic director Alex Ballard. He uses the store to support local visual artists by displaying their work. Peter shared with me how much he enjoys seeing artists blossom and gain confidence by having their work displayed and appreciated. As he said to me, “I have had the experience of seeing an artist who had just been painting for herself, and who was too shy to share her work with others, becoming confident enough to call herself an artist, after hanging her work in the store.” It is clear from the look on his face that he finds that part of his work extremely fulfilling.

April brings the second annual An Artist-a-Day event at Muse Art & Design in which every day in April a different artist will be in the store creating a work in the medium of their choice. All of the work will be on display in the store, and will be available for a silent auction in early May, the proceeds of which benefit Schoolhouse Supplies. Last year the event raised more than $3,000 dollars, which purchased art supplies for the Portland Public Schools. Details about the event and to read the daily blogs about the artists, visit www.anartistaday.com.

Peter feels that the core strength of the Portland art scene is the ability of artists to get their work out and seen. There are so many venues for work to be displayed; coffee shops, restaurants, retail spaces are all eager to show the work of local artists. This independent scene does lack cohesion, but it also creates an atmosphere that allows the work of all kinds of creatives to be seen, and creates an environment that encourages artists to explore non-traditional outlets for their work. Peter has observed that most of the working artists he knows make their living through internet sites such as Etsy and Ebay, as well as through networking and by coming to the attention of collectors. The traditional path of depending on galleries to display and sell work is not necessary in the wide open atmosphere here in Portland.

I think that Peter’s message to us Portland artists is the one that made him move forward with the store; do it for yourself. Find your vision, believe in it, do the work and put it out there.

Muse Art & Supply
Monday-Saturday 11am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm
4224 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97215-3161
(503) 231-8704

Soooo…what did you think? We’ve heard from a few of you and it seems this season had some disappointing cuts and choices. Did Tyra deserve it? What the hell happened with Jujubee, why was she cut? Bring back Pandora Box! Well, yeah…so tell us what you think – you can put in your own answer in the poll.

Soooo…what did you think? We’ve heard from a few of you and it seems this season had some disappointing cuts and choices. Did Tyra deserve it? What the hell happened with Jujubee, why was she cut? Bring back Pandora Box! Well, yeah…so tell us what you think – you can put in your own answer in the poll.

Tune in to Oprah, 4pm NBC, this afternoon to catch her Adam Lambert interview – Extra’s Terri Seymour spoke with Lambert about the interview:

The rocker describes himself as an “open book” and admits he’s willing to talk about anything, but he’s not so fond of discussing his controversial 2009 American Music Awards performance.

When asked about his love life, Lambert smiles. “I mean, I’m not in love, if that’s what you’re asking me.” Adam says he likes to casually date and enjoys meeting new people. “I’m not in the position to be in a relationship. Ultimately, I would love that.”

Tune in to Oprah, 4pm NBC, this afternoon to catch her Adam Lambert interview – Extra’s Terri Seymour spoke with Lambert about the interview:

The rocker describes himself as an “open book” and admits he’s willing to talk about anything, but he’s not so fond of discussing his controversial 2009 American Music Awards performance.

When asked about his love life, Lambert smiles. “I mean, I’m not in love, if that’s what you’re asking me.” Adam says he likes to casually date and enjoys meeting new people. “I’m not in the position to be in a relationship. Ultimately, I would love that.”

By M.K. Scott

With all the news of late centering on Adam Lambert, I had a rare opportunity to meet and interview the official American Idol, Kris Allen, backstage at the Idol Tour this past summer. Kris came into the room backstage at the Tacoma Dome wearing jeans and a tight, blue t-shirt. Allen, 24, was short and looked about 18. His cuteness was obvious.

MK: How does it feel to be the American Idol?
Kris Allen: It feels good, you know, it was good putting together the album, so that is obliviously a good thing and working on a lot of stuff.

On the show, what was one of your best moments?

Probably, the best moment would be, for me, was singing with Adam and Queen at the same time…I just loved that…I was just great time and will never forget that.

Who was your favorite judge?

Always, always the favorite judge question (Laughter)…Well, we spent a lot of time with Paula, so she is really, really sweet and such a nice person, so I am not going to pick one, but she was really sweet and Kara was amazing and Simon is a nice guy behind the scenes and all that.

So he really is nice?

He’s nice, but he believes what he says on the show.

So you and Adam get along really well?

Oh my gosh, absolutely! (Smiling)

With the recently passing of Michael Jackson, Was he an influence in your life?

I don’t know anyone who is in music right now that Michael Jackson wasn’t an influence. He was the first person I really got into, I mean, my parents caught me dancing to his music as a kid. Trying to be like him, trying to moonwalk. (I wasn’t very good at that) and so he was the first tape I bought. (The ‘Dangerous’ tape) so yeah, I grew up with him and he was the number one influence in my life. Musically.

Do you plan to release more albums?

Oh my gosh, YES. This is just the beginning, hopefully.

What previous American Idols success do you hope to achieve?

Kelly has done so well and Carrie, obviously has been amazing. Even someone like David Cook just kind of done his own thing and have played small shows for his tour, so even like him would be successful in his first year would be great.

Best of Luck to you in your continued success.

Thanks a lot!

Following up: Kris’ self titled debut album Kris Allen, was released in mid-November and sold 80,000 copies placing him No. 11 on the charts. Adam Lambert’s controversial appearance on the American Music Awards conveniently happened the night before his album, For Your Entertainment, was released and which debuted at number three. Allison Iraheta’s album had the third-highest debut of the week it was released behind R. Kelly’s “Untitled” (114,000) and the Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel soundtrack (39,000). Season nine of American Idol starts in January.

By Matthew Free

“What do people have to go through to be who they are?” This is the subject matter captivating the interest of local Portland upcoming film marker, Charlie Calabria. Moving to the area a few years ago from Los Angles with his partner, Mr. Calabria was amazed and delighted to see the Pacific Northwest have such a strong independent film culture. “I had no clue before moving there was such a film culture here, but really I am not surprised because of the creative people in the arts that reside in Portland,” he shares with id Magazine. Charlie will be completing his certification in another year and half through NW Film School seeing options in movie production as “as new career at another time in my life.” Calabria aims to tell stories which are often emotionally charged, but for a good reason.

Through the lens of the camera, Charlie does not have rose colored glasses. “If you have to be graphic by all means be graphic because if that event you are telling a story about happened that way you have to show it as such.” For example, showing raw imagery of the Matthew Sheppard story would be one project Mr. Calabria would be interested in doing. Currently, he is working on a narrative documentary of a local Holocaust survivor.

“If someone is suffering, I connect. I don’t know why, but I do,” he shares fighting back tears. After pausing he continues, “I imagine it is because there might have been something in your own life which at one time taps into a deep emotion in you by seeing or hearing it on film.”

Hopefully, audiences can connect to the characters as he does as a producer. “To have the ability to connect to the character’s experience, and their emotions behind the events is powerful. I know that everyone likes happy endings, but when it is not these are emotions my audience needs to feel as well.” Through descriptions of pain, detachment, and loss there often is the silver lining for the characters in the films of strong personal lessons gained which the audience can also learn from.

Mr. Calabria’s stories are queer focused as the subject “is something of who I am,” he explains. Living in Los Angles, Charlie completed his first short film In the Game about a protagonist dealing with and moving on from a gay love lost through the music of the 1960’s. The experiences expressed in this short film mirror that of the director providing the therapeutic benefit of moving on from the loss of close friends and family–whose photos are carefully placed in the spiritual corner of the editing room of his home. As a result of creating In the Game Charlie did meet his current partner, Ardie Johnson. In the Game was part of Mid-western Big Damn Film Festival and shown in New York City at the New Filmmakers Film Festival.

Eyeing the future of his production career, Charlie has other projects on that table which deal with the experiences past and present of queer seniors and gay individuals in the military. “I would like to see more (film) productions of gay seniors. Even with this day and age, because of their age, they are still experiencing segregation and homophobia anew. They feel cut off.” Senior queers should not be forgotten as their historical accounts bridge the gap between our community’s generations. “These are individuals who have the rich history of experiences before liberation to share on camera,” Charlie acknowledges. Hopefully, future generations of queer film makers will also capture these accounts.

“Start journaling your experiences—painful and joyful–to which you can take later to create a short story, screen play, and even a movie. Join a writing group like Write About Portland.” Above all Charlie encourages future producers to create works that has the audience ‘Never Forget’.

“It is important for more queer film makers to come on the scene so that our collective voices show how we view the world and how the world views us.”

We will be updating the site accordingly as we move through that process. Do let us know what you think.

Sovereign’s latest release, Jigsaw, represents something of a return to the underground garage and grime sounds that put her on the map with the 2005 EP Vertically Challenged. There is still a major-label aura to the club sounds of Jigsaw, but nothing as gaudy as the guitar samples and pitch-shifted voices of Public Warning (Def Jam, 2006).
She came out swinging in a baggy t-shirt, a big rasta hat that added a foot to her stature, and a mic in her hand. She spat mad rhymes with all the intensity you’d expect from a talented, streetwise American male. Still, the amount of sex projected onto any woman in front of an audience is much greater than that of most male rappers, but Lady Sovereign knows how to play that up, too. She came out for her encore ditching the t-shirt for a tight black tank top.

One hopes the flash in the pan that put Sovereign on the radar of everyone from Missy Elliot to Snoop Dogg a couple years ago is not totally over. With a new record that blends big club beats with the lo-fi grime, we’ll see what else she brings to life.

By Dave Jones

For more information, see her website here