By John Picinich It seemed like a good idea at the time. Get a camper. Pack up everything. Hit the road. It would be a fun getaway from their home in Philadelphia, PA. And it was, for 6-½ months. “But then my husband and I realized that, with a 1-year-old in tow, it was not […]
Queer cooperative offers art, coffee, cocktails, and lots of community The Trans, BIPOC + Intersex-inclusive Progress Pride flag flies, fittingly outside Small Format on Wickenden Street in PVD. The queer cooperative, which numbers five workers, runs a gallery and exhibition room with rotating art showcases and handmade local artisan goods. On display are artworks, sculpture, […]
The heart of The Avenue Concept (TAC) lies outside the rear door of its facility on Lockwood Street in PVD. It’s the back wall of the one-story structure which has been spray painted with a wealth of graffiti, an art form that goes back to ancient Rome. “This is where graffiti artists, and emerging mural […]
Nothing says summer like a backyard barbecue; spatula in one hand, beer in the other, hamburgers on the grill, hot dogs to the side. And for us grillers, it’s wicked fun to get adventurous and go beyond the traditional fare now and again for summertime supper. Here are a few family favorites. But before you […]
Walk down the four steps to the dark door of The Jefferson Speakeasy on Kilvert Street in Warwick. No need to give a secret knock, or say “Louie sent me” like in the movies. Just walk in and step back to the Prohibition Era. Notorious mobster Al Capone won’t be seated at a table in […]
Illustrator and animator Georgia Darley Oldham of Providence doodled her way onto the cover of Motif’s Summer Guide. When she received the assignment from art director Olivia Lunger, Oldham started doodling and sketching out a bunch of ideas. “I asked myself what images come to mind when I think of summer,” she says, while sipping […]
“This is not a sad story,” declared Daniel Crenca on the closing of his family restaurant, NicoBella’s, in downtown PVD, after a 10-year run that weathered a pandemic, a partial bridge closure, rising rents, and a dramatic hike in electricity costs. The final straw was, facetiousness aside, the rising price of eggs. “It is a […]
“As an artist, you need to have an open mind to learn and grow,” says Motif cover and tattoo artist Jay Blackburn of Pawtucket, “You’re constantly learning,” he emphasizes. Speaking in his workspace at Unicorn Ink, a tattoo parlor in Lincoln, the artist says he wanted to do something fun and different for the cover. […]
Appropriately, artist and writer Kim Arthurs of Providence created a garden dreamscape for the cover of the outdoors issue. They used a technique called cyanotype, which incorporates the elements of earth, air, water, and fire. Discovered in 1842 by astronomer John Herschel, cyanotype was popularized a year later by botanist Anna Atkins, who released a […]
For the cannabis cover, East Providence skateboard artist Jeff Wheeler used bright, neon colors. “I wanted a black light poster, something people look at when they’re stoned,” he says. Taking center stage in the illustration is the quahog, our Ocean State’s official shellfish. The hard-shelled clam takes a toke and a nearby frog and squirrel […]