I regret to inform artists and artisans in Tucson that the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona will NOT be hosting a spring artists’ Open Studios in 2025. In December, I spoke to David Gaxiola, Program Coordinator at the Arts Foundation. He told me that the Arts Foundation would not be sponsoring Spring Open Studios because staff members there are working an an app to be downloaded that will make it easier for everyone to find individual studios.

Frankly, I don’t understand this. There are eleven staff members at the Arts Foundation. They are all too busy to organize a Spring Open Studios tour? Really? About the app, I wonder about the necessity for an app, given that Google is happy to give you a red bubble on a map when you put in an address.
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 Open Studios has been a problem for Tucson artists for nearly ten years, mainly after Debi Chess Mabie departed as director of the Arts Foundation. Attempts were made by local artists to organize area Open Studios, chief among them Heart of Tucson Art (HotArt), which provided a website and detailed information about participating artists  in midtown Tucson. See the HotArt logo on the left designed by Lynne East-Itkin.

​ Unfortunately, when Mabie left, the Arts Foundation turned Open Studios over to SAACA (Southern Arizona Arts and Culture Foundation). The director there made a concerted effort to have complete control over Open Studios, and in the process, provided no support for groups like HotArt. SAACA didn’t last long organizing Open Studios, and this twice-yearly art event made its way back to the Arts Foundation. However, the Arts Foundation has long been focused primarily on public art. Open Studios has never been a top priority, which probably explains why we won’t be having a Spring Open Studios in 2025. Too bad.

 When I was in elementary school, I was a regular visitor to our school library. One day, the librarian pulled me aside and told me that she had a book she thought would interest me. The book was a Nancy Drew Mystery.

I checked out the book, took it home, and started reading it. I was immediately hooked. Not surprisingly, I continued to read mysteries, and by the eighth grade, I had discover Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to the school librarian, this early interest led to a lifetime of finding and reading mysteries, and eventually, to writing them. I still read mysteries, but I also read fiction in most genres except horror. I’m not interested in being scared to death.

The book I read most recently was The Ministry of Time, which is classified as science fiction. But there’s a big romance the develops fairly early in the book. So you could call it a blending of sci fi and romance. However, like any good story, there are mysterious things happening throughout that book that develop eventually into some really suspenseful events. The book has its flaws, but it’s a fun read. I gave it four stars. And while reading it, I thought yet again that just about any good book in any genre has a mystery of some sort at its heart.

Nancy Drew is a teenage amateur sleuth, often accompanied by her two pals Beth and George (really Georgia but everyone calls her George) and Nancy’s boyfriend, Ned. According to the Wikipedia article about Nancy Drew, the books were conceived by Edward Stratemeyer. He wrote plot outlines and then hired Mildred Wirt Benson to ghostwrite the early volumes, using the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Stratemeyer was the author of the Hardy Boys books for boys, and he created Nancy Drew to appeal to girls. The Nancy Drew stories began to be published in the 1930s. Back then, there seemed to be a stricter division of what boys would like and what girls would like. Or not. These days, romance seems to be the preferred genre for a lot of woman and not so popular with men. On the other hand, men tend to prefer non-fiction, and if they read fiction at all, it will most likely be a sci fi space odyssey or maybe something historical.

Recently I stumbled upon a boxed set of four Nancy Drew stories at Bookman’s book store. I took boxed set home and began reading the first, Without a Trace. The book and characters are as I remember from my childhood. Nancy is a cheerful, curious and tenacious character who won’t quit until she solves the mystery, in this case the theft of an expensive Fabergé egg. The main difference is that the story has been updated to modern times. That means characters engage in web searches, send and receive emails and texts, and, in general, are regular users of digital devices.

The Nancy Drew stories are entertaining, not complex at all, and easy to read. Not surprisingly, Nancy doesn’t take up any difficult issues that we often see in fiction such as poverty, racism, sexism, etc. The books are directed at mostly white, middle-class readers. However, it is worth noting that any active, self-determining and smart female character makes for a good role model for young girls. If you get a chance to read one, please do. I think you’ll enjoy getting to know Nancy and her pals.
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​Thank you to my school librarian.