IN THE NEWS: A 1974 graduate of Bradford High is making news in
Arizona.[neWLine]

A painting by Augie Tantalo of Tempe, Ariz., has been selected
for an international showcase and competition this August in New
York City.[neWLine]

The Arizona Tribute put it this way: “”A puddle in Sedona has
launched Augie Tantalo to the top of an international artist
showcase in New York City.””[neWLine]

“”The Gilbert Junior High School art teacher is one of 10
artists selected to have his work published in the ‘Art Acquisitor’
magazine, and one of 30 featured artists during the Amsterdam
Whitney Chelsea Global Showcase Competition in August which
recognizes contemporary artists.””[neWLine]

The story is accompanied by a photograph of Tantalo with some of
his work, including his painting, “”Gurley Street,”” which was the
one chosen for the showcase.[neWLine]

The story continues: “”Tantalo had been painting mostly
landscapes until he walked past a water puddle in the mid-1990s and
captured a reflection of a tree on film to convert to
canvas.””[neWLine]

“”Since then, he has received rejection letters from local
contemporary art showcases. He was asked by a Phoenix art gallery,
he said, to remove his artwork from a contemporary showing. He was
starting to feel ‘disappointed.'[neWLine]

“”Then he received his letter from the Amsterdam Whitney
Gallery.[neWLine]

“”‘Now I found some people that really appreciate my work,’
Tantalo said. ‘I’ll tell you the truth, art is in the eye of the
beholder. I am very confident that (being an artist) is what I need
to do. You have your highs and your lows.'””[neWLine]

The story reports that the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery is located
in the Chelsea neighborhood, an artist community in New York
City.[neWLine]

To view Tantalo’s work, including the piece that will be
showcased, go to www.augiesfineart.com.[neWLine]

Tantalo is the son of Louis Tantalo of Bradford and Alpha
Husted.[neWLine][neWLine]

BEAR STORY: Yikes! We went on vacation and neglected a phone
call we received in mid-June about a bear right in one of
Bradford’s neighborhoods.[neWLine]

Janice Travis had phoned June 14 to tell us she had seen a bear
cub not far from where Congress Street runs into South Avenue, just
up the road from the Zippo plant.[neWLine]

At that Y, traffic pulled over as the bear scampered across the
road, Janice reports.