Editor's Note

Portrait of the Artist

I first took notice of Nick Georgiou's astounding paper art some years back during a visit to downtown's Etherton Gallery.

My old friend Hannah Glasston showed me these little three-dimensional works built from newspapers and magazines. I was captivated by the way Nick had recycled the written word, so Hannah sent me over to his studio at the Citizens Warehouse, where I ended up purchasing a little flowerpot made from old Tucson Weekly copies.

Last year, after my mom died, I had the job of disposing of the massive library she'd accumulated over her nine decades. Once I'd sorted through the books I'd hoped Bookmans might be interested in, I invited Nick over to take a few boxes back to studio. Mom was a veteran recycler and she would have loved the idea that some of her books were going to end up as artwork. I'm sure looking forward to seeing what he ends up doing with 'em.

Nick's career has really taken off since I first made his acquaintance, with his work now featured in Manhattan's Allouche Gallery (and for a time, in the storefront of Hermès flagship store on Madison Avenue). Local writer and DJ Carl Hanni introduces you to him in our cover story.

Elsewhere in this week's issue: Nick Meyers visits the newly opened Prime Leaf medical marijuana dispensary on Speedway Boulevard. The owners have gone a long way toward making it an inviting space, including the murals that were painted by Tucson's Joe Pagac, another spectacular up-and-coming artist in this town. Danyelle Khmara catches up with the end of this year's Migrant Walk, an annual pilgrimage that sort of traces the perilous journey that border crossers make through the blistering Southern Arizona desert. Margaret Regan encourages you to check out a retrospective of Wynn Bullock's work at the UA Center for Creative Photography. Mark Whittaker tells you about a new downtown sandwich shop that gives away a lot of food to the hungry. And I recount some of what was heard when one of Congresswoman Martha McSally's political opponents snuck into and recorded a recent talk she gave to the Arizona Banking Association. Here's a hint: She's pretty eager to get rid of the Dodd-Frank Act that has made life so difficult for bankers these days by protecting consumers and limiting the risky schemes that broke the economy during the Bush administration.

And there's lots more. Dig in and thanks for reading!

 —Jim Nintzel

Interim Editor