I wouldn't describe listings editor Wayne Alan Brenner as having an especially jaundiced view of the world, but I did laugh out loud when he said this to me yesterday: "The more I view art and review art, the more I'm sick of it and artists."

Context is key here: Brenner was talking to me about why he was drawn to profile Ion Art, the subjects of this week's cover story. A small shop founded by husband-and-wife team Greg and Sharon Keshishian, Ion Art is responsible for some of the most iconic neon signage in town (including the Chronicle's own I-35-facing one, a pinkish-red beacon since the early Nineties). Brenner was lamenting how snooty the art world can be, dismissive of neon as a medium. "'You know, it's bars and strip joints, that's what that is,'" Brenner said, mimicking art elitists. "They [Ion] have to work against that stigma."

In reporting his story, Brenner spent some time at Ion Art's design-build studio, marveling at the work-in-progress pieces for their upcoming Surreal Garden interactive art exhibit at the Zilker Botanical Garden. (He was our man with a camera, too; Brenner shot the studio photos, while John Anderson took the cover portrait and more shots to be found online with this story.) Pointing to Ion's facility with not just neon but also glass and wood and metal, not to mention the engineering know-how required to make it all zing, Brenner drew a thematic line back to the Shaker ladder-back chair – another exquisite intersection of art and craft.

Knocked Loose (Photo by John Anderson)

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Love Weed & Free Press? 4/20 may have come and gone, but its spirit lives on in Austin Chronicle's limited-edition "Austin Chronic" tie-dye tee now available at austinchronicle.com/store.

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Ion Art, Greg Keshishian, Sharon Keshishian, Surreal Garden, Zilker Botanical Garden

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