The Anniversary List

The opening for Invited: The Anniversary List is tonight! The details can be found here on an early post: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2012/09/big-damn-shebang.html

But I wanted to give you some of the "making of" photos behind the two pieces I created. I always love process shots, so I thought maybe you might be interested too. The theme of the two pieces, for me was about "location" or "place". I worked with the location and the history of the business and the owner.

Helper Kitty is helping

For one side, I used the imagery of the Hibiscus flower, which is also the national flower of South Korea. South Korea is where Mr. Park, the owner, is originally from. I think it makes the idea of "pollination" that much more relevant.

For the second piece I decided to further the bee theme by recreating a honeycomb pattern. Underneath it all I placed Baltimore City and Maryland maps, which you can still see peeking through the paint. There is a tiny little star print on this one, which "places" the store location on the Baltimore City map. You can see it a bit better on the close-up shot of me above. But again, this was about location, as well as the material I needed to use, iron. This was in the form of prints taken from the manhole covers on the corner in front of the store...again, location/place.

All in all, I am really happy with how these turned out, and Mr. Park and the neighbors seems happy as well. And really, who could ask for anything more? What a great experience, I'm really looking forward to the reception tonight.

Cheers!

Community Building Awareness

The opening of the House Show at Urbanite@Case[werks] gallery was just this past Friday. I had proposed a community art piece in recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October). Basically I proposed that we all make some row houses, and that I would try my darnedest to get this piece of art to the policy-makers when all was said and done.

We used the same technique that I used for my collograph printmaking pieces and my series, 3 Tributaries, which was all about domestic violence and large statistics. This community art piece would be in much the same vein.

I had been told ahead of time that I would be in the gallery's actual closet (we needed to use glue and acrylic paints - not the norm for a really nice gallery, so I totally understood)...but I was worried going in. Not because I was put in a weird gallery space, but just that the space we'd be working in was recessed a bit, and I worried that it would be hard getting people into the storage room/closet while also enticing them to make something for me.

Well, I need not have worried! That storage closet was hoppin'! People were actually waiting in line to make the pieces! At about 7p I also had a friend stop by to help me, Denise Duarte, who is a very fine public artist hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada. Denise is currently in MICA's MFACA program in Baltimore and generously volunteered to help me and give me a break so that I could talk to people at the show.

I was able to make many people aware of the actual statistics of DV nationally...some patrons were literally dumbfounded. The piece started out blank, with just one statistic, and then as participants finished their row house, I painted the house (if they wanted) and placed it on a panel underneath the stat. for them. I was amazed and appreciative at some of the frank conversations I had with people about DV and about why I was doing this. The House Of Ruth Maryland generously provided me with some pamphlets and some small crisis situation cards which were taken by quite a few people, that I saw.

All of this was about awareness...and I also made the first row house myself, in honor of my mom. I painted it hot pink, especially for her. In a way, she's always leading the charge for me. Sometimes I wish this were not the case and that she was alive and that she and I could go to the mall and shop or something as equally banal...even just to talk to her. She'll never know what an impact she continues to make in my art and in all of the people who see and engage with it.

I also saw quite a bit of creativity in these houses...the adults were having a really great time designing their row houses and gluing the simplest of recycled materials. Bottom line is, grown-ups should really do themselves a favor and make more art. 

All in all, it was a successful event for me and for raising awareness of domestic violence in our communities. More photos below...

This row house above almost made my heart stop....he really ran with the concept and made it happen. By including the words, he furthered my own metaphor in the most interesting way. He created a new layer of meaning to the project that I had not considered.

And before I drop the 3 Tributaries series off for my upcoming solo show, I will be talking/guest artist-ing at Paula Phillip's Finding Baltimore, Foundations class at MICA. I think this participatory community art piece will serve to illustrate to them just how much one, solid idea has served me, even two years later. Gotta love my Baltimore and its iconic imagery.

Big. Damn. Shebang.

Oh my gosh, there is so much going on lately! And I know my last two posts have been show info...and here is more. This reception and the House Show's reception are on consecutive weekends.

I'll have to put up a more extensive post about my working process on these murals. I took a bunch of photos at each stage. But until then, here is one of the pieces I made, located on the corner of E. Federal and Barclay. Reception information is below...woohoo, y'all!

*Join Station North Arts & Entertainment, Inc. and Governor Martin O’Malley for a very special Final Friday event as we celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Station North Arts & Entertainment District!

Friday, September 28th
5:00-9:00PM

Rooftop of the Charles Street Parking Garage (1714 N Charles Street)
FREE

FEATURING
*Governor Martin O'Malley
*John Waters
*Music by Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes, Four Hours of Funk's DJ Exclaim, and Dig's Landis Expandis
*Stiltwalkers from Nana Projects
*Circus of Wonders featuring Magician David London and artistic face paint by Jeramie Bellmay and Patricia Tamariz
*Joe Squared pizza
*Flying Dog beer
*Wine
*Photobooth
*Tours of MICA's "Invited: The Anniversary List" exhibition with the Pushpops and Graham Coreil-Allen
*Tours of Station North with Baltimore Heritage
+ MORE!

This month, Final Friday will be a wind-powered event thanks to Clean Currents. To learn more about Clean Currents and renewable energy visit www.cleancurrents.com

Station North Arts & Entertainment, Inc. is generously funded by the Goldseker Foundation, Lockhart Vaughan Foundation, William G. Baker Jr. Memorial Fund, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, PNC Foundation, Blaustein Philanthropic Group, T Rowe Price Foundation, and the Aaron and Lillie Straus Foundation.

more info: http://www.mica.edu/Events_and_Exhibitions/Invited/Invited_Anniversary_List.html

Hey NY State!

I have a FREE workshop coming up on November 3rd (ETA: date has changed!) at the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts. This workshop is offered by me in honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness month (October) and it is an accompaniment to my upcoming exhibition at the art center, 3 Tributaries. So if you are around the way of Blue Mountain Lake and want to stop by, here is the listing on their website:

http://www.adirondackarts.org/l_work.html

and here it is in long-hand:

Printmaking workshop with Shana Goetsch
Saturday,  November 3, 3-5:30 pm 
Free
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
“One of the most important resources for people experiencing domestic violence is a safe space, emotionally, spiritually and physically.” Explore and create your own ‘safe spaces’ using collograph printmaking with featured artist Shana Goetsch.

House Show

I'm in this upcoming exhibition! Here is the press release:

HOUSE SHOW
Urbanite @ Case[werks]
September 21–October 24, 2012
Opening reception: September 21, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.

HOUSE SHOW studies and celebrates the idea of the rowhouse as storyteller. Co-curated by Marianne Amoss, Marian April Glebes, Sarah McCann, and Jessica Young of D center Baltimore, the exhibit examines how these familiar structures serve as narratives, recording and telling our personal stories and the stories of streets, neighborhoods, and entire cities. What are the stories contained within rowhouse walls? How do rowhouses reveal how we live now, and how we used to live?

In keeping with the interdisciplinary mission of both Case[werks] and D Center Baltimore, HOUSE SHOW features work in a variety of mediums and by a range of artists, representing architecture, photography, sculpture, oral history, and more.

The exhibit is at Urbanite @ Case[werks] from September 21 through October 24, 2012. The opening reception will be held on September 21, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Complementary programming will take place during the exhibit, both in the gallery and at off-site venues. Additional information about these events is forthcoming.

Urbanite @ Case[werks] is located at 1501 St. Paul Street, Suite 116, Baltimore, MD 21202. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 410-332-4160.

ABOUT D CENTER BALTIMORE
D center Baltimore is a broad cross-section of disciplines and individuals invested in improving and encouraging design—in all its iterations—in the Baltimore region. D center's members believe design thinking has the capacity to change the world and that banding together in creative collaboration will greatly improve the quality of urban life. For more information about D center, please visit www.dcenterbaltimore.com.

ABOUT URBANITE @ CASE[WERKS] in collaboration with D center Baltimore Urbanite@Case[werks] serves as a showcase of Station North and other Baltimore artists for audiences traveling into Baltimore’s Penn Station, thereby expanding the audience for local artists and the local and regional recognition of Station North. By highlighting interdisciplinary work, the exhibitions in Urbanite@Case[werks] draw participants and audience from diverse fields including architecture, fine arts, photography, design, and more. Urbanite @ Case[werks] is a collaboration between Urbanite magazine and Case[werks] and is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. For more information about Case[werks], please visit www.casewerks.com.