ABOUT THE SHOW
ARTIST STATEMENTS
Karen Aqua
When I received the Artists’ Fellowship in early 2007, I had just
completed “Sensorium,” my first purely abstract film, a hand-drawn
experimental animation exploring the relationship between music and
image. My main project since then (still in progress) is an
experimental animated film titled “Twist of Fate.”
In September/October 2007, I had a 7-week residency at the Wurlitzer
Foundation in Taos, NM. Although I brought sections of my
film-in-progress to work on, I felt a much stronger pull to create new
art in response to my surroundings. I could barely stay inside my
studio…the bright sunshine and clear blue skies lured me outside to
explore the area and marvel at the vivid Southwestern light and color.
I went out every day by foot or bike, observing and making small quick
sketches, then returned to the studio to draw 5”x5” pastels. I started
with 8 drawings, and quickly decided to create 100 and arrange them in a
quilt-like grid.
As “100 Glimpses” spontaneously unfolded, I felt completely “in the
moment,” fully soaking up and experiencing my environment and sense of
place. I hope to continue to tap into this creative process, with its
sense of discovery, joy, immediacy, and surprise.
http://aquak.home.att.net • EMAIL
Sandra Butler
I make monotypes, which are considered by many to be the most painterly
form of printmaking. I enjoy the process of applying ink to a plate in
a fluid and spontaneous fashion, and the resulting dialogue that
transpires between the medium and the images that surface interests me.
I also enjoy the risk, and the reward, of investing myself fully in a
printmaking endeavor that produces only “one” print, an act that seems
antithetical to the inherent nature of the form; it's rather like
gambling, particularly when the stakes are high, and when taking the
next step means either ruining the piece or resolving it.
In the past year and a half, I have been exploring improvisational
woodcut techniques in my printmaking. Carving provides rich
opportunities for investigating mark-making and textural elements. The
repeatable nature of a woodblock allows for printing and layering in new
ways. Recently, I have also been using my ink-stained mylar stencils,
familiar shapes that I have used over the years in my monotypes, as
collage elements in works that focus on balance and relationships.
http://www.sandrabutler.com • EMAIL
Benjamin Cariens
EMAIL
Betsy Connors
http://www.betsyconnors.com • EMAIL
Karl Cronin
http://dryearth.org • EMAIL
Christopher Frost
I have been working on a body of sculpture that revolves around the
every day object. Objects normally mundane when cast in bronze take on a
different visual meaning. When these forms are 'collaged' together they
are pressed into narratives or stories.
The artist grant from the Somerville Arts Council allowed me to explore
this process further.
http://www.christopherfrost.org
Ethan Gilsdorf
I'm a poet, teacher, critic and journalist. My work as a poet informs
my non-fiction: both concern the collision of nature and the made world;
identity and pop culture; and solitude amid the urban experience. My
Fellowship grant was awarded for a book-length memoir about my
relationship with my mother before and after her major illness. That
project has since evolved into a book "Escape Artists: Travels through
the Worlds of Role Playing Freaks, Online Gaming Geeks, and Other
Dwellers of Imaginary Realms" which will be published in 2009. Thank you
Somerville Arts Council!
http://www.ethangilsdorf.com • EMAIL
Shaun Lynch
EMAIL
Rachel Mello
I work with houses, wires, and street signs because I find them
beautiful and earthy. I work with clouds and skies and natural
landscapes because I find them glorious and spiritual. At any moment,
part of me is considering the world in front of me, and part of me is
dreaming. In overlaying these two kinds of images, I am creating a sense
of how I occupy the world.
Recently I saw my cut panel as a potential wood-block for printing. I
rolled ink on it and ran it through a press, creating a set of relief
prints before painting on its surface. The prints emphasize different
aspects of the shapes and images than the finished painting does. This
combination of printmaking and painting as two different means to
explore the same imagery is new for me and a direction I intend to
continue pursuing.
http://www.rachelmello.com • EMAIL
Christina Renfer
When I received the artist grant from the Somerville Arts Council I was
making portraits that introduced a second element to the central figure.
The interaction of two figures within a painting, or between an object
and figure as in Mother, represent personal narratives.
The grant has helped me to continue my work. I’ve been focusing more on
drawing and have returned to self portraiture, confronting changes in my
life over the past year. I have been introducing elements of pattern
and garment, an apron for example, as I think about the roles I assume
as a woman and wife.
http://www.christinarenfer.com • EMAIL
Bert Stern
EMAIL |
