>>boat fun<< WE DID IT! With two fun-tastic resident artists, and one special guest, we finished up the 2013 residency season with style.
The studio was very, very busy this week, with multiple projects and preparations for our bug fundraising bazaar on Saturday.
We crossed our fingers and fired the kiln three times this week- finishing the project that Sarah Applebaum had left us instructions for. Her ceramic rocks are now installed in the fire pit- the larger ones filling the ring of stones that marks the pit, and a dozen small blue pieces mixed in with the white stones she used to border the pit. The pale blue glaze reflects the color of our fading picnic table, and the summer sky.
The studio was very, very busy this week, with multiple projects and preparations for our bug fundraising bazaar on Saturday.
We crossed our fingers and fired the kiln three times this week- finishing the project that Sarah Applebaum had left us instructions for. Her ceramic rocks are now installed in the fire pit- the larger ones filling the ring of stones that marks the pit, and a dozen small blue pieces mixed in with the white stones she used to border the pit. The pale blue glaze reflects the color of our fading picnic table, and the summer sky.
The fire pit, renewed.
It was a great week to promote our event and our residency program, as were so honored to be on the cover of the local magazine, Pentwater This Week. After an interview with contributor Mary Beth Crain, she wrote an article that covered all of our studio's hopes, dreams, and realities. She also decided to teach a writing workshop at Shared Space and be a speaker at our slide talk series, after our resident artist who was scheduled to talk had to cancel last-minute.
We were joined mid-week by resident-coffee-roaster / joke-teller / master pot-holder weaver Mike Johnston. He worked in the studio on a giant pot-holder, helped document the resident's adventures, and brought green coffee all the way from Oakland, California to roast at our event. We gathered a pop-corn popper, a hot pot, a metal strainer, a french press, and a grinder to set him up at the same table as our bake sale. He brewed small batches of coffee that he had roasted the night before to sell by the cup, and gave roasting demonstrations to curious visitors. In his down-time, Mike contributed his marker drawings to collaborative necklaces for our sale.
a handsome roast
drawing gems
Jeff's glazing phase
Jeffrey Kricksciun made impressive work in his third week in residence. Experimenting with clay, he made small sculptures and a series of pins for our fundraising sale. This was his first time glazing ceramics, and after an evening of careful painting, we were surprised to open the kiln and see what colors had fluxed out. The experience left him with a newfound interest in ceramics, and left us with a few of his pieces for our sculpture garden and collection.
pants in the forest
tongue in the grass
Jeff also spent time this week coming up with face-paint ideas and designing a watercolor flash for his booth. He worked in the "FUN ZONE" tent with Aliya, painting faces for kids and adults all afternoon. Face painting was another first for Jeff, but I knew that with his tattooing and painting experience, he would be a natural.
With drawings and photographs from the last three weeks in residence, Jeff compiled and printed his newest zines. great froot is a zine dedicated to his time at Shared Space; it contains collages and distorted images of Homecoming fireworks, his tattooed grapefruits, the campfire, and cards he painted for friends around the world. The other zine he finished here, Dipped In Zen, contains mostly illustrations and will be published by Museums Press in Glasgow this fall.
Jeff also had the brilliant last-minute idea to make a second edition of MIRRORS NEWZ, a site-specific newpaper that 2012 resident artist Josh Kermiet made with contributions from the other residents last summer. Jeff and Josh are partners in publishing the Portland-based newspaper FREE SPIRIT NEWS, and we were very happy to have Jeff continue the tradition of compiling musings and doodles from the Shared Space crew to anthologize our Michigan times.
Jeff also had the brilliant last-minute idea to make a second edition of MIRRORS NEWZ, a site-specific newpaper that 2012 resident artist Josh Kermiet made with contributions from the other residents last summer. Jeff and Josh are partners in publishing the Portland-based newspaper FREE SPIRIT NEWS, and we were very happy to have Jeff continue the tradition of compiling musings and doodles from the Shared Space crew to anthologize our Michigan times.
Savory blueberry snowmen, in two variations. Power-Sewer, Power-Chef, Power-Person Aliya Bonar had a whirlwind week of work and play at the studio. She has a special knack for making a dish out of anything and everything she can find in the fridge, and she demonstrated her creative cooking this week- from smorgasbord group dinners to being the star of the fundraising bake sale. I was also grateful that she woke me up Wednesday morning to catch yoga class on the beach at Lake Michigan.
beach stretch
In the studio, Aliya set out to make a series of Powersuits for her to wear while managing her upcoming Powersuit Boutique in New York next week. In a temporary installation, Aliya and her collaborator will be making personalized garments, as they "specialize in extracting your most ambitious plans and translating them into a tangible garment you can wear now."
Each day, her wardrobe expanded, with tube tops, gowns, drop-crotch pants, and high-waisted skirts, in neons and wild prints. I introduced Aliya to a rotary cutter and my serger machine, and she took off.
Each day, her wardrobe expanded, with tube tops, gowns, drop-crotch pants, and high-waisted skirts, in neons and wild prints. I introduced Aliya to a rotary cutter and my serger machine, and she took off.
Aliya and her intuitive cut-and-sew style.
Aliya was also a shining star at our fundraising bazaar, contributing a crafty crown-making station, and issuing artistic licenses to visitors. The event was really well attended, with artists and crafters selling their goods and supplies, and musicians keeping up the pace for all of us working in the sun and shade. Aliya made specialized crowns for each of us; using supplies from the free pile, she made sure that no one was without flair.
crown crew
Mary Beth Crain reading to the crowd We were sad to say goodbye to Jeff and Aliya on Sunday morning, thus concluding the season of resident artists. Luckily, we had one last blast with our final Sunday Slide Talk of the year, featuring two of our new teaching artists. The talk was attended by our Sunday regulars, as well as a few new friends, and no one left unaffected. Coincidentally, painter Ann Beeching and writer Mary Beth Crain both had stories of animals affecting their lives at important times. They both spoke about making art with love and honesty, and finding that artistic course that is true to your purpose in the world, and affects others in a valuable way. Ann's slide talk educated us about spiritual art practices of a variety of cultures, and showcased her detailed paintings of people with their spirit animals. Mary Beth shared the story of her successful writing career in LA, as she went from an interviewer to a novelist, and everywhere in between. Reading from her best-selling book of memoirs and her local weekly column, she had us all laughing and crying. It was an inviting sneak-peek into the workshops Ann and Mary Beth will teach at Shared Space in September and October. It was also an encouraging way to end the season, as we felt truly touched by the sincerity of the presentations, and guests left telling us they couldn't wait for to the visiting artist programming to start again next year.
my favorite slide by Ann Beeching
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