by John Gingrich

As I write this, my four month internship at Make Studio is drawing to a close. Simply put, my time here felt like a blessing. Being a senior painting major at MICA and a professional muralist on the side (represented by the images, below), these past few months have been very busy. Coming to Make Studio every Tuesday and Thursday, I was always welcomed with smiles and interesting conversations. I was honored to witness new works manifest by the program artists there every week.

I began to appreciate my time at Make Studio more and more as the semester progressed. The relaxed atmosphere that the artists and staff maintain became a refuge from the hustle and bustle of my school schedule. I got to spend lots of time working on interesting projects, like fabricating a large illuminated float for Patterson Park’s annual lantern parade. Some days were more laid-back, allowing a little time to spend journaling in my sketchbook.

The thing I would look forward to most everyday when biking to the studio was catching up with each artist, talking about his or her work. The friendly and artistic connections I have made with the artists at Make Studio are what I will continue to value most as I think about my time spent here.

Make Studio’s artists, the staff, and I are excited about a cool project we are contemplating for spring 2017 – a mural collaboration. I am honored for the opportunity to apply my painting experience in this way. Make Studio’s artists will be involved in every step of the creation of this piece, from the conception through the execution. I will simply act as a facilitator and technical advisor.

The pictures throughout this blog post are from a mural I painted with artists at Fili E Colori, an Art And Therapy Center in Florence, Italy this past spring. All the subject matter painted is derived from the Italian artists own original, beautiful artwork. Each character represents one of the artists at their center. With our collaboration, we are hoping to similarly create an inclusive piece of art that is representative of all the diversity and liveliness within the walls of Make Studio.

Thank you to all the wonderful people I have met and spent time with during this short period!

For more murals, visit johngingrich.net

by Alex Albert, Make Studio Artist & Pizza Chef

Hi I’m Alex.

I wanted to tell you all about pizza.

You have to roll the dough.

You have to spread the sauce on the dough.

You have to put the shredded cheese on the sauce.

You have to put the pepperoni on top of the shredded cheese.

You have to put the pizza in the oven.

You have to set the timer.

You have to wait until the pizza’s been cooked then you can eat it.

You can make a pizza as a painting!

I can make a pizza as a painting too!

How do I make a pizza as a painting?

First I need a board.

Then I need paint.

Then I need paintbrushes.

I need red paint brown paint orange paint white paint and yellow paint.

The crust is brown.

The sauce is red.

The pepperoni is red.

The cheese is white orange and yellow.

That’s how I painted the pizza.

Now that the picture is done I can sign my name on it.

The pizza looks great.

If the pizza was real it would taste delicious!

by Yam Chew Oh, intern

When I walked into Make Studio on my first day as an intern, studio members had curious looks on their faces. They later told me that they were wondering who I was and what I was doing there.

Well, at 43-years-old and having worked as a public relations professional for the past 18 years, I probably looked every bit like an unlikely intern.

My name is Yam Chew Oh (“Yam Chew” is my first name, and I have the easiest last name on earth, “Oh”), and I am originally from Singapore. I moved to Baltimore from London, UK in August 2015 to fulfill my lifelong dream of pursuing the arts. In May 2016, I graduated from the Post-Baccalaureate in Fine Art program at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).

A self-taught artist, I started out as figurative painter. My art has evolved a lot since my time at MICA, and I currently make abstract paintings and drawings in acrylic, charcoal and graphite. I am also an avid photographer. You can see more of my art at www.yamchew.com.

I pursued interning at Make Studio a few years after I came across a similar organisation on the U.S. West Coast – I continue to be moved and inspired by the great work that both do with their artists.

I hope to draw on my corporate, life and art experience to support Make Studio and its artists.  I also want to learn from this amazing organisation – one day, I want to set up something similar in Singapore.

I’m Julian “Jules” Hinmon.  I am an artist.  I take great pride in my favorite art pieces, especially Chris and Hummerback.  Cartoons are an awesome art form.  Chris and Hummerback is my magnum opus.  It’s a series I created about an anti-social, African American 8-year-old kid named Black Chris, and his stuffed weasel, brought to life by a Pixie called the Green Pixie, who works for a place called the Imagination Bureau.  The Pixie rewards Chris for his active Imagination by bringing It to life, starting with his stuffed weasel, Hummerback Weasel.  Together, Chris and Hummerback hang out together and go on crazy adventures, while Chris also focuses on his social life.  Here is a guide to the characters. 

• Misty Dawn: Chris’s childhood friend who enjoys wearing overalls, getting good grades, and bragging about her achievements.  She is arrogant and rude, but has a good heart and means well.  She loves most cartoons, especially the movie Freeze-ed.
• Ruby Ann Sapphire: Misty Dawn’s naïve, but smart and kind, best friend.  Misty bosses Ruby Ann constantly, but Ruby Ann remains her loyal friend and looks up to her constantly.  She loves to wear dresses and skirts.  Ruby Ann is autistic.
•  Elmo Montuard: An achieving, self-entitled, loud mouth, sensitive, and popular boy.  Elmo can’t stand Misty and her judgmental ways.  He is the president of the debate club, has won numerous awards, and is an open homosexual.  He hates animated films, especially Freeze-ed.
•  Charles “Mucus” Earnstein: An angry, dimwitted, opinionated boy, who is good friends with Elmo, and shares his hatred of Freeze-ed.
•  Blaine Goldtop: A snooty, annoying, ruthless, rich jerk, Chris’s worst enemy, and the defacto antagonist of the series.  He loves to wave money in poor people’s faces.  Nobody likes him, nor would pretend to like him even if they were paid to do so.
•  Jill Fines: A bully that does not pick fights, except with Blaine, whom she hates.  She is prone to getting her feelings hurt and really just desires to have a friend.  She admires and respects Misty Dawn.
•  Erika Dawn: Misty Dawn’s tomboy-ish, brave, bossy, manipulative, hard-working, argumentative 7-year-old younger sister, who is obsessed with having her way, sports, magazines, and muscles.
•  Sabrina Dawn: Misty Dawn’s shy, naïve, humble, kind and caring, 11-year-old sister who loves magazines and doing both her own work and other people’s work.  She can be easy to take advantage of, however.  She is very popular among males.

 The Allegory:

Chris and Hummerback is an allegory about being torn between childhood and adulthood.  Being 8, you would be told you are too old to be riding 25 cent airplanes, wearing diapers, and sucking pacifiers, but you are also too young to drive and see R-rated films.  The cartoon tackles this line between childhood and adulthood.

It is also an allegory about the difference between reality and fiction.  It takes its events and drama seriously, but also breaks the fourth wall and is full of surreal elements, like dragons, talking toys, and superheroes.

Stay tuned! 

My farewell blog post

by Nadine Handschuh

I’ve spent a wonderful and inspiring 15 weeks in Baltimore, “the greatest City in America”.*

Make Studio gave me the great opportunity to be the first over-the-pond-intern from Europe. I’m so thankful and it has been a life-changing experience. But unfortunately, it’s time to say good-bye and I’m writing this farewell blog post to share my thoughts and short anecdotes with you!

To spell it all out…

Thank you so much to the artists at Make Studio and for everything you’ve done for me the last four months! You welcomed me with open arms and I’ll never forget that.

I’ll miss you and wish you the best for your future.

Nadine

*Note from Make Studio staff: Nadine bravely traversed Baltimore mostly by bike and bus, so spent a lot of time with our signature benches!

**Also, we can’t let her leave us without sharing a few pics from her last day with us. We’re going to miss her so much, and know she has a bright future in social work (or whatever career she chooses) ahead of her!

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2015 was truly a phenomenal year for Make Studio! Between moving, settling in and customizing the Schwing space, and events almost every month, happenings for artists and staff felt nonstop.

(If you haven’t had a chance to see it, this summary highlights what we were up to events-wise: 2015 In Review)

With further plans for our building and upcoming events filling us with excited anticipation for next year, we took some time out to collect our studio community’s New Year’s resolutions.

Read on to find out what artists and staff want to do and make happen in 2016*…

Do more artwork. – Louis, artist

Get organized! – Meg, intern

Get an American accent. – Nadine, EU intern

To resume yoga after many years’ hiatus. – Cathy, staff

I’d like to meet a guy who is rich. And my second thing, I want to see my picture framed on the wall. – Caroline, artist

I want to save as much money as I can. – Gary, artist

Take a vacation in the mountains. – Erin, staff

I want to have a part-time job. – Zach, artist

To have an art show outside of Baltimore. – Bart, staff

Make time to oil paint. – Emily, intern

To help everybody. – Woody, artist

To read more books and be more informed. To keep learning. – Carolyn, staff

To draw and write more often to develop my style. – Isaac, artist

To lose weight. – Garrett, artist

1. Make a snowman; 2. Visit people; 3. Go sledding; 4. Shovel the snow; 5. Play games; 6. Go places; 7. Watch TV; 8. Take turns; 9. Listen to people; 10. Eat something healthy. – Alex, artist

Make more space for myself and others. To try to master Zen Buddhist cooking. – Jill, staff

To keep my grounds maintenance job forever. – Tony, artist

Art is my goal. – Jeanne, artist

Make more sense. – Stefan (communications-minded) staff

Sweet plenty of coloring books
nice to me. I am good every
year.
I have been good seasons
Entire year
I am good to say I love you.
A new coloring books into
the new studio.
You are very sweet to
me. – Margie, (resident poet) artist

From all of us at Make Studio, Happy New Year!

We’d love to hear your resolutions and feedback… drop us a line at:  info@make-studio.org

*Unfortunately, pre-holiday plans and illnesses kept some folks out of the studio recently, preventing us from getting everybody’s resolutions.

by Jerry “Partyman” Williams

Last Sunday I dressed as my Cosplay Ringmaster Eric Michael Gillett from the Ringling Bros. 125th Anniversary Edition. The people loved my Cosplay outfit and took pictures of me with their cellphones, their cameras and tablets.

I saw a lot of famous people from TV news of WJZ 13 News, WBFF Fox 45 News, our Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis and The Baltimore Orioles Mascott and Nick Mosby the one will run as Mayor of Baltimore, MD.

I also saw Cosplayers of Star Wars and Ghostbusters. It was quite smoothly. And there was the King of Rock’n’Roll himself, Elvis Presley Cosplay. He had the same moves and sing style moves just like the real Elvis himself.

They had all kinds of floats, big balloons and a marching band playing. All of the marching bands did a great job. Plus three horseback riders ride a horse for the parade. It’s reminded me since I was in 1997 St. Elizabeth School days.

The last one is the Christmas holly jolly himself and the loved most: Santa Claus.

And if have time the next year in 2016, my make-studio will have an own float. I will wear a different Cosplay outfit Johnathan Lee Iverson the Ringmaster from Ringling Bros. “LEGENDS”

Last Friday I’ve been at the make-studio Pop-Up Event and I was dressed as a Cosplay Ringmaster.

It was my first time at the Pop-Up Event this year 2015 and I had fun. I’ll be at the next Popup-Event tomorrow and I’ll be dressed as a second Ringmaster Cosplay. I’m looking forward to go to the make-studio Pop-Up Event tomorrow!

Hopefully see you tomorrow, and as my friend Johnathan Lee Iverson the Ringmaster (The one I met him in 2000) says, “May All your days Be Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Days!” , and I say “We Wish you Love, Peace & Circus Rocks!!!”

by Dontavius Woody

(Make Studio artist Woody looks back at his busy October, in which he and his work were featured in a series of events, made possible by Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts’ Free Fall Baltimore.)

It was a pleasure.  I had an art show in the gallery at the beginning of the month.  I used the iPad to type and share this statement with guests:

To all of you my name is Woody. I am a art student of Ms. Yvonne and I am an artist with Make Studio. Welcome to Make Studio thanks for coming. I like all this art I made here and the pieces I made with Yvonne. I feel inspired by people watching. I like to draw, paint, and think about people. In the studio I like making sure people get their phone calls and hear the doorbell. Being with people makes me feel wanted. I want people to know that they are notalone and are wanted. Somebody is always looking out for them. Being wanted means you feel like always like someone might feel good because someone always looking out for them. My art lets people know I see them and I know them.

My mother came to the show and she said she loved it and it was nice. 

It was also fun having guests there- new people to meet.  They liked all of my pictures.  My friends and co-workers at Make Studio came, too.

Later in October, I was with Shantel and Kareem at the art workshop.  Miss Yvonne and I were the leaders of the workshop and we made books with paint and stamps.  We sewed the books.  Miss Erin and I were the leaders of the other workshop.

We made sure that everybody was working on their pictures and made sure that their phones did not ring when they were drawing.

I am really glad that everybody came to watch the show and make art and see my work.  I sold a piece of my work to someone who likes my artwork.  I feel proud.  I am going to donate the money to somebody who doesn’t have money or is looking for a job to help them feel better.