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Tony Tells the Tale…

December 11, 2013

Tony LaBate, seasoned make Studio artist, has done it again. Translating his love of movie star fact and trivia into unique artistic projects, Tony often creates portraits and narratives based on the eventful and often ridiculous antics of the rich and famous. One of his favorites is the notorious Randy Quaid. Some fun facts that Tony likes to share about Randy are that he is the brother of fellow actor Dennis Quaid and he played the role of Eddie in the 1990 classic Christmas Vacation. Tony originally payed him tribute in this lovely portrait painting:

We here at make Studio wanted to dig a little deeper into the story of Randy Quaid, so we asked Tony to tell us some more about his shenanigans with the hope of creating a t-shirt for the Randy Quaid-loving public. After hours of collaboration, we transformed Tony’s portrait into a unmistakeable mugshot! The text reads: “BURGLARY/VANDALISM IN FORMER HOME WITH WIFE. REPLACED BROKEN MIRROR WITH PHOTO OF THEMSELVES”

What a tale! Tony told us that every week, Sunday through Thursday, he checks Wikipedia to see if Mr. Quaid and his wife are still “on the lam” in Canada… You, too, can do your part in helping to bring Mr. Quaid to justice. Click here to go to the make Studio gift shop website, where you can purchase a Randy Quaid mugshot t-shirt!

We looked into doing a milk carton ad, but came up with the next best thing… our very own Randy Quaid mugshot coffee mug!

He must be out there somewhere….
Alternative Histories: Louis Middleton’s First Solo Show at make Studio

October 24, 2013

Louis Middleton has wanted to have a “photography show” ever since joining Make Studio in 2010. Louis has long enjoyed taking photos of family, friends, and places. He also made a business venture of doing restorations of old photographs, having picked up Photoshop skills along the way. However, early on at Make Studio Louis began to cultivate a talent for drawing and painting and his time in the studio has mostly been spent on these endeavors.

Alternative Histories highlights the dovetailing of Louis’ interests, which has produced a slightly offbeat approach to using the photographic image. Interspersed with samples of Louis’ restorations of historical family photos, the pieces showcased in the studio are evocative digital collages built from family photos, found images of dramatic landscapes, and recurring characters extracted from his paintings. They represent the culmination of a lengthy process of discussion, image review, production, and selection. He invites everyone to “take a look” at the results!

Louis took his artistic skills to a new level and learned valuable lessons in patience, dedication, and persistence. Louis says he’s very happy about how the show turned out and is proud to share it with his friends and family. His favorite piece, Taney, features Miss Marilyn Monroe having a blast in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (one of Louis’s favorite destinations).

Alternative Histories took place in conjunction with Brown is the New Black, a workshop sponsored by Baltimore Office of Promotions and the Arts’ Free Fall Baltimore. Make Studio invited Dayton, Ohio based photographer Francis Schanberger to share his knowledge about historic and alternative photographic processes. Each participant left with several hand-made photographic prints ready to frame. In Louis’ words, “the workshop was perfect!”

To learn more more about Francis Schanberger and his work, please check out his website. Louis Middleton’s framed and unframed digital collages are available for purchase. Take a peak at the Alternative Histories’ photo album on our Facebook page and feel free to contact us at info@make-studio.org!!
We Love the Drawing Zoo!

September 18, 2013

Once again The Drawing Zoo returned to Make Studio, and we had a blast! They brought in live animals for our artists to observe and draw. The animals challenged and inspired the members of Make to think about drawing in new ways. What a unique learning experience!

Garrett had a great time drawing Pierce the Iguana from observation…

See the resemblance?

Animal handler Brittany Roger shared fun facts about Pierce with Woody and Alex!

Pierce loves lettuce and getting his back scratched.

Hal explored abstract, gestural painting with the help of Steve the Common Boa.

Check out those textures and patterns!

And Bess made a friend for life, Lydia the Pink Zebra Beauty Tarantula.
Partyman’s Wrestlemania

August 23, 2013

Make Studio artist Jerry Williams is a HUGE wrestling fan. And at the in-studio kick-off to 2013’s Inventory Sale, guests had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get ringside with Jerry, aka PARTYMAN!!!

Here are a few examples from Partyman’s WRESTLEMANIA:

Event guests posed for a photo with the WWE-style Partyman while browsing a huge selection of this wrestling-themed artwork. But, there are still over a dozen wrestlers in the ring, ready to rumble in a new home…

YOURS!

All pieces are only $10 or $20 as part of our Inventory Sale through Labor Day. Please email us at info@make-studio.org if you’d like to see more images and make a purchase.
2013 Inventory Sale

August 23, 2013

Our 2013 Inventory Sale- with reduced prices on all of our items– is going strong through Labor Day. Please visit our website to view artwork (email info@make-studio.org for sale prices up to 50% off) and like us on Facebook for a special “friends only” offer. All of our gift items are 25% off and can be easily purchased via our gift shop.

At the in-studio kick-off of our 3rd Annual Inventory Sale, a Happy Hour on August 16th, we met many new friends, sold a lot of art, and had fun doing it… There were plenty of in-studio surprises with our artists, including “What a Character” caricature commissions and “Get in the Ring with Partyman” You can find more photos from the event on our Flickr page.

Not soon to be forgotten!

Many thanks to those who made our event a success!

But if you missed out on first dibs on our unusual and economical additions for your art collection, fear not. There is a lot of great art still available!
RESIDENCY WRAP-UP

July 26, 2013

by Danna Rooth

Last week was a busy one around here! We participated in Artscape where we showed work from Make Studio artists for sale and I installed Royal Forms, a site-specific sculptural experiment, to culminate my experience working as a visiting artist at Make Studio in the pilot residency program.

After spending awhile deciding on a project, it was decided that I’d ask artists at Make Studio to contribute any digital images they have referenced as source material for previous work to my project. The concept was to use on-hand materials and imagery to reflect the special interests and aesthetic of our community. Print-outs that the artists offered up were then made into semi-transparent transfers (coated with several layers of Mod Podge, dried, and then the paper backing was removed). We made a whole lot of these. Here’s the process in action:

Finally, using the basic principles of garment construction, I combined and fused the image transfers together to create a variety of shapes that would become Royal Forms! They changed quite a bit over the very, very hot and stormy weekend. This is a detail from after the installation was dismantled:

An excerpt from the artist’s statement: Royal Forms were constructed from the vast array of digital images that are frequently used as source material and reflect the diversity of Make Studio participants and their creative interests. This project utilized available cultural (symbols, stereotypes, icons, celebrity) and material surplus (donated craft supplies, recycled items) in order to advance a communal aesthetic and ethic. As a whole, the residency’s focus on exploring subcultural affiliation, identifying stereotypes, and stereotyped identities is reflected in Royal Forms content and co-creation.

Pretty wild, huh? Overall, it was such a great time and I was both surprised and pleased with the final piece. I’m hoping to revisit “the forms” again in the future and held on to a number of transfers that weren’t used at Artscape. So, I’ll be saving this fave for now… Thanks for hosting me, Make Studio!

(Note from Make Studio staff: Another component of the residency that loyal readers may recall– completed by Danna in consultation with Bess, now known as Gothic Influence— was finalized this week, too.

Make Studio is pleased that Danna is allowing us to keep this as part of our “Permanent Collection”, and even more pleased that she was not only our first resident artist, but also has been a valued colleague over the past two years. We’re proud that she’s embarking on her pursuit of a Master’s in Art Therapy at Antioch U in Seattle, and excited that she’ll remotely keep the collaborations going with our artists, as her grad school schedule allows! Best wishes, DR!)
HONORABLE MENTION

July 6, 2013

by Danna Rooth

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In conjunction with the pilot residency, a proposal was developed for an exhibition that since has been pitched around town and, although a venue for this show has yet to be found, here’s a preview.

HONORABLE MENTION is a group show featuring participants of Make Studio (Baltimore, MD) as both artists and co-curators of work that reveals local experience and visual responses to stereotypes. Make Studio aims for inclusivity and is based on the belief that providing avenues for communication, connection, and empowerment equally benefits individuals and the community. People working at Make Studio explore the paradoxically novel and familiar aesthetics and concerns of artists commonly typed as “outsiders”. To produce this exhibition, participating artists will create new work and co-curate preexisting pieces that are conceptually relevant and further engage the show’s central themes of local experience, stereotypes, and identification within specific subcultural groups. Art-making and curatorial decision-making will occur within a creative community hosted in the studio setting, rather than independently, with the objective of extending individual approaches to art practice, audience responses, and preconceived notions about the role of “artist”. HONORABLE MENTION will include works that utilize available cultural (symbols, stereotypes, icons, celebrity) and material surplus (donated craft supplies, recycled items, thrift store finds). Aesthetic agendas initiated by Make Studio’s artists and project participants will be advanced based on their specific creative points of view and preferences.

HONORABLE MENTION makes visible the observations of a neuro-diverse group of artists that are concerned with exploring place, cultural tropes, and social justice issues through art practice. The privileged role of curator will be distributed amongst Make Studio’s artists’ to further their utilization of visual art as a conduit for personal expression, interpersonal connectivity, and civic engagement. The contextual realities of the gallery setting and its audience will activate the exhibition’s potential to challenge conventional definitions of “outsider art” and possibilities for a more expansive model of creative and local communities. Presenting works from artists with and without disabilities, HONORABLE MENTION addresses the potential transcendence or perpetuation of social labels and marginalization that lies in what we both can and can not see.

So, know a great gallery in or near Baltimore that would love this idea?! Let us know.
BESS on ANIME FANDOM

June 21, 2013

PROs

+ most fans of ANIME are more creative than your average cartoon fan, especially when it comes to art or anything nerdy

+ they are also really devoted to their FAVES

+ most of them are really nice, the ones I’ve met, they ARE competitive, but not too, too competitive. They aren’t snobs.

+ the have a REAAALLLY active imagination

+ more acceptance for fandom today then ever before

SPECIFIC TO MALE GOTH CHARACTER FANDOM

+ in touch with their feminine side

+ their fashion sense is more unique than real life guys, goths or not

+ they have really different personalities and they are complex

+ they are so inspiring and you can cross play

CONS

– biggest ones ever: PARENTS! They have many misconceptions including: waste of time or ulterior, weird motives

– people in denial that the stuff is gonna be good, like they’ve seen stuff but it’s bad or inappropriate and they make a prejudgment about

– expensive fandoms, pre-made expensive outfits that are high-quality or hard to find

– Time consuming for total dedication and planning, getting materials for your own costume

-People assuming things about our appearance or attitude that our negative like oh just sign the guestbook and get out of here

Even though there’s a lot a Pros/cons about cos-play and anime, if your in this hobby or just getting started, GO FOR IT! Or, keep doing what your doing because, remember, every fan base has it’s pluses and minuses!!
SELECTIONS from SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

June 10, 2013

by Danna Rooth

(Make Studio artists’ participation in The Sketchbook Project was facilitated and curated as part of my pilot residency.)

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Opening at University of Maryland’s Art Gallery on 6/28, as a new addition to the Brooklyn Art Library.
Bradley brings greetings from Japan (inspiration)

June 5, 2013

Summertime artist Bradley has just returned from a trip to Japan with his dad, Charlie. He, naturally, had an amazing time and wanted to share some of the inspirations he gained there with you.

Bradley’s painting of a traditional Japanese Geisha

Konichiwa!

I’m coming back from Japan, seeing diverse culture is amazing. Seeing a new country, and going there and experiencing the diversity…I have a quote for you (made by me):

Beauty is defined by the lotus flower. Meaning, every lotus flower is beautiful in its own way.

p.s. The Japanese kanji in my painting means “cherry blossom”

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