faves saved

Process, artwork, and current inspirations from the artists of MAKE STUDIO. We save our faves.

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  • RESIDENCY WRAP-UP

    RESIDENCY WRAP-UP

    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.

    me & forms

    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:

    forms process

    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:

    a royal form
    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.

    GOTHS_sm

    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

    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

    BESS on ANIME FANDOM

    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

    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)

    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
    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”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • The Words of an Intern

    My name is Jarek Sparaco, I am a graduating senior at the Boy’s Latin School of Maryland. Though I’m typing this on the eve of my graduation, I find myself surprisingly relaxed where I should be excited and perhaps even agitated. I have a terrible habit of fidgeting, particularly scratching at the nail of my right thumb, but even that is negligible. My best guess as to why I’m so relaxed is because of the art studio I’m in currently. It’s called Make Studio and I’ve been interning here for the past two weeks (May 22nd-31st), which gave me invaluable insight into the creative minds of developmentally disabled adults. I watched as the artists developed before my eyes, always trying something new with the undying support of the staff throughout the day. Though my time as an intern there only lasted six days, I feel the experience was more than worth it. Not only did I learn various useful things about artwork, such as how to prime a canvas or take apart a frame, I also learned more about what it feels like to be a contributing part of the community. Make Studio recently had some of their artists make artwork for an upcoming theatrical performace called “Baby Universe”, which looks a bit like a crossover between Star Wars and the Muppets. I was inspired by the artists around me to make a contribution as well, and this is what I came up with-

    ??????e

    This artwork is a big step for me because for the first time I am projecting my artwork out into a broader community, hopefully it will be featured with all of the other Baby Universe artwork.

    In addition to the contribution to the Baby Universe collaboration, I was also happy to make a contribution to Make Studio’s Sketchbook Project sketchbook. Along with the other artists here, I drew on both sides of a small piece of paper which will be put into a small sketchbook to be displayed in a traveling art museum of sorts. Again, this is a great way for me to get my art out there. Quoting the website that sponsors the nationwide project, the Sketchbook Project is like “a taco truck but with sketchbooks.” The link to that website can be found here. Coming away from this internship, I can definitely say that it will be easier for me to put my art out for a wider range of people to see and I can also see myself considering looking into the profession of art therapy when I attend MICA in the Fall.

  • RESIDENCY PREVIEW

    by Danna Rooth

    Here’s a quick in-process snapshot from my work as pilot resident / visiting artist for May and June:

    Photo on 2013-05-29 at 11.25
    “Gothic Influence” [in process] by Danna Rooth, watercolor and graphite on paper
    This concept is based on collaborative conversations with Make Studio artists, particularly Make Studio’s premiere Goth artist Bess Lumsden.  Check out her page on our website: Recent work by Bess and I’ll be posting more images of the finished piece soon (hopefully).

    Make Studio artists, staff, interns, and volunteers are also working collaboratively on the The Sketchbook Project, so stay tuned for more sweet pics coming your way!

  • Kristin on The Importance of Making

    P1050710

    I contacted Make Studio in the weeks before graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art in May, 2012 and began interning for them that coming fall. I am now writing this on the anniversary of my graduation, one year after I first wrote Make Studio. Now, I’m not going to lie, the first year out of undergrad hasn’t been an easy one, in fact its been filled with many questions about my future, my interests, what I should do next, where I should go next, why did I go to art school during a recession…? These questions still haven’t all answered themselves (and who knows if they ever will), but in this past year and my time working with the artists at the studio, one thing has absolutely been confirmed for me, and that is the importance of making. The practice of making broadens our horizons, enriches the value of our day to day, and provides us with a physical reflection of ourselves in the world. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, the importance of making,  of growing, of changing or challenging your ideas of what you think you can do or can’t do, is immeasurable.

    P1050714

    It’s easy to get lost in our routines. It easy to get lost in self-consciousness and lose our relationship to making- and it’s easy to spend more time thinking about making than actually using our hands. For me, what has been so inspiring about spending time here at the Make Studio is being able to witness these artists’ commitment to their studio practice. That commitment has benefited them and all the people around them. They greet each new piece with absolute sincerity and push themselves to try things they have never tried before, to grow as artists and to grow as people. At the same time, they are professionals, constantly editing out work for the public from the work that is for them, exercises and sketches. As soon as they finish one piece they move on to the next, letting go of that preciousness that for artists can be so debilitating. This process isn’t easy, but such is the nature of making, and their commitment to that process is infectious. I am sad to be leaving Make Studio as an Intern this month but am very excited to be back as a volunteer and support in the future.
    i-2Tw2TQP-XL

    Kristin McWharter

  • Margie, The Sketchbook Project, and art as a means of living a life

    Margie's first sketchbook page
    “This is inspired by me liking birds a lot. Dogs are also a favorite.”

    Our studio community is collectively creating a submission for The Sketchbook Project, a traveling library of sketchbooks that anyone can join. (Our participation is facilitated by the Maryland Federation of Art, in celebration of their 50th Anniversary!)

    Sketchbooks are a fave of Margie’s, she avidly fills them at home and at the studio. And she was on a roll today with our book, filling 3 pages, front-and-back, rather than just one.

    photo-50

    Interestingly, Margie elected to only fill her pages with images even though she often includes words– poetry, mainly– in her own sketchbooks. Yet her singular focus on this project today was a reminder of several wordy artistic aphorisms that are borne out at Make Studio on a weekly basis.

    Margie working in our community sketchbook

    Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.

    —Andy Warhol

    I paint for myself. I don’t know how to do anything else, anyway. Also I have to earn my living, and occupy myself.

    —Francis Bacon

    Everything I do is completely original—I made it up when I was a kid.

    —Claes Oldenburg

    I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living.

    ― Robert Henri

    We highly recommend you get your own sketchbook, fill it with your images and/or words, and share it with just us, your fave city, or the whole world!

  • JOE SQUARED last friday

    JOE SQUARED last friday

    JOE SQUARED last friday

    thanks to everyone that came out for our reception to close out the April exhibition hosted by Joe Squared at Power Plant Live! A good time (and delicious pizza) was had by all…