Travel and adventures of all kinds are favorite topics for reflection and sharing amongst Make Studio artists. Tony LaBate and Louis Middleton hope you enjoy learning about their recent spring trips!
Tony shared: “I traveled to Yosemite for my brother’s wedding this spring and stayed at a place that was cozy if you were the seven dwarves. I explored the park with my family and had a dark chocolate candy bar. The last place I went, Cooperstown, twenty-one years ago for my brother’s baseball tourney, was comfortable if you were the Sanderson Sisters from the movie Hocus Pocus!”
(Wow! It’s certainly been a long time since this blog has been updated. The pace of posts is going to pick up again later this summer, though, as the blog gets a much needed update. Stay tuned! And for now…)
As you might recall from last spring, Make Studio was excited to receive a grant from Civitan Club of Baltimore, allowing us to undertake our “Make Studio Road Warriors” series. This funding has enabled our artists to get out of the studio, and even outside of Baltimore, to have unique art experiences in the company of fellow artists from other progressive art studios. It also enabled us to host multiple studios for a gallery visit at Make Studio and group field trip to AVAM in the fall.
Make Studio was excited and humbled to receive a generous grant from Civitan Club of Baltimore, allowing us to undertake our “Make Studio Road Warriors” series. This funding is enabling our artists to get out of the studio, and even out of Baltimore, specifically to have unique art experiences in the company of fellow artists from other progressive art studios.
As a 90s kid, I was introduced to the stand-up comedian Louie Anderson when he has a Showtime Comedy Special on cable television that I watched years ago. He was very funny and talks about his childhood, his dysfunctional families including his mom and dad in Cedar Knoll, Wisconsin.
Although Kemonte, one of our newest artists, isn’t featured in our upcoming Storytellers show, much of his artwork is narrative in nature. He enjoys the process of character and world building, often based on the inspiration of a special interest in the extended Sonic the Hedgehog universe, bringing characters to life in a future Baltimore.
Here’s what needed cleaning at Make Studio: the windows and the doors! I sprayed the windows with Windex. I even wiped the windows with a rag. Cathy, Roni, and I did the spraying part together. Windows were sprayed 6 or 10 times and then I wiped the spray off. After I wiped, they looked clean. I had gotten the smudges off and the pieces of tape.
After *the first* COVID Christmas physically separated our artists last year, our resident holiday hype man Iragi wanted to bring the holiday spirit back into the studio with a vengeance. Each Wednesday this December, he counted down the weeks til Christmas with photo shoots and performances.
Unfortunately we ended up back on Zoom for this last studio week of the year, but Iragi did not let that discourage him and completed his performance series in virtual studio!
I played 3 special Christmas songs of: Dick Van Dyke & Jane Lynch’s “We’re Going Caroling”,”Seasons Of Giving” (From “Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving”)
And Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (From “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964 Christmas Special)). 🎅🏻🤶🏻🦌⛄🎄❄🌨🎶🎤
I’ll return another month of December with my Yamaha Keyboard & my Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas Maskimal to the Make Studio In-Person. I 💔loathe losing things.
We hope you enjoy these magical holiday moments from Iragi as much as we do!
P.S. Looking for even more spirit? Iragi suggests this song for you to enjoy…
Now that it’s been a minute and we really feel like we’re back in our art center, we’re happy to be resuming our periodic spotlights on 1-2 artists in our showroom gallery.
Currently in the gallery: “My Morphinominal Life in Art” featuring Iragi Nkere, on view through the end the September. Stop by to see the work in-person if you can, or follow along on social media as we share artwork details and thoughts from Iragi.
Make Studio Artist Iragi Nkere brings keen social insight, encyclopedic pop culture knowledge, passions for justice and music, love of family, and boundless enthusiasm into his art.
Midway through 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging and the Movement for Black Lives belatedly entering many people’s consciousnesses, Iragi began in earnest to make art that focused on his experiences as a young, Black man in America. Reflective of his multitude of concerns AND the interests that bring him joy, Iragi has continued to weave art about social justice into his practice. For Iragi, this includes bringing elements of the big budget cinematic universe directly into works about BLM as well as alternating tributes for beloved celebrities and voice actors with cartoon and TV logo mashups with pieces featuring African wildlife (“it’s what my grandma likes”).
The important thing for the people is to UnWelcome to the Tyrannical world. Last year’s Memorial Day was a Lost Cause, Damnation & Doomungous in Minneapolis Minnesota. It turned my stomach, messed up the kidney, claustrophobic, gassy, frostbite & got inside my head. . .I just can’t take all that Tyrant, Self-Destructive & Endangering me no more. I am elude tyranny & those Prosecute Jail Killer Law Authorities.
NO JUSTICE & PEACE & NEVER BE SILENT.
I’ve made a tribute of Samuel E. Wright Because he’s done it all completed Disney’s The Little Mermaid as the voice of Sebastian the Crab & So I played Just Dance 2016 to sing & dance to “Under The Sea” to pay a tribute to him. I’ve made a tribute to Eddie Van Halen including “Dreams” , the rock & roll song that I just heard it at the end of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
My grandma, Nyanya & My mom love the sound of African music & My grandma, Nyanya & [my brother] Amani love to do their prayers & watching EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), Even, She taught my mom how to do their prayers because I know my mom ❤loves christian Music & not to mention: Don Moen.
Amani ❤loves SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tom & Jerry, Teen Titans & Toy Story. I ❤love Looney Tunes, Hot Wheels, Scooby-Doo & Power Rangers. I made them all what’s for Holidays & Special Occasions.
Everyone knows that unstoppable, talented & stylish to make what’s for everyone, my family & myself.
Make Studio artist Louis Middleton is a big fan of beautiful scenery. He often makes artwork about faraway places, idyllic landscapes and seascapes, as well as capturing the essence of iconic locales that make a destination stand out from the rest! His landscapes cover a variety of scenes from tropical beaches to Baltimore City to snowy mountain ranges. We asked him about his favorite vacation spots and what makes these places special to him.
Louis Middleton’s “Village on the River Elbe” [Image of a drawing that shows a quaint village with colorful buildings in profile all along a bridge, with trees and greenery in the background..]
Louis says that he likes to visit Florida, even though it is hot. Jacksonville is a particular favorite of his, where he goes to visit his relatives. He enjoys seeing them and playing card games.
[Image of artist Louis Middleton standing in front of a wall displaying his artwork. While looking at the camera, he is pointing to a drawing of a beach scene.]
He also thinks Orlando, FL is beautiful. He likes all the palm trees, flowers and being near the water. He also likes seeing all the buildings, the fish and the crocodiles. He likes the plane rides, too!
[Image detail of Louis’ hand pointing to the unframed beach scene drawing on the wall, featuring a palm tree on the beach with a high-noon shadow, lawn chairs and a beach umbrella.]
While in Florida he enjoys going to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, where he likes to ride on all the rides. He says the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party tea cup ride is his favorite. The ride doesn’t make him dizzy, and he enjoys the spinning (unfortunately some others at Make Studio cannot say the same).
Louis Middleton’s “Castle in Canada” [Image of a mixed media drawing of a gray castle with a fountain and elaborate shrubbery out front]
In recognition of our artists returning to the studio this summer, we are having a large sale – our biggest one ever – anchored by a lighthearted gallery show entitled Make it Back!. The show celebrates the artists’ activities, aspirations, and preoccupations while they worked from home and looked forward to being back together. Inspired by Louis’ passion for travel, we’ve created a special promotion – all landscapes and cityscapes are 50% off the original price! This Make It Back promotion is live through Saturday August 21st. Check out our social media for updates and other promotions through Labor Day!
Besides being a devotee of all things retro and 1950s, Louis often gravitates towards epic landscape and portraiture, or a combination of the two, in his art. He often starts his work with a sketch, which he then transfers to canvas and paints with acrylics. Besides painting, Louis has long enjoyed taking his own digital photographs and at Make Studio has worked to advance his computer skills by digitally manipulating photographs and original imagery. Outside of Make Studio and with the support of his family, Louis operates his own photo restoration business and has logged a number of satisfied customers in this work. Louis is a graduate of the St. Elizabeth School. To view more of Louis’ work, please visit our online store.
The first piece Tyrone worked on when he returned to in-person studio attendance last month was this one, his response of solidarity to the alarming rise in hate crimes directed against Asian and AAPI community members. He also wrote the following essay to share with the Make Studio community and beyond with the hope of projecting this message of support and unity.
[Image of a mixed media group portrait showing variously aged fictionalized persons of Asian descent together under a banner with a quote from actress Sandra Oh: “I am proud to be Asian!” The people are wearing face masks bearing slogans such as #StopAsianHate , #HateIsAVirus , #StopTheBias , and #LoveThyNeighbor.]
Since the Covid-19 (began) last year, there’s been incidents of Covid Hate Crime, harassment (verbally & physically), bullying and xenophobia attacks on the Asian communities in America and also around the world. This year, things have gone too far… First racist people attacking and shoving Asian elderly people, and now there’s an Atlanta shooting that kills eight people, including six Asian women in three different spa parlors on March 16th.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
As a human being, it hurts me and I feel sorry for the victims’ friends and families and also the Asian communities around the world. I’ve been thinking about Asian friends that I worked with from the Studio to my job, I want to make this artwork to give a positive message and spread love to my Asian brothers and sisters.
My artwork has 11 Asian American people (who) are wearing face masks that have powerful messages on (them). There are 2 real people who are in my artwork: the woman with the gray pixie hair is Xiao Zhen Xie, an elderly woman who fought back against her attacker by using her wooden board in San Francisco. And the second: the little girl with the bucket hat is 13 year old fashion designer turned activist Ashlyn So. She’s along(side) her Asian community (members) protesting against Anti-Asian racism in New York City.
My message to the people is this: this ignorance, racism, and blaming on China needs to stop! If you love Asian culture with different genres in movies, T.V., music, art, tattoos, books, fitness, sports, cosplaying, famous people, and many more, then you must support the Asian and AAPI communities. They’re the inspiration for you. No more staying silent, no more stereotyping, no more scapegoating, and more importantly…
STOP ASIAN HATE!!!
One last thing, I want to thank President Biden and Vice-president Harris to sign the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act Bill, (that) not only protects Asian Americans, but different races.
(as a P.S. There’s one more history lesson for celebrating AAPI month!)
Tyrone joined Make Studio in 2012. His current artwork is strongly influenced by television, cartoons, movies and comic books. Tyrone likes to keep things topical, often creating celebrity “tributes” and statements with a political or public message included. He particularly likes to make art about superheroes, and about people that he sees in Baltimore and/or “thinks up in my head”. To view more of Tyrone’s work, please visit our online store.
faves saved 