For over a month this summer, Jennifer was way from our studio traveling in Northern California with her sister, Maureen. The primary purpose of her trip was to visit Jennifer’s artwork on display in the juried exhibition “A Progressive Ensemble” at fellow progressive art studio Art Explorers (Fort Bragg, CA).
At Mendicino Art Center, local news stopped by to check out the show. I was interviewed, and even though I don’t love to talk a lot, it felt okay. I also got the chance to visit Art Explorers in Fort Bragg, another Progressive Art Studio similar to Make Studio. There I met the local artists, including Amanda, who I bought a pair of earrings from. I remember her being very nice and got to see her working on creating some more earrings.
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.
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