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Dasha’s most frequently recurring characters — the coffee bears — remind her of floating on cloud nine:

“The bears are carefree, life is good, coffee is hot, and good camaraderie!”

 

For the upcoming anniversary exhibition, Dasha is creating an elaborate apartment complex to house the coffee bears. Features of the apartment building to watch out for:

• Doubles as a dentist’s office — so the bears can “always have clean teeth after drinking lots of coffee.”
• You can peek inside the world of the coffee bears through the building’s  windows.
• Inside, the bears are drinking coffee (“of course!”), taking a shower, filming scenes for YouTube, and more.
• The couple of bears you’ll find outside of the building include one who is attempting to fly, and another waiting below to catch her.

 

 

In this and other pieces, Dasha wants to depict the coffee bears as “regular people with a home and place to stay.” The inspiration for their apartment complex came from the houses she’s seen in Baltimore, as well as puzzle houses Dasha played with as a child.

 

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

Erika thinks that “to ‘be on cloud nine’ means you are exuberantly happy and at a peaceful juncture.”

Watching, reading, or playing other media relevant to society — “so, like, strong themes” — fits the bill for Erika, even though that might bring up “politics and the state of society. . . you can’t really avoid it anymore.” But, interacting with books, games, or television shows that examine consequences and aspects of social conflict is enjoyable for Erika.

 

 

“Sometimes, when I’m in that mood” Erika will address social issues in her own artwork Recently Erika’s works have been skill-building challenges for herself — “anything creative, you need time to go back to the basics” — working on anatomy, perspective, and more advanced shading.

Erika thinks her last few compositions have bordered on being too detailed, and she wants to scale back a little and put more “emphasis on lines and shadows. . . so everything has contrast.”

 

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

Woody says that he finds himself on cloud nine when he’s at Make Studio. Here’s why:

“I look forward to seeing everybody and I love to sit and listen to what they are talking about. And drawing.”

“I like everybody who I meet here.”

Particularly during a cold snap like the one we’re experiencing now in Baltimore, warm, cozy, and creative clothes put Aimee on cloud nine, hence this story that she wishes to share….

The Story of the Onesies

As the years passed I have owned a few onsies to keep me warm in the frozen tundra that is my apartment. My boyfriend is almost always hot, he’s like a werewolf. He always uses the argument “you can put on more clothes on but I can’t take off my skin.”

This has led me to extreme onsie measures. I own several now and I try to only buy animal mammals, or fish types. I don’t really do plain normal onesies.

I’d say my first animal type one was the rainbow unicorn I received as a present. Then I tried to buy a narwhal one on Amazon, but it was sold out. Instead I received a dragon one. I was disappointed, but my boyfriend thought it was an upgrade, so it grew on me.

Then I bought an Umbreon onesie and after a bit I ordered another narwhal. This time I got what I ordered! Yay! Since then I have been buying several from Wish where they are a lot cheaper, but take a bit longer to get to you. I have gotten a Snorlax, a frog, Angel from Stitch, a bee, a pig, a bat, a parrot, a panda, and lastly the one I am wearing today, which is a reindeer, that I bought at Kohls while buying professional work clothes for interviews.

Total Onesie Count: 13

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

Make Studio’s first artist, Jerry (aka The Partyman), is looking forward to celebrating his 9th studio anniversary (in-between celebrating the new year and his birthday)! Big celebrations like this one put him on cloud nine; he’s excited to see everyone’s new artwork, to unveil his new cosplay attire, and to “maybe even invite the circus stars to the show.“

Jerry is planning to cosplay as Andre McClain, former Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey ringmaster — a circus star he first met back in 2004! Jerry’s  diligently working to complete the final pieces of his entirely handmade, original Star Trek chess set.

With a board made of wood and pieces made of clay, it’s a unique multi-media work for him and he’s eagerly anticipating debuting it at Cloud 9, saying:

“Boom! It’s ready to go!”

What’s next for Jerry? Finishing touches are needed on his other Star Trek sculptures, which are inspired by the original series episode Balance of Terror.

As an artist who often works on multiple pieces at once, Jerry is already looking to the future and imagining what he’ll do for Make Studio’s (and his) 10th anniversary in 2020. 

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

On the first day of 2019, Tyrone rang in the new year with his birthday. He feels very lucky to have his birthday on New Year’s Day because every birthday doubly brings new beginnings:

 “I’m a New Year’s baby!”

To celebrate his birthday this year, Tyrone went to Golden Corral with his family. “You see the beautiful food and you can’t take your eyes off of it, but when you get seconds you know your stomach will be full.” A lover of books, he also spent his birthday reading about cleaning up and organization. He will be moving into his own apartment soon, and his sisters have told him he has to learn the responsibilities of “balancing my inner child with my adult self.”

Thinking about being on “cloud nine” makes Tyrone think about his goals for 2019 – making “better art” full of inspiration from cartoons or containing a social message, continuing to explore the internet and library for research, and developing his skills as an artist, overall, at Make Studio.

“When you’re living the dream, go with imagination.”

 

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

Tony feels “on cloud nine” knowing that Make Studio is not far from his alma mater, St. Elizabeth School (SES), where he has always felt loved. He’s still in touch with his favorite staff there, including a very special person he calls his “courtesy mom”. He loves to discuss movies and TV shows with her (as he does with Make Studio staff) and looks forward to annual summer luncheons and annual Christmas cookie deliveries at SES.

Tony says he could “talk forever” about movies and TV shows. In a notebook he received from Studio Manager Stefan, he writes about movies and the stars he’s excited to do more research about. During Friday studio time, he does some of this research, finding and saving images of his faves, which often inspire artworks in which movie stars and characters are merged with people from his real life.

On special days – including “No Girls Club” weekends when his mom is out of town – Tony likes to visit Arundel Mills Mall to walk for exercise and  enjoy the food court.

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

Alex is really in the “anniversary spirit” as he works on a piece inspired directly by the Disney Channel movie “Cloud 9”, which is centered on a pair of young snowboarders.

Alex’s favorite part of the film is the snow. It reminded him of sledding recently with his parents at William S. James Elementary School; thinking about starting at the top of the hill, he opined, “doesn’t sound too scary to me.”

Alex went down the hill  on his own, but asked his mom and dad to give him push at the top.

“Going down felt good!”

And after that, he went home to relax – which “also feels good.”

A mix of exhilaration and relaxation – talk about being on cloud nine!

 

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

Gary recently went to see Mary Poppins Returns, with his sisters as a fun sibling outing, and he has thoughts…

Mary Poppins Returns – A Brief Review

Gary really enjoyed the movie, but “it was not as good as the original one.”

“This Mary Poppins movie was more like a sequel.”

“There was great, all new music and songs.” (Gary bought the soundtrack on iTunes so he could listen to it on his iPod at the studio and elsewhere.)

Gary’s favorite songs from the film are:

• “The Royal Dolton Musical”
• “Trip a Little Light Fantastic”
• “Can You Imagine That”
• “Nowhere To Go But Up”

Gary also enjoyed the cartoon style in the movie because “it was more like the traditional hand-drawn technique.”

And, while “all the acting was good”, his favorite characters were the cartoons.

“I’m a cartoon guy.”

 

Listening to music and making artwork (often inspired by the animation he loves the most) keep Gary floating on cloud nine.

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!

 

Make Studio’s anniversary shows are Louis’ favorite event of the year — he’s always excited to “see new and old friends”, enjoy the food, and see new art displayed in the gallery, especially his own.

Landscapes are a favorite painting subject for Louis, particularly ones that boost his mood. Making this type of art, knowing he’ll soon party with friends, really puts him on cloud nine!

He went online to find the perfect image for his current in-progress painting of a sunset, and really liked the the oranges and yellows in the one he chose, “It was beautiful.”

Make Studio artists are counting down each day until our ninth anniversary celebration by sharing something that puts them on cloud nine. To help us celebrate, join them here on the blog all month through February 22nd, and in-person on February 23rd at Cloud 9!