interview

THE SELECTION PROCESS COMPLETE

WELCOMING TWO FOUR ARTISTS TO THE TCP FAMILY!

 

Last month The Creative Process met Scott Pohl the patron behind the expansion of The Creative Project's Artist-in-Residency and TCP encouraged artists to submit their applications for consideration into this program.

This month we're proud to not only announce our finalists, but also that with the addition of a second home, two  four artists will be in residency by the beginning of 2013!

The 2012 TCP Artist-in-Residency recipients are mixed-media sculptor Masud "MAO" Olufani, photographer Charlie Watts, animator/filmmmaker Andre Keichian and mixed-media installation artist Gyun Hur. It's a diverse group, stylistically and otherwise. But the thing each of these artists has in common is a desire to not only further their talents, but also to help others in doing so.

The new residents meet for the first time at the site of Gyun's Beltline Installation. Left to Right: Charlie Watts, MAO, Andre Keichian, and Gyun Hur.

Some of these artists have done residencies elsewhere, but most of them haven't been as immersive as their upcoming TCP experiences.

"I did Hambidge up in North Georgia, but I was only there for about six weeks," says Olufani. "It was amazing because there were a lot of other visual artists, writers, musicians and so on, so it was a marvelous experience. But I look forward to TCP because it has an outreach component that I think is wonderful. I'm looking forward to the possibility of the mentorship opportunities that may develop as a result of that. I also think it will be great to create a dialogue with the other people, which opens things up for collaboration at some point."

As we've seen with previous resident artists, this opportunity not only allows these artists the time and space needed to perfect their respective crafts, but it also introduces them to each other's talents and often leads to unexpected collaborations that might not otherwise have occurred. And it sounds like some of them already have some ideas about which other residents they'd like to work with.

"I'm mainly a photographer and Andre does a lot of production work, so it will be really good to collaborate between those two things," says Watts. "In November I have a show in the Carlos Museum at Emory and I'd love to do some production stuff, so it will be good to learn from Andre."

"Gyun and I both attended the same university, so I am most familiar with her work," says Olufani, who plans to work on a sculptural project during his residency. "I respect her Zen-like approach to her praxis. Her work is infused with a cerebral sparseness, a visually-striking materiality and a spiritual seductiveness. In some ways our work is very different, but I also notice a profound similarity. We are both rooted in a cultural sensibility in our respective approaches. This provides rich opportunity for potential collaboration."

"It is very exciting that such program is now in existence here. It will be a great launching ground for many young, mid-career artists, and such time, space, and support will encourage interesting collaborations and conversations" says Hur. "It also has a potential having other artists (i.e. recent MFA graduates looking for cheap housing, interesting places to live) from other cities coming to the city as well. This is really wonderful"

This residency benefits each of these artists in varying ways, but they all plan on utilizing the time, money and working areas in pretty much the same fashion: fully exploring their creativity.

"I'm really looking forward to having a designated studio space and realizing how that space may influence my practice," says Keichian. "For the past several years, I have mainly worked digitally and have been location-based. But I have had a long-withstanding urge to make a tangible mess of expression. I am craving physical construction, something to serve as a relic of distinction between mind and matter."

The Creative Process looks forward to revealing their artistic efforts in the near future, maybe even over dinner!  As Gyun mentions she "would love to create a series of meals at the residency with invitations to different groups of friends and creative participants in Atlanta" and TCP would love to host you!

Congratulations to these four new resident artists. They will set the tone and help build the foundation for Atlanta's only artist housing residency!

MEET THE ARTISTS FRIDAY OCT 19th!!!

article by Jonathan Williams photography by: Neda Abghari


read more from the original press release here

THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS WITH HANNAH PERNER-WILSON AND JERUSHIA GRAHAM

 

This May The Creatives Project said farewell to resident Hannah Perner-Wilson as she accepted another residency abroad. But having already begun collaborative work with fellow TCP artist Justin Rabideau and Artist-in-Studio alternate Jerushia Graham (some of which will come to fruition this summer during TCP's outreach with One Love Generation), Hannah's legacy will live on as Jerushia takes up residence in her absence. As TCP prepares for this creative changing of the guard, it seemed like the perfect time to give both artists a proper Creative Process introduction to see where TCP is taking both of them in the near future.

Jerushia Graham (left) and Hannah Perner Wilson collaborating in Hannah's TCP studio.

You're both resident Artists-in-Studio for TCP. How has that benefited you creatively?

Hannah: For me it was great because I just moved to Atlanta last September and I set up my studio at home. One day I realized that it was really depressing to be at home all day by myself. I didn't know anyone in Atlanta and I wasn't meeting anyone, so I started Googling for studio spaces to rent. I came across TCP's call to artists while searching for a studio space so I applied for it. Getting it made a huge difference because I moved my studio to the Goat Farm and met everyone else who was part of the TCP residency program and others at the Goat Farm.

Jerushia: I had attended a Gather Atlanta meeting and was representing the Atlanta Printmakers Studio. TCP had a table there, so that's how I found out about it. I decided to apply because I had parts and pieces of stuff at my house and portions of things at my parents' frame shop [Final Touch Frame Shop in Jonesboro] and I just needed a space where I could spread out and know that I wasn't going to get interrupted. It's been beneficial to me for that reason, but also getting to meet other artists that I didn't know and getting to know the Goat Farm. I had heard about things going on there, but I had never been there. We're actually doing collaborative work because I met Hannah and Justin Rabideau through The Creatives Project.

Tell me about the work you've been working on together.

Jerushia: We're playing with automatons and objects that invite you to physically interact with them. So you can wind something or press a button and that might turn something or engage a small motor.

We're really excited about the concept we created for FLUX, we are continuing to build the project for a future showing. [TCP founder] Neda [Abghari]'s helping us locate a space to exhibit it.

Hannah: What's nice is that we can sit down in the same space and work side-by-side. When we started writing the proposal, we just met and talked. But we didn't actually start working on anything until we came up with these great ideas and this huge project. It actually can become very different when you sit down to work something out. Ideas change during the process, so that's where we're at right now.

 

Hannah, you're leaving TCP because you've been accepted into another residency abroad. Where are you headed?

Hannah: When I first moved here I planned to stay for at least a few years. Then work and collaboration opportunities came up in europe and I decided to move back to Berlin. Before leaving, I'm going to San Francisco to collaborate with some people at UC, Berkeley. Then I'll be in Vienna for a residency to create a new piece for a show. Then I'm going to Sweden on a grant to do another piece. So I won't be moving to Berlin until October.

While in Atlanta, working at the Goat Farm, I've spent a lot of time working on a pair of gloves for London-based musician Imogen Heap. The gloves have bend sensors integrated for each finger-joint so that they can detect movements and postures of her hands in order that she can control her digital music software more expressively. The whole gloves project was realized by an amazing team, and there is a wonderful "making-of" documentary that can be viewed online. Imogen performed live for the first time with the gloves in April, and the song titled Me the Machine will hopefully be released by the end of June.

You also recently worked on the  Rua | Wülf, a play based on Little Red Riding Hood produced by another Goat Farm-based group called Saïah. What was your contribution to that show?

Hannah: I got to know Tian Justman, who is a fashion designer with a studio at the Goat Farm, and she along with Saïah sent out an open call to all the artists at the Goat Farm to read the script and come up with ideas for scenes or costumes. One idea they kind of already had was that the cape that Rua wears lights up in one scene where she becomes of age. So Tian had designed the cape and another artist had painted panels attached to the cape and I embedded LED lights into the fabric. I designed the circuitry to be a nice visual element, then programmed the lights and figured out how the actress could trigger the lights during the scene. It should seem like the lights are coming on with her change of mind or mood and not look like she's pressing a button to make the lights become more and more intense as she is aroused. So we made some soft switches in the cape where she could just squeeze the fabric to control the lights. It was nice because I got to work a lot in Tian's studio, which is a really nice studio, and work with the people in the production and lots of the actors. It was fun to get to see bits and pieces of the play before actually seeing the whole thing.

Jerushia, you were an alternate who will be taking Hannah's spot in TCP now that she's leaving. How will that change the way you've been involved with TCP up to this point?

Jerushia: The way the alternate position works is you're not given a space unless one becomes available, however, you're still included in TCP exhibitions and promotion for it's artists. I participated in TCP's show last October at the Goat Farm and the work that I had in that show was a combination of relief printing, paper cuts and stitching. My background is in printmaking and fabric design, so I try and marry all the things that I like to do. That's pretty much what I've been working on until we started collaborating. With the collaborative work, we've been teaching ourselves through trial and error how to build mechanisms. So the stuff I'm working on now is related to making mechanisms visually interesting, not just because there's motion involved but with some added visual reward.

How will you continue your collaboration in Hannah's absence?

Hannah: I guess we don't quite know, but the way we've set ourselves up for building it is it's a series of mechanized boxes that can be installed. So we can work on them separately and bring them together at a later point. They're based on found objects, so we'll all be able to find found objects wherever we are.

Jerushia: There's also a fourth artist who is a costume designer in New York. She's originally from Jonesboro, where I live. So we're just bringing together all of our unique talents to see what comes of it.

 What can you tell our readers about your work and where can people find out more about it online?

Hannah: With my work I document a lot of the processes that I go through in making what I do. So I developed these techniques where I build something, I document it, then I turn it into a how-to instruction set for a project and post it online. I have a website called How to Get What You Want, which is all about bringing fabrics and electronics together and building sensors out of knitting steel yarn or felting steel wool or weaving and sewing circuits with conductive thread. Then I have my own website Plusea.at, where I document my projects without the how-to part.

Jerushia:  ArtbyJerushia.com documents my work through 2011. In terms of subject matter, my work is currently focused on the spirituality of craft. There's something that we transfer to the objects we make that come through to other people. When you've made something you've given them or made something they're using, I feel like there's a spirit that people years from now will encounter. Part of the series that I showed in October and that I've continued working on is called The Spirit House series.

Where might people find your work around Atlanta?

Jerushia: The Spirit House work is on exhibit now at The Chocolate Bar in Decatur through the end of the month. I have a quilted piece inspired by the prints up at the Southwest Arts Center through the end of next month. It was part of a show called Camouflage II, which was a collaboration between visual artists and dancers. The visual artists were curated, then a choreographer came in and created dances inspired by the visual work. On the night of the opening, the dancers were painted to actually camouflage with the artwork, then went on stage and performed the dances. 

a wall in Hannah'a studio

 

This summer Jerushia will be teaching a special workshop as a part of her TCP outreach with One Love Generation. Spaces are still open for youth and teen participants!

Check out the details:

SPEAK OUT! Street Puppet Workshop

1200 Foster St. NW Building B-11 Atlanta, GA 30318 [The Goat Farm]

June 25-30, 2012, 10a - 4p  

Video Session Saturday June 30 open to the public


People around the world have used street puppets to mobilize communities and large groups around a common cause or celebration. Come learn to build giant puppets and props. We will invite our friends, families, and communities to help us use these impressive creations to create a short video. The video will be used to speak out against bullying. You'd be surprised how much fun and how engaging taking a stand can be. Help One Love Generation speak out against bullying by signing up for the SPEAK OUT! Street Puppet Workshop.

Contact Jennifer Lester: jennifer@onelovegeneration.org, 424-229-1536

 

article by Jonathan Williams photography by: Neda Abghari

 

 

The Process of Printing with Ashley Schick

by Jonathan Williams
 After receiving the distinction of becoming one of The Creatives Project's resident Artists-in-Studio for 2012, Atlanta printmaker Ashley L. Schick is once again campaigning for votes. With one of her prints ("Return the Gesture") being chosen as one of 20 finalists for Akua's Fade to Black Small Print Competition, she could be representing TCP in a big way, which would obviously make us quite proud. But that's only one of the many projects this SCAD-Atlanta graduate has going on right now. After you go vote for her print (voting ends at 2 p.m. April 30), you can read this interview she did with The Creative Process. But GO VOTE FIRST.

 

Photography by: Neda Abghari

How did you get involved with The Creatives Project and how has it benefited you as an artist?

I heard about it from a friend who's an artist and it sounded like a really great opportunity. I like working with students and the opportunity to have studio space at the Goat Farm sounded awesome. I graduated in June, so I lost my studio space at school. I applied and was lucky enough to be selected. I've been able to work at the Goat Farm and meet the people there and I've also been able to have a mentorship with the One Love Generation, which has been phenomenal. To be able to spend time with the high school students and see where they are on their artistic paths and be a role model for them has been really rewarding.

Considering that you teach and create, it sounds like your TCP studio space almost doubles as a classroom.

We did a studio class with the students. I'm a printmaker by training and printmaking is a very equipment intensive process. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a little press from a friend and I've been able to use water soluble ink, so it's not a process that uses chemicals or acids or anything. I demonstrated that process to the One Love Generation class. But for myself, I use the space as an artist studio.

You also work with accomplished sculptor Brian Dettmer. Tell me a little bit about that.

I am his studio assistant. I applied to be his studio assistant through the Working Artists Project, which is through MOCA GA [the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia]. They pay for the artists who win the Working Artists Project grants to have a studio assistant, so I got that opportunity. Then we burned through the hours that MOCA GA would fund very quickly because we did tons of projects. Then he hired me as his assistant independently. It's been really great. He's been a great mentor, directed me to different show opportunities and I've gotten to meet different people in the community through being his assitant. Just seeing how a working artist structures his studio time, press and publicity and even archiving his images and files has been a great learning experience.

Also, in the meantime, two of my classmates and friends from grad school, Laura Cleary and Shaun McCallum, and I have purchased a printmaking press and are starting our own professional print shop, Straw Hat Press. We're in talks with the Goat Farm to have space there and I probably wouldn't have gone to the Goat Farm without the TCP opportunity and making friends with everyone there. We'll also be demonstrating some intaglio printmaking from 1-4 p.m. in the Wieland Pavilion Lobby of the High Museum during the Print Fair, May 12th and 13th.

 

Goat Farm inspired paper cuts from the "On The Farm" series

Tell me a little more about the Akua contest.

I've been making these little prints in my TCP Goat Farm studio and using these non-toxic and low toxic inks. They had a call for works for small prints and there's a contest related to it where if you're chosen as a finalist your piece can be voted to be first, second or third place to get materials and a workshop for free. I was selected as one of the 20 finalists and during the month of April you can vote for my piece on their website.

Do you have any other creative projects in the works right now?

The print shop is taking up a lot of time. Another thing that lead us to starting the print shop, besides getting the press, was I've been able to work on this collaboration with Kiki Smith and Valerie Hammond. They're doing a print publishing collaboration, among other things, so I get to work as a printmaking assistant/master printer role for these print projects.