Category Archives: paintings

MAS artists at the Farwell House

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The Midwest Artist Studios Project is pleased to announce its partnership with MAS artist, Jason Ackman and the Farwell House. The Farwell House created an artist in residency program. 

Its second segment of the AiR Program welcomes two MAS artists hail from Omaha, Nebraska. The Farwell House hosted an open studios event with Lori and Rachel on Sunday, June 25 from 2-4pm. 

We wish Jason a successful summer at the Farwell House and its artist in residency program.

Thank you for including us in this new initiative.

About the artists

Lori Elliott-Bartle is a painter and printmaker inspired by big skies and open landscapes, travel and daily life. She simplifies shapes, saturates them with color and highlights them with contrast. Much of her work focuses abstractly on the prairie. Each day she takes a look at the patch of big bluestem growing in her small, urban front yard. This graceful, resilient plant reminds her of the subtle changes in color, texture, and line that Nebraska’s native prairie landscapes provide.

Mixing oil paint and softened beeswax allows her to create paintings that hold depth, complexity and texture, some of the same qualities about the prairie that she appreciates. Her painting process is physically active using rollers, wide blades and brushes to apply paint, then blot, scrape and carve with knives and points to reveal underlying colors. These lines and colors convey motion and emotion. http://lorielliottbartle.com

Rachel Mindrup is a professional artist and Resident Assistant Professor at Creighton University. She received her BFA from the University of Nebraska – Kearney and then continued with atelier studies at the Art Academy of Los Angeles. She received her MFA from the Art Institute of Boston. Her current painting practice is about the study of the figure and portraiture in contemporary art and its relation to medicine. http://www.rmindrup.com/

 

AiR Photos

Courtesy of Jason Ackman and the Farwell House. 

 

To learn more about the Farwell House click here

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MAS Group Show Reception Photos at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (WPCA)

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Walker’s Point Center for the Arts

839 S. 5th Street

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204

March 3 – April 1, 2017

 

On Friday, March 10th, the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (WPCA) is hosted the first Midwest Artist Studios™ Group Show, opening on Friday, March 3. The Midwest Artist Studios™ (MAS) project is the brainchild of artist, gallerist and art educator Frank Juarez. Marking its third year in 2016, Juarez and a team of professionals including a writer, photographer, and videographer traveled throughout the Midwest, over 5800 miles and 18 cities/towns, visiting artists at their studios to document and learn about their art and process. This research provided the basis for the three volumes of rich curriculum resources and three catalogues.

The project creates a dynamic resource for K-12 students and art educators, drawing from current art practices of participating artists and using those practices to develop curriculum that is relevant, current and innovative. The project answers the criticism in art education of relying on decades-old curriculum, teaching the historic masters of art, e.g. dead artists, and not providing students context on or direct access to contemporary artists who are breaking new ground.

During Juarez’s studio visits, he and his team documented each of the artists’ studio environments, their process, and discussed what it is to be a working artist, including work schedule, work ethic, creative stimulation, what drives them, and much more. The content is published in a yearly volume along with a workbook with curriculum created based on each artist’s practice.

“This project began with a need within my art curriculum. I never imagined the impact that it has on secondary art education, regional artists, and the Midwest,” said Juarez. “What started as an idea developed into a resource that archives talented artists living in our region as well as working along these artists who embrace art education, inspiring the artists of tomorrow, and demonstrating that one can be successful living and working in their own community.”

The MAS Group Show will feature artwork by 15 M.A.S. participating artists between 2014-16. The artists are Jason Ackman, Jessica Anderson, Emmy Lingscheit from Illinois; Joshua Wilichowski from Minnesota; Lori Elliott-Bartle, Jody Boyer, Rachel Mindrup from Nebraska; Karri Dieken from North Dakota, Jenniffer Omaitz from Ohio, Jane Ryder from Iowa, Larry Thomas from Kansas, Todd Mrozinski, Josie Osborne, Paula Schulze, and Suzanne Torres from Wisconsin.

The exhibition is curated and coordinated by Frank Juarez, with assistance from Josie Osborne and WPCA’s Howard Leu.

For more information, visit: midwestartiststudios.com and wpca-milwaukee.org

Walker’s Point Center for the Arts is a nonprofit organization in support of visual and performing arts and youth arts education. The center fosters creativity in children through innovative, hands-on education and encourages audience development and artistic talent with a diverse blend of programming. Our exhibitions, which feature both regional and national talent, encourages thoughtful social dialog and community engagement.

Reception

Photos by MAS photographer, Pat Ryan. 

A MAS Update: Lori Elliott-Bartle

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The Midwest Artist Studios Project has spent the past three years traveling the Midwest interviewing 24 artists from 18 cities/towns. This project has been such a joy to create and to see how these artists have touched the lives of art students through online interactions, emails, and social media.

One of the areas we pride ourselves in is staying in touch with these artists and hearing what they are up to these days? For the next two-months the MAS Project will be spotlighting one of our 24 artists by sharing with you what they are doing in their studio as well as in their communities. 

All three of our MAS publications are now available online.

Click here to buy your copy today!

_________________________________________________________________

LORI ELLIOTT-BARTLE

2016 MAS artist from Nebraska

MAS: In what ways have you benefitted from your participation in MAS?

LEB: By participating in MAS, I’ve felt more comfortable saying ‘yes’ to teaching opportunities, including leading fast-paced workshops at the local art museum to introduce K-12 teachers to new materials and approaches, having 6-11th grade Girl Scouts come to my studio to make paintings for a fundraising auction, and expanding an occasional Saturday-afternoon adult painting workshop to allow for more interaction and feedback. It’s also been wonderful to see all the artists who are already part of the project and to learn from their perspectives on their art and careers. I’m looking forward to meeting some of them in Milwaukee next month and to see what possibilities emerge from the conversations. 

lori_elliott_bartle

MAS: In what ways has your work and/or working environment changed since your MAS interview?

LEB: I continue to work in my third-floor studio, where I have big east-facing windows that let me see a good piece of sky above brick warehouses. I never tire of seeing ways the light changes that view. Right now I have a brand-new supply of birch panels ranging in size  from 30×30” to 8×8” that need attention. Ideas that percolate in the back of my mind during the quiet winter are about to emerge into reality. 

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MAS: What is one thing you wish you’d said in your original interview, or what is the one thing that you hope the MAS audience remembers about your and your work?

LEB: If you have a judging, fearful voice in your head, figure out ways to quiet it. I do this by taking walks, riding my bike, laughing with friends, experimenting without attachment to an outcome. For me, the quieter that voice is, the happier and more productive I am. 

Visit Lori’s website to see more of her work.

All images copyright of the artist and used with permission.

A MAS Update: Jane Ryder

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The Midwest Artist Studios Project has spent the past three years traveling the Midwest interviewing 24 artists from 18 cities/towns. This project has been such a joy to create and to see how these artists have touched the lives of art students through online interactions, emails, and social media.

One of the areas we pride ourselves in is staying in touch with these artists and hearing what they are up to these days? For the next two-months the MAS Project will be spotlighting one of our 24 artists by sharing with you what they are doing in their studio as well as in their communities. 

All three of our MAS publications are now available online.

Click here to buy your copy today!

_________________________________________________________________

JANE RYDER

2014 MAS artist from Iowa

MAS: In what ways have you benefitted from your participation in MAS?:  

JR: It’s been nice keeping in touch with the MAS crew. I’ve benefitted most from the Skype conversations and critiques I’ve had with Frank’s students. It’s a pretty amazing thing to see how students interpret your work with their own voices. And equally wonderful to see the art they create based off of your project.

ryder_betweenthemammothtusks

MAS: In what ways has your work and/or working environment changed since your MAS interview?

JR: The art center where I had my studio had to move for financial reasons. So, I haven’t had a studio outside of my home in a while. We haven’t opened up the new place yet (although it is in the works and should happen within the next few months!).
My work has changed quite a bit. I decided I was getting too tight with my approach and decided to loosen up a bit. The new stuff has a more flowy and gestural feel (although it’s not gestural by any means, just less rigid). I’ve been drawing a lot, pen and ink stuff. Designing t-shirts. Trying to have fun. I’d like to start a new body of paintings soon.

ryder_hppyhntnggrnd

MAS: What is one thing you wish you’d said in your original interview, or what is the one thing that you hope the MAS audience remembers about your and your work?  

JR: I wouldn’t change much about my interview. One exception, I said how important it is to have a studio outside your home. Having a studio outside your home is great but sometimes out of your control (as I learned with the relocation of our art center). I’ve been doing just fine creating works in my home. So, the studio is where the heart is and that can be anywhere.

As for the MAS audience. I want them to know how important it is to constantly be on the search for inspiration. Carry a sketchbook, take notes, savor those tiny moments of beauty and then make some art about it. We worry about artist blocks, we worry about our next body of work, we worry no one will like our stuff, we worry too much. We need to remember to enjoy what we’re doing because that’s what it’s all about. Enjoyment and making a statement.

Visit Jane’s website to see more of her work.

All images copyright of the artist and used with permission.

Walker’s Point Center for the Arts hosts Midwest Artist Studios Group Show

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2017

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Exhibition Announcement

Walker’s Point Center for the Arts hosts 

Midwest Artist Studios Group Show

March 3 – April 1, 2017

Opening reception: Friday, March 10, 5:00–9:00 pm

 

Milwaukee, WI – Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (WPCA) is proud to host the first Midwest Artist Studios™ Group Show, opening on Friday, March 3. The Midwest Artist Studios™ (MAS) project is the brainchild of artist, gallerist and art educator Frank Juarez. Marking its third year in 2016, Juarez and a team of professionals including a writer, photographer, and videographer traveled throughout the Midwest, over 5800 miles and 18 cities/towns, visiting artists at their studios to document and learn about their art and process. This research provided the basis for the three volumes of rich curriculum resources and three catalogues.

Emmy Lingscheit (IL), Cover the Earth

Emmy Lingscheit (IL), Cover the Earth

The project creates a dynamic resource for K-12 students and art educators, drawing from current art practices of participating artists and using those practices to develop curriculum that is relevant, current and innovative. The project answers the criticism in art education of relying on decades-old curriculum, teaching the historic masters of art, e.g. dead artists, and not providing students context on or direct access to contemporary artists who are breaking new ground.

During Juarez’s studio visits, he and his team documented each of the artists’ studio environments, their process, and discussed what it is to be a working artist, including work schedule, work ethic, creative stimulation, what drives them, and much more. The content is published in a yearly volume along with a workbook with curriculum created based on each artist’s practice.

“This project began with a need within my art curriculum. I never imagined the impact that it has on secondary art education, regional artists, and the Midwest,” said Juarez. “What started as an idea developed into a resource that archives talented artists living in our region as well as working along these artists who embrace art education, inspiring the artists of tomorrow, and demonstrating that one can be successful living and working in their own community.”

Jenniffer Omaitz (OH), Shaping Space

Jenniffer Omaitz (OH), Shaping Space

The MAS Group Show will feature artwork by 15 M.A.S. participating artists between 2014-16. The artists are Jason Ackman, Jessica Anderson, Emmy Lingscheit from Illinois; Joshua Wilichowski from Minnesota; Lori Elliot-Bartle, Jody Boyer, Rachel Mindrup from Nebraska; Karri Dieken from North Dakota, Jenniffer Omaitz from Ohio, Jane Ryder from Iowa, Larry Thomas from Kansas, Suzanne Torres from Madison, Wisconsin; and Todd Mrozinski, Josie Osborne, Paula Schulze from Milwaukee.

The exhibition is curated and coordinated by Frank Juarez, with assistance from Josie Osborne and WPCA’s Howard Leu.

For more information, visit: midwestartiststudios.com and wpca-milwaukee.org

Walker’s Point Center for the Arts is a nonprofit organization in support of visual and performing arts and youth arts education. The center fosters creativity in children through innovative, hands-on education and encourages audience development and artistic talent with a diverse blend of programming. Our exhibitions, which features both regional and national talent, encourages thoughtful social dialog and community engagement.

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A MAS Update: Rachel Mindrup

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The Midwest Artist Studios Project has spent the past three years traveling the Midwest interviewing 24 artists from 18 cities/towns. This project has been such a joy to create and to see how these artists have touched the lives of art students through online interactions, emails, and social media.

One of the areas we pride ourselves in is staying in touch with these artists and hearing what they are up to these days? For the next two-months the MAS Project will be spotlighting one of our 24 artists by sharing with you what they are doing in their studio as well as in their communities. 

All three of our MAS publications are now available online.

Click here to buy your copy today!

_________________________________________________________________

RACHEL MINDRUP

2016 MAS artist from Nebraska

 

MAS: In what ways have you benefited from your participation in MAS?

RM: One really beneficial aspect of this program has been watching the other MAS artist’s interviews. It is invigorating to watch other artist’s work and share their thoughts about art and art education. It has also been a great vehicle to start dialogues about what it means to be an artist in our region. With these MAS videos, I have been able to expose my own college students here in Omaha to the work of those living right here in our area. It has also awakened the idea of collaboration to me. I have a tendency to spend long periods of time isolated, creating work, and this has been a great, albeit virtual, way to connect with other artists.

mindrup_kevincharging

MAS: In what ways has your work and/or working environment changed since your MAS interview?

RM: My working environment has changed just in the amount of work I am doing. I have three major stations in my studio now where I have 2 paintings and 1 drawing going simultaneously. I am beginning a few new portrait themes and figurative works that I am doing concurrently with my Many Faces of NF project.

MAS: What is one thing you wish you’d said in your original interview, or what is the one thing that you hope the MAS audience remembers about your and your work?

RM: I wish I would have mentioned that as a teenager I erroneously believed that all artists lived and worked on the coasts.  Because I didn’t know any working artists here in town, it never occurred to me that I could actually stay in Nebraska and live, work and create and be just as valid in my art career as someone living in Los Angeles or New York City. What a treat for these teenagers to realize this early in their lives (if they are also under the same false assumptions). There no longer is this need to try to decide between being an artist and living near your family!

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Rachel has an upcoming solo show at the Kansas City Artist Coalition’s Under Ground Gallery with two other artists who are also having solo shows.

http://kansascityartistscoalition.org/exhibitionsUpcomming.php

Visit Rachel’s website to see more of her work.

All images copyright of the artist and used with permission.

Announcement: 2016 Featured Artists for the Midwest Artist Studios Project

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I am happy to announce our 7 featured artists for our last year of the Midwest Artist Studios Project. They are Karri Dieken (ND), Sharon Grey (SD), Lori Elliott-Bartle (NE), Rachel Mindrup (NE), Jody Boyer (NE), Larry Thomas (KS), and Joe Bussell (KS). Soon I will be providing more information on these artists via this site. Stay tuned.

Congratulations, Karri, Sharon, Lori, Rachel, Jody, Larry, and Joe!

–Frank Juarez, art educator and founder

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Impressions on the Midwest Artist Studios Project

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IMG_4418Here are the thoughts of a high school freshman on the Midwest Artist Studios Project. This project has a bigger impact on students who have been exposed to this project that I would have ever imagined. I was impressed on how this student was engaged in this process. – Frank Juarez, founder.
 
I was fortunate to get a chance to work with him during our freshmen art class. I thought that the program that he has created at home is a great way to get high school kids involved with the arts. Usually when I think of art and artists, as I’m sure is common with most people, I think of two types of people. I think of the tortured artists, like Van Gogh. The other type of artist would be the classic painter, who always seems to have died before appreciation for their art developed.
 
Previous to the discussion with Mr. Juarez, I would not really think of being an accomplished artist as something attainable for people today. It seems as though we see accomplishment for artists as something that can only be attained after death. Mr. Juarez helped me see that success in art is not limited to past generations, but there are actually many successful artists who create masterpieces in my own community.—Ursula, class of 2019
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light

Midwest Artist Studios Project in Ojai, California

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This spring break MAS founder and art educator, Frank Juarez, is participating in a visiting artist program at The Thacher School in Ojai, California. He will be working with Mrs. Liz Mahoney’s beginning to advanced art students. He will be introducing students to the Midwest Artist Studios Project through a series of art lessons, which highlights artists living in the Midwest. In addition, he will be Skyping the artists into the classroom so that they can have the opportunity to interact with them via a critique and/or Q & A.

Some of the artists introduced are Year 1: Todd Mrozinski (WI) and Jane Ryder (IA) as well as Year 2: Jessica Anderson (IL) and Jenniffer Omaitz (OH). 

Timeline:

Please note – images will be added each day of the residency. 

On March 25th, he spent the day getting to know the art students. Mrs. Mahoney’s students are fabulous, talented, and eager to learn more about art.

Day 1

On March 28th Advanced Art students and Intro Art students were  introduced their respective artists, process, and media. Artists discussed were MAS artists, Jenniffer Omaitz (OH) and Todd Mrozinski (WI). After the presentation, students began to either set up their still life for Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space lesson or deciding what the subject matter would be for their Shadows: Enter the Light lesson, respectively.

Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)

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Day 2

On March 29th, Studio Art students were introduced to the work of MAS artist, Jane Ryder (IA) followed by planning out their composition on paper. They are asked to create their own ecosystem based on observation, personal ideas, and using technology. The Intro Art students began working on their shadow paintings. Colors chosen consisted of a limited color palette with a dark tone, mid tone, and highlight of their choosing. 

Studio Art students planning out their compositions.
Studio Art students planning out their compositions.
Studio Art students planning out their compositions.
Intro Art students finishing their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.
Intro Art students painting their shadows.

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Day 3

On March 30th students continued to work on their assigned projects. Some students used today to catch up while others began to add color to their projects. It is interesting to see how they take the information presented and make the work their very own with their own ideas and interpretation. 

 

Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Advanced art students working on Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light
Intro art students working on Shadows: Enter the Light
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrouding
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrouding
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrouding
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrouding
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrouding
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrouding

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Day 4

On March 31st, the art students had its first Skype session. Intro art students had the opportunity to talk to MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI) about his work, process, and a brief critique/ Q&A with the students. Below is an excerpt from their session. 

 

About Todd’s work

The shadow series started on the one year anniversary of my father’s death. Wanting to connect with him, Mrozinski started to paint his portrait based off of a black and white photo from when he was a young priest. He had not painted a traditional portrait in years and soon was frustrated. Disgruntled, he laid on the couch until his wife entered the studio. She saw the large amount of dark acrylic paint mixed on the palette and asked if she could cover the canvas so it would not go to waste. He agreed and took a nap. When he woke up, he noticed the warm light coming in through the front door. He looked out at the tree shadows and realized, in that instant, what he needed to paint. He took the dark canvas off the working wall, laid it on the ground, knelt down and traced the tree shadow directly onto the canvas. He realized as life is to light, death is to shadows, one cannot be without the other. His dad was showing himself in a different form and he felt his presence profoundly. The shadow series began.

Mrozinski’s work is a record of what is going on around him in the present moment. His subject matter is his family, friends, house and yard which he records and adorse on a daily basis. The beauty and power of shadows, the mysterious and ever changing light that creates them and their ambiguity and implied meaning continue to inspire me and infuse my work. Each painting begins by tracing the object’s cast shadow directly onto the canvas and is an actual size record of time and space. He is constantly amazed how a single outline can capture a gesture, mood and personality and how color and edge can create space, focus and mood. Each painting becomes a light infused container that preserves a moment, painted directly though the malleable and flowing medium of oil paint. Through drips, skeins and piles of paint, the surface becomes activated and glows with a light from within.

Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Intro art student skyping with MAS artist, Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)
Shadows: Enter the Light – Todd Mrozinski (WI)

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Day 5 (Final Day)

On April 1st, the week concluded with Studio Art students skyping with MAS artist, Jane Ryder (IA). Students asked about the artist’s approach to her chosen medium (gouache), ways to stay motivated, artist’s current work, a brief critique between students and artist and a Q & A. The Advanced Art students kept working on their project, “Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space”.  I can’t wait to see the final outcome from the Intro Art, Studio Art, and Advanced Studio art students. I would like to end this post with a huge thanks to Mrs. Mahoney (art teacher) and The Thacher School for having me and for their hospitality. This experience was fabulous and memorable. 

About Jane’s work

Jane’s paintings are a right-brained approach to observing, dissecting, and recording the objective subject matter found in the lakes, rivers, prairies, and forests of south central Iowa. As her intimacy with the land surrounding her evolves, so does her approaches for depicting the complexities of varying terrains and the plants and animals that occupy them.

Each of her gouache paintings is a fictitious ecosystem that has been broken down into a series of vignettes. Each vignette describes the decay, growth, and interaction between the flora and fauna of that imagined place. Although bold colors, re- peating patterns, and flattened space make the paintings appear fantastic in nature, each scene is based off an observation.

She is constantly inspired by the complexities of the natural world. Her work is an ever evolving narrative about the interconnectedness of all things and the functions of an organism in a community of plants and animals.

Studio art student skyping with Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art student skyping with Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art student skyping with Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art student skyping with Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art student skyping with Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art student skyping with Jane Ryder (IA)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Folded Gestures: Playing with Form and Space – Jenniffer Omaitz (OH)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)
Studio art students working on Be One with Nature: Painting your Surrounding – Jane Ryder (IA)

MAS founder, Frank Juarez, visits The Thacher School in Ojai, California

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MAS founder and art educator, Frank Juarez, will be participating in a visiting artist program at The Thacher School in Ojai, California. This residency will focus on integrating art into other content areas as well as exposing, educating, and engaging students on regional contemporary art from the Midwest. In addition, create opportunities for students to interact with MAS artists via Skype for a 1-to-1 online critique and Q&A.

Click the link or image to see video of The Thacher School.  

Courtesy of The Thacher School

Courtesy of The Thacher School

http://www.thacher.org/Page/Site-Entry-Full-Video