The Last Revel becomes the Midwest Artist Studios Music of Choice

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On Monday, August 4th, the Midwest Artist Studios (MAS) Crew had its second studio visit of the day with Minneapolis-based artist, Vincenzio Donatelle. As we approached the address we noticed a thin man wearing a dark gray fedora, sunglasses and a white painted apron. We parked and he greeted us with a smile.

He gave us a tour of his house showing us some of his artwork before taking us into his studio, which was his basement. The basement reminded me of college basement – full of stuff. However, he had a dedicated space where he made his art.

As he was talking about his work he also talked about his music. Vincenzio plays in a band called The Last Revel. He sings, plays the stand-up bass and fiddle. Being music lovers, we wanted to hear what type of music he played so we bought a CD, “Uprooted”.

Today as we were driving from Oskaloosa, IA to Kansas City, MO decided to play “Uprooted“. It was a perfect combo of cruising I-35S and listening to Folk/Americana music. The coolest part was knowing the artist who is also a musician topped with the experience we had listening and watching him talk about his creative process.

As a team we decided to make The Last Revel’s “Uprooted” CD as our official road trip music of choice. It was a nice experience that we wanted to remember as we continue to travel the Midwest.

You can listen to The Last Revel’s music at www.thelastrevel.com and follow them on facebook at facebook.com/thelastrevel.

To listen to their music click here.

To view their calendar click here.

All images copyright of the artist and used with their permission.

Jamie Bates Slone and Catie Miller – Kansas City, Missouri

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Today’s studio visit is with Jamie Bates Slone and Catie Miller from Kansas City, Missouri.

Jamie Bates Slone

jamiembates.com

The focus and significance of my work lies in the state of the human condition, the delicacy and fragility of the human construct in an emotional and physical sense. My experience is that of being part of an extended family that has endured a history of cancer and high mortality rate. As I have become more aware of my family’s history with illness through the examination of my memories, I have become wary of the future and empathetic of the past. I often find myself attributing to others my own unease in relation to cancer. This projection of my anxieties onto others acts as cancer does in metastasis, spreading from one location to another. My work is an examination and reflection of the memories, emotions, and anxieties caused by my family’s history with cancer with an emphasis on the relationship between human biology and human emotion.

About

Jamie Bates Slone is a ceramic artist known for her figurative work in clay paired with with projected imagery as surface as well as her experimental work in the casting of ceramic glazes. Her most recent work addresses the fragility of the human spirit in the midst of illness and loss in relation to her family’s history with cancer. Jamie earned her MFA with honors in Ceramics at the University of Kansas in Spring of 2012 where she received the Professional Development Assistance Award. She earned her BFA in Studio Art with and emphasis in Ceramics in 2008 at the University of Central Missouri. Jamie is currently a Foundation Resident Artist at Red Star Studios in Kansas City, Missouri and adjunct faculty in ceramics at Park University in Parkville, Missouri. Jamie has exhibited work in galleries throughout the U.S. including the Spencer Art Museum in Lawrence, Kansas, Jacob Lawrence Gallery in Seattle, Washington, First Street Gallery in New York City, New York, and the St. Petersburg Clay Company in St. Petersburg, Florida. She most recently won first place at the Clay3 National Juried Exhibition juried by Kurt Weiser.

Catie Miller

catiemiller.wix.com/ceramics

Loose, slightly humorous, and unsettling illustrations animate my ceramic artworks. I choose to draw portraits of people’s hidden lives, magnifying the people’s features and the private moments of their lives. Currently, I am exploring the obsessive collection of things—hoarding, and how this fixation interferes with the quality of daily life and relationships. Growing up, we had a lot of stuff; overflowing boxes of papers, small mountains of clothes, and a cat for every family member. Frequently moving throughout my life has forced me to evaluate my relationship with my possessions. I incorporate multiple layers of surface to create a crowded environment for the narrative. Much like hoarding challenges home as comfort, the addition of exaggerated ornamentation and form challenges the comfortable feeling of function, engaging the viewer to contemplate his or her relationship to objects.

About

Catie Miller graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) with a degree in Art Education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a ceramic emphasis in May 2013. After graduation, Miller relocated to Kansas City, KS and accepted a long-term artist residency at Red Star Studios. With a variety of interests she has developed skills in an array of areas including printmaking and drawing. She has embraced many opportunities to work within the art community teaching and coordinating classes for youth and adults interested in the arts.

Miller has shown her work nationally and internationally as well as throughout the Midwest. She has been showcased in several local and national publications, including Ceramics Monthly’s “Undergraduate Showcase” and “Exposure.” Additionally, she was a member of the Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists group serving on the board as treasurer and was involved as an education intern with Walking, Waiting, Wandering, Words—a public art project developed through the Arts Partnership and the City of Fargo.

All images copyright of the artist and used with their permission.

Jane Ryder – Iowa

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Today’s trip takes us to Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Jane Ryder

janeryder.com

My 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 my intimacy with the land surrounding me evolves, so do my approaches for depicting the complexities of varying terrains and the plants and animals that occupy them.

Each of my 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.

I am constantly inspired by the complexities of the natural world. My 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.

About

Jane Garrett Ryder was born and raised in the fine state of Illinois. In 2005 she received her BFA from Bradley University and went on to earn her MFA at Northern Illinois University four years later. In 2009 Ryder moved from Northern Illinois to South Central Iowa; where she can be found tromping through various muddy environments in search of fossils, arrowheads, and new artistic content. Her change from an urban environment to a rural setting has influenced her paintings in many significant ways. A deeper understanding of the interactions between man, animal, plant, dirt, water, and sun have affected the content and compositions of Ryders body of work.

The Midwest Artist Studios Project is officially launched

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In less than 2 hours we will be on the road for the first part (of a 3-part project) of the Midwest Artist Studios Project.

Here is our schedule for August 3-10, 2014.

Featured studio artists are:
August 4 | Josh Wilichowski, North St Paul, MN
August 4 | Vincenzio Donatelle, Minneapolis, MN
August 5 | Jane Ryder, Oskaloosa, IA
August 7 | Jamie Bates Slone, Kansas City, MO
August 7 | Catie Miller, Kansas City, MO
August 8 | Todd Mrozinski, Milwaukee, WI
August 9 | Josie Osborne, Milwaukee, WI
August 9 | Paula Schulze, Shorewood, WI
August 10 | Suzanne Torres, Madison, WI