Corona Times - Inside Clay Wooten's Celebration of the Life & Heart of Anastasia Chernoff

“Honestly I couldn't believe it when they reached out to me about this and I was extremely honored.” — Clay Wooten, sculptor

Artist Clay Wooten pictured with his sculpture, “Her Heart,” honoring our late friend, artist, gallerist, and arts advocate, Anastasia Chernoff

Last week, One Columbia for Arts and Culture announced the completion and installation on Senate Street in the Congaree Vista of the latest piece of public art to punctuate the landscape of Columbia, SC.

“Her Heart” is a metal wire sculpture of a human heart, designed and created by Clay Wooten to honor the late Anastasia Chernoff, who died in 2016 after an extensive battle with cancer. Anastasia was an artist who used her gallery space on Main Street, Anastasia and Friends, to sometimes show her own quirky and imaginative sculptures, but primarily to exhibit the work of artists friends, old and new.

Wooten was selected by Chernoff’s family to design and create the memorial which was funded through contributions from family and friends.

According to One Columbia, the organization “provided administrative support in accepting contributions and working with family members and close friends to assist in the selection and installation of the piece.”

While everyone looks forward to the opportunity to gather together to welcome the art to the city in an official celebration and dedication, the Jasper Project wanted to take a moment to chat with sculptor Clayton Wooten and get some inside information on the creation of this important and moving work.

Here we go —

Jasper: Hi Clay, thanks for talking to Jasper, and thanks for adding another interest point to the growing collection of public art in Columbia. This piece is special to so many of us because it honors our late beloved friend and colleague, Anastasia Chernoff. What can you tell us about your relationship with Anastasia?

Wooten: My relationship with Anastasia started when her daughter Lauren (Melton) and I became friends back in 2010. I would go to dinner parties at her house, she was always welcoming friends into her home. The amount of amazing art she had really blew me away.  I met a lot of creative people at these parties. She then asked me to exhibit some of my paintings in her gallery and of course that was an honor in itself. 

Jasper: How did it feel to be the artist selected to honor someone so beloved by her community?

Wooten: Honestly I couldn't believe it when they reached out to me about this and I was extremely honored. I felt excited and nervous at the same time, I knew that I would have to create a piece that represented her contributions to the art community in Columbia.

Jasper: Tell us about how you arrived at the concept of your sculpture. Did you receive direction from Anastasia’s family, One Columbia, or the Vista Guild, or were you able to approach the project carte blanc?

Wooten: The first time I met with the committee, they explained to me that I would have complete artistic freedom. I sat down and thought about Anastasia and came up with three or four concepts. When I presented the sketches to the group a unanimous decision was reached almost immediately. I then created a small scale model of the sculpture that was used to drum up interest in the last show held at Anastasia and friend’s gallery. 

Model of “Her Heart”

Jasper: Can you share some of the specifics of the piece with us? Like – how long did you work on it? How large is it? How much does it weigh? What is the material?

Wooten: The heart is made of 1/4 inch steel rod. I used a number of different methods to bend the rods but ultimately ended up using my hands and some elbow grease to get the shape I wanted. I worked on it for several months on and off. It took longer than I thought but in the end i'm very happy with the finished product. It stands over 12 feet tall and 9 feet wide, weighing around 150 pounds and that does not include the two large stands that connect to the sides. 

Jasper: How did you arrive at painting the piece with sparkling lavender? Is the color representative?

Wooten: The sculpture is actually powder coated in that sparkling lavender color, thanks to the guys over at the Stuyck company. The committee wanted to go with a lavender because it was Anastasia’s favorite and we thought it would blend well with the natural greens surrounding the location.

Jasper: What kind of upkeep of the sculpture require? Is it malleable at all? Will it change with age and weathering?

Wooten:  I'm hoping the sculpture will last forever! I'm sure it will see some discoloring and rust over the years but it will not need much maintenance.

“Her Heart” by Clayton Wooten

Jasper: I know the pandemic has kept us from celebrating the official unveiling of the sculpture, but we hope to be able to come together to celebrate your art and all the visions Anastasia left us with soon. Are there any plans for this yet?

Wooten: We are still waiting to see how all this plays out and have not planned the official unveiling.

Jasper: Where can we see more of your work and what’s your next project?

Wooten:  I build and design exhibits at EdVenture Children's Museum as a full time job so you can see some of my work there. I also have a woodworking instagram @spruce_creations along with my art page @wooo10_art.

Thanks Clay!

By Cindi Boiter

Cindi Boiter is the editor of Jasper and the founder and ED of the The Jasper Project. To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above, please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org

Anastasia Chernoff, photo credit unknwon

Anastasia & Friends Gallery to Celebrate “Last First” Thursday

After spending a decade bringing life, love, and art to Columbia’s Main Street, local gallery Anastasia & Friends will close its doors this month.

Nearly 10 years ago, Anastasia Chernoff, local sculptor and art collector, had the idea to start an art gallery in the lobby of the Free Times building, and with that, Anastasia & Friends was born. Chernoff started the gallery as a way to bring the art community together on Main Street, and this goal continued through her six years running the gallery until well after her death.

Bohumila Augustinova, who has run and managed the gallery since Chernoff first became ill almost four years ago, recalls her as being the kind of person who welcomed anyone into her life as a close friend within moments of meeting them. “She never met a stranger,” Augustinova said, “You met her and felt like you had known her your whole life.”

For Chernoff then and for Augustinova now, the gallery has been an opportunity for both established and new artists to show their work. “One of my prides,” Augustinova stated, “has been to show off artists who have never had a solo show before.” Overall, the goal of the studio has never been to be pretentious with their art but to show that all art is important.

Largely in part to its inclusive approach to art celebration, when Anastasia & Friends initially opened it was one of the main stops that made First Thursday such a prominent event. Now, close to a decade later, Anastasia & Friends closes its run with that same tentpole status for the monthly arts crawl.

Augustinova remembers that one of the first art exhibits Chernoff ran was called “Funny Art,” which echoed the fun and laughter Chernoff brought to everything she did.

Chernoff (right) with a friend at one of their First Thursday art openings.

Chernoff ran the gallery with this positive attitude until her health declined, and she had to step down. Chernoff asked Augustinova, both her friend and an artist who had an exhibition at the gallery just before she became ill, to take over. Augustinova fondly remembers the press letter Chernoff released when announcing she would take over the gallery: “I cried when I read it, and every time I see it in my memories, I cry again.”

In that letter, Chernoff calls the art openings at Anastasia & Friends “reunions, filled with old and new friends gathered to see and talk about the latest exhibition and their lives.” For Chernoff, the most important aspect of the gallery was that it promoted a family, and, in that, she succeeded.

Chernoff (center) during an event Augustinova fondly remembers: a Halloween-themed black light party

Many people have been supporting Augustinova with this family in the past years. Diane Hare has been fondly named “Wine Goddess” for supplying the beverages at First Thursday events; other friends of the studio include John Allen, Grayson Goodman, and Lee Ann Kornegay, to name just a few.

Now, Augustinova and those at the gallery want to celebrate this last first Thursday, aptly titled “Last First,” by bringing together as many artists as possible who have participated in shows at Anastasia & Friends in the past. This event, sponsored by Free Times, Michael Anastasion, and Terri Mac, will be the last big hurrah for the gallery.

Featured artists include, but are not limited to, Kathryn Van Aernum, Laura Garner Hine, Michael Krajewski, Eileen Blyth, Wayne Thornley, Susan Lenz, and Matthew Kramer. In addition to the artists, there will be live performances by Caroline Lewis Jones, Joseph Daniels, music by Preach Jacobs, and an auction of a portrait of Anastasia. Drink & food will be provided.

A complete list of both people who support the gallery and of participating artists would be hard to name, and this is mainly because of all the people Anastasia touched over her years supporting the arts in Columbia. Augustinova remembers Chernoff as, “a light; a ray of sunshine on rainy days.” Her tendrils reach out to all, and they still remain, almost three years after her death.

All good things must come to an end, however, and change is an inevitable part of life. As Free Times moves to their new building, the gallery has chosen to close this chapter of its life. Augustinova does not plan to let the name Anastasia & Friends die, though. The legacy of the gallery will live on through different shows and events she will do in name of the studio.

Anastasia Chernoff (center left), with Jennifer Hill (left) Jasper Executive Director Cindi Boiter (center right) and Kaitin Ohlinger (right).

However, the biggest legacy that will live on is in all of the people the gallery touched, and made family, over its run. In these 10 years, even after Chernoff’s death, the message that art binds us to one another will live on in all the people who were part of Anastasia & Friends. Whether you helped work with the gallery, presented work in an exhibition, or just stopped by on a First Thursday to peek at the art, Anastasia’s spirit continues within you. We hold the light and love that this gallery and its people put forth, and it is up to us to spread that light even after the gallery closes its doors.

If you want to celebrate the love, community, and light that is Anastasia & Friends for a final First Thursday event, come out to Last First, this Thursday the 6th at 6:00 p.m. You can find more information on their Facebook event page.

Jasper Takes a Turn at Anastasia & Friends with Kathryn Van Aernum

Phoenix by Kathryn Van Aernum

One of Jasper’s most rewarding missions is supporting independent artists as they move through the various growths and stages of their careers. We have recently been afforded another opportunity to do so by guest curating one show a year at Anastasia & Friends gallery on Main Street.

Our first show opens this Thursday and features the photography of Kathryn Van Aernum.

We had a chance to visit with Kathryn recently and learned more about her history, process, and aesthetic. A graphic artist and photographer, Kathryn also serves as a creativity coach. Her joy, she says, is helping artists “find ways into their work.”

A graduate of Narope University in Boulder, a learning institution founded in the 1970s by Buddhist education Chogyam Trungpa that fosters not only personal and professional growth, but also intellectual development and contemplative practice, Kathryn carries much of what she learned there into her personal and professional lives today.

“I always take the scenic route,” Kathryn says, explaining that she originally went to school for theatre. Born in Ann Arbor, she grew up in the Detroit metropolitan area and spent 15 years living in Key West where she spent some time operating a B and B, then moved on to doing ad work for much of the gay hotel industry in the area. Throughout the time, however, Kathryn was also at work on her art giving solo and group shows and photography exhibitions. Kathryn has exhibited at Artfields twice and copies of one of her photos of the Congaree Fireflies will soon be offered at the Columbia Fireflies Baseball team gift shop thisyear.

Common Ground, the show Jasper is producing for Kathryn at Anastasia & Friends Art Gallery, opening August 2nd, is a photographic contemplation on the common pathways individuals and communities take. “Living in the city, I began to see patterns in the pavement itself and asking myself – how can I render this in a way that will make people take notice?”

Kathryn notes the double entendre of the show’s title as it focuses both on human mobility and common pavement and how we share it. “You can’t really separate humans from nature,” she says. “We erroneously feel like we aren’t really nature, but we can’t escape the natural elements that occur and connect us.”

The show will also feature a few images from a recent trip to Greece the artist enjoyed with her sister, Gail Van Aernum Barnes, who is director of the Strings Project at USC.

About the show:

Common Ground: Artist Statement

Common: belonging to or shared by two or more individuals or things or by all members of a group.

Common: widespread, general, ordinary

The photographs in Common Ground focus on man-made surfaces, such as pavement, asphalt, cobblestones, concrete etc., with attention paid specifically to the abstract “paintings” created on these ordinary surfaces by the interaction of time, weather and humans. All the artificial terrains portrayed have one thing in common: to facilitate human flow and interaction, with some reaching back as early as the 2nd millennium BC.

More about the artist:

Kathryn Van Aernum’s subjects range from the mundane to the sublime, and she continues to cultivate a sense of spaciousness in her photography. The elements of design: harmony, balance and rhythm present themselves to Kathryn almost subconsciously, allowing her to capture a moment that transports the viewer into their own minds, memories and dreams.        

Ms. Van Aernum holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction in Visual Arts from Naropa University, the premier educational institution combining contemplative practice with academic rigor.

While photography is her main medium, she is also an accomplished watercolorist, mixed media and book artist. As a creativity coach she works with professionals who have buried their creative soul in the daily grind, helping them reclaim creative confidence so they can thrive at work and beyond.     

Her work has appeared in juried competitions, group and solo exhibits, in Key West, FL; Boulder, CO;  Fort Collins, CO; Ann Arbor, MI; and Columbia, Spartanburg and Lake City, SC. and is in many private collections throughout the US.

You can find her on the web at

Kvanastudios.com

Kathrynvanaernum.com

@kvanastudios on instagram, twitter and facebook

The Artist - Kathryn Van Aernum