B.A. Hohman Shares the Life and Art Experiences That Led to Eccentric Tiny Gallery Show “WILLY NILLY”

 “Sometimes you don’t know what you’re capable of until you just do it.” — B.A. Hohman

DREAMSCAPE

Today is the summer solstice, a new breath of transition, and this turning point, both reliable and spontaneous, sets the stage of our Tiny Gallery show of the month. “WILLY NILLY” by B.A. Hohman is a show rife with verve.   

Tiny Gallery Manager Christina Xan sat down to talk with Hohman about her life, as a human and artist, and what led up to this show. 

Jasper: We’ve known each other for a couple years now, but we’ve never talked much about your past—will you tell me a bit about your childhood? 

Hohman: I grew up in the era following the end of WWII. My paternal grandparents and my maternal great grandparents were German Lutheran immigrants who settled in northeastern Ohio. My parents were hard-working middle-class people who wanted the best for their three children. I was third in line and a bit of an anomaly, being the decidedly right brained one in the mix. I explored imaginary worlds, loved to read and draw, play with neighborhood friends, and was the consummate tom boy. We grew up in a time when we had the run of the neighborhood with no immediate parental supervision. We were one of the last generations to experience the freedom that comes with no internet, no cell phones—the fifties were a time of hope and new horizons.

Jasper: Hope and new horizons—I love that! Was art one of the things on the horizon? Did it exist around you growing up?

Hohman: Art was not a prevalent theme in our home. Basic needs outweighed luxuries, yet I must applaud my father for his exemplary carpentry skills, becoming a volunteer fireman and eventually working in the Emergency Room at our local hospital in addition to his full-time work at General Electric. Kudos to my mother for always encouraging my creative endeavors while teaching nursery school for 40 years. She recognized my artistic nature, enrolled me in summer art classes, urged me to join the youth choir, took me on weekly visits to the library, and introduced me to museums. I also had wonderful art instructors as well as some amazing English teachers throughout my middle and secondary level schooling.

 Teaching Art was instrumental in my own art education. It forced me to break down all the components inherent in the creative process and thereby expanded my own abilities.

Jasper: And did you pursue art in college as well?

Hohman: Yes. My parents worked hard to provide us every opportunity to succeed. We were expected to excel and eventually get a college degree despite the financial burden, and all three of us did. My decision to pursue a degree in Art, I am sure was met with some skepticism. Studio Art at Ohio University became my college concentration from the very start, although English Literature classes nearly outweighed my time in the studio.

MAGNOLIA

Jasper: And at some point after graduation, you started teaching, right?

Hohman: My art took a back seat during the years of raising two girls, but my husband and I constantly found collaborative creative outlets. We had moved from Ohio to West Columbia and then to LeRoy, NY in 1981. The girls were still in elementary when I returned to school at Roberts Wesleyan College and completed my teaching certification. I did my student teaching at my girls’ Wolcott St. School and at Churchville Chilli High School, continuing for a long-term substitute position. I then taught at a local Catholic school. After moving back to West Columbia, I taught art at Pine Ridge Middle School and Airport High School. Teaching Art was instrumental in my own art education. It forced me to break down all the components inherent in the creative process and thereby expanded my own abilities.

Jasper: Oh, I’m all about the breaking down of boundaries. Tell me about how you moved full force into art.

Hohman: In 1999, I made the decision to leave teaching and embark on a career as a muralist and trompe l’oeil artist. A local designer gave me my first opportunity to showcase my work, and business took off! I have painted more murals in more houses than I can count. Although daunting to go from a canvas to painting entire walls and rooms as well as the exterior of a few businesses, I dove in and found it so liberating. I also discovered that I had the ability to paint just about anything my clients wanted. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re capable of until you just do it. I painted everything from whimsical and realistic animals in children’s’ rooms to huge 360-degree historical panoramas in varying styles, and faux windows, doorways and panels that fool the eye into thinking a flat surface is three dimensional. I often surprised myself.

THE SOUP

Jasper: Within those different projects, and today, what types of mediums did, and do, you explore?

Hohman: Over the years, I have explored many mediums, styles, and subject matter, but acrylic painting remains my staple. It was my concentration in college, and it has remained my comfort zone. I found I do not have the patience necessary to work in oil, but all other mediums interest me from pencil and charcoal to marker and colored pencil to clay. My style varies with each project. I look forward to again working in clay and creating 3D pieces as soon as I give myself a refresher course and get my kiln running.

Jasper: Well, on that note, tell me about this show specifically. What went into “WILLY NILLY?”

Hohman: This past year catapulted me into near isolation. My reaction to the outbreak of the pandemic was unexpectedly fierce. The state of our country and the world became an incredible challenge to face. I’ve been around for quite a while, but nothing prepared me for the physical and mental shut down I experienced. On the positive side, I intensified my explorations into the past, into the latest discoveries in physics and the connectivity of all things and read many books. As the world reemerges, my hope is that we all have a better understanding of who we are and why we are here. “WILLY NILLY” is an amalgam of various mediums and styles that reflect this period of my life. What began with a creative spurt, slowly fizzled to small doodles and experiments that steered my mind away from the chaotic state of our country and the world.

CONNECTIONS

Hohman’s show will be up until June 30th on Jasper’s Tiny Gallery site. When you go to the site, plan to see impressions of the natural world that quietly beckon visitation, geometric colors that seem to move like organisms under a slide, black and white illusions in which time seems to shift, and worlds clearly not our own and yet somehow strangely familiar. 

These works can be perused and purchased 24/7 here: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

Hohman is unsure where she will go next but knows “the creative community in Columbia is always there to inspire.” While she embraces this inspiration, you can follow her work on Facebook @bahohman / Art & Murals by B.A.

Ginny Merett Shares Multilayered Stories Through Collage-Based Tiny Gallery Show, WORDS

“I don’t like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given me my life” —

Frank Stella

April showers bring May flowers, but for our May Tiny Gallery, we’re bringing you collages by artist Ginny Merett. Merett’s show, WORDS, which opened virtually on the Jasper website on the 1st of the month, was so wildly popular, we sold out nearly half the show in the first 8 hours. In response to the overwhelming love, Merett has decided to add 12 new pieces to the show – learn more about her and preview the pieces below! 

Merett grew up in a Denver, Colorado, household of musicians as the youngest of 3 children. Her mom was a pianist who taught lessons from the home, and her father was a trumpet player. “Music filled our house, but big band music was their favorite,” Merett recalls, “Mom was also artsy, always making something, and she inspired me to do the same.”  

Merett’s family supported her art inclinations from a young age, providing her with lessons and supporting her freedom with various art materials. This led to her taking several art classes and electives throughout school, receiving an art education degree in college, and teaching art for 30 years. 

This life rife with loving and making art has made Merett proud to call herself an artist since far before she started officially exhibiting her work a decade ago. “I agree with artist Frank Stella,” Merett quotes, “‘I don’t like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given me my life.’”

In the past ten years Merett has been showing work, she has worked exclusively in collage. However, she dabbled and worked in many forms and mediums before finding home in collage. She focused on drawing and painting in undergrad, fiber arts and photography in grad school, and murals, watercolor, and pencils while teaching. Collage, though, allowed Merett to achieve something no other medium could. 

“Collage allows me to use a simple material that looks polished when completed in a work of art, and my style in collage gives me a chance to create art that is playful and irrational because of the new characters I create,” she effuses, “I have a wide variety of materials to use and unlimited subjects, and besides that I just have a really good time doing it.” 

As she puts her hands on different pieces and stitches them into a story, Merett finds herself drawn towards portraying human beings and their unique personalities, spirits, and bodies. These portraits are sometimes commissioned but mostly inspired from places in and around Merett’s life.  

“I create portraits inspired by photographs in my grandma’s 1920’s photo album and by people I see around town and in popular culture,” she reveals, “The most fun for me is taking parts and pieces from pictures of popular culture’s “beautiful people” found in magazines and using them to create new personalities and characters.”  

For her Tiny Gallery show, Merett continued on with her love for collage and people, putting together 25 stand-alone pieces made specifically for the show. The images range from bright, bold colors to multilayered neutrals; from repeating images to one striking set of eyes; from large pieces with mouths wide open to demure figures that ask you to come closer. 

“I usually use text in my work but only for color and texture, not meaning, so for this show, I created works that used phrases taken from magazine text to describe each piece—I made each collage prior to finding the words,” Merett explains, “The theme of each collage is the human condition, and on an unintentional level deals with how I felt through 2020-2021. I hope people can relate to one of the pieces and generally understand my serious and often tongue-in-cheek message.” 

This year, as for all of us, has presented challenges for Merett, who says she oscillated between motivated and withdrawn throughout 2020. She created art as a solace while mourning the safety and joy of being outside, as well as a good friend lost to the virus. She says that it was art and art events that were a continued light during this darkness. 

“I have been so blessed to have my art during this time. I feel like it fed my soul, as always,” Merett intimates, “For those struggling to make art right now I suggest being gentle with yourself but keep showing up in your studio or work area. Reach out to other artists for fellowship and realize that you are not the only one feeling lackadaisical.” 

Some particular lights among the dark included winning Honorable Mention in the 1593 Project at the Koger Center for the Arts and exhibiting her work alongside Jim Arendt and Gina Moore in the Alumni Art Exhibit at the UofSC’s SVAD. Merett was also one of the featured artists in Jasper’s pandemic project Sheltered 2020: A Collection of Visual and Literary Arts. 

The largest support for Merett, a mother of two and grandmother of four, though, comes from her family, pandemic and beyond. “My greatest memory is working at my drawing table with my young kids playing around me,” Merett reminisces, “More times than not, these moments were tranquil and made me feel like I had the absolute best of both worlds.” 

If you want to see how Merett has explored herself and the world around her, her show, WORDS, is up until May 31st. When this blog is posted, her new 12 pieces will have just been added to the show. You can peruse and purchase work 24/7 via the Jasper’s virtual Tiny Gallery: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

During and after the show, you can find her art at her website www.ginnymerett.com and on Instagram (@ginnymerett) and Facebook (Ginny Merett Artist). You can also see her work locally around Lexington and Columbia, specifically at places like Land Bank Lofts on Hampton Street. 

— Christina Xan

April Tiny Gallery Features Betsy Kaemmerlen’s Eye-Catching and Intricate Ceramic Creations

“We Exist to Revere the Great Spirit of Life and Enjoy All the Beauty of Its Expression.”

The Jasper Project welcomes Betsy Kaemmerlen as this month’s featured Tiny Gallery artist. Kaemmerlen’s show, which started on the 1st of the month, features 25 pottery pieces, from bowls to dishes to vases to fish.  

Kaemmerlen spent her childhood in New England before moving to Syracuse to attend the SUNY School of Forestry for Landscape Architecture. During her childhood, she was inspired to create by her artistic grandparents, an architect father, and a mom who was a nurse by day and crafter by night.

“Woodworking, paintings…refinishing furniture, caning, quilting, rug braiding, knitting…embroidery, painting, shell art, gardening, and flower arranging,” Kaemmerlen reflects on her family’s interests, “Yes, I’d say the art was a huge part of my family life!” 

Kaemmerlen’s departure to SUNY both honed in her love for the arts and broadened her horizons. She ended up falling in love with Eastern Culture, taking classes in Japanese Aesthetics and Zen Buddhism and spending her final year studying the cultural response to the environment in Kyoto, Japan.  

“Living and immersing myself in the centuries old treasure of Kyoto for six months was a peak experience in my life—art and aesthetics were ingrained in the culture,” Kaemmerlen recalls, “The ceramic tradition there was lovely, along with the gardens, ikebana and tea ceremony.”  

Fifteen years after experiencing that tradition, Kaemmerlen got into pottery herself, and it was love at first touch.“ Clay is such a great medium for me since I can impress whatever cool pattern or image into the surface that I can dream up,” she divulges, “Leaves, bugs, Asian and Celtic designs, shells, snowflakes, you name it!” 

Kaemmerlen’s career in Landscape Architecture has afforded the artist the best of both worlds, but since so much of her work has become computer-based, her home has been transformed into a hands-only zone. “Making an Ikebana container and going out into the yard to collect material for an arrangement is my idea of heaven!” she effuses, “Creating pottery that is both useful and beautiful is a privilege, and I am so grateful to have this means of expression.” 

When it comes to her Tiny Gallery show, Kaemmerlen has focused on unusual but functional pieces, a mix of old and new, with some even being collaborative. John Taylor threw the dragon-lidded urn that Kaemmerlen carved, decorated, and glazed; and David Scott made the molds for the Bluegill and Perch, and he also taught Kaemmerlen how to make the molds for her gourds. 

“I love bright colors and, unlike many professional potters, don’t have a deep appreciation for ‘brown pots,’” she jests, “While celadon is a personal favorite, cobalt and coral also rank high in my aesthetic!”   

Even the tools the artists used were often handmade, the fish bowls and dish set crafted with roller stamps Kaemmerlen created herself.  “I carve a design onto a napkin ring sized piece of porcelain, fire that, and then can use that pattern on pieces—[it] takes a common element and elevates it to a design that can be truly stunning!” she shares. “I hope people notice this and appreciate all the wonderful beauty that surrounds them in their lives.” 

Beauty has fortunately surrounded Kaemmerlen’s experiences as an artist. Reflecting on her artistic career, she says standout moments have been an Artist Residency at Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, showing her work in Greenville at a Ceramic Invitation alongside artists like Alice Ballard and Valerie Zimany, and being part of many SC Arts Commission award luncheons and auctions. 

Much of Kaemmerlen’s experience is indebted to workshops, but one outstanding series was led by Gerry Williams, the founder of Studio Potter Magazine.  “For many summers I went to his Phoenix Workshops in New Hampshire and learned the background and inspiration of many successful artists,” she says. “We had such fun working together, sharing techniques and experimenting with clay… those memories will be hard to beat.” 

In reflecting on the memories of this past year, Kaemmerlen chooses to focus on the positive. “I sincerely hope that this past year has brought more people the simple joys of being creative in their own home and garden,” she intimates, “Growing what you eat, cooking it in a beautifully decorated kitchen, and serving out of a handmade bowl to a few close friends is a sustainable, deeply meaningful pleasure.” 

You can view Kaemmerlen’s show and all her beautiful, unique pieces until April 30th on the Jasper Project website: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

After the show, Kaemmerlen will have more vases at SC Arts Foundation’s ‘Find Joy in Art’ online auction this May. She also usually has pieces in the Sumter County Gallery of Art. If you follow her on Facebook, you can see when she posts albums of her latest work and purchase via direct message. 

The motto Kaemmerlen has over her studio door is, “We Exist to Revere the Great Spirit of Life and Enjoy All the Beauty of Its Expression.” Take a virtual step into the beauty of these ceramic creations and steep in the spirit of their expression.

—Christina Xan

Jasper Project Galleries at Motor Supply Welcomes Trahern Cook aka Easel Cathedral

The artist Trahern Cook - photo by Perry McLeod

Trahern Cook was born in 1970 in Columbia, SC and has been drawing and painting and telling stories his entire life. In 1987 he attended The SC Governors School for the Arts as a visual artist and in 1992 he graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a focus on Illustration. He married his wife Lori in 1994 and they moved to Murfreesboro, TN where their two children were born n the late 1990s. Cook worked as a Full time Freelance illustrator from 1993 to the early 2000s and ,in 2006, the family moved back to Columbia, SC. There, Cook took the easel outside and has been painting all over the southeast and abroad ever since.

His work shows in private galleries, homes and work spaces throughout the country.

Cook has coined himself a “Jam Painter” given that so much of his subject matter is musicians of every genre playing everywhere from small taverns to large outdoor festivals. In those moments he explores brush strokes and colors matching the rhythm of the sounds being played.

As a “Live Painter” of events and weddings, Cook creates visual stories of his surroundings in his own unique painterly style, marrying a free folk recklessness with a trained and practiced deliberateness. This performance shares the space with everyone in attendance, enhancing the moment and using the the created vibe to inform the painting itself.

And then there’s the painter and his easel, going anywhere light falls on the buildings, homes, trails and roads of towns, cities and landscapes.

Cook welcomes anyone around to come hang out by the easel.

“It just paints better,” he says.

Art in the Yard - This Week it's Keenan Terrace w/ 20+ Artists & Music AND Art from Adam Corbett

It’s spring and, along with the blooms and blossoms reminding us that there is life outside our homes, there is a mightily welcome crop of cultural events beckoning the vaccinated among us to don our loveliest masks and venture out to see what the winter created.

Some of these events are still scary — it’s surprising how many people are hesitant to get that free superpower injected in their arms. (But chances are they’re the same people who still refuse to wear a mask, no matter how fashionable they’ve become.)

But some of these events are no-brainers even if you’re concerned about conspiracy nuts and their germs, given that the events are outside and you’re on your feet at all times, ready to run away from unsavory-looking mask-less marauders.

Neighborhood art festivals, for example.

Saturday brings us Keenan Terrace Art in the Yard and April 25th bring us Melrose Park Art in the Yard — two completely different but equally exciting events.

The Keenan Terrace show, created in the fall of 2020 by Columbia-based artist and curator, Bohumila Augustinova, is located in and around 409 Cumberland Drive, runs from 2 to 6 pm, and is free and pet friendly.

Among the artists whose work you’ll both see and hear is Adam Corbett.

Adam Corbett is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and visual artist from Lexington South Carolina best known for his work in local band, The Restoration. After releasing numerous records, helping to produce a musical, and ending his career as a music teacher, Adam branched out into visual art as a way to cope with the COVID-19 lockdown. Throughout this period, he has experimented with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse.

Corbett will also be providing live music for the event.

artist - Adam Corbett

artist - Adam Corbett

artist - Adam Corbett

Additional artists include but are not limited to Michael Krajewski, Flavia Lovatelli, Bohumila Augustinova, Candace Cotterman Thibeault, K. Wayne Thornley, Stan Cummings, Lucas Sams, Aimee Norris, and many more.

Now is a great time to start thinking about Mothers Day and Graduation presents, or even something special to reward yourself for making it through this winter of our discontent and embracing the new day.

artist - Stan Cummings

artist - Flavia Lovatelli

artist - Michael Krajewski

artist - Susan Lenz

artist - The Tie Lady

artist - Candace Cotterman Thibeault

artist - Bohumila Augustinova

"It's Been a While" - Group Art Exhibition at Outpost Arts Space by Ron Hagell (Guest Writer)

“It’s Been a While”

Group Art Exhibition at Outpost Arts Space

715 Saluda Ave., April 3 – 24, 2021

Care. Comfort, and Kindness by Olga Yukhno

The Free Times leads off it’s piece in this week’s paper by saying, “Artists get lonely, too”.  In fact, this was one spark for this exhibition that helped to start it. Flavia Lovatelli, Kristi Ryba (a Charleston artist) and I were discussing how long it had been since we went to an opening and the general lack of exhibitions over the pandemic year. We decided that it might be possible to ask if the Outpost’s new exhibition space might be available in April. It turned out that the space was free and Caitlin Bright was very interested in helping get us off the ground. I’m not sure we were all “lonely,” maybe just missing what had become a rather active arts scene in Columbia. But once the artists started showing up with work this week, I realized how much I missed seeing everyone – so did they!  Our exhibition, “It’s Been a While,” opens on April 3 at Outpost Arts Space in Five Points.

You may remember that this group [along with the Jasper Project] used to be in the Tapp’s building on Main Street and we always had a new exhibition each “First Thursday on Main.” Then we were called The Tapp’s Arts Center and some still refer to us as “Tapp’s Outpost.” There are similarities between the two, the people and mission continue, but many things have changed beyond the actual location.

You may recall that, in addition to our exhibitions, we also had open studios (where shopping was possible) and you could pick-up a beer to start your art crawl on Main. Now we all know that First Thursday is not the same now that most of the “art” on Main has left for many reasons. For us, this location has made a big difference. Obviously the amount and character of the space is a vast difference, but the foot-traffic is very different. Often at Tapp’s we had very few visitors except for exhibit nights, but in Five Points there is a constant flow and some of us have experienced much better sales.

… we are hopeful that “It’s Been a While” will continue the spark of creative activity and be the rebirth of more and better days for our whole Columbia arts scene

There are also plans afoot to improve our new home and build even more and better studio/workshops inside and behind the existing shop fronts, as well as collaborative activities with the vast space behind the White Mule that is scheduled for future renovations. 

But, we are hopeful that “It’s Been a While” will continue the spark of creative activity and be the rebirth of more and better days for our whole Columbia arts scene. We invited many artists to join us and have a real cross-section of folks taking part.  Charleston-based artist Kristi Ryba, whom we met in 2019 while participating in Lake City’s annual ArtFields competition, has agreed to show two new works and many more local friends also wanted to take part.  There are sculptures by Olga Yukhno and Sharon Licata and a couple of large hanging fabric pieces by Janet Swigler. Columbia Photographer Molly Harrell shows her recent work and I’m putting in an older video because it just speaks to this moment so well. But, I’m also showing a few smaller paintings that I’ve been working on during this downtime.

In fact many others are showing works that deal directly with the pandemic such as Gerard Erley’s “Pandemic Cardinals” and more – not to be missed.

Pandemic Cardinals by Gerard Erley

Also showing are works by Susan Lenz, Michael Krajewski, Keith Tolen, Bonnie Goldberg, Stephen Chesley, Heidi Darr Hope, Kirkland Smith, Tabitha Ott, Diko Pekdemir, and Flava Lovatelli. Some have direct connections to our past year and the pandemic or the political shift while others do not. It is a very eclectic event. 

ABC by Michael Krajewski

As always our group wants to engage the community in ongoing conversation and creative connections. But now we really need to catch-up after over a year. It’s 17 artists wanting you to see their work and, as Caitlin says, she anticipates “a lot of sharing, commiserating, sympathy and empathy.”

Because, it’s been a while…

Ron Hagell, Studio Artist, Outpost Arts Space

Ron Hagell is a Columbia, SC-based artist who makes films and art with installations featuring paintings, projections, prints and film centered on portraiture.

Teacups by Kirkland Smith

If you haven’t joined the Jasper Project Guild yet this year, now is a good time to do so, guaranteeing that YOUR NAME will appear in the next issue of Jasper Magazine, releasing May 2021 and, depending on your contribution level, securing you a space at some of the limited seating events Jasper has in the works for the coming year.

Plus, everyone gets to see your name here!

Tiny Gallery Artist Shelby LeBlanc Stiches Little Pieces into Bold, Bright Landscapes

“It might not work out right away, but it won’t work out at all if you just give up.”

 – Shelby LeBlanc

As we move into the warmer weather, so do we move into warm, inviting, and colorful pieces with our March Tiny Gallery show. Shelby LeBlanc, a Columbia native who recently made Charleston her home, brings us Little Pieces, a collection of inviting scenes stitched together with puzzle pieces.

LeBlanc, 29, recalls being artistic since a young girl with a natural talent for drawing. Her parents, noticing this, signed her up for classes with a local artist, Ms. Mossley, and she continued to take classes throughout high school with another artist, Angel Allen. After going to college, LeBlanc stepped away from art but found her way back when she needed it most. “I started back after a terrible time with depression,” she recollects, “Art probably saved my life.”

Open Road

When it comes to what kind of art LeBlanc crafts, she is drawn to people, places, and nature and, like a photograph, her paintings develop into a concrete image over the time from conception to finality. “I’m not one for abstract work,” she asserts, “I like to paint what I see, but I want to enhance the colors, highlights, and shadows. I want the viewer to know what they're looking at.” 

LeBlanc appreciates variety not just in subject matter but style. She experiments with various paints, pens, and watercolors and continuously expands her color palette.  “I love pushing myself to try new subject matter, styles, mediums,” she remarks, “But I like to hide elements in my work with the book pages I use and love the textures it creates.”   

In Little Pieces, LeBlanc’s creativity is clearly at play. Vivid colors of cerulean, rose, and emerald leap out from the scalloped pieces, making the scenes appear more animate than still. LeBlanc offers a perspective of her environment while still allowing others to feel at home within its boundaries, boundaries you can trace with your own fingers.

Weekend Waves

LeBlanc shares that she often uses recycled books in her work, but she wanted to try something new as she explored the Charleston landscape she has fallen in love with. “They are all actual puzzles that I assembled during quarantine” she reveals, “The sizes and the outer edges were a mixture of my own vision and manipulating the puzzles to fit the criteria for the show.”

While the Charleston landscapes and puzzle pieces may be newer to her portfolio, Columbia patrons will be familiar with her bold colors and line work. LeBlanc has shown work at Sakitumi, Vista Lights, Richland Library, 701 Whaley, Spencer's Art Gallery, and Art Mecca and even designed the origami room in Immersion SC. In 2019, she was the runner-up for Free Times’ Best Visual Artist. 

When it comes to her favorite memories, while LeBlanc says there are too many to put into words, the highlights always seem to cycle around family. “I love when my family gets to come to my shows, especially my 96-year-old grandmother,” she reflects, “I met my boyfriend, Sean, while I was working on a mural, and I spend most days at my house working alongside my dogs.”  

Though a lover of creation, LeBlanc’s motivation, like many artists’, took a blow with the events of 2020. “I had moments of doubt unlike ever before because no one knew what tomorrow was going to look like,” she recalls, “But I received several messages of encouragement for my work and openness about my mental health, and knowing that I had supporters, friends, and family in my corner helped me overcome those feelings and keep working.” 

Storm Off Sullivans

If you want to see LeBlanc’s stories, told through the lens of a love for her city, they are available for view and purchase 24/7 on the Jasper website until March 31st: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

After the show, you can keep an eye out for LeBlanc’ work at Affordable Art of Charleston’s showcase “Go Bold” on March 25th in Mt Pleasant and Avondale’s Highfalutin in Charleston this August and September. You can also see her work anytime at Art Mecca of Charleston, on Dress the Room, and via her Instagram (@shelby.leblanc) and Facebook (@shelbyleblancart). 

“Art has helped me through many crises before and this year was no different,” LeBlanc effuses, “I would tell any artist to keep at it. It might not work out right away, but it won’t work out at all if you just give up.”

— Christina Xan

CORONA TIMES - Bonnie Goldberg Shares her Thoughts on Painting, the Pandemic, and Virtual Art Friends with Jasper

Photo by Anastasia Chernoff

I was born in Columbia so I have definitely been here a long time!  I received my degree in sociology from the University of South Carolina and got married shortly after graduation.  I definitely thought that I would be someone who would save the world! 

Being a part of the art world affords me the opportunity to meet and engage with so many people…and art is so healing and powerful…I do believe that artists have an impact on the world in a very positive manner.  The arts show us who we are…where we come from…where we want to go.  I have been drawing and painting for 30 years and feel that the journey is one that has enriched my life in so many ways.  I am so fortunate to have had this in my life and I know that art is something that I can always do and make and create and share.

I started painting when my children were teenagers. I knew that I didn’t want to be an empty nester with no direction and I had always wanted to start painting, so I took some courses at Columbia College. From there, I went on to study with some wonderful artists at workshops out of town. Art became an important part of my life and I have never looked back.  

I have always drawn and painted from life. I worked from a live model several times a week for 20 plus years, and although I also paint pure non-objective abstracts as well, figurative work remains my main focus. 

I now work from reference materials of my own work…reworking an old painting, repainting an old drawing, reimagining an old image…Alex Powers used to tell me to do 5 or 6 interpretations of the same  piece and this is how I work now. Different versions of the same subject yield new interpretations…more abstract, more color, more experimentation. This has allowed me a greater freedom in my work and has allowed me to continue working and growing during the pandemic. 

I have sold over 900 pieces of art over the last 30 years…drawings and paintings…and I have photographed them all.  So now I am able to take the work that I previously did and use the photo references to do new versions. Although the originals are long gone, the artist always retains ownership of the images, so I have lots of reference material to work from.  

I do occasionally hire a model (not during the last year since the pandemic) and I will do commissions from photographs of people who want to be the subject of my work so I have that as well. The pandemic has actually offered me the opportunity to work more…grow more…and reach more people. I use social media to promote my work and because people are home and on social media more than ever, I find that I am reaching a larger audience than ever.

My conversations with my artist friends still happen…we still share our work and talk about art…just not in person.   I look forward to the in person again…I really miss it…but it has not kept us from sharing and loving what we do.

I am also represented by galleries and interior designers, and they too, have found that the audiences for art have grown with the increasing use of social media. Art has sold really well this past year…the galleries and designers have sold my work as well.  I think the focus of being at home gave the art buying public more time to look and reach out to artists for work. I have had several commissions as well and I think my connections to people who love art have grown.

So, for me, the art has not suffered during this time.  I am so grateful for this and for the opportunity and the time to focus on this part of my life that I love so much.  

One of the great pleasures of my art is the friends that I make…both with artists and patrons. I often have repeat sales to people who collect my art and these people often become my treasured friends; but in the meantime, we have email and text, Instagram and Facebook.

And I find that I can deliver the art easily…by shipping or meeting at an outdoor space and delivering the art from the trunk of my car. Curbside art deliveries!

My conversations with my artist friends still happen…we still share our work and talk about art…just not in person.   I look forward to the in person again…I really miss it…but it has not kept us from sharing and loving what we do.

There is definitely a “magic” to painting someone in person…. “magic” to interact as artist and model…and “magic” to interact as artist to artist in a room full of working artists. But we have all had to adjust and I do believe that artists know how to adapt and grow in many different circumstances.

I see brilliant work on Instagram from artists all over the world. And they reach out and communicate with each other…I have artist connections all over the world now….someone in South America will like something that I post and reach out via private message and we share what we do.  I think it is an amazing thing that is happening right now in the art world.  I have always studied art and artists…people like Schiele and Modigliani and Picasso and Hoffman, Richter and Diebenkorn….I love their work…but the current artists are fantastic and creative and wonderful…and everyone shares their art on Instagram. So, we all learn and grow from each other.

I don’t have any shows coming up but I do show my work on Facebook, Instagram, and on my website plus I am represented by the Anne Neilson Fine Art Gallery in Charlotte and Meredith Christenberry  Designs in Columbia. I retain the right to represent myself and sell my own work in Columbia so people are free to call me and come by my studio in the Arcade on Main…1332 Main Street…Suite 221 upstairs. I am back working in the studio again after a year of working mostly at home. And I do insist on people wearing a mask in the studio until we are free of this virus, but I do have a lot of work on the walls in the studio and it is always visible whether I am there or not.

I would end by saying that this year has truly been a nightmare for all of us. We have not been able to spend time with the people we love most…children, grandchildren, friends, parents. My Dad died in June and my Mom and my family and I have had to navigate his loss in the midst of a pandemic, but we survived the struggle and for that, we are grateful.

So many people have lost so much…and the world has suffered so much…but hopefully, we have all grown and learned something about ourselves and our lives; and as we return to normality, perhaps we will take some good from the experience and move forward into our lives stronger, healthier, more knowledgeable, and perhaps, happier….knowing  that we did survive and now have more opportunities to live and laugh and love.

And of course, create.

~~~~~

  THANKS TO THE

2021 MEMBERS OF THE JASPER GUILD

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JOINING the JASPER GUILD today!

K. Wayne Thornley Presents Haunting Gallery Show Reflecting Loss, Memory, and What it Means to be Human

“Creating art has always been my…tether to my true self.”

On February 1st, we kicked off our Tiny Gallery show with K. Wayne Thornley. In five days, the show, Figure Studies, sold 9 out of 12 pieces. To learn more about Thornley and the inspiration behind this haunting and stunning collection, keep reading. 

Thornley grew up in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and notes that being an artistic boy in the South was not exactly easy. His talents were acknowledged and appreciated—Thornley recalls family saying, “he can draw real good”—but a career in art was not a viable option.  

“It took a long time for me to realize my parents simply did not have the tools to understand me or my fascination with making things,” Wayne recollects, “Luckily, I had some friends who supported me, and we all hung together until going to college.”

 “he can draw real good”

When it comes to college, his parents were insistent on Thornley getting a degree. While he picked out a handful of colleges he was passionate about, like Parsons and RISD, his parents were not on the same page. They were concerned “art schools” did not promise a real job with security.

“It took a long time for me to realize my parents simply did not have the tools to understand me or my fascination with making things,” 

“I basically said, before the phrase was popular, ‘Uh, hello! Do you know me?’” Thornley jokes, “They had something more practical in mind – like a business degree. Fast forward to them unloading me at UofSC in Columbia, giving me a kiss, wishing me luck, reminding me to make the Dean’s list and driving away.” 

Thornley recalls that he spent the beginning of his time at school trying to find a major that could balance his parents’ wishes and his own desires, which he found in the school of journalism. Graphic design was an integral part of advertising, and upon following that path, Thornley could take several art classes.  

“I graduated with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and what would equate to a minor in art studio,” he shares, “My first job was as a graphic designer, then art director. Because I could write, I became a creative director, then senior producer, communications director, VP of marketing, and so on.”  

Throughout all these ventures with a variety of positions, Thornley has kept a studio at home for creative work. Even though he has never made a living from art, he has made a life with it: “Creating art has always been my escape, my therapy, the tether to my true self,” he intimates.    

When it comes to what kind of art Thornley creates, he does not like to be limited. In the past four years, he has focused on painting and wire sculpture. However, throughout his creative journey, he has experimented with printmaking, fiber sculpture, painting, drawing, and assemblage.  

“Because I have never made my living from art, I have always felt free to explore and experiment with many mediums, and I love object-making as much as image-making,” he remarks, “I have been fortunate enough to find a few gallerists, jurors and patrons who have found merit in my work over the years.”  

The largest influence on Thornley’s work, though, was being a part of his father’s Alzheimer’s experience. Thornley had often worked with images and objects that, in his eyes, mirrored the past, like landscapes of the Lowcountry he was raised in. However, watching his father’s decline was an experience that altered his art as well as his life. 

“Watching my dad slowly fade away, forgetting words, names, and faces changed my perspective on who we are as individuals in this life. Without memories, everything loses its significance. As the mind becomes a blank slate, the body becomes a shell,” he imparts, “That kind of thing changes you. All my work deals with that experience on some level whether in figures that seem to be searching or wire structures that represent cages or containers of fragile elements.”

And these themes move through the lines that trace each figure in Thornley’s Tiny Gallery show. He wanted to “continue [his] investigation of the human form in space, some strong, some weak, some uncertain” and to create works that may serve as inspiration for larger pieces in his upcoming show at Stormwater Studios. 

If you visit Figure Studies, you will see 12 individuals, sketched in graphite and painted with acrylic. Some seem to lean forward from their boards as if to await conversation or whisper almost tangibly. Some look away, just off-stage, or cover their heads, both at something unknown. Some are tethered, to wings and to wrappings. Though all appear as people, they all seem to ask: “What is it that makes us human?”

Those in the Columbia area are likely not new to the staying power of Thornley’s work. He has been on this journey of storytelling for some time now. Full of memories, he recalls that his favorite moment as an artist happened around two years ago, when he spent a week at Arrowmont School in Tennessee.  

“I worked in the fiber studio combining my sculptural forms with abaca fibers and handmade paper,” he reflects, “It was a freeing experience for me, to finally be an artist at ‘art school’ with other artists and no other purpose or agenda than to create.” 

On the note of recent events having a profound effect, 2020 and 2021 have been unlike any other years, for every artist, and Thornley shares that they have shaped his work, building on and contributing layers to the themes he already explored. 

“The things that have happened in our country, mostly beginning with the election of 2016, have only added to my perceptions of what is real, what is important, and what the value of our lives, together, really add up to,” he asserts, “In my opinion, any artist whose work has not been affected in some way by the world events of the last four years might need to reconsider what they are doing.”

As stated above, Thornley’s next exhibition will be in May at Stormwater Studios here in Columbia. He will be showing new figurative paintings alongside the sculptural work of clay artist Lucy Bailey.  

“While our interpretations of the figure are quite different, I think the juxtaposition of the two will make for an interesting show,” Thornley states, “We are not sure about what form the opening of this show will take. We may do a virtual opening. As with everything else in these uncertain times, you must move forward and make your choices as they arise.” 

As for after the show? “I plan to continue painting small works and put more time into exploring my wire structures,” Thornley ruminates, “Maybe I will weave myself a cocoon and reemerge when COVID-19 is not the major focus of each day.”   

You can see Thornley’s show 24/7 via the Jasper website until the final day of February. If you want to be one of the lucky people to snag one of the last 3 pieces in the show, you can also do so at any time: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery

—Christina Xan

Jasper Galleries presents a New Exhibit by Lauren Casassa (nee Chapman) at Motor Supply Co. Bistro

Jasper is privileged to support and promote SC Midlands-area visual artists by adopting gallery spaces around town and installing exhibitions curated by some of the members of the Jasper Project board of directors. Our newest exhibit features the work of Lauren Casassa (nee Chapman) at Motor Supply Co. Bistro, 920 Gervais Street in Columbia, SC’s historic Vista and was curated and installed under the guidance of Laura Garner Hine.

“The Swan Princess and Other Magical Beings” features Casassa’s images of an enchanted forest, most of which were created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the artist, “This exhibition is a combination of thickly textured oil paintings and saturated watercolor pieces. The work is influenced by early Italian frescos, European royal portraits, and more contemporary artists such as Allison Schulnik, Staver Klitgaard, and Jaime Misenheimer. Each piece is detailed with floral arrangements and patterns, some scattered throughout landscapes, others displayed on fabrics of the figures. Throughout this exhibition the figures take on the challenges of growing up and finding independence through the life they choose for themselves, the severity of discovering the depth of confidence within themselves, and the attraction they possess. However, whether through choice or circumstance this newly found independence, confidence, and attraction may manifest itself as a power or a curse.”

When asked if her Swan Princess was a nod to the Greek myth of Leda and the Swan (in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, rapes Leda), Casassa responded, “Yes, but oddly enough I am just connecting those dots now. I saw the swan as a dark creature of comfort in isolation, an attachment of sadness and was thinking more of the ‘swan princess.’ But the symbolism works perfectly with Leda and the swan.”

Casassa continues, “Almost all of this work was made during the pandemic. I spent a large chunk of time working on my mural and then a piece that was too large for this specific show. The little works I have done were mainly happier pieces full of nostalgia and landscapes of places I wanted to go. The watercolors have been more of me experimenting/ trying out new medium as I’ve tired a bit of oil especially during this time in isolation. The swan princess was the last piece I did on oil. It was a quick piece I only worked on for two days and I didn’t really fully understand the meaning until after it was finished.”

In her artist’s statement Casassa writes, “I create immersive environments via vibrant saturated romantic paintings telling short stories, in the forms of fables, folklore, and fairy tales challenging our current cultural climate through the eyes of feminine figures and personified creatures. The narrative of the work promotes lesson from my personal experiences and questions dangerous themes within American society.”

Visit Motor Supply at 920 Gervais Street for a fine meal and artisanal cocktail and to check out this beautiful new collection of work.

CB

Film - Revisited, Reviewed, Reflected: Lauren Wiggins and Discovering "But I'm a Cheerleader" in Small Town SC

It’s strange, but logical, that film has become such a large part of our lives during these pandemic days even for folks who don’t identify as cinephiles.

Stranger still is the recognition that, as hungry as we are for film art, a lot of what we’re getting from the plethora of studios producing work now is leaving us dissatisfied. (Watch this space for more on this subject coming soon.)

Consequently, many of us are going back to the vaults and revisiting films from earlier days that we either missed when they came out or that came out before we were even born.

In the case of the former, it’s impossible to approach these movies with truly fresh eyes (is this ever really possible?) because we don’t just watch a movie, we experience it with all the temporal baggage (and the lack thereof) that accompanies being a human of a certain age.

Lauren Wiggins, a friend and former student of mine (USC class of ‘09 WGST) found this to be the case when she revisited the 1999 comedy, But I’m a Cheerleader, starring the intoxicating Natasha Lyonne (check her out in ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and RUSSIAN DOLL) and directed by the equally brilliant Jamie Babbit. We happened upon Wiggins’ blog post detailing this experience and wanted to share it, with her permission, with our readers (below). - CB

***

You Can't Make This Up, #4: Discovering But I'm a Cheerleader in Small Town SC

A queer camp cult classic anniversary celebration extravaganza!

The year 2000 is a fine vintage for movies that I still love. Drowning Mona, Memento, American Psycho - all classics! With the exception of darker titles like, Requiem for a Dream, several of the best ones from that year were inspirational for young women. They were the kind of films that made teenage girls want to become something and trust their instincts. Center Stage left me to ponder if 14 was too old to start ballet lessons. Coyote Ugly taught me that I could be a badass bartender on the side and the compensation from that one job would surely bankroll my passions and cost of living. Miss Congeniality showed me that I didn’t have to be girly to make friends that were girls. Let me tell you, it was a real coming of age summer.

When I entered Freshman year of high school that fall, my cousin Tiffany took me under her wing. She was a cheerleader and she played soccer. She was a senior with a million friends, and she was about to get a car! Plus, she let me hang out when her friends were around and they said I was funny, which of course cinched a top spot in the hierarchy of cool Freshmen.

When we got bored in our three stoplight town, as all apathetic teenagers across the USA did; we flocked to the beautiful blue and yellow beacon known as Blockbuster. There, amongst the over-priced candy, we’d sometimes spend an hour selecting our film. One particular visit to our local Blockbuster, But I’m a Cheerleader caught Tiffany’s eye. She was chasing the Bring It On high from that summer, and the word ‘cheerleader’ was all she needed to read; certainly no reason to flip it over and read the synopsis. 

Allow me to pause the story to tell you what But I’m a Cheerleader actually is. It’s a queer camp film directed by Jamie Babbit, which follows a protagonist who doesn’t know she’s a homo, as she’s forced by families and friends to go to ‘True Directions’, a conversion therapy camp run by Cathy Moriarty and RuPaul. And this past year, this movie turned 20 years old. Vintage queer camp. 

Again, since I had proven my coolness, I was invited to come along to Tiffany’s ultra-cool friend’s house. Jessica did pageants, but she had the kind of sense of humor that made you think she was doing them ironically, like a joke that only she was in on. She was tall, her hair was always pretty, and she had an endless supply of Roxy t-shirts that I silently coveted. I studied them and all the hair products I had no idea existed strewn across her room, as we cozied up on a floor pallet with snacks. 

Flags were quickly raised that this was not a movie about cheerleading, but there were pom-poms, so I kept my mouth shut. Just to see. I could be wrong. Nobody else had said anything yet, and in my angst, I quietly hoped they’d want to watch the whole thing. 

We did end up watching the whole thing, mostly because up until the end of the movie, I think we were all still expecting that it would eventually work out to be the farce on cheerleading that we rented. After all, I might not have been the cinema hound I am today, but I knew about parody and the low-budget looks of the box were on par with a poster for a Leslie Nielsen movie. 

The longer I waited for the movie to be more relatable for my cousin the cheerleader, the more it struck me that this movie was a kind I had never seen before. I had seen Rocky Horror Picture Show a million times with my mom, but that was blatant, flagrant queerness. This movie was speaking some new language, and even though I was missing a few words, it was a language made for me. The entire duration of the film evoked that weird feeling that was a bit like watching a sex scene with your parents, and we passed through the real moments that made us feel awkward by acknowledging the other movies we had seen these actors in. 

“Holy shit, it’s Rufio! What’s that guy been up to?!”

“Is that Stokely from The Faculty?!” 

“Oh, it’s the chick who dances with the vibrator in Slums of Beverly Hills!”

“Yeah, she’s the friend in American Pie too!”

I concealed my interest during the actual sex scene, but if there had been any doubt in my mind before I watched that very thoughtfully directed moment between two women, I knew I was gay then and there. I also wondered if my mom paid very close attention to our Blockbuster rental history.

I remember the first time I secretly studied it alone in my room. Not a euphemism. I wanted to understand the color coding but was so nauseated by all the blue and pink. I was equally repulsed at the pukey browns in the parents’ house, but I mainly took issue with the queer characters being stuck in these institutionalized style uniforms of what I felt were baby shower colors. It wasn’t until many years later that I got to talk to other queer people and unpack Dir. Babbit’s commentary on gender roles being artificially grown in a heteronormative laboratory. 

Conversion therapy was back in the news a few months ago, for good reasons. If you haven’t heard, 370 religious officials signed a declaration to ban conversion therapy. In my mind, it’s unconscionable that anyone would still support such a crazy idea. I’m friends with deeply religious people, but I can’t imagine that they’d look at me and think there was any “going back” or some different life for me. Then again, I don’t know what they say when I’m not queerly taking up space in a room.

On the 20th anniversary of this excellent piece of film, I celebrate But I’m a Cheerleader, not only as my root and an instant classic in queer camp, but as something that made me begin to analyze everything I watched and listen out for the languages of the oppressed. After all, those are the tools I have now to truly own the space in the room.

Thanks for coming to my super gay Ted Talk.

READ MORE FROM

LAUREN WIGGINS AT

YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP.

Announcing the 2021 Tiny Gallery Artist Line-Up!

TENNYSON CORLEY K. WAYNE THORNLEY

SHELBY LEBLANC BETSY KAEMMERLEN

B.A. HOHMAN GINNY MERRETT

RON HAGELL ASHLEY BENNETT

BOHUMILA AUGUSTINOVA RENEE ROUILLIER

LORI ISOM

Jasper’s Tiny Gallery began in October 2018 as a fresh opportunity for artists and art lovers alike. With the goal of offering small pieces at small price points, the Tiny Gallery series provides artists the chance to create special worlds in compact dimensions and provides patrons, who may have smaller budgets, be burgeoning collectors, or longtime collectors with little remaining wall space, to enjoy new artwork.

In June of last year, Jasper decided to re-focus Tiny Gallery into a virtual show so that artists could tell their stories and continue to do the work they love in challenging, unprecedented times. We are so glad that, in 2021, we will be able to continue this journey with over 12 wonderful artists. 

Get to know them and their work below, and be sure to mark your calendars for their shows!

January: Tennyson Corley

Our year has already kicked off with Tennyson’s Corley’s show, Microcosm. Her show of nature paintings sold so quicky, she had to add more pieces to her exhibit.. You can still view and purchase pieces from her show until January 31st: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

Corley is a contemporary painter living and working in Columbia, South Carolina. Showing professionally since 2010, she has been honing her painting style in acrylics and mixed media. She works out of her studio on her small farm minutes from city proper. Corley attended Columbia College for a degree in Fine Art. 

Tennyson captivates her audience with depiction of native flora and fauna. Her pieces pay homage to her work as a horticulturalist and love of nature. Seeking out new inspirations through her travels, she strives to portray the beauty of the South East region to her viewers.

You can see more of her art on Instagram at @tennyson_corley_art and on Linktree at linktr.ee/TennysonCorleyArt

February: K. Wayne Thornley

K. Wayne Thornley’s show is coming up in just over a week, starting Monday, February 1st.  

Figure Studies serves as an initial purview into larger works that will be shown at Stormwater Studios in May 2021 alongside the clay work of Lucy Bailey. They also continue a theme he has worked on for many years, “figures surrounded by or floating within minimal, barren landscapes—emerging from my father’s Alzheimer’s experience.”  

Thornley is an artist working in mixed media painting and assemblage and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where he studied art, design and marketing. His award-winning work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions throughout the Southeast and purchased for several private and corporate collections including The Greenwood Genetics Center and Wells Fargo. 

Recent juried exhibitions include the South Carolina Watermedia Society Annual Exhibition (Signature Member) and the Greenville Artists Guild Annual Small Works Exhibition. Mixed media work by the artist has been selected for exhibition at Artfields (2018 & 2019), an annual art competition and survey of Southeastern art held annually in Lake City, SC. 

Check out Wayne’s work on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwaynethornley/?hl=en

March: Shelby LeBlanc

Shelby LeBlanc’s bright colors and beautiful imagery will decorate “little pieces” in the month of March. 

LeBlanc is a contemporary painter from Columbia, SC, and has been active since 2015. She favors acrylic paint for most of her work, however some of her works delve into watercolor, inks, crayons, or mixed media incorporating book pages, maps, or glass.  

Much of her works are inspired by the time spent away from home, from the Low Country of South Carolina to her trips to Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, Europe, and Thailand. LeBlanc paints in a variety of styles and mediums over many different subject matters, however, her work is always recognizable- beautiful, dramatic, and demands attention.  

You can see Shelby’s work on her Facebook and Instagram as well as her website: https://www.shelbyleblancart.com

April: Betsy Kaemmerlen

Betsy Kaemmerlen’s striking ceramic creations will take us through the month of April. 

Kaemmerlen is a Landscape Architect with strengths in graphics and planting design. As an outgrowth of her profession, she has been working in clay since 1994. Originally taught on the wheel by John Macomber of Greenleaf Pottery, Betsy turned to hand built forms soon afterwards. She originated an active potters group called Clay Arts East in Connecticut and organized the Open Studio Tour of Northeast CT with up to 75 artists, for many years before moving south in 2006.  

Concentrating on functional ware, surface texture and decoration are key to her clay forms, with transparent glazes pooling in the depths. Her inspiration for exploring textured surfaces comes from the origins of pottery when clay was used to protect cooking baskets from the fire. As food was cooked, the clay was fired and so the basket weave impression remained.   

In 2013, Betsy won an Artist Residency in Little Switzerland, NC at Wildacres Retreat to work on both functional pots and sculptural pieces. She enjoys both taking and giving workshops and has learned many hand building and carving techniques. As a garden designer, leaves and natural designs play heavily in her work. And having studied the gardens in Kyoto Japan for five months in 1979, her fascination with Asian motifs is ongoing. She carves roller stamps with cloud, water, Chinese, and Celtic motifs to add richness to her pottery. Lately her focus has been on tiny teapots and vases, along with Ikebana vessels for Japanese flower arranging. 

You can check out some of Betsy’s work on an interview Jasper did with her last year: http://jasperproject.org/what-jasper-said/tag/Betsy+Kaemmerlen

May: Ginny Merett

Known for her quirky collage pieces, Ginny Merett has been an artist in the Columbia community for over thirty years. She has used various media to create art but for the last decade chooses collage techniques and processes to represent what she calls “characters.” These characters will be ready to walk into your life throughout May. 

Ginny’s work has won several awards and accolades. Recently, Ginny exhibited her work in the Alumni Exhibit at the University of South Carolina School of Visual Arts and Design McMaster Gallery. She is the cover and featured artist in The Jasper Magazine, Spring 2019 edition; and received First Place and Second Place Awards at the Rosewood Art and Music Festival, Best in Show at Time for Art sponsored by the Jasper Project; and participated in Women Speak Art Gallery at SC State Library 2017, ArtFields 2019, and numerous other exhibits.   

Ginny was born and raised in Denver and has lived in South Carolina since 1987. Art sustained Ginny throughout her life and is the cause for her every success. She constantly sewed, created, and treasured drawing as a child, and sought out every art opportunity in school. Because art was such a passion of Ginny’s youth, she pursued a BS in Art Education from the University of Georgia. She later went on to earn an MA in Art Education and MEd in Educational Administration from The University of South Carolina, where she also served as adjunct for several years. Among some of her greatest accomplishments, Ginny taught art in public schools for 30 years.   

Her influences include David Hockney’s joiners, Robert Rauschenberg’s combines, Hannah Hoch’s timeless collages, and the beautiful execution of John Singer Sargent’s portraits. Ginny is a member of FigurativeArtists.org, the SC Arts Alliance, and South Carolina Artists groups.  

You can preview Ginny’s work at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and at www.ginnymerett.com 

June: B.A. Hohman

B.A. Hohman’s unique and soulful perspective on life, often seen in grand murals, will make their way into smaller selections in the summer month of June. 

Hohman grew up in Ohio and graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a BFA. Art has always been her ground. She met her husband, Bob, there, and after her graduation they married and embarked on a new life, moving to West Columbia, SC, in 1981. Their two girls, Haley and Taryn, were born here several years later. She moved back and forth across the country before settling back in SC where she taught. Teaching Art was both gratifying and frustrating due to the vast scope of student abilities and behaviors grouped together in often overcrowded classes. Several years later, B.A. made the decision to leave teaching and become a successful muralist and trompe l’oiel artist, painting for clients too numerous to mention, across the state. As the subject matter knew no bounds, B.A. discovered her hidden ability to adapt both subject and style to client desires. Her Art had never had a specific style so this vocation fit well. 

Painting murals was lifesaving before, during, and after the sudden death of her husband Bob in 2005. Her amazing friends are more precious than gold. Attending art and music events kept her sane and provided well needed inspiration. Finally selling the family home in Irmo, finding her perfect little West Columbia home and studio in 2015 was tonic for the soul. She met more and more of the creative folks who encompass the Art community in and around Columbia and lasting friendships were formed. She continues to revel in their caring inspiration.

B.A. has struggled to create during this past year. Searching for a deeper connection has helped find a sense of peace and hope. Her current artistic goal is to focus on the little things that bring joy as well as the rambling depictions of a mind grasping for meaning. Her new pieces will be depictions of her inner wanderings and glimpses of the small things that keep her mind from spinning off into the gaping chasm. 

Check out B.A.’s work on her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bahohman/?ref=page_internal

July: Ron Hagell

Ron Hagell’s artwork, which is largely narrative based on social issues, portraiture and dance, will take us through July. 

Hagell is a media artist. His primary work in the past was in film and photography.  Ron became an artist so that he could work more individually and creatively across a variety of media.  He taught media art practice at Royal Holloway - University of London and at the Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University and on a Fulbright grant in Germany. He has exhibited work in Europe, Canada and the US. His most recent exhibitions were in the UK, Berlin and South Carolina at Artfields 2016, 2018 and 2019. 

Recently Ron has been experimenting with bold color figurative and portrait works in acrylic on canvas as well as revisiting still images from his former dance productions as small individual statements on creative movement. 

Ron has a Master of Fine Art degree from Columbia University and studied at UNC, Rhode Island School of Design and American University. He now lives in Columbia, SC, and has a studio at the Tapps’ Outpost where he invites visitors to see his work by appointment. 

In another life, Ron was an Army Captain with service in Vietnam after which he created many hours of arts and documentary programs for PBS stations including the only ever nationally produced jazz music series, At the Top. 

You can see Ron’s work on his Facebook and his website: http://www.ronhagell.com/

August: Ashley Bennett

Spirited dancer and jewelry artist, Ashley Bennett, will finish off the summer with her August show. 

Bennett moved to Columbia, by herself, in 2007 and made it her home. She danced in the city's first fringe arts company, Columbia Alternacirque, and became a well-known performer at the Art Bar. For several years, Ashley was a staple shop girl for secondhand store, Sid & Nancy, where she consumed countless iced cappuccinos from Adriana's and smoked a small mountain of cigarettes on the busy sidewalk in front of Delaney's Irish pub.  

Over a decade later, she opened her own artist studio at Tapp's Arts Center, started the Movement Arts Co-op there, and later served a short term as Director of Operations. In 2019, Ashley opened her own communal artist space in West Columbia, Sage Studios. Thanks to the pandemic, the company's vital signs are weak, but stable. She spent the majority of 2020 pacing her house, homeschooling her 5-year-old, eating cheese, and soldering jewelry from sterling silver.  

Check out Ashley’s jewelry on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/covenitesilver/

September: Bohumila Augustinová

Bohumila Augustinová’s fantastical wire work, often coupled with her clay creations, ranges from mugs and bowls to gallery pieces. This unique variety of work will be featured in her September show. 

Augustinová was born and raised in communist Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic. She has a degree in fashion design, and she was always an artist. Bohumila came to the United States in 1998, and after winning Runaway Runway, she quickly became part of the Columbia Art scene. In 2015, she took over Anastasia & Friends Gallery, which closed in 2019. Bohumila is a leader of Yarnbombers of Columbia. She works at the Columbia Art Center where she not just makes art, but also teaches art to others.  

See Bohumila’s art on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_by_bohumila/  

October: Renee Rouillier

Renee Rouillier’s sculptural explorations will unravel their stories in October. 

Rouillier has been involved in the arts since her twenties. Raised in upstate New York, she received an MFA in Ceramic Sculpture and 3D Study from the University of South Carolina, BFA with a concentration in Ceramics and a BS in Interdisciplinary Arts for Children from SUNY College at Brockport, and a Certificate of Fine Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology.  

She strongly feels art not only defines who she is, but also mirrors her personal life as well as worldly events and outcomes.  In reflection on 2020, she is emphatic that the deeds of humanity will continue to have a profound effect on harmonious existence and the survival of all. The past year, 2020, has proven that nature and all forms of wildlife can flourish without human interaction and she questions this relationship within her artwork. Rouillier also believes a resurgence of mythology, folklore, magic, and wonder would add a positive dimension to today’s world. 

You can explore Renee’s art on her website: https://www.reneerouillier.com

November: Lori Isom

Lori Isom’s distinctive reflections on life through portraiture will be up to view throughout November. 

Isom has experienced a varied career as an artist, dedicating years to professional dancing, singing and acting. A figurative and portrait artist for over 20 years, she has been commissioned to do hundreds of individual & family portraits.  

Lori's work has been featured in a plethora of places including American Art Collector. She recently completed a one-year artist residency for the City of North Charleston, during which she had the privilege to work on several community-focused projects. She is currently working to grow in greater artistic expression that moves beyond the influence of societal values. 

Check out Lori’s work on her Instagram and her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artinthenow/

December: Multiple Artist Ornament Show

For December, we are offering a holiday-oriented show sure to get you in the spirit for your favorite holiday, whichever it may be. Whether you want something to hang on your tree, set on your mantle, or show as a keepsake from 2021, support a local artist with an irreplaceable piece.

Look out for our upcoming announcement of our list of artists for our December show!

Tennyson Corley Invites All to Experience the Natural World Anew in Jasper’s First Tiny Gallery of 2021

In 2020, Jasper moved its Tiny Gallery online to give artists a space to tell their stories safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, native South Carolinian Tennyson Corley has kicked off a new year of these stories with her show, Microcosm.

Corley was born and raised in Columbia, dwelling with her family on a large horse farm on the outskirts of the city. She has never felt a pull to leave the state she calls home, sharing, “I have a strong connection to our state, the landscape, the proximity to the mountains, the forest, the beaches, the wildlife.”

Amongst these connections to the natural world, art also surrounded a young Corley. Her mother was a prominent illustrator and portrait artist who Corley had the fortune to watch create, collaborate, and travel. She now watches the same stories unfold in her own life.

“I got to witness firsthand all the inner workings of being an actual ‘working’ artist,” Corley says, “It definitely had a glamorous side, but I wasn’t jaded to all the other things that go along with it, long nights, rejection, unhappy clients—those experiences really taught me things I could never learn in a formal setting.”

Being steeped in these experiences resulted in Corley deciding to pursue a career in art herself, attending Columbia College to study Fine Art before taking time off to grow into the role of mother to her son, Jasper. When Corley returned to work, it was as a horticulturalist, but one day her husband arrived home with a surprise—a new easel. And that was the push she needed to re-envelop herself in art.

Busy Bee #3

As an artist, Corley lends herself to experimentations. She has worked in printmaking, acrylic, oils, gauche, watercolor, ceramics, indigo art, and more. For Corley, though, painting is her home, what she always returns to.

“I specifically love working in acrylics—the way you can manipulate the paint is practically endless,” she explains, “Recently I have been playing with textures, building up my canvas with recycled materials and different mediums. The process has been cathartic.”

One theme Corley continually finds herself returning to is rooted in the home she has never left—nature and the natural world, specifically within the Southeastern United States. Even outside of visual art, Corley is a strong supporter of protecting the environment and the living beings that dwell in them.

Sparrow

“Through my work, I want to highlight the places and animals we pass by in our daily lives in hopes that connection leads to preservation,” Corley contends, “I hope my paintings can bridge a connection without being too in your face, because sometimes only the quietest voice is heard.”

Her Tiny Gallery show, Microcosm, is an exploration of the natural world via a uniquely insightful lens. As you take a virtual walk through the show, you will see portraits of birds caught in reverie, bees dancing circles around flowers, open oysters marked to receive something unknown, and more.

Visitors

The show sold out half of its items in the first week. Overwhelmed by the wonderful response, Corley has decided to add 8 more pieces to the show, which will have just gone live when this article is published.

“This show is, in its essence, a compendium of my work through 2020, arranged by various series inspired by travel, work, and my affinity for texture and the evolution it has taken in my recent work,” Corley says. “I want to use the show to highlight my growth as an artist over this past year.”

Reflecting on this past year, Corley admits she was frightened when the pandemic started, not just for herself but the entire art world. However, she gave herself daily painting goals and challenged herself to create small scale work, leading to Microcosm, among other new adventures.

Oyster #6

“I ended up being a part of The Crisis Residency, with other artists going through the same gambit of emotions and it helped me find my footing,” Corley accounts, “I mean, artist are innovators and hold the ability to constantly evolve in changing circumstances, right?”

Corley also had the privilege of being the Artist in Residence at Oconee Parks, which she notes as a highlight in her artistic career. Her favorite memory as an artist, though, has been the magic of watching her son follow in her footsteps as she once did her mother’s. 

“He has been to my art openings, worked alongside me daily, studied the same books, and had long ‘art talks’ with me,” Corley shares, “It brings back my memories for me to bask in from childhood, and I hope that I leave these we are making with him so that he can one day pass that on if he decides to take that path as well.”

Corley is not sure what the future holds, but one concrete plan she has is an upcoming show with 701’s Hallway Gallery in March.

For now, you can experience Corley’s walk through nature with her show, Microcosm. You can view all the pieces, sold and available, at any time, and you can purchase the available pieces 24/7 as well, up until the gallery’s close on January 31st: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery

If you want to follow Corley after the show, you can check her Instagram at @tennyson_corley_art and her Linktree at linktr.ee/TennysonCorleyArt

Welcome Tennyson Corley to Jasper's Tiny Gallery

We’re loving the precious little pieces of art Tennyson Corley is sharing with you this month via Jasper’s Tiny Gallery.

Tennyson Corley is a contemporary painter living and working in Columbia, South Carolina. Showing professionally since 2010, she has been honing her painting style in acrylics and mixed media. She works out of her studio on her small farm minutes from city proper. Corley attended Columbia College for a degree in Fine Art.

Tennyson captivates her audience with depiction of native flora and fauna. Her pieces pay homage to her work as a horticulturalist and love of nature. Seeking out new inspirations through her travels, she strives to portray the beauty of the South East region to her viewers.

Iridescence and Iron

Oyster #1

These small pieces are offered at an affordable price and, while they stand alone beautifully, they also complement gallery style displays of larger pieces by adding interest and detail.

We’ll be writing more about Corley later in the month but , since her work is selling fast, we wanted to make sure Tiny Gallery lovers don’t miss out on this lovely art.

Visit MICROCOSM BY TENNYSON CORLEY at the Jasper Project’s Tiny Gallery.

Roger Reed’s Tiny Gallery Show, The Magic Universe, Invites All Into Its Celebration of Color, Shape, and Perception

By Christina Xan

Ever since Jasper took its Tiny Gallery Series online in June, we have received an outpouring of love for our artists. We are grateful for all the artists who have shared their stories and to the community that has joyously received them. And we’re excited to wrap up our year with a magical show from local artist, Roger Reed. 

Reed was born and raised right here in Columbia and attended CA Johnson High School before moving to Richmond for college. “My father loved to draw when he was in grade school, and my stepmother loved to fool around with puzzles, “Reed shares, “But for the most part, art was not in my family.”   

“…it was so beautiful it made me want to create something beautiful myself,”

Regardless, the now 69-year-old started drawing when he was only five or six. “A big brother friend of mine showed me a walking stick that he had just made, and it was so beautiful it made me want to create something beautiful myself,” Reed reflects. “The universe must have sent him to me because I was very poor and needing something to believe in.”

Whirlwind

After this interaction, the then elementary school boy experimented with drawing before moving onto soft pastels in high school. Though he enjoyed a variety of genres, portraits were what he practiced in the most. “When anybody needed artwork for their class project, they would come to me,” he recalls. 

Due to this, Reed considered art school, but fate had different plans. “My art teacher in high school wanted me to go to art school, as did I, so I went to Virginia Union University thinking they had an art school and they didn’t,” he reveals, “They told me a lie to get me to play football for them.”  

Since then, the self-taught artist has experimented with a variety of mediums. While he has worked with pencils, charcoals, ballpoint pens, oil pastels, and soft pastels, acrylics are his current go-to. “Acrylic on canvas gives me what all the other mediums give me and more,” Reed explains. “Acrylics dry rock hard, are cleaner, and the canvas is more durable; with acrylic I can paint over what I do not want and replace it with what I do.”  

The Vines

Reed has chased his passion in a plethora of ways, and for sixty years, he did realist work—portraits, buildings, houses, and still-lifes. However, recently, he decided he wanted to switch the normal up, and for nearly 5 years, he’s been growing with abstract work.  

“I went to abstract because I wanted to play a little bit more, not be so serious,” Reed says. “Sometimes I feel I'm working on the same subject all the time, but on the other hand, I keep moving to a new ideal—I have heard it said that real art has nothing to do with realism.”  

Reed’s current show, aptly titled The Magic Universe, is a fresh interaction of color and shape. Startling turquoises weave within honeyed yellows. Sunset bulbs sit among twisting vines. Slivers of blue slip between collaged teardrops. Tendrils, spirals, and spheres reach out and invite you into their world.  

The Piece

“I hope what people get art out of the show is nothing but art. I hope my art brings them joy and no pain. I hope they have fun just like I do,” Reed says. “I call the show Magic Universe because I see the magic in the work, and I see the Universe also.”  

Reed has been sharing his love with Columbia for years and reflects back on a highlight of his career—a large acrylic painting he donated to an art auction in West Columbia was auctioned off for three thousand dollars. “The money was used to pay for scholarships,” Reed remembers, “The painting was a picture of the Kids Museum on Gervais Street.” 

When it comes to the future, while Reed does not know what it will hold, he can say one thing confidently: “I do not think I will stop creating.”

Magic Movement

Two weeks are left to treat yourself or a loved one to a unique and irreplaceable holiday gift.

The Magic Universe, will be up until December 31st on the Jasper website: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

After the show, you can view Reed’s work on his Artrepeneur site: https://artrepreneur.com/p/7H9wnth9qMtTX9vME

Tiny Gallery will continue in 2021! The purpose of the Tiny Gallery Series is to allow artists an opportunity to show a selection of their smaller pieces of art offered at affordable price points attractive to beginning collectors and arts patrons with smaller budgets. If you are interested in showing at Tiny Gallery, please email Christina Xan at jasperprojectcolumbia@gmail.com

Gina Langston Brewer Expands Her Popular Tiny Gallery Show Incohesive, A Collection Rife With the Importance of Creation

“Mostly I create out of a need to process my emotions about the world around me.” 

Tiny Gallery Featured Artist Gina Langston Brewer

We are halfway through our November Tiny Gallery with Gina Langston Brewer, a local multi-media artist. We’ve been overwhelmed by the love towards the show so far—in just the first 24 hours, nearly 50% of her show, Incohesive, sold out. 

Brewer was a self-proclaimed “army brat” towards the beginning of her life, but she spent most of her formative years in West Columbia. Her family home was filled with art, but the idea of having a career as an artist never presented itself as an option. 

Regardless, Brewer found herself continually inspired by her Grandmother Langston, a multi-media artist herself, who worked with themes surrounding nature, flowers, and the ocean. 

“She made art out of everything. My dad was a contractor and brought her scraps of wood, that he beveled, to paint on,” Brewer recalls, “She gave me a love and appreciation for art, nature, and using what you have available to you.” 

However, when Brewer first ventured to Winthrop University, she wasn’t planning on going down the same path–her eyes instead set on teaching. Then, she started taking art classes as electives, and before long, she graduated with a B.A. in Art. 

“Though I have taken college courses, I feel somewhere between a fine and a folk artist,” Brewer ruminates, “Mostly I create out of a need to process my emotions about the world around me.” 

White Wash by Gina Langston Brewer

Like her grandmother, Brewer works with the materials that are closest to her in the moment. “I will, can, and have worked in most mediums, yet I mostly work with acrylic paints,” Brewer shares, “I have also been working on several copper wire sculptures, recycled lightbulb/cork insects, wood assemblages, and altered books.” 

Within these various creations, Brewer seems to often return to one dominant theme: the female form. “Mother and child, Life, the creators of life,” Brewer intimates, “I have always painted voluptuous women, body positive, having always been quite zaftig, myself.”

Orange Recline by Gina Langston Brewer

Brewer also reflects on how her art is a powerful tool of distraction in the time of COVID and worrisome news updates pervasive across multiple channels. This collection stems from both Brewer’s standing loves and these new emotions. 

“I told a friend when I had my next show it would be called Incohesive, because my work has just been all over the place,” Brewer remarks, “I've chosen mostly smaller recent works and a few pieces just to show the spectrum of what I've been up to.”  

Two of Brewer’s pieces are COVID Collaborations that she started with Kristine Hartvigsen just before lockdown, who wrote Brewer’s artist bio and statement for the show. Brewer also has featured a handful of her new recycled insect experiments, and ruminations on the female pervade the show.

Cork Toggle Fly by Gina Langston Brewer

As mentioned earlier, the show has been largely popular, and upon bathing in her gratefulness, Brewer has made an exciting decision: she will be adding a handful of new pieces to the show.  

“Being a part of [this show] has, in a way, reinvigorated my interest in being a part of the art ‘world,’” Brewer admits, “The past four years, I have shut down with my engagement and the art community—I'm very thankful for this opportunity and for the patrons of this incredible venue.” 

Throughout this week, on the Jasper Project social medias, we will be announcing and showing some of the new pieces Brewer has chosen to add to her gallery. While an inconhesion, all these pieces come together to tell a story: about femininity, about life, and about survival.  

“I never really plan what I am about to create. All that I know is that I must.” 

Mermaid Dance by Gina Langston Brewer

Gina Langston Brewer’s Tiny Gallery show runs through November 30th on the Jasper website and is the perfect opportunity to support local art and get your special someone an irreplaceable gift for the holidays.

Be sure to follow Brewer’s Instagram @metamorphosisters for updates on her art during and after the show.

By Christina Xan

CORONA TIMES - Jasper Talks with Dre Lopez about Designing During COVID

Please don’t give up.  Your worst days will always pass, even if that is difficult to see sometimes.  If you won’t do it for yourself anymore, do it for your loved ones.  Always keep fighting. 

Dre Lopez

In keeping with Jasper’s coverage of arts and artists during these weird quarantine times, we had the fun of a virtual interview with Columbia-based artist Dre Lopez last week. Catch up with Dre below & see what he’s been up to in this parallel universe we’re calling 2020.

JASPER: Dre, you’ve been a stalwart figure on the Columbia arts scene for a while now, but not everyone knows your story. Can you tell us about where you grew up and how you came to be the artist you are now?

DRE: Thank you for having me!  Well, my family moved around a good bit when I was a child so there’s several places that I sorta grew up in.  That said, I moved to Columbia from Miami.  In regards to my journey as an artist, it’s a big mixed bag of experiences and influences.  I’m self-taught so I’ve been creating since I was a kid and have pulled my lessons from all over the place.  Illustration of different kinds, renaissance painters, Graffiti writers, animation, graphic design, fashion design, etc.  I’ve always been a student of the craft so I just kept practicing and experimenting but forayed into professional waters as a freelance illustrator in 2003 and started doing professional graphic design around 2007.  I’m lucky to have dove into so many mediums and methods which allowed me to become a fairly versatile artist. I’ve been able to work in several different fields which is so important as a freelancer, to stay productive and busy.  I’m still learning (which I love), so the journey to “master” what I do will end when I die.  That feeds me, keeps me excited, seeing that there is so much more that I can add to my tool belt as I see improvements still after all these years.

DRE: You are a designer, illustrator, graphic artist and more – where do you spend the bulk of your time and what would you rather do if you could do whatever you wanted?

DRE: The bulk of my time is split between graphic design and illustration.  Depends on the season, it varies.  I love doing it all and prefer the variety.  It keeps things fresh and challenges my mind to work in different ways, from one project to the next.  Helps with boredom as well, my mind gets bored easily.  Now, if I had the ideal conditions, I would add even more variety, lol.  More illustration, more design, more painting, murals, sculpting, custom fashion, etcetera, etcetera.

JASPER: Do you mostly do freelance work or do you have a regular day job?

DRE: Yeah, for the most part I’m a freelancer.  I’ve had other jobs throughout the years that are both in my field, as well as other areas that have nothing to do with being a creative.

 One thing I’ve learned is that your goals can change as you go through your career, and allowing that perspective to take hold will open up so many other opportunities and accomplishments that you may not have realized were possible when you started.

JASPER: Who have been your greatest influences as an artist and what have you learned from them?

DRE: Hmm, that’s a tough question.  I’ve researched, studied, and pulled inspiration and lessons from SO many creators and creative fields.  With illustration most of my influences come from comic books, anime and editorial illustrators.  I still use a sense of storytelling with most of the work I do, this being part of what I learned specifically from sequential illustration and animation.  With my painting, the masters of the Renaissance and the Baroque Period were the main sources I looked to for technique and foundation to better my process.  My graphic design is probably most influenced by German minimalist aesthetics.  I would also say that Street Art and Graffiti have influenced all of my mediums as well.  Honestly, I would say that all the fundamentals and techniques I’ve learned, no matter the concentration, all have crossed over into the many things I create on a daily basis.  All of them have made me a more fundamentally complete creator.

What’s Next? - drawing by Dre Lopez

JASPER: Do you have any great goals out there on the horizon or are you chill doing what you’re doing now?

DRE: Definitely not chill where I’m at.  I’m not satisfied and know that there’s so much more to accomplish.  I will always freelance and continue to create my own work, so I will ride that wave wherever it takes me.  I’m also open and intrigued to work with art/design/illustration houses in the U.S.’s major cities, as well as Europe and Japan.  That’s one thing I haven’t done yet so the possibilities and challenges of that excite me.  I’ve done freelance work all over, but to work in one of those houses, especially overseas, would be amazing.  One thing I’ve learned is that your goals can change as you go through your career, and allowing that perspective to take hold will open up so many other opportunities and accomplishments that you may not have realized were possible when you started.

JASPER: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your work as an artist?

DRE: It’s been weird.  I think the constant stress of it has at times affected my focus.  Many routines had to change as well, which threw off schedules and the consistency of how I did things.  That’s been an adjustment, but not the worst part of it.  With COVID and the turbulence of what this presidential election year has been, it really has been challenging some days to deal with both of those burdens riding you for months, on top of whatever my “normal” life stressors have been.  I’m used to working under a lot of pressure, but it’s been mentally and emotionally exhausting on some days.  Some of these heavier days have dwindled my creative energy, which has been something new and strange for me.  I’ve never lacked in the creative energy department.  That said, having done this work for many years, I’m thankful that I have picked up enough skills and experience to maneuver through creative slumps, pandemic and chaotic political climates be damned.  Take breaks when your mind needs them, power through when you have the chance.

Unidos - painting by Dre Lopez

JASPER: For those of us who don’t have your skill sets, what words of wisdom can you offer us that would help us communicate with design artists more successfully?

DRE: One of the first and most important things I was lucky enough to learn early on, is to study and learn fundamentals.  I always had natural ability and style, but I lacked in the fundamentals department which is common for many self-taught creators.  Depending on which creative field will make a difference as to which fundamentals to focus on, but the rule applies the same to all of them.  Then practice, practice, practice.  Repetition in any skill is paramount.  The idea is to get as natural and comfortable with the fundamentals, so that once you know them intimately, then you can play around, twist and bend them to your will.  The beauty of creative fundamentals no matter your concentration, there’s crossover for many of them so you can use them across the board regardless of the work you’re creating.  Examples like color theory, composition, the way you lead the viewers eyes on an image, texture, lighting, are among a few of the fundamentals that can be applied to most visual creations.  Oh, and grow a thick skin as quick as possible.

Talent lives here, determination and passion live here.  The money?  The money does not live here, unfortunately.  Figuring out how to embrace quality creatives that are serious about having a professional career and make Columbia their home base is the main problem. 

JASPER: Can you tell us about any arts organizations you are affiliated with and what their mission is?

DRE: My most consistent collaborations and affiliations are with Palmetto Luna.  They are a non-profit organization based in Columbia that focuses on the arts and Latinx artists in the southeast United States to expose communities to Latinx culture through art.  I’m a Latinx/Latino artist so the collaborations have been a natural fit (being that I’m passionate about both of those parts of my identity), thanks to the wonderful efforts that Ivan Segura and Alejandro Garcia-Lemos have put forth throughout the years for that organization.

Cocky Free Times Cover by Dre Lopez

JASPER: What one thing could we do in the Midlands – something that is actually within our power to do – that would make life here so much better for artists?

DRE: This is one I’ve been trying to figure out for the many years I’ve partaken in the Columbia art scene.  The main problem for most artists in this town is not being able to survive and succeed financially.  Many artists I’ve known here have burned out on creating and/or moved to other cities give at least an opportunity to make a decent living.  Talent lives here, determination and passion live here.  The money?  The money does not live here, unfortunately.  Figuring out how to embrace quality creatives that are serious about having a professional career and make Columbia their home base is the main problem.  I’ve seen several ideas implemented but nothing has been tangibly successful to make a real difference.  The support from both the city and the arts patrons has to be with real money, not just platitudes and high fives.

JASPER: Anything else exciting going on in your professional life these days you can share with us?

DRE: Sure thing!  The next thing I’m about to birth into the world and am excited about is an apparel line I’m releasing called Gutter Baby.  It’s gonna be a lifestyle brand/fashion line of shirts, hoodies, hats, accessories, one-of-a-kind customs, and prints inspired by many of my influences in Punk, Hip Hop, horror, sci-fi, lowbrow, pop art and street culture.  It’s more or less my uncensored, whatever the fuck goes art line.  The store link, soon to be released, is www.gutterbb.com

Benzel front cover illustration by Dre Lopez

JASPER: And how can readers get in touch with you to learn more about your work?

DRE: Different ways, on IG look me up @infidel_castro_x and @gutter.baby.apparel and if you’re interested in my more corporate/conventional work my website is www.drelopezcreative.com

www.drelopezcreative.com 

JASPER: Anything else you want to say or suggest or complain about – here’s your platform!

DRE: No complaints.  Keep fighting, nothing is permanent.  Many people in general and especially in these times of uncertainty with COVID and political unrest are dealing with great amounts of pressure, anxiety, depression, and PTSD of some form.  Suicides are rising everywhere.  Please don’t give up.  Your worst days will always pass, even if that is difficult to see sometimes.  If you won’t do it for yourself anymore, do it for your loved ones.  Always keep fighting. 

https://www.facebook.com/palmettoluna/

In His First Show Since COVID, Christopher Lane Considers the Necessity of Unity in Dividing Times - by Christina Xan

 “A lot of people feel desperate out there,” Lane says. “And on a humanistic level, I get an idea of why people feel the way they do—they just feel helpless.”  

It’s unusual for Modern Surrealist painter Christopher Lane to take such a large break from exhibitions.  

Lane is no stranger to sharing the stories he weaves together on his canvases. In fact, 2020 started with a show in Minnesota, followed by acceptances to Art Fields in Lake City and Spoleto in Charleston.  

Then, the pandemic hit.  

Since the start of COVID-19, the painter has stayed mostly at home, quarantining with his partner, Lisa, and dogs, Loki and Samson. But that doesn’t mean he stopped painting. So, when friend and gallery-owner Rob Shaw asked Lane to do a show in his space, the fragments of United We Stand formed quickly.  

The collection is a mix of pieces old and new, and either way, ever relevant. The 52-year-old artist has been painting in response to social and political events for decades, both as a way of working through his own mind and of sharing those inner workings. In recent months, this has only become truer.  

“You know, I look around and ask what’s the disconnect,” Lane says. “I don’t understand the disconnect.” 

Originally, Lane had titled this most recent collection Divided We Fall as he responded to this increasing disconnect in our country. However, as he continued to paint and watch, which he often does as he watches the news, his mindset shifted. 

“I want to emphasize a unity amongst us, regardless of party, ethnicity, race, religion, and gender,” Lane shares, “My work observes the pitfalls of allowing division to thrive and grow amongst a people.”  

This body of work builds on top of seeds sewn in his Resist Division exhibition last year, new vines and tendrils wrapping around sensitive and poignant issues.  

“It’s election year, we are in the middle of a world pandemic, and we are so busy fighting amongst ourselves that we are no longer paying attention to them,” Lane says, “that small, yet powerful group of people who control our world.” 

Lane has always spoken for those small individuals, held an eye in his head and his heart for those details in both people and their surroundings.    

“A lot of people feel desperate out there,” Lane says. “And on a humanistic level, I get an idea of why people feel the way they do—they just feel helpless.”  

These concerns have pervaded not only Lane’s work but his life, the product of a military household whose father served in three wars and a veteran of the navy himself.  

“My greatest desire is that my paintings reflect the one truth, we are all the same. We are all one.  And United We Stand.”

Some fights exist within physical places, but this fight traverses boundaries. With this exhibit, Lane desires to speak to all, to promote inclusivity and share humanity regardless of the lines that often separate. 

“I like to paint to where someone in another country can look at my work and enjoy it,” Lane says. “You know, they don't need to speak English. They don't need to understand my colloquial behavior to get it.” 

“The Grifters”, a featured piece from the show, conveys this desire in a Tower of Babel-esque push and pull of color, conversation, and performance—a struggle we all suffer the repercussions of.

The Grifters by Christopher Lane

“My greatest desire is that my paintings reflect the one truth, we are all the same. We are all one.  And United We Stand,” Lane concludes. 

United We Stand opens this Friday, November 6th, and runs until December 1st.  The opening reception Friday evening begins at 6pm at the Rob Shaw Gallery in West Columbia. Masks, social distancing, and safety precautions will be in place. 

To follow Lane’s work during and after the show, follow his Facebook page, “Christopher Lane Art,” and check out his website for available works and prints: https://www.laneartworks.com/

Tiny Gallery Highlight: Jennifer Hill Shares Creatively Creepy and Cute Life Reflections with New Collection of Creatures

Woodland Nymph specimen

This month, Jasper is delighted to be hosting Jennifer Hill, aka Jenny Mae Creations, for our October Tiny Gallery show. Hill is featuring a delightful array of little creatures: 13 needle felted, two plush, and one voodoo. 

Hill grew up in Chapin on Lake Murray, and her aunt, an artist and a painter, introduced her to the Brian Froud Faeries book at a young age, which she claims left an impression that still affects her work today.

Before she found her way to dollmaking, Hill’s first love was theatre, which she started doing in middle school. “I can't really explain why I chose to do it; it was just something I thought I would enjoy,” Hill recalls, “And I didn't just enjoy it. I fell in love with it.”

Now, years later, Hill is a Company Member at Trustus Theatre, which she considers her home, and the people there, family. Since then, she also started performing on the street as a living statue.

“It's a whole other way of performing that I fell in love with,” she says on street performing, “There's nothing like sharing a theatrical moment on the street with a curious stranger — a performance that only requires me and whoever happens to walk by.”

This aspect of performance is similar to what Hill chases in her physical creations as well. “The relationship I draw between [performance and art] is that it's me expressing myself and putting it out to others and connecting with them,” she states, “Which is something I always feel the desire to do.” 

voodoo dolly

It was in her early twenties that Hill made the venture that resulted in this connection. Between her performance projects, she wanted another creative outlet and found her way to crafting collages and voodoo dolls with found objects.

“I started with collage because I love the practice of taking things a part and creating something new out of it”, she shares, further saying, “I've always been weirdly obsessed by the idea of voodoo dolls ever since I saw an episode of Scooby-Doo when I was a kid that featured one.”

This is just one example of themes from Hill’s childhood popping up in her work. Because of a love of dolls from childhood, she was led to a DIY sock monkey kit at Christmas one year. From there, her love for fiber art sparked, leading to a plethora of creations representing a reflection of Hill’s inner self.

“When I'm making things, I'm often processing something that's going on inside me. I think that's why creating is so essential to me,” she ruminates, “And I really like the juxtaposition of something being cute but also a little unsettling and raw. There's often a dose of humor in my work.”

two-headed woodland nymph

When it comes to the art of making, Hill is completely self-taught. One day during the process of self-teaching and experimentation, she decided to walk into an art gallery with a box of dolls and see if they were interested – they were.

“My big break came when the art director for the film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium emailed me that he saw my plush creations online and wanted to use them in some of their background shots,” she recalls, “I was STUNNED.”

Since then, Hill is always searching for new mediums and modes of inspiration, two years ago, she came across needle felting. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, Hill shares that you start with loose wool, mold it into a loose shape, and then stab it repeatedly with a barbed needle. As you stab more and more, the wool becomes more tangled and then firmer until you end up with a finished object.

“I really love the sculptural aspect of it. The freedom to start with a pile of wool and mold it into whatever I want,” she shares, “I love that it's fiber, but I can sculpt with it using a needle in a way I can't with regular fabric and sewing. I feel like I have more control in a way.” 

Whether with needle felting, plushes, or voodoo dolls, Hill keeps walking her “fine line” between cute and creepy, making wounded creatures that don't actually exist and often come from her childhood. 

Afraid

Hill hopes that in showing these personal representations of her own hopes and fears, others might find a sense of reflection and thus comfort in her work.

“I hope that the wounded misfit inside them feels seen. That their inner child may be delighted or even soothed,” she pauses, “We're all strange and hurting in some way, and there's a human connection in that, and if nothing else, they may spend a few minutes with their childhood self that's still in there wanting to be seen.”

Hill has been opening this path to people for years, having been part of several art shows, some local, some in other parts of the country, and one in Italy. “The wonderful people at The Columbia Museum of Art gave me my first one night only solo show when Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium came out,” she remembers.

As uncertain as some aspects of living may be right now, Hill knows creating is her one constant.

“Since COVID, live theater, acting with others, and street performing has pretty much been put on hold,” she admits, “So, I feel very lucky to still have this other way of expressing myself creatively because it is essential in my life, and I plan to just keep creating anyway I can. It's what I need to do to be happy.”

mushroom specimen

You can follow Hill on her Instagram @jennymaecreations or her Facebook page @Jenny Mae Creations.

Hill’s show will be up until the end of October, so be sure to check out her strange and wonderful creations on the Jasper website—perfect for Halloween and for anytime you want a fun little version of a part of you sitting on your shelf.

Street performer Jenny Mae - photo by Crush Rush

Jasper Galleries Welcomes Thomas Washington to Motor Supply Co.'s Walls (Copy)

For more interviews with the many exciting Artists of Color in the Greater Columbia Arts Community,

please search for

BLACK ART MATTERS

in the search box on the Jasper Project Blog Page

Artist Thomas Washington aka Thomas the younger

Jasper Magazine visual arts editor and board member of the Jasper Project, Laura Garner Hine, has been busy installing a brand new show of art in the gallery spaces at Motor Supply Co in Columbia’s historic Congaree Vista. Our featured artist this quarter — Thomas Washington, aka Thomas the younger!

It was my sincerest pleasure to interview Mr. Washington just before his show was installed last week.

~~~

Hi Thomas, and thanks for spending some virtual time with the Jasper Project. We’re excited about the show of your artwork recently installed at Motor Supply in Columbia’s Vista. But first we want to catch up any readers who aren’t familiar with your work.

JASPER: Tell us, please, a little about your background. I know you’re from Springfield, Massachusetts, but what brought you to Columbia, SC and did you go anywhere else along the way?

WASHINGTON: We moved south when my father’s job laid him off, starting a classic cascade of loss. This included the house we’d always known (to foreclosure); friends; community. My mom’s from this area, so we were—in a real sense—following her “home”.

JASPER: How did you get into painting – are you self-taught or did you study under someone else?

WASHINGTON: I’m self-taught...but every piece I’ve ever seen informs me. One way or the other.

JASPER: Who has influenced you most as an artist?

WASHINGTON: Amy Windland’s trees; Travis Charest’s details; Keith Tolen’s focus; Joe Madureira’s structuring; the tenebrism of Humberto Ramos; Stephen King’s storytelling, as well as Ann Patchett’s; Moebius (Jean Giraud); Giger; Whelan; everything about Lucas Sams; the depth of Darrell K. Sweets; Michael Krajewski’s economy; the exquisite technicians, Margaret & The Brothers O’Shea; The Brothers Hildebrandt; The Brothers Lopez; Michael Anastasion’s intensity; every woman I’ve ever loved too deeply, and every woman who returned it; my children; my sorrows and madnesses, too; every soul who ever appreciated anything I generated, especially when I want to wash my hands of it all—I owe much to many, and could not finish their naming in a sitting. 

JASPER: how would you describe your work in terms of genre and what mediums and format sizes do you prefer to work with and why?

WASHINGTON:  I must leave that “description” to others. I will work in any medium I can afford to acquire, and in any dimension(s).

JASPER: There is a dreamy, magical quality to so much of your work – as if you are telling a story with your paintings. Is there magic in your art? Are you telling stories? If so, what are your stories about?

WASHINGTON:  I have a universe. Every project is connected to The One Project...and I imagine this is actually true for most creators, though the degree to which each of us engages that truth...varies. The tale cannot be told, nor summed—it’s a web, and still being woven.

JASPER: You go by Thomas the younger – can you please elaborate on this name?

WASHINGTON: My father—Thomas the Elder—is an artist, as well. (I don’t use “Washington” when I use “the younger”, and I don’t capitalize the initial letters. On occasionally doffing the family name: I’m a black sheep, and I can acknowledge that. When we needed less names, we were more human—I use the archaic moniker because it isn’t dead. Just buried. Capitalization...feels wrong.)

JASPER: I know that your children also influence your work as an artist – can you tell us about your children and how they influence you?

WASHINGTON: My children were born into a dark world. I have no clue how to brighten it—I am, perhaps, too acquainted with its darkness. They, themselves, are lights. Their faces, their spirits, their tableaux—my work is infused with these. Sometimes, in direct homage.  

JASPER: You have a Jasper Project sponsored show up at Motor Supply Co. Bistro now. Talk to us about the art being exhibited at the restaurant. Did you paint specifically for the show or did you select from items from your inventory to show?

WASHINGTON: As of this writing, only new work is in the show. If 2020 serves up some 2020esque catastrophe—a flood; a fierce gale; a destructive fury, wherein which I destroy pieces—I’ll adapt. I’ve got too many pieces stacked up in here. Always. 

JASPER: If there is a theme to the show, what is it all about?

WASHINGTON:  I’m still tightening most of them...which means I’m afraid to commit to a theme. There’s more than one, anyhow. I suppose that description, too, should be left to others.

JASPER: How has the current BLM movement affected you and your work? Are you optimistic – why or why not?

WASHINGTON: There’s no victory without perfect victory...so there’s no victory. Humanity cannot grow out of this inhuman stage, it seems. That’s reality...and we don’t like reality. 

JASPER: Artists across the color, gender, and discipline spectrums are particularly challenged now by both the COVID pandemic and the lack of support from the state and federal government. There is no question that it is more difficult to practice your art and make a living at it if you are an artist of color, correct? Can you please address this reality and offer your opinions or ideas on how our culture can better support and promote artists of color?

WASHINGTON:  As long as we function under a capitalist model, people of color will merit “a blank check”. This will likely never be issued. Thus—without the interventions/intercessions of wealthy patrons and benefactors willing to pour millions (maybe even billions) into finally lending ballast to we outliers ... we outliers will predictably continue to flounder on the cusp of chaos. This is actually true for the entire swath of poor, marginalized, and systematically destroyed humans—not just “artists of color”. For now, we’re (instead) inundated via “trickle-down wreckonomics”. An incessant deluge. 

JASPER: How do you feel about the strength and efficacy of the Black artist in the Columbia arts community? Are Midlands area artists as unified across racial lines as we should be? What needs to happen to create and nurture a racially healthier community of artists?

WASHINGTON:  Humans are formatted to prefer an “us” over a “them”. It seems nearly impossible to convince “us” that “us” is the only category. Educate humans to that effect, however, and one could subsequently watch these issues rectify themselves. Effortlessly. There is one race. Regardless of what the colonialist elites enacted. Regardless of how well it worked on the freshly-minted category (“white”), turning them against their allies. Regardless of how we’ve been enculturated. One.

JASPER: What’s up next for you and your work and where can readers find your work on the internet?

WASHINGTON: My website’s thomastheyounger.com, and the work there is never done. Releases, updates, et cetera—betwixt that site and following my Facebook Page (“The Works of Water”), it’s relatively easy to keep up with pending projects.

— cb

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