Artists Rise Up with Neighborhood Art Shows & Bohumila Augustinova Tells Us Why

Given that the Jasper Project is a full-blooded grass roots arts organization with a penchant for do-it-your-selfers and folks who say screw the system that we didn’t design and take problem solving into their own hands, we love and celebrate the, now, many community-based art shows on the calendar these days.

These events have grown organically from the hearts and environs of the artists themselves and been nurtured by their neighbors who know the value of having artists who live next door or just down the street. Those artists tend to live life intentionally, prioritizing beauty and finding their own versions of gods in the tiniest details of their lives. They tend to be kind and respectful of shared spaces. Or they may keep to themselves unless they are needed. In any case, having artists as neighbors usually means lovely yards and porches that bother no one and enhance the world around them, so why wouldn’t non-artist neighbors enjoy participating and encouraging neighborhood arts events like the Cottontown Art Crawl, Melrose Art in the Yard, Keenan Terrace Art in the Yard and more?

Jasper is here to cheer on our local artists as they brave the chilly days ahead and gather under tents (and probably blankets) to show the rest of us how their spirits have manifested into the beautiful art they’ve created and have for sale. We love the lack of a middle person. We love that the artists are turning over the temple tables for themselves. We love the purity of this kind of exchange – value for value. And we love that the artists said We have art for sale, and we need somewhere to sale it, and solved that problem for themselves.

Here's a look at some of the al fresco arts events coming to a neighborhood near you.

THIS SUNDAY 11/20/22

According to their social media, “Historic Melrose Art in the Yard held the first art event in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. The idea was to provide local artists and artisans with a safe place to show and sell their wares while also showcasing the historic neighborhood. The event drew hundreds of people to explore the neighborhood. … The November 20th AITY will be the eighth time the event has been held. This event is entirely outdoors and spread over several city blocks.”

Melrose Art in the Yard welcomes more than 80 artists to show and sell their original work in the historic, downtown Columbia neighborhood. The event also features food and a concert by Admiral Radio, starting at 4:30 pm.

NEXT SATURDAY 11/26/22

Hosts Bohumila Augustinova and Bekah Rice invite you to join them for the third annual Keenan Terrace Art in the Yard with 16 artists selling their handmade, one of a kind creations.

Artist participating in this event include Lucas Sams, Gina Langston Brewer, Adam Corbett, Ginny Merett, Diane Hare, Barbara Howes-Diemer, Michael Krajewski, Wayne Thornley, Valerie Lamott, Flavia Lovatelli, Jennifer Hill, Stan Cummings, Elisabeth Donato-Owens, Ellen Fishburne, Tennyson Corley, and. of course, Bohumila Augustinová.

Bohumila Augustinova Chats About Why She Loves Pop Up Outdoors Art Shows

I was part of Melrose Art in the Yard. It was their second or third year and I was set up next to couple of  my friends. We loved the event. I have a big front yard, so we decided that maybe we could do our own version of the event. Just with all of the artists in the same area.  

Starting the event wasn’t all that difficult. I organized plenty of art events before, so this may have been the easiest event I ever organized. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a lot of work. Just not as stressful.  

There are few things I really like about it. First, I love and adore working with local artists, so showing my work right by their side is always a pleasure. I love that neighbors come on foot, with their dogs and kids. It has a true community feeling to it. I get to know some artists that live right in my neighborhood and so many of my friends come to support the event.  

We have a few artists that been with us since the beginning and few new faces as well. 

We have Michael Krajewski, who’s been selling his work at this event since the beginning. He brings his smaller works of art and sell them at amazing prices. Michael is also a collector of vintage toys, so he always entertains us with different toys he brings.  

This year for the first time Tennyson Corley is bringing her amazing ceramic sculptures. They are really humorous and charming.  

Wayne Thornley, he’s been one of my favorite local artists for years and a good friend. He’s dangerous to me, because I know I’m going to want to buy more of his work. He brings paintings and his wish boxes, and I have the feeling I need another one of those. 

I’m excited because Liz Donato who was my first ever pottery teacher will be joining us. Her pottery is so beautifully made. 

Ellen Fishburne is one of our neighbors and she does amazing watercolor paintings and notecards.  

We are doing this once a year. We settled on the Saturday after Thanksgiving because it’s “shop local day.” 

The only tricky part of this event is that even though our front yard is big, it’s not big enough to grow. We can only have about 17 artists. At this point, the only call for artist we do is on the neighborhood facebook page.

Jasper Talks with Sean Rayford on Inspiration, Favorite Photographers, and Tiny Gallery

“I rode my bicycle on Willie Nelson's ranch —” 

This month, we’re showing off some stunning photography from award-winning and Time Magazine Best Photos of 2021 feature photographer Sean Rayford. Hear more about his life and his current show with us below.

JASPER: Did art come to you young, or did you find it later in life? 

RAYFORD: Shortly after my birth in Annapolis, Maryland, my family moved to a small town in the center of the Australian Outback. If you draw crosshairs on the continent, you'll find the town of Alice Springs on the southern edge of the Northern Territory. Downtown, if you might call it that, there was a photo lab, and the print machine was placed in the front window of the storefront. I remember standing on the sidewalk watching with intrigue as tourists’ photos dropped out of the machine. Every errand downtown was highlighted by the opportunity to see this in action, and if there were no photos being printed, it was a disappointment. 

We moved back to Maryland when I was five. My older brother was into art and me, I was into sports. During one stretch, he was processing film in our basement closet. In high school I’d take an intro class to black and white photography, probably the same one that inspired him to process film at home, and I'd join the school newspaper. 

JASPER: Did you continue to study it officially or did it remain more so a personal project? 

RAYFORD: I came to the University of South Carolina in the late nineties as a computer science major and planned a career in that field. During my first week on campus, I joined the Gamecock Newspaper and by the Spring semester I had taken on the role of the photo editor. Here, I had special access to an endless stream of subject matter, a digital film scanner, and most of the time I'd get reimbursed for the film expenses.  

I earned a Bachelor of Media Arts degree from USC, but there's little art background in my education. Early in photography I was just experiencing life, playing (practicing) with a camera, being curious, documenting things, learning, and making mistakes. Art wasn't a concern of mine. I just enjoyed playing with light, shapes and color and experiencing what the world had to offer, in person. I didn't know what I was doing. I probably still don’t, and I guess that's the beauty of it. There’s always a chance to learn and apply it to the next time.

JASPER: What did you do after graduation? 

RAYFORD: After I graduated from USC, I interned and freelanced at The State Newspaper, where I came into regular contact with photojournalists approaching photography with different artistic approaches, definitely more thoughtful than I. They each had their strengths and weaknesses, and those different styles heavily influenced my approach. To my knowledge, I was the last contributing photographer at The State Newspaper who regularly shot assignments on film, processed and scanned negatives. Back then, whenever I processed photos on film, I thought about how I wasn’t making photos. The darkroom was awesome - but cumbersome.  

Here, photo editor Chuck Dye pushed me to look more into the traditional art components of photography. Chuck brought me in with Robert Frank’s American’s and pushed me to look at great painters. I watched a bunch of lectures and presentations on YouTube while I continued to freelance and take on personal projects. This gave me consistent opportunities to apply what I was learning. Now, I’m more likely to be listening to audiobooks about the creative process.

JASPER: And what kind of experimenting do you like to do now? 

RAYFORD: Before I became a full-time photographer in 2015, I bartended at New Brookland Tavern where I occasionally hosted arts and crafts night when we didn't have shows. At the least, most people would color in the weird coloring books I acquired. We’d paint and experiment with all sorts of mixed media in a very social manner. They were typically slow nights, so I had time to participate. But it’s been a while since I’ve consistently done anything like that. I took one of Michael Krajewski’s classes this year though. That was fun. Now, I feel too much pressure as a freelance photographer to find the next paying gig or find the next personal photo project to pick up those types of projects. 

JASPER: What makes photography such a special medium for you? 

RAYFORD: I kinda see photography as a five-dimensional Tetris game, with color and light joining our three standard spatial measurements. Introducing people to the mix, increasing the speed at which your blocks fall. n my primary field of photojournalism, my art form isn’t photography, but rather visual storytelling. And when it's time to "be creative" there is no backing out. You have to perform and deliver. It's somewhat like sports in a way, but there aren't measured winners and losers for each performance. The friendly competitiveness and the continuous repetition using cameras, taking lots of assignments, taught me a lot about photography and especially about photographing humans. However, you won’t see any people in the pieces here in this Tiny Gallery. Most of the photos here are what most folks might call landscapes. I would call them natural "scene setters" in my visual story-telling process. And for much of these, they were made for that purpose. 

JASPER: Along those line, are there any particular ideas you aim to express with your work? 

RAYFORD: I don’t think I’m trying to express many of my ideas with photography, but I can't escape the fact that I'm bringing all of my personal experiences into my photo making process. I'm organizing visual components to tell a story — and my life experiences heavily influence that process. I’m trying to take the viewer to where I’m at, at that time. And if I’m making photos as a photojournalist, I also have to do this within our ethical boundaries — like not moving items and not asking folks to perform for the camera (portraits excluded). 

There are always recurring themes and subject matter with my photography, but it's extremely varied because of what I'm tasked with as a documentarian. And all those different things that I photograph influence one another, both in how I approach it as a human and someone practicing an art form.

JASPER: Tell me a bit about the logistical aspects of your creative process.  

RAYFORD: My creative journey begins when I have my cameras in good working condition, batteries charged, and with appropriate memory cards ready to roll. I should be hydrated and fed. As technology advances so do the tools that I use. Logistics and planning are huge factors. With photography, you physically have to be somewhere at a specific time, and there are no do-overs. It’s typically impossible and would definitely be unethical.  

There's an old adage that luck sits at the intersection of preparedness and opportunity. My creative journey cannot ignore the preparedness aspect. That’s so key because once you get out into the field doing your thing, you shift into your highest gears and need to rely on the brain-hand-camera connection, where fractions of seconds matter.

JASPER: With all these “fractions,” how did you select the photos for this specific show?  

RAYFORD: For the Tiny Gallery I chose photos from recent visual explorations of the natural world here in the Carolinas, from the Midlands to the North Carolina mountains. 

The photos were made as recent as Oct 31st of this, and the oldest about 3 years ago. There is a group of single exposure photographs of "snappy syncs" or synchronous fireflies (photuris frontalis), a rare species that inhabits central South Carolina. 

JASPER: Is there anything specifically you hope people get from viewing these images? 

RAYFORD: I hope the collection will inspire people to explore. We spend a lot of time inside with technology. Go see neat things. Congaree National Park is a time machine. The mountains of North Carolina — epically ancient. 

JASPER: Hard question, I know, but could you pick a favorite photo in the show? 

RAYFORD: My favorite photo may be the most recent photo, the only one here from Congaree National Park. That excursion has been on my calendar for several months, and just when I was at the right spot, I was blessed with gorgeous light. So many times, it doesn't work out that way. 

JASPER: Speaking of favorites, who are your favorite photographers, or artists in general? 

RAYFORD: My favorite photographers are William Klein, Henri Cartier Bresson, Jill Freedman and Saul Leiter — to name a few. Outside of photography, Edward Hopper and Goya got my attention as a kid, and they still do. 

JASPER: Do you have any real “wow” moments in terms of recognition? 

RAYFORD: A photo I made covering the Ahmaud Arbery story was included in Time Magazine's "Best Photos of 2021." 

JASPER: Most random moment related to your photography career? 

RAYFORD: At some point in my journey as a photographer, I rode my bicycle on Willie Nelson's ranch. 

See Rayford’s Tiny Gallery show at Jasper’s virtual gallery until the end of November.

Announcing Tiny Gallery’s 2022 Ornament Show

Last year, Jasper had its first Tiny Gallery Ornament Show, and this year we’re doing it again with five artists across disciplines. From ceramics to acrylic to trolls, these handmade works make a perfect gift or addition to your own holiday decorations.

Check out our lineup and mark your calendars for when their work goes on sale December 1st!

Adam Corbett

Photo by David Russell Stringer

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

Tennyson Corley

Tennyson Corley is a contemporary artist from the heart of South Carolina. Her current work is what she describes as "ceramic illustration." Sculptural story-book creatures with a healthy dose of Beatrice Potter and Orwellian Animal Farm influence, each with their own, at times, humorous back story.

You can check out her work on Instagram @tennyson_corley_art and on her website: https://www.tennysoncorleyart.com/

Michael Krajewski

Michael Krajewski is a self-taught artist who has shown in numerous galleries, collaborated on large, commissioned pieces for museums, painted live at art events and been the subject of magazine and newspaper profiles. He was Jasper Magazine’s first centerfold in 2011. His style has been called neo-expressionist and compared to Jean-Michel Basquiat's, though Krajewski says he is less interested in defining, more interested in producing. He’s had solo shows at the HoFP Gallery, Frame of Mind, and Anastasia & Friends in Columbia, SC, and participated in a two-person show at the Waterfront Gallery in Charleston and in a group show at 701 Whaley.

Holly Rauch

Holly has always had a creative streak, starting as a child sketching characters from the Sunday comics, and enjoying cross-stitch needlework and paper crafts as an adult. Her recent interest in acrylic painting began by attending “paint parties” with friends. With no formal art education but wanting to learn more, she used online tutorials to teach herself dot art, palette knife work, fluid acrylics, one-stroke, and other acrylic techniques. She’s most enthusiastic about abstract designs, but also enjoys painting landscapes, scenes of nature, flora, and fauna. In 2006, Holly lost her only child, Lyssa, to cancer. Lyssa was 20 years old and a sophomore at Winthrop University in Rock Hill SC, studying technical theater when she passed away. The Lyssa Rauch Memorial Scholarship was established in Winthrop’s Department of Theater and Dance, funded entirely by private donations. But when the scholarship experienced financial difficulties, Holly decided to start selling her art and use her hobby to benefit a worthy cause. Now the proceeds from the sale of Holly’s art directly funds this scholarship. A $1,000 award is presented each spring to a rising 4th or 5th year student, keeping Lyssa’s memory alive, and helping future artists follow their own passions in the arts. Holly is a member of the Cayce Arts Guild. She lives in Lexington SC with her husband Todd Leger, Alexandra the Golden Retriever, and three crazy cats: Jaime, Tyrion, and Cercei. You can view Holly’s entire body of work at her Facebook page “Heartisan Love”: htps://www.facebook.com/HeartisanLove

Lucas Sams

Lucas Sams is an award-winning Columbia, SC multi-media artist working in painting, sculpture, film, digital/multimedia, and installation art. Sams works have been exhibited locally and regionally in major art festivals, galleries, and alternative spaces, and featured in Jasper Magazine, the SC State Newspaper, Garnet and Black Magazine, and the Timber Journal of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Jasper Presents A Tabitha Ott Trunk Show & Community Caroling for Vista Lights

You’re invited to kick off your holidays with the Jasper Project at Vista Lights!

Join all the friends and family of the Jasper Project at Coal Powered Filmworks for Vista Lights as we celebrate artist Tabitha Ott with an exciting trunk show of her innovative jewelry and wearable art. We’ll be decked out for the holidays, singing Christmas carols on Lincoln Street (led by Adam Corbett and Bekha Rice!), sipping warm cider (have some, please!) and waiting for you!

Tabitha Ott received her MFA in Jewelry and Metals from Kent State University and her BFA in Sculpture with a concentration in Jewelry and Metals from Winthrop University. Originally from Orangeburg, she now resides in Cayce, SC with her partner Gil. For eight years Tabitha served as a faculty member at Claflin University and from 2020-2022 she was the Interim Chair of the Department of Art there. She recently completed a month-long artist residency in rural Nebraska at Art Farm. For three years her studio was located at Tapp’s Arts Center on Main Street in Columbia. After the center closed in 2019, she relocated to her current studio at Tapp’s Outpost, located in Five Points in Columbia, SC.

Artist Statement: My current research involves investigations into metaphysics and philosophy. In my work, I use symbolism and unconventional material relationships to spark the imagination. In my creative practice, I aim to further understand myself, others, my environment, and the meaning of existence. My work is a communication of this journey toward enlightenment, understanding, and peace.

Coal Powered Filmworks is located at 1217 Lincoln Street in the Vista, across from the Blue Marlin. No unaccompanied children please!

Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina on view at the MET

… what it means to have and express agency while creating “art through coercion.”  

On view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City until February 5th, 2023, Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield South Carolina features work from African American potters in the 19th-century. The exhibition features roughly 50 items of pottery and stoneware from the Old Edgefield District, a locale for stone masonry in the decades leading up to the Civil War.

Literate enslaved person David Drake, who was a poet as well as a potter, has a couple of storage jars in the collection. Many of his works come from Stony Bluff Manufactory. The collection also features the slightly mysterious face vessels, whose creators are unknown. These vessels speak for themselves, however, with their specific yet enigmatic style.

The uniqueness of this exhibition corroborates the skill, knowledge, and artistic agency of the enslaved people of the American South. Coupled with modern scholarship, this exhibition offers insight into what it means to have and express agency while creating “art through coercion.”  

The exhibition features a catalogue and an audio guide to offer supplemental information on these materials. The audio guide is composed of dialogue from Black artists, scholars of African American history, an archaeologist, and even South Carolina’s own Tonya M. Matthews, CEO and President of the new International African American Museum in Charleston.  

As one unnamed scholar says in the audio guide introduction, “When we don’t interrogate enslaved artisans in the same way we interrogate all of our other artisans and craftspeople, we lose a very big part of the story. Not just the story then, but the story that we’re living now.”   

Visit the MET before February 5th, 2023, to hear this part of our very own South Carolina story.

Pumpkin Art Crawl Results from Friday Night's Fabulous Event

Thank you and congratulations to all the Pumpkin artists who graced our tables on Friday Night at our Curiosity Pumpkin Art Crawl! And thanks to sponsors Gardener’s Outpost and Megan O’Connell State Farm.

~

Winning the award for People’s Choice of the Greatest Pumpkin was Olga Yukhno for this beautiful creation.

The Award for Scariest Pumpkin went to Jennifer Hill for this monstrosity!

J. Michael McGuirt won the award for the Most Fun/Funniest Pumpkin for his candy-centric pumpkin beast!

And Michael Krajewski won the award for most innovative pumpkin for his creation which included a creepy dolly who vomited blood on demand!

Other unofficial awards are as follows:

Bohumila Augustinova for Most Delicate Carving

Tennyson Corley for Best Face in a Pumpkin for her Witch’s Profile

Lauren Chapman for Pumpkin Most Likely to Magically Fly Away

Kimber Carpenter for Pumpkin Most Likely to Find New Home at the Art Bar (and we think it did!)

Thomas Crouch for Scariest Skin Pumpkin

Billy Guess for Best Rendition of the Traditional and Classic Jack-o-Lantern

Abstract Alexandra for Most Mythological Pumpkin with her rendition of the Three Fates

Lucas Sams for Best Deconstructed Pumpkin for this abstract Pumpkin Monster that Bill Schmidt Loved the most!

And Cait Maloney who entered two Pumpkins in the competition — this Punk Ass Pumpkin and …

this incredibly clever creation, unique to Cait — her Signature Pumpkin, if you will — and Cindi’s all-time favorite of the night!

We had a fabulous time enjoying the good food from Mary’s Arepas, good music from DJ Spooky, and all the visitors who loved checking out our Pumpkin Art Crawl!

See you next year and Happy Halloween!

Photog Caleb Brown of Saucewithspoons Photo-Documents Jasper's 1st House Show - October 2022

Last Saturday, Jasper board member and local arts leader Bekah Rice hosted a house show at the One Columbia co-op as a fundraiser for the upcoming issue of Jasper Magazine. Featured bands included Death Ray Robin, Opus and the Frequencies, and Joseph Hunter Duncan, all of whom blew the crowd away. And by the way, let’s send out one more happy birthday to Joseph Hunter Duncan and thank him for spending his special day on our stage.

Featured artists included Gina Langston Brewer, David Dohan, Adam Corbett, Emily Moffitt, and Olivia Pope, who showed their work pop-up style inside the house at 1013 Duke Avenue, the old Indie Grits homeplace. This is the same place where Al Black hosts his monthly Front Porch Swing Sunday afternoon concert series as well as his once-a-month Jasper’s Tuesday night Poetry Salon.

By the way, Gina Langston Brewer is Jasper’s featured artist-in-residence at the Jasper First Thursday Gallery at Sound Bites in November — and David will be in residence in January 2023.

The bands were sponsored by board members Libby Campbell and Paul Leo with Eric Tucker, the wine and popcorn by Coal Powered Filmworks, and the beer by Muddy Ford Press. We also had a boat load of new helpers, most of whom were friends and family of Bekah. We can’t thank all of these sponsors and volunteers enough. You all rock!

But we were also lucky enough to be visited by local photographer Caleb Brown of Saucewithspoons who grabbed some pretty fabulous shots of the night. Caleb shared some of these shots with us; now we happily share them with you.

Tiny Gallery Artists Debora Life Converges Love for Gardening and Pottery in Her Ceramic Creations

This month, we have been delighted to showcase Debora Martin Life’s ceramics during out October Tiny Gallery show. Learn more about her and her work below! 

Debora Life grew up in Adena, a small coal-mining town in Ohio. She recalls her father having his own trucks and employees—while her mother kept both the books and the home—and cites observing them as one of her early influences: “That may have been an early exposure to seeing how things worked and what it took to keep a business up and running.” 

Though her first real exposure to art, and pottery specifically, would come after a move to Marietta when she was 11. This larger school brought hands-on experience with pottery and various mediums. In terms of training, though, art is not what Life went to school for—on the contrary, she is a trained nurse. 

Her first love of creation was really with plants. Life remembers “early passions include[ing] seeing the country by way of motorcycle riding with our daughters in a sidecar, then progressing to backseat passengers as they grew. We made several cross-country trips, falling in love with the West.” 

After moving to Arizona, Life became a Master Gardner and then became involved with a Cactus Society that met monthly at the Botanical Garden in Phoenix. As she learned about the world and its nature, she came to a conclusion: “with plants you need pottery.” 

Life began taking ceramic classes with every instructor she could at Arizona’s community colleges, and even after she moved to Columbia a few years ago, she continued this new love, working with pottery regularly at the City of Columbia Art Studio, which she still frequents. 

“My work has evolved as I have improved with practice and having the time to explore new avenues. Working a few evenings at the City Studio every week, friendships have grown also,” she shares, adding that her love of gardening and pottery have begun to merge, “Using leaves and textures are often incorporated into my artwork. I also have chickens and vermiculture at my Rosewood home.”  

In this Tiny Gallery show, Life has presented a plethora of practical yet beautiful pieces. Butter dishes and serving trays are lined with bright hues of cerulean or carved with individual faces and cities. The occasional pendant, animal, and even creature makes an appearance too.  

This is only the most recent in South Carolina opportunities Life reflects on as poignant to her. She has attended various conferences, a pottery exhibit at the Chandler Center, and was a vendor at the Phoenix Botanical Garden during a Cactus Society Show and Sale. 

On creating ceramic work, she reflects as such: “While I think of myself as someone who can carry out a task in a prompt fashion, pottery has been the most humbling of crafts that I have taken up.” 

You can view Life’s work until October 31st at Jasper’s virtual gallery: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery  

In the future, you can see Life’s work at the State Fair (10/12-23), Sesquicentennial State Park (11/6), Melrose Art Crawl (11/20), and Midlands Clay Art Society and Cottontown Art Crawl (11/23).

Gina Langston Brewer is the First Thursday Artist in Residence at Sound Bites in November

First Thursday

November 3rd @ 6 pm

Sound Bites Eatery

Gina Langston Brewer

The Jasper Project is excited to announce that Gina Langston Brewer will be the November artist-i-residence at the Sound Bites First Thursday Gallery, with an opening reception on Thursday, November 3rd, beginning at 6 pm.

According to Langston Brewer, “Much of my art is inspired by the community of strong women all around me, women who lift one another up every day, who are constantly present, like the air, providing currents of nurturing support and love. My images celebrate our curves, our colors, our joys, and our sorrows — all that gives us dimension and hope and fire in this world.”

Gina Langston Brewer

Langston Brewer’s show will be up throughout the month of November, but the artist will be in house on the night of the 3rd to meet patrons and answer questions.

Sound Bites Eatery has a full menu of sandwiches, salads, and more plus beer, wine, and other beverages.

Jasper Partners with Curiosity Coffee and Gardener's Outpost on Pumpkin Carving Contest with Some of the City's Finest Artists

The Jasper Project is excited to host some of the city’s spookiest artists in a pumpkin carving contest and you’re invited to vote on the Greatest Pumpkin People’s Choice Award!

Join us on Friday October 28th from 4 - 8 pm at Curiosity Coffee as more than a dozen local artists bring their scariest, funniest, and most innovative pumpkin creations to Curiosity Coffee to be admired and assessed by a panel of judges and YOU!

Our Artists include:  

 Bohumila Augustinova

Abstract Alexandra

Kimber Carpenter

Lauren Chapman Casassa

Tennyson Corley

Thomas Crouch

Billy Guess

Jennifer Hill

Michael Krajewski

Michael McGuirt

Lucas Sams

Olga Yukhno

Thomas Washington

Cait Maloney     

A panel of judges will select the Scariest, Silliest, and Most Innovative Pumpkins of the night and award them blue ribbons.

But You will determine the grand prize winner by purchasing special Jasper Candy Votes and and placing your votes in the trick-or-treat bag assigned to your favorite pumpkin. Candy votes will be $1 each and sold in $5 bags. At the end of the night, votes will be tallied, prizes will be awarded, and we’ll all divvy up the candy or donate it to sugar-crazy children. All proceeds will go toward publication costs for Jasper Magazine.

Curiosity Coffee has lots more fun planned, too, including Mary’s Arepas, Spooky Vibes by DJ Liv, and you can pick up your “Nightmare in Elmwood 5K Road Race” packet from 4 - 6:30pm.

We can’t wait to see what some of our favorite artists create and share the fun with all of you!

Robert Kennedy - My Life in the Figure at Stormwater Studios

By Meg Carroll

The opening reception for Robert Kennedy’s exhibition My Life in the Figure is at Stormwater Studios on Thursday, October 13th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. The exhibition will be on view at the studio complex from October 12th to the 15th.

My Life in the Figure is the culmination of the last 30 years of Robert Kennedy’s work. His first experience with figure drawing was at the Academia de’Belle Arte in Florence, Italy where he was enrolled at the age of 23. The Academia de’Belle Arte was founded in 1563 by Cosimo I de’ Medici and is associated with many famous artists such as Michelangelo — obviously a very prestigious academy for art.

Kennedy began his studies as a watercolor painter, and eventually moved on to oils, acrylics, and charcoal. He favors using charcoal and conte crayon on paper or acrylic on canvas for his figure drawings. However, Kennedy works in many mediums, listing on his artist page that he sculpts, as well.

However, since his enrollment some 60 odd years ago, figure drawing has remained Kennedy’s favorite mode of work, and he has worked in many mediums but usually with a live model. He appreciates the diversity of the human face and form, as working with models is never the same. “No two are alike as the movement of the model presents a new image each time,” he says.

This exhibition is collected from a vast amount of work which Kennedy completed both at Gallery 80808 and Stormwater Studios, where he is a resident artist. He has also worked in collaboration with About Face, a studio project which sponsors figure drawing in Columbia.

Stormwater Studios offers space for 10 practicing artists and gallery space for community artists. The space was started through a collaboration between the Columbia Development Corporation and the City of Columbia in order to revitalize InnoVista efforts, the city’s plan to create a diverse and multi-faceted urban landscape.

Stormwater Studios is located at 413 Pendleton Street in Columbia, SC.

Jasper Galleries Announces Art Shows at Harbison Theatre featuring David Yaghjian, Michael Krajewski, Lori Isom, and Olga Yukhno

David Yaghjian

The Jasper Project is delighted to announce the next several artists whose work will be featured in the Gallery Space of MTC’s Harbison Theatre at 7300 College Street in Irmo, SC.

Following the closing of the Steven White show on October 28th, we will be opening an exhibition by renown Columbia-based artist, David Yaghjian. Yaghjian’s work will show from early November through mid-January. We will celebrate Yaghjian’s art with a special reception on Sunday afternoon, December 11th in conjunction with the Holiday Pops concert by the SC Philharmonic. The reception will begin at 2:30 followed by the concert at 3:30. While the reception is free tickets to the concert may be purchased at Harbison theatre.

Following the Yaghjian exhibit, Jasper will welcome Columbia-based artist Michael Krajewski on Friday, January 20th, 2023. Krajewski’s exhibit will coincide with a concert featuring the comedy offerings of Tom Papa. A (free) reception for Krajewski’s work will begin at 6:30, followed by the Tom Papa show at 7:30. Tickets.

Lori Isom

On Friday, February 24, 2023, Jasper has invited Columbia/Camden-based artist Lori Isom to open a show of her work in conjunction with a concert by Camden native and country rockstar Patrick Davis. Reception (free) at 6:30 and concert at 7:30. Tickets.

And on Saturday, April 1st, artist Olga Yukhno will open a showing of her 2D and 3D ceramics at the Harbison Theatre Gallery in conjunction with a Concert by the tenor trio GENTRI. Reception at 6:30 and concert at 7:30. Tickets.

For more information on Harbison art please contact the Jasper Project at   jasperprojectcolumbia@gmail.com. For more information about performances please contact Harbison Theatre at  Harbisontheatre@midlandstech.edu

Renowned Artists Saunders and Jeffcoat Featured in Upcoming Show at Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery

From our friends at Rob Shaw Gallery

On Friday, October 7, from 6 to 9 p.m., Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery, 324 State Street in West Columbia, will host a reception to launch a month-long exhibit and sale of works by artists Boyd Saunders and Russell Jeffcoat. 

The show’s title, La Femme, recognizes this visual celebration of the eternal feminine presence. Artists throughout history have been inspired to depict women, honoring them both as the source of life and as the embodiment of physical grace and beauty.  

Saunders’ work spans more than fifty years. Painter, illustrator, printmaker, and distinguished professor emeritus of art at the University of South Carolina, he was born on a farm in Tennessee. Winner of multiple awards, Saunders has exhibited around the world, from Argentina to China. He began the printmaking program at the UofSC and has long been a fixture in the art scene throughout the Southeast.

Jeffcoat, a native of South Carolina, specializes in portraits and fine art photography of the South, rendered with a painstaking attention to detail. His subject matter ranges from classical portraits to luminous figures and reflects his expert understanding of a nearly lost artform: the use of vintage cameras and film.

The celebration of the feminine form can be traced as far back as the 30,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf and includes the marble Statue of a Woman from ancient Greece and the many renditions of the Madonna during the Italian Renaissance. Saunders and Jeffcoat have often returned to this time-honored form of artistic expression that remains prominent in contemporary art.  

Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery is a full-service frame shop and fine art gallery. Since opening his gallery in April of 2019, Shaw has hosted monthly exhibits to showcase South Carolina’s many talented artists.

Jasper Welcomes Lucas Sams to First Thursday at the Bourbon Courtyard

It’s the Jasper Project’s second First Thursday at the Bourbon Courtyard and, this time, we’re excited to welcome Columbia-based visual artist Lucas Sams.

Sams is a multi-media artist living and working in Columbia, SC; an alumnus of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the University of South Carolina, and Temple University, Tokyo, working in painting, sculpture, film, digital/multimedia, sound and installation art, with works exhibited in major art festivals, galleries and alternative spaces, and featured in Jasper Magazine, the SC State Newspaper, Garnet and Black Magazine, and the Timber Journal of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Sams is bringing a selection of his work to the Bourbon Courtyard for a one-night-only exhibit on Thursday, October 6th, as part of First Thursdays on Main.

Start your evening as early as 5 pm with a cocktail from Bourbon’s cutting-edge bar offerings while enjoying the art and chatting with the artist, then move on down Main Street to Columbia Museum of Art and one block over to Sumter Street and Sound Bites Eatery where Jasper is also hosting the opening night reception for First Thursday Artist in Residence, Marius Valdes.

It’s just like old times and we can’t wait to see you on and off the streets!

Jasper Welcomes Marius Valdes to October's First Thursday at Sound Bites

We’re delighted to welcome one of Columbia’s most soul-lifting artists, Marius Valdes, to the walls of Sound Bites Eatery for First Thursday, October 6th, starting at 6 pm—no matter what Facebook says!

Happy-hearted Valdes has a reputation for finding and appealing to the child in everyone, and we’ve been excitedly awaiting the day when we could finally hang his art on the walls of one of the happiest places in town to feed your body and spirit, Sound Bites Eatery.

Marius Valdes is an artist currently based in Columbia, South Carolina. He is an Associate Professor in studio art concentrating on design and illustration at The University of South Carolina. He lives in Forest Acres, South Carolina with his wife Beth, daughter Emma, and very lazy but adorable dog, Mary.

Valdes received his BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Georgia and his MFA in Visual Communication from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2005.

Valdes has been recognized by design publications such as HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Creative Quarterly, STEP, and industry competitions including American Illustration, AIGA InShow, AIGA SEED Awards, and The South Carolina Advertising Federation Addy Awards.

Valdes' work has been featured in several books about contemporary graphic design and illustration. He has participated in solo and group exhibitions internationally. Valdes has presented at academic conferences about design and illustration related topics.

In 2017, Valdes completed a one-year residency as the first visual Artist in Residence at the award-winning and innovative Richland Library. Currently, Valdes putting the final touches on a mural installation at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. 

Sound Bites Eatery is the perfect place to begin or end your First Thursday Festivities with food and drink and happily-ever -after art by Marius Valdes!

News from 701 CCA

Tarish Pipkins | Isaac Udogwu | Cedric Umoja

Happy to Share this News from our friends at 701 CCA:

n Oppositional Free Gazing Tarish Pipkins, Marcel Taylor, Cedric Umoja and Isaac Udogwu disrupt the power dynamics of American visual culture through traditional portraiture, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Afro futurist visual renderings of Black language, and narrative portraiture through puppetry.

The white gaze has long determined whose stories are seen, what artists' voices are valued. Taylor, Pipkin, Udogwu and Umoja create work that speaks directly to the Black experience from ordinary to the extraordinary. They speak directly to Black audiences in unapologetic fashion, locating their work in largely ignored cultural, historical and political experience that operates outside of a response to white supremacy.

With algorithms and machine learning as the media, Udogwu uses what scholar Nettrice Gaskins describes as “techno-vernacular creativity” Possessed of reappropriation, remixing, and improvisation. With nods to both Francis Bacon and Jacob Lawrence Udogwu centers the Black male figure seen through Black male eyes. In fact Umoja, Taylor, Pipkin and Udogwu each use these tools that form the foundation of America’s two original music forms, Jazz and Hip hop and are firmly rooted in Black cultural and creative practices.

Marcel Taylor uses an interplay of acrylic paint, transparent paper, photographic collage, remixes images of Black people living in urban centers and seeks to capture the vibrancy, joy and life found in these spaces. Taylor’s socially-critical abstract work depicts urban landscapes and portraits inspired by rampant gentrification processes occurring in his home city of Washington DC, and many other cities across the nation. These paintings conjure images of urban dynamism, commotion, pandemonium, and chaos. Tarish Pipkins continues this tradition in performance work that centers Black stories and draws the line between historic calculation and contemporary experience.

This artists conversation will be moderated by Dr. Frank C. Martin, II. Martin is a graduate of Yale University and the City University of New York, Hunter College, with additional study in contemporary art at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of South Carolina. After working for more than 12 years as an Associate Manager of Education Services for the Department of Education Services in the Uris Center of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Martin transitioned to a position as Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, at South Carolina State University's I. P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium, where Martin currently serves as Director.

Art historian, art theorist, and critic of cultural interpretation, Martin has served as an academic advisor for the PBS documentary, Shared History and as contributing critic in the fine arts for The Charleston Post and Courier, one of the South’s oldest newspapers. Appointed as a Carolina Diversity Professors Doctoral Scholar in the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Martin’s area of specialization is the study of axiology, concentrating in the field of aesthetics.

Martin, Pipkins, Udogwu & Umoja

September 28, 2022

6:30 PM

701 CCA Gallery

701 Whaley Street, 2nd floor

Columbia, SC 29201

Gotta Catch ‘Em All – Artist Trading Cards with Jasper

There’s no better grouping than free live music, free art, and Jasper!

The Jasper Project will be hosting a tent at the Jam Room Music Festival on October 1! At our table, we will be participating in the artist trading card movement! The artist trading cards have been around since the late 1990s but has recently hit a cultural renaissance. With the return of something so great as Jam Room, we’re doing a test run of the artist trading card project at our tent!

This project is targeted towards audiences of all ages who want to make and collect both their own art and art from others around them. The trading cards are 2.5”x3.5”. After creating your piece of art, you can keep your card or trade it in with another artist’s card from our display wall of completed trading cards. Not feeling artistic? Are you short on time? Do you still want to take home some art? In an exchange for a donation to the Jasper Project, you can choose a trading card from the display to keep; several artists from around Columbia will have made trading cards prior to the festival for us to include in the display and make available for trading.

For the Jam Room table, we will provide alcohol markers and potentially pastels for visitors to use on their trading cards. In the future, we aim to feature different media for everyone to use and keep making art with. This is a project we also intend to bring to other events like happy hours or other low-key happenings.

Jasper Project board members and volunteers will be present throughout the day to talk with interested audiences about our upcoming projects and to answer any lingering questions you may have. Stop by, make some art, grab a Jasper magazine, and listen to the music!

People making cards at Artists Showing Artists (May 2023)

Cards made at the Jam Room Music Festival (October 2022)

Cards made at the Jam Room Music Festival (October 2022)

Janet Kozachek and the Power of Ekphrasis Within Art and Poetry

“Port in Sicily, World War II”

Janet Kozachek knows a thing or two about the universal connection between all forms of fine art. Not only is she an experienced writer, but Kozachek utilizes the power of written and spoken word to influence her visual art. This body of work, entitled A Rendering of Soliloquies – Figures Painted in Spots of Time, has been frequently displayed in galleries within South Carolina and across the nation; now, it’s coming to Stormwater Studios.  

The Jasper Project highly values fostering connections within the realm of artists to writers, writers to performers, and everything in between. Kozachek’s multidisciplinary work fits perfectly within this circle, and A Rendering of Soliloquies is a connection throughout her own personal, extensive portfolio.  

“I frequently, but not always, use visual art to illustrate specific texts. Although I write about my other work, like my musical instruments, mosaics, and paintings, the writing does not constitute a body of published work,” Kozachek shares. “This exhibition features visual art that accompanies a collection of my poetry from a full-length book, A Rendering of Soliloquies – Figures Painted in Spots of Time.”  

Audience response is crucial for this particular set of paintings. Kozachek describes the relationship of visual image to the written and spoken word in this exhibition as both “ekphrastic and emblematic.” Audiences may be familiar with the concept of ekphrasis through poetry, and Kozachek hopes for audiences to take away that the written word and visual art reinforce each other, explaining the other form in a different manner. This is in part due to both art and writing both existing within her own work, rather than a second party writing a poem about her art. The poems and pieces, however, still leave plenty of room for audience members to respond in their own ways.  

“The truly ekphrastic part of this exhibition/event will be how the guest poets respond to the work,” she says. “There will therefore be two interpretations of the visual art; the original juxtaposition of artist’s word and image, then a reinterpretation based upon outside observations and responses.”  

Her work is extremely ambitious and showcases just how talented Kozachek is within multiple artistic disciplines. If there’s one key takeaway for audiences to know, it’s that “an artist’s intent, while historically significant, does not restrict the art from growing beyond that original intent, and becoming something more universal. Visual art, in this way, becomes a public intellectual property, there being essentially no one ‘correct’ way to understand it.”  

And, of course, Jasper is always eager to hear what artists think the most important thing they took away from their years of creating and exhibiting is, especially when they’re unapologetically in love with what they do. Upon asking Kozachek what the one piece of advice she would tell herself back when she first started getting into art would be, she aptly said, “I suppose it would be to advise having a marketable back-up or skill trade. But I probably would not listen.”

Those interested can see Kozachek’s work at Stormwater (413 Pendleton St.) from September 21st through the 25th. The poetry collection A Rendering of Soliloquies – Figures Painted in Spots of Time is also available for purchase on Finishing Line Press’s website.

JASPER'S TINY GALLERY: Amber Machado Explores Beauty and Pain in Nature and Her Own Body

“Painting is my outlet to unapologetically show my pain”

— Amber Machado

Amber Machado grew up in Lexington, South Carolina, surrounded by art and a love for it, with parents and siblings who made art and music. As the youngest, Machado grew up observing this love for creation regularly.  

“Truthfully, the thing that led me to art initially was wanting to be exactly like them,” Machado recalls. “My relationship with art has since evolved and become much more personal, but initially, art to me was like breathing air. I loved it, but it was so readily available that I took it for granted.”  

What finally made Machado appreciate what art meant to her was a 2018 Lupus diagnosis, which brought life to “a screeching halt.” Among days of confusion and pain, painting became a centering force and method of control. 

“This is when I fell in love with art. And I fell hard. Painting became my primary language, my center of gravity,” Machado intimates, “It’s ironic, because I associate the onset of my illness with so much loss, but at the same time it was a rebirth of sorts. I was born to be an artist. I know I wouldn’t have come to that realization without the onset of my disease.” 

The medium she gravitated to, and still utilizes today, is watercolor. Completely self-taught, she is a master of imitation, inspired once again by her dad and sister, and her creative journey now is indebted to “hours, and I mean HOURS of practice.”  

Machado also emphasizes that watercolor is a particularly convenient medium, especially for those easily discouraged and who desire something portable. The unique texture of watercolor and the way it bleeds and blends with the colors around it, makes it perfect for expressing the “dramatic mood” in her work. 

Ruth

“Moody, expressive landscapes and seascapes have always been my main focus. I’m greatly inspired by nature, and watercolor is the perfect medium to capture nature’s subtleties, drama, and unpredictability,” Machado explains, “I gravitate towards vibrant colors and add expressive markings to evoke an unpredictable, yet familiar atmosphere within each painting.” 

Machado has three main types of creating in which she produces these expressive scenes: she works from imagination, where she can transport herself anywhere; she works outdoors/on-site/en plein air where she can “paint what she sees and feels at that moment in time,” and she works around a particular theme, often inspired by travels upon finally returning home.  

Regardless, she does often move in one particular direction. 

“I tend to gravitate toward dark themes. Pain, loss, death, the things in life that you have absolutely no control over. I like to explore themes that make the average person a little uncomfortable. Landscapes serve as a great visual translation of this because nature is completely uncontrollable. It’s lethal,” Machado emphasizes, “On the other side of that, though, is a silent relentlessness. Nature takes beating after beating and constantly evolves. Trees are whipped by the wind and their physical forms change, but they don’t necessarily die. When I made this connection, I was able to make peace with my disease. Painting is my outlet to unapologetically show my pain.” 

When it came to Tiny Gallery, it seemed a natural fit as the 2.5 x 3.5-inch trading card paper her father gave her was Machado’s first canvas for her landscapes. These tiny new landscapes were all made for the show, and all have female names, which Machado asserts “just felt right.” All of the pieces encapsulate this balance of ethereal, untouchable beauty and the darkness and fear that vibrates around us, and Machado’s favorites in the show are Ruth, Seraphina, and Darling.

Darling

Before this gallery, Machado had shown her work at three Cottontown Art Crawls, which have been invaluable experiences for her. 

“In 2020, I participated in the Cottontown Art Crawl for the first time. Almost immediately after setting up, a total stranger came up and purchased a painting,” Machado reminisces, “She picked up a painting that I had actually considered not bringing, because I questioned if it was good enough. I felt like I was going to faint! Watching someone who doesn’t even know me willingly give me money for a painting was and still is one of the most wonderful moments of my entire life.” 

Machado will be bringing this energy into the new, unannounced series she has underway and the upcoming holiday markets at Curiosity Coffee Bar. To follow along, follow Machado’s Instagram @artistamachado, and check out her website. 

To view and purchase her Tiny Gallery pieces, go to Jasper’s virtual gallery space at any time:.

Socially Engaged Ceramics Reckons with the Immensity of the Everyday

“Clay/ceramics is not a single story—and neither are women” — Lydia Thompson

In the newest show at McMaster Gallery, University of South Carolina professor Virginia Scotchie has curated an exhibit rooted in femininity and race, in movement and stillness. Motivated to “highlight two women in ceramic sculpture whose work exemplifies that social engagement of the present and past in America,” Scotchie brought together Julie Schnell-Madden and Lydia Thompson to create Socially Engaged Ceramics.

“I curated the exhibition and defined the title because I believe these artists create work that is socially engaged,” she shares. “The work allows the viewer to look at the work created and see the importance and significance of today's issues through art.”

The women’s work appears vastly different at first glance. Schnell-Madden’s Rosettes are individually sculpted roses and rose-shaped objects of various colors and sizes, while Thompson’s Relic series features ceramic houses with individual features filled with figurine shards inherited from her grandmother.

In a closer look, however, these works are distinctly political and cultural, reckoning with the individual and collective histories surrounding each woman’s identity.

Schnell-Madden recalls when the pandemic first hit and what it felt like to have to reevaluate our everyday, basic needs. This “fear, frustration, and loss” started a spiral that she had no choice but to physically manifest.

“I started making spiral disks that expressed my level of fear and frustration and loss. I used a luscious dark brown clay that resembled chocolate (a comfort food?),” she recalls,” It was only after I made several that I saw the resemblance to a rose. The strips became petals. There was no doubt that these contained feminine imagery.”

Though the strips in Rose, the first part of the series which features pink petals with clear reference to the female anatomy, would loosen over time as we all leaned into our new normal, they also began to take on fear and rage. What began as a general observation of the feminine in relation to the ever-changing everyday became resilience in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the second part of the series, Resistance: Under Attack.

“Having lived at a time where this was an option for all those years, the idea of going back, letting men make decisions regarding my body is simply beyond,” Schnell-Madden says. “These pieces manifest the back-alley abortions some of our grandmothers had to endure.”

This resilience, this rumination on what stays and what moves, is where her and Thompson’s work converges. While Schnell-Madden thinks about how people’s every day is forced to change, Thompson thinks about how past change has now become our everyday. When traveling shortly after starting graduate school, Thompson began noticing the abandoned structures that stood out even as urban, suburban, and rural communities shifted in the landscape.

These structures made Thompson think about what remains when people leave, who has the freedom to move, and what happens when this movement is not desired, is rife with tension.

“The pieces on wheels symbolize the decision to move often for a better environment and opportunities (to migrate). There is also the notion of unpredictability or uncertainty of one’s future,” Thompson says. “The structures on pallets may have represented a stable life, but it is not promised, by generations of unemployment, discrimination, and multi-generational usage.” 

The inner shards, the pieces of her grandmother’s found relics from the Salvation Army, exist as the remnants of what proof of existence is left behind after people are forced to leave their homes. As Thompson says, “Relics usually have associations with objects, or heirlooms, or parts of a body. I see a direct relationship with the rubble/shards of objects with what once held value and/or importance to a group of people”

And there is an importance, a hope, and yet still a trepidation in these pieces. Schnell-Madden created her third set in the series, Renewal to emphasize a hopeful “resurgence,” with the pieces being “more tentative but regardless are solid and express my fervent hope that one day the reversal of the court decision will take place.”

Thompson has to balance how much personal she can explicitly share within her own desire and experience. “I’ve faced racism and gender discrimination in many of the institutions in my career. Some of those experiences are blatant and others are microaggressions,” she shares. “Unfortunately, history has repeated itself, and I feel several of the works serve as metaphors of what I’m feeling and experiencing as well as others in our daily lives.”

These women blur the boundaries between individual and collective, making art with their personal fears and hopes (and even heirlooms) that are shaped by events changing the everyday landscape of our country. They are putting their hands directly into these moments in time and using them to tell a story about what it means to be alive, to migrate, to resist.

If you’d like to see these pieces, the show will be up until September 29th and will conclude that day with a Closing Reception, from 5:00 – 7:00pm, featuring light refreshments and a gallery talk with both artists.