Columbia Open Studios returns with fresh artists, April 5-6

 

Like the other Open Studios events around the country – unaffiliated, much like the First Thursdays phenomenon – Columbia Open Studios has grown to be a widely anticipated annual art event around the Midlands. Presented by 701 Center for Contemporary Art, the free, self-guided tour opens the doors to visual artists’ studios across the region on April 5 and 6, 2014.

The first weekend in April, thousands of people will venture out to chat with artists about every aspect of their work, meet fellow art lovers and purchase favorite pieces, if they wish, at zero markup. Guidebooks are available at various locations around town and at 701 CCA, located inside historic 701 Whaley on the 2^nd floor. Nearly a dozen of these artists are new or returning to the tour after a hiatus, yielding a variety of new stories, inspirations and techniques for tour goers. Artists take full advantage of their personal backgrounds, favorite art-making tools and studio spaces, proving that inspiration can be found in the most typical and seemingly mundane places.

Curious about the kind of experience you’ll get during Columbia Open Studios?

Learn more about a few of the tour’s newest artists before mapping out your weekend of studio-hopping.

Renea Eshleman, Cayce   Renea Eshleman serves as the Associate Director of Academic Affairs for the S.C. Commission on Higher Education. Such a hefty title could certainly mean a challenging work day – which is why she sees art as her therapy.   Eshleman makes her own jewelry and is also a painter, using her “mother-in-law-suite”-turned-studio to house her supplies. The studio is readily accessible for loading/unloading art and supplies from the adjoining garage, which also serves as a spill-over space for too-good-to-pass-up art display units and frames.   A small porch and French doors to the outside inform her jewelry-making, providing a source of inspiration outside her chaotic yet comfortable space.          

Jean Capalbo, Shandon Extensive travel and a professional background in education are Jean Capalbo’s muses. In fact, she was in Tanzania in March, observing animals on the Serengeti and other African plains. (Her painting in the near future will undoubtedly be influenced by this trip.)   She has served as a school administrator and a teacher, enjoying the field in its entirety due to its creative core. Specializing in acrylic and oil painting, Capalbo is always searching for unique mediums to craft surface designs, including everything from plastic doilies to foam stamps.   Capalbo has recently relocated to the Carolinas from Sedona, AZ. She has painted all her life, taking time to study the field at UCLA, Santa Monica College, USC (our USC that is) and Sedona Art Center in Arizona.

Charlene Wells, Melrose Heights/Millwood Wells is one of four Open Studios artists operating out of Viridian Gallery & Studio on Carlisle Street. She refers to the area as a developing “art block,” boasting not only another studio, but also several other artists, an architect and an interior decorator.   Wells has studied under many accomplished artists. While painting under Reuben Gambrell, she met a handful of fellow artists with whom Viridian was later formed. Her paintings of subjects from the created world are allegorical expressions that she hopes will inspire a viewer to pause, study and decipher the symbol - while also noting her expression of color and value.

Returning to the tour are Tim Floyd and Jan Swanson. Other newcomers are John & Venetia Sharpe, Patrick Mahoney, Lindsay Wiggins, Lisa Strally and Mary Lynn Williams.

• Find out more about your old favorites as well as the new talent on 701 CCA’s Columbia Open Studios website: www.columbiaopenstudios.org.
• Get a guide at 701 CCA (701 Whaley, 2^nd floor) or at art-loving venues around town.
• Preview Party Thursday, April 3, 7-10pm at 701 CCA, $5/$10 with cash bar and complimentary hors d’oeuvres.
• Tickets: http://www.701cca.org/columbia-open-studios-preview-party/
• The Columbia Open Studios tour Presented by 701 Center for Contemporary Art Saturday and Sunday, April 5-6, 2014
• Free!

Choreographer Christy Shealy Mills talks about "Hello Dolly," opening in Blythewood April 2nd

Columbia is undeniably a theatre town, and it's no longer limited to the downtown area.  Every few years, theatre enthusiasts in the Midlands see a need and an opportunity, and another group is born. Lexington, Chapin, West Columbia and Forest Acres are all home to thriving performance groups, and now Blythewood joins the mix.  Choreographer Christy Shealy Mills took a moment to talk with Jasper about the upcoming production of Hello Dolly, the debut presentation of the Blythewood Community Theatre.

Jasper:  How did this group get its start?

Mills:  The folks in Blythewood have wanted to get their own theatre group going for years, and finally found someone willing to take a stab at directing, Rachel Tefft.   Out of the forty something cast members, about 1/3 of them have taken part in previous Midlands area productions. The rest are all newcomers. This new local theatre group will draw in people who might not otherwise get involved in such offerings.

Jasper:  You're actually commuting to choreograph this show, right?  How did you become involved?

Mills:  I live in Prosperity in the corner of Saluda County and have three dance studios, in  Lexington, Batesburg, and the one in my backyard, as well as satellite classes at Town Theatre in Columbia.  I am not sure how I became involved with Blythewood, other than the director , Rachel Tefft , whom I had never met, called me back in November and asked me , and said I was highly recommended.  I don't know where that came from, but the flattery worked.  She wasn't even sure which of three shows they were going to do, but I knew something about Hello, Dolly and was familiar with most of the music, and hoped it would be this one. I didn't know at the time just how much choreography that would be - it's a good thing I like challenges.

Jasper:  Have you always been a dancer and teacher?

Mills:   I have been dancing since I started classes at the age of three. My first ever performance,  I did the entire routine with my back to the audience. I don't remember ever NOT wanting to do this as a career. As a matter of fact, I do remember as a high school freshman taking a career aptitude test, and complaining to my parents at dinner that night that there was no career choice of dance instructor mentioned. My dad, looking quite horrified, said "a DANCE TEACHER? Why would you want to be a dance teacher? Dance teachers are kind of...tacky."  That cemented my career choice, and I have been trying to live up to that opinion ever since.

Jasper:  Which groups have you been involved with locally?

Mills:  I first become involved in community theatre with George Boozer's fabulous Lexington Arts Association revues starting about 1972 or '73.  That was REALLY community theatre. This Blythewood group  reminds me of those fun productions - all these rookies not having a clue what they are getting into, and just how much that theatre bug is biting them with each and every passing day. It was the same way in Lexington. Those huge musical revues caused me to make friends and memories that will last a lifetime.  Plus, I learned about theatre, and increased my dance, music and even history knowledge. Once I had the first of my four children, I stopped doing theatre until 2010, when I was blessed to be a part of Town Theatre's Annie.

I did choreograph some full length musicals for Lexington High School during the baby years, and have done lots of pageant choreography. And, of course, I have been teaching dance since I was 14.  I choreographed Gilligan's Island - the Musical and portions of Nunsense Jamboree for On Stage Productions, but the first full length show I choreographed was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Town Theatre. It was quite an undertaking, but Scott Blanks was such fun to work with - a creative genius. Now that I think about, all the the directors I have worked with have that genius touch. I guess that is why they are directors, huh?

Jasper:   Hello Dolly certainly has a rich history, based on Thornton Wilder's hit comedy The Matchmaker, based in turn on an older Austrian work, based on an older English story, but this is the most famous version, and the one with all the familiar songs.  Why this particular musical?

Mills:    The reason this was the choice (of the three possible shows  that were being considered) was the casting - after the great turn-out at auditions, Rachel could see that she had the right leads for Hello, Dolly, so that did it. It is huge undertaking.  I was a little worried, because there is no canned music, so working with live musicians introduces a whole new element to the works. I love live music, and it never ceases to amaze me how musicians who have never played together before can come in a week before the show opens and make it happen.  We have been sort of feeling our way as we go with this first show.

Jasper:  Hello, Dolly was a huge success when it first debuted, winning a record-setting 10 Tony Awards (including best musical, best score and best book) and running for over 28oo performances, another record at the time; its movie version won three three of the seven Oscars for which it was nominated.   There have been a number of successful revivals on Broadway since then - why do you think the play still resonates with contemporary audiences?

Mills:   It's just a fun, colorful, lively trip into yesteryear - a delight for the ears and eyes.  The music its timeless.  “It Only Takes a Moment" - a song about love at first sight - is lovely and rings true no matter the era. The tunes will have the audience tapping their toes and humming on the way home. I know these songs have been in my head for months.

Jasper:  Tell us about your cast, and where we might have seen them before.

Mills:  Kathy Seppamaki-Milliron (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Town Theatre, Legally Blonde at Workshop) plays Dolly Levi.   Emily Clelland (Chicago at the  Kershaw Fine Arts Center) and Zanna Mills (Shere Khan in The Jungle Book at Town Theatre)  alternate as Ermengard.  Rachel Arling (Annie at Town Theatre) plays Minnie Fay. William Ellis (Albert in Bye Bye Birdie at Westwood High) plays Barnaby. Annie Laurie Sutton-Rumfelt (Annie  and Joseph... at Town Theatre) plays the most spirited Ernestina there could possibly be.  Taylor Diveley plays Ambrose and has appeared in several Columbia Children's Theatre shows.   Dan Reyes (Horace Vandergelder), Sara Bailey (Mrs. Malloy), Nicholas Sargent (Cornelius) and Eric Bothur (Rudolf) are all newcomers.

Jasper:  What are some challenges you have faced as choreographer?

Mills:   I had never actually seen Hello, Dolly, so when people kept referring to the "waiter's dance," I thought they were talking about the big "Hello, Dolly" song.  I am a one-day-at-a-time kind of person, and was just working on the routines when the director told me to.   So when I finally noticed in the score the music for “Waiter's Gallop" - the one with no lyrics - I thought that was just an interlude piece for the band.  I can't quite remember how I came to realize that it was actually an eight minute dance routine for only the waiters!  I probably went into shock and have blocked that moment from my memory. But my spirited twelve dancing waiters have been motivational for me. In hindsight, I should have started that routine first instead of last, but it has come together and hopefully will entertain the audience. I don't want to give away all our secrets, but let's just say there's tap dancing , baton twirling, juggling, some upside down antics, perhaps some unicycling ( still trying to get the unicycle functional) and some hoochie-coo.  I thought the other challenge would be getting the entire cast to waltz, but they are such troupers, it was a piece of cake. All fun stuff, and I am going to miss this group come April 6 (the last performance.)

Blythewood Community Theatre's production of Hello, Dolly runs Wed. April 2 through Sunday April 6 at Westwood  High School.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com or at the door.

~ August Krickel

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Reviews - Release the Dog's Out for Justice

"This young indie rock trio’s debut LP can be a little rough around the edges (it was recorded and mixed entirely in the member’s various abodes), but it’s hard to deny how fun and engaging these tunes are. Pulling from their favorite college rock bands like Dinosaur Jr and Pavement, Release the Dog blaze through their intricate tunes with a carefree urgency, matching understated vocals to ferocious guitar riffs and winding solos with aplomb. In fact, most of the fun of this record is the sheer exuberance of the group’s fresh-faced arrangements. On the downside, there sonic consistency can be a little overbearing over the course of the album’s run time, I problem that has also plagued some of J. Mascis and company’s middle-period efforts. Fortunately, Release the Dog also has tunes like “Back to the Wind” which reveal the more earnest singer/songwriter side that the louder tunes can often mask that also have the added bonus of providing a breather for an excellent record whose run time can feel a little long. It also, perhaps, suggests how good these guys are at focused songwriting when they put their minds to it, suggesting that the best is yet to come." –Kyle Petersen

For more record reviews, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Reviews - Sheem One & Jorai's Success

"Success marks the first collaboration between local MCs Sheem One and Jorai Williams, and the title is a fitting one. The common theme uniting the record’s 19 tracks is the pursuit of one’s dreams and the internal and external conflicts that can threaten to interfere when the dreamer insists on writing the rules. There are also fluid meditations on women (“Ole Girl,” “Your Love), the joys and struggles of fatherhood (“I Ain’t Got Time,” “Push”), and day-to-day tasks like balancing the checkbook (“Fly”). But Sheem and Jorai never stray too far lyrically from their shared belief that real, honest success can’t come from anything but intuition, and hard work doesn’t stop for anything except tucking in the kids. The most striking thing about Success is how unrelenting the album is in its commitment to positivity. These guys are for real. They dote on their women. They don’t use swear words. They don’t smoke weed. They’re critical of the hero worship that can negatively influence young fans (“If rappers are your heroes then they’re failin’ ya/ If you’re locked behind bars they ain’t bailin’ ya”) and, indeed, there’s no trace of the braggadocio and self-involved opulence that permeates so much of mainstream hip-hop. Philosophically, Sheem and Jorai are more in line with artists like Dead Prez, but without the militancy and adoration for conspiracy theories.

Both guys possess laidback, conversational rapping styles that push the lyrics front and center, and there isn’t any doubt that the message, for them, is everything. And the music is likewise low-key, jibing easily with their alternately confessional and motivational sermons without ever sounding passive or phoned-in. Female backup singers, non-intrusive beats, and soul-infused hooks are all over the place, recalling the East Coast sound that dominated much of ‘90s hip-hop. And that’s another part of Success’s appeal—the love these guys have for the Palmetto state, and Columbia in particular, is in plain evidence. They namedrop everything from churches they grew up attending to specific streets they hung out on as kids.

It’s hard to find fault in an album this earnest, not that it would matter if you did. They aren’t the least bit vague in the assuredness that their cause is right and proper, and I’m in no position to disagree. I haven’t heard either of their work without the other, but Success is proof that a shared vision between two original talents, along with a pay-the-car-insurance-or-die-trying attitude, can yield something unique and worthwhile. You should be rooting for ‘em." – Michael Spawn

For more record reviews, click through the image:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Review - Doomslang's Stay At Home EP

"Doomslang, the pet project of Joshua McCormack, straddles some heretofore unseen line between The Residents, Bon Iver, and Broken Social Scene. That’s a line I wasn’t sure I thought existed, largely because the quirkiness and hesitancy may not necessarily be fully intentional. Carrying the highest banner for lo-fi production, “Tonight’s Offerings” sees liquid treatments of hissy, smoky vocals, with tenuous rhythmic treatments of electronic sounds and Moldy Peaches-style guitar playing. There is a certain naiveté to the song – and much of the album – that vacillates between irascible and endearing. “Dawgie Lullaby,” the third track on the record, drifts quietly into what sounds like it could be an unreleased track from Her Space Holiday or old-school Xiu Xiu as McCormack sings  with a close-to-the-mic intimacy as his vocals almost turn away before as the necessary chimes and drums come in to flesh the song out. McCormack’s androgynous voice doesn’t soar so much as it flows through the drifting through the terrain on “I’m Supposin’,” a song which capitalizes on the various techniques – spatial, instrumental, rhythmic, melodic – that McCormack tests out through the rest of the album. This is the closest McCormack gets to channeling Kevin Drew, as “Nerf Hospital” sounds like it could comfortable fit on the last third of a KC Accidental album.

McCormack has talent. There’s something to be said for his tiny symphonies and the delicate monologues, but it isn’t without its issues, both formally and structurally; musically, there is a preponderance of stasis, and rather than fully-formed melodic lines, ideas tend to be individual points that rarely fully evolve. Still, I would love to see McCormack iron out some of the technical ideas – and spend more time mastering, especially – that he did here. It would be well worth McCormack pairing up with additional musicians, as he did in “Nerf Hospital,” and more fully fleshing out his musical universe. It’s one that seems worth exploring." – Tom Dempster

For more record reviews, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Review - We Roll Like Madmen's The Kids Must Die

"Recently signed to Post-Echo, this remarkably compelling experimental electronic dance music duo called Clemson home prior to their relocation to Columbia late last year. It’s a welcome addition to our local scene, particularly with the release of The Kids Must Die, a 5 song EP that sees the group adding hip-hop flourishes (and guest MCs) to their sonic arsenal. While the most characteristic part of their sound is Jordan Young’s emotive vocals, which are often pitched and processed in interesting ways, it’s the way the he and partner Chris Tollack build sonic landscapes of pulsating synths, roving bleeps and blurps, and oddball percussion to create a thoroughly heady mix that really excites. Bringing to mind the adventurous innovation of Daft Punk in spirit if not always in practice, their compositions always seem relentless more than anything, rarely stopping their idiosyncratic twists and turns to catch a breath.

Still, it’s the two guest MCs who are going to get much of the buzz here—scene mainstay FatRat da Czar sounds reinvigorated by the new territory of Tollack and Young’s beats, with his husky flow taking on a next texture in the reverb-y world of EDM. His wizened confidence sits somewhat uncomfortably next to Young’s pained vocals, but it somehow works to acknowledge the exciting distance the performance bridges. It’s a similar experience for Believe (Grand Prize Winner from Last Year), whose first verse on the opening cut “On” gradually builds the song to its riveting, dubstep-influenced climax, and then proceeds to skitter another verse over top of the throbbing riffs that constitute the song’s coda.

It’s not all pounding rhythms, though—WRLM try out everything here from spacey melodies and ambient white noise to clean dance grooves and genuine pop hooks over the course of these five songs, evincing a wide-eyed sense of adventure that should be fun to follow as the duo continues to evolve." –Kyle Petersen

For more record reviews, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Review - FK MT's Underwater Goddammit EP

"Beginning somewhere between a Modest Mouse riff and a Yo La Tengo drone, “out ov it” – the second cut on fk mt.’s EP underwater goddammit – bristles, demanding to escape a distortion pedal. The vocalist, Ryan Morris, jumps into the fray, channeling what may have been Wayne Coyne’s younger brother. Ryan pushes the upper range of his voice into often uncomfortable spaces, bemoaning an oft-heard sentiment in under-30 guitar rock: why, oh why, must I continue to screw it all up? The lyrics – few and sparse, unadorned and direct – channel straight to the heart of angst, with cleanly-grafted and driving guitar work pushing against the often-dragging, less insistent and much more unsure drums laid down on the track. “Good listener,” the EP’s opener, demonstrates a thoughtful riff and sophisticated harmonic treatment, and a much more mature lyrical treatment, at least from a formal standpoint. The track still suffers from an unsteady pulse in the drums, though the tension and push-me, pull-you does not go unnoticed as the singer laments “I had a plan to get myself together / But it all fell through on account of the changing weather.”

“Take it slower,” the most accomplished cut on the EP, stands out for numerous reasons, though chiefly for a much-needed differentiation in the treatment of guitars and more tempered approach to texture. Lyrically, it’s the strongest too, clearly showing the decentered desperation the other two songs dance around. The length is right, too – the musical pacing fits well with the straightforward vocals, which Ryan delivers in a broader, though more comfortable, range." – Tom Dempster

For more record reviews, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Kathleen Robbins: Photographing the Most Southern Place on Earth

"Some part of photographer Kathleen Robbins permanently exists in the flat, rural, alluvial plains of the Mississippi Delta. Her family has farmed cotton there for six generations, so the soil has practically entwined itself into her DNA, creating the need to visit often and record the changing landscape of the place itself, but also a vanishing way of life. Cotton fields are being replaced by soy and corn, and communities that grew up around the cultivation of cotton are dispersing. ..." - Kara Gunter

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Reviews - Mat Cothran's Failure

"Cothran has always had a penchant for brevity, but this, his final release of 2013, takes that credo almost to its breaking point. Of the four songs here only one passes the two minute mark, and just barely at that. Fittingly, it’s also the songwriter’s most direct paean to apathy yet, with dark pronouncements that 'all last year I wanted to die / and no one was there to change my mind' and 'someday we’ll beg to die' clouding his warm, cozy melodies and lo-fi arrangements. There’s less use of keyboards and synthesizers here than we get from a typical Elvis Depressedly or Coma Cinema release, with mostly acoustic guitars and prominent bass lines guiding these songs along. That starkness is perhaps why this is one of his rare releases to get tagged with his given name. For all its slightness, though, the power of Cothran’s seemingly innate gift for song shines through brightly here. On the closing 'I Don’t Know,' he sings with aching poignancy and intimacy of 'sinking down into your heart where I belong / but in the end my secrets keep me alone' over a spare guitar line, and the record ends just a few moments later, leaving you painfully, beautifully alone.  –Kyle Petersen

For more record reviews, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Review - Can't Kids' Ennui Go

"On what is likely one of the more anticipated releases in her local scene in 2014, Can’t Kids leader Adam Cullum seems intent on delivering something a bit different than the group’s well-received debut Brushes Touches Tongues. While the group hasn’t exactly abandoned their self-described brand of “Southern Gothic cheerleader metal” that seemed so startlingly refreshing in 2012, there does seem to a deliberate sense of stepping back, leaving the songs a bit more open and making the lyrics a bit more pensive than that raucous effort. On a number of efforts here, including the album’s bookends “Oh Momma” and “Oh Adam” and the album’ centerpiece, the hauntingly bereft “You Don’t Plan,” the songs mostly features a pretty cello line from Amy Cuthbertson and Cullum’s quiet fingerpicking and plaintive vocals at the expense of the two members who bring much of the dynamism to the band, bassist Henry Thomas and drummer/second vocalist Jessica Oliver, who tend to only appear on the back end of these tunes. In keeping with that feel, Oliver, who used to be almost a co-leader in the group, seems to have taken more of a backseat in these sessions, sounding more like a traditional harmony singer than ever before.  Only two songs here—the rollicking pop-punk number “More Soda” and the Modest Mouse-y “Late for Lunch”—see her and the band up to their old tricks. While some fans are likely to be put off by the left turn, Ennui Go actually makes for a better listen than Brushes. The two raucous rockers break-up some of the more singer/songwriter material nicely, and the band is mostly finding a sweet spot between the two extremes, finding a buoyant pop bounce on tunes like “The Calm” and “The Twist” that feels different, but every bit as singular, as their early material. And Cullum has always been a brilliant songwriter, alternatively astutely honest and self-reflective and caustic and cackling. He still occasionally shows his love of Isaac Brock a bit too much on his sleeve, but his misanthropy never reaches his hero’s dire levels—instead, Cullum always seems to write, even when he is engaging in casual wordplay or humor, with a keen desire to figure out, however bleakly, the world around him.

With a short running time and a quieter, humbler approach, it would be too easily to think this is a sophomore slump. I would argue, instead, that not only is it a stronger and more cohesive effort, it is also exactly the kind of record Can’t Kids needed to make to grow and mature as a band." – Kyle Petersen

For more record review, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Record Reviews - The Mobros' Walking With a Different Stride

"Like so many other things worth writing about, I first heard about the Mobros in a bar. After consuming many beers, an older gentleman started telling me about this two-piece blues band he had seen the previous weekend. Because Americans receive two-piece blues bands with the regularity of a utility bill, I listened to him rave about his latest discovery with a mild air of cynicism that I have since come to regret. He told me that they were too young to be as good as they were, and that they were one of the tightest local acts he'd ever seen. As it turned out, he was pretty much dead-on.

In the years since they've appeared, the Mobros have become one of the most talked about bands not just in the state, but in the entire Southeast. Columbia music veterans speak of them with the sort of pride and amazement usually reserved for parents whose teenager has been allowed to skip the tenth grade. It's for this reason that the Mobros' first proper release, Walking with a Different Stride, has been so hotly anticipated.

And the album is good--there's no doubt about it. All of the brothers' strengths are on full display. Kelly Morris has a rich, soulful voice that would be unusual even for an older and world-wearier man, while drummer Patrick Morris deftly melds creativity with discipline and plays in perfect syncopation with his brother's galloping guitar lines. For added flavor, breezy harmonies are spread throughout the album with effective economy. As recorded proof of the duo’s talent as musicians and songwriters, Different Stride is a success; but it lacks a certain energy that has always been integral to the band's appeal.

The Mobros aren't exactly at fault. This is the sort of problem you run into when a live band this good tries to translate its stage energy into another form altogether. Some bands do it with ease while for others it can be like gluing a lightning bolt to the sky. But the problem really has less to do with the artist and more to do with the way people consume the music in their own community. A big-time national touring band may only come around once or twice a year, so the record is really the best you can do while you wait to see them again. When an act as undeniably talented as The Mobros is something local, and it's not that difficult to see in person, an album will always feel second best. But really, it's not unthinkable that the Mobros could become a national touring band someday soon, and when that happens, Walking with a Different Stride might benefit from reappraisal." – Michael Spawn

For more record reviews, click through the image below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Imagine If: Envisioning a World Without Violence by Alexis Stratton

"A few years ago, when I was volunteering at Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands (STSM), one of their staff members asked if I could write something for them about what a world without sexual violence would look like. I was immediately drawn to this idea for a couple reasons. First, I was in the MFA in Creating Writing Program at USC, and I loved any excuse to write something new. Second, as a survivor of child sexual abuse, I'd often wondered how things would've been different for me if the abuse had never happened. ..." - Alexis Stratton For the full column and accompanying poem, click through the photo below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Columbia & the World by Chris Robinson

"There are two art worlds in Columbia, the local arts community and artists at the university--colloquially and sometimes disparagingly referred to as the Town and Gown divide. (Full disclosure, I try hard to participate in both worlds, but am on the faculty in the Department of Art at the University of South Carolina.) While some may say that this magazine concentrates on the former, there is rich content in the latter, and I am inclined to risk characterizing each. The names in the local arts community are probably more familiar and many seek a means of art making that allows sales and survival, thereby dictating and assuring a somewhat more conventional or conservative approach. Conversely, research university faculty artists are encouraged and obliged to create new content and establish national and international reputations, but are often unconnected and/or unknown in the local community. Their work is, by necessity, more exploratory, as a research institution's role is to create new information. However, they do live here in Columbia and have similar and common interests, and it seems unfortunate that there is not more healthy and productive interaction between the two. ..." - Chris Robinson For the full column, click through the photo below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Poems by Colena Corbett and Nicola Waldron

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: The Art of the Meal - Camon Chef and Owner Shigeru Kobayashi

"Camon chef and owner Shigeru Kobayashi was born in Tokyo in 1951. He began his cooking career there, working in a ryokan, a food-focused traditional Japanese inn. He also worked at the original Benihana restaurant in Tokyo, training under chef Yunosuki Aoki, before moving to the US. Chef Kobayashi opened Camon on Assembly Street in May 1985, making it not only one of Columbia's first Japanese restaurants, but also one of the city's longest-running restaurants in any category. Jasper sat down with Chef Kobayashi and with his son, Shigharu Kobayashi, who translated our conversation. ..." - Jonathan Sharpe, words and photos

For the full article and photos, click through the photo below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Boiter Receives 2014 Verner Award

"The staff of Jasper magazine congratulates Jasper editor Cindi Boiter, who has been selected to receive a 2014 Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award, presented annually by the South Carolina Arts Commission. The award will be presented at a special ceremony at the South Carolina Statehouse on May 8th. ..." - Ed Madden For the full article, click through the photo below:

In Jasper No. 3, Vol. 4: Young Bands on the Brink -- Death of Paris

"In a music scene largely characterized by indie rock bands playing on the fringes of mainstream interest, Death of Paris sticks out a bit like a sore thumb. And it’s not because they are corporate or moneyed—if anything, the group is the most DIY act in town. It’s because they so clearly want it more. “'We just look at the band as more as a job,' say multi-instrumentalist/synth maestro Blake Arambula, who founded the band with singer Jayna Doyle in July of 2009. “We have a good time and have fun with it, but it’s something we work at every single day.' ...”

For the full story and photos, check out the magazine starting on page 12 below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 3: Young Bands on the Brink -- Stagbriar

"There are certain assumptions you are going to make about a band that calls its first album Quasi-Hymns, Murder-Ballads, and Tales of How the Hero Died, but perhaps the most accurate one for Stagbriar, an indie folk-rock band led by brother-and-sister duo Alex and Emily McCollum, is that they are nothing if not artistically ambitious. The album opens with, true to its title, a murder ballad of sorts. But, aside from that, it is probably not what you are expecting. ..." -Kyle Petersen For the full story and photos, check out the magazine starting on page 15 below:

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Molly Harrell: Finding the Naked Truth

“She says it was a ‘midlife crisis’ that brought her back to the camera, picking up a proclivity she developed in her first photograph class in 1983 at the University of Tennessee, but Molly Harrell was bound to find her way back behind the lens. The freedom she found there has allowed her the kind of comfort—with self as well as others—many people would spend hours on the therapist’s couch to achieve. And bravery? It takes a special kind of guts to switch careers in the middle of it all, go back to school, study seriously, start anew. But guts are something Harrell has no shortage of, whether she’s picking up and moving to a new city, or standing full frontal before her own camera for a self-portrait. The chick is tough. ...” – Cynthia Boiter

In Jasper Vol. 3, No. 4: Jessica Christine Owen: Learning and Teaching

“Packing up and moving across the country to a place where the people and culture are completely unknown can be intimidating. For some, it would likely be too daunting a task to consider. But for Jessica Christine Owen, it was a challenge willingly accepted. As an innovative photographer who grew up and attended school in New Mexico, the change was more about a new perspective and the opportunity to work with other women who created work completely different from her own. ...” – Deborah Swearingen For the full story and photos, check out page 26 of the magazine below: