Corona Times - Sharing Randy Spencer's Fall Lines-Winning Short Fiction, New Poetry, and Interview with Jasper

Author & Retired physician Randy Spencer

Earlier this summer, Jasper announced the accepted contributors to this year’s Fall Lines - a literary convergence, now in its 7th year, but opted to hold the release of the book until our community of writers can safely gather together for a reading and celebration. But we won’t make you wait any longer to read the winning entries of the Saluda River Prize for Poetry and the Broad River Prize for Prose.

In this edition of Jasper’s Corona Times Blog Series, please meet Randy Spencer, winner of the Broad River Prize for Prose. You can learn a bit about Spencer, and check out both his winning short fiction as well as a new pandemic-related poem debuting on the Jasper Project website below.

Days by Days

                                                H.R. Spencer

                                                8.5.20

 

Flying is easy. It's hovering that's hard.

Watch the hummingbird

how effortlessly he flies

from plant to plant

and how much more difficult

to remain stationary in the air

wings beating three thousand

times a minute

or the osprey circling

and struggling to balance himself

keep an eye on his target

until in a blink

he plunges into the water

as if he were a sharp stone

pulled down only by gravity.

 

We are hovering now

this last half year or so

marshalling all our energies

only to stand in place

unable to flit gracefully plant to plant

or dive forward like the osprey

unable even

to make the days count

caught in this miasma

this ancient warp of "bad air"

this terminal inertia 

our frantic wingbeats

our desperation

our grim paralytic fear. 

 

Today's agenda:

open my eyes, think hard

is this Wednesday or Thursday

or maybe did I skip Tuesday altogether

have I slipped unannounced

from July into August without noticing

or have I inadvertently

announced that August is about arrive

our days by days gather us in

relieved only by a late-day shower.

~~~

Thank you, Randy, for agreeing to share your work and a bit about yourself with Jasper. You have a fascinating background so let’s start with that.

JASPER: For folks who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet, I can share that you are a retired physician, right? But can you please elaborate on this – how long did you practice and what was your specialty? And, while we’re at it, where are you from – did you grow up in SC or did something bring you here?

SPENCER: I was born and grew up along the James River in Virginia and went to college 20 miles from home at William and Mary. I came to South Carolina in 1972 to do a 2-year fellowship in Child Psychiatry and have remained here since that time. I retired several years ago, but for 45 years I practiced primarily in a number of Community Mental Health Centers here, but also as a consultant for the Department of Social Services and, back in the eighties, for the juvenile justice agency. I also helped develop the S.C. Continuum of Care for Emotionally Disturbed Children.

JASPER: And now you live on Lake Murray, right? How long have you been there?

SPENCER: We've been living on a quiet cove on Lake Murray since 1986.

JASPER: When did writing become a part of your life?

SPENCER: This question is easy. When I was a junior and senior in high school I was one of the editors of the school magazine and things took off from there, and I studied playwriting and short story writing in college. In medical school, maybe for obvious reasons, creative writing took a back seat. I went back to college at U.S.C., at first just a few classes under James Dickey and later to enter the M.F.A. program in Poetry.

JASPER: Who have been your influences as a writer?

SPENCER: People always ask whose work influenced you the most, and the truth is that influences from other poets constantly changed over different periods in my life. I can look back now at who I was most influenced early, Robert Lowell, and wonder "why." But Theodore Roethke has been an early favorite who has stuck with me. Early on, I studied with Jim Dickey, a remarkable class out of which came a number of remarkable published poets and which really stimulated me to write. Right now, today, my favorite poet is David St. John. If you read a lot of my poems, most of which are unpublished, you'll see a number of poems in tribute to or elegies for poets or visual artists I felt a kinship toward.

JASPER: We know your work has appeared in several Jasper and Muddy Ford Press publications A Sense of the Midlands and Limelight (MFP) as well as in a number of additional anthologies such as The Art of Medicine as Metaphor and the South Carolina Collection and journals, Borderlands and Yemassee. Can you tell us about The Failure of Magic and What the Body Knows?

SPENCER: Like many poets starting out (and later, too) I would go to workshops to study under already successful writers and The Failure of Magic came out of a writers conference at Winthrop and they published it. What the Body Knows was published out of the Poetry Initiative at the University of South Carolina. Both were smaller chapbooks. Revised versions of a few of the poems in the second chapbook are in my full-length The Color After Green. Getting to discuss that book on SCETV's By the River has been the highlight of the year.

JASPER: In 2019, Jasper had the honor of writing about your publication, The Color After Green in our magazine. How long did you work on this piece of writing and what was the origin of these poems?

Spencer: The Color After Green was a themed book and all of the poems were contemporary nature poems, or what is called "ecopoetry," or poems about the environment in some fashion or another. To put together an entire volume of poems with a similar focus meant using some older poems written as long as twenty years ago along with some which were very recent at the time the manuscript was submitted, plus all the time in between. There are a lot of poems with coastal settings, sometimes in Virginia where I grew up and others in South Carolina, where I've lived since 1972. There's a poem about Hurricane Hugo, for example, which was first written probably 10 years after the storm. There are other poems reflecting the frightening changes in our environment as related to various species, from barnacles to monarch butterflies to horseshoe crabs and birds.

JASPER: You’ve also created the stage work, Becoming Robert Frost. Can we hear more about this piece?

SPENCER: It started as just a few short poems, then grew into a three-act verse drama, and now has been submitted as a hybrid verse-prose novel. It meant a lot to see several staged reading of the work as a play, and I got to read almost half of it at Piccolo Spoleto paired with another to read the dialogue. It has been worked and reworked over years and I like the way it reads now, but I've also broken various characters out as short stories, so we'll see where it goes. The play/ poetry/ novel/ short story is the imagined last day in Robert Frost's life in the hospital in Boston and the fictional conversations he carries on in dreams with deceased family members and the two characters from his poem, "Home Burial." I studied playwriting again at U.S.C. and playwriting has had a tremendous influence on the germination of my poetry. Writing for the stage forces you to write in the multiple voices of different characters, and in my book I write poems in the voices of Thomas Jefferson, John James Audubon, Georgia O'keeffe, and in one poem, a fable, have animals conversing with one another. You so often hear about "finding your own voice" as a poet, but it has always seemed more challenging and "fun" to me to deliberately steer in the other direction.

JASPER: Congratulations on winning the Broad River Prize for Prose in this year’s Fall Lines literary journal. Given that we’re sitting on the release of the journal until we can gather all the writers to celebrate together, we’re stepping out of the box and publishing your winning story, Ghost Ship, below. Set that story up for us, please. Where did it come from and what meaning does it carry for you?

SPENCER: "Ghost Ship" is part of a continuing project to bring to life a fictional group of characters living on an unnamed island in the Chesapeake Bay, not too different, I suppose, from Tangier or Smith Islands. These few remaining inhabited islands are threatened with annihilation both simply from chronic erosion, but also by sudden, catastrophic storms. A story from that same cast of characters was in Fall Lines 2019. I grew up close to the Chesapeake Bay and have visited Tangier Island. I would stress, though, that the characters are totally fictional. Winning the Broad River Prize is a great honor.

JASPER: We also opened this post up with a new poem from you, highly pertinent to where so many of us find ourselves today. Can you talk a bit about the origins of this piece, too, please?

SPENCER: "Days by Days," I hope, would resonate with all our frustrations with the tedium of isolation and lack of social contact, trying to stay healthy and keep others healthy. It certainly reflects my own feelings toward a life that seems to simply hover in one place and yet use up or waste tremendous energy. At the end of the day you feel physically and emotionally exhausted, but haven't done anything.

JASPER: So, as a physician and an author, what’s your advice for the rest of us on how we can get through this pandemic and the political turmoil that we find ourselves in?

SPENCER: I would say "Do as I say and not as I do," that is, don't watch the news obsessively. Instead immerse yourself in a hobby or something creative. Read, although I know if I said to "read poetry," that would truly fall mostly on deaf ears. I'd say, "Don't follow all the conspiracy theorists to convince you of the real truth." and "Take the vaccine when it's available. No one in going to inject  you with alien proteins that take over your brain." We can get through this, however painfully.

~~~

GHOST SHIP

Randy Spencer

            "It was a dark and stormy night. A pissy dark and stormy night."

            Sarah didn't like it when I said that--making jokes at a time like that. But she's young. Hess understood. Sometimes you make bad jokes to hide when you're scared. Hess and I grew up together--had been through it before. A hurricane riding up the Bay and flooding the island like this. Anna didn't grow up here, but she got the joke--the need to laugh when things seem the most desperate.

            But it's funny how the mind works times like that--

            What I was thinking about--at that time--back in the church--the four of us huddled together, feet soaked, water sloshing over the cushions in the pews, rising  almost up to the pulpit--the wind tearin' at church windows--shutters slamming and still four hours until the peak tide. Not knowing anything--feeling helpless. Totally helpless.

            And, God, through it all I couldn't stop thinking about how it was when we were children, at least when Hess and I were. And thinking of Ollie and Ted, and Roland, too.

            And we were there earlier last night, and only a few hours later, wading--swimming--out of the church, and climbin' up onto Roland's empty old break-away boat, a Godsend, a miracle floating up out of nowhere--a ghost ship--then huddled aboard her when it seemed like the church would have collapsed around us. The last chance we had.

            Hess said she thought this one was worse than the others. I was thinking, too, all things considered, this might be a pretty shitty rescue vehicle. Terrified--that piece of rust  might tear loose again, float off--sink--capsize--and you knew we were fuckin' screwed any whichaway.

            And so I just sat there telling the others how forty years ago--Christ--our childhood I'm telling them about, and they could care less--we could have all been drowned by morning. I can say that now. It was Anna's idea that we keep talking. Tell stories, anything--it was a low bar--just try to stay awake.

            We were in so much shit--but I only wanted  to talk about re-living being a child..

            You know what I kept remembering--this vivid image coming to me back in the church. Us being invited into Roland's bedroom one night--in this total darkness--where he kept that big aquarium. I asked Hess if she remembered?

            She did. "I remember--full of creatures he brought home."

            And that night he swished his hand into the water and the whole room lit up when he brushed against comb jellies he had collected. Tonight when I looked down in the aisle at the church--in the total darkness--and I ran my hand under the water and jellies would light up-- LIGHT  UP--fuckin' light up in the total darkness in the sanctuary, and I panicked--I don't think the others realized it. I didn't scream out loud, but I panicked just the same--like I was trapped in this giant aquarium.

            Then Ollie's drownin' came back over me. I panicked inside--inside, my breath cut off, my heart racin,' where I felt darkest--and I could feel Ollie grabbin' at my ankles under the water --I could look down and see his face all crowned over with seagrass--his hands reaching out from  it --tryin' to pull me under. I never felt anything like that since he died--and I'm thinkin'--he's here--he's right here--in this water--this is where he drowned--

            I knew he wasn't there--far from it--but I  couldn't stop thinking he was.

            That's why I tried to think about how it was when we were children, the three of us--Hess and me and Roland, had such good times--how kind the water seemed then--before all the shit that came after--and tonight just topped it all off--and I think about it,

            So I just told these happy stories, and blocked everything else out.

But it was Anna trying to figure out how we could survive. She left us, wading--half-swimming--in water up past her waist and headed toward the front door.

When she pulled it open, the water surged in and she yelled at us there was a large boat of some sort out there. All dark, but big as life. And when lightning struck again, she hollered it was Roland's old abandoned supply boat, all forty foot of her. It was so dark and she couldn't see anybody onboard. It seemed to be stuck on the bottom, shaking, but not really rocking up and down in the waves. And the waves are coming pretty hard, pinching through the church door and knocking her off her feet.

You don't know prayer honestly--real, heartfelt prayer--until you're in a spot like that, and the wind is howling around the church and through the open door and we're breathing nothing but salt spray, and Anna screamed at us to work our way along the wall to stay out of the swells and come toward her.

Anna keeping us in her direction, her voice yelling louder than the wind and I hear her say the boat is only about fifteen feet away, and between us and the worst of the storm and there's debris piled up where we can maybe crawl on top of it, climb on the platform at the stern. She's calm like there's nothing to it and we just need to trust what she's telling us. The water wasn't cold. Not warm exactly, but warm enough. I'm having to grab the end of each pew and inch myself along. And halfway along the wall I touch the bronze plaque. The one that honors all the crabbers lost in storms and accidents, and I stop for a moment and run my fingers across the raised letters and the last name is Ollie's and I start to cry, didn't  want to leave. Then I hear Anna speaking, closer now.

            You could see the lines hanging limply from the starboard side, like she had been tied up and torn free afterwards by the wind. We climbed on,  bunched there, the four of us--all women-- inside on the main cabin. It was still dry and the large boat--steel-hulled--a former ocean-going tug  refitted to carry passengers and ferry supplies. It was stuck on what should have been the West Ridge, opposite the church and seemed to be impervious to the storm.

            The wind whistled around the pilot house. Made a banshee-like sound like nothing I had ever heard. We were soaked and hungry, but just crouched there listening to the storm, knowing in our hearts the wind was going to split her top open and the rain to pour inside. But everything held together and we just waited. Hess had a watch, said it was 1:30 and we had at least three and a half hours before we could see outside. Sarah made her peace with God and was asleep off and on. I tried not to, but I think I dozed off from exhaustion, five, ten minutes at the most. I never saw Hess close her eyes.  Like she was our nurse, on duty to the end.

            The water was still rising. If we had stayed in the church we would not have any way out.  We would have all drowned.

            There were loud, creaking, hollow sounds that were are terrifying. Then a lurch. Then we pitched wildly and heeled over toward one side. Then broke free. You could actually hear timbers underneath us cracking and releasing us, the whole sequence over in less than a minute.  We  thought for a moment the boat might  tip over. I knew the Margaret Ann to draw about six feet of water, and we were floating again. She seemed to regain her balance, rocking back and  forth like an unsteady drunk, but not falling too far. And we were moving. The winds, the high-running surf breaking over the island, carried us away from the island, a rudderless meandering, a sickening motion that could end up to no good. We were crying, momentary relief and fear bound into one emotion..

            That night on the boat I didn't really sleep. Crumpled there, almost getting too drowsy where I couldn't control it, but never giving in. We talked a lot. When there was a lull we told stories.

            I talked about soft crabbing, just Roland and I. I was probably eight or nine and he was two years younger. We would push a dip net through the eelgrass, dropping soft crabs into the floating crab box he had hammered together. Those were times when the island was easily a hundred, maybe two hundred yards wider all the way around than it is now. There were shallow shoals outside the spartina where the eelgrass was so thick you had to struggle your way through it. I can step out my back door now and walk fifty yards and on a king tide be up to my knees in water.

            Back then we used to sell the soft crabs to the wives of hard potters, and they loved getting them like that, still fresh and kicking. "I still remember your mother, Hess," I told her, "You don't know this. I was ten, and I had never cleaned one of those crabs and she told me she was too busy and she wanted me to clean them for her and she would pay me extra, so I did what I had seen my own mother do when they had been in the cooler, only these crabs were alert and feisty and when I took the kitchen shears and tried to cut their faces off they raised a ruckus and I can still remember that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I never sold, offered to sell, your mother another crab. That's the truth."

            Then there would be a sudden jolt and we'd all pitch forward and sprawl out on the deck and stop, then suddenly started moving again. Then we struck hard against the bottom. Stopped for a bit, then the whole thing all over. No one knew what was going to happen. Whether the hull would rip open. Whether we'd sink or even capsize if we really got blown out over deep water. It was 3:30 in the morning when we really seemed to break free. Pitch dark. And the real fear, the dread, even hopelessness took over. We were drifting west, but none of us knew how far it would be to the other side.

            When it started to get brighter out I stood up. The wind had stopped. The water was calm. We thought we had blown to the west side of the Bay, but had hardly drifted anywhere. Maybe a few hundred yards from where we started. 

            I could look east when the sun broke between clouds and I could really know why we had to leave the church. It had caved in. You could see a section of wall with one stained glass window light up in the early sun. Everything was gone. I could see it was gone, the whole island just wiped away. A few slight smears of sand creasing the surface, water lapping at jumbles of  marsh grass. Houses simply gone. Debris everywhere, as far as I could see. Boats sunk. Crab shanties marked by a few stark poles supporting a broken cross joist or two. A few nets draped over the surface.

            When I glanced over the side, a crab, a large jimmie, swam next to us--that peculiar sideways crab swim, the one where you think it can't look ahead, can't see where it's going.

~~~

by Cindi Boiter

Cindi Boiter is the editor of Jasper Magazine and ED of the The Jasper Project.

To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above,

please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org

Corona Times - Wade Sellers Talks with Fellow Filmmaker & 2nd Act Alum, Taiyen Stevenson

Taiyen Stevenson is an independent filmmaker and actor living in Columbia. He is a recent 2nd Act Film Project alum and is currently producing a new film project titled “Justice”. The Jasper Project caught up with Taiyen to find out about producing a new project in the midst of a pandemic

JASPER: Tell me about your filmmaking history?

STEVENSON: I have been involved both in front of and behind the camera for almost 11 years. Acting has and will always be my first passion but I really love filmmaking even more because you can tell your own stories in a way you want. During those years, I wrote and produced four short films (Images, Thanks for Everything, Follow the Leader, and The Street Lights Are On). I always want to create strong and significant movies that everyone should see. 

JASPER: Tell us about your new film project. What is Justice about?

STEVENSON: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. is about a young African American man with a bright future who gets caught up with the world’s chaos of nationalism. It's in the present day. We are talking about things that are happening now in the 21st century.   

JASPER: Why did you want to tackle these issues with a film?

STEVENSON: Racism in America has always been a disturbing topic since day one. Now with visual camera equipment, society is able to see the cycle that has not ended and to start standing together for the struggle. The challenge is society sees racism as a hoax meaning that it doesn't exist. However, through news visuals such as phones, cameras, and other recording devices, we are able to take these truths to establish corruption within our human society.

JASPER: Tell us about your production process. What stage of production are you in now?

STEVENSON: Our production process was based on a lot of media that we were seeing of the senseless killing of African Americans. We also sat in a lot of protest rallies in our hometown. The next day, Vinnis Parnell and I teamed up with Michael Mykkel and we wrote the script.  As of right now, we are still in pre-production, making sure everything's in order before filming later this month.

JASPER: What has been your biggest challenge with this project so far?

STEVENSON: Creating real facts. Not just by accident but by proving these things are bad occurrences. 

JASPER: Who are your actors in this film? Who is the crew? 

STEVENSON: We have two outstanding actors, Nnaemeka Okeke and Jason Paul Edwards and we also have the beautiful and talented actress, Skylan Kimbrell.  As for the crew, we have Michael Mykkel, the co-writer of “J.U.S.T.I.C.E,” our director Vinnis Parnell and myself along with Vincent Monaco, Tamara Abrosimova, Julia Petrucelli, Courtney Geiger, Ashley McNeil, Augustina Quick and many others that will get their names in the credit. 

JASPER: Where do you hope to screen "Justice"?

STEVENSON: Anywhere we can get it screened. (The Nickelodeon Theatre, Sundance, Tribeca, etc.)

JASPER: Tell me about your writing process?

STEVENSON: The writing process was basically viewing things that were happening around our city by jotting down notes, comments made, decisions, outcomes, and I just wrote it into a screenplay. 

JASPER: Do you have any additional comments on your project?

STEVENSON: Yes. We have a GoFundMe page that helps bring “J.U.S.T.I.C.E” to life. Our website is www.gofundme.com/justice-short-film. You could also follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/justice_the_movie  and liked the page on www.facebook.com/justicethemovie. Stay tuned with eyes wide open.

Corona Times - Wade Sellers Catches Up with Fellow Filmmaker Robbie Robertson

Screen shot from Whistler’s Mother

One of the activities artists and arts patrons report missing the most during the pandemic that we seem to be in the middle of, rather than at the end, is the opportunity to simply hear what’s up with our fellow artists. What are you working on? How’s that project coming along? Let me use you as a sounding board.

So, early on, Jasper began just checking in with various artists and arts admins to try to do our part to keep those important conversations flowing. We call this series Corona Times.

Today, Jasper film editor and Jasper Project board of directors president, Wade Sellers, caught up with artist Robbie Roberson to touch base with him about his 2018 film, Whistler’s Mother, which still seems to have legs two years later. Here’s their conversation.

JASPER: For those who aren't familiar, give us a quick recap of how the film, Whistler's Mother, came to life and what the film is about. 

ROBERTSON: Whistler’s Mother was my first film as writer/director and it was funded by the SC Indie Grants program, an incredible funding opportunity from the SC Film Office. It’s a short film that gives a fictional backstory to the woman in the famous painting by James McNeill Whistler or, as I call it, a dark fable origin story. I wanted it to have the feel of a fairy tale while also paying homage to some of my horror inspirations like the original Dark Shadows TV show and Hammer Studio horror films from the ‘60s- ‘70s.

 JASPER:  What were your initial expectations and goals for the film? 

ROBERTSON: My initial expectation was to simply get it made! As a first-time filmmaker, there were so many things to deal with on set on that I never anticipated, so it was an arduous but thrilling “trial by fire” experience. I felt we were making a good film, but you just never know until it’s all over. But once I saw the first cut (by my editor Tyler Matthews), I had the most thrilling level of satisfaction of any creative project I had ever worked on. I got weepy watching it and it’s not a weepy story! Because of my awesome cast and crew, we created something really magical and so I was then very anxious to get other people to watch it. After some educational previews, I continued to work on the film in post-production until it matched the original vision I always had in my head. From that point on, my only expectation was for people to see it on a big screen. 

JASPER: It is a short film and short films typically have a short shelf life. Whistler's Mother has been riding a continued wave for a while now. Give us an overview of where the film has been seen and where it is screening now. 

ROBERTSON: I feel so fortunate that I was able to get the film in some really great film festivals such as the Crimson Screen Horror Film Festival, the Charlotte Film Festival, the Philip K. Dick Film Festival in NYC and Screamfest LA where it screened at the former Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. It even screened in Moscow.

With most film festivals having been canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, I feel really fortunate to have experienced that festival ride. As the festival run was coming to an end, I had some inquiries about distribution but decided to put the film on Amazon where it’s available for rent or purchase.

The audience numbers have been pretty good on Amazon (both in the US and the UK) but I got a really big bounce when Rachel Belofsky, founder of Screamfest LA, asked if I was interested in putting Whistler on her Screamfest YouTube Channel. That was a real honor for me because Rachel is the queen of horror film festivals and Screamfest’s YouTube subscriber count is over 200 thousand people. Whistler’s Mother premiered on that channel in May and, in the last three months alone, it has been viewed nearly 120,000 times. 

JASPER: Has the continued enthusiasm for your film surprised you? 

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. The global reaction on Screamfest’s YouTube channel was amazing and I have had people from all over the world tell me how much they loved the film. I had a long thread of comments from Russians who loved the film mainly because the Baba Yaga, a popular fictional character from Russian folklore, is one of the main characters in my film. I have also had some hater comments—which I also find entertaining at times—but the vast majority of the viewers have given it the thumbs up. The main comment I hear is that people wish the short was a feature film. 

JASPER: How are you hoping to leverage the success of Whistler's Mother with any new projects? 

ROBERTSON: I have written a feature length version of the short which is hugely different and am working on rewrites of it right now.

I have to say that being on the film festival circuit also allowed me to meet some really cool people from L.A. that I hope to be collaborating with on some upcoming projects.

In the last six months, I've also been working on a rewrite of one of my comedies with a prestigious production company and pitching some TV concepts with an actor/producer I met. All of these folks saw Whistler’s Mother, so I think it has given me some industry “cred” in being able to pitch new projects to a new level of collaborators. 

JASPER: Anything else you’d like to add?

ROBERTSON: I never knew I liked directing and producing so much. I have done it on commercial shoots but had only been pursuing screenwriting in my own creative endeavors. But now I know I can do it; I want to make more short films. So, if anyone is looking for an investment, call me up! I have a couple of ideas ready to go.

CORONA TIMES - Jasper Talks with Ce Scott-Fitts at the SC Arts Commission

Ce Scott-Fitts - photo by Rick Fitts

In our continuing coverage of Columbia’s arts community and our responses to COVID-19 and the restrictions it compels, the Jasper Project is touching base with members of the community to see how they are faring. Today, we’re featuring not only an artist in her own right, but also an arts administrator with the South Carolina Arts Commission. Welcome Ce Scott-Fitts, SCAC program director for artist services!

JASPER: Your position at the SC Arts Commission is that of the Artist Services Program Director, and you’ve held this position since last August, is this correct? Isn’t this also a new position for the SCAC? Can you tell us more about why this position was created and what your responsibilities are?  

SCOTT-FITTS: Yes, I have been Artist Services Program Director since August 2019, which was a newly created position. The job was created to provide support and assistance to individual artists of all disciplines for the entire State of SC.  I am responsible for managing fellowships and grants, identifying opportunities, creating sustainability for artists and developing of new programs.

JASPER: What are some examples of the work you do, and when should an artist reach out to you for help?

SCOTT-FITTS: Some of the examples of my work at SCAC include researching funding and creating a discipline based list of resources, reviewing portfolios/work samples, advising and mentoring artists, teaching artists how to apply for grants/fellowship, connecting artists with venues or ways to show their work, helping artists develop a work plan.  Artist can reach out to me if they need assistance with any of these or as they are trying to decide next steps in their career.

JASPER: You came to us from Charlotte. What position or positions did you have in Charlotte that inform your responsibilities at the SCAC?

SCOTT-FITTS: I worked at ArtsPlus (formerly Community School of the Arts) as their Education Director. I was founding staff of McColl Center for Art + Innovation. During my tenure there, I built the education program, curated exhibitions, managed and expanded the residency program and was the Center’s Chef.  I taught at Central Piedmont Community College. I exhibited regionally and nationally at Galleries, non-profits and museums.  Lastly, I have worked as an Arts Consultant with individuals, collectors and non-profits throughout the United States.

JASPER: You are a working artist yourself, is that correct? What is your medium? Have you continued to ply your trade since coming to SC?

SCOTT-FITTS: I began drawing and painting (portraits, figurative work)  at age 6. After completing my undergraduate degree, I began to write poetry, work in mixed media, assemblage, installation and performance.  Over the last 18 months, my work has changed significantly.  Currently I am working on small mixed media/collage portraits.

Dahlia Dreams by Ce Scott-Fitts

Zakiya by Ce Scott-Fitts

JASPER: Where did you train and who were (are) your influences?

SCOTT-FITTS: I completed my undergraduate degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, Printmaking Major, French Minor. Many years later I was awarded a fellowship to attend Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, where I received my MFA in Painting. Some of my influences have been Bettye Saar, Joyce Scott, Rei Kawakubo/Commes des Garçons, Robert Ferris Thompson, Jeannette Winterson Eva Hesse and Motown

Self by Ce Scott-Fitts

JASPER: You’ve been here for almost a year now, so, how’s it going? What is your take on the SC arts community at large? What do you see as our strengths and weaknesses? (These two questions apply to “normal life” not COVID-19 life.)  

SCOTT-FITTS: Everything is going well in spite of the  pandemic. I remain excited and happy to have the opportunity to live in Columbia, work with SCAC and South Carolina artists. One of our strengths is that we believe in the necessity of the arts and culture on quality of  life.  Our weaknesses are that we struggle to convey the ways art has value and are challenged when it comes to providing  financial support to those individuals who make arts and culture possible.

JASPER: How can we take advantage of our strengths and work to mitigate our weaknesses?

SCOTT-FITTS: We can begin by purchasing work from artists and designers, establish affordable spaces,  develop arts collectives, create alternative venues where artists can showcase performances, music and dance,  and support experimental theater.

JASPER:  And here we are more than four months into a pandemic that has severely curtailed opportunities for arts of all disciplines. Where is your head right now – what are you thinking or worrying about?  

SCOTT-FITTS: First, I reject the idea of return  to “normal”  Some people may have forgotten that much of what we say we want to "get back to” was not working. Systems that had been in place for years were not designed to nurture and support many of the State’s citizens, particularly people of color, but specifically Black people. This includes the many ways art is fostered, accessed, experienced, validated and critiqued. Over the last four months, we have watched some of these systems end or close. I am hopeful that we can take this opportunity to build something that is inclusive and equitable.

JASPER: What are some examples of problem solving for artists during Corona times that you have seen implemented and are effective?

SCOTT-FITTS: Artists are developing new ways to collaborate and engage audiences. They are also incredibly generous with their time and share resources freely. Some artists are discovering alternative ways of showing  and experiencing work virtually.

JASPER: What suggestions or advice do you have to offer artists of all disciplines as they push forward through these difficult times?

SCOTT-FITTS: Self-care must be addressed so that artists have the mental, physical  and creative energy to continue to make work.

JASPER: What is the best way for artists to reach you?

SCOTT-FITTS: cscottfitts@arts.sc.gov.

Corona Times: Darion McCloud ‘Storyteller’ Brings Families Together with The Magic Purple Circle

by Christina Xan

“…part of what The Magic Purple Circle is supposed to do is to bring a little bit of joy into while the world is burning. And hopefully we're burning off impurities, and we're leaving behind things we don't need. This is going to sound grandiose, but I really do believe this: sometimes just laughing, just loving, is revolutionary.” – Darion McCloud

photo thanks to John Allen

In these scary but often enlightening times, Jasper continues to interview artists, sharing their creations and ideas, new and old, with the community. I recently talked with local artist, performer, and all around wonderful human being, Darion McCloud, about his new project The Magic Purple Circle, in which he reads children’s stories to families at home during quarantine.  

Jasper: You’ve been creating art and performing for so long now. How has that changed or transformed recently with COVID and other social/political events.

McCloud: We are in a real, full-blown pandemic with people in leadership positions not knowing what to do, and now it's out of control. I never imagined the economic, the physical, the spiritual/cultural, the mental havoc it could wreak, and it's pushed me to The Magic Purple Circle. This is my response to the world being on fire. And fire can hurt, but it also can burn away impurities and forge things. I'm thinking after this, hopefully, we learn our lesson until we finally think, "You know, healthcare is pretty important for everybody. Police brutality, police just rolling up on people and killing them is wrong." These are things that we can fix. These are things that we're going to have to fix. That's one thing the uprisings and the pandemic have shown us. All these things that we have, these privileges that we think we have, even the ones we don't have but we think we have, they're not a birthright. We think it's a birthright to go wherever we want to go, and do whatever we want to do, and have whatever we want to have. No, those are the things that people have worked for, and sacrificed, or some people have stolen, but you don't just get them because you're an American. And, so, part of what The Magic Purple Circle is supposed to do is to bring a little bit of joy into while the world is burning. And hopefully we're burning off impurities, and we're leaving behind things we don't need. You can still smile and laugh and be silly. This is going to sound grandiose, but I really do believe this: sometimes just laughing, just loving, is revolutionary.

Jasper: Of all things to create as a response in these times, why a children’s series?

McCloud: Actually, my first time performing, period, was for children as a storyteller. In 1993, I started working with what was then Richland County Public Library. I’m lucky that today a large part of my practice is still with families and with kids. This past March, it was Dr. Seuss's birthday, so I was entered into a lot of Dr. Seuss gigs, and I just thought about all those kids who were at home, not reading Green Eggs and Ham, which is one of my favorite books ever. I would see all these posts online about people complaining about being stuck home with their kids, and I saw my own daughter struggling. She was quiet, but that was the scary part. I knew she had to be struggling. So, this was my little contribution to all that, and people just dug it. People dug it, dug me, and kept hitting me up, and I started making more. Before I knew it, people were hitting me up like, ‘Hey, my kid's mad at you because you haven't made a Magic Purple Circle in a week.’

Jasper: The title – Magic Purple Circle – is so fun. How did you come up with it?

McCloud: I'm from Columbia, and when I first started working with the library, the story time room was on the other side of the building, and inside the story time room, there was a big, plushy purple carpet, and then inside that carpet was a deeper purple circle that I called the story time circle. I used to have a little speech I gave to the attendees, to the people coming to the story time. I'd tell all the parents that if you sat inside the magic purple circle, you had to do everything we did. That included singing songs, the Hokey Pokey, whatever. It was kind of a release, an excuse, like, "Well, I have to do the Hokey Pokey, because I'm inside the purple circle," without them admitting, "I love the Hokey Pokey!" Because of that I always called it the magic purple circle, so when I was trying to think of name for this project, it just brought me full circle to where I first started: sharing stories with families.

Jasper: And how do you choose what stories to share?

McCloud: A lot of it for me is nostalgia. A lot of the books are old. They're books from 20 years ago that I thought were special. Or maybe it’s just something I think is cool, something I think is interesting. Sometimes it’s something I think it is more suited for other people, something I think reflects people. Even today, children of color are underrepresented in children's literature. I don’t know – it's not a real scientific process. It's just what moves me. What moves me, what I think will move someone. It's kind of cool, people often say, "Oh man, this made my day," or sometimes, every blue moon, somebody's like, "I cried". It's just cool. And, I mean, I love picture books. I don't think you outgrow a great picture book. Everything that you're looking for in the arts, period, is there. Great storytelling, great words, economy of language.

Jasper: Would you say the whole process of the show is organic like that?

McCloud: Yeah, it's unscripted. I'm real comfortable in that environment. One of the things I did was I ran an improv group for a while. I just say what's real for me. That doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. If it's a minor mistake, I just keep it. Like if I mispronounced a word or something. And I kind of like that, too, because I like the kids knowing. It's not so sterile as a lot of times on television, there's never a flub. So unknowingly, you make this impression that a flaw is a mistake. I just know I'll make a flub and come back and say, "Oh, I mispronounced that word." I think it's easy because I speak my truth, and it's easy because I'm doing what I love, and I hope what I love, what I'm doing, is good for people. I love it. I love what I'm doing. I love the books. I love doing that, I love having fun with the families. So, like I say, I just kind of speak the truth of the moment.

Jasper: Do you plan to do The Magic Purple Circle for as long as you can?

McCloud: Yeah. I didn't envision it getting where it is, and it's made me think. One of the things I've always wanted to do is I want a TV show. I'm hoping The Magic Purple Circle can evolve into a family TV show. I grew up on Electric Company, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Zoom. My childhood is the '60s, '70s. So, I want to do something like that.

Jasper: And you said Magic Purple Circle moves around, right?

McCloud: Yeah, I did one for Colleton County right at the beginning of the summer and with the Columbia Museum of Art a couple weeks ago. One just aired with Richland Library, and I still want to do smaller ones for families.

Jasper: What's the best way people can support you and the project?

McCloud: Find Magic Purple Circle on YouTube. I mean I'm just like every other artist during COVID-19. This is what I do. This is my gig. Money is always appreciated. 99% of the people you see on stage, they're out of work now. That's how it is for most artists. We're making work, but even that is limited. People sharing the work, that helps a lot because hopefully the more people see it and the more people can talk to me about it, the better I can make it. People may know networks or venues I could use. But the most important thing for me is sharing. If you don't have any money, if you don't have any influence...that's not what I'm doing this for. I'm doing this just for people, hopefully to make people's day a little bit better. Make people laugh a little bit, make people hug their kids a little tighter.

Jasper: Have you had help from people putting the show on and sharing it?

McCloud: I'm kind of a one-man gang, one-man operation. Michaela [Pilar Brown] has done some great work; she designed my logo for this. I’ve co-created with Molly Ledford, Heather Leigh, Bonita Peeples, and Drew Baron. Sam McWhite has done this incredible music. When I can expand it, I have people, but for the most part, it's just kind of me.

Jasper: And, as a storyteller, do you have people or figures that have inspired you?

McCloud: There are too many to name but Prince, African American painter Jacob Lawrence, comic book creator Jack “King” Kirby, and the Pittsburgh Steelers to name a few.

Jasper: How about other adventures? Are you working on any other projects right now?

McCloud: It's not defined yet, but I’m trying to work on some adult stuff, too, because working for families is good, but there's more. I'm lucky enough to have those two halves. To love the family work and have that, but also, I love to do very…I call it the backbreaking stuff. So, like when the uprisings happened, the conversations now, these are conversations I've been having with my art since I became an adult, when I was still a visual artist. As a theater artist, this is the type of work I love. Like I said, I call it the backbreaking planes, where it forces you to look in the mirror, even if it's not ‘you’ that you see. Maybe it's your friend or maybe it's your family or maybe it is you, but it forces you to look. Or maybe the you, the we, is sometimes larger. Race, gender, class, nationalism, whatever. I love that type of work in my adult work, so I'm working on some stuff to address that.

Jasper: Well, as you and others continue to work on these projects, do you have any advice you’d give to creators who want to respond to this world on fire but don’t know how?

McCloud: I can't really give advice but trust yourself. It's different for everybody. Somebody might take two years to process all this, or it ekes out into your work little by little, or you do one big thing. I think that's one of the traps of this thing has been everybody feels like, "Well, I'm stuck at home. I have to create. I should be creating. I have all this time." And you put this weird pressure on yourself. Hell, I'm still processing. I'm working, making things, but I'm not done processing. For one thing, this thing, it shifts so often. I would just say trust yourself, man. Don't try to beat yourself up too much. Just trust yourself.

You can find The Magic Purple Circle at YouTube here and check out McCloud’s recent collaboration with the Richland Library here.

Be sure to follow Jasper on social media (The Jasper Project on Facebook; @the_jasper_project on Instagram; @JASPERadvises on Twitter) to keep up with local art events like The Magic Purple Circle.

Darion McCloud, winner of the 2018 Jasper Theatre Artist of the Year

Announcing Accepted Submissions for Fall Lines & Winners of Fall Lines Awards

The Jasper Project, in conjunction with Richland Library, Friends of Richland Library, and One Columbia for Arts and Culture, is proud to announce the authors whose work has been accepted for publication in the seventh edition of Fall Lines – a literary convergence, as well as the recipients of the 2020 Fall Lines Awards for the Saluda River Prize for Poetry and the Broad River Prize for Prose.

Congratulations to Randy Spencer whose short fiction, Ghost Ship, was selected from more than one hundred prose submissions as the winner of the Broad River Prize for Prose, and to Lisa Hammond, whose poem, Hydrangeas, was selected from more than 400 submissions as the winner of the Saluda River Prize for Poetry.

Judges for this year’s awards were Barrett Warner for fiction and Julia Wendell for poetry. 

Barrett Warner is the author of Why Is It So Hard to Kill You? (Somondoco Press, 2016) and My Friend Ken Harvey (Publishing Genius, 2014. He has won the Salamander fiction prize and his short stories have appeared in The Adroit, Phoebe, Crescent Review, Oxford Magazine, Berkeley Fiction Review, Quarter after Eight, and elsewhere. He has also won the Princemere, Liam Rector, Luminaire (Alternating Current), and Cloudbank poetry prizes; and the Tucson Book Festival essay prize. In 2016, he was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award for his personal essays on farming and the rhythms of farm life. He used those funds to move to South Carolina. In May, 2019 he received the nonfiction fellowship at the Longleaf Writers’ Conference. Recent efforts appear in Beloit Poetry Journal, Rabbit Catastrophe Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Disquiet Arts, Sou’wester, and Pirene’s Fountain. 

Julia Wendell received her B.A. from Cornell University, her M.A. in English and American Literature from Boston University, and Her M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Iowa, Writer's Workshop.  She is the author of five full-length collections of poems and three chapbooks. Her most recent book of poems is Take This Spoon (Main Street Rag Press, 2014). Additionally, she is the author of two memoirs, Finding My Distance (Galileo Press, 2009) and her recent Come to the X (Galileo Press, 2020). A Bread Loaf and Yaddo Fellow, her poems have been widely published in such journals as American Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, The Antioch Review, The Missouri Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Nebraska Review, Crazyhorse, and many others. She is the Founding Editor of Galileo Press since its inception in 1979. She lives in Aiken, South Carolina, with her husband, editor and critic, Barrett Warner.

While the annual release of Fall Lines is typically accompanied by a reading and celebration, this year, due to restrictions accompanying COVID-19, the editors have opted to reveal the names of the authors whose work has been accepted for publication, but delay the actual release event and book distribution until the writing community can safely gather together to share and celebrate.

Fall Lines – a literary coalition is edited by Cindi Boiter and Ed Madden, with assistance from Lee Snelgrove and Tony Tallent.

Congratulations to the following authors:

Ann Humphries – Kite Boy from Bangladesh, To Think I almost Missed These Paintings, and The Bench

John Gulledge – Forgetting Pop

Al Black – Night Watchman, Pandemic Meditation on the Second Anniversary of My Mother’s Passing

Lisa Hammond – Hydrangeas *

Lawrence Rhu – Amends

Lisa Hase-Jackson – Her Wild Self, Privilege

Derek Berry – landscape with ritual superstition, on the morning I tell my father

Jennifer Gilmore – Flecks of Gold

Debra Daniel – Why the Rabbit Died, As we Move On

Nathalie Anderson – Lamp-Lit

Betsy Thorne – For the Love of Pete, View from Office in a Small City

Ruth Nicholson – Spring Safari:  Hartsville, SC, Overdue

Ellen Malphrus – Refusing the Flood, Premonition: January 2, 2020

Eric Morris – Medicine Game, They, and The Gift

Rachel Burns – mortality tastes Like key lime pie

Dale Bailes – Time/Travel, Columbia to Pawley’s, After the Hurricane

Arthur Turfa – unfinished Kaddish

Betsy Thorne – New Restrictions

Danielle Verwers – The Governor Issues an Executive Order Before the Evening News, 1993, and Horseshoe Falls

Randy Spencer – Quarantine, Ghost Ship

Susan Craig – The Way We See a Goldfinch

Libby Bernardine – Ode

Kristine Hartvigsen – Sleepover

Tim Conroy – Balances

Bo Petersen – Little Gleams

Ceille Baird Welch – The Inevitable Unfriending of Merrily Thompson, Merrily Thompson Remembers

Jon Tuttle – hush

Francis Pearce – Retreat

The Jasper Galleries at Meridian Features Timely Portrait Exhibit on Race and Authenticity

Since 2019, the Jasper Project has been showing art in the external gallery spaces of the Meridian Building in downtown Columbia as well as in the building's lobby. In one of the first major exhibits since the start of COVID-19, the gallery is presenting a timely and poignant portrait show by Dalvin Spann and Lee Ann Kornegay.

The show features a collection of black and white portraits of everyday people in various poses and places. Aptly titled Black and White, the show “came out of a desire to gain and promote a better understanding of people of different color,” the Artist Statement says.  

Spann, a black 36-year-old photographer, and Kornegay, a white 57-year-old filmmaker and photographer, together “envisioned it as a project that would challenge themselves, then ultimately viewers of their work, to learn new things about their subjects and talk about what it feels like to be black or white in the current times.”  

Each photographer agreed to photograph people of a different color.  

“The goal was to step outside of our comfort zones and shoot outside of our race. We wanted to spark change and conversation in all walks of life,” Spann reflects, “This was important then and now more important than ever with what we are seeing socially around the world.”

These portraits show people as themselves, as human beings. Through dance, sport, or a simple smile, the subjects of these photos express themselves authentically. The portraits present not just a reflection of the subject but a reflection of the witness.

“I think if we take the time to talk to people without stereotyping or having a classism approach, we would be further along in changing the world we live in,” Spann asserts, “It is important that we first look in the mirror at ourselves and accept the things we were misinformed about or taught to ensure we do not repeat the cycle again.”

The photos are set up throughout the window that lines Washington Street.

In addition to the portrait exhibit, Bert Easter, Jasper board member and manager of the gallery, has refreshed the space by adding a couple new UofSC student pieces and an extraordinary pottery piece by Virginia Scotchie as well as moving a few current pieces around to give a fresh look.

The Jasper Galleries at Meridian is located at 1320 Main Street, and interested individuals can drop in or drive by Washington and Sumter Streets to see the art.

With a message ever so important in today’s world, the show aims to say that regardless of race, we can never move forward with successful and positive race relationships until we get to know each other, share fears and joys alike, and have authentic relationships. 

“We produced Black and White in 2017 to create a vehicle for meaningful conversations between blacks and whites in our community,” Kornegay shares, “A way to get to know each other in a deeper way and to prompt dialogues of understanding.

-by Christina Xan

July’s Virtual Tiny Gallery Features Lucas Sams’ Acrylic & Glass Ruminations on Past and Future

“If I can make any impact on other artists it would be just to encourage them to create whatever it is they want, create their own world, and don’t worry about how it will be perceived or try to compete with what is accepted or popular, or even if it ends up being ‘good.’ Make what makes you happy.”

—Lucas Sams

Artist Lucas Sams

Last month, Jasper transitioned our Tiny Gallery series online in a show featuring ceramic artist Vanessa Hewitt Devore. This month, we’re thrilled to feature our longtime friend artist, Lucas Sams, and his new collection, Paintings on Glass.

Sams, 30, is an award-winning Columbia based multi-media artist working in painting, sculpture, film, digital/multimedia, and installation art.  He was born in Greenwood, South Carolina and has resided in SC for most of his life, except for a year spent in Tokyo, Japan. “I think both of these facts have greatly influenced me in ways I am not yet fully aware of,” Sams shares.

Sams has been drawing since he could hold a pen, constantly supported by his family; specifically, his father, Carroll Sams of Greenwood, SC, and grandfather, John Proctor, both of whom helped teach Sams some of the basics. Sams shares that a lack of art classes at his Christian school made him have to search for ways to be self-motivated. “I drew during most of my classes whenever possible,” he says, “Drawing cartoons and comics before slowly transitioning into a shudder ‘fine artist.’”

Despite the lack of classes, Sams exhibited work throughout middle and high school, going on to attend the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and the University of South Carolina, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Art History.

Sams started showing work “professionally” in Columbia in 2009. In the past decade, he’s worked in a variety of 2D and 3D mediums, including film and installation art. These days, however, he’s mostly painting and drawing or working with ceramics. “This show with Tiny Gallery consists of paintings on glass,” Sams details, “using a technique of painting images in reverse directly on glass taught to me by my father when I was a kid.”

Madonna and Child

This technique, which Sams’ own father used extensively in his work nearly 50 years ago, is not the only thing he taught him. “My father taught me how to paint more than any art teacher or professor, by teaching me not to be afraid of painting,” Sams illuminates, “The worst that can happen when painting is something has to be painted over, and glass is an even more forgiving medium, where mistakes can be simply wiped away.”

This approach carved a new perspective of art for a young Sams, who admits once upon a time, he hated painting. “I couldn’t get a grasp on the medium despite excelling with pen and ink and other media, until I learned how to do it in reverse,” Sams reflects, “The painted surface itself is messy, layered over with many layers of paint, and there is no definition, but flip it over, and it makes sense – the image has clarity, depth, and definition.”

Fault and Fracture

Many figures and ideas have emerged from the depth of the images on Sams’ glass, inspired by a mix of science fiction, anime, pop culture, modern art, religion, psychology, and history. Born in 1989, he grew up playing with '80s hand-me-downs, constantly experiencing a decade he never lived in. “I think nostalgia, even a hireath-like nostalgia for a world that never really existed, has always been under the surface,” Sams ruminates, “Being a small-town kid with big dreams and ideas led to creative world-building, of the past and future of imagined realities that are never fully realized.”

The imagined realities that exist in this crux of past and future are represented across panes of glass in Sams’ exhibit for Tiny Gallery. Drawing on memory, history, and current times, the paintings tread a multitude of different waters. In this collection, you’ll find various faces in different modes of contemplation, diptychs with bodies in conversation with one another, and vivid colors coming together to tell their own stories. Specifically, Sams works with an “almost manga-like visual style” that he’s been returning to recently. 

Masked Girl with Flowers

“My work draws from the unconscious, and from conscious repetitions and explorations of various interconnected but vastly diverse symbols and archetypes,” Sams shares,” Most of the figures or portraits are some of these archetypes, often a personal twist on a historical or mythological character/idea used as a framework to explore.”

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. He’s had about 30 formal shows, 8 solo shows, and 4 two-man shows with his good friend, and recent JAYS visual arts winner, Michael Krajewski. 

His favorite memory in all of these was the first time he won something. At the 2006 McCormick Arts Council’s Juried show, he won 1st place for an installation of ceramic masks, and somebody offered him a solo show at USC upstate…or at least they thought they did. “They actually offered it to my Dad, who they thought was me, and who was there accepting the award for me because I was in still high school, out of town,” Sams recalls, “When they found that out, the offer was rescinded. We laughed about that a lot and still do; it’s a good memory.”

Candy Colored Clown

Whether it’s experiments with new mediums or cases of mistaken identity, Sams has one piece of advice for fellow artists: “If I can make any impact on other artists it would be just to encourage them to create whatever it is they want, create their own world, and don’t worry about how it will be perceived or try to compete with what is accepted or popular, or even if it ends up being ‘good.’ Make what makes you happy.”

Lucas Sams’ show, which holds 17 pieces ranging from $75 - $150, will be up until August 9th. You can see the works 24/7 at the following link: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery

While he says it’s impossible to know what the future holds, for further viewing you can visit his website https://lucastsams.wixsite.com/sams, his weekly updated webstore https://lucassams.bigcartel.com/, and follow him on Instagram @trianglezero.

-Christina Xan

*Are you an artist interested in showing your work for a Virtual Tiny Gallery show? Email Tiny Gallery Manager Christina Xan at JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com.

To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above,

please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org

DR. JO ANGELA EDWINS TALKS EDUCATION, POETRY AND THE NEW NORMAL by Dana Nickel

The Pee Dee’s first poet laureate explains the importance of art in an uncertain era.

“I was always really taken with art, but I was never quite good at it,” Dr. Jo Angela Edwins explains with a laugh. “I tried different instruments, even played the piano for three years. Nothing stuck.”

It wasn’t until a young Edwins saw a poet on the PBS channel giving out writing advice that she considered poetry. The advice was to write one poem a day, everyday in order to develop poetry skill. “For a long time as a kid, I wrote really bad poetry everyday,” she says. “I do think that it  made me really attuned to word the sounds of words and how words fit in a phrase.”

Today, Edwins is a professor of poetry for Francis Marion University’s English department. She usually teaches three to four classes a semester. This spring, she taught two classes on advanced poetry writing and American women authors. Her courses are reading and writing intensive, and COVID-19 really affected how she was able to foster a connection with her students.

“One of the things we do in creative writing is workshopping and feedback.” Edwins continues, “Getting feedback face-to-face is a whole lot different than getting [feedback] through notes on Blackboard.”

To remedy this, she started doing video calls through Zoom with some of her students to go over their work in a more in-depth fashion.

“That was really helpful for the students who [attended] those sessions, I think,” she recalls.

In addition to navigating the pandemic as an educator, Edwins also works on her craft. She explains that one of the main challenges of writing during the pandemic is the reliance on publishers. “I had noticed that it seems like it's taking publishers a lot longer to respond because of the pandemic,” she says.

Edwins also expresses her belief that the arts have gained prominence since the start of the pandemic. As the Pee Dee’s first Poet Laureate, she takes this idea with her when she considers methods to get readers to engage with literature and poetry.

Though this has been a difficult task because of the pandemic, she started a Facebook group, Poetry Across the Pee Dee, to connect readers and writers alike through virtual readings.

“[I’m] having to find alternative methods to let mostly depend on the internet to try to inspire people to consider poetry,” she says.

However, Edwins explains that the pandemic has provided a way for people to discover new interests in art, especially poetry. “If you don't think that the art should be funded ... think about what’s sustaining you right now,” she says. “All of these artists who are writers and directors and actors and singers and songwriters, who wouldn't have an opportunity to create that if their talent hadn't somehow been encouraged and nurtured at some level.”

Throughout our conversation, Edwins repeats the sentiment that art is truly all around us everyday, and art keeps track of our history. “We are living through something that hasn’t happened in anyone’s living memory,” Edwins says, siting that both the pandemic and the current “historical moment” that is bringing Black Lives Matter back into focus. “Both of these events really highlight how much humankind depends on art in general, and particularly poetry, to help us through moments of crisis.”

To help provide a sense of comfort and strength during this uncertain time, Edwins is working with a group of writers to compose Poetry in a time of crisis. “Sometimes with poetry, we can find ways to salve the wounds of the spirit at a time when the physical life feels out of balance,” the poet says.

Her poem, Outbreak, was included in the collection, and it provided an inspiring vision of the pandemic’s conclusion.

“In a world full of fear and profiteering hoarders,

look down at your hands, folded now, skin parched,

and know that they are powerful.”

-By Dana Nickel

Corona Times: Lauren Chapman Transforms Dining Room into a Whimsical Wonderland

In these constantly fluctuating times in which we live, Jasper continues to interview artists, checking in on them and their work and sharing their creations and processes with the community. I got the chance to talk to local artist, Lauren Chapman, about the three-month journey she took to paint a mural on all four walls of her dining room.

JASPER: You’re such a wonderful artist – what first got you into art?

CHAPMAN: I’ve always loved art since I was a child. My family always called me an “artist”, so I never questioned whether or not I was going to be an artist because I have considered myself one my entire life. They have been very supportive of my love for art, and my mom even went as far as to signing up for adult oil painting classes when I was twelve.

JASPER: Beyond your family, did you have other important supporters that helped define your work?

CHAPMAN: After moving to Iowa, I had two incredibly influential art teachers in high school who always treated what I was doing seriously. Hank Hall, whose work I would compare to the American Artist, Cy Twombly, would find creative ways for us to draw like tying string to pencils as we attempted shapes from still lifes and blind self-portraits where we would stare directly at ourselves in the mirror and draw without looking down at the piece paper. This taught me how to connect my eye with my hand so I’m not simply drawing what I believe is the shape but instead moving my hand with what my eye sees and creating that shape. 

My other high school art teacher, Brad Travis, made sure I could work with oils, going out of his way to find large boards for me to paint. I had total artistic freedom and painted with oil paint before I fully understood how the materials worked. We had several critiques each week, and I began to learn how to speak about my work and understand what it was I wanted to do with it. I would compare my work at this time to aboriginal art as it was vibrant with repetitive marks. 

JASPER: So you studied art professionally then?

CHAPMAN: I started becoming very serious about being an artist in 2015 when I switched my major from Art Education to Painting after studying abroad in Italy. Taking classes in the SVAD Painting department I learned much more about oil paint as a material and the process of working with this material. I took classes from Pam Bowers and Jaime Misenheimer who were the most integral part of my growth as an artist at USC. I developed a much broader understanding of the process of painting with oil paint as a material and what mediums worked best for me. 

JASPER: You say you’ve been creating art pretty much your entire life – how have recent events like COVID-19 challenged creating for you?

CHAPMAN: I was in New York City the week they began shutting everything down and started quarantine. My fiancé, Nathan Casassa, had proposed to me at the MET, and while we were taking engagement photos, we heard it was the last day they would be open. It was really crazy how quickly everything shut down and the fear of this virus settled in.

When I got back to Columbia, my work felt a bit pointless. I couldn’t get myself excited about what I had considered doing when I got back from my trip. I tried doing a large painting symbolic of COVID, but I ended up hating it. Although I’ve always felt this sort of judgement being an artist and not being an “essential” worker, I felt even less of a reason to be painting during a full out pandemic. 

JASPER: Was this project a way to break free of that? Or was it an endeavor you had been planning on?

CHAPMAN: I was feeling my work was rather pointless. I was running low on oil paint materials, and a house full of family pretty much killed my work ethic. This seemed to be a good time to slow down and take a little break from my normal studio days. 

Last August we purchased our first home, and we are still working on decorating the place. Having my mom, Tracy Howard, in town seemed like the perfect time to focus on picking paint colors for rooms since she is absolutely incredible at interior design. I painted the living room a royal green and our little library “magician’s cloak,” a deep manganese violet-reddish color. I want each room in the house to complement one another and feel like its own separate entity, and I always knew I wanted to do a mural in at least one room of our home.

 JASPER: So why the dining room then?

CHAPMAN: The dining room is where we spend the most time entertaining company in the house.  It is right off of the kitchen, and I’ve added a couch and two comfy chairs. I was inspired to add more seating to this room because of my grandparents’ house. Visiting their farm as a child, my Grandma Kay would always be in the kitchen, and we would all sit around her and talk for hours. They had a double seated rocking chair, and I can remember falling asleep on it while my mom, aunt, and grandma would talk long into the night. If I was going to do a mural in my home, I wanted it somewhere we would all congregate, so the dining room was the spot.

JASPER: Have you ever created a mural or something of this size before?

CHAPMAN: In 2017, I had a studio at Tapp’s, and Caitlin Bright came to me one day and asked if I’d like to do an exhibition. She said she was thinking something Alice in Wonderland inspired. There was a large wall at the entrance of Tapp’s, and I did my first mural on it. It was the entrance to the show, and the door was turned into a rabbit’s hole that one had to duck down to go through. Surrounding the door were massive snakes, stars, a rabbit eating one of the snakes, and the title of the show, written in a cursive style inspired by carnival writing, was “Wild in Wonderland.” For that particular mural I used acrylic paint.

 JASPER: What was different about the experience with your dining room?

CHAPMAN: For the dining room mural, I decided to try watercolor. I did a little research and found that the original paint I had in the dining room was a perfect prime for watercolor – a matte coat which allowed for the watercolor paint to absorb into. So, for me, this mural still felt like new territory as I was using a material I rarely use in the first place on a wall instead of paper. I have never painted anything large with watercolor before. In fact, anything I’d done in the past had been on a tiny piece of paper. Since I prefer working larger, being able to do this mural in watercolor and paint life size anatomical structures, I now feel a freedom and new confidence painting with this material and will most likely continue testing its waters. 

JASPER: There are so many wonderful colors and details in the paintings. How did you pick the theme?

CHAPMAN: As a child I lived in my imagination and was always pretending. You could find me deep in the ravines of the neighborhood creating characters and stories I told myself. Painting has become a way I can once again pretend and create narratives within fanciful realms.  Since I lived in my own fairytale land as a child, as an adult I have begun to recreate fairytale lands, although in my oil painting series the characters within them have been much darker as dragons become symbolic for rape culture, snakes the patriarch, crying unicorns who know innocence isn’t forever, and jaded sirens haunting the seas. Each piece a whimsical character and landscape filled with tropes and symbols I had created as warning signs - what I’ve learned about being a woman up to this point. With the mural for my dining room I wanted to create something whimsical and calming - a place that reminded me of where my imagination took off as a child, outside, in the woods.

JASPER: Did you sketch the scenes out, or did you let it come organically as you went?

CHAPMAN: I am not a fan of making plans. I guess I hold on to this child like quality in that way. Nothing exciting ever happens if you know it’s about to happen. 

I started on the right side of the door in the corner next to the window. I did a few different drawings, and then once one felt right, I continued on the Scientific Illustration path. The blue heron was the first figure. We have a pond in the backyard, and I’ve seen many herons scoping it out for fish. They’re magnificent.

JASPER: And did the rest of the mural continue like that? What was the process as a whole like?

CHAPMAN: I started with a little green caterpillar I had found in one of my favorite Alice in Wonderland editions illustrated by Salvador Dali; after that a butterfly; I painted over the caterpillar, left the butterfly. This is my normal process. Just jump right in and paint over whatever doesn’t work. I painted the eyes Saint Lucy holds in the painting by Francesco del Cossa and then a ton of flowers surrounding it. Although I wiped away the Saint Lucy piece – it reminded me of frescos. This made me consider the entire space I would be working with differently. Instead of painting one area at a time I began thinking of all of the walls as one composition and how one figure would react to another across the room.

For example, I painted the fox in the middle of the room. Originally, I painted her straightforward so when you turned to her, she was staring directly into your soul. Something about it seemed to break the circular motion of the mural so I wiped her away with water and recreated the fox on a hunt. The irony of the fox hunt is the rabbit, a Young Hare created originally by Albrecht Dürer, the German artist. The fox pushes onward unaware of the nice tasty treat right under her nose. I only worked on the hare once with plans to go back and work on her again. Alas, I abandoned the plans. This became a much bigger project than I ever could have imagined. 

JASPER: It is definitely a big project! How long did it take you?

CHAPMAN: People always ask me how long something takes. I never really know because time passes by so quickly when I’m working. For instance, I would work a whole day simply on tiny lines within leaves on the magnolia tree. I started the project mid-March and finished mid-June. So, a total of three months with most of my weekdays and a couple of weekends dedicated to it.

 JASPER: Would you do it again?

CHAPMAN: I most definitely want to do another. If only there were more of a market for murals, I’d love to make a business doing it! 

JASPER: What would you say has been the most special part about creating this?

CHAPMAN: There’s a quote from my favorite book, The Chronology of Water, by Lidia Yuknavitch that says, “If I could go back, I'd coach myself. I'd be the woman who taught me how to stand up, how to want things, how to ask for them. I'd be the woman who says, your mind, your imagination, they are everything. Look how beautiful. You deserve to sit at the table. The radiance falls on all of us.” This quote has really followed and pushed me through the past decade of my life as I continue to remind myself that I am deserving to sit at the table in all aspects of life. To have my own table, surrounded by something beautiful that I’ve created, I like to believe would make my favorite writer, Yuknavitch, proud. 

JASPER: Has the journey taught you anything about yourself as a person or creator?

CHAPMAN: It’s crazy – three months isn’t much time, but it’s felt like an entire year. Doing this mural has been such a great experience. I feel like I let myself try something new, and because of it I have evolved as an artist. It can be hard to do as sometimes you feel stuck defining yourself as this or that, “Oh I’m an oil painter.” Now I can add experience with watercolor and creating a mural. I’m glad I continued creating during a time I desperately needed and decided not to give up even though it felt so pointless to me at times. It’s given me purpose and kept me calm when I feel like I could just scream most of the time. 

JASPER: For creators who are also struggling with motivation or the feeling of creating being pointless, what advice would you give them?

CHAPMAN: My only advice: paint the walls! If you’re going through a rut of inspiration and motivation right now, I can definitely relate. These past few months have felt like a restart button for most artists I know, but also on that note a restart for our country, and the entire world!  It’s a wonderful time to humble oneself and be open to learning. Educate yourself on the Black Lives Matter movement, wear a mask, stay home as much as you can, and use art as a form of therapy.

— by Christina Xan

Christina Xan is a writer, a doctoral student at the University of SC, and a member of the board of directors of the Jasper Project where she manages the Tiny Art Gallery Project.

To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above,

please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org

Clay Artist Vanessa Hewitt Devore Kicks Off New Virtual Tiny Gallery Series for the Jasper Project

The Jasper Project kicked off our Tiny Gallery Series back in October, 2018 with the express purpose of affording artists an opportunity to show a selection of their smaller pieces of art at affordable price points. With a variety of work priced at $250 or less, our shows have attracted seasoned buyers and budding art collectors alike, featuring top Columbia-based artists like Thomas Washington, Christopher Lane, Michael Krajewski, Olga Yukhno, and Eileen Blyth.

While safety concerns related to COVID-19 may prohibit us from welcoming artists and their patrons in person, Jasper is excited to announce a new component of the Jasper Project – the Virtual Tiny Gallery Series! Upcoming artists include Lucas Sams, Gina Langston Brewer, Lindsay R. Wiggins, and more later as the year progresses.

Today, we’re delighted to announce our first Virtual Tiny Gallery artist – Columbia-based clay artist, Vanessa Hewitt Devore. Devore grew up in Columbia before attending Winthrop University, the place she fell in love with ceramics. After kindling that relationship, she made it concrete with an MFA in Ceramics from GSU in Atlanta.

Devore isn’t the only artist in her family, though. In fact, she is a fourth-generation artist—her great grandmother was a painter; her grandmother was a potter and painter; her father is glass artist, Steve Hewitt; and her mother is renowned artist and educator, Mana Hewitt (one of our featured artists at the Supper Table, whose metal-worked place setting for Eartha Kitt became the cover of the book, Setting the Supper Table).

The work Devore creates is often inspired by her love of nature, plants, and animals. Some of her earliest memories are of her grandmother’s backyard. “Every day, [I] would help her plant and tend her flowers, and she would point out to [me] all the different birds and animals that would visit her garden,” Devore says. 

Beyond pottery, Devore has experimented with stained glass and metalsmithing and is drawn to needlework and quilt making. “Colors and simple shapes really appeal to me,” she says. “My ideas center around creating a whimsical, fun object.”

All the work exhibited in the Tiny Gallery show is porcelain, carved using the sgriffitto technique, and made on the same wheel on which her grandmother once threw.

In her collection of 8 pieces, including bowls, vases, and jars, Devore demonstrates her color mastery with hues of terracotta and turquoise traced in black amongst a stark textured white background. According to Devore, “I like that my objects are usable, and I hope the work I make makes people smile.” 

You can see Devore’s work on the Jasper Project website until Monday, July 13th. All purchases can be made directly from the site. Upon purchasing, your info will be shared with the artist to arrange delivery of the artwork.

*Are you an artist interested in showing your work for a Virtual Tiny Gallery show? Email Tiny Gallery Manager Christina Xan at JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com.

An Interview with Board Member Bert Easter on the Jasper Project Galleries at Meridian

With the Street Gallery concept, the public can visit the Jasper Project Galleries windows and not have virus concerns.  Viewing artwork at these windows can be done safely from the sidewalk; someone could even drive by and take a peek at the artworks from their car. 

-Bert Easter

Board Member, The Jasper Project

Bert Easter - courtesy of Ed Madden

Last April, The Jasper Project opened a new gallery in a prominent downtown Columbia building. Though the Meridian Building opened its doors in 2004, it was built from the facade of the 19th century Consolidated Building. This coalescence of elements externally can also be found internally, through the art featured in the lobby and the display windows that line Sumter and Washington Streets.

courtesy Historic Columbia

I was able to chat with fellow board member Bert Easter, who started and organized the gallery, about what this first year has been like, what artists are currently being featured, and how the public can interact with this significant space and the art within it.

JASPER: It’s been just over a year now that you’ve been working on the Meridian. How has it been?

EASTER: I really have had great luck with the Meridian hosting and being very helpful with my little idea.  It’s actually been a lot of fun, and some work, pulling together artwork to offer in downtown Columbia. And we have been very lucky to develop a partnership with Virginia Scotchie of USC to show student work alongside her artwork.

JASPER: What made you first walk past this building and think, “This is the place for a gallery”?

EASTER: I saw the windows as a missed opportunity for both the city and the arts community.  When I approached the Meridian, I was pleased that they were excited with this idea and even offered the additional space of the grand lobby area to be opened up for local artists. 

JASPER: Did you have any specific goals for it then?

EASTER: I hoped then, and now, that at the Meridian we would have business folks who might see, connect with, and purchase local art.

JASPER: With such a great pool of artists in Columbia, how do you select artists to meet the gallery’s goals?

EASTER: Thus far I have contacted the artists and helped select artwork that I hope works well and complements the other artists’ work.  I try to also have a few pieces that challenge the traditional ideas of artwork – to offer abstract paintings or a brutalist sculpture or a pottery vase that you would never use for flowers.   

JASPER: Have you had any highlights in this journey of merging art styles and voices?

EASTER: Pulling together Assemblages by Susan Lenz, with plastic assembled work by Kirkland Smith, alongside found metal items sculptured by Andy White was one of my favorite window displays show in our first show.  I have also enjoyed showing pottery by Paul Moore with carved palmettos on the side of the vases placed by landscape paintings.  

JASPER: Well other than great art, what should people expect when going to the gallery?

EASTER: The windows are just like storefront windows for a department store.  They are lighted at night, and I actually tell folks that the windows look better at night from the street and sidewalk.  The lovely Main Street lobby is limited to weekday business hours (8-6) due to the security concerns of the Meridian. Currently, once you enter through the revolving doors on Main, you’ll find pottery on pedestals by Virginia Scotchie and USC students and paintings on canvas by Nikolai K Oskolkov.

 JASPER: Has COVID-19 impacted the way people visit the gallery?

EASTER: With the Street Gallery concept, the public can visit the Jasper Project Galleries windows and not have virus concerns.  Viewing artwork at these windows can be done safely from the sidewalk; someone could even drive by and take a peek at the artworks from their car. 

JASPER: You mentioned it briefly before, but if people want to stop in or drive by, what artists can they expect to find currently? And how long will the current artists be up?

EASTER: The current show has 10 different artists being offered with a large collection of paintings by Nikolai Oskolkov in each of the 3 galleries on this block. We have been switching out artwork every 3 months so that we would have 4 shows each year.  When the virus hit, we stopped, and the current show has been left up, but I plan to switch out the artwork after the virus is less of a concern. This show includes art by Nikolai K Oskolkov, Bohumila Augustinova, Michael Krajewski, Eileen Blyth, Virginia Scotchie, and USC students from the School of Visual Art and Design. 

JASPER: What should people do if they see one of these pieces of art and fall in love with it?

EASTER: The signage will provide the cost of the artwork and my cell number where folks are able to ask any questions, arrange for me to come to the Meridian and meet with them, or to arrange purchase of the artwork. As far as pricing, we have offered original artwork starting with prices at $200 and going up to $2,500.  

JASPER: Well, to round all this out, tell me: Columbia is a city full of artists & galleries — what makes the gallery at the Meridian special?

EASTER: We have established this partnership with the Meridian to offer artwork outside the gallery setting to bring local artworks to the people who might not visit galleries with the intention of purchasing artwork – in a hope that downtown folks might see, connect, and enjoy art by local working artists.  We think that the display window setting might allow someone just headed out to a meeting, dinner, or a local church service to view artwork in downtown Columbia.

The Jasper Galleries at Meridian is located at 1320 Main Street. If you’re feeling cooped up at home and want to feel inspired, take a drive down Washington or Sumter Street and see the selection of artists that Property Manager Amy Reeves stated “brought life to our windows”, and maybe even take a piece home to keep you company.

 -Christina Xan

Christina Xan is a writer, a doctoral student at the University of SC, and a member of the board of directors of the Jasper Project where she manages the Tiny Art Gallery Project.

The Jasper Project operates public space galleries at Harbison Theatre, Motor Supply Company Bistro, and the Meridian Building in downtown Columbia. If you’re interested in developing a gallery area in your public space, or you’d like to exhibit your art, please contact Laura Garner Hine, Bert Easter, Christina Xan, Cindi Boiter, or Wade Sellers.

To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above,

please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org

Corona Times - The Multi-Talented, Multi-Faceted Katrina Blanding

“Right now, more than ever, that is where my passion is. I want to see us all grow together.”

-Katrina Blanding

As COVID-19 continues to impact the way artists create their work and the way the Jasper Project covers that creation, Jasper is bringing you a series of interviews with artists whose work you might have been seeing in person were these different times. I loved learning more about one of my favorite actors and vocalists in town, Katrina Blanding, and I think you will, too. - cb

~~~

JASPER: I know you graduated from Columbia High School in 2001 and then went on to attend Queens College where you majored in Business Administration and Theatre, graduating in 2005. Did you grow up in Columbia? Did you always know you wanted to go into theatre? When did you start acting?

BLANDING: Yes, I grew up in Columbia, SC. I attended schools in District 1 with some amazing teachers! I first realized that I had a knack for singing and acting when we did our 5th grade play about the 1940s where I sang “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” from Annie Oakley. There’s nothing like that instant gratification! After that I went onto middle school and joined the band and chorus, which didn’t leave room for theater. I was blessed because the drama teacher saw my potential and would occasionally sneak me into her class when they were doing acting warmups. I was always singing at church and school, as well as taking ballet and performing with the Carolina Ballet in their apprentice company. These activities took up most of my time. The acting bug still didn’t really get me until, once again, the theater teacher at my high school begged me to audition for the school musical “Grease”. I snagged the lead role of Sandy in our all black production! It was so challenging and exciting that I couldn’t let it go.

I went to college in Charlotte, NC and just knew I was going to be a neurosurgeon, but God had other plans. I switched majors to business and minored in theater, thinking that I would get into Business Entertainment, but once I started the classes, I knew that I had to dive in completely.

Right now, I sing with 3 different groups, I have written and produced soundtracks for two original stage plays. I have been the Musical Director for two plays. I am a classically trained singer and dancer. I teach voice and acting. I have stared in a nationally distributed play (“Yesterday is Still Gone” rent at Walmart.com, Amazon, Redbox, and also available for purchase) that was written and produced by SC’s only Urban Black Box Theatre (WOW Productions). I’ve done a few short films, commercials, and voiceovers. I have been in numerous shows all over the midlands in every major theatre. If I sound like I’m bragging, I am. I’m bragging on every teacher and adult that saw something in me that I didn’t. It’s because of them that I am where I am. For them, I still try my best every day.

JASPER: You are also a brilliant vocalist – does that come naturally, or did you train in vocals, or is it a combination of both?

BLANDING: My mom always tells people that I was singing before I could talk! I am not unlike most singers that started in the church, where I was encouraged and cultivated. I took my first formal vocal lessons in college where they tried to push me into opera. I can do it, but that’s not my cup of tea. I will say however, that classical training has helped to push my gift to a different level.

JASPER: How do you spend your time when you aren’t performing?

BLANDING: When I’m not performing, I spend time with my mother and my kids, Tripp 12 and Madison 3. They really keep me on my toes. I am also in the process of writing two books (be on the lookout) and learning the stock market.

JASPER: You are a member of a beautiful performing trio called IndigoSoul – can you tell us more about Indigo Soul and your partners in the project? How long have y’all been together? How often do you get to perform? What’s it like working with Terrance Henderson and Kendrick Marion? What are some of the highlights of your work with Indigo Soul – what type of performances are your favorite?

BLANDING: IndigoSOUL is my music family made up of me, Terrance Henderson, and Kendrick Marion. We have performed together in part since 2010. I performed in “Ain’t Misbehavin” for the first time with Terrance Henderson in 2006 at Workshop Theater. Then after a long break, I did “Hairspray” at Workshop Theater in 2010 with Kendrick. We performed in the same show for the first time at Trustus Theatre doing “Passing Strange.” Here’s where they messed up. In 2014, Trustus asked the three of us to MC the “Henderson Brothers Burlesque Show” and we just clicked! We did a few other shows together after that. In 2015 Terrance pulled Kendrick and me in to work on the Harbison Theater ‘s Annual “Incubator Project” where he created a new piece called “Ruins”. This piece is a mixture of dance, poetry, music, and symbolism, that explores the human condition, what it means to live, and what we leave behind.

After we spent so much time together creating and collaborating, we knew we had something special together. There’s a unique and wonderful synergy that happens when we work together that cannot be duplicated.  We love exploring the beauty of art, life, and our place in it. This is what makes us work. Terrance dubbed us “IndigoSOUL” and the rest is history.

Rehearsing with these two can be challenging because all we do is laugh and play. I’m not really sure how we get ANYTHING done. I always leave their presence happier then when I came.

For the past 3 years, we have been performing an “Original Musical Fable” which we call “Shine” which is truly a spinoff of Ruins. With Terrance at the helm, we created this show to speak to young people and the young at heart about their unique purpose and about how they can use their purpose impact in the world.

My favorite part about performing with IndigoSOUL is meeting people in our communities. We don’t just perform and run. After school performances, we try to have talkbacks with the students to allow them to ask us about the performance as well as the work that we do in the community. Sometimes they ask us very poignant questions about how we have overcome obstacles in our lives, which is really the most rewarding part. We love being able to pour back into our young people the way that we have been poured into by our ancestors and loved ones.

L-R Kendrick Marion , Katrina Blanding, Terrence Henderson

JASPER: How has COVID-19 and the quarantine requirements impacted your ability to rehearse and perform?

BLANDING: COVID-19 hit while I was smack dab in the middle of rehearsals at Trustus Theatre for “Fairview”.  Terrance was directing this project and had to make the very hard decision for us to stop rehearsing in person. We rehearsed for about a week online and via telephone conference before he handed down the sad news that Trustus would be shutting down all performances and rehearsals until further notice.

We actually began rehearsing for “Fairview” in November because of the subject matter. We wanted to be uber prepared and truthful in our performance. It has been hard to set this piece aside, but we look forward to joining together again next year to mount this production with new eyes, ears, and hearts.

I have been extremely blessed in that I have had a constant flow of opportunity coming my way since the quarantine began from voiceovers to virtual concerts. I am so grateful.

JASPER: If I recall correctly, I’ve noticed that you have a large support network of family and friends when you perform. Can you talk about the importance of having family and friends in your corner as an artist?

BLANDING: Most of my supporters are my blood family and my theater family. They really keep me going. I can’t honestly say that I have all of the support that I would like to have, but I have the support I need. I feel like it is important to have people around you that genuinely support you because they believe in you because they recognize the hard work that you put into what you do. It’s cool having fans, but fans come and go. They are with you when you are up but not necessarily when you’re down. I love the people that are in my circle. They make me what to be better. The other day I posted on my Facebook page that I wanted to get into film acting, but I wasn’t sure that I could do it. My theater family swooped in and offered advice from “Suck it up and do it!” to “Why don’t you try to record yourself and get used to seeing yourself on camera.”. Whatever I chose to do, I know I’m never alone, and that keeps me grounded and grinding.

JASPER: What have been some of your favorite theatrical roles that you’ve been able to perform?

BLANDING: That’s such an unfair question! I would have to say my favorite lead role was Delores Van Cartier in Village Square’s “Sister Act”. This was my first main leading role in a musical. It was challenging but it was a challenge that made me a better singer and performer. Singing almost 2 hours nonstop is not for the faint of heart. I also LOVED playing Shug Avery in Workshop Theatre’s “The Color Purple” for obvious reasons. Come on! Its SHUG AVERY!

My favorite ensemble roles were in “Passing Strange” as the mother and “Ain’t Misbehavin” as Nell Carter. “Passing Strange” allowed me to explore the anguish and heartache of a mother that just wants what’s best for their child. “Ain’t Misbehavin“  transported me into another time. Those two shows allowed me to bond with those casts in a way that was truly life changing. I would do all of these plays every year if I could.

JASPER: Any advice for young artists just getting started in theatre and musical theater?

BLANDING: Sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. There will be times that you don’t try because you feel you may fail. My advice to you is this: Go to every audition. Take voice and acting lessons. Read plays. Go to plays. Sing. Dance. Do it!

JASPER: Finally, what’s next for Katrina Blanding? Where will we get to next see you perform?

BLANDING: I have a lot cooking in the pot. I am currently working on my books and trying to get comfortable in front of the camera and off stage. I am going to be joining a board that will be addressing how we can encourage diversity and equity in our theatres. Right now, more than ever, that is where my passion is. I want to see us all grow together.

Thanks, Katrina!

-Cindi Boiter

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

Jasper Project Galleries Adds New Location at Motor Supply Company - Curated by Laura Garner Hine

The Jasper Project is pleased to add Motor Supply Company Bistro in Columbia’s historic Vista to our growing list of Jasper Project Galleries, including Harbison Theatre Gallery and the Meridien Building Sreetside Galleries (curated by Bert Easter) at Washington and Sumter Streets in downtown Columbia.

Jasper Project board member and Jasper Magazine visual arts editor Laura Garner Hine will be curating the series for the Jasper Project and is opening the series with a selection of her own work beginning this week.

Below, please find an excerpt from a story featuring Hine written in 2019 for Jasper Magazine by Christina Xan.

Laura Garner Hine

Though many people struggle to decide on a career path, Hine knew she was going to be an artist for as long as she can remember. “It's my strongest sense,” Hine says, “There was never a question, my whole life.” 

Hine started seriously studying art as soon as she became cognizant of her choice to commit to it. Upon graduating high school, when she got a scholarship for USC, she knew immediately she was going major in art studio. “I didn't know what I was going to focus on yet,” she recalls, “but eventually it became oil painting. You can make it so many different things.”

Hine is indebted in large part to her mentor, Pam Bowers. She remembers her and Bowers harvesting dirt from which they would make their own paints: “I felt like I was doing alchemy,” she said. This is when she ended up minoring in art history.

After Hine graduated, she studied abroad in the Netherlands. While there, she heard of a conservation course happening in Maastricht, and she decided to go – a decision that would change her life. Hine reflects on her first experience with conservation: “It was the marriage, to me, of all the things that I'd loved: art history, that alchemy, and the science behind art.”

Although this trip was the first time Hine had experienced conservation hands on, she believes she was always meant to conserve art. She remarks that, “I think I'm in the business of seeing. Everybody has the capacity to look, but there's merit and thought behind really seeing. It's kind of a fantastical thing.”

Hine believes her relationship to seeing beyond the surface of an image or object is really what led her to first her path as an artist and then her job as a restorator, a process she is incredibly lucky to be a part of: “It's quite meditative,” she ponders, “I think it transcends you into this moment of this dissolving of perception, and you become one with it.”

The process of conserving and restoring art is a multistep process, and it’s not formulaic. However, there is a system to work through. First, Hine has to do research, find out what the materials are and what they're sensitive to. After preliminary research, Hine begins testing to deduce what would be safest to use on the art piece. Grime or dirt can be removed with something as simple as distilled water to something as damaging as toluenes, but Hine avoids using anything toxic unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Sometimes, though, the painting is further compromised. If there is a tear or severe damage, Hine must remedy that first. These losses need to be fixed by covering cracks and shaping areas that have lost texture. Last, it’s time to color correct, which is where “the fun starts” for Hine and where her jobs as artist and restorator most closely overlap. When just a little color is missing, she looks at the surrounding area and mimics, but if something major like a face is missing, then she has to do more detailed research to create an impression as close to the original as possible. From start to finish, on average, it takes Hine around 8 hours to restore a painting.

Hine worked at the CMA as an Assistant Preparator for two years, but now she works full time for Carolina Conservation. For her, restoring art is just as intimate as creating it: “I want to hear the paintings talk to me. I want to know what they've seen. I'm a firm believer that energy never dies. People always come back through the ethers.” This conversing is one aspect that strongly connects Hine’s restoration and personal creation.

Hine laughs when trying to pin point herself as an artist, claiming people will go into a show of hers and think the art is from multiple different artists. One continual tether Hine has with her art, however, is her sensitivity and how once something has touched her, she has no choice but to create in inspiration of it. “My inspiration can be pretty; it can be grotesque,” she muses, “Any moment that arrests you, whether it's disgust or awe, I like those moments.”

While she might feel all over the place as an artist, she feels a strong importance in her work: “I think that what really inspires me is how people are inspired by me. I feel that anybody I meet likes to listen to my story, and I like to listen to their story.”

-Christina Xan

Motor Supply Company Bistro is located at 920 Gervais Street in Columbia, SC’s historic Vista

Find out more about Motor Supply at

www.motorsupplycobistro.com

To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above, please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org

Corona Times - Profile of Portraitist Lori Isom

…as if a worldwide virus killing thousands of people weren't enough, now the news of not one, but a string of black people being killed by police and others in succession - Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd. … I went numb.

— Lori Isom

——-

Jasper continues to check in with Columbia artists to see how we’re all doing during these strangely hypnotic times in which we’re living. Jasper editor Cindi Boiter had the opportunity to chat with Columbia-based portrait artist and fascinating human being, Lori Isom.

Here’s what we learned from Lori.

Artist and baker Lori Isom

JASPER: You and I met when you joined the Supper Table arts team last year, and I know you are originally from Brooklyn and that you studied at Parsons School of Design. What else can you tell our readers about your background and how you came to live and work in Columbia?

LORI ISOM: I like to tell people that I've had experience with just about all the arts. I had a love of drawing from a young child, and a strange obsession with cooking programs like The French Chef with Julia Child.  I studied fashion illustration in high school and then portrait and figure drawing at Parsons.  Due to an injury that my dad sustained on his job, I was unable to afford to continue going to Parsons, but I felt it was serendipitous because I'd really been wanting to explore my newest obsession which was dance! I went on to study and perform for several years, even creating and performing with my own dance company.   I did go back to college eventually, Hunter College, but again got pulled away following the siren's song of show business.  I spent about two decades of my life as a performer which included some touring and living in different states.  I've acted in several plays, done musical theater, appeared in a handful of T.V. commercials, and even a couple of music videos.

I have lived in Columbia on a few different occasions. My parents left New York and moved here in the late ‘80s, and it was kind of a respite for me at times. During one of those stays I began to earnestly pursue my art again.  I had the opportunity to exhibit my work, created a small business as a portrait artist, and taught children’s' art classes.  I eventually met my husband at Fort Jackson. He was a Drill Sergeant there, and I would set up at the PX to do portrait drawings and paintings of the cadets and other military personnel.   As a result of him being in the military, we lived in a variety of places, and I would navigate my way into the art community so that I could continue to work as an artist.  We moved back to Columbia in 2011 and have been here ever since.

JASPER: Do you consider yourself to be primarily a portraitist? What medium do you prefer?

LORI ISOM: I do consider myself to be a portraitist. I have always been interested in the anatomy of the human face and figure.  Capturing different expressions is also something that I'm very passionate about because facial expressions and body language are instantly relatable.   That said, for my non-commissioned work, I prefer natural expressions rather than posed. My preferred medium is charcoal - it's what we worked with the most in school because knowing how to draw was essential.  Also, to be honest, I really find having to mix colors to get the right skin tone and values to be tiresome.  Charcoal is so immediate, and uncomplicated.  I also really enjoy a simple number two pencil - the retractable kind because the point is always sharp.

Woman 12 by Lori Isom

JASPER: You've just finished up a beautiful project called Grey Matters. Can you tell us about this work - how the project presented itself to you, how long you worked on it, what your work entailed, and where we can see it?

LORI ISOM: A few years ago, it began becoming obvious that my aged parents would start to require more of my attention and help than just a few short years before. Of course, as time moved on, their mental and physical health continued to decline which made them increasingly reliant on me. These are my parents and I would do anything I could to maintain their quality of life, however I didn't realize it at the time how deeply I was being affected by their deteriorating health issues.  Simultaneously, I started looking at my own life and asking myself questions like am I pleased with where I am at this stage of my life? And, more importantly, WHO am I at this point in my life'?

The "Grey Matters - Women in Progress" series developed out of the reality that I had in fact crossed over into a new age group.  I was now a senior, and that was a shock to my system.  I started journaling my feelings and sought out voices of other women whom I could relate to and receive inspiration from.  So, I went to social media and asked women of my age group and beyond if they would send me photos of themselves participating in things that brought meaning to their lives, of course getting their permission to utilize them in a series that I was going to be working on.  It took the better part of 2019 to do the paintings, however, it might not actually be completed.  The work is not currently on display, but I did exhibit them this past February in North Charleston at the City Gallery. 

Woman 4 by Lori Isom

JASPER: And I understand that not only our current COVID-19 situation, but also the myriad other challenges humanity is now facing has brought a new influence on your work. What can you tell us about what you've been pursuing lately?

LORI ISOM: Indeed. The onslaught of the Corona virus was something I took very seriously right from the start.  No one had to persuade me to take precautions since I'd started following the news about it quite early on.  As a matter of fact, they laughed at me at my job because I came in talking about it AND wearing a mask as soon as I was able to get one! A couple of weeks later as more information started coming out on an ongoing basis, the laughing subsided.  I was, however, taken aback by the initial lack of response, and then the slowness of action by my employer.  It confirmed for me how much you must take ownership of your own behavior and actions.  No person or entity can do your thinking for you. If you see things going on around you, and you try to seek out as much information about it, then you have to weigh it through your own filter, and do what's best for you.  I learned that from my momma!

Then, as if a worldwide virus killing thousands of people weren't enough, now the news of not one, but a string of black people being killed by police and others in succession - Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd. Then toss in the performance of the young woman making a call to the police alleging that an African American man was assaulting her in the park, as she practically hanged her dog on live video.  I went numb.

So, one of the pieces that I recently finished is a self-portrait drawn in charcoal over a background of words that are partially covered by white gesso.  Words like climate control, racism, poverty, mass shootings, and other issues of the day. It's drawn on mixed media paper that I fashioned like a piece of loose-leaf paper.  The current title is "What Will We Teach Them. What Will They Learn", but it may change.  Right now, I've been taking photos of as many people as I can - all ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds - with their faces behind masks.  I'm still waiting for inspiration from my muse for this one!

JASPER: Your work is so empathetic, sincere, and authentically moving. When something as horrible as the murder of George Floyd happens, are you compelled to address it with art? To do so must be heart-crushing - does it help or hurt more? Do you have advice for others who are grappling with how to use their art to try to place such wrong-minded act of inhumanity somewhere in their world?

LORI ISOM: Thank you for that beautiful compliment.  I would say that in the past, I never really tried to express my feelings in response to anything I'd seen or heard about in the news or elsewhere.  Honestly, I felt incapable of taking my emotions about something external and successfully interpreting them on canvas. Even now, it continues to be a learning process for me; but at least I'm no longer running from it. I allow myself time to sit with my feelings in response to something that captures my attention and figure out how to best interpret those feelings in a way that's sincere and honest. I also find it helpful to write down ideas, descriptive words, and random thoughts about a new piece, even if they seem unrelated. I suppose the biggest piece of advice I would offer other artists is to keep working through things that are uncomfortable for you. 

JASPER: What drives you as an artist? What makes you create?

LORI ISOM: As an artist, I am driven by the need to express something in a different way each time I venture to my easel.  I don't ever want to feel that my work is stagnate and predictable.  When I see the work of artists who I admire, or listen to music that moves me, or read something that uplifts me, that's what keeps me wanting to create and keep improving.  I really want to know how far I can go as a creative person.

Woman 2 by Lori Isom

JASPER: What is your favorite piece that you have created during our sheltering in?

LORI ISOM: During our time of sheltering in, I have been drawing or painting something pretty much every day. I've had the pleasure of doing several commissioned charcoal and pencil drawings, and finally completed and delivered a large painting of two sweet little boys. 

However, there are a couple of original pieces that I really enjoyed doing, each for a different reason.  One is titled "Teaching My Sons to Swim" and the other is called "Banjo".  The first piece was inspired by an old photograph I found amongst my parents' enormous photo collection.  It seems to be from around the 1940s or 50s, and it has three young boys and an older man, all in swimming trunks.  The photo is taken in front of one of those backdrops that used to be so popular in that era.  The idea came to me that this man, who I felt could be their father, wanted to teach his sons something as basic as swimming. This seemingly ordinary skill that he could pass on to them, could not only save their lives, but possibly could help them see themselves and their place in the world differently.

The second piece, "Banjo" is a friend’s dog that I had just recently had the pleasure to meet. I completely fell in love with this lively creature, and he was the first doggie that I'd had close contact with since the loss of my own dog a couple of months earlier.  I took several pictures of him and couldn't wait to do a painting that would capture his joyful personality.

Teaching My Boys to Swim by Lori Isom

JASPER: Where can we see more of your work now and in the future?

LORI ISOM: As of this moment, I have several pieces hanging at the public library on Assembly Street in downtown Columbia.  However, due to Covid 19, the library has been closed for the last couple of months.  I'm not sure what their plan is regarding the artwork that's been hanging during this time.  I post work quite frequently on my Facebook page (Lori Starnes Isom) and on my Instagram page (artinthenow). 

-Cindi Boiter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here we go —

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

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

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

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

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

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

Model of “Her Heart”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Her Heart” by Clayton Wooten

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

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

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

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

Thanks Clay!

By Cindi Boiter

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

Anastasia Chernoff, photo credit unknwon

Corona Times - Have you met Noah Van Sciver?

“Noah Van Sciver is an Ignatz award-winning cartoonist who first came to comic readers’ attention with his critically acclaimed comic book series Blammo. His work has appeared in Spongebob comics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Best American Comics, as well as countless graphic anthologies. Van Sciver is a regular contributor to Mad magazine and has created many graphic novels including The Hypo, Saint Cole, and the three part Fante Bukowski series.”

- Fantagraphics — Publisher of the World’s Greatest Cartoonists

Noah Van Sciver

Of the unending ways in which one can tell a story, comics, cartoons, and graphic novels number among the most fascinating and yet, possibly, the most underappreciated.

This writer’s experience with graphic storytelling began, like most people’s, when I was a kid in the ‘60s and early ‘70s and my allowance was just enough to purchase two issues of Archie Comics from the gift shop at the airport where my father worked. I loved Betty and hated Veronica. By the time I had lost interest in Jughead and the gang I had fallen in love with a nerd-boy who read and collected every single copy of Classics Illustrated he could find. Sadly, the boy’s parents threw away his comics collection when he went away to college, but happily, he and his new family, our family, have replaced all but one issue.

I also remember the naughtiness of Robert Crumb’s Fritz the Cat from when I was too young to understand how Fritz wanted to occupy most of his time, (getting stoned and getting laid), but I didn’t see the film until I was much older.

The next time I think I thought about comics was in 2003 when the strange, but mesmerizing indie film, American Splendor, came out. The film American Splendor was a biopic on the day-to-day life of Harvey Pekar and was taken from the series of comix by the same title. In addition to the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize it won a slew of additional awards.

Since then, actually starting before then I’m sure, comix and graphic novels, even the underground kind, have played a much more mainstream role in literary culture. The little this writer knows about that culture has led me to the conclusion that there is so much more to learn., and I’m working on it.

To that end, I asked Columbia-based cartoonist/illustrator Noah Van Sciver to answer a few questions for the Jasper Project blog as an entree to a more detailed profile of the multiple award-winning author which will be published later this year in Jasper Magazine.

Let’s get started.

Preorder for 12/15/20 see below

JASPER: Hi Noah and thank you for agreeing to talk with the Jasper Project. First, am I using the correct terminology? Do you describe yourself as a cartoon artist or something else?

NOAH: Hello! Yeah, I describe myself as a Cartoonist around most people and an Illustrator around anyone i’m trying to impress.

JASPER: How did you become interested in this work? I know you were influenced by R. Crumb who gave my generation Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural. Can you speak to that influence and others?

NOAH: Well, I’m from a family that read a lot of comics. My father was a comics reader since he was a child and continues still. So he took myself and my brothers to the comic shops with him and from as far back as I can remember we all had our own collections. I drew my own cartoons in notebooks growing up, mostly to amuse friends of mine, but it was after seeing the documentary “Crumb” that I realized that this was something you could do seriously. And since then I’ve been publishing my stories and luckily have built a small cult-following of readers.

JASPER: You were born in New Jersey, but am I correct that you got your start in Denver? Can you tell us about starting out and how you were able to break into the art form?

NOAH: Yeah, I moved to Denver when I was 22 and immediately began self-publishing small comic books with a xerox machine, which I’d sell or give away on the street or in coffee shops, record stores or boutiques. Doing that brought me to the attention of the Alternative weekly newspaper (Westword) who hired me to draw a weekly comic strip, which I did for the next 7 years, all the while writing graphic novels and submitting to book publishers. It was an obsessive period of time but all of the hard work got me a lot of attention within the world of graphic novels and I soon began making a living from my comics.

Van Sciver’s debut graphic novel, 2012 — Ranked #1 on MTV Geek's "Best Graphic Novels of 2012" — One of Library Journal's "Best Books of 2012: Graphic Novels" — Ranked #3 (tie) on Boing Boing's "Best Damn Comics of the Year" survey

JASPER: Like many of our most successful artists you are self-taught, right? Can you talk about your auto-didacticism and how you accomplished it?

NOAH: Oh yes, I am a self-taught artist and I’m still learning. I learned by carrying composition notebooks with me and drawing at every chance I could. I recommend using cheap notebooks to draw in because the more expensive and beautiful the sketchbook, the more pressure you’ll feel to draw great. But you can’t draw great. You have to draw bad for a long time, and you have to do it often!

JASPER: I’m curious about your process. What is your workday like and how do completed comics come to you? What comes first, the words or the drawings, or do they happen at the same time?

NOAH: I try to work from 9-5 like most jobs. I wake up in the morning, answer emails and sit at my desk to write or work on a drawing that’s in progress. I write visually with loose drawings. When it comes to my comics I need to think on paper.With comics you need to think visually, because so much of it depends on what the art is doing. But if I’m working on a true story I’ll spend most days taking notes and drawing doodles in a notebook before I feel confident enough to jump into the drawing part.

 JASPER: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work in terms of creation,  content and marketing?

NOAH: I think the affects will mostly reveal themselves over the year— I did have a new graphic novel released on the day the bookstores closed down so that was a big dent, and I had another book held up until autumn because of the closures. So much of the book events planned for 2020 have been canceled. Instead I’ve spent my time at home in front of my desk or in my office drawing a new story about my first apartment and first roommate, which was a helpful distraction. Another thing I’ve done is to start a Youtube channel to record casual conversations with cartoonists that I admire and that’s been helpful as a way to check in with each other during this isolation.

2929 — "At its deepest, Fante Bukowski stands as a commentary on hordes of recognition-hungry artists with nothing to say, but as a straight parody, Fante Bukowski is hilarious enough to summon tears." — Paste Magazine

JASPER: You are a busy artist. Can you tell us about the projects you are working on now and how we can see more of your work?

NOAH: I’m currently working on a graphic novel called Joseph Smith and his Mormons all about the origins and foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s a history that I’m personally invested in learning, after being partly raised in the church (and later leaving). Besides that mostly just illustration work that comes my way!

JASPER: I also know that you have quite a few accolades to your name. R. Crumb said of your 2016 graphic novel, “I thought [My Hot Date] was one of the best autobiographical comics ever.” Take this opportunity to brag a bit about your accomplishments.

NOAH: (Ha ha ha) Well, it’s been an uphill battle for most of my time drawing comics, but there have been some successes. I’ve won a few awards, I’ve done some artist’s residencies, and I’ve traveled all over the world because of what I draw, but it’s true there is nothing quite like getting praise from people whose work you’ve admired for so long.

JASPER: There’s a lot to know about the world of cartooning, comics, and graphic novels – will you talk with me again for a more in-depth interview to be published in Jasper Magazine?

NOAH: Of course! Anytime you want!

 To order books by Noah Van Sciver please visit

Fantagraphics.com

To follow Noah’s blog please visit

Noah's Blog

By Cindi Boiter

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

Corona Times - Profile of Virginia Scotchie

It’s good to know I’m not the only person to think of the exquisite ceramics of Virginia Scotchie when I first saw an artist’s representation of the Coronavirus. There’s something about the pieces that fit so perfectly together into a whole but, at once, beg to be seen as separate entities. In any case, it seemed like a perfect time to catch up with the Columbia-based artist and academician to see how she has been continuing her work during our time of sheltering in.

Educated at Chapel Hill, Israel, and New York City, Scotchie has served as a professor of ceramic arts at the University of SC since 1992. Her work has been shown and studied in numerous papers and exhibitions finding homes internationally with an apparent affinity for embassies, including France, Italy, Wales, Kosovo, Australia, and China to name a few. Scotchie’s work can be seen on the Hidell/Brooks Gallery website hidellbrooks.com and her own website at virginiascotchie.com.

But let’s check into how the world is treating Scotchie now.

Jasper: How long have you been in isolation and what is your isolation situation?

Scotchie: I have been in isolation since the USC Columbia campus closed in March. Thank goodness I have my ceramic studio in my backyard!  I have been extremely fortunate that I can continue to make my ceramic work especially since I have two solo exhibitions coming up in the Fall. I am also grateful that I am not alone as I live with my partner, Milton Oates and my godson Josh Scott….oh, and three dogs and four cats….

Jasper: Were you teaching classes this semester? If so, how did you resolve the challenge of teaching during a quarantine?

Scotchie: Yes. I have been teaching graduate students at the School of Visual Art and Design at USC during the pandemic along with two undergraduate advanced ceramic classes. Fortunately, the students had been able to complete a good deal of artwork before the buildings on campus were closed. The ceramic students were able to participate in our Annual Student Art Exhibition at McMaster Gallery in early March with their completed pieces. In fact, one of our MFA students in Ceramics, Patrick Burke, won best of show for his ceramic sculpture. Since the closure we have been meeting on Zoom which is ok at first but is not at all like actual contact with my students. This semester was the first time I experienced a Zoom Oral Exam with graduate students whose thesis committee I am on. They actually did an amazing job!

Jasper: Has the pandemic affected your work habits? How so?

Scotchie: Since my studio is in my backyard I can work there in between Zoom meetings, answering student emails and being available to my students during class time. It has been an amazingly productive time for me with lots of experimentation, new ideas coming to fruition and time to just sit and think in the studio ….oh and of course pulling weeds and planting flowers as I talk the walk from the house to the studio! My yard has never looked so good!

Jasper: What about the art you are creating? Does your current work reflect our current situation as a culture in any way? Or are you escaping from our current situation in the art you are creating?

Scotchie: For many years my work in ceramics has made reference to nature, architecture and the vessel through minimal abstraction. I am not sure that the current situation has impacted my work yet although one of my friends mentioned on Instagram that a piece of mine that I had posted reminded him of the virus. Its actually one of my “go to” objects that I have revisited for years. Much of my work has involved groupings of objects on the wall so who knows maybe the work will become more signaler or groupings of no more than three.

Jasper: Has our situation impacted you as an artist -- have you grown or has your viewpoint changed or anything like that? Have you learned anything about yourself as an artist?

Scotchie: I have really enjoyed the solitude in the studio. Normally I am at the University at least 4 days a week teaching, organizing the ceramic studio, making art with students and actually doing my own work at the University. With all this new “alone time” there is so much room for reflection, imagination and creating new work. However, ceramics is in so many ways a communal studio activity. There are a multitude of activities we do as ceramic artists where you need more that one person…. for example: loading kilns, making clay, mixing glazes. It is an extremely physical studio practice and in many ways community based. My partner has become a big participant in my studio helping me with certain pieces I am making so if something is too heavy or I need a hand with a piece of work he is always there to help. I have learned that I miss the students though and the ceramic studio at USC that I have built up since 1992.

Jasper: What would you be doing now if we weren't sheltering in? Did the quarantine cause you to change any plans to show your work, study, or travel?  

Scotchie: Sadly yes. A huge solo exhibition of my work that was to be shown during the 2020 National Ceramic Conference (NCECA) in Richmond Virginia was postponed until the fall. Literally one week before the exhibition was to be installed the conference was cancelled and the gallery where my exhibition was to be held decided to postpone the opening until the fall. In late May through June I was to be Artist in Residence at the National Sculpture Factory (NSF) in Cork, Ireland. Needless to say I was very excited about this opportunity to make work at the NSF! However, this has also been postponed until May of 2021. I am very grateful that the financial support for this residency from the Deans Office in the School of Arts and Science and the School of Visual Art and Design will move forward to 2021 so that I will be able to work at the NSF in Ireland.

Jasper: Can you share any advice or tips for other artists on how to be productive or motivated while sheltering in?

Scotchie: Regardless of any situation artists must keep on being productive and motivated. Even during normal times all artists have slumps or periods of uncertainty with their work. but the only thing to do is to get in the studio. As they say, half the battle if just showing up! The best thing to do is just to start something. Not everything is going to be a masterpiece. We all create many pieces that no one will ever see but these pieces will hopefully lead us to the next and the next, etc. Current pieces artists are working on will inform future work. For me making art is like breathing….

Artist Statement - Virginia Scotchie

Recent work has dealt with the relationships of whole forms to that of their components.  The act of taking apart and putting back together has contributed to the accumulation of a personal library of fragmented images.  My current interest is in the exploration of new forms derived from rearranging fragments of disparate dissected objects.

With this new body of work I have continued my on-going visual investigation of man-made and natural objects. Usually these consist of small things; ordinary in many ways, but possessing a visual quirkiness that pulls me to them.  In some cases I am not familiar with the particular purpose, function or origin of the original object.  Often this lack of information allows me to see the object in a clearer light.

In some of the pieces, I have "borrowed" fragments of personal objects that have been passed on to me from a family member. Usually these are things that have only sentimental value: An old pipe of my fathers, a funnel from my mother’s kitchen an old bulb from the family Christmas tree. A recent object that falls into this category is a handmade wooden tool that was fashioned by my Italian grandfather to plant his garden. Slender and pointed with a stump of a side handle this small tool fit the hand of my grandfather and served him well. For me it not only holds visual intrigue but also a connection to my memory of him and the things he loved.

The worn, crusty surfaces on many of the pieces are created to give a sense of how time acts to make and unmake a form. This process can be seen in both natural and manmade objects.

While drawn from specific sources of interpretation, the work in this exhibit is primarily abstract and formal. Form, surface and color take precedent over any perceived emotional content. While the work may trigger a visual memory of familiar objects, the viewer is encouraged to have a range of interpretations.                 

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

How's your head? Anxiety & the Artist

“I am unable to describe exactly what is the matter with me. Now and then there are horrible fits of anxiety, apparently without cause, or otherwise a feeling of emptiness and fatigue in the head … at times I have attacks of melancholy and of atrocious remorse.”

— Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo

“My fear of life is necessary to me, as is my illness. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy my art.” - Edvard Munch, who painted The Scream while trembling after the inspiration for the image came to him in a vision.

It’s no surprise that science has found a multitude of connections between anxiety and the life and practices of the artist, leading us to believe that, during such a bizarre social period as the pandemic we’re experiencing now, our arts community would be comprised of a bunch of nervous Nellies witnessing each other puddle up and dissipate over and over at socially safe intervals of at least six feet.

Not all arts professionals have responded negatively to the forced quarantine, however, as several have found themselves leaning into the solitude social distancing provides. Jasper talked with a handful of Columbia, SC - based literary, visual, music, and culinary artists to find out how they’re both measuring and managing their anxiety and, hopefully, to glean some life hacks from those who are coming out on the upper side of calmness, goal direction, and mental health.

“It is hard to imagine anyone that hasn’t experienced some increased anxiety,” says Bruce, a visual artist. He goes on to explain where his lack of serenity comes from. “Partly I worry about myself and partly about the future of arts related businesses - the galleries , non-profits arts organizations, the whole support structure really.” Sheltering in has impacted the artist economically, as well. “I had two solo shows lined up for next year that seem to be in an indefinite holding pattern.”

Another anonymous visual artist agrees, “I’ve got way more anxiety than usual, which I have to say feels a little impressive considering how high strung I am on a normal day. It was really bad in the beginning of this. So bad I couldn’t function in my studio because of the constant existential dread. Eventually I motivated myself to make things again by offering free paintings to friends and collectors who donated to food banks.”

The fact that artists and anxiety can go hand-in-hand is nothing new. History is replete with anecdotes and actual accounts of artists suffering from emotional, and sometimes clinical, disorders with critics and observers attributing both artistic successes and failures to how well one manages the demons they lock up or allow to roam freely. It’s easy to think of Robin Williams, Sylvia Plath, and Vincent Van Gogh. But think also of Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, and Stephen Colbert, all of whom exemplify successful careers despite anxiety and other emotional baggage.

If anxiety is a daily factor in the lives of so many artists under normal circumstances, how do we cope when normality gets turned on its head during something as extraordinary as a global pandemic hitting in the middle of a climate crisis, without any semblance of effectual political or cultural leadership from the state or federal level?

“I feel more anxiety now. The back and forth vitriol is toxic,” says one visual artist who identifies a sense of anger coming from outside normal frustrations over health, illness, and economics. “People are making this political because that’s all they seem to know how to do these days. Perhaps if the federal government gave any sense of security people would not feel the need to know it all. Sanitizing everything, not knowing if I have it, hoping I’m not infecting my family is stressful.”

The chef and co-owner of a local restaurant says, “As this quarantine has dragged on, I've definitely caught myself lost in some very grim thoughts. I've had work nightmares and anxiety nightmares related to worries about my family. It isn't to the point where I feel debilitated by them, but it isn't good.”

While typical anxieties run the gamut from fears about feeding our families to insecurities about our own senses of professional stamina, many of us find ourselves anxious about what we can’t control, but even more so about not knowing what is waiting for us on the other side of the current situation.

Musician Christopher may explain it best, “I am not sure if the anxiety I am experiencing is tangibly greater or less, on the whole, but it is distinct. Having the time and flexibility to be able to practice, and organize my life around my practice schedule has been extremely liberating. This being said, I am not certain if I am more anxious about the Orwellian nightmare of wearing masks and distancing myself from others, or those who do not take part in the appropriate preventative measures despite pervasive warnings. The other day,” he explains, “while driving to the store, I felt an unsettling urgency to drive as fast as my car would take me, to which I did not succumb. Perhaps trapped or confined are better adjectives to describe parts of my experience than anxiety; a dichotomy comprised simultaneously of extraordinary liberation and confinement.”

But others are finding that, as time passes, so does much of the anxiety.

According to one writer, “I’m definitely more anxious, though I calmed down after the first few weeks. It was too easy to catastrophize and obsess about “what if” scenarios..”

How has she come to manage her stress?

“Three things: Structure to my day, volunteer work, and exercise.” she says. “Having somewhat of a schedule, like a set time to get up, get dressed, and go work, etc, has helped normalize things. And by go to work, I mean stagger downstairs to my writing nest to write, coffee cup in hand. Doing volunteer work with the Mutual Aid Midlands group has also been a huge help. I’m not just sitting around fretting about the virus, I’m doing something, and that’s gratifying. I also find exercise, even just walking, to be a good outlet.”

Gardening, baking, cooking, and cleaning out all the proverbial junk drawers in our lives are effective ways to manage the buzzing of anxiety bees, but once the family is fed and the house is clean, where is one to place her extra energy?

According to Christopher, “I have been diving into my work as a teacher, and spending copious amounts of time practicing, reading, and exercising. I am uncertain as whether these practices manage my anxiety or simply divert my attention away from anxiety provoking thoughts.”

Bruce says the same thing, “Painting has always been for me like a drug. When I get as far as picking up a paint brush, I’m pretty well under-the-influence at that point.”

Interestingly though, not everyone is experiencing waves of doubt and anxiety about what the future may hold. In fact, some of our colleagues have almost welcomed this time of reflection.

Ginny, who is a visual artist and a retired educator, says she feels less anxiety than during pre-Corona days, admiting she now feels “a peace without the demands of an appointment filled calendar and the hustle and bustle of every day. It’s given me uninterrupted time to reflect on how I want to live and how solitude plays a significant role in my life in a positive way.”

Christopher, our musician, recognizes “a greater connectedness to what is happening around me. It is rather easy to find oneself in a rut while all is normal, but being detached from normalcy has provided me the opportunity to be able to prioritize my attention and, more broadly, my time, interests, and aspects of my vocation.”

Other artists recognize a silver lining from sheltering-in unlike anything they’ve experienced before.

“My time at home has really transformed our living space, which is a good, wholesome feeling. I feel like I've been useful and productive,” says our chef.

A visual artists adds, “I have ALWAYS wanted to work from home. As a single parent I have always known that I would have to work a job in order to meet mine and my son's needs, but it has at times made it difficult (not impossible, just difficult) to be a working artist as well. However, this new experience of working from home has heightened my creativity because I'm getting the day job done and the mom-tasks done and I am finding more time in my day to create and market my work. I feel almost embarrassed by how well I have adjusted, but I should add I'm not an overly social person to begin with so this wasn't as huge a shift for me as it's been for others. ”

A local writer agrees. “I don't need much contact with anyone, just as I've always suspected. Contact with community is vital, but I feel the urge to read and write more, and to sit and stare outside more than I need to associate with people.”

And a local playwright and academician shares his own personal silver lining. “Less anxiety, much less,” he says, noting that “the sleep I'm getting is like nothing I've ever experienced. It's going to be hard to give it up.” And closing with a special source of joy - “‘hangin' with da wife. Turns out she's good company. “

~~~

Jasper wants to know HOW’S YOUR HEAD? Are you more stressed or more at peace than you were pre-Corona? What have you learned from sheltering in and how does that effect the way you see your future? What’s your theory? What will we do with all these epiphanies and new-found realizations? How can we BE BETTER? Shares your thoughts!

Further reading: https://thecreativeindependent.com/library/on-dealing-with-creative-anxiety/

https://artplusmarketing.com/why-anxiety-is-the-handmaiden-of-creativity-5a3e8c6e1a96

https://culturacolectiva.com/art/social-anxiety-paintings

https://www.tjwalshtherapy.com/blog/whats-the-link-between-anxiety-and-creativity

Cindi Boiter is the editor of Jasper Magazine and ED of the Jasper Project. She keeps her menagerie of demons on their best behavior by writing, giving reverence to the trees and wildlife that want so desperately to live healthily in the Muddy Ford woods, and 50 mg. of Zoloft once a day.

What Are You Reading? Kate Atkinson's Transcription, review by Cindi Boiter

“In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”

— Winston Churchill

I worked so hard to finish reading Kate Atkinson’s Transcription (2018) that I am damn well going to at least give it a quick and dirty review.

I chose this book from a magazine stand in some airport last summer because I had previously read Atkinson’s book, Life After Life (2013), and loved it. There was quite a bit of magical realism to Life After Life (a baby is born the same year she dies and continues to live and die time after time as the century progresses) which I love. I should have picked up A God in Ruins (2015) which I now understand actually continues the story of the Life After Life characters, but I did not. To cut to the chase, Transcription is nothing like Life After Life.

I didn’t want to finish this novel, but I have such a history of starting books and not finishing them. Remember Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch (2013)? Having loved—no, adored—Tartt’s The Secret History (1992), which is a brilliant book, I couldn’t wait to read The Goldfinch, knowing it was about a painting and a mystery and hidden lives. I was so devoted to Tartt’s writing that I bought it in hardback and tried to devour it before we left for an extended trip. It was just too heavy to take on airplanes and trains and cart all over Europe. But I failed to finish it, took off for a month, came home and continued to read the paperbacks I’d picked up along the way, watching The Goldfinch gather dust on my nightstand and then, the kiss of death, get buried beneath other books.

My memory being unreliable, at best, too much time passed, and I realized I’d have to re-read the whole book (784 pages) to reacquaint myself with the story. After a while I heard there would be a film made about this 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning book, so I took solace in this news, looked forward to seeing the film, and passively abandoned the book.

Of course, the film bombed. We’re talking something like 23% Metacritic on Rotten Tomatoes, and I haven’t been able to make myself watch such a botched adaptation of a beloved author’s work. (Same for Ron Rash’s Serena, but luckily, I ate that book up like a chocolate croissant and hated to reach the final page.)

Having learned my lesson, I vowed to try my damnedest not to abandon a book again, which is why I worked so hard to finish Kate Atkinson’s Transcription.

Am I glad I did? In terms of making myself follow through, yes. Did I like the book? Sadly, no. Which is unfortunate given the subject matter.

In 1940 a young woman named Juliet is oddly recruited into MI5. There is nothing about this woman that makes her a good candidate to be the kind of spy we think of when we think of James Bond and other famous fictional spies. So why was she selected? Because the espionage she was to carry out looked nothing like anything Bond would ever do. It was boring. She was essentially a transcriptionist who listened in on a group of British fascist sympathizers and typed up what they said. After she had proven herself a fit transcriptionist, she was enlisted to do various other MI5 tasks, including going undercover with her own secret identity, but never anything truly surprising or exciting. The story continues that once you’re in MI5, you’re always in MI5, and there you go. The end.

I really wanted to like this book and I hate to give it a lukewarm review. Despite the tedium the book brought me I will argue that it gives the reader insight into the life of a lower level counter-intelligence agent during WWII who happens to be a woman. Metaphorically, I can see the alignment of Juliet’s conscription into this world of lies with the fully packaged roles many women took and take in the course of traditional womanhood.  But even when she has a Mauser in her purse, she’s still the person in the room who makes the tea.

~~~

In case I threw out too many titles in this less than quick but decidedly dirty review, here is a synopsis:

• Read Transcription if you are a fan of low-key, wartime, London spy novels and the many roles women play, emphasis on the word “play.” She gives us two pages of sources so no doubt the book is well-researched.

• Read Life After Life if you like British authors, also lots of WWII historical fiction but, this time, with humour, magical realism, and some pretty big thrills.

• Read The Secret History if you like to read because it will be one of the best books you’ve ever read in your life.

• Read A God in Ruins, and please tell me about it.

• And read The Goldfinch but, for the love of god, please just finish it

What Are YOU Reading?

Jasper Wants to Know!

Send your most recent book review to JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com with “JASPER READS” in the subject line and the title and author of your book in the body along with your own quick and dirty review.

You can review your book anonymously or you can share your name and possibly inspire an online book discussion. The point is to share thoughts and viewpoints, turn other folks onto what you’ve been reading, and maybe take away a tip for the next book you want to read yourself.

Remember: We’re not looking for academic or professional reviews or anything fancy at all, although academics and professionals are invited to submit, as are butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers and everyone in between. If you’re worried about your writing our editors will try our best to tidy up any little messes and sprinkle fairy dust on anything that needs a little love

Need some help putting your review together? Fill in the blanks for any or all of the following statements:

• I recommend this book for people who like ___________.

  (Examples: adventure, romance, intrigue, travel, horror, LGBTQ+ lit, feminist lit, non-fiction, sports, essays, poetry, biographies, drama, history, historical fiction, fiction, period pieces, foreign stories, mystery, comedy, YA, prize-winning, your descriptor here.)

• If you liked ___________, you'll like this book.

• This book is about a ____ who _____ and ____ ensued.

• This story takes place (where) ____________ and (when) _________.

• The thing I liked best about this book was ____________.

• I liked/disliked this book because ________________.

• The main character(s) is/are _________________________. (Need help? Were they charming, annoying, sexy, smart, adventurous, clever, crazy, looking for trouble – no need for fancy descriptors, just tell us about these people we’ll be spending pages with.)

• While I liked/disliked the book my mom/partner/bff would hate/love it because ___________. 

• Or just use your own words — as few or as many as you want. 

The point is to share what you recently read with the rest of the pandemic pack of folks who suddenly have time to read but may not know what to read next.

Submit your Jasper Reads review to

JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com

and we’ll share your words with the world!

Thanks!