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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CB

USC Dance Brings Back Live Dance With Spring Concert

Junior dance majors Logan and Lydia Acker rehearse Jennifer Deckert’s original work, A Season of Echoes, on the Drayton Hall stage.

Part of being a student of dance is learning how to dance in front of an audience. For pre-professional dance students at USC’s School of Dance this hasn’t happened since before the COVID-19 pandemic brought much of live performance art to a halt last March.

But this will change when USC Dance presents its Spring Concert next week, February 10 -13 at Drayton Hall.

Like every arts organization that is making a foray into live performance, the dance school is taking enormous precautions to protect the health and safety of their students, staff, and audience. So if you’re really itching to see some live art next week and you’re willing to take a chance, this may be your best bet.

Over the years, USC Dance has given the community innovative choreography that, more than a decade ago, arguably challenged the programs the professional companies in the city were presenting, resulting in a much more 21st century dance diet for audiences. While Columbia still has a long way to go to catch up with other cities of the same size, if not the same arts budgets, the past few years have offered some delicious treats such as Columbia City Ballet’s annual Body and Movement presentation of all new and innovative choreography (coming up in March, fingers crossed.)

For more on what to expect from the performance , check out USC Dance’s media info below.

CB

USC Dance Spring Concert

February 10-13, 2021

Show Times:

February 10-12, 7:30pm | February 13: 2pm

Drayton Hall Theatre,1214 College St.

Purchase Tickets

Tickets available only for the purchase of a single seat or a pair of seats, with single seats priced at $15 for students, $20 for UofSC Faculty/Staff, Military and Seniors and $22 for the general public, and ticket pairs priced $30-$44. Tickets may only be purchased online and will not be sold at the door.

UofSC Dance is back and in-person on the Drayton Hall stage next week!

Featuring three brand-new contemporary works by dance faculty Erin Bailey, Jennifer Deckert and André Megerdichian, the concert will mark the dance program’s first on-stage performances since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerts during the fall semester were filmed and streamed online.

To help ensure a healthy environment for all gathering in the theatre, a number of safety measures are being implemented by the department. In addition to socially distanced seating, facial coverings will be required of all audience members, performers and theatre staff. To help ensure distancing, patrons will be seated upon entering the building and asked to leave immediately after the performance. Patrons are asked to monitor their own health and not attend if they have been previously diagnosed with COVID-19 within 14 days, have been in contact with anyone diagnosed with the virus or are exhibiting any symptoms of illness. The theatre will be cleaned before each performance.

Precautions have also been in place during rehearsal, with dancers required to report their temperature and health conditions daily and wear face coverings. Additionally, the choreographers have incorporated social distancing into their works. Dancers are only allowed to be in close contact if they share a living space.

Pandemic-related limitations have directly inspired the creation of Jennifer Deckert’s A Season of Echoes. Set to the music of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the contemporary ballet explores how the solitude of social distancing has, for many, provided a chance for personal reflection.

“I think this forced stillness that we’ve all been put into allows us to reflect on past experiences and emotional baggage that we may not have had the time, energy or space to acknowledge in our lives,” says Associate Professor Deckert. “It’s very much a reflection of managing this pandemic, managing the social unrest and managing how we’re reflecting on ways of being and interacting.”

The impact of the pandemic has similarly informed Megerdichian, an assistant professor in the dance program. However, his work, Meetings Along the Edge, intends to give audiences a more visceral experience.

“We’ve all been sort of cooped up in these times and that has put us in this state of external stillness,” says Megerdichian. “But, internally the wheels are spinning at 90 miles an hour. I thought what we need is a release of that internal spinning, projected physically.”

Contrasting emotions also fuel dance instructor Erin Bailey’s under. Inspired by a trip to a Berlin museum, the piece brings to light conflicting feelings of contrition and redemption.

“I felt… an overwhelming sense of shame,” Bailey says of her powerful experience with history. “At the same time, I felt very much alive and pure. This experience of simultaneously feeling heavy and light, unclean and clean, inspired me to explore the complexities of these relationships through movement.”

One feeling shared by all of the artists in this concert, choreographers and dancers alike, is a sense of excitement at finally being able to get back on stage

“This is what we live for,” says Deckert. “We’re craving interaction with each other and that creative energy. There are a lot of artists who aren’t able to have that right now and I’m just grateful that we’re in a place where we can.”

“Our hearts feel a little calmer than they had,” she adds, “knowing that we get to be on stage in front of an audience and living the life that we were born to live.”

Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County - Executive Director Job Opening

THE POSITION: Executive Director of the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County

The Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, located in historic Camden, SC., is a 501c3 nonprofit performing arts center serving Kershaw County as a cultural center for entertainment and education in the performing and visual arts. Founded in 1974 the campus has three main buildings: The Bassett Building with a 284 seat auditorium, gallery, and a smaller black box theatre in a performing arts wing that also includes an outdoor Pavilion area; The Daniels Education Building (music, visual art and dance studios) and the historic The Douglas-Reed House circa 1812.

The Executive Director provides overall artistic and administrative leadership to the Center. The Director is responsible for achieving the Center’s goals for artistic excellence, audience development, fundraising, sponsorship and business relations development, financial sustainability, and community engagement. The Director sets the artistic vision, including the selection of performances, artists, and other creative and educational programming.

The position is a full-time, salaried position with a competitive compensation package. The Director’s duties include, but are not limited to, hiring and managing full and part-time employees as well as contract employees, fundraising and development, budget management, and season development and implementation of performances and programs.  In addition, effective communication with the Board of Directors and other committees that pertain to the functionality of the Center.

Experience/Qualifications:

·         College graduate with at least 5 years management experience, preferably in a nonprofit organization, with significant experience in the arts or a related area.

·          Master’s degree in a relevant field is a plus.

·          Knowledge of the Kershaw County area arts community is a plus; with a desire to live in the area.  

·         Proven record as a successful fundraiser.

·         Outstanding written, oral and interpersonal communication skills.

·         Strong planning, organizational and analytical skills.

·         Ability to positively motivate and develop staff, board, and volunteers and build consensus.

·         Visionary and innovative thinker.

·         Ability to work collaboratively with all sectors of the community, the Board of Directors and staff.

Procedure for Applying:

Qualified candidates should e-mail a current resume, together with a cover letter indicating interest in the position and salary requirements to Mary Ellen Green, Board President, at megreen@firstpalmetto.com. Deadline for applications is March 1, 2021. For more information about the Arts Center, visit www.fineartscenter.org.

Jasper Talks with Torres Fontain, Jr. about Sundance, Frame x Frame, the Luminal, the Nick & more

“It’s been a journey but I’m at peace nowadays.”

Torres Fontain, Jr. photo by Brailey Johnson

Hi Torres, and thanks for agreeing to virtually talk with Jasper. We’d like to use this interview as an opportunity for readers who don’t know you yet to get to know you as an artist and arts leader, so let’s start off with an introduction that will get all those basic demographics out of the way.

●     Where did you grow up and go to school, how old are you, what are your pronouns, and what terminology do you use to identify yourself as an artist?

I am happy to virtually sit down and talk with Jasper. For those who don’t know, my name is Torres Fontain (he/him) and I’m a product of Camden, SC, home of the Camden High Bulldogs. I am a 29 year old filmmaker and voiceover artist.

●     I know you worked at the Nickelodeon (CFS) until a year or so ago. What did you do there and, if you’d like to, please take a moment and tell us about why you left that position?

My time at The Nick was quite unique. My last job title was Theater Operations Manager however I started as an intern after I was foisted onto the then Director of Media Education, Sherard Duvall.

Quick backstory: I had previously interned for Cynthia Hardy’s tv and radio show and I was an awful intern–just all around bad. Cynthia showed me a lot of grace though, she even paid me, which seems like a miracle in hindsight. I worked so hard though so I at least had that going for me. My transfer over to the Nick was like that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, where Larry David couldn’t fire his assistant so he passed her off to someone else. I was the bad assistant. Luckily, Sherard, the “someone else”, took me in willingly.

In 2013 I worked with him teaching Come Around My Way, a new after school media literacy and film production class that we taught at CA Johnson High School. I worked with Sherard for a bit and when he left, I taught CAMW with two other amazing artists, Jessa Gaitor and Josh Yates. At the same time I was working part-time as a theater manager and volunteer coordinator. I ended up moving to Atlanta in 2017 where I freelanced but moved right back to Columbia after I was presented with some stability in the form of a job offer from The Nick.

As the Operations Manager, I did a little bit of everything but mostly I managed the part-time staff and the volunteers. I also took care of the facilities which, in that old building, took up way too much of my time. My ultimate goal in that position was to help make the space more safe and inclusive. I kept this in mind when hiring and when bringing in new volunteers. I’m all about people. I put a lot of care into the folx I worked with and definitely got a lot back. This is why being laid off in May of last year was disappointing. My friends at the Nick were my friends outside of the Nick.

 

●     We’d love to hear more about how you perceive the situation at the Nick now. Are you satisfied with the response of the board of directors to the important problems you and Mahkia Greene identified?

I think we made it pretty clear in our open letter what our departure was like. To be blunt: the CFS leaders used the pandemic to fire everyone. It was done sloppily with zero care. They also made a couple of “fuck you” moves just to let us know that they didn’t take too kindly to a few of us raising concerns about the culture of the Nick before the pandemic hit. People can read all about that in the letter.

I do not currently support the Columbia Film Society nor do I support or approve of its current leaders. It honestly feels strange and a bit bold to think I should have some sort of approval over anything that goes on there now, but in my experience it has done more harm than good when I take the “humble” route and fail to stand in my power. I was there for almost a 5th of the organization's existence. Only a handful of people had been there longer. What was even more valuable was that I spoke to the folx who held positions at CFS before me and the folx who held positions before them. I’m even friends with volunteers who were there since day 1. I think it’s safe that I have a little audacity to express my disapproval.

With that being said, we were very disappointed in the board’s response or rather their lack of response to our open letter. Some of us got severance packages and I think they expected us to be happy with that but our letter was written to address things we did not want to see continue. Mahkia and I were prepared to support the Nick in becoming as safe of a space as possible. Unfortunately they doubled down on the white supremacy. Of all the bullshit though I think I’m most upset that I had to reactivate my Facebook page to keep people updated with everything. This, to me, is truly unforgivable.

●      How have you been using your time since leaving the Nick?

Well in a way, being laid off was the best thing that could have happened for me. It was a chance to take a real break. I had been working so hard and my position was taking a toll on me. I’m used to doing a lot of physical work, pushing the limits of my body. I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I did not expect to be so burnt out emotionally though. So I spent some time grieving, while collecting money from the government of course. I have to mention how grateful I am to have an amazing family. The support from my Mama and Daddy saved me. Spending time with my sisters and my nephews saved me. I owe it all to them.

But I had to get to work eventually. So I did some work with SCRJI (South Carolina Restorative Justice Initiative) and I also did a few podcast episodes with some amazing artists and friends. I joined a virtual workout group, edited a film, and recommitted to my spiritual practices. It’s been a journey but I’m at peace nowadays. Now if only this country could conquer a global pandemic we might be cookin’ with grease!

●      I understand that you have some work with the Sundance Film Festival coming up. What can you tell us about that?

Yes! So Sundance chose the Luminal Theater to host films here in Columbia and I’m helping the founder of the Luminal, Curtis Caesar John, with some editing. I’m also helping host some panel discussions. The only thing I love more than talking about film is listening to other filmmakers talk about film so it’s really exciting to get paid to do that.

●      And if I’m not mistaken you are one of the organizers of the Frame x Frame Club, is that right? Can you tell us more about this project? Is the Frame x Frame club open to the public or is it by invitation only?

Yes, FxF is our baby. We’re lovers of independent film and for the past few years, this team of people have been the ones moderating the critical dialogue in our community. We want to continue to engage with our people in this way. “Think book club but with films”– is what we say. Our contributors are all former CFS employees but anyone can join the discussions. We go live once a month and discuss a film selected by one of our contributors. For now, we only choose films that are available on Kanopy because it’s free with an active library card. Maybe we’ll expand to Netflix or something else in the future we’ll see.

●      What else is going on with you? We’d love to hear about any other projects you have going on.

I’m currently working on launching my podcast next month. I don’t want to drop the name yet because it might change but it’s going to be something special. I’m also writing and editing for a web series that I can’t say much about but some real talented people are involved and I think it will be huge for SC.

●      Is there anything that I didn’t ask you about that you’d like to talk about?

I wouldn’t have expected anyone to know to ask about it because this is a new very new thing for me but I’m finally pursuing my lifelong dream of being a voiceover artist! I’m still working on my demo reel but it’s been a fun and difficult journey so far. If there’s anyone reading this that needs a good voice for something, hit me up, I’m available!

*

Thanks, Torres, for bringing us up to date on what you’re up to and some other happenings in the MIdlands-area film community.

While Sundance at the Luminal ends today, you can read more about the project at Luminal Theatre. (The Luminal Theater is a nomadic cinema that brings Black film straight to the people.)

And you can check out Frame x Frame on Facebook and at their website.

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

A queer camp cult classic anniversary celebration extravaganza!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Is that Stokely from The Faculty?!” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for coming to my super gay Ted Talk.

READ MORE FROM

LAUREN WIGGINS AT

YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP.

POETRY: Three More from Al Black

Poem Before Dying

Lorca wrote of roosters,

of eating cemetery grass,

of weeping little boys,

of snow, of guitars, of murder,

of women dropping off to sleep,

of a resurrection that will never come,

and he makes me weep.

I write of barking dogs and feral cats,

of trash on asphalt courts,

of weeping little boys,

of warm summer nights,

of thumping bass and staccato beats,

of blue light custodians of violence

who sweep streets for casings

to put in envelops and file away,

of women dropping off to sleep,

of the resurrection that came

as a thief in night,

and still I weep.

Who will write our vignettes of revolution,

let barking dogs and feral cats come inside,

gather trash in the park,

comfort weeping boys,

organize funeral processions

on country roads where bodies lie hidden,

sip liquor from red plastic cups

at candle lit memorials,

clean the house and feed the children

so women can sleep at night,

sing the songs of freedom,

live scriptures left half-open on the night stand

revealed on scraps of light

before the rooster crows, again,

and who will dry our tears.....we will.

 ~~~

In My Veins

In my veins,

my parents walk hand in hand

reading letters written

across the ocean of a world war.

I look out with my father’s eyes

remarking on the country he fought to preserve

and the sad state of his Grand Old Party

or with my mother’s eyes

to see what season it is

and what flowers and vegetables

she needs to plant.

I see with grandfathers’ eyes,

two farm boys pushed from the land

now gardening their backyards.

My father’s father talks of fishing

and how Lake Okeechobee

is a fisherman’s paradise.

My mother’s father sees again

after decades of being blind,

still blames FDR for the loss of his farm,

ignores the greed of his brothers

and that he was going blind.

One grandmother looks in a mirror

to see how tall I’ve grown

and offers pastries.

The other stares in a mirror

no longer angry or judgmental,

but I still don’t know what

or how she sees the world.

In my veins,

run my parents’ blood

and their parents’ blood

and their parents’ blood

on and on through generations

I can’t decipher

and only blood knows

 ~~~

Chain Link Fence

She lives on a corner, her back yard a chain link fence Walks alone each morning six times around the park Cocked arms pump right angles, rapid short steps, eyes ahead, speaks to no one I don't know her name; someone told me once But I am horrible with names and forgot

She goes in her front door, lets her dog out the back If he barks too much at walkers, she comes to the door Hollers his name, goes back inside What she does all day in her house I don't know

This morning, I thought I'd go stand at the fence Call the dog's name, tell him he will be alright But I am horrible with names and forgot

~~~~~

The Jasper Project thanks board member Al Black for generously sharing his poetry with our readers. Watch for more in the Al Black Jasper Project Poetry Series in days and weeks to come.

Al Black is a writer, poet, host, and social activist. He is the author of two poetry collections, I Only Left For Tea (2014) and Man With Two Shadows (2018) and he co-edited, Hand in Hand, Poets Respond to Race (2017) and his work has been published in several anthologies and periodicals. Contact Al Black at albeemindgravy@gmail.com.

Announcing the 2021 Tiny Gallery Artist Line-Up!

TENNYSON CORLEY K. WAYNE THORNLEY

SHELBY LEBLANC BETSY KAEMMERLEN

B.A. HOHMAN GINNY MERRETT

RON HAGELL ASHLEY BENNETT

BOHUMILA AUGUSTINOVA RENEE ROUILLIER

LORI ISOM

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

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

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

January: Tennyson Corley

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

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

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

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

February: K. Wayne Thornley

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

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

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

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

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

March: Shelby LeBlanc

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

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

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

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

April: Betsy Kaemmerlen

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

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

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

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

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

May: Ginny Merett

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

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

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

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

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

June: B.A. Hohman

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

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

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

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

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

July: Ron Hagell

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

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

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

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

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

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

August: Ashley Bennett

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

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

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

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

September: Bohumila Augustinová

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

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

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

October: Renee Rouillier

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

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

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

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

November: Lori Isom

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

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

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

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

December: Multiple Artist Ornament Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Busy Bee #3

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

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

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

Sparrow

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

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

Visitors

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

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

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

Oyster #6

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

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

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

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

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

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

CORONA TIMES - Catching Up with Larry Hembree & Columbia Children's Theatre

Larry Hembree -pictured at Trustus Theatre

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 chatting with Arts All-Star Larry Hembree who is currently the Executive Director of Columbia Children’s Theatre.

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JASPER: Larry, you’ve played a role in the success of several Columbia arts organizations over the past few decades, including a stint as the president of the board of directors of the Jasper Project. For readers who may not know your history, tell us about your background, please. Where did you go to school and what did you study, for example, and then what happened after that?

HEMBREE: Oh lord, child. I hardly remember any of it. Went to Clemson and did a lot of theatre there because my parents told me not to (cast Mike Tyler in his first play there, he played Gunther in Friends, name dropping starts here) Ten minutes after walking through the graduation/diploma line in Littlejohn Coliseum a little tipsy from a bunch of bloody Mary’s a favorite English professor had served that morning, I ran across campus with BA in English intact in my hand still adorned in graduation robe and talked to a woman who hired me on the spot to start a summer gig the next day at the Highlands Playhouse (Highlands NC) running the box office.  That started it all. I met actors from NYC and all over, got accepted to the University of Georgia Theatre program (had to borrow money from a banker for the first quarter), moved to Athens GA, went to the 40-Watt Club a lot, partied a whole lot, roomed with Alton Brown (Good Eats, Food Network, name dropping continues) in a really crappy old house, and in three years got my MFA in Directing with no debt at the end.  Moved to NYC for a short stint working with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lanford Wilson, did summer stock (outdoor musical theatre in front of a golf course) in Jekyll Island Georgia.  Worked a good bit there with Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, etc. name-dropping ends here) and then got a long-term 11-year gig running the Camden Community Theatre (Camden SC). Then moved to Columbia in 1997 to work for SC Arts Commission, then worked for Columbia City Ballet, Trustus and then Nickelodeon Theatre before retiring. Then stopped being retired and found beauty at Columbia Children’s Theatre.

JASPER: When did you begin working with CCT and in what capacity?

HEMBREE: I met CCT Artistic Director Jerry Stevenson in 1986 when he was serving on a search committee to hire the first theatre artist in residence at the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County in Camden. That would be me. I got hired and then made the mistake somewhere in my 11-year career there, of telling him (I directed him in shows there too) that I owed him a big favor for giving me that wonderful job and experience.  Fast forward to 2016, I had departed Trustus and “retired” when he called me and said, “Remember that favor from the ‘90s you talked about?” and that was that, I wrote the first strategic plan for the theatre, then became their first Director of Development and then their first Executive Director.  I love this organization because they do very important work in our community and you get to hang around youth who always tell you the truth whether you want to hear it or not.

JASPER: Can you talk briefly about the history of CCT and make sure we’re all aware of the main folks involved?

HEMBREE: I’ll give you a bulleted list. That should make all my linear thinking friends very excited. You can also find a very good story I wrote about the CCT history in Jasper Magazine Spring 2016 Issue, Volume 006, Issue 002, pages 80-83.

2005

·         CCT founded by Jerry Stevenson and Jim Litzinger.

·         Programming takes place out of Sarah Nance Cultural Arts Center Arts Incubator.

·         Professional company created to present work at Sarah Nance and throughout the city.

·         Classes and Camps offered at Sarah Nance and parks throughout the city.    

2009

·         Theatre moves to the second floor of Richland Mall.

·         YouTheatre created for youth to participate in productions.

·         Additional Artistic Associates hired as part of staff.

2010

·         CCT celebrates its 35th year (in Dog Years) with a production of Go, Dog, Go!

2017

·         CCT expands square footage by relocating to the ground level of Richland Mall adjacent to Barnes & Noble. 

·         CCT Board hires first Director of Development.

·         Central Carolina Community Foundation funds expansion of touring program.

2019

·         CCT Board hires first Executive Director, first Director of Finance and first Director of Marketing.

2020

·         CCT Board hires first Director of Education. 

JASPER: What would your legacy at CCT be if you and your husband packed up tomorrow and moved to Botswana?

HEMBREE: I helped prevent CCT co-founders Jerry and Jim from dying due to stress of running an art non-profit.

JASPER: Assuming you and your husband will be staying put for a while, what goals do you have for your time at CCT?

HEMBREE: On the business side, seeing the completion of our current strategic plan which includes creating and implementing a cultural equity plan, creating more opportunities for more youth to do more things, inspiring more people to know about and attend programs at the theatre, building more internal structures and, most importantly, having more fun!

In addition, focusing on creating and seeing a secession plan for Jerry, Jim and me and, after we retire, we three can just drink martinis for lunch once a week and talk about the good old days and bitch about how these children that we put in charge of running the theatre don’t know what real work is (like back in the day when we had to make flats out of cheesecloth, wood and wheat paste and actors had to learn lines (gasp) and sing without a microphone strapped to our ears and cool stuff like that.

JASPER: Can you please talk for a minute about what life at CCT has been like during the COVID-19 pandemic?  

HEMBREE:   Being someone who leads with a 7 on the enneagram chart, I have a tendency to flip things to the positive instead of wallow in the pain of reality.  It has been great fun! (insert emoji of someone screaming, crying and choking themselves all at the same time.)   

Honestly, working through the complexities of the pandemic has shown me what a stellar staff and board we have put in place. We have moved forward with creativity, flexibility and maintaining a sense of humor. What else can you ask for right now?  I feel blessed to be where I am.

Here are some specifics that show we have not been sitting around on our butts crying over COVID-19.

COVID may have closed our Main Stage, but we remained committed to bringing the joy and magic of live theatre to each of your households in any way we still could. When the pandemic began in March, we went online, reading bedtime stories on streams and beaming a little bit of normalcy across the city. In the end, we were able to organize 30 summer classes, 8 productions recorded and premiered virtually, new workshops taught by actors and artists from across the country – all without cracking open the doors to the general public at 3400 Forest Drive.

JASPER: What have your major obstacles been and how have you tried to problem solve them?

HEMBREE: The major obstacles that our folks are calling “opportunities” are that with every decision you make right now, COVID-19 and equity have to be part of the conversation to get to what you would consider a correct decision. And I am not saying that’s a bad thing at all. Artists have always owned the creative gene and are expert problem solvers.

All photos courtesy of Larry Hembree and Columbia Children’s Theatre

JASPER: Assuming we’ll be wearing masks for a bit longer, how do you plan to help CCT meet its mission going forward? What should we be looking for from CCT?

HEMBREE: We have great CCT masks for sale for adults and kids. To purchase one or ten, simply email me at larry@columbiachildrenstheatre.com and I’ll set you up.

Oh yeah, the question: I had one of our very smart board members remind us all the other day (as we were wallowing in how to survive and were coming up ridiculous ideas/solutions) we need to remember to stick to our mission and we would be ok.  So, we quickly refocused on transforming the lives of our youth and families through the power of live theatre. So, we will continue doing that.  Focusing on education, classes, how to offer safe social interaction and educational opportunities for youth in our city.  We have four or five more shows lined up to present virtually (rehearsing and filming shows on stage and then presenting them virtually) in early 2021. We will also be aggressively searching for additional organizations to partner with.  

JASPER: Jasper is excited to be neighbors with you CCT guys at the new 1013 Co-Op. Do you have any secret thoughts on ways we might collaborate that we can tease our readers with?

HEMBREE: Here’s my secret list:

·         Start a series to create and educate a diverse pool of arts critics in our city

·         Start a midlands theatre consortium

·         Celebrate anything and everything!

JASPER: Given your level of experience with different arts organizations in Columbia, what do you think the future holds and what do you think we need to be prioritizing in order to continue to grow as a community, as organizations, and as individual artists? 

HEMBREE: I was extremely lucky to be part of the team that created the Amplify plan for Arts and Culture overseen by the    and One Columbia for Arts & Culture.  It was an intense learning experience to work side by side with consultant Margie Reese for over two years and meet lots of new folks in our city who deserve to have a voice in creating a strong cultural base here.  I learned that once you gather all your information from your community, you have to put it into policy.  It can’t dangle around in the air; it has to become policy to be effective and to garner real results.   I hope our city and county will step up to the plate and embrace the policies set forth in the plan.

If you haven’t look at the Amplify plan, now’s your chance while we sit and wait to get our vaccine shots: Find it at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0hafckjg5wui7v/Amplify.pdf?dl=0

JASPER: Can you share some words of wisdom with readers to help them grasp what COVID-life is like for arts organizations?

HEMBREE: I hosted a zoom session for arts leaders in April or May to get a reading on the pulse of what was happening with my peers.  Here is what I found:  We are not working on self-care very well; we don’t know when to stop working as many of us are working from home and technology savviness is key to our successes right now.  That is a challenge for arts leaders who never took a class on “programming for Zoom.”

However, even though we are all struggling to figure out how we can bring in more earned income for the time being, overall, we remain positive for the future.  We are also all very thankful for our supporters who are stepping up in major ways and to local, state and national funders who are standing by our sides and assisting.

JASPER: Anything else you’d like to say? Here’s your platform!

HEMBREE: Just one thing (for now):

I hope that arts and culture will live again in the White House.  I recently sat down and rewatched the video of the day when the Obama’s brought in the cast of Hamilton to perform when it was still in infancy.  I wept as I heard our national leaders talk smartly about how the arts inform and become a record of what is going on in our society, how the arts serve as catalysts for conversations that might not normally occur and how we should all see beauty in ourselves when we participate in cultural experiences.

I have really missed artistic cred from the top over the past four years and I am very hopeful that will change.  

For more information on Columbia Children’s Theatre check out their website!

Welcome Tennyson Corley to Jasper's Tiny Gallery

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

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

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

Iridescence and Iron

Oyster #1

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

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

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

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

By Christina Xan

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

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

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

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

Whirlwind

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

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

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

The Vines

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

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

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

The Piece

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

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

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

Magic Movement

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

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

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

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

TONIGHT! Claudia Smith Brinson Talks about New Book - Stories of Struggle

Jasper will be sharing a review with you later, but today we’re excited about tonight’s interview with Claudia Smith Brinson as she discusses her new book, Stories of Struggle: The Clash over Civil Rights in South Carolina, just published by USC Press.

Hosted by Lexington County Library and beginning at 6:30 pm — register for this exciting conversation at

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1442893917728807951

CORONA TIMES: Local Musician Ahomari Talks New Music and the Importance of Expression as a Black, Queer Artist and Human Being

“The environment in 2020 is not new to me except for the pandemic…I’ve always been Black and Queer and have been able to create regardless.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Jasper has been checking in on local artists, seeing what they’ve been creating, and ensuring their voices get heard. I was able to have a virtual interview with local musician, Ahomari, about their new EP, Girl Kiss II (September 2020), and their creative process this year. The 29-year-old artist shared their raw experiences with music making, the importance of saying what needs to be said, and some advice for fellow Black creators.

Jasper: Ahomari, I don’t believe we’ve met, but I’ve enjoyed discovering your work through this writing process! Can you tell me what first led you to music as a form of expression?

Ahomari: Music has been my everything since I was a little kid. When albums would come through the house, I’d read all the liner notes. Would make little lists of my favorite producers and songwriters. I would make loops of my favorite parts from the instrumental breaks in songs from CD to cassette tape. I guess you could say I was sampling, but I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. Think I was like 9. Songwriting started at 8, but it was very simple and mostly nonsense.

Jasper: So, music was your first form of creation then? 

Ahomari: My first mode of creation was visual. My mom taught how to draw, and I was always either drawing horses or fashion designs. My mom can do fashion design, and I think I inherited some of that from her though I have no fashion sense. I used to also write little books. Like full on stories with chapters and shit. My brain these days is kind of fried but that’s not of my own doing. The human body is weird. 

Jasper: That it is. Did you, or do you, have any major artistic influences that inspire your music making? Or perhaps experiences that continually show up in your work?  

Ahomari: Most of my inspiration is taken from all the music I grew up with but these days it’s mostly Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson and Arthur Russell. A lot of my music is about my experiences as a queer and how it’s like to navigate with everything going on in my head. 

Jasper: When you take what’s in your head and transform it into music, do you typically produce in a specific genre, or do you like to play around?  

Ahomari: I don’t really know what genre is for me personally. It’s all electronic, I guess. I don’t take mainly from one genre. I’ve always wanted to be a pop star, but nothing I make comes out grand like an NSYNC or a Samantha Mumba. It comes its own way. I do want to make a full-on punk Stooges type album, a Post Punk album, a R&B album, a Country album, a like 00s Boyband Pop album.

Jasper: How would someone know when they put on a record that that’s Ahomari? 

Ahomari: People have tried to compare me to other artists, and I’ll never understand why. I don’t think I sound like anyone but me. When you hear me, you know it’s me because I’m never current. I’m never in line. Nor am I conventional in any aspect of my being and creatively though I try and fail. 

Jasper: Would you say your discography so far is unconventional too?  

Ahomari: Everything so far is just an experiment until I get there. I don’t like most of my discography. I love the stuff I did in Blue, Girl, but I end up hating most of my music after releasing it because it never sounds the way I want it to. My discography is disjointed like my music. It exists and it doesn’t at the same time. 

Jasper: Well, I know you just released a new EP – Girl Kiss II, right? What all went into making this?  

Ahomari: Girl Kiss II started the same time I made the first Girl Kiss project. I don’t have a process. I create when I feel like it. I didn’t know I was gonna release anything. I was done with music to be honest. This also brought my first collabs. I’m mostly 100 percent involved with everything, but this project has a song produced by someone else and I also share writing credits, which is not something I usually do. Thankful to Quiet Year—without them I’d probably be caught in a loop.  

Jasper: Having good collaborators is great! How do you go about finding people to work with?  

Ahomari: I just be knowing people to be honest. All my friends are talented.

Jasper: You said you were done with music. What stories said, “we need to come out” that resulted in Girl Kiss II?

Ahomari: A lot of the music on Girl Kiss II is old and reworked. One story that needed to come out into this album was that I’m scared of most things human. For a long time, my music has been me being a robot. I deliver my songs like a robot. No emotion as a solo artist. With the music I’m working on currently, I’m allowing myself to express emotion and be fun. 

Jasper: That’s awesome! How did you choose what would be the most expressive and fun in this album? Why these songs?  

Ahomari: Why not these songs? They’re good songs. Selecting these songs was so easy, though it did go through multiple changes, and I almost didn’t release it, but this album is the most me. This and Blue, Girl are the projects I’m most proud to be a part of. What I made with Sean, Marcy and Kiwyon was so special. It’s the most free I had ever been vocally and lyrically. I really miss it. I miss being in a band. Anyone need a vocalist and writer? Hit me up! 

Jasper: On that note, tell me a bit about your process as a vocalist and writer.  

Ahomari: I write almost every day in my notes app. I used to keep notebooks on top of notebooks since I was like 11, but I threw them all away. Still remember some of the songs. They were cute. These days I’m working with Eric Fury, so when he sends me a song, I go through my notes to see what could work mostly. Nothing complicated. Writing comes pretty easy to me. My brain won’t shut up. 

Jasper: How do you navigate through your brain? How do you know when you’ve picked the right words?  

Ahomari: I know I’ve picked the right words when I know it’ll upset someone or myself. I have a song called “Dressed in White” that may be my next single, and the lyrics go, “I’ll hate your white girlfriend instead because it’s better than what I’m feeling.” It’s about queer people of color who exclusively date White people. That’s a complicated conversation. It’s rooted in so many things including self-hate. 

Jasper: You did something a lot of people haven’t been able to do lately – you made something. How do you feel the environment of 2020—rife with BLM, a global pandemic, and a divisive election—affected your creative process?  

Ahomari: The environment in 2020 is not new to me except for the pandemic being a thing. I’ve always been Black and Queer and have been able to create regardless. It’s just new to people who “care.” When I started talking about this stuff years ago, Columbia wanted me to shut up. I don’t know why they care now. Should of cared far before Donald Trump was in office.

Jasper: No, you’re absolutely right. If there are any creators in a similar place, what would you tell them? 

Ahomari: Advice to other Black creatives would be to take care of yourselves first. It’s not easy, but it’s essential to remaining. 

Jasper: Lastly, how are you? As a human, as a creator—how is your soul? 

Ahomari: My soul is still here despite what it looks like. 

If you’d like to support Ahomari’s work, you can peruse their music and purchase Girl Kiss II from their Bandcamp at ahomari.bandcamp.com. You can also support them through contributions at PayPal.Me/Ahomari. 

—Christina Xan

POEM: How Zappa Met Suzy Creamcheese by Al Black & Our 1st BOOMERPEDIA Entry

You climb out of bed, put on a tee-shirt, sweat pants and a ball cap

Walk to the corner store, buy coffee in a Styrofoam cup

Lady at the counter tells you to zip up

Instinctively, you reach down and zip your pants

She barks you could have turned around to zip your pants

You reply she had already seen you unzipped

She calls you rude

Trying to keep peace, you turn to leave

She raises her voice - your Zappa shirt is ugly, too

You turn back around and ask if she ever washes her shirt

Halfway home, you realize sweat pants don't have zippers, go back

Tell her you're sorry that you argued over non-existent zippers

She says it'd been a bad day and she apologizes, too

You realize she is naked from the waist up and ask about her shirt

She tears up, says it was filthy so she took it off to make you happy

You take off Zappa, tell her to put him on

She turns it inside out, puts Zappa next to her skin

You laugh and say that will make Zappa smile

Hand her a napkin from the sandwich display to wipe her eyes

She says quietly she gets off at 8

Back in bed, you wake from your dream, get up

And look for Zappa in the dirty laundry on the floor

The Jasper Project thanks board member Al Black for generously sharing his poetry with our readers. Watch for more in the Al Black Jasper Project Poetry Series in days and weeks to come.

Al Black is a writer, poet, host, and social activist. He is the author of two poetry collections, I Only Left For Tea (2014) and Man With Two Shadows (2018) and he co-edited, Hand in Hand, Poets Respond to Race (2017) and his work has been published in several anthologies and periodicals. Contact Al Black at albeemindgravy@gmail.com.

BOOMERPEDIA: FRANK ZAPPA

Frank Zappa was a multi-instrument musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and filmmaker. A penultimate non-conformist, Zappa injected satire into his art as his musical virtuosity spanned genres and decades. The enigmatic artist often juxtaposed sophomoric humor against cerebrally complex musical compositions and was heavily influenced by the dissonant sounds of composer EDGARD VARESE who he idolized as a child. With his band, MOTHERS OF INVENTION, the self-taught Zappa released more than 60 albums. One of the greatest guitarists of all time (Rolling Stone ranked him #22/100 in 2011) Zappa gave us the concept of PROJECT/OBJECT, or CONCEPTUAL CONTINUITY which means that he connected musical themes and phrases across albums, essentially making the whole of his life’s creative output one large project. In a March 1986 episode of CROSSFIRE, Zappa warned that the United States was on the road to becoming a “fascist theocracy.” Zappa was married to Gail Sloatman Zappa from 1966 until his death from cancer at the age of 52 in 1993. Their children are Moon, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva. - Cindi Boiter

REVIEW: Trustus Theatre's The Thanksgiving Play - by Patrick Michael Kelly

“Watching the show feels as close to an evening on Lady Street as possible - you can almost smell the Cromer’s popcorn.”

Trustus bills The Thanksgiving Play as “a woke comedy” and that’s apropos. Larissa FastHorse’s play follows four white people - Logan, Jaxton, Caden, and Alicia - in their attempt to creatively devise a culturally sensitive play about the First Thanksgiving for Native American Heritage Month. They stumble over many obstacles - mainly themselves and each other - on their quest to craft an engaging, equitable educational show and ultimately arrive at the simplest of conclusions that less is indeed more. 

FastHorse wastes no time establishing tone; we know what we’re in for from the jump. The play begins with a Thanksgiving rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” complete with Indian, Pilgrim, and turkey costumes, and choreography that the cast performs with full commitment. These surreal interludes - snippets from the play that might come from the group’s endeavor - recur throughout and serve to break up the realistic scenes with blasts of musical comedy. It’s a pleasing combination. 

Consumer culture, linguistic cliches, gender bias, social media, “upcycling”, vegans, etc. - all are placed on the altar or chopping block, whichever metaphor you’d prefer, and while this play’s glut of contemporary issues could feel tiresome, they are integrated perfectly with the story. Most effective are discussions about the fantasy of a “post-racial” society and what it means to be an ally, and a lovely scene between Alicia and Logan concerning the values of sex and beauty, the dangers of their commodification, and the value of their power. FastHorse tackles big issues head-on and lays out all the angles, but rather than smashing you over the head, she builds them in tactfully. 

FastHorse also skewers the craft and politics of theater expertly. Often, plays about making plays come off as obnoxious and cliquish, but The Thanksgiving Play manages to poke fun at devising, improv, warm-ups, and the like without alienating non-thespians. Furthermore, she squeezes in some terrific commentary about casting issues that plague the industry, from the well-past-timely death of so-called colorblind casting to the usual excuses of producers and directors about how hard it is to find ethnic actors to fill roles appropriately. At one point, Alicia mentions that she’s “maybe part-Spanish” so she should get to play all the Spanish roles because “it’s a drop thing.” We cringe, but it’s real. 

Kayla Cahill Machado is solid as Logan, the embattled high school drama teacher who needs this project to succeed - there’s grant money on the line and a professional actor in the room. Machado drives much of the action of the play and juggles empowering everyone with keeping the project on the rails. We feel her pain. 

Patrick Dodds brings his usual charm and affability to Jaxton, the yoga practitioner and “professional” actor. Jaxton’s heart is in the right place, but his desire to do right by everyone all the time gets in his way of being effective. Dodds’s Jaxton comes off a little too young and dumb at times, but the actor’s passion and vulnerability easily make up for it. 

Clint Poston as Caden is winning from his first entrance. He nails Caden’s enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge and drives the pace in much needed moments. Caden wants so badly to be useful and to have his hard-won authority recognized, and Poston channels his desperation with a sweetness that cuts through his pretension. 

Brittany Hammock plays Alicia (pronounced uh-LEE-see-ya, because of course it is), the self-centered actress with a “super-flexible” look to a tee. Her enthusiastic cluelessness and well-intentioned cynicism both give the group fits and inspire them to rethink their way of being. Hammock steals many scenes with her dry delivery.

Director Abigail McNeely has done a nice job making an ensemble out of her performers while allowing them to play to their strengths. The scenes are dynamic and flow nicely; McNeely clearly knows the story and where the most important parts are and highlights them to great success. The production suffers at times from pacing issues, particularly in the early going, but the actors find their footing as the action builds. The inventive staging and exciting feel of the interludes is a testament to the director’s expansive vision. 

It is a treat to see a true box set. Many contemporary plays are filmic in that they employ shorter scenes and multiple locations, making realism an impossibility. Film does realism better than theater, but a realistic stage production is still a satisfying endeavor for artists and audiences alike. FastHorse’s employment of a single location - outside of the musical interruptions - allows for the production team to create a fully inhabited world onstage. Scenic Designer Sam Hetler is up to the task; his set feels just like an American high school drama classroom. The attention to detail provides lots of little surprises for us to find, like old Columbia theater posters on the back wall and a masquerade-themed bulletin board urging us to “put your mask on.” Clever. 

Curtis Smoak’s lighting is cheery with just the right touch of industrial, mimicking the unpleasant wash of public fluorescents while warmly supporting the actors and the space they inhabit. The choice to forgo lighting shifts when two characters are having a private conversation in a public space is confusing; the helpful theatrical convention of separating the groups with light to assist the audience’s understanding should apply, even in a realistic piece like this. During the interludes, the lights shift dramatically to make the performers pop along with the musical numbers, giving it a bit of a rock cabaret vibe.

The recording of this production is well done. The shots and the sound are both clear and we get the feel of watching a play live and in person magnified through the camera’s eye and microphones. That said, shot selection is often static in the scenes and much more dynamic in the interludes, and the editing needs to split the difference more. More often than not, the scenes are played out in a wide shot with close-ups and two-shots few and far between. This might have been an attempt to preserve the piece as a play as much as possible, but if you’re going to make a film, make a film. 

That being said, it’s hard not to notice that the element that gives live theater its power is sorely missing here. As if comedy weren’t hard enough already, taking away the audience puts the performers in a tougher spot, and they respond by pushing in moments where the support of laughter or other audible reactions would otherwise buoy them. Trustus deserves applause for making theater - and polished theater at that - safely, but the interplay between actor and audience is what makes theater...well, theater. 

In its first attempt at producing a fully mounted show for home consumption, Trustus delivers a quality product and should be commended for adapting to these trying times. Watching the show feels as close to an evening on Lady Street as possible - you can almost smell the Cromer’s popcorn. Format-associated growing pains aside, The Thanksgiving Play is well worth your time and your donation and should inspire some spirited conversation at your virtual Turkey Day dinner table.

Patrick Michael Kelly is the theatre editor for Jasper Magazine.

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

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

Tiny Gallery Featured Artist Gina Langston Brewer

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

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

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

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

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

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

White Wash by Gina Langston Brewer

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

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

Orange Recline by Gina Langston Brewer

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

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

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

Cork Toggle Fly by Gina Langston Brewer

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

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

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

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

Mermaid Dance by Gina Langston Brewer

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

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

By Christina Xan

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

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

Dre Lopez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s Next? - drawing by Dre Lopez

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

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

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

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

Unidos - painting by Dre Lopez

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

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

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

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

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

Cocky Free Times Cover by Dre Lopez

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

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

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

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

Benzel front cover illustration by Dre Lopez

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

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

www.drelopezcreative.com 

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

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

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

CORONA TIMES - Trustus Theatre Melds Formats to Bring Us The Thanksgiving Play: A Talk with Director Abigail McNeely

“It’s a satire about white wokeness and the assumptions that we have always been taught about the Native American experience that we have accepted as fact, and how complex and impossible it is to create something that represents an oppressed group when that group isn’t even in the room. … Now, it’s one of the top ten most-produced plays in America and it fits in at Trustus perfectly. It’s modern, it’s challenging, it makes you laugh and then it makes you cringe that you just laughed…”

Abigail McNeely, director - The Thanksgiving Play

Abigail McNeely, director, The Thanksgiving Play at Trustus Theatre

As quarantine precautions continue to impact the opportunities for performing arts institutions to gather artists and audiences safely together, problem-solving and creative solutions are more highly valued than ever.

With a theatre that has been physically dark since March, Columbia’s beloved Trustus Theatre has offered a number of alternative events including a virtual play festival last month that brought us new plays with small casts live streamed three weekends in a row.

This week, the organization, under the watchful eye of Producing Artistic Director Chad Henderson, is raising the bar even higher with a brand new play being offered as a pay-for-view event—The Thanksgiving Play, a comedy by Larissa Fasthorse.

Jasper talked with Abigail McNeely who, in addition to directing The Thanksgiving Play, is also on staff at Trustus Theatre. We’re sharing this interview with you.

JASPER: First, tell us about your position at Trustus Theatre, how long you’ve been there, and what you do.

MCNEELY: I am the Administrative Assistant of Production and I started in May 2020. I do a lot of different things! I work closely with Chad, the Producing Artistic Director, and our technical staff, as well as our wonderful donors. When we return to live production, I’ll be working with production teams as well. A big part of my job over the last few months has been working on our Trustus LIVE series, which included filming, editing, and streaming video for our audiences at home. I was so excited to take on the challenge of taking the Trustus experience online and I’ve learned a lot. I’m really proud of the streaming work that we’ve done and it has all been leading up to The Thanksgiving Play, a production that combines both our practical live theatre skills and our virtual skills.

JASPER: And I know you graduated from USC – when was that and what was your major?

MCNEELY: I graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. While there, I received the Helen Hayes Undergraduate scholarship and worked with Green Room Productions, the entirely student-run theatre production group, and was a member of TOAST Improv.

JASPER: Talk for just a minute about some of the plays you’ve been in or directed and maybe choose one or two favorites.

MCNEELY: There are so many! I’ve been doing theatre since high school and each project feels like it teaches me something new. Some highlights:

·        Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which marked my fifth musical here at Trustus (and unfortunately closed in after just two performances due to COVID – but we’ll be back!). I love working with Chad on musicals. It’s like you stepped into a music video. It’s a blast.

·        A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter which I directed my senior year of college with some of my very close friends through Green Room. Hunter is one of my favorite playwrights. Funny and dark and full of heart.

·        A Christmas Miracle at the Richland Fashion Mall, written by The Mothers, Trustus’ resident comedy group that I am proudly a member of. I was honored to get to direct our very first full-length play that was a love letter to some of our favorite Columbia things.

Patrick Dodds and Kayla Cahill Machado

JASPER: Now, let’s hear about the Thanksgiving Play – who wrote it and what should viewers expect from the content of the play?

MCNEELY: The Thanksgiving Play is written by Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota Nation). The show is about four people coming together to try and create a politically correct, culturally-sensitive play about Thanksgiving during Native American Heritage Month. Those four people all happen to be white, not a single Indigenous voice in the room. It’s a satire about white wokeness and the assumptions that we have always been taught about the Native American experience that we have accepted as fact, and how complex and impossible it is to create something that represents an oppressed group when that group isn’t even in the room. FastHorse wrote this play to explore these issues with only white people in the cast in response to being told that her other plays couldn’t be produced for lack of Indigenous actors. Now, it’s one of the top ten most-produced plays in America and it fits in at Trustus perfectly. It’s modern, it’s challenging, it makes you laugh and then it makes you cringe that you just laughed… it’s what I think of when I think about “a Trustus show.”

JASPER: Who will we get to see performing?

MCNEELY: Four really wonderful actors from the Trustus company – Kayla Cahill Machado (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Brittany Hammock (A Streetcar Named Desire and the Jasper Theatre Artist of the Year recipient for 2019), Patrick Dodds (Sweat), and Clint Poston (Marjorie Prime). We knew we wanted to stay within the Trustus family for this show and these four actors were my first choice. I’ve had the pleasure of watching and working with each of them multiple times and I appreciate their dedication and their willingness to try new things. Getting them all in to the same cast was a dream.

JASPER: And now, the obvious, how exactly will we get to see this play?

MCNEELY: The Thanksgiving Play is Trustus’ very first virtual on-demand show. After a month of quarantine and testing, we brought our cast and crew in to film the show to then stream online. It’s similar to renting a movie off of Amazon – you pay for an access code that is good any time between November 11-21, and once you begin watching it, you have 48 hours to finish it. Tickets can be purchased online at trustus.org and any questions can go to our Box Office Manager, Brandon Martin (boxoffice@trustus.org). He was instrumental in creating our online experience and ensuring it still felt like Trustus even from the comfort of your couch.

 

It’s similar to renting a movie off of Amazon – you pay for an access code that is good any time between November 11-21, and once you begin watching it, you have 48 hours to finish it. Tickets can be purchased online at trustus.org

JASPER: As the director, tell us about some of the challenges you encountered in putting this play together and how you problem-solved them.

MCNEELY: We started the process completely online, rehearsing over Zoom. The first few days of a rehearsal process are vital in building ensemble and getting the show up on its feet to block, so having to do so online was challenging, but thankfully, the cast took to it easily.

After two weeks of virtual rehearsal, we started in-person rehearsals. It was a breath of fresh air to have people back in the theatre again. We were masked when not on stage, lots of hand sanitizer, weekly testing… Above all, we had to do this safely. It means nothing to bring theatre back if it’s done haphazardly. While we were in the space, we ran the show and added costumes and props just like any normal rehearsal process. It felt good to be back in the rhythm of things. After another two weeks, we filmed the entire show over Halloween weekend. It was a whirlwind process. The staff worked so hard to make it happen. It was exciting to get to work with my team on a production together.

Brittany Hammock

JASPER: Assuming we haven’t seen the play yet, key us in to one of your favorite or funniest parts to look forward to.

MCNEELY: One of the most fun things about the show is that it’s a play with music, so in between each of the scenes with the group creating the play, we get a glimpse at some of the outdated Thanksgiving songs and pageants that have been performed over and over again. FastHorse wrote these based on real songs she came across while writing the play, and they are perfectly campy in their performance and cringey in their content. There’s also a scene involving a head. That’s all I have to say about that.

JASPER: Is there anyone whose praises you’d like to take this opportunity to sing?

So many people! The time we spent rehearsing online gave us ample time to discuss characters and intentions and engage in conversations about some of the tougher topics. We had discussions with Eva Foussat, an Indigenous member for the Trustus board, and Terrance Henderson, Trustus company member and the chair of our Equity Task Force. I’m so thankful for their time. It was essential to have POC voices at the table when we discussed this play. Otherwise, we would’ve been doing exactly what the play tells us not to do: talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Perform radical wokeness without working with or listening to BIPOC. 

I’d also love to shout out the musicians we worked with on the show. We asked Greg Apple to create the transition music you’ll hear between scenes, and what he and Chad came up with is so fun: tribal beats that morph into jazzy tunes. It reminds me a lot of Vince Guaraldi’s score for the Peanuts specials, perfect for the holidays. Then, we reached out to two of my favorite musicians to fill in the music for the rest of the show. Chris Cockrell, Trustus company Emeritus member, scored scenes 1, 3, and 7 and Daniel Machado, whose wife Kayla plays Logan in the show, scored scene 5 and the credits. Daniel also stepped up to the plate as a camera operator and sound mixer for the entire show. He’s helped so much.   

I’ve never felt this way about collaboration before. I am so lucky to have worked with so many different artists in such a short, loud time and created something we can all be proud of.

JASPER: And what’s next for you and Trustus?

Coming up on November 21st, we’re hosting three awesome bands in the alleyway outside of the theatre for Rock the Block – a fun(d)raiser for Trustus Theatre! Brandy and the Butcher, Les Merry Chevaliers, and E.Z. Shakes are playing, Scott Hall’s got the food, and we’ll be pouring drinks. It’s going to be so much fun. Info can be found online at https://trustus.org/event/rock-the-block/. After that, we’ll be installing new air filtration systems to hopefully return to live performance soon. Stay tuned!

POEM: Concrete Mary by Al Black

Concrete Mary

Against the chill of morning
I put on shoes and a warm jacket.
Robins and sparrows scavenge seeds;
Call back and forth from fence to ground

Squirrels in fur coats
Don't mind autumn's approach.
In high grass, a lone cricket
Chirps along the fence

Unafraid of the old man
With an empty coffee cup 
Four city deer snort and graze
On overgrown shrubs

Seven days remain of summer
One week, a quarter moon
Before earth tilts away,
Before solstice chases the sun.

As if she knows a secret, she cannot tell
Concrete Mary smiles her Mona Lisa smile
Practices yoga on the wall
And holds asana pose

Mary, when did you become holy?
Was it when they pulled you from the mold,
Loaded the truck, took you to a garden shop,
Tagged, sold and someone took you home?

Or was it the act of setting you on a wall where
Lichen took root and pulled substance from air?
How many tenants have you known?
Do you know movers come on Wednesday?

Sun peers through overcast skies
Warms Mary’s plaster gown,
Outstretched hands gather light,
Her face becomes a moon

Chipmunk chatters at plastic owl
Roosting on the patio wall
Red birdhouse in neighbor’s yard
Sits empty waiting for spring

Rain comes, drips from fingers
Concrete Mary holds her pose 
Somewhere Joseph
Holds the baby so nothing disturbs her peace

Rain comes, drips from finger tips,
Puddles at feet; she holds the pose 
she struck when she became an Italian citizen
And awaits her son’s reanimation 

The Jasper Project thanks board member Al Black for generously sharing his poetry with our readers. Watch for more in the Al Black Jasper Project Poetry Series in days and weeks to come.

Al Black is a writer, poet, host, and social activist. He is the author of two poetry collections, I Only Left For Tea (2014) and Man With Two Shadows (2018) and he co-edited, Hand in Hand, Poets Respond to Race (2017) and his work has been published in several anthologies and periodicals. Contact Al Black at albeemindgravy@gmail.com.

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

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

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

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

Then, the pandemic hit.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Grifters by Christopher Lane

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

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

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