Soapstone

I just removed some of the latest student work from Sculpture and Mixed Media A so that students could bring them home for the holidays. Much to be proud of!

Presentation is Everything!

The scene at the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester was buzzing this past Friday night! As I walked into the gallery live  jazz music energized the crowd and art lovers of all ages perused the work.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that Holly's piece below, "Caught Up," was front and center as the first impression of anyone who entered the gallery. As I talked to her and her family I saw at least 3 strangers taking pictures of this piece.

David Semple, who helped to set up the show, asked Holly how she felt about the diagonal hanging of her work. In school, this piece had been flat on a table. David informed us that as they set up the show they made a separate stop to run out and get the cord to hang this. Presentation is everything!  The lights, the diagonal, the placement at the front of the gallery all made this piece pop out and take on more significance than it ever could have in the school display case!

(Photo credit: Lauren Reinert)

Seconds later one of the jurors of this exhibit, a seasoned photographer who was currently working on a series with a very similar theme, approached Holly and challenged her to think about creating a series of pieces exploring this same concept with a larger size, scale, and extended study of the inner and outward struggle that is universal to all humans. I stood back and I watched as families, aunts, cousins, uncles, and the community came and supported all of our student artists in a way that was truly inspiring. I beamed with pride alongside the parents and artists who got just a sampling of a bit of the talent held within these rising bundles of walking inspiration. The future is truly in their hands.

There were a total of 24 pieces highlighted in this juried show and only 3 pieces were created by high school students. Two of those were from Irondequoit, and the other one was a beautiful raku piece by a home schooled student. The remainder of works were created by college and graduate school art students. Refreshingly, the exhibition cards only showed the student name, title and media of the work. The pieces created were intermingled, and it did not say what school the students attended. I must say, our high schoolers held their own in this exhibit despite their youth in comparison to the other artists showcased here. The show will be on exhibit through November 26th. Gallery hours are 10-4 weekdays.

Another work from the show (not my student) pictured below. This was made entirely out of legos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show and Tell

There will be a Student Showcase show opening this Friday November 1, 2013 at the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester from 5-7pm. Please come out and see the artwork at the Gallery which is located on 277 North Goodman Street.  This juried show highlights work of students in high school, college and graduate level art programs. Student work from our own Irondequoit High School as well as RIT, Nazareth and other surrounding colleges will be on display.

 

 

In other news, a small but proud class of Sculpture C students just completed their Project Runway pieces where they are asked to create wearable clothing out of recycled materials.

 

 

Special Thanks to Mr. Conner for taking the project Runway photos for us!

 

Summer Lovin'

This was the second year that the Wall Therapy Festival happened here in Rochester NY, and the organizers raised over $30,000. through an Indiegogo campaign to help cover expenses. Beyond that cost, volunteers and individual donors of time, energy and money made this happen. All the Wall Therapy artists have gone to their respective homes in Belgium, Africa, Brazil and a myriad of other places. The good thing is, you can still take a tour and enjoy it today!The idea was the brain child of Dr. Ian Wilson, formerly from Brooklyn, now working as a medical doctor at the University of Rochester. Talk is cheap, so let me plunk down a few photos. Feel free to click to enlarge them to get details.

All of the pictures above are located just off of East Ridge Road on the edge of Irondequoit. If you have  a car, or even better a bike, or feet, use them to take you through El Camino Trail, near Hollenbeck Street and see them for yourself! There are more murals in the South Wedge, and near the public market among other places all over town. Again, these artists aren't just from Rochester.  Many of the artists traveled from different countries  to be here and many are internationally known in both graffitti and gallery circles. The whole point of  doing this is to once again make it known to the community that art is for all of us! It changes perspectives and demonstrates care and concern for the local community. It reaches into our history and into our past. It is personal, as well as for public consumption. It has meaning and worth.

These artists have taken time to beautify some of the little known and well known areas of our city. It was incredible to see little kids surrounding the artists, staring upward at their work, and asking questions about why they were doing it, and if they really had permission! The image just below is on Joseph Avenue. Now, I don't generally go over to that neighborhood to take tourist photos, but when I did I was greeted by smiles of kids, business owners and the artist himself. Meanwhile, cars slowed down and I heard the word "Awesome!" enthusiastically coming from a passing car. Others beeped their horns to demonstrate approval of the mural work. This kind of energy is electric. Our little city was highlighted in Juxtapoz Magazine and Huffington Post. The Democrat and Chronicle also did some great step by step process photos throughout the week on this website that are pretty amazing to see. For more details about each artist and links to their websites check out this Wall Therapy link.  Happy hunting! 

Arts Fest Photos

Thank you to Len Crellin and Joann Brown for providing most of the photos displayed here. This is a small taste of the many events that made the 25th Annual Arts Festival incredible this year!

Little known trivia... We hired Eddie Davis as one of our visiting artists.  When we walked into the festival on Friday, Bob Geroux, the original creator of the first Irondequoit High School Arts Festival, informed us that Eddie Davis Senior (our Eddie's Dad) was the guest artist at the very first arts festival 25 years ago. What a cool way to continue the cycle of creativity for years to come!

 

Between the visiting artists and musicians, the film festival, badminton, ping pong, engineering projects, public speaking class presentations, student music, jazz, rap, acapella, hippie gypsie french coffee house music, henna, face painting, slam poetry... We had over 50 events going on on 4 stages to take care of  your artistic, musical and gastronomical needs. We tried to entertain EVERYONE!

 

One of the highlights of my day was when I was running to get some more supplies and I overheard a conversation between two students. One was trying to get the other to skip class. The second kid responded, "Why would I want to go to your house and hang out and do nothing when we have all this stuff going on here?  This is so much better!"

 

This is what we strive for. Art, creativity and the energy that happens when great people work together for a common good is a force that cannot be reckoned with.  It draws people in naturally, and creates a synergy where beautiful things are allowed to happen. As this energy springs up intellectual and creative pursuits are the fruit of that labor. Thanks for being a participant, an onlooker, or a builder of this event. May this be the beginning of many creative endeavors. Thank you to the PTSA for providing the funding that enabled this event to happen.  Thank you to our maintenance staff, administration, students and staff who were willing to get their hands dirty in order to entertain 1300 high schoolers from 9am til 3pm. I certainly could not have done it alone. So now, lets rest a bit, and get ready for exams, and we'll start working on finding the best artists and musicians for next years event! 

The 25th Anniversary of the ARTs Festival!

What a pleasure to welcome back old friends and meet some new ones this year!

Our visiting artists included Bill Wolff, an adjunct professor at RIT and worked with the Sculpture and Mixed Media Classes. 

Bill Wolff earned a Masters in Sculpture (Wood) from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2009. He also did post graduate research at Tokyo University of the Arts from 2005-2007. He earned an MFA in Sculpture from Louisiana State University in 2004 and a BFA in Sculpture from Binghamton University in 2000.

 

 

Loreal Prystaj worked with students in our Photography classes to create dark fairy tales.

Loreal Prystaj grew up in Fairport, graduated from Fairport High School, and then went to the Fashion Institute of Technology where she graduated in May 2013. She starting becoming interested in Photography in 2008, and she has been addicted since! Her work has been published and exhibited in galleries, and collections.

 

 

 

 

 

Justyn Iannucci was a guest artist with our Drawing and Painting Classes.

 

Justyn Iannucci works as a freelance Illustrator working out of Upstate NY. Formal training includes a Bachelors of Fine Art in Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology as well as an Associates Degree in Graphic Arts and Printing from Monroe Community College.

 

 

Eddie Davis worked with our students at the junior high level.

 

Eddie Davis III has taught at the Memorial Art Gallery’s Creative Workshop since 1996, most recently drawing and design classes for kids and teens.

Eddie earned a BFA in industrial design at Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in sculpture at Rochester Institute of Technology. He served as assistant professor of industrial design in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts & Sciences from 2004-08.

The Pickpockets were our musical guests who got rave reviews by both students and staff!

 

Ed Keegan was also a visiting musician, and he came in and led a drum circle to close out the day.

 

We also had two retired art teachers from the district come back and show that doing art is something we NEVER retire from! Thank you to Bob Geroux and Len Crellin for coming in and sharing yourselves and your work!

 

 

Thanks to all the ambassadors, alumni, artists, musicians and staff members who made this a fantastic day!  Despite the fact that it was rainy outside and we were forced to go to our indoor "plan B" your enthusiasm and hard work made it feel like it was a sunshiny day INSIDE!! What a great day! Many thanks to all the hard workers who made it look easy!

Exhibition at I-Square Visions

 

Closing reception will be Friday April 26th from 7-9pm. Please come and see student and teacher artwork from Irondequoit,  Kearney and Eastridge High Schools!  There will be food, entertainment, and lots of fantastic people to mingle with. Everyone will be there. You should join us, too.