New Faces at WSW: Spring 2017 Edition

This January, we welcomed four new artists to Binnewater Lane! From left to right, meet Ceramics intern Mel Doiron, Nonprofit Management intern Chrissy Cooper, and Studio interns Adreena Cook and Megan Borseth. These ladies are bringing their expertise and enthusiasm to our busy spring lineup, from the 20th Annual Chili Bowl Fiesta to our upcoming Art-in-Ed workshops. Keep reading to find out more about their work and big plans for the studios!

Mel Doiron

Internship: Chili Bowl Intern! Yeaaahhh!
School: Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD)
Major/Minor: Major in Ceramics; minor in Art History
Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)? Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

Who are your top three favorite artists? It changes all the time, but as of right now I’ll say:

• Alphonse Mucha is one of my all time favourites; Art Nouveau has a special place in my heart. I saw his Slav Epic last year and I was just blown away.
• John Gill. One of his teapots has been in the visiting artists collection at NSCAD for years, and it has been a favourite piece of mine since the first moment I laid eyes on it, before I even knew his name.
• My most recent favorite is Victoria Christen. Her work is so lively, both in the form and the decoration. I just saw it for the first time a week ago when I was looking through an old issue of Ceramics Monthly I found in the studio—her pots look like how I wish my pots looked.

Which art-making supplies did you bring with you to WSW?

I brought no supplies or tools aside from a sketchbook and a few pens, I pack really light! I’ve developed a way of working that doesn’t depend on any specific tools. There is, however, one tool that I wish I had brought with me – a handmade scoring tool. It’s made of a row of evenly spaced sewing needles taped to a piece of wood, used for scratching up the surface of the clay. I may just end up making my own soon.

What music do you like listening to while you work? 

I find I always return to either old jazz and soul music, or something calm and laid back like Beach House or Fleet Foxes. If I’m not listening to music, I have a few podcasts I always love: Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids, or Stuff You Should Know (and any other podcast by How Stuff Works).

What are you most excited for at WSW? Do you have any specific projects planned?

I’m honestly stoked to be doing exactly what I’m doing! Coming in to the studio Monday to Friday just to make pottery is the best. This is my project and I’m happy to be doing it. It’s a lot of problem solving, and I don’t want to compromise quality for quantity, so I’m trying to figure out ways of making and decorating bowls that look good but are also quick. That being said, I do have a few ideas for some funny side projects, but honestly my mind is completely dedicated to bowl production right now. I’ll save those ideas for after the fundraiser.

What’s your dream job?

I’m not sure what this job would be exactly, but as long as I have enough money to live comfortably, enough time to make art, and opportunities to travel, that’s good enough for me. But if we’re going to get real, I want a company car, a pension, to choose my own hours, be paid to make art, and be able to travel wherever, whenever I want. Want want want.

Chrissy Cooper

Internship: Nonprofit Management Intern
School: University of Iowa
Major/Minor: Studio Art Major with a certificate in Writing
Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)? I’m from the northside of Chicago, and Iowa City has a big place in my heart!

Who are your top three favorite artists?

I’ll go with: Mel Chin, Ana Mendieta, and Maggie Nelson (poet).

What art-making supplies did you bring with you to WSW?

16 sheets of Mohawk superfine, inks, sewing needles, collected litter cigarette packs, dryer sheets, and various ephemera.

What music do you like listening to while you work?

The louder and weirder the better.

What are you most excited for at WSW? Do you have any specific projects planned?

I’m hoping to get a chance to experiment with papermaking; specifically utilizing discarded single use objects collected from the outside world— including but not limited to: paper plates, cigarette butts, flyers, and to-go boxes.

What’s your dream job?

Probably a disgruntled university professor, a disgruntled National Park Service ranger at Joshua Tree, or a disgruntled stunt car driver.

Adreena Cook

Internship: Studio Intern
School: University of Florida for MFA; Kansas State University for BFA
Majors/Minors: Painting/Drawing/Printmaking
Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)? Kansas City, KS!

Who are your top three favorite artists?

It depends on what I’m interested in at the time, and what my own studio projects are like. I’ve really been digging Arlene Shechet, Jessica Stockholder and David Humphrey.

What art-making supplies did you bring with you to WSW?

EVERYTHING I COULD MANAGE. I brought a huge amount of paper and copper plates. I snagged the room with a massive drawing table in the intern house and have a space for painting and drawing as well!

What music do you like listening to while you work?

Twilight zone radio specials or spooky jazz.

What are you most excited for at WSW? Do you have any specific projects planned?

I am most excited that I get to be a part of a great community on a daily basis! I’m also looking forward to mailing projects back and forth with friends, and making a bunch of awesome things.

What’s your dream job?
One where I get paid to interact with art things! Teaching, curating, gallery-ing. I’m up for anything.

Megan Borseth

Internship: Studio Intern 
School: University of Northern Iowa
Major/Minor: Studio Art Major, Printmaking emphasis; Minor in Graphic Technology
Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)? Waterloo, IA

Who are your top three favorite artists?

Swoon, Kathryn Polk, Jenny Schmid

What art-making supplies did you bring with you to WSW?

My woodcut tools, various types of printmaking paper, some pre-prepped things for monoprinting, and various types of drawing and sketching materials.

What music do you like listening to while you work?

I love feel-good, groovy tunes to jam to in the studio! I was raised on a lot of classic rock and blues, so usually something within those genres.

What are you most excited for at WSW? Do you have any specific projects planned?

I am most excited to learn the processes involved with both paper- and bookmaking, and to put on a great show with the other interns! I prepped materials for a large scale woodcut series I started before coming here, as well as another series involving monoprinting.

What’s your dream job?

The ultimate dream is to open my own press and give workshops, or teach at the college level. As long as I’m working in some art-related field, and making/exhibiting on the side, I consider that a version of the dream!