New Faces at WSW: Fall 2018

We are excited to welcome the new interns Hannah Berman, Julia Schrecengost, and Darcy Palys to WSW! Hannah and Julia are our new Studio Interns and will be busy assisting the artists-in-residence and keeping things running smoothly. Darcy is our new Nonprofit Management Intern, working along side our office staff answering emails and phone calls, and working with the marketing team.

These ladies are eager to dig in, start learning, and develop their own studio practices. Find out more about them below. 

Hannah Berman

Internship: Studio (Silkscreen)                                                                             

School: Warren Wilson College

Major/Minor: Printmaking + Bookforms

Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)?

I spent my childhood in the SF Bay Area but have lived in a variety of places over the years. I have a hard time defining “home” as one specific place, it feels like a continuous fleeting thing.

Who are your top three favorite artists?

I admire many artists associated with Black Mountain College such as Anni + Josef Albers, Robert Rauschenberg, + Ray Johnson. I am also a big big fan of Louise Bourgeois + Sister Corita Kent.

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

I make an effort to travel light, but I brought some paper, thread, sewing needles, naturally dyed cloth, and textile screen printing ink.

What music do you like listening to while you work?

I go through phases, but I tend to fall back on some variation of indie-folk / rock / pop / Americana. I also listen to way too many feminist + true crime podcasts.

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

Textile printing! But honestly just the silkscreen studio in general. I’m excited for all the learning + unlearning that’s already taking place + for approaching things in entirely new ways. Having the time + facilities to make + collaborate + connect with people in a shared studio space!

What’s your dream job?

Ooof I hate this question … Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about slow fiber + the fashion revolution movement + would really love to pursue social and/or environmental justice work in the global garment/textiles industry. But ask me in a week + ill probably have a different answer.

Julia Schrecengost

Internship: Studio ( Intaglio)

School: Oberlin College

Major/Minor: Studio Art

Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)?

My family lives in Avon, Connecticut, and I grew up outside of Pittsburgh.

Who are your top three favorite artists?

Eva Hesse has always been my favorite sculptor. I’m drawn to her use of repetition, the materiality of her work, and the intense and compulsive processes she engaged in. I’m also very inspired by her organic color palette and her sculptures’ abstracted bodily forms.  I also really admire Kristina Paabus, my printmaking professor from Oberlin. Her work ethic and densely layered prints, many of which take years to complete, are endlessly inspiring to me. In her classes I developed a love for printmaking and experimentation, as well as an interest in monoprints and layering. During my time at school, my professor Corinne Teed exposed me to the work of Fidencio Fifield-Perez, an artist and immigrant originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. His work is also incredibly intricate, combining cut-outs of maps, nets, and found objects to create immersive and powerful installations. He also does relief prints for activist organizations.

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

I brought my silkscreens, copper plates, linoleum blocks, woodblocks, plexiglass, printing inks, etching and carving tools, various papers, bookbinding material, oil pastels, drawing materials, paintbrushes, paint, and different ropes and threads- basically everything I had that would fit into my car! I want to make the most of my time here, to use these materials to hone skills that I already have and to learn new skills.

What music do you like listening to while you work?

I like to listen to music that I can get lost in, music that’s ambient and keeps me calm and grounded. Longer atmospheric tracks with repetitive vocals. While doing repetitive work that doesn’t require much thinking, I like to listen to podcasts, or music with vocals that are meaningful to me. The past year I’ve been listening to this rapper Milo a lot.

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

It’s hard to say, I’m excited for pretty much all of it! I do plan on continuing to create large monoprints and hand tying nets, combining the two processes to create sculptural prints. I work a lot with found objects, so the directions I go in also depend on the objects I come across. I’m also really excited to try and learn more about papermaking, ceramics, and letterpress.

What’s your dream job?

My dream job is to make and sell art, to exhibit, to travel, to collaborate, to be a full-time artist. I know I will most likely never be able to fully support myself with my work, but I will continue to make and to seek out opportunities, like this one.

Darcy Palys

Internship: Nonprofit Management

School: California State University, Chico

Major/Minor: BFA in Studio Art/ BA in Art History

Where’s your hometown (or place you call home)?

I grew up and have lived most of my life in Chico California. Currently I am in a nomadic state.

Who are your top three favorite artists?

This is always a hard question. I have found a lot of inspiration in the street artist Swoon, Orit Hofshi, and Kathe Kollwitz. All three artists use the figure and place to create narrative, and work with fluid gestural mark making.

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

I brought my woodcut and etching tools, my cameras, and a small box of various supplies.

What music do you like listening to while you work?

This depends on the day. I try to find music that will help me focus when I’m deep in a project. Lately this has been a lot of lo-fi playlists.

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

I am excited about all the opportunities for learning new processes and growing my studio practice. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head that will lead me through a lot of experimentation before they solidify.

What’s your dream job?

I cannot say what my dream job would be but I do have aspirations to create a collaborative studio space much like what is provided at WSW.