Posts in Artists In the Studio

Anatomy and Architecture: Natalie Draz’s “The City Within”

Jun 08, 2016

A city is a living thing. Its heartbeats match up with our own. It inhales as we exhale. We feel our hometowns in our very bones; we feel our current city in every step we take. Through bookmaking, Artist’s Book resident Natalie Draz investigates the structure of her body in relation to her urban surroundings…. View Article

The Digital and the Physical: Anne-Marie Lavigne in the Studio

May 26, 2016

“We associate technology with hardware and software, but for me it’s a type of perspective,” says Legacy Studio resident Anne-Marie Lavigne. “It’s a lens through which we see the world.” Anne-Marie seeks to make technology visible by translating it from the abstract into the tactile. To that end, her artistic practice combines traditional textile-making and… View Article

Patterns of Memory: Ann Makander in the Studio

May 13, 2016

Swedish painter and printmaker Ann Makander is holding a picnic, and everyone is invited. Ann came to WSW as our first Swedish studio exchange resident to continue work inspired by the textures, colors, and design of vintage blankets from the 1920s to the 1940s. In our Silkscreen Studio she incorporated imagery of children’s games into… View Article

Organic and Plastic: Dana Lynn Harper in the Studio

Apr 29, 2016

In the Ceramics Studio, Dana Lynn Harper creates an ecosystem. Porous, skeletal forms modeled after single-celled algae called diatoms gather and crowd around the hand-building table. Dull spikes rise up like crowns on some, while others have thick coils that wrap around their stomachs like belts. Each biomorphic sculpture is individually crafted, and together they… View Article

Labor as Medium: Andrea Chung in the Studio

Apr 21, 2016

During her residency, Studio Residency Grant recipient Andrea Chung made work in our Papermaking Studio, exploring a totally new medium. “With all of my work, I always teach myself something that I didn’t know how to do,” says Andrea, who consciously chooses to use physical, time-consuming processes. “By including some element of my own labor… View Article

Becoming an Insider Again: Catherine T. Nelson in the Studio

Apr 15, 2016

Catherine T. Nelson spent the beginning of her Studio Workspace residency creating abstract monotypes, trying to experiment and play with materials. However, her plans drastically changed after some time in the Etching Studio. “I needed to see if this medium was going to pull the same things out of me as my earlier monotypes,” says… View Article

Girlhood: Zoe Hawk in the Studio

Apr 06, 2016

A group of girl scouts prepare a campsite; schoolgirls in matching jumpers meet between class in a bathroom; young girls in brightly colored party dresses whisper and laugh together. These nostalgia-fueled scenes created by Zoe Hawk are familiar for most women, though there is a deep sense of unease lurking behind each piece. Zoe came… View Article

Setting Sail with Megan Piontkowski’s “Feminist Ships”

Mar 18, 2016

Now, in sailor’s clothing young Jane did go Dressed like a sailor from top to toe. These lines from the sea shanty “The Female Smuggler” end Feminist Ships, WSW’s newest artist’s book by Megan Piontkowski—but only if you can decipher them. They are written using maritime signal flags, which since the 19th century have been… View Article

Vessels for Comfort: Rachel Dubicki in the Studio

Mar 11, 2016

In ceramics, the journey of an artist is tangible. It can be physically felt in the glazing and the form of the object itself. For Chili Bowl Workspace resident Rachel Dubicki, being able to feel how far she has come is important to her growing practice. Two humble pieces in particular are her reminders: A… View Article

Isolation and Abstraction: Laura Manfredi in the Studio

Feb 29, 2016

Laura Manfredi’s works on paper piece together evocative, semi-familiar scenes from small parts of the world around her. The Italian artist zooms into details that interest her and uses them to compose what she refers to as “emotional landscapes.” She repeats these specific elements over and over to reconstruct the memory of what she saw… View Article