beginning this year comenius roethlisberger got our attention with his cocaine logos. he is now back with another grrreat idea - you tube drawings - a collaborative project with admir jahic. click here for a preview of their show @ colette.
without you baby, there ain't no us
beginning this year comenius roethlisberger got our attention with his cocaine logos. he is now back with another grrreat idea - you tube drawings - a collaborative project with admir jahic. click here for a preview of their show @ colette.
heeb magazine: issue 22 out now
check out the cool stuff in issue 22, visit the online store (fav hfa must-have item: 'super jew' shirt) and join them on facebook.
ARTIST RESIDENCIES & FELLOWSHIPS: WINTER DEADLINES
I hope you all had a good week....here are a few deadlines in case you are in the mood for applying for something this coming month. January is a BIG month for application deadlines, for residencies as well as grants, so you might want to do some serious hunting on my blog. Below are only a few among many. If you are hankering to apply to the residency of your dreams, I highly suggest going to the residency links on my sidebar and do a search for specific places. Until next time....Have a Happy New Year! Yours, Mira
(ALL) Residency at I-Park, Connecticut: Residencies will be offered to national and international visual (including digital) artists, music composers, environmental artists, landscape and garden designers, creative writers and architects. Work samples are evaluated through a competitive, juried process. There is a $25 application fee. I-Park is introducing a modest food program for 2010 where most, though not all, of the food will be provided. The facility is otherwise offered at no cost to accepted artists. To defray the cost of travel, six $750 grants will be offered in 2010 to international artists whose work is held in particularly high regard by the grant committee. Deadline January 11, 2010. For additional project information: I-Park, 428 Hopyard Road, East Haddam CT 06423 OR 860-873-2468 OR http://www.i-park.org OR ipark@ureach.com
(ALL) Blue Sky Summer Collaborative Residencies: Collaborative Residencies in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. Because of the collaborative nature of Blue Sky Project, your project must have an open-ended structure, be achievable in eight weeks, and stay within a $1,000 budget (excluding final exhibition expenses) and must engage others in its articulation and production. Previous projects have included: sculptural sound installation, video installation, performance, musical composition, dance installation, 2D visual-art and photography, self-published magazines, and site-specific interventions. Contact: Benkendorf, Blue Sky Project, Box 10506, Dayton OH 45402 OR 937-732-5123 OR http://www.blueskydayton.org OR peter@blueskydayton.org. Deadline is January 23rd, 2010.
(ALL) Elsewhere Collaborative Residency: Elsewhere Collaborative, a living museum and experimental production environment in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, USA is now accepting applications from artists of all genres for residencies in 2010. Elsewhere is set within a three-story former thrift store, boarding house, and warehouse containing one woman's enormous 58-year collection of American surplus, thrift, and antiques. Elsewhere residencies invites experimental creators to join their collaborating community in utilizing this immense collection of objects. Artists live and work within interactive installations that provide evolving frameworks for investigating collaborations, community structures, and creative processes. Residency fellowship funding for travel, room and board, is available in exchange for hosting an educational workshop during the residency. Deadlines are rolling every other month; the deadline for fellowships is January 31 2010. Read more and download a brochure at http://elsewhereelsewhere.org/programs/residencies.
(ARTISTS & WRITERS) Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Residency Fellowships: The Vermont Studio Center is offering fellowships for artists and writers who live with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Spinal Cord Disease (SCD) or who use a wheelchair and/or have a spinal cord injury. Deadline is February 15, 2010. The Vermont Studio Center has been dedicated to supporting a multidisciplinary community of contemporary painters, printmakers, sculptors and writers for 25 years; and offers more than 50 mid-career and emerging artists and writers per month distraction-free working time and space and the inspiration of distinguished mentors. These fellowships provide a 4-week VSC residency at the Studio Center, including uninterrupted studio time, accessible accommodations and a supportive community of international peers and mentors. Please visit the website for more information: http://www.vermontstudiocenter.org.
(WRITERS) The James Merrill House Writer-in-Residence Program: Writers can apply to live and work in James Merrill's Stonington, Connecticut, rent-free for five or eleven month terms. A stipend is provided as well. Application deadline is January 15, 2010. Please visit the website for more info: www.jamesmerrillhouse.org.
(WRITERS) University of Arizona Poetry Center Residency: Each summer, the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson offers a month-long residency, including a stipend of $500, to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer who has published no more than one full-length book. This year's residency is for prose writers. Residents are provided with housing. Deadline is February 26. For more information, go to: www.poetrycenter.arizona.edu.
(ALL) Residency at I-Park, Connecticut: Residencies will be offered to national and international visual (including digital) artists, music composers, environmental artists, landscape and garden designers, creative writers and architects. Work samples are evaluated through a competitive, juried process. There is a $25 application fee. I-Park is introducing a modest food program for 2010 where most, though not all, of the food will be provided. The facility is otherwise offered at no cost to accepted artists. To defray the cost of travel, six $750 grants will be offered in 2010 to international artists whose work is held in particularly high regard by the grant committee. Deadline January 11, 2010. For additional project information: I-Park, 428 Hopyard Road, East Haddam CT 06423 OR 860-873-2468 OR http://www.i-park.org OR ipark@ureach.com
(ALL) Blue Sky Summer Collaborative Residencies: Collaborative Residencies in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. Because of the collaborative nature of Blue Sky Project, your project must have an open-ended structure, be achievable in eight weeks, and stay within a $1,000 budget (excluding final exhibition expenses) and must engage others in its articulation and production. Previous projects have included: sculptural sound installation, video installation, performance, musical composition, dance installation, 2D visual-art and photography, self-published magazines, and site-specific interventions. Contact: Benkendorf, Blue Sky Project, Box 10506, Dayton OH 45402 OR 937-732-5123 OR http://www.blueskydayton.org OR peter@blueskydayton.org. Deadline is January 23rd, 2010.
(ALL) Elsewhere Collaborative Residency: Elsewhere Collaborative, a living museum and experimental production environment in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, USA is now accepting applications from artists of all genres for residencies in 2010. Elsewhere is set within a three-story former thrift store, boarding house, and warehouse containing one woman's enormous 58-year collection of American surplus, thrift, and antiques. Elsewhere residencies invites experimental creators to join their collaborating community in utilizing this immense collection of objects. Artists live and work within interactive installations that provide evolving frameworks for investigating collaborations, community structures, and creative processes. Residency fellowship funding for travel, room and board, is available in exchange for hosting an educational workshop during the residency. Deadlines are rolling every other month; the deadline for fellowships is January 31 2010. Read more and download a brochure at http://elsewhereelsewhere.org/programs/residencies.
(ARTISTS & WRITERS) Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Residency Fellowships: The Vermont Studio Center is offering fellowships for artists and writers who live with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Spinal Cord Disease (SCD) or who use a wheelchair and/or have a spinal cord injury. Deadline is February 15, 2010. The Vermont Studio Center has been dedicated to supporting a multidisciplinary community of contemporary painters, printmakers, sculptors and writers for 25 years; and offers more than 50 mid-career and emerging artists and writers per month distraction-free working time and space and the inspiration of distinguished mentors. These fellowships provide a 4-week VSC residency at the Studio Center, including uninterrupted studio time, accessible accommodations and a supportive community of international peers and mentors. Please visit the website for more information: http://www.vermontstudiocenter.org.
(WRITERS) The James Merrill House Writer-in-Residence Program: Writers can apply to live and work in James Merrill's Stonington, Connecticut, rent-free for five or eleven month terms. A stipend is provided as well. Application deadline is January 15, 2010. Please visit the website for more info: www.jamesmerrillhouse.org.
(WRITERS) University of Arizona Poetry Center Residency: Each summer, the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson offers a month-long residency, including a stipend of $500, to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer who has published no more than one full-length book. This year's residency is for prose writers. Residents are provided with housing. Deadline is February 26. For more information, go to: www.poetrycenter.arizona.edu.
street art: bonom is here - map based website powered by fans
great idea, realised by bureau347! a fan based city map of bonom's endangered species in brussels. click here to see & to contribute to the map, become bonom's fan on facebook and/or join his flickr group. printed map now available at bozar shop, alice gallery and montana shop.
weird: kieron williamson
a 7 year-old who paints like an old master sells out his show in 14 mins. click here to read about him in the guardian and here to see more watercolours of the little wizard.
(seen @ trendbeheer)
MERRY XMAS TO EVERYONE!
Happy Xmas everyone! I'll be back after the weekend with some new residency deadlines....until then, have a safe and cheery holiday. Peace....Mira
last-minute gift suggestion ;-)
jeff koons' new book hulk elvis now available in the gagosian la store. unfortunately we missed the signing :'(
(via base, authors of the book's impeccable design).
vlad nanca: commemora
go to vlad's blog for more info about this performance & his other works or/and become fan of him on facebook.
showtime: the reflected gaze
coming up on jan 16th @ the torrance art museum, california.
congrats, cindy! i'd say an expo together with hirst is a good beginning of the new decade ;-)
this is for using comic sans
exhibited in cultural center grad (belgrade), june 2009
see more excellent illustrations on behance network
(hat tip @ghensel)
kristina klarin : artists who blog
Kris' blog: www.color-stripes.blogspot.com
Kris' shops: www.kriswonderroom.bigcartel.com, www.KrissColorStripes.etsy.com
Why did you decide to start a blog?
It was 3 years ago and at that time I was working pretty hard in the fashion industry. I really needed a kind of vent when I discovered the blogosphere. I was so fascinated with all the support, friendship and generosity I saw in the blogs and I just wanted to be a part of that.
How did you come up with the name of your blog?
The favorite part of my job as fashion designer was choosing the colors for collections. I always loved to cut the stripes from hundreds of fabric samples, and making combinations for the outfits, so somehow kris’s color stripes sounded good to me.
How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?
Oh, in an incredible way. Having always immediate feedback made me produce more and more quickly, it also made me feel more positive about what I was doing, particularly because working from home can be hard since you are your own critic all the time.
What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?
There are so many…
…Helen Dardik - Orange you lucky- I love her illustrations, colors and joy she transmit through her work.
Elisabeth Dunker - fine little day- I love her versatility and how she moves from one project to another while staying always true to herself.
Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?
Do it! Don't be afraid to show your art, ideas, and passions.
What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?
Connecting with people, immediate feedback, incredible support.
What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?
I spent whole my life visiting only creative schools and doing creative jobs, so honestly I can not imagine doing something else. I would never change my work for any other career…one of the aspects I like most is flexible office hours- I like to start my day at 6 am and finish everithing by 4 pm.
Other than your blog, what has been the most effective way for you to promote your art/design?
Actually I’m probably the worst promoter of my work, so I must say I did literally nothing.
How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?
I don’t…When I’m absorbed by my ideas I just can’t focus on enything else. I do have dinner with my boyfriend and I do laundry but I spend the most of my time in my studio-room obsessed with my ideas or projects I’m working on for my clients.
What would you like to accomplish in 2010?
I would love to get better in promoting my work…It’s something I’m really not good at.
Thanks so much Kris! Be sure to check out Kris' 2010 calendar here. It is beautiful!
INTERVIEW WITH DAN BLASK, PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL
Greetings all! Recently I was fortunate to interview Dan Blask from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) who spoke candidly and quite encouragingly about applying for fellowships and grants. Dan coordinates programs for individual artists at the MCC, including grants for filmmakers, composers, and writers of fiction, nonfiction, dramatic writing, and poetry. He also writes for ArtSake, MCC's blog about new art and the creative process. Dan received his MA in Creative Writing (Playwriting) from Boston University and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. By the way, although MCC is regional program in Massachusetts, the things he talks about are applicable to many grant programs both here in the US and abroad.Dan, thanks so much for joining us! I know this is a busy season for you. Anyway, I noticed on your bio that you studied playwriting at Boston University. How do you balance your creative life while working full-time at the MCC as well as writing for ArtSake, the MCC's blog?
A lot of the staff members at MCC are also artists: writers, painters, dancers, musicians. I think the job lends itself to doing creative work, since the hours are, for the most part, consistent, and we’re all exposed to a lot of different ideas and art in all disciplines. But finding that life/work/artwork balance is a big, ongoing, back and forth struggle for almost every artist-with-a-day-job I know. Do you work an arts-related job and risk spending creative energy you should save for your own art? Do you work in an unrelated field and risk not enjoying it or being detached from daily exposure to a field you love? I certainly don’t know. You try different things, I guess. For now, I’m trying this, and I’m enjoying it.
You certainly nailed the classic dilemma of a working artist! And speaking of dealing with that balance and trying to find extra funding, what advice do you have for someone applying for a grant or fellowship for the very first time?
Basically, I advise a sort of zen hyper-focus/total emotional detachment. (Not possible, I know, but a worthy goal.) In other words, focus on exactly what the grant is asking for, and shape your grant application accordingly. Then, after it’s sent, you have to disallow yourself from getting too attached to any one grant or fellowship application. This is really, really hard to do. But you’re doing yourself a disservice if you dwell on, or, even worse, count on, receiving a competitive grant, because while receiving a grant means your work spoke to someone, not receiving a grant doesn’t mean the opposite of that. There are inevitably more artists of excellence than there are grants, fellowships, or slots at a residency. I know not winning a grant feels like it has a deep meaning, about you, about your work. But believe me, all it means is that this group of individuals, on this particular day, went a different direction. So, onward.
As to other thoughts: send your strongest work as your work sample, especially in a grant review like MCC’s Artist Fellowships, where it’s anonymously judged based only on artistic quality and creative ability. If you have any doubts about what is your strongest work, it’s always a good idea to ask the opinion of a trusted associate what work that is. Another viewpoint can be very helpful. And otherwise, my advice would be to prepare yourself but don’t be intimidated. If you need some clarification, don’t hesitate to contact the organization. I know I’d rather hear from an applicant than receive a mishandled application, or worse yet, receive no application at all because the applicant was discouraged.
That's great advice. So what are some things in an application that make someone really stand out from the crowd?
It’s an interesting question. In the Artist Fellowships, there are two rounds of review. The first round is an elimination round of sorts, and standing out in the wrong way – generally, because the craft is weak – can get you eliminated. So you have to make sure the craft is there.
Then, in the second round, the panelists are really drilling down and looking closer. And here, an artistic voice that feels truly unique and fully realized can stand out in the best way, especially when you’re dealing with dozens of applications. As you pointed out, I have a theater background, and in drama we talk about “lean forward” moments, a point in a play where an audience member is so suddenly drawn in that there is almost a physical reaction. That can happen in any discipline. Think of the panelists as people seriously in love with art (which they almost certainly are) rather than bureaucrats (which they probably aren’t). Most of the panelists, despite their fancy-pants titles, are just reg’lar humans who want to be moved by art. So don’t let other considerations overwhelm your work’s ability to transport them.
I always tell people that same thing when I speak about this subject—that panelists are real people who participate in these things out of their love for art. I've been a panelist for competitions before and I'm certainly no bureaucrat! So thanks for mentioning that. On the same note, I know that some of my readers would be curious to know how the MCC picks the judges for the artists fellowship program. Would you mind telling us a little bit about how that process works?
My colleague Kelly Bennett and I divide up the disciplines, then each solicits panelists and (if applicable) first-round readers for the different panels. The panels are anonymously judged, and the range of the work submitted is, aesthetically, very wide. So we have to make sure the panel represents as many aesthetic perspectives as possible and is diverse in every way, including background, geography, and gender, as well as the different perspectives of artists, presenters, critics, etc. We search online, we ask for recommendations, we read trade magazines, we look at other grant and award programs. There is a mixture of in-state and out-of-state panelists, and we work hard to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.
Obviously we want knowledgeable and accomplished panelists, not only for the functional reason that they’re doing a very important job for us – the most important for the purposes of this grant - but also because applicants deserve to know that their work was reviewed by respected voices in their respective fields.
Dan, do you have any encouraging words for readers out there who might be discouraged about the economy and funding for the arts in these hard times? I like to instill optimism in my readers as much as I can!
My broadly optimistic comment would be that artists are uniquely qualified to find creative solutions in troubled times. A perfect example would be your terrific blog, which is, it seems to me, a creative person’s creative solution to the always tricky issue of finding funding and other support as an artist. More specifically, I’d point to the fact that, though our budget is somewhat reduced from last year, the MCC is still giving direct funding to individual Massachusetts artists through our Artist Fellowships Program. We’re accepting applications from Massachusetts artists in the categories of Choreography, Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry, through January 25, 2010. Check here for more info: http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/programs/artistfellows.html.
Dan, thanks so much for your time and for your great comments! I'm sure they will be most enlightening to a lot of my readers. And have a great holiday!
Have a great holiday break and stay tuned for more interviews coming up, as well as some new deadlines for residencies and grants. Best wishes, Mirabee
sean martindale & eric cheung: guerilla gardeners
visit their poster pocket plants blog & read more about the 'free' installation here
(another one via wooster)
COMING SOON: NEW INTERVIEWS
Greetings everyone! I'm back in town and wanted to send all of you good wishes for the holiday season. Also, I'll be posting a new interview in the next day or so with Dan Blask, Program Coordinator for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship Program, so please come back to visit! And soon after that, great interviews coming with author Kenny Fries, Susan Page Tillett, Executive Director of Ragdale Foundation and many more, not to mention new deadlines for upcoming grants and residencies. Stay tuned.....cheers, Mirabee
nonewenemies present teenage black heart
tonight @ mr ego: christophe lambert shows 40 black&white posters in an exhibition called "teenage black heart". more info @ nonewenemies
dan halter: safe as fuck
click here for an interview with the artist and see more work of dan halter @ whatiftheworld, the gallery representing the artist (hat tip base)
anna wilson patterson : artists who blog
Anna's blog: www.annawilsonpatterson.blogspot.com
Anna's websites: www.annawilsonpatterson.com, www.artshut.com
Why did you decide to start a blog?
Initially I started a blog as an online scrapbook of my life. I have always collected interesting bits and bobs; tickets, labels, doodles, magazine cuttings and stuck them into increasingly weighty books.
How did you come up with the name of your blog?
I chose my own name, so people could find me easily. My Gallery name, ‘Arts Hut’, I chose to reflect our atmosphere; elegantly rustic, creatively cosy.
How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?
It encourages me to take photographs of everywhere, everything and everyone. I absolutely love my digital camera. Blogging also reveals how I spend my time. When I look at older posts I can see the different projects achieved. My passing obsessions also come into focus: Tractors, Cattle, Poultry - at the moment it’s Dogs.
What are your favourite artist/designer blogs? Why?
My favourite painters blog is Sandra Flood’s ‘A Painting…Whenever’ It is always fascinating, I learn about colour, composition and subject matter.
Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?
I return to blogs that either inspire me or make me smile. I especially like to nose inside artist studios, galleries or shops, so my advice would be - show behind the scenes.
What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?
Everything. It’s free, easy to use, it records all aspects of my life in neat compartments. When people from the other side of the world send me greetings, it is a real surprise and joy.
What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?
Managing an inconsistent income is tough, but the rewards are plenty. I feel I’m in the right place, at the right time in my life, enjoying how I spend my days.
Other than your blog, what have been the most effective ways for you to promote your art and design?
To date, I have responded positively to all invitations to exhibit and teach. I have shown work in a farm kitchen, a barn and exhibited in lots of art festivals. Press releases to local newspapers have brought shoppers in. Plus my website lets galleries view my portfolio and I am starting to sell my cards and prints online.
How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?
I gave up my stressful town life to move to the country where the pace of life is tranquil and calming. I try to balance my studio world with spending time outdoors. In the summer I relax in our cottage sculpture garden. I also walk our dogs twice a day, so down tools at 5pm sharp, before they poke their pointy noses under my elbows.
What would you like to accomplish by the end of 2009?
I have just designed and published my first set of Christmas Cards, so it would be a great finale to 2009, if people like them and they sell well.
Thank you Anna! Your art, studio, and country life are very inspiring :)