March 2009 NEWSLETTER

Hello friends of studio e &/or St. Elizabeth Arts Foundation!

Here’s our first formal newsletter of 2009.  We begin with the important stuff.  We end with the blah blah blah.  Thanks for reading!

ARTS OPPORTUNITIES + EVENTS

High School students should be preparing their submissions for ‘The Way I See it’ – a juried art show happening at studio e in a few weeks.  Details and application available here on the website.  This is open to any high school student in our region who has the motivation to get their materials to us before the March 20th deadline.

Local artists and art-enthusiasts should keep an eye on our evolving film series.  What began as a series of discussions about contemporary art using the PBS Art:21 series is quickly evolving into a series to also include broader art histories, graphic design, and more.  Our first three discussions were stimulating and challenging and fun.  If you haven’t joined us for this yet, consider joining this Monday to watch and discuss a few TED Talks selected by Elizabeth.

Anyone and Everyone should put Open Studio back on their calendar.  We were put out of commission for awhile because of the cold, but will be resuming our regular Monday/Thursday schedule beginning on March 12th!  This is a great way to get to know us –  Open Studio is free, casual, and cozy.  Come and make stuff!

If you use google calendar, consider staying up to date by subscribing to our public calendar on the studio e page.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Woodworking/Building Project:  we are constructing a cool, eye-catching, sturdy street-level sign for studio e.  We already have the design, but we need a good-with-hammers-nails-saws-and-such type to create it.  Please contact laura if you’d like to contribute your time and expertise on this.

Student painters:   want to put your skills to practical use?  Come hang out with us on a Saturday (date TBD) to paint our studio e sign.  Again, contact laura if you’d like to be involved.

Gardeners:  we have an evolving brainstorm for a youth gardening project that we’d like to informally start this spring/summer in anticipation of a pilot program for 2010.  If you have ideas, skills, or passion for this sort of thing then please contact douglas for more info.

GENERAL UPDATE

The last time we sent out a major announcement was in connection with the Our Daily Bread photo exhibition in November.  The turnout for this event was astonishing and we’re grateful to all of you for joining us.  The event was a real success.  We loved the service element of this program model and are planning to replicate it in other mediums in 2009.  Our Daily Bread received some top-notch photos at no charge, and they’ve already been incorporated into the group’s marketing materials.  The time and effort invested by Michael Wilson and our four student photographers caused good things to happen in all sorts of wonderful ways.

With our studio space unusable in the cold (an issue that has now been remedied!) we turned our attention elsewhere for January/February.  Our film lecture series has begun and we’re really excited to see where that will head.  We’re grateful for the generosity of 1801 Mills in sharing their space for this event.  Starting this week, Laura will begin spending more time in the art classes at Norwood High School – a great opportunity to build relationships and share our top-notch training on the student’s own turf.  We’re indebted to the tremendously supportive art faculty at the high school for this opportunity.  Additionally we’ve informally resurrected the successful Art Trippin program from this summer.  Students with an open mind and some time to spare in the evenings and weekends should inform us of their interest in these field trips to art shows, museums, and cultural events in the region.  These events often come together quite spontaneously, so please put yourself on the invite list or follow us on twitter if you’d like to be in the know!

After a year of pilot programs, we’re excited to be starting this year with a good idea of what works, and what doesn’t work.  Look for spring and summer youth arts education programs that build on the best of what we accomplished in 2008.  And as always, we are open to your ideas for how we can better train young artists, foster opportunities and collaborations for local artists, and generally make our community a better place to be.

Thanks for reading, thanks for being involved.

MONEY

Nothing lasts for ever, and the big glorious pile of good-hearted dollars that were dedicated to getting this project off the ground have begun to decline.  We’re grateful for the buffer that they still provide, but are hard at work trying to find solutions for sustaining our organization and fill a rising budget gap with private and public support.  For the past few months we’ve been clutching our chairs and drafting a survival plan for what we expect will be a few years of major challenge for non-profit groups like ours.  The petrified economy does not bode well for organizations that depend on the financial surplus of others for their survival.  But we’re optimistic, and with sufficient volunteer support, are confident that our programs will continue to grow.  Your contributions, connections, or fundraising expertise are needed and most welcome.  Send your tax-deductible contributions via USPS, or contact Douglas to learn more about opportunities for making your dollars do Good things.

Youth Gallery Show

We are pleased to announce an opportunity for high school artists.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be collecting works from young artists that fall within the theme, “The Way I See It.”  All the details and application materials are now available in the studio e section of our site.  Click here to view the flyer.

We have a huge white wall in our studio space that is just begging for a show.  We look forward to featuring all sorts of student artwork in the studio e gallery.  Expect more events of this sort in 2009!

art:21 momentarily steps aside for TED

Our new art:21 series has brought many additional film ideas to the table, so we’ve decided to just do them all! Throughout this year’s ongoing art:21 series we’ll be inserting occasional weeks featuring films on all sorts of topics – starting with TED.

If you’re new to TED, here’s how they explain themselves on their website:

”We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearing house that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.”

TED Talks are bite-sized lectures that never fail to inspire, amaze, and provoke.

Monday March 9, 7:30pm, Elizabeth Hatchett will be leading a conversation in the grand tradition of Matthew Morris’s ART 21 discussions, but this time we’ll be watching segments from a couple of well-known designers from the TED conference (Technology, Entertainment, and Design).

Thoughts from Elizabeth:

”There’s all sorts of great food for thought from these designer/artists. In particular, we will take a closer look at a common cadences between design/art making and living. I will come with my pockets full of questions in that direction and will be looking forward to what you bring to the conversation!”

Follow the links below if you’d like to sneak a peak at the designers that Elizabeth has selected for discussion.

Stefan Sagmeister (Yes design can make you happy)

Paula Scher (Great design is serious, not solemn)

We hope to see you there!

a field trip : Tara Donovan at the CAC

Until the weather warms up, our programs will be happening off-site, mostly in the form of field trips to art galleries and events around town.  Students interested in joining us should contact Laura for more info.   Our next student trip will be Monday, March 2, 6:30-9:00pm:  Tara Donovan at the CAC.

If you’ve never been to the Contemporary Art Center in downtown Cincinnati, now is the time to visit! From the award winning architecture to their thought provoking cycle of contemporary art exhibits, the CAC is an impressive addition to Cincinnati’s thriving art scene. Tickets are usually $7, but on Monday nights after 5pm, admission is free.

From the CAC website, here is a brief description of their current special exhibit. For those of you who joined us for our Art Trippin excursion to the CAC this summer, her work will probably look familiar.
“This exhibition is the first major museum survey of the American sculptor Tara Donovan. With sensitivity to texture, volume and the inherent physical properties of materials, Donovan transforms large quantities of mass-produced itemstoothpicks, adhesive tape, straws, buttons, pins, plastic cups and Mylarinto stunning sculptural objects and installations. Utilizing the detritus of a culture of mass production, Donovan creates large-scale sculptures that imply organic growth or a random-order arrangement. Her methodology of building sculpture through accumulation and meticulous assembly of quantities and amounts of identical items offers the viewer the experience of complexity and infinity.”

View images of Tara Donovan’s work.

artist profile : matt morris

we were lucky to have matt morris host our first ever film screening in january 2009.

here’s a little more about this knowledgable and gifted facilitator…

Matt Morris is a transplant from southern Louisiana and a graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He makes art and writes. Art meaning installations of fragile objects, video, sound, painting, and a lot of unquantifiables. Writing meaning poetry, art criticism, journalism, recipes, and other notes. He has presented exhibitions, lectures, and poetry performances in local art venues, such as semantics gallery, the Carnegie Visual + Performing Arts Center, Artworks, Nicholas Gallery, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and Murmur Gallery. He creates works that address, deconstruct, and make peace with forces of abstract thought. They express an interest in the places where concrete ideas fall back into ambiguity and where poetics, aesthetics and nostalgia influence discourse.

art:21 kick-off – a follow-up

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our inaugural screening last Saturday. For those of you who couldn’t make it, there are still plenty of chances to get in on the fun. Starting this coming Monday, February 9, 7:30pm, the series continues, followed by additional gatherings every other Monday (bi-weekly). This week’s session will feature the return of our engaging host, Matt Morris, whose unique perspective and humble expertise will lead us through the segments on artists Elizabeth Murray, Susan Rothenberg, and Jessica Stockholder. Artists, thinkers, and art-enthusiasts of all mediums and experience levels are welcome.

art:21

studio e is kicking off an extended series of screenings and facilitated discussions revolving around the award-winning art:21 (art in the 21st century) series, as seen on PBS and in community arts venues and art schools across the country.  if you’d like to join us for our trial-run this saturday (january 31st), then please RSVP to laura – for further details and contact info, or to be put on the announcement list for future screenings, click HERE.  we’re borrowing space again from our friends at 1801 Mills.  those of you who attended our recent gallery show will remember the venue.

expect to find more resources, previews, and spill-over discussion from these events here in our blog – check back regularly!

Holiday Hours for Studio E (Christmas, New Years, and the Rest)

For the convenience of everyone still rushing to finish those last minute gifts, Studio E will be open for 3 days this week! 

Monday, December 22, 3:30-6pm

Tuesday, December 23,  3:30-6pm

Wednesday, Christmas Eve 10am-1pm (gift wrapping supplies available)

There’s still time before Christmas! Come hang out and use our supplies to create one-of-a-kind gifts for your family and friends. We have plenty of ideas but if you bring your own we’ll help you to make them a reality. As supplies last we’ll also have hot drinks (hot cocoa and tea) to keep you warm and comfy.

PLEASE NOTE:

STUDIO E will close after Open Studio on Christmas Eve and will NOT reopen until Monday January 5.

For questions about STUDIO E, please contact our Program Director, Laura McNeel.

Email:  laura@stelizabetharts.com, or Phone: (513)578-3069

Have a safe and happy Christmas, New Years, and all the rest! God Bless! 

Photos from the November gallery show!

Revised Hours

Studio E will be closed this Thursday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Like you, we have a lot of turkey and pumpkin pie to consume! We will resume our regular OPEN STUDIO hours Monday Dec. 1 (3:30-6pm).

In the meantime, have a warm and blessed Thanksgiving!