13th Nov2011

Deliciously Happy on Studiomnivorous . . .

by Lindsey

Megan and I have decided to swap blogs . . . We were sitting at Dose trying to figure out how we could feature each other on our blogs, and we decided being guest bloggers would be the way to do it.  Megan and I have been talking and collaborating since meeting each other in April.  We worked on a sculptural piece for Prius, together with Corey and Stephen, in July.  And, she played the octopus in Octopus Lament.  Megan will be instrumental in creating a participatory element for the opening reception of Deliciously Happy at Belmont University in March 2012, the project being featured in this blog post.  So, hooray for collaboration and wonderful friends that compliment my life so incredibly well . . . I’m lucky and thankful, all at once!!

I decided way back in March, after 2 months of being back in Nashville, that I wanted to collaborate with youth.  Fresh out of graduate school, I felt like this was a natural transition.  This would help me learn about Nashville in a new way, and jump-start my relationship with area schools . . .

And, it’s doing just that.

It’s now November and we are knee-deep in the project.  It is so much fun to be working with different groups of students on projects that I will respond to with my own work in the gallery.  I keep looking at their work and thinking, now how am I going to do this?  (Each of the schools are way ahead of me in creating the work–agh!)  Yesterday, I came up with the idea that I would only use materials that could be found in a school’s art classroom.  I keep thinking about googly eyes, and what an amazing and creepy texture they could give to a large sculptural mass.  One whole section of the gallery, covered in googly eyes!!  When the viewer is looking at the work, the work is looking right back at the viewer.  Humorous, too, because the eyes are so not real.  Ha!  Or, what about poof balls?  Chenille stems?  Construction paper garlands covering the ceiling . . . What about fingerweaving, will there be fingerweaving?  Of course, there will be fingerweaving . . . In fact, I’m thinking of creating an entire costume out of fingerweaving:  inspired by the swamp thing, voodoo, and George Clinton.  I just need someone to wear it at the opening reception.  Don’t forget that each person who has donated to the Deliciously Happy Kickstarter project gets their name in the installation somewhere.  Perhaps read in a poem, perhaps written on the floor, perhaps in sign language during a performance.

What I’ve realized in doing this project is that art definitely needs a role in the school system, whether public, private, or charter.  Now, I knew this prior to this project, but quite honestly, I wasn’t sure how art needed to be in schools.  It’s so drastically different than the other subjects (in terms of participation, assessment, and evaluation), that I didn’t know how it quite fit.  Now I see it as absolutely necessary as being a tool for instructors to draw in students who don’t process information orally, through memorization, or by taking tests.  Art is not just a class that should be thrown in the schedule one day every two weeks.  Art should be fully integrated into every classroom in every school.  If I had been taught math in a visual way, without memorization, more based on imagery, maybe I wouldn’t have had the trouble I had.  To some, like me, art is the first voice:  I’m much more eloquent at showing you a picture of what I’d like to say than saying it.  So, how can we engage the schools in adopting the arts as a tool for teaching, teach students through individualization so that students have equal opportunities to learn all subjects?  Food for thought.

As the project continues, I hope to learn more about school structure and implementation of arts-based learning.  I will be giving a talk at the opening reception for the Deliciously Happy gallery show in March.  My findings will be discussed during this talk, and questions will be encouraged.  Hope to see you there!

For more information on the Deliciously Happy project, please see the press release below.  And, visit the Kickstarter link to watch a short video featuring students from Bordeaux Elementary and the University School of Nashville.

Deliciously Happy features partnerships with students from three Nashville-area schools:  the University School of Nashville, Bordeaux Elementary, and Lead Academy.  In tandem with sculpture students from Belmont University, students from each school will construct social issue-based stories and create coordinating performance paraphernalia as part of an installation being featured at Belmont University.

Deliciously Happy is now being featured on Kickstarter to help raise additional funds needed to help realize the project. Currently 12 of the 24 workshops have been completed.  Each workshop includes project supplies and a documentation crew.  To finish the project, supplies are needed for the remaining school workshops, an editor is needed to put all of the workshop videos together, and transportation needs to be scheduled and reserved for the students to attend the gallery opening so they can see their work and speak with the people attending the opening.  Contributions will help with culminating event costs, like installation lighting, projection equipment, community invitations, and viewer participation workshop supplies.

A portion of the contributions will also help to publish a book, including all of the lesson plans, example artwork, and documentation; and the student, educator, and community responses to the projects.  This book will be made available to schools and organizations so that more youth can participate in performance-based workshops.

Spearheading the project is local artist and Belmont graduate student, Lindsey Bailey. Ms. Bailey moved back to Nashville 10 short months ago after receiving her Master of Arts in Community Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.  Immediately following, she approached Jessica Owings and Belmont University about Deliciously Happy.

Ms. Bailey’s work has recently been featured at D!verseWorks Art Space for the Houston Fine Art Fair and Texas Contemporary Art Fair in Houston and at the Sideshow Fringe Festival at Belmont University in Nashville.  In December and January, she will have work featured at the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut.  For Artober in Nashville, she was part of a panel organized by Actor’s Bridge and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission to discuss Nashville innovation in the arts and arts access.

More information on the Deliciously Happy project can be found here:  http://kck.st/unJK6l

Images of Ms. Bailey’s artwork can be found here:  www.cakecrush.com

High resolution images of Deliciously Happy works-in-progress available by request.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Lindsey Bailey

lindsey@cakecrush.com

www.playdeliciouslyhappy.blogspot.com


Category : Uncategorized
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11th Nov2011

Upcoming Events: Chestnut Open Studios

by M Kelley

As process-oriented makers eager to talk shop with other artists (see also: nosy!), we over here at studiOmnivorous are thrilled to discover that Chestnut Square Studios will be holding another Open Studio round tomorrow, from 3-8 (that’s Nashville time, y’all) on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.

I’ve talked before about how valuable the experience of an open studio can be – not just for audience, but for artists! – and his is a perfect chance to see firsthand the kind of idea generation, fellowship, and happy discovery you get through a studio tour. As always, Chestnut Studios is inside the old Hosiery Mill at 427 Chestnut St, with parking to the side or in the lot across the street.

RSVP on Facebook for more info, or just stop on by and take a look for yourself at the caliber of work inside this unique space. We’ll see you out there, Nashville, and trust us: it’s totally worth it.

Category : Document, Explore, Nashville Artists, Things to Look Forward To
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04th Nov2011

Zines & Things: A workshop class

by M Kelley

Typically when I think about autumn, I can’t help but think about school: as an incurable bookworm, I spent many a fall afternoon kicking up leaves while carrying a ton of books in cautious mittens. Heading into October this year found me headed back to school – books and all – but this time on the other side of the desk.

Books are way better than the sea.

And again, same as it was years ago, my focus was on books. Well, in a manner of speaking: this time my bags were filled with volumes of independently-published zines and chapbooks, handbound comics culled from my thesis adventures along the west coast ink line, and limited edition finds from a decade of collecting. “Zines and Things:  Indie Publishing in an Internet Era,” the workshop I’m doing with the Creative Writing & 21st Century Publishing class at LaRue County High School, is a continuation of my personal work in contemporary narrative media, my own fascination with print (and with making/sharing print), and also a great way to give back as an alumni. I paired up with Summer Garris and together we brainstormed an approach into media mayham.

My favorite way of teaching is with hands-on examples. LOTS of examples!

With a whole invitation of books strewn on the classroom floor, I talked briefly about the history of zines, and the background of independent publishing as political, personal, and social action. We talked about zines as culture signifiers and culture creators, introducing the rise of Funkmaster Thomas Paine‘s hit zine “Common Sense,” Ben Franklin‘s standing-room-only magazine run for psychiatric patients and staff, and HP Lovecraft’s indie-styled encouragement of the amateur avant-garde publishing scene. And we talked about how zines are ultimately a democratic, vocal, and self-motivated form of media: that as young writers they could actively create and define their own culture and representation. Who can resist that?

(To be fair, I did cheat on my notes for presentation. Students, don't do this! Teachers? Um, maybe.)

And a big part of self-definition these days is definitely the impact of social networking, online representation, and personal marketing. Without sounding too much like a corporate lackey when it comes to advertising strategy, I wanted to press the importance of giving print publications a fair face online, too, and how – as a designer and maker myself – you can use the internet to help promote some very non-digital, non-commercial, non-mass-produced media.

Some of the mini-zines that the class made: custom work, handwritten texts, and one-of-a-kind personal explorations. Take that, corporate America!

After all, the internet is, at its heart, a huge advocate for self-expression. There are so many free blog formats available to share your view with others, a ton of cheap and easy ways to sell handmade works of art and print, and so many ways to connect. We talked a lot about that: how do you reach potential audiences? how do you find opportunities? And how can you use new avenues to walk the writing career path? I introduced resource books on writing, reaching out, and (eventually) running a small business, as well as introduced a few people who’d gone on unconventional journeys to end up as published writers, comic artists, and makers.

Talking about how to generate content, whether for a personal zine or for a public article

As you might have guessed, I don’t like traditional formats if a better solution exists. Having the chance to talk with the class in their couch area was a perfect, casual fit, with zines in hand and with images of past workshops and lessons covering the back wall. It’s much bigger than my old classroom used to be, and the space easily fits a lot of desks, a lot of pacing space, and a lot of bookshelves. It’s also a mere hop and skip to the school’s main library. All these bookshelves also give us a great avenue into the next goal of the project: a zine library.

The room is actually very spacious. Which in my vocabulary means it needs at least ten more bookshelves! ...So why not help us reach that goal?

Zine Libraries (such as the one I visited earlier this year in Murfreesboro) are becoming more popular, giving readers a place to congregate and a cost-effective way to find and share the limited-editions that typically make up independent publications. It’s also a great way to give zinesters to a place to donate their works, share ideas and formats, and trade with other areas or makers to bring in new blood to an existing collection.

Or, you know, to just enjoy a good book =)

Thanks to TangleCraft’s zine-bomb tutorial template and a fistful of my Concerns issues, the students learned a little bit about folding mini-zines, an easy introduction to the world of handbound (or in this case, hand-folded) media. It’s also a great way for writers to get used to the sometimes condensed nature of writing for an audience, and for getting to the point efficiently but elegantly when you’re contained by pages limited by the costs and efforts of printing out of your own pocket. By the second workshop class, students were asked to bring a mini-zine they’d created as a way of breaking the ice and starting the possibilities.

...and to entice future trades!

As the class continues, I’ll be Skyping in periodically to help demonstrate new formats, point my fellow writers to new opportunities and resources, and initiate trades between LaRue and the rest of the writing world.

So Nashville: if you or someone you read might want to donate a zine or trade with one of the students to add to your (and their!) collection, or if you have ideas or tutorials you might want to introduce to the class via an online post, drop me a line or visit the project page. We’d be happy to start talking…and reading!

Category : Document, Engage
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