Studio Tour

This is my friends,  the very talented artist, Kathy Nesi, at an art show that she was juried into. The title  of the show was "Orange Juiced" and Kathi created the trio of starfish behind her  and the painting on the upper left, which was inspired by the disaster in the Gulf. I apologize for the over-exposed photo, but it was crowded and dark. Her paintings are very rich and vivid and nothing like the wash-out photo I took!

 

Here is a much better picture of Kathy,  taken an art tour when she found a painting that matched her scarf!  Check out Kathy's blog where you can see well-photographed pictures of her vibrant mixed media paintings that are woodburned, painted, and collaged.

 

 

 

Recently, Kathy and I went to some events during a two-day Art Fest  sponsored by the New Rochelle Council for the Arts, which  included a tour of many artist studios scattered around the city. Check out the video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went on a tour of artist studios and the ironic part about the tour  is that the building is about a mile from where I live and I am sure I have driven past it no less than a thousand times and never really noticed that the sign out front says, "Media Lofts".

 

 

 

The building is a 100 year old factory that was the Knickerbocker Press. The original intent was to create a working environment for artist and craftsmen, but the building was turned into an Artist in Residence  condominium offering for emerging and established artists.  The grounds floors are working spaces only and the upper floors are lofts that are large enough to be studios and residences. The building has been extensively renovated, but the original wood floors, the exposed trusses, beams,   pipes, and floor to ceiling windows, all add an  industrial edginess that creates a fabulous artistic verve to a unique artist working environment.

 

This artist is a musician who has extensively renovated his loft, adding architectural pieces from India. The loft is large and is the perfect setting for the India music performances that he holds on occasion.

 

He had this shipped from India and lifted by crane through the fifth story window in order to install it in his apartment.

 

 

This is a loft of a sculptor and her family, who had just moved in. The sleeping area is up the stairs and around to the right is the kitchen. There is abundant natural light and I was imagining living there myself and setting up an enormous canvases to paint.

 

 

Not all of the studios were that large, but all were commodious with ample space to work and an area to relax and think.

 

 

This artist is an abstract mixed media painter and an art history professor. Both Kathy and I were intrigued by her board and screw system of hanging canvases to work on. The screws are hard to see in this photo (cell phone pics!) but each lath strip has a series of screws down it, creating a grid system so the painting can be hung in various places to work on. It's a really cheap and ingenious idea.

 

 

This artist is a potter and this is a shot of her kiln being loaded for a firing. The variety of artists were wide: potters, woodworkers,  musicians, sculptors, art quilters, mixed media artists, collagists, painters, jewelry artisans, and more.

 

One of the artists is a painter who creates  paintings that feature the painter's "ongoing fascination with the landscape where urban culture and nature collide". The photorealistic paintings are of urban decay, junk yards, waterfronts, bridges, overpasses, construction sites. I didn't notice the artists name and assumed it was a man due to the grittiness of the scenes. Of course, I was completely stereotyping and she turned out to be a woman. This is one of her paintings that I really liked.

 

I can't get another artist's mixed media paintings out of my head. Large, over-sized canvases with deep layers of acrylics in colors that rivaled oils, the paintings feature hand colored series of photographs,  and photographs cut into strips and collaged  onto the painting. The work is done in dreamy hues of greens and blues and I would love to take a class and study with her. Unfortunately, I've managed to misplace her name! 

 

 

 

One of the aspects about the Media Lofts that was so intriguing was that almost all the artists had their families actively involved in the open houses, helping to arrange food and drink, handing out brochures, explaining the processes of the artwork. I loved seeing these artists working in situ, surrounded by family and friends, and celebrating their lifestyle and commitment to the artistic life.

 

So it was no surprise when the husband of the painter above, saw us lingering by some gorgeous illustrations, which he explained were done by his daughter, Anne Emond,  an illustrator who is completing a children's book. I can't wait to get this book - hope she finishes it soon.

 

 

 

I'd love to show you all the beautiful artwork I photographed, but what really intrigued me was the workplaces and the artists' tools and supplies.  So often we see articles about artist studios that feature beautifully decorated and appointed rooms that seem to be more artist salons than working studios.  These studios were attractive and well-designed, but they also smelled of linseed oil and clay and paint and were filled with well-used supplies.

 

 

Now this is a still life that makes me want to paint.

 

 

 

A Goldens woman after my own heart.

 

We met a lot of artists, saw a lot of artwork, made some contacts, exchanged plenty of business cards, and left with a wistful feeling that somehow we missed knowing about this place and I floated into a pipedream that maybe we could have been accepted to buy a condo there ourselves....Of course, none of the lofts were quite large enough for a family of five with two dogs, so I don't think I'd been moving in, but maybe someday I'll be at a point where I am making art full time and talk Mr. Pom in moving...to just down the street. I have my eye on that top floor one with the sleeping loft and huge windows.