Yellow Springs Arts: “ Celebrating The Banner Festival ” The YSAC Permanent Collection Local Art History Series

Yellow Springs Arts: “ Celebrating The Banner Festival ” The YSAC Permanent Collection Local Art History Series

Yellow Springs Arts: Holiday Art Jumble at the Yellow Springs Arts Council

Yellow Springs Arts: Holiday Art Jumble at the Yellow Springs Arts Council

Fun with Ann Bain in Her Scriptorium

Ann says “I love” a lot.  As in “I love writing” “I love to teach kids”  She says things like “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Teachers” to describe calligraphy teachers who came to teach classes to her Calligraphy Guild.  Ann has an infectious enthusiasm for life and a depth of spirit that is a delight to be around.

She's a leap year baby who just turned 21 last year.  She smiles when she says that and tells us that she had her first drink.  Hint:For the rest of us that makes her 85.  Ann was an only child, growing up in Pittsburgh, with supportive parents who took her to concerts, ballets and art galleries. She has a picture of herself at 4 making art.  She grew up taking art classes and went on to major in art at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. (FYI: My mom went there too, loved that beautiful, little college and ended up making her dream come true by becoming the first woman editor of our town paper in Park Ridge, Illinois. While she was still going to college she met my dad.  It was during WWII when there was a shortage of men teachers. She was dragooned to teach a class to high school students who were only a year or two younger than her. He put itch powder on her to get her attention!  But boy could he dance and make her laugh.)

Whoops sorry, back to our fab day interviewing Ann-

We asked Ann why she does art? She replied “I don't do art for any reason, I just do it, like I drink tea, I do art, it's just who I am.  It's like breathing or eating-It's just the way you live your life.”

Ann is a Calligrapher, but she “has tasted drawing, oil painting, water color, linoleum

carving, sculpting, printmaking, paper decorating, needle arts, graphic design, puppetry (both constructing and performing,) and written prose and poetry.  Since the 1980's, she's put it all under the heading of “Letter Arts.”  In 1981 or 2,  Ann helped start the Dayton “Guild of theGolden Quill.” Many “Traveling Teachers, came and taught at the guild. “That was really my education in calligraphy. If you are really serious about Calligraphy you have to practice.”  And all those workshops provided much fuel for Ann's love of writing.

When asked if she had studio hours Ann said, “Only those in which I am awake.” Ann says she loves being older it gives her more free time to do art.  And when asked what she has learned from being an older artist?  She replied “That there is still more to learn!” 

“Calligraphers are into words and books. “ And boy does Ann likes words, I mean she REALLY likes words, both as visual art and as meaning.  For Ann can “get wound up in meaning.”   And then there is reading. A lot

 of her ideas for her art come from literature, Ann smiles and says“I have a wide ranging mind.” Corrine and I had the pleasure to see some of  the places that her mind ranges.  She showed us a very large, very beautiful book that she had made about Leonard Bernstein's “Mass.”  Her book followed the play, it is like being at the theater and seeing the piece.  The curtains slowly open, the scenes play out on each page, with color and words and paper art, envelopes and letters, even a paper celebrant that you can remove from the book. It came through her. She made it in an intense 3 weeks.

Ann makes a lot of books.  She also showed us her Hand Book, a book literally made of hands, which when stood up and stretched out accordion style has little books tucked inside each bend.

Ann was commissioned by the Marian Library, to do all the words of Mary.   It's now a traveling exhibit called “Our Lady Calligraphed.” Ann felt that “It came through me. I didn't generate it, I just executed it.”

Which led us to ask “Is there a spiritual element to your work?” Ann said matter of factly, “The older you get, the more spiritual you get, if you are on the right path.” When asked if she had a favorite inspirational book- she quipped “A?”  Her beloved quote file is written on little scraps of paper and put in a drawer.  So

 every time she wants to find a quote for something she must go through them all. As she reads, it gives her time to muse and let new thoughts come together.

Then Ann surprised me by tagging on “I learned a lot of inner stuff from Tai Chi.”

I asked a question that I was pretty sure I knew how Ann would answer. “What do you think is the importance of kids learning to hand write?” “It's really dangerous for us to lose it. Dangerous for the world.  There is a connection between your hand and your brain that doesn't happen while you are typing or high lighting. It helps you to work out in your own brain what to say.  Writing is important, it's also a lot of fun.” Ann loves writing and has taught a lot of kids to write. She loves to teach kids and comes from a family of teachers. “Around 3^rd grade kids are are struggling with ideas. All you need to do is teach the letters. They don't have to write a certain way.  They'll form their own handwriting, legibility, understanding and thought.  Kids will do that at the right time.” Ann makes the physical act of handwriting fun. She gives the kids ink, not markers.  She cuts holes in sponges to set the ink bottles in so there wont be too many oops moments.  Then she tells the kids funny stories about the monks in a scriptorium. One of these is about how the monks would write book curses in the last pages of their exquisite hand drawn books. If the purchaser or borrower damaged the book or failed to return it the monks had particularly diabolical curses to rain down on them.

Ann has thoroughly enjoyed being part of 2 different art co ops. In the first experience,  for 7 years, 7 women artists in Tipp City,  ran a gallery called “Conversation Pieces.” The night before we interviewed her, Ann had been to a reunion with those women. She radiated pleasure from their time together.  “Our association will never end.” she said.

It was a delight to hear about some of their adventures together.  One time for a photo op they all dressed in white painters smocks and stood in a room covered in white sheets as two invited guests flung brightly colored paint at them.  They were being Pollocked.  And another time they made an artists cook book together that included many group pictures of them doing other arty spoofs.

Ann's second co op experience is still going on.  She is a member of the Village Artisans in Yellow Springs.  It's a great place to go see for yourself  Ann's wise and witty and grace filled Letter Arts.    

One of our final questions for Ann was “what advice would you give young artists?” “Oh boy!” she crowed. “ First, really work hard at achieving skills. Don't assume because you like to draw, that you really can. Go to museums and study original art, up close and personal. Forget prints! Take classes-formal or informal; do the work. Talk with practicing professional artists. You may naturally have many superb ideas, but until your skills can match those ideas, you're not there yet.  Don't give up.  It's worth it.” 

You can tell, Ann admires pure skill and the practice that leads to it.

Lastly, we asked Ann if making art was still fun.  Which was probably a completely foolish question to ask Ann.  It shines through in her enthusiastic voice and in her excited eyes, in the every growing, plethora of varied art that fills her studio and floods the Village Artisans and finds it's loving way into other people's homes.

Is it still fun Ann? “YES, ALWAYS”

Interview by Nancy Mellon

Photography by Corrine Bayraktaroglu

Dianne Collinson : A Yellow Springs Ceramic Artist

Nancy and I had the pleasure of visiting with Dianne Collinson at her Yellow Springs Home and Ceramics Studio. When we walked into her house what stuck us immediately was Dianne's wonderful sense of design. Everywhere we looked there was something to catch our eye or interest. Even in the kitchen functional ceramic art pieces displayed on the open shelves beckon the eye, as well as a her beautiful ceramic backsplash, which is one of Dianne's earliest pieces. 

Over coffee and home baked sinfully delicious desserts we asked Dianne a few questions.

What’s the stereotype in your mind of an older woman? 

Ceramic Studio Entrance

The women in my family never tell their age, and we are all complicit in this. Perhaps that comes from a fear of being stereotyped, or perhaps vanity. On occasion someone has been “outed” when they are really, really old and the disclosure has never made that woman happy. Lately I have been trying out the word “old” a lot when referring to myself. It is kind of an experiment to see if the word will lose its power if I use it a lot. So far it hasn’t.

Do you also have a stereotype of an older woman artist? 

This is interesting. When I visualize women artists I admire, they are all mature women, women of a certain age, looking very settled into themselves. Think of it. Georgia O’Keefe, Louise Bourgeois, Eva Zeisel, Lucy Rie, Fannie Nampeyo. Some might have been seen as little old ladies, but all were vital working artists right up until they died. I think the work, the designing, the making may have helped them all live long, productive and artful lives. That, and maybe having a nice young man around the studio to help out. I can aspire to all of that.

Have you ever felt stereotyped because of your age? 

I have felt minimized, not seen, and ignored at times. Sometimes it has seemed as if younger people I have worked with have projected a teacher or parent image toward me and have acted as if I was that person. But really, I am of the rock and roll generation. I share a birthday with Janice Joplin. I am the same age as Mick Jagger. That puts  things back into perspective for me. I can still rock.

Describe someone who busts that myth for you.

My grandma Rozeboom. She was born in the late 19th century in a lumber camp in Michigan, became a circuit rider in the high planes, married a widower and had 4 children on the barren acres of North Dakota, and then moved to California in a Model T where the family started a chicken ranch. She stayed there until her 90’s and continued to keep a fine garden and live independently until she had a stroke in her late 90’s. She always looked like a stereotypical older woman, her long white hair always in a braided bun and a plain, button front housedress, but she was so strong and capable… and could still touch her toes at 95. Although fundamentally religious, I know that at her core she knew that women could do everything that men could.

Have people assumed that you wouldn't like some kind of art because of your age?

Not really. Much art innovation occurred in the 20th century by artists older and weirder than me. 

Have you ever experienced a bias against you or your art because of your age or gender? 

I think all older people experience degrees of bias because we live in an age which seeks the 18-48 year demographic. But I have never experienced bias against my art. And actually I was hired in an art related, creative and physically demanding job after retiring from my long time 9-5 job. Maybe because I’m still deceptive about my age.

What kind of art do you do?

Until recently I never used the term artist to describe myself. I have used my hands to make things since I was little. I am a builder, a user of tools, a problem solver, a seamstress, a weaver, a painter, a decorator, and I have always tried to achieve an artful result in my making. Now my medium is clay. It is my favorite pursuit to date.

Has the aging process made working on your art different, harder? 
Yes. It keeps getting harder. Clay work requires a lot of heavy lifting. It’s very physical.

Have you made adjustments or tried new ways of working because of aging?

Yes. I can’t do all the physical stuff I used to. I have to ask for help or figure out how to break tasks down into manageable size. I have to limit myself to 25 # of clay to carry in rather than just lifting the 50 # box. I don’t like these limitations.

What advice would you give young artists? 

Don’t censor yourself. Just make. I don’t always take my own advice.

What have you learned from being an older artist? 

Younger is better.

Is it any better than when you were younger? No. See above. 

Do you see yourself being able to keep doing art as you age? 

Yes 

Is it still fun? 

I wouldn’t ever call it fun. It’s a lot of trial, error, frustration, overthinking, etc. but when everything is working and there is flow, it is just the best feeling there is.

What do you enjoy the most about creating art? 

Just that. The process when everything is clicking.


LINKS
Dianne's WEBSITE
Dianne's work can be found at Village Artisans at 100 Corry Street in Yellow Springs

Step Into the Wonderful World of Artist Kathy Verner Moulton

 Yum!  Kathy Moulton greeted us with a plate of killer brownies waiting on her table and started steaming mocha lattes for us.  This was going to be a delicious interview! 

Kathy had designed her beautiful, open living space to be inviting and comfortable.  There are rocking chairs and a wood burning stove,  art-deco lamps sending warm golden light and a wrap around screened in front porch that you can get to from the living room. She has had decades of experience drawing house plans. Take a drive around Yellow Springs with Kathy and she can point out houses all over the Village that she drew the plans for.

From designing the stained glass in her front door, to the quilts on the wall, to the cozy breakfast nook surrounded by glass that looks out over the pond in the back yard, her creativity is everywhere. 

In her 20's-40's, while singing and playing the guitar in local venues, she had a traveling business that taught crafts to kids, while raising her own 2 kids and setting type in code for Bingenheimer Design.   She learned to weave and quilt and made most anything she set her mind to.

Kathy had filled out our questionnaire with thoughtful replies and you can read her answers a little farther down.   But first, we sat down to enjoy the lattes and brownies and asked a few more questions. When we asked - how do you want to grow as an artist?- she quickly mentioned learning to use an I Pad Pro and then after reflecting, she told us a long time dream -to do a cartoon animation. She had loved the Disney Movies from the time she was a kid and always wanted to be part of that.  She also thinks it might be fun to learn to sculpt her characters out of clay.

We asked her about how she got new ideas?  She said it usually had been out of a need.  Need?  I wasn't sure what she meant by that. She went on to say “When I wanted something for my house, stuff for my kids, I couldn't afford to go out and buy it.  If I wanted wall art, I needed to make wall art.”  Kathy is very good at figuring out how to do things.  She has been mostly self taught all her life, in all the skills she uses. She took a one quarter course to draw house plans and then learned much more as she went.  The same with her abundant skills on the computer, she uses her drawing skills and the computer with the techniques and shortcuts she has discovered and perfected, for her own way of creating.

When it comes to creating, Kathy says she's a loner.  She quietly works out of her home studio.  (She has described herself sometimes as the “Not So Vocal Local”) But to balance that she has reached out into different Community Art Groups.  She is a member of Village Artisans, a Yellow Spring's Artist Co-op and she is on the Gallery Committee with the Yellow Springs Arts Council.  She is also part of the  Stewardship Committee that takes care of the YS Arts Council Permanent Collection.  She has designed quite a few art logos for different projects and created the visual art for the YS-Opoly Game Board and Cover. Currently you can see her beloved corgi artworks in the new Yellow Springs  Mills Park Hotel  

“Art is my escape, otherwise I would sit around and worry about everything.”  That sounds like the best stress buster ever-Make Art!

Thank you Kathy for the delicious interview!

WHY IS ART IMPORTANT TO YOU?

It is just who I am. I am a person who expresses myself by creating things. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't make art. My works are usually funny or pretty; something to hopefully make myself or someone else smile. It balances the dark things in life.

WHAT KIND/TYPE OF ART DO YOU DO?

I create humorous images which I frame or print as note cards and I have illustrated and published my own children's stories and a memoir of Yellow Springs. I draw and paint digitally creating many layered images which I then can print out on an inkjet printer. I have also worked in many other areas, some I occasionally still explore.

Models for corgi art are her beloved corgis Miss Molly and Jasper aka Jazz

I have drawn realistically as well as whimsically with pencil and pen and I have painted with watercolor inks as well as acrylics. I did experience pastels and oil paints in school.

I worked in home design, reworking our own house as well as designing an apartment for my Mom. I had my own business for 15 years drafting plans for houses for individuals and local builders. I most often drew the building plans as specified by the builder's or home owner's, but often, when needed, I would create solutions for designs.

I have always been a person who sews. I have sewn in order to make clothing and household items like curtains and quilts, but I have also designed wallhangings and original stuffed animals as well as dolls I called "Yellow Springers".

I have been a weaver, working on a large countermarsh loom, creating with colored yarns to make shawls, blankets and rugs.

I have worked in collage, at one point using it to create the illustrations for one of my children's stories.

WHEN DID YOU START DOING ART?

I do not remember ever not doing art. I had a bulletin board in my room I used to decorate like the ones we did at school. My family made egg heads out of dyed hard boiled eggs at Easter. I sewed doll clothes and made clothespin dolls from a McCalls magazine for Christmas decorations. I was always making art.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOU HAVE AN ART CAREER, OR AN AVOCATION OR BOTH?

Both. It has not been a money making career until recent years and even then you could not live off the income. It is more like breathing.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT CREATING ART?

I think I enjoy most that point when it all starts to click. When the idea starts to gel and I can see that I am getting it; it's working. This often follows right behind moments of doubt and frustration, when I maybe step back for a minute and then all of a sudden it is like a window has been opened. It is very exciting.

DO YOU HAVE SPECIFIC STUDIO HOURS?

No. It is just whenever I have the time to work. Wherever I can fit it in.

HAS AGE INCREASED YOUR NEED TO CREATE ART OR ABILITY TO BRING YOUR ART IDEAS TO FRUITION?

Yes. Age has brought confidence and more self assurance. I now believe I will come up with something; that I can trust it is there. That I can trust in my ability and that it will be good. I have also found that with the way I have learned to work on the computer. I don't have to second guess myself and get hung up on right or wrong. I can easily start over, or try a new tact. I work in layers, creating my characters and props and scenery separately and together. It is easy to try one direction and then another without losing anything. It is very freeing.

IS THERE A BIAS AGAINST THE STYLE OF WORK YOU DO AND IS IT A GENERATIONAL BIAS, OR GENDER BIAS?

I think that not everyone understands what I do. The idea that I am working on a computer I believe makes some people think the computer is generating the art. I switched from painting on paper with ink to the computer after years of drawing house plans. I found I could paint so much more freely and I kind of found my own way of doing it in Photoshop. I think some might think it is a trick rather than understanding that I am drawing and painting. It just isn't messy. I suppose younger people may have more experience to understand more. I really haven't seen age or gender making a difference.

HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT BIAS HAS AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?

I don't see that gender or age bias has affected me. I imagine if I were working in a design studio somewhere I might feel some. I think women at any age feel a bias in the workplace. However I have worked at home in my own studio in Yellow Springs at my own pace. I have sensed bias against that fact that my work is happy/cute. I think some folks think art has to be dark and serious. As I said earlier I see a lot of darkness in the world and I prefer to focus on the light.

HAVE PEOPLE ASSUMED THAT YOU WOULDN'T LIKE SOME KIND OF ART BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE?

I haven't experience that.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN OLDER WOMAN ARTIST?

This is just me and I am getting older. 

HAS THE AGING PROCESS MADE WORKING ON YOUR ART DIFFERENT, HARDER?

I guess maybe I need more breaks and I can no longer work deep into the night and not sleep. The physical is offset by the confidence gain.

HAVE YOU MADE ADJUSTMENTS OR TRIED NEW WAYS OF WORKING BECAUSE OF AGING?

I have tried new ways just because new ways are interesting. 

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG ARTISTS?

I would say enjoy, believe in yourself and do it for yourself. Connect and reach out to other people. Not everyone is good at both creating and promoting. 

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM BEING AN OLDER ARTIST?

Everything up to now.

IS IT ANY BETTER THAN WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

Yes. It grows exponentially.

HOW HAS YOUR ART CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

I have tried different mediums. I have gained experience and confidence.

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING ABLE TO KEEP DOING ART AS YOU AGE?

I don't think I have any choice.

DO YOU THINK YOU WILL EVER HAVE TO STOP BEING AN ARTIST?

I believe I will do it one way or another. As I said it is who I am.

IS IT STILL FUN?

Yes.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE ARTISTS PAST AND PRESENT?

I do love the work of Mary Cassatt and Georgia O'Keeffe.

WHICH ART INSPIRES YOU?

I am inspired by artists such as the above, but in my current area I am inspired by many many people. Children's illustrators I couldn't begin to name. Animators for Pixar and Disney. Cartoonists. Puppet makers for Jim Henson. 

WERE YOU MENTORED OR SUPPORTED IN YOUR ART/ART CAREER?

My Mom always appreciated my art. She helped me send out my very first portfolio. I had some good art teacher's in school. My husband has always supported my need to work, both with time and finances. There have been people her in Yellow Springs who have been very supportive over the years, many were friends who were specifically in support groups with me. I have a long list of people I acknowledge at the front of my book "My Town". A few of these are: Arnold Adoff who gave me great advice and help planning out some of my early stories. Anna Arbor who help me hang my very first show. Suzanne Clauser who believed in me enough to hire me to illustrate her novella. Most recently Nancy Mellon has been my number one cheer leader.

KaVoooM Productions :: Kathy Moulton :: Welcome!

Kathy Verner MMoulton is an artist, illustrator and children's book author living in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Through KaVooom Productions, she sells her images of animals in a variety of situations as prints and notecards.

LINKS

About Kathy
Kathy's Books can be purchased on Amazon or if you are in town drop by Village Artisans Gallery 
Visit Dayton City Paper Page 23 to read the "Have a holly,jolly corgi" article

visit Dayton City Paper Page 23

Taking Flight can be viewed at the Yellow Springs Permanent Collection currently showing at Antioch Midwest

Sculptor Beth Holyoke

Beth Holyoke lives in what I call the Fish House. When Beth and her husband Andy moved into a new old house and were refurbishing it, one of the creative choices Beth made was to sculpt a ribbon of fish around the top of the outside walls and these aren't any old fish, these are ancient, archaeological fish.

As Eco Activists, Beth and Andy have also built a bunch of Straw Bale Houses, houses that can last hundreds of years, are energy efficient and are cheap to maintain. Being an artist in everything, Beth ended up using the techniques she learned from building Straw Bale houses for building large sculptures.  The first one Beth and her art partner, Kaethe Seidl, made  together was a huge snake built over chicken wire sections filled with straw

and covered with straw bale earthen plaster.  Suzie, the snake curled around poles and reared up as a friendly greeter over the arts council gallery door for a year. 
Beth is a sculptor, working most often in clay. “It is a very rewarding medium and one that have I worked in many times in my life. 

I have also done pastel drawings, charcoal drawings, fiber work, both weaving, batik  and painted fabrics, clothing and wall pieces." Beth’s art has gone in many different directions. 

She has taught art through the schools and different programs and led the YS Arts Council as President for many years. She also ran the Pot Shop for 2 years. Beth has given a lot to enrich the spirit of Yellow Springs. 

She is well known for her whimsical public sculptures in Yellow Springs. 

There is a wonderful you tube made by Susan Gartner that shows Beth creating her Springs sculpture. 

The Springs Sculpture graces the entrance to Yellow Springs in Bill Duncan Park on Dayton St.  

Beth has often created public sculptures as a team with her art partner Katharina Seidl.

and

At 3 Beth moved to YS.  During grade school she started taking art classes with teachers from the YS Arts Council.  Her favorite was a marionette class.“The marionettes were the real deal, not paper things.  The kids carved the wooden parts, got to cast hands and shoes, it was all very intricate. Afterwards they put on plays with them."   Later in her life Beth would make larger than life puppets of hometown heroes.  She even coordinated a funky, free flowing village parade that included them.

Getting down to the aging artist questions, we asked, “What’s the stereotype in your mind of an older woman?”   Beth answered in her thoughtful way: “The stereotype of the older woman in our society may be one of invisibility.  Older women are looked right through as if they don’t exist. This makes sense for a society that so highly prizes youth and all things related to youth.  Women especially who are objectified all through life as an object to be admired only for looks, when that part of a women changes, they are no longer to be admired and so they are overlooked.”

Beth continued  “But the good news is, this is NOT the only stereotype of the older woman. In some circles, older folks and particularly women are revered for their wisdom and experience in their fields and in life skills. Although this is a very much more positive approach, this doesn't quite fit either.  Any kind of stereotype is just wrong and does not truly express what an older woman could be.”  

Do you also have a stereotype of an older woman artist?  “Most of my ideas about older artists revolve around their incredible experience, and depth of perception, both intellectually and physically.”

Have you ever felt stereotyped because of your age? “I may have felt a little ageism when I attend workshops with predominantly younger artists. The perception of where they are in their careers and where I “should  be” may be hard to take sometime. Those who are open to new ideas and people do not usually taking this attitude, sometimes you just have to find them.”

Describe someone who busts that myth for you. “Ruth Duckworth a ceramics icon, working into her 90’s is one of my heroes.”

Is it different making art now that you are older?

“Yes, I would say that my art is different now but I don’t know if it’s because I am older or just because I have more confidence in myself and am confident in my skills."

“I just make what I want to make,regardless of external considerations such as what I have done before or what might sell best. Actually,this is always how I approached my work. “

“I feel there are some differences in my art, I believe I am willing to be more systematic and detailed in my work these days, This has been influenced by my work in earthen plaster and building houses. This work requires hours and hours of dedicated work and it has helped to slow my art work down and it has helped me give it the attention to detail that I think it deserves.”

Thank you Beth for all you have given in time, art and spirit to Yellow Springs!

LINKS
The Egg-City of Kettering
Village Straw Bale Home can take the heat
Dayton City Paper New Grounded Exhibit