Sondheim Interviews: Tiny Inventions

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This is the eleventh in a series of interviews with each of the Sondheim Award Semifinalists. Finalists will be announced in mid-April, and will be on exhibit at the Walters Art Museum June 21 to August 17; those not selected as finalists with be exhibited at the Decker, Meyerhoff and Pinkard Galleries at MICA  July 17 to August 3, 2014.

Name: Tiny Inventions (Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata)
Age: Both 32 years old
Website: www.tinyinventions.com
Current Location: Hampden, Baltimore
Hometown: Max- NY, Ru- Tokyo, Japan
School: Max- Rhode Island School of Design (BFA in Film / Vide / Animation)
Ru- Parsons the New School for Design (BFA in Illustration with Animation concentration)

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Current favorite artists or artwork: We love the sequential art progress of Picasso’s bull fight. It inspires us to push our design and be playful with the approach. Some of our favorite artists are Jeremy Clapin, David O’Reilly, Miwa Matreyek, Wes Anderson and Michel Gondry.

What is your day job? How do you manage balancing work with studio time with your life? As Tiny Inventions, we’ve created TV commercials, music videos, designed toy line, etc. So we’ve been working commercially as well as making independent films. In the past 2 years, Max has been a full-time faculty at MICA animation department and Ru just started teaching there as a part-time this semester.

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How would you describe your work, and your studio practice? We specialize in mixed-media narratives that marry analogue and digital animation techniques. Even if the final film is magical in tone, our ideas tend to come from real world observations.

How would you describe your collaboration? We have been collaborating since 2007. We enjoy merging our energies to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Our collaboration process is very intertwined that if we start explaining how we divide our work, it gets a bit too complicated. In short, we write and storyboard all our ideas together and we divide the production.

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What part of artmaking to you like or enjoy the most? The least? Writing is always the most grueling, painful and rewarding part of the process.

What research do you do for your art practice? It depends on the project. I don’t think there is anything particularly unique about our research process. We keep a sketchbook around us to write down small moments we encounter every day. We do a lot of location drawings, research various books and films. For some reason, there tends to be a scientific element that we’re interested in: forensic science, environment, theories about time & space, etc.

What books have you read lately you would recommend? Movies? Television? Music? Our recent independent film was inspired by Alan Lightman’s “Einstein’s Dreams” which depicts the concept of time in a poetic way.

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Do you ever get in creative dry spells, and if so, how do you get out of them? Cherish the small moments in our daily lives and draw…A LOT.

How do you challenge yourself in your work? We try to challenge ourselves with every project: storytelling, design, technical execution. One of the greatest challenges of animation is that there are many skills that you can improve, drawing, story-telling, new software, character animation, cinematography, editing, etc. So each of us pick one category that we really want to improve and proceed forward with our projects. ‘

What is your dream project? To have more time to make more films.

Call for Artists: Postcard Show

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DUE: May 9, 2014

Call for Art: Art of A Woman- Art, Fashion and Philanthropy – A Charity Art Postcard Pop-Up Exhibit

Overview:

The Artinista Art Advisory is pleased to issue a Call for Artist participation in this non-juried, invitational postcard exhibition. The 4×6 Art of A Woman: Art, Fashion and Philanthropy Charity Art Postcard Pop-Up Exhibit will feature original artwork created and donated by artists, 18 years and older from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC areas only. Each artwork will be postcard sized at 4×6 inches.

All of the postcard-sized artworks will be for sale to the public at $25 each for a fundraiser Pop Up Art Exhibition event entitled Art of A Woman: Art, Fashion and Philanthropy at Gossip on 23rd, a unique and trendy women’s clothing boutique located in Crystal City, Virginia to benefit the Space of Her Own (SOHO) Creative Mentorship Program, based in Alexandria, Virginia. SOHO’s mission is to provide girls in need with social, emotional, academic and creative enrichment through mentorship and visual arts instruction. The program aims to reach girls in local communities and prevent juvenile criminal involvement. Founded in 2003 by Linda Odell of the City of Alexandria’s Court Service Unit and Alice Merrill of The Art Legue. Space of Her Own, Inc. received nonprofit status in 2011.

For more information visit SOHO’s website at http://spaceofherown.org. The artwork will be on display at Gossip on 23rd, located at 566 23rd Street, S, Arlington, Virginia.

We invite artists from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC to participate by sending artwork that is sized at 4×6 or 6×4 inches, unframed and light enough to be hung with T-pins or Velcro depicting how art influences fashion or how fashion influences art. All artwork submitted must be donated by artist who created the work, available for the duration of the show, and available for sale at $25 each with all proceeds donated to Space of Her Own. Unsold artwork will be the property of The Artinista Art Advisory or will be returned to the artist with a self-addressed envelope with proper postage.

Submission Information

Please download the Prospectus at www.theartinista.com/artists All submissions are due via mail to The Artinista Art Advisory by May 9, 2014. There is no fee for submitting work.

Call for Artists: Gormley Gallery (Baltimore, MD)

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DUE: May 1st, 2014

Solo or Group Exhibit Opportunity

Gormley Gallery at Notre Dame of Maryland University is seeking proposals for solo or group exhibits. Submissions received by May 1, 2014 will be considered for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 gallery years. Artists from Baltimore and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic region are especially encouraged to apply. Three exhibits are scheduled each year for a four to six week show. Artists attend the reception and give an informal gallery talk.

Submit 20 images in jpg format , 72 dpi, 1200 on the longest side, a checklist including title, date, dimensions, and media, an artist’s statement, and short c.v. No materials will be returned.

Mail to: Gormley Gallery, Notre Dame of Maryland University, 4701 N Charles St., Baltimore MD 21210.

http://www.ndm.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/art/gormley-gallery/exhibition-opportunities/

Call for Artists: I am O’Kah!’s 1st Annual Be AMAZING! Fundraising Gala and Silent Auction

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JOIN US – Be A Part of History!

I Am O’Kah! is seeking Baltimore’s most AMAZING emerging artists to participate as part of a 1-day exhibition and silent auction during their gala on May 17, 2014 at the Maryland Historical Society…

For more information about the event visit www.iamokah.eventbrite.com

Why?
• Exhibit: Showcase your work to our 400 guests at Maryland
Historical Society.
• Silent Auction: For those that participate in the silent auction
proceeds from items donated to the silent auction will be split 60/40
with I Am O’Kah!
• Great Cause: All proceeds from the event directly benefit I Am
O’Kah!’s entrepreneurship/financial literacy programs and
scholarship. Visit www.iamokah.org to learn more about the
organization.

How?
Contact the exhibition curator, Aisha DaCosta via email at
aisha@iamokah.org (443) 579-7950 or our Special Events Intern Abbey via
email at abbeycher@gmail.com

Sondheim Interviews: Nora Sturges

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This is the tenth in a series of interviews with each of the Sondheim Award Semifinalists. Finalists will be announced in mid-April, and will be on exhibit at the Walters Art Museum June 21 to August 17; those not selected as finalists with be exhibited at the Decker, Meyerhoff and Pinkard Galleries at MICA  July 17 to August 3, 2014.

Name: Nora Sturges
Age: 45
Website: www.norasturges.com
Current Location: Baltimore
Hometown: Stamford, CT
School: Bowdoin College undergrad and Ohio University grad

Tank, 2012, oil on mdf, 8x11 inches

Tank, 2012, oil on mdf, 8×11 inches

Current favorite artists or artwork: Thomas Nozkowski, Norbert Schwontkowski, and Honoré Sharrer are current interests.

What is your day job? How do you manage balancing work with studio time with your life? I teach painting full-time at Towson University. It’s challenging to find time to make art during the semester, and much of my work is done in the summers, but at its best teaching gives me energy and experiences I can use toward my own work.

How would you describe your work, and your studio practice? I enjoy imagining places and things, thinking about them and trying to give them life.

Lookout, 2013, oil on mdf, 9×12 inches

What part of artmaking to you like or enjoy the most? The least? I love realizing the image, but hate the painting part.

What research do you do for your art practice? I get ideas from so many sources that almost everything could be research. I look at a lot of art (old and new), and photos of any sort, and I read things that I think have the potential to be used in my work (though it’s often a surprise what ends up being useful). The past few years walking has been an important kind of research for me– I find that I notice my surroundings in a different way when I’m a pedestrian.

Do you think it’s just the slower pace of walking that allows you to notice things more, or do you think the act of walking making you more alert and able to observe? Is there anywhere you prefer to walk- city, suburbs, parks, etc? I go walking around where I live, and it’s usually a walk with a purpose– to the store or to work. There are definitely things one sees as a pedestrian that are hard to see from a moving car, but there’s also something different about one’s frame of mind when walking. I find that it makes me very open to ideas, perhaps from the enforced slowness of it. And walking the same route over time gives me a chance to really notice things. The most fruitful area for me has been Osler Drive in Towson, which is the dullest of roads. I’ve gotten parts of maybe ten paintings from things I’ve seen on Osler Drive.

What books have you read lately you would recommend? Movies? Television? Music? I’m a big fan of radio because I can listen while I paint. Radiolab and Studio 360 are great shows, and I love BBC Radio 4.

Houses, 2012, oil on mdf, 7.75×12.5 inches

Do you ever get in creative dry spells, and if so, how do you get out of them? I often have times when I’m not especially inspired, and don’t feel like working, but I make myself do it anyway. I once had a long period, after I finished a body of work I’d been engaged with for several years, when I had no ideas for what to do next, and everything I tried failed. It was awful. But I tried to follow the advice I give to students who don’t know what to do– you can’t discover what to make if you’re not making, so just make anything. So I just kept making paintings (quick ones– going for quantity), and eventually I found direction.

Co-Lab(oration) Call for Entries at School 33!

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School 33 is now accepting artist portfolios for the third installation of its Co-Lab(oration) project, funded by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation!

Co-Lab(oration)

Artists interested in collaborating with other artists of different disciplines, to create a new environment within the main entrance of the Center’s building, should apply. 3 artists will be selected to collaborate on this project that will be on view for at least 1 year. Each selected artist will be awarded an honorarium of $3000 for this collaboration; this project also comes with a budget for supplies and materials. Artists will be selected based on the strengths of their portfolios. Artists are invited to visit School 33 Art Center and see the actual space prior to submitting a portfolio for consideration.   The finished project will be unveiled in early September 2014.

Co-Lab(oration) is an on-going platform for diverse artists to work collaboratively in a process of creative exploration, resulting in the development of multiple new works. The project should cultivate the production and exhibition of new artwork that integrates the ideas of artists from varied disciplines, encourage artistic experimentation and creative risk-taking to support the development of innovative practices or new artistic forms.

Selections will be made by our panel of jurors:
Anthony Cervino, Associate Professor of Art at Dickenson College, Carlisle, PA.
René Treviño, Exhibitions Coordinator at School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD.

For more information on how to submit a proposal, follow this link:http://bit.do/call-for-entry

Application Deadline: May 2, 2014
Notification Date: June 6, 2014

Artist Resources: Theater Training and Workshop

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Center Stage is hosting a Lessac Kinesensic Training Workshop, and we would love to see you there!

The workshop is a comprehensive and creative approach to all aspects of developing the voice and body for expressiveness, speech and singing, and as creative instruments of communication, behavior and perception.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, May 24th from 10am-5pm here at Center Stage in the 6th floor Rehearsal Hall. The original price is $75. We are offering a discounted rate of $50 to all company members of any Baltimore-area theaters, as well as a discounted rate of $50 to all participants under the age of 27. Payment will be collected on the day of the workshop. The Sun Garage on the corner of Calvert and Centre is the best option for parking. There is also metered street parking and 2 hour parking (cars have to be moved every 2 hours) on the street in the area.

We ask that you wear movement clothes rather than street clothes, and there will be a one hour break for lunch.