I don’t have a signature style. My journey as an artist has been to explore the world, particularly, its systems, rhythms, and patterns, and to ask myself questions. I often start a series of works by asking myself, “What if?” and then set out to figure out how to answer that, with varying degrees of […] The post Jeff Woodbury – Learning from Making Art: Insights from Jeff Woodbury’s Practice appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
Thinking through making happens in my studio at each step-by-step stage. An eventual working-out occurs as I puzzle through each part of building up three-dimensional forms. The work moves forward or backward when I am at the edges of not-knowing and continues to evolve like that throughout the process of making. My projects are often […] The post Kitty Wales: Thinking Through Making appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
When given the opportunity to reflect on my creative process, specifically thinking through making, I naturally turned to my creative partner. Beyond being my wife, Kate is an artist who knows me inside and out, who believes in me. I’m lucky to be able to dig into ideas with her. Rather than synthesizing our insights […] The post Jonathan Mess appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
How to Make a Picture Begin the ceremony by placing the camera over your head, red strap slashing half an X through your body. You are now a member of the Order of the Eye. Stand to attention. Remember, the camera is a Ouija board. The camera is a closet. The camera is a compass. […] The post Cig Harvey – How to Make a Picture appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
Consider the power of a simple straight stitch embroidered 100,000 times in a vintage canvas cot cover. Each stitch is unique unto itself, but when collected and assembled in the shape of a reclining figure, each stitch undergoes a drastic transformation in its presence. Similarly, a half-inch graphite mark located within an orange rectangle. When […] The post Ed Epping appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
My workday in the studio often begins by sweeping the floor and tidying up. If inspiration comes slowly, around the third cup of tea, it is likely to have been a fleeting glimpse of something in a painting that was not apparent yesterday or has been hidden for a decade. I often rework pieces. One […] The post David Wilson – Looking for an Opening appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
When I was in elementary school our workbooks were called Think and Do. I think my education would have been a better fit for me if the books had been Do and Think, since I’ve discovered that I learn best through direct engagement with materials. I’ve always been disappointed if I think of the poem […] The post Stuart Kestenbaum – Following the Words appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
CM: An accomplished poet, you’ve also long been committed to the practice of making visual art, primarily collage. It fascinates me that you bridge these disciplines—poetry and visual collage. When did you begin the practice of creating visual art and how does that origin intersect with, emerge, or diverge from, your working life as a poet? […] The post Claire Millikin – The World Itself: A Conversation with Collage Artist Jeri Theriault appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The ...| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
What is Spindleworks? Spindleworks is a community of makers where artists of all abilities are valued and inspired to do their best work. Artists are guided to find their creative voice, and express themselves in mediums such as drawing and painting, photography, ceramics, woodworking, weaving, and other fiber and fabric arts. Artists may write poetry […] The post Susie Warren Hanley – Spindleworks appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
Over the past sixty-some odd years, Nancy Davidson has been a constant champion of art and artists, primarily in Maine and Florida, as a gallerist and curator. As Mirlea Saks wrote in her tribute to Davidson in the spring 2028 issue of the Maine Arts Journal, “[s]upporting the arts is what she does.” Since stepping […] The post Carl Little – Nancy Davidson: The Joy of Critters appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
My mother died twenty years ago, but for me, she is a constant presence. As her only child, not only did I inherit her artworks, her correspondence, and all her other possessions, I also became the repository of her artistic reputation and extensive body of work. At that time, I was living alone working full […] The post Linda Jay Burley – Mom and Me appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
Applying to art school typically requires a portfolio of ten to twenty images. This portfolio is usually completed in high school advanced placement art classes and should demonstrate artistic range, diligence, and an understanding of core compositional and observational skills. In 2013, I was serving as the Chair of the Foundation Program at Maine College […] The post Philip Brou – Baxter Koziol appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
My dreams hold a strong message from my ancestors to tell their stories. My maternal family line is Armenian. My grandmother survived the early 20th-century Armenian genocide in Turkey. Although I knew some stories about my relatives, they were laden with holes and inconsistencies. Encounters in my dreams push me to research both personal and […] The post Cynthia Motian McGuirl appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
Samira Abbassy’s personal and artistic odyssey began in Iran, where she was born in 1965, took her to England, where she moved with her family in 1967, and since 1998 has been focused on New York City and the United States. Though her paintings evidence a strong Middle Eastern influence, she brings a world of […] The post Edgar Allen Beem – Samira Abbassy: Encountering Cultural Identities—Iranian, British, and American appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly
In lockdown, I became a room. I grew floors and walls, and sometimes ceilings. Mostly, I was a corner. People stood, ghosts floated, mice nibbled, and peepholes formed. Sometimes my walls and floors broke apart: wood splintered, joists groaned, and screws came loose. These drawings explore the interiority that was part and parcel of the […] The post Tom Butler – I Became a Room appeared first on The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly.| The Maine Arts Journal: The UMVA Quarterly