Category: Residency

An Interview with Josi Etter

Josi Etter is a visual artist living and working in Rochester, NY. Josi was a Printmaking & Book Arts, artist-in-residence from 2019 – 2021 and currently teaches a variety of classes at Flower City Arts Center. Her exhibition, Stars + Bars: No Country for Beginners was on display in the Sunken Room Gallery at Flower City Arts Center throughout December 2021. Below, Josi answers questions about her artwork and process.

For those that were unable to see Stars + Bars: No Country for Beginners in person, can you describe the exhibition?

Stars + Bars is a critical view of a country filled with paradox and difficulty.

It is artwork about American people and places and their internal and external struggle.

I try to explain and visualize our discord in a subtle, graphic and aesthetic tale. 

It is a view from a foreign insider’s perspective. The work consists of etchings, sculpture and some interactive parts (“Merchandise Stand”, “American News Raffle” and the conceptual artwork: “Who is for sale?”).

Can you describe your latest body of work?

I come from a painting background and this show is something very new to me. 

The work is created using a “drypoint etching technique” with a combination of acrylics, pencil drawing and gold leaf. Color is used very sparse, lines and shapes are the main focus. It is a very precise and time consuming technique and requires a lot of patience. Etching does not leave a lot of room for errors. 

Although the lines are drawn fine, the work seems bold and is certainly figurative.

In addition, I enjoyed creating different kinds of three dimensional sculpture for the show and think that they are a good supplement.

What did you learn during your time as an artist-in-residence at Flower City Arts Center?

I learned that I am a very inquisitive person. I always want to see and learn what other people work on. It is very inspiring to have other artists and people around who create high quality work.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration everywhere. I look quietly around at people, streets, landscapes, nature, pictures and there it is….

Keep in mind that the American culture is still new to me, and therefore I do see things with “fresh, curious eyes”.

What is your favorite time of day to be in the studio?

The hard work is generally done in the morning. It is the most quiet time and I have the most energy. Though I collect ideas and sketches during any time of the day or during the stillness of the night.

What motivates you to create?

That is a really hard question to answer…

It’s an inner urge. I think it just has to get out! 

It’s like a cup which overflows and when it’s full, it spills over and that’s what makes interesting art then. Maybe that’s how it works?!

What do you think makes a good artist?

The ability to observe and to feel a lot of empathy for your surroundings. You have to be a good reader of the world and be able to find things within yourself to mirror them on to some sort of canvas. 

You also need time – time is a good teacher.

One has to find the intricate balance between truth, beauty and craftsmanship. That makes good art for me.

Maddy Underwood: A Month in the Letterpress Studio

I’m Maddy, a designer and printer, originally from Nashville, TN. I was so lucky to be able to spend the month of September playing on the letterpress and making use of FCAC’s extensive wood & metal type collection.

I had recently attended a workshop at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina, where we explored using a laser engraver to make printing plates for letterpress. One thing I found really exciting there was using a combination of laser cut lines and thick gel medium to create a more painterly image for printing.

Because I had been drawing so many birds in my sketchbook recently (I am a bird enthusiast on the side!) I wanted to make some posters playing with this gel medium method. I also just wanted to make some posters for fun, using some of the wackier type I could find (such as the type on this Rochester, NY poster I did).

The work I did over the month helped me explore a new, more spontaneous side of letterpress that I’m excited to dive deeper into. Thank you to Megan and everyone at the Flower City Arts Center for having me!

RISOdency Update

Over the past few weeks I’ve been getting to know the Risograph duplicator and am finding it to be an incredibly versatile and useful machine for experimenting with image making. We’re so lucky in Rochester to have FCAC as a space where community members have access to specialized tools for art making!

I had the opportunity to teach an introductory workshop and whenever I teach I always learn more in the process. I really enjoyed seeing what color combinations and layering techniques the students used. FCAC also has a swatch book for the seven colors they keep in stock, which is helpful for the planning stages of any project.

Most of my interest in the Risograph comes from a need to expand my book making practice to larger editions. The cost effectiveness, speed, and eco friendliness of the Risograph far outweigh its drawbacks.

I have been primarily experimenting with the use of photographic imagery and was able to do this for the FCAC 2020 Printmaking and Book Arts calendar. The first two layers of my calendar month (June) were linoleum blocks printed on the Vandercook No.4 and the final two layers were printed using the Risograph duplicator.

I am also very excited about the potential for variation when printing on different colored papers. Below are a couple examples of images I’ve been working with so far:

2 months

It’s been two months since I started this residency.  (I’m also 26 and one month exactly today)  So far, I have finished teaching my first class titled “Photography in Queer Culture” which was a success!  A lot of research was involved in preparing for the class, and I’m glad to have gotten this out of the way so I can now focus on making work having these artists in mind in order to keep conversations going.  Not only was this my first time teaching adults, but also working with with ASL interpreters, which was very eye opening experience and contributes to a conversation regarding privilege outside of race and sexuality.  I will be working on making a zine for the next couple of weeks with the work that the students provided to me during class.  So keep an eye out for it at the beginning of next month!

AIR Introduction: Megan Magee Sullivan

Hello, I’m happy to introduce myself as the new Risograph Artist-in-Residence in Photography & Digital Arts at Flower City Arts Center. For the next 6 weeks I will be experimenting with the Risograph duplicator. As a producer of visual books, I’m excited to see how the Risograph will expand my ability to execute projects that involve images and text.

Photo by Jeremy Moule

As an interdisciplinary artist who creates books and experimental video, I appreciate how the two relate as time-based media. I utilize elements of personal and collective history, erasure poetry, and materials gathered from various public and private archives to examine the constructs of religion, family, and memory.

I’m looking forward to using the Risograph to execute a book project over the next several weeks. I will keep you up to date on my progress through the blog and my instagram @maggiemagees.

www.meganmageesullivan.com

AIR Introduction: Fernando Muller

Hello!  My name is Fernando Muller and I’m the new Artist in Residence in the Photography Department at Flower City Arts Center for the 2019 – 2020 year!  I was born in Peru and moved to the United States at the age of 13.  In 2017, I graduated from The College at Brockport with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography.  Since then, I have worked as a Lead Teacher in Studio 678, and I have pursued photographic projects that reflect my experiences as a queer person of color in the Rochester Community.  In addition, I work full time as an HIV Prevention Specialist at Trillium Health which has helped me further understand the community to which I belong.

During this residency, I will continue to explore my place in the gay community as a queer person of color through Photography.  I will  volunteer with Studio 789; I will teach “Photography in Queer Culture” starting in October; and I will start a “Queer Photo Club” – a photography club for queer artists meeting once every month.

Keep up with my posts every Wednesday to see what I’m working on, or ideas, and for future involvement in the community and Flower City Arts Center.

www.fernandommuller.com

Photo by Maxwell Harvey-Sampson

Week 7 and 8

Happy Sunday! 💜💜💜 

This weekend, I had the greatest honor of starting my photo series. It’s called the Pigment Series. If you’re not familiar with this series, here’s a little description about it.

 

January 27th, 2017, I started a photo series in Charleston, SC called the Pigment Series (Pigments). The Pigment Series is a collection of mix media artwork that consists of semi nude photography and body painting. For over a year, I photographed over 50 people. Each portrait captured the true essence of a person and their existence. It promoted self-love, body positivity and individuality.

It also created an atmosphere for my artistic subjects to release their creative essence. When creating a safe space, love, appreciation and understanding should be the foundation of the structure.

This past February, I had the opportunity to talk about my project at Tedx Allendale. https://youtu.be/VSNFxwRD1BU

I’m going to need more volunteers and participants to help me reach my goal of 200. I will be posting dates for the month of October in my next blog post.

 

Cocoa Rae 💜

Cinemagraph Workshop

A few weeks ago I got to teach a workshop on making cinemagraphs. In college, I began incorporating motion work into my work and I found that cinemagraphs were a good entry point for someone with a background in photography. Since then, I’ve loved using the format to experiment with imagery. 

Cinemagraphs refer to images that combine still photography with isolated movements. In this workshop, we shot using a DSLR with video capabilities. In the lighting studio, we used two different set-ups.

The first set had everyone taking turns to shoot a “self portrait” video. Each person stood as stationary as possible while blowing bubbles. The goal was to isolate the movement so that only the bubbles would be in motion.

The second set was a common cinemagraph trick – the wine pour. In this one the set is completely still while only the liquid from the bottle into the glass moves. Everyone took turns trying a pour in this set to animate later.

Finally we went into the digital studio to create our videos in Photoshop. There are a few different programs that can be used to create a cinemagraph, but Photoshop is sufficient for short-form video editing. We went through the process of cutting, masking, timing, and looping the video together. In the end, each person walked away with at least two different videos and the knowledge of how to apply this format to any project in the future.

I was so thrilled to get the chance to teach something I love to do so much here. Thanks to those who were able to attend! I hope I get the chance to teach here again someday.