Intern Introduction: Riley Donahue

Hello there! My name is Riley Donahue and I am a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I am currently studying Visual Communication. Much of my artistic interest lies in digital art and bookmaking. I also dabble in photography and painting. In the future I would love to work in Marketing.

When I am not at Flower City, I work at a summer camp with children ages 3-5. I really enjoy getting to share crafts with them and bask in their natural creativity! In my free time I am an avid traveler returned from a trip to Peru just before the start of my internship. I love getting to experience new cultures and draw inspiration from beautiful places. I am a also huge fan of hiking and being in the outdoors, preferably alongside my 4 dogs.

This summer I hope to be able to improve my digital art skills as well as branch out and try new mediums or techniques. So far I have helped out with Flower City’s Photo Garage Sale which has given me great real-world experience and given me the chance to come face to face with many of the people who support this wonderful place! I am so grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait to do more!

My art Instagram is @rdonahuedesigns.

Prepping for The Painted Photograph Exhibit

Hi everyone! Jen Perena here, using this weird limbo time in between Christmas and New Years while the Photo Dept is closed to prep for my upcoming exhibit.

I spent some time the week before Christmas scanning all of my kallitypes. I still have some editing to do, but the goal is to prepare digital files (essentially coming full circle, as all the images started as digital photos on my iPhone!) which I can use to make a book or a zine.

Scanning
Scanning my kallitypes

I’m not that great with Photoshop, but Megan showed me how to crop and edit my files for a book versus what to do for a zine. My goal with this task is to prepare something that will be available while my exhibit is running, though I am not sure I’ll be able to finish in time for the opening.

Editing scans
Editing scans of my kallitypes in Photoshop

Then just after Christmas I started matting and framing. This is the most labor-intensive part of the exhibit prep: cleaning all the glass, measuring all the prints, cutting all the mats, assembling the ‘sandwiches’, and putting the frames together. Without messing it up!

cleaning glass
Washing the glass: my least favorite part about matting and framing, though it can be a good workout!

I know a lot of people would hire someone else to do this part, but it’s not the way I was ‘raised’ by Pearl and Glossy. Though tedious, it makes the difference in how the entire show looks once it’s up on the wall.

For this exhibit, all of the images, which are pretty close to 8×10 size, will be matted and framed to size 16×20. I was hoping to have a total of 20 images, but looks like I will have a few more. I was fortunate to be able to borrow some framing supplies so I didn’t have to purchase all new frames and glass….and that was actually a huge $$ savings.

matting supplies
Matting supplies: two-ply and four-ply mat board, and flat black Nielsen metal frames, in 16 and 20 inch pieces

These photos are from last week when I framed the first six prints. That session lasted about 4 hours….which was an hour longer than expected (I usually do one frame in about 30 min), in part because I sliced my finger while cleaning a piece of glass (Pat Cain would be so mad at me!) and had to get bandaged (and clean up the blood) before proceeding…. and in part because it’s been over a year, and it takes a bit to get back into a flow of remembering how the mat cutters work and how to put frames together.

measuring mats
Marking the mat boards in preparation for cutting

The mat cutters can be tricky buggers. You need a sharp blade, adjusted to the correct depth, pieces of foam core lined up to the side so the large mat board lays flat and doesn’t bend, and a ‘clean’ piece of board underneath where you are cutting. And putty – don’t forget the putty! Otherwise the cutter slides around all over the table.

cutting mats
Using the Alto mat board cutters to hand cut all my mats

I managed OK for the first few, but then started to see burrs on the beveled edge – indicating either blade depth was off, or the blade was getting blunted, or the paper underneath was too chewed up, allowing paper fibers to pull up into the bevel cut – or it could have also been all three; In the end the clean line I was seeking was not happening, and I had to sacrifice several pieces of my beautiful white four-ply mat while I continued to troubleshoot.

inspecting the beveled edge
Inspecting the beveled edge and smoothing out the little rough bits

Thankfully friends were able to help me with some tips and techniques, showing me some things I had forgotten (like using an emery board to file small burrs off the beveled edge), and by the time I am writing this post, 17 of the prints are matted and framed to my satisfaction. This is good AND bad news, since I still have 7 more to go and we were planning to start hanging the show on Wed, Jan 2…..

Anyway, I hope to finish the matting and framing in time….then we need to fine tune labels, finalize my show statement, and plan out refreshments for the opening – Saturday, January 12 from 2 to 5 pm. I hope you can all make it!

In the meantime, head over to Instagram and check out the @i.heart.roc feed – I’m taking it over starting tomorrow (New Years Day!) through January 4th, and I’ll be sharing some of my favorite places and things in Rochester.

Best wishes to you all for a Very Happy New Year!

Get to Know Your Instructor: Jeremy Pinsonneault

Jeremy Pinsonneault is an instructor in the Photography and Digital Arts Department as well as an artist in residence in the Printmaking and Book Arts Department. Some of the classes Jeremy teaches in the Photography and Digital Arts Department are Intro to Illustrator, an advanced Illustrator Projects Workshop,  Intro to Photoshop, and Wild About WordPress. 

What is your favorite subject matter to cover in class?

  • I enjoy covering different processes that have the best return on time invested. Everything I teach in the photo department is digitally based.  Because of this, it’s good to be cognizant of how much time is being spent in front of a screen. My favorite lessons are where a new tool is introduced that automates things you would otherwise need to do manually. Learn enough of these and you’ll find that you’re spending less and less time tied to a machine and more time enjoying the real world.

How long have you been an instructor here?

  • It’s going to be one year in August and I’m very excited about continuing.

What do you hope students take away from your class?

  • There are a few common ideas that I try to emphasize in all the classes that I teach. A lot of them focus on productivity, the general takeaway that you don’t have to spend your life in front of a monitor.
  • In teaching, I’ve noticed that a lot of my students have tried to learn the program before but have been unsuccessful. In my class I tell my students to ask me how to do something as many times as they like until it’s finally explained in a way that resonates with them. This is a community arts center and everyone has found us and is taking the class for different purposes. There’s nothing more rewarding than having someone exclaim in class “I finally get it!”

What is your favorite thing about Flower City Arts Center?

  • The supportive community and the different disciplines that are offered here. Being here you are able to interact with such a variety of people from all walks and stages of life. There is always something to be learned or a connection to make. There are people who have their work in museums and are so very friendly with imparting advice and knowledge.

Do you have a catchphrase? If not, what would you make your catchphrase if you had to choose one? Why?

  • “You Got This” – I have come to find that when it comes to learning art people are apprehensive because they are very unsure where to start. They look at working artists who are very prolific and are immediately cast in doubt in regards to their own abilities. Some of the most interesting solutions and art I have seen has come from those who have a different perspective precisely because they haven’t been an artist for all their life. With sincere encouragement it’s truly inspiring to see people becoming more confident in themselves and their artistic voice.

If you had a superpower what would it be?

    • The superpower I’d love to have: The ability to understand and speak all languages, including the tongues of the animal kingdom!
    • The superpower that I’m more realistically likely to have: Having two incredibly useful points of information on any topic that exists.
If you’d like to learn more about Jeremy, or see more of his work check out his online portfolio and photography website.