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A certain warmth

Writer's picture: frida@artyardbklyn.orgfrida@artyardbklyn.org

Updated: Jan 24

"I often think of the bleakness of the landscape and the cold, but there is a certain warmth that I find in this winter, a quiet that settles into the colors I use. The cold does not freeze the soul, but allows it to better see." ~ Vincent van Gogh, Letter to Theo, 1883


This week at AYB we have been exploring repetition, acrylic glazing with a limited palette, celebrating books and reading. We are pleased to share the details about exhibitions we are thrilled to be part of and one local in NYC to recommend!

 

In AYB Advanced Studio on zoom with Assata Benoit we explored repetition as a tool to help convey a message in our work.

 

Assata writes: “For this week’s lesson, I drew inspiration from a Substack article titled “Tools to Get Dressed: Repetition” by Corporate Crybaby. In this article, the writer detailed the benefits of creating style within limits - it would create a uniform of sorts, thus making getting dressed easier for the subject.

 

Assata presenting on zoom
Assata presenting on zoom

My mind immediately applied this to art making. As someone who creates better with clear lines, I thought how better to create my own style, then repeating something over and over?



For the lesson, I utilized the four categories of Repetition (Monochrome, Silhouette, Layers, and Details). For examples, I used the likes of Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Van Gogh - artists who are known more famously for their repetitive works than anything else.

 

While the lesson seemed broad in the sense that AYB participants could choose any method of repetition - I was quite pleased by how well everyone embodied the assignment. Some created wallpaper like images, or geometric images, while others copied a singular character over and over. Many, including myself, used flowers & plants, which are naturally recurring objects.


Assata Benoit, Repetition l & II


Abriel (bob) Gardner, Repetition
Abriel (bob) Gardner, Repetition
Meridith McNeal, Repetition, Serviceberry
Meridith McNeal, Repetition, Serviceberry
Leah Eliopulos, Repetition, Tea
Leah Eliopulos, Repetition, Tea
Lila Green, Repetition, Power In Voices
Lila Green, Repetition, Power In Voices
Ed Rath, Repetition, Pirate
Ed Rath, Repetition, Pirate
Marilyn August, Repetition
Marilyn August, Repetition
Mich Goenawan, Repetition
Mich Goenawan, Repetition
Clementine Finn, Repetition
Clementine Finn, Repetition
Adji Kebe, Repetition
Adji Kebe, Repetition

I am super happy that the article piece was able to translate so well into art creation - repetition is a wonderful tool to develop an artist’s personal voice, or develop the tone of a certain collection.”

 

Richard Lee Chong, Repetition
Richard Lee Chong, Repetition
Karla Prickett, Repetition
Karla Prickett, Repetition

Karla adds: “I was intrigued by Assata’s examples of the art of Escher. Particularly, work he had done on graph paper and created three dimensional circular forms by using shapes of texture within the graph grid. Our nation’s present political climate leaves me with thoughts about the globe and the world as a whole. I focused on circles, symbolic of a world, turning and spinning in many directions at once. We all live in small and larger grids, and so graph paper seemed symbolic as a base as well as an opportunity to use geometry in my expression. The lesson examples provided great inspiration for a variety of applications…so well thought out! Loved the diversity in medium and narrative!!

 

Leah Eliopulos, Repetition ll
Leah Eliopulos, Repetition ll

Vera Brown, Repetition, Inhale/Exhale
Vera Brown, Repetition, Inhale/Exhale

Marilyn compliments: “I loved class today! Assata made a super presentation—she is articulate and it was filled with good information, examples, and interesting artists. Assata was very successful in explaining her expectations for the class, and the results were amazing.”


 

On Tuesday AYB Advanced Studio in person in our studio at BWAC worked with Ed Rath on the third of his four part series on acrylic glazing techniques. 


Advanced Studio at work on Mona Lisa's with Ed Rath


Ed summarizes: “After reviewing the problematic nature of making a copy of the Mona Lisa, we welcomed our newcomers and got them started on their preliminary sketches.  They impressed us with their quick learning and good drawing skills. 


Rain Thomas, Mona Lisa Drawing
Rain Thomas, Mona Lisa Drawing
Richard Lee Chong, Mona Lisa Drawing
Richard Lee Chong, Mona Lisa Drawing
Scarlett Wagner, Mona Lisa Drawing
Scarlett Wagner, Mona Lisa Drawing
Clementine Finn, Mona Lisa drawing
Clementine Finn, Mona Lisa drawing
Leah Eliopulos, Mona Lisa Drawing
Leah Eliopulos, Mona Lisa Drawing
Mia Lew, Mona Lisa Drawing
Mia Lew, Mona Lisa Drawing

Returning participants began their underpainting. Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, and Payne’s Gray, thinned out with gloss medium and water, were used to create warm and cool tones in the composition.  The translucent medium allows the pencil layout drawing to show through, preserving this careful work for later development.


Mich Goenawan, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Mich Goenawan, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Erin Eliopulos, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Erin Eliopulos, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Cheyenne Rivera, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Cheyenne Rivera, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Kevin Anderson, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Kevin Anderson, Mona Lisa Painting in progress

A discussion on how to build up warm and cool tones ensued. To do this we added Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber to our palette, matching reddish tones in the landscape elements and sleeves of Mona Lisa’s garment.

Liv Collins, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Liv Collins, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Sigrid Dolan, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Sigrid Dolan, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Ed Rath, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Ed Rath, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Gem Mercado, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Gem Mercado, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Lenika Silva, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Lenika Silva, Mona Lisa Painting in progress

At critique it was noted that Leonardo posed his model (Mona Lisa) as a monumental icon. Set in a mysterious background, the painting’s details allude to ancient history and contain roads, mountains, trees, architectural structures, bodies of water, and cloudy skies. Her poise and self-confidence emit a timeless quality that is hard to define yet universally understood.”


Vera (Vee) Tineo, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Vera (Vee) Tineo, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Elizabeth Morales, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Elizabeth Morales, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Jacob Rath, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
Jacob Rath, Mona Lisa Painting in progress
 

AYB Managing Director Dennis Buonagura and his team of teaching artists Evelyn Beliveau, Marina Soliman, Leo Emabat, and Gia Gutierrez, assisted by interns Scarlett Wagner and Clementine Finn had an exciting week in ART YARD Art Matters at PS 17!


 

Evelyn sums up: “Students in grades 1, 2, 4, and 6 at PS 17 are onto their third week of a lesson cycle inspired by the artist Keith Haring. We have a wonderful team at PS 17: Dennis and I (Evelyn) are joined by Leo, Clementine, and Scarlett, who are quick on their feet to help logistics run smoothly and give individualized attention to students during work time.

 

PS 17 students hard at work with AYB


Our Grade 4 students continued their projects based on Haring’s 1985 “New York is Book Country” poster. After learning vocab words like “personified,” “graphic,” and “cartoon,” students invented their own personified books with titles reflecting favorite books or topics of interest to each individual student. Some students are still perfecting details of their pencil underdrawings, while others have moved on to black sharpie outlines. During critique, we discussed the easier and more difficult aspects of using sharpies as compared to pencil; students shared differing opinions based on their own experience with each medium.

 

Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982
Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982

Students in Grade 6 learned words like “interlocking,” “motif,” and “geometric” as we examined Haring’s artwork. Then, they set out to create Haring-style designs based on their own names. This week, we introduced the color wheel and discussed primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, and we discussed how pairs of complementary colors make each other pop. Each student chose a limited palette of four colors, including at least one pair of complementary colors. We’re using brush-tipped markers, so I demonstrated how to use them slowly, carefully, and gently to fill in each black-outlined shape.


Younger PS17 student carefully works on their artwork
Younger PS17 student carefully works on their artwork

Grades 1 and 2 also dove into color this week. These students have studied Haring’s comic panels, full of dancing, leaping, and high-fiving figures. We also took a look at the color wheel and practiced finding the complement for various colors. Then, students whose black-and-white drawings were ready for color got to choose three brush-tipped markers and begin, while others continued their work with sharpies. We can’t wait to see how these will look at the PS 17 art exhibit later this spring.

 

Student drawing inspired by the artwork of Keith Haring
Student drawing inspired by the artwork of Keith Haring
Student drawing inspired by the artwork of Keith Haring
Student drawing inspired by the artwork of Keith Haring
 

Dennis writes: “Teaching Artist Marina Soliman led our first day of afterschool programming with a group of enthusiastic students - consisting of mostly 6th graders.  Marina showed various images of her pencil drawings, colored pencil works, and watercolor and acrylic paint pieces - and students had the opportunity to discuss them with our group (me, Leo, Clementine, and Scarlett - all participated in these discussions as well as assisted Marina and students with their pieces).

 

Marina introducing her lesson
Marina introducing her lesson

The lesson plan was a preliminary drawing session highlighting shades, textures, and shadows.  Students drew a gray scale in pencil and applied the shades to a drawing of a circle or ball.  With Leo's assistance, the lights in the art room were turned off and an iPhone flashlight was used to hit an actual ball, indicating the shadow.  Before the light was turned on, students were asked to point to the spot on the table to show where they thought the shadow would be cast.  Sounds simple?  Not so.  But all students succeeded and added shadows to their drawings.



Time flies by - even during an extended afterschool period - but during a brief critique, students expressed their challenges with drawing shadows but worked through them with Marina's instructions and the help of our Art Yard  team.


Drawing of cylinder and orb in gray scale with pencil
Drawing of cylinder and orb in gray scale with pencil

 

Throughout the day, Teaching Artist/Muralist Giannina (Gia) Gutierrez worked on a mural in the school's game room - painting in a style requested by the school's principal which we all agree is quite suitable for a game room (oh yes - PS 17 has a room/lounge area with all sort of video game equipment!).  Gia will work further on this mural by adding images of gaming consoles (is that what they're called???) and other things related to these immersive gaming experiences.  Once completed, Gia will begin work on the mural in the library.


Mural begun in the Game Room at PS 17


I asked Leo to measure the bookcases in the library (adjacent to the soon-to-be-painted mural) in preparation (very early preparation!) of our end-of-year exhibition.  I thought he'd come back with a little post-it note with something like "6 x 5" scratched on it - but Leo is way too thorough and brought me a terrific architectural type drawing.  

 

Leo Emabat, PS 17 Library schematic drawing
Leo Emabat, PS 17 Library schematic drawing

I am very lucky to have such a wonderful team at PS 17.


 

Other Art News


We are thrilled that AYB Artists Marilyn August, Vera Brown, Free Inside, Meridith McNeal, and Marie Roberts all have work in "ARTISTS’ PROTEST: in Words & Images!" on view at the Dunoon Museum of Contemporary Art, 18 Ferry Brae, Dunoon, Scotland.



Curator Kathy Bruce emails:Please thank all the artists for us —we appreciate their solidarity!” 


Work by (in order) Marie Roberts, Meridith McNeal,  Free Inside, Vera Brown, and Marilyn August.


 

AYB Artists Vera (Vee) Tineo, Flávia Berindoague and I attended the opening of Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery, 1018 Madison Avenue, Floor 3, NYC. The exhibition, which is on view through February 26th, is superb!


Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation photo Meridith McNeal
Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation photo Meridith McNeal

Vee Tineo reviews: “The gallery's layout invites you to turn a corner and suddenly encounter everyday objects—objects so meticulously recreated in ceramic by Shih that they could easily be mistaken for their real-life counterparts. 

 

Shih's pieces beautifully capture the essence of 1990’s consumerism. They explore how the objects we use daily carry a strong sense of identity and cultural iconography. By recreating items such as Wonder Bread, soda, and other foods, Shih bridges the commonality of these objects with the shared experiences of American consumption. Beyond food, Shih also crafts larger, everyday objects, like a microwave or an ironing board, which subtly critique the gender roles and assumptions tied to them. 


Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation video Meridith McNeal


Shih challenges us to acknowledge the power of objects—not just as tools in our lives, but as forces that shape our conditions and perceptions. We consume out of necessity, yet the objects we own often invite more consumption, creating an interconnected web of ownership. For example, Shih's recreation of a full set of “Buns of Steel” VHS tapes is striking. The collection seems to snowball into another larger sculpture referencing fitness and exercise, evoking a sense of one object leading to another, almost as if they validate each other's existence. 

 

What struck me most about Shih's work is how it reminds us that art is meant to exist alongside life. Life is to be lived, and art, in turn, captures and reflects that lived experience. Shih’s recreated objects act as bookmarks of the 1990s, preserving the aesthetics, culture, and context of the era. 

 

Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation photo Meridith McNeal
Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation photo Meridith McNeal

Her attention to surface treatment is equally remarkable. Shih's use of clear glaze highlights the plastic-like sheen of her subjects, drawing attention to their materiality. I suspect much of her work relies on fine detail achieved with underglaze, as her precision is astounding. Take, for example, her recreation of a Head & Shoulders shampoo bottle. Every detail—down to the product information and barcode—is so exact, perfectly glazed to mimic the glossy plastic of the original. 

 

Ultimately, Shih invites us to reflect on the objects around us and consider what they say about who we are. Domestic Bliss is an exhibition that compels viewers to ponder their identities through the lens of their possessions—a powerful and thought-provoking experience.”


Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation photo Meridith McNeal
Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss at Alexander Berggruen Gallery. Installation photo Meridith McNeal

Flávia Berindoague adds: “Last Wednesday I met Meridith and Vera at Alexander Berggruen Gallery to see the exhibition “Domestic Bliss” by Taiwanese-American Stephanie H.  Shih. The artist recreated household objects in clay - very well hand crafted - drawing us into a family narrative, a portrait of American life in the 1990s. There was a smile on my face, as the objects brought up personal memories and stories from that time. It is well worth the trip to the Upper East Side to see the exhibition.


As we left the gallery, we stopped at Eli’s Night Shift for a drink to warm the freezing night. A good chat and a good time among fun and smart ladies reminded the three of us, underscored the deeply meaningful and supportive community we have in ART YARD BKLYN.”


 

 Join us for the Artists’ Reception on Saturday, January 25, 2025, from 4 PM – 6 PM at Black Rock Books, 3030 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Transportation from NYC: Take the Metro North to Fairfield-Black Rock station, then a short walk from the station.



Well Read is an exhibition of artworks created by ART YARD BKLYN (AYB) Advanced Studio artists. Each piece reflects the artist’s response to a book that has been banned or challenged somewhere in the United States in 2024. The artworks on view explore censorship, freedom of expression, and the profound impact of literature. As part of our Year of Literacy, this exhibition connects directly to the ongoing epidemic of book bans across the country.

 

We hope this exhibition sparks reflection, dialogue, and a deeper appreciation for the freedom to read.

 

Lila Green, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, 2024, watercolor on paper
Lila Green, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, 2024, watercolor on paper

 

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow in Bridgeport!


🩵❤️💚💙🩷♥️🧡💜


 

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