#17 Sorell Raino Tsui

Episode 17 is with curator, gallery owner, public art producer, muralist, businessman, and artist Sorell Raino Tsui. We discuss his unusual career path, his new job as Cultural Strategist of Public Art in Oakland, collaborations, murals, finding his artistic voice, and the business of art. Sorell’s artist assignment walks an emerging artist through the process of getting their first mural. This conversation was an absolute joy to have with one of my favorite people. Enjoy!

The assignment is at approximately 26:09 minutes into the interview.

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Artists and artworks in this video are listed in order of appearance: 

Troy Lovegates  @troy_lovegates

IROT @irotism

Cannon Dill @cannondill

Heather Day @heatherday

David “Meggs” Hooke @houseofmeggs

Jet Martinez @jetmar1

Francisco Diaz / Pastel @pastelfd

Brett Flanigan @brettflanigan

Chad Hasegawa @chadhasegawa

Guillaume Ollivier @funkysquash

Ricky Lee Gordon @rickyleegordon

Kelly Ording @okellyording

Martina Merlini @martina_merlini

Evan ESK Wilson @evaneskwilson

Lenworth McIntosh

Zio Zeigler @zioziegler

Hueman @hueman_

Muzae Susey @muzae

Joshua Mays @joshuamaysart

Cinque Mubarak @qlick22

Sarah Bowser @bboowwsss

Zai Divecha @zaidivecha

Erik Otto @erikotto

Rachel Wolfe Goldsmith @wolfe_pack

16. Lauren Brevner and James Harry

Episode 16 is with Lauren Brevner @laurenbrevner and James Harry @jamesharryart. In this interview, the artists discuss their separate practices and collaborations as Kwikwi Studio @kwikwistudio. The respectful, strong, and proud characters that they depict in their artworks create a vision of a hopeful future where our multicultural world can live in respectful harmony. They describe their collaborative works as a coming together of peoples, finding the similarities and shared beauty that this combination of cultures represents. Other highlights of the interview include a description of the collaborative process and how trust and a shared esthetic allow for frank dialogue to help them get to their finished work. Lauren and James share their views on Appreciation/Appropriation and how to avoid this and still engage and learn about other cultures. They are treasures with so much to offer the art world. Enjoy. Please subscribe to the YOUTUBE Channel as it helps other people find us. Check the show notes for Lauren and James’ creative assignment.

15. Fiona Ackerman - Artist Interview and Assignment

Welcome to STUDIO TO STUDIO. An interview series where artists answer questions about their practice and give an art assignment to get us thinking and working creatively. Link in bio to interview.

Episode 15 is with artist Fiona Ackerman. In this interview, Fiona discusses a shift in her creative process after an unexpected meeting with a lizard last summer and how it changed the direction of her work. She discusses how our five senses are advantageous and limiting in artmaking and how her approach to making music comes from the gut.  Her current exhibition Lizard Brains at Gallery Jones, in Vancouver, opens Feb 26 and runs until March 26. 

Please subscribe to the YOUTUBE Channel as it helps other people find us.

Originally from Montreal, Fiona Ackerman is a Vancouver painter whose work is exhibited and collected internationally. In addition to her studio practice, she has created large-scale public murals in Vancouver as well as several video and music projects including a 10-minute projection for 2017 Burrard Arts Foundation/ Facade Festival. She works primarily in series: in 2021, her exhibition The Cosmic Tiger at Gallery Kremers Berlin explored metamorphosis and included an accompanying collaborative video piece. Later that year, her show at Oeno Gallery in Ontario was a modern look at botanical history. Her current exhibition Lizard Brains at Gallery Jones, Vancouver is a series of abstract paintings, accompanied by a short story by the same title. It runs from Feb 26 - March 26. 

14. Kyle Scheurmann Artist Interview and Assignment

This month I talked with Kyle Scheurmann about his art practice and its relationship to the Fairy Creek Blockades on Vancouver Island. Kyle is a committed and talented artist. He creates paintings that are both seductive in their rich colours and modern representation of the natural world. The work is a stark reminder of the degradation of the earth and the loneliness experienced in the wilderness. We discuss his experience as an Eden Grove Artist in Residence at the Fairy Creek Blockades and what that entailed. Scheurmann's painting practice foregrounds the natural world, specifically the forests in Canada. He depicts their beauty as well as his fear and sadness around its disappearance. Kyle's paintings direct our attention to the climate crisis and how deforestation contributes to this extreme event. My wish is that people become aware of the Fairy Creek Blockades from our conversation and are motivated to action. The art prompt is a great way to start this process as it is about thoughtful observation and bringing your artists skills to help better understand these complex issues.

Kyles Art Assignment:

Check out the work of Sara-Jeanne Bourget, or Andy Goldsworthy.

Part 1.

Make a non-destructive land or ecology sculpture of some kind. Something that is as easy as making a pattern using rocks or drawing in the sand or dirt. Then draw or paint the sculpture. You could document it with your phone and head back into the classroom or your home to finish it off.

Part 2.

Make a naturally derived pigment to mark make, draw, or paint with. This could be from hibiscus leaves, turmeric spice, grass, charcoal from the fire pit, berries or whatever you can think of. Think about the connections between you, the pigment, art, and the land. What connections are there between all these elements? Create a brainstorm about what connects you to the earth and use the ideas to influence your drawing or painting. Look closely at the environment you live in and how you are either working in symbiosis with the natural world or against it.

Once you have decided on the idea use your naturally derived handmade pigment to create the work.

13: Artist Interview and Assignment with Nathan Lee of Contexture

Are you interested in public art? Well, this episode, lucky number 13,  with Nathan Lee of Contexture Design, is for you. Part career trajectory, part discussion, part portfolio, our conversation touches on many aspects of making art in the public domain.

Check out all his projects at www.contexture.ca

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We cover great information in this interview. Nathan’s art practice uses research, history, environmental and cultural significances combined with simple, elegant design.

Nathan discusses his nonlinear road to becoming a designer/artist working in the public realm. He discusses his education in landscape architecture, forming the company Contexture with Trevor Coghill, and how their work went from industrial to conceptual design and then on to public art. We look at how artists can spark discussion about controversial subject matter and why this is important. We look at a few of Nathan’s projects from the past and two current artworks, getting installed right now in 2021. As Nathan says, public art is its own animal, and that is why this interview is so essential to anyone interested in getting into public art or what goes on behind the scenes. His Art Assignment is vital for anyone wanting to get started in this area of artmaking. I hope you enjoy this interview.

Nathan Lee Art Assignment

Find a place by either choosing one that you already know well or by throwing a dart at a map. Then research that place and find out as much as you can about it. Think about the sites environment, community, business, transportation, indigenous plants and people. 

When you have discovered information about this place that you didn’t know and sparks your interest, dig deeper into that specific area of research. Remember, the artwork is more interesting if the theme covers multiple areas of your research. Ask yourself, how does the personal reflect the public spaces of the site?

Create an artwork that represents the information you discovered. Whether you choose painting, drawing, or sculpture, you will similarly approach the artwork. What objects can be used as a metaphor or represent the subject you want to tackle? Think about how Nathan used the Chu pieces to bring the narrative of the Chinese community to the site of the Burnaby art gallery.  Might you use the story of one person to signify the narrative of a larger community?

Create your artwork – think carefully about the materials as they might relate to the area.

Artist Interview & Assignment: Tyler Keeton Robbins

Tyler Keeton Robbins

Instagram: @tylerkeetonrobbins site: www.tylerkeetonrobbins

Tyler and I spoke this week about his art, inspirations, materials and processes. He credits the Pacific Northwest wilderness and First Nations artists as some of the most profound influences on his art. We discuss early childhood experiences that shaped his start and how finding the authentic gesture is like playing music. Tyler describes his work, "a softer side to abstract symbolism", explaining “the play between the figurative and the abstract is the place where he likes to live." This conversation was a joy for me, and I hope it is for you too. His assignment is all about the authentic gesture, of course.

Art Assignment: Tyler Keeton Robbins

Materials:

A pad of paper

Multiple brushes from around the shop. Use awkward brushes and brushes meant for different tasks.

Indian Ink or high-flow acrylics.

Practice many types of mark-making loading up the different brushes with paint or trying them with very little paint. Practice making all types of gestural marks with each brush.

Once you have a handle on the brushes, lay down shapes of colour and let dry on the paper. Then with black ink use your brushes to create the feeling of a leaf over the colour shapes. Use an authentic gestural stroke to feel what a leaf is like by using your mind’s eye or imagination to draw it.

Artist Interview and Assignment: Sherri Rogers with Tristesse Seeliger

Sherri studied Fine Arts and Computer Science in university, and graduated with honors from the Computer Animation program at Sheridan College in Toronto. She traveled to Vancouver in 2004, working as a Surfacing Artist on animated shows that include Addams Family, Angry Birds, Ghostbusters, Wonderwoman and Smallfoot. A Surfacing Artist works closely with the Art Department to translate 2D conceptual artwork into 3D environments and backgrounds, and these elements have found their way into her painting style too.

After many years of digital painting on highly realistic 3D backgrounds for feature film, Sherri’s traditional paintings combine graphic design principles and pop culture themes. Her subjects range from her first person experience in graffiti covered landscape paintings, to glitchy portraits that explore the impact of digital culture on our analogue minds.

Scott Sueme Artist Interview and Assignment

BIOGRAPHY

Scott Sueme is a Canadian artist raised in Vancouver, BC, currently working out of his studio in East Vancouver. Since attending Emily Carr in 2006, Sueme has been working as a graphic artist and painter. Starting in the graffiti subculture he has ventured through art, design, and installation painting. Sueme has been commissioned to work with collaborators such as HCMA Architecture, The City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver Parks Board. Recently, Sueme has completed a large scale public art project with The City of Vancouver and tech company Hootsuite, painting a full 3 story building for the Vancouver Mural Festival in 2016. In 2017 with the Vancouver Parks Board, Sueme also completed a public art piece on the surface of the basketball court in Mount Pleasant Park. Sueme has also exhibited his work Internationally in New York, San Francisco, Miami and Cape Town South Africa. Recent exhibitions include Bone Broth, Mayberry Fine Art (2019) Sleeping Arrangements, AAF NYC (2019) Homework, Kimoto Gallery Vancouver (2018).

Rachael Ashe Artist Interview and Assignment

Rachael Ashe is an artist that has bridged many artistic mediums from photography, stitching, pattern design to paper cutting and book alterations. In this interview we talk about her process, favorite materials, the creative process, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, cool papers to work with and of course an art assignment. Here is Rachael’s biography. The link to the interview is in my bio..

Rachael Ashe is a graduate of the Creative Photography program at Humber College, and is a multidisciplinary artist self-taught in papercraft. Rachael credits her former position as a photographer at the Textile Museum of Canada, and through it an extensive exposure to handcrafted textiles, as a major influence on her work with paper to this day. In December 2013, Rachael was the featured monthly speaker at Creative Mornings in Vancouver, and she spoke on the topic of making by hand to a two-hundred-person audience. In 2017 she was the CCBC nominee for the Mayor’s Arts Award in the category of Craft and Design. Rachael organizes artists talks, curates art exhibitions, and brings people together at Art & Craft Social. She has exhibited across Canada, the US, and the UK, as well as been published in Uppercase Magazine, as well as the books Design Genius, and Paper Play. Rachael lives and works in beautiful Vancouver, BC.

Sara Khan Artist interview and Assignment

Sara Khan was born in Birmingham, England in 1984 and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. She holds a BFA (with honors) from National College of Arts, Lahore (2008). She was selected for the Bag Art camp, an international art residency in Bergen, Norway (2012). She was also selected for the Vancouver Mural Festival (2018).

Her works have been featured in several national and international group exhibitions. In addition to her first solo show "Suraj Kinare" in Canada at the Surrey Art Gallery in 2019, recent group shows include "Terrestrial Beings", Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat, Canada in 2019, and "What is Seen and Not Seen, With or Without Seeing", Gandhara Art Space, Karachi, Pakistan in 2017. Her work has also been featured in the book "A Big Important Artist: A Womanual" by Danielle Kryza.

 She lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.