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So, here at Open Studio, we love art – art in galleries, art in museums, art in artist’s studios – but with summer just a little more than a week away, you know where we REALLY love art? You got it. Outdoors! Today’s episode is a leisurely stroll through West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square, where the West Hartford Art League and the town of West Hartford teamed up for a second year to beautify those white concrete barriers that are marking off the outdoor dining areas. It’s an inspired idea that makes so many people happy, especially the18 talented amateur and professional artists from near and far who competed for the pleasure of getting house paint all over themselves so passersby and diners could enjoy bright colors and remind themselves of the power of art. 

One last thing before we get strolling: WESU is a community supported radio station that relies on the generosity of people like you, who won’t find programming like this anywhere else. It’s free form, folks! Ian i’s a labor of love by volunteers like me but it also costs money: money to keep the equipment going and the tiny staff paid. C’mon. You know it’s important. It’s not enough to love college radio. You’ve got to do what you can to keep it going. Please go to wesufm.org and do what you can. Thanks! Okay, on to Blue Back square, then West Hartford Center. Enjoy!

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Tori Weston (@writergrrl76) then and now

Tori and I knew each other in the ‘90s when she was a Woonsocket, RI< high school student and I was her so-called mentor at the Providence Journal Bulletin, where I was a reporter. Tori is 46 now, living and working, and writing and making visual art, in Boston and she says creativity has been the key to surviving the trauma of having been raped by her stepfather on the eve of her 13^th birthday. Because abortion was safe and legal, she was able to rule out suicide. Art was also a lifeline. “How do people deal with their problems if they don’t have a creative outlet?” she wonders.

During the station breaks you’ll hear audio from a pro-choice rally in DC, one of many throughout the country last weekend, as women and men of conscience hit the streets to protest what, as of this writing, seems about to be the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal abortion protections.

Finally, I need you to know that WESU is in the midst of its spring pledge drive and could seriously use your help. Please go to wesufm.org/pledge and donate what you can to keep this kind of programming going. Thanks.

Some of Tori’s visual art:

Related links:

Risk Podcast episode #1

The Power

Risk podcast episode #2

Grand Opening

Under the Gum Tree

#MeToo: Birthday Cake by Tori Weston

Tori’s website:

www.ToriWestonWriterArtist.com

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Today, a walk through a monumental retrospective of the works of painter Milton Avery, whose career began in the late 19^th century and continued into the mid 20th, and included some years in Hartford. His flattened forms and unusual color work prompted comparisons to Matisse and he inspired such younger painters as Mark Rothko. We’re lucky that our companion on our tour is one of the curators of the traveling exhibit, Erin Monroe, the Krieble Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at the WadsworthAtheneum. The show, having started its journey in Fort Worth, TX, will be up at the Wadsworth through June 5 before moving on to the Royal Academy of the Arts in London. As the Washington Post reviewer put it, the show is “a treat.”

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Today, an encore episode of last fall’s talk with Kenny Martin, a teacher and artist who lives on the edge. Not only do his high school students wield blowtorches to do metalwork, but Kenny’s hobby is undersea diving – while holding his breath. The images below are from an exhibit of his drawings based on his breath holding free dives that had a good run at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Oh, and Kenny’s also been a boxer, and most recently founded a Fight Club for teens; he’s convincing in making it sound therapeutic. Back when Kenny taught elementary school, he had his students bury tuna carcasses, a lesson in composting. So do I need to tell you Kenny’s an interesting guy? He says he also gives a great haircut.  This is the interview that convinced me I need to have more people from Brooklyn in my life. And btw, where else are you going to find conversations like this but on WESU? Please, during this spring pledge drive, do your part to support community radio by going to wesufm.org/pledge and giving what you can. Or I’ll have Kenny punch you in the nose.

Upper left, Ken with the first of his breath-hold-dive drawings, done from memory for artist Peter Waite’s “Monster Drawing” class in Wesleyan’s Graduate Liberal Study Program several years ago.

Below, two views of the art cart Ken, then a K-5 teacher, created when he lost his classroom. It was paid for in part with crowd-funding.

At the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA thru May 30

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Art about war. Weirdly coincidentally, the Clark Art Institute in the Berkshires was in the process of putting together an exhibit on that very subject when, boom, Russia invaded Ukraine. And so it is that the show, “As They Saw It: Artists Witnessing War,” on view, appropriately, through Memorial Day, packs an extra emotional punch. It’s an exhibit of prints, drawings, and photographs of conflicts going back four centuries, all of them from the Clark’s permanent collection, works by such heavy hitters as Degas, Manet, and Goya, and many less familiar names whose work is no less powerful. I saw it a week ago and certain images still stick in my mind. We visit with curator Anne Leonard.

A selection of images from the show:

Top row: Pierre-Georges Jeanniot, The Survivors of a Massacre Used as Gravediggers (1915); Auguste Raffet, Military Uniform Study, Artillery (1837)

2nd row: After Winslow Homer, The War for the Union, 1862, A Cavalry Charge; Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet, A French Soldier of the Ancien Regime, 1842

3rd row: Hieronymus Hopfer, After Raphael, Combat of Cavaliers and Foot Soldiers, 1520-50; top right: Theophile Alexandre Steinlen, East Wind, 1916; bottom right: Goya, Que valor! (What valor!) from The Disasters of War, 1810-20

4th row: Goya, Yo Lo Vie (I Saw It) from The Disasters of War, 1810-20; Unknown, Portrait of a Civil War Veteran Wearing a Grand Army of the Republic Medal, 1866-70

Goya’s complete The Disasters of War portfolio and other images from the exhibition can be found here.

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Today, a celebration of spring. We’re being treated to a screenshot by screenshot portrait of the artist as a young birder. Jenny Kroik is a freelance painter,  illustrator, conservationist, and, most recently, a fundraiser for humanitarian aid to Ukraine whose work appears in The New Yorker. She was the recent guest of the CT Audubon Society, which allowed us to record Jenny’s episode of its Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds Zoom webinar, in which Jenny traces her development as a birder through her art. She opens up her ever-handy sketchbook for us and tells anecdotes from her birding life, near and far, observing the several the ways art making is not that much different from birdwatching. She answers questions about her painting techniques as she treats us to a demo. It’s a fun hour with a lively guide who – probably like you – loves art and Nature. Find Jenny @jkroik and jennykroik.com.

A sketch of a Snowy Egret in NJ. Jenny starts with a penline to keep from getting too obsessed with details

Thank you!

[Answers to questions, top to bottom: Longtail Duck, Baltimore Oriole, Coot, Short-Eared Owl]

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OMG. Painting and Cape Cod. I hope I never have to choose between them, both are such soul food for me. Today I’m honored that my guests are two Cape Cod painters whose work I’ve been following for some years,  Peter Hocking and Helen Grimm. Each lives in Truro and is represented by the Four Eleven Gallery on Commercial Street in Provincetown, a gallery which, as you’ll hear, has deep roots in the town’s storied history of supporting art and artists. Both Peter and Helen paint landscapes – in Helen’s case, also seascapes and what she calls shellscapes; when you visit the openstudioradio.org blog, you’ll understand. In our conversation, we got deep into the dunes, as it were, about what it’s like to live on the Cape in all seasons, about why they don’t paint people,  and about just what it is that inspires them about the Cape. Talk about soul food. You’re going to totally love these two.

http://www.petehocking.com

@p.hocking.com

http:www.helengrimm.com

@helengrimmcom

https://fourelevengallery.com

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DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

Clockwise from upper left: Aaron Douglas’s The Crucifixion; Andrea Mantegna’s The Dead Christ; Hildegard of Bingen’s vision of the Trinity; St. John of the Cross’s sketch of the Crucifixion; William Blake’s Christ Nailed to the Cross: The Third Hour; Maria Rubio with the Jesus tortilla

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Listen to last year’s episode

One year later, how are those art school grads I interviewed doing? Well, bottom line: art isn’t easy. Since graduation, each of our five artists have surfed some steep ups and downs – the ups including one new baby, one nearly completed teaching certification, one sidestreet into musicmaking, a string of creative jobs, some exhibited or about to be exhibited work, and one domestic situation that has the artist so content, she wishes she had some strife to paint about. As for the downs , those include bouts of the blues bordering on depression, creative dry spells, dictatorial corporate bosses, lack of studio space, financial hardship, a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with social media, but  what’re ya gonna do, it’s here to stay, and finally, precious little time for serious art making. Speaking of time, the five artists’ day jobs had them so busy, I couldn’t corral all of them into one conversation. I had to do them in three batches! We’ll hear first from that future teacher, Caroline Hehir, the happiest of the lot. Then from Lori Fogg together with Ethan Newman, who turned out to have a lot of complaints in common. And finally, Trae Brooks with Julian Allen, who offered some perspective and encouraging words. You can find photos of the five artists and their recent work at the openstudioradio,org blog, along with a link to last year’s interview. If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate how determined they young artists are to stay true to themselves. Below is a sampling of work the artists provided:

JULIAN ALLEN

TRAE BROOKS

LORI FOGG

CAROLINE HEHIR

… AND FROM HER IPAD

ETHAN NEWMAN

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Today: An encore episode of Open Studio. Last January, I interviewed five artists about whether there is life after art school. I’m rerunning that show now so that, when I check in with them again for the Feb. 13^th episode, you’ll have a sense of what’s changed. In our first Zoom chat, artist Lori Fogg, who’d suggested the episode,  wondered – given that she was in so much student debt – whether the American Dream forever will be inaccessible to her. The full freight of tuition, room, board, and other fees at Hartford Art School hovers around $60,000. When Lori contemplated her future, she started to rethink what she thought she wants. She asked herself, is the American Dream even really her dream or just an idea she’s been sold? Among all five artists’ other questions were: should they continue to paint out of their personal histories, or choose more marketable subjects? Is Instagram all it’s cracked up to be or32222 are the old-timey methods of finding community better? What does it mean to be an artist apart from competing for blue-chip gallery representation and eventual fame? What do they do when they’re creatively stuck? These are just some of the topics our alums will plumb in this freeform conversation. Not all of the featured alums knew one another when we recorded the episode, and yet, as you’ll hear, in the brief space of our hour together, they formed a lovely bond. I’m sure you’ll agree: the kids will be all right.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who contributed to WESU’s successful fall/winter pledge drive. It was a nail biter but we got there. If you helped, I place my palms together and bow in gratitude. You understand how this crazy set-up works: that it’s you who put the community in community radio. Thank you for getting that. With its mission to air music and views that are rarely heard anywhere else, WESU is a healthy antidote to commercial media and needed now more than ever. Again, thank you.

 Finally, I’d like to raise a belated toast to your health and happiness in this long-anticipated fresh New Year. Please, let’s continue to take care of ourselves and one another by wearing masks, washing our hands frequently, and social distancing. Here’s to life – and vaccinations!

As life continues to unfold in its crazy way, I intend to paint, go for long walks, vent with friends, and remind myself that better days are coming. Keep breathing, folks. Together, we’ll get through this.

Back after this message with our encore broadcast of a visit with artists Julian Allen, Trae Brooks, Lori Fogg, Caroline Hehir, and Ethan Newman.

JULIAN ALLEN

TRAE BROOKS

LORI FOGG

CAROLINE HEHIR

ETHAN NEWMAN

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THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU WHO DONATED TO WESU’S SUCCESSFUL PLEDGE DRIVE!! IT’S YOU WHO PUT THE COMMUNITY IN COMMUNITY RADIO! 

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NEXT SHOW, FEB. 13 We check back in with our five artists!