My work is mostly concerned with emotional relationships with landscape and urbanscape. My process starts with photographing an area. This allows a real intimate relationship to be formed between me and my surroundings by way of camera. I photograph things like abandoned buildings, old vehicles, vegetation and any object that seems to stand out to me. In the studio I use a hybrid combination of digital negatives and historic process printing. Mainly I work with cyanotypes which I sometimes tone or manipulate. After I have acquired photographic imagery I collage 2- d works in compositions that are layered and intricate. I also will animate the collage pieces in order to produce stop-motion animation that are accompanied by sound compositions made by guitars, found objects and ambient sound.

Susan Maakestad was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Art fellowship from Arts Midwest in 1988. She has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been included in the national publication “New American Paintings and The Painting Center in New York’s on line Art File. Her watercolors are included in The Drawing Center in New York’s on line Viewing Program. Her work has been exhibited nationally including at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis; Sazama Gallery, Chicago; Steinway Gallery, Chapel Hill; and The Rockford (IL) Art Museum. Public collections include the Tennessee State Museum and the City of Memphis. She is currently represented by The Rymer Gallery in Nashville.
Susan Maakestad is Associate Professor of Art at Memphis College of Art where she has taught since 1997. She earned her M.F.A. in painting from The University of Iowa in 1987 and a B.A magna cum laude and M.A. from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA.

I have been interested in the abstracted landscape since the early 1990s. I am a native of Illinois, inspired by flat terrain and horizons of the prairie. After moving to Memphis in 1997 I became attracted to the unnoticed marginal spaces in the urban landscape. My most recent body of work marries the urban scene with my geographical roots via views from midwestern traffic cameras.
In January 2008 I began monitoring Milwaukee traffic cameras from my computer. I watched as blizzards emptied the freeways of commuters and softened the geometry, blurring the edges of nature and culture. Empty space filled first with snow and sleet and then with private distractions. “Trafficland” is a series of paintings and drawings based on those webcam images. It is a construction, a vision of the urban landscape mediated by the practical role of traffic cameras and the poetic inclinations of a solitary viewer.

Yeiser Art Center receives NEA grant to support artist-in-residence program

Grant part of NEA announcement of 863 grants and $22.543 million in funding nationwide

Paducah, KY—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman today announced that the agency will award 863 grants to organizations and individual writers across the country. The Yeiser Art Center is one of the grantees and will receive $10,000 to help support an artist-in-residence program. The 863 grant awards total $22.543 million, encompass 15 artistic disciplines and fields, and support projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

For the past two years, the Yeiser Art Center has collaborated with the Paducah Arts Alliance, an artists’ collective, which initiated the residency pilot program funded by the city of Paducah. Discussions between the two entities led to the realization that developing a collaborative residency was a natural outgrowth of the success already enjoyed by the pilot program, which was viewed in a very favorable light by residents, local and area artists, the city, and community residents. Monica Bilak, on behalf of the Yeiser Art Center and the Paducah Arts Alliance, wrote the grant proposal for the artist in residence program.

Each artist-in-residence will receive a stipend, studio space and living space at AIR Studio in the LowerTown Arts District in Paducah, Kentucky. Artists participating in the residency program will engage with the community through exhibitions, workshops, public lectures and/or collaborative projects with local artists. Exhibitions and workshops will be held at the Yeiser Art Center, the residency space, or other location depending upon type of activity and space requirements. All Yeiser sponsored activities will be free and open to the public.

A call for artist in residence proposals will be released in January 2012. Applications will be reviewed each month until all slots are filled. The first artist will arrive April 2012 and the last available space will be March 2013. A year-end exhibition of all the residents’ work produced during the residency period will be held at the Yeiser Art Center.

“Art Works is the guiding principle at the NEA,” said agency Chairman Rocco Landesman. “And I’m pleased to see that principle represented through the 823 Art Works-funded projects included in this announcement. These projects demonstrate the imaginative and innovative capacities of artists and arts organizations to enhance the quality of life in their communities.”

“This NEA grant will definitely provide us the opportunity to promote the development and appreciation of the visual arts to a greater number of people in this area, which is part of the mission of the Yeiser Art Center,” stated YAC Board President Johanna Rhodes.

In March 2011, the NEA received 1,686 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $84 million in funding. The resulting funding rate of 49 percent of eligible applications reflects both the significant demand for support and the ongoing vitality of the not-for-profit arts community despite current financial challenges. Art Works grants are awarded based on the applications received by the NEA and how those applications are assessed by the review panels.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov.

Located in downtown Paducah, the Yeiser Art Center is a non-profit visual arts organization celebrating more than fifty years of serving the community through exhibitions and education throughout the Tri-State Region.

The Yeiser Art Center is open Tuesday – Saturday 10:00am to 4:00pm. Free and open to the public. The Yeiser Art Center is wheelchair accessible.

Shreepad Joglekar

Art, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS

Shreepad Joglekar received his BFA from Sir J.J. institute of Applied Art in Mumbai, India, and his MFA from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He is an Assistant Professor of Photography at Kansas State University, Manhattan KS. His work has been shown in several galleries in the US, Canada, China, Germany, and United Kingdom. Exploring natural, cultural, and intellectual environments has been a dominant theme in his work.

My project in Paducah involves surveying and documenting the
architecture of the artist studios and galleries in the lower town
arts district. This includes taking high resolution images of the
exteriors of the buildings, and taking measurements of the interior
spaces – especially spaces which function as studios and/or galleries.

This phenomenon (artist revitalizing historic homes and neighborhoods)
is very unique and my project explores the individual stories of the
artist which make this possible. I plan to pair the photographs of the
artist’s spaces with some factual information about the functions the
spaces perform.

Jui Mhatre

Jui Mhatre\’s Performance at the Yeiser Art Center

Jui Mhatre has been practicing classical Indian dance “Bharatanatyam” for past fifteen years, and teaching classical as well as folk dances for ten years. She has also appeared in several solo performances in United States and Canada. She currently lives and teaches dance in Manhattan, Kansas. Apart from practicing classical Indian dance, she also works as an interdisciplinary artist mixing performance with other media such as clay and video.

With my project in Paducah, I intend to mix two art forms- Dance and Clay – which involves a dance performance (barefoot) on a slab of wet clay. I am interested in making a part of this into a community art project where I will teach steps of classical Indian dance to interested people from the Paducah community and they would perform on a slab of clay. After the performance, the slab will be cut into tiles, fired and then installed on an outdoor space/wall in the lower town district.

Pat Kabore, April 2011

Pat Kabore lives and works in Spartanburg, South carolina.  Her work is in the permanent collections with the Washiongton Printmakers fine Art Calendar, i.e. the Smithosnian, the Library of Congress, The National Women’s Museum, The National Fine Art Museum, and other fine art institiutions accross the country. The recipent of 3 The Arts Partnerships artist development grants, Pat was recently featured in the 2010 publicaton, “Artist Among Us”, which is a full color coffetable book highlighting the 100 artist of Spartanburg, South Carolina. She is a multi media artist,working primarily in printmaking and fiber.

During Pat’s residency in Paduach she taught 3 printmaking workshops and one Indigo  dye workshop for the Oscar  Cross Girls/Boys Club. She did 3 Indigo Dye workshops attended by several local fiber artists and  produced a large body of work.  The recipent of 3 The Arts Partnerships artist development grants, Pat was recently featured in the 2010 publicaton, “Artist Among Us”, which is a full color coffetable book highlighting the 100 artist of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Pat and her daughter Rema had the most wonderful time during Pat’s residency and she looks forward to returning to Paduach.

Space Includes:

Work Space
Studio with concrete outdoor deck
Skylight(s)
Utility sink
Rear door entrance accommodates large work
Front window gallery space

Living Space
Kitchen
Bath
Sleeping area
Washer/dryer

Additional features
A/C and ceiling fan(s)
Computer w/internet access
Front, side and rear entrances
Non-smoking

A.I.R. is spacious enough for a couple. Length of stay is negotiable. For additional information or to arrange a residency, please email inquiries to residency@theyeiser.org.

Paducah Artist-in-Residence Program

The Paducah Artist-in-Residence Program is a collaborative effort between the Paducah Arts Alliance and the Yeiser Art Center, working to create a permanent and progressive artist in residence program. The mission of the residency is to promote the growth of artists and of the arts community, providing artists with a community arts space in which to collaborate, educate and create. The residency program is made possible through funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Paducah Renaissance Alliance. The residency space is located in the heart of LowerTown Paducah, providing walking access to a number of local artist galleries and studios, as well as Downtown Paducah with a variety of arts venues including the Yeiser Art Center, Maiden Alley Cinema, the Carson Center, the National Quilt Museum, and the Paducah School of Art.

Qualifications

The program welcomes self-motivated, focused individuals working in a range of traditional and non-traditional visual arts practices, including performance and multi-media art. Applicants must be at least 21 years old. Residents must also have a clear objective for the time of their residency and be willing to live, work and engage with the Paducah arts community. The duration of the residency may be from two weeks to two months, between the months of April 2012 and March 2013. Collaborative artists and couples are welcome to apply.

Program Benefits

Exhibition Opportunities: The Paducah Artist-in-Residence Program offers several exhibition opportunities. The A.I.R. Studio building features a storefront with a front wall gallery space for exhibiting work during the artists’ stay. Exhibition space in the Yeiser Art Center is periodically available for visiting artists. A group exhibition in the main gallery of the Yeiser Art Center at the conclusion of the residency will feature selected work from each participating resident artist, and is scheduled for August-September 2013. Opportunities may also be possible in collaboration with other artists and galleries in the Paducah community.

Professional Development: Residents are encouraged to visit local galleries and studios and engage with the arts community. The residency program also provides the opportunity for focused, independent studio work in which artists can develop ideas or take new directions in their work.

Teaching Experience: Visiting artists may choose to lead workshops during their stay that are open to the public.

Cost

Residents are paid a monthly stipend of $500 dependent upon the length of their stay. The cost of rent and utilities are covered entirely by the program. Transportation, materials, food, and additional expenses are the responsibility of the artist, in addition to a non-refundable $25 application fee. A deposit of $100 is required within two weeks upon notification of acceptance into the program, which is refunded upon arrival. If an artist cancels a residency less than 30 days prior to the beginning of the residency, the deposit is not refunded.

Studio Space

The studio space and living quarters are handicap accessible. The studio area features a large, open workspace as well as a concrete outdoor deck. A rear entrance door accommodates large work. Additional features include a utility sink, several skylights, and a front window gallery storefront. The studio is not media specific. Accommodations may be made upon request for residents requiring access to specific studio equipment. Wireless internet is available throughout the structure. Attached living quarters include a kitchen, bathroom, washer and dryer, and sleeping quarters large enough to accommodate a couple.  No smoking or pets are allowed within the facility.

Application

Please email the following to residency@theyeiser.org

-Portfolio of 10 to 20 high resolution digital images in jpeg format with a list of works including title, media, dimensions and date. Resolution may be up to 170dpi with a maximum file size of 3MB.

-Letter of intent: Describe your work, the nature of your career, and the direction you would like to take during your residency. Please tell us why you want a residency in Paducah, and how you plan to interact with the community during your stay.

-Artist CV/Resume

-Proposed length and dates of stay, with a list of first, second, and third choice preference

-$25 non-refundable application fee, payable through PayPal

To apply to the residency program, please visit http://theyeiser.org/residency.html to complete an application.

Selection

Candidates are reviewed and recommended by a selection committee of community arts professionals. The committee is looking for candidates who will enhance the program, especially those who are open to new ideas and who are looking to be actively engaged with the local community. There are no specific educational requirements to be considered for the program. Emerging and established visual artists are encouraged to apply. The residency program is open to those working in the field of visual arts, including performance and video art.

Please direct inquiries to:

Michael Crouse, Director

Yeiser Art Center

(270) 442-2453

residency@theyeiser.org

I’ll also lead a workshop on portrait painting, touching on the reasons why portraits are so important. Continuing with the dream theme, I’ll encourage participants to do an imaginative self-portrait using photographs and mirrors for reference. This will be an all-day workshop at which participants will provide their own materials. The results will be installed at AIR Studio.

Colorado artist Jane Paul Angelhart is offering a workshop focusing on watercolor portraits. Jane’s commissioned portraits are featured in the latest edition of American Artist magazine’s The Best Of Watercolor. The course will cover Jane’s techniques from her DVD, taking great photos for watercolor portraits, how to paint from a computer screen, color theory, and many techniques to result in a great watercolor portrait. The workshop runs March 14-16, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. with a break for lunch. Class size will be very small for individual attention and critique and lots of painting! Call or email Jane to reserve your spot! 303.910.3739