Skelley Queen: Garden Trip

Skelley Queen’s Garden Trip

Skelley Queen is an Oklahoma based mixed media artist who combines several different mediums to create wonderfully articulated pieces that draws in viewers into her magical mind. Whether she’s painting, drawing, crocheting, or sculpting, Skelley Queen brings a child’s sense of joy to the adult themes she explores.

Skelley Queen’s exhibition “Garden Trip” was something out of an Alice in Wonderland themed universe, in which the little creatures of her imagination are sitting at a table having tea, or flying through the air with their colorful wings. Skelley Queen skillfully combines the usage of eye imagery throughout all her work, and created a wonderful, magical space for all to see. Almost as if the world is seeing her work through her own eyes.

Resonator’s Ivanna Wilson sat down with Skelley Queen to get a better understanding of what fuels her artistic vision. Here’s what she had to say about it.

Q: Skelley, what is your background?

A:  I am from Oklahoma City! Really other than finding a lot of inspiration from local artists back in high school when I started taking art making a little more seriously, I don’t feel like Oklahoma influences my work too much necessarily. There’s been times where I’ve used our Thunder colors for some crochet projects! I do think entering into the Oklahoma art realm isn’t as intimidating as it could be like in much larger cities and their scenes. There are so many kind and welcoming local artists, shops, and venues that welcome artists in and I think that was really important when I was getting started on my artistic trek. 

Q: I noticed throughout your work, there is a lot of use of color and fantastical imagery. What is your inspiration for this?

A:  I find inspiration from other artists frequently, some of them being local artists and close friends of mine, others I follow on Instagram that do crochet work and others that use a lot of the same eyeball, floral, colorful imagery that I also do. Sometimes certain songs will kind of conjure up an image as I listen. I love the 90’s Lisa Frank style aesthetic and more recently I’ve been really attracted to this kind of spacey dreamy medieval aesthetic, which really found its way into this exhibition. I also find a lot of inspiration from the otherworldly immersive art at Factory Obscura. They have a tunnel of love in their experience that I’ve spent a good amount of time in that inspired me in this show. 

Q: Your work contains a lot of mixed media, is there a reason for this or do you like the complexity of using multiple mediums?

A:  I absolutely adore using mixed media. I’ve been into it for like a decade now! I love the way it brings variety to a work and can create layers and dimension. I will say, it does help make a piece more interesting when I use imagery I don’t feel incredibly skillful at executing. I love painting images of women’s faces and flowy hair, but I’m honestly not good at making faces more realistic so it goes very simplified and kind of abstract. Definitely something I want to improve on though! I do find creating art more interesting when I can use numerous materials on something. I can definitely get bored just using one medium for an entire project. I also seriously love adding jewels to things :,)

Q: Just by walking through your exhibition, I felt like I was transported to another world. What kind of art do you most identify with?

A:  I most identify with art that is an otherworldly or a hyper whimsical version of existing things. I really am intrigued with larger than reality representations of things we are already familiar with. In my work, I want to take the viewer to another planet in a way, so art that also does that for me is really exciting. In college I learned about different crochet artists that really push what I ever thought crochet art could do. From that and places like Factory Obscura, I’ve become more and more interested in immersive, interactive art as well. 

Q: Your work seems to contain a lot of imagery involving eyes and the body. What themes do you like to explore in your work?

A: I enjoy exploring themes about the body and use imagery of hands, eyes, and faces in a lot of pieces. Nature is another theme I like to incorporate in my work and I use a lot of flowers! Relationship to self, comfort, and playfulness are other themes I have fun exploring too. 

Q: How did your exhibition at Resonator improve you as an artist, and what experiences did you take from it?

A: This exhibition gave me experience in arranging and hanging up pieces, which I haven’t had a whole lot of experience in. I had a wonderful opportunity at Resonator to really just go for it and do any kind of setup I wanted to do and having that freedom was really groovy. I had to consider the space and how I wanted the show to flow and also how to arrange the fake grass around the room. I also really loved watching people view my work and I haven’t had a ton of experience in that either, so seeing the reactions throughout the night was a lot of fun. I feel like I grew from this experience and reached a personal milestone! 

Q: We all thoroughly enjoyed your presence at Resonator during the 2nd Friday Art walk. How would you describe your experience?

A: My experience at Resonator was, as I expected, fantastic! The wonderful folks that run it made the whole process so chill, efficient, and fun. I felt supported throughout everything and it was very smooth sailing. The venue is spacious and still cozy, which is a great combo to me! Also I have to mention the font that was used for the wall text is called Kelly Ann Gothic, which is so destiny and wild because my name is Kelley Ann and it just 100% fits the vibe of the show too. It blew my mind, haha. The opening of the show was sooo much fun and having friends and family there was so special too! 

Q: Would you come back to Resonator and host another show? If so, why? I know we would love to have to you back!

A: I would heck yes host another show at Resonator! Everyone is so kind, chill, and incredibly helpful and supportive! I love the energy at this venue and would love to come back for another show sometime. 

Q: Non-profit art spaces can be very helpful for the growing artist and people who want to get their name out there; do you feel this experience helped you in your future exhibitions?

A: Yes, I think this experience has helped me for future exhibitions! I feel more confident in myself and ability to assemble a solid looking show haha. I couldn’t have done it alone and I’m so thankful for all the help I received! I look forward to future exhibitions and am grateful to the folks at Resonator for this fantastic opportunity! 

Skelley Queen’s Artist Bio:

My name is Kelley Queen and I am a multidisciplinary artist living in Norman, Oklahoma. Bright, bold color schemes, otherworldly environments, and plenty of eyeballs are commonly seen throughout my work. Crochet is one of my most used mediums and has been part of my life for over a decade. I love incorporating it into sculptural works, jewelry, and funky stuffed creatures. I seek to infuse whatever I do with a sense of playfulness and thoughtfulness.

Leticia Galizzi

Leticia Galizzi wants you to embrace the abstract, to see things without having to define them, and to appreciate the wonder that exists in the world when you slow down enough to recognize it. She presents her paintings as conversation starters instead of arguments trying to prove a point, and your input is just as valuable as hers in this conversation.

Leticia’s exhibition “Paint Planet” brought our walls to life during the month of April. As the title suggests, the star of the show was paint, but not in the way you might expect. Instead of creating illusions of space, Leticia skillfully utilized paint as a sculptural material, capable of providing texture, structure, and physical depth. The result was a stunning and playful array of truly fantastic pieces that bridged the gap between the idea of what it means for work to be categorized as 2D or 3D.

Resonator’s Taylin Han sat down with Leticia last week to get a little better understanding of her work and the ideas that animate it. Here’s what she had to say.

Q: Leticia, what is your background?

A: I had my MFA in Painting at OU. Before that, I went to Yale School of Art. Part of what I do in this exhibit comes from my experience there. Also, I was born and raised in Brazil and  the region I come from is very strong and supportive of the arts.

Q: I noticed rather than opening your exhibition with text about yourself or the artwork, you provide a series of questions for the audience to consider throughout the exhibition. What is your purpose for that?

A: I feel that many people are not very used to abstract art. They don’t know what to do with it, right? So, this was one of my concerns. I wrote the questions in very simple English. I have a kid at home and I wanted to make sure it was accessible to people of all ages. Also, I think art is less a part of people’s lives than I wish it were. When you have at a gallery and the gallery setting, it is almost as if it is expected for people to understand what they see when they come in, to know how to digest what they are given. And they don’t actually have to. I wanted to have an exhibit that is welcoming to everybody. As an artist, I feel the need to live in a place with more engagement with art.

Q: Tell me about the visual qualities of these works here. I’ve noticed a lot of layering, shapes, and texture.

A: Yes, something that is always present is the layering. Another one is that the paintings give you the impression that what you are looking at is just a part of something bigger that extends beyond the canvas, instead of being contained within it. Also, I try to make paintings that make you feel like reaching out and touching their surfaces. I experiment with a lot of different mediums and methods to get different surfaces. They are aimed at your senses, mostly at sight and touch.

Q: Brazil is such a colorful place, all the art and clothes and the country itself is so entrenched in color. Is your wide use of color and texture inspired by this background? Is there another source for your inspiration?

A: I must tell you, I am hoping OU will allow me to teach a course at the mini college in the summer. I made a proposal for a class based on Josef Albers book Interaction of Color. This book made me approach color differently, taught me how to negotiate colors on the painting to my favor.

I am strongly influenced by Brazilian color and by Helio Oiticica’s studies on color,  I also noticed, certain cultures deal with color in a much more systematized way, something that Brazil doesn’t do. In Brazil, red and green are not associated with just Christmas. They are just colors, you can wear what you want anytime and it doesn’t mean it’s Christmas.

Q: What is your process like in developing these kinds of works?

A: Narrative is very powerful. When you start with, “I want to discuss this subject”, many times you become more focused on how to convey your ideas on that subject rather than opening up to what the medium has to offer you. When you don’t start with a specific narrative in mind the work unfolds as you create it, you see what the material can give back, it is really interesting. Here (in this body of work), I started my drawing studies with only the ellipse. I also used straight lines, but I limited myself as much as I could to horizontals and verticals. I started filling up my notebooks drawing ellipses, using colors,  sometimes drawing only one or two ellipses on a page, sometimes filling the whole page with them. Then I asked myself, “Is this interesting yet simple enough? Will paint have a room here?” This way, the drawing wouldn’t take over and instead, there would be room for the medium to “speak” more intensely. So, it was primarily the medium guiding me. When the work was done, sometimes I would step back and see a narrative there. It doesn’t matter if you intend to make the narrative or not, we just feel the need to create it.

Q: Tell me about some of these thick, shiny, textured stretches of acrylics paint. Usually, you get this thick texture from oil paints but this is all acrylic. (See in Paw, In Movement, Hammock, through a perforated brick wall)

A: I have a 12 year-old, who at the time was 9, she said to me “Mama, I like when the paint is wet and I don’t like it when its dry.” I think she was right, when you put the paint on the canvas it takes a lot from it. So, I thought, “Okay, let me make some pieces without the canvas, using just paint that stands by itself.” So, to get this result, these were made off the canvas, peeled off, and then reattached to the canvas. I really had to work around the temperature of the environment. In this process paint can withstand the cold but in the hot, Oklahoma summer, it can be a challenge.

Q: How intentional are you in your work? The ellipse drawing and then picking the shapes and outlines are pretty loose but what about the laying down of colors and texture?

A: Well, the things is, you start with an idea in mind, but the work usually takes you to different places. And I must tell you, the most frustrated I’ve ever gotten was when I completed a large work and it came out exactly as I had planned. It was unsatisfying. It’s not mathematics, it’s not supposed to be so systemized. I have already heard people complain that they have an idea that they don’t know how to transfer it to the canvas and I think that’s precisely what we should look forward to. Painting is about embracing the surprise and the process. I’m eager for the moment of surprise. For example, when I pick a color, I’ll pick that color and then go a few shades right of that color on my color of choice just to experiment with something new. I think it is more enjoyable and exciting that way.

Q: Leticia, there seems to be some sort of intentional organization of the layout of your works. On this (right) side, it seems like there are more layers and ellipses whereas this (left) side has more color and pattern.

A: Well, I was going from works that display fewer ellipses (on the right side of the gallery) to works that resulted from the use of more and more ellipses (on the left side). I think on this (right) side, the paint is talking to you more strongly. It somehow tests my theory that the less shapes you have, the more room you give for paint to do its thing. I was also thinking about a study I read about how the public tends to move in public spaces. According to this study most people, when entering a room will turn right first. So, I had that in mind too.

Q: What are your favorite works here?

A: Maybe this one (Ceschiati and Warhol in talk) and this one (clown). Ceschiatit and Warhol in talk because some parts of it came out looking very much like the work of a famous sculptor in the city I come from: Ceschiati. I didn’t plan on this so when I saw it I thought, “Wow, Ceschiati came to visit me!” So, I was very happy about that. I also like the green, I feel it speaks for Brazil. The “Warhol” comes from this combination of ellipses here. I just thought that was such an interesting dialogue. With the work clown, I thought it was incredibly tacky and this tackiness was so appealing to me! It was so nice that I overcame that initial impulse to “adjust” the colors trying to make a work that I thought could be a little more palatable.

Q: What is the underlying essence in your work and its relationship to you?

A: I think, no matter how you choose to express yourself, you are yourself. There is always your own essence that’s going to be present. In a way, I think we are caged in ourselves. You can’t be anyone but yourself. You are this given. Of course, you can change over time but there are things you love about yourself that you probably won’t lose. There are things you don’t like about yourself that you’re not going to lose either. These things are intrinsic to who you are. So, we are caged in that sense that we are limited by our intrinsic selves. That’s what makes you more forgiving towards others, being aware of your own limitations. In my case, I can’t see with my left eye. If I look at you using only my left eye, the area where you are appears gray to me, but I can see your surroundings. So, I see you with my right eye and my sense of depth comes from this other eye with which I cannot see details. This impacts the way I look at things. At my first painting class in the east coast, when I tried to do something observational, my professor said “You have some visual issue.” It is true, and I can use it for my benefit, or not. This is just a metaphor but this idea is in everything.

Dayton Clark: Folds

Dayton Clark’s work inspires curiosity, questioning, and amusement. He doesn’t want you to know exactly what you’re looking at, but at the same time doesn’t try to hide it. The materials are familiar, they’re just not acting like or doing what you expect them to. And the effect is something you have to see for yourself.

Dayton has hung some of his recent work exploring the intersections of painting, sculpture, and architecture at Resonator through the month of March. He sat down with Resonator contributor Taylin Han to talk a little bit about this work and his background. Here’s what he had to say…

Q: Where are you from? What’s your background?

I finished my undergrad in 2015 at the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Art. I got my Master’s in Architecture at the University of Washington. When the pandemic hit, I was presented with the opportunity teach at the College of Architecture at OU, so I currently teach studio classes and architectural theory and criticism there.

Q: What place does art hold in your life?

I would like art to be a 60 percent of my time thing and teaching a 40 percent thing. Ideally, I’d like to do art full time.

Q: What or who inspires or influences your works?  

My work has lot of architectural influence, especially in materiality. I originally started as a painter and consider myself one. I became interested in the visual illusion of movement and fluidity of fabrics in works I saw in art history. I thought of the canvas as fabric I could manipulate. I then added the concrete and casting as the architectural counterpart. In terms of artists, I have been inspired by environmental artists Christo and Jeanne Claude, sculptor Anish Kapoor, and modern Italian artists Piero Manzoni and Alberto Burri. I’m also interested in contemporary works by Gedi Sibony, Marlies Hoevers, and Charlotte Thrane.

Q: What are you exploring in your works?

I’m more focused on the aesthetics and visual aspect although I do have thoughts and ideas behind the work that I could talk about if I needed to. Early on, I was thinking about Folds as a property of fabric. If I had to give this exhibition a title, I’d probably call it “Folds”. Overall, I’m interested in the contrast between hard materials like concrete and the fluid movement of fabric.

Q: What are you trying to communicate or achieve in your work?

 I try to be a little mischievous. I want my work to be kind of tricky, like it promises one thing but its visual truth is another thing. From far away it looks like fabric draping but once you get up close you realize its concrete and manipulated canvas. So, I’m trying to curate an experience. I’m really interested in “Trompe l’oeil”, or “tricking the eye”. I think of it as breaking the two-dimensional plane by implying depth in a two-dimensional work when there is none. On one, I painted a canvas to look like concrete. In another, I stretched the canvas so it appeared folded and fluid, like fabric. My work is very intentional in the way I want it to be perceived.

Q: What is your process like?

I usually start by asking myself “how can I make people question this surface?” I also started just doodling labyrinths as a sort of meditation which is how a lot of the labyrinth forms in my work came together. In casting and mould-making, I like to think about the relationship between the material and cast, positive and negative forms, and how it can affect the surfaces.

Q: Do you have a work you particularly enjoyed creating?

The most exciting ones are the ones I created impulsively, the ones that I didn’t have planned from the start. The painted concrete one was the most fun. It was impulsive. I was working on something else that night and saw it in the corner and thought I could do something interesting with it. This one with the concrete block pressed into it is really exciting too.

Q: Is there anything you try to convey about yourself or your thoughts in your work?

I don’t really want to talk about myself. I don’t want people to know who did this stuff I just want people to come enjoy it. Again, I more focus on the visual experience.

Resonator Fall/Winter 2020

Ashley Morrison, Resonator board member and Equity and Diversity consultant, hangs up art for Zora Child, an exhibit dedicated to the memories of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The photo was taken by, aspiring photographer, Isaiah Santos. This image was captured the day after a grand jury let the murderers of Breonna Taylor walk free. You can follow her on IG @nile_heala

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Dear Friends and Supporters of Resonator,

It doesn’t seem possible, but we celebrated our fourth anniversary on October 1st. Four years of exhibitions, live music, workshops, classes, dance parties, community fundraisers, and whatever else we could think of to provide a forum for local creative communities to express themselves and make Norman a more open and connected place.

Like everyone else, Resonator has had a difficult time these past eight months, but we’ve managed to keep ourselves busy by summoning and producing video content for virtual art walks, printing materials for local BLM demonstrations, sponsoring a mask-wearing poster campaign, hanging and documenting exhibitions, hosting drag-show livecasts, and  installing new gallery lights.

One highlight we want to focus on is the Diversity University show “Zora  Child”, dedicated to the memory of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The  exhibition is curated by board member Ashley Morrison, who is also Norman Public Art’s first black female Equity and Diversity Consultant. The exhibition features seven black artists from diverse backgrounds and ages: Adriane Baker, Maxwell Breaux, C’Yera Coleman, Carey J. Flack,  Janell Hartwell, Adrianee Johnson, and Kerry Robinson Jr.  Resonator relied on the support of our September Patreon subscriber base, individual donors from a direct donation campaign, and a grant from the NAC to pay a combined total of $2,300 to Black artists and the Equity and Diversity Consultant. The video portion of this exhibition can be found on our YouTube channel. To set up a socially-distanced, private appointment to view the show by Nov. 30th email: resonator.ok@gmail.com.

Through the end of the year we’ll focus on the completion of the gallery, community, and shop spaces. We will also plan our path forward into 2021 using our mission statement, our anti-racism statement, and our commitment to being a safer space as our guide.

To compliment the end of a powerful year for the Movement for Black Lives and liberation for all, Resonator will release a short documentary film on New Year’s Eve highlighting the recent transformative social justice work of the Norman Collective for Racial Justice, Norman’s leading authority on M4BL mobilization. Stay tuned for more details on  this virtual event and other futuristic efforts. Stay well, safe, and  rest up for 2021.

All the best,
Team Resonator

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Resonator hosted a show, “The Four Elements”, curated by Hoka Skenandore that resulted in a huge mural in our back alley. The artists are: Sega, Destro, Infer, and Perish. You can follow him on IG at @hoka_skenandore

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Hoka Skenandore gives a walk through of “The Four Elements.”

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Our PSA mask wearing campaign is on going. This poster was submitted by Laura Nelsen (@laurass0 on IG)

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Board Member Helen Grant kicking off this year’s Behind the Glass-style art activism with a message on solidarity and raising awareness with the #hateisavirus, a social media campaign that documents hate crimes against Asians following the Covid-19 pandemic and aims to support family-owned, small Asian businesses. You can find her on IG @thehelengrant

Diversity University: Zora Child

“The present was an egg laid by the past that had its future inside its shell.”
-[Saint] Zora Neale Hurston

This year’s exhibit is “ZORA CHILD” — a futuristic interpretation of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by our beloved sister Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891-January 28, 1960), curated by our Diversity and Equity Consultant and Board Member, Ashley Morrison.

An interview explaining the concept behind this year’s exhibition and its goals is embedded below.

You can donate to the artist scholarship via this link: resonator.space/donate-du

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CALLING ON ALL BLACK CREATIVES!

DEADLINE TO APPLY: AUGUST 30, 2020

Email RESONATOR.OK@GMAIL.COM, with the subject line “ZORA CHILD”

Send video, photos, links to art.

PLEASE INCLUDE: artist name, pronouns, contact info, statement/bio, and social media/web links.

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Eye Spy: July Art Walk Preview

This sneak peek features work that will be shown during the 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk Live Facebook stream:   

- Interview and walk through of "The 4 Elements", curated and organized by Hoka Skenandore, Garrett Morgan, and Ashley Morrison.  (Interview by Craig Swan, Edited by Amanda Deng)

- Music video "Let's Chill" by VNUS:808 x Julius Feat. James Nghiem  

- Video piece "My Experiment with Terror" by Rai of Burlesque  

- Animation "Daydreams" by Helen Grant  

- Music video "Something Computer" (Laine x Julius) Feat. GWIZ  

Watch them all Friday, July 10th at 6:00 p.m. via 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk’s Facebook Live Stream

Cover Your Pie Hole!

Resonator is calling on local artists and designers of all levels and backgrounds to help us help make our community a safer place. "Cover Your Pie Hole" (working title) is an ongoing project we will be sponsoring throughout the summer. As the project continues, we will fill up our front windows with posters encouraging our community to make and wear face masks.

If you would like to participate, the way it works is simple--

1. Design, draw, or paint a poster promoting mask-wearing

2. Make it into a PDF measuring 11 x 17 inches (dpi 144 or above please)

3. Email us that PDF (resonator.ok@gmail.com)

4. We print up a copy of your poster and put it up in our window for the whole world to see. We will also post a copy to our social media pages (for even more of the whole world to see.)

Be as creative as you like, just make sure the message is coming through. Our primary goal is to maintain awareness that wearing masks is an important component of public health these days. If you are someone who is currently making masks and wants to promote that activity, by all means, please make a poster advertising YOUR masks and telling people where and how they can get one from you. We will display all good faith entries until we run out of room to do so... then we'll start changing them out to keep the window constantly refreshed.

May 2020 Zine

We're dropping a link to the Resonator zine today!

bit.ly/may2020zine

It's free to access as always, but if you want to donate, we'd be grateful.

Here in the Now: We've been chugging along as a collective and there is quite a bit of thanks given to our supporters and contributors as well as thoughtful pieces on the pandemic as we navigate uncertain times + art goodies.

Look to the Future: We will participate in the virtual version of the 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk so be prepared to see more info on that soon!

Artist Profile: Cat Castle 😺🏰

Q. How did Cat Castle start and how has it evolved since its early beginnings?

A.  Cat Castle started as an art retreat in rural Oklahoma.  We have since moved our home base from a ranch in Ramona to the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood of Tulsa. Our first retreat was an experiment, and through the invitation of Resonator, we followed our second retreat with an art show in Norman. At our third retreat, we introduced cardstock squares for the communal drawing table as a way to collect and easily display the experiments of our time together.  The squares ended up being the most interactive element in the show that followed, with visitors able to hang up their creations alongside those already displayed.  We remain conscious of aesthetics, but are now primarily concerned with the creation of interactive elements that give a space for everyone who comes to one of our openings to be a part of what the show means.

The communal drawing square installation.

Q. Can you elaborate on this year’s theme and talk a little about the contributing artists? 

A.  This year's theme of Love Letters To Everyone will be a colorful, interactive experience. The installations that will make up the show will be a collaborative process between several members of our group traveling from Tulsa, one from Brooklyn, and those in Norman.

Q. What influences have shaped Cat Castle over the years?

A.  Some of our inspirations include: potlucks, art parties, and Common Field, the arts organization + artists-run space network.

Artist Felix Blesch (Tulsa) installing Cat Castle’s ever growing collection of communal drawing squares in Resonator for the Norman 2nd Friday Art Walk on Feb. 14th.

Q. What kinds of art and activities should people expect to encounter on 2nd Friday Art Walk? 

A.  Some of the activities the show will include will be a community drawing table, light + video projections, crafting spot where people can add to a group yarn project, an anonymous love letters area where guests can write a letter or take one, and maybe more - depending on what happens during our collaborative install taking place on the days before the opening! 

Coloring pages for Cat Castle designed by artist Ian O’Hara (Brooklyn). Color one and post it to Instagram; don’t forget to tag it @catcastleart !

Q. What are you excited for this year after Cat Castle’s show dates? Do you have other shows or personal projects lined up?

A.  After this show, we are excited to start preparation for our fifth annual Summer Art Retreat in Tulsa this July. We finally feel ready to start applying for collaborative show opportunities out of state, where we could travel as a group to work together with local artists.

Cat Castle Retreat, Tulsa 2019.

Q. What haven’t I asked you about Cat Castle, or anything else connected to the show that you’d like to share?

A.  Making art is valuable work and working another job to support making art is still being an artist.  This is the space where we exist. The space where each of us continues to weave the things we love to do into our everyday, where art belongs to everyone & can be a thing that brings people together in approachable, meaningful ways.  You can find us on instagram @catcastleart

Artists Floyd Hinman and Abby Burton (Tulsa) make pom-poms inside Resonator in preparation for Norman 2nd Friday Art Walk on Feb 14th. The installation stays up until Friday, Feb 21st.

Artist Profile: Lauren Panichelli

The 7D Oasis Closing show will take place on Saturday, February 8th from 7-11 p.m at Resonator, 325 E Main St. Norman, OK.

Lauren Panichelli photo by Johnnie Curtin

Q. How did 7D start and what were its original goals? 

A. There's a personality style video that I've seen a few times for work about people who work in straight lines, and those who work in zig-zags, and abstract patterns. 7D evolved organically from an art community that maybe missed collaborating. 7D started because we all needed to see each other again. 7D started because we knew that with a certain amount of space we could see our works next to each other for the first time even though we'd been evolving independently. The first 7D gave artists a deadline to work towards, and in the interest of inviting experimentation, the theme of the first show was left open ended. The only thing that we knew for sure was that we were exploring the territory of mixed media art shows in a way that was bonding for us, and a title emerged from blending all dimensions. 

In short, 7D's original goals were to bring people together in an exploratory art environment where artists were encouraged to use the space as a laboratory. 

Q. How has 7D evolved and why was “Oasis” the theme?

A. The evolution from last year to this year has been that this show is more streamlined and cohesive as a group. The core goal was to transform the space, and to provide a comfortable, relaxing space for visitors to recenter. Everyone involved in bringing this show together physically, theoretically, financially, conceptually, has had a hard year! This past year has been a really wild ride! From a library perspective, the #'s were all about diversity, the #metoo movement, and some fantasy that I never go into.

But 7D has grown in a way that has responded naturally to our environments. Truthfully, time, flexibility, and empathy has been at the root of 7D's natural development. From an organizing perspective, the organic development of the show has been necessary due to my heavy school and work schedule. Instead of seeing this as a crutch, it's been beneficial to understand the nuances necessary in working collaboratively with other people. Everyone has lives, responsibilities, priorities, necessary downtime, etc. Working with a group in a way that is sustainable and recognizing what is possible over the course of a few months was what was at the heart of 7D. 

The Oasis theme grew out of a moment shared between friends on treasured family land in Texas.

Last October this was the 2nd of two trips to “the Ranch.” Photo by Boob Jackson aka Bryan Page.

Q. You experienced some personal difficulties in the lead up to 7D Oasis’s opening, how did that effect you and how has it shaped the trajectory of the installation and everything that’s come after? 

A. WOOOOO!

WOOOOOO!

I need to first and foremost THANK YOU for this honest and difficult question! I work with a young mother who said '2020 the year of clear vision’ a few months ago, which has like totally blown my mind, and really applied to everything.

So before this show opened my house burned down, and my partner and I lost everything that we had. I lost my cat, and my dear friend's cat who I was watching for a year while they study abroad. We have rebuilt our lives thanks to the financial, physical, spiritual, and endless methods of support we have recieved from our family and community. 

But ALL of my art was burned! All of my tools, my materials, my crotheting, clay, ceramics, prints, shirts, etc, were burned and destroyed. I had an art closet in my house which fell through my floor and into my downstairs neighbors apartment. I pulled out some singed prints and partial remnants of crochet pieces. I laid them out on our lawn on a sunny morning while my partner waited in the car so that we could get breakfast before I had to go to work. She walked to the backyard as I was laying out prints, and I haven't been back to retrieve them yet.

So for the show, I had to organize. I had to show up for those who had shown up for me in anyway that I could, which meant hauling plants around and providing feedback on placement for an incredible fountain. It meant abstracting effort that I would put into my physical work into curatorial and managerial efforts. 

Q. What have been your favorite parts of Oasis? 

A. I'm obsessed with the experimentation that has happened with programming and community building. It has been really exciting to see the limits that the space can push physically, and how a community can push their own limits in educating one another. Because this is the first year these moments definitely pertained to a treasured preliminary group. I can't wait for these initial sparks to guide the way into future projects and programming. So maybe my favorite part of the show so far is that it is a launching pad for future endeavors. 

Jenna Bryan and Braden Denton pose next to their first fountain on 7D Oasis opening night, Jan 10, 2020.

Q. What are some of the types of art and influences that have gone into Oasis and the subsequent month-long programming? 

A. At its core, 7D is inspired by alternative education, intentional communities, methods of participation in the art world, access to resources, and wellness. I would say that all of the participating artists at one point of another have questioned barriers persistant in education and the arts, and continue to prod into the barriers that exist between art and institutions. While its creators have shared ties in anarchic performance art, and chaotic installations, Oasis and its programming aim to look at art through a more soothing lens that encourages synthesizing irl/url, plant health, preservation/documentation and wellness. 

Queer Aerobics

Q. What are some fun, new features people can expect to see at the closing? 

A. QUEER AEROBICS will be making its debut performance. The All New Interactive Boobtube that is not a waterslide, but should be advertised as two tiers above one, will make its interactive appearance with full Wifi connection! A medium-size curation of plants has grown in the space that has been kept thriving by lights throughout the month. If anyone forgot to take their vitamin D in January, these plants are here to shame you. So I'm expecting shaming, but healthy plants, disco, magnets, and hopefully a few portals runningeth oveteth with truth.

“Boob Tube” by Boob Jackson

Q. You’ve started the year in a really big way, what else are you excited for this year: up-coming shows elsewhere, other art opportunities, etc? 

A. OH MY GOODNESS.

SO, I'm excited for things in a hierarchy of ways. First, I'm excited to have my MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science), and to proceed into the landing terminal of librarianship. Maybe I will become a fashion librarian someday, but this month I’ve been able to have my first glimpses of practical hindsight into my graduate studies. A lot is starting to sink in about organization, classification, cataloging, equity, diversity, etc. Because of this, I have started to look for a flexibility in the world, and because of this I am thanking the universe for this righteous challenge the first month into the year. For real I appreciate it, but I would have appreciated a little warmup you know?

ANYWAY.

SO I'm really excited to extend my efforts OUTWARDS. Both through librarianship and arts organizing. I am excited to kick off this year with an aerobics project that I have been dreaming of since 1998, and to be dancing in this project with a dear Aquarian, life partner.

I am excited for year 5th of the School of the Alternative (SoTA), in Black Mountain NC. SoTA is a radical alternative arts project that looks to recontextualize what it means to teach and learn in contemporary America. 

“The Cascade Effect” was an experimental, free writing class during 7D Oasis. Participants were asked to reimagine what their writing could look like as mixed with art, drawing, and collage.

Artist Profile: Eliseo Angel Casiano / Justin Tyler Bryant

November’s featured artists will be curating a show entitled “Flyover State”. Eliseo Angel Casiano is a Latinx painter currently based in Tuscon, Arizona. Justin Tyler Bryant is an artist based in Little Rock, Arkansas. His work explores the “fugitive notion of blackness”. Cholo Jackson is the moniker the duo go by when creating combined works. “Flyover State” as a concept works like this, “…With over 50 works created by artists from around the country, the 11x14 format becomes a metaphor that represents the airplane window that one looks through while flying.” Buzz by 2nd Friday Art Walk night and catch a glimpse for yourselves on Nov 8, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Resonator Institute, 325 E. Main St, Norman, OK.

-H. Grant

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“A Change is Happening”

Julia Curran

Silkscreen on Paper

2016

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Artist Statement & Project Statement

Cholo Jackson is a collaboration between Justin Tyler Bryant and Eliseo Angel Casiano which seeks to comprehend Blackness and Chicano culture as expansive terms. Cholo Jackson pulls imagery from personal and public simulacra to create a new context for understanding their existence.

Flyover State

“Flyover State” is a Cholo Jackson production. This exhibition seeks to think of the pejorative term Flyover State as a means for collaboration. With over 50 works created by artists from around the country, the 11x14 format becomes a metaphor that represents the airplane window that one looks through while flying. The works displayed redefine this notion in practice. The act of bringing these works together in one space speaks volumes as to artists’ willingness to collaborate and meet in-between. We are creating a context that makes “Flyover State” not just another place on the map.

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“Untitled”

Henry Gepfer

Screen print

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Q/A

Q: What is your relationship to the “Fly Over States?”

JTB: I was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and I currently live in Little Rock, Arkansas.

EAC: I spent my formative years in Oklahoma, and I still consider it home. I’m used to hearing people say “I’m sorry” when I say I’m from Oklahoma.

Q: Has that changed over the last few years?

JTB: No.

Q: What kinds of art and artists did you seek to include in this show? 

JTB & EAC: We are fortunate to have met so many talented artists through graduate school, residencies, workshops, and art collectives. We thought about artists from different states and regions who represent many facets of printmaking, photography, and drawing.

Q: What is your hope for the body of work assembled?

EAC: We organized an exhibition of artists we admire from across the country to celebrate the Resonator Institute community. All sales and proceeds from “Flyover State” will benefit Resonator for future programs in the coming year.

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Image by Justin Tyler Bryant

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BIOS

Eliseo Angel Casiano

Eliseo Angel Casiano is a Latinx painter and Oklahoma native. Through the creation of re-imagined portraiture he interprets biographical events that examine representations of race, family relationships and his own maneuverability through a space of otherness. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from East Central University in Ada, OK and his Master of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. His paintings have been shown widely across the United States, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and Transformer Gallery in Washington D.C. He was a recent fellow at the Vermont Studio Center and his work is featured in the New American Paintings, No. 136. Casiano has recently created a scholarship fund at East Central University in his mother’s and sister’s name that provides an annual stipend for a women or non-binary person of color in the studio arts program. The scholarship is in remembrance of two pivotal women who have influenced his commitment to the advancement of marginalized communities in fine art and education. He is currently based in Tucson, AZ.

Justin Tyler Bryant

Born in Stuttgart AR., Justin Tyler Bryant received his BFA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2012 and his MFA in Studio Art from Louisiana State University in 2018 and was a participant at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (’17). Justin’s recent work investigates the past and present imagery of African-Americans to reflect a multi-contextual narrative of poetry, personal narrative, and history. In his work, he uses found objects, painting, drawing, and video to suggest a fugitive notion of blackness. Justin is currently a full-time instructor at University of Arkansas Pulaski Tech and is a 2019 Interchange Artist Fellow for the Mid America Arts Alliance.

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Cody Wilson

Male Figure

Graphite on paper

2019

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Connections

Catch Casiano at 2nd Friday Art Walk.

Website: eliseocasiano.com

Instagram: eliseocasiano


Justin Tyler Bryant at 2nd Friday Art Walk.

Website: burnaway.org/justin-tyler-bryant

Instagram: bluedrinknotredb

Contributing Artists:

Stephanie Alaniz
John Alleyne
Cody Arnail
Emmy Bright
Justin Tyler Bryant
Christopher Burns
Maclovio Cantu
Eliseo Casiano
Lisette Chavez
Eric Cuevas
Julia Curran
Heidi Daehler
Zach Fox
Dhanashree Gadiyar
Lilia Berenice Hernandez Galusha
Henry Gepfer
Clarissa Gonzalez
Cameron Gray
Geren Mckinnon Heurtin
Logan Hunter
Cholo Jackson
Curtis Jones
Aijung Kim
Wesley Zakk Kramer
Tyler Krasowski
Jonathan Mayer
Mandy Messina
Jaki Negreros
Ryan O’Malley
Ian Park
David Carpenter
Mike Pennekamp
Alina Perez
Dason Pettit
Nathan Pietrykowski
Eric Piper
Devin Reynolds
Jose de Jesus Rodriquez
Joseph Rushmore
Carlie Salomons
Clare Samani
Katy Seals
Marina Shaltout
Abigail Smithson
Grace Tessein
Emery Tillman
Joseph Velasquez
M. Robyn Wall
Cody Wilson
Barbara Lane Tharas

Christopher Burns

Navigation over St. Gabriel, LA

2019

Artist Profile: Julia Curran

October’s featured artist provides Resonator’s audience with an out of town treat. Julia Curran is a printmaker and multidisciplinary artist based in Saint Louis, MO. Curran describes her work as “a brightly colored barrage of many-layered magnificence.” Experience this for yourselves on Oct 11, 2019 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. at Resonator Institute, 325 E. Main St, Norman, OK. And if you can’t join us for the show on 2nd Friday Art Walk in Norman, look for a video interview with Curran to come.

-Helen Grant

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“Electric Roots” print by Julia Curran

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Q/A

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Q. What inspired your most recent prints?

A. My most recent work has actually been mixed-media altar-piece paintings. I’m a huge fan of Hieronymus Bosch, weird Medieval art, Italian street altars, and different Mexican folk art traditions, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of the Divine Feminine. I started making triptych paintings on panel with hinged doors that open and close; raw contemporary altar-pieces paying homage to the sacred feminine and universal creativity. There aren’t any of these pieces in this current show, but you can see them on my website!

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“The Lovers” print by Julia Curran

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Q. How has your print making and other art practices changed since you last exhibited in Norman?

A. My show at Dope Chapel in 2015, The World is Yours: The Frantic Rise and Ultimate Demise of VERY Big Boys, was satire about the absurdities of toxic masculinity and the extreme excesses of American capitalism. It was my Master’s of Fine Art thesis show; the body of work culminating at the end of a rigorous 3-year graduate school experience. My current work still focuses on these themes, which are more relevant than ever today, but I’ve begun to explore this idea of the sacred feminine, which might be an antidote to our current overwhelming global and interpersonal struggles.

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“Freedom!” print by Julia Curran

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Q. What’s your plans for this show, will there be performance?

A. This show will be a survey of prints I’ve completed within the past few years across several bodies of work. This show will be calmer and will hopefully involve less displaced kneecaps and confused pedestrians, but the work will be equally exciting.

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“Nature’s Grasp” print by Julia Curran

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Q. What art have you encountered recently that really made you stop and think?

A. I’m really excited about Rebecca Morgan’s work. She is a wonderful contemporary artist from rural Pennsylvania who makes paintings, prints, ceramics, and more that subverts stereotypes of Appalachia and explores contemporary issues facing women. As someone who also makes raw and graphic work focusing on similar issues, I feel very inspired to see her work and her success.

Q. What art events and exhibits have you been in or are currently excited about this year?

A. I currently have a solo exhibition at Lowe Mill ARTS center in Huntsville, Alabama. The opening was two weeks ago, and I taught a relief print workshop and gave a lecture and everyone there was lovely. I also have a feature and interview in the latest HEY! Modern art and Pop Culture Review book, HEY! Deluxe #4, which is this fantastic art review publication based in Paris, France. I’ve been a fan of their magazines and books for a long time and it’s really exciting to be published in their newest book.

Q. Is there anything else I haven't asked about your time in Norman?

A. It’s an honor to be exhibiting at Resonator and working with students at OU, thank you for everything!

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“Mother” print by Julia Curran

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ARTIST BIO:

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Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, Julia is a Fulbright scholar, the youngest member of The Outlaw Printmakers, and received her MFA from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi in 2015.

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“Ghost Hands and Holy Teeth” painting by Julia Curran

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Follow her on Instagram @julia.s.curran

Follow her on Facebook: Julia Curran Prints

Visit her Website: http://www.juliacurranprints.com/

Artist Profile: Rachel Stout

September’s featured artist is holding her first major Resonator solo show. Rachel Stout is a long time volunteer and often co-hosts group exhibitions at Resonator, like the upcoming DOOMMOOD show. However, this time around Rachel is taking the lead and bringing us a singular vision. Come experience this and more during September’s 2nd Friday Art Walk on September 13th from 6:30-10:00 p.m.

-Helen Grant

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Submitted by the artist: Rachel Stout.

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Q/A

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Q. Can you tell us what "Transfixion" is about and what inspired the project?

A. Transfixion started out as a project to create trance-like artwork, but as the project evolved it became more and more about a personal narrative that went from thoughts and feelings I was experiencing at the time into myself analyzing why it is I started and continue to create in the first place or rather why creating had become the subject of my own personal Transfixion. The inspiration for the project originally stemmed from the images that some of my favorite music constructed in my mind and my endeavors to seek meaning, if there was any, connected to these images. I have found that as I have continued the project that I have really become grounded in my roots, the real reason I ever became a creator at all and that is simply to have fun and escape reality if only for a moment.

Q. How long have you worked on these images?

A. The images that make up Transfixion took me about a year to create. The interesting thing is that the second piece I created for the show, “Evolution”, really kicked off the entire project because I felt with each image I created the artwork evolved. The final pieces I created for the show even began to display color, something that has been missing from my art and my life for a long time.

Q. What events or trips have you taken and how have these experiences informed the work in "Transfixion"?

A. I could go on and on about the experiences that formed this project. From bright-eyed fascination with the human ability to create images that are reflections of one’s inner thoughts to pure existentialism, these are just a couple of concepts that formed Transfixion. Seeing other creatives at work is always inspiring, such as at the Denver and Resonator Zine Fests, but the number one thing that seemed to inspire the project is self reflection.

Q. What Instagram, Facebook, or other online profiles do you follow and why?

A. I’m not big on social media in all honesty, so I really don’t follow many profiles to gather inspiration. Rather, I listen to music from a number of different artists from many different genres. I feel that some of the most “pure” inspiration for me is influenced by sound. I suppose I also pay a lot of attention to the art of the streets such as murals and graffiti. I think of city walls as being like a giant public “social platform” where people share their ideas and creations with those who appreciate the art form.

Q. What art events are you excited about in the near future?

A. I am very excited for the upcoming OKC Zine Fest as well as another event that Natalie Copeland and myself are organizing a show called Doommood. I will also be displaying my artwork at the local brewery Lazy Circles in October and I can’t wait to share new artwork with the patrons that drink there!

Q. What haven't I asked that you want people to know about you, your work in "Transfixion", additional sources of inspiration, or upcoming projects you're also involved with?

A. I’m excited about the future of my creative process. I plan on adding more color in my future artwork, which is something I haven’t done much for a long time now. I will continue to make artwork that has the intention to highlight the divinity that can be found in all things, including humans, and that celebrates the empowerment of women.

I am also a licensed tattoo artist at Hall of Tattoos and would love to have more opportunities to tattoo examples from my original artwork as well as designing custom work for people in my style.

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Submitted by the artist: Rachel Stout.

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Artist Statement:

As an artist my goal is to create clean images that take the viewer to a balanced and reflective place. Ideas such as ego death, connectivity, and deep ecology inspire me. Some of my greatest artistic influences come from the anonymous and known works of street artists; I find the nature of rebellion in their art inspiring. Music has always been a loyal companion to my inspiration and I often give it power over my pen as I allow its sounds to mold and shape my work.

A major goal of my art is to not only give myself, but those who lay their eyes upon my work a thoughtful escape. I hope to open the minds and the mouths of my viewers to help them perhaps find what inspires them and for everyone to know that they too have the power to create.

Artist Bio:

Rachel Stout is an Oklahoma based artist raised in the small town of Noble. She attended Community Christian School in Norman, Oklahoma and shortly before graduating transferred and graduated from Norman North. Rachel has always had a love for art and a universe that seems beyond our own. Her ambition to teach people that they can make beautiful works of art began in early high school when she held her first painting class for elementary schoolers to make art for local cancer patients. The artwork was displayed on the cancer treatment floor at Norman Regional Hospital before being distributed to the patients. Rachel’s next class she put together and led had been held at the Noble Library as an after-school program for kids. In that class kids learned how to apply their imaginations at drawing an original character of their own and they then had the opportunity to show their progress to their families at the end of the class.

As high school moved along, Rachel decided it was time to take a shot at a more competitive art world. She was given the opportunity to enter her work in the Young Artists of Oklahoma Competition at the University of Central Oklahoma and was accepted into the OCU gallery space to compete for further recognition. During this time, Rachel became more involved in the CCS art shows and won awards for the art work she displayed including best of show during the 2012 showing.

After high school, Rachel spent some time attending Oklahoma City Community College, but shortly changed her path to becoming a professional tattoo artist.

Currently Rachel is involved in her local art community in Norman, OK. She frequently participates in 2nd Friday Art Walk by selling and displaying her work, doing live art, or doing live portrait art. She is also a volunteer at Resonator Institute and has displayed and sold work in their gallery.

Rachel is also involved with is the co-founding and organization of Spaced Out Arts Norman and Spaced Out Arts Crawl on Campus Corner at the University of Oklahoma.

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Follow her at: @chelsartistry

Support via Patreon: artbyrachelstout

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Submitted by the artist: Rachel Stout.

Artist Profile: Ashley Morrison

August’s featured artist is also curating her first group show at Resonator. Ashley Morrison serves on Resonator’s Advisory Board and is involved with weekly crew meetings. However, this time around we encouraged Ashley to take the lead and organize what is essentially an exhibition celebrating people of color (POC) and the importance of owning your narrative. We strive to facilitate the growth of artists and encourage in the community a sense of authentic human interaction; we even wrote it into the mission statement. Come experience this and more during August’s 2nd Friday Art Walk on August 9th from 6:00-10:00 p.m.

-Helen Grant

Diversity University Artist Curator: Ashley Morrison.
Pronouns: she/her

”Diversity promotes sophistication, intelligence, and the capacity to do truly great things: this is where the healing begins and perpetuates. Diversity is not just about bringing in more POC, but is ultimately about providing space and opportunity for POC to control their own narrative. Let the storytellers tell their own story; this is how POC honor ancestors. I am deeply humbled to have a space where people can observe just how beautiful my people and fellow POCs can be.”

Q/A

Q) Why were you drawn to organizing this exhibition?

A) As a woman of color, I constantly see a need for representation for POC. Building an identity as a black woman in a way has been a self-fabricated journey; it's something I've worked very hard to piece together from listening to Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston on audio book, digging for fragments of my ancestral heritage, and honestly, lots of internal lamenting. It sounds like I'm being extra, but I think it's important that POCs articulate their experiences; our stories deserve to be accurately represented. As a child and then a young adult, I struggled to piece together that sense of self. It's still a struggle for me today. I think about POC youth and think about my own children and how their experiences can be so easily misshapen by a culture that doesn't always include them. I hope to help provide opportunities for them to establish their identity without having to reinvent the bizarre wheel that is the marginalized minority experience.

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Diversity University Artist: Jasmine Jones
Pronouns: she/her

”My cultural background has been very family oriented, with the women in my family having a heavy impact on my understanding that women have immense strength yet delicacy as well as willpower and beauty. Most often, my grandmothers are the ones that influence my artwork. I wasn’t raised with a memorable exposure to art, although my family seems to have somewhat of an appreciation for it. Sometimes I believe that absence and seclusion push me to keep making and to expose them to art – whether it’s classical, contemporary, or my own.

Additionally, the lack of knowing my family’s history and ancestry pulls me into a tangled state of mind when it comes to my practice. I feel as if I have wishes that I can dig up what’s been buried and lost by using certain compositions and symbolism to learn who my great-great-great-great-great-great aunt was and she was about. Even though I never learn anything, I do feel more connected to my family’s history and ancestors – as if I’m doing right by our history as well as our future. However, sometimes I just want to disconnect, having no accountability to my cultural background when it comes to me being an artist. There’s no reason that what I make has to be connected to my culture and I’m still learning that. I’m constantly reminding myself that it doesn’t have to happen if I feel constrained by other’s expectations just because I’m a Black artist."

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Q) What are your goals for this exhibition?

A) One of the things I cherish the most about the Resonator family is working with people who are so committed to fostering artists. Being a creative can be somewhat of a feral experience and the guidance that is offered in our space is pretty amazing. I also hope to help offer some kind of social respite for POC, a space where they can see themselves reflected in media in world where often times POC are misrepresented, underrepresented, or not represented at all.

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Diversity University Artist: Ariana Weir
Pronouns: she/her

”My cultural background greatly shapes my art. Coming from a mixed background is very interesting to me and also a very important aspect of my identity. I like to create art that revolves around my identity: where my family has come from, my different cultural heritages, and how I fit into both of them.”

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Q) Were you surprised by any of the submissions? And if so, who’s work redefined the shape of your expectations for what this exhibition could be? 

A) Again, I don't mean to be extra, but I was stunned by every single submission. Each one of the artists that will be featured are of their own self-made discipline, so we have a pretty interesting variety. I believe that right there is what has redefined my perspective of art. We asked each artist how their culture has shaped their art, they've provided honest and raw answers, and you see that manifest in their work. Also, there was something sacred about meeting each artist, and each artist handing me their work. Pretty dope.

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Diversity University Artist: Felix Rodriguez
Pronouns: he/him

”Being biracial, I often find myself engaging with art that operates in the liminal spaces. The blurring of disparate cultures produced me and how I relate to art. Growing up I was taught to deny certain aspects of my identity to ‘fit in’ with the white people in my home town. I wasn't taught Spanish as a child, and my family stopped using my real name, choosing an Anglo-fied version of my middle name instead. After leaving that town and childhood behind, I began in earnest exploring the Puerto Rican side of my identity and with that the culture and people across the Diaspora in general. There's a contagious energy when engaging with any art that explores the space between how we see ourselves and how the world sees us. My music may not include words, but it is my way of speaking to this interaction between myself and the world.”

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Q) What is your take away from organizing and curating this exhibition? 

A) Lots of surrender and self-forgiveness. I had all of these wonderful, sparkling ideas of how I envisioned the show. Then we had to get practical! So lots of surrender to focusing on basics: getting the art, putting on the wall, and showing up to event, lol.

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Diverse University Artist: Issac Diaz
Pronouns: he/him

"I am half Salvadoran on my dad’s side and half white American on my mom’s side. Growing up here in Oklahoma with my mom’s family I often wondered about my dad’s. Most of his family lives in El Salvador, and my grandma visits from El Salvador often. It wasn’t until I went to the country my dad is from that I finally became proud to have a mixed identity, it made me feel like I had something to research and learn about. I often look at the Pre-Columbian history of Latin America for my work. My work often comments on the unjust cultural suppression of indigenous people of Latin America, such as my dad’s family. I feel a sense of responsibility to use my art to bring exposure to these cultures and their issues. I want to show people that there is more to Latin America that what we think."

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Q) To keep it short and sweet, what haven’t I asked that you want readers/ the art walk audience to know about you, an artist left unmentioned, or anything else that you feel is important, but hasn’t been covered? 

A) I've seen local diversity initiatives and I'm always saddened to see non-POC leading those conversations. As a black woman and descendant of ancestors who were originally tribal, I know that there is something sacred about storytelling. Let people tell their own story. Let people control their own narrative of their existence.

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University Diversity Artist: Clairissa Ringlero aka Solious Dragon
Pronouns: she/her

"As an indigenous artist in Oklahoma, my culture has had more impact on my life and values more than my art itself. I learned to be patient and disciplined with my craft, plus the support of my family and people fuels my passion. Being Kiowa and Eastern Band Cherokee, I grew up on the pow wow circuit and became inspired by the artists there. However I gravitated more to visual art in paper over clay, wood, and weaving - my other family has talent there. I am so thankful for the support my culture has given me and I am lucky to hail from such a strongly beautiful people."

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University Diversity Artist: Synthia Haddad
Pronouns: she/her

"I am a 65 year old Lebanese American woman. My parents are both first generation born American Lebanese. My amazing and resilient extended immigrant family - grandparents and their relatives provided an experience rich with the Lebanese culture. I always heard Arabic spoken within the family - grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. As a youngster I could understand basic conversations and respond appropriately as well. Sights, sounds, textures , aromas and Middle Eastern food were the staples of my life experience from birth. I am gifted with a rich and beautiful culture. I'm extremely proud of and connected to my heritage. I lived it and loved being Lebanese and being ‘American’. “

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Diversity University Artist: Laura Alexandera
Pronouns: she/her

”Being from a mixed family, I have a patchwork of important artistic influences:

· Walking the art museums in Caracas, particularly at a time when “folk” art was being given an equal platform with “high” art and museums and other cultural institutions were being made accessible to people of all classes in a significant, structural way.

· The walls of my mom’s house, covered with traditional Venezuelan art and religious iconography, more superstitious than mainstream, often reflecting the intersection between local, indigenous spirituality/customs and Catholicism. Her hallway lined with pictures of ancestors.

· My dad’s love for and collections of all things pop and counter-cultural.

· My step-dad’s love of low-riders and the world of custom street art growing up in East LA.

How is the home I feel here, in the geographical and cultural location where I grew up, at odds with my familial home? How is it similar? How are love of culture and love of landscape at odds? How are they similar? What does it mean to attempt to exist simultaneously in two worlds? How does that bring me to spirit? What do the different layers look like that create the reality of our lived experience? Who/what guides us on that exploration?

My work is a practice that keeps me in conversation with these types of questions. When so often identity means belonging neither here nor there, art for me is a cultural touchstone, a means of grounding, of remembering, of pushing and dissolving boundaries."

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Diverse University Artist: Daniel Acuna
Pronouns: he/him

”Being a first generation Mexican American. A lot of of my inspiration comes from my mother’s story and how she wanted a better life for me. I was told I can express myself and have freedoms and experiences she wished she could have had. My paintings show these expressions and impressions. I consider myself as a contemporary Mexican artists, and being born in the US, I express that with my experience of being an Mexican American.

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Diversity University Artist: Jasmine Arriaga
Pronouns: she/her

”The work I make is reliant on my background and where I come from. One would not exist without the other. I talk about my experience as a brown woman and my family because it is inescapable and all I know. Sharing these stories allows me the opportunity to inject a distinct narrative and perspective while commenting on how the American experience is different for everyone.”

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Get updates on the event here.

Artist Profile: Craig Swan

-Amanda Deng

July’s Second Friday at Resonator will feature paintings and sculptures by artist Craig Swan. His show, titled “Part of a Part of a Story,” will be open to the public from 6-10pm Friday, July 12, 2019. Our video interview with Craig gives a behind-the-scenes look into his studio space and artmaking process. 

Artist Bio: Since graduating from Boston University with a B.F.A in sculpture in 2007, Craig Swan has shown his work in over 25 exhibitions, taught drawing and sculpture classes, and served on multiple arts committees including several at Resonator. Craig also contributed two pieces of public art to the city of Norman, Oklahoma: Sundial for the West Main Street Sculpture Project, and Ziggy Star-Duck for the Parks Sculpture Project. He likes house cats and heavy metal and lots of other things.

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Q&A

Q: In the description of your show on Facebook, you were talking about wanting people to form their own narratives around the different pieces.

 A:  So, like, when you read a book in school, in any school up to any level within any academic kind of setting, there is a more correct or accepted interpretation, right, the thing that makes the most sense. I think that that's the kind of critical thinking skill I would hope a viewer might employ, and look for connections between the pieces or look and say, "this must be an earlier one because he took that thing and did it a different way over here, and it's more complicated now than it was before." Or like, "he learned something from these not-so-great colors that he picked in these and did something else over here, or he must really like this or that. If I were better at telling really specific stories I probably wouldn't make paintings. I would probably write a book instead and build the world in there, and the concerns and everything would be different.

 (On the symbolism of anvils and birds in his work)

Detail of mountain bluebird on anvil, Craig Swan

 The anvil I did with two-by-fours that I laminated and jointed. It's big and heavy but also completely not functional, which is sort of the point...it's meant to be this like, I guess, an inert version of an even more inert object. Like, it can't be used like that, and it's a completely functionless kind of thing. But anvils always kind of looked like birds to me too, because they have the beak and the other thing...

 Birds are a weird symbol in my work too because they're...We think of them as like these sing-songy beautiful soft creatures. But if you ever go near their nests, or if you ever have been dive-bombed by a bird while you're on your bike or something like that—you do not want to deal with a pissed off mama bird at all. And so I think that that duality of intention, disposition, and you know just whatever the situation is—that things can be soft and beautiful and good or evil at the same time. Or hard and strong. And so that's kind of what the anvil bird metaphor thing is about.  

 Q: Crows or ravens?

 A: Both. I'm a little fidgety on which one it ends up being, but I think that ravens have a better wing shape, but that crows make better sounds. Ravens have this weird thumb-feather-thing and crows are kind of flat, and ravens are kind of hairier, too. They have like, this mane about them, but it's hard to do that in a drawing or a painting and do it right, and make it not look like a Death Cab for Cutie cover or something like that, you know. So it's tricky.

 Q: Can you talk about the symbolism of bodies to you?

 A: It was central to my training as an artist. There was tons and tons and tons of figure drawing, and it was like this, this most revered kind of art form. And I don't know, I just like them. I think I think that you can appreciate the body in multiple ways, right? I mean there's the obvious, right, the magazines and the all of this predatory advertising that plays on people's insecurities. 

 But I think like, even just seeing people out jogging during the day—maybe I'm projecting—but there's like a transfixion that happens. This person is using the thing that they have in the way that it was intended, and it's kind of beautiful. And you see things that you don't see in really cloistered or closed off or "proper" environments. I think that it says a lot about a person like, your back tells a story no matter who you are. Your hands tell a story.

 I think that we as a culture, as a society, don't express ourselves with our bodies necessarily enough. I think that there could be more of that and it would create, maybe, more equality and appreciation for all kinds of things like privacy, and consent, and respecting distance, and being able to appreciate from afar. All that kind of stuff. It evokes so much for viewers.

Tempestuous Sleep, Craig Swan

(On Harry Clarke)

 He did these really crazy stained-glass windows that, as insofar as a stained-glass window can be iconoclastic, he did it...telling stories of Irish mythology or the Bible, or history or whatever. It's kind of what I'm doing a poor imitation of, I think, where he has these...there's all these little dots and details and animal forms. 

 And his style is connected to the illuminated manuscript tradition from the Middle Ages of all of these floral kinds of animal motifs, and things like that. And in terms of, I don't know, identity and personal history and all of that kind of stuff, I want to be able to at least—in some small visual way—connect to that and feel like I'm participating in it, and that it is a part of what I do and the way that I do it.

 Q: So you're Irish?

 A: My family came to America when I was four and then I lived in Massachusetts for a long time, did a brief stint in Pittsburgh, and then moved to Norman ten years ago.

 Q: That still comes through in a lot of your work.

 A: It's kind of an inescapable part of me, I think. I didn't get my American citizenship until I was…it was like, the very end of Obama's second term. Because when Obama became president I was like, "fuck yeah, I'll do this so I can vote and stuff," and then I got my citizenship. But up until that point it was so hard to give up what felt like the last vestige of my identity on paper that confirmed that I was...more complicated than "white America."

wooden anvil sculpture by Craig Swan

 Q: In metal there's a lot of references to mythology. Is that what connected you to metal?

 A: The Sword’s first album Age of Winter there's a whole song about Freya, this Norse goddess. It's just cool shit to sing a song about and have like this kind of epic sound. It only really fits in a certain type of metal, like a genre within a genre kind of thing. And I don't know, I just like it. There's a song by High on Fire where he talks about the plains of Tiamat, and it's all got to do with Babylonian gods, and Marduk, and this conquest. And you can see dudes on horse...all kinds of exciting things in there. Yeah, it's probably connected. It has the same sort of aesthetic.

 Q: So who do you listen to?

 A: I've been listening to High on Fire, Mastodon...I didn't like their new album as much as some of their older stuff. The first five Metallica albums and sometimes the most recent, too—we don't talk about what they did in the 90s. I listen to Meshugga sometimes, when the mood strikes. The Sword for sure, but again, not their most recent work. I go up to about Apocryphonand that's it. I've had the Deftones on repeat for a while. I've also got Elvis Costello and The Tallest Man on Earth. It's not all metal, but metal is the thing, it's the core of the stuff.

 Q: Are you familiar with Jinjer?

 A: I don't know them.

 Q: They're a female-fronted Ukrainian metal band...I saw them in September at the Diamond Ballroom and they were one of the openers for a couple of other really masculine really aggressive bands.

 A: That's kind of the thing too, what you said about these very masculine kinds of...I think that some men get their masculine identity from sports, or working out, or you know, various other stupid things. My stupid thing happens to be metal. I went to a High on Fire show in Pittsburgh like 12 years ago. It was at the Rex Theater, I think. It has this bar above it called Jimmy D's, and they play very inappropriate things on the TVs, and they have pool tables, and tons of beer, and all kind of stuff. Down in the showroom--the room was half empty, and it was probably like 200 sweaty dudes in this really smelly room. The whole crowd was this enormous circle pit taking over your entire body...it was the most tribal...like we're doing the same thing together kind of feeling. The beer probably assisted in that but it was really good to engage in that kind of thing.

 Q: Books, movies, podcasts?

 A: So in the last year I subscribed to Audible and I found that—not sponsored—I found that it's easier for me to read books that way, but I've been a big fan of reading audiobooks and reading in general for a long time. I will sometimes put on “Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”, read by Douglas Adams. I have this audiobook version of “Ulysses” by James Joyce that I only ever get so far in. I'll try again very soon. I started reading books about psychology, cognition, and creativity like a year ago. 

 There's a book by a statistician and psychologist, Daniel Kahneman—he's one of the big names in this field. It's called “Thinking Fast and Slow”. It talks about the two systems of the brain, and the way that we can mistakenly employ a system of fast thinking when slowing down would be really more effective for getting some kind of result, and about managing your emotions, and things like that.

 I had never read “Dune”—I read the first four books in the last year. I read a book called "Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, Or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything" by Ulrich Boser. It sounds like a self-help book but it's not. It teaches methods for studying, and for managing your emotions, and how to learn how to learn how to do anything. 

 There's another book called "Creating Things That Matter," which talks about the dovetailing of science and art and how they're both aesthetic pursuits, and how the thought processes and the way that people get to them are different. "Culture and Imperialism" by Edward Said is one that I have on my list right now. I read "Circe" and "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller, those are really good.

 Podcasts...I listen to “Making It," which is three YouTubers that talk about making stuff. There's another one that's called "Fools with Tools" that is like an offshoot of the "Making It" podcast. I listened to Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" is another podcast. I don't know if you can tell but I spend a lot of time just ingesting stuff. 

 "The BlindBoy" podcast is another one. He's an Irish guy who's in a band called the Rubberbandits. Sometimes he talks about Marxist theory, or he talks about social-political issues, he's done multiple podcasts on the origin of Pride Week... He's done things on cognitive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy, mental health, stuff like that. And there's one that I just subscribed to yesterday called "With Our Arms to the Sun." There's a guy who does all the stage art for Mastodon called Skinner and he got interviewed on that, and it's like five metal guys talking about drawing Satan and stuff, and I was like, "fuck yeah, into that." So, give that one a try.

 Q: Who are your favorite artists that you follow?

 A: I would say Mike Mignola, the creator of “Hellboy.” He did a run of X-Men in the 90s but you can tell he was kind of rushed. He does, now, watercolor paintings where he really invests in these pictures of Hellboy and things like that. I collect the novels and comics and things and I only buy the ones that he's drawn. In the back of the trade paperback they have the Mike Mignola sketchbook, and those are so good to see. 

 As far as living artists besides him I would say Zak Smith. He's a strange person, he also does porn under the name Zak Sabbath. Half his head is shaved and his hair is green, and he's got a big tattoo. But he also does a podcast that I listen to sometimes called "We Eat Art." I follow James Jean on Instagram because the man is crazy with the work that he does.

There's this Korean savant guy named Kim Jung Gi...he does these crazy, enormous, detailed drawings off-the-cuff, and it's like, complete in his mind before it comes out. And it just falls out like a, I don't know, like a peg through a hole, it just goes BOOM and there's the drawing. But he hangs out with a guy named Terada Katsuya, and they both do these amazing completed things.

 Q: Anything else you want to say to the people?

 A: Read the blog but don't judge. I tried to make them thoughtful essays, but I don't know what they ended up being. I've been working on a new thing to put in there for like seven months, but I kind of got a little a little scared putting it out there. Come to the show, please.

 Q: Are there any other shows that you're excited about? Art shows, music shows, performances?

 A: People have been telling me for a few months that I should go and see Glen Hansard when he comes to Oklahoma, so I'm still thinking about doing that. I've never seen Metallica live but I should probably go do that. I think they're probably gonna go on tour soon.

acrylic painting by Craig Swan

Artist Profile: Tracy Jane Gregory

-H. Grant

2nd Friday art walk in June sees a different kind of exhibition. The focus will be on writing, hybrid forms, and primarily feature the work of Artist in Residence Tracy Jane Gregory, who has already taught a hybrid writing workshop at Resonator on June 1st and who will be performing at the Zines Y’all: Zine and Small Arts Fest on June 8th.

The 2nd Friday show is titled: “Wallow: Exploring Grief through Hybrid Forms,” and will be open to the public on Friday, June 14th from 6-10pm. This group exhibition is curated by Tracy Jane Gregory and local artist Jenna Alyse Bryan. They have selected artists based out of the Bay Area, Norman, and OKC metro area who work in all types of media ranging from sculpture, prints, and installation to video, performance, and writing.

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“potential magic--of Demolition”, collage poem, Tracy Jane Gregory

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Artist Statement: Death, both grand and small, is constant, filling our days with moments of unspoken bereavement: over the shift in energy around us, over the sudden absence of light, over the loss of a belief-system or conceptualization of our identity, over an ill-conceived expectation attached to our body. Our nation’s continuous upheaval only adds to these losses, and we are constantly asked to remediate this suffering, to take action, to predict the future and attempt to alter it. But, do we ever allow ourselves to exist in the present and sit with our grief, to love and understand it as another part of ourselves that will move with us into the future?

As an interdisciplinary writer and artist, I work with hybrid mediums to help myself and my audience exist in the chaotic presence of grief. Through the use of multiple forms, I am attempting to liberate my work from the boundaries of genre and create a more intimate and present relationship with my audience, for hybridity pushes up against our pre-conceived notions about art and writing, challenging us to see an individual piece for what it is and not what we expect it to be. Hybridity also allows me to communicate what is often unspoken or unconscious. When we work within a particular medium, we enter an existing conversation dictated by previous uses of that medium, but the hybrid taps into what exists between or beyond form, the abject that has no platform or the spirit who has no medium to speak through. Grief, to be fully understood, needs these characteristics of the hybrid: open and attentive divination.

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Q&A

Q. What made you want to become a writer?

A. I remember asking my mother once when I was eight or nine if it’s okay to lie in order to make someone laugh, and what I was really asking for was permission to be a storyteller. I’m sure she responded with laughter and something along the lines of “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.” While I may now disagree with my mother about the usefulness of stories to hurt, it seems that I initially wanted to become a writer to entertain myself and others. Maybe I knew that reality wasn’t interesting enough for our entertainment: at least not for a budding young queer living in a suburb of Orange County in 1999.

Q. Where do you find inspiration?

A. I’m one of those writers who believes that all writing, in some way, is autobiographical, so my own life is my biggest point of inspiration. I spend a lot of time thinking about how my identity dictates my experiences and perceptions of the world, which always makes its way into my work.

I was raised Catholic, so I have an obsession with death, ritual, and penance. However, because I’m a queer woman, an identity often not celebrated in the church unless it’s through virginity, I have spent my life and writing defying what’s been ingrained in me. Instead of fearing death, I write towards a loving and healthy relationship with the afterlife. I challenge the rituals whose purpose is solely to keep up tradition and try to engage in ritualistic practices and writing that attempts to heal others. Through all this, my characters are often struggling to overcome their internal and external shame to reach the, sometimes seemingly impossible, light at the end of the tunnel of feeling empowered in their identities, bodies, and intuition.

“Burying Rosemary Brown”, poem, Tracy Jane Gregory

Q. How has your work evolved?

A. Even though I would have denied it back then, ten years ago I bought into the artifice of the writer with isolated genius—that in order to discover one’s true and unique voice, the artist needs to tap into some glowing orb of creativity (or God as some writers used to think) that exists inside us from birth.

But, going to a more experimental MFA program that exposed me to writers like Kathy Acker, who rewrote classic literature into a disturbing beautiful mess, and Tracie Morris, who uses popular films as soundtracks to her performances, helped me understand that writing is an act of entering a community of voices. I decided that I wanted to be the kind of writer who honored the idea that no text is truly original and is a mere “tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture,” as Roland Barthes put it in The Death of the Author. That is to say that we are all influenced by other writers, artists, and human beings, and that no thought, or text or piece, is created in a vacuum. We are not isolated geniuses, so why not celebrate our influences within the art itself? This is when I started writing through erasure and appropriation and creating art that was upfront about the images or ideas it borrowed from others, which freed me to mix forms and genres in a way I would have never done before.

Prior to my MFA, I believed the most valuable work mastered one particular form and that the weird, unidentifiable collages and writing I had been making would only be a hobby, but now I see that there is immense value in making work that isn’t easily categorized and that creating through hybridity better represents my purpose as a writer and artist.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your vision for the June Art Walk event?

A. Last summer, I attended a funeral for my partner’s uncle, someone I had never met, and it was the first time I had met most of my partner’s extended family. I was nervous to meet such important people in this context, but it turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Because everyone was grieving, there was a level of authenticity and vulnerability that was contagious. If you’ve never openly wept with a room full of strangers before, I highly recommend it. It’s incredibly healing. We all grew closer and created a lightness that remains with me today.

I wanted to mimic this experience in the art walk event by bringing various communities of artists and writers together to share their own grievances. I think it will help us tap into our own intuition and release something powerful together. A lot of my work already comes from a place of grief, and I’ve found that I’ve gained more agency in my life and writing because of it. Plus, with all that’s going on in the political state of this country, I wanted to create a space for people to be present with their pain.

The group show is titled Wallow: An Exploration of Grief through Hybrid Forms and will include mixed-media artists from the Bay Area, Seattle, New York, Buffalo, and Norman. Art will be on display and there will be live performances and screenings.

“For Mercy”, collage poem, Tracy Jane Gregory

Q. What, in your experience, makes for a good reading (where the storyteller and audience are simpatico)?

A. The best readings, similar to my funeral experience, are when storytellers and audiences feel comfortable to be their authentic selves (or authentic in the persona they’ve created) and are open to hearing and providing honest feedback. I often think about an interview that Jack White did with Conan O’Brien where he talks about how audiences don’t clap or dance anymore and just stand in silence. Jack White is the type of performer who caters his sets to his audiences, but because people don’t give him any feedback by clapping or dancing (or booing), he doesn’t know how to give audiences what they want anymore. The same goes for a reading: audiences need to communicate their feelings about the pieces being read to them by clapping, snapping, humming, or hollering throughout the piece and the reader needs to be open to this feedback so they can either fuel the energy that is vibing with the audience or switch things up if the energy isn’t compatible.

I look to stand-up comedians as inspiration for this type of connection and awareness of audience. They have a presence and wit that often encourages audiences to give feedback and this magic ability to get audiences on their side, even if they’ve just turned on them.

Q. What are you into right now (books, movies, art movements, music, etc)?

A. I attended AWP (Association of Writer’s and Writing Program Conference) back in March and was able to catch up with a lot of old writer friends and teachers and buy their books! I’ve been slowly making my way through those books: “Documents” by Jan-Henry Gray, “Her Mouth as Souvenir” by Heather June Gibbons, “Sinister Queer Agenda” by Travis Sharp, and “Not Heaven, Somewhere Else” by Rebecca Brown.

As far as art movements go, I am friends with and follow many sex workers and artists who use nudity on Instagram, so I’ve been following how the new censorship rules have been negatively impacting the safety of sex workers and the ability for artists to share their work. All of this stems from the SESTA/FOSTA legislation that passed last year, which puts more responsibility on websites to censor their users under the guise of preventing sex trafficking. It’s a very scary time for censorship all around, of art, of identity expression, and of our bodies, but it seems artists are trying to create new websites and spaces welcoming of nudity and sex positivity.

“Harboring Darrell”, video poem, Tracy Jane Gregory

Q. What writing, art, and/or music events are you excited about this year?

A. I recently went to a reading by Maggie Nelson where she shared some excerpts from her book-in-progress, so I’m very excited for that to come out. One of my favorite presses is Tarpaulin Sky (a publisher of hybrid books) and they recently released the long list for their book award, so I can’t wait for them to release the short list and winners of the award. I was also able to see my favorite stand-up comedian, Maria Bamford, on her most recent tour, so I’m excited to see her special when it comes out!

Q. What’s your favorite Instagram or Instagram tag that you follow and why? (Or other social media – Twitter, etc?)

A. I guess I don’t follow any Instagram tags, but I do follow a lot of drag queens on Instagram. I love drag because it best captures the humor, gender bending, and performance I aspire to do with my work. Also, RuPaul’s Drag Race is just really good television.

I’m rarely on Twitter, but when I am, I look to Roxane Gay and Patricia Lockwood for their hilariousness and poignancy.

Q. Do you have a favorite writing website or app?

A. I really like the website Entropy because it has a lot of good resources on publications and where to get published. I also like perusing Lit Hub on occasion.

Q. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like readers to know about?

A. Just that I’ll be reading some work along with some other writers and musicians at Zine Fest on June 8th. It’s at Resonator from 4-10, so come on by! I also love connecting with other writers and artists, so here’s my email: tracyjaneygregory@gmail.com. If you’re ever in San Francisco, hit me up!

“Bondage”, quilt poem, Tracy Jane Gregory

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Follow her on Instagram @traceonmyface


Visit her website at:

https://tracyjanegregory.com/

More Than Words: Zine Exchanges, Culture, and the Power of DIY

- H. Grant

Zine culture is something we strive to cultivate here at Resonator. When we’re not launching a sponsorship drive, hosting a monthly exhibition for 2nd Friday Art Walk, figuring out how to promote what we do more effectively and build new connections, while providing a platform for artists of all types, we’ve been known to claw back from the clutches of chaos small morsels of time to make what is, ideally, a quarterly zine.

With that in mind, we’ve hosted a zine fest! It took place on October 21, 2017 and was fairly successful considering Norman was under a tornado watch that day; a rare but not unheard of occurence that late in fall. We strive to be a safe space in all things we do, so we monitored the situation, and those who wished to leave before sirens sounded we’re notified of worsening weather conditions; it was wild. But it’s always a wild ride with Resonator.

Resonator’s 2017 Zine Fest. Photo credit: Julius

Cut to 2018 when we moved locations: core members redefined their roles, the organization actually became a non profit, and we spent a lot of that year regrouping as we began overhauling our new location with a grant from the Norman Arts Council. Gallery walls were built, many cool shows happened as the space inched along, but Zine Fest went on hiatus. These things happen.

Resonator’s 2019 goals see us collobrating with Oscillator Press to make Zine Fest happen, come hell or high water.

Poster by Jenna Bryan.

We’re also planning to hit the road. Resonator artists and organizers will be tabling and working on making new connections at the Denver Zine Fest this year too. Both events are in June, but Norman’s Zine Fest happens in the first half of the month. We plan to send a selection of Resonator published zines, zines artists have given us to sell for them, as well as the zines made by those taking this trip. So why Denver?

From the Denver Zine Library’s website:
“The Denver Zine Library is a non profit organization founded in 2003 whose mission is to preserve, protect and promote the culture of zines and self published original work through archival collection, workshops and events. The Denver Zine Library currently houses one of the largest zine collections in North America with a preserved collection of over 20,000 independent and alternative zines. The organization is entirely volunteer run, and the public can access the full library and archives during open hours.”

Indie publishing is a democratic medium and by all accounts it is growing one too, despite the Internet or maybe because of it. You can find zines online and locally, if you know where to look. And there are plenty of people out there still mailing zines to dedicated audiences. There is something quietly revolutionary about disseminating your thoughts, art, and DIY-style through a collage of ideas. That said, zines are varied and reveal so much about their creators’ intentions and as such there are many genres, but perhaps that’s a post for another time.

We hope our collective efforts make for a vibrant Zine culture in Norman. We’d love for more Oklahomans, young and old alike, to feel like they can cover the subjects they want, and maybe find a community of readers they can connect with as well. At the same time it is important to us that we work towards building the kind of Zine culture that attracts outsiders too. Even as we ramp up to host a Zine Fest at Resonator and participate in Denver’s Zine Fest, there is also a small group of Resonator-affiliated artists considering the idea of even trying for Kansas City this year as well. It just looks so stinkin’ cool and their vibe reads inclusive and fun.

¡Viva la cultura DIY!

Artist Profile: Ruth Loveland

This May we have a group show featuring three synergistic artists: Sarai Raven Huber, Margaret Kinkeade, and Ruth Loveland. The show is called “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and opens May 10th during 2nd Friday Art Walk. The event runs from 6 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at 325 E. Main St. and is open to the public. To give each artist the opportunity to talk about their work and the show, we have decided to break their profiles into three parts.

-Helen Grant

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Ruth Loveland

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Artist Statement: I approach creation using multiple techniques and media. I use pen drawings, layering and sanding of opaque acrylic paint, gold leaf, photocopy manipulation of original drawings, and acrylic transfers on wood and canvas. Central to my practice is a love for materials, color, and the alchemy of painting. I find that everything I create seeks to attract gratitude, community, love, and relationships which repeat, alter, and multiply the good in our lives. 

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Q&A

Q. What is your background? 

A. I have a BFA from OU and have maintained a studio in Norman since 2005. I have worked as a director’s assistant for a commercial art gallery, and in store artist for Anthropologie, I have created numerous bodies of my own work as well as writing, collecting projects, and ceramics. I am currently represented by Weinberger Fine Art in Kansas City.

Ruth Loveland

Q. Where do you draw inspiration from?

A. Emotional landscapes, repeating themes of magic, loss, community, end of life, nature, mycology, and obsessive natures. I often look to express enthusiasm for different visual representations of portals, liminal spaces, and ways to gather. I am also inspired by the absurd and hiding things that are secretly funny in with themes of overt seriousness.

Q. What are you working on right now that excites you?

A. I have been working on this concept of “Magic Sad” and how you can make sadness turn into magic and how I can incorporate a lot of different material projects under this umbrella. Mixing up Mono-printing, drawing, xylene transfers, and potato printing have really captured my interest. I am also excited about some recent experiments in making paint from naturally occurring clay deposits around Norman, which is kinda magical.

Ruth Loveland

Q. What are you favorite books, movies, or music you’re into right now?

A. I’ve been listening to Future Islands, War on Drugs, and Julia Jacklin. I am re-reading “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Bulter for the third time. I love novels about distopian futures.

Q. Do you have any art events or exhibitions you’re really excited about this year?

A. Showing with Margaret and Sarai at Resonator! The mix of soft and semi-soft and hard fired clay is an exciting mix. We are all mothers who work intuitively, have many demands on out time. and found a commonality to gather our work around.

Ruth Loveland

Q. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like readers to know about?

A. The work that I am showing at Resonator this month is deeply, pungently, majorly personal, but also mostly concealed and wrapped with more formal qualities. The work is experimental and quite different from what I have done in the past. It is a promise on my behavior, on your behavior, on unrest. I explore how the horizon line can save you, pondering over a distance that seems infinite. Even if it is a mirage, and the colors are a little off, it can give you enough space that your misery can expand into something more hopeful. If what seems like red stripe in a rainbow is actually a peeling scab, it still works, it curves, it interacts with light and when inverted it is put on a dare: catch luck or catch dust. About this work: I couldn’t help it and also didn’t mean to, that’s how you know its true.

Ruth Loveland

Follow her on Instagram: @ruthbloveland

Visit her website: ruthloveland.com

Artist Profile: Sarai Raven Huber

This May we have a group show featuring three synergistic artists: Sarai Raven Huber, Margaret Kinkeade, and Ruth Loveland. The show is called “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and opens May 10th during 2nd Friday Art Walk. The event runs from 6 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at 325 E. Main St. and is open to the public. To give each artist the opportunity to talk about their work and the show, we have decided to break their profiles into three parts.

-Helen Grant

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Sarai Raven Huber

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Artist Statement: “As a child, I was raised by parents who were both artists and some of my earliest memories are of the color, texture, and patterns of quilts hanging on my family’s walls. The calming sensation brought on by focusing on those fabrics has lasted into my adulthood and is still the main reason I create art. Weaving, quilting, knitting, sewing - these all keep me together and tie me more to the moment. In everything that I create, I am motivated by memories of my childhood, American folk art, the need to continue artistic expression within my family, and nature.

Working with textiles is my preferred medium because it offers me control in a way that other mediums do not. I am obsessed with straight lines, and textiles are the perfect medium to express, change, and control lines. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that for me, in weaving and quilting there are no real rules. Mistakes can become intentional and no one need know the difference. I use a wide variety of yarns, including my own hand-spun yarns, vintage yarns, and specialty hand-dyed yarns. Other materials range from wool and cotton fabrics that I have gathered while traveling in North and South America, the Middle East, and Europe, to felt and wire, to wooden cedar, ash, and sycamore sticks gathered in the Southern Plains and the mountains of Appalachia. In the end, everything comes full circle. I am no longer looking at the textiles made by others for comfort, I am making them for myself.”

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Q&A

Q. What is your background?

A. My family moved to Oklahoma when I was young and I grew up in the OKC area. As a teenager and young adult, I spent a lot of time traveling with friends and living in different places - moving is a constant theme in my life. I recently tried counting how many houses I have lived in and lost count at 23. I came to Norman to study anthropology at OU and now I am a librarian by day and weaver by night. I didn’t study art in school, it was something that I developed on my own. My parents are both artists and I grew up with a very creative group of friends so I was lucky in that something artistic was always going on around me.

Q. Where do you draw inspiration from?

A. This changes a lot for me. Right now, my inspiration is coming from bird feathers, graffiti, and irises. I am also consistently inspired by memories of my younger brother’s colorful style. Fabrics in general – particularly mended clothing and quilts –lines and any kind of embroidery stitch. Anni Albers, Paul Klee, and other Bauhaus artists. I also draw a lot of inspiration from people I love. Often when I weave or quilt I try to only think of one person – their favorite colors, what I love about who they are, how they inspire me, their laugh, memories of them. I try to put as much of them into that piece as I can. It makes it hard to let some of them go in the end!

Sarai Raven Huber

Q. What are you working on right now that excites you?

A. Lately I am interested in two things, weaving in a very limited color scheme and finding a way to cohesively mix weaving with ceramics. My father is a potter and I would like to work with him to create different shaped looms out of clay on which to weave. I love framed weavings under glass but always want to reach out and touch them. This would be the best of both worlds, a weaving that remains on a frame of some sort while retaining the ability to touch it.

Q. What is your show at Resonator about?

A. I think Margaret answered this beautifully so I will point you to her response.

Q. What are you favorite books, movies, or music you’re into right now?

A. Right now, I am listening to a lot of LCD Soundsystem, Bob Dylan, and WQXR out of New York City.

Sarai Raven Huber

Q. Do you have any art events or exhibitions you’re really excited about this year?

A. This one! I love Margaret and Ruth’s work but I never actually looked at all of our work together at the same time with pieces next to each other. It sort of shocked me how wonderfully it all fits together, the lines, curves, and colors from each of our pieces. I am excited to see it all together in one place on a grander scale. When I was in New York City back in March I went to the Frida Kahlo exhibit “Appearances Can Be Deceiving,” at the Brooklyn Museum. It was amazing! The exhibit focused on her personal effects and clothing. The colors and fabrics were so bright and beautiful. You could see stitches, paint stains, and cigarette burns on some of her dresses. Even my two year old was mesmerized by the colors, he kept pointing to different dresses and saying “more, more.”

Sarai Raven Huber

Q. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like readers to know about?

A. I am a bird fanatic. The kind that travels far distances to find just one bird. For the past six years I've also been skinning and preparing bird specimens for a museum. The opportunity to do this came to me at just the right time and it has become incredibly meaningful. It's such an honor, every bird I hold in my hands – each one is profound and special in its own way.

Follow her on Instagram @sarairaven


Visit her website at: https://sarairavenhuber.weebly.com/