2011年10月13日 星期四

Open studio marks major changes for artists

Worcester's gritty past and post-industrial present, both creative in different ways, come together amid the artists' studios in an old mill building at 75 Webster St. An open studio event Oct. 14 provides a chance to wander the cavernous building's hallways in search of signs of artistic life.

Many artists and craftspeople have rented work space in the mill and some will open their doors beginning at 7 p.m. (until about 10 or whenever) so the public can have a look-see. The exact number of studios that will be open seems to move around a bit. At one point we heard six but so far have been able to confirm three: Brian Burris, Tom Grady and Carrie Nixon. This will be your last chance to see Burris in his mill-studio environment as he is closing up shop there at the end of October. The prolific creator of large-scale, multi-layered and deeply emotional abstract paintings is slowing down to focus more on family life and his job as a lieutenant in the Worcester Fire Department.

“Closing is primarily financial but I've also been painting a painting per week for almost the whole last year, which burns me out, despite David Lynch saying the act of creation isn't draining but exhilarating: it's both for me,” Burris said. “So I get a break, fall back to painting more around five a year and I can concentrate on studying for the next promotional exam and, my kids will like me not being in-studio three or four nights a week. Between the studio rent and supplies the savings is pretty significant.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.”

While it is Burris' last open studio at the mill, it is Grady's first.It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line.

His studio was once in his garage at home but he moved it to Webster Street in August 2010. “Having a home studio can be distracting and difficult to focus with dishes, phone, Internet, laundry, need to be quiet so as not to wake the sleeping children and so on,” he said. “I moved my studio out of the house and found this great space and it's worked out well so far.”

Grady, who teaches art at Assumption College, has thought about having an open studio ever since. “It is a fun event that is more casual than a gallery opening and gives the public a chance to see behind the scenes the artist and work space,” he said.

Both Grady's and Burris' studios are on the Jacques Street side of the complex.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, You can either enter the front of the building on Webster Street and wend your way back through the sprawling mill complex,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, or go in the Jacques Street door, walk up one flight and take a left down the hall, which is by far the less confounding route.

What will you see when you arrive?

“The main focus of my work currently is completing 100 painted portraits, one of every age,” Grady said. “I have 34 complete which can be seen at the open studio. I am still looking for sitters mostly of ages 76 and older.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.”

To move on to the front of the building and Nixon's studio, either thread your way from the Jacques street side toward Webster Street — checking to see if other studios have spontaneously opened along the way — or go in the Webster Street door and up the stairs to the third floor and down the hallway to the left. When you find Nixon, who is associate professor of studio art at Assumption, she will show you paintings and drawings supported by a grant from the Worcester Arts Council on the theme of “at work in Worcester.” There are about 20 works with subjects ranging from Twister, the mascot of the Worcester Tornadoes, to a waitress at the Boynton Restaurant.

She also included several images seen on TV Worcester, including fiery fundamentalist preachers and a talk show host. While those are small images, a much larger work in progress adorns one wall of the studio.

“I am currently working on a 3-foot high by 10-foot wide multi-image painting including two scenes of Dark World tattoo artists at work (She will have a solo show in the gallery at the Dark World tattoo parlor next month). This piece is oil on Mylar; the plastic surface is not absorbent so every stroke shows and there is a surprisingly skin-like translucency to it,” she said. “This may be a future direction.”

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