Local Artist Residency - Mike Ferrari

Mike, thanks so much for sharing your work with us and the Local community. The response on your format has been super-positive. When did you first think about this particular platform?

Hey Rob.  First off, thanks for the opportunity to show my art at Local!   After graduating Art School in 2001, I moved back home and set up an art studio in my parents’ basement.  I was constantly experimenting with my art and exploring different types of surfaces to paint on beyond traditional canvases.  After painting on wood and other found objects, I came across an old box of vinyl records that my parents had stored away, so I looked through them and found one that was probably not worth listening to ever again and thought, “why not?”  Trying to stay true to the medium, I painted a classic portrait of Billie Holiday with the big white flower in her hair and that’s where it began.

 Lots of discussion, notably surrounding what musicians and bands you decided to paint and post. How did you ultimately land on this mix for Local?

I just really like all kinds of music.  I’m always listening to music while painting.  In one session I can easily go from Wu Tang to Fiona Apple to Metallica.  I can honestly say that 99% of the artists that I choose to paint are artists whose music I like...or at least appreciate.  I also try to give the viewers a little of everything in hopes of sparking a positive music memory or feeling.  It’s always great seeing people really engage with the work and pick out their favorites, both artistically and musically.  I hope with this diverse collection of 48 records up at Local there is something for everyone.

As we're in the shop all day, I am constantly looking at the albums and reengaging with so many of these artists. Of particular interest is Dolly Parton. Her voice in 'Jolene' is arguably one of the most passionate, in and out of country music. Have to ask, how did you come to paint her?

She was one of the more recent ones I painted.  Dolly is a legend in so many ways and seems to be coming back around in pop culture.  She is one of those artists like Bob Marley or the Beatles that just transcends her genre.  I dare anyone to say anything negative about Dolly.  It doesn’t matter what style of music that you prefer, if someone puts on ‘Jolene’ those 3 minutes or so are going to take you somewhere special.

Curious - have you connected with any of these musicians through your art?

Not yet.  I’ve created several personal vinyl paintings for friends who are musicians and I’ve had a few local musicians reach out, but I’m yet to get the invite to Saint Tropez on Jay-Z and Beyonce’s yacht...fingers crossed for this summer!

Many people have asked, so I'll put it out to you here - what albums did you paint over for this project? 

They are all painted on first press copies of the Beatles’ White Album… No, just kidding.  People often ask me if the artists painted on the records match the music on it, and the answer is no – I would never paint on a vinyl record I would want to listen to.  I’ve acquired a large collection of old records from various places like garage sales and friends have given me old stacks that they didn’t want anymore.  There used to be a great music store in Hoboken called Tunes.  When I lived there, I would go all the time to look through the old clearance records.  I would pick up a bunch of vinyl for like 25-50 cents apiece.  It’s a different kind of crate digging.  I always wondered what the cashiers were thinking as they scanned my random collection of classical baroque, some obscure jazz, and Norwegian death metal.  As long as the vinyl is in good condition and not scratched up, I’ll use it...unless I end up keeping it for my personal collection.

Luckily, I preserved all of my albums from childhood as well as my parent's collection. I love that moment when the needle hits the vinyl and a crackling is audible, almost like that moment when starting a fire. Can we safely assume that you have albums to listen to as well? What do you love about this music format?

It’s a magical moment indeed.  My parents had a decent record collection from the 70s and early 80s and we always listen to music in our house growing up.  My brother and I had a small, typical 80’s kid collection like Michael Jackson, Weird Al, Beastie Boys, Culture Club, the Breakin’ Soundtrack, and other randomly acquired finds.  Most of those records are still part of my current collection of “listening” vinyls.  Though the format has changed many times over throughout the years, music has always been a big part of my life.  There is always great music flowing through my house, unless my kids take control of the music.  Obviously, vinyl has come back around within the past few years and it’s great to see people of all ages really embracing the medium.  With everything these days being digital and right at your fingertips, it’s nice to have a tangible alternative and a collection that is uniquely yours.  Being able to put a record on the turntable, drop the needle, and hear all the pops and crackles is just so much more of a personal experience than scanning Spotify and pressing play (disclaimer: I also love Spotify and think it’s an amazingly wonderful platform that I use almost daily).

I was so happy to learn that you are an art teacher provided our particular interest in this discipline. Thank you for everything you do! What is the most rewarding aspect of this path that you have chosen? Any singular moments that put you over the moon?

There have been so many great moments teaching art over the years. I have had the pleasure of working with some very talented students and am grateful to have played a part in their artistic journey.  It’s always nice to reconnect with past students that have graduated who tell me that they still remember specific moments from my class.  Whether it’s specifically about art or just a positive memory.  I don’t expect all of them to become artists but if they can at least come away with a positive experience and a slightly stronger appreciation for art, then I’m happy.  

Please tell us about any current projects you're working on, either connected to the albums or perhaps something new?

Well, the album art seems to be an ongoing project that started in my parents’ basement and continues in my current Montclair basement, and will probably never end.  I have an ever-growing backlog of artists that I want to take on.  In addition to the records, I’m always busy working on something, whether it’s paintings, drawings, collages, etc.  I have a few shows coming up in and around the Montclair area this spring and summer and I’m always on the lookout for different opportunities to show my work and connect to people.

Learn more about Mike here

Visit Mike’s IG here

Local Talk: Q+A with iconic Montclair artist: Fern Bass

Fern! So happy to have your work @ Local. Your work is well known 'round these parts. Tell us how and where you began your artistic journey.

I started out at The Brooklyn Museum Art School when I was 11ish. I would ride the Flatbush Avenue bus excitedly clutching the wooden paint box my uncle Herbie gave me. I remember the first time I walked into the art school I was euphoric. It was like, “Wow! I’m allowed to do all of this cool stuff? For the whole day?!?

We spoke (and laughed a bit) together while hanging your work speaking to the art scene in Greenwich Village in the 70s and 80s. What elements of that environment influenced your current state of art?

Well, I was at Pratt in the late 70’s early 80’s and deep into the study of graphic design and working as a waitress in the West Village. I was working so hard I didn’t get out much, so I wasn’t that aware of the art scene at the time. Anyway I’m more of an old schooler-I love the art of the Italian Renaissance, the Post Impressionists, the German Expressionists, Edward Hopper and Fairfield Porter.

How did Bass Arts Studio come to be? What is your proudest thought provided its existence?

After working as a graphic designer for 15 years I quit to stay home and raise my girls. That’s when I started painting again. Then I got divorced and began teaching at a studio in town and found that I really loved teaching. When my ex exited he took his fleet of Porsches with him and I found myself with an empty garage and then...light bulb! I renovated the garage and bought easels and started a school. That was 15 years ago.  Such a better use of a garage, dontcha think?

 (yes, indeed)

You have a wonderful focus for artistic direction for teens. Not to get too deep, but on a scale of 1 to 10, how important is artistic development for children at this stage?

 I think it’s totally important. 10 of 10. I don’t know how I would have gotten through high school without spending 95% of my time making art. It was a lifeline for me.  I super identify with my teen students. They badly need an outlet for their angst, the intensity of their emotions, and their hopping hormones. They need to feel seen and acknowledged. I try to connect with them, see where their talents lie and reflect that back to them.  Developing technical skills grows their confidence and gives them the tools to communicate their ideas.

For yourself, how can you balance teaching with maintaining a high degree of personal creative inspiration?

 I prioritize! I am a very good time manager and a benign neglector. I only do what is absolutely necessary and let the rest go to maximize my time in the studio. I rarely shop with the exception of groceries.  I guard my time like it’s the most precious resource I have (because it is). There’s a lot of parallel process and cross-pollination between my personal work and my teaching, one discipline feeds the other. And I drink a lot of coffee! I am lucky my husband is extremely organized and does a lot of household stuff. (I have the fun job-I cook)

Tell us about the work you chose to share with our local community.

I have a thing for Parisian waiters. I love the graphic pattern of their long white aprons against their black vests and pants. And the graceful way they hold their trays and acrobatically move through space. A while back I did a series on dancers. These waiters are serving but their gestural movement feels very related to dance. 

 What plans do you have around new creative projects?

I am probably not done with the cafe series, but I am planning to do a whole series on dogs.

Since you started, is there one experience that confirmed you did a beautiful thing?

There have been so many, it’s hard to pick. Many of my students have gone on to art school and art careers. That’s very gratifying. Last week an eleven year old in my Drawing Bootcamp was marveling over a large figure drawing she did and said, “Wow, I never thought I could do this!” That was a beautiful thing.

What is your favorite coffee or tea beverage?

I like a nice cappuccino. Whole milk please.

Learn more about the one and only Fern Bass by visiting her website @ https://www.bassartsstudio.com/

Local Talk - Q+A with artist Cathy LeCleire

We're so thrilled to have you post at the shop - both as a friend and accomplished artist. At what age did you first know that you had the interest and desire to take your thoughts and create something?

I’m probably showing my age but the first time I realized that art could be anything you wanted it to be was going to the World’s Fair in Queens and seeing Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup cans and Claus Oldenburg’s huge fan made out of vinyl. I really felt I could be an artist too.

What were the first projects that you worked on?

I’m not sure of my first project because there are probably so many. I’m a printmaker so that means I work in multiples. I first went to college and studied Political Science and went back to Art School after I graduated. I feel my first projects tended to be political in nature. Printmaking has always had a political background because it was always about protest and bringing information to the masses.

How did you take this interest and apply to greater learnings at the educational level?

I have always enjoyed teaching and found I was good at it. Educational institutions are the greatest place for pollination and stimulation. I find my students are my greatest inspiration and I hope my mentoring and encouragement leads to greater creativity of ideas.

So, you now teach  printmaking and book art techniques  at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Given that the world has become more and more digital - how has your craft evolved?

Printmaking is always evolving and taking on contemporary mediums. We embrace the digital age with dot screens, filmmaking, zines, etc. Students are always looking for the printed word as social media. They print large editions many times that are mass-produced and can have an immediate response. I think many printmakers are at the forefront of the digital age but also enjoy traditional methods such as etching, lithography and screenprinting.

As a teacher, what is the most interesting thing you have learned from your students?

It took me a while to trust my students and allow them to make mistakes. I once received the best evaluation from a student. She said I did too much for the student and I should let them fail because failing is the best way of learning. So now I always say “have fun and make mistakes!”

Please tell us about the work you have so graciously offered here at Local - Endangered Species.

I have recently been interested in the dangers of plastic and the fact that it cannot decompose. By using it as a printing surface I created a mural of animals that I feel are in danger of disappearing. With the use of contemporary, unmistakable and repeated images combined with global awareness, I have created statements of the ecological consequences in our daily lives.

What's next? What other projects are you currently working on?

I shouldn’t say but I’m back to political art in these dangerous times. I’ve been making sashes like what the suffragettes wore in pink with slogans for issues such as gun control, women’s rights, me too movement, etc. And as with printmaking they are controversial!

Learn more about Cathy here

Local Talk: Q+A with artist Bonnie Maranz

Where were you born and raised? Describe your upbringing and impact on both your art and where you are in life today?

 My life began in an urban neighborhood in Newark, NJ. Large crowded apartment houses, small family owned grocery stores, bakeries and a soda shop on every corner dominated. When I close my eyes I can still see the dark passageways surrounding our apartment building, the tight close proximity of neighbors working and struggling beyond dark days of the Depression and World War II.  Long shadows that continued to overcast our lives. Looking back I realize it was my public education and the people living in that apartment house—389 Leslie Street—that I will never forget. Many helped forge a love of art and a vision of a life beyond the everyday.

In particular, across the hall from our first floor apartment lived a young couple—Nathan and Ruthie Kruger. Nathan Kruger owned an art gallery, Rabin and Kruger, downtown Newark where he partnered with an art conservator Bernard Rabin. Ruthie Kruger was an art teacher. Rabin and Kruger represented the famous artist Joseph Stella. Nathan helped to broker the sale of Stella’s iconic painting “The Brooklyn Bridge” to the Newark Museum. Ruthie started giving me private art lessons when I was three years old! They give me my first art book which I still have with the inscription: “To Bonnie (the little artist) we hope you will grow up to be a big artist and this book will help.”

When did you know you were interested in pursuing an art career?

I always knew I was an artist and would continue painting and drawing, but I never really thought of art as my career. As an undergraduate, I planned to teach art to children as a creative way to make a living (combining a love of art with the need to earn money). It wasn’t until I was graduating from Kean College (studio art/education) that I decided with the encouragement of my mentor, Dr. Pearl Greenberg, to pursue a Master’s Degree in Painting. As I was preparing to graduate she said, “You are really talented, you should just concentrate on Painting and pursue a Graduate Degree”. Advice I embraced.

It was when I started classes at Montclair State University that I really began to think in terms of career—how to grow and seek opportunities, concentrating on developing series of expanded work, learning more about artists and trends and haunting museums as much as possible. At that time the requirement to earn a Master’s degree was “to do work never done before”. What a challenge! Big thank you to professors Carmen Cicero and Jonathan Silver!

Describe your role as professor and the enjoyment you obtain from teaching.

As a college professor I have the privilege of teaching Art (Appreciation, History, Drawing, etc.) to the most vital group of our future country. I teach the value of appreciating visual language in it’s many forms, how it intersects with history and innovative critical thinking. I help students connect patterns of revolutionary breakthroughs in the humanities starting with Cave Art. Their insights are revealing, refreshing and often revelatory!

What generally inspires you and influenced your work? Tell us more about the “Edge” and how you arrived at this philosophical approach.

During the five years I was studying at Montclair State—concentrating on a “breaking through”, I really began to understand how difficult innovation is to achieve. Copying is really much easier.  Getting an idea of course is exciting. Then implementing it—making technical choices, lots of disappointments and experiments, the tremendous amount of work involved. So, into the fifth year when Carmen Cicero congratulated me on making a break through I was thrilled. He told me “A lot of people don’t every breakthrough.You will leave a lot of people behind and lose their support, but not to worry you will meet the people you need to meet.”  I didn’t understand the scope of this advice but I became addicted to searching for the next breakthrough. This still colors my work.

The “Edge” is a metaphor for many things. It started when a close friend observed that “I was the type of person who would approach the edge of a precipice, stare a it, be mesmerized but never jumped in.  What does that mean? More questions than answers. Do I have to jump in? Are there real boundaries and definitive stop signs? Can I go wherever I want in my mind and imagination?

What artists have inspired you and influenced your work?

Just this week I watched the National Geographic series “Genius”. Albert Einstein’s story. Over and over he declared it was his imagination and visualizations that helped he come up with many equations and formulas. Like the power of a visual to “travel on a wave of light” in his mind.

Of course, the greats: Van Gogh, Michelangelo, DaVinci, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Malevich, etc,  as well as great women artists like Frida Kahlo!

More personally contemporary and modern artists are the ones I revisit all the time. Especially Yves Klein, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Ad Reinhardt and the lesser known American Impressionist Albert Blakelock.

What message are you trying to communicate with your art? What do you want people who see your work to think/feel?

I want them to react to the language, color and mood I am trying to convey. Forms that verbal language cannot express.  I welcome their reactions and interpretations. Often my work is broken into modules that can stand on their own or combine. Works on walls that wander while remaining grounded as backdrop or anchor.

Ultimately I believe a painting is a state of mind.

If an art curator came to your house tomorrow to organize and catalog your work, what are the three most important things to communicate to that person?

My work is my ongoing journey away from the ground we stand on while at the same time being firmly rooted on the horizon of our existence.

I am articulating the underpinning Modulus of life as I imagine it—using paint and canvas.

Attempting to surprise and delight the viewer and myself!  

Describe the medium you work in and the materials you use. Why that medium and why those materials?

Using oil paint on paper and canvas. Slow to dry, I love the fact that oil paint can be manipulated and the colors are often gorgeous!  Still works for me! I believe we all still love the seduction of   painting!

What’s the future direction of your art? What do you plan to do next?

Still studying and looking at Hubble Telescope images. Can’t wait for the next visual discovery out there in the Cosmos.

What do you want your legacy to be?

I don’t think I can predict what my legacy may be. I want to be remembered as part of a wonderful community of artists that just had to create in our time and place.

http://www.basemeantwrx.com/new-events/2015/7/24/bonnie-maranz-gallery-night-oil-paintings-on-canvas-paper