amy meya and cathy broski: wall pieces

"Starting at the beginning the most important part of my work is the medium, I feel passionate about clay itself. There is something about taking a lump of mud and forming it into an object that fills a primal urge for me. The intimate and personal nature of ceramic objects stands out against other mediums, for me anyway.

The next step is process, I make stamps, rolling pins, and carve out molds from clay that I fire and use for all the texture in my work, Using tools I have created satisfies my need for originality for each piece.

Clay - the medium from nature - lends itself so perfectly to depictions of nature. My family and I love to camp and hike. There is nothing more peaceful than being in the woods. But even in the city I love staring at the shapes of tree branches, watching flocks of birds swoop across the sky, collecting interesting seed pods, growing gourds and sunflowers in my yard. I guess I just take all the forms that I find interesting and express them through my clay work. Even deeper though, I hope that  a message of appreciation and conservation of nature comes across. If we decimate all the wild areas then we will have no place to retreat when we need some peace." - Amy Meya

"'Radiating Joy' is the title of this piece. I am honored to once again be involved in the Change the Truth Doll Project. This year I tried to project the radiating joy I saw in the photos of the children of St. Mary Kevin Orphanage. My love of using found objects can be seen in the use of the bright yellow a orange telephone wire, the reparation of keys and tags.  I also used recycled glass in the ceramic piece that is the base to work from." - Cathy Broski

For more than two decades Cathy Broski has been exploring figurative work. Recognized for her archetypal figures, she is inspired by weathered surfaces as well as gestures of the living. Her work is steeped in archetypal and personal symbolism. The appreciation of found objects plays a big roll in Cathy’s work. She often uses them and emulates the wear of their journeys on her own surfaces. To accomplish this she uses a layering technique. Since receiving her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1990, Cathy Broski has worked in the ceramics field in many capacities. She shows her work nationally and is an active member of the Kansas City ceramic community.

joe lorusso

Joe Lorusso was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966 and received his formal training at the American Academy of Art. He went on to receive his B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. Born of Italian descent, Lorusso was exposed to art at an early age. Through several early trips to Italy, his parents introduced him to the works of the Italian Masters. Joe would look to these influences throughout his early artistic development, and they are still evident in his work today.

Joe has served as instructor of painting and drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute. He regularly teaches workshops at the Scottsdale Artists School, as well as the Fredericksburg Art School in Fredericksburg, Texas. Joe's work has been shown internationally and has won numerous awards and honors. He has been featured in American Artist magazine, Southwest Art, U.S. Art, Art & Antiques, The Artists Magazine, Art News, American Art Collector, International Artist and Art Talk magazines. His work is part of many private collections; his paintings are represented by several galleries across the country. This is the first year he's been part of the Doll Project.

aryn roth and wil & lisa lala

"Upon our first meeting I knew this representative, introduced to me by Gloria, would be a good liaison for the ‘Expresso Party’. High energy, solid principles, love of animals, people, organic food & fair trade products. The costume was created from a gift via Ferrara, Italy. 

Everyone is free to unite in nurturing the environment we share.

Through art, peace & harmony, Aryn"

"Three Countries"

a collaboration by father/daughter

Wil Lala and Lisa Lala

Wil and Lisa's doll was embellished with discarded cans from Belize, Central America and was wired and composed in Kansas City. The three countries, then, are Uganda, Belize and the USA.

nedra bonds

"The theme of this doll is an angel. She poses her hands and stands on tip toes, ready to take flight.

The wings are made from silk flower petals representing the symbol of my native Kansas, the sunflower. May the children always walk in sunshine.

Each bead represents a prayer offered to support the life of a child.

I used bark cloth, made in Uganda, as the primary fabric for the clothes.

I hope this effort helps make that theme a reality for as many children as possible."

- Nedra Bonds

“A contemporary art quilter, Nedra Bonds comes from a long line of traditional quilters. Both her paternal and maternal grandmothers quilted, as did her mother and father. Each child in the family had a ‘real’ quilt and a ‘play’ quilt. The real quilt went on the bed, and the play quilt was used by the children when taking naps. ‘Sunday’ quilts are also a part of Bonds’ heritage. Every Sunday the beds were covered in the best quilts, awaiting the admiring eyes of those who would come to Sunday supper. As a six-year-old, Bonds was told that idle hands were the Devil’s workshop and was encouraged to begin preparing a hope chest. To help her prepare that hope chest, Bonds’ grandmother taught her traditional quilting techniques. At that young age, Bonds was shown how to make ten stitches equivalent to the length between the tip of her forefinger and the first joint. If she failed at her task, she was required to remove the stitches and to start again. As a teenager, Bonds turned her back on the family tradition of quilting.

As an adult, a private-school and college art teacher, Bonds looked at the tradition with fresh eyes. Bonds, who embraces quilting as a fine-art form that has grown from a folk tradition, incorporates three-dimensional elements and a variety of textures and colors into her art quilts to interpret the world around her and express her views on various social issues. One of her best-known quilts is the Quindaro Story Quilt, a traditional appliqué quilt that tells the history of the Civil War settlement of Quindaro, Kansas. The quilt, approximately four by six feet and bordered in a bright yellow fabric, depicts black people who escaped slavery in Missouri and followed the Underground Railroad through Quindaro. In recent years, an eight-year battle was waged by environmentalists because the state had wanted to convert the Quindaro site into a landfill. The quilt was displayed during a Kansas legislative hearing on a bill that was to declare the Quindaro site a historic area, saving it from pollution. The quilt traveled for more than a year as a reminder of the important historical events in Kansas and the impact of those events on the United States in general. Quindaro did not become a landfill, and some community leaders attribute that, in part, to the creation of the Quindaro Story Quilt.”

- from The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore

isabella

It was in 2006 when I first meet Issy. My friend Nicholas wanted to make sure I met  his little sister.

At that time, the full orphans lived in a separate part of the orphanage. They were pretty much a rag-tag band of kids. They were definitely kept on the "poor side" of the compound. They looked skinnier and less healthy than the other children, their clothes were more tattered, and they ate their porridge and posho sitting on the ground rather than at tables. (Two years later, the director integrated the full orphans with the half orphans and boarding students. The area where Nicholas, Issy and the others had lived became - and still is - the "big boys" dorm.)

Issy was petite and shy. She didn't speak much English in 2006. I knew she was a little artist, though, because on that first day we met she showed me a small sculpture she had recently shaped out of some mud she'd scooped up from the ground. This was, essentially, how she introduced herself to me.

I have had the good fortune to see Issy every year since then. Each December I am fortunate to get to know her better; she has amazed me with her resilience, her quiet inner strength, her smarts, her artistic abilities, her leadership qualities, her humor, her dancing and singing and most especially - with her kindness and grace. (She is one of our sponsored students, and she is at the top of her class!)

Issy is a lovely and special young woman. I am proud to call her my friend.

Over the years Issy's artwork has matured just as she has. She has always been interested in portraying people, especially family and village scenes. She works from her imagination, not pictures. She's got incredible talent and a style that is her own. It's easy to pick out Issy's work from all the others.

Today is her 14th birthday.

On behalf of your many devoted friends and fans (some you have met, and some you have not) I'd like to wish you a very, very happy birthday, Issy!

Things came full circle this week when Melissa sent me this photo of a recent sculpture Issy made. AND this recent picture of the birthday girl herself.

Both are quite beautiful, don't you agree?

kids helping kids: emily trenton and emily collins

There are two young women taking part in the doll project this year. They really aren't kids, I guess. At CTT we love it when young people reach out to help other young people, and we simply (and gratefully) refer to this as "kids helping kids."

Emily Trenton is an incoming junior in high school. She is in the art focus area, and she also plays field hockey and lacrosse. She took Drawing 1 as a freshman and was awarded a silver key in the 2011 Scholastic Art Awards for her mixed media piece "Le President." When she took Sculpture 1, also as a freshman, she won a silver key for her ceramic bust of Queen Elizabeth in her youth. Emily added painting to her class schedule this past year. In her Sculpture II class, she created an independent study in fashion. She made dresses, including one made out of wooden blocks and one made from flattened bottle caps.

  

Emily will transition into AP Studio Art (3D) this fall... after she gets back from two months of teaching sailing at a girl's camp in Wisconsin, that is.

Emily Collins is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas. She is a pre-nursing major and a proud member of the Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority. Originally from Prairie Village, Kansas, Emily led a global service/awareness club “Coalition” at Shawnee Mission East High School. I met Emily when I spoke to that group in 2009; it was on that day that she decided she wanted to go to Uganda. She became a member of Team 4. During that trip, one child in particular stood above the rest in Emily’s eyes. Emily writes:

"Claire Faith, a P6 student was quiet, yet sassy in her quick eye rolls and hidden smiles. The very first day, she took on the role as my photographer and guide, documenting her classmates in their most natural and posed positions and leading me by hand around the SMK grounds. With quiet moments and many jokes throughout the week, Claire Faith and I became inseparable.

 But the moment I realized we would be bound together for much longer than the trip was one day after we had returned from the lake and Claire Faith was trying to fix my broken camera. She worked so hard even after I had given up and told her it was okay. She finally surrendered and asked for my phone so she could play ‘Bug Crusher’ some more. Lying on her stomach on my bed with her petite feet swinging in the air, she beat my high score and simply looked up at me with her sly grin, saying, ‘You have a lot to learn from me’. She had no idea how right she was.”

Emily is now Claire Faith’s sponsor.

“I taught a sewing class when I was at SMK, and fashion design has always been a huge part of my life. I bought the batik fabric in Kampala and decided my doll needed something really dramatic. Whenever I think of Africa, I think of Claire Faith and I picture her strength. I see her in my doll and I wanted her to not only be elegant, but have a sense of heroism. Claire Faith and I are going through school together in a way, and some days when I am not prepared for a test or I choose to slack off, I snap back to reality and know that we must succeed together. The doll’s height , mounted above pattern and material, illustrates that though I am driven and determined, most days, I believe in Claire Faith more than I believe in myself.”

jason pollen

Jason Pollen is an internationally acclaimed artist, designer and educator. He has been on the faculties of the Royal College of Art in London, Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute in New York City and as Professor and Chair of the Fiber Department at the Kansas City Art Institute.

Jason has designed textiles for dozens of renowned fashion and home furnishings firms. He regularly collaborates as scenic designer for the Kansas City Ballet. He is President emeritus of the Surface Design Association and also an American Craft Council Fellow. The Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina will honor him with the Outstanding Artist Educator Award in August 2012.

miki baird

Miki Baird has pursued her career in the arts in Kansas City since graduating with a BFA in sculpture and an MFA in art from the University of Kansas.  She is the recipient of numerous grant awards and commissions including a 2012 Studios Inc residency award through the Brad and Linda Nicholson Foundation.  She has also received an Arts KCFund Inspiration Grant, a Missouri Bank Artboards Commission in conjunction with Art Through Architecture/Kansas City and the Charlotte Street Foundation and was an AiA Kansas City/Art Through Architecture commission finalist in 2010.  Her work was seen on the sidewalks of downtown Kansas City after receiving an Avenue of the Arts Municipal Commission and Grant and she participated in residencies with Vehicle Tow Services of Kansas City under the auspices of the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services as well as community outreach in collaboration with the Salina Art Center.  Miki held academic positions from 2000-2007 at the Kansas City Art Institute in the Departments of Sculpture and Interdisciplinary Arts, and in 2004 she participated as artist/instructor with the MFA Program of Vermont College.  Exhibitions include Eric Fischl’s America: Now and Here, Familiar: Portraits of Proximity at the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art’s Epsten Gallery and the Flatfile Collection of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. 

Miki's doll is titled "held…..between earth and sky". This is what Miki has to say about the piece:   

"This little banana doll is covered from head to toe with earthscape and skyscape photos.  The images are selected from my collection of real life atmospheric and terra firma backdrops.  The photos are taken in varying locations and weather conditions, during changing times of day and throughout the seasons of the year.  Many are photographed in and around Kansas City but others are snapped on road trips throughout the Midwest.  They are the extracted hues and shades of the sky and the earth that make their way into my cache of diminutive visual tastes of environment.  I think of them as incremental dabs and dribbles and blurbs from our surroundings that are not always detectable in a broad range of viewing and rely heavily on my camera to help me find each of them.  Every discovery is a collaborative venture between the lens and myself.  I usually work with the photos in groups associated with their origin of locale but for the collaboration with the children of St. Mary Kevin Orphanage I decided to make selections from multiple groupings.  The compilation is intended to portray the color and texture of the many wonderful volunteers who have developed lasting relationships with the children served by Change The Truth." 

wire sculptures

For the past two years, I have encouraged the children at the orphanage to try and make animals out of the banana leaves. This past December a few of them gave it their best shot by making armatures around which they then planned to wrap the fibers.

When I saw how intricate and gorgeous these sculptures were, I realized immediately that they were perfect as is. Willy did try to cover one that he made, and it obscured the beautiful and delicate gestural qualities of the piece. So the decision was made to leave them just the way they were.

This body of work will make a very special addition to the auction at our June 29th event! Congratulations to the young artists who made them. Incredible, aren't they?

marie mason

Marie hits a home run again this year with her doll. It's title is "Knowledge is Power". This is the third year Marie has graciously agreed to be part of the Doll Project. Here's how she describes herself:

"I love dogs, cats, the garden, and the great outdoors. The sunsets, the bad weather, the beautiful flowers that grow with encouragement, the seasons, the starry night and the sunny day. In all of what is nature and natural, there is inspiration for my paintings. I was born in California, raised in Seattle and have spent lots of time in Las Vegas, Nevada and Corvallis, Oregon. I have a BFA from UNLV and taught school for ten years in Las Vegas before moving to Kansas City. I invite everyone to visit my store and gallery – it’s called Bella and Company – in Weston, Missouri."

Check out Marie's new blog, where she features her latest work. Gorgeous-o.

marcus cain

It seems fitting to follow Anne's doll with Marcus'. These two artists are on a well deserved roll, both having received the Charlotte Street Award this year. (Of the three winners of this prestigious award, CTT is honored that two are participating in the Doll Project!) Marcus and Anne are also currently exhibiting their work at the Sherry Leedy Gallery in Kansas City.

Marcus is an artist, writer and Executive Director/Curator of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas. Former positions include Owner/Co-Director of Satellite Exhibitions, Editor in Chief of Review: Visual Art Culture magazine, Instructor of Painting and Drawing and Corporate Partnership Exhibitions Coordinator at the Kansas City Art Institute and Assistant Director for Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. 

As an artist, Marcus has exhibited nationally and his artwork may be found in such public collections as the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, BBC Worldwide America, American Century Investments, H&R Block, Sprint Corporation, Westin Hotels, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and the private collection of Designer Todd Oldham. He is represented in Kansas City, MO by Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. Marcus treated his doll as he has his most recent body of work. About that work, the following was included with his bio at the Sherry Leedy show:

"These images begin to share a realm of thought that is consistent with the way I experience everyday life - as something full of both wonder and dread." - Marcus Cain 


In Marcus Cain's latest paintings, dots and points of color swarm together and linger at the edge of image and transformation, hovering and shifting into a likeness not of an individual, but of a spirit portrait or visual idea. In Cain's paintings, energy gathers and dissipates, as fleeting and eternal as fireflies on a summer night or the glow of stars in the Milky Way. Particles swirl in an infinite ebb and flow. It is as though the painting holds a universal soul that looks back at us through time and space, a ghostly presence with something to say."

this student's commencement speech is a must-read

Want to read about hope?
Do it here.

anne austin pearce

This is Anne's first year as a doll artist for Change the Truth. I am so happy she agreed to be part of the project. Anne was born in1968 in Lawrence, Kansas. She received her BFA from the University of Kansas with an emphasis in printmaking in 1990 and her MFA with an emphasis in painting and drawing from James Madison University in 1996. Anne has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has works in the permanent collections in the Nerman Museum and University of Central Missouri.  Most recently she was awarded a Charlotte Street Visual Arts Fellowship (huge and monstrous achievement!) and has a solo exhibit titled "Undertow" at Sherry Leedy Gallery (make sure to check it out). She is currently represented by Bertrand Delecroix Gallery in NYC and Sherry Leedy Gallery in Kansas City. She is also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Rockhurst University and Director of Greenlease Gallery.

About her work in general, Anne writes:


"As a deliberate visual collector of the anthropologically ordinary, I stare at people wherever and whenever possible. I gaze, thinking about their grandparents and great-grandparents, and their genetic make up. I know they have felt pain, humor, love and that they have formed opinions. Motivated by a curiosity to understand human nature and visually reflect these observations is the conceptual basis of my work."