South End Open Studios 2010

Today I waded through the slightly clammy weather to visit the South End. I started out at 46 Waltham, which I had missed last year due to some drama among the group I was going with. It's an interesting space, with winding hallways through a generally U-shaped building. I spent a decent amount of time just taking photos from studio windows.

I did learn some interesting things about paper casting from Felice Mendell. It's a technique I hadn't even considered. I've made paper from paper pulp before, but I hadn't thought of casting it in a mold. I briefly thought of doing something similar for my teapot project (more on that later), but it was interesting to see it in action.

I also saw some interesting smoke photography by Stephen Baumbach. It made me think of the smoke and ink projects I saw when I worked for Federico Muelas as an intern. 

After 46 Waltham I walked down Shawmut and ended up at Tremont Street. I really don't know the area very well, despite coming almost every month for First Fridays, and I'm surprised that I even managed to find anything. But I saw a big sign up at what turned out to be the Boston Center for the Arts, so I went in. I really love those old studio buildings. I love the high ceilings and creaky, uneven floors - and of course the views from the windows (in this case, from the bathroom):

I saw some beautiful work by Silvia López Chávez, and especially liked her color themes. There was a portrait of a girl with pigeons that I really enjoyed. There were an unusual number of depictions of pigeons today, actually. There was a photograph of one in 46 Waltham, and several drawings and paintings of pigeons at the BCA. I wonder if each artist actually has a different personal reason for choosing them, or if it's just a general trend. 

There was also some interesting work by Sophie Truong, who had a lot of textile work with teabags; her blurb in the booklet is "musings of a compulsive stitcher", which does sum it up. I loved the obsessive detail and the effect of masses of teabags. My eye was first caught by her soft sculptures hanging in the studio; I also liked some meandering vines of teabags that were in the corner of the room. 

I was getting to the end of the 4th floor and thinking of heading back, but I'm really glad that I decided to stop in to Laura Sapelly's studio before I left. She had some beautiful textile pieces on display, and we had a really long talk about sewing and about aesthetics in general. I've got some new ideas for my next attempt at embroidered maps, as well as a significant reading list! It always makes me realize how little I actually know about what I'm doing. But as I do it, I'll learn.