MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION TO STUDIO INK INCLUDED WITH YOUR TASI MEMBERSHIP
COVER: TASI main gallery exhibiting artist CATHY SPENCE
STUDIO INK is a magazine produced and published by The Art Studio, Inc. only made possible with contributions from sponsors, donors, and volunteers.
Founded in 1983, The Art Studio, Inc. is devoted to: providing opportunities for interaction between the public and the Southeast Texas community of artists; furnishing affordable studio space to originating artists of every medium; promoting cultural growth and diversity of all art forms in Southeast Texas; and providing art educational opportunities to everyone, of every age, regardless of income level, race, national origin, sex or religion.
The Art Studio, Inc.
720 Franklin St.
Beaumont, TX 77701
409.838-5393
www.artstudio.org
REGULAR HOURS: Tues-Sat, 12 to 5 PM
INK ON INC.
by Greg Busceme, Sr. Executive Director of
The Art Studio, Inc.
The only thing that is constant is change. The Art Studio, Inc. (TASI) is adapting to change in a real and tangible way. 2020 sucked big time, but within all the turmoil the Studio staff rose to the occasion and, learning from the new experience, maintained a presence that might have outweighed our previous outreach. We had the foresight to request a grant from Hancock Whitney Bank that provided the necessary equipment i.e., computer, printers, upgrades on internet capacity, cameras, microphones and other equipment that I still am learning about.
As we have outsourced our layout and printing of ISSUE for 18 years and had various smart sources for in-depth articles and news, we were confronted with taking on this task again, and find ourselves with the proper equipment and contributors to do the job ourselves. With this freedom we decided to approach the print media in a different way. What you are reading now is that new approach.
“Studio Ink” came from a small pamphlet we published nearly 20 years ago. Producing our publication in-house has allowed TASI to stay in control of our content and our layout. Studio Ink’s format is a simpler operation with a more personal feel, creating a bigger appeal to young people which will offer more freedom for young writers to contribute to the mag.
I have been studying artist demonstrations and seeing how we can fit in with a new and dynamic approach to online classes in the form of instructional
and interactive lessons from area artists with a unique approach to creation. Video montage of exhibiting artists, tenants, and members can also be realized with our new equipment. We can take a lesson from locally produced videos like V Haus Sessions which you can see on YouTube. And this is the point - we can interact with our community while reaching the whole world and making the best of our technology.
With all this, face to face contact will still be the gold standard of art exhibitions and classes as the exchange of ideas and knowledge is always best in person. Yet, consider that the patrons who cannot get out or choose not to socialize can still have the opportunity to interact in a way that works for them.
Although these are dark days, there are ways we can rise above the clouds and find our art spirit once again. We need to rethink how we present and promote ourselves and TASI can be instrumental in that effort. Hope you enjoy the Studio Ink concept and participate in its development by submitting your work, words, and beauty to us all.
photo by John Fulbright
IN THE POP-UP
JENNIFER G. THOMPSON
Q&A with Michelle Cate
Assistant Curator at
The Art Studio, Inc.
MC: So, Jennifer where are you from and how did you get to where you are at now with your art?
JT: I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Mississippi. Eventually I found my way back home to Texas. While Mississippi I earned a BFA in graphic arts. I’ve been educating students in art in Orange, Beaumont, Houston, and Fort Worth. I discovered long ago how exciting the act of creating is. Sharing the excitement of making art has become my passion. I recently earned my Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication. I’m looking forward to possibly teaching art at the college level soon.
MC: What do you like to do in your freetime?
JT: I love listening to jazz music and dancing in my living room. Traveling with friends and family has always been a thrill to me.
MC: What ideas are you dealing with in your TASI Pop- Up Show?
JT: My Life experiences are what shape my journey as an artist and designer. In this series I am exploring a creative practice of collaging images, printing, or designing in the context of a narrative. Our lives are all intertwined through the fabric of life. I use a single thread, strand, or fiber is presented between elements, whether it be tangible or intangible. I’m a fan of found objects, fibers, words, and images from magazines around the 1920s to the 1980s. They each lend history, authenticity, and objectivity. This ephemeral visual history has been placed before us through photos, billboards, magazines, colors, shapes, and symbols and have become increasingly present, as part of the embedded visual culture. Throughout most of the 20th century, depictions of food, clothing, customs, and every aspect of daily life were published in magazines providing a visual context of American culture. The arts have played an essential role through growth in American culture and bridge the gap between cultural differences to find common ground where words have failed.
www.jennifergthompson.com
The artwork is on view in the Pop-Up Gallery at The Art Studio, Inc. Feb. 4 through Feb. 27 or virtually at www. artstudio.org
#FOMO
story and photos
by Trevor Melange
Knock-knock. Who’s there? The Ghost of Good Times Past, bitches, shouting what you should have done did in January. So get over your FOMO-phobia and read on through those salty tears of regret.
SUNDAY SERVICE w/GRACE
Our favorite fashionista, social butterfly and original Beauliever, Marjorie Grace Mathis, resumed her weekly series of free live music performances, streaming directly from her home to quarantine bunkers all over Facebook. The hour-long concerts are so presh and laid back that if you’d watched you totally would have felt like you were in some swank wine bar on a date that’s going very well.
120th ANNIVERSARY OF SPINDLETOP
The Spindletop-Gladys City Museum celebrated that time six score years back when black gold burst from below all Beverly Hillbillies-style. You missed a day of demonstrations, costumed drama complete with gunplay, and even a cigar lounge airstream trailer, because Texas.
When they blew the gusher (don’t make it dirty) the wind changed direction, dousing onlooking families with make-believe crude. You missed that! You should have been there with me laughing at wet children and eating faire food. You’re from Southeast Texas, don’t tell me you don’t love faire food.
CLASSIC MOVIE NIGHTS
Plenty of social distancing happens at Jefferson Theatre. There’s room to TikTok down those aisles. So the CoB let the show go on in January with a series of motivational movies (think Rocky and Heavyweights.) You guys, after 2020, we needed it. If anyone told you different, she’s a liar.
Word on Snapchat is they’re showing more movies in February and tickets are off the Value Menu, so if you’re reading this on a Friday then put your shoes on and run to the Jeff.
Today’s lesson is get off twitter and do better in February. If you spot me around town, wave from across the room. I don’t want your covid. We’ll do shots in spirit.
BCP is for Lovers
Waiting for Sunrise: A Viral Love Story
by Julia Rodriguez
To tell a story about this time we are all living through now is a daunting task to begin with but to present it in a way that centers love over devastation takes courage and courage is the heart of Beaumont Community Players’ newest original musical that you can watch for free online today. Waiting for Sunrise: A Viral Love Story observes four southeast Texans as they navigate the new world they find themselves in at the start of the pandemic.
Shannon (Genevive Brassard) is struggling with how to teach music over zoom to small children while Bruce (Bryan Brassard) oscillates between optimism and doom spiraling over the future of his bar and grill. Shannon’s aunt Laura (Krista Courts) frantically sews to distract from the general nervousness of being trapped at home instead of at her salon. In the first Act, Shannon sets Laura up on a blind date, over the phone of course, with Sam (Jeff Courts), a business owner Bruce knows through the restaurant.
I learned from talking to Jeff, Krista, Bryan, and Genevive that the theatre was an integral part of their own love stories. Jeff Courts, a staple in the local community theatre brought him to the show where he met Krista, a woman he’d never have met otherwise, who has been his partner in life and on stage for 17 years and counting. Similarly, Bryan Brassard has been involved with BCP since a young age. When he and Geneive met at a friends house one evening, the group was sitting around a piano singing songs from musicals like a pair of love nerds in a tree. Several years later, the newlyweds were involved in BCP’s production of Chicago, which was one of the first movies they saw when they started dating.
I am not surprised these connections made in community theatre are rooted deep in the love of their lives. Love is a momentum that builds on itself, scaling walls to overcome challenges. Love of creating a show from the words on the page to the final show in front of a live audience is enthralling, addictive, and forges life long friendships where before was a group of strangers.
Initially I tried to write this piece as a strict piece of journalism with quotes about the experience from the actors, director John Manfredi, and playwright James Bowden, but only writing about the process of the show didn’t feel... right. One of the quieter tragedies of pandemic is the slow vanishing of our cultural institutionsthe restaurant you used to visit with your parents every Sunday, the small boutique you bought your favorite party dress from, the theatre that you fell in love in.
Waiting for the Sunrise is an adorable show that will be a place marker in time for the feature of community theatre in Beaumont - did it mark the beginning of a new innovative era or the end of a love story between generations of southeast Texans and a pre-covid world? Like the twist ending of the play (seriously, you will not guess what happens) I’m ending a little more honest than optimistic but I urge you to curl up with the Brassards and the Courts on your couch with a glass of wine (sweet red) and some aforementioned shame snacks. You can find the show on youtube (search BCP Performs) and keep your eyes peeled for other events coming up at the local community theatre because BCP is for lovers <3
Spence’s Photographs Show Extraordinary Eye
by Andy Coughlan
Cathy Spence’s last solo exhibition at The Art Studio, Inc. was two decades ago, when she was a recent college graduate. Now she’s back with “The Crooked Eye,” a new collection of photographs, opening Feb. 6.
The show focuses on 13-year-old Wesley, who Spence describes as “an ordinary boy with an extraordinary appearance.” Wesley has oculocutaneous albinism.
“Being that he has albinism, he’s been singled out so often,” Spence said. “When walking through a mall, he’s very aware of people looking at him. Sometimes, it’s really it’s really wonderful. They’ll stop and say, ‘I love your hair’ and ‘Man, you look so cool with your sunglasses’ and things like that, yet it’s still being singled out. That was that was always kind of an issue for him.
“And here I am doing it again with my photography, but I hope that it reflects the all sides of it.”
Spence said most people see the obvious physical traits — lack of melatonin, light hair, light skin — but Wesley also has issues with his vision, which led to the title of the show.
“He has what’s called strabismus, which is the lazy eye,” Spence said. “That’s normal for people with albinism, they have a lots of vision issues — I can get caught up in talking about the whole science behind it, nerves are rerouted the wrong way. And his eyes, his muscles are weak, and some blonde fundus, which gives them the appearance sometimes of the pink, or red eyes, it’s just light reflecting off the back of their eyes. That doesn’t happen for people with melatonin.
“The idea is people telling him, he had a lazy eye. One day he told his sister, ‘It’s not a lazy eye, it’s a crooked eye.’ That’s his way of dealing it. (He didn’t like) the connotation of lazy, it’s just crooked.
“With a lot worry about or soft depth blurriness he sees.”
People with an other-worldliness mix, that separates Spence said, evil monks the character
“They’re really said. “He’s appearance.
“It’s hard not but I hope With these he is just who has issues occasionally,
Spence’s conjure up image wonderfully Wesley sits console in Rather than drawn to the who positively Spence earned degree from said she didn’t major in until photographer
“I took the terrible — will even tell students by Spence said photography pore through could.
“While prints downtime, and books study them,” thanks to great photographs opportunity Now you can photographs.
“But I’m telling for you to a book is. and and never a reason, right? have the opportunity these photographs.”
lot of my photographs, I tend to not about the highlights being blown out, depth of field, or, you know, just little to some of them, because that’s how
with albinism are perceived as having other-worldliness about them, a magical separates them from ordinary people, said, with the media portraying them as monks or having a supernatural quality, like character in the movie “Powder.”
really just regular people, you know,” she an ordinary boy with an extraordinary appearance.
not to play upon the skin and the hair, hope there’s more to it than just that. these (photos), I hope you catch on that this kid, you know, to get sunburned, issues with vision, who feels isolated occasionally, because of it.”
photographs in “The Crooked Eye” up magical, ethereal qualities, but one wonderfully captures his ordinariness. sits cross legged in front of a TV, game hand, completely lost in a video game. than focusing on Wesley, our eyes are the dog on the left side of the image, positively cries out for attention.
earned a studio art photography from Lamar University in 1997. She didn’t really know what she wanted to until she took a class from renowned photographer Keith Carter.
the class and I’m going to tell you, I was — but I loved it,” Spence said. “Keith tell you how I was not one of the top by any means.”
said Carter had a huge library of photography books in his office and she would through them, learning everything she
prints were washing or I had any downtime, I’d go in there and pull out books books and books, and sit there and just them,” she said. “You can go now and, the internet, you can see all these photographs that I didn’t really have the opportunity to see except through these books. can go on Instagram and see wonderful photographs.
telling you, the computer is not made sit there and study this stuff. Not like It’s designed for you to flip and swipe never really rest — it’s called surfing for right? If you can get good books, you opportunity to just sit there and study photographs.”
“Keith will tell you he used to tell students, ‘I don’t know what happened with Cathy. She was an average student, and suddenly a light went on,’” Spence said. “It’s like, no, that’s not how it happened at all. I studied it. I didn’t realize it was affecting me like it did. I didn’t know it was going to actually make a difference. So, I looked at these images, looked at his books book over and over again. Even photographers I didn’t care for, I studied this stuff. And so, that’s how it started, being a very average student who just took a real interest in it.”
“The Crooked Eye” is on view at The Art Studio, Inc. Feb. 6 through Feb. 27 during regular hours or virtually at www.artstudio.org continue reading the full story online here
“Dear Affectionately,Lynn…Maudee”
by Michelle Cate
Two artists that were involved very early on with the Art Studio, Inc. were Maudee Carron and Lynn Sweat.
Maudee hailed from Louisiana and Houston and eventually found her way to Beaumont. As a young woman she had modeled for a student of Diego Rivera. She soon decided to dedicate herself to art. She went to school in Houston and was involved with a WPA project there. Maudee moved to Beaumont and became an extremely active member of the TX/LA art scene which included the Beaumont Art League. In the early 1950s, BAL experienced a skism and split into two orgs. The Beaumont Art Museum was formed and moved into the neighborhood we now know as “The Oaks Historic District.”
In the mid 1950s, Lynn met Maudee as his art career was beginning. Even as a young artist he already had a wide understanding of art. He had attended Lamar and earned a commercial art degree. He would pour over books in the Tyrrell Library. He and wife had started their family. At Lamar he worked at the Lamar student newspaper. Soon he began working at the Beaumont TV stations and the Beaumont Enterprise doing layouts. Not one to rest on his laurels as his family continued to grow he must have had a gut feeling that Fine Art might hold the key to greater things.
At age 24, Lynn had a solo show at the Beaumont Art Museum and he found that the local arts community supported him wholeheartedly. Maudee and Lynn met around this time and they became big fans of one another. In a couple years, Lynn had another show at BAM (AMSET.) Maudee wrote an introduction for that show which placed him in context with his contemporaries such as Andrew Wyeth and DeKooning. Lynn eventually moved to New York and worked as a freelance artist for publishing companies like McMillan and Co. and Scholastic. He was the illustrator of the Amelia Bedelia series for over 30 years.
Maudee and Lynn stayed in touch with letters. Both Maudee and Lynn would eventually become active members of The Art Studio, Inc. in the 1980s. Friends in art for many years, these photos, letters and art show how they made a bridge across generations… something that respect and a mutual love of art is especially good at creating.
by Tom Veillon
COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL
color this page and show us! instagram @theartstudioinc
artwork by TASI tenant Chris Presley on instagram @topherpresley
YOUR FEBRUARY HOROSCOPE
by TYLER POWER!
ARIES Chiron, an underappreciated comet with a unique orbit, is going to be camping out in your sign for another six years, making this a good time for setting long term goals and refreshing your vision for the future. A trine with Jupiter on the 24th should bring some harmony and hope.
TAURUS Mars is going to be in your sign for the entire month of February, so take charge and capitalize on those fiery vibes with the best of your grounded Taurus energy. Keep an eye on your temper though- it’s easier to get agitated by lazy people or other obstacles with Mars heating up your determined nature.
GEMINI Your celestial calendar is relatively clear, but don’t forget to harness the energy of the waxing moon as it passes through on its way to becoming full. Enjoy the lunar energy starting on the 19th and get something creative going, or use the boost to finally finish a project that might be collecting cobwebs.
CANCER The waxing gibbous enters your sign on the 21st, giving you a whole month to build up to something great. You’re free of other cosmic influences so take advantage of this time, but if you’re an astrology nut, check your natal chart just to be safe.
LEO Your ruling planet Mars is in Taurus all month, and you’ll reap the benefits of the abundance-oriented sign’s energy. Look for returns on big projects or personal endeavors now, and avoid getting invested in something new in favor of keeping your focus on what you’ve already got going.
“Water Bearer” by TASI tenant Beau Walker
VIRGO As a Virgo myself, it pains me to tell you that February might not be your month, as our ruling planet Mercury will be in retrograde from January 30th through February 20th. Things will come to a head at the end of the month, when the moon is full in Virgo on the 27th. Expect the unexpected, get ready to go with the flow, and feel free to blame anything that goes wrong on the retrograde or the moon.
LIBRA Venus is chilling in Aquarius all month, and the combination of airy energy means this is a good time to embrace your quirks, your talents, and what makes you weird. You’ll finish out the month with the waning gibbous on the 28th, an opportune time to finalize projects or tasks you might have going for the next couple weeks.
SCORPIO Both of your ruling planets, Pluto and Mars, are in Taurus all month, so lean into your practical side and take a break from any emotional introspectiveness you may have been feeling lately. Consider the objective side of things with as much weight as you may usually give to the subjectivenow is a good time to prioritize logic and rationality in decision-making.
SAGITTARIUS You have a particularly auspicious day this month when your ruling planet Jupiter makes a perfect conjunction with Venus on the 11th. Work up to something big early in the month, or just make plans to do something nice for yourself, as this transit predicts good times and opportunities to enjoy ourselves. Just remember your mask if your plans include going out!
CAPRICORN Saturn’s retrogrades probably haven’t helped with the chaos of life lately, but Venus gently leaving your sign at the end of this month means time for connecting with others and remembering the important people in life. You’ll also feel some waning lunar energy on the 8th and 9th that should amplify your ability to take stock of what matters in this new year.
AQUARIUS You’ve got a lot going on this month, with Mercury turning retrograde in your sign right before the Aquarius new moon on Feb. 11th. Take some time to reflect on what is and isn’t working before a fresh start comes with the new moon, and maybe get some COVID-friendly socializing in to rejuvenate yourself..
PISCES Until the 17th, your sign plays host to the sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter AND Saturn. It’s time to harness all that cosmic energy to get on top of problems- do something big like tackling that cluttered garage or kicking that toxic lover to the curb.
THOUGHTCRIME
Submit typed works of prose and poetry to: INK@ARTSTUDIO.ORG
Them’s Fighting Words
It’s funny how words can transpire, inspire, create a desire light a fire or reveal a liar.
Words can dampen the spirit. You tense up when you hear it. Your whole demeanor changes. The door comes off its hinges. The meek and docile you becomes the angry, raging you, and the glue that held you together becomes sand. The fists sting where they land.
All because of words.
All because of what you may have heard.
Some people know how to push that button.
They lie and manipulate you, then all of a sudden you fly off the handle.
Now you’re in the middle of a full blown scandal.
All because of something as simple as a well-placed word.
-Dorothy
Sells Clover
BACKYARD QUINCE - A PAEAN TO PETWORTH
A narrow, urban, and uptown alley, peopled by the old and by the new, finds comparison to be troubling, as bitter as backyard quince.
Those self-same old and self-same new, neither hating, loving, nor knowing the other, find indifference an effortless aegis, as unyielding as backyard quince.
Mason jars of lemon curd and red plum jam, opened and stabbed from exotic tongues and skins, could find common hearth on calescent scones, as redolent as backyard quince.
-Arthur Martinson
I read the book of love in my sleep but when I awoke I remembered everything but the words.
We took turns with the pages, but we did it in phrases.
I begged her to read between the lines because poetry is just the words within the spaces
Heartache is just love without creation.
The repetitive eye movement I move meant I move mint repetition day in and day out, it never gets old, unable to break the mold
I don't find comfort in the pain but I've grown comfortable in this pane
Aloft I left a lock of lovely long hair upon a loft with lofty loathing of my loneliness to me below
These are things that carry me off to sleep, if I do not dream I will not reap
If these things true will not hold, I will not keep
These are things that care not if I dream, if I do not sleep I will not feed
-Tyler
S. Weisman
‘SUP?
An incomplete events listing. Tell us what’s up! Email your events to: ink@artstudio.org
Feb 4 .... Jennifer G Thompson exhibition in TASI pop-up gallery www.artstudio.org
Feb 6 .... Cathy Spence “the Crooked Eye” in TASI main gallery www.artstudio.org
Feb 12 .... Drive-In Movie “Phantom of the Opera” at Lutcher Theater www.lutcher.org
Feb 14 .... Sunday’s a Drag Brunch at Vautrout’s Cajun Cuisine www.facebook.com/DragQueenGames
Feb 15 - March 19 .... “The Drawing Experience” at Stark Museum www.starkmuseum.org
Feb 19 .... Classic Movie Nights “Tangled” at Jefferson Theatre beaumonteventstx.com
Feb 26 .... Classic Movie Nights “Hidden Figures” at Jefferson Theatre beaumonteventstx.com
on view until Feb 28
“From The Vault” Tyler Museum of Art permanent collection and “Perspectives” AMSET permanent collection at The Art Museum Of Southeast Texas www.amset.org
Museum of Gulf Coast art contest “Memories - Old, New, Real, Imagined” Deadline for entries Feb 17, exhibition April 29 www.museumofthegulfcoast.org
Remainder of the TASI exhibition season:
Mar 4 - Albert & Amy Faggard in pop-up gallery
Mar 6 - Sirena LaBurn, Nathan Mullins in main gallery
April 1 - Kelli LeBeouef, Johana Mercer in pop-up gallery
April 3 - TASIMJAE in main gallery
May 6 - Cissie Owen in pop-up gallery
May 8 - Craig Odle, Travis Walthall in main gallery
