Gay Riseborough on Loving to Draw, Building an Art Career and more

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Evanston Artist, Public Art Advocate, Teacher and more, Gay Riseborough talks about loving drawing and making a life as an artist. Her upcoming exhibit at 1100 Florence Gallery, Go Home with a Nude features drawings & sketches done in the studio, priced to sell. Charcoal, conté crayon, graphite, watercolor, pastel on paper, ranging from (common) newsprint to Strathmore and watercolor paper. Join us for the Opening Party, 1100 Florence Ave, Jan. 4, 5-8p.

Artist Statement: For many years, Gay ran an Open Figure Studio for drop-in artists, both at 1121 and, then, 1123 Florence and, finally, at 1402 Greenleaf. Most of these works are studies from these sessions, both quick sketch and long pose. As a painter, primarily of figure and portrait, she felt it critical to keep up her observational, graphic skills. The sheer volume of displayable work here shows her passion for drawing.

Bio:

An illustrator by training (Washington University in St. Louis,) then a teacher for 36 years at the Evanston Art Center, the School of the Art Institute, and finally in her own studio, Gay (Riseborough) has done hundreds of portrait commissions, many of which hang in prestigious university collections. Represented by Portraits Chicago and Wood St. Gallery, where her non-portrait work was shown. Best known for her “Dark Times”, autobiographical narrative painting series. In 1986, she moved into a building on Florence which was already the origin of the arts neighborhood there. Has served on the Public Art Committee and, now, the Evanston Arts Council, where she is Chair of Public Art. Retired from visual art-making now, learning to play the cello.

Anne Hayden Stevens on breaking the rules and her latest installation, The Philosopher Walks

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In this conversation we talk about Anne’s explorations in painting landscapes. At this stage in her career, she has found herself breaking all the rules she’s learned, playing with ideas like “what if gravity stopped working” and “where are all the women in landscape paintings” throughout time. 

In 2019, Anne and I shared numerous platforms to collaborate in the arts, like the Pitner Group Show for Evanston Made this past June. At the Pitner warehouse, Anne found the time and space to play with new mediums (spray paint) and size (a 360 degree prototype for The Philosopher Walks). These collaborations have been key in growing awareness for the thriving contemporary art scene in Evanston

Anne’s recent installation, The Philosopher Walks, has made its way from the Hyde Park Art Center in Hyde Park Chicago to One River School of Art + Design in Evanston, is yet another successful collaboration between us, I am currently the Director of the One River School of Art + Design Evanston, and curate the storefront gallery with area artist's works.

The “The Philosopher Walks” installation is 13’Hx15’, comprised of five panels, based on a yearlong study of Chinese landscape painting. Exhibition Dates: December 7, 2019 - December 13, 2019 • Opening Reception: Saturday, December 7, 2019, 5-8p.

Artist Statement

The Philosopher Walks, 2019

Archival prints with spray paint 2019

Five panels (L to R): Refuge, Waterfall, Mountains, Rockfall, Bridge

These pieces are archival prints built from painting fragments that have been touched with spray paint. They are based on a yearlong study of Chinese landscape painting. How things feel, versus how they appear, is a central concern of Chinese landscape painting, and has been for centuries. As I read and I studied I asked: How do these paintings work, both formally and emotionally? Who made them? What do the elements included in the paintings mean?

I have been able to answer most of my questions, but they led to more questions. Where are the women painters in this history? Where are the female scholars and philosophers? Does the art historical record even question the absence of women artists and thinkers in this tradition?

As I studied, I inserted a character into the paintings that was absent from the story I was reading. She is a female philosopher who walks the mountains, thinking and breathing, sweating and being scared: being human. I know she was there then, so I added her now.

Typically the landscape and the horizon reinforce our sense of order. Gravity reigns. Trees and rocks and water all fall in a set of predictable lines, drawn to the core of the earth. Our bodies are also dictated by the gravitational pull.

Our minds, meanwhile, are unconstrained by gravity. We think in giant leaps and bounds, across time, incessantly observing, ruminating, dreaming. Our mind is free to wander anywhere.

In this work, the Philosopher walks as the world falls away around her. The mountains shear off the side of the path, tumbling against trees and rocks and water. Clouds of mist rear up and mask the mountains still intact in the distance. The world she feels is more infinite and intimate than the world she sees.

Artist Bio

Anne Hayden Stevens is a painter and printmaker living outside Chicago, IL. She has anMA in Visual Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BFA in Printmaking and Drawing from California College of the Arts.

Hayden Stevens’ work ranges across painting, drawing, printmaking and public art. Her work has been exhibited in Chicago at the Evanston Art Center, Governor's State University Art Gallery, The Koehnline Museum of Art, and at the Harold Washington Library Center during Chicago Artists Month. Public art pieces are located on Rainier Avenue South in Seattle, the Seattle Municipal Tower, and the University of Washington.

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The Lisa D Show podcast features interviews and conversations with creatives living and working in Evanston, IL. Recordings typically happen in the 1100 Florence Gallery. Learn more about host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow.blogspot.com

Girl Boss Reyes Witt of Assembly Creators in Downtown Evanston

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Reyes Witt is curating a marketplace (Assembly Creators Market) in Downtown Evanston that offers experiential shopping and features merchandise by a select group of creators.

Witt’s packing more than 20 years experience as a fashion merchandising executive, and in the last year, she “took a break” and launched a diabetes line of accessories (Dropp Kitt), a brick and mortar storefront (Assembly Creators Market) and an accessory line (jerjerB. Jewelry & Accessories); That’s how girl bosses take “breaks”.

Evanston’s really cool and culturally diverse community drew Witt to Orrington Ave, where she’s hoping to “offer affordable luxury items” to the numerous shoppers Downtown Evanston draws every workday. Her store is merchandised with a masterful design eye, “We’re like Anthropologie but less Boho and a little more chic and modern,” says Witt.

This interview is the first in a series of interview with Girl Bosses/Boss Ladies, women who run their own shops or endeavors in a super creative and interesting way. Know of one? Email thelisadshow[at]gmail.com

Contact Reyes at info@assemblycreators.com or 847.859.6031 and pay a visit to Assembly Creators at1642 Orrington Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201

Reyes Witt’s Bio

Before launching Assembly Creators Market., Reyes Witt cut her teeth-- and learned to cut leather-- developing luxury goods for Coach and Ralph Lauren. At the helm of go-to market strategies for a number of national brands and private label lines Reyes hit the wall when the story about the product became more important than the product itself.

It was at a leather show in Milan, Italy, that Witt, inspired by the colors and textures that didn't have a place in the world of mass-produced accessories, first imagined jerjerB. Jewelry & Accessories, her first solo collection.

Understanding the physical stress and labor involved for makers to present at markets, Reyes decided to bring all of the talent under one roof providing a place for Makers and Creators to showcase their talents in a curated environment.

Her goal to bridge the gap in top-shelf goods by creating a destination to shop without the insane markup associated with luxury items.