february 24, 2016 · 4 _____ february 24, 2016 wilson is asking anyone with information about the...
TRANSCRIPT
February 24, 2016
Table of Contents
Shades of Grey, and Other Hues, Put Lead in Pencil Sales ........................................................................................................................ 2
Vancouver Artist a Repeat Victim of Thieves Targeting His Paintings and Art Supplies ............................................................................ 3
Michelangelo Worked Through Acute Arthritis in His Later Years, New Study Says ................................................................................. 4
Enid Artist Learns to Paint With Fire, Candle Soot ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Art Schools Pushed to Improve Environmental Record ............................................................................................................................. 6
Michelangelo’s Tuscan Villa Could Be Yours for $8.4 Million .................................................................................................................... 7
Classroom Pioneer: Laura Timmermann, Bowie Fine Arts Academy Art Instructor .................................................................................. 8
Increased Fees Bittersweet for Art Department ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Avoiding Lyme Disease, a Plein Air Painter's Nemesis ............................................................................................................................. 12
Art Isn’t Just for Art Class ......................................................................................................................................................................... 13
S.A. Student Art Program Recognized Among World's Best .................................................................................................................... 14
Sunshine Coast Surfer Says He's One of the World's Only Eco Artists ..................................................................................................... 15
Vincent van Gogh: True Colours of Artist's Paintings Revealed by Scientists .......................................................................................... 16
The Power Of The Paintbrush: How Art Therapy Is Saving Children With Mental Health Issues ............................................................ 17
Study Finds Some 3D Printers Emit Toxic Particles .................................................................................................................................. 20
Helping Homeless Artists Turn Around Their Fortunes ........................................................................................................................... 21
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February 24, 2016
Shades of Grey, and Other Hues, Put Lead in Pencil Sales The humble pencil is on the comeback trail, fighting back against iPad styluses and other electronic competition.
After years of flat sales, suppliers are celebrating a second
‐coming, with market research firm Euromonitor International
revealing that pen and pencil sales are rising across the world.
Global retail sales for writing instruments reached $US2.4 billion
in 2014 and growth is set to continue.
The revival has been attri‐buted to everything from Sudoku
puzzles to emerging middle‐class education markets in Asia and
South America, but the key factor is widely considered to be the
‐global adult colouring book craze.
Euromonitor’s figures show that the growth in pencil sales in countries such as India, Brazil and Sweden is linked to
demand for these titles, with intricate illustrations that adults can colour in for enjoyment and to reduce stress.
It all adds up to a pretty picture for Andreas Wilhelm von Faber‐Castell, the managing ‐director of Asia‐Pacific operations
for his family company, Faber‐Castell. Founded in Germany in 1761, the writing and art supplies business produces more
than two billion wooden‐cased pencils every year.
The Sydney‐based director said sales in Australia had “gone absolutely crazy” — a 600 per cent jump in pencil sales last
April — thanks to adult colouring books.
His daughter, Nat‐alie, a judge in the Art Gallery ‐Society of NSW’s children’s drawing prize last year, said the therapeutic
qualities of colouring had made it a huge growth area in the giant mindfulness market. “People are looking to switch off.
But instead of playing a video game or looking at Facebook or your phone, you can draw — it gets your mind calmer,”
she said.
Rival companies such as Crayola have also charted big jumps in sales of pencils and fine‐liners.
The Australian book industry is also cashing in, with Nielsen BookScan showing that 1.58 million copies of colouring
books were sold locally as of November last year, generating $22.2 million.
Since last April, there have most weeks been colouring book titles in the top 20 Australian bestsellers list.
Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, whose three titles have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, said people
were seeking a digital detox.
“As the adult colouring category has blossomed, we’ve seen more and more people picking up pens and pencils and
laying down their devices,” she said. The Australian:
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February 24, 2016
Vancouver Artist a Repeat Victim of Thieves Targeting His Paintings and Art Supplies
VANCOUOVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: A local painter has been
struck by thieves for the second time in three months.
In the latest Wednesday evening break‐in at his east Vancouver
home studio, artist David Wilson lost three paintings and art
supplies.
“I actually had a break‐in in November and this is the second
one,” Wilson told The Province. “In November, they came and
took a bunch of my art supplies.”Wilson notes he’d forgotten to
lock up the studio prior to the November break‐in and thieves
easily made their way inside the studio, located in the family’s
laneway‐facing garage near Kingsway and Fraser.
The second break‐in, which took place sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, was first reported to Wilson
Thursday morning by a neighbour who lives across the laneway.
“They came and knocked on our door and said, ‘Your garage is broken wide open,’” Wilson said.
The locked garage door appeared to have been forced open. Inside, paint jars had been knocked over and smashed on
the ground, and a number of high‐end paints and tools were missing.
Among the stolen items were three paintings: two larger 30‐by‐40‐inch works with an estimated value of $4,500 each,
and a smaller 24‐by‐36‐inch commissioned painting of rainy Granville Street valued at about $3,500.
Wilson estimates another $3,000 worth of paints and supplies were also taken, bringing the final total to an approximate
$15,500.
“That’s a pretty big financial hit for anybody, really,” he said.
The garage also contained three bikes and hardware tools, but none of these were touched.
“The smaller piece of Granville Street had been commissioned for a client of mine and she was coming to sign off on it
Thursday morning so that was really frustrating to have that happen at that point in time,” Wilson said.
The artist, who has been painting for 25 years, says he’s contacted police and opened a file, but he isn’t holding on to
hope for the return of his paintings.
Vancouver Police weren’t able to provide any updates on the file over the weekend.
“As a painter, you work with the materials you have and I always stock up on a lot of materials,” Wilson said. “If I’m
running short on something, that shows up in the work so I always have an oversupply, so it (the theft) does impede my
abilities.”
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February 24, 2016
Wilson is asking anyone with information about the missing paintings and art supplies to contact Vancouver Police at
604‐717‐3321. The Province: http://bit.ly/1PXIQgc
Michelangelo Worked Through Acute Arthritis in His Later Years, New Study Says
An article published this week by the Journal of the Royal Society
of Medicine suggests that Michelangelo Buonaroti suffered from
osteoarthritis for the last 15 years of his life. Miraculously, though
the researchers claim that this was why the Renaissance master
could not write his own letters toward the end of his life, it did
not affect his art practice, which remained prolific up to the week
of his death.
The research — an Italian‐Australian collaboration between
Roman plastic surgeons Davide Lazzeri and Manuel Francisco
Castello, University of Florence faculty members Marco Matucci‐
Cerinic and Donatella Lippi, and George M. Weisz, a humanities
professor at the University of New South Wales and the University of New England — draws on close analysis of three
portraits of the elderly Michelangelo, with a particular focus on the rendering of his left hand. (Though still the subject of
some debate, it is widely believed that Michelangelo was a lefty.) The paintings, Jiacopino del Conte’s 1535 portrait,
Daniele Ricciarelli’s 1544 portrait, and Pompeo Caccini’s posthumous portrait of Michelangelo in his studio (1595), show
signs of degenerative arthritis in the smaller joints of his hands, but none of the swelling characteristic of gout, with
which many subsequent observers have diagnosed Michelangelo. (In 2014, a similar project revolving around Auguste
Rodin’s renderings of hands, sought to retroactively diagnose the medical conditions of Parisians in the 19th century.)
“[T]he hypothesis of gouty arthritis of the hands as the main cause of the pain in his hand can be dismissed, mainly
because no signs of inflammation and no tophi can be seen on his extremities,” the researchers write. “More likely, his
suffering may be due to a degenerative modification of the small joints of his hands which may be interpreted today as
osteoarthritis.”
This new diagnosis may not seem especially revelatory, but it does reaffirm Michelangelo’s incredible skill and
determination. In 1552 he wrote to his nephew that “writing gives me a great discomfort” and by late 1563, just two
months before his death, his hand was causing him so much pain that he couldn’t write at all. “I have received several
letters from thee of late to which I have not replied because my hand refused to write,” a letter from December 28,
1563 quoted in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine article explains. “In the future, therefore, I shall get others
to write for me and will sign the letters myself.” Despite the pain in his hand he continued to work, chiseling away at his
final, incomplete sculpture, the “Rondanini Pietà.”
The article’s most illuminating passage may actually be its introduction, which features a very concise and morbidly
entertaining recap of the various conditions and ailments with which Michelangelo was diagnosed in his lifetime and
subsequently. They include “repeated expulsion of stones, and one dramatic acute obstruction,” severe pain in one of
his feet due to “tophus arthritis,” “a deformed right knee with excrescences,” lead poisoning and intoxication, dizziness,
involuntary eye movements likely caused by staring up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling for so many hours, depression, high‐
functioning autism, and Asperger’s. So, next time you’re having a bad day, stiffen your upper lip and think of poor
Michelangelo. Hyperallergic: http://bit.ly/1p2tcqZ
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February 24, 2016
Enid Artist Learns to Paint With Fire, Candle Soot
ENID, OK: When he was 10 years old, Duron Lewis sat with his dad and
watched the nightly news. At least he acted like he was watching the news.
Sketch pad and pencil in his lap, Lewis would sketch his dad while acting like
he watched the news. It was Lewis’ first attempt at art.
Over their home mantel hung a picture of Lewis’ mother. One day, he asked
his dad who took the photograph.
“My dad said, ‘That isn’t a picture, I drew that,’” Lewis said. “My mouth
dropped open. I knew I wanted to be just like him.”
Lewis learned more, although he never attended a school for art.
Fast forward to today.
Sitting in what he calls his laboratory, surrounded by candles and brushes,
Lewis sits under an overhead easel in Enid. The easel holds a large piece of paper. On it is a history of the Harlem
Globetrotters.
Lewis removes a brush and feather from his supplies. In one hand, he holds a lit candle and in the other, a paint brush.
Slowly, meticulously, he raises the candle to the paper posted on the easel.
Lewis paints with fire.
The idea came to him while working with spray paint.
“When I sealed spray‐painted pieces, I sometimes lit it on fire to heat,” he said. “I thought, ‘man, how can I paint with
fire?’ I came home, experimented with a party candle and rubbed soot around.”
During some research on “fire painting,” Lewis said he learned the technique began during the Paleolithic Era. The
Paleolithic period was about 2.6 million years ago when stone tools were first used.
“During the era, they used torches to see in caves and animal fat as oil to burn,” Lewis said. “When the soot and smoke
would adhere to the walls, it became an art form. I’m bringing it back out of the caves.”
He describes the practice as tedious, stating that each torch touch has to be perfect. He paints with soot and the black
carbon particles created by the fire.
“Most people have not seen it in this new form,” he said. “This fascinates me, and I love challenging myself.”
Lewis combines two loves with his work: art and history. He enjoys completing portraits of famous individuals, like
George, but he also is working on commissioned pieces for the Enid Police Department, items to celebrate Black History
Month and the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County.
He just recently finished a life‐size portrait of Harriet Tubman that will be displayed in the Enid Public Library.
His work can be viewed all over the Oklahoma, including Muskogee, Enid and Tulsa.
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February 24, 2016
Lewis plans to have his work displayed art galleries and museums in Chicago, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Salt Lake City.
His goal is to have one fire painting in every state.
“I particularly want to be in Salt Lake City because of Brigham Young,” he said.
Young was the head of the Mormon Church.
Based in Enid, Lewis isn’t an artist full‐time. He works for an oil and gas company that is based in Oklahoma City.
“I like to stay busy,” he said of his schedule. “I’m a multi‐medium artist and I want to be that way.”
Looking to expand his repertoire, Lewis said he wants to start making glitter art and art using dust and sawdust.
“An artist should be able to get different ideas from the earth,” he said. enidnews.com: http://bit.ly/1WHx7E7
Art Schools Pushed to Improve Environmental Record
Art schools and university art departments are where the next
generation of professional artists receives its training. A number
of schools in the Northeast, however, have been taking a
remedial course in the disposal of toxic art materials from the
federal Environmental Protection Agency. "Schools just don't get
that environmental rules apply to them," said Peggy Bagnoli,
program leader for the EPA's College and University Initiative.
"They think hazardous wastes are just what big factories
produce."
The five year‐old Initiative examined hazardous waste disposal practices campus‐wide at dozens of colleges and
universities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, but what struck
government inspectors most clearly was the failure of the art departments to even know which materials they worked
with were hazardous. "There is a real lack of knowledge within the art departments of what is in the materials they are
using and what the risks are in handling or disposing of them," said Rich Piligian, an EPA inspector.
The EPA had assumed that the origins of most spills, leaks and improper storage of potential pollutants were the biology
and chemistry departments. However, faculty in these departments were fully aware that they were working with
dangerous materials, only using small amounts at any one time that fit into test tubes, whereas the art faculty often had
no idea and regularly used gallon containers.
"At one school, it was an art school, a ceramics instructor assured me that there were no glazes they used that
contained lead," Piligian said. "I asked him for the Materials Safety Data Sheets for the glazes" ‐ the manufacturer's
description of the product's contents, including known toxic ingredients, which federal law requires art supply producers
to make available to buyers ‐ "and showed him that the glazes clearly contained lead. He just never had looked."
One of the worst instances of environmental damage resulting from an art department was a slow, chronic leak into the
Charles River of various oils from an underground storage tank at Boston University's School of the Arts. The University
was fined $253,000 by the EPA and required to spend $518,000 in clean‐up and other environmental projects. The
University of Rhode Island was also forced to spend approximately $800,000 in fines and clean‐up for environmental
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February 24, 2016
contamination caused by the art and other campus departments. Brown University, the University of New Hampshire
and Yale University, were also fined by the EPA for violations in their disposal practices of hazardous materials.
The EPA was concerned about both the effect of improper disposal on the water supply and the admixture of
unmonitored fumes on the air quality.
Bagnoli noted that it was common practice at many school art departments for students and faculty to "dump their
paints down the sink. Some of those paints contained cadmium and lead, which damage the water supply." When a spill
occurred of turpentine or some other solvent, "someone would wipe it up with a rag or a sponge but not understand
that the rag or sponge was now contaminated and needed to be treated as a hazardous waste. They just put in the
regular trash." Additionally, many art materials were stored in unlabeled, open containers, and different wastes were
poured into the same 50‐gallon drums for disposal without any understanding of how the differing chemicals might
react with each other.
"Schools are responsible for the health and safety of their students," she said, "and they are responsible for turning out
graduates who will know how to handle these materials properly." The Huffington Post: http://huff.to/1LFcra6
Michelangelo’s Tuscan Villa Could Be Yours for $8.4 Million
The deeds to Michelangelo’s old Tuscan villa, a three‐structure
complex complete with Renaissance‐age fixtures, functional
wood‐burning fireplaces, and an olive grove, could be yours for
just $8,369,602. The nearly 13,000‐square‐foot property known as
La Torre de Michelangiolo has been on the market since July 2014
but was only advertised on an international scale last August on
Handsome Properties. It’s curious that no millionaire has jumped
on this opportunity yet, as the property seems pretty sexy — and
eight million dollars doesn’t seem terribly outlandish for bragging
rights to owning the former home of one of the Renaissance’s
most famous artists, right?
Originally built as a fortification, the property was purchased by Michelangelo in 1549, three years after the Pope
appointed him architect for St. Peter’s Basilica. The artist had written (probably in great pain, or with assistance) a letter
to his nephew Leonardo asking him to help him find a reasonably priced property ten or 15 miles away from Florence.
He purchased the villa for 2,281 florins (roughly a little over $319,340 today), and it remained in the Buonarroti family
until 1867, after which a number of Italian families have resided in it. Its current owner, the Busoni family, has lived
there since 1973 and are now seeking a prospective owner who understands the history of the property and will respect
it as they did, according to realtors.
The primary reason for the sale is that the villa is too large for the family to maintain especially as they age — an
understandable concern, as the main residential building alone shelters eight bedrooms and seven full baths across four
floors and a basement. Much of the architecture is original (and the villa underwent restoration two decades ago) and
dates to the Renaissance; built with “filaretto of Alberese stone” — a style of irregular masonry — its interiors are what
one would expect of a Tuscan country home, with wooden floors and plenty of brick. The gardens, too, are sprawling,
featuring an original Renaissance‐era well, an oil mill that stood during Michelangelo’s residence, and 200 olive trees —
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February 24, 2016
“enough for a family use of olive oil,” the realtors note, “but not to sell it.” Unfortunately, home‐bottled wine is not to
be enjoyed with home‐made olive oil, as the vineyard adjacent to the villa is apparently not yet for sale.
Aside from all the amenities that would make La Torre de Michelangiolo a pretty sweet place to throw a rager (inviting,
of course, your most preservation‐conscious friends), perhaps one of its disadvantages is that you can’t make much
architectural edits to it: the Italian Ministry has deemed the property a historic home, and its realtors note that “it is
practically impossible to change the outside layout of an estate like this,” although the municipality may allow the
construction of a swimming pool.
Future owners will also not be required to maintain the villa as a strictly residential house, and there are no restrictions
on visitor frequency, either. So if you can’t shell out eight million bones right now, you may at least have the option one
day of staying at a rad bed and breakfast or Airbnb. Hyperallergic: http://bit.ly/1T5C3VF
Classroom Pioneer: Laura Timmermann, Bowie Fine Arts Academy Art Instructor
MIDLAND, TX: When Laura Timmermann completed student teaching
at Bowie Elementary 36 years ago she never anticipated she would
ultimately have her dream job as an art instructor at a fine arts‐focused
magnet school.
“This has been a calling and a dream job for me,” said Timmermann,
who taught sixth grade for one year following college graduation
before staying home to raise her three children.
She returned to teaching in January 2000 as the music and art teacher
at Greathouse Elementary and transitioned to Bowie six years ago
when the magnet school enabled her to focus entirely on art
instruction.
“I have been involved in art all my life with classes, workshops and
volunteer work in school and church,” Timmermann said. “I feel very
fortunate to be at Bowie, a fine arts magnet school, with two loves, art
and teaching. What a privilege it is, to make a small brushstroke on a
child’s life.”
Timmermann and her husband, Gary, have been married 40 years and have six grandchildren. Their daughter, Shannon
Flowers, is an attorney in Portland. Son Dustin Timmermann is an architect in San Antonio and son Aaron Timmermann
is an Air Force B2 pilot in Warrensburg, Missouri.
How and why do you make a difference in Midland’s educational landscape?
I try to bring a love of art in all the different capacities into the classroom — including techniques, study of artists’ styles
and their contributions to society — with projects for the students to create. My hope is to help them find something
that they are passionate about and take it as far as they can. I am very excited when we start a new painting or start
working with throwing clay on the wheels, and I want them to feel that excitement.
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February 24, 2016
Any great accomplishment, starts with a dream, so I encourage a lot of dreaming. For instance, when we are starting a
new project, I tell them ahead of time, so they can start thinking about what and how they are going to do it. I want
them to learn to think for themselves. When they ask a question, I ask them, “How do you think we can make this
work?” or “What do you think?” I try to foster confidence with their well‐thought out choices with encouragement and
praise.
Being a teacher, I’m a life‐long learner. I am always looking for new ideas and teaching methods as they relate to art for
my students. I learn from workshops, art conferences, colleagues and Internet research. I had a student‐teacher this
past semester, and I feel the experience was a positive learning endeavor for both of us. I wanted her to be successful in
my classroom and in the future with knowledge I had to offer. That is what I want to impart to my students. I want them
to feel good about themselves with the art they create in the classroom.
I have high expectations in my classroom. Sometimes, I even question if we can accomplish what I am putting out there
for them to do, but over and over through the years, they have amazed me with their “can do” attitude and I love that. I
love the pride I see on their faces, when they complete something that maybe initially they thought they couldn’t do.
That’s a win‐win.
How have you moved beyond the basic curriculum and found innovative ways to reach your students?
I have gone to workshops provided by the district and some on my own, including art, technology and discipline. I went
to Ghost Ranch, in New Mexico, one summer, to take a week‐long watercolor class. I learned some new techniques and
information about watercolor, that I felt I could bring back to the students. I have taken classes with Charolette Seay and
Kay Smith, who are local artists. I have gone to TAEA Conventions and gone to the workshops and seen new art
materials that are available to use in the classroom. Bowie is the designated vision impaired elementary campus in
MISD, so I have conferred with those teachers, to find ways to bring art and art projects to students with vision
challenges. I have gotten materials for them to use in the art room. I have also used a lot of adapting materials and
presentation to students with other needs to help them feel successful in the art room. Our last school‐wide art project,
a Chihuly‐inspired sculpture that now hangs in our new auditorium, was assembled by students on a Saturday. I smiled
when a parent called and said their child was coming to Saturday School.
How do you inspire your peers, colleagues and others aiming to make a difference in Midland ISD?
Bowie Fine Arts Academy is such a wonderful facility, thanks to our community. I wished there had been a school like
this when I was a child. I have high expectations for myself and my students, so not only do I push myself, I encourage
the students to push themselves, too. I am driven to make my learning environment positive and help the students find
their passion. The entire staff at Bowie is dedicated and devoted to helping their students be successful. Even our office
staff is committed to making Bowie run smoothly. I think all of our hard work and compassion inspires each other. We
feed off that energy. We are all creative problem‐solvers and love a challenge. I did a Cookies and Canvas in‐service for
our faculty in August to equip them with some painting skills. I also feel like I’m a crowd pleaser, so, the staff, PTA,
parents and other teachers don’t get too many “no’s” from me. From decorations, projects, costumes, posters, etc. I can
get as excited as they are to do it. I like being a team player and think that is important for all of our staff at Bowie to
lend a hand to our peers when needed. I have also been on several committees: text book adoption, social, CEIC, TCC,
hiring.
Has the role of being an educator changed since your first year as a teacher? If so, how?
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February 24, 2016
I actually taught sixth grade, my first year out of college and then stayed home to raise our children. So that was 35
years ago. I came back to teach when my youngest child was in high school, so, yes things have changed. There is more
testing, paperwork, discipline curriculums and academic curriculums. Technology has really advanced since the first year
I taught. Keeping up with new trends in the district is an ongoing challenge. And of course, it goes without saying that
society has changed in that time, too. Families are sometimes stressed and students feel that too and can’t help but
bring that to school.
What is one lesson you want to impart to every student who enters your classroom?
That the sky is the limit. I want my students to be “fearless.” They don’t have to be the best academically, but have the
desire to create and learn about art. I encourage them to “think outside the box.” Sometimes when they get a sheet of
paper to start a project, they hesitate, because they don’t want to make a mistake. Life is all about making mistakes and
learning from them.
How have you implemented technology into your classroom and instruction?
I have a Smart Board, document camera, iPad and computer that I use every day to introduce new artists or a new art
project and for research. The students also have LearnPads that they use daily. There are many interactive art activities
that I use with my students, like Artist’s Toolkit and they are free. If the students have a question about something, we
Google.
What are your professional goals for the future?
I want to continue going to conferences and workshops to help me, keep up with materials, trends and any art processes
that I can bring to the classroom. I plan on staying in the art room at Bowie until I retire. I love making art with the kids.
What is the greatest challenge to being an educator in Midland today?
In general, because society has changed and social media is such a part of everyday life, I think it can sometimes be
harder to make personal connections. I think changes in our economy due to oil prices, is something for teachers to be
aware of, as the effects are felt on families.
What support can Midlanders provide you and other educators?
Our community has already been very supportive with the passage of educational bonds, teachers bonuses from local
businesses, PTA involvement and Partners in Education, Education Foundation, to name a few. I would encourage
Midlanders to continue with this support, with the knowledge that the children of Midland are our future. Midland
Reporter‐Telegram: http://bit.ly/1T5CdfR
Increased Fees Bittersweet for Art Department
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: SF State’s art department made its first major increases to instructional materials fees in 20 years
this spring, forcing returning studio art majors to pay double or even triple the fee costs of last semester.
Of the 80 studio art classes currently requiring materials fees, 38 of those had their fees increased by at least 50 percent
this semester, with some of the largest increases 300 percent or more, according to data provided by art department
director Gail Dawson.
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February 24, 2016
While ART 235 Printmaking I rose from $40 to $60, others like ART 560 Photography III rose from $40 to $150, nearly
quadrupling. Although department records indicate fees for Art 433 Figure Drawing and Art 533 Figure Painting
increased slightly from $25 to $30 in 2006, materials fees for art classes have not
otherwise been altered since 1996, Dawson said.
“What $15 could buy in 1996 now costs about $43 with inflation alone – more
than double the old lab fee,” Dawson said. “Figure into that the increase in
manufacturing costs in the past 20 years, and it’s even more.”
Though cognizant of the financial stress many students already face, faculty in the
School of Art agreed that these increases are necessary and were approved with
students’ best interests in mind.
“The school of art is one of the best in the country,” Interim Dean of the College
of Liberal and Creative Arts Daniel Bernardi said in an email. “To remain one of the best, which means providing its
majors with the resources they need for each disciplinary course, it was necessary to raise student fees.”
Some returning art majors, on the other hand, don’t find the increases so necessary.
“It’s already expensive enough living in the Bay Area as it is,” said Liliana Miramontes, a senior studio art major. “I don’t
think they should have raised (fees), but I feel higher education should be free anyway.”
Between two ceramics courses with fees totaling $120, Miramontes said the additional $40 she paid in fees this
semester compared to last could have otherwise covered part of her regular commute from the East Bay or been used
to purchase groceries.
“And (the fee) doesn’t even cover the cost of clay,” she said. “You still have to buy that yourself.”
Phillip Reid, a senior art history and studio art major, said he would have liked to have seen information about the
increases sent out to returning students before the beginning of the semester.
“I didn’t know of any increases until the first day of classes when I got the syllabus,” Reid said, adding that he’ll be taking
art classes regardless of inflated fees because they are an “unavoidable” part of his major.
Fine art lecturer Sean McFarland said the increased fee revenue for his film photography classes has helped him provide
students with the quality materials and facilities they need to practice darkroom photography.
“It helps me out as an instructor, but that doesn’t mean the money is coming from the right place,” McFarland said.
He said it is up to the state to re‐examine the taxation system and how public universities are funded if these types of
fees are to ever become obsolete.
The increased revenue netted by the fees has been used to purchase chemistry for film processing, supplies for
classroom demonstrations and replacement parts for photograph enlargers and other darkroom equipment, he said.
According to CSU Executive Order 1102, instructional materials fees are considered Category III Fees, meaning that they
supplement the basic complement of classroom and laboratory instruction by providing materials and services that
would otherwise be unavailable to students, and which allow students to meet the educational objectives of a given
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course. Fees for courses that require field trips or travel off‐campus in order to meet the educational objectives of a
given course also fall into this category.
“In all cases, Category III Fees should provide materials and services where a student takes a product with them,”
Dawson said. “In painting, it is their paintings, and in life drawing, it is their drawings of the model.”
While other departments, such as theater and dance, broadcast and electronic communication arts, and cinema also
charge Category III Fees, none has seen as dramatic an increase this semester as the art department. Golden Gate
Xpress: http://bit.ly/1QaPMEv
Avoiding Lyme Disease, a Plein Air Painter's Nemesis
“Many people who have had Lyme disease are terrified of going
outdoors again.” That’s Deborah Lazar, a Vermont artist and a
victim of Lyme disease, explaining why you and all of your plein air
painting friends want to avoid this affliction. How? Lazar has some
tips.
“Prevention is still the best,” says Lazar. In large part, this is because
the problems associated with Lyme disease continue well after the
infection is eliminated. Doctors and researchers are still unsure
exactly how Lyme disease works, but it’s believed that it
permanently damages nerves in the affected area, sometimes
causing paralysis and sending along messages — sensations — that are unpleasant: pain, tingling, itching. Some recover
almost completely; others feel the effects for the rest of their lives. Lyme disease is carried by the deer tick, and
although the illness is thus blamed on the deer population, there is evidence to suggest that the disease originates in
rodents, primarily mice and squirrels. The ticks move on to bigger hosts like deer, and eventually perhaps find a tasty
plein air painter on whom to feed.
The tick and the disease are widespread all along the Eastern Seaboard, from Virginia north, and are also prevalent in
Wisconsin and Minnesota. The ticks are mobile, often finding their way to the soles of feet, the chest, and along
waistbands, and they favor the crotch area. Sometimes victims don’t even realize they were bitten. The infamous bulls‐
eye ring around the bite alerts some victims, while others merely note some flu‐like symptoms before additional issues
set in.
Tests for Lyme disease at present only look for the antibodies the human body creates to fight it. Researchers are
working on identifying telltale proteins that will show where the bacterial infection is, and when it is gone. Treatment
consists of antibiotics.
“For plein air painters, the risk is quite high,” asserts Lazar. After all, who else blazes trails through grass and woods,
then stands still long enough for passengers to climb aboard and get themselves situated?
Lazar has tried to do everything right, and she’s been that vigilant for more than 30 years. She tucked her pants into her
shoes or boots, checked herself for ticks after each excursion, showered upon returning home. She got Lyme disease.
Even after recovering, and after taking additional precautions including the use of DEET, she found a tick on her person
after a plein air outing. She is exasperated, but she has advice for concerned plein air painters.
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February 24, 2016
“They are heat‐seeking,” she says. “Most bites are in and around the abdominal area — places you may not be thinking
to look. Tuck your pants into your socks and cover up. DEET is not enough.” Consider using permethrin, but know that it
has its own issues. It kills cats, and has an unknown effect on humans. Lazar points out that companies sell clothes
impregnated with the chemical. This may be the way to go. “It will kill the tick on contact,” she says. “Or maybe you can
apply it to gaiters around the ankle, around the wrists, or on your belt. It originally came from a Chinese
chrysanthemum, but I think it is made synthetically now, and that allows it to survive exposure to sunlight and last
longer. It’s the only thing that can stop the tick.”
Although the ticks known to carry Lyme disease are most active in July and August, there is still ample possibility for
infection any time the temperature is above freezing. If you find a tick, remove it using sharp, very pointed tweezers,
grabbing its head as close to your skin as possible. Try to keep its head (which buries itself in the skin) attached to its
body. “If it is still alive, that’s a good sign,” says Lazar. She recommends applying alcohol to the bite and washing one’s
hands. “Keep an eye on it,” she says. “If you see the red circle around it, start antibiotics right away.” It might be a good
idea to save the removed tick, or at least to get a good photograph of it. Identification can help narrow down the
diagnosis.
Lazar seems very concerned about Lyme disease, no doubt because she was very cautious and was still infected. And
after recovering, and doubling her efforts, she again found a tick on her after a plein air painting session. There is no
better word to describe these disease carriers than “sneaky.” “I had nine spots on my body, but I never saw a tick and I
didn’t know that I was bitten,” she says. “I showered every time I came back from being outdoors. I guess I missed this
one.” Outdoor Painter: http://bit.ly/1S09gjL
Art Isn’t Just for Art Class
FORT BRAGG, NC: Art has been enhancing the learning experience of
students at Shelter Cove Community Day School.
The school, located at the alternative education campus, is open to all
students in grades Kindergarten through eighth who have been expelled
from local elementary or middle schools.
Teacher Ariella Marshall says class size changes frequently with students
joining and leaving on a regular basis, but she currently has six students.
“There are various other reasons they come to our campus, but that’s a
story for another day,” she said. “Since September, I have consistently had
only male students, ages ten to fourteen. They are a rowdy bunch, but we
have a lot of very innovative and creative out‐of‐the‐box thinkers who I
enjoy working with.”
Marshall said she draws on her background working as a crisis counselor
and doing remedial art workshops with juvenile gang members and felony
offenders in prison when dealing with the group of bright, but at times
challenging, young individuals.
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February 24, 2016
Although the concept behind Marshall’s teaching style involves a lot of art, it’s much more than an art program. She
incorporates art supplies into the curriculum of every subject.
“This enables students with a variety of learning styles to engage with the material in tangible ways. For many students,
the opportunity to actively express what they’re learning with tactile media helps them absorb, rather than simply
memorize or guess at the concepts,” she said.
“I do not ‘teach’ these things as a direct subject, nor am I teaching art. I am simply giving the students art supplies and
wide parameters within which they can express their ideas about not only academic subjects, but also about their lives
in general.”
What she’s doing seems to be working. Some of the biggest advocates for incorporating art into their daily learning are
the students themselves.
“[Art] helps my brain because I don’t have to tell it what to do when I’m making it, it’s just being creative,” said 7th
grader Gabriel when asked about how art helps him learn.
Kayden, a 5th grader, said,”It’s a time I can draw cool stuff, a time that I have to myself and all the great ideas I have in
my head get to come out.” Fort Bragg Advocate‐News: http://bit.ly/1QaQ4vd
S.A. Student Art Program Recognized Among World's Best
SAN ANTONIO, TX: High school students often chatter excitedly
over tall canvasses and tables full of art supplies at San Antonio’s
SAY Si. Down the hallway, another group of students rehearses plays
in full costume, under the watchful gaze of their instructors.
In a nearby room, even more students fiddle with professional
lighting equipment and camera gear. That’s where 12th grader
Reyna Hixson sits at her computer, working on her latest creation.
“It’s a yoga board game marketed toward kids,” said Hixson.
The game allows kids to play as various animal pieces, advancing
through the board while mimicking yoga poses drawn in playful cartoons.
It’s a cross between a leisurely game and a workout, which Reyna hopes will become her ticket to the far corners of the
world.
“I only have the Texan perspective,” said Hixson. “I only have the San Antonio perspective.”
Hixson is one of hundreds of students to participate in SAY Si, an art education program, which just this week was
recognized as one of the top seven programs of its kind in the world. On Feb. 12, SAY Si announced it was selected for an
Adobe Creative Catalyst Award, which is given to a handful of youth development organizations throughout the globe.
Program Director Nicole Amri said the award allowed the organization to apply for and receive a sizable grant from
Adobe, which will allow it to send a small group of students to visit the other award winners around the world and
perfect their art.
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February 24, 2016
“It’s absolutely going to change their lives,” said Amri. “It's going to prepare them and help them stand out.”
Amri said the students will apply for the trip, an initiative they call Project Papalote. The three students who are selected
will go to Boston, Salt Lake City, Mexico City, and Kolkata to work with other students on cross‐boundary creative
projects.
“This is an arts residency as high‐caliber as any a professional artist might apply for,” said Amri.
Amri said the winners will be announced on Monday.
Hixson, who applied for the trip herself, said she hopes to benefit from the new perspective that comes with seeing
other cultures.
Even if she doesn’t get selected, she said the work she has done with SAY Si has already set her on a path toward a
bright career.
“I'm actually working on stuff, I have stuff in exhibitions,” said Hixson. “It made me feel like I am an artist.” KENS5:
http://bit.ly/1TxVXXR
Sunshine Coast Surfer Says He's One of the World's Only Eco Artists
SUNSHINE COAST, AUSTRALIA: A Sunshine Coast artist's
"obsession" with the ocean led him to revolutionise his artwork
and become one of the world's only eco surf artists.
Scott Denholm, 32, uses sustainable and earth friendly materials
and processes to create breathtaking oceanic landscapes, inspired
from his life as a surfer.
Denholm began his artistic career at 11 and said his "purist" tutors
originally introduced him to traditional materials that were quite
toxic.
"You would walk into their studio and you would get smacked with the smell of mineral turps, it's no good for your
lungs," he said.
Denholm, who had been an avid surfer since the age of 13, continued to paint throughout his twenties and said a job at
Australia Zoo opened his mind up to "deeper" environmental issues.
"My surfing and my art were the two biggest things, so I did a lot of research and found my art materials were no good
for the environment," he said.
The issue of using harmful art materials continued to plague Denholm and soon after he began a two‐year journey to
ensure all his materials, from his paint brushes to his canvases, had minimal environmental impact.
Denholm now uses hemp or Belgium linen canvas, water mixable oil paints, acrylics free from heavy metals, FSC timber
handled brushes and stretcher bars and much more.
"It has been a three year process to find all the right materials, that was good enough for artist quality," he said.
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February 24, 2016
"I have gone through literally everything, down to who prints my business cards.
"Everyone knows what is happening with the environment, there isn't really a need to educate people on those merits
but I would like to inspire people to make the change."
Denholm said 90 per cent of his materials were sourced from Australia, with only his oil paints and primer brought in
from overseas.
"I want to show people that is not that hard, you can find these products in pretty accessible places," he said.
Denholm said the ocean inspired him to start creating work using "earth friendly" materials.
"It grew from liking riding waves to respecting the ocean, in that process you sort of learn about the environmental
impacts from different things," he said.
"It just comes back to me being obsessed with the ocean and surfing, at my age now it is not just about going fast on a
wave, that adrenaline rush, but it is a bit more of a spiritual thing, a connection with the ocean." WAtoday:
http://bit.ly/1UlxeXn
Vincent van Gogh: True Colours of Artist's Paintings Revealed by Scientists Chemical analysis of microscopic fragment taken from one of the three studied paintings reveals the true colours
Scientists have recreated the original colours of Vincent van
Gogh’s iconic “bedroom” paintings of the Yellow House at Arles
where he lived with his friend and mentor Paul Gauguin until they
fell out with disastrous repercussions for Vincent’s mental health.
A chemical analysis of a microscopic fragment taken from one of
the three bedroom paintings reveals that the true colour of the
walls in the picture were purple rather than the faded cornflower‐
blue we see today, researchers have found.
The revelation is seen as significant because the actual walls of
the real bedroom itself where white, so the original colour of the
walls in the paintings is being interpreted as a vivid indication of
van Gogh’s emotional frame of mind, said Francesca Casadio, a scientific conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago.
“The walls of the actual bedroom in Arles were whitewashed. So the purple is his own interpretation — his own intent
of expressing the resting of the mind or of the imagination,” Dr Casadio said.
It is highly unusual for an artist to paint an empty room so the fact that van Gogh did three of his bedroom at Arles,
where he hoped to establish a community of artist with his friend Gauguin, is seen as an expression of his need for
somewhere he could call home — especially as he had lived in 37 places in his 37 years.
Van Gogh completed his first bedroom painting in October 1988, which is now kept in Amsterdam. He did two more in
September 1889, after he had cut off his ear and suffered a nervous breakdown, one is now in Chicago and one in Paris.
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February 24, 2016
Even though the walls in the 1888 painting look cornflower blue today, letters written by van Gogh to his brother Theo
described the colours very differently, saying he had painted the walls “pale violet”.
“In these letters he describes the colours of the bedroom. He wanted to make the picture beautiful but also to express
his emotional landscape. He says he wants to paint simplicity with bright colour,” Dr Casadio said.
An X‐ray fluorescence spectrogram of a microscopic fragment of paint from the walls of the first bedroom painting
revealed that pigment fading had turned the colour light blue. The original colour is purple, which has not faded on the
rear side of the fleck of paint that had been stuck to the canvas, Dr Casadio said.
“Three quarters of the pigments that you see in the bedroom did not exist 80 years before. They were all new inventions
of the chemical industry of the time. Artists embraced them, the yellows, the reds, the pinks. Unfortunately many of
them, we're finding, are changing colours,” she said.
“It’s really significant because we know the walls of that room were whitewashed, they weren’t purple at all. So in the
original Amsterdam painting they convey a sense of repose, and complement other colours in the room such as the
yellow of the chairs. It was meant to feel homely and more peaceful,” she told the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in Washington.
“This is using scientific tools to bring us closer to the emotional state of the artist. When he wasn’t being violent he used
his paintings to show that he had it together. Maybe it’s going to far to say that painting was therapy for him but in a
sense it was,” she said.
Soon after completing the first bedroom painting he had fallen out with Gauguin, having confronted him with the razor
that he subsequently used to slice off his own ear. The relationship with Gauguin became tense, not least because they
lived in such close proximity — Gaugin’s own bedroom was next door to van Gogh’s.
Within two months of Gauguin arriving in Arles, the relationship with van Gough broke down and Vincent spent much of
the next year in an asylum in nearby Saint‐Remy, where he had sent for his first bedroom painting, which he told his
brother he considered his best work at Arles.
In the two ater 1889 bedroom paintings, the colours become much more subdued. Everything had changed and this was
reflected in his work, Dr Casadio said. The Independent: http://ind.pn/24odCX3
The Power Of The Paintbrush: How Art Therapy Is Saving Children With Mental Health Issues
For an adult suffering with a mental health problem, talking about
how they’re feeling can be difficult.
So, for a child with limited language skills, opening up about their
feelings can be almost impossible.
That’s where art therapy comes in. It uses activities, such as painting,
to help children understand and discuss thoughts they may find
distressing.
"We know that children who can’t understand or name their feelings
are more likely to 'act them out', so art therapy can provide relief to a child whose only previous option was to dissolve
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February 24, 2016
into tears or have an angry outburst in response to overwhelming feelings," explains Mary‐‐Rose Brady, director of
operations at the British Association of Art Therapists.
"Art materials enable children to externalise troubling or confusing emotions, giving them form and enabling them to
make links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, perhaps for the first time."
Debbie Thwaites, founder of art therapy charity Shine Again*, believes it can help youngsters in a way regular talking
therapy can’t.
She suffered from an eating disorder as a child and had "the kind of therapy where you sit in a room with a therapist and
if you don’t say anything, the therapist doesn’t say anything".
She adds: "Talking therapy didn’t work for me at all. Kids aren’t able to intellectually discuss their triggers."
Thwaites didn’t begin to recover from her eating disorder until she joined a church‐‐led support group aged 18. Now a
psychotherapist, she believes she would have recovered sooner if art therapy had been available to her.
At Shine Again, Thwaites and her team run one‐‐to‐‐one sessions in primary schools with children who have been
identified by teachers or social workers as needing extra help.
"We have children with low self‐esteem and children with selective mutism ‐‐ usually something has happened and, as a
result, they have chosen to stop speaking," she explains.
"We also have children with depression and I’ve had one year five child who tried to [take his own life]."
During a session, a child comes into a room laid out with paints, instruments and puppets and chooses a task.
Although Shine Again also offers music and dance therapy, Thwaites says most children will opt for arts and crafts.
"One young boy I saw just wanted to paint poo. He wasn’t able to say 'this person is making me feel like poo', but he was
able to get all the brown and black colours out, make a big mess and say 'that’s what I feel like'," she says.
The therapists will chat to the child about what they’ve drawn or made and sometimes suggest using puppets if they’re
having difficulty expressing themselves.
"I’ve had a child using the puppets to demonstrate their mum getting drunk and another using them to show a parent
taking an overdose," Thwaites says.
"Using puppets almost gives them permission to say these things out loud because they’re saying them in the context of
a story."
In contrast to the one‐‐to‐‐one approach adopted by Shine Again, charity The Art Room works with three adults and
eight children in each group.
Founded by Juli Beattie, the charity works with children aged five to 16 experiencing emotional and behavioural
difficulties. Some of them have become disengaged from school or are at risk of exclusion.
Rather than focus on specific mental health issues that a pupil may or may not have been diagnosed with, Art Room
practitioners take a holistic approach.
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February 24, 2016
Pupils are encouraged to create artworks on objects, such as clocks and lamps, as it’s thought to be less intimidating
than being handed a blank sheet of paper.
"It’s a really good way to get them to talk about themselves as they’ll paint things on to objects that matter to them,"
Beattie says.
Discussions are led by the children, with practitioners taking a step back to listen to the pupils interacting.
Beattie explains: "A group of boys were painting clocks and one of them said 'I’m going to give this to my dad'. Another
boy said: 'But I thought you didn’t like your dad, I thought your dad pushed your mum down the stairs'. And the first boy
said: 'No, that’s not this step‐‐dad, that was my other step‐‐dad'.
"It gives us an opportunity to listen to their difficulties and it gives them an opportunity to say them but in a very safe
environment."
Afterwards, a practitioner will talk to the group about relevant issues such as domestic violence and how that
experience might make a person feel.
Social services are informed if a child safety issue has been raised and pupils will sometimes go on to have more
conventional individual therapy.
"The children realise that we can’t take away what has happened three or four years ago and we can’t always change
the environment they live in but we can give them the skills to be able to say 'something is wrong' or 'I don’t feel well',"
Beattie says.
The method works. The mother of one nine‐‐year‐‐old says The Art Room helped after her husband died unexpectedly in
front of her children.
"My daughter refused to talk about her father and what she saw and, a week later, she just stopped talking altogether,"
she says.
"After a few weeks at The Art Room she began to talk about her dad and him dying and how sad and angry and upset
she was.
"The box she made at The Art Room is beautiful and she put this on her father's grave. I think it’s really helped her to
cope with our family's loss."
Both Beattie and Thwaites believe helping children with their communication skills when they’re most vulnerable will
limit their mental health problems as teenagers and adults.
"Eating disorders and self‐‐harm come from young children bottling up feelings," Thwaites says.
"By sorting out problems early they are a lot less prone to these issues later on."
Beattie adds: "This is not only about helping children affected by mental health problems, it’s about avoiding mental
health problems." The Huffington Post: http://huff.to/1S09Oq2
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February 24, 2016
Study Finds Some 3D Printers Emit Toxic Particles
In recent years, as 3D printers have become more affordable and
mass‐produceable, they’ve become commonplace in schools,
homes, and creative studios. A troubling new study draws
attention to an overlooked downside of this technology’s spread:
3D printing, like most things in the modern world, is hazardous to
your health.
The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology by
a team of scientists at the Illinois Institute of Technology,
concludes that typical desktop 3D printers release particles that
federal agencies consider toxic and carcinogenic. The findings fit
into a long history of artists and makers being told a little late in the game that their newfangled supplies are potentially
dangerous.
“A good chunk of printers and filaments that are out there we really should be worried about,” the study’s leader, Brent
Stephens, an assistant professor in Illinois Tech’s department of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, told
the Chicago Tribune. “I think the way people are introducing these into schools and libraries … that’s what should drive
some of the concern.”
The researchers studied five types of commercially available 3D printers — FlashForge Creator, Dremel 3D Idea Builder,
XYZprinting da Vinci 1.0, MakerBot Replicator 2X, and LulzBot Mini — that print with nine different materials. Each 3D
printer spent two to four hours printing a small object while a particle counter measured the amount of ultrafine
particles it emitted into the unventilated room.
Researchers found the printers tested that used a type of plastic called ABS filament emitted a particle called styrene, a
possible carcinogen. The 3D printers that used four other types of materials — nylon, PCTPE, laybrick and laywood —
emitted caprolactam, a respiratory irritant. Concentrations of these particles were an average of 10 times as high as
those in a 3D‐printer‐free space.
“[These particles] are small enough not to be caught by our nose hairs when we breathe them in,” Stephens said. “Not
all printers emitted huge, huge amounts, but about half of ours did emit in what we could call a high emitter category …
so that’s a little worrisome.” Most of these particles, though, are more likely to cause irritation of the lungs, eyes, and
sinuses than to cause cancer, the researchers said.
Manufacturers are already looking to develop non‐toxic materials and other ways to eliminate the risks posed by 3D
printers. “Until then,” the study’s authors write, “we continue to suggest that caution should be used when operating
many printer and filament combinations in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces or without the aid of gas and particle
filtration systems.”
The takeaway: If you’re using a 3D printer indoors, make sure your space is well ventilated, especially if you’re
predisposed to pulmonary diseases like asthma and emphysema. Limit your exposure to the riskiest materials (ABS
filament and nylon). Look into 3DPrintClean, a company that recently launched a filtration system that traps all ultrafine
particles emitted by standard 3D printers, letting you safely print in any space. And maybe hold off on buying your
children Mattel’s new $300 3D printer that lets kids make their own toys. Hyperallergic: http://bit.ly/1OtCDEw
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February 24, 2016
Helping Homeless Artists Turn Around Their Fortunes
In September 2014, Scott Benner, a former heavy equipment
operator, was homeless, unemployed and staying at Father Bill’s
Place & MainSpring, a shelter in Quincy, Mass.
Fending off a debilitating illness and depression, Mr. Benner spent
hours making art, something he had done much of his life. His
compelling pen and ink drawings enticed the Boston start‐up
ArtLifting to add him to its collection of homeless and disabled
artists whose work was being featured and sold on its website.
So good was Mr. Benner’s work that Liz Powers, founder of
ArtLifting, arranged for a solo gallery show on Boston’s fancy
Newbury Street at which several of his pieces were sold for hundreds of dollars.
For Mr. Benner, 58, who lost his job in 2009 and despaired as his marriage broke up and he spiraled into homelessness,
the solo show in Boston served as a startling juxtaposition from where he had been to where he might be going.
“When I had that show, I had to get special permission from a counselor at the shelter to stay out beyond 6 p.m.,” he
recalled. “There I was with people sipping wine, eating cheese and crackers, and talking about art. And an hour after the
show was over, I was on the T going back to Quincy, where I had to turn in my wallet and medications, be searched and
then go back into the shelter where guys were fighting and puking and passing out. It was surreal to go from one world
to the next.”
A few months after the show, Mr. Benner found subsidized housing on the Maine coast, and last Christmas, ArtLifting
sold one of his drawings for $2,500. Like his fellow ArtLifting artists, Mr. Benner said Ms. Powers had played a significant
role in turning around his fortunes. “She exudes energy,” he said. “Even though I just met her, I turned over my whole
life’s artwork to her because I knew I was in good hands.”
Ms. Powers, a 27‐year‐old Harvard sociology graduate, founded ArtLifting with her brother Spencer in 2013 after years
of searching for a creative way to mitigate the anguish of homelessness. She began working with the homeless as an 18‐
year‐old freshman. “I was flipping pancakes and making eggs at 6:30 in the morning at the shelters, but I didn’t really get
to know anyone,” she said.
When she was a sophomore, she joined LIFT, a national nonprofit organization, where she was trained to work with the
homeless, helping people grapple with housing issues, unemployment, food access and self‐esteem.
During her one‐on‐one sessions, Ms. Powers heard a familiar refrain. “A lot of our clients said to me, ‘Liz, I’m incredibly
lonely,’ ” she said. How, she wondered, could she create a safe space to bring these people together to support one
another?
Having been an artist, she combined her passions and urged local shelters to create art groups where their residents
could come together, make art and earn one another’s trust. With a public service fellowship from Harvard, she spent a
year working on her concept.
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February 24, 2016
What Ms. Powers discovered was that many shelters already had art programs and closets filled with discarded artwork.
There was no place to display the work and no obvious use for it once it was completed.
But in the mix was enough quality material to get her thinking. These artisans needed only an opportunity for their work
to be seen, and they might be able to sell it and make money. She organized a few art shows at Boston‐area churches,
with limited response. But in 2013, Boston Properties, a real estate trust, donated a space inside the city’s Prudential
Center shopping mall, and Ms. Powers mounted an art show for shelter artists. Shoppers stopped, admired the art,
bought some of the work and asked, “When is the next show?” Something clicked for Ms. Powers, and ArtLifting was
born.
“My brother Spencer and I brainstormed, ‘How can this be scaled? How can we help people not just in Boston but across
the country? How can we help not just one day a year but every day?’ ” she said.
ArtLifting is a for‐profit company that began as an online gallery for homeless and disabled artists but has quickly
evolved into something more ambitious. The goal was to provide a way for these disenfranchised artists to sell their
work, enhance self‐esteem and change their lives. Starting with a $4,000 investment from their savings, the Powerses
started ArtLifting, got noticed in the Boston media, and the fledgling venture took off.
The company now has contracts with more than 70 artists, six‐figure revenue, seven full‐time employees and artists in
eight cities. Spencer Powers departed for business school, leaving his sister in charge. Last summer, Ms. Powers raised
more than $1 million from more than 20 venture capitalists and angel investors. Among them was Blake Mycoskie, the
founder of TOMS, a social enterprise that began by giving away a pair of shoes to a needy person for every pair the
company sold. Mr. Mycoskie started the TOMS Social Entrepreneurship Fund last fall, and ArtLifting was among its first
investments.
“Liz’s realization that talented homeless and disabled artists should have a market to sell their artwork — and that a
purpose‐driven business could fill this need — felt very much like the ‘Aha’ moment to start TOMS,” Mr. Mycoskie said.
A believer that the best ventures combine profit and purpose, Mr. Mycoskie eschewed the nonprofit route because he
did not want to depend on an endless series of grants and fund‐raising to sustain the business. It is a philosophy shared
by Ms. Powers.
Ms. Powers is eager to dispel any misconceptions about the company. ArtLifting is not a charity, and she is not a
caseworker seeking artists living under overpasses. ArtLifting is an art broker, and all the artists are recommended by
someone from various shelters around the country; the artists must apply to ArtLifting to represent their work. The
artwork must fit the company’s mission and be of high enough quality to be approved by a staff curator. The staff
includes three art history majors, two of whom worked at Boston area art museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts.
“The easiest way to describe a good fit is that it is salable art,” Ms. Powers said. “It can be abstract, or realistic, but it
must be something you can imagine in someone’s home or office.”
Artists receive 55 percent of the profit from the sale of their work, while ArtLifting seeks individual customers and
corporate sales. ArtLifting has already sold artwork to the Staples headquarters in Framingham, Mass., and the
Microsoft Innovation Center in San Francisco. In addition, the company is seeking licensing deals with corporate clients
to get artists’ work on totebags, greeting cards, smartphone cases and other products.
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February 24, 2016
According to Kelly McKenna, ArtLifting’s chief operating officer, the company is basing its sales projections on similar
business models, such as that of Etsy, the online artisan site, which increased sales tenfold in its second year. ArtLifting is
building a sales force to fuel similar growth.
“We have the funding right now, but it isn’t going to be here forever,” said Ms. McKenna, a Harvard Business School
graduate who said she turned down more lucrative job offers to join ArtLifting. “This is a critical year to grow sales, and
we’re hoping to close two major licensing deals and do 10 times the sales with e‐commerce.”
Though there is potential for an artist to strike it big with a lucrative licensing deal, Ms. Powers said the more realistic
outcome is providing the artists with the self‐confidence and assurance that springs from being appreciated and paid for
their talent. The objective is less about money than about providing hope in people’s lives, she said.
Kitty Zen, a 25‐year old Boston artist, has been homeless since age 16, and her connection to ArtLifting has not solved
her housing issue. But her experience with the company has been revelatory. Her first sale was for $1,000, with $550 for
her.
“When I got that first check, it was amazing!” Ms. Zen said. “I didn’t want to cash it. I wanted to frame it. The biggest
absolute feeling of ‘wow’ was having my art displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, knowing that the summer before
that, I was selling my art outside on a blanket on the Boston Common.” The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1TExhOC