a site 2 see friday: Who Cares? A guide to using Instagram for studio artists by Ayumi Horie

image by Ayumie Horie

If you’re on Instagram and not following Ayumie then you’re doing it wrong.
She’s a pro at all things social media and she’s compiled a guide to using Instagram which will get you in the game if you aren’t and will clean up and focus your game if you’re already using Instagram as a marketing tool for your practice.

Go check it out here.

a site 2 see friday: Sculpties

About Sculpties
One cold winter day, a piece in progress captured his very own studio selfie, and began a new trend: sculpties.

Hello! My name is Jocelyn Howard and I will graduate in May 2014 with an MFA in Ceramics from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Interested in themes dealing with gender identity, sexuality, public vs private image, duality, and jungian psychology, I enjoy exploring these themes when creating ceramic figures in hopes to create a personal mythology.

When documenting my studio practice and sculptural process, I noticed that the expressions, postures, and characteristics of each figure I created lent itself to being documented in the same way a person would take a selfie. What started out as a humorous documentation of my work has evolved into an exploration that applies the act of crafting self-image through taking selfie shots to literal crafted objects.

When I think about duality, specifically the difference between public and private personas, the first thing that comes to mind is the way in which social media asks two things of us. On one hand, we want to keep in touch with friends and family, let our hair down, and share things that are deeply meaningful in our lives through venues such as facebook, twitter, tumblr, and instagram. On the other hand, we want to curate a professional image that will help further a career. Websites are good for establishing a solidly professional boundary around our public image. But sometimes the line between public image and private image is blurred when an online presence becomes a cocktail of website plus instagram, twitter, tumblr, and facebook.

When I spend time to painstakingly document my work, I am crafting a professional public image for that work. I set it carefully on a grey graduated backdrop, arrange lights to capture every detail, and spend time adjusting each setting on the camera to compose the perfect shot. However, when I create and build my figures, I feel that they take on a life of their own in the studio. They let their hair down. And so, I invite you to join me on this journey of documenting my work behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy getting to know each character when they aren’t posing for my portfolio or getting gussied up for that next show application. And, please feel free to use the submit link to submit your own sculpties!

For each piece’s pro shots, please check out:  www.jocelynyhoward.com

sculpties.tumblr.com

a site 2 see friday: Studio Break podcast with Grace Sheese

“Studio Break
is a creation of David Linneweh; the podcast and blog is meant to
showcase and highlight the work of Contemporary Artists by providing
casual in depth discussions which explore how they maintain a
professional studio practice.  Each conversation reveals the technical
and formal approaches necessary to create their work as well as the
concepts being presented to the audience or viewer.  In addition,
interviews provide a background of each of the artists including
highlighting their biography as discussing the research and ideas that
support and inform their creative process.

The impetus behind Studio Break is to shed light on the creative
process through the podcast in a way that parallels the types of
conversations artists share within each other’s studio.   This format
allows for a variety of listeners to engage the visual and conceptual
ideas of the artwork in a way that is accessible to fellow artists and
teachers, students, and anyone who would like to learn more about this
process.

I hope that you take the time to explore all the artists who’ve
participated in Studio Break and encourage you to reach out and leave
comments through the blog, Facebook, and Twitter.  Anyone can visit the iTunes
store to subscribe to the podcast and it’s very appreciated when you
leave feedback or consider a small monetary donation to the efforts of
Studio Break.” – David Linneweh

www.gracesheese.tumblr.com
www.gracesheese.etsy.com