Join us as we celebrate some joyous news!

March 12th
12:30 pm to 1:00 pm

Share in our enthusiasm as we announce plans for Indiana County’s future as a creative community! We will outline the program, hear from Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, and enjoy a relaxing chat with local artists, organizers, and policy makers.

Zoom Information :

Topic: Celebration - Good Things to Come!
Time: Mar 12, 2021 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 812 5541 9243
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Spruce Arts partners with Dripped on the Road for Mural Project

In early October, muralists descended on Indiana, PA armed with spray paint and enthusiasm. Today, Indiana, PA is fortunate to have 14 new murals in its historic downtown. From the Indiana Gazette and Patrick Cloolan. Read the article here - https://www.indianagazette.com/news/gazette-photos----drop-by-drop-traveling-artists-brighten-indiana-with-murals/article_74056ba1-d171-527b-b1e0-9dbf728fe773.html

Five years ago, an artist residency conducted through Indiana University of Pennsylvania painted a series of murals on the wall of the Indiana Theater. This week, another residency is underway, as The Spruce Art Residency program will be hosting muralists from the organization Dripped On The Road as the latest artists in residence. And the Indiana Theater is one of the downtown places that will be graced again by artistry, along with the Jimmy Stewart Museum and a wall behind Fox’s Pizza Den off Philadelphia Street and Gompers Avenue.

“It’s an art residency program that gives artists a chance to escape from the everyday life and come and create in this community,” said Hannah Harley of Spruce Arts Residency. Risa Boogie, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Sarah Rutherford, of Rochester, N.Y.; Damien Mitchell, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Evan Lovett, of Philadelphia, are scheduled to be in Indiana through Oct. 19. “The residency has been running for about four years,” said Ramiro Davaro-Comas. “We have been doing this kind of program since 2016. We have painted over 100 murals, traveled over 14,000 miles and basically painted up and down the entire East Coast, in all of the states.”

Harley said the artists will paint murals with air-purifying paint that absorbs aerial pollutants, reduces carbon dioxide and eliminates odors.

Additionally, as part of their effort to aid the environment, Dripped On The Road plants 100 trees. “We believe in not only public art but the responsibility that public artists have in maintaining a healthy ecological environment,” Davaro-Comas said, as the artists will plant the trees at Ben Franklin Elementary School. “A lot of partners are working to make sure they are the right kind of trees,” Harley said. “There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of people involved.” They include Smog Armor, the Indiana Conservation District, Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, Sustainable Indiana and the Evergreen Conservancy.

Davaro-Comas started talking with Harley about an Indiana residency in April. “I myself came out in March and did a site visit, was here for a week in the residency program, and painted a mural inside the Horace Mann Elementary School,” Davaro-Comas said. “I was able to meet many of the stakeholders in town, and I was truly able to get a really great experience in Indiana, and I personally loved the town.” All four artists bring a variety of experiences to Indiana. Lovett, for instance, is using his father, a blue-collar worker in a number of fields over the years, as a model for the coal miner shown alongside a canary in the mural that is going up behind the Indiana Theater.

“I went to school for hospitality and tourism management at the University of Massachusetts and I personally have been painting public art for about 10 years,” Davaro-Comas said. “Because we travel and we bring artists to different communities, it is pretty much in the nature of what I studied to do these programs. As a program we believe that there is an invaluable power in public art … and we make sure we bring artists who can really make this town proud of what we have painted.”

In turn, Dripped On The Road is the latest troupe to visit under the auspices of Spruce Art. “The first six months we hosted 25 artists from all over the world,” Harley said, “looking to escape the city and find the joys of a small town American lifestyle while creating art.” Additionally, a film crew is with the Dripped On The Road artists, shooting a continuing documentary about the work. Documentary videographer Owley (he goes by a single name) is working with directors Denton Burrows and Jonathan Neville. It would be the latest episode in a five-season Web series that so far has had a total of 18 episodes.

“We paint these murals and then we go home,” Davaro-Comas said. “The murals are left for the community. It is free art and no one has to pay an entrance fee as in a museum. You can come here and you can enjoy the art for free.”

More about the project can be found at www.drippedontheroad.com.

MURAL PROGRAM BEGINS OCTOBER 5TH

Starting on October 5th, Spruce Arts will be hosting muralists as their October artists in residence in partnership with the organization Dripped On The Road. Artists in residence will be Riiisa Boogie, Sarah C. Rutherford, Damien Mitchell, and Evan Lovett. 

This two-week program in Indiana, Pennsylvania will last from October 5th to October 19th. Multiple murals will be painted over those two weeks, mostly on the building at 580 Philadelphia Street and with one mural inside the Jimmy Stewart Museum. Informational pamphlets, a free coloring book and socially distanced viewings of the Dripped On The Road web-series will be available at 637 Philadelphia Street. 

The Fall 2020 Program is focused on creative sustainability partnering with local conservancies and agencies to plant 100 trees and host up-cycling and sustainability workshops for the local community. The artists will paint murals with air purifying paint that absorbs aerial pollutants, reduces CO2 and eliminates odors. Sustainability partners include Smog Armor, Indiana Conservation District, Indiana County Office of Planning & Development, Sustainable Indiana and the Evergreen Conservancy.

Documentary videographer Owley will film the Fall 2020 Program for the DOTR Web-Series Season 6. 

DOTR partners with and is sponsored by businesses, organizations and individuals who share the same values as DOTR. The Spring 2020 Program is partnered with & sponsored by Spruce Arts, Smog Armor, Indiana Conservation District, Indiana County Office of Planning & Development, Sustainable Indiana and the Evergreen Conservancy.

SUMMER WORKSHOP SERIES ANNOUNCED
Update : June 2020
To better give room and support to artists and activists protesting, we are pausing the workshop series for the month of June. We celebrate black artists, and we will take this month to further assess how this organization can continue to uplift black artists.

May 2020
We are thrilled to announce the new Summer Workshop Series that will be premiering on May 12th, 2020! These workshops are occurring online with video instruction from one of our past or upcoming artists in residence. Designed to be done at home with limited materials, each workshop is accessible for all stages of learning! A total of 12 workshops will be shared over the next few months. You can expect everything from creating a mural at home to creating a narrative video to creating a camera obscura in your home!

After the series is complete, a book will be published and distributed throughout the Indiana County community for free. Head to your local library, school, community or senior center to check out this book!

First up, we will be having a workshop from Ramiro Davaro-Comas about creating a mural at home! Check out our workshops tab to follow along.

Stay safe! We can’t wait to see what you create!

SUMMER KICK OFF CANCELLED
April 2020

For the last six months, we have been planning the Spruce Arts Summer Kick Off - part artist retreat, part symposium. Featuring artists and speakers from around the world, we were planning to bring in past, present, and future artists in residence for a weekend of learning, collaboration, and art. We curated exhibitions, arranged performances, and prepared for open studios.

With the safety of our artists and the Indiana community at the forefront of our minds, we have cancelled this year’s Summer Kick Off weekend. While we are disappointed to delay this celebration, it is unwise to congregate in close proximity. The art residency portion of our programming will resume when it is safe to do so, but this single event is cancelled for 2020.

We are hopeful for a bright 2021 that allows us to partake in the joys of life together. Until then, we ask that you remain safe and buy art.

MURAL PLANS UNDERWAY
February 2020

As the cold of winter starts to fade away and warmer weather is quickly approaching, preparations for a new series of murals and public artworks have begun in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The end goal? Three exterior murals in downtown Indiana, PA, a series of artist led workshops, and an entirely carbon neutral project.

A collaboration between Spruce Arts and Dripped on the Road is the catalyst behind the new public art. Both organizations are art residency programs, aiming to facilitate community, creativity, and connection through art. Spruce Arts connects artists to Indiana County on a temporary basis, inviting them to live and create in the beauty of the community. Dripped on the Road is a traveling art residency program dedicated to fostering a unique creative environment for its resident artists while enhancing the visual atmosphere of communities through public art.

Dripped on the Road invites selected artists to travel a predetermined route around the U.S. in an RV, create public murals in a diverse array of cities and communities, camp at National & State parks to create small works on paper, collaborate with a variety of arts/community organizations on workshops, talks, and panels. The residency ends with an exhibition at a gallery showcasing the unique work that was created. Dripped on the Road documents each trip and creates small documentary-style videos and a photo series.

They’re bringing two new artists to downtown Indiana, PA to create three exterior murals. While in residence, they will present a series of workshops and talks designed to engage the community in sustainable art practices and public art. They will also produce a documentary web series and camp in the Allegheny Mountains.

With the support and advice from local conservation organizations such as Evergreen Conservancy, Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, Indiana County Conservation District, and the Indiana County Sustainable Economic Development Task Force, Dripped on the Road is setting out to offset the carbon produced during this project by donating 100 trees to the community, using reused or recycled materials whenever possible, and finding ways to be sustainable in their artistic practice. At the end of their time in Indiana, there will be a volunteer day where members of the community and the artists plant these trees together.

Since their founding, Dripped on the Road has traveled over 14,000 miles, visited 20+ cities in 15 states, painted 100+ murals, hosted 12+ artist talks with over 150 guests, hosted 10 resident artists & 4 guest artists, produced a 5 season web-series with a total of 18 episodes, and reached over 1,000,000 people through its partners and social media channels.

This spring, you can see them in action in Indiana, PA.

RESIDENCY PROGRAM CONNECTS ARTISTS TO INDIANA COUNTY
by Margaret Weaver for the Indiana Gazette
Read the article here.

The Indiana Gazette, Indiana’s hometown newspaper, published a story on the Spruce Art Residency program.

Giving artists from around the world the opportunity to “unplug from everyday life,” Indiana native Hannah Harley created The Spruce Art Residency program in Indiana, which launched in July and continues to grow and evolve.

The Spruce brings artists to live and work temporarily in Indiana County, where they immerse themselves into their art as well as the community. Harley said she knew that Indiana had something special that could benefit artists and she wanted to share that. The Spruce’s assistant director, Ariana Sarwari, agreed. “Hannah knew what this place had to offer,” Sarwari said. “We’re not used to this at all. The space, friendly neighborhood. People crave that.” As an artist, Sarwari said going to a new place to feed off the environment and reinterpret it in their art is an amazing opportunity.

Since opening last summer, the residency has hosted more than 20 artists, who stay in furnished apartments and are provided with studio space. The artists — who come from backgrounds in writing, composing, visual arts, musicians, theater arts, video and more — are “encouraged to work on new or continuing work with the potential of sharing it through artist talk and/or exhibition,” according to the group. The residency’s “primary aim is to provide artists with dedicated time for creative work.” Harley said the program works best when three or more artists are in residency at the same time. At one point in August, there were eight.

“They got to form a little community within themselves,” Harley said. The artists usually stay around a month, which Harley said is ideal, because it offers time to connect with the community. Some artists, though, can only stay for a week. The artists in the program “quickly become part of the community,” Harley said.

“These artists have become regulars at the downtown businesses, forging friendships with bakers, baristas and local artists,” Harley said. “They have hosted happy hour events, done workshops in local schools, painted in the local parks and enjoyed the beauty of Indiana County.” Harley said it’s interesting to see the community through the eyes of the visiting artists, who are always quick to point out things area residents may overlook. “They see things we don’t,” she said. “They constantly show us what’s special about here.”

In the fall, The Spruce — named for Indiana’s tradition of calling itself the “Christmas Tree Capital of the World” — was awarded a grant with several local partners that will fund a workshop series taught by the participating artists. The workshops will be free and open to the public, and will be documented with lesson plans and materials to be distributed in the community for others to organize workshops.

“Art can seem intimidating,” Sarwari said. “We want to make art more accessible and bring Spruce out to the Indiana community.”

“We’re looking forward to a robust series of programming in 2020 and welcoming more artists to visit and enjoy the thriving art community in Indiana County,” said Harley, who is also an adjunct professor at Point Park University and Youngstown State University, as well as a photographer with husband and business partner Alden Roth. The group hopes to offer a summer kickoff event on Memorial Day weekend in conjunction with the annual Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival.

MATTHEW BRENNAN AND NATALIA ALMONTE’S WORK SHARED IN EXHIBITION

Two artists from Brooklyn, New York exhibited their work in Indiana, PA this past weekend. Matthew Brennan presented a series of drawings / paintings with a focus on an ongoing collaboration between him and performance artists in New York. Natalie Almonte displayed a series of video work and 2D pieces designed to examine colonialism and the effects of “melancolonia”. You can read more about each artist below.

Matthew Brennan is based out of New York City and his current studio is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He was trained at Pratt Institute and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors. Since 2005, his drawings, paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in shows throughout the Northeast. Brennan’s artistic practice is rooted in drawing and he has been an active member of the figure drawing community within NYC. Aside from personal art projects, his work has been printed as illustrations for the New York Times and he has completed many prop and puppet fabrication jobs for clients including The Jim Henson Company, Puppet Heap and The New York City Opera. These build based jobs help him think dimensionally and this greatly adds to the way he composes and constructs within a drawing. Brennan had his first solo show in April of 2018 where he showcased four years of drawings based on the inspiration of fish translated to human movement. Currently, his new body of work includes bodies engaged in transmutation and alternate possibilities of motion.

Natalia Almonte (b.1988) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Almonte an MA from Christie’s Education, New York, for Art History and the Art Market: Modern and Contemporary Art (2013), a Post-Baccalaureate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011), and a BA from Boston College for Studio Art and Italian (2010). While at Christie’s she received the Alumni Association Award for Contemporary Art Connoisseurship. Her solo and collaborative work has been shown at galleries in Puerto Rico such as Área: Lugar de Proyectos (2017), La Casa Ashford (2016) and Flight Cult (2015), and the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Gallery in New York (2018). Almonte co-founded Stripes Studio and Gallery in Tannersville, New York (2012-15). She was acknowledged for the aiding in the publishing of the monograph written by Elizabeth Frank, Karen Gunderson: The Dark World of Light (Abbeville Press, 2016).

Natalia Almonte practices tradition and awareness of history as a method for protesting the current status of Puerto Rico as a politically unrecognized country. Almonte coined the term “melancolonia” to define colonialism as a state of being, manifesting on the body, psyche and land. Almonte makes site specific installations composed of video, sound, light, text, found objects, sculptures, and works on paper. By reconfiguring archival material, contemporary culture, and science, she emphasizes that despite being more than a century since the island became a US colony, it continues to encounter neglect.

CONCEPTS OF COLOR EXPLORED IN ZESHAN AHMED’S SOLO EXHIBITION

Zeshan Ahmed’s solo exhibition open on December 27th in a snowy Indiana, PA. Ahmed is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, NY and raise in Old Delhi, India. Imbibing in the great bodies of philosophical and mystical thought that have shaped human consciousness. His practice dwells in abstraction while using photography, not just as a tool but subject matter. He is the recipient of Provost scholarship for his MFA in photography and Related media at Parsons School of Design, The New School.

You can view Ahmed’s work at https://www.zeshan-ahmed.com/

EXHIBITION OF DANIEL SHIEH’S SITE SPECIFIC INSTALLATION

On November 22nd, 2019, Daniel Shieh’s solo exhibition opened in Indiana, PA. Earlier in the day, 25 seven to ten year olds joined Shieh and other artists in residence to talk about being a professional artist and to visit the installation. Downtown Indiana celebrated Light Up Night that night, and the Spruce hosted a pop up exhibition featuring work by current and former artists in residence, and local art students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana Area School District, and Blairsville Saltsburg Area School District.

Daniel Shieh is an artist from Taiwan. He received his BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and recently completed an MDes degree in Art, Design, and the Public Domain at Harvard Graduate School of Design. He creates interactive artworks that encourage participants to view each other in a different perspective. He’s also been 2019 Open Studio Fellow at Franconia Sculpture Park.

Shieh creates interactive performances and installations that encourage participants to understand each other beyond clear-cut identifications (masculine vs. feminine, native vs. foreign, authority vs. subordinate). His works usually involve two or more participants to activate. Once activated, they isolate parts of the participants’ bodies, such as the gaze or breath. Participants then present themselves to each other in a mediated manner, such as reflecting one’s gaze through mirrors or delivering one’s breath via an inflatable device.

The intimacy of mutual display and observation, in which participants become hyperconscious of their existence in each other’s minds, is enveloped with a strangeness created by the mediation. This strangeness destabilizes the meaning of social categories and the participants’ usual identifications of each other. By fostering intimacy in strangeness, Shieh challenges categorical identifications and its resulting unequal power dynamics between two people.

You can see more of his work at https://danielshieh.com/

Photos by Daniel Shieh

ARTIST TALK HOSTED BY THE ARTIST HAND SHOWCASES WORK BY DANIEL SHIEH AND JOSHUA LEE

Our friends at the Artist Hand Gallery hosted Daniel Shieh and Joshua Lee for their artist talks on Saturday, November 9th. We are always so grateful for their kindness and support with our ongoing artist talk series!

Daniel Shieh is an artist from Taiwan. He received his BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and recently completed an MDes degree in Art, Design, and the Public Domain at Harvard Graduate School of Design. He creates interactive artworks that encourage participants to view each other in a different perspective. He recently completed a 2019 Open Studio Fellowship at Franconia Sculpture Park.

Joshua Lee is an artist living in New York City. He graduated from Parsons School of Design at The New School with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2019. His work examines and explores death and other subjects related to it such as grief, trauma, ephemerality, erasure, and absence. He specializes in large format photography and processed based work, though his work often switches between digital and analogue. He often draws inspiration from many sources and interests, such as poetry, film, music, history, and dad jokes. His work has been shown in China, South Korea, and the United States. 

OPEN STUDIOS HOSTED ON OCTOBER 14th AT 637 PHILADELPHIA STREET

Participating artists include Ivy Dolamore, Mandi Moerland, Phylicia Eileen Haberman, Hannah Harley, and Jasmine Yeh

CONTACT, AN EXHIBITION FEATURING WORK BY JASMINE YEH AND PHYLICIA EILEEN HABERMAN, OPENED SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19th AT THE CLARK GALLERY

Never, Yet Always Singular by Phylicia Eileen Haberman and Emily by Jasmine Yeh attempt to isolate the individual against a greater body of people. Through different modes of exploration, each seeks to create a space where the viewer can experience a suspended moment of meditation before resuming our tumultuous passage through time.

THE ARTISTS HAND HOSTS ARTIST TALK BY PHYLICIA EILEEN HABERMAN AND JASMINE YEH

The Artists Hand Gallery hosted another installment of the Spruce’s artist talk series. This time, New York based artists Phylicia Eileen Haberman and Jasmine Yeh shared their work with local residents.

Jasmine Yeh is an interdisciplinary artist from Taiwan based in NYC. Through the language of food and the act of cooking, they are seeking answers to questions of immigrant and diaspora identity, birthright, and self-appropriation. Using performance, installation, and social practice, they hope to create recipes to fuel and nourish social justice activism through an intersectional lens as a queer, non-binary, 1.75 generation immigrant.

Phylicia Eileen is best known for her geometrical abstract paintings . Her work captures the vibrancy and motion of cities’ landscapes. She graduated from FIT with an Associates in Fine Arts, Bachelors in Visual Arts Management, and holds a Masters in Art Education from SVA. She has recently shown her work in several group exhibitions in New York. Phylicia lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

CHELSEA HARRIS PUBLISHED IN BLAIRSVILLE DISPATCH

Painter Chelsea Harris’ likeness was published in the Blairsville Dispatch. Her demonstration of painting with local children was well attended and an exciting part of Founder’s Gallery’s Fall Fest, which occurred September of 2019. Thank you to Joy Fairbanks for mailing us the clipping and for Larissa Csanyi for hosting Chelsea Harris and the Spruce.

Chelsea Harris is a practicing artist operating out of Louisville, Kentucky, and Grand Rapids, Michigan (U.S.). Graduating from Kendall College of Art and Design in 2017, she earned her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts as a Painting major with a Printmaking minor. Whether in a visual format or through creative non-fiction writing, she tends to explore personal connection and relationships. Critical theories of Aesthetics and metaphysics inform her academic and personal work to weave a dialogue between tradition, religion, rebellion, and reinvention. She currently hold the Studio Programs Assistant position at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.

Harris spent September living and working in Indiana County, and her exhibition, At the Open End, was on September 20th, 2019.

From there, Harris visited Pittsburgh and then returned home.

See more of her work at https://www.chelseaharrisart.com/

SPRUCE HOSTS SOLO EXHIBITION OF WORK BY STEPHANIE MARTIN

Stephanie Martin is an artist who creates biomorphic forms in ceramics and ink drawings. Martin received her Master of Art from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a member of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. She has exhibited at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, hosted a solo exhibition at Unsmoke Systems, and attended the (title of workshop) at Kipaipai Joshua Tree, CA. Stephanie Martin creates fabricated ecosystems that are representations of her perceptions and experiences of life, conjuring familiar yet fantastical places.

As an abstract reflection of biological forms within alternating scales, Martin's work focuses on dualities present in life and utilizes comparisons of attraction and repulsion. The overall processes involved with clay are a significant part of my practice, as they function as a way to express and reflect on personal experiences. Martin desires for others to experience an evoked sense of living from these crafted worlds. In effort to achieve a symbiotic biomorphic form, she creates ecosystems implementing a variety of techniques with carving different textures, building hollow forms, and layering colors. These combinations of process take on a new life and evolve throughout her artistic practice.

The exhibition coincided with the first gallery crawl in downtown Indiana between the Spruce Art Residency and the Artists Hand Gallery.

FALL FEST AT FOUNDERS GALLERY - CHELSEA HARRIS DEMONSTRATES

Chelsea Harris, a September Artist in Residence, demonstrated her art practice for attendants at Founders Gallery’s Fall Fest on Saturday, September 21st. Harris has worked with children at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, and it was wonderful to see local children interact with Chelsea during her demonstration.

Fall Fest is an annual celebration of the arts, community, and craftsmanship in Blairsville, PA and is hosted by Founders Gallery. Founders Gallery is the location of many community painting nights, where individuals come together to create paintings and learn the craft. They also have a wide selection of arts, gifts, and creations made by local and regional artists.

Any visit to Blairsville isn’t complete without a stop in Founders Gallery to see their selections!

AT THE OPEN END, A SOLO EXHIBITION BY CHELSEA HARRIS OPENED SATURDAY, SEPT 21st

Chelsea Harris’ solo exhibition opened Saturday, September 21st at the Clark Gallery. Her paintings were energized representations of life, exploring the complexities of connection and the beauty of the every day.

Harris is a practicing artist operating out of Louisville, Kentucky, and Grand Rapids, Michigan (U.S.). Graduating from Kendall College of Art and Design in 2017, she earned her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts as a Painting major with a Printmaking minor. Whether in a visual format or through creative non-fiction writing, she tends to explore personal connection and relationships. Critical theories of Aesthetics and metaphysics inform her academic and personal work to weave a dialogue between tradition, religion, rebellion, and reinvention. She currently hold the Studio Programs Assistant position at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.

FIRST GALLERY CRAWL AND AIR STEPHANIE MARTIN HOSTS SOLO EXHIBITION

RACHEL GORDON INTERVIEWED AT WCCS AM 11160 101.1 FM

August Artist in Residence, Rachel Gordon, visited Renda Broadcasting in Indiana, PA to be interviewed by Todd Marino as part of Indiana in the Morning. Gordon discussed her time in Indiana, her process, and the paper art work that she has been creating in Indiana, PA.

Listen to it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka7dvd05zoI

SEMI FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR CREATIVE COMMUNITIES GRANT

Hannah Harley, Director of the Spruce Art Residency, and Brian Jones, owner and operator of Artists Hand Gallery, were on the Indiana in the Morning segment to discuss an exciting new county wide initiative that will encourage arts based tourism and development.

Listen here to get the scoop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQbTox5dXE

NATALIE BIRINIYI INTERVIEWED BY WCCS AM 1160 and 101.1 FM

Artist in residence, Natalie Biriniyi, was interviewed on WCCS AM 1160, 101.1 FM about her artistic process and experience in Indiana, PA. Biriniyi is a New York based artist who is currently using airbrushing to expand upon her research into Google Earth imagery.

Listen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NGnHl9Kes

NEW WORKS EXHIBITION OPENS SATURDAY

Works by Daisy Wiley and Rachel Gordon will be exhibited at the Clark Gallery from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Saturday, August 17th. Entrance is on Carpenter Avenue and light refreshments will be provided.

DAISY WILEY AND RACHEL GORDON - IN CONVERSATION

On Friday, August 16th, 2019, artists in residence, Daisy Wiley and Rachel Gordon will be presenting their work and artistic practice at an artist talk at the Artists Hand Gallery in Indiana, PA. This event will begin at 6:00 pm and be followed by a brief discussion.

Daisy Wiley, a print artist from Virginia, is using her time at The Spruce Art Residency as a time of intensive exploration of form, repetition, and semiotic impressions through hand-cut and hand-rubbed relief prints. I have recently become fascinated with prints made without the use of a press, and the intense notions of labor rooted in this process. In a conceptual sense, her work is concerned with the verging of objects, the seams of actualities. She is interested in historical processes and art’s role in them as a visual ideology-- the stories we tell, the myths we build, and the psychological and political processes that drive them.

Rachel Gordon, a printmaker from New York, makes prints to share intimate moments, fears, jokes and heartache. Her visual vocabulary includes a soft color palette, patterns and textures pulled from textiles and straightforward text that reads like a page from a diary. Her ongoing work points toward reclaiming femininity and vulnerability as powerful tools, contrasting how she's been conditioned to understand them as flaws.

REBECCA SUTTON INTERVIEWED BY WCCS AM 1160 AND 101.1 FM

Artist in residence, Rebecca Sutton, was interviewed as part of the Indiana in the Morning radio special with Todd Marino. Sutton is a New York based artist using watercolor on fabric with elements of soft sculpture sewn into the final piece. While in Indiana, Sutton has been working on four paintings, each of which incorporates an allegory of the elements.

Listen to her interview with Todd Marino here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47uAuMAIApQ&t=203s

IN CONVERSATION : MARYANNE BRAINE AND RIMA DAY

Artists in residence, Maryanne Braine and Rima Day, will present their work at the Artists Hand Gallery on Thursday, August 8th at 5:00 pm. Their artist talks will be followed by a brief discussion. Stop by, enjoy some incredible espresso, and talk about art!

Maryanne Braine is an artist and photographer from Columbus, Ohio. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana in 2014 and her MFA in Photography at Parsons School of Design, The New School in New York City in 2018. She resides in Queens, NY.

Rima Day has studied fashion design in both her home town of Tokyo, Japan and later in New York City. As she was pursuing her career in fashion design, she quickly realized that her joy and passion was to be found in the technical works. She went on to work as a freelance custom dance costumer in New York City and Connecticut.

MARYANNE BRAINE INTERVIEWED BY WCCS AM 1160 AND 101.1 FM

Maryanne Braine, an artist from New York, discussed her artistic practice and her time in Indiana, PA thanks to Todd Marino and Indiana in the Morning. Braine primarily works with alternative photographic processes and explores the materiality of the photograph.

Listen to her interview here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CYmx6JjQc

LESLEY WAMSLEY INTERVIEWED BY WCCS AM 1160 AND 101.1 FM

On Monday, August 5th, artist in residence, Lesley Wamsley, was interviewed by Todd Marino. Wamsley is a plein air painter from Brooklyn, NY, living and working in Indiana for two weeks this August. While in Indiana County, she has been exploring the parks and trails nearby, setting up her mobile studio on trailheads, basketball courts, and just off of parking lots.

Listen to her interview with Todd Marino here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnTSnd4OJQU&t=4s

AUGUST PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCED

Spruce Arts announced its programming this week for the month of August. Weekly artist talks begin on Friday, August 2nd with a talk by Lesley Wamsley. Some talks occur Thursdays at 5 pm while others are Fridays at 6 pm. All talks will occur at the Artists Hand Gallery.

Open Studios will be hosted twice this month - once on August 7th and then again on August 22nd. Be sure to swing by 637 Philadelphia Street (entrance on Carpenter Ave) at 6 pm on these dates to visit the artists in their studios.

Three exhibitions will open in August. The last three Saturdays will host opening receptions starting at 6 pm. Two group exhibitions will kick off the month, showcasing a total of six artists. The last exhibition is a solo exhibition of work by Natalie Biriniyi.

ARTIST TALK BY LESLEY WAMSLEY

Artist in residence, Lesley Wamsley, presented an artist talk on August 2nd at the Artists Hand Gallery. Wamsley walked attendees through her art making process, and she discussed how that has taken root in Indiana. Primarily a plein air painter, Wamsley is drawn outside and interacts with natural and urban spaces in a unique and exciting way.

Wamsley’s artist talk was hosted at the Artists Hand Gallery, located in Indiana, PA. This gallery houses work by local and regional artists and includes a space for artists and creatives to gather.

HANNAH HARLEY INTRODUCES SPRUCE ART RESIDENCY ON WCCS AM 1160 AND FM 101.1

Sharing the excitement of incoming artists, Director Hannah Harley explains the program and the benefits the arts brings to Indiana County. Listen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NGnHl9Kes