Visiting Artist Sean Harris

Sean Harris is fascinated by many things. Among them are: Welsh folklore, topography, mythology, wild boars, Goya's black paintings, songlines, pantomimes, and, most recently, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. Lucky for him--and even luckier for us--Sean is working in the studio for the next five weeks.

Sean is the recipient of the Creative Wales Ambassabor Award--an honor which he described by stating, "I feel like I should be sweeping around in a cloak." Sean does not, however, wear a cloak. A cloak would be extremely impractical for the beautiful work Sean does in collagraphy. Based in Wales, Sean has created his own unique hybrid of printmaking and animation. Using fragments of collagraph prints, Sean constructs stop-animation style films which incorporate the landscape and history of Wales.

The titles that Sean has been given over the years range from "animator" to "printmaker" to "archeologist." Sean feels that he inhabits a more liminal space as an artist--constantly drawing from these different studies and titles, but never necessarily being just a "printmaker" or "animator." One of the reasons Sean is so fascinated with Pyramid is the mixture of different processes and media. He likes the idea of different art forms brushing up against each other in the studio.

In the same way that Sean combines different media of art, he combines ideas spanning over different disciplines and places. In particular, Sean has always been drawn to the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsch tales that draw on Celtic mythology. Of the many figures in Welsh mythology, the wild boar appears most frequently in Sean's own work. For Sean, the mythology of Wales is closely linked with the physical landscape through the idea of "songlines"--that is, using traditional song lyrics to map out a landscape. Sean's work explores the relationships between mythological figures, the spaces they inhabit, and their impact on national identity.

Sean last came to the US to study Native American reservations in North Dakota. With a lack of wild boar, he became fascinated with herds of bison and buffalo. While at Pyramid, he hopes to further examine the ties between cultures, creatures, and myths. We're excited to see what he's working on!

Check out Sean's work and films at wildboarpress.com

Revved up at Restrike/Repurpose

A creative crowd gathered for screen printing coasters designed by Chelsea Blackman (right). The 2 day symposium featured demonstrations, open portfolios, and cold beer.

Intern-views (Get it? It's punny.)

Fall is here at Pyramid Atlantic-- that means the air's getting colder, the leaves are turning different colors, the inexplicable pirates at the tavern down the street are getting out their seasonal brews, and, most importantly, new interns are here.

Let's find out who they are:

Lindsay Lynch

Lindsay is from Chevy Chase, MD and she's really having a blast interviewing herself for this blog post. Lindsay went to Georgetown Day School in DC, where she did a lot of art and very little math or science. She is a recent graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio, with a double major in English and Studio Art. Lindsay's art focuses a lot on absurdism, image appropriation, and literary theory. Back in Gambier, OH, she did a large-scale installation that explored images in printmaking as visual language. She often works in linocut reduction prints, but also dabbles in painting and drawing.

Her spirit animal is an otter.

David Felts

David's hometown is Joppatowne, MD, a place I just learned about from Wikipedia-- Joppatowne has a fascinating Civil War history. However, David did not fight in the Civil War. He is a recent graduate from Millersville University, outside of Lancaster, PA. Although he was previously a philosophy major at Cecil Community College, David received his BFA in painting and printmaking from Millersville. His work is influenced by multiple disciplines--from philosophy to art history. He recently did a solo show of work inspired by Renaissance paintings. In addition to interning at Pyramid, he also works as a carpenter.

His spirit animal is a tortoise.

Cosima Storz

Cosima is coming to Pyramid Atlantic from Alexandria, VA. She attended Bishop Ireton High School, where she wore a uniform. In high school, Cosima worked in the costume department, designing and constructing costumes for plays. She studied Studio Art and Product Innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she did not wear a uniform. She did occasionally don a business suit, though, when she worked with business and engineering students on product innovation. Cosima mostly works in printmaking and painting. Outside of her work at Pyramid, she builds art frames.

She told me her spirit animal is either a narwhal or a velociraptor.

Ashton Maltie

Ashton comes all the way from Clarksville, TN, a place whose namesake is the Clark of famous explorers Lewis & Clark. Ashton did not discover large portions of America, though. Ashton currently attends Austin Peay University in TN, where he is studying Computer Science and Studio Art. He's excited to spend a semester in the DC/MD area, interning at Pyramid and taking classes. Ashton loves sketching and doodling both in his free time and in his not-so-free time. He enjoys creating characters and constructing narratives in his sketches.

His spirit animal is a goat/dog/honey badger, which is a fun thing to imagine.

Tania McCamy

Tania was born in Atlanta, GA but currently studies at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN--another place that Wikipedia tells me has an interest Civil War history. Tania is currently finishing up her degree in Fine Arts at ETSU. She works a lot in photography and film making, but she's most interested in pursuing work in community art. Tania is a great director in the literal and figurative sense--she once directed a 6 minute film, and she hopes to someday work running a nonprofit art organization.


Tania isn't sure what her spirit animal is, but she thinks it might be a muskrat.

Featured Instructors in September

Pyramid is lucky to have two esteemed book artists and papermakers coming from out of town this September to teach workshops. 

Bea Nettles is teaching Triple Accordion Collage in the books studio on September 15th. Bea has been exhibiting and publishing her autobiographical works since 1970. Since that time, she has had over fifty one-person exhibitions. Her images are in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Phillips Collection in Washington DC, and the International Museum of Photography at the Eastman House. Her artists’ books can be found in special collections libraries at universities including Yale (Beinecke), Washington, and Virginia. She taught photography and artists’ books from 1970-2007 at Rochester Institute of Technology, Tyler School of Art, and the University of Illinois where she is currently Professor Emerita. Nettles continues to lecture and teach workshops internationally. www.beanettles.com

About the workshop:

Triple Accordion Collage: Sunday, September 15, 10-4

Description: This intermediate structure is versatile and is especially suited for landscape imagery. It lends itself well to the use of collages. Three accordions of varying widths are sewn together and will be housed in clothbound covers. Participants should come prepared with a variety of papers to fold and items to attach.

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Jiyoung Chung is teaching Joomchi and Beyond in the paper studio September 20-22. Jiyoung is an internationally exhibiting artist, painter and freelance writer who has developed an innovative method for bringing a traditional Korean method of papermaking called Joomchi into contemporary art forms. Jiyoung has been featured in American Craft magazine and has taught workshops around the country including at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the Rhode Island School of Design, and Penland School of Crafts. She has work in many collections including the Museum of Art and Design in New York. www.jiyoungchung.com

About the workshop: 

Joomchi and Beyond: Friday-Sunday, September 20-22, 10-3:30

Description: Joomchi is a unique Korean traditional way of making textured handmade paper by using water, and eager hands. This workshop offers participants the opportunity to become acquainted with its history, practice and role in Korean society, as well as the hands-on techniques and reinterpreted adaptations into contemporary art form. Joomchi creates strong, textural and painterly surfaces by layering and agitating Hanji (Korean mulberry papers). Its usages are diverse and it can be incorporated into surface design, collage, new way of drawing, wearable, unconventional body ornament or sculptural object: 2-D & 3D either functional or fine art oriented.

Artist residency: Winston Harris

Collaborating music with art

Winston Harris is working on etching and screen printing projects at Pyramid Atlantic through Pyramid’s artist residency program.

Winston has his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and his master’s degree in printmaking from Howard University. 

Winston (right) and Ana Parrodi, Pyramid Atlantic intern, both prepare the inked-up plexiglass before printing.

The etching project is called “Midnight Jazz Hour” because the pieces are based off of sketches Winston made while at a jazz show.  He is using a process called dry point.

Winston chose etching for this project because he thought that etching would leave the best impression for this project.

He is also using water-based inks.

The images drawn based off of the jazz music were etched onto the plexiglass plates with an etching needle and prepared with ink before being printed.  

Winston's project with the silkscreen is titled "American Made." 

Winston has been involved in different exhibits, one being "Influence over Time" and "Printmaking in 3D."

Visit Winston's website at: http://winstonharris.carbonmade.com

YES Program displays art

This Friday, the Youth Empowerment Skills program displayed their artistic abilities.  The theme of the program this year was social injustices with a focus on teen homelessness.  

The YES program had been working on their works all throughout July until that point.  Much of the art was printed on commercial items, such as T-shirts and hats, to make a statement on homeless injustices on such consumer items. 

Pyramid collaborated with the Gandhi Brigade and SSTCI for the exhibit. The exhibit also presented a documentary on teen homelessness, which interviewed different homeless teens.  Each teen had a unique and heart-wrenching story to tell about how they got into their situations and how they are working to improve their future.

Through the collaboration of art, film and first-hand accounts, all working on this project were able to spread awareness that this is a problem -- even if it is not an issue that is well known.

The leaders of the exhibit from all sects were proud of the success of their interns and volunteers.

Beer Pong in the studio

Pregame with Pyramid

The studio was filled with merry beer drinkers Saturday for the Pregame with Pyramid fundraiser.  The event was a Beer Pong tournament. Around 10 teams participated.  Pabst Blue Ribbon donated the beer pong geer for the event and Fire Station and Pete's Pizza donated the food.  Around 35 people attended to eat, drink, dance to music, screen print T-shirts, and (of course) compete in the Beer Pong tournament.  The winners of the tournament were Emerson Babington and Conor Bronsdon.  They have the opportunity to continue onto the D.C. Beer Pong Final Four during D.C.'s Beer Week.