For summer 2020, Make Studio proudly presents the mostly* online exhibition “Now See Hear”.
"Now See Hear" is a collection of multi-sensory works, resulting from collaborative interactions and art making by a group of 10 Make Studio artists and guest local artists (and Sondheim applicants). Drawings, songs, collages, poems, paintings, and videos produced by these creative co-conspirators bring all senses into play and into the conversation.
In this year of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage 19th amendment, and in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, we celebrate our increased access to representation and power, while knowing that there are still so many votes and voices that are left out. As part of “Now See Hear” we are using art to link voters with resources on how to register, connect with accessible voting supports (e.g., large-print ballots and online voting), and find information about candidates. (During National Disability Voter Registration Week, July 13-17th, be sure to check out concurrent events from our partners at Disability Rights Maryland.)
Featured artwork emerged specifically from five pairs of local women artists:
Erika Clark | Sara Dittrich
Rae Red | Margie Smeller
Liora Ostroff | Katelynn Herty
Gemma Frost | Sarah Clough
Dasha Kalumuck | Jenn McBrien
“Now See Hear” wants to grab the audience by the lapels and make sure they pay due attention to the creative power of women.
Dasha Kalumuck Flowers
Mixed media
Dasha Kalumuck joined Make Studio in 2015, after having made art since she was a very young age (as she recalls). Dasha says that she found that art was a safe outlet to express what she was feeling. After years of making art in private, Dasha began sharing her work and gained lots of support from her church community. She developed many original characters and the world they lived in and continues to populate many of her drawings and paintings with these characters in a comic-inspired style. Though most of her work is original character designs, she is also drawn to making more expressive non-representational work. She likes to take ideas and concepts and put her own spin on them, giving the viewer a different perspective, and uses a wide variety of media. In her free time, Dasha enjoys playing piano, watching the Muppet show, riding her bike at the skate park, playing soccer with her neighbors, and going on “crazy adventures”. Dasha is a graduate of Compass Academy and works at Lord & Taylor.
Mixed media
Dasha Kalumuck joined Make Studio in 2015, after having made art since she was a very young age (as she recalls). Dasha says that she found that art was a safe outlet to express what she was feeling. After years of making art in private, Dasha began sharing her work and gained lots of support from her church community. She developed many original characters and the world they lived in and continues to populate many of her drawings and paintings with these characters in a comic-inspired style. Though most of her work is original character designs, she is also drawn to making more expressive non-representational work. She likes to take ideas and concepts and put her own spin on them, giving the viewer a different perspective, and uses a wide variety of media. In her free time, Dasha enjoys playing piano, watching the Muppet show, riding her bike at the skate park, playing soccer with her neighbors, and going on “crazy adventures”. Dasha is a graduate of Compass Academy and works at Lord & Taylor.
Dasha Kalumuck Flowers
Mixed media
Mixed media
Dasha Kalumuck Burning Douglass
Mixed media
Mixed media
Dasha Kalumuck Quo
Mixed media
Mixed media
Dasha Kalumuck Voting Bears
Marker
Inspired by the theme of voting, Dasha drew some of her classic characters in the act. She then brought the image to life with video narration, inspiring Jenn to repeat the voting bears image in multiple frames. These repeating and various iterations of the voting bears commemorate the motion and dialogue of casting our ballots.
Marker
Inspired by the theme of voting, Dasha drew some of her classic characters in the act. She then brought the image to life with video narration, inspiring Jenn to repeat the voting bears image in multiple frames. These repeating and various iterations of the voting bears commemorate the motion and dialogue of casting our ballots.
Jenn McBrien Broad Billed Hummingbird
Embroidery
Jennifer McBrien is a Baltimore native who began her artistic career as a painter, exhibiting her work throughout the East Coast from the mid 80’s to mid 2000’s. As a painter, she received two Baltimore City Arts Grants and a Maryland State Individual Artist Award in painting in 2005. McBrien began her fiber direction about a decade ago, using felt applique and a freehand machine stitching method to create functional and decorative works that explore her love for birds and the midcentury aesthetic. McBrien retired three years ago from teaching art in Baltimore County where she headed the art department at Parkville High School. She has displayed her fiber works in a number of craft shows throughout the east coast including the American Craft Council shows in Baltimore. She has her studio in the Mill Centre in Hampden. She is a proud member of the Charm City Craft Mafia as well as a part of Baltimore’s diy craft community.
Embroidery
Jennifer McBrien is a Baltimore native who began her artistic career as a painter, exhibiting her work throughout the East Coast from the mid 80’s to mid 2000’s. As a painter, she received two Baltimore City Arts Grants and a Maryland State Individual Artist Award in painting in 2005. McBrien began her fiber direction about a decade ago, using felt applique and a freehand machine stitching method to create functional and decorative works that explore her love for birds and the midcentury aesthetic. McBrien retired three years ago from teaching art in Baltimore County where she headed the art department at Parkville High School. She has displayed her fiber works in a number of craft shows throughout the east coast including the American Craft Council shows in Baltimore. She has her studio in the Mill Centre in Hampden. She is a proud member of the Charm City Craft Mafia as well as a part of Baltimore’s diy craft community.
Jenn McBrien Dream
Embroidery
Embroidery
Jenn McBrien The Monkey Dance
Embroidery
Embroidery
Jenn McBrien Triptych
Embroidery
Embroidery
Jenn McBrien Triptych (detail)
Embroidery
Embroidery
Jenn McBrien Triptych (detail)
Embroidery
Embroidery
Jenn McBrien Triptych (detail)
Embroidery
Embroidery
Erika Clark Energy/Reflect/Geometry
Colored Pencil
Erika Clark joined Make Studio in 2012. As an artist, she tends to use watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencil, and says that she “dabbles” in ink, oil pastel, sculpting, and digital art. Her artwork is often inspired by anime, manga, and, more recently, science fiction. She also likes to explore abstract concepts. She defines her style as “tending to focus on layering color and form and having an ethereal atmosphere”. In her spare time, Erika enjoys playing video games, cooking, brewing her own kombucha, reading, and listen-ing to music like symphonic metal.
Sara Dittrich: "The colorful shapes remind me of sound waves."
Colored Pencil
Erika Clark joined Make Studio in 2012. As an artist, she tends to use watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencil, and says that she “dabbles” in ink, oil pastel, sculpting, and digital art. Her artwork is often inspired by anime, manga, and, more recently, science fiction. She also likes to explore abstract concepts. She defines her style as “tending to focus on layering color and form and having an ethereal atmosphere”. In her spare time, Erika enjoys playing video games, cooking, brewing her own kombucha, reading, and listen-ing to music like symphonic metal.
Sara Dittrich: "The colorful shapes remind me of sound waves."
Erika Clark Incarnations of Time
Chalk pastels
Sara Dittrich: "This work makes me think of the labor that goes into voting, listening, and getting laws to change."
Chalk pastels
Sara Dittrich: "This work makes me think of the labor that goes into voting, listening, and getting laws to change."
Erika Clark Ruination of Ideals
Oil pastels
"While 'Ruination of Ideals' wasn't made with a particular event in mind, it was meant to embody the farther deterioration of the values that the U.S pretends to uphold."
Oil pastels
"While 'Ruination of Ideals' wasn't made with a particular event in mind, it was meant to embody the farther deterioration of the values that the U.S pretends to uphold."
Erika Clark Universe in Bloom
Acrylic on canvas
Acrylic on canvas
Sara Dittrich (with Erika Clark) Tuning Into Suffrage
Paper and cardboard
Sara Dittrich is an interdisciplinary sculpture artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. She creates objects, installations, and performances highlighting the dynamic rhythms of the body, and the interconnected patterns residing in everyday life. She received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has exhibited her work at the Baltimore Museum of Art, MD; Washington Project for the Arts, DC; and Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI. Dittrich has also shown internationally in the Czech Republic where she studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She is the recipient of a 2017 Mary Sawyers Baker Artist Award, and 2013 Beers Contemporary Award for Emerging Art. Residencies include the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE; the Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, Johnson, VT; Sculpture Space, Utica, NY; and the Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship, Provincetown, MA.
Paper and cardboard
Sara Dittrich is an interdisciplinary sculpture artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. She creates objects, installations, and performances highlighting the dynamic rhythms of the body, and the interconnected patterns residing in everyday life. She received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has exhibited her work at the Baltimore Museum of Art, MD; Washington Project for the Arts, DC; and Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI. Dittrich has also shown internationally in the Czech Republic where she studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She is the recipient of a 2017 Mary Sawyers Baker Artist Award, and 2013 Beers Contemporary Award for Emerging Art. Residencies include the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE; the Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, Johnson, VT; Sculpture Space, Utica, NY; and the Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship, Provincetown, MA.
Sara Dittrich Variations on Listening #11
Polymer clay, thread, acrylic paint on panel | 48" x 48" x 2" | 2018
Erika Clark: "I think the repetition of a pair of ears connected by a single thread represents the communication of ideas and of understanding."
Polymer clay, thread, acrylic paint on panel | 48" x 48" x 2" | 2018
Erika Clark: "I think the repetition of a pair of ears connected by a single thread represents the communication of ideas and of understanding."
Sara Dittrich Variantions on Listening #17
Polymer clay, thread, acrylic paint on panel | 10" x 10" x 1" | 2018
Erika Clark: "Suggestion of connection and conversations about ideas, sometimes reaching others. Also, the grouping of the ears reminds me neurons in the brain. They could be smaller ideas coming together to form a large concept. (Perhaps the universe.)"
Polymer clay, thread, acrylic paint on panel | 10" x 10" x 1" | 2018
Erika Clark: "Suggestion of connection and conversations about ideas, sometimes reaching others. Also, the grouping of the ears reminds me neurons in the brain. They could be smaller ideas coming together to form a large concept. (Perhaps the universe.)"
Sara Dittrich Variations on Listening #18
2005
Erika Clark: "The large semicircle of ears reminds me of continuous connections with unknown endings of beginnings." "
2005
Erika Clark: "The large semicircle of ears reminds me of continuous connections with unknown endings of beginnings." "
Sarah Clough Untitled
Spray paint on cardboard
Gemma Frost: "I was really interested in your spray paint on cardboard. It was really cool of the different colors that you have used on the different pieces on the cardboard with the colored spray paint. I also enjoyed the different shapes that you have put on to the cardboard. There was one that I saw that I liked the most it had blue and black on the cardboard and it made me think about the beach and seeing the different waves onto the sand."
Spray paint on cardboard
Gemma Frost: "I was really interested in your spray paint on cardboard. It was really cool of the different colors that you have used on the different pieces on the cardboard with the colored spray paint. I also enjoyed the different shapes that you have put on to the cardboard. There was one that I saw that I liked the most it had blue and black on the cardboard and it made me think about the beach and seeing the different waves onto the sand."
Sarah Clough Untitled 2
Spray paint on cardboard
Spray paint on cardboard
Sarah Clough Untitled 3
Spray paint on cardboard
Spray paint on cardboard
Sarah Clough Untitled 4
Spray paint on cardboard
Spray paint on cardboard
Gemma Frost Self
Colored pencil
Gemma Frost, who joined Make Studio in 2017, recalls that she has been making art since she was four-years-old. She believes that her eye for detail has developed over the years: “I like to make drawings of people with pencils, sharpies, and colored pencils. I like adding detail that I can imagine in my head, and I like to make it just flow from my mind onto paper.” Gemma enjoys exploring how she can expand on her initial ideas for artwork, working in all sorts of media, while working in a studio setting with other artists. She has an interest in fashion. When not making art, Gemma likes to thrift shopping with her mom, going on “adventures” to different places to see new things, spending time with friends and with animals, specifically her three dogs. Gemma is a graduate of St. Elizabeth School.
Sarah Clough: "Your titles are great, they really lead me into the work. I love texture, color, and pattern and was drawn to your work through our shared interest in those things. There is something very other-worldly about your work, you create this feeling that I’m in an other place - it’s complex and it’s beautiful and intricate."
Colored pencil
Gemma Frost, who joined Make Studio in 2017, recalls that she has been making art since she was four-years-old. She believes that her eye for detail has developed over the years: “I like to make drawings of people with pencils, sharpies, and colored pencils. I like adding detail that I can imagine in my head, and I like to make it just flow from my mind onto paper.” Gemma enjoys exploring how she can expand on her initial ideas for artwork, working in all sorts of media, while working in a studio setting with other artists. She has an interest in fashion. When not making art, Gemma likes to thrift shopping with her mom, going on “adventures” to different places to see new things, spending time with friends and with animals, specifically her three dogs. Gemma is a graduate of St. Elizabeth School.
Sarah Clough: "Your titles are great, they really lead me into the work. I love texture, color, and pattern and was drawn to your work through our shared interest in those things. There is something very other-worldly about your work, you create this feeling that I’m in an other place - it’s complex and it’s beautiful and intricate."
Gemma Frost The Gifted Boy
Mixed media
Mixed media
Gemma Frost The Hearted Flower
Colored pencil
Colored pencil
Katelynn Herty City of Valor
Mixed media
Katelynn Herty joined Make Studio in 2017. She recalls that her interest in art really started in elementary school. After a hiatus from art in her secondary school years, Katelynn jumped back into her art practice fairly recently by focusing on acrylic landscape and seascape paintings (“anything without people”). She also enjoys embroidery and knitting, and wants to further explore oil pastels and watercolor. When not at Make Studio, Katelynn enjoys creating art at home and maintains her own artist’s website. She is a graduate of C. Milton Wright High School.
Liora Ostroff: "I love 'City of Valor', and I would like to imagine walking through it. The buildings and the plants are full of unexpected shapes and colors (like those pink and purple buildings)."
Mixed media
Katelynn Herty joined Make Studio in 2017. She recalls that her interest in art really started in elementary school. After a hiatus from art in her secondary school years, Katelynn jumped back into her art practice fairly recently by focusing on acrylic landscape and seascape paintings (“anything without people”). She also enjoys embroidery and knitting, and wants to further explore oil pastels and watercolor. When not at Make Studio, Katelynn enjoys creating art at home and maintains her own artist’s website. She is a graduate of C. Milton Wright High School.
Liora Ostroff: "I love 'City of Valor', and I would like to imagine walking through it. The buildings and the plants are full of unexpected shapes and colors (like those pink and purple buildings)."
Katelynn Herty The Feast of Delight
2019 • Mixed media
Liora Ostroff: "'Feast of Delight' is very different [from the other pieces], but I love it for both its simplicity and the texture (particularly in the eggs). I also like the designs in the greens, and the way the foods all fit together in the plate."
2019 • Mixed media
Liora Ostroff: "'Feast of Delight' is very different [from the other pieces], but I love it for both its simplicity and the texture (particularly in the eggs). I also like the designs in the greens, and the way the foods all fit together in the plate."
Katelynn Herty The Garden in the Glass Walls
Mixed media
Liora Ostroff: "I really enjoy 'The Garden in the Glass Walls'. It is so full of color and pattern. Is it based on a real place? I feel like it is full of secrets to find, like the bird at the bottom."
Katelynn: "The garden is just something I came up with. I added random things thought would add to the piece." "
Mixed media
Liora Ostroff: "I really enjoy 'The Garden in the Glass Walls'. It is so full of color and pattern. Is it based on a real place? I feel like it is full of secrets to find, like the bird at the bottom."
Katelynn: "The garden is just something I came up with. I added random things thought would add to the piece." "
Liora Ostroff Missing Things
Ink
Liora Ostroff graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016 with a BFA in painting. Her paintings are influenced by art historical narratives and the familiar idiosyncrasies of life in Baltimore. She lives and works in Baltimore, MD.
Katelynn Herty: “'Missing Things' is simple yet complicated."
Ink
Liora Ostroff graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016 with a BFA in painting. Her paintings are influenced by art historical narratives and the familiar idiosyncrasies of life in Baltimore. She lives and works in Baltimore, MD.
Katelynn Herty: “'Missing Things' is simple yet complicated."
Liora Ostroff Plague Ritual by the Sea
Ink
Katelynn Herty: "I liked 'Sweet Life and Death' - its creepy, yet not."
Ink
Katelynn Herty: "I liked 'Sweet Life and Death' - its creepy, yet not."
Liora Ostroff Sweet Life and Death
Ink
Katelynn Herty: "I like 'Ritual by the Sea'."
Ink
Katelynn Herty: "I like 'Ritual by the Sea'."
Rae Red Red Birth/Death Grip
Pen and pencil on paper
Rae Red performs across the United States investigating topics that unite viewers while examining the disparate facets within these commonalities. Red explores subjects that are universal like blood pumping through veins, while bringing light to the small deaths that continuously reoccur around us. They have presented their work in every type of space imaginable from dive bars and the backs of donut shops, to The Museum of Human Achievement, High Concept Labs, Cucalorus Stage Festival, and The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. They are an MFA candidate in Towson University’s Theatre Arts Program.
Pen and pencil on paper
Rae Red performs across the United States investigating topics that unite viewers while examining the disparate facets within these commonalities. Red explores subjects that are universal like blood pumping through veins, while bringing light to the small deaths that continuously reoccur around us. They have presented their work in every type of space imaginable from dive bars and the backs of donut shops, to The Museum of Human Achievement, High Concept Labs, Cucalorus Stage Festival, and The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. They are an MFA candidate in Towson University’s Theatre Arts Program.
Margie Smeller Red Poem
Mixed media
Margie Smeller is a seasoned visual artist, having honed her craft over many years working on commissions at home, exhibiting her work in solo shows and as part of a collective with the Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD, as well as previously via working with the Scott Key Center (Frederick, MD) and Art Enables (Washington, DC). Margie loves writing poetry, often in tandem with her visual artwork. She draws inspiration from a vast array of sources, including pop film and National Geographic. She is also a talented athlete, competing in varied sports including skiing and kayaking. Margie is also Make Studio’s “super commuter”, coming to us twice each week from Mt. Airy, MD!
Margie wrote a poem about red, then read it aloud, ad-libbing some singing and extra lines. Rae overlaid the recorded reading with ukulele and vocals to create a collaborative "Red Song." At the same time, Margie and Rae both worked on red-inspired drawings, sharing photos of their progress along the way, resulting in "Red Roses" and "Red Birth/Death Drip."
Mixed media
Margie Smeller is a seasoned visual artist, having honed her craft over many years working on commissions at home, exhibiting her work in solo shows and as part of a collective with the Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD, as well as previously via working with the Scott Key Center (Frederick, MD) and Art Enables (Washington, DC). Margie loves writing poetry, often in tandem with her visual artwork. She draws inspiration from a vast array of sources, including pop film and National Geographic. She is also a talented athlete, competing in varied sports including skiing and kayaking. Margie is also Make Studio’s “super commuter”, coming to us twice each week from Mt. Airy, MD!
Margie wrote a poem about red, then read it aloud, ad-libbing some singing and extra lines. Rae overlaid the recorded reading with ukulele and vocals to create a collaborative "Red Song." At the same time, Margie and Rae both worked on red-inspired drawings, sharing photos of their progress along the way, resulting in "Red Roses" and "Red Birth/Death Drip."
Margie Smeller Red Roses
Gel pens
Gel pens
Margie Smeller The Corpse Bride
Mixed media
Mixed media