Our eighteenth post of the series, Artists in the Time of Coronavirus includes Sarah Kaizar, Matte’ Black, Angela Forrest, Michele Scott, and Catherine Bennett! Thank you for all who submitted! And if you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus.” We have a wonderful community and are so proud of being able to share everyone’s art.
[Note: We have gotten over 200 submissions, so if you haven’t seen yours yet, don’t worry- it is coming, and we can’t wait to post it!]
Sarah Kaizar
I was listening to a podcast this past week, and the host was explaining the important distinction between being journalist and being a stenographer. I may be falling into the latter category with these sketches, but when feeling overwhelmed, it’s helpful for me to ground myself in specific moments. I’m hoping after some time, it will become more clear what I’m actually thinking about and paying attention to during this period.
These sketches were made in the last five days; I’ll be posting new ones as I make them to my website at https://sarahkaizar.com/
Matte’ Black
My Name is Matte’ Black I am a Manayunk based abstract outsider artist who has been displaced by the coronavirus I’m currently staying in an empty studio in Roanoke Virginia I left because of lack of resources my shows were canceled can not do pop-up stores , can not vend on the street .This does not stop me from creating , I hope to share my entire 13 piece project entitled “Pandemic and Panic “with the rest of the world postVirus sanctions .I am most certainly starving for interaction with other artists as I am not from Roanoke and only know my host who is not here 13 hours a day. Be Safe everybody , I miss Philadelphia , I can’t wait to come home ! In the mean time stand tall, keep painting , do work! Cheers ! Matte’ Black
Angela Forrest
My name is Angela Forrest and I am a Philadelphia Artist who is using this quarantine time to make people’s days!
The first photo attached depicts a question I put out to my Facebook Family. What started as a silly question ended up as inspiration. The second picture is what came of their answers. Each person’s name is illustrated and involves their crayon color. I sent them a copy on their social media pages and their responses were so kind. I hope to make more of them and create this sort of connection while being separated, in the form of a paper quilt. Thank you for doing this special project. I know art can heal during this time.
My website is https://aforrest0726.wixsite.com/website
My Etsy shop is https://www.etsy.com/shop/AngiesPersonalized
Michele Scott
My name is Michele Scott. I’m an illustrator based in Philadelphia. Freelance gigs have taken a hit but I certainly have taken advantage of being indoors and have been drawing and painting. Slowly engaging in alter personas as well and learning Portuguese, eu sou um homem e eu como um maca! Tudo bem!
I’ll be posting all my mind explorations during these times so follow me on (drink sprite, remove sprite from lips) instaaaaaaaaa at @m.scooot and go to my website mscottstudio.com cus I’ll be putting a shop up soon 😬😬I hope everyone is safe and healthy and having good poops during these trying times.
C. Mehrl Bennett
The first image is an artistamp sheet and is titled “WE matter” because there are a multitude of “EYE matter” stamps. EYE carved an eye rubberstamp because the theme for California Fluxfest in Los Angeles this year was “20/20 VISION” and EYE also designed 2020 VISION paper eye glasses for people at fluxfest. Many pairs were given out for free at the table for free multiples, and as EYE am a mail artist, many pairs were also mailed to my mailart correspondents. Some of the fluxfest artists/performers posed with their own glasses, and some posed with the paper glasses, of which there is a selection of four. Others sent me their photo via Facebook messenger. We were fortunate that Fluxfest events (over 3 days) happened just before the corona virus became a reality in Los Angeles, and all participants, including people from Canada and Italy, returned to their homes without being infected. The collected images will be made into an edition of artistamp sheets or stickers – enough for all participants to have one plus one or two for archival purposes. I expect to receive enough images from other artists for another row, at least. My spouse and I met each other through mailart over forty years ago. A documentary on Vimeo explains it all – search for MAIL ART ROMANCE …
–C. Mehrl Bennett (http://cmehrlbennett.wordpress.com/)
