Beth Lo is a ceramics artist renown for her work depicting the figure, mainly children. Beth Lo was born in Lafayette, Indiana in the year 1949. Lo attended the University of Michigan earning a bachelors degree in general studies. Lo went on to study ceramics and earn an M.F.A. from the University of Montana at Missoula. She studied with a renown ceramics artist Rudy Autio.
After Autio retired in 1985, Beth Lo took over his post as a professor.
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The artist is based out of Missoula, Montana. She is an art professor at the great University of Montana at Missoula.
In this clip we take a trip to Missoula to visit the studio of the artist. I would fast forward to the 1:54 mark in the clip where the interview begins:
Lo is a past grant winner of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Lo’s plates remind me of Picasso’s. Her work’s seem to be more narrative in nature, but I enjoy the end result. What a master at creating figurative work either flat or in three dimensions.
Harvey Littleton was a great ceramic and glass artist born in Corning, New York in 1922. His father worked for the Corning Glassworks company as a lead researcher and is credited with inventing a glassware still used today called Pyrex.
For his artistic education Littleton attended the University of Michigan where he studied physics for three semesters. The artist quit school and attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art located in Blooming Hills, Michigan. The artist would eventually study industrial design. Whilst a student he was able to learn from two master sculptors Marshall Fredericks and Carl Milles.
Littleton went on to earn a bachelors degree from Michigan and a masters degree of fine art from the Crannbrook Academy. His career started as a ceramist working with simple forms including vases and basic cylinders.
Littleton was key in bringing glass ware from an industrial setting to a more studio setting where studio artists could easily work with his favorite material, glass. The artist gave the first studio glass blowing seminar in 1962 at the Toledo Museum of Art.
The artist served in the Army for three years.
A short clip and brief biography about Harvey Littleton:
In this video we visit Littleton at his workshop:
A student of Littleton that went on to have tremendous respect in the field is the master glass artist Dale Chihuly already profiled here.
Littleton retired from teaching in 1976 to concentrate on his own art.
Harvey Kline Littleton passed away in 2013 at the age of 91 years old.
What wonderful contributions this artist made to the world of glass. Its also interesting to see how a great scientist (his father) was a key element in his appreciation of glass. Where his dad saw industry, the son saw art!
Awesome!
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Harvey Littleton is part of many public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Art located in New York City.
Janet Taylor Pickett is a mixed media artist born in 1948 in Michigan. Pickett is renown for working with dresses which she uses to convey identity. For her collegiate studies the artist attended many art institutions. She attended the Michigan School of Art and Design for her BFA. Her post graduate work was done at the University of Michigan. In addition she attended Parsons School of Design.
I love the way she includes renown painters in her work. An appropriation done with her favorite subject of dresses.
I find her work very similar to the artist Christina Chalmers, who also has built a reputation for working with the dress as a main subject. Below a great example of Chalmer’s work with the dress. She also creates sculptures of dresses.
Taught much of her career at Essex County College. Also taught at Bloomfield College.
Pickett is a multi media artist that enjoys working with canvas, fabric, collage, and paint.
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In this clip Pickett talks about her work.
Another great interview with the artist.
I love the patterns and colors used by both Christina Chalmers and Janet Taylor Pickett works!
Ruth Weisberg is known for work with the human figure. Weisberg was born in Chicago, Illinois in the year 1942. She works in many mediums including drawing, printmaking, and installation.
Weisberg has studied art overseas in Italy at the Academia di Belle Arte in Perugia, Italy. Weisberg also earned a masters degree from the University of Michigan located in Ann Arbor.
In this clip from Otis College we see an interview with the artist and her ideas of feminism and art.
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Weisberg is part of the teaching faculty at University Southern California Roski from 1995 until 2010. Also taught at Eastern Michigan University.
The artist is part of several musuem including the Getty Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city, the Whitney Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Weisberg enjoys painting two subjects in particular and says so in her artistic statement. One is the power and beauty of the female figure and the other is the struggle and history of the Jewish culture she was born into. She enjoys painting “answers” to questions that people have in life. Weisberg thinks art can be transformative and enjoys using her painting prowess to push this theme.
Whilst in Italy the artist honed her printmaking skills. She even has her ideas as to which medium can be used to best express her thoughts and ideas. Drawing has been her favorite medium to develop and she has always enjoyed drawing throughout her career.
The artist has two children and works out of Santa Monica, California.
Weisberg has been part of more than sixty solo shows and more than 150 group exhibitions.
Her prints reminds me of the fantastic street artist named Swoon and her wheatpaste images. Below is an example of Swoon and her strong emphasis on drawing. The artist is always looking to make the world a better place via art and was involved in the rebuilding of Haiti after the terrible natural events over the past few years. Her given name is Caledonia Curry. She started out years ago as a street artist making wheatpastes all over New York city.
Weisberg also reminds me of Delia Brown, the artist and actress who often portrays herself and her friends enjoying themselves in mansions and at pool parties around California. Brown does a wonderful job at exploring high powered and fun seeking women. Below is an examle of Brown’s style of art.
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