In conjunction with the Weston Art Gallery’s exhibition, Ascending Horizons, Art Shapes Us was an education workshop that featured the artwork of twelve high school students from the Cincinnati area. Participating schools included Walnut Hills High School, Aiken College and Career High School, Dater High School, Roger Bacon High School, and the School for Creative and Performing Arts. Students worked over the course of seven weeks with me at Engine 22 Studios on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The classes included gallery visits to the Weston Art Gallery where the students received personal insight into my new work. Art Shapes Us allowed students who have a strong passion for the visual arts to create work that expresses what inspires them while utilizing the same mediums, methods, and processes that I used in my paintings. On November 13th 2010 at the end of the seven-week program, students exhibited their body of work at in Center Stage Room adjacent to the Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
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I first met Brian Joiner through a mutual friend in the fall of 2001. I was attending private viewings of my exhibition at the Modern Design Gallery. As a young artist fresh out of school, I was anxious to make a first impression to anyone who walked in. After being introduced to Brian and learning about his accomplishments, I was eager to get his feedback. Questions rolled out of my mouth like, “ Are my prices too high? “ “Is it original?” and “Do you like my work?” He gave me great insight but most of all, his patience and willingness to share professional experiences still echo in my mind to this day. Soon after this meeting we became friends. In 2007 Brian invited me to join himself and Courttney Cooper in a three-man exhibition at the Nicholas Gallery. At this time I was working primarily in marketing and promotions and rarely painted. Brian called the office and challenged me with a simple question. Where do I see myself in ten years? I did not know what to say. I did not know if I had it in me to produce body of work. Once again Brian’s words of encouragement inspired me to make some decisions which have helped me to steadily continue building my career. I will miss the conversations Brian and I had on life and art and the struggles and joys of working artists. Brian was always warm, strong, courageous, dedicated, and always thought of innovative ways to empower others to do great things. Brian’s life can teach us to live passionately in all that we do. Thank you Brian. Read more about Brian Joiner and his legacy in the recent article in City Beat written by Tamera Lenz Muente. Flow this link http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-21804-brian-joiners-creative-life.html
Other recent articles
http://freedomcenter.org/freedom-forum/index.php/2010/10/local-artist-dies-young/
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101011/NEWS0104/10120314/0/NEWS010701/Brian-Joiner-48-2009-Duncanson-artist