My Last Day at Red Star Studios

Paul Anthony Smith and me as teapots at Red Star's Belger location.

It has been an exciting three years at Red Star. I started out in February 2009, as a senior in ceramics at KCAI, on the hill at the old Red Star Yeast Factory. In 2010, all of the pots and I moved to our temporary location at the Belger Arts Center. In 2011, the Red Star team and I represented Kansas City in an exhibition at the Tampa NCECA, I continued to curate some amazing shows in the Belger Arts Center space, and I trained our gallery manager, Michael Baxley. This is my last weekend at Red Star. My plans are to spend more time in my studio, and focus on my position at the Kansas City Art Institute. Red Star has changed a lot since I began. I wish the new crew best of luck at the new studios and beyond.

Today the staff threw me an unexpected going away party. Our Executive Director, Evelyn Craft, sincerely mentioned how it was my presence in the gallery and our conversations that initiated the transformation of Red Star into a partner with the Belger Arts Center. It’s exciting to know how building a professional relationship, in this community, can motivate some amazing changes. I will always be an advocate for the arts in this city.

Kansas City Star Plugs Red Star Studios Exhibition Opening Tonight

The article can also be found online. Thank you to both Alice Thorson at the KC Star, and artist Ehren Tool for exhibiting at Red Star!

Evolve!

Opossum, 2010

The KU Natural History Museum art exhibition Evolve! opens April 1, and goes on through spring 2012. I want to thank the KU Natural History Museum Student Advisory Board for the opportunity.  On April 1, I will be in Tampa for the 2011 NCECA Conference with Red Star Studios. Red Star’s exhibition for the event features Kansas City area artists.

Press Release follows:

*Exhibition Merges Art and Science at the KU Natural History Museum*

Contact: John Coats, jdcoats@gmail.com

LAWRENCE – More than 150 years after its first publication, Charles Darwin’s
*The Origin of Species* inspires the way artists look at the world, from the
curl of an opossum’s tail to the stark twisted bark of a juniper tree.

Artistic renderings of these specimens and other scenes from the natural
world form “Evolve! Adapt to Survive,” an art exhibition presented by the KU
Natural History Museum Student Advisory Board. Artists from across northeast
Kansas interpreted a quote from Charles Darwin about evolution and survival
to create the art included in the exhibition.

An opening reception will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. on Friday, April 1 at the
museum, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd. Admission is free; refreshments will be provided.
The exhibition opening will include a performance by the band the Oils.

The exhibition, which is organized and curated by the advisory board, will
remain on view in the Stairwell Gallery of the museum through spring of
2012.

Holiday Sale At Red Star

Red Star Studios will have our Annual Holiday Sale, in the Belger Arts Center, 2100 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO.

Holiday Sale shopping hours are:

Friday, December 3rd, 6-9pm
Saturday, December 4th, 10-5pm
Sunday, December 5th, 12-5pm

Come check out the new merchandise and support your arts community!

Earthenware, monoprint, monarch plate

Red Star Reserrected

Red Star’s gallery and studios are fully functioning out of the Belger Arts Center garage! We will be in the crossroads for the summer with classes, workshops, and monthly exhibitions opening on First Fridays before moving again to a larger space in the fall. The KC Star gave us some buzz in a full-page story. Come visit during the week Wednesday-Friday 10-4 or Saturdays 12-4.

You make my heart sing…

Where The Wild Things Are opened at Red Star Studios Friday night!

And so many of my friends came!

What makes this group of artists unique, beyond the subject matter, are their incredible surfaces. Lovely labored over objects in an array of color. All of the artists working in different temperature ranges and clays. Kansas City had summer evening this November First Friday. It was a great show at Red Star and there was lots of interest in the work.

It was profound to see my animals in the gallery. In five months I have completed my first body of work since graduation. I have new questions I want to ask and I’m seeking stories.

Come visit Oedipus Rex and Me at Red Star on 821 West 17th St.

Wild Thing

Oedipus enters the vault of fire this week. He will be a part of Red Star Studios exhibition Where the Wild Things Are opening November 6th.

 

Party Pots

‘Where the Boys Toss’ Grecian Ern, terra cotta bowl and Greek salad by Stephanie Kantor, mango salsa by Calder Kamin

First Friday was relatively quiet for such a beautiful evening, but thanks to our studio members the potluck was a total success! Pots, inspired by a particular dish, were put to work. Several of our artists have received bragging rights for sharing their special recipes. Resident, Stephanie Kantor, created an incredible Grecian ern for her Greek salad featured in  the Side Gallery Show Be Specific.

Ceramic Collaborations

Sculpted by Calder, hand painted by SJK

Red Star Resident and best buddy, Stephanie Kantor, and I have been putting our talent and whimsy together to make these happy little guys. I’ve been continuing to dip stuffed animals in slip but now I’m taking them a little further with a sculpted face and better posture. When they are ready to glaze I pass them off to Stephanie for her to adorn them with color and patterns. These collaborations have inspired others around the studio to share the making process.