Barbara Hill of Fenton will do almost anything to support her four daughters. A decade ago while visiting one daughter in the African Republic of Mali, Hill shut her eyes as her car's driver backed down a narrow mountain road to let another vehicle pass.
So simply riding a forward-moving bus to four St. Louis artists鈥� studios this past Sunday was a breeze. And an eye-opener, as it turned out.
Hill's youngest daughter, Kelly Lee, discovered the arts writers鈥� bus tour, part of
鈥淪he just signed me up,鈥� Hill laughed. 鈥淎nd I said, 鈥楽ure.鈥欌��
Big message and a tiny space
Daughter Kelly Lee is an art teacher at Edgar Road Elementary in Webster Groves. She was looking for ways to create a studio atmosphere in the art classroom and to meet artists who might come speak to students.
The first stop was a group of photography studios in the city where artist-activist Damon Davis works. He showed the tour-bus participants some recent paintings as well as some prints from his
Davis explained he created the enlarged, detailed photographs of hands and affixed them to burned-out Ferguson storefronts as a simple gesture to the community.
鈥淭hey needed something to give them hope and to keep them going,鈥� Davis said.
Lee was struck by Davis鈥� quiet determination.
鈥淗e has a strong message to tell, and through his art he鈥檚 doing that,鈥� Lee said.
Next stop was the studio of , recently chosen to be part of Foley explores language through popular media. It鈥檚 a large undertaking executed in tiny space: a few hundred square feet in the basement of his Maryland Heights home. It鈥檚 a convenient location for the father of two small children.
鈥淚 can run down here any time,鈥� Foley said.
Tate, and his visitors, must step through a baby gate to enter the studio, which includes his wife鈥檚 sewing machine (鈥淪he makes all these amazing clothes," he said). It also houses Foley's Riso high-speed digital printer. He demonstrated how it works by creating small prints to give his guests, who were treated to a corner display of his children鈥檚 art as they wound their way back upstairs.
鈥淚t was a wonderful, small, organized space,鈥� Lee said.
A movie star and a lost sister
Nationally exhibited also works out of his house. The small studio in the back of his Ladue home is flanked by nearly life-sized sexualized images of women, but also contains things you might expect to find in a garage, like extension cords and mallets.
In some of his best-known work, Adams focused on portraits of actor Jean Seberg. He was inspired by
鈥淪he reminds me of my mother and my wife, and myself,鈥� Adams said.
Adams employs a pulley system to display some of his large paintings. Lee was struck by what can be accomplished in a garage-sized area.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible to see how the artists can do their maximum work in such small spaces,鈥� Lee said.
The next studio on the tour was inside an actual garage, behind artist JE Baker鈥檚 Brentwood home. Baker works in a variety of media. She showed the group some paper she created that contained liquids ranging from grapefruit to blood.
鈥淚t was from when I was studying slaughterhouses,鈥� Baker explained.
Baker invited her visitors to become part of a sculpture whose core is a bed frame. She called it a "boli," a traditional
Baker supplied a bucket of liquid and paintbrush for her guests to apply their own touch to the burlap-and-paper structure. She said the boli is for her sister, who is homeless: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where she is,鈥� Baker offered.
Kelly Lee and her mother Barbara Hill took turns with the brush. Hill, whose daughters each have a trio of sisters, said it was like sending out a prayer.
鈥淗opefully, we all added something to her maybe finding her sister 鈥� or just getting through not finding her,鈥� Hill said.
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