Catherine J. Smith Gallery (CJS) and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) at Appalachian State University (ASU) are proud to present an artist workshop and visiting artist lecture by Bryant Holsenbeck. CJS and TCVA would like to invite ASU students, faculty, staff, and the community to work directly with Holsenbeck as she guides a crow-making workshop in preparation for her upcoming artist residency at ASU. Following the workshop, Holsenbeck will present a lecture on her work as it relates to her upcoming large-scale installation and exhibition, STUFF: Where does it come from and where does it go?, to be exhibited in the Mayer Gallery of TCVA March 28 – April 5. The workshop will take place on Thursday, Feb. 2 from 4 PM – 6 PM in the TCVA Classroom 3200 and follow with Holsenbeck’s talk at 7 PM – 8 PM in the Lecture Hall of TCVA on King Street. These events are free and open to the public.

Holsenbeck has been producing works with recycled materials for over ten years and is skilled at bringing together groups of people, young and old, to build projects that promote sustainable practices in communities and in homes. That said, crows are only a small—but significant—portion in the overall scope of her work. “I make crows,” explains Holsenbeck. “It began to dawn on me that I am drawn to making crows because they represent two values I hold sacred: freedom and community. As artists and humans, we need both.”

Workshop participants will use found “stuff” to begin creating their own birds and will have a few weeks to create their own contribution, which will have an opportunity to be included in Holsenbeck’s upcoming exhibition. CJS and TCVA will be supplying some materials, but workshop attendees are encouraged to bring “stuff” to contribute or use in their own designs. (Materials may include almost anything black, such as old records, fabrics, plastics, tires, wire, beads, etc.) Participants are invited to attend the full workshop or just drop in and watch. Following soon after the workshop, Holsenbeck will further discuss her work and its relation to her upcoming exhibition during her evening lecture at TCVA.

These programs are sponsored in partnership with CJS, TCVA, and other campus partners. The project is funded in part by Appalachian's Sustainability Council Competitive Arts Grant.
 

About the Artist
Bryant Holsenbeck has been documenting the "stuff" of our society that we use once and throw away for over a decade. Americans create more garbage, per capita, than any other culture, yet we are blind to our waste. She collects many things, among them, bottle caps, credit cards, pencils, shoes and chopsticks. She uses these everyday items to make work, which transforms the objects, which surprise us. We are used to using "stuff" once and then throwing it away; but while we may throw it away, Holsenbeck’s work makes us aware of its continual impact.

Holsenbeck began her arts career as a basket maker. Since then she has evolved into an environmental and community-focused artist making large-scale installations that document the waste stream of our society. She has shown her work and taught throughout the United States. She has been the recipient of two North Carolina Arts Council Fellowships, a Project Grant and an NEA Arts and Learning Grant that she worked on in collaboration with the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. She is currently attempting to live one year without disposable plastic and writing a blog about it entitled "The Last Straw: A Reluctant Year Without Disposable Plastic." Her most recent past projects include AGAIN AND NEVER AGAIN: Can We Co-Exist with Ourselves? at Guilford College, Greensboro, NC and a 28- foot recycled mandala for blueshere: earth art expo, sponsored by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, S.C. She enjoys working with groups of people to construct her installation, and is also an independent studio artist who makes books, birds, and sculptures out of found recycled materials.

More info on Byrant Holsenbeck is available at www.bryantholsenbeck.com.

The Catherine J. Smith Gallery is located in Farthing Auditorium at 733 Rivers Street, Boone, NC. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free. For more information, please call 828-262-2220 or visit www.art.appstate.edu/cjs.

The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts is located at 423 W. King St. in downtown Boone, NC. Hours are from 10 AM to 6 PM Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, and from 12 PM to 8 PM on Fridays. Admission is free. For more information, call 828-262-3017 or visit www.tcva.org.