Arts & Literature

Spotlight: Four Wesleyan Students Display Original Artworks in Artist Market

Published

4 years ago

April 20, 2021

Isadora Pennington

Suzy Loetscher, Katherine Graddy, Makenna Wazevich. Elijah Tian in accompanying photo.

The Wesleyan Artist Market is one of the premier art exhibits in the Southeast and is known for showcasing art categories that include acrylics, ceramics, illustration, glass, jewelry, mixed media, oils, photography, watercolors, wood and textiles.

A number of Wesleyan Student Artists will be participating in the artist market, in addition to the professional artists who are exhibiting their works. In anticipation of this great art event coming to Peachtree Corners, we spoke with four of the featured student artists to learn about their process, their artworks and what inspires them.

Makenna Wazevich

Middle school student Makenna Wazevich is an accomplished textile artist. Her works include scrunchies, makeup pouches and in a true sign of the times, face masks. Inspired by the pieces she saw on “Project Runway,” she asked her parents for a sewing machine and took to the textile arts immediately. Working both from existing templates and making up her own, Makenna enjoys the process of sourcing the fabrics at local craft stores and then transforming them into beautiful, useful items.

“I start by sketching out the idea, then I create a pattern, then cut out the fabrics, and then figure out how I am going to sew it together,” explained Makenna. “I usually have to do a lot of problem-solving to get the project to turn out how I pictured.”

Wazevich’s scrunchies, masks, and pouches.

Bold, geometric designs with eye-catching accent colors ensure that Makenna’s pieces stand out among the crowd. Her careful selection of patterns and textiles result in an elevated style that appeals to consumers of all ages.

Many of her ideas come from images she sees online on sites like Pinterest, and she says her biggest mentors have been her parents. They help to keep her on target for creating her pieces in a timely fashion and have been essential to help her prepare for the Wesleyan Student Market.

During the pandemic Makenna has even found ways to give back by creating face masks that she donates to local hospitals. While she isn’t sure if she wants to pursue textile work as a career instead of a fun hobby, she is looking forward to gaining experience with the marketing and networking that the Artist Market provides.

Suzy Loetscher

Suzy Loetscher, also a middle school student, is exhibiting several watercolor paintings in the Artist Market. Her colorful pieces feature birds, highlighting her deep love for those feathered creatures.“It leads me to get outside in my backyard and look for inspiration,” said Suzy. Inspired not only by the native birds she sees around her home here in Georgia but also near the condo her family owns in Miami, Suzy looks up the birds online and uses those images for reference.

She says being home during the pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to pursue her passions with renewed vigor. “It helps me focus on the other positive things that come from the extra time; it gives me more time.”

Suzy is an inquisitive and curious artist, devoting significant time to learning about her subjects. She read every book in the lower school library at Wesleyan that related to exotic birds — especially parrots, which she says are her favorite.

She has two pet parakeets and is enthralled by birds’ colorful feathers and the freedom of flying. Not bound by a strict adherence to the anatomical colors of birds, Suzy takes liberties and infuses her subjects with a vibrant assortment of colors.

“It’s important to have someone to remind you about the priorities,” Suzy said, speaking of her mother’s consistent support for her in her artistic pursuits. Keeping her on track and pushing her to create are some of the ways her parents encourage her to develop her artistic skills. Her father’s work ethic is inspirational to Suzy and she hopes to incorporate some of those elements into her future works, most notably into a dress concept she says is influenced by his devotion to their family.

Elijah Tian

Intricate motions, patience, time and attention to detail are some of the elements that middle schooler Elijah Tian relies upon to make his paper crafts. Constructed of precisely folded paper, his creations exhibit animals and recognizable items like pineapples.

“I used paper because it is not costly and it is colorful and easy to design,” said Elijah. “Sometimes I may like to make paper crafts because they are fun and get rid of your boredom. Also, it occupies my hands.”

Hoping that his pieces might brighten the lives of others, Elijah is mostly inspired by images he finds online. It is no surprise that this level of precision and an understanding of three-dimensional shapes might lend an inkling to what the future holds for this budding artist. Elijah hopes to be an architect one day, and for many architects, building designs start with sketches followed by renderings and — you guessed it — 3D models often crafted out of paper.

Katherine Graddy

High school student Katherine Graddy will be exhibiting her clay jewelry at the Wesleyan Artist Market. Bright, cheery colors, floral influences and a clear understanding of modern design lend her pieces a decidedly hip aesthetic. It would come as no surprise to find these items for sale at popular boutiques or shops such as Urban Outfitters.

Inspiration and opportunity led to a flurry of creation for Katherine. “A few days before a school dance, I stumbled upon a picture of clay earrings on my timeline,” she said. “I hadn’t realized that clay jewelry even existed, and the opportunity to make art that you could wear seemed so incredible.” The following days were filled with experimentation in the craft, and soon she was developing pieces that she had until then only dreamed of.

Before the pandemic hit, Katherine started selling flowers at a flower cart to benefit the City of Refuge, a faith-based organization dedicated to lifting individuals and families out of crisis. When the shutdowns began, she pivoted her Looking for Lillies campaign and used her newfound free time to transition from florals to jewelry. She also created dozens of pieces that she donated to the women there.

“I truly love to create earrings that can represent the wearers’ personalities, crafting pairs to represent the most unique aspects of who people are,” said Katherine, who hopes to work in nonprofits one day. She considers all that she has learned from making her jewelry and working with the City of Refuge as important experiences and a unique insight into ways that arts can help those in need, all of which she aims to incorporate into her future work.

“The creativity that has been fostered in my life through art will hopefully allow me to find new and unique approaches towards working to create change in a nonprofit environment,” said Katherine. “One thing I know for sure is that art will always be a huge part of my life!”

Shop the Artist Market online

Whether you’re an art connoisseur, shopping for yourself or for loved ones, or simply looking to upgrade your home and wardrobe, consider logging in and checking out the incredible works on display at the fully virtual Wesleyan Artist Market.

As a bonus, pajamas are totally acceptable attire for this year’s exhibit! For more information go online to the Wesleyan Artist Market website at artistmarket.wesleyanschool.org.

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Isadora Pennington

Isadora is a writer, photographer, and designer living in Avondale Estates, GA. She has worked in print for the past decade and has been published in the Atlanta INtown, Oz Magazine, Atlanta Senior Life, and the Reporter Newspapers.

Around Atlanta

The High Museum to Showcase “Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind”

Published

6 days ago

December 12, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

Oil on paper artwork by Terry Winters. A large red circle with smaller blue circles on top of it and gold/yellow accents. All of it on a dark brown background.

The special exhibition of the Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection will run January 17 through May 25, 2025

In the mid-1970s, artist and Georgia State University professor Medford Johnston, along with his wife and collaborator Loraine, began collecting works by artists who were in the vanguard of contemporary art. Today, they hold one of the finest collections of postwar American drawings and related objects of its kind, now numbering more than 85 works.

In 2025, the High Museum of Art will present Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection, featuring their collected works, which is a promised gift to the museum. Featuring artists such as Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Elizabeth Murray, Martin Puryear, Ed Ruscha, Al Taylor, Anne Truitt, Stanley Whitney and Terry Winters, among others, the exhibition will demonstrate how establishing the parameters of an art collection requires infinite patience, focus, discipline and a keen eye.

“The Johnstons have been friends of the High for a very long time. They’ve also built an impressive collection featuring works by many of the 20th century’s most significant abstract artists,” said the High’s Director Rand Suffolk. “We are honored that they have promised to leave their collection to the Museum where it will be preserved for future generations — and we are delighted that they are sharing it with our audiences now, hopefully inspiring the next generation of art collectors and supporters.”

A curated collection

The Johnstons’ story is a testament to, in the words of the High’s Wieland Family Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Michael Rooks, “knowing the difference between what is right and what is almost right” when building a collection.

Although the Johnstons acquired several paintings and objects when they first began collecting in 1972, they quickly narrowed their focus to drawing, primarily by artists working on the frontlines of abstraction in the mid-1960s during a time of great innovation and experimentation.

Ink drawing by Anne Truitt, rectangular lines and shapes made with black ink on off-white background — Anne Truitt (American, born 1921), *Ink Drawing ’59 [11]*, 1959, ink on paper, The Johnston Collection. © Estate of Anne Truitt / The Bridgeman Art Library / Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.

Rooks added, “Med and Loraine’s collection struck me at once by its single-minded focus on a specific moment in time, which was essentially the time of their contemporaries. The artists in their collection are like close friends to the Johnstons — in fact many are or were. What is equally astonishing about the collection is the Johnstons’ dogged pursuit of quality. Their in-depth knowledge of each artist’s practice combined with their understanding of specific qualities to look for — or more appropriately, to hold out for — will be a revelation to emerging collectors.”

The Johnstons have built their collection with the High in mind as the benefactor of their passion and discernment. For them, their collection “is a labor of love, pursued over more than 50 years, and we are delighted to be able to help the High Museum document and celebrate these important artists working during the same decades as our lives.”

About the exhibit

Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection will be presented in the Special Exhibition Galleries on the second level of the High’s Stent Family Wing.

The exhibit is organized by the High Museum of Art and made possible through the generosity of sponsors:

Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Premier Exhibition Series Supporters Mr. Joseph H. Boland, Jr., The Fay S. and W. Barrett Howell Family Foundation, Harry Norman Realtors and wish Foundation
Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters Robin and Hilton Howell
Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporters Loomis Charitable Foundation and Mrs. Harriet H. Warren
Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters Farideh and Al Azadi, Mary and Neil Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones, Megan and Garrett Langley, Margot and Danny McCaul, Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller and Belinda Stanley-Majors and Dwayne Majors.

Support has also been provided by the Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund and USI Insurance Services.

About the High Museum of Art

Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs.

Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 19,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper.

The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process.

For more information about the High or to purchase tickets, visit high.org.

Top image: (from the collection) Terry Winters (American, born 1949), Orb, 2020, oil on paper, The Johnston Collection. © Terry Winters, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.

Around Atlanta

City Springs Theatre Company Presents the Hit Musical Jersey Boys

Published

6 months ago

July 3, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

The megahit musical Jersey Boys is making its regional premiere with the City Springs Theatre Company in a five-week run.

The megahit musical Jersey Boys makes its regional premiere in City Springs Theatre Company’s (CSTC) first-ever, five-week run at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs.

Directed by Atlanta’s-own Shane DeLancey, and choreographed by Meg Gillentine, Jersey Boys tells the rags-to-riches story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The show details their remarkable journey from the streets to the top of the charts, to their 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Leading the cast of Jersey Boys is Haden Rider as Frankie Valli. Rider is a City Springs Theatre Company veteran, with recent roles in both Legally Blonde (Emmett) and Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik).

Presented by Resurgens Spine Center, Jersey Boys runs from July 12 through August 11, and shines a special spotlight on home-grown talent, as the show’s four leading men are all Atlanta-area residents.

With phenomenal music, memorable characters and great storytelling, Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history.

“City Springs Theatre Company is very proud to be the first in the southeast region to present Jersey Boys,” said CSTC Artistic Director and Tony Award-winner Shuler Hensley. “Our audiences have been asking for this particular show since we opened. The production is truly stacked with talent onstage and off, and we’re pulling out all the stops to bring audiences an experience that will rival any previous version of the show.”

Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2005, prior to its 13-year Broadway run, from 2005 to 2017. There have been productions of the show in Las Vegas, UK/Ireland, Toronto, Melbourne, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and China.

Jersey Boys features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, and lyrics by Bob Crewe.

Individual tickets to see Jersey Boys are on sale now ($42 – $108), with discounts for seniors, students, groups and active and retired military personnel.

CSTC’s Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Call 404-477-4365 or visit CitySpringsTheatre.com for more information.

This production contains adult language and is recommended for mature audiences.

Performance schedule:

Arts & Literature

Local Students Show Off Their Artistic Creations

Published

7 months ago

June 2, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

Courtney Escorza, Colleen Nikopour, Laura Hwang, Jennifer Jackson, Norcross. Laura ELizabeth Martin, Payton Hirschmann, Paul Duke HS

From May 11 through May 18, the Norcross Gallery & Studios kicked off a fantastic exhibition, Reflections at Rectory, which showcased the works of 36 rising stars: AP and IB art students from our local high schools.

The opening reception celebrated their creativity and dedication. Gallery director Anne Hall presented a dozen awards generously sponsored by the community, a testament to the local support for these young artists.

One prestigious award, the Terri Enfield Memorial Award, holds special significance.

Established by Terri’s daughters, it recognizes not just artistic excellence, but also leadership, work ethic and the spirit of collaboration. Last year’s winner, Aidan Ventimiglia, even played a part in selecting this year’s recipient Jasmine Rodriguez.