The Bad Newsletter: April Recap
The Bad Newsletter is a recap of Bad Art Club + Upcoming Opportunities + Resources.
This newsletter is 775 words, a 4-minute read.
Register for our next meeting, on May 27, at bit.ly/badartclub.
The Recap in 4
1. What is the value of “bad” art?
We spoke via Zoom with Dr. Alison Gerber, a sociologist who studied artists in the USA, and wrote the piece Bad Art is Good for Us All about her research.
Key takeaways:
Bad artists commit to doing something that is not necessarily connected to making money, and that is a good thing. We rely on intrinsic motivation and build self-worth that is not based on earning money.
Bad artists are the foundation of our local art scenes because we take local classes, shop at local art supply stores, go to local museums and galleries, and buy local art.
Bad artists are able to temporarily take a break from our work to attend to life’s changes and return to creating art later more easily than fine artists.
2. Guest Artist: Onicas Gaddis
Onicas was extremely generous and we are extremely grateful. He discussed his artistic process, allowed us to view his studio and newest work, and raffled off 4 of his original pieces. We then worked on a group canvas as a class.
He reminded us of the importance of giving to others because what we give always comes back. Check out Onicas' work at onicasart.com and in his studio at Eno Arts Mill.
3. Skills & Activities
We discussed Surrealism, an artistic movement with the goal of releasing creative ideas from the unconscious mind. We played 2 surrealist games: exquisite corpse and blackout poetry/collage poetry.
4. Upcoming
Next BAC is Saturday, May 27 from 2-5 pm at Eno Arts Mill. Register at bit.ly/badartclub. Register early because we have sold out every time!
Our April guest artist is Eyerys Spearyt Ember, a Black Indigenous, Queer Transgender Nonbinary/Two Spirit healer and artist born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. They are going to guide us through an activity in coloring and collaging outside the lines. They describe their art as therapeutic, cosmic, and an expression of their raw emotions in the moment.
If you have ever been frustrated with coloring books, or if you love coloring books, this is a good class for you.
2 Opportunities
The Purple Flower is coming to Shelley Lake in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, May 13 and May 20. Black and Unknown Bards present an outdoor, immersive performance of Marita Bonner's award-winning one-act play, The Purple Flower. Written in 1928, The Purple Flower is a surrealistic allegory for the decades after the end of slavery in America and a prediction for what would come to pass. Tickets are “pay what you wish” and are available now.
First Friday at Eno Arts Mill is this Friday from 6-9 pm! Stop by the opening of the Orange County Artists Guild Spring Art Show. There will be drinks, live music, a food truck, and open artist studios. You can also see TJ’s art in the hallway space!
2 things I’m doing
My art was accepted to the Sick Artists Club’s “Things I Have Learned The Hard Way”. My piece is listed under “Anonymous, NC, USA”. The entire online gallery is composed of art by artists with disabilities and the art is both thought-provoking and beautiful. My piece is about my experience in a mental institution.
2. My art was published in LONER Magazine! My work is in Issue 10: "Things don’t feel like they used to.” I love LONER’s tagline “Where Creative Misfits Come Together”.