If you are anything like me, you are dreadful at art. It is something that I have always wanted to be somewhat adept at, but in the end my seemingly innocent attempts at drawing or painting resulted in a final product that would fail to make it onto most parents’ refrigerator. The hours I spent hovering over a sketch pad or slumped in front of a canvas were always in vain, and I would be forced to abandon any hope of creating my elusive masterpiece.
However, there are those out there (and around here) with amazing artistic gifts of which they make full use. This Saturday, March 14th, the C-U community has the opportunity to witness something truly remarkable from some of these artists at [co][lab] in downtown Urbana. 8toCreate is a student-run live drawing event which features 8 artists from around the Midwest, each of whom are granted 8 hours to complete 8 drawings. The best part is that the audience gets to watch these artists do their thing right in front of their eyes.
These artists will have to deal with the pressure of working with a time limit and making split second decisions, all in front of a live audience. The featured artist, Matthew Woodward (pictured, right), will also be giving a lecture on his current work at the University of Illinois the night before the event.
Smile Politely had the chance to sit down and chat with the president and founder of 8toCreate, Julie Kierski, about the upcoming event.
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Smile Politely: This sounds like a pretty interesting event. I’m not really familiar with this kind of exhibit. Is this a common type of exhibit? And what was the inspiration to have this event in the C-U area?
Julie Kierski: I did my undergrad degree at a small liberal arts college called Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, and my former professor, who also ran the gallery there, would do these events called “8 hour drawings.” They had been doing these drawings for 10 or 11 years, and that is where I first experienced them. Champaign-Urbana is pretty supportive of the arts, like all arts, and I just thought it would be a really neat project for the community.
SP: Where you familiar with each of these artists beforehand? What made you select each on or what appealed to you about them?
Kierski: As I was exploring this idea with our adviser, Professor Patrick Hammie, we got to this point where we would have artists from a couple different spheres and different parts of the community participating in this event as well as different parts of the region. There are these very distinct spheres in the community. There is the University, the community, and Parkland College which also has a great arts program, but there is not necessarily a lot of collaboration between these groups. So that’s why we wanted an artist from the university, from Parkland, and an artist from the community. As for our featured artist, Matthew Woodward, I became familiar with him through a course I took with Professor Hammie. The other three artists were from a call for artists; they applied, and we selected them because we thought they would bring something different in their perspective of drawing to the show. You can see all of their bios on the website too.
SP: What do you hope reaches the audience the most? What is the overall message or ambition of the event?
Kierski: I would say, depending on who you are, you could take something different from it. As an artist, whether you are a drawer, painter, a 3D artist, or a graphic designer, I think there is something to be learned by observing another artist’s process of creating. And that is something you don’t usually get a chance to see. The 8 hours create an artificial environment that allows you to observe how they work. I guess for non-artists what they might take away from it, hopefully, is just seeing these artists as real people doing real-ish things. Sometimes I think there can be a myth behind who an artist is and what creating art is—like there is some type of magic involved. So this is a here-it-is in real time for them.
SP: What kind of styles or genres are going to be represented? Do you know if the artists already have something in mind, or will it take a more spur-of-the-moment direction?
Kierski: I have no idea. They all work with different mediums and in different subject matter whether it is more abstract or representational. We do have one drawing planned that the people who go to the show can contribute to, so that as a group we are planning. As for the artists some of them may have an idea, but others may not.
SP: Why is it important that this is a student-run event? What experience do you hope each student involves takes from this event?
Kierski: For the students involved, I would say it is definitely professional development. I think it is a really good opportunity to use the skills that you are learning in your classes and get some real world skills that you might not learn in your classes. Things like budgeting or having to call a caterer for food sound really stupid or really small, but that kind of real world interaction you don’t usually get unless you are doing a project or something like this. We also have graphic designers who created our logo and its now getting printed and is now out there in the real world. I think this is all good experience.
SP: If someone was interested in trying to be in this show next year, what would they have to do to be considered? Also, what standard would have to be met in order for you to consider this event a success?
Kierski: They can contact us at our email address, 8tocreate@gmail.com. I’m not sure if things will go the same next year, as nothing is really set in stone for it. The artists may have to apply, or they may just have to express interest. In order for the show to be a success, I just think the show needs to happen and for some people to show up.
SP: Is there anything else that you would like to advertise or let the potential audience know?
Kierski: I guess another purpose of the show is just to contribute to the arts in the city. The show is bringing in a Chicago-based artist and some regional artists who otherwise might not be here for a community event. So hopefully people who don’t normally go to a gallery or a place like the Krannert Center would come to a show like this.
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Satuday’s event is free of charge and there are no reservations required. So if you find yourself in need of inspiration, swing by [co][lab], 206 West Main Street, and at least add a bit of your own personality to the collaborative audience drawing. For any other questions, or if you want to check out the artists that will be appearing at the event, you check out 8toCreate’s website: https://publish.illinois.edu/8tocreate/.