I have been working for Michele Kishita since March, 2013. The knowledge I have gained so far has been nothing short of an incredible learning experience. Not only has Michele been teaching me different techniques a painter MUST know, but also she has been an incredible mentor. Michele has invited me to partake in countless art shows, as well as inviting many of my classmates, this is important to students my age because it seems rare to know someone that truly goes out of their way to help young artists the way Michele does.
So far this summer, I have been helping Michele with stretching canvas and also preparing wood panels. Her goal at the moment seems to be creating a variety of different works that she can have ready for a new show, while also creating specific works for an upcoming show in August and also in December.
Michele had invited me to participate in a very interesting show that took place on June 7th, a "BackPack Gallery Show" that took place at "The Porch" at 30th Street Station Philadelphia. When Michele explained this show to me I was immediately very interested. All of the artists participating in the show were to wear these "backpacks," in which they would display their work in a convenient and comical way. I have been creating large cardboard collages/paintings recently so Michele thought "why not try making them much smaller?"
My idea for my backpack was to create an organized gallery in which I could show as many paintings as possible, since they are very small. I had lined one side of my gallery with foam core, so I could glue large dividers to the top and bottom of the right side of my gallery.
Although it was pouring the day of the show, we still had a relatively good turn out. People walking in and out of 30th Street Station seemed to be very intrigued as to why there were a bunch of women (coincidentally there were only women in this backpack gallery!) standing around with large, white, wooden boxes strapped to our backs. When many people came up and took a closer look they were all very interested, loving the idea of "bringing contemporary art to the general public."
The curator, Heloisa, thought of a great idea while all of us were waiting in the rain. She thought of coming back to Philadelphia again for a "BackPack Gallery Show" however we would be standing in front of Vox on a First Friday. I got very excited by this idea, because I would imagine the turnout would definitely be greater than the one we had! However I am very grateful that I was a part of this show, the whole idea of bringing art to the public is a wonderful one, and the public definitely loved it!
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