Elisabeth Nickles:
The Landscape within Her
Winter- Spring 2009

From February through April, 2009, Elisabeth Nickles of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania worked with fourteen preteen and teen girls and their big sisters from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware program to create art projects that celebrated individuality and personal beauty. Nickles’ intent was to focus the group on preserving a sense of inner beauty, core strength, and creativity that is connected to nature and not dictated by consumer culture.

Nickles wanted the women and girls to explore true beauty as a state of mind - a way of being - and not about being an object or adhering to an outside standard. Nickels states: “Finding one’s own creativity is a way to tap into the renewal and abundance of nature and its cycles.” She found inspiration for this project through an examination of cross-cultural representations of beauty throughout history and began the project by showing the participants sculptural depictions of the female as goddess from the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Africa, Europe, and Central America.

Each girl and her big sister then created a personal assemblage or inner landscape that was meant to be a “storehouse of the self” and a reminder that their creativity and inner power is something to which they always have access.  Each box contained a ceramic sculpture of self-perception as a goddess, the shadows of life experience, and sculptural objects that served as protectors of inner being. The project also included a video that involves the objects and costumes the group created.

This experience offered a new opportunity for the Little Sisters to bond with their Big Sisters in a positive working environment. Nickles also hoped the creative energy of this collaborative project helped the young participants broaden the scope of their goals and become leaders who will positively influence their own communities.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Since 1964, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware has been providing mentors for Delaware youth.  The service is based on a one-to-one relationship between a caring adult volunteer and a child who needs extra adult attention and guidance.  Volunteers serve as friends, mentors, and role models, helping children (who are primarily from single-parent homes) gain greater self-confidence and realize their potential. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware is to make a positive difference in the lives of youth, through a professionally supported one-to-one relationship with a caring adult. The organization aims to assist these young people in achieving their highest potential as they grow to become confident, competent, and caring individuals.

About Elisabeth Nickles
Elisabeth Nickles (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) received an MA in sculpture from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and a diploma from the School of The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Nickles, a Philadelphia-based artist, has shown widely throughout the Philadelphia region including solo exhibitions at the Schmidt/Dean Gallery, The University of the Arts Sculpture Gallery, and the Artist’s House Gallery. Nickles has also shown in group exhibitions at the Fleisher Art Memorial, the Asian Arts Initiative, and the Seraphin Gallery, each in Philadelphia. In 2008, Nickles curated a photography exhibition at the Bassone Center at Drexel titled Witness to Hunger, which focused on child hunger. Nickles has also participated in several residencies including a residency at the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, WA, and the Vermont Studio Center.

Liz Hickok:
Fall 2008

Liz Hickok
Alamo Square, from the San Francisco in Jell-O series
2004
Photograph, 30"x40" 

During the months of November and December 2008, artist Liz Hickok worked with two of nine Delaware Blueprint Communities, 2nd District and Edgemoor, to create molds and cast Jell-O models of their homes and neighborhoods. The participants created settings for the models and photograph the installation.  Hickok stated that this project encouraged the members of the community to appreciate the beauty of the architecture and landmarks of their urban neighborhoods.  

About Liz Hickok
Liz Hickok is a photographer and sculptor, based in San Francisco, California, who explores the beauty of the urban landscape by creating site-specific cities out of Jell-O. She Hickok holds a B.A. in art history from Tufts University, a B.F.A. in photography from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and an M.F.A. in Photography from Mills College. She has shown her work widely, including recently at the Hakibutz Gallery in Tel Aviv, Israel, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and the San Jose Museum of Art in San Jose.  She has also been feature in a number of media outlets, including National Public Radio, the CBS Early Show, The New York Times and number of other publications.  She has also participated in residency programs with Scottsdale Public Arts, Kala Art Institute and the Headlands Center for the Arts.

About the Blueprint Communities
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and the University of Delaware’s Center for Community Research and Service entered into a partnership to bring the Blueprint Communities revitalization planning initiative to Delaware. Blueprint Communities helps cities, towns and neighborhoods develop stronger leaders, a clear community vision, and a detailed strategic plan for sustainable community growth.  The cities, towns, and neighborhoods were identified and are represented by Blueprint Community planning teams that are comprised of members representing diverse community interests.  The Blueprint Communities initiative is designed to encourage communities to approach revitalization holistically by considering the physical, economic and social needs of their communities.  The planning teams are provided with the tools needed to engage in community based planning and strategy implementation.  Each planning team was chosen based on their current capacity to plan and implement community revitalization projects and their ability to assemble a qualified leadership team representing diverse community interests.  Each team is required to include community planners, bankers, local government leaders, housing providers, local religious, education and civic leaders and others.

Ben Volta:
Residency with the Margaret S. Sterck School for the Deaf
Fall 2009

Visual artist Ben Volta (Philadelphia, PA) worked with a group of 15 pre-teens from the Margaret S. Sterck School to create artworks that explore the relationship between assigned and chosen identities. With the Sterck School art teacher Lynn Hessler acting as an interpreter Volta guided the group in creating abstracted self-portraits made with a combination of hand drawn visual elements, mixed media objects, and computer generated digital images. The self-portraits were assembled into a group installation that will incorporated individual voices into a collective whole. According to Volta, “The Sterck School has provided me an opportunity to appreciate a new culture, and I am excited that there is a sense of eagerness and curiosity about the exploration of contemporary art. This is a unique and exciting project to do with these children.” Through his innovative installation, Volta hopes to transform the gallery spaces into “creative and energized environments.”

Ben Volta (Philadelphia, PA) holds a certificate from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania. He has created and exhibited education-based collaborative projects in partnership with The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Fleisher Art Memorial, The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, The School District of Philadelphia, and many other organizations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Volta is the recipient of numerous Arts in Education Grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, is a member of Tim Rollins and K.O.S. in NYC, and is a fellow at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. He has recently exhibited at Pentimenti Gallery in Philadelphia, and participated in the exhibition Tim Rollins and K.O.S.: A History at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. 

Tanya Aguiñiga: interweaving
Fall 2008

During the months of September and October of 2008, artist-in-residence Tanya Aguiñiga worked with seniors who are enrolled in the cosmetology program at the Howard High School of Technology and women from Nefertiti Made Hair Braiding & Weaving, a local salon, to create unique lamps and chairs that feature hair weaving and braiding techniques used by African-American women and traditional upholstery and finishing processes. This project focused on the importance that is given to female beauty to help women voice a feminine perspective on the aesthetics of design, a field that is currently dominated by men. By combining functional objects with socially-charged design ideas, the participants have addressed the current roles that women hold in both public and private settings. Aguiñiga found inspiration for this project in contemporary hair-styling techniques and was enthused by the culture behind African-American beauty shops.

The project concluded with a temporary exhibition, entitled interweaving, on view at the DCCA  through November 16, 2008.

This project is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and The Gilliam Foundation. Additional support for this project is provided by The Wilmington Flower Market. DCCA exhibitions and programs are made possible, in part, through individual contributions, members’ support, and major grants from AstraZeneca, Bank of America, and from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Tanya Aguiñiga
Tanya Aguiñiga (b.1978) is a Los Angeles based furniture designer/maker raised in Tijuana, Mexico. Tanya’s work is informed by border experiences: the interconnectedness of societies, the beauty in struggle, and the celebration of culture. She holds a B.A. in Applied Design with an Emphasis in Furniture from San Diego State University and an M.F.A. in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design. She has received many awards for her work, including the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship, and was named a USA Target Fellow in the field of Crafts and Traditional Arts. As a USA Target Fellow, Aguiñiga was hosted by the Native Arts Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where she studied the techniques of traditional Alaskan art. Aguiñiga was also one of four United States designers invited to participate in Design Miami Design Performances as part of Art Basel. Aguiñiga has also served on a PEW Foundation fellowship panel and has been represented by numerous media outlets, including Wallpaper Magazine, the LA Times, and NBC News.  Aguiñiga has also taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and at the San Diego Museum of Art.

Richard Saxton:
Market Box:  A Collaborative Project with the municipalWORKSHOP in partnership with the Challenge Program
Summer 2008

Challenge Program trainee Erick Coursey works on a planter box for the roof of the bus shelter.

DCCA Resident Artist Richard Saxton and members of the municipalWORKSHOP worked with a group from the Challenge Program, a vocational training program serving at-risk youth aged 18-21 in Wilmington, Delaware to design and build Market Box, a functional public art piece that will be used as a bus shelter in downtown Wilmington. Trainees photographed the architecture of Wilmington to conduct visual research for their design, and used the photographs to create design collages that explored material, form, and function.  The group decided on a conceptual design for the shelter, an upside-down Timber Frame structure built of new and recycled materials.  To build the piece, trainees learned metal fabrication techniques and traditional wood joinery.

About Richard Saxton:
Richard Saxton is a contemporary artist working in the fields of sculpture, architecture, design, and public art, and has years of experience creating design/build projects with community groups.  His work has been exhibited internationally with recent exhibitions at the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee; the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, Maryland; the Soap Factory in Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin; and at Wall House #2 in Groningen, The Netherlands. Saxton’s permanent projects are located at the Center for Land Use Interpretation in Wendover, Utah; at the Kohler Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; and in the City of York, Alabama. His work has been published in the books Engaging Communities, Rural Studio: Community Architecture; Whitney Biennial 2004: Whitney Museum of American Art; Proceed and Be Bold; and in many professional journals including Dialogue, Crit, artUS, API, and Sculpture Magazine.
 
In 2002, Saxton founded the municipalWORKSHOP, an independent public art laboratory. Through a collective art-making model, the municipalWORKSHOP creates unique public art projects with municipalities, community-based organizations, and community members. Saxton is also the Principal Projects Director for the interdisciplinary art firm, M12, and currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at the University of Colorado in Boulder.