We are Betsy Renfrew and Andrew Young, independent artists, makers of artisanal, handmade, handcrafted, organic, efficient, green, family-oriented, Web 2.0, limited edition, value-added, entrepreneurial, umami-flavored, self-sustaining art and other stuff.
We live and work in Greensboro.
Our presentation is entitled, "Our Recent Projects".
Our aim is to find like-minded people to share and collaborate with.
1. What we doBoth of us received fine art training. Although computers came late to us, we've been influenced by their possibilities. We've always tried to connect to wherever we've lived.
2. Sense of placeWhat we make and what we do are influenced by where we live and who we meet.
3. Found objectsSmall things if looked at closely can evoke landscape patterns or technological pondering. Which shard was made by hand and which one was manufactured at an industrial plant?
4. TransformationOne thing becoming another. This was once a piece of bark but I refashioned it into a container. We've both been engaged in the conversation about how the Triad will transform itself.
5. TechnologyHow can we keep alive the art forms and technologies that existed before the industrial age yet integrate contemporary notions of design and materials? For example, Greensboro's Montagnards, among our area's most traditional peoples, are fast losing their craft skills.
6. Geography is historyDocumenting and studying the region's last big thing — the textile revolution — continues our dialog about what will be the Triad's next big thing.
7. Book of marksThis unbound book has been painted with layers of ink — each layer not completely covering the next but enriching the surface and giving it depth. An unedited history of marks.
8. PaintingI abraded the surface of this painting revealing some of the underlying layers. To me, revealing layers in my art work is like digging in my garden and finding chunks of the past .
9. CollageWhat I find brings me closer to the lives of ordinary people who live close to where I live now. My collages are made from my vast collection of discards.
10. CyanatypeA blend of low tech and high tech photographic processes.
11. InkPatterns, marks, light and dark, handmade, art.
12. Intermission
13. Game ThinkGames are like make-believe. They ask, If this were to happen, then what would happen next? Like real life, a good game generates a lot of complexity after just a few moves. Unlike real life, a game is just a game, something you can walk away from.
14. ProcessBut a good game is not rational; it is behavioral. Games reveal human tendencies in making choices, choices which are deeply rooted in psychology and evolution, not logic.
15. Could be profoundSimulations deal with approximations and generalizations, not reality. My father's 1944 battle at Anzio has been the subject of more than a few wargames. But if you really want to understand history, you need an imagination.
16. Studio work:To me, painting and drawing are about slowing the speed of light, or the time it takes photons to enter my eyes and register in my brain. They are about processing vision and integrating it with the rest of me.
17. Literacy Project:According to the Wall Street Journal, NC basketball is innovative, creative, competitive — the best in the nation. So why can't we have a literacy rate that matches this standard of excellence?
18. Chram Visual Project:Art is one way of communicating memories, technology, and culture. Chram is a Montagnard with a terrific visual memory, able to recall things he knew as a child. As his people transition to American life, we stand to lose a valuable pool of knowledge and stories.
19. Creative conditions:We walked through the military park last fall and photographed these wonderful, amazing mushrooms. You probably know that mushrooms don't spring up just anywhere. It takes the right soil, the right time of year, the right light...You get the idea.
20.(Contact info)Some non-creative types have suggested how the Triad can become a center for creativity. For example, a consultant said our furniture industry could return to former glory if its designs became "edgier". If you think this kind of brilliance is the answer to our region's shortcomings, please don't contact us!
