Edith Stephen

Jack Dowling

Sandra Kingsbury, the performing-artists chairperson of the Westbeth Artists Residents Council , said the goal of the Icon series is to highlight and document the history of senior artists living and working in the Westbeth community.

“We are all very aware of so many artists who have lived here and have worked right up until their deaths,” she said. “We think it’s something that keeps them going but also contributes to their production for their entire lives. There’s no retirement. That’s so awe-inspiring to the world and Westbeth has really given them this opportunity to do this. We want to celebrate that.”

Read entire article by Rebecca Fiore in THE VILLAGER here.

Jack Dowling, painter, printmaker, gallery director, and writer was the first Westbeth Icon to be honored.

Edith Stephen, dancer, choreographer and filmmaker is the second.

Edith Stephens Evening will feature a filmed interviews, short speeches by colleagues, a presentation of an Icon gift, and refreshments. Thurs January 18, 2018 at Westbeth Community Room. FREE

“It was the Friday after the terrorist attack on the Hudson River bike path and I was shaken up. When I got back from work, I felt exhausted and debated whether to attend the “Sing Time Sessions,” a weekly vocal workshop I’d recently joined at Westbeth. It’s a lot of fun, so I pushed myself to go downstairs to the community room.

We’re working with a fantastic voice teacher, Eve Zanni — a neighbor in my artists’ complex — and a great piano player named Isaac Raz.

After singing and doing vocal exercises for an hour, I felt rejuvenated. That Friday, Eve suggested we stand for the closing number, dedicated to the eight victims of the Oct. 31 attack. We all rose and burst into “We Shall Overcome.” I got choked up.

I had forgotten how much I like singing and how good it makes me feel. No wonder Eve calls the group the Bliss Singers. We’re learning standards like “Blue Skies” by Berlin and Gershwin and pop classics like Carole King’s “Up on the Roof.” About 15 to 20 people show up every Friday to get our bliss on and start the weekend on a high note. When I leave the room, I feel elevated and recharged and ready to resist.”

Read entire article by Kate Walter in The Villager HERE

“Sing Time Sessions” with voice teacher, Eve Zanni, Fridays 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the Westbeth Community Room, 55 Bethune St. Funded by a grant from Councilmember Corey Johnson’s Office and the Westbeth Artists Residents Council, the workshop is free and open to the public. No experience necessary.

Susan Berger
“55-70 Bethune Street in Sampler Format and Using Google Earth Fiber/Mixed Media – 2010
36”(w) x 40”(h)”

55-70 Bethune Street. The building where I lived and worked is called “Westbeth Artist Housing”. Across the street from Westbeth was Superior Ink Printing Company and was designed by a famous industrial architect named A.G Zimmerman. Both buildings are side by side and take on factory-like images and done in crude stitches. Another panel you have a street divided by the two buildings land/street is on one side and the Hudson River on the other side. Google Earth images of the two buildings are used. Many times Google Earth images are never removed from the Internet even though Superior Ink no longer exists.

The work is about the city, which needs old buildings because it tells us about the past, and that it should not be lost but revived; and artists tend to co-exist with the past by preserving it but not destroying it.

Susan Berger “Bon Voyage, A La Family” (A Drawing)
Weave Stitching – Fiber – Mixed Media
2013 – 40”(w) x 36”(h)

Bon Voyage is about cruises taken with my family or it can be with any family during the 1950s. You look in the scrapbook and see photos taken way back when. We remember the good times and hold onto those memories even though the family might no longer exist. Memories are frozen in time, and sometimes can be falsely perceived as we look back. I combine copies of the original photographs with my renditions done in weave stitching and combine fabric in a quilt-like pattern, which gives its own patina.

The Ocean State Review is a yearly print journal. For more info: oceanstatereview.org

THE GIFT Karin Batten

The many different materials I use create complex and poetic works layered with meaning of open seas and land.
I play organic shapes against geometric patterns. Some forms are scraped and layered while others are fully present. I work spontaneously and intuitively.
Since I moved to New York City I have been fascinated by the scale of its buildings, reminiscent of mountains and deep valleys. The seemingly fragmented city merges into one cohesive unit, that needs the collective in order to continue to evolve, grow, and prosper. However, it is not until the many layers, textures, strokes and colors intertwine that the composition comes into focus and the true magnificence of New York City’s skyline and terrain is captured.

More info on Karin Batten HERE</strong>