#stacey-marie piotrowski

[sm-selenographer]

I heard from an old art school friend online that Mary Ruth Moore passed away earlier this month. I had taken her pinhole photography class when I was an undergrad at UGA 12 years ago. This woman was such an inspiration to me, just by the very fact of her existence. She would’ve been 75 when I took her class, and it was such a joy to sit quietly and listen to her talk -- about photography and the pure wondrous beauty of light, about her childhood growing up in the South and the hardships she overcame, really every story and every observation was a gem. My best art school friend & I would take notes on her sayings (”What’s the focal length of a chicken?”) Others have captured her spirit far better than I could (here from Justin Plakas and here from UGA and here from her obituary), but I dug out this zine I made about her at the time I was taking her class. Art school was such a shitty time for me, mainly because for the duration of my enrollment, I was in an abusive relationship with a destructive alcoholic, working several jobs and barely scraping by (even with student loans), living in some pretty chaotic situations to say the least... Mary Ruth’s was the only class I felt bad about my grades slipping; I felt ashamed I couldn’t give her my best. I never told her what was going on with me outside of school, just took the C and apologized. She radiated kindness and compassion and strength always but still, I didn’t want to tell her anything because I didn’t want to hear her tell me to do something about it because I knew that I wouldn’t’ve left the situation yet, I wasn’t ready, even though deep down, yes, I knew that I really really had to and soon, and deep down I was afraid that someone might actually say it to my face.

Transcription of the zine below the cut:

pretty wise.

Mary Ruth’s class is at the end of the day when we are all exhausted yet restless & itching to get out of school. She had instructed us to “embrace the inconvenience!” & so I try to sit quietly & appreciate the moment. I long for a time when I, too, will place gnarled hands slowly & deliberately upon the pages of a picture book, devoting attention to one idea at a time without feeling compelled to rush.

I have always felt a pressing urgency, a need to do everything, as much as I can before time slips away. Even as a child I would work myself into a panic about dying unfulfilled & with regret that I could’ve done more. The world is too big for me. I fill my schedule to provide constant activity. There is a fine line between indecision & stagnation.

Mary Ruth wears spectacles & a long, gray braid of hair. Despite her small figure & hunching shuffle, her presence commands respect. She told us about when her first husband died, leaving her with their two daughters: “It was just me & those two little girls against the world.” She took a job & a house & said, at that time people thought she was stark-raving mad.

She carries her history not as a burden but an accomplishment, & I am awestruck by such confidence, for I have yet to determine what my own story has made of me...

Printed on a Vandercook press in Athens, Ga., April 2011, using 14pt Joanna lead type & photo-polymer images on Mohawk Superfine paper. Text by Stacey-Marie Piotrowski; image based on a photo by Richard Hamm. selenographie.com

[3thurs]

Third Thursday events and exhibitions for November 15

The next Third Thursday — the monthly evening of art in Athens, Georgia — is scheduled for Thursday, November 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

This Third Thursday will offer one event in addition to the exhibitions. One of the venues will be closed.

Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia

Yoga in the Galleries, 6 p.m. — Join us for a yoga class surrounded by works of art in the galleries. Led by instructors from Five Points Yoga, this program is free and open to both beginner and experienced yogis. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis; tickets are available at the front desk starting at 5:15 p.m. Yoga mats provided.

On view:

“Out of the Darkness” — Artist Rebecca Rutstein uses UGA marine sciences professor Samantha Joye's research to create an interactive sculptural installation and several large paintings.

“Richard Hunt: Synthesis” — This exhibition focuses on formative periods in the career of American sculptor Richard Hunt.

“Vernacular Modernism: The Photography of Doris Ulmann” — This is the first complete retrospective of the work of photographer Doris Ulmann, including her early pictorialist photographs, her studio portrait production, her focus on the rural craftsmen and women of Appalachia and her work on the African American and Gullah communities of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

"One Heart, One Way: The Journey of a Princely Art Collection” — Russian fine and decorative arts dating from ca. 1660 to 1952 from the family of the Russian Princes Belosselsky-Belozersky.

Permanent collection — Thirteen galleries house a large portion of the Georgia Museum of Art's collection, including many of the 100 American paintings that made up Alfred Heber Holbrook's founding gift.

Lamar Dodd School of Art Galleries, University of Georgia

Closed for installation.

Lyndon House Arts Center

“St. EOM of Pasaquan” — Eddie Owens Martin, or St. EOM of Pasaquan, was a self-taught artist who created a spectacular art site outside Buena Vista, Georgia. This exhibition includes numerous artworksby St. EOM: paintings, drawings, sculptures, garments and adornments. The exhibition originated from the LaGrange Art Museum, and is made available by the courtesy of Columbus State University, Columbus State University Foundation, Inc., Pasaquan in Buena Vista, Georgia, and through a gift by the Kohler Foundation, Inc.

“Perennial Pattern” — An exhibition and collaboration by Sara Parker and Simon Hunt that consists of 22 screen-printed monoprints, each a result of a process of deconstruction and play. Parker is co-owner and designer at Sara Parker Textiles and Maisilene, an Athens-based screen-printing company providing eco-conscious, sustainable fabrics and accessories. Hunt is co-owner of Sara Parker Textiles and Maisilene. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with an emphasis in fiber art and film.

“Call & Response” — An exhibition of works by René Shoemaker and Judy Bales. In this collaborative effort in silk, fiber and wearable art, René Shoemaker and Judy Bales explore a long-term inspirational friendship. ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art

“2018 Juried Exhibition” — Guest juror Teresa Bramlette Reeves, director of curatorial affairs, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia, selected 27 works by 22 artists from over 145 works in competition. Featuring work by David Armistead, Lauren Bradshaw, Shawn Campbell, Melody Croft, Tamara DeStefano, Manty Dey, Ginger Goekjian, Gwen Gunter, Dana Jones, Reid McCallister, Manda McKay, Jennifer Niswonger-Morris, Stacey-Marie Piotrowski, R.B. Pruitt, Paula Reynaldi, Eli Saragoussi, Susan Sellew, Diane Speight, Kaleena Stasiak, Kim Truesdale, Nicolas Vionnet and Dia Webb.

Ciné

Eileen Wallace, “Glitch” — A series of letterpress prints made by repetitive printing of hairline-thickness lead rule. Wallace is a letterpress printer and bookbinder. She is a senior lecturer in printmaking and book arts at the University of Georgia and a former resident artist at Penland School of Crafts. Eileen is a co-director emeritus of the Paper & Book Intensive (PBI) and has been a board member of Hand Papermaking Magazine.

Hotel Indigo, Athens

“Solar System (dad, you came to earth a long time ago)” — A new installation by Trevor Reese at the GlassCube. Known for his room-filling sculptural works, Reese has turned the GlassCube into a hospitality suite of miscellaneous furnishings ready to take off into the outer limits. Working within a practice of exposing what is usually hidden, Reese’s installation suggests opening your storage shed to find a space-age dance party. “Color & Comp” — Just in time for the start of school, “Color & Comp” includes artists playing with form, placement, hue, shade and pigment. Featured are shaped canvasses by Jason Matherly, Lego compositions by Mike Landers, Shawn Campbell’s photo works of isolated football players on a field of gold, Jaime Keiter’s “Memphis”-inspired ceramic wall pieces, James Wilson's paper collages and In Kyoung Chun’s Plexiglas domestic scenes.

The Classic Center

“Stitch” — A brand new, colorful, texture-filled exhibition of contemporary quilts is on view in Classic Gallery I, featuring the smoky industrial-scapes of Elizabeth Barton, the obsessive geometric precision of Barbette Houser, the vibrant sewn gardens of Cleo Ward, the magic and mischief of Danielle Lasker and the meditative devotion of Anne Marie Vencill.

“Jaquelynn Faass” — A solo exhibition in Classic Gallery II of close-up, detailed portraiture.

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Third Thursday was established in 2012 to encourage attendance at Athens’ established art venues through coordination and co-promotion by the organizing entities. Rack cards promoting Third Thursday and visual art in Athens are available upon request. This schedule and venue locations and regular hours can be found at 3thurs.org.

Contact: Michael Lachowski, Georgia Museum of Art, mlachow@uga.edu.

[elhollin]

photos by stacey-marie piotrowski (selenographie.com) / edited by dena

[sm-selenographer]

Updated my website! Replaced all images with higher-quality photos. Added new-new recent pics as well as some new-old re-edits. Included info for about 15 years’ worth of out-of-print zines to prove that I still consider myself a writer, I guess? Pls feel free to alert me to any broken links, embarrassing typos, or anything that looks weird on desktop or mobile views. Thanks!

[sm-selenographer]

Everything Becomes Luminous (Concert Photography by Stacey-Marie Piotrowski)

Flicker Bar, Athens GA, March 2017

Opening Reception: Monday, March 6, 7pm-9pm

Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/178584255974572/

[sm-selenographer]

Glad to have some of my nasty portraits included alongside the work of all these talented artists. Come on out, y'all! Enjoy tasty beats, buy art, support women.

Nasty Women Athens Art Exhibition

June 30th-August 20th, 2017 @Trio Contemporary Art Gallery (766 W. Broad St., Athens GA 30601) Opening reception June 30th, 7-9 PM Co-curated by Melissa Lee + Tatiana Veneruso FEATURING: Rose M Barron • Maggie Baxter • Jenny Bell • Cameron Bliss • Andrea Boyd • Jennie Cain • Amanda Church • Claire Clements • Carolyn Crist • Melody Croft • Sydney Daniel • Ariel Dannielle • Lisa Freeman • Jessica Harbison • Tracie Hinnant • Tonia Hughes • Anna Jensen • Melissa Lee • Vivian Liddell • Dan Litzinger • Nadia Marie • Holly McGraw • Penny Merva • Eden Mitsenmacher • Drema Montgomery • Ariel Nix • Erica Parson • Stacey-Marie Piotrowski • Stephanie Ray • Meg Rossetti • ROYES • Maggie Seee • Jessica Smith • Erin Stacer • Stephanie Sutton • Laulea Taylor • Beth Thompson • Adeline Lily Troutman • Lindsay Troutman • Tatiana Veneruso • Andrea Wellnitz • Jacob Wenzka • Marilyn Wolf-Ragatz + MORE Food + Drink; Music selections by our house dj, Zelium + Special performance by LINGUA FRANCA! THIS EXHIBITION IS A FUNDRAISER! Some of the works in this exhibition will be available for sale – 100% of the sale will go to the Feminist Women's Health Center (Atlanta, GA) FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1880159592223257/