There is an array of galleries that have set up shop along South Halsted in the neighborhood of Pilsen.  This area, known as The Chicago Arts District, embraces many venues whether they are commercial, retail, working studios or contemporary galleries.  The second Friday of each month is a celebration of diversity and a way to support the local scene devoted to fostering new and emerging artists.  Located at 1907 S. Halsted, the Vespine Gallery and Studio offers an alternative venue for art.   It is an independent, artist run-gallery, established in 2003 by Leah Mayers, Shawn Sheehy, Doug Thame and Jamie Lou Thame.  The objective of the four young gallerists is to provide artists with an intimate environment for exhibition.  The gallery offers 330 square feet of space and a four-tiered rental program that gives emerging artists an opportunity that is within reach.  Shawn Sheehy, one of the four founding members of the gallery gave me some insight behind Vespine and its overall mission.

Jill Lanza, Horizontal line drawings, 2009. Site specific installation of archival pigment prints, wood, thread, string, handmade, paper and letterpress.

Robyn Farrell Roulo: Can you briefly explain the history of the gallery?

Shawn Sheehy: When I graduated from graduate school, I was looking for a studio space. I joined forces with Jamie Thome and Leah Mayers, both of whom graduated from the same MFA program in Book & Paper Arts at Columbia College about the same time that I did. Our space was occupied by a faculty member at Columbia before us, so we took over when she wanted to move North. A year after moving in, our landlord told us if we wanted to keep our space we would have to operate a gallery. Voila! The accidental gallerists.

RFR: What is the meaning behind Vespine?  Can you describe the gallery's mission?

SS: Vespa is the latin genus for wasps. Wasps build with clay and vegetable fibers. Of the four artists here in our collective, we are either papermakers or potters. So some derivative of vespa seemed appropriate.  We are all interested in experimental art and emerging artists (though not necessarily both at the same time.) We definitely like to support book arts, obviously.

RFR: Why Pilsen?  Did you see a need for an artist-run venue in the neighborhood?

SS: Most venues in Pilsen are artist-run. For us, the price and location were good. The community in Pilsen is superb. Being part of a regular monthly [gallery] crawl is pretty important too.

RFR: The work of a Jill Lanza and Liz Wolf exhibit collage, photography, intertwining thread, hand-made paper and drawings, art that is outside the borders of conventional painting. Does the gallery primarily show work made from alternative media?

SS: Yep. We rarely show paintings, as there are plenty of places where artists can do that. And we aren't really interested in painting as a means of expression. Experimental work and alternative media are much more interesting, and more apt to be on the cutting edge of visual expression.

Currently on view at Vespine until April 24^th is new work from Jill Lanza and Liz Wolf.  "Lines and Landscapes" features new work by Jill Lanza.  The artist's installation greets one at the door.  It is an intricately constructed web of the thread, photographs, drawing and print; showcasing Vespine's mission to present alternative media to the contemporary gallery scene.  "Do Yo' Thing" is a series of works created by Liz Wolf.  Working with handmade paper, paints, wax, ink, and print processes the emerging artist brings an ethereal and literate approach to her narrative.  I also had a chance to sit down with Liz Wolf, after her opening on April 10^th to discuss the inspiration and process behind her new work.

Robyn Farrell Roulo:  The title of the exhibition is "Do Yo' Thing."  Is this your personal mantra or specific to this series of work?

Liz Wolf:  This is one of the first groups of works that I really went in with the mindset of making anything I wanted. While I still went through a systematic art making process, I do feel like the idea of "doing your thing" (when it is positive) is freeing. It was freeing for me in this particular venture and I believe that it can be in a broad sense too!

RFR:  It is evident that you work with multiple media; I think it's important for people unfamiliar with your work to understand the technique.  Could you explain?

LW: All of the paper is handmade. It is a collection of wheat straw and abaca paper. They are natural fibers processed into sheets. The drawings are made with pencil, gouache paint, and ink.  After they are completed they are brushed over with beeswax.

Conceptually, I start off collecting. I collect words and images. I write them all down in my sketchbook-some observed, some I've been thinking about. Once I have a pretty large group of lists and pictures I start reworking- drawing and redrawing.  I combine images and texts providing a new context or environment.  These particular works were made with a large composition broken into three parts. They are larger narratives broken into smaller pieces.

RFR: Could you elaborate on the narrative?

LW: Mostly I collect narratives, take them out of their context and provide a new one.  The narratives of these triptychs are often connected through visuals. Each work has an element that provides links of otherwise disparate scenes. These visual connections help the viewer suspend their disbelief when reading the compositions with a bizarre sense space.

RFR: Could you talk a little bit about your process?  It seems to be an integral part of your concept.

LW: My process has changed a little bit with this work.  I've made a conscious effort to keep the idea and imagery fresh throughout the process.  Often times during the creation process, the energy and pizazz behind something get filtered too much. My attention span is short, so it is a good signal for the success of a project if I stay interested and engaged past the end.

RFR: Your work is literary.  How does prose work its way into your art?

LW: Prose is definitely a focus in how I navigate the tone of a work.    One day I heard the word 'behoove' meaning "to be necessary, proper, or advantageous for."  I thought "What does it look like for us to fill in the blanks? It behooves us to ______. It is important for us to ______."

With the title of pump-ticky-tocky-thump .I thought about the ticking of clocks and our own ticking, our blood and breath pumping, then, well, thumping.  These messages aren't necessarily apparent to the viewer, but the words serve as an important tool for me in making.

Pump-Ticky-Tocky-Thump, part 3, 2009. Handmade paper, gouache, ink and beeswax. 12" x 18".

Behooves, part 3, 2009, handmade paper, gouache, ink and beeswax 11" x 14".

RFR:  There is a whimsical quality to the scenarios presented in "Do Yo' Thing".  However, they seem to carry a deeper underlying theme. Is this true?

LW:  I do like to make work that is lighthearted but not lightweight. A lot of the work is allegorical. While I don't have real answers, I believe it is interesting to ask questions like, "What does it mean for a hot dog and a hamburger to be in love?" [from Behooves]

Or in Pump-ticky-tocky-thump I thought, "What type of person that has a polar bear rug and a mermaid mounted on the wall I their home?"

RFR:  Is this new work?

LW:  This is! I was calling myself art robot. The past couple months has been very enjoyable and very regimented.

RFR:  I have to ask about your influences and inspirations.

LW:  I am inspired by unique and talented artists that strike a collective appeal. I have been listening to a lot of Andrew Bird, Joanna Newsom, and Bonnie Prince Billy. I appreciate the lyricism and innovation.

It is great when a work or song in particular seems weird, wonderful, and personal to you. Then amazingly enough, and fortunately for these artists, so many other people have a connection, too.

My favorite visual artists are probably Kiki Smith, Edward Gorey, and William Kentridge.

Otherwise, people watching is the best inspiration- stranger than fiction!

Behooves part 2, 2009, handmade paper, gouache, ink and beeswax 12" x 18".

RFR:  Could you talk more about your chosen medium and the Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Program at Columbia College (it seems touchstone for the gallery).  Being an emerging artist, how do you see this approach as relevant or innovative in terms of contemporary art?

LW:  One of the great things about the Book and Paper program is the students/artists really focus on materials and methods choices that best suit their work.

I was a part if a very talented group of artists with a variety of backgrounds-photography, sculpture, writing, printmaking, painting. We all explored how our preferred mediums were transformed with the use of papermaking, printing, and book making.

Taking ownership of the entire art making process is a common approach in this field. I think that is approach is important hold onto that as an emerging artist.

Yeah. Do yo' thing.

(Liz Wolf is a Chicago painter, printer and papermaker.  She is a recent graduateof the MFA Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Program at Columbia College in Chicago.  She is currently working at the Northwestern Mary and Leigh Block Museum.)

--Robyn Farrell Roulo