Hiromi Iyoda
Fear to Overcome: Table Series
Hiromi Iyoda was born in a small town in Japan. Growing up with a modest background, a sketchbook and coloring pencils were the best toys to play with. Soon she became inventive and fashioned her own toys out of mundane material. Eventually, Hiromi traveled to America to further her education. She holds an Associate Degree in Art and a Fashion Design Certificate from the Saddleback Community College. She began studying ceramics at the California State University of Long Beach and finished her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Nebraska Lincoln in 2015. Hiromi attended multiple residencies which includes Red Red Star Studio in Kansas City, Niv Art Centre India, Archie Bray Foundation Montana, Houston Center for Contemporary art and Iowa Ceramic Center. She also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City, Houston Community College and Kirkwood Community College. Hiromi makes figurative and narrative clay sculptures. Her work is based mostly on her past and current life experiences.
Being an Asian in the United States, the year 2020 was especially hard year. I faced multiple racial harassments and I lost my job due to Covid. So I hid myself in my downstairs basement and needed to turn this negative energy to something positive; more of dark humor. The change I seek is peace. As much as I gravitated to this dark theme, I would love to make happy piece in the future once Covid is gone. My work is reflective of life as I experience, it is hard to make a happy piece at this moment. What I realized is that no matter how many times I was pushed down, another morning would come and I have to keep moving forward. I realize my strength, and I continue to seek for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Julia J. Wolfe
Julia J. Wolfe is a multidisciplinary artist based in Iowa City, IA. She holds a M.A./M.F.A. from the University of Iowa and a B.A. from Rhodes College. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including the Every Woman Biennial 2019 in New York City, "I'm Happy to Sit Here Beside You" at Western Illinois University, "I’d Rather Count Bricks on a Wall" at Public Space One in Iowa City, and "Repurpose" at Core New Art Space in Denver, CO. She has completed residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Public Space One in Iowa City, and Burren College of Art in County Clare, Ireland. Her work has been published in Studio Visit Magazine Vol. 42 and New American Paintings MFA Annual Issue #141. For more information, please visit juliajwolfe.com.
How did you create or remain creative during quarantine?
During the first few months, I felt distracted and unsure how to make anything, or what to think about other than the pandemic. I listened to podcasts, watched Schitt’s Creek, went for walks, and made lots of drawings in my sketchbook. Eventually, I pushed myself to make something beyond drawing. Anytime I feel stuck in my studio - pandemic or not - I have to force myself to keep making, even if it’s “not very good” because it helps me work through whatever I need to think about in that moment.
What if anything changed about your work or how you work?
At first, I tried to set up an at-home painting space (spoiler alert, it ended up just being canvas spread out on the floor). My two cats were very helpful, in that they would sit directly on the spot where I was working. Painting is also a bit messy, and it was tricky to paint without spilling. I made Something Real during the first month or so. But the cautious, tiptoe way of painting and working around my cats had run its course, so it was time to try something new. I had learned to knit when I was twelve, and thought I’d attempt knitting a sculptural work. It doesn’t leave a mess and I can do it while watching or listening to this or that, conversing with someone, or while in a Zoom meeting. I started making up patterns for things that often appear in my paintings: slices of cake, a burger, even a lamp! In February 2021, around the time my niece was born, I started knitting parts of You Can Have It When You’re Older, and I was thinking about her while I worked on it. I also made her a nice quilt and decided that she could have this knitted piece when she was a little older (because it has wire in it and might be too pokey for a small child who probably likes to play with brightly colored soft, squeezable objects).
What, if anything, about you as an artist or person changed after experiencing quarantine?
So much has happened over this past year, it’s difficult to pinpoint whether it was quarantine that changed me/my process or one of the many other happenings. I think I’ve become more pessimistic about humanity as a whole. But at the same time, I’ve seen people come together and help each other out during this time of need for community, so there are those rays of hope that provide balance. I’ve been very anxious – especially during the winter months – and I’ve learned how to take better care of myself, even if it seems selfish. Two of the most necessary and proactive decisions I made were 1) moving to a new home and 2) adopting a dog. Going for walks, even when I don’t feel like it, and the fresh air and physical activity helps a lot. Also, the happiness of a young pup is very good.
Kay Irelan
I grew up in Texas, Iowa, and New Jersey, with parents who encouraged my love of art-making from a young age. I received a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Iowa and worked as a graphic artist and illustrator for 40 years. My artwork is in several public and private collections, including the Iowa City Public Library and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
I'm submitting one work I made before quarantine that I think is a representation of myself (Forest of Flowers) in its quiet, intimate content and its focus on nature's beauty. I'm also submitting one work that I created during quarantine (Lunch for One).
How did you create or remain creative during quarantine?
I remained creative during quarantine. If anything, I was more productive in my studio during quarantine, since I seldom left home, in an effort to protect myself and others before vaccinations became available. And since I'm in retirement, little else competed for my time and attention.
What if anything changed about your work or how you work?
During quarantine, I immersed myself in making art centered on being home - still lifes of home interiors. I had enjoyed taking print workshops at Iowa City Press Co-op before the pandemic, and being at home without a printing press during quarantine, I explored using simple, hand-printed relief prints in my collage work.
What, if anything, about you as an artist or person changed after experiencing quarantine?
I'm naturally an introverted person, but I think quarantine made me more solitary. This aspect of quarantine may have increased my art productivity, but the isolation also made me miss family, friends, and community interaction.
Niq Thomas
Based out of Cedar Rapids, artist Niq Thomas (he/him) creates work that can be hard to categorize, particularly because his style evolves rapidly. Originally an abstract painter, his recent output exists in the overlap of collage, assemblage, and sculpture. Niq has shown work in venues throughout Iowa and the midwest, including previously at CSPS, the Polk County Heritage Gallery, Black Earth Gallery, OnView Gallery, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and has an upcoming installation at Raygun in Des Moines. He also recently curated the Iowa Pop Art Market at the National Czech & Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, an event that provided a platform for the diverse work of over 30 artists, creators, and vendors from across the state, many for the first time.
“The pandemic was a transformative period for everyone, for obvious reasons, but for me, the loss of my job coupled with the need to stay home for a year facilitated a final transition into full time artist. As a result, my work has become increasingly conceptual and my ambition has become more wide ranging. The lack of in-person interaction ignited my interest in reaching out virtually to other artists, creating new relationships, and ultimately collaboration on future projects. Coming out of the pandemic I’m more focused on what I want to achieve creatively and am eager to continue conquering the art world.”
Desiree Dahl
Self Portrait of my ADHD
Desiree is an artist currently living and working in Iowa City, Iowa. Her primary mediums include screen-printing, relief, digital, and book arts. Her work examines human connection and disconnection in relation to consciousness and the mind.
How did you create or remain creative during quarantine?
Maintaining a creative practice has been a big support for my mental health during quarantine. While spending more time at home, I revived some old projects, spent lots of time drawing, learned to make punch needle rugs, and expanded my graphic design practice to include UI/UX design.
What if anything changed about your work or how you work?
It made me realize how much it can help to have another person around while I'm working. In the ADHD community, this is sometimes referred to as "body doubling." Previously, I thought I preferred to work alone as much as possible, but I found that even as an introvert, there is such a thing as too much alone time.
What, if anything, about you as an artist or person changed after experiencing quarantine?
I've taken a lot of pressure off myself as a result of quarantine. I've accepted that I have no interest in participating in hustle culture. I prefer to work slowly and mindfully and devote my time and attention to pursuits that I find enjoyable and fulfilling. I may not produce as much work or have as large of a following as other artists, but that's not my barometer for success. I ask myself questions like, 'am I having fun? Is this helping me process a difficult emotion? Is this work supporting others?' That's how I know what's worth pursuing. It's really important to know your own measure of success and not be too tethered to what you think other people expect of you.
Laura Travnicek
Laura Travnicek is an artist living and working in Des Moines, IA. She received her BA in art education with an emphasis in painting in 2007 from The University of Northern Iowa.
Travnicek exhibits her work locally and nationally and has been the recipient of many awards. These include a Best of Show in 2018 and Merit and Honorable Mention awards in 2019 from the Polk County Heritage Gallery. Her work has been published in two books by Professor Katy Swalwell; Amazing Iowa Women and Amazing Iowa Athletes.
Travnicek uses traditional oil painting techniques to make narrative portrait paintings on canvas and wood panels. Her paintings focus on themes of psychological negotiation, identity shifts, and relationship.
How did you create or remain creative during quarantine?
2020 propelled my portrait creation to new heights. I became interested in documenting the seemingly small and mundane moments of my family’s life through portraiture and created fourteen new oil paintings. I was able to turn that new body of work into an installation at the OL Guild, an installation space owned by Olson-Larsen Galleries, from February-May 2021.
What if anything changed about your work or how you work?
Propelled by the pandemic and the long hours spent at home, my current work dives further into the space I call home. An oil-painting by my late father-in-law, completed before his untimely death on my husband’s 12th birthday, hangs in a prominent place in my house. As my oldest child nears his own 12th birthday, and surpasses the amount of time my husband had with his father, I’m questioning the heirlooms we create before death and what relics might be important to our future selves. These thoughts, fostered by long hours at home during the pandemic, directly tie into my current work.
What, if anything, about you as an artist or person changed after experiencing quarantine?
2020 helped me shape the painting style and technique I want to pursue with focused intention. I gained an understanding of how to marry my desire to document life through classical portraiture and create a sustainable business model for commission work.