Photo by Sébastien

If you frequent local websites such as All Over Albany or even search for “Albany NY” on photo-sharing site Flickr, you’re bound to catch a glimpse of the excellent photography of Sébastien Barré. We were so excited when Sébastien agreed to put together a full photography show for the Uncommon Grounds Albany location featuring images from his series of “urban exploration” around the region. A transplant from France in the early 00s, “Seb” found his way to the Capital Region through his work as a biomedical engineer. We are selfishly glad he stuck around with us since we get to see our lives and the activities of those around us through the careful lens of such a talent.

A book!

Of special note for this show, aptly named “The Unnoticed“, Sébastien has assembled a book of the images which is now available for purchase in hard-cover or soft-cover format! This is a first for any of the Uncommon Grounds art shows and we are so happy that a memento of the occasion exists.

We fired some questions at Sébastien over email to find out a little bit more about his show and what it was like to embark upon his first physical art show, noting that until now, his work has primarily been seen online only. The show at UG Albany comes down on Tuesday, July 13th so stop by this weekend if you’d like to see this work in person. Or you could order the book which will last a lifetime…

Uncommon Grounds (UG): Noting that your photography has primarily been displayed online, what was the main spark of inspiration for putting together “The Unnoticed”?

Sébastien Barré (SB): I’m a goal oriented person. Every amateur photographer has different milestones; a few will remember the first time they developed their own film, others will reminisce when they started Black&White photography, many will think of the first time they bought a DSLR, etc. I have the feeling there is a point in time that everyone is bound to remember though, and that’s the first opportunity you get to show your work in a physical space.

I’m an Internet junkie, but I think it’s easy to underestimate how many people are off the grid, peacefully ignoring the flow of information we are subjecting ourselves to. Post after post, slideshow after slideshow, the pace at which we consume digital goods can be a bit daunting. This series of photos is about the impact of time on the places we love. My goal is to freeze a moment in a place’s history before it collapses into memory. Everything happens so fast online. If you think about it, committing this digital work to a physical support is not unlike slowing down time to give it a space to breathe, to give it an opportunity to be shared with people who are more comfortable looking at something tangible. At the same rate, by discarding this electronic intermediate chances are I can enable a stronger relationship between my work and an audience.

UG: What were some of the challenges you faced in putting together this show?

SB: This was a lot of work and I am grateful for all the help I received. I would recommend this experience to any photographer: I don’t think this is very difficult but it requires a fair amount of organization the first time around. I had seen my friends show one, two or maybe three pieces in galleries around town, but when Jennifer Maher offered me to fill the whole space I knew it would be an interesting ride.

I divided and conquered. I asked my friends to help me pick 30 good photo candidates, I talked to a few curators I knew, I browsed the web for hours, I visited a few galleries looking for the “right” mat, the “right” frame, the “proper” finish. There was a bit of trial and error involved of course, a lot of prints scrutinized before I was happy with the results. I also raided pretty much all the Michael’s in the Capital District to find the same 30 frames. UPS delivered all my mats to the wrong house, good times too. Picking 30 photos for the show was difficult: do you want to be uncompromising with your vision (if any), or are you trying to please people? Probably in between. At the end of the day, nothing compared to the sheer terror of hammering 30 picture hooks the night before the show: I’m terrible with my hands Thank God for friends.

UG: How did your perception of the images change when the prints arrived? Did you feel differently about the work when it arrived in physical form?

SB: I felt nervous but really happy about it. This was the best I could do in this time frame and I didn’t spare my efforts. Same goes for the photo book I’ve been working on.That warm feeling started when I picked up all the photos at McGreevy Prolabs downtown Albany. They looked pretty good on that support, I knew at this moment that I would not be ashamed of what I had to show. One afternoon I started to assemble everything together: photos, mat, frames, wires, etc. At the end of the weekend I had large piles of 11×14 frames all around my living room. That was it: out of millions of bits and pixels, I had summoned something I was impatient to share. I’ll let people be the judge of the art, but the object itself was, to me a digital “artist” pretty much, greater than the sum of its physical parts.

UG: Any other upcoming shows on the docket?

SB: Not at the moment. I would love for that show to find a new home. I think it will be at Spectrum 8 at some point, but if you are a curator, let me know. I was pretty busy the past few weeks finishing my first photo book, an extension to the show. This is something I had wanted to experiment with for a while now, as a photographer, and I feel good about this new physical form; 136 pages, about 110 full-page color photos. This is something I hope a few people will want to look at.

Just the beginning... stop in for this amazing show!

Photographer David Aimone recently hung his second show for Uncommon Grounds at the Saratoga Springs location after his pictures spent the past month and a half at the Albany store. We thought it would be an ideal time to sit down and get some insight behind David’s excellent work as it will be gracing the walls through the end of April.

Uncommon Grounds (UG): What drew you to photography specifically over any other artistic medium?

David Aimone (DA): I was drawn to photography because it was an opportunity to be expressive in the visual arts. And it is something that you can do in small pieces, or as a larger project. I have been primarily a musician over the years, but composing, playing and performing takes a lot of time and energy—often in cooperation with other people. It has it’s rewards, but I was looking for something more basic that I could explore on my own. My brother is an artist—primarily a painter—but while I have a good eye, I never felt comfortable creating visuals. Photography is more recreating or interpreting of the visual.

UG: Your website states that you started with photography at a young age; talk to us about your personal feelings regarding the difference between “analog” film-based photography and your current method of digitally-based photography…

DA: As a teenager and into my early 20’s I shot 35mm film, and even went to a local camera club in NJ when I was 14-16. It was there that I really learned the basics of composition, shutter speed, depth of field, lighting and all the other components of photography. After that I took a long break from “serious” photography. Three years ago I returned to photography with a new digital camera and a new hunger for learning and experimentation.

There are pros and cons to both digital and film-based photography. Digital is getting better every year, but there are two aspects that will have me back to experimenting some with film in the near future. The first is procedural. With digital cameras, you work not only through knowledge of techniques but also through constant feedback from what you’ve just shot. Shoot a photo, look at it and see what could work better and shoot again. No film costs, no delayed response. With film, you really have to slow down, plan your composition, visualize the result and then go for it. The second pro with film comes when you get into large format, where the lens and the film are not always parallel to each other. This can enable the photographer to do some things that aren’t possible (yet) with digital. Of course, film still has higher resolution at an affordable price.

Hazy, gauzy scenes.

UG: Your photos have a really interesting balance between realism and fantasy, in that the colors in your photos are often hyper-vibrant and at times, supernatural. Do you consider these traits as something that you strive for?

DA: I am still exploring various approaches. I hopefully always will, but at some point I will try to put together series of photos that have a common approach or feel to them. As far as a balance between realism and fantasy, I do like to highlight aspects of subjects that the eyes aren’t always immediately drawn to or aren’t always obvious—whether it be the coloring or tone of a subject, or the minute detail of a leaf. So I guess I do process photos with that in mind. I also place emphasis on composition. Often, I try to emphasize the simplicity of a subject and give it impact from that perspective. I like photos that when you look at them, you immediately see the subject in it’s simplicity. In other words, not having too many things going on all at once in a photo, so you don’t have to get right up close to even tell what it is.

UG: How many shots of a subject does it take to get “the” photo?

DA: It really depends on the time I have and the subject. Sometimes, it just happens quickly and with few tries. Other times, I can shoot a lot of photos and take my pick. Sometimes I even take a long time waiting for one or two photos to “happen”.

UG: How much experience do you have shooting photos of people?

DA: I don’t have a lot of experience taking people photos. This is an area that I would like to do more with. I recently attended a figure study workshop, and I’d like to do some portraits for my portfolio (looking for volunteers…). I have no interest in doing weddings though. Portraits, low-key events, commission work—yes.

UG: How has the internet affected how you go about your artistic business?

DA: The internet is a great tool for organizing the work, promoting and networking, and learning. Between practice, books and good internet resources, I really feel I’ve completed the equivalent of a self-study college-level program on my own. The internet opens you up to a lot of resources, but it also gives everyone (including me) a platform to work from. It can be overwhelming. Same with music. Everyone has a CD and now downloads of their recordings available.

UG: Tell us about how you put together your shows for Uncommon Grounds…

DA: I planned my shows for Uncommon Grounds with two factors in mind. Presenting the best work that I’ve done so far, but limiting myself to work taken in this region of upstate New York. Even if it’s a flower and could have been taken anywhere, these shows are all about the local region. Nothing from Maine, NC, etc.

UG: Can you show us one photo that you consider a turning point in your artistic development and how things have changed for you since then?

DA: That’s a tough one. I guess I’ll first point to a very simple photo that I took a while back:

( Click here for photo )

There’s not much to this photo, but it showed me that even a simple subject in a simple composition can be interesting and convey emotion and tangible feelings.

The second one was taken very recently. This one actually mimics one of my favorite photos by Ansel Adams, but it showed me that I have the “chops” to accomplish both technical and artistic high standards when taking a photo.

( Click here for photo )

UG: And to wrap it up, any future goals/plans/ideas?

DA: I’m still learning, but learning quickly. I want to put together some portfolios with themes that are integrated. These might focus on a subject, a style, a special technique, or even a mood. I would like to experience large format film photography and basic darkroom procedures. I’ll be doing that soon. I’d also like to look at combining photography and music together somehow. Essentially, I’d like to use the next few years developing my abilities and portfolio, and then do photography full-time, every day.

Two views of waterfalls... serene.

A few months ago we profiled Laura Northrup for the many awesome things she’s got her fingers into. One of the items on her epic list of curiosities was developing a pattern for hand-knit “coffee sweaters”.

Lo and behold, a few months pass and Laura has filled the front window of the Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. with her “Hamsterdam Handknits” coffee sleeves!

Laura had this to say about the sleeves:

I made one as a gift for a friend and she got so many compliments on it that I realized maybe people would like to buy them. I’ve sold a few on Etsy but this is a new thing and I’m really excited about the product. They’re fun to make and choose materials for. They’re made out of everything from fancy merino wool to decades-old scrap acrylic yarn that I’ve gathered up and am recycling.

They've multiplied! They want to save your hands from heat!

Plates and bowls on display in our window.

This week has shown an incredible influx of new art at our stores. The final piece of the puzzle is Karin Kuck’s pottery located in the window of our Saratoga Springs location. You might remember Karin’s cow paintings, but did you know she also makes gorgeous plates and bowls? We are impressed!

Check out the subtle Cow plate!

Here’s a brief bio about the show:

Struggle, the latest body of work by Geralee Hall, is a series of multimedia images that explores the artist’s fascination with contour and the vacancy therein. As the title of the introductory piece suggests, the work is a ‘digression’ from Hall’s usual work with oil paints, for the series, created with Sharpie pen and children’s acrylic paint, is decidedly dressed-down, unnervingly innocent. The bare simplicity of its settings – and the ghostly anonymity of its inhabitants – accentuate that which has not been recorded.

The pieces in the series are interpretations of images both original and appropriated: the latter from common journalistic sources such as Newsweek and Time, the former from the artist’s personal archive of photographs, memory, and imagination. All have been stripped of their detail, offering, instead, an outline, a gesture, the alarming juxtaposition of white and color, action and stillness, whimsy and war. The viewer is given the opportunity to consider the perhaps fragile arrangement of what we think we know when it is combined, inevitably, with all that we don’t.

David’s work is impressive; he has a knack for capturing an otherworldly view of everyday subjects and landscapes. His show is gigantic, and the few photos below do not do the work justice. You must witness them in person for yourself.

To learn more about David, visit the biography on his website. While you’re visiting there, I’m sure he’d love for you to sign up for his photography mailing list. We’ve also enjoyed browsing through his Flickr profile, which features a current stream of images.

( Spoiler alert – David’s work will also be featured in the Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga Springs in two month’s time! Stay tuned for a more in-depth interview/profile between now and then regarding Mr. Aimone’s photos! )

Decorative plate by Allison Petroski.

This profile could be half art archive, half “Where Are They Now?” post since artist Allison Petroski is a long-time alumnus of Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga Springs. A quiet, sweet woman, Allison is blessing our front window with her beautiful ceramic works. Her profile on Fine Art America details a heavily spiritual personal view of artwork. It was eye-opening to find out that some her intimately intricate designed vessels are intended to hold the remains of pets and loved ones.

We sat down with her today in her studio in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to find out a bit more about her work:

Uncommon Grounds (UG) : What lead you to the specific media of thrown ceramic?

Allison Petroski (AP) : I taught art at the Charlton School for Girls and when they had an excess in the budget I asked, “Hey could we get a wheel?” and I started throwing every day. I just love it. Love it, love it, love it! It became my passion immediately.

UG : Oh! Interesting. Did you have any formal training with it?

AP : I went to Skidmore and did their community program for two years, and then went back to school at Burlington College to finish my degree in ceramics.

UG : A-ha! So, how do you feel your work has progressed? Did you have a vision of what you wanted to make before you started working with ceramics?

AP : Certainly as you learn, you’re always adding to your toolbox. As soon as I got good enough to start throwing lidded vessels, that’s all I wanted to do. Someone came up to me and said “Ohh, you make urns!” and I thought “No, I don’t make urns.” But then I fell in love with the idea and I realized that it was such an amazing place to hold someone’s remains. And now I’m trying to market a lot of these as funereal urns. The decorative ones like the pieces in the window at Uncommon are simply decorative, like you could put them up on your mantle as a beautiful piece of pottery. Whereas some of the new work, I’ll be marketing more as pet urns and hopefully people urns eventually.

UG : How often are you here in your studio? Are you here every day?

Horse-hair raku fired vessel.

AP : In general yeah, I’m here all the time, trying to build up an inventory. If I’m not here I’m actually trying to work on the business aspect of by working on the Shringar Pottery website. I’m calling it Shringar Pottery because it’s an Indian word that honors the beauty of the creativity of a woman.

UG : So where do you fire all your pottery?

AP : Here! There’s a kiln here. I also do raku out back which is an alternative firing method. I used horse-hairs in this piece [picks up vessel similar to pic on right]. You lay horse-hairs on it when it reaches 1800 degrees. You take it out of the kiln with special tongs and you put horse hairs or feathers or whatever you want to use. It leaves this imprint.

UG : Ohh! Wow, interesting! What’s next for you?

Mantra pot.

AP : I’m starting this new line of “mantra” pots. One of them is in the window show at Uncommon. I put mantras on them so that people can use them as devotional pots. I’m very into the spiritual aspect of art. I’m looking for more art galleries to show my work and more opportunities for people to appreciate it.

Trio of toy portraits.

Jennifer Maher recently hung a huge show of her paintings at Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She holds the dubious honor of being the art-coordinator for both of our Albany and Saratoga Springs stores, so it’s nice to see her put together a showing of her own work on the walls. Along with being an accomplished painter, she recently entered the entrepreneurial world with her Custom Toy Portrait website. She quickly gained some high-level attention from the blogging world for her charming portraits of childrens’ toys, made custom to be kept for years to come. We sat down with Jennifer to get a bit of background information on her, her work and her portraiture business:

Uncommon Grounds (UG) : When did you start painting?

Jennifer Maher (JM) : Well, I’ve always painted but “officially” I started as an undergrad, I had a double major as an undergrad in fine arts and English writing. I was trying to sort out what I was going to narrow it all down to. So I did a lot of both; I wrote poetry, I wrote fiction and I tried to do a big project that I got a Ford Fellowship for as an undergrad where I tried to depict ideas in parallel ways with painting and writing. It didn’t really work very well and I ended up focusing on painting as I went into grad school. I put writing by the wayside.

UG : Where did you do your graduate studies?

JM : After undergrad, I came to Albany and got my masters and my masters in fine arts from SUNY.

UG : It was all painting at SUNY?

JM : Yeah it was all about painting. I did a lot of different things; one of them being a huge series of paintings based on documenting rave and dance culture emulating Tolouse-Lautrec. He did the whole “Moulin Rouge” series and I wanted to paint rave culture as a continuation of what he started. I felt like they were cultures that mirrored each other. I did a lot of imaginitive painting that broke out of my original training which was very strict and classical. At SUNY it was all about breaking out of that and doing things that I wouldn’t normally do. It was very uncomfortable for me, but I tried to do it with the rave series. Painting from my imagination, painting from photographs; all things that were very taboo in my undergrad work. It was helpful to get uncomfortable.

UG : Your show feels very much like a “retrospective” with many different elements and feelings throughout the space. Were you consciously trying to set this show up like that?

JM : It’s a big space to fill and I have a lot of art sitting around that I would like to sell. I also have a lot of different interests, artistically. For example, the “fake Rothko” series. I love Rothko, but I’m not really an abstract painter. What happened is my dad requested a “Rothko-esque” painting for Christmas and so I started playing with that idea. Although Rothko’s (paintings) are enormous, I like to paint really small so I thought it would be funny to paint really, really small Rothko-type paintings. I thought maybe someone would like these so I put them in the show. Then I had a couple of years painting landscapes when I moved to this area because I was just overwhelmed with how beautiful it is up here. I did a lot of tiny little landscapes detailing my drive to work. Along with that, I added some paintings that I made when I lived in Albany that were evening scenes of modern architecture and I like showing both the rural landscapes and the urban scenes. I’ve shown these paintings a few times and I continue to make them on the side as I work on the portraits of stuffed animals and quirky toys.

Faux-Rothkos in the wild.

UG : Yes! Speaking of that, how did the idea come about for your Custom Toy Portrait website?

JM : Well, I’m trying to continue to be a working artist which can be difficult at times. So this is a way to own a business of my own by offering something that’s completely unique. I really love to paint toys and have always done so. It’s a service that people might think, “Oh I’ve never thought of this, it’s something that could be very valuable to me.” I feel like I do it well and I’m just trying to hone it at this point.

UG : It seems like you love to do it! The paintings show a high-level of care and compassion towards the subjects often eliciting the feeling of perhaps what the owner feels towards the object… (See the recent “Choppable” challenge… and Jennifer’s painting here…)

JM : I love it! I’ve always collected bizarre little toys and painted them. I think that they’re a very forgiving subject matter because they are quirky and they have a bizarre little life of their own. Same thing goes for painting children’s portraits. I am very open to making children’s portraits. Since I started this business earlier this year, I’m just in heaven. The fact that people are paying me to paint these little awesome characters is amazing. I’ve gotten it to the point where I can knock them out really fast or linger on them for a few weeks and still have the same feeling about them. It’s a real treat to work on these paintings.

Her artist statement reads:

Karin was born in the Netherlands and immigrated to the United States in 1986. She is a full-time mother and part-time physical therapist.
She has taught stained glass classes, enjoys quilting and is currently exploring pottery as well.
As a young woman, one of her goals was to have an art show. To date, this is Karin’s 15th show in the past 10 years, and, hopefully, there will be many more in the future.
She enjoys making vibrant, happy art the most, being inspired by the cows and tulips from her homeland.
She tries to keep her art affordable, so it can be enjoyed by anyone.

Enjoy Karen’s art through January 19th at Uncommon Grounds in Albany, N.Y.!