For abstract artist Nell Tilton, a native New Orleanian, her passion for the arts began in high school in the 1960s. In 1988, after studying art in college and then with many distinguished local artists, she became a student at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts (The Academy) and continued her schooling there, off and on, for the next 10 years. The Academy is an institution that offers an array of art courses and welcomes anyone who is interested in the arts. “I believe it is a very special place in which one is immersed in art and surrounded by creative people who love learning about art.” There, Tilton was enlightened as to the basics of classical art, studying watercolor, drawing, figure drawing, and photography. “I loved it all. Later, after my duration there, I became interested in being more free, experimenting and seeing what the other possibilities were in expressing myself further in my art. This is when I began painting abstractly.”
Meanwhile having just returned from another glorious week in March of painting ‘en plein air’ amidst the quaint cottages and coastal vegetation in Seaside, artist Robin Crutcher felt inspired and grateful. For the past three years, The Seaside Institute has hosted a group of seven abstract painters from New Orleans. Among them is their teacher, Nell Tilton. “After painting for years at The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts and traveling all over for abstract painting workshops, Nancy Hirsch Lassen and I hatched a plan to find a place along 30A to create our own self-directed workshop,” says Crutcher.
After a few false starts, Crutcher was lucky enough to find Janie Henderson and more recently Beth Carr, both of The Seaside Institute, who liked the idea of hosting artists as part of the Institute’s cultural programming. With the help of Henderson, the artists coordinated a space, a tent and movable walls on which to paint. Then, in March of 2016, the seven artists drove in from New Orleans and set up shop at the Academic Village in Seaside for their first fabulous week of painting together.
Artist Nancy Hirsch Lassen and Crutcher have been friends since they were three years old. As children, Nancy enjoyed being a ‘girlie’ girl and Crutcher was a tomboy.They had little in common except for their love of making art. The two friends worked together on small art projects, selling their painted jewelry and accessories throughout their school years. After college, they both settled in New Orleans and worked as designers for the same company in their first jobs. Lassen continued as a designer and owned her own design and gift shop in New Orleans for many years, while Crutcher pursued a career as a psychotherapist and managing owner of The Dante Clinic.
It was in the year 2004 when Lassen began instruction with Nell Tilton at The Academy. There, the artist met and befriended the other abstract painters who would become part of the collective that travels to Seaside to paint each year. “It took years of Nancy’s urging before I finally signed up to join this group of painters,” says Crutcher. “I can’t believe I even waited a minute! It has been a circuitous route for me getting back to painting in earnest and I now cannot imagine not painting or being without this group of amazing women in my life.” Robin’s vision is to hopefully expand the space at the Seaside facility, creating opportunities to have more artist participation in the future.
Tilton explains that the mission at The Academy is in the classical arts, however there has been a single course in abstract art for many years. In 2003, an instructor who taught the abstract class was leaving and Tilton was asked to teach the course. “I had never taught in my life and was quite intimidated at the prospect. The departing instructor gave me some of her notes and I embarked on doing the research I needed to be able to share my knowledge with the students,” says Tilton. At The Academy it is common for longtime students to become the teachers of others. Not all teachers have a degree in education, or even in art, rather they have studied for an extended period with their instructors and become very accomplished. In fact, two of Tilton’s former students have gone on to become instructors at the school. Zona Wainwright is the instructor for Beginning/Intermediate Abstract Art and Aimee Farnet Seigel instructs Abstract Collage.
“In my teaching, the research and the actual teaching, I have learned so much that I never would have discovered otherwise and I continue to learn from that exploration as well as from my students,” says the abstract art teacher.
Several of Tilton’s advanced students have taken part in the class with her for quite a few years. They are very skillful, talented and experienced and she considers them fellow artists rather than students. Many are extremely accomplished in their own right. “I merely serve as one to hopefully challenge them further,” says the abstract art teacher.
These artists, through the years, have been and continue to be, amazingly supportive of each other. Not only in their art, but also in their lives. “We have all shared times of illnesses, new grandchildren, deaths in the families, marriages, divorces, dealing with elderly parents, disappointments and successes. We are truly fortunate and so grateful for that friendship and encouragement.”
###
Q & A WITH JANE HENDERSON
We sat down with Janie Henderson, who coordinated the first Seaside Seven weeklong art studio, to find out her inspiration for initiating the program and how she hopes to see the future unfold.
What inspired you to build the program at the institute for the these artists?
I love art, and I love my community. I wanted to create a program that celebrated both of those things. I pictured the locals and visitors on their way to somewhere in Seaside, stumbling upon this outdoor art studio, with large pieces of canvas and paint splattered everywhere. I know that I always feel the most inspired when I’m surrounded by people who are creating. It gets my wheels turning, it opens my mind, it connects me with people in ways I never could before. I wanted people to feel that way when they were at the Seaside Institute.
What was it like the first year?
The end result was exactly what I had envisioned it would be, but getting there was another story. There were a lot of moving parts, red tape and hoops to jump through. At one point I thought the whole thing was a bust and I was crazy for attempting this type of program with the limited resources that were available at the time. But I had some great support. Arthur Abrams, our fearless intern, who would stop at nothing to get the job done. My husband, who built the movable walls that were used as easels (and also helped assemble the tent).
What are your thoughts on continuing the program?
Perhaps the ‘Seaside Seven’ will be the first of many artist groups that utilize the Seaside Institute as a space to create and connect with our community. I know that by the end of their first week, our abstract artists felt more like old friends, instead of colleagues or clients. It would be wonderful to have an entire network of artists who feel connected to our community in that way.
THE SEASIDE SEVEN | ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Duane Eagan Couch
www.duanecouch.com
I began my art training about 15 years ago at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. For most of those years Nell Tilton has been my teacher and mentor. I have participated in many workshops, most of them led by Steve Aimone, but other teachers include Krista Harris, Audrey Phillips, and Martica Griffin.
Exhibitions: FIVEFECTA- A group show at The Degas Gallery in New Olreans in April, 2017; ENCOUNTER- A solo show at The Degas Gallery in New Orleans in August, 2018; My work is included in collections in New Orleans, LA, Charlotte, NC, Scottsdale, AZ, Chicago, IL, and Grayton Beach, FL
Artist Statement: “I am drawn to primitive art, to the mark making of children, with its sureness and spontaneity, and to simplicity. Mark making is one of the most basic of human activities, and represents a longing to communicate and make meaning. It is in that spirit that I paint and make marks. I believe that something of the life and soul of the artist is expressed in his or her work, that paintings are alive with that spirit, and that if the viewer responds to it, the two are united, viewer and art. I want there to be an interplay between what is visible on the surface of my paintings, and the layers underneath. For, that, in some small way, expresses part of our experience of life. My work comes from a place deep inside of me. It is my hope that it will touch a place deep inside the viewer. It is the expression of feelings, mysteries, and things unspoken.”
Robin Benton Crutcher
robincrutcherart.com
Robin Benton Crutcher, PhD., is a practicing psychotherapist with 35 years of professional experience. After receiving a fine arts degree from LSU, she studied ceramics, painting and sculpture at The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. She is an avid art collector, especially of local artists’ work. Robin is represented by the Degas Gallery in New Orleans and Katie Koch Home. Her work has been shown in public spaces such as The Jung Hotel, The Freeport-MacMoRan building and Renaissance Arts Hotel in New Orleans. Her studio and gallery are located on Magazine St, also in New Orleans.
Artist Statement: “I try not to think much when I work, especially in the beginning. Most of the time I paint completely non-objectively. I enjoy the process of mark-making, color blocking, texturizing and responding to those elements as I manipulate the surface I am working on. When I paint, the challenge for me is finding a way to suspend my formal knowledge of painting, take it from my head and maybe allow it to retreat back to my bones while I clear my mind. This allows me the freedom to respond to my painting in the most spontaneous way. The result should be an aesthetically sound painting that is uniquely personal and interesting.”
Nancy Hirsch Lassen
nancyhirschlassenartist.com
Nancy Hirsch Lassen is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She discovered her passion for art early on, and pursued a career in art and interior design. She received her BA degree in painting from Newcomb College in 1975, where she spent her junior year attending the University of Madrid studying art history in the Prado. Nancy remained in New Orleans where she started her interior design firm, Interiors & Extras, now in its 33rd year. Nancy has studied with Nell Tilton at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art, and has taken many workshops with Steven Aimone, Bob Burridge, and Krista Harris.
Exhibitions: The Gallery+Studio, New Orleans, LA. The Kessler Collection at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Birmingham, AL The Ann Jackson Gallery, Roswell, GA Taos Blue, Taos, NM, The John Richards Collection, High Point, NC. Her largest piece from her first show at the Kessler Collection was purchased by the owner, Richard Kessler, for his private collection and the smallest piece at that show was purchased by the gallery director.Nancy participated in Fivefecta, a show with 4 fellow contemporary artists from the New Orleans area at Degas Gallery. She had a solo show April 7th, 2018 at the Degas Gallery and participated in an Abstract Show at the Grand Bohemian in September, 2018. She was a recipient of the highest honor from the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art, the Director’s Award, and has three times been one of twenty finalists in the Bombay Sapphire New Orleans show. She recently won Honorable Mention in the New Orleans Art Association National Show. Her work has appeared in numerous films produced in the New Orleans area, and she has produced many commissions in New Orleans, New York City, Houston, and Nashville, Dallas, and Birmingham, Destin, and beyond. 48 original pieces were commissioned and installed in the new University Medical Center in New Orleans. She has commissioned works in the Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans, the Sloan Kettering Hospital, NYC, and many commercial installations in NYC. Her small works are sold currently at the New Orleans Museum of Art shop. Nancy’s work was featured on the cover of Inside New Orleans magazine October/November 2017, with a 4-page spread discussing her current work, and was featured in the online publication New Orleans Canvas Magazine. Work can be seen and/or purchased through the above mentioned galleries or directly through Nancy at her Gallery+Studio in New Orleans, La. at 5240 Magazine St. 504-813-7340
Artist Statement: “I adore color…that’s my passion and, I think, my special gift. I especially love the juxtaposition of color and the evolutionary interplay of color on canvas. Purely contemporary, non-representational painting intrigues me most at present. I begin my process with lots of texture, line, brushstrokes and glazes, then follow the painting’s lead. The challenge is to keep the excitement of the process evident, in the final product, fresh and exhilarating!”
Mona Louviere
rummelmom@aol.com
Mona Louviere is an Alabama native with her roots firmly planted in New Orleans. Her interest in the Arts has been since childhood. She attended classes in drawing, watercolor, pastels and faux finishing, and she was a faux finisher for several years in the 1990s. But her dedicated efforts to painting, almost exclusively non-objective and/or abstract art, began in 2005 when she enrolled in classes at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.There, she has been under the tutelage of Nell Tilton, a renowned artist and teacher. Besides her continuing education and collaboration with other artists, Mona has participated in workshops with Steve Aimone, Krista Harris, Robert Burridge and others.
Artist Statement: “The juxtaposition of country life in rural Alabama and city life in the wildly unique New Orleans has given me much to draw on in my paintings. I often have no guidelines as to where my paintings are going, but I look back and see the influences of my life which seem to enter my paintings almost subconsciously. I gravitate towards abstract art because it allows me free expression through, among other elements, the use of line, color, and composition. However, foremost, I love the surprise.”
Sindy Scalfi
sindyscalfi@gmail.com
“I am an abstract expressionist, inspired by my love of nature and animals. In 1977 I received a B.A. in studio art from Hollins College, and since that time, my artistic expression has shown itself through the performing arts as well as the visual arts. Some of my vehicles of expression have included singing professionally, songwriting and hosting a radio show about dogs. All of these endeavors, when active in time, came out of love of the artistic language each expressed. Seven years ago, I moved to New Orleans and began painting and drawing again. Most of my paintings are inspired by nature and my deep connection with non-human animals. I am a three time East Africa traveler and draw much of my inspiration from her amazing land. I am awed by East Africa’s authenticity and rawness of nature and I feel one with the animals living there and greatly value them. When I work on canvas, board or paper, I evoke that feeling for myself and so enjoy being immersed in their presence or habitat. For the moment, I am honored and in a state of grace.”
Nell Curtis Tilton
www.nelltilton.com
Nell Curtis Tilton is a New Orleans native who has been immersed in the visual arts for most of her life, since her high school and college years in the 1960s. With a background developed from her studies alongside individual teachers of distinction, her early training was in the classical arts, strengthened by extended study at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts (NOAFA) where she was a student for many years in watercolor, figure drawing, and photography. Later in her art career, Nell began experimenting with acrylic and mixed media along with expressionistic elements of abstract art. Her most recent solo shows have been at Carol Robinson Gallery (New Orleans) in 2009, 2011, 2016, and 2018. Nell has been included in many group shows, juried competitions and invitationals over the years. Most recently, in 2018, one of her paintings was accepted into “The Louisiana Contemporary” show at the Ogden Museum in New Orleans, along with only 25 other artists, juried by Courtney Martin (DIA Deputy Director and Chief Curator). Nell has been featured in the St. Tammany edition of The Times Picayune newspaper for her show at Christwood Retirement Center, as an “Artist Profile” in New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles magazine, and as the monthly “Artist Spotlight” in Professional Artist Magazine. Nell has received numerous awards for her art and is collected widely throughout the U.S. She is represented by Carol Robinson Gallery in New Orleans and has been on the faculty at NOAFA, teaching abstract art and conducting workshops, since 2003. She continues to be inspired by a range of artists, her numerous instructors and by her dedicated students.
Artist Statement: “Images surround me in my native city of New Orleans and in Louisiana. Whether relating to water, land or an urban setting, those images frequently serve as a springboard for my non-pictorial art. Coming from a family of architects, oftentimes my work instinctively leans towards a structural design or an underlying grid. The classical arts and basic tradition of drawing, watercolor and photography are my foundation. These all inform my art as to technique and composition. I believe that each artist is unique in expressing their own inner passions and sensibilities. It is in the joy of the process, of intuitiveness and response, that enables me to better understand myself and communicate with others through my work.”
Zona Wainwright
zonawainwright@gmail.com
Zona Wainwright is a life-long resident of the New Orleans area and began her painting career relatively later in life. She made up for lost time, however, by extensive study at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts, at several other local art institutions, training workshops and seminars, both locally and nationally. Concentrating on abstract painting, she has refined her art to mirror patterns in architecture and nature with a seemingly endless blending of natural colors into undefined forms, leaving any definitive description of what is viewed to the imagination. She has exhibited in several local galleries and venues.
Artist Statement: “My thirst for training and education has culminated in my progression to that of instructor of abstract art at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. However, I continue to seek exposure to diverse styles and methodology by wearing two hats, that of instructor and student. I continue to expand my appreciation for the arts by balancing knowledge already gained with exposure to the talents of my peers.”
Featured Image: Mona Louviere | “Find Me” | 52″ x 48″ | Acrylic on Canvas |$3000
