[Narrator] "Art Loft" is brought to you by the# Friends of South Florida PBS.

"Art Loft," it's the pulse of what's happening in our own# backyard, as well as a taste of the arts across the United States.

In this episode,# artist Kandy G. Lopez paints with yarn, we check in on the Fountainhead Artists Residency# program, and we meet the woman behind Tunnel Projects.

When you spy one of Kandy Lopez's works# from across the room, they're striking, big, bold, and colorful.

But get a little closer,# and you realize there's so much more.

Here, we catch up with Lopez during her residency# at the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood.

So this is usually the way that I work.

I, like,# section off where I need to fill in the gap.

So this is her finger, like her little finger.

And# then I'm doing like the bust of the top part.

So I have to like map out where the darks are.# So this is like darker.

This is darker up here, it's dark on this edge.

There's a little# highlight that I have to add here 'cause there's light reflection that's hitting that,# and then I start filling in the rest of it.

Which is what I would do in painting.

My name is Kandy# G. Lopez.

I'm an artist and I'm also a professor at Nova Southeastern University.

I love teaching# as much as I love making.

I am a portrait maker, so I've been painting for a long time.

I love oil# paints.

Even with the fiber work, I would consider them fiber paintings.

It's just using a different# medium.

There's so many different yarn colors, and textures, and types.

So this is more of# like a sculptural kind of portrait painting.

And I really enjoy it because it's hard to do.

I# need a challenge.

I get bored with painting 'cause I feel like I understand the medium.

So, like,# I'll do printmaking for a while, and like try the different printmaking techniques, and then# cut up those prints and they become collages, and then those collages turn back into paintings.# I'm also dealing with stained glass at the moment 'cause that's another challenge.

Yeah, I get# bored fast.

But fiber has been something that I'm still learning, so I think that's why I'm# still figuring it out.

So I like to add the gold and silver to the... Details.

Like, I really# love details.

It's one of the things that I like, I really enjoy about painting, too, is getting# like the reflection color of whatever's underneath of the object or the person.

So this is like# my way of doing that with a different fiber.

When I first started, there was not that many# browns.

It was like three or four, they were called like skin tones, but it was like generic# kind of browns.

And I've been on a scavenger hunt for browns, and people like donate and send me# boxes of like their grandmother's yarn.

Or I'll go to the thrift store and they have like random# like bags of yarn that I just take.

And I've been collecting more and more browns.

I think it's that# and like greens are one of the colors that like I really look for because there's subtleties# in them.

And I'm also thinking about dyeing.

So like dyeing my own yarn and figuring out how# to get the correct color, like I would if it's a painting.

if I'm like done with a specific color,# then I use the needle that I have in my hand.

But it's usually like, hmm, maybe eight to 12# different needles at this point.

Because, again, there's like more browns, and that's usually the# color that I'm working with.

So just like a paint palette where there's like multiple colors on# the palette.

this is like my palette.

Sometimes, I have an idea of what I wanna make.

Sometimes,# it's just like somebody walking past, and I'm like, "Who's that person?"

So like building# up the courage to be like, "Hi.

Little me, I'm Kandy, I'm an artist.

Would you be interested# in being immortalized?"

Is the word that I use, and they're like, "What?

What do you mean?"

And# then we have a conversation, then I get to know them, and then I tell them to wear their swaggiest# outfit, whatever they feel the most confident in.

A lot of people come with like multiple outfits,# which is a real challenge for me because I'm, like, "Oh, my God, I'm gonna have to do like four# or five of this person," because I'm attracted to like that.

The patterns, the texture, the color,# the body language, the tumbao that people have.

Like, I'm really interested in that.

And sometimes# it's like friends of friends, and so it's like constantly making the most swaggiest people that# I can find.

When I take the picture of the person, I'm usually on the floor.

I like the perspective# of them looking down at the viewer.

I also like to start with the eyes because I think the eyes# are the most important part of the person.

I want the eyes to also look at you, the# viewer.

I think of hierarchy, I think of our history and religious works.

I also think of# sexism within the arts, too.

I want my subjects not to be submissive.

I want them to be a little# confrontational and sometimes a little vulnerable in that presentation.

And then once I have that# image, then I have my hook rug mesh, which is like the backing of a rug that I use.

And depending on# the picture, it's usually eight feet by something or a little larger.

And then I dry with the# Expo marker.

I give myself like five minutes to just do a gesture 'cause, usually, it's incorrect# anyway, so I keep like editing as I move down the subject.

And I want them to fit the whole space.# So they should be on the whole canvas.

Sometimes, their foot like hangs off, which I like,# 'cause they're stepping out of the frame.

Like, I just wanna put the work out there and# let the work do what it needs to do.

Some people cry when they look at the work, which# makes me super emotional.

Some people connect with the people that are in the works because it# reminds them of a cousin, or a friend, or an ex, or there's like emotions that build up, which I# like.

Some people think they're paintings, and then they walk up and I hear the , and that like# I melt every time I hear that.

Having community in the space and people being able to see themselves# in those spaces is important for my work.

[Narrator] The decades-old Art and Culture# Center/Holly.. ways.

Still, It remains focused# on community and connection.

The Hollywood Art and Culture Center is# celebrating 50 years.

We've grown from a small space on the beach.

Now we have multiple# spaces here with contemporary art galleries, now the art education center, a new cinema# downtown, a 500seat performing arts center, and an art school which houses two artists and residents.# The beautiful thing about what we do is we can be a little more experimental.

The exhibitions in our# space change every 90 days.

So we have wonderful art openings.

Sometimes, we're celebrating# one artist.

We just had our center salon, which was 74 artists, 95 work.

And personally,# I love our youth theater performances.

We have youth programs, we have pre-K programs, we have# senior programs, adult programs, teen programs, different mediums, from film to performance# theater, spoken word, sculpture, pottery.

The arts are not fluff or extra entertainment.# They really have a lot to do with wellbeing.

I think, to me, what I love about the arts# is it brings people together.

It creates a connection not just with each other, but with# ourselves.

And it helps really build empathy and compassion in very natural ways.

And so the idea# that we create connection, improve communication, and enhance wellbeing, that's what artists# mean.

Our team has changed and grown, but the one thing that won't change# is that we're a place for everyone.

[Narrator] Commissioner, the arts nonprofit# bringing people new to collecting, together with artists, takes us to Little# Havana.

Here, we meet artist and curator, Luna Palazzolo-Daboul of Tunnel Projects.

I see systems like morality, faith, even like# any sort of institutions, as a way to categorize society.

And it's not that I am against or for# it, I think my work is just commentary, a little bit like ironic or snarky.

But I try to make it# from maybe a little bit of a rebellious point of view.

But also, I try to stay as unbiased as I# can, knowing how difficult and impossible that is.

My name is Luna Palazzolo-Daboul, and I# am a Miami-based multidisciplinary artist.

I try to be very selective about where I'm# moving around, how I'm moving around, how am I interacting with my surroundings.

I specifically# chose Little Havana because I have a specific attraction to it, in which I can go for a one-hour# walk, and I'll be reminded of where I grew up.

I've always been drawn to brutalism and# construction in general.

So, I had other instances in my life where I would just go to# construction sites and photograph them.

So, the ideas come in a more intuitive, primal# way.

And then after I study what I'm doing almost psychologically, it's like, "Why am I doing# this?

Why am I using this?"

A lot of what works in the making of my work is having this formula that# sort of describes me as well, which is the binary of the masculine and the feminine or what's good# and what's bad, and this duality of being soft and being hard at the same time.

The idea of making# work that is technically technical and intuitive, but in the most unorthodox way.

I would say I# try not to know too much about what I'm doing when I'm doing it because I wanna see what is# my gestural response to it.

And for some reason, once I know exactly how to use something, I kind# of lose a little bit of interest.

So I think that the idea of creating, of making, just goes beyond# the tangible object.

I do see Tunnel Projects as an extension of my work.

I select things sort# of like instinctively, or people, or artists, or exhibitions, because I feel that there's# something about the practice that connects to mine.

We do programming exhibitions every month.# There's an artist exhibiting solo at a project room and we have to share boutique, which is a# micro room, in which artists do installations also every month.

And then, we host 11 artists in# residency.

We have eight studios, but beyond that, we also created this community of support, and# teaching, and learning.

I hold a lot of respect for the actual process of making and how the# artwork lives beyond.

So I do want to pretend that me caring for them when I make them will make them# live a better life when they are out of my care.

[Narrator] Fountainhead Arts continues# its robust residency program, bringing artists from around the globe to# live and work in Miami every month.

Here, we meet Portia Munson, a feminist and# environmental artist from New York State working across installation and sculpture# to question the meaning of everyday objects.

[Portia] I think that a disrespect for women and# a disrespect for undervalued groups is very much connected with a disrespect for the Earth.

My work# really stems from what I'm seeing in the world around me.

I'm especially interested in objects# that have already been loved and owned, and then are sort of put back into the world either to# be thrown out or to be resold.

I'm looking at like who we are as a culture, as seen through# the objects that we collect.

Often, there's a specific object that somehow jumps out at me,# and I'll decide, "Oh, I really need to paint that object," because implied in that painting or# drawing is like a long time of obsessively looking at this particular object.

I'm very curious to see# what this gown looks like.

I always try to make work that has something about it that is beautiful# or seductive, so that the view or the person can be pulled into it, and then take further meaning# from it once they have some kind of understanding.

[Narrator] Next Oklahoma Public Media# OETA introduces us to Amy Sanders de Melo, the visually-impaired ceramicist embeds invisible# words of belonging and hope into her pieces.

It's really important for me to ground myself.# I don't have solutions for many problems in our society and world.

And I think about those# problems.

It just feels so hard and heavy sometimes.

If I focus on here and now, that, at# least for me, is really important as a human being is just feeling purposeful and feeling capable.# Ceramic is... It's kind of an intensive process.

I learned early on not to get attached.

I literally# had a professor from day one tell us not to get attached to our work because things go wrong# at every step.

I'm gonna shape it now.

And it's pretty thin, so it might collapse, but we'll see# if I can avoid it.

I'm Amy Sanders de Melo.

I am a ceramic artist baked in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Wheel# throwing just involves the pottery wheel.

That's where I create my functional work.

So cups and# bowls, vases.

I really appreciate that time just 'cause it gets me a little bit out of my head and# into my body and into this piece that I'm making, that I can kind of just get lost in the physics# of it.

Ooh.

Kind of weird-looking, I don't really like it.

I tend to work in batches, so I try to# create between four to 10 pieces at a time.

Right now, I'm centering, which this is the hardest part# for most people.

I grew up on a farm, so it was very active and very much about problem-solving.# And there's always this appeal about manual labor to me, just knowing that you can kind of create# something for yourself or for your loved one.

I'm kind of a maniac 'cause I like really thin# walls, which can be my downfall sometimes.

I'm just gonna do that.

I love it.

Ah.

But those# textures will just leave like spaces where the glaze can pull.

And in some cases,# like, it's just a really nice variation, like for where you can hold a piece.

And# then, the way I do this is, I don't think, the smartest way, but it works for me.# After I've thrown my piece on the wheel, I let it kind of sit to the side for a couple days# so it becomes leather-hard.

Put it down.

Then, you can flip your piece over and trim the# foot on the bottom.

My least-favorite part, but it's a necessary part.

I just fold it in# place by putting these little lugs of clay on the side.

I'll do the middle first.

Yeah, it's# kind of satisfying to watch the little shavings.

One, two.

And then I'm writing on in Braille# on those pieces.

When people first meet me, they can't tell that I have hearing loss and I# lip read a lot, or that I have severe vision loss.

So, this was a nice way for me to kind of# put that on display and say like, "Hey, disability looks different for everyone, and# blindness is a spectrum."

The reason that I began using Braille on ceramics is because of my# vision loss, which is a result of Usher syndrome, which is this genetic disorder that I have.# That's what's causing my hearing loss and then that's what's causing my vision loss.

So, very# slowly, I'm just losing my peripheral vision, and it's kind of tunneling in.

So, I think right# now, I have between 10 and 15 degrees of vision left.

You're supposed to have 180.

That just# forces you to adapt and kind of modify how you live your life continually.

So, when# I initially started writing on my work, it was an exploration of all the feelings, all# the negative feelings, all the fear, the anger, the frustration, and then an exploration about# the good things that I've learned from having this disease.

Now, it's kind of morphed more# into meditation.

So a lot of the phrases that I use are phrases that maybe people have said to# me or think that I want to embody more of.

Like, this one says, "Look for beauty in the world.

"# Those reminders, I think, help me.

Once I've written the Braille on it, then it goes through# its first firing.

Basically, that just hardens the clay a bit more, it becomes like a porous# ceramic vessel.

And then, I glaze the piece.

Red Heat is a community clay studio# with a twofold kind of purpose: one for professional ceramic artists to find# community into collaborate, and the second, just as an outreach to the general community# of Tulsa for people to pursue ceramic arts.

We started just with a few members, and now we# have over 40, 45 members and a really close community of people that support each other# inside the studio and outside the studio.

[Amy] I do feel really lucky because# I have a com.. where I have access to all kinds of# people from all walks of life.

So, there are a lot of really dynamic conversations# that happen there.

And we talk about anything.

Yes, two.

[Amy] So, that is a really wond.. and to still feel connected to the# words that I'm making.

And then, it goes through its second firing.

And I like# to use the gas kiln.

It's a bit more atmospheric than our electric kiln.

There's something going on# inside the kiln that's unpredictable.

Sometimes, that can lead to failure, but it could also# lead to something that's really magical.

[Whitney] Amy is a member there in the studios, but she also teaches classes,# which has been really wonderful.

[Amy] All right, so now I'll start the count.

[Whitney] It's really important to# have someone like Amy because Amy is an emerging artist and is showing# her work on a national level.

Okay.

After the piece had gone through the# gas firing, then I'm adding gold luster to the surface of the Braille and it goes through one# final, third firing.

On this level, I have all the little, tiny guys.

They're just so little,# and people love tiny things.

Some of these, I put like right on the edge of the shelf, so that# the flame will touch it and it'll give it that, like, flash of purple.

But typically, it# would look like this without that purple.

Some of them are my favorite because of the# color variations that happen in the kiln, and I don't think I can ever achieve that again.# So, again, that kind of reminds me of life.

Like, there are moments when everything's aligned just# right for you to just experience the most perfect little moment and that stays with you.

And# then this one's kind of fun 'cause I wasn't expecting that.

So it's just a little...# Just a little surprise inside your cup.

[Narrator] "Art Loft" is on Instagram,# @artloftsfl.

Tag us on your art adventures.

Find full episode segments and more at# artloftsfl.org and on YouTube at South Florida PBS.

"Art Loft" is brought to# you by the Friends of South Florida PBS.