Sunday afternoon, I drove to downtown Kansas City to check out the Charlotte Street Urban Culture Project Open Studios. I met Nat for his lunch break, so we only had time to visit the seven artist studios at pARTnership place. I wanted to go specifically to see the studio of Calder Kamin, who is a Kansas City artist I met by one of those great internet coincidences I love. I happened upon some images of Calder’s work last October while I was doing a bit of research about the KU Natural History Museum in order to email the museum’s director about his Nerd Nite presentation I had just attended. Calder had been making ceramic roadkill animals with which I, naturally, fell in love. I got in touch with her, she invited me to her artist talk a few days later, and I’ve been following her work since.
Calder is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, at which she is now a member of the Academic Advising and Career Services staff (and also runs the blog KCAI Case Study, alumni advice for building a sustainable career in the arts). She is also one of the most passionate and active artists with a full-time job I have met, on top of having complex ideas that are really exciting. I think having a desk job makes it harder in some ways and easier in others to do the things you love and need to do as an artist, but Calder makes it happen and that’s something I really admire.
Her studio is in a great, industrial space and decorated in a way other animal-interested artists will, I’m sure, appreciate. It made me kind of ache for a studio, if only to store (or just display) my taxidermy and animal-related stuff.
“Love Listening Posts includes audio of friends sharing sweet sentiments and ‘baby-talk’ with their pet dogs.” So much fun!
Calder currently has work in the show Half Wild at Stevens Square Center for the Arts in Minneapolis, curated by Areca Roe and featuring several artists’ work. Might try to make it there the weekend before the show ends March 31!
Here’s what Calder’s working on these days:
Visit artist's site: calderkamin.wordpress.com
Posted March 14th, 2013
