About, Face!
Featuring Cynthia Henderson, Curator
Interview by Lauri Sturdivant
Photography by Shareen Strauss, reporter for the Siskiyou News
Getting ready for participants to make presentations; Giant papier maché heads by Gita Lloyd
Originally from Chicago, Cynthia Henderson has been an artist most of her life; working in the graphic arts field prior to desktop publishing. Cynthia relocated to Mt. Shasta after a friend in Oakland brought her up there for her 60th birthday in 2007; she moved 4 months later!
Cynthia got involved with the local art scene when she joined the "Art Roster" group. She was one of the artists in the first Forgery Shows and was one of the "founding members" of the Art Shasta First Friday Art Walk. After moving "down the road apiece" (her message from the mountain!) to Dunsmuir, she volunteered in the Siskiyou Arts Museum (SAM), gift shop and later used her graphic arts talents as their Public Relations Coordinator. About, Face is her third curated show at SAM.
Baruch Inbar's first art show
Q&A with Cynthia Henderson
Lauri: About, Face is a fun theme for a show. Would you describe the show for our readers?
Cynthia: I was pretty excited about the idea of mixing up traditional and unusual portrait art in various media: painting, drawing, prints, ceramics, sculptures, assemblages. When this exhibit was first proposed by a member of last year's B&W photography show, we both agreed it should be multi-media, interesting, varied and fun: not just rows of fine art paintings or photos.
A take on the military command: "ABOUT, FACE!" just popped into my head as a title, and every participant thought it was perfect.
Lauri: Who was the artist who inspired About, Face?
Cynthia: Wayne Kessler, a participant in last year's B&W photography show, "UNSATURATED" called me and made the suggestion for a multimedia portrait show at SAM. Wayne is mainly a portrait photographer; he has taken hundreds of photos during his time in the Peace Corps and at other times.
Lauri: Curating a show is a lot of work. What was the most enjoyable part of putting a show together?
Cynthia: YES! A TON of work. The most enjoyable part was being able to use many of the skills I'd developed over time in various lines of work in order to invite & effectively communicate with other artists. Receiving timely responses and feedback from such a motivated group of participants made coordinating the show much easier. I also found it's important and fun to have a "right-hand woman" with whom I could share ideas and receive honest feedback. Gita Lloyd was my "right hand" this year; photographer, Patty Hood filled that role last year.
We're all just very grateful for the existence of the Siskiyou Arts Museum, which has been and continues to be a supportive platform for local and out of town artists!
David Joaquin with "Sattitla"
Ten Questions
Breakfast or dinner? LOL! BOTH (You forgot LUNCH!)
Comedy or Mystery? EH!
Cake or Pie? BOTH ... as long as they're gluten-free!
What was your 1st Job? ... WOW! I worked in a sign shop part of one summer! A real job was right after high school was speedball lettering & paste up at a print shop in Chicago that supplied local small grocery stores with sales flyers!
Vanilla or chocolate? BOTH!
Favorite color? PURPLE AND RED!
Winter or summer? SUMMER
Would you travel to the Moon? No, but I'd like to go to the Andromeda Galaxy; that's "home!"
Who is your favorite artist? Gerhard Richter
If you could have a super power, what would it be? Stop wars and create peace
Cynthia Henderson & Gita Lloyd
