Summer art 2010

i've begun to upload some pictures taken of artwork created by my summer campers of the worcester jewish community center. i've been incredibly impressed by the creativity of each individual and their eagerness to learn. it's been hard work, but a great summer! the final piece you see is a "memory book" dedication to me as, "the best art teacher ever!!" with a detailed drawing of my favorite super heroine, wonder woman!

The evolution of my painting process

recently it seems friends have grown more curious to the evolution of my paintings. unfortunately, there's no easy way to explain as every painting's origin is different. i've promised to document the creation of my next piece in more detail, but for now you can see the formation of my oil painting on canvas "My Real" which was on display at the worcester art museum the winter of 2009. i'm not normally a still life artist (i prefer the human form in one fashion or another), but this was an attempt at getting back to form (well, sort of, obviously i added my abstract twist). i was successful in some aspects and ultimately failed in others. one never stops learning. what's not shown are the original painting and photographs of the pieces i used for reference. in the future i'll post a strict still life painting i did using the actual objects. i'm sure you'll see a difference between the two.

The 2011 BET awards jody watley campaign

the BET awards ceremony has long-time been a remarkable annual event that highlights african americans and other minorities in various fields of entertainment, particularly music. a campaign has begun to showcase the career of longtime performer, jody watley. read my letter to BET below,

The 2011 BET Awards Jody Watley Campaign has begun and I fervently hope you consider this growing group of Watley fans' single request to spotlight the talent of Ms. Watley!

I became a fan of Jody in the late '80s after she had already started as a solo artist and have continued to follow the amazing artist's career as a Grammy winning entertainer and entrepreneur of her own independent label, Avitone Recordings. Through her inspirational music, ground breaking music videos, her dancing, her latest tweets, and even her current StyleFile blog, Jody Watley is a woman unlike any other. But Jody doesn't keep this all to herself, no, Ms. Watley has always been an artist for the people, something that can be seen and felt in any of her live performances.

I'm an artist in Boston working as a teacher and I constantly use Jody's fashion style (then to now) and music as a generational and cultural bridge between myself and students that creates a positive buzz for masterful works of art. Jody Watley is still "bad" to young and old! The BET Awards would benefit greatly by showing the world just what Jody Watley means to music, video, fashion, and her fans.

With much respect,

Steven Derrick Wilber

My ideal of modern feminism

i'm a man who's a feminist. a damn proud feminist. i've grown up with strong women who's personal strength, love, guidance, and patience shines through. many of these women i never knew personally, some are purely fiction, but their confidence and adventures taught me a lot. okay, okay, i realize i must sound nuts, but celebrities like janet jackson, cher, madonna, kylie minogue, and jody watley were striking out on their own in the mid-eighties - theirs was the music my mother (a very independent and strong woman in her own right) was listening to and to what my younger brother and i were exposed to. my obsession with wonder woman also started when i was very young. my mother encouraged my reading comic books as a form of learning education, much of this was done through the adventures of the amazing amazon, a powerful princess my mother herself was a fan of as child. with strong outspoken women like my mother, her sister (my aunt is one of my closest confidants), and grandmother, plus the heavy dose of cher, janet, and the others, along with my following of the regularly published escapades of wonder woman, i never quite saw women as a weaker gender. oh the women in my family would explain to me that 'the outside world' was cruel and unfair, but our family was different and both men and women were absolutely equal and always stood up against anyone who disagreed. i don't quite know if they knew how much of this belief i would hold onto, but hold onto it i have, and what's more, i've reinforced our belief of equality to include everyone. but i'm getting off my subject of modern feminism.

this month, july 2010, dc comics released Wonder Woman #600. within the issue the comic book publisher revealed the amazon's first new costume in almost two decades. the makeover is an attempt to modernize a female icon's image that, to many, has stagnated. personally, i loathe the new look, but if it brings more readers to the book, what's more, a greater population of young female readers, then this change will be well worth it. my concern with youth is that there are fewer and fewer strong female role models for young women to aspire to and for young men to admire. who are the madonnas, kylie, and jodys of today? women like britney spears, rihanna, and lindsey lohan have dominated air waves for the last few years for all the wrong reasons. even wonder woman has adapted to a similar look in the fashion of these "celebrities". where is the new generation of feminists?

i asked friends and students of mine, from twelve to fifty-one, their definition of, "feminism". surprisingly, it was the younger interviewees (both male and female) that understood the concept and attitude of girl power. the women over forty seemed to take to heart my questions when i begin quizzing them about former and modern day feminism. clearly, they appreciated someone who sought to know and understand more. as far as a response to a modern day feminist i didn't get a large response, but miley cyrus, beyonce, and even adam lambert (?!) were responses. i'm very surprised that lady gaga was not selected as a feminist by either the females or males that i included in my informal poll, but apparently the entertainer is considered more of a weird hot mess by those i interviewed. yeah ...

my mother is currently in the process of writing an article for a local women's publication on modern day feminism and asked for my opinion. from there, this blog blossomed. i wonder if my ideal of modern feminism is becoming invalid (?) simply because women are finally taking their rightful places in the many arenas of the world. well, that's not completely true in about half the world, but here in the states young women seem to see themselves just as powerful as any male. and while that's superb (and about time!), i feel the younger generation is missing something by not having the same experiences i grew up with. in the meantime, my students will definitely be getting a dose of my beliefs of feminism and equality every time they step in my classroom!

Announcing my fall schedule of classes at the Worcester Art Museum!

in an attempt to keep things fresh, my supervisor/mentor, christopher and i have selected two fall courses of the fall class lineup for me to teach! this fall semester i will be teaching two saturday 5-7 year old classes open to regular and new members, with scholarships available.

the first is, Clay: Poke, Pinch, & Pretend, utilizing a number of clay working techniques such as, slab sculptures, pinch pots, coil pots, and other creative ways to create wonderful and unique works of art. this course begins october 9th, ends december 4th, and runs from 10am-noon.

second, Things that Crawl, Wiggle, & Roar, a multimedia course were students will explore/study real life and mythical creatures and the relationship between the two. the majority of materials used for the course will be recycled paper and plastic products and other reusuable items easily obtained. this course begins october 9th, ends december 4th, and runs from 12:30-2:30pm.

all classes of the worcester art museum begin in a preselected gallery of the museum where the exhibit (loosely) ties in with the day's lesson. my classes have a foundation of art and world history based on the exhibit students and i visit each class and are structured around positivity while enhancing creativity. if you have any questions, please email me at, swartstudio@gmail.com. registration for fall classes will begin in late july / early august at the Worcester Art Museum website.

Latest showing of art

it started as an unfinished piece in college that had been discarded at the back of my studio. almost three years later it suddenly found new life! what you see to the left is myself standing in front of my latest painting, fist on the pulse, on display at the worcester art museum. the idea of the piece came from a conversation between a colleague and i about how music and art can often reflect current events. art in all its forms can teach world history - something i strive to bring to the attention of my students. art often remains on the pulse of what's happening in the world and sometimes really shocks it to its audience. that shock is the point of the piece, there's not just a finger on the pulse, rather fists grabbing the pulse line. obviously there's more to be gleamed from the painting, but i don't want to spoil everything, and i also don't want to cancel a viewer's own interpretation. i will say, the point of my looking uninterested while i hold the iPod relates to the 'shards' of newspaper scattered on the edges of the piece. my next work will also loosely relate to music and art, as well as fashion - hopefully completed by the end of summer.

Warming up for summer update

just when i thought i had made up my mind for a summer 2010 anthem two new songs hit the airwaves and i was forced to admit, maybe it's too early to decide on a song for the season. i'll just see what happens as i begin to gear up for pride weekends, bbqs, block parties, and beach excursions. meanwhile, checkout the new song by mark de clive and jody watley as well as robyn's first single off her upcoming album, body talk part 1.

Mark De Clive ft. Jody Watley, "Tonight's the Night"

Robyn, "Dancing On My Own"

Warming up for summer

summer is by far my favorite season, but i have a fondness for this time of year as spring comes closer to ending and summer prepares to begin. there's something about the energy of life that spreads throughout the world, wherever you are, it allows you to really enjoy being alive! the dog and i are enjoying longer morning and afternoon walks and jogs with the unseasonably warm weather and we're so much the better because of it. usually i have one or two major trips planned for the upcoming season, but i've been accepted as a youth art director/instructor for a nearby community center and i'm more energized than ever as i come closer to tackling a role that's destined to be a challenge (i'm basically restarting a dying program from its ashes). it's important to have your skills and talent tested from time to time and to strive for creativity - sometimes forcing yourself to stretch your imagination.

in the meantime, a herald of summer for my boyfriend and i is our penchant for summer anthems. remember a song that stuck with you from your childhood that you just couldn't get enough of and several years later it still invokes those same emotions when you first heard it? we still get excited for that one (or two songs) that we'll play continuously from june to august until the late night parties and long afternoons on the beach slowly end. right now there seem to be a few options for which song we'll enjoy the most in the coming months, but for your consideration i'm offering links to what we're listening to now.

Christina Aguilera, 'I'm Not Myself Tonight'

christina's new song is a forceful blast to critics and haters and empowering to those who want to cut loose once and awhile. the video is certainly controversial for many reasons, but i've deduced that's possibly why i enjoy it so much.

Kylie Minogue, 'All the Lovers'

pure pop and disco, kylie again produces a song that expresses exactly how i see myself, lots of energy, love, and bursting with positivity. the sarcastic b!tch in me loathes my upbeat bubblegum personality, but it's something that sustains me and i've learned to accept all of me (finally).

Kelly Rowland, 'Commander'

last year's summer anthem went to kelly and compadre, david guetta, who teamed up for the song, 'when love takes over'. this fierce jam forces everyone to the dance floor as soon as the beat begins to blare over the speakers and the word, "dance", ominously sounds repeatedly.

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Res is back, but she never really left!

i want you to think back to your youth. think of the music you were listening to. think of an album or a few songs that really struck a cord with you. try to remember lyrics that spoke to you as a person, to your soul, that REALLY spoke to YOU, or said your words for you. for me, one of the albums that did just that was, “How I Do”, by res. I was probably sixteen or seventeen and res’ sound was unlike anything i had heard before – a combination of rock, funk, a little hip-hop, and strong r&b. not only did res’ unique sound strike me, but her poignant lyrics and smooth, sometimes brass, and always sexy voice told a story that could be meant for anyone. i fondly remember visiting a friend in atlanta, georgia and one night we snuck into an enormous club and one of the many music videos the dj played on the wall screen was a remix of the song ‘They Say Vision’ which remains to this day, one of my all time favorite songs. everyone was clamoring to find out who the artist was and it became a proud moment of mine when i could matter-of-factly explain who res was and how much i recommended the album. a few years went by as i waited for the sequel to this gem, but the waiting never produced any results.

flash forward several years later and i happened upon res’ myspace page and i discovered how the album i so dearly loved never proved to be a chart riser like i had anticipated. i simply chalk that up to res being ahead of her time. through blogs written by this musical genius i soon learned more of the story of how res sought to escape her contract obligations and strike out on her own. as an independent artist it seemed less likely i would ever own another res album. thank god i was absolutely wrong!

late last year res finally released her sophomore album, “Black.Girls.Rock.” i went into listening all ten tracks expecting more of what i heard when i sneaking into clubs as a teenager. this record is not like that, not completely. i admit my initial disappointment kept me from listening to the album entirely over and over as i had its predecessor. flash forward again, this time a few weeks back, as i was preparing a playlist for an art class i was teaching. i came across, “Black.Girls.Rock.” and decided to listen with fresh ears and much to my absolute embarrassment this mostly Rock album – well, rocks times twelve! there’s still a little funk and r&b, but at the heart is the very real res who’s words are given amazing expression. the album serves as a very personal and detailed journal of the last few years of res’ life, allowing listeners to relate and gleam some inside wisdom from the artist’s trials and triumphs. there has been as much growth and evolution of the artist as there is of the woman that is res.

i hope sometime in the near future i’m able to catch res’ live show as it appears she’s performing throughout the states promoting. if i ever get a chance to tell res how much her music has inspired me, touched me as though it were words from a friend, and given me confidence to overcome anything – even at the most bleak of times, then the wait between albums will have been worth it for me. please check out the link below and experience the magic of res’ music! also, check out her collaboration with talib kweli and graph nobel as the band, Idle Warship – amazing funked out jams!

Res' Official Website