Roma Mehta, David Pipkin – VDX
Roma Mehta
I grew up in Calcutta, a densely populated city where the entire spectrum of human experience was in plain sight everywhere you looked. From a very early age i found joy in art and painted every chance i got. It was a way to connect with my inner self and provided an escape from the sadness and misery around me. I could not fix what i saw, but i could create something beautiful.
I decided to study graphic design in college so that i could ensure a living while continuing to paint in my free time. Art and design merged as the years went by and became a way of seeing and understanding the world around me.
My art is a collection of episodes that afford glimpses into moments of clarity and have been essential in my journey.
Portraits, lines and shapes, energy, colours, all blend and become the lens through which I see the world. Art gives me the insights I need to understanding the world I have chosen to live in. India remains the vibrant inspiration, the chaos of my soul and my palette. It disturbs my senses and calls me to become involved. Taiwan brings order to the chaos of things beyond my control. Helps me linger longer in the creative space.
with the first brush stroke
the canvas becomes the master
and leads me through a spirit journey.
i remain receptive as thoughts unscramble and a story unfolds on a living canvas.
inspired by the energy of india,
the spirit of taiwan,
the beauty of our planet,
the embrace of its people.
Artist Bio:
Roma Mehta is originally from India. A graphic designer, an artist, and a committed community member, she has made Taiwan her home since 1987.
18 June 2017, 紅房藝術工作室 「12」Red Room Open Studio [Vol.12]
Red Room presents the twelfth of our Sunday Afternoon Open Studio series!!
Welcome all:
Writers, poets, photographers, painters, sculptors, comedians, filmmakers, juggler, musicians, songwriters, dancers, designers. All artists and creatives welcome! Develop and play with ideas, or utilize this opportunity for second opinions on your work in progresses.
💥💥 ::: SPECIAL POP=UP WORKSHOP BY Fondlesss 黯飾 :::
Fondlesss主理人Grace將帶領大家使用帆布
由於名額有限，記得在6/16(五)之前預定喔！
報名方式: https://www.accupass.com/
工作坊：帆布與來自印度的手工木板印花 + 顏料 = 新台幣600元
年齡：皆可（印刷參加者需年滿十八歲）
Join us for a day of block printing and fabric painting workshop, hosted by Grace Hsu from fondlesss. This workshop will take place on June 18th Sunday at Redroom. During this workshop, we will have blocks with patterns and canvas available for you to print on and markers and fabric paints to create beautiful patterns. You are also welcome to bring your own fabrics and tote bags. (Includes all materials NTD.600)
Limited spots available, please apply before June 16th.
Ages 18+ welcome.
Registration and prebooking required. Book at this link:
https://www.accupass.com/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Please note:
This is a workshop hosted within Redroom’s open studio event. If you are not coming to the workshop and just want to hang out, please feel free. But we would like to remind you to respect those practicing/working on their art form.
The bar and cash register will be closed – so please bring some beverages and snacks to share. Sharing is caring!
Please inbox us to ask if you are uncertain about how appropriate the art form/materials you’d be bringing would be suitable for the shared space. Of course, power tools are discouraged (safety + noise), and fire is not allowed on the premises (sorry, metal-workers!).
Hope to see you there!
Love, Red Room
紅坊星期天下午舉辦第十一場「開放藝術工作室」系列活動
用社區精神分享紅坊空間，共同創作。請帶任何形式的作品
歡迎各位：
作家，詩人，攝影師，畫家，雕塑家，喜劇演員，電影製片
如果你不想做工作的東西，只是想聚一聚，也非常歡迎！但
我們當天有兩項活動：
－ 繪畫塗色 （材料提供）
我們邀請藝術家來分享他們的作品，讓大家一起討論，交換
這是一個免費的活動 。酒吧和收銀機並不會用到 – 所以，請帶些飲料和小吃分享。共享和關懷！
如果你不確定你要表現藝術形式和材料適不適當的話，可以
希望看到您的光臨！
愛，紅房
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紅坊地址及聯絡方式
How to find us @ the Red Room
Address:
Taiwan Air force Base (TAF) 空軍創新基地 「圖書館」LIBRARY
建國南路一段177號
No. 177, Sec. 1, Jianguo S. Rd (Intersection of Jianguo S. Rd. and Jinan Rd.)
Our entrance is located on the intersection of Jianguo S. Rd. and Jinan Rd. (TAF side entrance). After passing the gate, keep marching forward and you’ll see a white building to your left called Library. Make your way to the second floor via the outer staircase on the side.
捷運： 忠孝新生捷運站六號出口
Travel by MRT:［Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station Exit 6］Walk straight along XinSheng S. Road , then turn left on Jinan Road Sec. 2 , continue down and you’ll spot the entrance.
www.redroomtaipei.com
Red Room 紅坊國際村
red.room.taipei@gmail.com
David Pipkin
Born and raised in Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, and….never a day is without red clay. I took my first ceramics class in Stillwater Oklahoma, the home of the OSU Aggies, while I was studying architecture and dodging Draft bullets. I was immediately hooked on the process of making pots; digging that often overlooked amazing red clay, processing it, my fingers learning to see and understand the differential pressures needed to mold and form objects, then comes the chemistry of the glazes, and finally the magic of smoke and fire. All aspects of making clay objects have always fit me like a glove.
After graduation I spent more time making pots or playing on sailboats, than working as an architect. Downturns in real estate always hit architects first, so when a downturn hit Oklahoma I was actually delighted to be laid off so I could focus on playing with clay. After spending the better part of a year being a fulltime potter, I to returned to architecture with an interesting job. Although making a living from pots is possible and the hard work was actually fun, I found I really did not like working alone and was happy to hang around the water fountain again. During the first 5 years out of school I had many exhibitions, won awards, and made the rounds of multiple craft fairs.
Fast forward 40 years, I have not regretted remaining in architecture as it has shown me the world. I have worked in Oklahoma, NY, LA then Taipei. I was always able to keep my hands in clay and look forward to spending more time with clay as I get older.
I consider myself a serious student of clay. Every place I have lived in has offered different types of clay with different work conditions. In Taiwan I was limited to electric kilns, which was not my first choice but I gradually learned to come to terms with it. Two years ago I decided I wanted to go back to gas-fired kilns and thanks to the help of a potter friend Jack Doherty, I managed to build a gas-fired ‘soda’ kiln on my roof. After 12 months of planning I built a 1 cubic meter beast of a kiln. I had built and fired many high temperature gas kilns but never a soda kiln.
Soda firing means taking the kiln up to a temperature of about 1200 C, then introducing bicarbonate of soda in liquid form, which interacts with the clay and slips in unexpected ways. The process is 10 times more difficult to control than normal gas firing. After my 5th firing, I now have a pretty good list of things not to do. Hopefully, after 5 more firings I will have a reasonable list of things to do. Firing a cubic meter soda kiln offers a physical challenge that I did not plan for. However it is all part of the learning process, and I expect to make pots until the day I die, if it doesn’t kill me first.
