Gulfidan Ozmen, Abigail Flynt, Aarti Manik
Artist Talks
November 17 , 5:30pm
Join us at Starworks on November 17, 5:30pm for Artist Talks from glass artist Gulfidan Ozmen, and ceramicists Abigail Flynt and Aarti Manik. Each artist will present slides and discuss some of their processes and influences involved in making their work. Stick around after the talks to meet the artists and ask questions.
Artist Talks are free and open to the public of all ages. Starworks is a family friendly and dog friendly environment. Enjoy refreshments from the Starworks Cafe & Taproom before, during and after the event. The Cafe is open until 9pm and has a large selection of hot and cold beverages, locally crafted wines, beer, pastries, sandwiches and other snacks.
GULFIDAN OZMEN
Gulfidan Ozmen is a visual artist and sculptor living and working in Turkey. She graduated from Fine Arts High School – Painting Department in 1995. She received both her MFA and BFA degrees in ceramic and glass from Mimar Sinan University. She has worked and taught at various institutions including Mimar Sinan University, Pera Museum, VitrA Tiles. She has been a Wheaton Arts Fellow and Turkish Cultural Foundation, Cultural Exchange Fellow. Her recent artworks are very much related to her perception of naked structures inspired by architecture, archeology, and nature. Techniques and materials may vary depending on her expressions. She continues her art practice as a freelance artist and working for architectural projects in glass.
Previous Residencies:
2018 MSGSU-VitrA Ceramic Art Studio, MSGSU, Istanbul, TR
2018 WheatonArts, Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship, Milville, NJ, USA
2017 AltCity Istanbul Digital Arts Residency, Zorlu Performing Arts Center, Istanbul, TR
2016 Open Studio Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME, USA
2013 GlassBoston, Glass Conference; Boston, MA, USA
2011 Floating World Projects, Workshop program; Boston, MA, USA
2010 L’viv 8th International Blown Glass Symposium, L’viv, Ukraine
2010 Floating World Projects, Workshop program; Istanbul, TR
More information about Ozmen’s work and process can be found on their website or connect through Instagram.
ABIGAIL FLYNT
Abigail Flynt was born near the rice fields of rural southwest Arkansas. Working as a farm hand during the summers, she developed a love for the earth and soil. She graduated Cum Laude with a B.F.A from Southern Arkansas University as a first generation college student in 2015. Afterwards, Flynt chose clay to be her medium, hearkening back to her summers in the garden. She was awarded an artist residency at the North Carolina Pottery Center in 2021. Currently her ceramic work focuses on class disparities in the United States. Flynt uses the undervalued wisdom of southern colloquialisms to inform the direction of her work- raw foraged clays and playful motifs also deepen the concepts present in her work. The goal of Flynt's work is to take often undervalued aspects of rural southern culture and elevate them by giving them a platform on her ceramic work. She is currently looking to expand her practice to include fiber and textile, both artistic mediums that are often reduced to "craft" due to their functional aspects.
Previous Residencies:
North Carolina Pottery Center May 1st, 2021 - June 1st, 2022
More information about Flynt’s work and process can be found on their website or connect through Instagram.
AARTI MANIK
Born and raised in a small town in central India, Aarti Manik moved to Mumbai to pursue higher education and earn a diploma in Photography. Her journey with clay took shape in 2014 when, after a decade of working as a freelance photographer, she enrolled at Golden Bridge Pottery (GBP), a studio and a school founded in Pondicherry in 1971 by Deborah Smith and Ray Meeker. In 2016, Manik was selected for a 6 month apprenticeship with Penny Simpson, a slipware potter in Devon, England. During her time there, Manik assisted potters Svend Bayer and Clive Bowen. The following year, she returned to GBP to pursue pottery and teach the annual course to aspiring potters. Being back at her alma mater has afforded the chance to assist visiting potters like Bruce Dehnert for an Anagama workshop and Elena Renker in 2020. In 2019, Manik went to Sasayama, Japan to attend a wood firing workshop with John Dix. Manik has participated in multi-artist shows such as Table Manners, a functional pottery show in Mumbai, and Clay Carrots, a sculptural show currently on in 079 Gallery, Ahmedabad.
More information about Manik’s work and process can be found through Instagram.