VEHICLES - Nov. 2011 - (available *online)

My perception of "vehicles" changed when my 10th grade English teacher said that Thanksgiving pies were just a vehicle for the whipped cream. Suddenly I understood that a vehicle didn't have to have wheels or an engine. An outfit was a vehicle for identity, a pencil was a vehicle for thoughts, and a gesture was a vehicle for emotions. While my former teacher likely made this comment in jest, it impacted me enough to carry it with me all these years later. The fluid nature of vehicles has wound its way into my psyche, changing the way I look at seemingly ordinary objects and experiences. I believe the selections in VEHICLES celebrates some of the many forms and shapes a vehicle can take.

This month Melodie Corrigall's story "The Red Car" shows that a car is not always just a car - it can be a vehicle for inner emotions to come out. Claire Bateman's poem asks us to reflect on the experience of driving, which binds individual drivers into a community of travelers. The poems of Derold Sligh dive into the vehicular nature of dreams, tools, and gesture, creating connections between loved ones and strangers. Lastly we showcase the sculptures of Greg Johnson, a Witchita, KS artist who uses auto scraps to create works of art.

I hope you enjoy VEHICLES.  

- Liz McCollum
Guest Editor, Fall 2011

DREAMS - Oct. 2011 - (available *online)

Dreams have always been interesting to me. While we sleep, our mind cobbles together stories out of our daily lives and half-buried memories. Some of these are so disturbing we're shocked awake in a panic. Others are so delightful we wish we could sleep forever. When we're awake, our minds escape our mundane tasks by creating fantasies out of our hopes and fears, childhood longings and present experiences. Although they are intangible, our culture's fascination with dreams is memorialized in movies like Inception and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; in Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech; in more songs than could possibly be listed here.

This month Status Hat explores the etherial world of dreams, daytime and nighttime, wanted and unwanted, celebrated and dismissed. In "Oils," T F Rhoden examines the toll living one's dream can take on family life. Poet Lois Elaine Heckman reminds us of the ambiguous nature of dreams, which become sweet and sour memories in our waking life. Also, Pedro Ponce offers a much-needed service for those dreams we'd rather not have. Visually, we have two exciting offerings this month. Psychadelic video DJ and cartoonist A. Minor shares a few illustrations depicting actual dreams she's had. We also take a look at the imaginative world of children's illustrations from Italian artist Gaia Bordicchia.

I hope you enjoy this diverse look at dreams as much as I do.

- Liz McCollum
Guest Editor, Fall 2011

IMAGE - Sept. 2011 - (available *online)

We are surrounded by images, both tangible and intangible. How much of our self-portrait comes from somewhere inside ourselves and how much comes from outside influences? The very first images we see are those reflected back to us in the minute figures reflected in our mothers' eyes. Such tiny pictures can form the basis of what we see later in life

Image is a uniquely different experience for each of us, be it our image of ourselves or our impressions of the people and places around us. Each day the myriad of images we are faced with can cause us to think outside the box, or create ways for us to change the rules. Status Hat's goal every month is to share images and words that give you, our readers, the opportunity to investigate alternative ways of seeing the world around you -- to break through old images and form new ones, new reflections and new associations. For example, a photograph as different as Tonia Storm's half-shadow horse is a perfect example of such a window of reflection. The artists and writers featured in this issue of Status Hat take us on an exploration of self and others and we hope you find them as unique and intriguing as we do.

I hope you enjoy this issue on the theme of Image, which has been both challenging and pleasurable for me to work on. I would like to thank the writers and artists I have worked with in creating this and the previous two issues of Status Hat. It has been a personal journey of self for me in working with the wonderfully creative and talented people who submitted their work for me to review. But most of all, I would also like to thank you, the readers of this e-zine, for making it possible for me to have this opportunity.

- Vicki Baumgartner-Shaeffer
Guest Editor, Summer 2011

TRAVEL - Aug. 2011 - (available *online)

I can't imagine anything I'd rather do than hop in a car and take off on a road trip. I developed this habit as an adult--when I was a child, my family never did the "family vacation" thing. My wanderlust started in my late teens, early 20s. Then, you never knew where I'd end up! My first big road trip took me north into New England, across Maine, and then down into Quebec, Montreal, and both sides of Niagara Falls. After that journey, I was hooked. Since then, I've driven to all of the lower 48 United States.

I've also become a great navigator in my travels across the country. I discovered that if you look for little red squares on the map, and travel to them, you find many interesting places. The First Pony Express Station, the geographical center of North America, Glacier International Peace Park in Montana (which is on the continental divide), and the spot where the golden spike was placed joining the two sides of the cross-country railroad, are among the natural and historical sites I've encountered through my curiosity. There is so much to see right in our back yards. Even short day trips around Maryland, where I live, or neighboring states, bring me great satisfaction. I'm ready for a spontaneous getaway in a heartbeat!

I truly enjoyed working with the artists and writers who shared a bit of their own love of travel, and places they've been and things they have seen, in this month's issue of Status Hat! I hope you enjoy the paintings, photos, and writing in our "Travel" issue as well!!

—Vicki Baumgartner-Schaeffer
Guest Editor, Summer 2011 

GAMES & PUZZLES - July  2011 - (available *online)

When I was in second grade, I got in trouble for gluing a puzzle of the United States together. When I was ten, my father taught me how to play chess, a much happier memory. It seems my childhood can be remembered through the games I played while growing up. So I loved the idea of this topic, when I learned it was one of the themes I would be working with as a Status Hat guest editor. Games and puzzles are an integral part of our lives since the very beginning; from the ones that teach us motor and problem solving skills to the ones we choose to play as adults.

I am still astounded by the variety of games and puzzles available: board games, video games, brain teasers that help us think, to name a few. There are also those we play on a daily basis, sometimes as a distraction, but sometimes as a way to work out problems in our lives. We may find ourselves looking for missing pieces in our lives, and can't see the bigger picture. Yet, in searching for a lost piece of our puzzle, the side trips and detours we take can show us different perspectives. They can even take us down a road we never imagined, leading to a whole new set of games, and rules to play by.

It was a pleasure being editor on this edition and I hope you enjoy the little detour and side trip of this month’s Games and Puzzles issue of Status Hat Magazine.

— Vicki Baumgartner-Schaeffer
Guest Editor, Summer 2011

MUSEUMS - June 2011 - (available *online)

Dear Reader,

To this day, I carry the ticket in my wallet: entrebillet for one studerende to the Louisiana Museum for moderne kunst. To reach Louisiana, I took a 30-minute train ride north from Copenhagen, followed by a short walk along a narrow rain-soaked road splattered with red and yellow leaves.

Claude Monet’s Water Lilies were visiting Louisiana. Also visiting that day was a group of children suffering from some kind of disorder. Every so often, one of them would scream a pure and piercing wail. In my mind, the Water Lilies became linked to the sound of screaming.

From Louisiana, I walked six miles farther north along the Sound to Elsinore, the castle where Hamlet takes place. It was a Tuesday. I was the only visitor. The guard/guide, a thin old man, showed me rooms not usually open to the public. (Read more...)

—Mojie Crigler 
Guest Editor, Spring 2011
 

NATURE - May 2011 - (available *online)

Dear Reader,

In a forest in Thailand, I saw pails hanging on tree trunks gathering white liquid rubber which the locals spread into towel-sized sheets, let dry, then sold. “Where I live,” I said to my Thai friend Nud, “we also collect sap from the trees. Then we eat it.” Nud shot me a quizzical look.

“Happy happy,” Nud liked to say. Once he said, “If no happy, cry.” To mull was not in Nud’s nature.

Thailand was lush: palm trees and orchids, massive limestone cliffs, water as clear as air. And—two dogs conjoined at the hip. At first, I thought they were two separate dogs. Tails wagging, they sniffed each other’s muzzle. Backtracking to find a restaurant, I saw them again, I saw nature’s error. Now they were growling. They moaned.

Signs along the island’s coast warned of tsunamis. The signs showed a stick-figure man bent toward a mountain as sharp waves surged toward him: international symbol for Run For Your Life. Nature’s danger and beauty had us surrounded.

Welcome to Status Hat’s May issue, in which Nature is questioned, despised, accepted, revered.

Enjoy.

—Mojie Crigler
Guest Editor, Spring 2011

TOOLS - Apr. 2011 - (available *online)

Dear Reader,

In New England, where I live, winter is ceding to spring. The stubbornest snow still lurks in corners of parking lots, but we’re stowing our shovels and reaching for spades.

The warmer days bring me out of hibernation. At the coffee shop, I join an ongoing conversation on time management, that adult puzzle, particularly tricky with the Internet, smart phones, working from home, juggling two or more jobs—or perhaps this old question has only tricked us into thinking it’s new? Few confidently claim to manage time well easily. And what works for Adam might not work for Anu. Some swear by Get Things Done software apps. I use an egg timer. The question remains: will the tool help, or is the solution within me?

Your guess is as good as mine.  (Read More....)

  —Mojie Crigler
Guest Editor, Spring 2011

CITIES - Mar. 2011 - (available *online)

Growing up in a small town, the city always seemed to be a magical place. People in cities were, without a doubt, the smartest, the hippest, the most cultured, the coolest. They had places to go and deadlines to meet – they had purpose! Over time though, the city’s reputation began to falter in the eyes of a hayseed. The excitement is always there, the flash, the fun, yet something else became evident. The city may be jam-packed with people, buildings, restaurants, museums and theaters... but there is hardly time to breathe, relax, or pause.

The three featured artists this month help us take that time to reflect on many aspects of a city. Kyle Bryant’s graphic sensibility allows the viewer to feel the oppressiveness of the architecture and experience the intrigue of the city streets. Stevie Krueger, a sculpture artist, takes that which the city tosses aside and turns it into expressive art that speaks to recycling and reuse, and our need to break from busy lives and be thoughtful about how we use resources. Our third artist, Randall Bass, creates photographic prints that use images from the urban landscape. By repeating and repositioning, he creates a whole new piece of work that draws the viewer in and asks the viewer to question what they see.

 In our word features (READ MORE...)

- Meagan Dye,
Status Hat Editor, Winter Issues 2011 (Jan-March) 

SPICE - Feb. 2011 - (available *online)

Walking down West 4th Street in the Village, Daniel Soergel's life changed dramatically when he noticed a handbill on a lamp post, advertising a “Shakuhachi” concert that was about to begin. On a whim, he attended the nearby performance of the traditional bamboo flute. “After hearing this for the first time, I knew this was my instrument.” Many years later, he is a master player. Artist John Dietrich followed a dare, over 40 years ago, to study pottery. Today, with his partner Diane McNeil, he continues refining functional works and stand-alone pieces of pottery, in northern Wisconsin.

Small moments in time can alter life's course in these ways. It helps if we are paying attention, as the triggers for an unexpected twist are fleeting. Our theme this month, SPICE, is one that evokes deep sensory memories and instant responses that can stop us in our tracks. Rich tastes, exotic colors and the scent of a garden in bloom come to mind. In the depths of winter, these thoughts offer both comfort and inspiration, which we hope infuses this issue!

In addition to an interview with Daniel Soergel, and a showcase of Ellison Bay's pottery, our visual art includes imaginative and thoughtful works by artists Ken Ford and Bonnie Bruno. Our writing offers poetry that reflects on life through cooking and spices, by Laura Maher, and short prose by Jennifer Wineke. Last, in music, we have four great selections, which continue our dedication to sharing a wide variety of music. The essence of Spice!

- Meagan Dye, Editor + Carli Castellani, Artistic Director

HATS - Jan. 2011 - (available *online)

This month we take a look at the wonderful world of hats! Both the kind worn on your head, and the symbolic hats we wear in our different roles in life. Sarah Azzouzi, trained in the historic art of millinery, provides us with a glimpse into her beautiful collection of hand-made hats, while artist Jan Allington takes us on a photographic journey from Thailand to South Central LA exploring the hats, both literally ad figuratively, that people wear.

We are also excited to feature both poetry and a short story in this month’s Status Hat. Poet Leland James offers a bit of whimsy with two works, Hats and A Mabel of Crows. While Robin Landry, an insurance research analyst by day and ballroom dancer by night, puts on her writer's hat, sharing a multi-generational experience that shaped her perception of the connections between mothers and daughters, and the hats each may wear in their relationship.

Last, we have songs from different ends of the musical spectrum to kick off the new year, from rock to a meditative composition. We wish everyone a creative and fulfilling 2011, and thank you for sharing in the art experience with us! - Meagan Dye, Editor

REFLECTION- Dec. 2010 - (available *online)

It's an unavoidable ritual at the end of every year: to stop and look back on the twelve months that have passed, whether with fondness, a cringe, or both. In the December issue of Status Hat, our artists reflect on the past in unexpected ways.

A Romanian artist paints colorful renderings of African spirits. A “body painter” superimposes historical figures on living models through a painstaking process, to unbelievable results. Another artist takes us back to the Paris we wish we'd known, through her lovely fresco paintings.

Picking up his pen, poet Robert Lietz considers the reunion weekend at his Catholic boarding school, while our own Chelsea Henderson considers each of us as a living museum.  In our featured music, we have songs by a musically collaborative group out of Brooklyn, a drummer turned singer-guitarist from the Bay area, and a Chicago native's soul-felt work.

Take a moment to pause and reflect, starting with the unforgettable work of these artists and writers.  - Allison Geller, Editor

EARTH- Nov. 2010 - (available *online)

This month's issue of Status Hat is visually rich, as one might expect for an “earth” theme! We are excited to present international artists as well as a wide range of art. We showcase the work of one woman who paints murals in homes, effectively bringing the outdoors inside, in various scenes which often depict a landscape or other snapshot of nature. Another artist lives in France and works in mixed media, painting still lives of fruit or flowers, but also using other materials to lend a three-dimensional quality. And yet another ushers us into the world of oil on canvas, with several vivid works that pinpoint scenes from different climates and locations.

Our writing features a prose piece, from Status Hat's artistic director, that navigates between the worlds of waking and sleep in different locales around the planet. In this issue we also feature a sizable dose of poetry – two young writers who are pursuing the craft academically and who, through language, offer a perspective of the earth in line, rhythm and word.

Last, our featured music visits the Status Hat "vaults", for some musical collaborations we have been involved with in the past. You can listen to the music on our pop-out music player, and learn more about the songs on our music page. We hope you enjoy the selections this month, and appreciate your comments and feedback.  - Chelsea Henderson, Editor

LANDSCAPE - OCT. 2010 - (available *online)

“All landscape is autobiography,” says the poet Charles Wright. While Chelsea Henderson reflects on this idea directly in her words about landscape and poetry, none of the work in our October issue is an exception.

When an artist depicts a landscape, he or she is saying just as much about themselves as about the scene. In a special feature for this month, we've taken work from six different artists in mediums ranging from film to paint to plastic and asked them what a landscape picture means to them.

We also have poems and accompanying photos by poet and photographer Keith Moul, whose work is a testament to the self that landscape represents: in his own words, “The land between augured long life.” Poet Marjorie Maddox shares with us three poems that also speak to the rich interplay of internal and external landscapes.

Last, our music this month is from two singer-songwriters, one in Minnesota, one in Florida, who contribute to an evocative exploration of this theme through their music. - Allison Geller, Editor

HEART - Sept. 2010 (avail able *online)

This month, we consider creative evidence of what it means to work from the heart, or to deal with matters of the heart.

This includes labors of love, as we feature one woman's story about tracking down her mother's paintings after her death, including a showcase of the found art. We also feature work that tends toward the abstract: art and poetry, both of which are evocative, colorful, and resonant with image and thought. And we hope you will find just as intriguing the article “Intelligence of the Heart,” which explores the mystery of how the heart works, as well as scientific evidence that it may “think” separately from the brain.

Another featured article, complete with video, discusses the role of the heart in dancing: not just as a passion for the dance, but as the essential, make-it-or-break-it chemistry between two dancing partners. Musically, our selections this month are on the heavier side, but also demonstrate a form of heart-felt expression. We hope you will enjoy the array of talent in this issue!  

- Chelsea Henderson, Editor

KEYS- August, 2010 (temporarily off-line)

If we can think of our lives in terms of the places we've been, we can also think of them in terms of keys. The key to your childhood home, your first apartment, a car, or even the keycard to a place of work. Keys can give us a feeling of protection and safety, but also, sometimes, of new beginnings.

In this issue of Status Hat, a particularly reflective locksmith considers 17 years of opening doors. Two artists slip us the keys to unlocking some of their enigmatic and captivating work, while a drive causes a poet to consider much more than getting from A to B. We invite you to let yourself in. If each of these works is a key, all open the door to something much bigger, and none can be copied. Also this month -- we have a great selection of end-of-the-summer music, from Tampa, Philly & Minneapolis!

- Allison Geller, Editor

WATER- July, 2010 (available *online)

Water is an essential but sometimes scarcely-noticed and taken-for-granted part of our lives. In this issue of Status Hat, we find it represented in various provoking ways. The work showcased reveals water as an element that is both necessary for sustenance and physical well-being, as well as for creative and emotional well-being, ranging across a wide spectrum, from music to photography, painting and fable. We even have an article on the African water goddess, Mami Wata.

Last, we are excited to debut Status Hat's Storyhouse site, which focuses on the narrative as a form of creative expression. Storyhouse explores both traditional and more contemporary forms of narrative, such as the graphic novel. The initial release of Storyhouse includes an illustrated chpater of our rock opera, "Rock On, Genghis Khan", as well as new works in development. It is our hope that the selections in our July 2010 issue will spur the same inspiration and enlightenment in our readers that it has in the editorial staff! - Chelsea Henderson, Editor

WORK - June, 2010 (available online)

Working creativity is a subject we hold close at Status Hat. Creative expression is truly at the core of human life, whether we are paying much attention to it or not. It's a basic drive, and emerges through most of our activities, whether constructive, destructive or somewhere inbetween. For this month's theme of "Work", we were able to look at some examples of it across a spectrum. Writer Thomas Matlack discovers, perhaps, what it takes to be truly present in one's life and work. We have a special feature "Artists at Work", with some show and tell by three artists about their methods -- from photography, through stencil/graffiti and more. And our music page highlights some original work by musicians being very present and engaged with their songs!

We are also pleased to be welcoming our Summer, 2010 internship crew! Chelsea Henderson and Allison Geller, both at UVA, join our editorial team, and Mary Rynasko (Skidmore) and Francis Toriaga (a recent SUNY grad) will be assisting with studio art & special media projects. We are looking forward to a very creative, working-arts summer ahead!  - Carli Castellani, Artistic Director

PLACE - May , 2010 (available online)

"Place" -- from relationship with our landscape, to how people and objects are arranged in any given space -- has long fascinated me. This month, we explore it from many perspectives. A short animation about "home" ("Bahay" in Tagalog), a literary excerpt that pivots around a song, travels in a van selling vintage clothing, photos of a ruined hotel, and the masterful work of an artist originally from Armenia, are among our offerings to you. That, and more engaging songs on our growing music page - again from both sides of the pond (with our UK selection this month our first cross-over feature!).

We would also like to to take the time now to thank Hannah Dym, a RPI student, for assisting with some media projects this semester, such as cover art for our 'zine. We wish her the best, and look forward to seeing where her life and creative work takes her!  

Cheers ~~

-  Carli Castellani, Artistic Director

DIALOGUE - April, 2010 (available online)
We made it to Charlottesville, VA just a few days before the Spring Equinox! Less than two weeks later, we are able to bring you the April edition of our artszine because we had started some conversations - dialogues - with several artists, writers & musicians world-wide, before our relocation. These conversations facilitated loading up April's issue with articles, art, poetry, music and two videos!

Playwright Catherine Castellani and screenwriter Jeanne V. Bowerman look at dialogue for stage and screen. Poet Maria Palacious reminds of us of the importance of *listening*, and of dialogue with oneself. We have some lively graphics from John Peterson, and 3-dimensional work from L.A. artist Cualquiera. I spent some time making small talk with robots... and don't miss our music page this month -- musicians featured we first encountered through Twitter, which at it's best is an eclectic conversational exchange.

- Carli Castellani, Artistic Director 

Some issues of Status Hat's Artszine, which began publishing in 2009, are no longer available online.  Some of their content may return at a later date.  Check back - as we have a wealth of art, writing & music in our earlier archives, including work in these provocative issues: