Dré Black with his piece”Chaos Emerald” on MLK & Clarke
I was really drawn to your art because of the vibrant colors and exciting patterns. How do you choose the color schemes and backgrounds for the women you draw?
The colors depends on a couple of factors. For a woman’s skin and undertones I try to have colors that complement each other. Then there’s times I like a complete contrast. So it pretty much depends on my mood, my vibe with the piece and the look I’m trying to go for.
You channel this very beautiful divine feminine energy in your art. What makes you feel so connected to the women you draw?
Well, I was raised by an incredible single mother and I have a lot of very strong independent women in my family and life. Most of my art showcases women of color, who I feel are hugely misrepresented in society and media. My art is my tribute to them, their beauty and their wonder. Women are just fantastic human beings!
I was really glad we got to meet up in person. You have such a positive vibe and good aura around you. How do you maintain that positivity through your own creativity? What inspires you?
Gratitude, is the key to my creativity. To be thankful and appreciate the things and people who are around me. What inspires me? Family, friends, the people of Milwaukee, life, art, change, growth, community, music, culture and balance.
One of the purposes of art is to reflect the social context of its time. How do you see that happening now? What is it reflecting?
Working in public schools, I see women of color are grossly misrepresented in the news, and social media. This is reflected by my effort to show that brown and black women are beautiful in ways that traditional media overlooks. They are truly magic. #blackgirlmagic
What was the first piece you made that you loved?
“Glory” – It was the first 18×24 I’ve ever done and my first time using with watercolors.
“Glory” by Dré Black
What has been your biggest struggle as an artist, and how have you dealt with it?
How to find my place in this art world? Where do I fit? Will my art be accepted? What would happen if I changed up my style and tone? Will people still like my art then? I have dealt with it by repeating “it’s going to go the way it’s supposed to go”. I just have to be in tune with my guidance that I’m on the right path. It’s been working out thus far, why quit now.
Who are a few local artists that you really enjoy?
@Tystarr of course. His style is dope! @artisticabyjc, Josseline Castillo. Their abstract acrylic is amazing! @Xeronie_illustration , Yessica Jimemez. Her art leaves me in wonder.
What’s next for Dré Black??
More public art! My goal is do more murals and installations! I want to start painting with oil more and incorporate that into my mixed media style.
Nellie Gehrig’s design outside of Center Street Library
We loved your design as soon as it came through! We really wanted to see it near Washington Park, but the two panel pieces have to be installed on a back facing shelter so the design isn’t broken up by the arm rest. So we kept searching for the perfect shelter location and when we saw the shelter in front of Center Street Library we got so excited to pair your artwork with the library, we felt they belonged together. Have you always had this connection to nature and education? How has nature influenced your art?
It’s funny you say that- in fact, I’m an art teacher! Education has always been central to my life and I’ve made it my mission to inspire others through art. My mom is also a public school teacher, and she’s moved me to view life through the lens of continuous learning. I’ve always been attracted to nature, and it’s been in the natural world that I’ve always felt the most free. My art-making was heavily influenced when my husband and I moved out of the city and onto a horse farm. It was there that the natural environment became an integral part of my art, and continues to influence me today.
We loved what you said on your website about the interconnectedness of it all, what draws you towards the interconnectivity of the natural world?
I am intrigued by the idea of nature vs. nurture and, as an identical twin, the interconnectedness between the two. Being biologically identical has allowed me to be more aware of the similarities between all living things. I feel there is a common thread that runs through everyone and everything. Nature has a beautiful way of repeating itself, growing from decay, and that circle that humans interact with every day impacts the process. I hope my art reminds us of these fragile connections and the effect the natural world has on us, and that we have on it.
It looks like you work with a lot of various mediums to express this interconnectivity, which is your favorite medium to work with? How do you choose which to work with to express what you want to show?
I love it all; I really do! This is why being an art educator is so fun, because I get to share the many ways of making with others. I would primarily identify as a fibers artist, as this encompasses the larger part of my art making. Even as a painter, I treat the raw canvas as a fabric and the paint and dyes as stains. I love the tactility and malleability of fibers, how it’s shape is always changing and can evolve from 2D to 3D. It’s more of an impulse for me, a feeling I interpret into movement in order to accomplish that into becoming. When I want to work large and gestural, I like to paint; when I want to be detailed and hold the work like an object, I’ll sew or weave. This work is about communication, and how, through drawing, what a visual can reveal.
What do you think would help encourage new artists to engage with the arts?
I believe access to the arts and unfaltering support are the two greatest contributors to art engagement. A new artist experiencing something and feeling that rush of inspiration coupled with constant and eager encouragement for this passion is, I think, the start of a beautiful relationship. My hope is to engage everyone in the arts in some way, which is why showing this public art piece is an incredibly exciting opportunity. It is making art accessible. Looking at and experiencing an artwork may be the beginning of an individual’s engagement in the arts.
What advice would you give to an artist who is starting now?
Continue to make. Even if it’s been years since you did, or even if you have nothing but a napkin to draw on, make time to make. Immerse yourself in art, which is plentiful here in Milwaukee. Connect with people who support you, take risks. If you are open to the possibilities, they will come. Be authentic to yourself and create what you want for the purpose of fulfilling your vision, even if others question it or you don’t get the response you were hoping for. Continue and enjoy the process!
Who are a few local artists that you really enjoy?
What I love about Milwaukee’s art scene is how supportive it is. I am amazed at how loving people are here and how much the arts community wants the best for others. I really enjoy Mark Mulhern’s work; there is something so nostalgic about it. Todd Mrozinski has an acute attention to detail and I love how he meditates on the natural world. Renee Bebeau is multifaceted in her approach to making and her art communicates so much. Nirmal Raja has exquisite and ethereal works and her craftsmanship is impeccable. David Najib Kasir touches on emotional topics and pairs it with these ornate patterns, which I adore. My husband, Peter Gehrig, is also an artist and I love his patient and subdued way of perceiving the world through his art. It was from purchasing a drawing from him that we met, so I must say that even if he weren’t my partner I would still name him
What’s next for you?
Well, Peter and I just bought a small hobby farm outside of the city and are working on making that our homestead. I hope to incorporate the natural world into my art making through dried flowers and natural dyes grown and gathered from our garden and land. We aim to additionally build an interactive art space in our woods to welcome those interested in making. I will continue to teach (primarily sculpture, ceramics, and metals) and work on building my studio practice. I’m also in the process of working on a few children’s books, so I’m looking into getting those out to the public as well!
Tyler “Tystarr” Copes with his design “Seasons 414” on 27th & North Ave.
You mentioned you’re a Brooklyn native, so I’m super interested in your experiences. What was it like growing up there? What brought you to Milwaukee?
I was raised in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. Coney Island is a peninsula 3 avenues wide and about 25 streets deep but that relatively small amount of land is filled with large project buildings, town houses, parks, beaches, boardwalk, a gated community and the famous amusement park. Growing up there were tons of kids my age so going outside was always an adventure and I’ve met so many characters. My childhood was amazing, as a young adult it was kind of the opposite. The danger became more serious the older I got and the struggle became real. Then Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast and it was the most devastating natural disaster I have ever experienced. The only home I knew all my life was ruined so for a couple of months I was homeless bouncing from friend’s houses to hotels. When I was told I had the chance to move to any city with all expenses paid I remembered my short visits to Milwaukee and settled here. The rest is history.
You also mentioned that you just left the country, where’d you go? Do you travel often?
I recently went on a week long cruise that stopped in Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel, Mexico. I try to travel outside of Wisconsin at least twice a year.
Favorite places you’ve been?
St. Louis was a pretty cool city (love their pizza) but I LOVED the scenery in Arizona and Utah. The American south west is where you can really experience purple mountains majesty above the fruited plains. It’s actually a real thing. But my number one place would have to be Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The vibe is just so chill. Basically I love any place that has mountains, bodies of water, and most importantly good food (Italian food in Italy is magical!)
What are your biggest influences as an artist?
I think my childhood after-school and Saturday morning cartoon days played a big hand in my art influence. Because cartoons weren’t 24/7 like it is now I had kid books and daily newspaper comics fill in all of the other hours to absorb all the cool illustrations from a plethora of artists. So my biggest influences were animation and comic strips. Also I vividly remember the character based graffiti I would see. For some reason they just really popped out to me.
“Seasons 414” by Tyler “Tystarr” Copes on the corner of 27th & North Ave.
How/why did you become an artist?
I wanted to be an artist as long as I could remember. I think the idea of creating something that brings joy to others was always appealing to me. Expressing ideas through images just works so well. Dr. Seuss books are my earliest memory of being handed something and being entranced by the world the illustrator created. These images didn’t move like cartoons on tv but when the page turned your mind opened up to a world of imagination. I wanted to recreate that feeling.
One of the purposes of art is to reflect the social context of its time. How do you see that happening now? What is it reflecting?
I like how artists are feeling more free than ever to just create what they want. They get to put themselves into the work and it’s instant. It’s all so timely and responsive to the now. It’s more than a mirror to society, it’s an uncut live-stream playing out to the masses and the masses decide what they want to see and what they don’t. It’s interesting.
How do you see the art scene today?
Right now art is accessible in ways we never imagined it could be. The gatekeepers are gone. All you need now is creativity and passion and your art can be seen by everyone, anywhere, any time. We get so many voices now that truly reflect the diversity of the planet. We’re not just looking at a limited scope of creations from certain individuals but everybody and it’s exciting.
What do you think is missing to encourage new artists to engage with the arts?
More art in school. More music in school. I think I had one music class in my whole academic life. I see what learning an instrument does to people. They’re more engaged, creative, appreciative of the arts. We need more of that.
What advice would you give to an artist who is starting now?
CREATE ALL OF THE TIME. And when you’re not creating observe, soak in all the visuals from everywhere. You can’t run out of creativity. The more you use it the better.
What was the first piece you made that you loved?
My comic book, Twisted Comix Vol.1. It was a collection of comic strips I created from high school to college and to see it all in one book made with the help of my friends was one of the first times I felt like I was really making headway in this artist thing.
What has been your biggest struggle as an artist, and how have you dealt with it?
Self-doubt and fear. It’s a struggle every day and social media has not helped. There are so many talented artists online and it feels like those “likes” and “follows” are measurements of self-worth. I had moments where I thought, “why create when there are other artists doing it better than me”. But it’s not a contest, comparison is the theft of joy, and I have to remember why I started to create in the first place. Art is expression and bottling it up serves no one.
Who are few local artists that you really enjoy?
Della Wells, Andre Brown (artbydreblack), Pharoah Black (action figure photographer), Jasmine Wyatt (of the Bronzeville Collective) and I really need to get out more to meet more local artists. So much talent in this city.
What is your dream location that you’d like to create in next?
I don’t have a location in mind but I do know the always wanted to design a billboard or on something that size. I’ve come close a few times. Just something huge where people can see it from afar.
Bus Art Project MKE 