THE DOLLHOUSE GOES DOWN!

I found a large dollhouse tossed out on the street, in fairly good shape except for its collapsed tower. In a perverse twist, rather than repair it, I took it down through the stages of so many abandoned properties I drive by on Fillmore Avenue.  Step one was breaking out most of the windows. Step two was boarding up the lower windows with ‘chipboard’ and marking it with city codes like “gas off.” Step three was painting miniature graffiti and then attempting to cover some of it with mismatched color blocks.  Step four was setting the second story on fire. This led to a big pile of burned trash on one side of the house. By now, ‘509’ was looking really bad and also very familiar. Not even my little collection of superheroes can save it now! Time for the toy wrecking ball and dump truck? Wow, that was fun!

If you visit my studio at the TriMain Center, you can play too!

REMEMBERING THE ORPHANS OF DODGE STREET

On Dodge Street in Buffalo, sat the decaying remains of the German Roman Catholic Orphanage. Founded in 1874 by the sisters of St. Francis, the orphanage first housed 47 children.  During the 82 years of its existence, it survived fire, grew into a large complex of dormitories and classrooms and cared for more than 15,000 children.  When I first came upon it, the orphanage had been closed for 56 years. Although in deplorable shape, the architecture of the buildings was still impressive. And inside the chapel stood an organ, too heavy to move when the place was shuttered.

But over the pass few years, this particular ruin has been saved. Thanks to major grants to the Community Action Organization of Erie County, it has been rehabilitated into ‘St. Martin Village’, providing 60 units of affordable housing for low-income families.  A mix of renovation and new construction honors the history of the children who passed through these walls while giving a chance for new life.

In this ‘discarded ancestor’ collage, I’ve combined a found photograph of a young boy with my photo of the chapel plus the graffiti and debris in the area. It’s my attempt to capture a layer of time.

‘ADOPT AN ANCESTOR’ – AT 464 GALLERY

I found photo albums thrown out to the curb in front of a demolished house. There was apparently no one left to care for all these mementos and no way of finding out who these discarded ancestors were. The photos were so precious that I wanted to preserve them in some form. To me, they represented all the millions of people who have passed through this city. Each picture is unique and yet so universal that it could be from almost anyone’s family. They look like my ancestors and perhaps like some of yours as well. I took a group of the photos out of the albums and surrounded them with bits and pieces of abandoned Buffalo – graffiti, empty houses and decaying landscapes. They are framed in recycled wood with its own story to tell. It is my attempt to put the past and present together and to honor these unknown people. I hope their spirits are happy being part of this art and not just discarded as trash.

A selection of these collages is available at 464 Gallery on Amherst Street in Buffalo. Don’t miss the opening of “GIFTED” this Friday, December 6 from 6-11 PM. Owner, Marcus Wise, is putting together Buffalo’s most exciting holiday art market.

‘OUT OF THE RUSTBELT’ at the LARKIN AT EXCHANGE

Rising out of Buffalo’s post-industrial Eastside, is the hugely successful Larkin at Exchange Complex. With its 2,200 gleaming windows, well-designed spaces and countless amenities, it is a stunning example of adaptive reuse of a city’s existing building stock. Best of all, it is a model of how a restoration done right can become the cornerstone for rebuilding an entire neighborhood. 

During the past two years, I have done a lot of exploration in the outskirts around the Larkin. On the streets and in the abandoned houses and factories, I have found discarded photos, old wood, trashed toys and more. What some people see as urban decay, I see as the raw materials telling us stories about our past and our future. All that is needed is the desire to seek out these fascinating layers of time. I have recycled and repurposed these treasures into paintings, collages and assemblages. A selection of these works is now on display in the First Floor Gallery at Larkin at Exchange. They will be on view until the end of November. Also, I’ll be there for a “Meet & Greet” from Noon until 2 pm on Friday, November 8.  Stop by, see the show, try a ‘rustbelt’ cookie and enjoy the energy of this amazing building!

Larkin at Exchange is at 726 Exchange Street, just a few minutes from Downtown Buffalo.

ART & ARCHITECTURE AT THE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT FONTANA BOATHOUSE

Last night was stormy on the waterfront, with winds so strong they could blow you right off the balcony of the Boathouse. But inside this stunning space, everyone was warm and enjoying the Second Annual Art Show. This juried show is a collaboration of the Boathouse leadership and the Buffalo Society of Artists and it offers a chance to bid on and purchase work for the benefit of  Wright's Fontana Boathouse.  I was honored to receive the second place award for “Best Friends,” (one of my 'Discarded Ancestors' collages).

You can still see the exhibit and bid, up until 4:00 pm Sunday, October 27. It is also your chance to tour the space and appreciate the vision of Frank Lloyd Wright.

HOPE LIKE BLUE SKIES

Can an assemblage and a short story come together in a journal?

Yes, they did in the October issue of the r.kv.r.y quarterly literary journal. My piece, “We Repair Trucks” was used to illustrate a powerful story by Erica Jamieson. Now the assemblage is on its way out to Los Angeles to be part of her collection.  This seems so fitting since the piece is about leaving the rustbelt for bluer skies.

To read some of Jamieson’s work, visit her website http://www.ericawjamieson.com

SHIPWRECKED

I am honored to be the illustrator for the October ‘Shipwrecked’ edition of the r.k.v.r.y quarterly literary journal. r.k.v.r.y defines itself by the dictionary definition of the word recovery. It is filled with intriguing poetry, fiction and essays by a wide range of talented authors. You can visit it online at http://www.rkvryquarterly.com/   and be inspired!

WHAT’S LEFT BEHIND

People ask me how I manage to find toys in abandoned factories. Actually, I am often amazed by all that’s been left behind or thrown away in these most unlikely places. The toys are just the easiest artifacts to carry out. My assemblage, “Shrek” is based on the Sol Lenzer Bottling Works at Jefferson and Genesee Avenues. Since the roof collapsed, nature has started to reclaim the space. Inside, along with little knicknacks, I found a piano and a truck. They are probably still there, too heavy and dangerous to move. On the outside of Lenzer’s is graffiti by the prolific ‘ATAK’. His tag shows up on the side of my assemblage too. Lenzer’s is on the mayor’s top ten list for demolition but manages to hang on.

“Shrek” will be on view at the Buffalo Society of Artists’ 117^th Catalogue Exhibition. The opening is Sunday, September 15^th, from 2 - 5pm at the Kenan Center at 433 Locust Street in Lockport, NY and the show continues through October 13^th. 

THE RUST BELT MARKET IS OPEN

Discarded photos, old wood, trashed toys and abandoned houses are easy to find in Buffalo and throughout the Rust Belt. But what some people see as urban decay, I (and many other artists) see as raw materials telling us stories about our post-industrial environment. All that is needed is the desire to seek out these fascinating layers of time. Deterioration doesn’t always have to lead downward. It can also lead to regeneration, reconstruction, and recycling.

My studio is now displaying paintings, collage, and assemblages all based on this amazing rusty world. You can find it in the TriMain Center, Studio 509, 2495 Main Street, Buffalo, NY.  The doors will be open for “Fourth Friday” events (tonight) and many afternoons too. You’re invited!

‘CITY OF NIGHT’– AUGUST 17th

The second annual “City of Night” will transform the iconic cluster of grain elevators, called “Silo City” into a spectacle of light, art and performance. This free, open event includes new spaces to explore, an interactive map to guide you through the site, a light garden of installations, community art projects, kayak rentals, rock-climbing in a grain elevator and so much more. Lead event coordinator, Dana Saylor, says “Emerging Leaders in the Arts Buffalo is proud to coordinate this massive event that transformed so many people’s perception of art and industrial heritage in 2012. We anticipate double the crowd this time around.”  There will be a beer & wine tent plus local food trucks on hand throughout the night plus a variety of bands performing from 4pm until well past midnight.

In addition to the art installations and performances throughout the Silo City campus, The American Warehouse building will host the 464 Art Fair, where local artisans and businesses will have wares available for sale.  This year, the Buffalo Society of Artists is sponsoring an exhibition of art with a grain elevator theme. Two of my collages were chosen for this special show.

Don’t miss this unique and exciting evening.

ART IN DETROIT

“The Bitters, Fuck It” opens Friday, August 2^nd at the Whitdel Gallery in Detroit.

In the words of the curator, S. William Schudlich, “in all areas of life, occasions of expectation, trust or belief are often rewarded with letdown, lies and betrayal. Over time, this repetitive cycle can result in the development of mechanisms which aid in coping with ongoing disappointment. This exhibition looks to share examples of visual response generated by feelings of sarcasm, cynicism, and an overall disenchantment with things.” Detroit is such a hard, post-apocalyptic place, Schudlich words make perfect sense. It’s a city so bankrupt that the treasures of the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum may be sold off to pay creditors.

 

Two of my “Rust-Belt portraits are included in this exhibit: ‘Who Will Build the City Up Each Time?’ and ‘Here Comes the Shutdown Blues’. Schudlich decided these faces fit right in.

A NEIGHBORHOOD IN A BOX

I found a strange little figure on Northampton Street in Buffalo. On the web I discovered it was a movie tie-in named “Pleakey” from the Disney Lilo & Stitch animated films. It probably was a Happy Meal toy from the McDonald’s up on Main Street. Along with Pleakey on Northampton was an abandoned house marked with red codes.

Around the corner on Jefferson Avenue was a mural, a long piece of folk art that has now been demolished. I painted it in miniature on the side of a tossed out desk drawer. The toy, the house, the mural and the McDonald’s all come together to form a neighborhood in a box.

This piece is part of my “Toyology” series and will be on view at the Hallwalls Members Exhibition. The opening reception will be Friday, July 19th from 7 – 10 pm. The show continues through August 30^th. 

WHAT IS LOST? WHAT IS GAINED?

In 2010, I photographed a trashed 18-wheeler on Ohio Street. In the background were the grain elevators of the Cooperative Grange League Federation. The shot became part of a collage combining a vintage photograph of a theatrical group. I had found it in an album thrown out on the street that year.

Yesterday, as I walked on Ohio Street so much has changed. The trashed truck is gone and in its place are construction materials signaling that a big project is planned. The new Riverfest Park has turned the water’s edge into a tourist destination. And in the background are the elevators, minus one. The 1909 Wheeler Elevator with its monitor roof has been demolished. It was taken down at “the 11^th hour” with preservationists fighting the City Commissioner. During the demolition, part of the tower fell dramatically into the river.

The clusters of grain elevators along the Buffalo River are so central to Buffalo’s identity. Can the city, the preservationists and businesses come together to decide which teeth in the landscape should be saved and what can be pulled out? Can painful dramas end with a master plan in place? Buffalo is filled with amazing pieces of history of all sizes. Can we slow down before tossing them away? 

FINDING TREASURE AT BUFFALO REUSE

Looking for inspiration? Try rummaging around in Buffalo ReUse – located in the huge old Kaufman’s Bakery Building at 296 East Ferry. It’s filled with wooden doors, window frames, porcelain sinks and all the other details that were once found in Buffalo homes. ReUse has saved them from the landfill and will sell them back to you for pennies.

I thought strips of flooring could be the perfect material for framing a series of collages. Sanded, tinted and coated, the flooring fit the time period better than any molding I had seen in a frame shop.

Here’s one of my “Discarded Ancestors” collages finished off with a strip of flooring. For more stories of art out of the rustbelt, please join my blog. If you are using recycled materials too, I’d love to share ideas.

THE CITY OF GOOD NEIGHBORS

Buffalo has been nicknamed the “City of Good Neighbors.” While exploring the city’s lost neighborhoods and photographing abandoned homes, I noticed a common architectural element. Most houses have front porches. It’s easy to imagine a time, when the area’s population was at its height, that people came out of their front door and waved to a neighbor several houses down the street. Children played their games up and down the stairs from one porch to another while mothers looked over and shared some news with a neighbor. The architecture itself, sets up a light and steady neighborhood communication that, though broken in some places, is still alive and active in other parts of Buffalo.

Here are 3 photos of abandoned houses plus one of my “discarded ancestor” collages. The mother/child photo was in an album thrown out on the street. The house marked 202 Rodney Street was demolished this year.

For more stories of art out of the rustbelt, please join my blog! 

DISCARDED ANCESTORS

Amazing treasure can be found in Buffalo’s lost neighborhoods. Old photos, old wood, reusable glass, a riot of intense textures that can be repurposed. This small house at 29 Sanford Street must have been charming in its heyday. I can imagine these girls playing on the back step in that gentler time. But now, birds fly in and out of broken windows. Huge holes in the roof allow in the rain and snow, letting the house rot in plain sight. Far too decayed to be restored, it sits waiting for a match or a bulldozer. 

The frame for this collage came from Buffalo ReUse. I sand the wood to reveal all the layers of paint and time.  To see more of the ‘Discarded Ancestors’ series, and other work, come visit my studio at the TriMain Center. (My contact info is on my website, elizabethleader.com). I am either in the studio or out exploring the rustbelt.

24 HOURS OF BLACK SMOKE & FIRE

Early on the morning of July 13, 2011, a four-alarm fire broke out at Niagara Lubricants in Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood. Propane tanks exploded in huge fireballs and the skies filled with thick black smoke. As over 100 firefighters fought the blaze, the fire chief said, “water doesn’t put it out, it just spreads it around.” The U.S. Air Force brought in foam from Niagara Falls and other trucks brought foam from the airport. One-by-one, the roofs and floors caved in. Smoke could be seen from over 50 miles away while black oil began running down the storm drains. When it was finally over, Niagara Lubricants vowed to rebuild. The company has been in business for 88 years and employs 35 people.

This is the photograph I shot of the factory the year before it burnt down. I had cut it up into a collage with a discarded ancestor photograph. To me, the four men looked like they might have worked at Niagara Lubricants years ago. They were dressed up and enjoying “Their Day Off”.