Q: Tell us a bit about your background(s) and career(s)?
Paul: I grew up in Rochester with my entire family working for Kodak, so photography was in my blood for sometime. I graduated RIT with a BFA in Professional Photographic Illustration, and began to assist photographers in Rochester. Eventually, I started shooting professionally in the Rochester area until 2003, when I took a job as a photographer/videographer for the US Department of Education. Currently I am the Director of Media Production at the Department, and I split my time between Washington DC and Rochester NY. I have exhibited in DC, Rochester, California, Colorado, and am working to get my work out to more eyes!
Michelle: An original Rochester area native, I graduated RIT with a BFA in Graphic Design. Several states, creative jobs, and a move back home later, I completed my MS in Art Therapy and currently work as an art therapist in inpatient psychiatry. I studied fine art and art history at RIT, and I was drawn to the art of collage. In 2017, during my graduate program, I returned to collage and have dedicated my practice to this artform. My work has been seen in galleries in Mexico; Paris; Brussels; Cork, Ireland; Estonia, California, Georgia, and of course Rochester including the MAG, The Yards, and our favorite, RoCo!
Q: Who do you consider to be your greatest mentor? What did they teach you?
Paul: Two of my professors at RIT had the biggest influence - John Retallack and Howard Levant. They taught me the art of Commercial photography and the photography business, and I owe it all to them.
Michelle: An indelible mark was made on me during my first year design program at RIT. My 2D professor, Lorrie Frear's wise words encouraged, "presentation is key," and I've always kept that in mind when working up design packages and in presenting my artwork.
Q: What do you need to advance your art career/take the next step with your practice or work?
Paul: Going to galleries with Michelle is one of the largest joys - we have somewhat similar tastes, and we get so much inspiration just discussing possibilities. Boston this past summer was very inspirational, and looking at what others have done pushed my work in unique ways. I have been taking my work into the world of more abstract art, blurring the lines between mediums, and sometimes incorporating both photography and painting / ink work.
Michelle: This summer, we visited Boston, and I saw the most amazing work by Firelei Baez. She works on large canvases with expanded prints of antique book pages and oil paints. For my practice, I feel my next steps will be to work both in a much larger scale and incorporate sculptural forms.
Q: How long have you been a RoCo member(s)? Why did you join?
Paul: I joined as a full time member in 2018 after Michelle MADE ME JOIN. Kidding - it was my introduction to the arts community in Rochester and I have met so many great artists from my membership.
Michelle: When I moved back home to Rochester, my niece encouraged me to attend RoCo's 6x6, I was blown away by the exhibition and joined as a student in 2017 before beginning my graduate program. I appreciate RoCo's support of the artist community, the member exhibitions, and the inspiring artists' work on the walls.
Q:What is great about Rochester? What can we do better?
Paul: About 10 years ago, I would have written off Rochester because of the loss of the larger businesses, but since then I have seen some amazing growth in the city, arts, restaurants, festivals, gatherings - all of it. I think that the influx of people coming from larger cities during COVID re energized the city. I would LOVE to see the crime addressed in the city, and better solutions for housing for people with lower incomes.
Michelle: Rochester is a small-ish city, but offers great opportunities in the forms of festivals, restaurants, art gatherings, and supplies from used bookstores (for collage!). As a community, we can do better in supporting all of our citizens' needs, more safety and housing for our homeless population, and more studio space for our artists in all income ranges.
- and similarly: What is a major challenge artists face in our community? How do you think we can overcome it?
Paul: Studio space that is affordable - the loss of the Hungerford ( yep, I am saying it ) for more commercial purposes is one thing we need to get around. There are plenty of large spaces in the city that could be repurposed for artists - we just need to figure out an equitable way of planning this.
Michelle: The Rochester art community appears to be limited in terms of pricing, despite work from cities like New York coming to the area and having big price tags. The lack of studio space is also a limitation for artists who seek dedicated space. These concerns require attention, planning, and management, how do we start the process?
Q: Something more light-hearted: -What are you currently streaming/watching/bingeing?
Paul: In our studio in DC, we have been watching a bunch of older Italian horror films as of late, like the work of Dario Argento and Mario Bava. The cinematography for "Ripley" on Netflix was astounding. I REALLY enjoyed Fallout on Prime as well.
Michelle: Watching Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" series again, so good. And a bit of "Emily in Paris," the outfits! I discovered “Ripley,” which was filmed in black and white in Italy, beautifully done (and I insisted Paul see it)!