Category: Blue Roof Studios

A Fort Held Together by Spit & Prayers: Clarisse Abelarde, Summer 2024 Artist in Residence at Arts at Blue Roof

8/21/2024

***CONTENT WARNING***
Some adult imagery below. Scroll with caution!

This summer, I was invited to be a mentor to Arts at Blue Roof's summer artist in residence, Clarisse Abelarde, an emerging oil painter from the Philippines. I had the privilege to witness Clarisse's creative process & explore her new body of work, which is now culminating as her solo exhibition A Fort Held Together by Spit & Prayers. Please join us at the opening reception, as we celebrate her creativity & hard work over the summer. No RSVP required to join the opening.

OPENING RECEPTION:
A Fort Held Together by Spit & Prayers
by Clarisse Abelarde
Saturday, August 24, 2024
6-9PM

Arts at Blue Roof
7329 S. Broadway Ave.
South Central LA, CA 90003

Viewable 08/24-09/21/24

SCHEDULE VIEWING

Here's some behind-the-scenes photos of Clarisse at her summer studio at Arts at Blue Roof. Photos by me on my Nikon ZF with 24-70mm lens. 🙂

View from computer for the full experience.

I never really experimented with off-camera flash for personal work, especially not with colored gels. While I continue to practice my digital photography & portraiture skills, I want to keep pushing myself to try new gear & techniques I haven't used for personal work in the past.

Thank you, Clarisse, for allowing me to experiment with my new Lightpix Labs Flashq Q20ii! And thanks to my homie Art Bueno for recommending this flash unit & for always encouraging me to push my photography boundaries even further.

Fair warning, the first photo with the red gel was a complete accident, but we both agreed we really liked it. 🤣 Hopefully one day I can figure out how to replicate this look on purpose! (For someone who's done photography for nearly 20 years, I've got the photography skills of Britta Perry.)

Rare admin reveal – me on the bottom right. 😉
I'm usually the one behind the camera, not in front of it. It took us a good 5 mins to figure out how to find the self-timer on my camera, too. 💀

If you've never been, Arts at Blue Roof is a unique art space that looks like it inhabits a former church. For those of you who are close to me, you know that one of my dreams has been to buy an old church in the Philippines & convert it to an art gallery & studio. Walking through Blue Roof was big inspo. 🙌🏽 During my time living in England, I was inspired by all the former churches that were converted to secular housing, while still maintaining the integrity of the original architecture. Why not convert more of these structures to community spaces, like Blue Roof has done?

Here's some pics of the cool lounge area at Blue Roof!

Pics of the exhibition installation to come! Stay tuned & make sure to follow me on Instagram @nica_aquino for updates.

Click "READ MORE" below if you're interested in hiring me for photo work!

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A FORT HELD TOGETHER by spit & prayerS: Installation views

A Fort Held Together by Spit & Prayers: Clarisse Abelarde, Summer 2024 Artist in Residence at Arts at Blue Roof

NICA AQUINO

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