Benjamin Love
I was born and grew up in Idaho. As a young adult I helped my grandfather and mother to add to and remodel our home various times. They taught me woodworking skills, the use of power tools, and to build from drawings. I was fortunate because my mother had a large painting studio in our home, which was always open and filled with art making materials. Needless to say my sisters and I took full advantage of the tools and space. It was through my family’s encouragement that I first began to explore the communicative potential of my skills and interests.
After graduating from high school I spent 6 months living with a friend and her family in Uberlandia, Brazil. I studied Portuguese, Brazilian dance, and drawing. My adoptive Brazilian parents shared a communal art space with 3 other art therapists. I spent much of my time at the “Centro” working on drawings, and participating in their thriving artistic community. My experiences in Brazil were punctuated by a growing awareness of the importance of a strong network of other artists to share work with.
Upon return from Brazil I traveled. I lived for two years out of a backpack, and earned my bread by playing music on the street. I walked along highways, watched people, the world, and wrote songs. Most of my time was spent wandering the west coast. This time in my life was marked by committed receptivity to facing diverse experiences. My work is indebted to the experiences I had during this time, for through them I have come to view the world as infinitely giving in inspiration and opportunity.
I settled in Boise four years ago and began studying at Boise State University. During my time at BSU I have been fortunate to work with faculty that have pushed and encouraged me to grow my work and practice as an artist in a way that synthesizes my past experiences. I will begin my senior year of study next fall, and I will graduate in the spring of 2011 with a BFA emphasizing in printmaking and sculpture. I plan to attend graduate school upon completion of my degree to pursue and MFA.
2010 Graduate Fellowship Award Winner
Camilla Taylor
Camilla Taylor grew up in a conservative religious community cradled between two mountain ranges–fourth in a series of six children born to her parents. In high school, she was introduced to printmaking and pulled prints off of a much abused letterpress.
A BFA with an emphasis in printmaking was procured from the University of Utah after a lengthy procedure of starts and stops financed by a disparate series of jobs. Having a BFA but without a press, Taylor began working with sculpture and textiles. Eventually an uneasy marriage was made between her artistic interest in sculpture and printmaking after she received a baby blue press with a 12” bed width.
Camilla is currently an MFA graduate student attending California State University in Long Beach, rapidly filling up all available storage space with prints which are steadily increasing in size and unwieldiness.
