Amanda
I have been teaching at Epoch Arts for over 10 years and am always amazed at our student’s creativity. I love teaching recycled art classes with kids, as well as making recycled projects at home. It is so fun collecting all of the bits and pieces of old clocks, machines, zippers, etc. and the kids love digging through the treasures when I bring them in. My video is a robot project I was going to do with my recycling class this spring, knowing that the kids would create something amazing.
Bryce
I started at Epoch Arts as an actor when I was 14 and didn't leave until college. I have recently returned to Epoch Arts and assumed the role of Technical Director, overseeing the Tech Shop. Restoration of tools and machines has taken up a great deal of my time recently. I’ve been fascinated with the concept of entropy, the predictability of chaos and the breaking down of systems. By putting energy into an object, you can make it into something new with a purpose driven life.
Deb
Epoch and our creative community continue to inspire me every day. During the COVID closing I continue in my work as Operations Officer. I visit the building weekly and get the mail and check on things. Much of my work can be done remotely - paying bills, bookkeeping, insurance policies, class registration and refunds, new offerings, scheduling and hosting Zoom meetings for staff and the Board (who continue to meet remotely). We are applying for grants to help with funding. We are in touch with parents and students weekly via email and our website. It is a very different way of connecting that we’re working with in this time. I’ll do my very best to keep things running on the admin side and we'll be ready when we open our doors again.
Elizabeth
I was recently looking through an old writing journal and I came across a writing that was inspired by me watching my daughter while she was playing by the water as a little girl. I think it is really cool that after all these years, the two of us share our personal writings daily, together. Writing and directing is my vocation and photography is another tool I use to tell stories. I thought combining old stories with new photographs of one of my biggest inspirations would be a really cool adventure. I hope you enjoy it.( Original music by Omar Namen)
Jon
One day many years back I discovered that I could actually bring my weird little drawings to life. After uncovering this creative power I became hooked, and have been doing it ever since. I went to Art School to study computer animation and continued on to work on animated films. I still get a rush from this process, and continue to bring strange creatures to life - including my two children, Asher and Clayton. (Music by The Suitcase Junket)
Lexi
I have been working on editing videos and writing. For example this spoken word and little video. I chose to write a spoken word as the Mad Hatter, one of my favorite characters from Alice in Wonderland and make a fun little video to go along with it. Writing gives me the freedom and space for all my thoughts and to make them into something beautiful.
Omar
Now that we have a larger staff I no longer have to wear so many hats when it comes to productions which has freed me up to really enjoy creating scores for the various productions at Epoch...from voice overs to one and two act productions every project is an journey.......I am so blessed to be a part of such a great group of artists
Poe
It’s been quite a while since I’ve spent time away from Epoch. While I’m usually writing or plotting my next story, I love to create costumes or make dice, and everything going on has perhaps given me a bit too much time to plot...But this time, I’ve decided to go back to my clay roots and make something earthy like the trails I’ve been walking. Polymer clay is super versatile and even after you bake it you can carve it and modify it. Art can be ever changing, just like the world around us.
Rachel
At Epoch, we are a big family and community. It is strange in this time to not be able to sit down and talk together, do art, put up plays, hear each others’ stories. In quarantine, most of us have felt alone and disconnected since we don’t see each other regularly like we used to. The design for this t-shirt came from wanting to show how we are all still connected, though apart. We still grow with the same roots of our togetherness. Over the past few years, I’ve been learning the process of screen printing, and along with other artists, have been creating original designs for shirts. In this video, you’ll see the process of screen printing a t-shirt, from the original design all the way to the ink on the shirt.