female announcer: On "Studio Space," visit with two artists who work in classic traditions.

Kathy O'Leary is famous for her landscapes.

Now's she's exploring a new artistic direction that opens up a different way to see the world.

Then enjoy the grace of ballerina Carrie Badeaux and learn about her two passions: dance and photography.

"Studio Space" introduces you to art and artists in Northern California.

♪♪♪ female announcer: This activity was funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

David Ferney: Hi, I'm David Ferney.

Kati Texas: And I'm Kati Texas.

Today on "Studio Space," we talk with two artists inspired by the natural beauty of Humboldt County.

David: I'll be visiting choreographer, dancer, and photographer Carrie Badeaux as she shares an original dance piece and her dance-inspired photos.

But first, Kati talks with landscape artist Kathy O'Leary about her passion for painting California's endangered oak trees.

Kathy O'Leary: So, yeah, it's a constant, it's constant.

So I would say I'm never really satisfied but that's okay.

I mean that's kind of-- you know, I'm going in a direction, I'm searching.

♪♪♪ Kati: Hi, Kathy O'Leary.

What a beautiful garden.

Thank you so much for inviting us to talk with you today.

Kathy: Yeah, well, thank you for coming, welcome.

Kati: Can you tell us a little bit about what you're working on now?

Kathy: Well, this COVID thing has really kind of been good for me because I'm still doing oak, my oak trees.

Working from photographs right now 'cause I can't travel.

But there was several months where this is where I would come and paint because I had the paint and I really couldn't or shouldn't be out anywhere else, and so I started playing around a little bit more and exploring because I don't normally do, like, still lifes.

This is plein air, but it's also still lifes.

Kati: You mean in your garden?

Kathy: Yeah, and painting in my garden and turning this way and that way and then that way and just doing a bunch of pieces.

So that was really good.

And so it helped me relax a little bit about not being a perfectionist and just playing.

And if it didn't work, fine, without judging it.

You know, kind of a little less judgment.

And then I started paying attention to some abstract work and teachers that I wanted to just, "Oh what the heck.

I'll just try this," you know.

And so I got a bunch of paper and I subscribed to a five-week course.

And it just helped me relax even more, and just like, there's more possibilities.

And I don't--it didn't have any scheduled shows.

I didn't have to show my work on the first Saturday of the month and there--all those other things were the restrictions in a way, the things you have to do, the marketing stuff you have to do this week, you need to send out your newsletter to your people who subscribe through your website.

And it was letting go of all that, and just, for the first time, actually in my art life, I could just paint what I wanted and just let myself explore it without judgment.

At the same time, I'm having a lot of fun just being an artist rather than an artist who does this and then has to do that.

Because I have a gallery in Sacramento, and so they want certain kinds of work or certain sizes of work.

And I'm kind of just like, "They've got a bunch of paintings now, leave me alone, let me just play."

Kati: So lockdown busted you out of a routine.

It allowed you to explore more creatively.

Kathy: Yeah, and my personality is one where I have to be in control of everything, so I have to do this, and then I have to do that and have my schedule.

And so, that all kind of went out of the window.

So this was really, as hard as it has been, it's also been good for me personally that way with my art.

Kati: Liberating and terrifying.

Kathy: Yes, exactly, exactly.

Kati: That sounds about right, yeah.

Well, I can't wait to see some of these works-in-progress.

Can we check out your studio?

Kathy: Oh, yes, I'd love to have you come and visit.

Kati: So here we are in Kathy O'Leary's studio working on an oil painting.

And I don't want to keep you from painting while we're talking.

Is there something that you look for in a scene?

Like you're driving around, heading out to a camping trip and something catches your eye?

Kathy: Yeah, I think it's the design of the scene.

I look for the, you know, the shapes and then the light and shadows which usually gives me a clue as to if I can get a nice composition out of that scene; and color.

But it's more the shapes first and the design of the scene, then I go from there.

And then just photograph a lot too, like, tick, tick, tick, that kind of thing, and-- Kati: So what's the difference between a scene that you would take a picture and paint later and a scene that you would try and paint right away?

Is it about the scene or is it about your plan for the day?

Kathy: If it's--if I, you know, if I have my equipment with me, which I try to carry with me wherever I go, then--and if I can find a place to paint from, I'll try and, you know, capture that scene and see if I can get the feel of the colors, 'cause like I said the photography doesn't really cover very well the actual colors.

So, I--if I can, I will paint on location but if I can't, I see it as a possible painting.

Kati: What are some of the other differences between plein air painting and painting in studio?

Kathy: I think there's partly the energy that you get from being outside and around the bird sounds.

It's like your whole environment is that scene.

And so, it's very energizing to actually be on location and to try and get the paint down as fast as you can because the light changes, so you have to work really fast.

So that's the main part.

It's more exciting to paint on--this is more of a problem-solving process when I paint this way, once I decided on the scene and what I think is going to be the color.

And then, it's a constant back and forth trying to solve and make it happen the way I think it should, but it doesn't have the excitement.

It's something about just being out in nature.

Kati: So tell me about oil paints specifically 'cause there's oil, there's acrylic, there's watercolor and every different kind of paint requires a different strategy, a different sort of creative process, different problem-solving.

What is it you like about oil paints?

Kathy: Well, I like smearing paint.

I was a watercolorist before I discovered oil, and for me, it took--for me, the way I approached it, it took a lot of control, because I wasn't one of those kind of painters where you can just let it flow with lots of water.

And that just wasn't my style.

So when I started trying out oil, I found I can change things better and was more fluid process of solving the problems of painting that particular scene.

And I like the depth of color that you can get with oil that you can't--you can, some people do with watercolor but a lot of it, it isn't have as much strength in that--in dark values.

The darker values are always--seem to be lacking in a lot of watercolor.

Not all of 'em 'cause some people are very good at it but-- Kati: I don't wonder if that's because of the order you have to do it in, like in oil painting, you know, you're starting with the shadow.

Kathy: Right, right.

Kati: But in watercolor, you practically start with, if you're starting with resist, like a frigate, you're starting with the white, you're starting with the very lightest color and then adding those layers.

Kathy: And working back, yeah, yeah.

Kati: So by the time they get around to the dark colors, it's all--they don't want to mess up this thing they've been working on.

Kathy: Exactly.

Kati: Whereas with oil, you just scrape it off.

Kathy: Exactly.

Kati: Start over.

Smoosh it around a little bit.

Kathy: Yeah, you know, sometimes in my painting life, I felt like I was more of a tonalist where there wasn't as much dark and as much light, that I kind of kept it more in the mid-range.

And I do like tonal work a lot, but recently, I've just been moving more toward more contrast and stronger values.

I don't know why, I guess that's how artists change and grow as they go along, like find something that seems to work or that you really like, and you want to try this and then you discover like, "Whoa, I really like that.

I think I'll keep doing that," kind of thing.

Kati: Speaking of stuff you really like.

I noticed a common subject matter here.

What is it about the oak trees that you appreciate so much?

Kathy: I think I really appreciate the shape-- because I'm a visual artist, the shape, how they look like in the environment, in the golden hills or even the green hills in the spring.

But once I decided I was going to focus on them more because I thought they were so beautiful--but I also started learning about the threats to the oak trees and so then I started paying more attention to, you know, what the development--fires which we're having right now and disease which are affecting them.

And they're this iconic native plant of this state.

I feel like by painting and then getting the visual image is how people may come to appreciate them a little bit more and want to protect them.

Kati: If they're preserved in a painting, even if that particular tree or that kind of tree is not available to be seen, then it's still there.

We can still enjoy it.

Kathy: Yeah, you can still see what it was like.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Kati: Here in Humboldt County, we are kind of like on an island, we're a little isolated up here behind the redwood curtain.

But there are so many artists-- like you were saying you have friends who are artists, I have friends who are artists and professional artists showing down--showing in other places.

I find that inspiring and intimidating in equal measure.

How do you feel about being a professional artist rooted in Humboldt County?

Kathy: Probably both those things, I mean, I-- for me, I realized that I wouldn't have gotten to where I am, believed in myself, learned new skills, without all the other artists around me.

So it's like I know that I wouldn't have kept going.

Because a lot of the artists are very supportive of each other.

Even if we paint totally differently, the street artist or the abstract artist or the realist artist, there's just this--it's really a pretty tight-knit community.

We kind of all know each other and respect each other and the way they are trying to interpret the world through their art.

So, I actually feel very blessed that this is where I made the decision to become an artist because I don't believe in another area that I would have been able to do that.

In fact I was at a gathering at Morris Graves' house at the lake where a lot of artists will gather and have daylong workshops or three days or something, and one of the artists came up from San Francisco.

And we were all sitting around talking, and he said, "I can't believe you people."

He said, "If you were in San Francisco where I am, you would be saying terrible things about each other."

And he said, "But here you all, like, like each other and support--" he says, "I can't believe that this is true."

Kati: And which do you think is an environment that produces more, better, happier artists?

Kathy: Oh yeah.

Definitely this.

Yeah, I mean I never even thought about that 'cause I was so used to this environment.

So I know it is different some places, and that's probably the other reason why I'm so thankful this is the place I got my opportunity.

Kati: Well, Kathy, thank you so much for talking with us on "Studio Space."

Kathy: My pleasure.

Carrie Badeaux: I enrolled in ballet class when I was seven.

And pretty much fell in love with it since--at that time and have danced ever since then.

♪♪♪ David: Hi, I'm David Ferney, and welcome to "Studio Space."

Today we're with choreographer, dancer, and photographer Carrie Badeaux.

Thanks for joining us, Carrie.

Carrie: Well, thank you for having me, David.

David: Yeah.

I'm very excited.

You run this award-winning Dance Scene Studio, which is one of the first dance studios on the north coast dating back--all the way back to 1942, which is quite amazing.

Can you tell us just a little bit about your journey to coming to this place to running this incredible legacy of a studio?

Carrie: Oh, thank you, sure.

I grew up dancing locally here in Humboldt County on the north coast, and then I went away and studied dance.

I got my BA in dance and then also studied architecture.

And then came back, and the studio, it just kind of worked out timewise that it was ready to be taken over by somebody new and I was up for it.

So I stepped in and I've had the studio about going on eight years now, and it's been a really fun process to be running a studio, dancing, doing other, you know, renovation projects.

So we kind of bring in the architecture and the dance, and it's been really fun.

David: You are a dancer and a choreographer, but you recently got an award from the Humboldt Area Foundation, the Victor Jacoby Award for photography.

Carrie: Yes.

David: So that's an interesting jump and leap, shall we say in the dance world.

So how did that come about and how does that work with your dance background?

Carrie: Let's see, so before I had the studio, there was a summer that some of my dance friends and I, we were like, let's go around and take dance photos in different vistas around Humboldt County, and just kind of had fun with it, and we would pass the camera around.

And if I was in a shot, then one of the friends would take the photo, and then I would take the other ones.

And we put this whole collection together that was--we wound up with a hundred photos.

And then we wound up having an art exhibition with a whole art opening, and live dancers as models, and we had a silhouette performance and live artists doing different art during the exhibition, and it was really fun.

And so, from that I named that exhibition "Dance Scenes," and then I liked it so much that I named the studio the Dance Scene Studio.

So that was how the dance photography first came about.

And then, every two years we do another collection.

So that's kind of how that came about, and it's been just kind of a fun blend of dance and photography.

David: Yeah, you have such a great eye.

How do you get your inspiration and your ideas for your shoots?

Carrie: I just look for all different backgrounds, scenic backgrounds, interesting environments here that go well for photography, be it all our murals or ocean or the forest.

You know, we're in our either leotards or costumes, and so you're not bundled up, and a lot of times, it's cold out there.

But it's been really fun just to adventure in outdoors and take the dancers out of the studio and just explore and adventure and kind of check out everything that we have here.

David: Yeah, not only do you run the dance studio, but you also are the artistic director for the Sundance Ballet Company.

Can you tell us a little bit about the company and what excites you about it?

Carrie: The Sundance Ballet Company was formed in 2012, and it's a nonprofit as part of The Ink People Center for the Arts, and it has been such a wonderful project.

We do about two performances a year.

We do a lot of community shows as well, and it's really fun and challenging, and it's definitely where I really like to spend my time, is creating dances, working with the dancers and going from there.

David: Now, we're shooting this interview in late October which is very near to Halloween.

You created an original ballet which I thought was very exciting and interesting of an idea, which was based on "The Corpse Bride."

Carrie: We've done different shows in October before and kind of had that more fun kind of a little bit more spooky theme.

We've done "The Corpse Bride."

I did a really cool production with Danse Macabre.

We performed it in the old Ingomar Theater when it was crumbling, and we just danced there-- David: Oh right, yeah, 'cause you were working there with the Ink people, yeah, oh, neat.

Carrie: That was really cool.

So that's been fun.

It's hard because October is so close to "Nutcracker," December.

David: Right, you're rehearsing for that probably, yeah.

Carrie: Mm-hmm, but it's fun to be able to break it up too and not just have "Nutcracker" be, you know, this five-month thing and continuous rehearsals for that.

Just be able to do some other fun projects too.

David: It seems like--that it's very related to craft and art and that relationship, how ballet is such, you know, a craft with deep traditions that sets you up to be able to express yourself artistically.

Can you talk a little bit about it from that point of view?

Carrie: Definitely ballet is craft and art combined.

It is extremely disciplined.

You are using your body as the whole art and there is so much stretching and artistic elements to it, athleticism as well.

So you combine all of that with performing and making it all seem effortless, and graceful, and strong, and you really have this nice blend of really beautiful art form.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Carrie: I would love to bring dance that is inspiring, and interesting and unique, that it hasn't been done for centuries, like some of the other classics.

I would love to do some with more intricate choreography, and partner work, and maybe even some prop work that can be done on a big stage or even more festival-like environments.

David: Sure, it seems like, to me, that dance is such a social art form, such an ensemble art form.

There are certainly, you know solo dances and dancers but it's, you know, it seems like it's really about the community of dancers.

Can you talk a little bit about how being in that dance community, and being a part of it, and being, you know, a little bit of a leader in this local community, how that inspires and motivates your dancing and your choreography work?

Carrie: So, a lot of our dancers here have danced together for many years.

So we're dance friends and we kind of know how each one dances, and our strengths and we really play into that in choreography, and performances and even in classes.

Carrie: It definitely feels like a community and a lot of camaraderie in the studio and when we go and do performances as well.

Everyone is very encouraging.

You know, sometimes we're clapping when people are doing, like, just amazing things during class or on stage, and everyone's really proud of each other and it's really nice and supportive.

David: Support system, yeah.

Carrie: Mm-hmm, and it's just so friendly to come in and dance together and be with a lot of the same people almost every day of the week.

And kind of just have that-- you kind of grow together too and you're experiencing, you know, late-night rehearsals, and hard classes, and fun performances and you could just kind of have all that together.

And a lot of my longtime friends are dance friends.

David: Yeah, it definitely sparks ideas like, you know, some of your great photography, you know, interwoven in a dance piece.

Carrie: Uh-huh, yes.

David: But it's like, you know, you've build these dances around this, you know, your style of photography, something like that.

Carrie: Yes.

I love that.

David: Well, it's been so great to hang out with you in your studio and learn more about your work.

Thank you so much for joining us.

It's been really a joy and a pleasure.

Carrie: Awesome.

Thank you for having me.

David: Yeah, absolutely.

Carrie: It's been great.

David: We've been talking with Carrie Badeaux, who is a dancer, choreographer and photographer.

Thank you so much for watching "Studio Space."

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ David: We hope you enjoyed today's episode.

Kati: To visit with other Humboldt County artists or to watch other great shows about local issues, go to keet.org.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ female announcer: This activity was funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency; and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

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