10-18-2022 4:31am

Last chance! Don't miss it. Artist Yenna Hill at Studio B:

by Jane Stahl

Studio B has enjoyed sharing the work of the emerging young artist Yenna Hill and invites the community to join Yenna at a closing reception on Friday, October 21, 2022, from 5-7 p.m.

Last chance!

Not being an artist myself, I’m always eager to hear artists talk about themselves and their work. Happily, during the recording of a “B Inspired” podcast episode, Yenna allowed me into the self-described “funhouse” of her mind. Not all artists can—or choose to—articulate what informs their art. And while she is eager NOT to influence the audience about the meaning of her work, she is willing to share what she’s thinking—which the word-lover in me appreciates.

One of my favorite parts of our conversation was learning of her affinity with reoccurring numbers—333 is “her” number, for example. I, too, have a “thing” with numbers, and visitors to her exhibit have noted the prices of her work are in recurring numbers and wondered why.

She explains that, as a 15-year-old, when 333 appeared in her awareness, she’d kiss the ceiling to a make a wish--climbing onto counter tops as needed, and “knowing” that the universe was working in her favor by the synchronicities that occurred following her efforts.

When these “angel numbers” appeared—as others call them—often during states of anxiety—Yenna says she felt a need to re-center herself. She explains that seeing the numbers at random places became her “trail markers,” letting her know she was on the “right path.”

I enjoyed learning about her development as a “line artist.” She recalls that she grew up in a family that respected creativity, that taught her that “making stuff is good.” Her grandfather Al Haring, a line artist himself, would ask “What are you making? That’s good.” Her uncle Keith Haring—a famous and successful line artist—helped her recognize that line work was her strength, and she now knows that working at it, she’ll develop her own style, her own “tag” that will become as recognizable as her signature.

I loved learning that she intends her line work to be therapeutic, a meditative exercise, a catharsis, in which she works out what’s happening in her life and relationships. She recalls that during her job as a bank teller, “art happened” when her ADHD required her “to move my hands around” during downtime.

Yenna explains that she intends that her line work create a “universal frequency, dimensions we can’t see, generating a low humming calm that creates connectivity with others and mental checkpoints of goodness in this crazy horrible world.”

The character she created, “Mesopotamian Astronaut,”—the subject of a group of paintings in the exhibit and captured on the invitation to her opening reception—was inspired following a summer of watching a great deal of comedy and during a monitoring session of a figure drawing class for which she was a “back up” model. After posting the character on Instagram, her followers shared their enthusiasm for it claiming, “This is YOU!”

I enjoyed hearing her explain the influence her art classes brought to the character: drawing the circles which she labeled "the bum, the booty,” then noting the gold and silver line work, feeling that the work “asked” for the “reddest red” to complement the black negative spaces.

I laughed when she described the speed of painting one of the pieces in the exhibit, saying, “I sneezed it out!” And I was curious to listen to her talk about another piece that was created from a light drawing she forced herself to make right before she fell asleep--fearing she’d forget the idea in the morning.

Yenna shares that bartending several days a week for a bar she likes and for the people she cares about—including her customers—is an important study in sociology and keeps her grounded and connected.

Plans for the future include large paintings and installations; but, as she says, “Who knows?” Plans change. Pre-COVID she was content hustling as a henna artist, doing non-permanent art. When COVID hit, she was home alone in her studio and, of course, “did art” but also was contacted for commissions, and some important connections happened that has led to gallery exhibits.

And while she is happy with the art exhibited at Studio B, there are 30 other ideas that she had planned for the show that just didn’t get finished. Currently, she’s spending a lot of time staring at clouds; clouds chasing each other is what’s “pushing her hands in a direction.”

But maybe painting flowers is next. As Yenna shares, “Painting a rose is the hardest task, as one artist explains, since the artist needs first to forget all the other roses that they have seen and that have been painted.

There’s much depth and energy to this young artist that fascinates—in person and on the walls of Studio B; her talent inspires a following. I’m obviously a fan! Don’t miss the chance to meet her or see her exhibit.