{"id":2530,"date":"2021-10-06T15:02:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T21:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/?p=2530"},"modified":"2021-10-06T15:25:27","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T21:25:27","slug":"sean-star-wars-stewarts-art-talk-inspires-jc-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/news\/sean-star-wars-stewarts-art-talk-inspires-jc-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean \u201cStar Wars\u201d Stewart\u2019s \u201cArt Talk\u201d inspires JC students"},"content":{"rendered":"

ELLISVILLE \u2013 When artist, Sean \u201cStar Wars\u201d Stewart first visited with Â鶹ֱ²¥ students eight years ago, before being featured in HGTV\u2019s Season 2 of \u201cHome Town,\u201d he had just moved to Laurel from New Orleans, before Hurricane Katrina. Since his TV appearance, some things have changed. During his \u201cArt Talk\u201d with Â鶹ֱ²¥ art students, he was being documented by Mississippi Public Broadcasting for a \u201cMississippi Roads\u201d segment. Also, his family has grown from him and his wife and one child to five\"\"<\/a> kids with one son beating Leukemia. During the three-year battle with cancer, Stewart emphasized to students, his art didn\u2019t change because life got serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to think about important things like cancer research. If you are concerned with serious things OK. But I wasn\u2019t making artwork about leukemia. Not everyone can have this much fun and that\u2019s OK too,\u201d said Stewart. \u201cThe cure for cancer is not going to come out of printmaking. I want to make people smile. I do what makes me happy and I\u2019m glad people also like what makes me happy,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n

While discussing his art, Stewart explained downtown Laurel\u2019s popularity has grown to the point he couldn\u2019t grow. The only option left for him was moving his studio to New Orleans to expand his art business and include offering art residencies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI was glad to be able to be on the (Home Town) show and share what I think printmaking is to a totally different audience. Working with Erin Napier was super great too!\u201d said Stewart. \u201cI also know when the show airs because I always sell a Robert Johnson print at some weird hour of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewarts\u2019 nuggets of wisdom to Jones students were not all specifically art-related. Besides \u201cmaking art\u201d he encouraged students to also connect with their audience, other artists and supporters of their work in order to get their work in galleries. Early in Stewart\u2019s career, after an art festival, he told students he didn\u2019t sell much, and he was disappointed. However, exchanging artwork with the guy in the next tent turned out to be beneficial, beyond his dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis artist at the art festival 12 years ago, was a teacher at MSU. I still have his piece hanging and he has mine. I got an email from him, explaining he\u2019s now the art director for an ad agency in Dallas and he thinks my work would be perfect for a restaurant company with 20 franchises. After meeting the CEO, they are going to use my imagery for advertising in different regions of the country. None of this would have happened if I hadn\u2019t made that connection at an art festival that day. Something to remember me by for the last 12 years, turned into something super big for me. Always reach out,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n

Social media allows artwork to be shared with a global audience faster than ever before and students should be taking advantage of these platforms Stewart also offered. Probably the most impactful for freshman, graphic\"\"<\/a> design major, Jashawn Huddleston of Bay Springs was Stewarts\u2019 advice, \u201cJust have fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like his style and the freedom he has in creating. I overthink, but I am beginning to realize I can be an artist and have fun too,\u201d said Huddleston.<\/p>\n

Sophomore, Aryn Cox of Laurel also said she can get overwhelmed with art\"\"<\/a> ideas and what to create. Stewart\u2019s free, fun-loving art has inspired her to step out of her comfort zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also think too much while trying to create art. I\u2019m going to try to go with the flow more and be more creative,\u201d said Cox.<\/p>\n

The whimsical Sean \u201cStar Wars\u201d Stewart exhibit that was on display at Â鶹ֱ²¥\u2019s Eula Bass Lewis art gallery recently, showed off his uniqueness. The use of bright colors, quirky pop culture characters and items, displayed on thick, large pieces of wood is purposeful. Stewart\u2019s goal is to enjoy what he\u2019s creating and to stand out. From \u201cTangy\u201d\"\"<\/a> orange whales to color-themed robots and alligators taking a bath, Stewart\u2019s artwork is a collection of quirky, colorful images of pure, childlike fun. However, Stewart told students the most important thing every artist should do is to spend time in front of their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not great at drawing but I enjoy carving, so I draw what\u2019s easy. I like the shapes of guns, robots, and animals.\u00a0The wood carving adds texture to my\"\"<\/a> work, giving it dimension, almost inviting the viewer to touch my art. I want people to engage in my work and enjoy it as much as I do,\u201d said the former Virginia Beach native.\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t want the fact that I couldn\u2019t draw that well to keep me from having fun. What you draw is the fun part. That\u2019s what I talk about. I don\u2019t share the process of printmaking with audiences. They want to know why I have an ice cream cone smoking, with a drink in hand, wearing heels and carrying a purse. I laugh at my work because it\u2019s funny! At this point in my life, I make whatever I want to make. I love it when people give me ideas too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Different artists are featured monthly at the Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery which is open to the public and can be viewed from Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. through 3 p.m., and Fridays, 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. For more information call 601-477-4148.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ELLISVILLE \u2013 When artist, Sean \u201cStar Wars\u201d Stewart first visited with Â鶹ֱ²¥ students eight years ago, before being featured in HGTV\u2019s Season 2 of \u201cHome Town,\u201d he had just moved to Laurel from New Orleans, before Hurricane Katrina. Since his TV appearance, some things have changed. During his \u201cArt Talk\u201d with Â鶹ֱ²¥ art … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Sean \u201cStar Wars\u201d Stewart\u2019s \u201cArt Talk\u201d inspires JC students”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2530"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2545,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530\/revisions\/2545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}