CHELLA MAIZE
![IMG_3095 (1).jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a3376d_887dd9fde452454daeec47ced506589b~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_444,h_333,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/IMG_3095%20(1).jpeg)
Bio
Chella Maize is an interdisciplinary artist who works in sculpture, installation, research, ceramics, performance, painting, drawing, writing, and social practice. She graduated from Southern Oregon University with a BFA in Studio Art and as an Honors Scholar in June 2023. In summer 2024 Chella attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Chella is currently attending UC Irvine in pursuit of an MFA in Art. Chella has four years of experience as a teaching-assistant and an adjunct faculty member at the Southern Oregon University. Chella participated in the Recology Artist in Residency Program in 2023. Her work has been exhibited at Meyer Memorial Gallery, the Thorndike Gallery, the Retzlaff Gallery, and the Boise Cascade Gallery, all parts of the Ashland Based Center for the Visual Arts galleries from 2020-2023; the Liberty Arts Gallery in Yreka, California in 2021; and as part of Art Beyond by the Schneider Museum of Art in 2023.
CV
EDUCATION
2024- 2027 (current) MFA in Art at the University of California, Irvine
2024 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, East Madison, Maine
2023 BFA in Studio Art, Summa Cum Laude from Southern Oregon University, Honors College, Ashland, OR
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 LESBIAN SPACE COMMUNE, Retzlaff Gallery, Ashland, OR
2023 Pony in a Pit, Suzy Three, Ashland, OR
2022 The Magic Ion, Boise-Cascade Gallery, Ashland, OR
2022 Sapland! (Public Installation), The Temporary, Ashland, OR
2021 Sapland!, Retzlaff Gallery, Ashland, OR
2021 Survival Practice, Thorndike Gallery, Ashland, OR
2021 The Potential Energy of Combustible Materials, Spray Booth, Ashland, OR
2020 Mudlark, Meyer Memorial Gallery, Ashland, OR
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GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 contemporary, Haines & Friends, Downtown Ashland, OR
2023 Something Burning High Up in the Air, Gambrell Gallery Annex
for the Schneider Museum of Art's Art Beyond in Ashland, OR
2023 The Sculpture/4D Collective Welcomes You, Hannon Library, Ashland, OR
2023 Recology Artist-in-Residence in Ashland, OR
2022 The Sculpture/4D Collective, The Temporary, Oregon Fringe Festival, Ashland, OR
2022 172 Cicadas and A Million Static Dots, Meyer Memorial Gallery, Ashland, OR
2021 Sidle Up, Alberta Abbey, Portland, OR
2021 Fresh Fruit, Liberty Arts Center, Yreka, CA
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2024 Adjunct Faculty for Honors 400: Capstone, co-teaching with Dr. Cherstin Lyon
2023 Adjunct Faculty for Honors 315: Contemporary Expansive Practices, co-teaching with Prof. Michael Parker
2023 Teaching Assistant for Art 395: Installation art with Prof. Michael Parker
2022 Teaching Assistant for Honors 315: Contemporary Expansive Practices with Prof. Michael Parker
2022 Teaching Assistant for Honors 317: Native American Ecological Knowledge with Dr. Brook Colley
2022 Teaching Assistant for Art 291: Introduction to Sculpture for Prof. Michael Parker
2021 Teaching Assistant for Art 358: Intermediate Sculpture for Prof. Michael Parker
2021 Teaching Assistant for Art 291: Introduction to Sculpture for Prof. Michael Parker
2021 Teaching Assistant for Art 255: Introduction to Ceramics for Prof. Michael Parker
2020 Teaching Assistant for Art 358: Intermediate Sculpture for Prof. Michael Parker
2020 Teaching Assistant for Art 291: Introduction to Sculpture for Prof Michael Parker
OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE
2024 Recology Artist-in-Residence Liaison with the Recology AIR Program in Ashland, OR
In addition to holding this position, I helped create the position by co-writing a capacity building grant to the Institute of Applied Sustainability.
2022 Sculpture 4D Collective, SOU Sculpture Program
In my already existing roles as a Teaching Assistant and a Shop Tech, the Sculpture/4D Collective was a special project I took part in. I worked as the main assistant and technical supporter for the student artists exhibiting their work as part of this collective.
2021-present Artist Assistant to Michael Parker
2021 Lead woodworker and fabricator for Robby Herbst’s work “After EF!” for the Schneider Museum of Art’s Art Beyond in Ashland, OR
2020-2023 Sculpture Studio Shop Manager and Technician for the DeBoer Sculpture Studio at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, OR
This position required me to be fluent in 3D making areas such as a woodshop, metal shop, moldmaking area, and other specific materials such as plaster, concrete, clay, and found objects. In this role, I both ensured that operations of tools and areas were safe, and helped students create 3D artworks.
2020 The Demo Library, SOU Sculpture Program
The Demo Library was a special project I worked on during Fall 2020-Spring 2021, and was created as a method to support teaching sculpture during the Pandemic. I took a leadership role in preparing, videoing, editing, and titling this series of 35 material handling technical videos, firstly for the Sculpture Program and then shared more widely via YouTube. This method was presented at the 2021 SOU Faculty Symposium as a model for adapting to teaching during the Pandemic.
ARTIST RUN PROJECT SPACES
2022-2023 Suzy Two & Three, Susanne Homes Building, Ashland, OR
I began what became the Suzy Two & Three project in 2022 alongside Prof. Michael Parker. We gained access to two floors of an abandoned dorm hall and turned them into installation spaces where artists could essentially have complete freedom. 51 student artists have now had the chance to install and create work in these halls. We are looking forward to having our first non-student artists in spring 2024.
2022 The Temporary, Ashland, OR
Coinciding with the opening of “The Sculpture/4D Collective” for the Oregon Fringe Festival, the SOU Sculpture Studio began realizing a long term goal of turning the vacant space to one side of the studio into a temporary, public installation space. I worked to support many of the exhibiting artists and to coordinate group efforts to get the work done.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND AWARDS
2024 Research Assistant to Dr. Cherstin Lyon on Fulbright Norway trip to attend 2024 Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromsø, Norway
2023 Co-Writer of an Institute of Applied Sustainability capacity building grant for the Recology Ashland Artist in Residence
2023 Recology Ashland Artist in Residence, Ashland, OR
2023 Humane Leadership Intern through the Local Innovation Lab, Ashland, OR
In this internship, I was invited to work with the Local Innovation Lab and the Humane Leadership Institute to go through a course of Humane Leadership and apply it to a specific project. I worked with Prof. Michael Parker to create dissemination materials for the Southern Oregon University Sculpture Program’s projects Suzy Two & Three, the Temporary, and the Recology Ashland Artist in Residence. Alongside this project, I worked with the Digital Cinema Department to create a documentary about the Local Innovation Lab and the Humane Leadership Institute.
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CONFERENCES & TALKS
2024 Western Regional Honors Council Conference at CSULB
Alongside Prof. Michael Parker and several students who have created work in Suzy Two & Three, I will be sharing this project and our interest in non-writing based communication especially for non-art students
2023 Emeritus Faculty Luncheon at Southern Oregon University
Alongside Dr. Cherstin Lyon, I shared with the emeritus faculty of Southern Oregon University the innovative and creative work that was taking place in the Honors College, specifically surrounding the Suzy Two & Three project