Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Courtesy of 6397
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [Showroom].”
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
“Kim Hastreiter, who founded PAPER magazine, has always been a friend. Twenty plus years ago when I first went to her house for tea, she had all this work on her walls. And I've always liked outsider art but I didn't know about Creative Growth. And that was the introduction. She told me, ‘If you go to San Francisco, go to Oakland, you've got to visit. It's an amazing place.’ And so I did, and I’ve been a friend of the organization ever since.” - Stella Ishii
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [Showroom].”
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
No items found.
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Super talented stylist-turned-photographer Thistle Browne and stylist Heathermary Jackson — both in New Zealand during COVID-19 lockdowns — traveled to Rangitoto Island, a dormant volcano off the coast of Central Auckland, to shoot the new campaign for New Zealand jewelry designer Jasmin Sparrow. The shoot showcases Sparrow’s timeless gold and silver jewelry, and a beautiful collection of hand-beaded bras and skull caps designed with Glen Prentice. Models wore mainly vintage from Search and Destroy and Brownstone Cowboys’ collection, combined with some local, sustainable brands and New Zealand gumboots (rainboots).
Photography:Thistle Brown Styling:Heathermary Jackson Designers: Jasmin Sparrow and Glen Prentice Models: Charlotte Moffatt, Nina Katungi, Obadiah Russon
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Courtesy of 6397
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [Showroom].”
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
“Kim Hastreiter, who founded PAPER magazine, has always been a friend. Twenty plus years ago when I first went to her house for tea, she had all this work on her walls. And I've always liked outsider art but I didn't know about Creative Growth. And that was the introduction. She told me, ‘If you go to San Francisco, go to Oakland, you've got to visit. It's an amazing place.’ And so I did, and I’ve been a friend of the organization ever since.” - Stella Ishii
Joseph Alef
Where did you derive your inspiration for this show and how is it inline/different from
other current projects that you’re working on?
"I get my inspiration from my mind, how I feel in my heart and soul. I am inspired by how
I feel each day. Working on the postcards was different. They were very small and not
much surface area to paint. I often work on larger paper where I can express how I feel.
I also think my style and texture of my work comes out more."
What’s been your journey with Creative Growth since becoming an artist in residence?
"I started at Creative Growth in 1997 when I was 22. I have always done abstract work.
My art has been progressing really well. I’ve been making really big paintings. My
artwork has been progressing and growing every year. I’m very proud when my artwork
gets sold."
Julie Swartout
What was your thought process when creating pieces for ‘Postcards’?
"I wanted to concentrate on something soothing and relaxing because the pandemic
made me nervous. I was getting overstimulated and am trying to feel comfortable about
being around so many artists in the studio. I am trying to concentrate on my artwork as
a soothing activity. Working on the postcards, the shapes, colors, and patterns, were a
soothing activity for me."
What does color mean to you in your work?
"Color means a lot. It represents life since colors surround us in everyday life. I try to
choose colors that are relaxing and therapeutic to the mind. However, in my 8 years
here, I have recently realized some people might not like too much color."
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
Joseph Alef
Where did you derive your inspiration for this show and how is it inline/different from
other current projects that you’re working on?
"I get my inspiration from my mind, how I feel in my heart and soul. I am inspired by how
I feel each day. Working on the postcards was different. They were very small and not
much surface area to paint. I often work on larger paper where I can express how I feel.
I also think my style and texture of my work comes out more."
What’s been your journey with Creative Growth since becoming an artist in residence?
"I started at Creative Growth in 1997 when I was 22. I have always done abstract work.
My art has been progressing really well. I’ve been making really big paintings. My
artwork has been progressing and growing every year. I’m very proud when my artwork
gets sold."
Julie Swartout
What was your thought process when creating pieces for ‘Postcards’?
"I wanted to concentrate on something soothing and relaxing because the pandemic
made me nervous. I was getting overstimulated and am trying to feel comfortable about
being around so many artists in the studio. I am trying to concentrate on my artwork as
a soothing activity. Working on the postcards, the shapes, colors, and patterns, were a
soothing activity for me."
What does color mean to you in your work?
"Color means a lot. It represents life since colors surround us in everyday life. I try to
choose colors that are relaxing and therapeutic to the mind. However, in my 8 years
here, I have recently realized some people might not like too much color."
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
Joseph Alef
Where did you derive your inspiration for this show and how is it inline/different from
other current projects that you’re working on?
"I get my inspiration from my mind, how I feel in my heart and soul. I am inspired by how
I feel each day. Working on the postcards was different. They were very small and not
much surface area to paint. I often work on larger paper where I can express how I feel.
I also think my style and texture of my work comes out more."
What’s been your journey with Creative Growth since becoming an artist in residence?
"I started at Creative Growth in 1997 when I was 22. I have always done abstract work.
My art has been progressing really well. I’ve been making really big paintings. My
artwork has been progressing and growing every year. I’m very proud when my artwork
gets sold."
Julie Swartout
What was your thought process when creating pieces for ‘Postcards’?
"I wanted to concentrate on something soothing and relaxing because the pandemic
made me nervous. I was getting overstimulated and am trying to feel comfortable about
being around so many artists in the studio. I am trying to concentrate on my artwork as
a soothing activity. Working on the postcards, the shapes, colors, and patterns, were a
soothing activity for me."
What does color mean to you in your work?
"Color means a lot. It represents life since colors surround us in everyday life. I try to
choose colors that are relaxing and therapeutic to the mind. However, in my 8 years
here, I have recently realized some people might not like too much color."
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Creative Growth's 'Postcards' at the 6397 Showroom
ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
October 11, 2023
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
Courtesy of 6397
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [Showroom].”
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
“Kim Hastreiter, who founded PAPER magazine, has always been a friend. Twenty plus years ago when I first went to her house for tea, she had all this work on her walls. And I've always liked outsider art but I didn't know about Creative Growth. And that was the introduction. She told me, ‘If you go to San Francisco, go to Oakland, you've got to visit. It's an amazing place.’ And so I did, and I’ve been a friend of the organization ever since.” - Stella Ishii
Joseph Alef
Where did you derive your inspiration for this show and how is it inline/different from
other current projects that you’re working on?
"I get my inspiration from my mind, how I feel in my heart and soul. I am inspired by how
I feel each day. Working on the postcards was different. They were very small and not
much surface area to paint. I often work on larger paper where I can express how I feel.
I also think my style and texture of my work comes out more."
What’s been your journey with Creative Growth since becoming an artist in residence?
"I started at Creative Growth in 1997 when I was 22. I have always done abstract work.
My art has been progressing really well. I’ve been making really big paintings. My
artwork has been progressing and growing every year. I’m very proud when my artwork
gets sold."
Julie Swartout
What was your thought process when creating pieces for ‘Postcards’?
"I wanted to concentrate on something soothing and relaxing because the pandemic
made me nervous. I was getting overstimulated and am trying to feel comfortable about
being around so many artists in the studio. I am trying to concentrate on my artwork as
a soothing activity. Working on the postcards, the shapes, colors, and patterns, were a
soothing activity for me."
What does color mean to you in your work?
"Color means a lot. It represents life since colors surround us in everyday life. I try to
choose colors that are relaxing and therapeutic to the mind. However, in my 8 years
here, I have recently realized some people might not like too much color."
Special Thanks to Giovanna Noe and Kelsey Dresner at Kaleidoscope Consulting
Stella Ishii is both minimalist and maximalist, fond of the bright graphic t-shirts produced by her brand 6397 but maintains an overall pared-down aesthetic in her starkly white SoHo boutique. The store is small, but her creative spirit covers the walls, lines the racks, and spills out of the door.
Ishii’s spirit of creativity adopts a more colorful, physical shape in the form of her twenty-year relationship with Creative Growth, a studio in Oakland California for artists with disabilities; the designer acts as an East Coast representative for the studio in coordinating four different shows per year, the art from which decorates the walls of her store. Pieces from her personal collection are on view at The News Showroom.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [showroom].”
6397, her clothing brand that highlights minimalism and menswear, is a perfect capsule collection of neutral tones with the occasional pop of color from a graphic tee, the print of which comes from Creative Growth’s latest show, Postcards, which opened at 6397’s store last week in March.The show is set to run through summer and all art is available for purchase, at a beautiful range of prices that only serves to emphasize Creative Growth’s mission of accessibility. The works range from series by well-known artists like Danny Miller and John Martin, to lesser known but equally stunning kitty collages by Gail Lewis. In fact, to all the cat-moms or dads out there, our feline friends are a common theme among several of the artists, and are depicted across a wide range of mediums.
Creative Growth is a non-profit organization providing artists with disabilities studio space and materials based in Oakland. There are roughly fifty artists in residence at a given time, almost all of which have contributed to the current show. As Ishii said, there’s something beautiful about ‘outsider art,’ and has been building her collection from the Creative Growth studio over the course of twenty years.
“We opened the store four years ago and I wanted it to be both for our clothes and a venue for showing Creative Growth artists because I had always done that at The News [Showroom].”
Courtesy of 6397
Although when Creative Growth started in the 1970’s it was one of the first studios for artists working with disabilities, more have since cropped up coast to coast with local options in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “[It was just] a group of artists feeling that they wanted to do more than just their own artwork and just based on a belief that everyone can communicate - we all communicate in different ways.”
BSC caught up with a few of the artists whose work is included in Postcards to hear from the artists, and learn more about Creative Growth through their eyes.
Jay Daley
How has your work evolved/changed since starting work at CG and where are you
looking to expand?
"I started at Creative Growth in 2000. I was drawing Chuck E. and Chelsie Cheese then
and now they are traveling. I draw where they go around the Bay Area. I made up
Chelsie and pretended they got married. I visit them once a year on my birthday."
What is ‘a postcard’ to you?
"If I got a postcard I would want it to be Chuck E. or Chelsie because I love them."
Nathaniel Jackson
Tell us about your concept for Postcards and how you got to the final results?
"For my postcards I did the details like dinosaurs. They were all different. Some were
Godzilla movies because I love Godzilla. They turned out perfectly. I like selling the
artwork in New York."
*Additional note from Creative Growth: Nathaniel draws his dinosaurs, Godzilas, people
and monsters in ink then fills them in with watercolors.
“Kim Hastreiter, who founded PAPER magazine, has always been a friend. Twenty plus years ago when I first went to her house for tea, she had all this work on her walls. And I've always liked outsider art but I didn't know about Creative Growth. And that was the introduction. She told me, ‘If you go to San Francisco, go to Oakland, you've got to visit. It's an amazing place.’ And so I did, and I’ve been a friend of the organization ever since.” - Stella Ishii
Joseph Alef
Where did you derive your inspiration for this show and how is it inline/different from
other current projects that you’re working on?
"I get my inspiration from my mind, how I feel in my heart and soul. I am inspired by how
I feel each day. Working on the postcards was different. They were very small and not
much surface area to paint. I often work on larger paper where I can express how I feel.
I also think my style and texture of my work comes out more."
What’s been your journey with Creative Growth since becoming an artist in residence?
"I started at Creative Growth in 1997 when I was 22. I have always done abstract work.
My art has been progressing really well. I’ve been making really big paintings. My
artwork has been progressing and growing every year. I’m very proud when my artwork
gets sold."
Julie Swartout
What was your thought process when creating pieces for ‘Postcards’?
"I wanted to concentrate on something soothing and relaxing because the pandemic
made me nervous. I was getting overstimulated and am trying to feel comfortable about
being around so many artists in the studio. I am trying to concentrate on my artwork as
a soothing activity. Working on the postcards, the shapes, colors, and patterns, were a
soothing activity for me."
What does color mean to you in your work?
"Color means a lot. It represents life since colors surround us in everyday life. I try to
choose colors that are relaxing and therapeutic to the mind. However, in my 8 years
here, I have recently realized some people might not like too much color."
-poster-00001.jpg)
